This Summer: Deciding Regression or Revival

Posted: May 10, 2013 by Kyle Bonn in Opinion
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Fulham’s decisive 3-0 win on the road at Swansea moved the Whites up to 12th in the final Premier League table, but it can’t hide the shroud over the final quarter of the season.  It was a limp down the stretch, one that saw them even become mired in the relegation talks for about 2 weeks in the final month.

Given the bright starts to both the beginning of the season and the new calendar year, it was a disappointing way to close out the season.  During it, just about every single one of Fulham’s squad weaknesses were exposed.

This summer, Martin Jol is tasked with starting over…again.

The sale of Clint Dempsey and, more importantly, Moussa Dembele shredded Jol’s plans for building a long-term improvement at Craven Cottage to continue the groundwork begun by Roy Hodgson. Now, he must find a new foundation to structure his squad around.

That solution was thought to be Bryan Ruiz, but it seems his inconsistencies have caused Jol (and much of the fanbase) to reconsider.

The Dutchman in charge can’t be blamed for the exits of two cornerstones of his plans for success at Fulham.  However, it is now his responsibility to move on and build anew.

This season was a struggle, forced by the departures to be a bridge rather than a step up.  Jol had to piece together short-term stopgaps such as Giorgos Karagounis and Philippe Senderos.  Karagounis will most likely move on (although his passion will be missed by many), and Senderos has signed another 1-year deal.  These are not options for the future success of Fulham, however.

With the youth squads having another outstanding season and the budget still strained, it’s not going to be easy for Jol to make high profile purchases.  The board may be instead focused on bridging the gap to when the young guns are ready for the big stage.

But this summer, with new pieces required in the central midfield, central defense, up front and even between the sticks, the duty for Martin Jol is a big one.

Will the squad recover enough to continue the slow climb up the Premier League table into established top-10 consistency? Or will financial restraints and a lack of action cause the squad to squander the progress made by managers past? It hangs seriously in the balance, and Martin Jol may indeed hold the key to whether Fulham can continue to work towards the long-term goal or whether relegation is in the conversations of the near future.

Martin Jol Must Stay – Summer 2013 to Shape Fulham for Years

Posted: April 29, 2013 by Kyle Bonn in Opinion
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Martin Jol’s blank stare may vanish from Craven Cottage altogether if he’s not backed by the front office, according to a troubling article in The Mirror.

A recent article in the The Mirror has sent Fulham fans into a tizzy.  The article suggests Martin Jol lacks financial backing by the Fulham front office for the coming transfer window, and as a result both he and Dimitar Berbatov could leave this summer.

Obviously there is much speculation involved in this news story, but in such circumstances, where there is smoke, there must be fire, and this is a bit too serious to simply discard as complete rubbish.

Contrary to the obvious concern about this story however, the issue isn’t the lack of Dimitar Berbatov on next season’s squad, or a change in manager.  Martin Jol had a difficult year putting together a squad. He gets a pass this season due to the forced departures of Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele in the final days of last sumer, his tactics and approach left a bit for fans to question. No, this isn’t about whether the club will do well with someone other than Martin Jol in charge.

The biggest issue looming with this potential situation suggested by the Mirror would be the aftermath of a second straight managerial departure due to financial reasons.  The self-destruction and fall of Mark Hughes began when he shocked Fulham by leaving, without another job secured, partly for the same reasons being suggested this time around.  The Mark Hughes departure was also partly due to his egotistical issues, and we all saw how that has gone for him.  But there’s no question that the lack of financial backing by Fulham had at least something to do with his decision to leave the club high and dry.

When he left, Hughes’ agent Kia Joorbachian was quoted with saying, “One of the things he looked for at the end of the season was to see if there was an ambition for Fulham to go to the next level.” He continued by saying Mark Hughes’ ambitions were above the club, blah blah blah, confirming his egotistical mindset.  However, that quote suggests there was a part the Fulham board played as well in his departure, lacking either the means or the will to give Hughes what he wanted to transform Fulham into a contender at the “next level.”

If Martin Jol were to follow the same route, it would leave the club in a dire situation.  Not that it wouldn’t have Martin Jol on the touchline, but the message sent out to the footballing community about the financial stance of the front office would doom the club in a manner that would be irrecoverable in the near future.  What half-decent manager would want to take over the club and begin anew? This isn’t about hiring a well-traveled manager with a full resume and a big name.  Not even a young, aspiring manager would want to take a club that now all of a sudden would become a bookie’s delight to be relegated in the next year or two.  The patchwork squad that Martin Jol pieced together with free transfers and loan players, with hopes of replacing them with younger, more long-term solutions down the road, would now become the long-term solutions.

There would only be one ending to what would become a messy situation.  Relegation.

Whether it would take just one year or maybe two, the lack of support by the front office would be met with the ruthless axe of the Premier League’s bottom three, the one that had no mercy and took no prisoners at Loftus Road this season.  The quickest road from the Premier League to the lower divisions runs through the city of Bad Management.

Therefore, it only follows that something many Fulham fans believed last summer again becomes the mantra for the next few months – this summer may be the most important in Fulham’s Premier League history.

And the first step of the summer is to make sure the beloved club residing in Craven Cottage isn’t slapped with the dark mark of a parsimonious front office, or it will surely doom them to Championship obscurity in the coming years.  While Fulham fans bask in the misfortune and mismanagement of their bitter rivals, one cannot help but be somewhat worried that, if things don’t pan out this summer, it will be themselves faced with the same disastrous result.

This is not an attack on the wonderful services Alistair Mackintosh and Mohammed Al Fayed have provided Craven Cottage over the years.  If not for the generous gifts of our chairman and the long and hard hours the Chief Executive has graced the club with, they’d be nowhere near the levels it’s reached in the last decade.  Mackintosh has always been known for finding diamonds in the rough, for discovering cheaper but effective options that don’t necessarily write headlines.  The club’s stance against bidding wars has kept the wage and transfer bill down to a more than manageable level, even posting a surplus a year and a half ago, something which has become an endangered species in the footballing world.

This is not a condemnation of the path from which Fulham have traveled.  This is a plea for the club to not veer into the thicket marred by excessive stinginess.  Obviously the club doesn’t have access to the most extensive of resources.  But where has some of the recent influx of funds gone? The sales of Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey netted the club approximately £21 million.  The club also sold Bobby Zamora for £4 million.  Fulham have finished in the top 10 of the Premier League in multiple seasons recently, garnering additional Premier League prize funds.  The Europa League finals run plus an additional year in the European competition surely garnered a fantastic amount of profit.  The Premier League has secured multiple new TV deals which surely has distributed new wealth to each participant.  For a club that posted a profit as recently as 2 seasons ago, one cannot believe operating costs plus a new stand has eaten up all this additional influx of wealth.  Obviously in this business it’s not as simple as money in, money out.  However, this is not the financial blueprint of a club that relies on free transfers and loan deals year in and year out to piece together 11 players on the pitch.  One year marred by unforeseen circumstances is forgivable, but multiple seasons with this makeup will lead to more failure than success.

The road to reestablished Premier League consistency begins with a stop at a gas station where the Fulham board must refuel, not buy a cheaper car.  They must reasonably back Martin Jol to not only convince him to stay, but allow him to carry out his new plan for Fulham’s future that was so ruthlessly torn to pieces by a last-minute White Hart Lane raid at this same juncture a year ago.  That, or face the possibilities that lie ahead of his departure.

Everton v Fulham: The Always Dreaded Trip to Merseyside

Posted: April 26, 2013 by Kyle Bonn in Previews
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Steve Sidwell scored the late equalizer at the Cottage in the last calendar year. He won’t be available this time around due to his second straight red of the season.

It seems like beating a dead horse recalling Fulham’s record when traveling to Merseyside.  Overcoming that record is their next step in their quest to secure a finish as high in the table as possible, and generate as much revenue for the summer window as possible.  The Goodison faithful are having a fantastic season, one that unfortunately may seal David Moyes future away from Everton after his enviable work making the Toffees consistent contenders for the top 7 and even now pushing for top 4.

It will be a battle for table position this time around, with both teams looking to improve on the 2-2 draw back at Craven Cottage in the reverse fixture from November.  It seems Everton’s Champions League push this season is just a little too far out of reach, but nonetheless the effort was nothing but commendable, and means Moyes’ bunch have finished top 7 all but 1 year dating back to the 2006/2007 season, that 1 was an 8th place finish.  Fulham are a step behind in terms of consistency, and are looking to secure top 10 for the 4th time in 5 years, although it’s an uphill battle as the Whites are in 11th, 2 points behind Swansea and West Ham with 4 to play, and Swansea holding a game in hand.

State of Fulham:

The Whites have hit a real rough patch recently as this streaky season comes to a close.  That’s not too shocking considering the tough schedule through April, but trips to Newcastle and Aston Villa netted just 1 total point, and Fulham couldn’t even muster a single goal at the Cottage against Arsenal or Chelsea, losing a combined 4-0.  In fact, a Fulham player hasn’t found the back of the net since the 3 against QPR back on April Fools Day, which put the Cottagers at 39 points and all but ruled out relegation, giving merit to those who question their motivation once survival was secure.

Don’t expect the points to come flying out of Goodison Park, as Fulham’s struggles there are well documented.  At some point they will buck the trend, but for now it’s 0 league wins at Goodison since Fulham returned to the Premier League in 2001, and they’ve only grabbed 4 points from the 24 league fixtures ever played by the two sides at Everton’s fortress.  4 points, that’s at least a little promising, right? Nope. The last of those 4 points came way back in 1959; it’s been a whole lot of nothin’ since then.  The only two times Fulham have ever won at Goodison were in the FA Cup fifth round in 1948 and 1975.

Now that that’s out of the way, we turn to the squad.  Obviously Steve Sidwell has put his feet up for the season, having been banned for 7 of the final 8 matches thanks to two consecutive straight reds.  Martin Jol had a discussion with the midfielder, saying it’s his style but he can’t continue to hurt the team with his actions.  Emmanuel Frimpong will return to the selection pool after sitting against his parent club Arsenal due to loan restrictions.  Damien Duff has also returned to full fitness, although Sascha Riether is still having ankle issues, so Stanislav Manolev will most likely continue filling in. As usual, Mahamadou Diarra, Ashkan Dejagah, and Simon Davies are all out the rest of the season and therefore will not make the trip.

State of Everton:

It’s been a bit of a rough go for the Toffees recently as well.  They were in a fierce competition for the final Champions League spot or even fifth, something which in and of itself should be commended.  However just 1 point out of a crucial 0-0 draw with Arsenal and a subsequent loss to Sunderland has seen their prospects become quite faint.  Like Fulham, their defense has performed well as of late, but the goalscoring has dried up a bit.  There’s been nothing in the net in the last 2, although they did get 4 total by QPR and Spurs.

Also in the back of every Everton fan’s mind is their manager.  David Moyes has turned 50 this week, and has taken Everton to new heights with little funds relative to those just above them in the table.  It’s not about fleeting success at Goodison, it’s about a model of consistency with slow growth, something many Premier League clubs can be both envious of and look to emulate.  However, Moyes’s contract is up at the end of this season, and there is much talk of his desire to move up a step.  There is no doubt that he would achieve major success with Everton eventually, with the club continuing to make strides, but how long that would take is anyone’s guess.  If he desires more immediate success as he continues to age, the answer may lie outside Merseyside.  Much of that may depend on how Everton finish the season, giving these final four matches much more significance.  If they allow archrival Liverpool to catch them in the table down 5 with 4 to go, he may consider other options much more heavily, especially with Phil Neville already having said he’ll do just that.

As far as their squad is concerned, Phil Jagielka (gash) and Darron Gibson (thigh strain) will both need to pass fitness tests in order to play, but Moyes says there is a chance that happens.  Tony Hibbert also could possibly play for the first time in a while, giving the Toffees the possibility of a full bill of health.

EA Sports Stats of the Match:

-Fulham have not recorded a win from a losing position all season, and just 5 points all year from losing positions, so the first goal will be crucial.

-Everton have only lost one of their last 21 Premier League matches at Goodison (2-1 vs Chelsea in December).

-Last year Fulham were 6 points and 2 places ahead of where they are now at the same time.

-Everton have lost just 6 matches all year – better than all but the two Manchester clubs.

-Kevin Mirrales has a 73% shot accuracy rate from 57 shots this season, highest in the Everton squad, according to the EA Sports Player Performance Index.

888sport.com Lines of the Match:

-Draw: 10/3
As you’ll see in my prediction later, this isn’t how I think the match will end up, but given that both clubs are struggling and the two teams drew in the reverse fixture, 10/3 odds are quite good for a pretty realistic result.

-Nikica Jelavic to score: 11/10 OR Nikica Jelavic first goalscorer: 5/1
I would be hesitant to tab the Croatian as the first goalscorer, as he’s come off the bench in eight of Everton’s last 11 matches. I like this pick though because Jelavic has 7 goals on the season, scored twice in this match last season at Goodison, and Everton has only scored 3 goals in the last 5 matches since Jelavic last made the starting lineup.  I’d think David Moyes would be tempted to include his name this time around, especially since the pressure of making the top 4 has now been relieved a bit.

Prediction:

As I said earlier, Fulham will buck the trend at some point.  However, it won’t be tomorrow.  The squad is too weak and in poor form at the moment to provide much of a challenge.  The goalscoring is something of a mystery and Martin Jol has plenty of holes to fill in the summer.  I see a comfortable 2-0 win for Everton to keep their home form in tip top shape and move slightly closer to making a push for 5th.

Of note:

I appeared on the Everton blog The Gwladys Street Preacher to discuss Fulham’s season and Everton’s American exposure among other things ahead of the match.  Hope you enjoy!

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal: Fantastically Wasteful

Posted: April 20, 2013 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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Steve Sidwell’s tackle in the 12th minute earned him another straight red and doomed the squad despite a valiant effort a man down.

Following a harsh decision but also a baffling challenge by Steve Sidwell in the 12th minute, Fulham were immediately handcuffed for most of the match, and doomed to failure off the bat against a top-4 side in Arsenal.  Instead of laying down and dying, the lads put in a fantastic effort, and deserved much more than a 1-0 loss.

However, when put in a disadvantageous position such as this, a team ABSOLUTELY MUST take advantage of the few chances they are given, and Fulham failed to do that today, applying the dark mark to the match.  Dimitar Berbatov was a sulk-machine up front while wasting the few chances he had, and it rubbished a wonderful wing performance by both men on the touchline.

The red card decision was a bit harsh in my opinion.  It’s definitely a yellow, but for Sidwell to be sent off that early for a challenge that didn’t come up high and hardly caused any damage is a bit questionable.  That being said, for Sidders to give the referee the opportunity to make that call by going in two-footed, spikes-up late is utterly stupid, and having just come off his suspension for the previous red, lasting 12 minutes is condemnable.  Martin Jol agreed:

“I can’t defend him because it would probably sound ridiculous. It was the first foul and it spoilt the game a bit. Sometimes you hope the referee will book you because it wasn’t intentional, but if you are consistent it is a red card.”

The disadvantage showed early and often, and was evident in the stat book following the match.  Arsenal attempted 768 passes compared to Fulham’s 285.  Arsenal grabbed over 71% of the possession. Of the 27 highest passing combinations in the match, Fulham had one of those.

The good:

Urby Emanuelson – After putting in multiple poor performances with the club, a lack of midfielders/wingers forced him into the squad, and he gave back a fantastic effort.  Someone once told me they thought Emanuelson fit much much better in Serie A than in the Premier League because he’ll get the space to use his pace and runs much more effectively.  He isn’t a precise passer, and his strength lies in speed, dribbling, and creating openings on the ball rather than cutting edge passing or runs off the ball.  Today, thanks to Sidder’s red, it gave him an opportunity to show off his skills, and he thrived on the counter with the space to produce on-ball chances.  I don’t think he’ll ever make it big in the Premier League for this reason, and I don’t think he’ll get a chance in a match this season to put in another performance like this, but it’s nice to see him succeed, and the effort he gave was second to none.  Every time he lost the ball he threw himself into it to get the ball back.

Alex Kacaniklic – Given a start so soon after being recalled from Burnley, he used the same opportunity Emanuelson had with space to create chances, although Kacaniklic is a different player in the sense that he’s less about pace and more about finding seams and making big passes into the box.  The two of them used different strengths and different styles to be incredibly effective on the outside of the pitch, and Arsenal were scratching their heads to figure out what to do about it.  I’d love to see him get more opportunities, because his style applies to the Premier League much more than Urby’s, and he’s definitely a big part of the future of Fulham.  With Dejagah out for the remainder of the season, Alex may find himself with plenty of minutes down the stretch.

Eyong Enoh – Put in a really tough position with his central midfield partner sent off so soon, Enoh took control of the middle of the pitch and performed admirably on his own.  With Fulham playing mostly on the break, there wasn’t much bossing to do, but he still did plenty of his part.  He was 30/34 passing, received all 19 of the passes sent to him, made 2 of 3 tackles in the attacking third, and best of all stepped in front of 6 passes. Enoh’s physical presence was felt but he didn’t overdo it, committing 4 fouls but avoiding the referee’s book.  Someone on Twitter aptly compared him to Mahamadou Diarra (thankfully much younger).  With an entirely new midfield not out of the question for next season, Martin Jol would do well to heavily consider exercising Enoh’s buy clause on the loan.

Honorable mention: Stanislav Manolev – Manolev filled in for the injured Riether well.  He played almost exactly the same role, and it was hard to notice a difference.  Manolev was busy, receiving 44 of Fulham’s 219 completed passes in the match (20%).  He was involved in 79 of Fulham’s passes (36%) (44 received, 35 passed).  He sent 7 crosses into the box, completing 3 of them.  He was fantastic on the defensive end as well, succeeding on both his tackles and intercepting 5 passes, and blocked a cross as well.  It was like Riether never left the squad.

The bad:

Dimitar Berbatov – Making a scene when a teammate doesn’t complete a pass you want or makes a run you disagree with is fine, when you back it up with results when they do give you the ball.  Instead, Berbatov whined and complained about his lack of touches, but did nothing with the chances he was given.  He drove directly at Fabianski from the right side of the box in the 20th minute when Kacaniklic found him in space.  That would be his best chance of the match, and it wouldn’t get any easier.  He was passed to 5 times in the box, and only found the ball once out of those 5.  He completed just 3 of his 7 forward passe, all in the attacking third.  He won just 2 of his 7 ariel duels.  It wasn’t a good day for the Bulgarian.

Bryan Ruiz – For the second straight match, Ruiz was obviously below par, although it was nowhere near to as bad as the Chelsea match.  He showed a little more strength and a little better possession, but it was hard to go anywhere but up from his performance Wednesday.  His passing was good (32/37), but only 18 of those 32 completed passes went forward.  For an attacker slotted just behind the striker on a team playing on the break, that’s a poor number.  His time to break out and show his worth was today with the space left by the red card, and while Urby and Kaca took advantage, Ruiz did not.

The corner game – Corners represented some of the best opportunities for Fulham today, often given after promising breaks that were defended at the last moment.  In a match where the club needed to take advantage of all their opportunities, Fulham failed miserably from all set pieces, but the corners were particularly bad.  Many were too short, and overall failed to produce any danger for Arsenal.  In fact, only one corner found a Fulham player, and it was a corner played short by Bryan Ruiz.  All 6 corners sent into the box produced nothing.

Funny note – I called Per Mertesacker scoring in my preview post, saying he’d be a good risk at 10/1 odds to score, and 55/1 odds for first goalscorer.  Good on you if you selected the latter, that’s a wonderful payout.  Hopefully someone took heed of my tip! I also hit on the fewer than 2.5 goals tip, but that was a significantly lower payout.

Man of the Match – Have to give it to Urby for his wonderful effort.

The squad gave it a vailant go overall.  Down to 10 men, it’s a mountain to climb for such a long time.  Great to see the effort, and with results not overly important right now, that’s the most important thing.  However, it still is quite disappointing not to come away with any points.  Thankfully all the bottom 3 teams lost again this week, so safety is even more assured at this point.  Headed to Merseyside, I can’t be very optimistic given our prior results there, but there are still a few opportunities to pick up points in the final 4 matches.  Here’s to the best finish possible, and a major overhaul in the summer, Martin!

Fulham v. Arsenal Preview: Limping Down The Stretch

Posted: April 19, 2013 by Kyle Bonn in Previews
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Don’t expect a goalfest like the 6-score marathon played at the Emirates earlier this season.

Despite all the pleas by the team for fans to know they still have motivation to finish out the season strong, it didn’t show midweek. At Craven Cottage, a sort of fortress for Fulham throughout the years, they were outclassed 3-0 by a better, stronger, and more ruthless Chelsea squad. The team didn’t play poorly, but they didn’t have the conviction needed to win a match of this caliber. The squad will be tested further by an in-form Arsenal squad that’s fighting for their Champions League lives towards the finish line.

It’s been a while since Fulham drew with Arsenal 3-3 at the Emirates earlier this season. That match was incredibly exciting, as Fulham haven’t come from behind to grab many points this season, but down 2-0 they came back to lead 3-2 before the final equalizer just moments after in the 69th minute by Olivier Giroud. The way the two clubs have played recently, I wouldn’t expect the same excitement. Arsenal are coming off a physical but goalless draw with Everton, and Fulham have had very little punch at all in recent matches. It remains to be seen whether Dimitar Berbatov not only can replicate his performance from the Emirates, but whether he will receive the same support as well.

State of Fulham:

“We need to be more aggressive tomorrow. We could have put more pressure on Chelsea. We have to quickly clean the slate concerning the Chelsea game, pick the things we did and focus on them. This is a must-win game now, we can’t think otherwise.” -Eyong Enoh

Good to hear a new player wants to get a result. While this is nowhere near a must-win game for Fulham, it’s nice to hear a sense of urgency after a dud against Chelsea. It remains to be seen whether Enoh will be selected to start his third straight match for Fulham, but hopefully that attitude rings true with more than just one player.

The squad is pretty similar to what we saw against Chelsea. Steve Sidwell will be returning after his 3-match ban, but many important figures will still be missing. Ashkan Dejagah, lost for the year with an ankle injury, is seeming a bigger and bigger miss each week. In their stead, Alex Kacaniklic, who scored against Arsenal in the reverse fixutre, has been called back up from his loan spell at Burnley and Martin Jol specifically stated he would be slotted right into the matchday squad. That doesn’t mean he’ll start, but he will probably feature in some aspect. My first instinct says he’ll start, but Martin Jol seems to avoid starting recently joined players until they’ve been with the squad for some time. Whether Kacaniklic falls under that category remains to be seen. If you watch Martin Jol’s matchday preview, he makes a strong indication that Kacaniklic could start, saying he’s “desperate to play and so I have to decide who will play on the left and who will be on the right” which sounds like he will be in there in some aspect. He also said Sidwell will be in the squad, and says with a big smile “I will never give away my lineup but you know Steve did very well, so it’s 1-and-1.” I’m not sure what basketball free throws have to do with Sidwell playing or not, but you can expect him to return.

Because Sidwell will most likely play, that leaves a selection problem for Jol with either Enoh or Giorgos Karagounis for the second central midfield spot. Not available for selection in that spot will be Emmanuel Frimpong, who cannot play against his parent club. Sascha Riether is a doubt with an ankle injury, although Jol called him a “German soldier” so we’ll see if he can make the squad.

The Whites had a stretch for about 2 months where they picked up 11 points in 5 straight matches, but since then it’s been 2 losses and a draw, so results are becoming more and more hard to come by.

State of Arsenal:

The Gunners are playing admirably with the goal of finishing in a Champions League spot, and are in the thick of the battle raging at the top of the table. Arsenal are in a very tedious 4th place, and their immediate threat is the hated Spurs just 2 points back in 5th place. Since winning at Bayern despite still dropping out of the Champions League, Arsene Wenger’s squad has picked up 13 points to Tottenham’s 4. Arsenal are just 1 point back of Chelsea, and would do themselves a massive favor if they were able to leapfrog Chelsea into 3rd position. Therefore, they’ll be coming to play and play hard.

They’ll be without Lukasz Fabianski (who’s name has the most randomly placed and useless letter “z” I’ve ever seen) who is still recovering from a cracked rib. Fellow Pole Wojciech Szczesny will start in his place between the sticks. It will be interesting to see if Wenger selects one or both of Nacho Monreal or Lukas Podolski, both of whom have ridden the bench in the last few matches. Podolski’s situation is especially interesting, given that Olivier Giroud has performed quite well in the lone striker’s position. Giroud has played 2,229 Premier League minutes this season as opposed to Podolski’s 1,657 minutes, and the latter has been relegated to substitute duties in the 8 matches.

EA Sports Match Stats:

-Like they were against Chelsea before Wednesday’s game, Fulham are unbeaten in their last 4 matches against Arsenal.

-10 of Olivier Giroud’s 11 goals this season in the Premier League have come at The Emirates.

-Brede Hangeland averages one interception every 15 minutes.

-There has been a red card in each of the last 2 Premier League matches at Craven Cottage between these teams (Johan Djourou and Zoltan Gera).

888sport.com Lines of the Match:

-Under 2.5 goals: 11/10
I can’t see that many goals in this match to be honest. The Fulham defense was good against Chelsea, despite allowing 3 goals. The first was unblockable, and the final two were silly mistakes that didn’t have anything to do with consistent bad defending. For example, Sascha Riether gave John Terry too much space in the box on the second goal, something I’ve never seen him do before. On the other side, Arsenal have also been good at the back recently. They’ve allowed just 3 goals in their last 5 matches, and nobody’s scored more than 1 against the Gunners in that span.

-Per Mertesacker to score: 10/1
It’s a risk no doubt, but it’s a calculated risk. If anyone is going to take advantage of the strong but mistake-prone Fulham defense, it’s a tall, imposing defender off a set piece getting a head on the ball. Sounds like Mertesacker to me. He’s got 2 goals on the season, and could nick another one in this match.

-Neither team to score: 11/1
I don’t think this will happen, but given some of the lines, this seems like a good one to take a chance on. Arsenal to score is at a miniscule 1/7, and given the Gunners’ last match with Everton that finished 0-0, seeing them waste so many chances, it’s not a wild conclusion.

Prediction:

I’m seeing a lot less optimism surrounding this club than was abound before the Chelsea match, and rightly so. It’s obvious the club will be doing more limping than running towards the finish of the 2012/2013 season. However, getting a result in this match wouldn’t be farfetched at all. Arsenal are in great form, and have a lot more to play for, but the underdog storyline is something Fulham seem to flourish on, and there were a lot of positives from Wednesday that may not have gotten a lot of attention. If Bryan Ruiz can actually contribute instead of play like a man in over his head, Fulham can get a result similar to the one at the Emirates earlier this year. I’d like to be a little more optimistic than I was prior to Wednesday, so I’m going to go with a tough, hard-fought 1-1 draw heading to Merseyside next week, with Berbatov and Giroud grabbing goals and Alex Kacaniklic returning to the side and playing well.

Fulham 0-3 Chelsea: What Happened

Posted: April 18, 2013 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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It’s David Luiz’s world and we’re all just living in it.

David Luiz deposited a 35-yard screamer and Mladen Petric cleared Philippe Senderos’s goalbound header off the Chelsea goal line.

What.

That was my reaction after this match. What did I just watch? Turns out that Luiz Zeus-bolt was a harbinger of things going to come, but I had a hard time wrapping my head around the entirety of it.

This was one of the weirder matches of the season. Fulham didn’t play poorly at all. The buildup play was creative – albeit sloppy – and the defending was relatively solid. In addition, Chelsea really didn’t play all that well. They were sluggish (so was Fulham) and they definitely didn’t have a top 5 cutting edge about them.

And yet, here we are, 3-0 losers at home.

Ultimately, Fulham made mistakes (a lot of them) and Chelsea made them pay, and that’s what good teams do. And Chelsea is a very good team.

The good:

Eyong Enoh – The best Fulham player on the pitch by a longshot, Enoh was physical, accurate, and looked like he was trying a whole hell of a lot harder than anyone else under Martin Jol’s command. Enoh finished 48/49 passing, 5-for-5 in tackle attempts, and drew 3 fouls while committing 2. The only blemish on his record was a “failed clearance” he somehow got in the attacking half of the pitch on the touchline. I like what I see from the Cameroonian, and I hope Fulham give him a few more chances to prove he’s worth exercising the option to buy on his loan deal.

The bad:

Bryan Ruiz – Ruiz has been a focal point for discussion between Fulham fans this entire season. He cost a great deal, and hasn’t brought a whole lot of quality to the pitch. Many refuse to give up on him yet, but time is quickly running out on the “he needs to get used to the Premier League” excuse. To be fair, he has 6 assists, second most on the team. Everyone knows he’s ineffective on the wing and a little more effective stuck behind Berbatov. The Costa Rican hasn’t been awful….until last night. Ruiz’s passing was horribly inaccurate, and he displayed a quality his detractors have repeatedly pointed to – a lack of physicality. Ruiz was pushed off the ball numerous times, and other moments he had an opportunity to make a tackle but was simply brushed aside. I’ve made the argument in the past (and I know at least a few agree with me) that Ruiz’s biggest issue on Fulham this season is that he’s the exact same player as Berbatov. A player who uses technical ability and occasional bursts of pace to excel up front and slip into spaces most players wouldn’t dare take on. But with Berba up front already, and obviously not going anywhere, where is Ruiz to go? We’ll have to see what happens in the near future, but Bryan’s flirtations with fans patience is rapidly running out.

Mladen Petric – It was difficult to have a worse game than Ruiz had, but Petric managed to pull it off. It was exciting to see his name back in the lineup after months of being relegated to the bench. He’d shown a bit of an understanding with Berbatov both early in the season and in his few short substitute appearances. However, after an invisible first half, his world came crumbling apart in the second period. The most baffling moment was clearly when he attempted to redirect Philippe Senderos’s header off a corner into the net where he happened to be stationed at the far post. The problem was twofold. One, the header was already clearly goalbound. Two, Petric redirected the ball alright – out of the net and over the top. I must say, it’s quite impressive how Petric managed to get that ball over the top of the bar, but he figured out a way. That completely changed the course of the match. Fulham trailed 2-0 at the time, and a goal would certainly have put pressure on Chelsea that so far had eluded the home side. Instead, Chelsea went down and scored a third minutes later, sealing the match. Petric was off target, lacked any pace whatsoever, and had no connection with his teammates. A player who early on in the season showed the potential to be labeled a steal off the free transfer market now probably falls into the “you get what you pay for” category.

Sascha Riether – I hate to put the German in this category, because he’s had an outstanding season, and because of that certainly gets a pass for a few bad matches. He’s been one of the top 3 right backs in the Premier League. However, after an outstanding cross lifted into the box by Riether in about the third minute (which Ruiz managed to flub completely into a howling miss), the right-back proceeded to have possibly his worst match of the season. Riether had trouble handling passes, and had a poor time defending. He allowed John Terry – one of the best in the league with his head – 5 yards of space about 7 yards from the goal, and Terry made him pay for his first goal of the night to make it 2-0. Sascha picked a bad match to have a stinker too – the club relied heavily on his attacking play with Ruiz having such a tough time on the right wing. Riether’s 48 received passes is his most in a match since he had way too many (70 to be exact) against Manchester City back in January.

Man of the Match – (null) I guess I can give it to Enoh by default, but everyone else was poor/non-existent.

Other observations – So many players on this roster have never been more obviously replacable than they were at Craven Cottage last night. John Arne Riise is no longer the force he was on the left side and has become wildly mediocre. He had acres of space in the box in the closing minutes of the first half and managed a timid outside-of-the-foot “shot” from a player who used to be known as the Riise Rocket. Wasn’t much of a rocket. Urby Emanuelson has shown nothing of value beyond the fact he plays for AC Milan. His strengths don’t translate well to the Premier League, and he can head back to Italy sooner rather than later as far as I’m concerned.

Where to go from here – The hardest part about this match was the exposure of Fulham’s patchwork roster. It’s never been more evident how many holes this squad has. The striker situation is still a mess – Berbatov is the only reliable goalscorer and quite frankly only consistently solid play up front. The midfield outside of Steve Sidwell is a patchwork of loanees and old misfits. The wing is aging and injured. The defense is incredibly old spotty – embarrassing mistakes are rampant and outside of Riether they provide little pressure link-up play in the attack. The club will limp towards the finish-line just fine, but this summer will be unbelievably important to the club’s future. It’s funny because that’s exactly what we all said last summer, and we were stunned with the last-minute results. This summer, the shock departures are officially a thing of the past, and Martin Jol can begin his long-term plan for how to bring this club better results.

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