Posts Tagged ‘Alex Kacaniklic’

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 2-1 Newcastle: First Win Since October Provides Hope

Posted: December 10, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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Steve Sidwell gets appreciation from his teammates after netting his first-half goal to put Fulham up 1-0.

A much-needed win at the fortress of Craven Cottage provides 3 points for Fulham to take on the “road” across town to QPR.  Meanwhile, Newcastle’s form continues to dip, with 1 win in their last 10 matches, including staying winless on the road this year.

A very exciting end-to-end match featured tons of chances, and while many went wasted by both sides, two moments of brilliance were enough to put Martin Jol’s side through for the win.

You have to look back to October 20th to find Fulham’s last win, and their 2 scores snapped a goalless streak that hit 317 minutes (3 matches plus some) before Steve Sidwell banged in his 4th goal of the season.

The midfield was strong, the attack was bright and creative despite the absence of Bryan Ruiz (which is promising given he’ll be out until January), and the defense was its usual porous but didn’t break save but once on a stunner from Hatem Ben Arfa that probably took a slight deflection as well.

Man of the Match:

Hugo Rodallega – I tweeted before the match that, while I recognized the fact that Rodallega has played more recently, I felt Mladen Petric up front would give us the best chance to win today.  I was obviously wrong.  It can’t be understated how important the relationship he has developed with Dimitar Berbatov is to the end product.  While I still think Petric is still a better ballhawk and finisher (what a blast from him today, missed the top corner by millimeters), Rodallega’s ability to cut and find space and strength in the air gave Newcastle all kinds of problems today.  Berbatov had a down day (more on that in a bit) and Hugo picked up the slack and more. Rodallega’s one mistake was somewhat obvious, he embarassingly dove after getting caught from behind in a 1-on-1 chance, but it doesn’t diminish how cutting he was today.

The good:

Sascha Riether – Riether continues to impress down the right-hand side, which is where the attack seemed to develop for the most part, especially early in the game.  Riether works incredibly hard, with the best example on a huge chance at the end of the first half when he streaked down the pitch untouched and took a touch from Duff before crossing to Berbatov in the box. He’s solid in defense as well, masterfully clearing off the line to deny Coloccini a powerful header in the top left corner.

Damien Duff – Duff’s been down the last few matches, being relegated to the bench at times, and often disappearing at others, with his usual pinpoint accuracy turning to limp, unstinging balls across the box.  Today, however, he was on point, picking up 2 assists and providing both long, dangerous crosses and short, cutting touches.  His free kick in the 2nd half found Rodallega’s head perfectly; it put Hugo in perfect position to redirect it into the back of the net.  Duffer’s going to need to continue this great form, as Fulham are quite thin both in the middle and on the edges.

Steve Sidwell – Ginger Iniesta’s reinvention of his game has given Fulham a MASSIVE boost, and given all the injuries and departures in the transfer window, an argument could certainly be made for midseason MVP of the club.  He’s turned from a conventional midfielder to something of a Danny Murphy clone.  He can score, but more importantly he provides power and strength in the midfield.  What a long way Sidwell has come from his dark days at Aston Villa.  While he’s not without his faults, it seems every time he gives the ball away he works his darndest to get it back, and his stamina is second to none.

The bad:

Alex Kacaniklic – The young Swede has shown so much promise so far at Craven Cottage, but recently he’s been very poor on the ball, and it’s starting to become a little troubling.  Martin Jol obviously has faith he’ll turn it around, as shown by the amount of runouts he’s getting, but his first touch especially hasn’t been anything to praise, and often results in giving the ball away.  He hasn’t found as much space recently either. I think he’ll turn it around, but it remains to be seen how much leeway he’ll get from Jol with Dejagah playing pretty well off the bench.

John Arne Riise – His defense was solid, but he was nonexistent in the attack with most of the cutting edge happening down the right edge.  That’s not entirely his fault and probably more a product of the gameplan, but I still think his goalless streak with Fulham is starting to get to his head.  He had one shot today, and it was clear over the bar from a long way out, and just the way his demeanor was before, during, and after, he seemed frustrated by his lack of scoring.  I hope it doesn’t continue to bother him.  He’s gotta just get back to doing what he does well, rather than trying to be something he’s not anymore.  Goals are nice from defenders, but as Sascha is proving, that’s not their top priority. Riether recently has outplayed Riise by a long ways recently.

Mark Schwarzer – Today was the day we’ve been waiting for for a long time.  Had it not been for the fantastic play of the defense (all 3 of Riether, Hughes, and Hangeland performed spectacularly at the back), this could have been a very bad finish.  Schwarzer has seemed to be losing a touch of his decision-making with every game, and today it was really bad. He also, for the first time, seems to be finally losing a bit of reaction time.  His range is still all there, but I think it’s getting very close to the time to make the permanent switch to David Stockdale.  Schwarzer has been a workhorse, and has given a ton of his career and life to Fulham, and it’s incredibly appreciated. But I think the best interest of the club is to move to the young English talent sooner rather than later.

Dimitar Berbatov – His ball movement and first touch was second to none as always, and a joy to watch.  But his finishing left a lot to be desired, and going forward Fulham are going to need him to finish chances.  Had Newcastle equalized, it would have been even more painful to see a replay of that 1-on-1 chance he blasted straight at Tim Krul (to be fair it was also a great save but he should have done better).  Putting him here was tough since even on an off day he’s one of the best players on the pitch, but he needs to convert those chances if Fulham are going to consistently get points in the future.

888sport.com Lines of the Week Recap:

This week I debuted the sponsored segment 888sport.com Lines of the Week.  So how’d I do if I was a betting man? (For the record I’m not, it’s a touch illegal here in the States).

Dimitar Berbatov to score anytime: 5/4
I lost here, but not for a lack of trying.  That 1v1 chance he blew would have made me furious had I put money on this.

Hatem Ben Arfa to score anytime: 4/1
Bang. Off the deflection.

Half with the most goals – 2nd: evens
2-for-3, I’ll take it to the bank. Thanks for playing!

What now?: This can’t end. The club can’t take its 1 win, put it in the bank, and start over.  There were some issues today, but overall a lot of positives to build on and bring to Loftus Road.  Anything but a win there is a bit of a disappointment, and it would certainly be painful to be QPR’s first win of the season. Good win today! Time to beat the ambitious ones.

Fulham to Receive Lineup Boost as Injured Players Return

Posted: October 19, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Injury
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I’m alive, I promise! Sorry it’s been a little bit, life’s been getting the better of me recently. But no longer! We here at Fulham’s Finest will persevere.

But I digress.

In Martin Jol’s weekly video previewing matches, he was clearly happy to see many players returning from injury for this weekend’s clash with Aston Villa at home.  The international break couldn’t have come at a better time for Fulham, who had grinded out some important points on the road, but after Southampton before the break couldn’t help but feel disappointed after letting a late lead slip to a draw.

Jol mentioned the following players during his interview:

-Jol said Berbatov is back from injury, fit, and ready to start.  He’s the obvious start in this bunch, and will be ready to lead the attack.

-The manager will have many options on the left, and it will be interesting to see who he picks to play.  He mentioned obviously Kacaniklic has been playing well, but Kerim Frei has finally returned from injury after having been missing since the opening of the season, and will play into the mix.  He also said Kieran Richardson has been playing well and will be considered, but I disagree that he’s been playing well and I think it’s just Martin Jol playing up his squad.  Expect Kacaniklic to start with Frei possibly making it to the bench and maybe a late run out.

-Ashkan Dejagah is set to finally make his Fulham debut, as he is back from a knee injury he picked up just before transferring to Fulham at the end of the window.  With the international break having given Damien Duff on the right some time off, expect Duff to start this weekend.  However, don’t be surprised to see Dejegah get some chances every few weeks on the right with Duff reaching higher and higher on the age chart, giving the Duffer some time off.

-Jol talked at length about who he wants to play beside Berbatov up front.  Mladen Petric has also returned from injury, but because of his knock’s timing, he hasn’t gotten to show what he can do next to the Serbian.  If I’m extrapolating from what Jol said, I’d expect to see Petric start this weekend because he wants to see Mladen and Berbatov play together, and he talked much higher of the Yugoslavian than he did Rodallega.  Hugo will no doubt make the bench though.

-In a shock announcement, Jol said Mahamadou Diarra is a possibility for this match, although I would highly doubt it.  However, just the fact that Diarra is in the mix at this stage is, as Jol put it, “a medical miracle.” Just coming off knee surgery, they even showed video of Diarra training with the squad.  When it was announced he would be out, it said 3-4 weeks, possibly the season with knee ligament damage and surgery.  Obviously that’s vague, as it could mean anything from an MCL sprain to an ACL tear and everything in between.  If I had to venture a guess, having some experience with knee injuries over the years, I would say he probably had a meniscus and/or MCL tear that required surgery and it was unknown if there was more damage.  Those usually take 6-8 weeks to recover from, which is why Jol described it as such. Great to have him back in the near future! But don’t expect Diarra to play this weekend.

-Finally, the one bit of downer news, Bryan Ruiz is also a doubt for this match, but it doesn’t at all sound serious, and Jol did leave the possibility on the table that he could play.

Fulham 3-0 West Brom: Home Sweet Home

Posted: September 16, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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Dimitar Berbatov scores his first goal with Fulham on a beautiful assist from Alex Kacaniklic.

Well, there’s nothing like a trip back home to make things better, right? After a sorely disappointing defeat on the road to West Ham – one that put the supporters into whatever the tier of worry is directly before panic mode – this was what the club needed.

A full team win saw Dimitar Berbatov pocket a brace on his starting debut, and basically the entirety of the club performed top notch.  A comprehensive win like this doesn’t need too much breakdown, but I would like to highlight the phenomenal passing with a few graphics, which you’ll see in a moment:

The good:

Dimitar Berbatov – How did we get this guy again? How long has it been since Fulham have had such a proven goalhawk on their side, if ever? It sure feels good knowing he’s lurking 24/7, and this time around the rest of the club did a great job putting him in a position to take advantage of that sixth sense.  It’s going to take some real getting used to seeing him walk around the pitch while everyone else is sprinting, but it’s just his style, and if it continues to produce results, he can lie down and take naps for all I care.

Alex Kacaniklic – The Robin to Berbatov’s Batman, Kacaniklic provided the work rate needed to feed the statue in the middle that scores all the goals.  Kacaniklic dominated the left flank, and sliced through the defenses with some impressive runs.  He was threatening enough that he drew a penalty for Berba’s second goal, as all the West Brom defense could do to prevent his runs at that point was scythe him down. You could see, especially after Berba slotted home the penalty, the massive smile on Alex’s face, and Berba acknowledged it with a point and a hug.  I think he’s pretty much locked up that left wing position as his for now.

Chris Baird – Wow, where did this come from? Thanks to injuries to everyone and their mother in the midfield (of which we’re already lacking bodies), Baird stepped up and performed admirably.  His passing was flawless, hitting on 82/88 passes. Check it out:

Chris Baird’s passing stats against West Brom.

Look how much ground he covered as well! While for the most part he stuck to the right half, he fed lots of passes to the left side attacking half as well. Baird was instrumental in Fulham’s success, as were these next two players…

Honorable mention: Steve Sidwell and Sascha Riether – I told you I’d use a few passing graphics, so without further ado, here’s these two players passing charts:

Steve Sidwell’s passing chart against West Brom

Sascha Riether’s passing chart against West Brom

Well, there you have it.  Three players instrumental to the link between defense and attack, three players with over 90% passing success rates.  I mentioned Baird’s field coverage, but look at Sidwell’s! Baird’s can be a little deceiving because while he passed to all portions of the field, the passes didn’t exactly originate from all portions of the field, and the origin of the passes shows where the player was.  However, Sidwell literally was all over the place in the midfield. Naturally, he was on the left a bit more compared to Baird on the right, but he was definitely covering all portions of the middle third.  And my goodness, Riether bossed the right side of the field.

Add all this passing up, and you get 182/208 passing in the attacking third, compared to West Brom’s 52/85. Domination!

The bad:

Ummm……..usually I just blow this section off in wins like this as a joke, but I legitimately tried to find something the club could work on, so here’s what I found.

The crossing – Most of the Fulham attacks were brought in with runs of players such as Kacaniklic, so crosses were rare, but Fulham have struggled to put in a good cross for two matches straight now.  Against West Ham they were an abysmal 2/18 with crosses.  Here, they were better but still not where they need to be at 9/36.  9 successful crosses is usually pretty good, but you’d want them to improve that 25% success rate to about 33% to be really successful at crossing.

Where does Fulham go from here:

That away form discussion has reared its ugly head once again, and may be something this club struggles with again this season.  They travel to West Ham and are soundly beaten, and then with arguably a worse squad on the pitch and facing a surging West Brom club, they dominate and put away a comprehensive 3-0 win where they’re victorious in just about every statistical category.  It doesn’t make much sense, but it’s where this club is at now.  Hopefully some of the injuries subside and we get a few bodies back, but with today’s performance, they’ve showed that at least at home the depth is back.

Manchester United vs. Fulham Preview: Top and Bottom of PL Table Clash

Posted: August 24, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Previews
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My guess is that Danny Welbeck will give way to Robin van Persie in the starting lineup after his underwhelming performance against Everton last week.

That’s right. Champions League-bound Fulham, currently sitting 2nd in the league with a game in hand, travel to Old Trafford to face relegation-battling Manchester United.

What’s that you say? We’re only one game into the season? DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE?? MWAHAHAHAHA. Haha. Ha. Haaa……..

Ok now that I got that out of my system, let’s jump back to reality.

Before I get into it, I was honored to be asked for my opinion at two major Manchester United blogs, Can They Score and Old Trafford Faithful. I’ve linked my interviews there.

State of Fulham:

After a 5-0 dismantling of Norwich City to kick off the brand new season, Fulham are getting a dose of the Premier League’s best in Manchester United.  The first game showed Fulham won’t be without goals, despite losing most of their goal production from last season fell victim to old age (known in some languages as “QPR”), somewhat silly wage offers (occasionally referred to as “Reading”), or a jerk manager promising the world only to not deliver (see: “Liverpool”).  Mladen Petric proved he has the complete package as a target man, complete with ball skills and technical ability (batteries not included), most of which the big Russian who occupied that position previously didn’t.  This should allow Petric to be consistent throughout the season with his goalscoring, something again which Pogrebnyak was not after his original burst of Premier League goals.

The injury report for the club is the same as last week.  Unfortunately Kerim Frei won’t be available again, as this is a game I believe in which he would flourish and will be sorely missed.  Senderos is also once again unavailable. Obviously Clint Dempsey is still suffering from Red Is My Favorite Color All Of A Sudden Syndrome and is currently still too sick with that to play.

Obviously, any points whatsoever would be a smashing success, and I think it’s certainly possible as the players will be brimming with confidence from last week.  However, I don’t think it will turn out the way we hope because…

State of Manchester United:

…Manchester United lost last week.  And the WORST possible time to face United is after a loss.  There are many things Sir Alex Ferguson is known for, but losing two weeks in a row is not one of them.  And that’s why I’m pessimistic as hell heading into this match.  Maybe I’m being a little too much of a downer, but that alone makes me nervous.

It seems nobody is really panicking in Manchester after the loss, but it certainly makes them wonder when the club couldn’t score in their opening match.  Danny Welbeck was underwhelming, and Robbie van Persie was as well, but the Dutchman was used incorrectly on the wing, and hopefully they’ll do the same in this match, rendering him wildly ineffective.

The defense is in a bit of disarray due to a few injuries, including the long-term absence of Chris Smalling, so Patrice Evra will most likely slide into the center of the defense, and United will probably slot Alex Buttner directly into the lineup after securing his services just a few days ago.

Fulham will win if:

They play defensive and succeed at it.  I know many will disagree with me here, as I’ve seen multiple previews calling for Fulham to throw everything they’ve got at United.  I disagree completely.  Fulham becoming an all-out attack club will expose them far too easily, as they’re not enough of a possession club to possess the opponent out of the game against a top team like United.  My scenario for Fulham to pull off the upset hinges on the first 15-20 minutes of the match.  If they can sit back and weather the attack from United without conceeding a goal, the chances to frustrate the opponent skyrocket, and that’s when Fulham can pounce.  I see Fulham winning IF they sit back, defend successfully for the first 15-20 minutes, then turn on the heat and grab a goal just before halftime.  That will produce a winning scenario.  If United manage to get on the scoresheet in the first 15 minutes or so, Fulham could be in for a long day.

Mahamadou Diarra will be key in the midfield and a lot will hinge on his ability to shut down Kagawa.  Keep an eye on that matchup, because Kagawa scares me.  Fellaini showed last week why a rock-solid midfield is important against United.

Food for thought:

Martin Jol has never beaten United in Premier League play, and has lost his last 6 matches against them.

Fulham have scored goals in only 2 of their last 9 matches at Manchester United. Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney has scored 4 goals in his last 3 matches against Fulham.

Fulham have never started a top-flight season with 2 straight wins.

The last time United lost their first two league matches in a season: 1992-1993 against Sheffield United and Everton. They won the league that season.

Prediction:

Lineup-wise, I expect to see the exact same lineup Fulham used against Norwich, because it worked.  I would have tipped Kerim Frei to replace Alex Kacaniklic but Frei is still injured so look for Kaca to grab another start.  Steve Sidwell will get his time, but I believe Jol will want to ride the hot squad if he can. Also, adding Sidwell means Ruiz will have to move to the wing, and I think Jol has realized Ruiz works best in the middle behind the striker and in front of Dembele.

A 2-0 United win is what I’m thinking.  Too much history against Fulham for them to overcome in this one, and again, I don’t see a scenario where SAF loses two in a row to start the season.

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