Posts Tagged ‘John Arne Riise’

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.

Chelsea 0-0 Fulham: Frantic but Effective

Posted: November 28, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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Apparently every camera at Stamford Bridge was trained on either Rafa Benitez or Fernando Torres, so this is what I have for you. Somewhat funny to see the new man in charge so flabbergasted.

In one of the more tactically exciting 0-0 games (at least the second half, if not the first), Fulham were able to grab a point at Stamford Bridge against one of the better teams in the league.  The last 10 minutes were very back and forth, and Fulham did well to not let one fall in under very heavy pressure. I’ll take it.

In the last 6 matches, Fulham have gone DLLDDD. They haven’t won since the 1-0 win at home over Villa. They’ve won 1 match in their last 9. And yet, this one match on its own, it’s a good result.

The defense was frantic and required lots of last minute clears that weren’t incredibly effective, but did the job.  There were chances on the other end, including a volley that Riise completely flubbed, but I’m not mad we didn’t convert.  Getting any points at Stamford Bridge are a positive.

Remember, this is still “survive till January” mode and with all the injuries and depth issues, so it’s not the end of the world where we are.  The losses to Stoke and Sunderland were killer, but the situation isn’t unredeemable, even though Fulham have now dropped out of the top 10.

The good:

The center-back partnership – Aaron Hughes in particular was good, after a few matches where he’s been below par. He and Senderos were serviceable today, especially after the last match where the Swiss was an abomination.  The wing backs were good too; Riise piled up blocks and Riether was his usual rock solid self.  Good showing without Hangeland.

The senior squad – Karagounis and Diarra were excellent in the middle today, and despite giving way for the final quarter of the match after clearly being winded, they were excellent in slowing down the attacks and allowing the defense time to regroup after each assault.

Hugo Rodallega – I was very impressed with Rodallega’s defending.  It was obvious Jol told Hugo he would be needed in the back, and that he would be up on counter attacks.  His numbers shocked me (1/5 clearances), but I thought he looked solid helping out.  His ariel play was great, despite being 0/3 in ariel clearances, and 2/4 in ariel duels.  However, clearance numbers are misleading to me, because a successful clear will sometimes fall back to the attacking team, but it still helps at least delay the attack enough to stave off the pressure.

The bad:

The finishing – typical Fulham finishing.  They only had precious few chances in this match, which is to be expected, but they didn’t convert anything. Riise absolutely botched Fulham’s best chance of the game by almost whiffing on a volley and then losing the ball over the back line after.

The clearing – Fulham defended very well, and cleared very poorly. We could have had way more chances had the clearing been effective in alleviating pressure much quicker.  They’re a bit lucky to have not allowed a cheap goal on a failed clearance falling to a Chelsea striker in a good position.

Where from here?:

December is SO VITALLY important coming up.  There are a ton of winnable fixtures that Fulham must take advantage of.  They weren’t able to do this against Sunderland and Stoke, they couldn’t finish against Reading, they couldn’t finish against Southampton.  They’ve shown today they can hang with a team like Chelsea, so it’s time to get a point at home to a surging Spurs, and then pick up 3 points against a reeling Newcastle club, QPR, and Southampton and Swansea at home. They’ve dropped points in the last 2 months, and it’s time to man up. Every club, even the champions, have stretches where they don’t play their best.  Top 10 teams learn from their mistakes and in the end use that to beat the teams they should.  That’s this time for Fulham. Jol knows it too. More reaction below, but here’s the quote that struck me from his reaction, and it pertains to what I was just talking about:

“I am a little frustrated. The team is well organised and created chances against a team that works hard, so you can see us going forward, but still we have to improve…We have the players who can change the game and we need to link with them and do it quicker, but overall I think we are watching things that are positive. We have to play with a higher tempo for the players that we have up front.”

Jol’s reaction to Chelsea:

On Riise’s miss:

“Our shape was good, they had a lot of pressure but we have three or four good chances – nine times out of ten we would have broken them. John Arne Riise’s miss was disappointing. I told him that he should have shot across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner. He covered 80 or 90 yards and not to score was disappointing.”

On players returning:

“We had a lot of players coming back; Mahamadou Diarra was playing his first game, Giorgos Karagounis was lacking a bit of rhythm, and we leave here thinking we could have nicked it.”

Fulham 5-0 Norwich: Fulham Slam Open The Season’s Door

Posted: August 18, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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Alex Kacaniklic hugs Mladen Petric, the man who set up his first Premier League goal with a brilliant back heel.

Forget slamming open the door, Fulham busted down the door like a SWAT team looking for a tweaked out crackhead with a sawed-off shotgun.

Clint who?

Add that to the fact that QPR got drubbed by Swansea sans Brendan Rogers and Gylfi Sigurddson, and Liverpool were ripped apart by West Brom sans Roy Hodgson, and it was quite a day for Fulham fans.  The Whites are now at the top of the table, thanks to a +5 goal differential as well as alphabetical advantage over Swansea.

The Fulham new boys were right in the thick of things.  Mladen Petric scored twice (which sounds almost like an afterthought considering how many players had stellar days), Hugo Rodallega definitely would have scored had he not been scythed down for a penalty, and Sascha Riether was just as sharp as any of the defenders in support of the clean sheet. Best part? They didn’t cost a single pound in transfer kitty.

Finally, Alex Kacaniklic bagged his first Fulham first-team goal, a fitting reward for such a promising young kid who just missed a screamer the last time he came so close.

This not only was a massive victory on the pitch, but it gave Fulham fans a respite from the Clint Dempsey madness, something which all of us have been begging for.

The good:

Hmm, well this section could probably compete with a Harry Potter novel in size if I had all the time in the world to write, but alas, I do not, so I’ll do my best to pick three. And even though I’m tempted to do so, the three will NOT be 1) the offense 2) the midfield 3) the defense, even though after a performance like this I’m incredibly tempted to do so.

Fulham are at the top of the league! Oh, and check out who’s at the bottom.

Mladen Petric – I said in the preseason after his flurry of goals that we should expect a nice surprise but not to put too lofty of expectations on the Croatian.  While that still holds true, what a nice surprise! I think the best thing Fulham fans can take from this match in terms of Petric – it confirms that he’s clearly a perfect fit for the Premier League style of play.  He doesn’t rely on pure strength like Pogrebnyak, and has a good deal more polished ball skills, and is a very well-rounded target man at the point of the attack. I can promise you this, you wouldn’t have EVER seen the Pog pop out a back heel like that to set up Kacaniklic for a goal.  He and the rest of the attack sliced up the Norwich defense in a more technical way, a way that you can see lasting a lot longer than Pogrebnyak’s short burst of strength did.

Mahamadou Diarra – The Danny Murphy replacement played exceptionally well in the old captain’s spot.  These first few weeks many of the Fulham players are going to be compared to the men whose spots they’re taking, it’s just the way things are going to be.  And I can safely say if we see this on a consistent basis from Diarra, Craven Cottage will be able to put Murphy in the past very quickly.  He won’t be forgotten, of course not, but moving on is a necessary task, and this kind of rock solid play in the midfield brings back memories, in a good way. By the way, remember when Diarra was bought by Real Madrid for €26 mil? Remember when Martin Jol got him for free? Performances like this bring back memories of the €26 million Diarra. Brilliant.

First half Damien Duff and John Arne Riise – Both men faded quite a bit in the second half, but not for a lack of performance, merely others (such as Alex Kacaniklic and Bryan Ruiz) stepped up to grab the spotlight.  However, their first half was something to behold.  Riise AGAIN was so incredibly close to a goal when he tried to nutmeg Ruddy, although that turned out to not be such a good idea, as a shot to either side would surely have been his first Fulham goal. But he was so dangerous with his play.  He made a few lethal runs down the left side (one of which resulted in that near-goal), and the clean sheet speaks for itself.  Finally, the cross to run Duffer through for the first goal was on point, and something we can certainly rely on for this season going forward.

Honorable mention – Bryan Ruiz and Alex Kacaniklic both performed admirably on both ends of a number of attacks (by that I mean they both did the deadly crossing and received it). Moussa Dembele was 70-73 passing (96%).

The bad:

The bad? That Fulham aren’t alone at the top of the table, although there’s quite a silver a lining to that one as well (High 5 to QPR!). Let’s skip this section, shall we?

Man of the Match:

Martin Jol.  This stems from his experimentation last season in his first year with the club.  All that mixing and matching has payed off, as he now has found the prime pitch locations for players like Dembele, Diarra, and Ruiz.  Now that they will spend a full season in those spots, we’re reaping the rewards in heaps after just the first match.  I give all the credit to the gaffer.  I’m still nervous about bringing in the players we need to survive a long season, but in the short term, I couldn’t be happier with the man leading the way.  Lead on, Jol!

Something to watch:

I was thinking this while writing about Riise’s runs down the left-hand side – Kacaniklic and Riise seem to have a pretty well-developed innate understanding of each other on the left side of the pitch, don’t they? Often when you get an attack-minded defender and a competent winger on the same side it can cause mix-ups on the edge, but Kacaniklic gave way when Riise made runs, and when the youngster was forward the Norweigan knew to stay back.  This is something to keep an eye on, and something that will be a massive asset if it continues.

Manager’s reaction:

On the beginning of the game:

“It’s a new team. We’ve got new players up front and Bryan Ruiz came back from his injury and played in the hole. I don’t think we started in the way we wanted to but after that slow start we picked up the pace, then we slowed it down again so it wasn’t exactly what we wanted from the start.”

On Dempsey:

“He wants to move and if you want to move you don’t want to take risks and don’t want to play. It was a very awkward situation for us and for him. He didn’t want to play because of a situation with another club. But what was more awkward is that there is no actual bid or offer from any club. Someone has told him Liverpool want him and his head was turned but for us there was nothing on the table – maybe Clint knows more than us. We feel, and the players feel, he should stay if there is no bid. In a normal world you have to stay where you are because you signed your contract. Hopefully he will play for us again.”

On fans mocking of Dempsey:

“I don’t want to hear the fans were chanting against him because he was a terrific player for us. He was the most productive midfield player in the whole league last season.”

Finally, on others who need to step up in Dempsey’s absence:

“Clint scored 17 league goals last season but he wasn’t there today. It’s not easy for us, it’s not easy for the team but today they showed they can do the business. We were open about it – the other players have to stand up and give a bit more in their productivity and their goals. We’ve always had goals in this team but, before, they never really showed it. Moussa Dembele is a very good player but would only score two or three goals on average, so he should stand up, for example.”

Jol also reiterated his desire to add to the midfield and attack in the market.

Video from FulhamFC.com: (I freakin love this guy’s sincerity and honesty)

Fulham’s (Unsung) Signing of the Season

Posted: May 3, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Opinion
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The man has two first names. He has a rocket throw-in arm. He has spiky blond hair, wears incredibly tight shirts, and can blast a free kick. And he quietly became a regular in the Fulham starting XI with solid performances in a position of major need in the beginning of the season.

Yes, John Arne Riise is my signing of the season. Sure Pavel Pogrebnyak did wonders for the Cottagers, scoring 5 goals in his first 3 matches and filling a desperate need at the #11 position up front. But in my opinion, it’s Riise who’s given the club the most value.

Riise was new manager Martin Jol’s first (second if you count Csaba Somogyi) signing with the club, inking him on a 3-year deal from Roma. The full-back was considered more of a Liverpool outcast than a positive addition to the squad, but he’s proven to be way more than that at Craven Cottage. Few thought of the 31-year old as the answer when Jol made it clear his intent was to make the squad younger, but he’s brought an energy and personality to the locker room few over 30 can contribute. Just look at this picture tweeted after the Liverpool win at Anfield….

What 31 year old can do that?? JA Riise’s personality has been nothing but a positive influence since coming to Fulham

With an incredible work rate and a beastly left foot (albeit he hasn’t scored with it yet, he’s clanged the crossbar a number of times and sailed just barely over a number of others), he’s taken Fulham fans by storm, quickly becoming a favorite to those frequenting the Cottage.

Since signing, he’s become the regular option at left back for the Fulham gaffer, and fans have become accustomed to seeing his spiky hair and muscle-tight jerseys both beside Mark Schwarzer at the back, and on the touchline during attacking play.

He’s been involved in lots of action on both ends of the pitch this season. In fact, he and Aaron Hughes are the only Fulham defenders who have at least as many fouls suffered as committed – Riise has 17 committed to 23 suffered, Hughes has 4 fouls committed to 11 fouls suffered – showing how much he’s involved in attacking play as much as defending, and being successful at it.

Riise also statistically compares with some of the best left backs in the league. I pitted him against a player who some consider the best left back in the Premier League and maybe the world, Ashley Cole. Riise has more interceptions per match (1.9) than Cole (1.6), more blocks per match (0.5 to 0.3), and half as many fouls per match (0.4 to 0.8). Cole has Riise beat handily on tackles per match (2.7 to 1.9) but the Norwegian ranks tops among Fulham defenders in that category. All these I found on WhoScored.com (the only place I could find this crap, if anyone else has a better source please by all means post it in the comment section).

Another positive for Riise, despite playing a position that often comes with an occasional pushing of the limits, he’s only been shown 2 yellow cards in 3595 minutes this season, or 1 card every 1797.5 minutes (about 20 matches), a testament to both his fair play and his ability to play his position effectively without finding himself in a position requiring a rash decision.

Riise has flown almost completely under the radar as a new signing. Between becoming an instant regular and fan favorite, and Pogrebnyak making headlines as a January success, Riise has become a transfer afterthought. And it would seem that at the moment, that’s perfectly fine.

With right back such a revolving door at Fulham (Stephen Kelly, Aaron Hughes, Zdenek Grygera, and Chris Baird have all seen time), it’s clear how valuable having a lock at the other full-back position is. Hopefully Riise can defy age and be a veteran leader on this increasingly younger and talent-rich squad.

I can say with confidence that after just one year, it’d be weird to see anyone else at that spot.

So who’s your signing of the season? Pogrebnyak? Diarra? You could even make an argument Martin Jol qualifies (if that’s true he certainly has a case as well). Post yours in the comments!

Fulham 5-0 Wolves: Who Needs Zamora When We’ve Got The Pog?

Posted: March 5, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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This picture just about sums up the day

So, my first question, who wants to pay for me to live in London? Because clearly I have some power, some effect on the club. What a match.  Let’s get right into it.

The good:

-The instincts: It seemed everyone knew where everyone else was at all times.  It seemed like every time someone wanted to put the ball into an attacking position, there was always someone there to receive it.  What a wonderful display of attacking.  I can’t really praise the ball movement enough.  While the accuracy wasn’t always the best, the setup and player movement was outstanding.

-Pavel Pogrebnyak: Hat trick. 5 goals in 3 matches with Fulham.  Need I say more?

-Clint Dempsey’s 2nd half: While it took him a while to get warmed up, and he was somewhat invisible in the 1st half, he hit some kind of switch at halftime in the locker room because when he came back out he was on fire.  He made run after run down the middle, and someone found him every time.

-The middle men: Damien Duff, Moussa Dembele, Danny Murphy, John Arne Riise, and even debut man Mahamadou Diarra, this means you. When someone was in a good attacking position, you were always there to put a good ball to them and find your way through the Wolverhampton midfield and first line of defense.  Whether it was on the wings or in the middle of the field, the work to get the ball up front was brilliant.

The bad:

-Aaron Hughes: The poor guy looked lost on the right hand side.  As much as the whole team played well, and even Hughesy looked much better in the 2nd half than in the 1st, I still feel like he had moments where he was clueless.  He’s much better in the middle, and it’s unfortunate that Philippe Senderos is playing so well in the middle.  There’s a logjam in the middle and not enough guys who can play the edges.  That makes Riise so valuable.

-Wolverhampton: Boy were they awful.  As much as Fulham played so well, they handed the Whites so many chances with sloppy ball handling, terrible passing, and a lack of physicality they’re generally known for.  Maybe that’s a product of Karl Henry getting injured early, but they were downright terrible.  After watching that, I would not be the least bit surprised if they ended up relegated.  What a poor showing.  I actually feel sorry for Wolves fans.

Man of the Match: Pavel Pogrebnyak of course.  Who else? Well Clint Dempsey, Moussa Dembele, and even Damien Duff probably could somewhat be considered.  But Dempsey only really played one good half, Dembele faded at the end and didn’t have the sharpest passing, and Pog had a hat trick.  He now has 5 goals in 3 matches with Fulham.

My trip to the Cottage:

Figured I’d share some of this with you as well. From the Hammy End. Despite the rain and the cold, I had a wonderful time.

Fulham 2-2 Manchester City: Tenacity and Confidence Lead the Way

Posted: September 18, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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The 2 goalscorers celebrate the equalizer

Whew…what a game.  So many thoughts after this one.  Could Fulham have actually pulled off a victory here? What if the defense hadn’t blown an offsides trap? What if the linesman had called offsides on that first goal? What if Bobby Zamora doesn’t fire a homing missile and give the Cottage some life? What if Fulham doesn’t take 15 seconds to get going in the second half? But in the end, after 5 Premier League matches, Fulham are officially the first club of the season to not lose to Manchester City.  Roberto Mancini’s bunch is starting to come back to Earth, and although their club has an unbelievable knack for finding the back of the net, it still doesn’t seem like they have the mental capacity to chase a championship.  They eased off the pedal after the second goal, and it allowed Fulham to push them to the brink.  It was essential that Fulham brought their physical presence to the Cottage today, and they did just that.  Unlike against Twente, they were disciplined but aggressive with their challenges, and it paid off.

The good:

Clint Dempsey – The physicality of Dempsey, who kept it up the entire match, rubbed off to his teammates and allowed them to hang with the likes of Yaya Toure, Micah Richards, and Vincent Kompany.  Dempsey was essential today in the buildups, and he provided the necessary spark to get his team going.  I don’t think Dempsey’s captain material, so take this the wrong way when I say this, but if you ONLY look at today’s game, Dempsey played like a captain.

Mark Schwarzer – After an unimpressive open to the season for the goalkeeper, Schwarzer has had a good few games.  And today was no different.  He saved an absolute cracker from Dzeko to his left, and in a season where the Fulham attack has played against the best goalie that given week, Schwarzer matched his opponent.  He weathered barrage after barrage from Man City.

Moussa Dembele – On because of an injury to AJ and Ruiz looked a bit sluggish in his debut, Moussa was essential to starting many of the Fulham buildups.  As one Twitter follower put it, he was the “catalyst to the second half” and I couldn’t agree more.  He has the ability to turn on the afterburners like few players have.  And he took a ROCKET of a shot that was saved by the on form Joe Hart, and seeing him take shots like that is very good.  His confidence is quickly returning, and a confident Dembele is a dangerous one.  He played real well.

The entire midfield – Danny Murphy, Steve Sidwell, Dempsey, and Dembele brought their A game today.  I know it’s getting a bit old, but their physical presence and ability to never back down from a challenge was of monumental importance.  Even when at times Sidwell seemed off in the attacking third, and Danny Murphy was nonexistent for stretches, they held their own, and didn’t allow Man City a free pass to their attacking third.  That was huge.

Stephen Kelly and John Arne Riise – First off, how valuable is Riise on those throw ins from the attacking third? They’re almost like corners! Having a guy who’s able to rocket the ball into the box with his arms is huge.  Now into the good part.  Both wide defenders were stellar today.  The physicality I’ve already talked about.  But both of them didn’t let anything past them.  The middle was a bit sketchy again, but these guys brought it today.  Just a very well played match on the edges.

The bad:

Why even bother with this section? Nobody was really that bad to put in here.  I’ll go with that silly offsides trap that allowed City’s first goal, but otherwise I was very very happy with the play today.

Man of the Match: Wow, lots to pick from here. Schwarzer, Dempsey, Zamora, Murphy, Dembele all very deserving.  It’s a very tough choice.  However, I’m going with Mark Schwarzer.  Without him, Fulham has no shot going into halftime.  Without him, the rally never has a chance. Who’s your man of the match?

Hats off to: Sergio Aguero, first of all, for his brace.  The guy hasn’t missed a BEAT since coming from La Liga.  What a fun player to watch.  Second of all, Joe Hart.  How many times is Fulham going to face the goalkeeper of the week? It’s agonizing.  But he did a great job.  The header saves are the most impressive.  No time to react.

Overall, it’s a weird feeling to be happy with a 2-2 draw at home to stay at the bottom of the table.  But number 1, it’s still very, very early in the season.  Remember, Fulham were in the relegation zone in December last season, and finished 10th.  Number 2, the team they played was 2 up, and was one of the best teams form-wise in all of Europe.  And finally, be happy Fulham could finish today.  Scoring 2 goals is excellent.  Once we were 2 down, I had such an awful feeling knowing that Fulham AGAIN was going to play a pretty good game and get clean-sheeted.  But they put 2 past.  Zamora’s goal was an absolute beauty.  Couldn’t have placed it better.

Final note: could Fulham be catching Chelsea at a better time? Reeling from their defeat to Manchester United, with Fulham coming off this absolute confidence booster (which they DESPERATELY needed) and maybe climbing their form back? Who knows, we will see.  Chelsea’s a little banged up too.

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