Winning home games and nicking draws on the road is all we can ask for cementing our position in the Premiership. Hughes keeps Fulham moving in the right directon at Villa.
We'll start with the laurels. Big shout out to David Stockdale for breaking into the England squad. Recognition well deserved for his composed attitude when getting his chance. Fulham have a world class keeper waiting in the wings who is good for the next ten years if we keep him sweet. And well done to Dempsey for his 10th goal of a very impressive season.
Braveheart as ever totally committed, going in hard where it hurts to thunder home our second equaliser with his head. Even when not having an outstanding game, Clint continues to show his value to the cause. What a return we've had from the Texan since 2007 for an outlay of just £1.5 million.
I don't think we'll be hearing from the cocky Villa posters in a hurry who predicted a comfortable home win. Although we failed to break our duck on this ground, only a desperate block by Friedel with his legs at the death denied AJ a winner we might just have deserved for our spirited response to twice going behind. On paper Houllier's side have relied on a fluke of an own goal from the accident-prone Pants and a wonder blast from distance by the full-back. Walker won't repeat that in a hurry I'll wager. As for 'superstar' Bent, apart from his early off-side effort - close call - he was kept very quiet by our immaculate defence. How many times was Schwarzer really tested?
From a neutral's perspective a draw was about right. As predicted Villa moved the ball out to the wings at every opportunity. Downing was the danger against our makeshift left-back. Hughes understandably switched Baird in the 2nd half, sacrificed John, and asked Salcido to try and shackle Downing. We just about got away with it, and late on the tide turned.
The home fans were getting restless as they realised Fulham had turned up to make a game of it. Petrov and Makoun both faded while Sidwell and Danny got stronger. If Villa took the first half, the 2nd belonged to the Whites. Sidwell did what I asked of him, testing Freidel from range. The 39 year-old has been a fantastic fixture in the Prem for so long now, but he didn't show up well for either goal. That should not detract however from two brave headers by the Fulham boys to make sure they were first to the ball.
Not sure why Kakuta didn't get on the pitch. Felt he could have made the difference late on, especially as Moussa looked a little tentative after taking a whack on his ankle before half-time.
Man of the match honours among the travelling support divided opinion. Sidwell, AJ and Brede all got votes. Top marks though for the Black and White Army, we made plenty of noise and enjoyed celebrating the two goals at 'our' end.
On a bumper weekend for goals and incident, let's end talking penalties. Phil Dowd was at it again at St James Park, penalising Arsenal twice and putting United back in the game. He was on the spot and decisive last Sunday in our favour against Spurs. Tell me this. If the challenges yesterday by Koscielny and Rosicky were deemed foul play, can the referee from Wednesday along with his pitiful linesman please explain why assaults on Brede in the box went unpunished. Does the addition of numerous bodies around such incidents inside the box render officials blind for some reason? A foul is a foul on every part of the pitch. Ref Mike Jones stay behind and write out 100 times.
Hughes is certainly tempering a new mood at the club. No longer the fatherly approach of Uncle Roy, not that Hodgson didn't get results that way. He's stated Bobby is not going to march straight back into the side and that Pants has to work hard for a new contract. He's denied Gera a move away, is not afraid to keep Stockdale on ice, and has really added competition for places with his loanees. Talk about keeping the players on their toes. If Hughes gets it right and results keep improving, we could see Fulham turning into a very steely proposition in the Prem. That's a word rarely associated with FFC since our elevation. Villa fans turned up yesterday, looked at our away record, and settled back for their customary win. We gave them a run for their money. Now let's do the same to our next opponents...Yes, you know who.
COYW - Top 10 finish and a good Cup run is on the cards!
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Posted by Nick on 02/06/2011
Phil, thoughts on Schwarzer getting the start? Was personally very surprised. Like Stockdale a lot and really thought Schwarzer should have done better on the Walker strike.
Also, I've been following the team since about the 04'/05' season and I'm trying to put our current squad (including all our loans and a healthy Bobby) in perspective. I would argue that this would be the most talented squad or at least our deepest one in memory. Any perspective on this?
Blog Central: I've been considering this point too. It is invidious to make comparisons with the side Tigana put together at no little expense 10 years ago, £8 mill for Edwin VdS and £11 mill for Marlet(!). But that aside, from what we saw in values from last week's transfer scramble dare I suggest the following would all be considered £10 million players in today's market. Stockdale, Brede, Bobby Zee, Moussa, Clint, AJ (marginal) and Kakuta(ours only till May). Now that suggests this is one formidable squad we have right now wearing the FFC badge. n'est-ce pas?
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Posted by pitch_invader on 02/06/2011
Phil, excellent summary of yesterday's match. More important, you have done a phenomenal job all season, and I greatly enjoy following your column / commentary / insights. Keep up the great work. COYW !!!
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Posted by Justin on 02/07/2011
That Dempsey equalizer had me screaming at the top of my lungs and my neighbors no doubt wondering if I have tourettes. Sidwell seems to have slotted in well, it seems he wasn't well liked at Aston Villa and I'm not really sure why.
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Posted by Michael P on 02/07/2011
Looks positive now, no doubt.
It'd be great to celebrate the 10th year in the Prem with a top ten finish. I say its time to establish ourselves not just as regular bottom dwellers always battling the drop, but fighting for a top ten spot year in and year out. I also have to say I like how AF has built this team since getting into the top flight. He's not trying to buy a championship like Chelsea or City...
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Posted by anttiniemi on 02/07/2011
i was actually disappointed that fulham did not win over the weekend, which to me is a great sign and proof that we have come a long way since boxing day. you can never expect away wins especially against a perennial top 7 side, but during the game we looked most likely to win and would have been full value for the 3 points after the game in my opinion. like you phil, i was really surprised kakuta was not introduced or eidur earlier for that matter. also not sure why we start so slow lately. pantsil would be the second leading scorer on the team if you counted his ogs for us. end of the day it was a good result and fulham continue to make progress, but bottom 3 are still only 4 points away.
looks like west brom are looking at giving hodgson another chance to prove himself.
coyw!
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Posted by Sean on 02/08/2011
I was able to see the second 1/2 on replay yesterday, it was great to watch with anticipation again. Dempsey and AJ were fearless in their goals, esp. AJ since Deuce was rampaging in, Friedel was coming out and there was a Villa Def. too! I agree fully on Sidwell ... watching him take the long-range strikes again reminded me of the post above. He's slotted in quite well so far, and hope he gets more comfortable as the season progresses.
Looking ahead, how do you see the strike partners being played when Bobby Z is fully back? With Zamora, A.J., Moussa, Gudjohnson and Kakuta there seems to be a good fight for the 2 spots. Any thoughts on how the pecking order plays out? Kakuta could move to a Attack-Wing as well, to get him in with 2 strikers, but that would cost Dempsey (cannot take him off pitch now) or Duff (who I think has played well the last few weeks).
Just wondering how you see the strikers pairing out. Funny, nice change from not having any at mid season.
Blog Central: Ask me in 14 days when Bobby's ready. Frankly. I don't think Mark himself knows right now. You can't drop players who are scoring...Holy hotshots! Talk about keeping strikers hungry, knowing BZ is breathing down their necks.
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Posted by 'Sota Dan on 02/08/2011
I see Zamora played for the reserves and scored on Tuesday (2/8). Apart from that, I haven't heard how he actually played, but a striker who is finding the net is welcome at the Cottage! COYW.
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