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Well, you may have heard there was some kind of wedding going on today...look, I can't dress this up any other way kids, Will and Katie darlings - take it from me, whatever you're thinking of getting up to later, NOTHING compares to seeing the mighty Fulham powering to victory! Yes, dynasties may come and go, kings will lose their crowns and there will come a time when the X Factor finally gets decommissioned, but following Fulham FC is the true way, and why man was put on this earth.
Enough claptrap. Are we seriously going to fall victim again to that awayday malaise against 'the team with no strikers?' And with the side of a sudden firing on all cylinders and brimming with confidence. If you thought we had a strong bench for Bolton, it appears both Duff and Senderos are pushing to see some action at the Stadium of Light, and BZ apparently fighting fit and ready to lead the line again in tandem with AJ. I hope since typing this Bobby hasn't split a toe-nail or pricked his finger changing nappies...
My hunch is that Mark will go again with the Bolton starting XI. It's good psychology, and why mend something that's not broken? With the amount of games a professional gets through in his career, and usually at various clubs, they can get pretty blase about the odd standout performance. But from all the post-match feedback I've heard since Wednesday, the club it appears is awash with the feelgood factor. OK, all we did was brush Bolton aside and dispel any remote fears we might have had about staying up. But with so much anguish endured over the past 6 months, it's the manner of our team performance the other night that sees us all on a high.
Football however can really bring you right back down in an instant. Growing up in West London, our school was just about equally divided three ways between Fulham, Chelsea and QPR fans - the 3 professional clubs in fact all contained within the same borough of London. I have plenty of good mates who are Hoops fans and this past week they've all said how much they are looking forward to two derbies with us next season.
At the start of the week Rangers thought they were up. Fans were on the pitch, then Norwich got a winner in the 6th minute of stoppage time. Mathematically, race for promotion still alive, but surely QPR had the points in the bag? Now today, rumours abound that from next Tuesday's hearing into potential infringement of the 'third party' rule involving player transfer/ownership QPR at worst could be docked 15 points, or maybe only 6...or maybe a fudge (as with WHU and the Tevez/ Mascherano episode) and just a massive fine? Nobody dare predict the punishment. To mete it out in the final fortnight of the season seems inhumanely cruel, but Rangers are in the dock and there does appear to be a case against them. They may still go up as champs, they might have to battle through the play-offs, or they could even be condemned to sit out another season outside the Prem. Ouch!
It won't surprise anyone to hear this week the UK Minister for Sport Hugh Robertson damn football as the worst run sport in England, a fact I have blogged before. Three days ago UEFA pitched in, describing the FA as one of the weakest in all Europe.
Returning to Fulham issues, let's hope there's no big banana skin waiting for us up at the Stadium of Light. Suddenly, everyone's tipping us to nail that 2nd away win of the season. Message boarders are dreaming of an unbeaten end to the season and a rise to 7th. I'm certain Mark's message for the boys once they cross the white line is to keep things in perspective, play our game, fear nobody, but realise we have to do it all over again. Wednesday's performance is now just a statistic. I do hope of course we can play with the brio and confidence we found the other night, but at the same time I'd settle for another solid defensive display and a scrambled 1-0 win.
So, come on you Whites, with the shackles off let's really show how strong we might just have been this season without the injuries. Some very interesting opinions posted in recent days - keep 'em coming. I sense the Hughes doubters are diminishing by the day.
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Posted by Nate on 04/29/2011
I guess we could see the same IX, but I'd like to see Bobby back starting. Gudjohnson was excellent on Wednesday, but he had more time against a half-asleep Bolton defense than he'll normally see. Eidur is brilliant when he has time to take the ball down, find a teammate or turn. But time and time again this season, when the pressure's on, he'll give the ball up.
Also for my money we need to cash out on Davies while we're up. Davies has been excellent when he has time and space, but like Eidur has struggled when defenses collapse quickly on him. Strikers or none, Sunderland will bring pressure backed by a home crowd. If Duff can go, I say bring him back on--he thrives in big matches.
All that being said, it's nice to be able to take a deep breath and simply enjoy a few matches. I hope the boys can find some confidence away from home and take that into the summer.
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Posted by Vital_Teddy_KGB on 04/30/2011
Hughes doubter 'til the end, I'm afraid, but I do believe (for some foolish reason) that we'll take full points on Saturday. I'm just planning on enjoying the rest of the season - come what may.
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Posted by JackTupp on 04/30/2011
What happened to Dempsey? He didn't start, and he's not on the bench!
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Posted by Nate on 04/30/2011
Again, this is why Hughes is the manager and I am not. Davies was brilliant, as was Eidur. Cracking away win.
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Posted by Rob on 04/30/2011
Wow I'm really surprised to read that Fulham fans are unhappy with Hughes. I thought the Hughes signing was a perfect fit for Fulham, and that he's been fantastic for you. He's pushed an aging and thin side into the top 10 in his first year, good right?(Fulham: 46pts (-7GD) last year, this year 45pts, (+7GD) with 3 games to go...and Zamora has only played in 10 games)
His sides play neat attractive football (you'll probably be in Europe because of the Fair Play Rule), the Fulham players seem to enjoy playing for him, he has a history of working well on a budget, and honestly he just seems to be a good level headed custodian for your side.
What's not to like? Or were you all just royally spoiled by Roy and your European Adventure? Either way I'm surprised some of you haven't warmed to him yet. Especially when he's being linked with bigger clubs, and his work at Fulham is generally applauded by supporters of other sides.
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Posted by vergilius on 04/30/2011
Anyone have any idea how serious Dempsey's injury in training was? Will he miss more games?
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Posted by FJ on 05/01/2011
it was a sloppy win today, a more clever win on Wednesday, but I'll take 6 goals and 2 wins in one week against Prem opponents any time! Good to see Eidur stating his case to stay, too...and, boy, does Bobby Z look good patrolling the center again =)
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Posted by Vital_Teddy_KGB on 05/01/2011
Rob, to address your comments...
I was initially quite pleased when they hired Hughes, though I must confess that I would've preferred Martin Jol.
Hughes has done OK considering he inherited the team late in the summer. That being said, he tried to force his over-attacking style in the 1st half of the season and it cost us dearly. Since the home loss to West Ham, he's pulled back considerably and played more to the strengths of the squad. He hasn't totally abandoned his style of football, but it's a much more deliberate approach than he had earlier on.
Regarding last seasons record compared to this one, Roy was fighting on two fronts and as we progressed further in the Europa League, we phoned-in a number of PL matches to save players for Europa League, which was understandable; otherwise we would've finished higher in the table.
So really, Hughes has done about the same with Roy's squad as Roy did with Roy's squad.
Just not quite trusting of Hughes, yet.
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