A vibrant second-half against the 'Millionarios of Manchester' really had the Cottage rocking for the first time this season. Still no wins...but belief is back.
Following a crazy set of results, Saturday night was not pleasant for Whites fans as we looked up from last place in the division. Winless and probably weary from Thursday night, I think a majority of us approached the arrival of Citeh with some trepidation. They'd thumped us 4-1 last November, and had improved the side even further since then, with the Argentine Aguero looking absolutely world class. Remembering what they'd done to Spurs left me hoping we might just escape without too much damage to our goal difference.
But, of course, I should have known better. This is Fulham after all. Off the pace once again in the first-half, conceding midfield to Barry and Toure, Schwarzer keeping us in the game - just - and little happening for Jol's formation going forward...well, let's be honest. Who else didn't think we were dead and buried 12 seconds into the 2nd half when Aguero caught us stone cold from the restart?
But Fulham turned the game on its head. Not only were we full value for our point, few might have found against us had we sneaked all three points. I can't put my finger on where the impetus came from, certainly not in terms of shape or tactics, but suddenly we were actually making real inroads into the opposing box, Bobby pulled out a cracker, and now it was Hart's excellence keeping his side afloat, while Mark was largely a spectator.
Sidwell had one of his best games marauding around in midfield, Dembele ran with far more purpose, the back four looked the solid unit of old again (especially with Baird back in place of Senderos). And 'doing the Poznan' at the Hammy End created more mirth than I've witnessed at the ground since the playing days of Jimmy Hill!
I'm not going to over-analyze the performance or suggest we're now on our way to the top six, but it could well be the turning point we have been craving. It's over to you guys to pass up your verdict on where Fulham go next after this very positive result.
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Comments
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Posted by Vital_Teddy_KGB on 09/19/2011
Pleasantly surprised. Thought there was no chance we'd come away with anything other than a walloping on the order of 5-0 or so. First decent result of the season. Still the disturbing trend of being awful in the 1st half and much better in the 2nd, but hopefully we're turning things around. Cautiously optimistic after this one.
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Posted by colin on 09/19/2011
To be a successful team, players need to know their respective roles. So far, I don't think that Fulham have known or understood where they're supposed to be or what they're supposed to do. That changed yesterday. Whereas before, the attacking four were haphazardly shifting around without knowing where the others would be, yesterday saw Dembele staying centrally behind Zamora for the whole game (as part of the middle 2 with Sidwell in a 4-1-4-1 in the first half). The wings also pretty much kept to their positions with Clint drifting in from the left and Duff/Kasami staying wide on the right. Zamora stayed high up the pitch and only drifted back when defensive help was needed. The new prominence of Dembele launching attacks/maintaining possession from a central position shows a lot of promise. Especially when Ruiz can get up to speed and offer another creative option from the right. Duff looks like he might be running out of gas and may be the one who has to make way.
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Posted by Rob on 09/19/2011
This was entertaining to watch on many different levels. It was great to see Fulham stand tough and defend the home turf against the one of the top clubs in the world. I'd imagine Aguerro has gone ahead and cleared a place on his mantle for the golden boot award. Watching Mancini's frustration build on the sideline brought a smile to my face. Jol finally seemed to have put together the right pieces. Ruiz even added a nice spark when he came on late.
I'm a big believer in a match like this getting everyone's confidence up and leading to positive results. That said I'll need more than one comeback to ease my concerns. If they fail to secure 9 points in the coming weeks I question if a top half finish is realistic this season. Jol continues to say all the right things to the camera, but I'm not sold on him yet either.
Can we foil two billionaires in one week?
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Posted by 5815dan on 09/19/2011
Is there a penalty for not playing a single first-teamer in a Carling Cup match? Sounds like a plan for Wednesday night. Give the boys some rest!
I must say I'm ecstatic about yesterday. A point plus the 0 GD in a spot where most of the other lower half clubs will take 0 points and a knock to their GD is a nice leg up for the Whites.
Not sure what the turning point was but I did like the starting 11 and where they played. (I had previously suggested Dempsey up front with Moussa falling in behind but I'm not sure we've seen that so far.) Also wouldn't have minded seeing Briggs in Riise's place. I just don't see what Jol sees in Riise.
6 points from the next 2 PL matches will have us all feeling better!
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Posted by Justin on 09/20/2011
I was only able to see the hightlights, but what highlights they were! The mighty Kun Aguero scores twice but we still manage a point thanks to the captain and Bobby. Still not a hundred percent sold on Jol though. We need a win badly still even though a draw with City is a good result.
Posted by Drago on 09/21/2011
Jol is starting to figure it out. Etuhu, Senderos and AJ are bench players, and our results will improve as they get fewer minutes. The current group is still coming together. Kasami and JAR are new, Dembele is in a new role, getting back to full fitness. I'd like to see more of Briggs too, but I'm alright with him playing midweek in Europa league and cup play for now. Now if the team can only figure out how to get a lead...
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