The rise of Fulham

  • Thread starter Thread starter mask0991
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 1K
  • Views Views 286K
Back-room dealings:

Couple of things to report. Firstly, contract dealings. Two players (Lustig and Ruiz) will come to the end of their contracts at the end of the current season and I wanted to offer them new contracts.

Mikael Lustig is 31 yrs old but he has been rather solid at the right back despite not having top attributes like some other right backs. He is versatile too, as he can slot in the central defense when needed. So, I offered him a new contract. It was a long conversation with his agent before we could strike a deal. Lustig wanted a deal for atleast another 3 years but I was not very comfortable given his age. But at the same time, Lustig was willing to take a pay cut. So why not?

View attachment 278249
My goalkeepers are having some fitness concerns. For the game against Aston Villa, both were not at their full fitness and had slight knocks. I risked Andy Preece by starting with him. Luckily, nothing bad happened. Bettinelli, my first choice keeper was expected to be fit before the Madrid game in 2 days.

Mark Taylor, the club's head physio was making his way to my office. Good, he must have information about Bettinelli. "Is Marcus (Bettinelli) fit?," I asked.

View attachment 278248Taylor squinted his eyes and nodded his head sideways. Uh-oh, that doesn't look good.

"He came into training today fully fit but when he was doing his weight-lifting exercises, he injured himself...again," Taylor said.

I slammed my palm against my forehead. "Poor fellow. So unlucky. How long will he be out for? And is Andy (Preece) fully fit?"

"Yeah, yeah. Andy is available for the Madrid game and he'll cover for Bettinelli. As for Marcus, he'll be out for 10 days or so."

"Well, 10 days is not too bad. He'll miss 2 games, 3 in the worst case. Thanks for the info, Mark. Send me an e-mail as per usual," I said before heading off to the ground to get involved in the training sessions.
 
Woodrow, Lustig and Roberts

Three players have made the headlines recently.

Cauley Woodrow, who hasn't been at his best this season was out of my plans for a brief period this season. I rested him and gave other strikers a chance. But Woodrow came off the bench against Aston Villa and scored two, helping us win the game after being 2-0 down at half time. So, I gave him a start in the big game against Real Madrid and he played much better, and with a lot more confidence. I think spending time on the subs bench helped him sort his head out.

Pat Roberts won the award for English Premier Division player of the Month for November. Roberts has been in fine form this season and is our club's leading goal scorer this season.
View attachment 278168
Mikael Lustig signed a new contract with us, that would keep him at the club till 2022. A four year deal is a bit risky for a 31 year old but given his solid performances over the last 3 seasons and his willingness to accept a pay cut meant that I was okay with it.View attachment 278166
​
 
EPL: Fulham vs. Liverpool

Preview: Another clash with a team in the top 4. I want to win View attachment 278100this to catch up with the likes of Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers likes to play a 541_diamond_WB formation. Their wing backs like to play as wingers and tend to leave huge spaces behind. Their midfield, with the likes of Emre Can, Henderson and Coutinho press hard and try to pass their way through.

We've been working on a 4123 formation, quite different from the 4231 I prefer. Two major differences - Balanta will play as a cover defender instead of a stopper to make sure Liverpool don't find a through ball that goes through our defense. Secondly, Kranevitter is tasked with stopping Coutinho, who plays in the AMC role.
Roberts and Kacaniklic were given a lot of freedom and all my players were instructed to exploit the flanks, to take advantage of space behind their wing backs. All set!

The game:View attachment 278115View attachment 278102After a first half that Liverpool dominated with nothing to show far, we took the lead in the second half. A Baselli corner was badly dealt with by Sakho and his clearance went straight into Liverpool's net. An embarrassing moment for the French defender. We go 1-0 ahead without having a single shot on target!
Two minutes later, Roberts gave us 2-0 lead. It was a quick counter attack. Liverpool sent everyone but two players forward for a free kick and when we cleared the ball, it fell to Kacaniklic, who ran more than half the length of the pitch to set-up Pat Roberts. That goal summed up our tactic perfectly - stay back and counter through wingers.

After some dominance from Liverpool, Sturridge scored for them to make it 2-1. He manages to always score against us. Sigh. But it was a bit too late for Liverpool, and we maintain our unbeaten record at Fulham stadium. This is a huge win for us!!

Robert's goal:
[video=dailymotion;x2nvf8n]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2nvf8n_fm-15-roberts-goal-vs-liverpool_videogames[/video]
 
Last edited:
Chelsea slip-up!

Everton comprehensively beat Chelsea at Goodison Park. This was great news for us as the gap between Chelsea and ourselves is now reduced to 3 points. A perfect time too, as we beat Liverpool. Arsenal, meanwhile won their fixture against West Ham. Manchester United don't play this weekend. United are one point behind Chelsea and Arsenal at the top but with a game in hand!
View attachment 278089
View attachment 278087
League table:
Wow. So tight. Only two points between the top 8 teams. But we have a terrible goal difference, mainly due to our 1-6 thrashing at Southampton. QPR and West Brom are right behind us, waiting for us to slip up.View attachment 278086
 
Last edited:
Man that's a tight table! 2 points between 8th & 1st, what a log jam!
 
A thrilling draw. The first half was entertaining but both teams played it safe. I started with a 4123 formation and they started with a 4141. Both teams went in with a holding midfielder, clearly indicating the first half strategy - shut down any goal scoring opportunities for the opposition.

But second half was a totally different story. I switched to my View attachment 278039favourite 4231_wide formation and Tottenham changed to a 4411. Once again, the strategy was clear - go for the win. And it resulted in a thriller. So many half chances for both sides. Roberts and Vilhena impressed for us. Woodrow, Jiminez and Williams had a few good chances, and so did Spurs' strikers. But both Hugo Lloris and Andy Preece were determined to keep the clean sheet, and they did.

A 0-0 draw but an intense and thrilling one.
 
Last edited:
You've had some good results recently, drawing to Madrid, beating Liverpool and drawing to Spurs. That ain't bad at all
 
View attachment 277910
Not sure if it was the mindgames, but QPR played like ****. I was expecting a close game but to win 3-0 against local rivals is brilliant. As promised in my pre-match press conference, I set-up my team to attack from the kick-off. Both Jiminez and Woodrow started the game and QPR were lucky not to concede before half-time.

Soon after the restart, Jiminez gave us the lead with a brilliant left footed volley off a Kacaniklic's cross from the left. Lovely technique from the Mexican striker.

Jiminez scores his second in the 63rd minute with another lovely moment of skill. He nutmegged QPR defender Gary Cahill and placed one past QPR keeper Alex McCarthy. Woodrow added insult to the injury with a glancing header off a Roberts' cross that beat McCarthy at his near post.

The Fulham stadium was deafening. 3-0 up, I just wanted to keep the clean sheet. So I asked the players to tighten up. And they did to keep the clean sheet. Sweet victory!

League table:
Such fine margins. One win takes us from 8th to 3rd.
View attachment 277909
 
ECC Group Stage 2018/19: vs. Zenit (Away)

Preview: We went into this game with qualification to the knock-outs guaranteed. Real Madrid host Stromsgodset and were expected to hammer them. Given Madrid's better head to head record against us and a better goal difference, we seemed destined to finish second regardless of the result. So, I didn't start with a lot of my usual players - Stafylidis, Vilhena, Baselli, Roberts, Woodrow and Jiminez. Some started on the bench while the rest didn't even board the plane to Russia.

The game:
A fairly even game for the most part, but our superior finishing (I never thought I'd say thosView attachment 277874e words this season!) proved to be the difference. We tested their keeper way more than they tested ours.

Finnbogason's headed goal in the 13th minute was cancelled by winger Oleg Shatov in the 19th minute. We took the lead for the second time minutes later, from a Kranevitter's long range shot. Playing in a slightly advanced role than usual, Kranevitter found the ball at his feet 25 yards from goal and tried an audacious shot. It whistled into the top corner.

Both teams tried to push forward and score after that but the goals never came. The game ended 2-1.

Group D:
Real Madrid thrashed Stromsgodset 8-1 at the Bernabau, as expected. So, they top the group and we finish second.
View attachment 277867
As things stand, we will face one of Juventus, Atletico, Bayen, PSG or Barcelona in the first knock-out round. I don't want to face Barcelona for the second season running. I really don't.
 
December 13th 2018

The trip back from Russia was not a pleasant one. I had severe headache and so, I spent the rest day (12/12) lying in my bed trying to get better.

I was feeling slightly better the next day and went to the Fulham stadium to join the training sessions and prepare for the Hull game. One thing that helps me function at my 100 percent and keep me focused is tea. I was drinking my 3rd glass of tea of the morning when Baresi walked into my office.

I was watching previous games of our next opponent (Hull) when Baresi said he wanted to talk. I paused the game and listened to him.

"Vilhena wants to talk to you. As you know, Arsenal are sniffing around him and it has unsettled him a bit. Be cautious if he brings up this issue. We don't want to lose him," Baresi said.

I told Baresi to send in Vilhena.

This is how our conversation went:
View attachment 277749
I can't believe he thinks players like Nabay, McLean and Roper coming through our academy are not going to make it. Players like Balanta, Baselli have behaved like model professionals when I had these kind of conversations and actually focused on the team rather than themselves.

I am not sure if I could've handled it better. I was already having a slight headache and this conversation gave me a splitting one.

If Arsenal make a bid, I'll probably accept it. I don't want him disrupting the team's morale.
 
Last edited:
And the Whites go crawling on....

We went into this game without Matias Kranevitter. Hyndman and Baselli started as central midfielders in the 442 formation. Neither of them are particularly great at defensive work, so I asked them to switch between box-to-box role and playmaker role.
This win was as patchy as they get. Smash and grab stuff, one could say.View attachment 277700Jiminez, continued his recent good form by scoring the first goal of the game. It was a lovely move by the team and Woodrow claimed the assist. Barring that one good move, Hull dominated the half and came close to scoring a few times. Bettinelli, making his first appearance after the injury did a great job to keep them out.

Woodrow scored our second with a lovely header that looped over the Hull keeper. His persistence today really deserved the goal. 2-0 up but our performance was far from good. We were clinging onto the lead but Danny Ings scored a 90th minute goal. We've really got to stop conceding late goals. This is the fourth time we have conceded one in the last 5 minutes of the game.

The stoppage minutes were a bit nervous for me, and the players. But we managed to secure the victory.
Man United and Arsenal don't play until tomorrow and Chelsea don't play this weekend. So, this win takes us to the top of the table, for now.
View attachment 277699
 
16th Dec 2018: Top of the table

So, Arsenal and Man United both lost their Sunday matches. We stay at the top a little while longer.
View attachment 277697
View attachment 277696We are at the top of the Premier League but it's close. Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United still have the advantage as they have game(s) in hand. And they all have much superior goal difference (I still can't believe we lost 1-6 to Southampton).

There's only 8 points between 1st and 11th. So tight! Only 4 points separate the 1st from 7th.

United play Aston Villa on the 19th of December, the same day when we take on Man City in the Capital One Cup. United have a chance to go to the top of the league with a win.
 
CAPITAL ONE CUP SEMI-FINAL DRAW:
View attachment 277648
The full list of fixtures:
View attachment 277647
Everton take on Liverpool in the Merseyside derby in the other semi-final. I think we have enough quality to see off the challenge of West Brom.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIRST KNOCKOUT ROUND DRAW:
View attachment 277646
Here's the full list of fixtures for the first knockout round.
View attachment 277645
I am actually pleased with this draw. I was praying to avoid Bayern or Barcelona, and I am glad we did. Bayern taking on Liverpool is quite a huge clash.

Meanwhile, our clash against Juventus will see the current EPL and Serie A holders take each other on!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Back
Top