The rise of Fulham

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FA Cup 2018-19: Fifth Round

Our striker situation was slightly better heading into this game, as View attachment 276181Finnbogason passed fit for the game but started as a substitute. Artur was once again leading the line.

Considering this game was at Anfield, I think this is a pretty decent result. As I always do against strong teams, I went with a slightly defensive tactic. Sit deep, defend well, stay organized and hit the opponents on the counter. We almost took the lead in the first half despite Liverpool's dominance but Roberts' header was a bit wide. I didn't mind their dominance as long as we stood strong defensively. Balanta was superb in the first half. Absolutely superb!

Fischer gave Liverpool the lead after the break, which put a big dent in my strategy. I told the lads to push forward a bit, and slowly but steadily we started to open up Liverpool defense a lot more. And our pressure finally paid off with 2 mins left on the clock as Roberts volleyed home a Kacaniklic cross.

It's about time we scored a late goal. We have conceded several such ones this season and it's about time! The replay will be at home, and I think we can beat Liverpool.
 
UEFA Champions League Preview
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Clash of the English and Italian champions. I don't have much preference View attachment 276151whether we play home or away first.

Fulham team news: Finnbogason is fully fit and will be available for the game, which is good news. Cauley Woodrow is also back from injury after being sidelined for 3 weeks, which is a huge boost! Artur, who has been playing in the absence of our first team strikers got himself injured in the Liverpool game. It's not a big deal as Woodrow is now back.

Raul Jiminez, according to physios can play but it would be a huge risk. I am not going to risk him, for obvious reasons. Mikael Lustig is still a few weeks away.

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A look at our next games:
Look at those fixtures. So many huge clashes in the next month or so. Juventus in the Champions League, Liverpool in the FA Cup replay and League Cup final, and Chelsea and Man City in the League. A real test of our credentials across various competitions.

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UEFA Champions League 2018-19: Round of 16

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What a performance! A brilliant win. Woodrow's return boosted the performance of the whole team. The link-up between Woodrow and Roberts among others, was superb.

Roberts continued his brilliant form with another goal. It was deft one touch football by the side's primary playmakers - Baselli and Vilhena. Baselli to Vilhena, Vilhena to Roberts and Roberts' shot resulted in the goal. Three good touches and a well-worked goal.

Roberts continued to impress and played Woodrow in on goal, and the striker marked his return with a well-taken goal. Woodrow doubled his tally from the penalty spot before the end of first half after Baselli won the penalty.

Both Baselli and Kranevitter were instructed to close down their midfield heavily, and so Juve's main man Pogba didn't exert himself in the game. Juventus tried to score in the second half, and came close a few times but didn't find a way past Bettinelli. A great lead to take to Italy.

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Upcoming fixtures

Wow. So many huge games over the course of the few weeks.
I expect us to win against Southampton, but I want to win big. Southampton destroyed us 6-1 early on this season and I'd love to return the favour.

Then, we face Liverpool twice in a week's time in two different competitions. I am backing myself to beat Liverpool at home in the FA Cup replay. The Wembley game will mark our third League Cup final appearance in 5 years. We beat liverpool 2-1 in the final two years ago, and they must be itching for revenge. Big game!

Then, there's the small matter of a home derby against League leaders Chelsea. We cannot lose to Chelsea. Win would be perfect but I'd take a draw.

Couple of days later, we make a trip to Italy to take on Juve. We're 3-0 up, so I think we should be able to win the game over two legs. I'd be gutted if we don't.

3 days later, we travel to Etihad to take on Man City. Lot of travel in those 7 days. This phase will be quite taxing on the players.

These three weeks could make or break the season for us, quite literally!
 
Perfect weekend!

The fixtures this weekend couldn't have gone any better.
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We won against Southampton by 1 goal. I would've liked a larger win but we were utterly dominant (see stats below). However, what made the weekend special was results elsewhere. Chelsea lost to Newcastle at St. James' Park. Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal all drew their games against mid-table clubs QPR, Norwich and Everton respectively.

Fulham 1-0 Southampton:View attachment 275988
Solid victory. We had 33 attempts as we spent a lot of the game camped in their half. However, our accuracy was terrible. Baselli missing the target from 10 yards summed up our night in terms of accuracy.

I was a bit worried with our quality in the final third as the game entered its final stages at 0-0. But Pat Roberts scored with 10 minutes left with a fierce volley from 15 yards. It was a very good goal especially considering the narrow angle it was scored from. A perfect weekend.

League table:
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FA Cup 2018-19: Fifth Round Replay

That's our first home loss of the season. Very disappointing. Firstly, we let a 2 goal lead slip through our fingers. And then the players played the extra time with no passion. View attachment 275866Ya, I know the players are tired but to play audacious 40 yard passes when team mates are less than 15 yards from you is stupidity, really.

Roberts gave us a 2-0 lead with a headed goal and a left footed curler. But Can and Moreno pulled it back for them. The extra time was a bit of a let-off for us really. All the players were mindlessly roaming around letting Liverpool in far too easily.

During the shootout, Vilhena missed the spot kick for us and Liverpool nicked the game.

16 year old Steve McLean got a start and did a great job till he got injured. A huge prospect for the future.
 
Capital One Cup 2018-19: Final

CAPITAL ONE CUP FINAL: LIVERPOOL VS. FULHAM​
View attachment 275779We face Liverpool again. They knocked us out of the FA Cup and I really wanted to win this game. The players were told the exact same thing - to play at their best and get revenge against Liverpool.

The players stepped up...and delivered a severe blow to Liverpool.
I certainly didn't expect such a dominating scoreline. Jiminez gave us an early lead with a lovely header after Roberts put a lovely cross into the box. Roberts doubled the lead in the 19th minute with a cool finish after dribbling past two Liverpool defenders. View attachment 275769

We switched off a bit after the 2 goals and let Liverpool dictate the game for a little while. But lots of touchline yelling got their attention and they started playing better until the break.

The half-time talk was all about avoiding complacency. We've already let a 2 goal lead slip-up last game and that simply can't happen again.

But Jiminez scored our third seconds after restart. Roberts once again was the creative force. He played Jiminez through on goal, 1-v-1 with the kepper with a weighted pass.

At around the hour mark, Liverpool started to press. I got a bit nervous and decided to kill the game. I brought on an additional defender and went defensive. The full backs were set to ultra-defensive mode. I can't risk the team being countered.

But it was our team that scored another goal. Jiminez latched onto a Williams' pass and netted his hat-trick goal. Fabulous!
Liverpool were attacking a lot as we went defensive, but we were well-organized and Bettinelli put a top show in goal. When the final whistle came, the players and the fans erupted. I ran onto the field with the joy.

What a win! And the League Cup is ours!!!
 
Last edited:
Lippo255 said:
Congrats mate, thrashed 'em!
Click to expand...

I'm surprised at the result to be honest. As you can see from the stats, we didn't really 'dominate' the game but the players took their chances.

Next up, we have Chelsea, followed by a trip to Turin and then to Etihad, all in a space of 10 or so days. I have a bad feeling that I'll miss Kranevitter in the defensive midfield role.
 
View attachment 275353We went into this game 3 points behind Chelsea, but with 2 games in hand. And we lost a very very VERY important game. This was also our first home defeat in the League.

I'll have to blame myself for this defeat. I should have simply killed the game from the word go and played ultra-defensive. I tried to go for the win and it horribly back-fired. Chelsea just kept pumping long balls forward to Costa and Hazard and caught us. There was a lot of bad defending as well. We could've easily prevented Rodriguez and Lacazette from scoring.

Really distraught at the result. I take the blame for this from a tactical perspective but some players ending up with sub-6 rating is not acceptable. I lashed out at the players and made sure to tell each one of them how disappointed I am with their performance. The defense, in particular got an absolute bollocking.

And to make matters worse, Roberts is out injured and will miss the Champions League 2nd Leg, and potentially the next league game against Man City.
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Youth candidates

Just like every season, a bunch of youngsters came from the academy to try and win contracts. Most of them, if not all looked rather good in the trial games, and I decided to offer all of them youth contracts. I have never done this in the past, where I only offered the best of the bunch contracts.

However, this time around, I want to give them more time and see if they can progress quicker and try to catch up with some of the reserves, or even first team players.
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ECC 2018/19: Round of 16 (2nd Leg)

I'm not sure what to say about this result to be honest. As far as the general performance and our progression are concerned, this is a really good result but the moment I start analyzing their goals, it angers me.

The first half was very entertaining. When Berardi scored in the 21st, I was a bit nervous as our defense crumbled under pressure. Just about 2-3 minutes of pressure from Juve put pressure on the lads and they caved in. A soft goal to concede. But when Jiminez cancelled Berardi's opener, we were in pole position. Juventus need 4 goals now to progress. An away goal completely chView attachment 275349anges the equation!

Juventus came all guns blazing in the second half. They were taking shots from literally everywhere. Pogba shot from over 30 yards atleast thrice. In the 51st minute, we concede yet another soft one. Burn and Amorebieta were not very decisive in going for the ball and Ayew pounced on the loose ball and beat Andy Preece (first choice GK Bettinelli is injured) to make it 2-1 to the hosts.

I got mad and told the players to tighten up. Jiminez's moment of madness in the 66th minute gave Juve a penalty. It was needless. The ball was going away from the goal, a Juve player was trying to get to it and Jiminez slid in from behind. Needless. I was so ****** off that I immediately took him off despite his good performance attack-wise.

20 mins to go, Juve needed 2 goals. Totally possible. I went for the ultimate move - kill the game. I shored up the defense and made sure there were atleast 6 players protecting our goal. Juve's attacks were repelled rather easily, and we make it through to the Quarter-finals!
 
Its all about winning come the knockout stages! Good job on getting through!
 
Injury Update

Mikael Lustig, who has been out for 2 months due to a dislocated shoulder is back. It is really great news as this gives the defense much needed stability and depth.

Unfortunately, Tonny Vilhena is out after injuring himself in the Man City game. He'll be out for 7-10 days. Bettinelli, my first choice GK is still sidelines after suffering a back strain. Kranevitter is close to returning after being out for 4 weeks.
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