The rise of Fulham

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Another derby win

March 4th 2020
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We went into this game with Daniele Baselli and Raul Jiminez injured. With Foday Nabay out on intl. duty, Emerson Hyndman got a start in the midfield.

But it was Patrick Roberts' show. He scored the first and set-up the second. The first one was a really good goal, mostly because of the way he shot it. Very little back-lift for the shot - a great finish. And his pass to set up Williams for the second was a joy to watch. From the right wing, he made a precise pass that covered about 40 yards before finding George Williams. Williams hit the ball on the volley and gave us a 2-0 lead.

QPR scored one late in the game but it was all too late for them. A good win - a second derby win in a row! Emerson Hyndman's injury that'll keep him out for 4-5 weeks is the only disappointment on an otherwise great day!

Here are our two goals. The pass by Roberts to set-up the second was special!
[video=dailymotion;x2qfysv]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2qfysv_fm-15-fulham-goals-vs-qpr_videogames[/video]
 
FA Cup 2019-20: Sixth Round

This game was just 3 days before we play Atletico. So, I rested a few players like Kranevitter, Burn, Roberts, Stafylidis, Lustig and Bettinelli. Baselli and Hyndman's injuries meant that young Langlais started in midfield. 17 yr old Sonny Jackman got a start in the defense as well.

The game ended up with a comfortable victory for us. Vilhena and Artur scored in either half to give us a 2-0 win over Championship side Leicester. Both were well-worked goals with moves that started from the midfield.

Young Sonny Jackman put in a brilliant performance in defense to keep Leicester at bay, and he got the player of the match award. Langlais, who got his first full start for the club in this game did a fairly decent job as well. Langlais is transfer listed and hope he gets picked up soon!

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Injuries and youth intake

This is how the injury situation looks like a day before the Atletico Madrid game. Jiminez may start as a sub, but Baselli, Hyndman and Woodrow are definitely out.So, the club had a new youth intake recently. I always look forward to this time of the season. Unlike the last two seasons where we had the likes of McLean, Roper come through, none of them stood out in particular. Brian Collis looks to have good potential, along with a couple others.

I offered Collis, Cullip, Weeks and McCarthy (the top four) youth contracts and they all accepted, which is good news for the future.
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ECC 2019/20: Round of 16 (Leg 2) vs. Atletico Madrid

And we're through to the quarter finals of the Champions League. We continued our impressive home record this season and beat Atletico 2-1 on the day, and won the tie 5-2 overall.

We played a waiting game for the first half to see what Atletico would come-up with to overturn the 2 goal deficit. Our first corner of the second half saw club captain Balanta power a volley into the net to give us the lead. Atletico equalized just after the hour mark after a bit of pressing by them.

They still needed two more to force the game into ET, and they were pushing forward. A bit of touchline yelling restored our shape at the back and kept Atletico at bay. Towards the end, Roberts got us the winner with a lovely header. For someone who is just 5'6", the initial leap and the well placed header were both brilliant.

We're through to the quarter finals for the second season in a row.
 
March 14th 2020
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Frustrating loss. Once again, a goal in the final 10 minutes of the game ruined our night. We went 1-0 ahead early on, but Aranguiz cancelled it. Baselli's brilliant freekick just before half-time put us ahead.

With 20 mins left, Cairney produced a magnificent freekick that beat Bettinelli from 25 yards to level things. Cairney took another freekick in the 82nd minute which hit the post past a stretching Bettinelli. The ball rebounded into play and ex-Chelsea striker Kalou tapped it into a gaping net. We pushed very hard in the final minutes but couldn't get the equalizer.

Three of our four losses have ended with a 2-3 scoreline (the other one being 1-2). And in all those four games, we lost the game by conceding a goal in the last 10 minutes. Argh!
March 21st 2020
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I asked the players, especially the defenders to put on a better performance after the loss to Blackburn. And they did. We dominated the game completely and it took us a while to take the lead.

A lovely cross from Lustig was volleyed home brilliantly by Jiminez to put us 1-0 ahead. Despite our extreme dominance, I wanted another goal to give us more breathing space. A shot by Roberts, from a narrow angle was parried away by the Watford keeper Kalinic into Jiminez's path, who made it 2-0.

Roberts then set-up Vilhena for our third with a lovely weighted pass. The finish was rather good too, beating Kalinic at his near post. Comfortable victory in the end.
 
Very nice draw in the CL, probably the best possible?

FA Cup wont be easy but could have been worse as well I suppose. All is looking good!
 
Lippo255 said:
Very nice draw in the CL, probably the best possible?

FA Cup wont be easy but could have been worse as well I suppose. All is looking good!
Click to expand...

Yes, probably the best possible CL draw. :)

The treble is still on the cards...fingers crossed!
 
ECC 2019/20: Quarter-Final (Leg 1)

I was expecting a win from the players but this is just fantastic. I took a gamble by fielding a 442 and push forward. The reason it was a gamble is because Schalke like to sit back and hit on the counter. But our offense was a bit too much for them.

Jiminez and Woodrow were on target and it was a great night for the Fulham fans. Jiminez's finished were typical of a poacher as he ran behind the defense to latch onto through balls from midfield. Woodrow's goal was special. The power of the shot was just amazing. Their keeper could barely react - I mean barely. It was Woodrow's first game after his injury and he marked it in a sensational fashion. Check out the goal below.

However, Schalke had their chances though. They did hit us on the counter a couple of times, and even hit the woodwork once. We were a bit fortunate not to concede an away goal. It wouldn't have affected our win though as their best chances came when they were 3-0 down.

Now, we can play the second leg a bit defensively trying not to concede, and a semi-final spot looks very likely.

[video=dailymotion;x2qmxyf]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2qmxyf_fm-15-woodrow-goal-vs-gelsenkirchen_videogames[/video]
 
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Goals:
The first goal by Williams was a brilliant goal.
[video=dailymotion;x2qoegs]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2qoegs_fm-15-fulham-vs-man-city-goals_videogames[/video]
 
ECC 2019/20: Quarter-Final (Leg 2)

And we're through to the semi-finals with a resounding 6-1 aggregate win. We went into the game with a 3-0 advantage and so, I set-up a bit cautiously, focusing on counter attack and staying organized in defense.

We scored two of the three goals from counter attacks. Williams' goal against City was so good that I felt he earned his place for this game ahead of Kacaniklic and Pedro. And he justified my faith with the opener after 30 minutes. Swift counter-attack and a tidy finish. He got his second just before the half time as Gelsenkirchen switched off momentarily, allowing the winger to capitalize on a bad defensive error.
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Woodrow made it 3-0 in the 68' with a belter from 20 yards to add insult to the injury for Schalke. Our opponents tried to attack and press us (which I expected, and frankly I wanted them to do that so that we can hit them on the break).

Gellhaus pulled one back for the home side late in the game, but it was nothing more than a consolation. They had more shots and possession but couldn't break our defense and were exposed badly on the counter.
 
Premier League

We're still at the top of the League, 3 points clear of Chelsea. However, things can do down the drain very fast given our fixtures. We are yet to play Arsenal and Liverpool away, neither of which are going to be easy. I am hoping for wins against Villa and Derby at home, as they're both in the relegation battle. Arsenal have been a bit disappointing in the League and I'm hoping we can pull off a win. Liverpool away is tough. The worse news is that there is only one day gap between those two big away games. I believe our fate will come down to that game. Chelsea have a superior GD, and I can't lose the 3 point advantage.

FULHAM FIXTURES
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Chelsea have a relatively easier set of fixtures, but not by much. They have 3 away games as opposed to only two for us. Watford and Southampton are in poor form at the moment and I think Chelsea will win those. I have to hope they drop points against Man United, in case we drop points ourselves.​

CHELSEA FIXTURES
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FA Cup 2019-20: Semi-Final

Fantastic victory against a good side. We're through to the finals of the FA Cup for the third time in four seasons. Williams and Roberts started as inside forwards and were instructed to make darting runs into the opposition box.

Williams' run into the City box resulted in our first goal as he placed one beautifully into the bottom corner beyond Hart. Aguero equalized for City with a close-range finish following a neat City move.

Woodrow, playing as a lone striker did a great job at holding up play and bringing the wide players into action. He slid in a lovely pass for Robert to make it 2-1 to us. Soon after half time, a corner by Baselli was headed home by Williams. It was a slightly fortunate goal as Ross Barkley committed a defensive error when he should've cleared the ball from the area.

With City pushing forward to pull back goals, we hit them on the counter. Once again, we had a slight bit of fortune. A Baselli pass sent Woodrow through on goal but a tackle by the Mangala fell straight to Roberts who had an easy tap-in. With City 1-4 behind, Mangala hacked Roberts with two feet and got sent-off.

That pretty much killed off the game. We were clear winners and go to the final.
 
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