The rise of Fulham
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After impressing me in the game against Swansea, some of the non-regular players started the game. Baselli, Balanta, Roberts and a few other big names were rested. Unfortunately, this wasn't our afternoon. Haris Seferovic scored goals in either half to beat our side. Both goals were well taken close range shots. A cross from either flank were the assists for the goals.
I thought the lads played well. Our defense was pretty good and did well to keep Villa quiet for long periods of time. But our attacking was a bit toothless. Too many chances were squandered by McLean and Artur. Oh well, there ends our League Cup dream.
The League Cup wasn't my main focus this season and wanted to use this to give some of the reserve players and youngsters a chance.
View attachment 265380Looks like every manager wants to have a go at me now. How things have changed in six years. I still remember fellow managers praising my work at Fulham back in 2016; now all but a handful are doing the opposite. I am not one to back down though!
I thought the lads played well. Our defense was pretty good and did well to keep Villa quiet for long periods of time. But our attacking was a bit toothless. Too many chances were squandered by McLean and Artur. Oh well, there ends our League Cup dream.
The League Cup wasn't my main focus this season and wanted to use this to give some of the reserve players and youngsters a chance.
View attachment 265380Looks like every manager wants to have a go at me now. How things have changed in six years. I still remember fellow managers praising my work at Fulham back in 2016; now all but a handful are doing the opposite. I am not one to back down though!
31st October 2020
We play the late kick-off at 17:45 at Goodison Park today. Chelsea played the early game at 12:45 and they were away at Watford. Watford pulled an amazing surprise as they beat Chelsea 4-2.Terrific news! Everton have been disappointing in the League and sit 17th in the table. We were heavy favourites for the game, and we lived up to our tag.
View attachment 265351Bettinelli was not fully fit, so Preece started in goal. But he continued our impressive cleansheet run in the Premier League. Everton couldn't find time to settle down in the first half as we were all over them. Artur opened the scoring very early with a nice finish that was tucked into the bottom corner. The credit for that goal goes to Vilhena. The attacking midfielder launched a 30 yard pass to find Artur on the opposite wing, who cut in and scored.
Our dominance continued and it felt like we were due another goal before half time. A Baselli freekick deflected off the wall and fell to Balanta. Balanta shot at goal but Mathew Ryan saved it. Unfortunately for The Toffees, the ball fell kindly to Jimenez and he had an open net to aim for, from 6 yards. There was only one outcome.
Everton came all guns blazing in the second half, and switched to a 442 to find the goal. They did very well to try and force a way through. But they came up against Andy Preece in exceptional form. He saved two brilliant shots from Romelu Lukaku to keep Everton scoreless. Balanta was a rock in the heart of our defense as well.
This is the first game in a while we were actually tested by the opposition. But I'm glad that we stood firm to deny Everton!
LEAGUE TABLE:
Chelsea's loss and our win meant that we opened up an incredible 7 point gap at the top!
View attachment 265350
We play the late kick-off at 17:45 at Goodison Park today. Chelsea played the early game at 12:45 and they were away at Watford. Watford pulled an amazing surprise as they beat Chelsea 4-2.Terrific news! Everton have been disappointing in the League and sit 17th in the table. We were heavy favourites for the game, and we lived up to our tag.
View attachment 265351Bettinelli was not fully fit, so Preece started in goal. But he continued our impressive cleansheet run in the Premier League. Everton couldn't find time to settle down in the first half as we were all over them. Artur opened the scoring very early with a nice finish that was tucked into the bottom corner. The credit for that goal goes to Vilhena. The attacking midfielder launched a 30 yard pass to find Artur on the opposite wing, who cut in and scored.
Our dominance continued and it felt like we were due another goal before half time. A Baselli freekick deflected off the wall and fell to Balanta. Balanta shot at goal but Mathew Ryan saved it. Unfortunately for The Toffees, the ball fell kindly to Jimenez and he had an open net to aim for, from 6 yards. There was only one outcome.
Everton came all guns blazing in the second half, and switched to a 442 to find the goal. They did very well to try and force a way through. But they came up against Andy Preece in exceptional form. He saved two brilliant shots from Romelu Lukaku to keep Everton scoreless. Balanta was a rock in the heart of our defense as well.
This is the first game in a while we were actually tested by the opposition. But I'm glad that we stood firm to deny Everton!
LEAGUE TABLE:
Chelsea's loss and our win meant that we opened up an incredible 7 point gap at the top!
View attachment 265350
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As easy as they come. Steaua is the weakest team in our Champions League group and the Romanian side were no match for our creativity. And we won it 2-0, our fifth 2-0 victory in last seven games, and sixth clean sheet in seven.
Steaua defense held very tight for the first 45 minutes and didn't give us many chances. Baselli's goal was an absolute beauty. After receiving a pass from Williams, the Italian midfielder took a touch and curled one using the inside of his foot into the top corner. What a beautiful goal! Given how organized Steaua were, it needed a special goal to break the deadlock.
We started the second half how we ended the first. Our front three were rampant creating several chances. Baselli was involved in our second goal as well. Baselli's shot from the edge of the area was so vicious that their GK couldn't hold onto it. Artur latched onto the loose ball and cut inside for Roberts to score. After we went 2-0 up, I took off some key names like Roberts, Baselli and Jimenez to keep them fresh for our next game vs. Man United.
Steaua defense held very tight for the first 45 minutes and didn't give us many chances. Baselli's goal was an absolute beauty. After receiving a pass from Williams, the Italian midfielder took a touch and curled one using the inside of his foot into the top corner. What a beautiful goal! Given how organized Steaua were, it needed a special goal to break the deadlock.
We started the second half how we ended the first. Our front three were rampant creating several chances. Baselli was involved in our second goal as well. Baselli's shot from the edge of the area was so vicious that their GK couldn't hold onto it. Artur latched onto the loose ball and cut inside for Roberts to score. After we went 2-0 up, I took off some key names like Roberts, Baselli and Jimenez to keep them fresh for our next game vs. Man United.
Man Utd vs. Fulham
This was club captain Balanta's 200th league appearance for Fulham. What a player he has been! The pre-match team talk was simple - "We owe Man United for our defeat to them in the CL final. Just go out there and silence Old Trafford. Every Fulham fan wants to exact revenge."
United at Old Trafford will play at a very high tempo and look to attack from the first whistle. So, I decided to play a very low tempo, deep defensive line and pump balls into their half. Formation was 4231, with 2 defensive midfielders. I felt we needed two holding midfielders, given the strength of their attack.
View attachment 265222After a month of football where we dominated games, this was the first time we were outplayed by United in most areas. But that was expected. We scored two goals within 34 minutes. Jimenez put us ahead with a brilliant header after leaping above Rojo and Nkoulou, to beat David DeGea. It was Baselli's indirect freekick that provided the assist. United were wondering how they are behind after such a dominating display.
View attachment 265218
Roberts and Williams on either flanks were starting to look dangerous on counters. A Vilhena pass set Pat Roberts free on the right flank and his run was halted by a poor tackle by Luke Shaw inside their box. How Shaw escaped with just a yellow card is beyond me. He was the last mine and Roberts was about to shoot - he was 10 yards from goal. Oh well! Baselli converted the penalty.
After that, it was all Man United. They had over 60% possession in the second half. But they came up against Bettinelli in goal. Having kept 5 cleansheets in a row before this game, Bettinelli wasn't about to slip-up. Some of his saves were unreal. He dived left and right, tipped long range curlers over, his handling was excellent. It was a goalkeeping masterclass by the England number one. Our goalkeeping coaches (incl. Bettinelli's father Vic Bettinelli) were applauding and at times, they couldn't believe the superman-like saves he was pulling off.
On a different day, United could've leveled the game, or may be even won it 3-2, 4-2 or 5-2! But not today; not with Bettinelli in such form.
Bettinelli has adjudged the player of the match, and it came as no surprise to anyone. He was sensational!
Post-Match:
In other games, Chelsea were held at Norwich and Man City lost to Hull. The void left by Jose Mourinho is clearly showing at Chelsea. We go nine points clear at the top.
View attachment 265219
This was club captain Balanta's 200th league appearance for Fulham. What a player he has been! The pre-match team talk was simple - "We owe Man United for our defeat to them in the CL final. Just go out there and silence Old Trafford. Every Fulham fan wants to exact revenge."
United at Old Trafford will play at a very high tempo and look to attack from the first whistle. So, I decided to play a very low tempo, deep defensive line and pump balls into their half. Formation was 4231, with 2 defensive midfielders. I felt we needed two holding midfielders, given the strength of their attack.
View attachment 265222After a month of football where we dominated games, this was the first time we were outplayed by United in most areas. But that was expected. We scored two goals within 34 minutes. Jimenez put us ahead with a brilliant header after leaping above Rojo and Nkoulou, to beat David DeGea. It was Baselli's indirect freekick that provided the assist. United were wondering how they are behind after such a dominating display.
View attachment 265218
Roberts and Williams on either flanks were starting to look dangerous on counters. A Vilhena pass set Pat Roberts free on the right flank and his run was halted by a poor tackle by Luke Shaw inside their box. How Shaw escaped with just a yellow card is beyond me. He was the last mine and Roberts was about to shoot - he was 10 yards from goal. Oh well! Baselli converted the penalty.
After that, it was all Man United. They had over 60% possession in the second half. But they came up against Bettinelli in goal. Having kept 5 cleansheets in a row before this game, Bettinelli wasn't about to slip-up. Some of his saves were unreal. He dived left and right, tipped long range curlers over, his handling was excellent. It was a goalkeeping masterclass by the England number one. Our goalkeeping coaches (incl. Bettinelli's father Vic Bettinelli) were applauding and at times, they couldn't believe the superman-like saves he was pulling off.
On a different day, United could've leveled the game, or may be even won it 3-2, 4-2 or 5-2! But not today; not with Bettinelli in such form.
Bettinelli has adjudged the player of the match, and it came as no surprise to anyone. He was sensational!
Post-Match:
In other games, Chelsea were held at Norwich and Man City lost to Hull. The void left by Jose Mourinho is clearly showing at Chelsea. We go nine points clear at the top.
View attachment 265219
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Rampant Fulham!
I am not happy despite the result and if you've been following the story off late, it should be simple why. We conceded a goal for the first time at home this season. And Bettinelli's 599 minute streak without conceding a goal ended.
Records aside, this was a good performance. Unlike the other teams that played at Wembley (our home stadium), Villa put on a good show. They threatened us a few times on the break. We were still the more dominant team overall but Villa did put pressure on us during brief periods. Williams won the first penalty, and Baselli tucked it away with ease. The stadium erupted and celebrated the goal. Williams then scored the second after Lustig put in a cross from deep. The ball covered 50 yards in air before Williams did magnificently to control it and put it away. The control by Williams was outstanding. It's not easy to pull those off.
Then, Jimenez got his customary goal. He is in superb form and has scored in five games in a row. A Hyndman's corner was volleyed in by the Mexican. 3-0 up and it looked like another rout.
However, Trigueros put one in the back of our net from 25 yards. It was a great goal. Well, it had to be! Bettinelli could only be beaten by an outstanding goal given his recent form. 599 minutes without conceding - narrowly missing the 10 hour mark. Argh! Oh well, atleast 3 points are in the bag.
And that's 74 premier league games in a row where we have scored!
Take that, Juventus and Temuri Ketsbaia. If you remember, Ketsbaia was gloating after beating us in Turin by a narrow one goal margin. And we gave them a spanking, in style.
My pre-match teamtalk was very passionate. I told the players to get revenge and put on their best performances. And they did. Stats suggest that the game was even in terms of possession and shots at goal. But our finishing and movement in the final third was joyful. Kacaniklic, coming back from injury started the game and ran rings around their right back. He got a well-deserved goal too.
The goals were all gooad, resulting from good work by midfielders. Nabay, Baselli and Vilhena (our 3 midfielders) all got assists. William's goal was from 20 yards and the rest were all from close-range as our midfield trio pulled all the strings and slipped in clever passes to bet their back line.
We now qualify for the first knockout round, and are at the top of our group, exactly where I want to be. The season has started quite well for us, and it is important that we keep our form if we want to fulfill our dream!
I am not happy despite the result and if you've been following the story off late, it should be simple why. We conceded a goal for the first time at home this season. And Bettinelli's 599 minute streak without conceding a goal ended.
Records aside, this was a good performance. Unlike the other teams that played at Wembley (our home stadium), Villa put on a good show. They threatened us a few times on the break. We were still the more dominant team overall but Villa did put pressure on us during brief periods. Williams won the first penalty, and Baselli tucked it away with ease. The stadium erupted and celebrated the goal. Williams then scored the second after Lustig put in a cross from deep. The ball covered 50 yards in air before Williams did magnificently to control it and put it away. The control by Williams was outstanding. It's not easy to pull those off.
Then, Jimenez got his customary goal. He is in superb form and has scored in five games in a row. A Hyndman's corner was volleyed in by the Mexican. 3-0 up and it looked like another rout.
However, Trigueros put one in the back of our net from 25 yards. It was a great goal. Well, it had to be! Bettinelli could only be beaten by an outstanding goal given his recent form. 599 minutes without conceding - narrowly missing the 10 hour mark. Argh! Oh well, atleast 3 points are in the bag.
And that's 74 premier league games in a row where we have scored!
Take that, Juventus and Temuri Ketsbaia. If you remember, Ketsbaia was gloating after beating us in Turin by a narrow one goal margin. And we gave them a spanking, in style.
My pre-match teamtalk was very passionate. I told the players to get revenge and put on their best performances. And they did. Stats suggest that the game was even in terms of possession and shots at goal. But our finishing and movement in the final third was joyful. Kacaniklic, coming back from injury started the game and ran rings around their right back. He got a well-deserved goal too.
The goals were all gooad, resulting from good work by midfielders. Nabay, Baselli and Vilhena (our 3 midfielders) all got assists. William's goal was from 20 yards and the rest were all from close-range as our midfield trio pulled all the strings and slipped in clever passes to bet their back line.
We now qualify for the first knockout round, and are at the top of our group, exactly where I want to be. The season has started quite well for us, and it is important that we keep our form if we want to fulfill our dream!
Our form has been excellent lately and I decided to let the players know exactly that. I am not the kind of manager who likes to praise players often but I think this situation deserves it.
It was a few days before the Norwich game and I told the players to assemble in the locker room before starting the training for the day.
Bryan Ruiz, one of the senior members of the squad stepped up and encouraged the team. It's good to see some of the more experienced players give words of encouragement to the other members.
It was a few days before the Norwich game and I told the players to assemble in the locker room before starting the training for the day.
Bryan Ruiz, one of the senior members of the squad stepped up and encouraged the team. It's good to see some of the more experienced players give words of encouragement to the other members.
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Thsi story gets better and better mate, great progress again, think this could be your year!
Thanks, mate. I really hope this is our season!
Another 2-0 win. Nabay's goal was a really good one. Slick passing at the edge of the area was too good for the Norwich defense to handle and Nabay, playing as the box to box midfielder put the finishing touches to the move. A very good allround goal.
Once we went up, the players switched off. There were a few sloppy passes and lots of casual defending. In the recent past, the players followed the tactics very well but today, a shade of complacency seemed to have crept in. I am glad to have caught it early. I was worried about conceding a goal but thankfully, we didn't.
Williams' goal in the second half gave us a bit of breathing space. A neatly taken goal after being played in by Jimenez. After the game, I gave the players some criticism. Norwich were toothless today and didn't make us pay for our lackadaisical display.
"We may have won, but today's performance showed that we need to work on a few things in training. Overall, it was a good performance but there were one too many sloppy bits of gameplay. A better team would've finished us off," I said before the players took their showers and headed off.
Raul Jimenez:
He has been the talk surrounding the club lately. 16 goals in 17 games in all competitions this season, 4 assists and 3 player of the match awards. I decided to have a chat with him.
View attachment 265018
Well, if he thinks an average rating of 7.65 and almost a goal per game is 'average', I can't imagine how his 'good' performances would be.
Once we went up, the players switched off. There were a few sloppy passes and lots of casual defending. In the recent past, the players followed the tactics very well but today, a shade of complacency seemed to have crept in. I am glad to have caught it early. I was worried about conceding a goal but thankfully, we didn't.
Williams' goal in the second half gave us a bit of breathing space. A neatly taken goal after being played in by Jimenez. After the game, I gave the players some criticism. Norwich were toothless today and didn't make us pay for our lackadaisical display.
"We may have won, but today's performance showed that we need to work on a few things in training. Overall, it was a good performance but there were one too many sloppy bits of gameplay. A better team would've finished us off," I said before the players took their showers and headed off.
Raul Jimenez:
He has been the talk surrounding the club lately. 16 goals in 17 games in all competitions this season, 4 assists and 3 player of the match awards. I decided to have a chat with him.
View attachment 265018
Well, if he thinks an average rating of 7.65 and almost a goal per game is 'average', I can't imagine how his 'good' performances would be.
I actually like that, tbh. Different players having different goals and mindsets is something I enjoy.
An absolutely thrilling first 20 minutes was followed by 70 minutes of dullness. That pretty much sums up the game. Roberts' tap-in in the 8th minute put us ahead but Butko's headed goal from Shakhtar's first corner cancelled it. Then, a bunch of minor injuries followed. A couple of my players took knocks and so did a Shakhtar defender. The game was heating up and I could sense another goal - both sides were as likely to score ad they were to concede. It was Jimenez who scored. Typical of the player - a clever run behind the center halves was picked up by Roberts and the striker continues his impressive goal scoring form.
And that was the last key moment in the game. The next 70 minutes was so boring that I had to try hard not to doze off. Shakhtar had a wonderkid striker (20 yr old with a whole bunch of 15+ attributes) and they kept pumping the ball to him hoping for some magic. Balanta and Burn proved a bit too good for the young striker and kept him quiet. Shakhtar simply didn't have another plan. It wasn't surprising. Shakhtar has nothing to play for but pride. Regardless of the result, they'd have finish third in the group.
We topped the group because of our better goal difference after being level on points with Juventus.
View attachment 264816
And that was the last key moment in the game. The next 70 minutes was so boring that I had to try hard not to doze off. Shakhtar had a wonderkid striker (20 yr old with a whole bunch of 15+ attributes) and they kept pumping the ball to him hoping for some magic. Balanta and Burn proved a bit too good for the young striker and kept him quiet. Shakhtar simply didn't have another plan. It wasn't surprising. Shakhtar has nothing to play for but pride. Regardless of the result, they'd have finish third in the group.
We topped the group because of our better goal difference after being level on points with Juventus.
View attachment 264816
Far from our best performance, but we got the result. Watford made very good job of keeping possession and made things quite difficult for us. They had 3 great chances in the opening 30 minutes but couldn't find a way past our goal keeper. Baselli then missed a spot kick, which told me that it wasn't meant to be our day. We didn't have many good chances but the times we did have them, we couldn't score.
70 minutes in, I was settling for a goalless draw. After scoring in 75 league games in a row, this could be the end. But then Sakai received a second yellow card for a foul on Artur. And that was the turning moment! The resulting freekick produced a goal as Jimenez sidefooted a volley into the net.
Watford struggled with the man disadvantage and couldn't maintain the same tempo they did for the rest of the game.
After our flamboyant performances in the opening 4 months, this was a grind. Watford made it difficult but we got over the line with a hint of luck. As they say, sometimes a bit of luck is needed to taste success.
INJURY UPDATE:
We have about 10 days of break between Watford game and the upcoming game vs. Newcastle. Despite training with slightly less intensity, 3 players got injured. Some key names among the players injured.
View attachment 264810
70 minutes in, I was settling for a goalless draw. After scoring in 75 league games in a row, this could be the end. But then Sakai received a second yellow card for a foul on Artur. And that was the turning moment! The resulting freekick produced a goal as Jimenez sidefooted a volley into the net.
Watford struggled with the man disadvantage and couldn't maintain the same tempo they did for the rest of the game.
After our flamboyant performances in the opening 4 months, this was a grind. Watford made it difficult but we got over the line with a hint of luck. As they say, sometimes a bit of luck is needed to taste success.
INJURY UPDATE:
We have about 10 days of break between Watford game and the upcoming game vs. Newcastle. Despite training with slightly less intensity, 3 players got injured. Some key names among the players injured.
View attachment 264810
There ends our 13 match winning streak and gives us our first defeat, thanks to a disastrous refereeing performance. The game was an even one till the half hour mark. And then a tackle by Nabay was deemed to be a foul by Kevin Friend. It was a horrible, horrible decision. Cabella converted the penalty and after that, it always felt like we were chasing the game.
We did equalize in the second half but Mehmedi scored a nice goal to give them back the lead. Newcastle's opener gave them a lot of confidence and it completely hammered Nabay's morale. His morale went from good at the beginning of the game to fairly poor at half-time.
This game should have ended 1-1. It was an even game and a draw was the ideal result. I wouldn't moan about losing to a great goal or if we make a defensive mistake. But when a poor refereeing decision lets us down, I am not going to stop. I am definitely going to have a go at Friend (who is definitely no longer a friend of mine) in the press.
We did equalize in the second half but Mehmedi scored a nice goal to give them back the lead. Newcastle's opener gave them a lot of confidence and it completely hammered Nabay's morale. His morale went from good at the beginning of the game to fairly poor at half-time.
This game should have ended 1-1. It was an even game and a draw was the ideal result. I wouldn't moan about losing to a great goal or if we make a defensive mistake. But when a poor refereeing decision lets us down, I am not going to stop. I am definitely going to have a go at Friend (who is definitely no longer a friend of mine) in the press.
This is a big blow for us. Roberts is a key player for us and his 3 week absence means he'll miss games against Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. That is quite a big blow for us, and it's time for Pedro and Williams to step-up.
Easy win for us over Southampton, with young Artur scoring a great hat-trick. Jimenez held-up play well and played the left inside forward Artur through on goal. Artur attempted a first time shot from the edge of the area and it whistled into the bottom corner. Just after half hour mark, Gary Medel attempted a two-footed rash tackle on Artur which saw the Brazilian go down as if he'd been shot by a rocket. That killed the game for So'ton - down by a goal and down by one man!
Jimenez and Artur worked together again and some neat interplay at the edge of the box saw Artur grab his second. My half-time team talk was simple - I told the players to keep up the play and enjoy themselves.
Baselli produced a moment of brilliance as he scored a freekick from over 25 yards. Lovely freekick. The game was all but sealed at this points and I substituted key players to keep them fresh for the upcoming fixtures.
A high cross by Lustig then set-up Artur for his third. Great hat-trick by the Brazilian. I removed him after his hat-trick and he received a standing ovation from the crowd. He'd played his heart out.
Here are all the goals:
[video=dailymotion;x2ry6ux]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ry6ux_fm-15-fulham-4-0-southampton-goals_videogames[/video]
Jimenez and Artur worked together again and some neat interplay at the edge of the box saw Artur grab his second. My half-time team talk was simple - I told the players to keep up the play and enjoy themselves.
Baselli produced a moment of brilliance as he scored a freekick from over 25 yards. Lovely freekick. The game was all but sealed at this points and I substituted key players to keep them fresh for the upcoming fixtures.
A high cross by Lustig then set-up Artur for his third. Great hat-trick by the Brazilian. I removed him after his hat-trick and he received a standing ovation from the crowd. He'd played his heart out.
Here are all the goals:
[video=dailymotion;x2ry6ux]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ry6ux_fm-15-fulham-4-0-southampton-goals_videogames[/video]