Craven Cottage Newsround

If the rumours are correct Jimmy Bullard’s season is over.

This is a great shame. A shame for Bullard, who started the season in magnificent form, a shame for Chris Coleman, whose short and medium-term plans must have revolved around his new midfielder, and a shame for the fans, who have lost an exciting and important player.

Fulham will cope without him, but it means that someone else is going to have to step up. Boa Morte needs to find his old form, and fast. Bouba Diop has been playing well in his defensive midfielder role, but perhaps it’s time to stamp his authority on matches a little more. He deals with whatever comes near him and does it well, but equally, he doesn’t really dominate the midfield. Now he needs to. Michael Brown gets a stay of execution, and a chance to show the Fulham crowd why he was so beloved at Sheffield Utd. It still looks to me that he’s a little short of Premiership class, but now he’ll get the chance to show what he’s made of. Finally, Wayne Routledge now becomes Attacking Midfielder No. 1. He played well and often for Palace last time they were up, and he needs to do so again now.

Between these four we have a solid and workmanlike midfield that can cope with most things the Premiership can throw up. There’s tackling in the middle and pace and ability out wide. With a supportive back four (and really the back four is a strength now) and a first rate ‘keeper, the only issue remains our forward play. It could be that Routledge unleashes the animal within McBride and we get some goals that way, but that still requires either Helguson or John to show a lot more than they have so far this year. I’d like to be optimistic, but more realistically I think Coleman needs to find some David Nugent money by January.

There, who needs Jimmy? I’m joking. Get better soon.

Excuse the delay: family business at CCN towers and writing was far from our minds.  

Right: Sunday’s game (for it is a Sunday because Spurs are taking on Slavia in Europe on Thursday) sees a Bullard-less Fulham take on a Lennon-less Spurs.  Also missing from the match will be new Spurs striker Berbatov, who is injured, and new Fulham goal-supplier Wayne Routledge, who as a loanee is not allowed to play against his ‘real employers’.  Meanwhile, Ledley King returns to the Spurs side.

So what does this mean?  Someone new will be playing in Fulham’s midfield for one thing.  On Saturday Routledge replaced Bullard, and with neither available we’ll be seeing a new face in midfield, probably Radzinski. 

The other selection issue will be at the back, where Zat Knight’s impressive display in Newcastle may keep him in the team, Christenval’s good early form be damned.   If you believe that both can do a good job alongside Pearce, it’s a nice decision for CC to have to make.  Seeking some away stability, Coleman may even find a way to get all three into the lineup, but that would be a big surprise.   It’s something I’d consider though.  Radzinski appears to be a part-time player in Coleman’s eyes, so having a third centre-back who might be stationed a little higher up the field might be what’s needed to counter the clever runs of Robbie Keane, doubly so if Jol goes with a three-pronged attack of Mido-Keane-Defoe, which he may do with Lennon unavailable.  

All of this is bored speculation though.  The manager has shown a good sense of what his team is and what it’s trying to do, so I’m quite optimistic of our ability to stifle a good but far from great Spurs side.

Prediction: Spurs 0-1 Fulham.   Jaded by Europe, Spurs find Fulham’s resolute back four hard to break down.   Fulham, gaining in confidence, find a goal against the run of play and take three more impressive away points.    Yeah, maybe that is a bit optimistic, but it could happen.
 

Injury news from physioroom.com:

Fulham 5 
J Bullard dislocated knee no return date   
A Elrich knee 17th Sep 06   
R Milsom back 23rd Sep 06   
M Pembridge calf 17th Sep 06   
S Elliott calf 17th Sep 06 

Tottenham Hotspur 3 
A Lennon knee 5th Nov 06   
D Berbatov adductor strain 17th Sep 06   
S Malbranque groin 4th Nov 06