Craven Cottage Newsround

Again, job done. Fulham nearly stole a win from Fratton Park today, but can be content with the draw.

The first half was strange, Portsmouth missing chances that looked impossibly easy, getting into positions and then failing to find a free man, and generally doing all they could to throw away a position of dominance. Niemi helped here, producing a string of saves that had us all gasping. His effort from a free-kick, clawing the ball almost out of the top corner, was sensational. Too often goalkeepers make routine saves look hard; this was the real deal. He was immense. This was doubly pleasing as he had played a ‘mare for Southampton here in the past, and the Pompey fans gave him noise all game long. I give him 10/10.

We got to the ground a little early, naively expecting to be able to grab a pint inside. Bad tea and a Yorkie had to suffice. It’s not a pretty place, but unique at this level I guess.

The warmup was fun to see, Dave Beasant giving Niemi and Lastuvka a thorough workout. He got a bit eager at times, and even managed to make a hole in the back of the stand with one shot. Several innocent bystanders behind the goal also had close shaves. My girlfriend has never paid so much attention at a football match!

After a well-observed silence we were off, and Portsmouth were on the attack straight away. In the end they had 24 shots and 20 corners, which tells you all you need to know about the winning combination of good defending and good luck that Fulham had today. Rosenior had a good game, scampering around and rarely wasting the ball; Queudreu seemed really up for the battle, hurling himself into challenges all day long; Knight scored a goal that opened up the possibility of a famous theft, played erratically but came out in credit overall; Pearce… looks to have lost something in these last two games. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been good, but the command of earlier in the season seems to have slipped a little. For a time he was playing out of his skin, but he’s mortal again now.

The midfield was bypassed too easily I think. Bocanegra looks better with every game he plays, and was again a resourceful, thoughtful and challenging defensive midfielder. But Volzy, for all his efforts, badly needs to play in his natural position. I like him as a footballer but worry that he’s been asked to do things that are not natural to him. So yeah, he’s serviceable in midfield, and makes tackles and does his bit, but I think he’s wasted in his current role. It’s a shame, but good on him for doing his best so earnestly every week. Hard not to warm to the lad. Boa Morte has lost pace and lost direction. He was a jack of all midfield trades today, but master of none. There were a few tackles, a few runs and a few nice passes, but in this form he’s a complementary player, not someone you build around. I think Routledge is more deserving of a place. Ditto Radzinski, who had a poor match. He showed little going forwards and little tracking back. Did the atmosphere get to him? Again, Routledge looked more of a threat than him.

Finally, Claus and McBride worked well at their forward roles, Claus seeming likely to make anything good we might come up with, McBride doing the heavy lifting up front on his own, again unrewarded. It was never going to be much fun for either of them, but they kept at it. Claus got beaten a few times in the middle of the park, but a tackler he isn’t and he’s picked to do damage at the other end. He set up Knight’s header with a good corner, so can be fairly pleased with his day.

We could have been hammered today, so a point is very much a good thing. It underlines what a ruggedly solid team Coleman has put together, and again is a credit to the team’s newfound oomph. They’re genuinely hard to beat. The Portsmouth fans threw a wall of noise down the pitch at them, but they stood tall and gave their all. It was a good day.

Friday is here, and there’s a game tomorrow.

I’d guess Coleman would be happy with a 0-0.  Portsmouth have a very strong defence and a lively set of forwards.  It’s going to be hard.

But maybe not.   What good is a four man defence if they only have Brian McBride to mark?  Maybe Claus and Boa will be able to hurt Portsmouth from deeper positions.  

And what to make of Benjani and Kanu?   Benjani is almost the complete forward, quick, strong, and will work for the team.  The problem is that he has zilcho composure in front of goal… if your centre-forward is to have a glaring weakness, this isn’t the one you’d choose.   Knight and Pearce gobbled up Darren Bent but Henri Kamara made them nervous.   Benjani isn’t as good as either, so ought to be containable.  But Kanu?  He’s a cross between Eric Cantona, Pele and a kangaroo.  How do you nullify that?   You don’t.  You just stay nearby, keep your wits about you and hope for the best.  And that is all anyone can ask.

I have a bad feeling about all this, but we’ll see.  I have been wrong most times before.   Check back here on Sunday for photos from Fratton Park, and check out Matt from TOOFIF’s preview here.  

Have a good Friday.

Yes, yes, this is a Fulham website.   Normal service will resume at the end of Eastwood Week.

There hasn’t been a great deal to talk about Fulham-wise, but this will change soon.  The Whites visit Jowelly Redknapp’s Portsmouth on Saturday, and CCN will be there in person to witness this momentous occasion.    I’m very excited.   Fratton Park is reputed to be a lively place, and Portsmouth have a lively team.   Should be a cracker, and it’ll be interesting to see where on the spectrum between 4-5-1 and 4-5-1 (but with attacking players) Coleman sees fit to sit this week.  Who knows?

Not me.   In other news, a fairly poor response to the Guardian’s Chris Coleman gallery.   They’re ok, but nothing special.

here’s a video of Freddy Eastwood’s goal against Man Utd last night.

As noted yesterday, Southend’s famous victory will not go unheeded on these pages.   Thus, I present a match report from our Southend supporting East of England correspondent.  Great stuff:

I generally get sick of people talking about the ‘magic of the cup’, David and Goliath, and the possibility of a ‘giant killing’.  It hardly ever happens, and when it looks like it might, it is generally cruelly snatched away.  In last seasons League cup Arsenal made heavy work of Doncaster Rovers, equalising with practically the last kick of 120 tense minutes to snatch an undeserved draw.  Just last month, Manchester United did the same - nabbing a winner they were scarcely worth as penalties beckoned against Crewe.  Both of the ‘minnows’ were subsequently patronised within an inch of their lives by the media, the usual comparisons of opposing team values (#70 million vs #100,000 and a set of tracksuits for the reserves) and honours (15 league titles vs a 4th division playoff win in 1991).  So I was unsurprised when the usual clichés were trotted out in the build up to my own team (Southend’s) match with Man Utd.  Showing their usual verve, SKY seized on every opportunity to belittle my club.  The small dressing room that visibly amused Ronaldo and Ferguson, the fact that Alans Parry and Smith had to shimmy up an unsteady ladder to reach the gantry (ITV beat you to that rib-tickler a fortnight ago SKY), and of course the value of our illustrious rivals (#50 million as Parry constantly reminded us).  It was with a due sense of dread that I waited for the gruesome proceedings to start.

In any case Ferguson at least showed some respect to the side occupying the bottom spot in the Championship.  Rooney and Smith in attack; Ronaldo, Richardson and Fletcher in midfield; Brown, Heinze and Silvestre in defence.  After the scare he got in Crewe, Ferguson was clearly not in the mood for another headache, and could safely assume that if Hull, Ipswich and Coventry could all score 3 at Roots Hall, Rooney, Ronaldo et al could surely cash in.  Southend had one well known player in their ranks, Mr Freddy Eastwood (recently the subject of a scouting report on these very pages), a few players you’ve probably not seen in a while in Spencer Prior, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, and Efe Sodje, and frankly not much else.

Southend started brightly. Campbell-Ryce, back from injury, looked sharp on the right and Eastwood seemed undaunted by the opposition.  Contrary to recent performances, Southend defended tidily – Prior and Sodje repelled almost all aerial attacks, Stephen Hammell didn’t leave Ronaldo’s side and Peter Clarke tidied up the loose balls in midfield.  Remarkably, 25 odd minutes in and it was still 0-0 when the biggest moment of the game arrived.  Southend were fortunate enough to win a free kick after Uriah Rennie overlooked a definite foul on Rooney a moment earlier.  The angle suggested that lefty Stephen Hammell would step up to take this one, yet it was Eastwood who curled his shot to perfection, scoring a goal that was more than fit to grace any match.  Alan Smith (the co-commentator not the Man U striker) seemed to think that Kuszczak might have done better which seemed unduly harsh.  David Seaman should have done better with Ronaldinho’s freekick in 2002, this was a brilliant strike and would have beaten better keepers than Kuszczack. 

Manchester United were almost level instantly.  The Southend defence, uncertain for the first time all evening, failed to clear, and the ball fell nicely for David Jones who beat Flahavan to strike the far post.  Ronaldo tested Flahavan from distance, and a cross on the stroke of half time almost opened the Shrimpers up, yet they hung on, deservedly leading at the break.

The second half was never going to be anything other than constant pressure from the visitors, and again Southend defended well.  It was not always elegant, but it was generally effective, and as the minutes ticked away Southend edged ever closer to an unlikely win, prompting Sir Alex to act.  While he had shown great respect in picking a first XI that you’d not have been surprised to see in the Premiership, Fergie’s bench belied an overconfidence that his internationals would get the job done and contained mainly youngsters (most of the starting line up from the Crewe game infact), the apparent intention to bring on a few kids with the game safe.  Such was the paucity of options open to him, Ferguson’s first switch saw Patrice Evra replace Alan Smith.  Decent player though Evra is, he is hardly a player you’d instinctively choose to rescue you in the event of a crisis.  Kieran Lee and Ryan Shawcross followed as Manchester desperately tried to push the game in to extra time.  Flahavan was a victim of the most ridiculous yellow card of the season when Uriah Rennie realised he’d not done anything to warrant a close up for 10 minutes, and Ronaldo continued to shoot from distance, but the clear chance just wouldn’t come.  The bodies poured forward.  The Southend penalty box became congested to such an extent that Rennie (who it must be said had a stinker) unaccountably missed Sodje’s forearm smash on Rooney that should have bought Man Utd a penalty.  “I don’t think the Southend fans are too worried about him missing that one” ventured one of the Alans.  Quite.

And then it was over.  Somehow Manchester United have contrived to lose to Southend United.  The inevitable equaliser has failed to materialize and David has beaten Goliath once more.  It has of course yet to sink in.  Being drawn away to Wycombe in the quarter finals should bring us Shrimpers down with a bump, yet right now my belief in ‘the magic of the cup’ is restored! Well done lads – now hows about we transfer some of that to the league.

These are strange times, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either lying or hasn’t been paying attention. The evidence is overwhelming: a big faced bearded man is on the front cover of a magazine called Focus with the heading ‘Space Travel For Everyone’ plastered across it. Is this a promise? When? And what will Richard Branson do about it? (for the big face is his)

Indeed. In other news, Southend have just scored against a reasonably strong version of Man Utd and Newcastle are winning. Crazy times.

Back to Southend (and I hope to have a match report from our Eastern Correspondent tomorrow). There are interesting players at Southend. We’ve discussed Freddy Eastwood in another post, but exhibit B is Efe Sodje, the commanding centre-back. Sodje is interesting because he wears a bandana. Few could carry this off, and indeed, if Eastwood were to wear one his heritage would become even more of a target for opposing fans, but on Sodje it just seems right. Look:

He’s a good player, but in his mid-thirties now so not someone for the future.

Hint for anyone reading this now: Southend v Man Utd is live here. Enjoy.

Update - 89th minute

Update - it’s over!

A few things seem to be on supporters’ minds today.  Here are some of them:

Booing

I didn’t join in at the weekend (or maybe I did, but not much).  But other people did, some down near the front of J block to my right.  Coleman took exception to this and unleashed a torrent of unsavoury words in their direction.  He later explained that some people by the tunnel have short memories and ought to be more realistic about the team’s fortunes.   I think that’s fair, he’s doing a lot with a small and cheapish squad, but equally his programme notes did say how he liked that the fans applauded the good stuff and let the players know about the bad stuff, so he can’t have it both ways?  Or can he?  Why not?  He is a slave to mood like the rest of us, and he had a team to motivate.  It was not the time to worry about hypocrisy.

Oddly I felt tainted by his statements, sitting near the tunnel as I do, but my conscience is clean as a newly washed sock.   I did boo against Charlton because we were being awful against a team that Man Utd would’ve put nine past, and I may have groaned at half time in the Wigan match because we were being played off the park by a team we’d notionally expect to beat, but booing is not my normal state of being.  If events cause me and others around me to find themselves making a round shape with our mouths and making a cow like noise, well, that’s just the way it is sometimes.   It should be fair, that’s all, and I don’t think it was against a good Everton team.

Wayne Routledge

Is he flattering to deceive, or deceiving to flatter, or what?   The trouble with wingers is that it’s very hard to be consistent.  That’s my interpretation anyway.. what you want from your wide players is a threat.   And I think Routledge is threatening, he demands attention, and sooner or later he’s going to make someone pay.  Or so it seems.

The lad is short of match practice and seems to have a good attitude (I watch for this and he’s tracked back intelligently and often when he’s played), so I think he deserves plenty of time to carve a niche for himself.  The worst thing would be for him to be in and out of the team without being able to find a groove, but I fear that this is his fate now that Boa has returned and Radzinski is playing well.  But he’s quick and can do clever things with the ball, and in a team that relies heavily on one man (Jensen) for creativity there ought to be a place for him.  We shall see.   Sooner or later he has to deliver tangible things, of course, but let’s give him a few games to prove himself.

Liam Rosenior

After realising that I was wrong about Michael Brown, most of the criticism here has been reserved for Liam and his passing.   My sister came with me to the game on Saturday and I told her to watch for this.  Sure enough, his first two passes were to nobody in particular.  But then a funny thing happened:  he turned it all around.  In real time that tackle on Arteta looked good, but on TV it looked like a wonderfully accomplished piece of defending, waiting long enough that Johnson wasn’t an option, then nailing Arteta with a perfectly timed covering tackle.  He did a number of other good things too.

Now, lest we get too excited, he’s done this before.   He had a stormer against Chelsea for the most part, but soon reverted to lesser form in the games that followed.  But there’s clearly something there, and if Coleman keeps giving him chances maybe he’ll grow into the player he sometimes shows glimpses of being.     Here’s hoping.

Claus shapes to shoot! Half a moment later the ball was in the net.

Everybody’s happy about this:

Hurray!

Total Football came to Craven Cottage this afternoon. Occasionally at least. Last week Coleman flooded the midfield with defensive players, but this time he went the other way and selected all of Radz, Boa, Routledge and Claus.  It was a bold team selection, and if it took time to get going, in time the passes got slicker and the movement more intelligent, and the win was just about fair.

Everton were good on the ball, solid in the tackle, and well organised. They dominated the first half and should have found something somewhere, Andy Johnson volleying over from close in and Niemi making a couple of good saves. There was also a shout for a penalty that was not given, Mr Johnson’s reputation for having poor balance in the box probably costing him. They were probably the best team we’ve seen at the Cottage this year, and to beat them was satisfying.

The game really came to life in the second half: Boa Morte showed flashes of leggy skill (when not in his scarecrow pose), Routledge whizzed round like an excited duck, and Jensen and Radzinski probed around the edge of the Everton box with some menace. Those four switched positions all game, and were hard to pin down.   McBride worked his socks off again, and Bocanegra showed signs of growing into that holding role. Fair play to the man for working hard at something that clearly doesn’t come naturally to him. The defence was back in business too, Knight and Pearce bossing things against good forwards, Queudreu flying back to form after a couple of slightly lax games, and even Liam played well. They’ll have enjoyed that, and deserved the point.

Colour me pleased. That was good football I think, a lovely autumn afternoon with two pleasing teams giving their best. Roll on Reading, which promises to offer more of the same.

Boa Morte; Diop; Brown; Bullard. This might be our best midfield, but only Boa has a chance of playing today.

They say that every action has a reaction. So maybe last week’s insipid 4-5-1 will produce a reactionary 4-2-4 or something completely out there like that. The trusty back four is ok, but what to do after that?

What indeed? Suppose for a moment that Mr Coleman did want to go barmy. He could tell Bocanegra and Volz to patrol the middle of the park, stick Boa and Routledge right up on the flanks, and give Helguson or John a run out with McBride. It’ll never happen, but imagine the fun! All games these days are midfield squeezes, at some point someone’s going to flood the opposition’s half with forwards and see how they like it. Was this what Ossie Ardiles had in mind all those years ago? We may never know. Like I say, it’ll never happen, but necessity being the mother of invention, Coleman could decide that if he has no midfielders to play, he should play no midfielders and hang the consequences. A 5-5 draw would be fair reward for this gambit and we’d all have something different to talk about on the way home.

But back in the real world we have an interesting game to play. Everton have a nice blend of skill and physical presence, and this looks like a problem for us. If all their people are recovered from their illnesses I am quite fearful. This is a better team than Wigan were last week, and they tore us apart.

Prediction: 1-3

PS EXCEPT… look on the left… we have alternated good and bad home results all year.  Hmmm.

A day early for a preview, a few days late for Wigan analysis, so we need something to talk about…

Well. On tv at the moment Newcastle, lead by target-man Albert Luque, lead Palermo 1-0 in Italy. This is remarkable from a couple of angles: one, Newcastle with an insulting side out (Sibierski being saved for Saturday? Exsquise me? ), are ahead in an away European fixture. And two, said Albert Luque has ghosted into the six yard box and nodded home James Milner’s expert cross like Alan Shearer in a dark wig. Madness.

The Palermo kit has been attracting our commentators’ attention all evening. If you want one, Subside Sports have them at £45. It’s the same design as the Ukraine top, which I have, and it’s quite tight, so order big. But yes, pink. I quite like it, it puts our reds, whites and blues to shame really. Statistically, many teams should wear green, purple, orange, turquoise, hell, probably gold these days, but in reality few do. Strange.

This hasn’t told you much has it? Never mind, Saturday is not far away. Everton come at lunchtime, and it should be a cracker. Our visitors have been laid low by a team-wide virus all week, so fingers crossed they’re all ok but a second or two off the pace. We probably could do with the help.

Finally, I think the lotto kit (shown above) would work well for Fulham in black and white. Presumably Airness will be removed at the end of the year, why not lotto?

Here’s Argentina’s young star superimposed on a Hamburg building during the World Cup.

Didn’t he play well yesterday against Chelsea?   There’s a something there that’s beyond all but a tiny percentage of footballers.    I always think of players with outstanding talent as being something like Robocop or The Terminator.   The latter two (both cyborgs? I’m not sure) had computer screens in their field of vision that rapidly calculated things and told them what to do.   I think Messi must have a similar version.   Put me on the field (and at 6′4′ I’m a very different player to Lionel) and everything will be a blur, I’ll panic, and I’ll make Liam Rosenior look like Glenn Hoddle with extra mustard.   But Messi and his ilk dance through a game and things work for them.  It’s beautiful to see.

The closest we have to a Messi is Joe Cole or Wayne Rooney.   Probably somewhere between the two?   So we can make them, it’s just very hard to do.   But it’s very exciting to be able to watch football played like Messi plays it, because let’s face it, it’s a different game to the one we watch most weeks at the Cottage!