Craven Cottage Newsround

We could’ve taken Stamford Bridge.   Fulham’s injury hit heroes stormed the rival Chelsea turf, first inhibiting this most expensive of sides, then leaving them wheezing on the ropes, gasping and praying for the final whistle.  And if it wasn’t quite that one sided in real life I’m having a lot of fun remembering it that way.

We sang and sang and sang, and the lads responded.  The irrepressible Moritz Volz, rapidly becoming the complete footballer (I know) surged in to give us an early lead.  It was the 15,000th goal scored on the Premiership gravy train, and came somewhat as a shock; Chelsea had previously fired 4-5 balls all the way across our six yard box and were sniffing blood at that point.  Then came a huge moment, as a handy move ended with Wayne Routledge in a position to make it two.  He was moving across the ball and it wasn’t an easy chance, but a hard and low finish into either corner would’ve given Halario no chance.  Instead his side-footed strike missed the target high.

Chelsea started to muscle in on our fun, and if anyone had said “Frank Lampard will equalise with a deflected shot” I would not have disagreed.   The ball fell to the edge of the D, which is exactly where Lampard does his damage, and bang his strike whizzed into the bottom corner via Liam’s heel.  It was unlucky, but a fair reflection on how the game was developing.

In the second half Noah’s own rain joined us, falling down in a mass of water then curving under the East stand roof in the wind, thereby drenching many Chelsea fans.  Ho ho ho.

If Lampard’s strike was familiar then so was Drogba’s, heading home from close in to give his side the lead.   A lead that at first seemed unlikely to be clawed back, but once more Fulham found another gear.  McBride’s header was well-saved by Hilario, and we drove on and on.  Half-chances came and went, but inside the last ten minutes Hilario again denied McBride and the ball came back into open play.  This was one of those car-crash moments, where the whole world suddenly moves really slowly.  It took forever to fall to Carlos Bocanegra, whose body language was that of a man who was about to score an important goal.  It was not in doubt.  Ball rolled on, Carlos shaped, steered, and yep, in she went.  Two-two!

The rest of the match was spent shouting the goalscorer’s name to the tune of the conga.  It was magnificent stuff, and Fulham’s heroes continued to pile on the pressure to the last.   When Howard Webb finally blew it felt strange; we had held Chelsea at the Bridge, but will there ever be a better chance to beat them there?  Ah, I’m being silly, it was terrific, and the players were brilliant.

There was a world class German central midfielder on display today… and he was wearing white.   There was an industrious, effective but skillful English central midfielder on display today, and so was he.   Whatever happens in the transfer window, the Brown and Volz midfield pairing is a joy to behold.  These two can do a bit of everything, and like the Terminator, they will not be stopped in their mission.   Behind them Christenval is showing that he’s probably our best passer, and can still defend as well as he needs to, while Bocanegra handled everything Chelsea threw at him then scored that vital, vital goal.   With Niemi this back 5 is a terrific spine on which everything else can build and flourish.

Radzinski was as good as he has been for us, Liam did his bit, and McBride and John made themselves known.  Franck’s injury induced radar failure still remains a problem, but his tackling and his heart make up for this.  Routledge flattered to deceive for much of the game, but we’re better with him out there and he’s our most reliable dead-ball kicker.

Whew.  We nearly beat Chelsea on their own patch.  How about that?

Game 4 of Operation Christmas, and the toughest of the bunch.  Chelsea have not been the all-singing all-dancing champions of previous seasons, and are further undermined by John Terry’s absence, but their version of an injury crisis and our version of an injury crisis are two very different things.

So they’ll be using some of their fringe players.  Whisper it, but Mourinho has never managed to find trustworthy defenders for times when Terry is away, and this is our chance.  We could’ve beaten them at the Cottage, Diop heading wide at 0-0 when well placed, and a win today is not out of the question.  If Carvalho and Ferreira are at the centre of the Chelsea defence again we will have chances.

The big worry is Drogba, doubly so because I think Zat Knight could handle him in the air.  Bocanegra and Christenval are not big enough for this though, and Franck must help out here, being arguably our best remaining aerial defender.  It’s a bit worrying, but at least Robben and Cole are out, players who might prove too tricky for us.  If the game’s reduced to a battle of wills and half-chances we have a chance.

Collins John will step in for the suspended Helguson, which isn’t a bad thing.  He has a chance to rise to the occasion and cement his future at the club (clubs will enquire in January, I’m sure), so let’s hope he takes it. The word is that Roma’s Montella is to arrive on loan, so Collins needs to impress while he can.

In all I have a funny feeling about this, perhaps because Howard Webb (who refereed us to victory over Arsenal) is in charge.  Or we could be slaughtered, but like I say, I have a strange feeling.  Time will tell if it’s something to do with all the Marmite I ate yesterday, or something more soothsayerish altogether.

COYW!!

Never mind that it probably wasn’t a free-kick, that the goal was a product of chaos rather than plan, or that it all happened deep into injury time. Operation Christmas is still afloat.

We said that these games would define the season. Lose them and we’d be in big trouble. Win them we’d be rocket-packed up towards the European places. As ever, we’re somewhere in between, but that’s good. By not losing to our rivals we haven’t conceded ground. So while it could be better, it could also be so much worse.

In the event a draw was fair, Fulham dominating possession in the second half and netting an equaliser from Franck Queudrueu. The free-kick that led to the goal was dubious, but dodgy free-kicks are part of football and Charlton still should’ve been able to defend that position.

Pardew:

“I am absolutely disgusted. I felt a little bit aggrieved at the time - I looked at it and didn’t think there was anything in it. I thought he gave it for a push or something. After seeing it on the replay I’m really, really disappointed. Our players getting nervous, rash and making poor decisions towards the end is expected, but when it’s the referee and linesman that fathoms belief, to be honest. Djimi was disappointed because we’ve conceded that late goal; he didn’t touch it with his hand, it was quite obvious.”

To which Coleman replied:

“The free-kick we got was a dubious one, but there were dubious decisions all night. The big fellow upstairs was looking down on us in the last minute to give us the free-kick that maybe we shouldn’t have had, but there were definitely decisions that went against us tonight.”

Which seems entirely reasonable. We haven’t had the best of luck this season, and while it is harsh on Charlton these things do happen.

By all accounts (I listened on the radio, being nowhere near London or a Sky pub) we played fairly well without really threatening, the news revealing McBride’s goal to be a result of good positioning and the sort of luck that rewards good players’ decisions. Gary Lineker made a career of being lucky like that - McBride really is a gem. Charlton’s equaliser passed me by, but Niemi was rumoured to be culpable, then Boca and Liam left a long ball, to each other and therefore to Darren Bent, and that was 2-1. Franck’s equaliser (and we’ve suggested he might be more of a force going forward) was a fortunate but delicious right footed volley deep into injury time. Fantastic. Still unbeaten, Operation Christmas rolls on to Stamford Bridge.

Tomorrow Fulham travel to Charlton.  Our opponents have looked about as bad as a top flight team can, a shambles of a side that seems destined for the Championship.

To counter this slide the Charlton brains trust has axed manager number two, Les Reid being given the chop on Christmas Eve after a fairly dismal run at the helm.  Alan Pardew takes over.   This is a little harsh on Fulham, in that last week we took on West Ham with their new manager (and West Ham duly got their first away point in some time) and now we face the same phenomenon here.  The only hope is that Charlton are so far gone that nobody can save them.  It still seems somewhat fanciful to think we might actually win the game, but a draw should be fairly easily achieved.

The Fulham injury situation remains troubling, but a point at Charlton and a win over Watford on New Year’s day would be acceptable I think.   We can’t reasonably expect anything from Stamford Bridge in between, but four more points will keep us facing in the right direction.   Ho ho ho.

Well as the dust settles people seem increasingly pleased with yesterday’s point.  That Brown and Volz were fantastic has been mentioned almost everywhere, so here’s another seasonal three-cheers for our midfield duo.

That done, we must now consider that Helguson is out with a suspension (fiery bugger isn’t he?  Hardly seems to have played, but he’s picking up the cards… and goals and assists).  Now, if Collins John is really persona non grata rather than injured it’ll be interesting to see how we approach things against whichever club Heidar’s suspension kicks in against (Charlton or Chelsea, depending on where you look).   Hopefully Claus will be back to bring some joy to us all.  That’ll mean 4-5-1 won’t it?  Radz and Routledge have played well, but there’s no way Coleman will play those two with Claus in a four.  Brown might be a one-man midfield at times, but there are limits.

Elsewhere, Zat’s broken jaw is being discussed with some suspicion.  Coleman has been saying “that’s his story and we believe it” which is a strange way to put it if you really do believe it.  True or not, it was a bad time to break a jaw, the squad being stretched to the limit as it is.   Now the rumours are linking us with Titus Bramble, who might need a change of scenery or might need a new brain or might need a new career; we don’t know, but the sight of him running out there for the whites would make more than a few of us nervous.  Whatever it is that gets to centre-backs in the North East certainly got to Titus. Or maybe Titus is that ‘whatever.’  Oh dear, and yikes.

Finally, a point about the squad.  We might think that it’s a little short on quality sometimes, but how many squads could withstand this many injuries and still put out a decent team?  Coleman’s picked up some good players in his time, there’s no doubt about it.  Credit where credit’s due.

And now back to the Christmas excitement.  Mum and Dad are grating a lime with a view to making an interesting sounding pie.  Merry Christmas.

This’ll have to be quick, off down to the in-laws for Xmas grub.

A huffing and puffing 0-0 draw, fair play to West Ham who threw the kitchen sink at us early (with the help of the best travelling support we’ve seen this year), but Fulham’s patched up back line held firm enough and after half an hour or so we wrestled our way back into the match.

The Hammers had most of the good moments, Harewood hitting a post, Etherington the bar (with a weird looping header) and Niemi having to make a couple of smart saves, but we probably deserved the point. Radzinski and Routledge both had decent games, Brown and Volz were immense again, and the back four all played well (nice for Boca to step in so seemlessly).  It was tricky back there, Zamora and Harewood are both bigger than both of our centre-backs, but our bend but not break defending was just about okay.

The sending off was largely redundant, coming as it did with only five minutes left.  I don’t think it was a fair decision, which is not to say that Routledge dived (he didn’t), more that Konchesky seemed to get ball first.   If this had happened earlier in the game we’d have probably won, but there we go.

Hard to be too down given the team we put out, and in a way it’s testament to the squad Coleman’s built that even with all these injuries we can still field a half-decent team.

Right, that’s it from me for a bit.  Merry xmas!

As we celebrate the winter solstice it’s time to think about tomorrow’s match against West Ham. Frankly I have no idea what’ll happen, the Hammers being in a terrible run of form, only interrupted by a new manager and the defeat of Manchester Utd. So they’ll come to Fulham expecting… what? Who knows? Not me.

Fulham will possibly be unchanged from the Middlesbrough game, which would be a good thing because once we’d got to grips with things that was a decent performance. If I were Alan Curbishley I’d certainly use Carlos Tevez, whose unstinting aggression, pace and directness is not the sort of thing that we defend well against. Otherwise there’s probably not a lot to choose between the teams, which gives us a slight edge but suggests a score draw.

So that’s all from me. While I’m here, thank you to everyone who has visited this site since August. Yesterday we recorded our 5,000th visitor, which feels like a nice sort of milestone. I started this with no idea how long I’d stick at it, or whether anyone would want to read it, but thankfully I’m still going and you’re still coming. Have a great Christmas!

UPDATE:  Zat Knight has a broken jaw.  So Christenval and Bocanegra tomorrow, it would seem.

The following are my impressions of the players’ contributions so far. Grades are based on what they’ve done while on the field, so Seldom-Seen Christenval scores highly because he’s been immaculate, despite the injury issues. (NB: I didn’t see the Blackburn, Newcastle or Villa matches in full.)

Antti Niemi

Has been important. He performed heroics at Portsmouth to save us from a hiding, and his sharp work kept an early Middlesbrough barrage at bay this week. He has had his moments - I felt he might have done more at Man City for example - but by and large Antti has been good. There aren’t many Premiership ‘keepers I’d swap him for.
Grade B

Liam Rosenior

Here’s what I think the situation is: he is uncomfortable on the ball when there is no obvious passing option. Brown, Queudreu and Diop (to name three who spring to mind) are all quite adept on working with the ball in a tight space and waiting for a pass to show itself. Liam seems to panic in these situations, making ungainly hacks or aimless punts that make him look worse than he is. Where he thrives is on the overlap with space in front of him. In these situations he makes good quick passes and times his runs well, and has the pace to get behind defenders. The site of him flying down the wing can be thrilling. His tackling has generally been okay too, and he has a happy knack for goal-line clearances.

There’s no doubt that Liam has improved as the season has gone on, and he does appear to have a bright future in the game. He’s clearly a bright lad, he cares about the game, and should improve further. I suspect he might thrive in better company, and that a move to a big club is probably not more than three seasons away.
Grade B-

Zat Knight

Started the season on the bench, but stepped up when Christenval got injured and took the captain’s band when Boa dropped out. Knight has been impressive for the most part, obviously commanding in the air and decent in the tackle. His passing can be poor and Coleman should fine him every time he tries to do anything that isn’t a short, simple pass, but then he’s not picked for his creativity.

Knight often seems to be playing on the edge, making last ditch tackles and full-stretch interceptions, and this worries me a little. Call it what you will, technique perhaps, but this trait (if I have imagined it) means that he always seems to be a split second away from disaster, which can be nerve-wracking. The good thing is that playing with Christenval takes some of the pressure off him, the two complementing each other better than the Knight-Pearce pairing does. If I seem overly critical I don’t mean to be, Zat has certainly played well this year, but he’s clearly not the finished article yet.
Grade B

Ian Pearce

Started in fine form, committed, strong and surprisingly nimble, but the Portsmouth game represented a turning point for him in my eyes. Suddenly he seemed that split second slower to react to things, and the certainty of earlier games was slowly replaced by increasingly bedraggled defending. Pearce is a good player for the squad, but my admittedly fickle view is that perhaps his days as a regular are running out.
Grade C+

Franck Queudreu

Feline smooth in possession but very quick to fly into tackles, Franck is a joy to watch. However, he seems to have concentration issues on occasion: he’s been caught out on a couple of goals, and once every few matches he’ll have weird spells where his passes go haywire and he’ll miss-kick and generally look a shambles. What I like about Franck is his determination, he will hurl himself wherever he needs to be hurled, is supple enough to make some bizarre volleyed clearances (we’ll forget Wigan), and gets forward when he can.

Franck has quickly established himself as one of my favourite players, and I’m hopeful he’ll improve on his promising early season form and be a fixture at left-back for the forseeable future.
Grade B-

Moritz Volz

Has had little opportunity to play in his favoured right-back position, but Volzy has given everything wherever he’s been asked to play. He and Brown were fantastic in their harrying of Boro midfielders this week. He gets forward well and has made a number of driving runs at opponents this season, and got on the scoresheet at Villa. He prefers right-back and is very good there, superb in the tackle and strong when he needs to be. His midfield adventures will surely help his development as an all-round footballer, and I’m optimistic that he’ll go from strength to strength and become a real force for Fulham.
Grade B

Phillippe Christenval

Class. Good players, they say, appear to have that much more time on the ball than their mortal brethren. Christenval never seems hurried, even when charging down violent shots. He anticipates attacks wonderfully well, glides in, deals with the threat, and finds a nearby midfielder who can build things again. His play improves that of those around him too. Simply put, Christenval should be in the team for as long as he is fit to play.

And yes, the shame is that he isn’t fit to play enough. We’ll have to hope that this changes.
Grade A-

Carlos Bocanegra

I worry for Bocanegra. He has yet to play in his natural position, and rumours are that we’ll be bringing in another defender this january. Where then for Boca? Clearly a capable defender, he has had to make do with occasional performances in an unfamiliar holding role. This has gone about as well as could be expected, but it’s not what he’d want and not what the team needs. The man can play, and I wish he’d get more of a chance, but so far no dice. I hope he doesn’t get frustrated because I rate him and think he has a lot to offer, but international footballers need to play regularly, and he’s good enough to get games for our rivals.
Grade C

Michael Brown

Ah, I can’t say it often enough: I was wrong about Brown. I wrote about him a couple of days ago, but he reminds me of an eager dog who’ll run and run and run, bounding around the field chasing the ball. He’s not just an enforcer though and can clearly play football (note the instant ball over the top putting Boa clean through when we were 2-0 up against Arsenal). Next up for Michael is to start to get on the scoresheet every so often, something he’s done in the past. In all, Brown is vital to the team at the moment, and is a delight to watch. He’s even stopped making silly tackles (although part of me does think “Get ‘im Browny” about five times a game). Potential captain?
Grade B+

Papa Bouba Diop

John Motson and casual observers still see him as some kind of Viera figure who runs things in our midfield. The reality is somewhat different, as our ponderous Senegal international has not really hit his stride this season. His passing is neat and usually accurate, and his ability to dribble in tight circles and out of danger is good to see, but you can’t help feeling he should be contributing more. And the injuries do little to ease the frustration. The second half of the season will be important for Bouba.
Grade C-

Luis Boa Morte

He ran Arsenal ragged in a famous victory. This alone might make him attractive to other teams in the transfer window, which is a good thing because on the evidence of this season he needs a change of scenery. He has been fairly impressive tracking back, but too often has been disinterested, or even *too* interested. Too often he stands - hands askance - scarecrowing at referees over perceived injustices, regardless of what’s happening around him. And is he a captain? I don’t think so. There is another Boa in there somewhere, and we’d all like him back, but the player we’re watching at the moment isn’t helping Fulham win football matches. If we get a £5 million offer we can’t reasonably refuse it, can we?
Grade C-

Jimmy Bullard

The suggestions are that things are not looking good for Bullard, a bubbling midfielder who gave the team a bit of everything at the beginning of the year. He was about the only player to come away from Manchester with any credit on the opening day, knocked away a last minute penalty to rescue a point agaist Bolton, then caressed a winning free-kick into the top corner to beat Sheffield United. Then he tangled with Scott Parker and we’re all hoping we haven’t seen the last of him. Good luck, Jimmy.
Grade A

Wayne Routledge

Here’s where I differ from others: I believe Routledge is a valuable asset, who, if he gets his head on straight, can be a very threatening attacking player. Put another way, this team needs Routledge. We have a dearth of flair players, and a five man midfield with no pace and no creativity (Claus excepted), Routledge can stretch the game and make space and openings for teammates. True, it hasn’t really happened yet, but I’m optimistic. Football should be fun to watch, and Routledge in full flow, zig-zagging whizzily up the right wing, is a wonderful sight. Goal for 2007: stay at Fulham, take more responsibility, make a lot of goals.
Grade C

Thomas Radzinski

Current hate figure it seems. Radz is an honest player who is perhaps learning what it takes to be a wide player. He scored a vital goal against Arsenal and laid on McBride’s against Boro, but his contributions have been infrequent and not as cutting as we might hope. Needs a big second half to silence the doubters.
Grade C-

Claus Jensen

Returned to the team with a bang this year. Coming back from injury he revived an appalling team performance against an awful Charlton side, entering as sub and sparking some crackling football. His cross led to McBride’s opener, then moments later he charged onto Rosenior’s through ball to blast the ball over Scott Carson for a second, decisive goal. He scored the winner against Everton too, and has generally been central to much of the good attacking the team has done this season. Which is good and bad. He’s gifted, skillful and effective, but in Coleman’s 4-5-1 sometimes *too* much relies on Claus’s ability to unlock defences. Our direct approach leaves him in a virtual no-man’s land between the midfield and the forwards, and with his lack of defensive aptitude, he can struggle to make an impact if the ball isn’t running for him. That’s the downside. The upside is that he has abilities that nobody else in the team has, and if he gets involved he is a pleasure to watch. He’s been an asset.
Grade B-

Brian McBride

I’ll stay away from the cliches here, but people say what they say about McBride because it’s true. We simply couldn’t ask for a better pro up front and I’d guess that he has a positive influence on those around him. Endlessly patient, despite games where he gets absolutely nothing to work with, McBride still has a decent strike rate and has knocked in some impressive goals this year.
Grade A-

Collins John

What to make of Collins John? A natural finisher in a team that lacks one, he has struggled to make an impact on any of the games he’s played in this year. Except in Manchester against City, where his second-half cameo resulted in one legitimate goal and two others that were narrowly disallowed for offside. Offside, eh? It’s the bain of John’s life, and he’s right up there with Benni McCarthy in trapability. The lad clearly has a lot of talent, but it’s just not happening for him at the moment. A loan move (to Watford or Birmingham?) might help, but cutting ties with him would surely be a mistake. As he matures I’m sure goals will flow; hopefully he’ll be wearing a Fulham shirt when they do.
Grade C-

Heidar Helguson

We want more! Not dissimilar to McBride, but this shouldn’t mean they can’t play together, as we saw against Boro. Helguson plays hard but has skill and presence, and must be a nightmare to play against. He is, I believe, top of the Fulham assist charts, despite not playing much. He’s also found the net reasonably regularly. The good thing is that we might not have seen the best of him yet.
Grade B

Steve B on TFI has insider knowledge of these things, and has managed to summarise what he perceives to be the current state of play. 

In short, the stage seems set for a Diarra loan from Chelsea, for a centre-back to arrive (Ujfulusi or one from a list at the bottom), and for Boa to stay (subject to a mystery £5million bid being turned down… I’d take the money).  Dempsey also seems likely.  Conspicuously absent is any mention of a forward, which I believe to be our biggest need (although saying that, the number of times we’ve put out patchwork midfields this year is surely a sign that we need depth there).  Collins John (to Watford) and possibly Claus (to West Ham) are mentioned as likely leavers.

The list of centre backs who meet the criteria below (he corrected North East to North West) are:

Bolton - Tal Ben Haim
Everton - Alan Stubbs
Man City - Sylvain Distin
Wigan - Stephane Henchoz, Matt Jackson
Man Utd - none
Blackburn - Aaron Makoena, Dominic Matteo
Liverpool - Zak Whitbread

(I got these contract details from the Football Transfers website - link later but type “2010″ into the search box down and on the right and you’ll find an old post I did that contains a link to that site)

Yes, so assuming I haven’t missed someone (which I might have) none of these seem to be a particularly significant improvement on what we have already, although Distin appeals to some.   

In all, the rumoured moves look great, doubly so if Dempsey can join, but I’d be happier if there was a forward in there too.  The other thing to consider is that with all transfers we look at best case scenarios; players are judged on what we think they can be.  But Diarra might not like it here, Dempsey might take time to adjust, and the mystery centre-back might not look so good.  Look at Diawara at Charlton, who had a good reputation but is now really struggling.  I feel for him.

So it’s good news that we’re strengthening, and if things go well we could be halfway safe by January, but it’s worth remembering that the new lads might not solve everything, and that other teams are also going to be very active in the window.  We’ll see….

Here’s Steve’s post in full:

Great specualation as always this time of year and some of it has been quite close to the truth. I have been keeping my ear close to the ground and talking to some key people and I can tell you it looks quite exciting. The following is my assessment of thinks as I see it but would add that its based on good ’sources’ of info. So as Kate Thornton would say…….’in no particular order’….
Firstly, we have spoken to Chelsea about a loan deal for Diarra. QPR heard that he was desperate to play regular football and tried to get him….the player sais no he wanted top flight football. On monday night it is my belief that a deal in principle to take him on loan until the end of this season was agreed all round and now just the n itty-gritty remains. He is, by all accounts, a very hard-working lad who is absolutely chomping at the bit to show chelsea what he can do….for us that be great news.
Watford have enquired about Heidi….we have said no way. However, the discussions then moved to CJ and they asked if they could loan him until the end of season. We are considering it and ‘I think’ that is why he threw a wobbly. Bouthroyd is due to talk to the player soon and the deal is likely to be confirmed after the news year day clash.
Niclas will leave in the new year…..was due to go in august but the deal was held up….now virtually sorted.
Claus is in discussions about a new deal but is waiting on the club to put a formal offer in writing. He has been linked with a move to Wet Spam and on monday Curbs asked through the correct channels if he were available. If he does not accept the deal we offer then he will go in January.
Zakuani is wanted by at least 3 clubs…..Colchester, Ipswich and Palace have all been in and it is almost certain he will be loaned out in January….mainly as the club know that he needs games and experience.
Our efforts to bring in a centre back are virtually close to success. The club identified 2 possible targets in the summer, one a czech based in Italy and the other playing in the north east. I have delayed posting as this issue is quite sensitive at the moment and the club want to finalise the deal as soon as they can in the new year. If we get the italian based player it will be a £3.5m ish transfer….if not it will be up to us to buy and offer a 3 year deal to the other the player as he WILL NOT go out on loan. He wants a permanent deal as his contract is out in May and he has been told he will not get a new one.
Danny Murphy has been mentioned but I am led to believe that his wages are possibly too high for us to take him. There have been talks and these may well continue during the coming weeks. The players agent is keen for him to come, the player would relish the challenge but he will be expensive to pay.
SWP has been told to stay at Chelsea and work harder on breaking into the side…..I do not think he is going to be loaned out anywhere.
LBM has again told the club he wants to stay. Boa believes his contribution this year has been below expectations and wants to get over this injury and get back to what he does best. The club have, however, been approached by someone who is likely to table an offer of around £5m…..this may be too tempting to refuse at the moment. In this sundays papers there will be specualtion about this offer and the clubs name will be published….make your own mind up when you see it as too whether you think Boa would go there !!
Finally, spare a thought for Jimmy Bullard. He is putting on a really brave face but is deeply worried about the future. His injury was so severe that the surgeons were worried far more than we were told about his future. If the lad pulls on a fulham shirt again we should all be very grateful to the doctors and surgeons who are looking after him…………good luck Jimmy.
I will update you as soon as I hear anything more….have a great christmas !!

Since my posting earlier, I have received a call from a mate about the Dempsey enquiry into a work permit. He told me that only when a club signs a player and officially applies for the permit would it be considered or commented on. However, he believes that the advisory office can give give an indication on thisd beforehand and it is understood that Dempseys agent has been told that he WOULD be clear to play 28 days after the application.
With us firmly in the driving seat on this one it looks a lot more positive now that we will try and get him signed on and processed early, rather than, late January. I know we have held many talks about him so if this info is right then it will be a mad scranble amongst all interested clubs to get him in early……good luck Cookie !!

My girlfriend’s parents used to have a Springer Spaniel called Bracken.  I loved Bracken because he’d fetch anything, we’d go into the field with a baseball bat and a load of balls and I’d hit them, he’d fetch them.  Wherever they landed, Spud (as we called him) would find them.  He’d go on for hours, picking up balls from near, far, or thorny bushes.   He was great at what he did.   Bracken did have a mean streak too, in his earlier years he was a bit unpredictable, but for the most part he was a lovely dog.

I only mention this because Michael Brown’s performance yesterday reminded me of Spud.  Brown was all over the place, jogging in that springy way of his, then woof, his eyes light up and he closes down an opponent, who must then lay the ball off and the attack slows.  Brown jogs back into position, waiting, waiting, then woof, off he goes again, snapping into a tackle, doing the simple things, and round again.  For 90 minutes, without missing a thing.

Michael Brown is Fulham’s equivalent of a gun dog, fearless, reliable and indespensible under the circumstances (I know nothing of these things, but presumably shooting without a gun dog would be a waste of time).  I’ve said before that I was wrong about him, but it’s worth repeating: he’s a terrific player and we’re lucky to have him.

After 10 minutes of bedlam Fulham pulled a rabbit from the hat, scored two quick goals, took control, gave it back and held on with all the certainty of Julian Clary on a rugby pitch.

In a deeply frustrating night we saw all that’s good about this Fulham team, as well as some of the things that drive us mad. The defending in that opening spell was chaotic, the restored Niemi having an early blinder. Then Franck knocked forward to Volz, whose run into the box ended with a fall. Helguson, who battled like a mad thing throughout, struck the kick home firmly for an undeserved 1-0 lead. Then it was 2, Radzinski finding McBride who found the bottom corner from 20 yards. Boro were out of the game at that point and Fulham began to put together one of the better halves we’ve seen this season. Wayne Routledge, long supported on these pages, really started to show what he can do, with Brown and Volz in the middle of the park bossing things with energy and strength. This was definitely my favourite centre-midfield pairing of the season.

After the break Boro pushed on but the game lost its shape. Fulham seemed to be happy to hold on at 2-0, and Coleman withdrew Radzinski, bringing on Bocanegra to hold. Seconds later a poor Niemi kick was headed into Viduka’s path, and the Australian’s finish just eluded Phillippe Christenval’s late lunge. 2-1, a joke of a goal.

This set up a mad last few minutes as Fulham tried to run down the clock and Boro piled on pressure. It was awful to see, but the lads held out and will take great heart at taking all the points in such a vital match. As discussed earlier in the week, these games are going to shape our season, and to avoid the looming 2-2 draw was massive. We can take on West Ham on Saturday in good heart.

The players again had decent individual matches, Niemi making a string of good saves, Phillippe Christenval was quietly superb all game, and Zat Knight put himself in important positions time and again. They look like a terrific pairing, Christenval in particular playing with such sureness and aptitude that one wonders if he’s destined for bigger things. He even pinged a 40 yard ball over a full-back and into Liam’s stride late on. Wonderful player. Franck had a rusty return, full of effort and rubber-man interventions, but his radar was miles off when he had the ball. The midfield wasn’t perfect but Michael Brown showed why he’s so important to the team, covering the pitch and harrassing anyone who dared to linger on the ball, no matter where they were. Volz was a willing companion, and it was great to see these honest pros working tirelessly in unison. Helguson and McBride were as hard-working as you would expect.

And so to West Ham, which on this evidence is eminently winnable. More tomorrow, but bed beckons for we early risers. COYW!

Mixed results for us this week. Charlton and Watford lost, which is good in so far as it makes any late season heroics that much harder for either club. Both look like they’re near certain to drop.

But someone will need to go down with them. Man City could be that team, and they lost at home to Spurs today. Radio 5 said that there’s considerable unrest among the natives too. Sheffield Utd won away, good for this irrepressible and hardworking side, bad for teams like us looking down. As I write this West Ham lead Manchester Utd 1-0 (UPDATE: CONFIRMED RESULT), which is cleary a Very Bad Thing for us. We don’t need a revival at Upton Park. Other teams like Reading and Wigan are starting to falter but should put enough points on the board to stay clear of the hairy positions.

Which leaves Middlesbrough, our Northern equivalents. They’re not a bad side, not a good one, quite good at home, quite bad away. We need to win this game badly. All four teams below us have Fulham in their next few games, and we need to do better than just break even in these matches if the winter is to be anything other than a bad one. With the Fulham injury list growing by the second the winter fixture conjestion looks impossibly scary, and those of us prone to knee-jerk pessimism are in for an extremely nervous time.

Come on you whites! Please!

Friday, but not like others in that there’s no game for us tomorrow.  No, we must wait for Monday.  Hopefully this will give the players some much needed rest and allow them to tear Middlesbrough to shreds under the floodlights.

So with that in mind there’s no sense in doing much preview-wise.  As best I know the team is in reasonable health, Queudreu should be back against his former club and Christenval now presumably that much nearer to being where Coleman wants him to be.   We shall see.

Rumour-wise, QPR’s Ray Jones is back on the radar.  We supposedly bid £50,000 for him earlier on, but this was rejected out of hand.  However, Jones is out of contract in the summer so should be available on the cheap, so he might be a good cut-price buy.  It does, however, seem unlikely that he’ll be of great use to us now.   Roma’s Montella was rumoured to be on his way, but that seems to have gone cold, and the earlier suggestions that Clint Dempsey is already here subject to work permits may have been a bit previous:  his own website says that he’ll be choosing where to sign this week.   Fulham are probably favourites, but don’t rule out West Ham (Curbishley wanted him before he left Charlton), Everton or Charlton (although the latter may have a tough time selling themselves to the player, all things considered).  So I guess it’s back to ‘expect things when you see them’.  I’m still hopeful that we’ll see David Nugent, whose lack of goals this season should knock him back towards our price bracket. 

Quote of the day from T-F-I:

Jeff- I’m beginning to feel rather sorry for Sky subscribers. How many times do they have to be subjected to watching us this season? It’s bad enough for us and we support us. 

Have a good, safe Friday.

UPDATE:

Luis Boa Morte, Papa Bouba Diop and Ian Pearce are all out for Middlesbrough.  So we’ll definitely see Christenval.   Perhaps Franck will play wide left after all then.

This team is at a crossroads.   Form is poor, but there are points in reserve and we’re not yet in big danger.   The next few games will go a long way to determining the fate of the season, as a succession of fellow strugglers cross our radar.

H Middlesbrough
H West Ham
A Charlton
A Chelsea
H Watford
A West Ham
H Spurs
A Sheffield Utd

This is a good series of games for Fulham if things turn around.  By winning a good proportion of them the team should be comfortably in mid-table, and might even be able to relax a bit in the final part of the season.  Then we might even see an end to the desperately negative, unimaginative football we’ve watched lately (Arsenal being the lone, bizarre, exception).  The team might reasonably be expected to beat one of West Ham or Middlesbrough (both really, but let’s not get carried away) and draw the other.  Charlton away should bring a point.  Chelsea away will be tricky, of course, but then Watford at home is a must win and Spurs at home ought to be a match from which something is gained.

So with the big guns largely out of the way, these equate to a series of near six pointers.   If we don’t do well between now and the end of January (the Sheffield Utd match) we’ll basically be down I think.   This is somewhat anticipated, Coleman being top of some bookies’ Sack Race odds lists.   We shall see.  Soon we’ll know if this team is as good as we hope or as bad as it sometimes looks.

Amid all the hysteria surrounding recent performances (and the Coleman Out people are certainly digging out their pitchforks and torches with a view to putting together some angry mobs in the near future), one piece of news has been overlooked on these pages.

Fulham’s irrepressible right-back, Moritz Volz, has committed to the club until 2009. This is terrific news. I had feared that with Liam being first choice and Volzy only getting the odd start (and then in midfield against tough opponents) that the lad would look elsewhere (heaven knows he’s good enough), but to my great relief he’s staying here.

This is the sort of player we need. English football overrates players who give 100%. It’s important, don’t get me wrong, but without talent, effort is nothing. Well Volzy has both in abundance. I wasn’t especially glowing about his midfield performances earlier in the season, but it was obvious that Moritz was giving his all in roles that were not familiar to him. And to his credit he scored against Villa. Then he moved back to right back. He was awesome against Arsenal (he gave Henry a lot to think about in that game) and I felt he was our best player at Liverpool (after Diop went off). Volz brings a bit of everything to the team from right back, strong and alert, he is committed in the tackle. He likes to attack and usually does so decisively and swiftly. He is definitely an asset to the team.

Fulham are in a nice position at full-back, with Liam improving every week and Queudrue having a good season too. Now Volzy is in the side and Coleman has a selection quandry on his hands. I’d be inclined to stay as-is and play Franck on the left of midfield, he’s a good enough footballer to do this. But that would limit Boa’s exposure to the league and possibly limit his transfer value in January. He seems to be undroppable anyway.

But yeah, thanks for re-signing, Moritz, we love ya.