Craven Cottage Newsround

Football, eh?  Maybe the draw was harsh on Spurs, but the way this season’s gone we need feel no guilt at pilfering a draw.

Spurs looked very impressive.  Ahead early following a Niemi mistake, they doubled their lead when Berbatov got behind our back line and fired his shot hard past the exposed goalkeeper.   Sinking feeling.

Turning point:  just before half time a Simon Davies corner was met by Clint Dempsey, unmarked and hurtling into space.  His header flew past the statuesque Robinson to bring us back to 2-1, at once reviving the match as a contest.

The recovery would not be easy though.  Spurs, with Keane, Berbatov, Malbranque and Chimbonda almost uncontainable, started to play some serious football.   And soon we were exposed down the other flank, as young Gareth Bale calmly slotted past Niemi for 3-1. Again the game seemed dead, particularly as Spurs kept up the pressure.  Some dreadful defending saw Berbatov alone with the ball on the edge of the box, open goal before him.  Chris Baird appeared from nowhere to spectacularly rescue that one from the line.   We were also saved by a post, as Malbranque’s radar marginally failed him.   Pressure.

Then, strangely, we began to climb back into things.  Dempsey, working hard throughout, won and kept the ball, feeding Smertin as he did.  The Russian, bursting towards the Spurs area, took aim and saw his shot flick off a defender, up and over Robinson.  3-2.

Sanchez threw on Collins John and David Healy to give us a very attacking look.  Spurs retreated, couldn’t find their rhythm, couldn’t get the momentum back.  It looked like it might be in vain until Diomansy Kamara saved the day.  Kamara, who looked fleet and half-dangerous throughout, had, by my reckoning, not even attempted to pass to a teammate in the game’s first hour.   He was notionally stationed on the left in the game’s last moments, but found himself on the edge of the box as a bouncing ball fell his way.  He attempted a speculative bicylcle kick.  The bloody thing went in.

Pregame

Bocanegra is at the center circle for the coin toss with the captains arm band on. Good to see he’s getting another go at captain.

Line ups:
Dempsey and Kamara up front with Healy taking a break. Niemi back in goal. Bouazza is in… who saw that one coming. Stefanovic in. Don’t understand that. Lawrie has done this before with Bouazza. Why would you start a defender who hasn’t played with the team when organization in the back takes time to develop?

1:48
Mistake Fulham and Keane is almost away on the break but the linesman flag goes up.

2:20
Fulham with their first attempt on goal. Fulham already looks active. Kamara offside with a shot on goal but good chance. Good quick attack.

6
We looked a little suspect in the back there with some nice give and go’s for Tottenham ending with Keane flicking the ball to his right instead of taking the shot. No one there to collect the ball and Niemi is on it. Announcer just called Dempsey versatile, that’s probably true.

9
Niemi misses the catch on a corner and looks really shaky. Now there’s a fan on the field with shirt off and the police rush him off. To bad Rich will miss seeing the rest of the game.

10
Spurs 1-0
Niemi screws up again. It’s a half punch, half catch but it’s neither and he drops it to Kboul’s feet who swiftly puts the ball into net. Thats the only two good chances Spurs have had and they were both from corners and both resulted in mistakes from Niemi. A horrible way to start the game. Not what this team needed today. I’m sure everyone is questioning Sanchez right now whether Niemi was ready to play or not and should Keller have been starting again.

14
Fulham has Nice possession in front of goal but nothing really threatening.

16
Looks like Healy is warming up? What’s going on with that? Shot of Sanchez on the sideline and he is pointing something out across the field. Those glasses have got to go. I like trendy cloths and such, but those just don’t work for the man. Robinson couldn’t handle the Bouaza wicked cross. To many players in front of goal and ball caroms away.

18
Steve Davis just misses after the ball glances off Robinson in a scramble in front of goal.

19
Tottenham have a slight advantage in possession time. 56 to 44 %.

23
Ball takes a strange twisting spin on a long ball played forward for Spurs. Baird handles but oddly and we give up a corner. 3-1 corners for Spurs. No worry yet but we need to start to get more possession deeper into the attacking third.

27
Jenas chasing a ball that Bocs has covered but Jenas bumps him a bit and Boc’s does a swan dive and gets the call.

Fulham down 2-0
Berbatove is so fast, he takes a perfect looped ball down the right and makes Fulham look stupid. He gains space as he plays the ball forward with his head and then burns a volley over Niemi’s head which. It was a hell of a shot but it seemed Neimi went low to early. Ughhh!

31
Baird with a ball played back with no pressure thumps the ball out of bounds. I am hearing lots of boos and cat calls in the stands at Craven Cottage.

32
Fulham defense is in a shambles. First Bocs gets beat by Jenas but support bails him out. Then someone else … Stefanovic got beat and Bocs covers. There lucky, it could have been 3-0 easily. Fulham really need a goal here and quickly…before half! Thinking that I was correct in that the manager should have waited to play Stefanovic. It’s not the defenders fault. Just lack of understanding back there.

34
I’m the only one on this side of the pub watching this game. Every one is watching the Liverpool game and there almost all Liverpool fans. Lots of groans so Liverpool must be coming close to scoring. There playing Derby. One cheer so they must have scored a bit ago.

36
Announcer says it looks almost too easy sometimes today for Spurs. I would agree with that.
Just then Fulham attacks but a crappy pass allows Spurs to counter quickly.
Baird with a nice lunging clear as a ball was looped across goal. He gave up a corner but spurs would have been all over that ball if he had not. Fulhams defense is a shambles, players running into each other everyone is doing overhead kicks to clear. It’s a mess. Come on Fulham. Sort it out!

37
Finally some possession in the attacking third. a long period but no attack so far. Simon Davies with the corner.

41
GOALLLLLLLLL! 2-1 Fulham goal
Just what the doctor ordered. Dempsey with a thumper of a goal. He beats Chimbonda going high above him and hammering a header into the upper right half of goal. Davies with the corner. Announcer says the US cavalry to the rescue. Please!

42
Gareth Bale with a lot of time on the left and he puts a shot low and hard the Niemi does a good job of going low for and collects the ball clean this time with no bobbles.

43
More cheering from the other side of the bar. Liverpool goal. Must be 2-0. Babel gets his first goal for the club.

44
My breakfast has come. A breakfast shepherds pie. It’s more than I can eat but The Local does a fantastic job on food and it’s delicious.

Half-time.

Announcer saying that the defense is all about organization and Fulham have had nothing of it. Agreed.

Look at the stats in possession, 37% Fulham to 63% Spurs. We’ve just lost our composure.

Here are the half time stats:

Fulham 1-Tottenham 2

Shots-6-6

On goal -3-4

Corners - 2-7

Saves - 1-2

Could be worse - could be better.

-Second Half-

47
Berbatov with another great shot from about 20 meters out and Niemi this time does a fine job of pushing the ball up and over. Whow!

51
Smertin with a great shot from a layoff from a long ball. I think Dempsey played the ball down. The ball is just deflected for a corner. Good possession.

52
Ball still in our possession ending with a defection picked up by Robinson. Too bad. Better by Fulham.

53
Corner, rebound out and Jenas with a wicked shot high that Niemi makes a miracle swipe at and clears. Niemi is getting his confidence back and looks much better.

54
More cheering as Liverpool scores again.

55
Spurs with a ball off the Fulham post on the left. Were lucky. Niemi with a lunging stop on a low cross to calm things down. Spurs are dangerous. They attack so quickly.

60
3-1 Spurs
Baird just got totally burned by Bale. Baird totally missed his mark as he was looking at ball and Stefanovic who had it covered. He just need to be second defender and watch the outside. Instead he goes to ball and it’s Gareth Bale off to the races on his right. Bail in and scores low on Niemi. Horrible mistake by Baird. Baird, scapegoat or guilty?

62
Were f**ked. Spurs are tearing us up. We can’t seem to get anything going and the possession is now down to 38%.

64
Dempsey makes an amazing trap to pull the ball down high off his chest or throat or something and then passes to an open Davies 20 meters out who lofts the ball high and wide. Dempsey seems to be exerting himself and it all over the place.

66
More bungles than a Benny Hill rerun. Niemi and Bocs collide at the top of the box. What was Niemi doing. Falls down out of the box, long shot by Berbatov and Baird does some sort of twisty-half-spin-full-flight-deflected-kick to keep the pacey Berbatov shot out of goal.

69
Healy in for Bouazza.
Konchesky takes the kick, deflection and Dempsey puts a cheeky heel between his legs and deflects. Robinson saves, barley, but Dempsey called off side. Dempsey has looked good today. Just as I write that he puts in a high driving shot from 35 meters out. Not close enough but a good effort. He’s going to score on one of those in the next couple of games.

More cheering from Liverpool fans and again. 6-0 over Derby. Well, we should be able to get one win this season. Look out Derby, he we come! Predictions 1-0 Fulham.

76
3-2 Fulham goal, against the run of play.
Dempsey wins a tough ball that he gets knocked down on. He’s at the top of the box on the left side. He has the wherewithal to play the ball while lying on the ground playing quickly to Smertin who shoots. It’s deflected and up and over Robinson. GOAL! F-U-L-H-A-M!!!! Could we actually steel a point here. Normally you wouldn’t call stealing a point at home but in this case you must say that.

78
Collins John in for Smertin. Smertin with a good game.
Dempsey shifts to the right and John slips into a 3 man front line.

81
Long free kick and Robinson comes in a catches but Dempsey is high in the air and swooping in just as Robinson catches. Dempsey man of the match for Fulham in my opinion.
Looking at shots and shots on goal were not far off. But corners, oh my. 13-4 Spurs.

82
Working on the attack. Ball played out to Baird, again another horrible touch and the ball goes out of bounds with no pressure. I think that young man needs to be sat down. He has no confidence at the moment. Welcome to the Premiership.

85
Sustained pressure by Fulham. To little to late?

87
Watching Stefanovic in the back, I question again the move by Sanchez to play him without much time with the team. So disorganized.

88
Shot at goal, Davies? Off target but deflected for a corner. Nothing from it. Could we pull a point here. Do we deserve it? No, but I’d take it anyway.

89
GOAL! FULHAM!!!!!!!
3-3
A script you just can’t write. A long throw in by Baird, who other but Dempsey goes high with a header to play back out to the top center of the box. Kamara goes after the high ball and does a bicycle kick from 15 meters out from center and loops it high and into the corner over Robinson’s flailing hands to the upper corner. Oh MY. Amazing goal by Kamara and Dempsey has been involved with every goal today. I don’t think this was in Tottenham’s script. Jol is in trouble now and I could care less. Come on Fulham…could you pull off a win or is that asking to much.

90
4 min added.

92
Corner, ball deflected out and a cross into the box low that Robinson gets. Now the other way, all the way down into our box and who is there to break up the play….Dempsey!

93
Come on you Whites. Can you do it?

94
Fulham with a break but the whistle is blown and it’s full time.

Full-time

3-3 and we pull a point from a dodgy outing.

Final stats:

Subs and Cards

Brian

If things had gone as they should have, Fulham would be sitting with 4 more points today as they enter this match with Spurs. What that means is they would be sitting in the top 7 instead of slogging around at the bottom of the table. It is still early and not time to panic. The quality of the team is still good and Sanchez seems to be building a team that will last throughout the whole season. Their luck has to have turned and a win is very possible. However, Tottenham have an explosive attack.

Will the new sewn together defense along with aging Kasey Keller be able to stop the Spurs attack? The key will be for Fulham to keep possession for long enough periods of time to expose the Tottenham defense. Spurs and Fulham have both scored 5 goals this year with Fulham having two more goals (7) scored against them. Martin Jol’s team is trying to work through some early season cracks. Fulham are doing the same.

This is a big game for both teams as they both need to get on track quickly or they are going to find themselves in trouble. It is expected that the injured but always dangerous Aaron Lennon will play some part in the game.

I think Fulham need to keep this game tight if they are to win it but they do have the home advantage.

I will again be doing a journal of the game as I did previously in the Fulham v Bolton game. Rich will be giving us a report after he returns home from The Cottage.

Stay tuned…

Brian

Here lies the problem of two everyday guys who love to write but live half way across the world from each other, both dying to post information about the team they are passionate about. I see Rich just posted but I’ve been working links up for almost two hours so damn it anyway, I’m going to post as well, even though it is Rich’s blog.

So, I’m exhausted. Can’t imagine what’s going on in the front office or for Lawrie Sanchez. Oh yea, than there is that small detail of a fairly huge game in the morning.

As posted earlier today, Lawrie Sanchez checked in earlier in the day with a video review of what he has been trying to do in the transfer window and how the Heinze to Liverpool deal that flopped spoiled Sami Hyypia to Fulham. He also talks about the Zat Knight’s departure as well as the modern day contract. Then he also expounds on the Dejan Stefanovic deal.

The View of London says Diop swapped places with Dejan to Pompey. The amount is so far undisclosed. Stefanovic is an experienced 32 year old Yugoslavian central defender who Sanchez says will be available for the game on Saturday vs. Spurs. He has spent many years in the Premier League. Sanchez said he believes that his experience will help the Cottagers hold onto points towards the end of a games by making wise decisions.

It was also reported earlier in the day that Gabriel Zakuani was loaned out to Stoke City for the remainder of the season.

Then out of the blue, Shefki Kuqi, an Albanian born Finnish international striker joins the team on a temporary loan until the first of the year to replace Brian McBride. Kugi has had spells with Blacburn and Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday. See Rich’s earlier post. He is a large target forward that will be needed in some games. His goal celebrations are legendary with his hulking body doing an arms out belly flop onto the turf. Ouch! Here’s to many a belly flop! I have to say there are some impressive goals here for a guy I’ve heard little about.

Then, Fulham swapped again, but this time with Reading. Liam Rosenior goes and Seol Ki-Hyeon, the 28 year old midfielder from Korea comes into Craven Cottage. He will most likely not be a starter every game but certainly adds to the depth of the team. Sanchez said,

He can play as a striker but also has the ability to pose a threat on both sides of our midfield which offers depth and dimension to the squad. I believe he will be a great addition to our combined attacking effort, and have no doubts of his capabilities following his fantastic performances for Reading last season.

Lastly, there have been rumors all day of Danny Murphy. Now The official Fulham web site have confirmed that Danny Murphy has been loaned out to Fulham for the remainder of the season. I’ve always like Murphy. One of those players that always seemed to give his all on the field and saw many a game where he was dominate. Though he has been very quite lately. They quote Sanchez as saying,

Danny Murphy is a proven England international player with great vision, experience and ability. He can split the defense with a single pass and can score goals so I’m delighted he’s chosen to come to Fulham at this stage in his career. It’s been a busy last couple of days with many deals being done, but hopefully this concludes our business for the window and we can now concentrate on winning football matches, and climbing the table.

Well now, let’s hope so. Bring on Spurs. Let’s go you Whites! Time to rock and roll baby, …lets rock and roll!

Brian