Also

Chopper just linked to this in the Times. Two things jumped out at me straight away:

One, Dempsey had a fraction of a second to react to the Kuqi header there – look how close they are together. He did well to turn it goalwards. So often these goals are considered easy, but first you have to get into the position, and then you have to deal with the chance. Nice one.

Second, look at the second picture. That move came from well inside our half. Credit Kuqi with the header that a) wouldn’t even have been won before he came on, and b) was right into Simon Davies’ stride. Davies still had it all to do, but whizzed up the wing and fed Healy perfectly. Another good goal.

Late addition: someone at TFI pointed to this video of Junior Omozusi’s red.   As we can see, it is a straight red (although it wasn’t meant to be – he’s got a 1 game suspension), and the Reading players showed themselves to be good people.   As I mentioned in the original report, Harper, nearest to the ref, is effectively saying “put that away”.   It remains a thoroughly unecessary decision, but I’m a little less angry now I know that it wasn’t really a straight red.

Oh, November, part iv

First news to get out of the way is that Wigan have sacked Chris Hutchings.   People are suggesting that Sanchez might not have been far off something similar had things not gone well on Saturday, but there’s a difference between having a sticky patch and losing six games in a row.   That’s not a sticky patch, it’s a world of superglue.

Hutchings had made a number of average signings at Wigan and the squad looks a bit incoherent as a result.  Losing Emile Heskey when he was in the form of his life was important and unfortunate, but the impact of one player is always overstated and this is surely a bad team finding its level. 

The good news for us is that it’s another team in turmoil beneath us.   If we assume that Derby are already lost, that Bolton will take a while to get their heads back on straight, and that Wigan are going to take some rescuing, it makes Fulham’s imminent tricky run of games slightly less frightening.   We might not be great, but there are (at least) three teams a lot worse off.

It was nice to win a game on Saturday.  Those of us trying to flog Fulham books have found the sense of doom around the ground slightly disappointing.   We need a feelgood factor, we need people to be delighted by their club.   A win can change things sharpish.

It also allows us to look at the squad more favourably.   The centre-back pairing had a really sound game on Saturday (the goal excepted).  Steve Davis had another strong match.  People don’t agree with me on this, but he’s knitting things together well and also seemed to make an effort to get more involved physically.   Danny Murphy’s worth is being debated now, and I haven’t seen anything conclusive either way yet, but he probably needs a big game before long to convince people that he still has top level class.   The suspicion remains that he might be best used as a weapon off the bench (a la Man City at home), but he was a good player before and hopefully can be again.   It might take him a month or two to get used to playing regularly.

The other thing to note is how nice it is to have such diverse striking options available. I posted something about this on the old TFI last night, but we really do have a bit of everything:

Kamara – unpredictable, fast (or is he?  he doesn’t seem as quick as billed), ball carrier
Kuqi – a giant of a man who visibly upset Reading with his presence
Healy – sniffer, can score at any moment
Dempsey – a bit of all that

If Sanchez spots something to exploit in an opposition defence he has the players to take advantage.  That’s quite something after last year, when plan A, plan B and plan C were all very similar indeed.  Sanchez can completely change the way we attack if he wants.  That’s quite something.

Alright.  One swallow does not make a summer, but those of us who have remained optimistic can be forgiven for getting even more carried away now.  What price a daring heist at Anfield next week?  I know, I know, but it could happen.