WWJPD?

I think, if I could swap places with any person, it would be John Paintsil.

Here is an interview with him on the official site.

What a nice man!

2. What is the best moment of your footballing career so far?

I think that is now, right here at Fulham. I’ve enjoyed every single game that I’ve been part of both home and away and I’m really happy with where we are in the league table. No one expected us to be where we are at the moment so for me that is something that I am proud of. I’m having a good time!

3. What are your expectations for the rest of the season?

Well my expectations are very high! We have eight games to go and we have to keep going and aiming for the highest position we possibly can. Everyone is doing well and we need to carry that on, and with the help from the fans we can go some way further.

4. Who do you get along with best at Fulham?

I think everyone really. I don’t have one best friend in particular, they’re just all very nice guys. We respect each other and work and interact like one big family. So I would say that everyone at the Club is my best friend!

I need to think more along these lines.   He should write a book when he’s done.  I’d buy it.   (I’d write it, for that matter!)

What Would John Paintsil Do?

It’s a legitimate question to ask in times of trouble.

Commerce

As you might appreciate, running this site can take a lot of time.  It doesn’t look much, but to get something up every day takes effort.   Obviously I don’t get paid to do this, I like doing it, but like I say, it’s a lot of effort.

So I’m starting to look at adverts a bit more.  These don’t pay much, but it’s a bit of pocket money to make the thing seem worthwhile.

My first sponsor was SoccerPro.com.

They sent me a pair of football boots, nice ones too, and while this neatly coincided with me stopping playing, it’s cool to have them and I’m hoping to have a run around this very sunday.

Anyway, I like SoccerPro, they’re nice people, they sell good stuff, so I’ll keep on talking them up.   There is, for example, a big sale coming up.  20% off for ever, by the sound of things.  I bought some kit last week (check this out) and expect to pick up more in the future.

So yes, good people, and head on over if you need any football stuff.  US site, but so keenly priced and such good stock that worldwide is legitimate.  Have a look…

The Future

Here at CCN we like to think about the guts of football.  How does it work?  Why does it work?  Why does it break down?  I like to think that, over the months, this site has provided some half-useful ideas about the game, particularly as played by our team.  If we sometimes get the wrong end of the stick, well, at least we’re thinking about these things, asking questions, learning.   That’s what it’s all about.

This leads me to a piece I read in Sunday’s Times.  The article is about how football will be in 2025, and Andy Roxburgh’s bit interested me.   Roxburgh, it should be noted, moved in the same circles as Roy when Roy was with UEFA.  Both, as best I recall, have been part of technical committees and the like.  They’re on top of things and respected analysts.  Here’s Roxburgh on the future of coaching and tactics:

Top football, notes Roxburgh, gets ever quicker and more intense. Coaching is more structured, teams more organised. “So how,” he asks, “do teams gain telling advantages, especially when it comes to breaking through opponents’ defensive blocks?” He was talking to Sir Alex Ferguson recently about one answer. “A trend is towards the ‘collective counter’. Alex has noticed it and says it’s new even for him.

“It’s counter-attacking which begins not in the traditional way — at the back, when the opposition are committed and lose possession — but in midfield, when the ball is stolen and a group of players uses fast combination passes to get through a block. The other team still has bodies in the way but for a moment it’s not organised and the key is the ‘transition moment’, how quickly from winning the ball you can hit them.”

Fascinating.  A traditional counter, you’ll note, was glorified by Eastern European sides in the late 80s and early 90s.  Look up Red Star Belgrade on YouTube and you’ll find ample evidence of how all this works.  Win the ball deep, transfer to attack with sweeping moves, score.  They were frighteningly good at it.

You don’t see too much pure counter attacking anymore, perhaps because teams are reluctant to leave themselves open to it so ensure that men are back most of the time.  What Roxburgh’s talking about is a halfway house:  a counter attack from midfield.  It has to be said that we’re not really set up to do this, as we lack the scintillating pace and dynamic/unpredictable passers that are presumably required.  But it’s something to watch for at the elite level, and therefore something for us to ponder too. 

How often have we noted that Fulham’s midfielders don’t always advance in front of the ball even when we’re in possession?  This is why.  We’ve conceded a few goals like this so it bears watching in the months ahead.

Roxburgh expects such football to become more common and player development of the future to be about producing “code-breaker” footballers, those like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who “use solo skills to destroy the opposition structure”. Rene Meulensteen, a skills coach, is Ferguson’s No 3, and Roxburgh sees more skills specialists in key coaching roles.

This is also something we’re short on, but I’ve said before that add a “code-breaker” (I didn’t call it that) to our team and we could suddenly get very good, very quickly.  The team structure as is is quite predictable and not unduly hard to defend against.  Throw a superstar attacker into the mix and suddenly we’d be transformed.  Realistically that won’t happen – such a player wouldn’t make it past the top four were he available – but it does again emphasise where the game’s going.

Roxburgh doesn’t mention set pieces, which remain the great leveller.  We might improve on this, as currently only Clint Dempsey is a consistent threat from corners, and then not all that often.

New Times bit

About Danny Murphy.  Been a while, but I haven’t had loads to say.

More Roy

Nice interview UEFA.com from when Roy was in charge of Finland’s national team.  (it’s a PDF file)

Wisdom:

I remember reading a quote
from the American John Wooden, who
said: “Talent is God-given; be humble.
Fame is man-given; be thankful.
And conceit is self-given; be careful.”

Tactical trends:

From a tactical viewpoint, we could talk
about a lot of things but I’ll content
myself with three. Number one is the
importance of the counter-attack and
the ability to profit from the turnovers.
Secondly, the improvement of athleticism
and pace throughout the team. There
is no doubt the game is faster and the
selection of players reflects this. And
thirdly, there is less high-intensity pressing
from the front and in advanced areas.
This is partly because concern over the
interpretation of the offside law has
led teams to play deeper. Sides are still
compact, but this is mainly in their own
half of the pitch.

We saw the latter against Manchester United, where Johnson and Zamora sat back and left United to find holes in our half.  Interesting to see if he gets us more athletic next season though.

Achievements:

10 • During your long, varied and
successful coaching career, what has
given you the greatest satisfaction?

There have been three key moments for
me. The first championship at Halmstad
BK in Sweden – to avoid relegation in
the first season and then to win the title
the next was very special. The fairytale
nature of this first success is an indelible
memory, albeit a long time ago.

Wow…

Here’s to what I hope will be a long and fruitful spell at Fulham.

I’ve seen the future and it’s much like the present only longer.

- Dan Quisenberry

Steady as she goes

We got our quiet season…

(pic from the Guardian)

Here’s something or nothing:

Game Log
Fixture     AP
Hull City Away     32
Arsenal Home     40
Bolton Wanderers Home     42
Blackburn Rovers Away     27
West Ham Home     21
West Brom Away     42
Sunderland Home     38
Portsmouth Away     40
Wigan Home     30
Everton Away     31
Newcastle Home     27
Tottenham Home     26
Liverpool Away     34
Aston Villa Away     35
Manchester City Home     29
Stoke City Away     33
Middlesbrough Home     28
Tottenham Away     35
Chelsea Home     46
West Ham Away     29
Sunderland Away     33
Portsmouth Home     42
Wigan Away     42
Manchester United Away     37
West Brom Home     58
Arsenal Away     55
Hull City Home     58
Blackburn Rovers Home     29
Bolton Wanderers Away     38
Manchester United Home     43

Simon Davies’ passes.    It certainly looks as though the more he gets involved the better we play.   Hard to ascertain cause and effect, but you don’t really see the same patterns for Murphy and Dempsey.  Numbers from the player pages at Championship at Best.

Similarities

I just noticed that this:

is a bit like this:

Sort of.   Clint put his away without resorting to theatricals.  Seriously though, same sort of runs, balls wide, balls in, etc.  No real point, but I haven’t got anything else to say.

Roundup

It’s been a good week for Fulham sites this week.

WithaPlum celebrated Zoltan Gera day… this is priceless.

Now the team’s doing better Timmy’s less stressed and putting together some great stuff.  His loaner reports are worth checking, but here he’s taken the legendary guardian chalkboards and shown some interesting Danny Murphy action.

Colin continues to deliver some amazing research.   Early days, but this looks very interesting indeed.

Dan continues to do what I always mean to, and roundup the day’s Fulham news.   If it happens he writes about it, and deserves to be at the top of your daily reading list.

Finally, some international news (we have a few players off doing important business for their people), including poor old Clint who could really do with a week off.

Oh, and the reserves were in action.  Note that they’re at home to Chelsea at the Cottage on April 7th.  Might be worth a wander over.

Oh, I forgot to say – if you play poker check out pokerlistings.com.  They are sponsoring the site for a few months, but I should stress that I’m not selling my soul to just anyone (although I would) – it’s a genuinely good site if you’re into poker.   See the text on the right of the screen halfway down for more…

(In a neat twist I have already blown the money they paid me for this at our other sponsor, the always excellent soccerpro.com).

If you too would like to advertise here (get me a job in football/nature/books/curry reviewing) and reach hundreds of extraordinary people every day then please don’t hesitate to email me at the address on the right.

Arcimboldo

Jeff Stelling describes the mayhem like a man possessed

Pure theatre from Jeff Stelling in the Sky Sports studio.

Bobby Zamora will have his revenge on Seattle

Just a quick look at Zamora’s progress.  He’s off his career numbers this season, but surely this is a function of the way the team is playing.  No other reason why he’d suddenly start missing the target with over 2/3 of his shots.  While he has never been prolific, he has generally been a fairly accurate shooter in his career to-date (the “Acc” figure on the end is the percentage of shots on target).

Season	Level	GS	SB	G	G/App	SH	SG	Acc
2008/09 Season Totals	Prem	31	3	4	12%	83	26	31%
2007/08 Season Totals	Prem	11	2	1	8%	20	9	45%
2006/07 Season Totals	Prem	30	7	11	30%	56	25	45%
2005/06 Season Totals	Prem	20	22	10	24%	39	23	59%
2004/05 Season Totals	Champ	20	19	13	33%	37	22	59%
2003/04 Season Totals	Prem	25	13	6	16%	64	49	77%

To emphasise the point, here’s Andy Johnson’s recent career:

TEAM	Level	GS	SB	G	G/App	SH	SG	Acc
2008/09 Season Totals	Prem	33	3	10	28%	66	28	42%
2007/08 Season Totals	Prem	26	10	10	28%	55	42	76%
2006/07 Season Totals	Prem	36	0	12	33%	64	43	67%
2005/06 Season Totals	Champ	37	4	17	41%	93	51	55%
2004/05 Season Totals	Prem	38	0	21	55%	82	53	65%
2003/04 Season Totals	Champ	47	2	32	65%	100	64	64%

Oh look.  The same trend.  Defenders have been able to close down our forwards this season because they haven’t had many other bodies in the box to look after.   This has made it harder for our forwards to get off good shots.   Again: our defence has looked excellent because of the way we play; our forwards haven’t looked so good because of the way we play.

Fulham 2-0 United

Roy Hodgson has spent more than three decades coaching in European football and he has never seen a better team than Manchester United’s current incarnation.

The Fulham manager made that assessment after watching United eviscerate his team at Craven Cottage on Saturday night, inflicting the heaviest defeat of his 14-month tenure despite, as he said, Fulham playing reasonably well.

But they were no match for a United team who opened Fulham up at will in cruising to a 26th FA Cup semi-final 100 years after the club’s first such appearance.

(Independent)

)))))

The renewed hope of Anfield loyalists will be tested by a glance at next weekend’s fixture list. Fulham versus Manchester United. Just reading the words reminds you of the moment in wildlife films when a herd of deer are grazing and the camera pans across to the tigers flexing their claws behind the bushes. United beat Fulham 4-0 at Craven Cottage in the FA Cup this month after a 3-0 aperitif in the league at Old Trafford. And those were United sides on cruise control.

Humiliated by Liverpool, their great rivals, on Saturday, they are angry. Backlash, perhaps? “It’s quite possible,” Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, said. “We can promise that we will give them [United] a good game. But I don’t think the Liverpools and the Chelseas can really expect that much of Fulham and say, ‘They’ll beat them for us’.”

(The Times)

)))))

Boss Roy Hodgson says Fulham are in a no-win situation if they beat Manchester United in The Premier League this weekend.

Hodgson’s team came in for criticism following two performances against United in less than a month, with a 3-0 league defeat followed by a 4-0 thrashing in their FA Cup quarter-final at Craven Cottage.

This was all very different to the adulation they received for turning over Arsenal at the start of the season and then netting a draw at Emirates Stadium last month according to the Fulham manager.

“So what are we? Are we a hopeless team who shouldn’t bother turning up or are we the team who did turn up and should have beaten Arsenal at the Emirates?” Hodgson said.

“Well, I know where we are and that’s what matters.”

(Setanta)

)))))

Attempt missed. Clint Dempsey (Fulham) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right.
Attempt blocked. Andrew Johnson (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Paul Konchesky.
Attempt missed. Simon Davies (Fulham) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Bobby Zamora with a headed pass.
Attempt missed. Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Patrice Evra with a cross.
Attempt missed. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Andrew Johnson.
Attempt blocked. Brede Hangeland (Fulham) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Simon Davies with a cross.
Attempt saved. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) header from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Brede Hangeland.
Penalty conceded by Paul Scholes (Manchester United) with a hand ball in the penalty area.
Goal! Fulham 1, Manchester United 0. Danny Murphy (Fulham) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top right corner.
Attempt missed. Clint Dempsey (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Paul Konchesky.
Attempt blocked. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Paul Konchesky.
Attempt saved. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Clint Dempsey (Fulham) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right.
Attempt saved. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Danny Murphy.
Attempt saved. Simon Davies (Fulham) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Danny Murphy with a through ball.
Attempt blocked. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Paul Konchesky with a cross.
Attempt missed. Simon Davies (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Danny Murphy.
Attempt saved. Dickson Etuhu (Fulham) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Clint Dempsey with a cross.
Attempt saved. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Clint Dempsey.
Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Danny Murphy following a set piece situation.
Attempt missed. Ji-sung Park (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Wayne Rooney.
Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Darren Fletcher with a cross.
Attempt missed. Bobby Zamora (Fulham) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Paul Konchesky following a set piece situation.
Attempt saved. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Wayne Rooney.
Attempt saved. Darren Fletcher (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by John O’Shea.
Attempt blocked. Ji-sung Park (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Attempt blocked. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Rio Ferdinand with a headed pass.
Attempt saved. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Wayne Rooney with a cross.
Attempt missed. Clint Dempsey (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Bobby Zamora.
Attempt saved. Ji-sung Park (Manchester United) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Cristiano Ronaldo with a cross.
Attempt saved. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt blocked. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by John O’Shea with a headed pass following a set piece situation.
Attempt blocked. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Darren Fletcher.
Attempt missed. Clint Dempsey (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Brede Hangeland.
Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Diomansy Kamara (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Clint Dempsey.
Attempt blocked. Simon Davies (Fulham) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Diomansy Kamara.
Attempt missed. Carlos Tevez (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ji-sung Park.
Goal! Fulham 2, Manchester United 0. Zoltan Gera (Fulham) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Andrew Johnson.
Attempt saved. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

(ESPN)

)))))

Guess the whites lineup…. Berbatov and Giggs up front.  Scholes and Ronaldo start.

Really positive start.  Another corner…

And a sending off and a pen!

Scholes off.  1 up!

Wow, we’ve got a chance now.

Ronaldo. Hilarious!

Perfect half.  1 goal, loads of chances (for us), Ronaldo behaving like a twat.

Berbatov off, Rooney on.

No way we can survive this pressure!

Tevez on!

Gera goal!

And Rooney off!

All over.  Great game.

(Toby and Jamie)

)))))

How to explain this result? That was the question for anyone who had witnessed United dismembering Fulham on the same ground just 14 days earlier. For Roy Hodgson it came down to “moments”.

The Fulham manager went on to explain that, in the 4-0 FA Cup defeat, his team had begun well but conceded a sloppy goal at a set piece, quickly followed by “a wonder strike”, and it was game over. On Saturday Fulham again began well and were this time rewarded. Paul Scholes handled Bobby Zamora’s header on the line, resulting in a penalty, which Danny Murphy converted, and a red card.

“It’s moments again,” said Hodgson. “I talk about the moment of the corner kick two weeks ago, which we defend badly and they score. Alex [Ferguson] will be thinking about [Scholes' handball]. Say he hadn’t handled, the ball had just gone into the net, and they’d played on with 11 men. It could have been a totally different story.”

(Independent)

Fulham 2-0 Man Utd

Couldn’t watch the game today so, hey, if everyone who saw the match would write about it and tell me what it meant to them, well that would be cool…

Nothing to say

Screens.  They are our life.

My day today:

Wake up. Go back to sleep.  Wake up.  Go back to sleep.  Get told to get up.   Shower.  Cup of tea.

Pour Sainsbury’s own brand oats into bowl.  Squirt of honey (brand unknown).  Squeeze of Sainsbury’s own brand lemon juice.  Sprinkle of Schwarz Ground Ginger.  Sprinkle of Sainsbury’s own brand Ground Coriander.  Sprinkle of Sainsbury’s own brand Cinnamon.  Add handful of sultanas.  Add boiling water.  Stir until you have a big flapjack paste type mulch thing.  Stand for a minute, allowing the oats to absorb the water.  Consume slowly to fully enjoy the complex web of flavours you have spun.   No two breakfasts are the same this way.  The ingredients come out of their containers at different speeds, you can’t control them.   Pretty much anything can happen.

At this point either GMTV or BBC Breakfast is on the television.  I would rather watch ROAR or something else, but there are conventions and we must stick by them, if nothing else so we know some of the day’s news at this early stage.

Get tube to work.  Read book.

At work stare at screen for eight hours.

Get tube back.  Read book.

Come home.  Either watch TV or this screen here.

I can go days without seeing a tree, but my eyes never leave the computer screen.

Bloody hell.

Of course this is just the outline.  There are many other things I could have said.

Today my American copies of Roberto Bolano’s 2666 arrived in the post.  I bought the hardback from Crockatt & Powell in January and have just started it.  The Complete Review – not easily pleased – says it’s the first Great Book of the century.  A+.

Hard as it is to believe, this is something new — taking, as much that is new does, much that is familiar. But it’s not mere novelty; it is something significant — and of lasting significance. Forty years after García Márquez shifted the foundations with One Hundred Years of Solitude, Bolaño has moved them again. 2666 is, simply put, epochal.   No question, the first great book of the twenty-first century.

Matt Crockatt was enthusiastic.

Know what? I’m just 44 pages in and already I know this is the best of a recent crop of excellent books.

Some books call to me, I could read them FOREVER. Bolano has the magic people, he has the magic..

Good enough for me.  If you haven’t read this just do.  Order it from Crockatt & Powell if you can (Matt suggested the books to me, and if I’m suggesting them to you then you owe him for the discovery, which will not be regretted!).  But order it.

The fact that 99% of my time is spent looking at screens makes me wonder if books will go electronic after all.  They probably will.

Against this, lovely things like my new 2666 books would be of no great interest as downloads.  They would just be words on a screen, and, well, I see quite enough of those as it is.

Soundgarden, Nothing to say.

So.  Manchester United again.  I suspect we will give them a good game this time.

Stats

Bloody hell.  Barcelona are on the case with all this lot!   I wish we had this sort of information so easily available for Fulham players.

(clears throat)

but not for any good reason.  Jarlsberg cheese.

In May 2008 Dan at WithAPlum wrote this lovely little piece about Clint.  I liked it so much I asked him if I could use it in the Fulham Review, and he agreed.  Hurray!

Fast forward 10 months and here’s the official site talking about Clint’s improvements.   It’s a good read, and emphasises what a player he has become.  Those rough edges are smoother now, but not at the expense of his effectiveness.   He does take fewer touches, but still has the capacity to do something unexpected.  And he’s still our best player at crashing into the box to get on the end of something.

The official had a good day today, as Danny Murphy had this to say.    We all agree that Roy speaks a lot of sense, but so too does the skipper.   It’s a grand alliance, and refreshing to hear.

Pearcewatch

Ian’s still gunning along at better than a goal a game.

Murphy’s prize

A    Sat 07    15:00    Wigan    -    Draw 0-0    16,499    Report
A    Sat 14    12:45    Swansea City    ITV    Draw 1-1    16,573    Report
A    Wed 18    20:00    Manchester United    -    Lost 3-0    75,437    Report
H    Sun 22    13:30    West Brom    Sky    Won 2-0    22,394    Report
H    Tue 24    20:00    Swansea City    -    Won 2-1    12,316    Report
A    Sat 28    15:00    Arsenal    -    Draw 0-0    60,102

That was February, a good month for the team, by and large.   And as Danny Murphy goes, so too do Fulham; he was rightly voted player of the month.   Those last three games in particular showcased what he brings to the side: deftly destroying West Brom from his metaphorical centre-circle armchair, turning the game on its head as a sub against Swansea (replay), then leading the lads to glorious stalemate at Arsenal.   What a player.

Clint Dempsey came second, Aaron Hughes third.  Honourable mention (from me) for Dickson Etuhu, Murphy’s right hand man in the engine room.

History

This is one of my “just humour me” posts.

Most sports thrive on history.  Cricket’s history is as interesting as you want it to be; just pick up a book and read.  My own lifetime has seen all kinds of twists and turns, and while I have barely watched a ball of Test cricket since Sky bought the game, I’m happy enough with what’s in my head.

In America history is everything.  Baseball is positively drenched in history, and, perhaps typically, the over-sweetening deflects from the really interesting business of who did what, when, and how well.  In the past everyone was a hero, a legend, and a triumphant product of the great game.

We do the same over here to an extent.  The past is rightly glorified, but only the stars and the characters get remembered.  As it should be perhaps – what will people say about Aaron Hughes in 50 years time? (not a criticism!) – but it does tend to mislead, or leave great gaps for those with enquiring minds.

I have in my possession a scorebook from 1949, published by the Cleveland Indians baseball club. It was sent to me by a friend in America.  I didn’t ask for it but nor did I ask for the rest of the stuff he sent: loads of Sonny Rollins music, a few books, and a few old baseball artefacts. The scorebook is really interesting:

That’s a game between the Indians and the St Louis Browns in 1950.  Players from the past, but caught in action, so to speak.  Weirdly, I know these players:  Mickey Vernon was a pretty good first baseman, little power but took a walk; Larry Doby a young Negro Leaguer whose superstar career was, at this point, entirely ahead of him.  Had he been born ten years earlier he wouldn’t have been able to play in the majors because of the colour of his skin; as it was he went on to be a huge star.  Luke Easter wasn’t so lucky: the colour line was lifted at the end of his career, so the public only got to see him thwacking balls well out of the ground for a few years while he was in his thirties.  What might have been?  Al Rosen was a slick fielding third baseman, Ray Boone (is it?), part of the Ike-Ray-Bob-Brett-Aaron lineage that played for most of the last century; Bobby Avila a massively underrated Mexican second baseman… wonderful team, and here they are, as new.

In football we haven’t got this information.  People can talk about the greats, but the devil is in the detail and we have little of that.  Fulham is served well enough in that we have the amazing Dennis Turner Complete Record, but even that can only go so far.  Martin Plumb’s books bring a very specific era to life with great verve, but again, there are massive gaps.  At some point we need to get enough people with enough memories in one place, to piece a few of the less obvious jigsaws together before its too late.   Nobody will lack for information about the present era, but the past needs capturing.  How can this be done?   I want to know about the players, but more, I want to know what it was like to watch a game in the 40s, in the 50s, and in the 60s.

We have clues.  The books are excellent, and you hear snippets on the message boards.   But probably we need video:

Pretty good, eh?  That’s the same pitch we see Danny Murphy and his team speeding around today.   Think about that.  Beautiful isn’t it?

Here’s another game:

Magic, eh?

Watch that clip, then this:

Feel it.   Amazing.   Haunting.  History isn’t boring; history is two years ago and forty two years ago.   It’s all important.

We need more of this.  Footage must be available.  Must be.  This is what I was on about the other day.  We don’t need cheap t-shirts, tracksuits and leisurewear, we need goals and tackles and men in black and white charging around that field by the Thames that we know so well.

Table

Looks pretty good does it not?

I go on about goal difference every so often, and this shows how well it works as a predictor.   Even in our troubled times our goal difference has always been that of a mid table team, and a mid table team we are.    We might not be by the time we’ve finished the season, but we’re where we ought to be.   It’s not a fluke.   There are, by now, few outliers, with only the dangerous but soft Man City really in the wrong place.

While I’m raiding the ESPN page:

We could soon return to the 44-48 point norms of early Prem Fulham.

Jamie’s report: Bolton 1-3 Fulham

And out of nowhere, came this. After three energy-sapping, confidence-draining home defeats in a week, expectations for this trip were low to say the least. Having been bullied off the pitch by Blackburn Rovers three days earlier, we faced what was effectively the same side: also designed by Sam Allardyce to hoof and harass their way to Premiership safety, with Kevin Davies rather than Jason Roberts as the battering-ram focal point. However, to everyone’s surprise, Fulham fought well and emerged with a fully deserved first away victory of the season.

The irritatingly effective Davies plays his football in the most cynical way – more interested in upsetting the opposition defenders with niggles and nudges than playing the ball itself, hoping to provoke a mistimed header or to win a ‘foul’ in a dangerous area. How referees don’t notice this tactic is baffling – he got away with it against Hangeland all day. But our Brede stood up admirably and won countless aerial battles as the ball was launched time and again towards our penalty area. Our one defensive aberration occurred at the end of the first half, when Davies was allowed to meet a hoof unchallenged and play a one-two with Cahill. Konchesky’s attempt to tackle him was feeble and Davies was able to side-foot pass Schwarzer into the net.

It was a cruel blow after a half in which we had dominated possession and, for once, capitalised by taking the lead. Zamora did what Zamora does – linking up play well but missing a couple of chances – before Andy Johnson struck opportunistically, outpacing Andy O’Brien and poking the ball just inside the post after the defender had mistakenly knocked the ball past his own goalkeeper. We scored away!

If the equaliser knocked the stuffing out of the players, it didn’t show. Soon after half time, Johnson scavenged possession from O’Brien and ran towards goal. The ball eventually fell to Murphy who had one shot blocked and a follow-up hit the bar – rebounding to Davies, who finally squeezed the ball over the line via Jaaskelinen and Gardner. We’d scored away again!

The half went on and the minutes ticked down. The small away following was in great voice, enjoying the rare occasion – at one point, during an injury stoppage, singing for all of Johnson, Zamora, Hangeland, Dempsey, Murphy and Paintsil in turn – each chant met with a show of appreciation from the player. Meanwhile, Gary Megson made some substitutions and the frequency of balls into our box increased. The pressure mounted, not helped by our tactic of bringing everybody, including the diminutive Johnson, back for corners. We had no outlet and for an excruciating period in the final ten minutes, every time we cleared the ball it seemed to come straight back.

But our defenders (which was everyone), by hook or by crook, kept Bolton at bay. And with two minutes remaining the tension was finally, gloriously released. A poor Bolton clearance fell to Dempsey, who drew his man nicely before releasing Kamara, just recently introduced. The Senegalese dithered typically, and it seemed as if the chance had gone, before he struck across Jaaskelinen and into the corner with great precision. Pandemonium – we’d scored away AGAIN – and we were going to win.

The final whistle blew and across came the players to celebrate with the fans, pumping their fists and throwing their shirts into the crowd. A huge relief and crucial result with some tough fixtures coming up – these three points surely assure us of Premiership safety with nine games remaining. No-one stood out – this was simply a good solid performance in the normal Roy style. Today the difference was a bit of extra grit, luck on our side, and one clinical finish at the end. The players, one would hope, should now be able to relax and enjoy the run-in. And with trips to lowly Middlesbrough and Newcastle to come, who’s to say we can’t do it again?