Monday, March 1, 2010

10 things I think about Fulham Football Club this week March 1st

The past week for Fulham Football Club was historic . Fulham were able to tie Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - 1 in the Ukraine last Thursday. This result moved them on in the Europa League which they will next face Juventus. Fulham also picked up a valuable point in 0 - 0 draw yesterday at Sunderland. I guess these results could give me some thoughts this week.


1. I think the Shakhtar Donetsk result on Thursday is remarkable. Watching the first game at Craven Cottage I knew that Shakhtar was incredibly talented team. I didn't feel very confident going into Thursday's match. Roy Hogdson had Fulham very prepared for the match and it showed. The defense of Fulham was only broken once. For the most part the defense was tremendous. Fulham also took advantage of an opening when it showed itself. All it took was a free kick by Damien Duff and a header by Brede Hangeland to change the game. All Fulham fans should be proud of that game.

2.Was there another "lost in transaltion moment" with the Shakhtar manager after the Match on Thursday? After my entry a week ago I was curious how Mircea Lucescu would react in his press conference after the match. The transcript from his press conference has been removed from there official site Shakhtar.com. It has been replaced by a portion of this transcript which you can happily read from the press office of Shakhtar Donetsk. How do I know this? I went to the site shortly after the match and read the transcript. I went back to the site yesterday and it is gone with this replacement. The entry has the manager being very complimentary to Fulham. All I have to say is the original transcript had other comments regarding the match. I could also tell that the translation to English was difficult to follow. What I have learned from this experience that translating into English is not easy. What I have also learned though that it can also be an excuse for comments said. In the case of the Shakhtar Manager I believe there is a little of both from his last press conference on Thursday regarding the match against the Cottagers. Ask yourself why is the original transcript from the press conference gone from Shakhtar.com?


3. I think Stephen Kelly played a very good match against Shakhtar Donetsk.
I had mentioned in a prior entry that I thought Kelly did well in the last Europa League match. I had been critical of him so I want to give him the credit he deserves. I also think you can't blame him for the goal in the game. That was just a great move from Santos of Shakhtar. The whole defense in general was great, but I did notice Kelly.

4. I think getting any points on the road is important. I am a little disappointed by the draw at Sunderland yesterday. At some point you have to win games on the road. The really good teams all win on the road. To get to that level Fulham need to win away from Craven Cottage. However, it is important to get any points you can. All the points add up at the end of the year.

5. I think my expectations are too high for Fulham. I should have been more happy with the point. It is a long season and Fulham are going to have times when they are struggling. I guess I just see the month ahead with the difficult opponents and I am concerned. I want them to be in the Europa League next year. I think I might be shooting too high for this season.

6. I think the team has to be exhausted after the month of February. With all of the matches they played last month you would think they would struggle at Sunderland. They might have been tired but they still kept there shape and played well. What is amazing is that Hogdson used most of the same lineup at Sunderland. The only difference in the starting lineup was Nicky Shorey playing for Stephen Kelly. This is another reason why a point in Sunderland is well deserved.


7. I think Zoltan Gera probably has some sore muscles after yesterday's match. He was knocked around I believe 3 separate times during the match. What was great about his effort is he continued to play. I have to give him big credit. I am starting to like him right behind Bobby Zamora.


8. I think March could be an extremely tough month for Fulham. The month begins on Saturday March 6th against Tottenham at Craven Cottage in the F A Cup. Then, on Thursday March 11th Fulham play at Juventus in the Europa League. Three days later they play at Old Trafford On Sunday March 14th against Manchester United. Four days after that game they play Juventus again on Thursday March 18th at Craven Cottage. Three days later on Sunday March 21st they play Manchester City at Craven Cottage. The month ends on Saturday March 27 away to Hull. Is there any game in here that you pencil down as a victory? Maybe the Hull game but it is away. This month could be tough on the emotions.


9. I think the F A Cup match against Tottenham is a "statement game". This goes back to wanting Fulham to be thought of as a " very good club" each year. They need to win these types of games. Perception is a difficult thing to change. I would like Fulham not be thought of as that "nice small club". If Fulham can go to Wembley they could continue to gain some respect.


10. I think the podcast I heard regarding Fulham was very interesting. Thank you to Dan from hammyend.com for making me aware of this podcast. Timmyg at Fulham.offiside.com did a podcast with Don Hymel and Dan from Hammyend.com. This podcast kept me interested the full time which I think was slightly more than 30 minutes. To me they could have gone on for an hour. They discussed the Shakhtar match, the F A Cup and the complete month of February for Fulham. This is not "homer" radio. They critiqued the performances of the team and its players. I am not sure how often Timmyg does the podcast, but for me the three of them should do it more often. If you are a fan of Fulham you really should check out the podcast.


These are my 10 things I think about Fulham Football Club this week as of March 1st. Let's see what I come up with next week.

1 comment:

  1. Whilst we could have been more adventurous at Sunderland that might have resulted in us getting beaten. Yes, the top sides pick up wins away but we're still someway from being considered a top side. I think you've got to be very pleased with the point, especially as I wasn't too confident going into the game. We've got to make sure that our progress in Europe doesn't translate into us becoming more demanding as fans.

    Thanks for your kind words about the podcast. I'm sure Timmy and Don will be delighted to read them.

    ReplyDelete