The New England Patriots should not cut Adalius Thomas now

In a prior post I believe I mentioned that the New England Patriots should cut Adalius Thomas. I have changed my mind on Thomas being cut from the Pats. With free agency coming up why should the New England Patriots do him any favors? Bart Scott in the New York Post article "Bart Scott: Thomas' wants to join Jets if cut" mentions a desire of Thomas wanting to join the Jets if he is cut. The Patriots should not cut Adalius Thomas now.

Do I believe they should keep him on the team for next season? I absolutely do not want him on the New England Patriots next season. Michael Felger mentioned on Comcast Sports Net Late Night last night that he thinks the New England Patriots should not cut him now. I could not agree with him more. He should have to report to the OTA's and offseason workouts. Why should the Patriots give this guy what he wants. They have paid him very well and he has been a huge "bust". He could be the biggest bust in the history of the club.

I would cut him right before the first game of the year. There is no salary cap so why not keep him on the books until the season begins. This guy is the polar opposite from the "Patriot Way" Super Bowl teams. He shouldn't be on this team, but at this point he should stay.

I think it is worth it to the New England Patriots to keep him away from the Jets. Maybe with the Jets he would start to show the type of player he was with the Ravens. I would not give him the satisfaction to resurrect his career. He mailed it in from the first game of last year. I am not a vindictive person, but in this case I think he helped divide the locker room last season. Let him go through the off season with the New England Patriots.

Next season the New England Patriots need to bring in players that want to be there. They need to get there locker room back. In the meantime, Adalius Thomas should not be cut until the season begins.

What happens when injured players start returning for Fulham?

The injuries started to pile up at the beginning of the New Year for Fulham. I think the team has been able to survive these injuries. The big question is what happens to the lineup when these injured players return? Don't get me wrong having these players back will be a huge help. I am just curious what Roy Hogdson will do.


1. Paul Konchesky could be the closest Fulham player to return from injury. As I mentioned prior having these players back is wonderful. In Konchesky's place Nicky Shorey has done a great job at defender. Do you just put Konchesky back in at his position when he is ready? Maybe, you have Konchesky only play the Europa League matches and have Shorey continue to play the League games and the F A Cup games. Again, this is a good problem to have when Paul returns. Shouldn't an injured player just get his job back when he comes back from injury? I am curious to see how Roy handles this.

2. Clint Dempsey it has been reported might have already started light training back with the team late last week. Clint had a knee injury and you have to be careful how quickly he comes back. I have to say Simon Davies has done a great job in midfield. I forgot how much I enjoyed watching him play when he is back to normal. Again I am assuming Dempsey will be back in the lineup when he is ready. But, do you ease him into play or does he just go back into the starting lineup?

3. John Pantsil seems the farthest away from injury. He might not be ready to return this season. Let's go with the assumption he is good to go say at the very end of the season. I would put him in as soon as possible. John Pantsil has showed me this year his value. I still think, him getting hurt in the Chelsea game changed the complexion of that match. He has been very strong on defense and has been able to push the ball up front. I do think Chris Baird though has done a nice job. He deserves more credit than he gets.


Before I end this post I have a different question I have been thinking about. What is going on with Chris Smalling? There have been opportunities for him to play and we haven't seen him lately. I believe he cannot play in the Europa League. I understand that but why isn't he playing in the league games? This is just something I have been thinking about.



To close it should be interesting to see how Roy Hogdson handles the return of injured players. It certainly can't hurt to have more healthy options.

5 Things I Think about the New England Patriots this week March 1st

Since it is the off season I am going to limit this entry to "5 things I think" this week regarding the New England Patriots. With free agency beginning soon it should be an interesting week.

1. I think the New England Patriots should bring back Mike Vrabel. I think this is a "no brainer" for the Pats. Even at his age what he gives you in leadership and knowledge is worth it alone. He is a free agent and the Pats should bring him home.

2. I think the New England Patriots should cut Adalius Thomas. He has shown to me that he is just not a good fit with the Pats. It could be he just doesn't see eye to eye with the head coach. It is time for both sides to say goodbye.

3. I think it is a good thing the New England Patriots brought back David Patten. The Pats have nothing to lose here. He might be old for a wide receiver, but at least he knows the offense. He is also a veteran presence of the "Patriots Way".

4. I think if the New England Patriots sign Julius Peppers he could be the next Adalius Thomas. He has already been questioned by a teammate on his desire to play football. You need players who love the game. He could be another waste of money.

5. I think overtime should be each team has one possession. With talk coming out that the Competition Committee are considering changing overtime for the playoffs I thought I would put in my "2 cents". If they do change overtime please make it for the regular season as well.

These are my 5 things I think about the New England Patriots this week as of March 1st.

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.

Fulham 0 - 0 at Sunderland

Going into this match Fulham had only 1 win on the road this season. That was in the first game of the season against Portsmouth. They left the Stadium of Light with only one point today. Fulham and Sunderland played to a scoreless draw.

There was good news for Fulham fans as the game began. Bobby Zamora was in the starting lineup. He picked up an Achilles injury during the last Europa League match. The half was more controlled by Sunderland. However, both sides had a few decent chances to score.

Sunderland started the first 5 minutes of the match with good pressure in the Fulham half. It was though Fulham who had the first good chance. In the 6th minute Gera takes a good shot that goes wide of the net. In the 26th minute Simon Davies passes a nice ball to Bobby Zamora who heads it wide.

The Sunderland chances started with a Jones strike that went high over the net. In the 39th minute a free kick for Sunderland was taken by Darren Bent. His shot though was saved by Schwarzer. Kenwyne Jones actually had 2 more decent chances as Sunderland continued the pressure late into the half. The last chance for Fulham in the 44th minute was a free kick by Nicky Shorey. It was easily handled.

The half was physical with Zoltan Gera getting knocked around twice. Fulham and Sunderland ended the half 0 -0. To win the game we would have to see more out of Roy Hogdson's team in the second half.

The second half started with more pressure from Fulham. Early on a Simon Davies corner kick goes harmlessly in the box as there is a foul by Hangeland. Sunderland had the next 2 chances. In the 56th minute a nice shot by Alan Hutton is saved by Schwarzer. This was followed up in the 58th minute by a shot by Darren Bent which went wide of the net.

Shortly before that last shot Fulham's first change came when Danny Murphy was replaced by Jonathan Greening. In the 69th minute a beautiful left footed shot by Damien Duff just went wide. This was probably Fulham's best chance of the match. In the 73rd minute Simon Davies made a nice run but his shot was easily saved by Craig Gordon.

The end of the game saw a few more chances for Sunderland. In the 74th minute off of a long ball, a shot by Zenden hits side of the net. In the 80th minute a cross by Zenden goes right to Alan Hutton but again hits the side of the net. One of the best chances for Sunderland came in the 86th minute. Frazier Campbell's right footed shot in the center of the box goes high over the net. The final chance for Sunderland came in the 88th minute with a nice pass from Benjani that just missed Darren Bent.

The only other change for Fulham came late in the game with David Elm coming in for Bobby Zamora. Unfortunately for Fulham, Elm was not effective in Zamora's place. Bobby played decent but did not get any real good chances today.

Both teams deserved a well earned point. I thought it was a pretty even game with a slight edge to Sunderland. The game ended as it started 0 -0 from the Stadium of Light. Now it is time to move on to the F A Cup next week against Tottenham at Craven Cottage.

The Importance of Roy Hogdson to Fulham

You need talented players to build your team. Unless you have someone to guide that talent it will go nowhere. Roy Hogdson took over a squad that 2 years ago that was fighting relegation to the Championship. To the present he has taken a team that is in the final 16 of the Europa League. To me this is an incredible accomplishment and I don't think he is getting the credit he deserves.

The big question is how did Hogdson accomplish this feat in 2 years? To me it all starts on defense. In American football if you have a strong defense you pretty much can be competitive in all of your games. I have a feeling that football in the EPL you can have a similar result with a strong defense. Hogdson brought in players like Brede Hangeland, John Pantsil, and Mark Schwarzer. Hangeland came in during the January transfer window of his first season. John Pantsil and Mark Schwarzer came in the following summer. Fulham now had 2 really good defenders and a top notch goalkeeper in Schwarzer. Defense is the first quality he brought to Fulham.

Hogdson also brought a work ethic and discipline that is shown every week on the pitch. His team is always in position and does not tend to beat themselves. The team keeps it shape which is difficult for their opponents to break down. This is a quality I admire. You are going to have to beat Fulham. They will not do it for you.

Roy Hogdson has also been able to get everything he can out of the talent he has at his disposal. Fulham do not have an unlimited budget like a team in the big four. He needs to find good players on a limited budget. For example, he got Mark Schwarzer for next to nothing. He also bought players like Bobby Zamora and Brede Hangeland. These players again were accomplished players but they weren't superstars at the time. Instead of acquiring talent Roy was building a team that is disciplined, plays a great defense and has an incredible work ethic.

As a fan all you can ask is that your club is put in position every week to win. Roy Hogdson has done this since January 2008. It blows me away how the media looks at Fulham. I listen to the commentary and I read the articles in the media. Just like the New England Patriots the media does not get it. They just see the names on the back of the jerseys. Someone needs to put those names in position to win and Hogdson does this week after week. It is a combination of the right players and the right manager.

How else would you explain how Fulham were able to beat Shakhtar Donetsk at Craven Cottage and then tie this team in the Ukraine. Shakhtar are more talented and play "beautiful football". Where did that get them in the end? Fulham moved on and Shakhtar are out. Shakhtar could not break down Fulham no matter how hard they tried. All Fulham did was take advantage of an opening when it was there. The free kick from Duff and headed in by Hangeland in the last game just shows me what Fulham is all about. They again won on defense, discipline and work ethic.

The importance of Roy Hogdson to Fulham to me is huge. Hogdson picks the players to play, puts them in position to succeed and just watches them play hard. If I were Chairman, Roy Hogdson would be manager for as long as he wants. I think the future is bright for Fulham Football Club. In my humble opinion Roy Hogdson has a great deal to do with it.

My 5 Keys to Victory for Fulham at Sunderland

There is no rest for Fulham this weekend. They will be travelling to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland on Sunday. The kickoff for the match is 3PM UK time and 10AM EST. The game will actually be shown on tape delay on Fox Soccer Soccer Channel in the United States at noon EST. Sunderland currently sit 14th in the League with 26 points. Fulham are currently 9th with 37 points.

Roy Hogdson and Fulham need to figure out a way to get another away win. Sunderland will again be desperate for a win as they want to get as far away from the relegation zone as possible. The question is what kind of shape and lineup will be on display for Fulham on Sunday? Below I will have my "5 keys to victory for Fulham."


1. Bobby Zamora is doubtful for the match so who will step up to take his place at striker. Zamora picked up an Achilles injury in the Europa League match. Who will Roy use at striker. I am hoping David Elm will get a shot at striker. To me he deserves another chance to show his ability. He seems to have a good touch up front. This striker position will be key on Sunday.

2. The return of Nicky Shorey is important for the defense. As I stated prior I think Nicky Shorey has been impressive on defense. Stephen Kelly was very good in the last match. This is nothing against Kelly. Shorey just gives Fulham a defender who can push the ball up better and is more natural at the position.

3. Fulham desperately need to score the first goal. Fulham have struggled so much on the road I think they need to play from ahead the majority of the match. If they can get off to a fast start they can dictate the game to Sunderland. Again, they are playing a desperate side right now. Zoltan Gera has been very good lately. I would not be surprised to see him score a goal early in the match.

4. Hogdson should use some fresh legs in this match. After a grueling match in the Ukraine a key will be how Hogdson uses his lineup. I already stated I think David Elm and Nicky Shorey should start. At some point during the match it might be good to use Jonathan Greening and Bjorn Helge Riise in midfield. Players like Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu might need some rest. They have worked very hard lately. I also would not be against Stephen Kelly coming in to spell someone on defense.

5. It is important to push the ball up to the strikers. Fulham always seem to be at their best when the defenders are pushing the ball up the pitch. Fulham need to dictate the pace of the match. Nicky Shorey has been great so far in moving the ball up. Fulham need to play like they are at Craven Cottage which is more aggressive.


Fulham are coming off of a grueling schedule lately. Sunderland on the road is game they need to win. If they want to move higher up the table Fulham need to win these games on the road. Let's hope our good form continues on Sunday.