Roy Hodgson’s success

I think it’s time for a little perspective. Of course the manner in which we lost on Wednesday night was disappointing. No-one likes to concede all three points in the dying seconds of a match, but we have certainly been on the right side of such events a number of times over the past year. Remember Man City away?

More importantly, however, we ought to reflect on how our current position compares with last year’s plight. At the same point in the 2007/08 season we had played a game more, yet were sitting in 19th place with a miserly 19 points on the board.

Of our 15 home games we had emerged victorious in just three – compared to the eight wins we have notched up in 13 this term. Even taking the defeat to Hull into account, this is still the 4th best home record in the league which is no mean feat.

Our defensive record has also been heaps better. We have conceded 23 times this year – 10 at home; 13 away – compared to the eye-popping 48 we had let in at the same point last season. For those interested, 26 were at home and 22 were away.

The only slightly  disappointing aspect is the number of goals scored…or lack of them. We have actually bagged one less this time around – 25 compared to 24. Although we have bagged three more at the Cottage we have only netted three times on our travels – down from seven.

The conclusions are clear. If we can find the net on a more regular basis then Premier League survival, and even a decent top half of the table finish, is ours for the taking. Over to you Bobby, Andy, & Co.

Disaster

How cruel was that? Losing in injury time after pretty much dominating the match throughout. Very dissapointing indeed. Instead of climbing to 8th with 37 points, we now slip back to 10th, one point ahead of Bolton.

Good luck lads…

Frustratingly I’m unable to make tonight’s game – even though I would have given virtually anything to be at the Cottage as evening games there truly are special.  I fancy us to maintain our great home record but Hull are certainly no push-overs. Fingers crossed, eh?

Kind Arsenal show class in charity request

Hats off to Arsenal. My neighbour – who is a devoted gooner despite my efforts to persuade him to switch allegiance – recently went into hospital for a major heart operation. I wrote to the club asking if they could send him a good luck letter. Not only did they do this, but they also enclosed a huge team picture, personally signed by the squad. How impressive is that?! Shows what a classy, professional outfit they are.

Fulham v Man Utd cup game – SOLD OUT!

Not too surprising really. Our quarter final FA Cup Tie against United has sold out and only hospitality seats are still available. Should be a cracking atmosphere – as long as away fans are not crammed into the home end…

FtF goes to Arsenal

Another thoroughly enjoyable visit to a traditional, football-loving area. In much the same way as West Ham, numerous homeowners have turned their front gardens into pitches, selling everything from bags of sweets to old photos and T-Shirts. Even a sizeable number of the shops and takeaways are painted red and white, and have Arsenal-related names.

For those that have not been, the Emirates itself is one impressive structure. Once inside the imposing glass frontage, the stadium itself is made up of these beautiful, sweeping curves and, get this, cushioned seats! The view from the away section – in one of the corners – is good and you’re pretty close to the action.

The only gripe I would have is that it does seem pretty quiet. I actually think this is more to do with the spaceage type design than the fans themselves, although it’s fair to say that they are certainly not the rowdiest bunch around. All in all, then, it’s definitely worth a visit if you get a chance in the future.

Highlights of the day
Mark Schwarzer’s saves; Brede Hangeland’s composure; Danny Murphy’s level-headed control in midfield; the two-for-a-£1 bags of sweets on sale outside the ground; Getting a point!

Negatives of the day
Bobby Zamora not putting himself out much to bond with the fans; our lack of goals on target; not giving Joe Kamara a chance to run at the Arsenal back line.

Chant watch
Didn’t hear much from the Arsenal to be fair. After they gave us some abuse when we pointed out they were going to win f** all, we serenaded them with the InterToto song…cue stunned bemusement from those in red and white!

Fulham to overhaul online ticket system

Some good news! Fulham will be overhauling the online ticket system which has clearly caused plenty of problems for the club and fans in recent weeks – as highlighted by the difficulties experienced in securing seats for both the league and cup matches against Man Utd.

One particular aspect they will be looking at is the bizarre in-built problem that bars supporters from buying tickets where one or three seats alongside will remain empty. This has meant some fans not being able to secure their season ticket seats for cup games.

ADD: A few people on the messageboard have questioned this post saying it wasn’t sourced. Fair enough, of course, but just to let you know this came from the club itself (below) in a reply to my query about the inability to book particular seats:

I’m afraid this feature is hardwired into the online booking system. It is something we will address when we overhaul the system in the close season.

Bobby Zamora in a strop

In case you hadn’t noticed, Bobby Zamora is having a little strop at the moment. Like a petulant child , young Bob has got the hump with a small section of the Fulham crowd that had voiced their concerns about his pretty miserable scoring record.

I actually think – and have done since the start of the season – that he brings an awful lot to our side. He holds the ball up well, has developed a very good understanding with Andy Johnson and is generally an extremely valuable member of the team.

Even so, there is no doubting that his confidence had taken a knock at the start of 2009.  This fact was even acknowledged by Roy Hodgson who hauled him off in favour of Erik Nevland against Portsmouth a month ago – a decision which resulted in a 3-1 victory.

I was delighted he showed so much passion after netting in last Sunday’s victory over West Brom, but by the time he bagged the match winner against Swansea on Tuesday it was clear something else was going on. His hand cupped behind his ear, face contorted by aggression and gesticulations to the home crowd told the story.

His attitude towards the fans at the Emirates, however, was out of order. After barely being bothered to acknowledge our presence at the start of the match, he was literally manhandled over by a member of the Fulham staff at the end. He smacked his hands together, turned tail and disappeared off down the tunnel. How pathetic can you get?

He clearly feels that he’s come in for undue criticism but the fact is that the vast majority of fans have been nothing but supportive. Even when he’s contrived to miss the kind of gilt-edged chances that a six-year-old would have lashed home, his name has been sung with gusto and virtually every move has been followed with lavish applause.

Go back a decade and a fella called Barry Hayles went through a similarly goal shy period after Kevin Keegan bought him from Bristol Rovers for a then eye-popping £2m. He took a lot of abuse but proved everyone wrong and went on to become something of a cult hero. Zamora should take note and just concentrate on the job in hand rather than this absurd vendetta.

Fulham v Arsenal: Player Rankings

Here’s how I scored the lads against Arsenal this afternoon.

Schwarzer – 10/10
There is no way you can give this man anything less than maximum points. He was absolutely faultless. A string of stunning saves ensured we left the Emirates with a point.

Konchesky – 5/10
A few dodgy moments to be fair, but got forward well and improved as the match progressed.

Hughes – 6/10
A competent, understated performance, the like of which we have come to expect from our Northern Ireland international.

Hangeland – 8/10
Fantastic stuff. I lost count of the number of times he emerged through a melee of players to bring the ball away.

Baird – 7/10
A great half of football before succumbing to what appeared to be an ankle injury. He looked rock solid and proved himself an able replacement for the suspended Pantsil.

Davies – 7/10
He must be knackered. I can’t believe how far he ran today. He was involved in all Fulham’s best moves and even had a couple of shots, albeit off-target.

Dempsey – 7/10
You always know what you’re going to get with Clint: 100% energy and 100% commitment. He was instrumental in the midfield and made some surging runs.

Etuhu – 7/10
The best display we have seen from Dickson. He grew in confidence the further the game went on and looked confident and assured on the ball.

Murphy – 8/10
He just keeps getting better. Moulded himself into our midfield general and looked totally in control today. His pinpoint passes are a joy to behold.

Johnson – 7/10
Maximum commitment although he could have done better with his chances.

Zamora – 7/10
Some fantastic touches – especially with his head – and was a solid presence throughout. Now he needs to work on sanding off the edges of his attitude.

Substitutes

Stoor – 5/10
Proved that he is nowhere near the finished article. Very shaky and was lucky that Van Persie and Nasri inexplicably didn’t put him under more pressure.

Gera – 6/10
Not enough time to make much of an impression.

Man of the match: Mark Schwarzer. A finer goalkeeping display you will struggle to see anywhere. Absolutely outstanding.

Superb Fulham share the points at Arsenal

What a game! I honestly can’t remember enjoying a 0-0 draw more than today’s pulsating match at the Emirates. Sure we rode our luck a few times and squandered a hatful of chances, but the overall performance was superb. The interplay between Murphy, Etuhu and Davies was fantastic; Hangeland was simply majestic in his marshalling of the back four; and Schwarzer pulled off save after unbelievable save. It was end to end stuff all the way.

The most encouraging part of the whole display was how comfortable we looked on the ball. There have been plenty of times when we’ve scraped a draw away from home but this certainly wasn’t the case today. We thoroughly deserved our share of the points and with a touch more focus in front of goal we could have left North London with all three.

We now sit in 8th spot – just behind Wigan – and are only two points off the total number we notched up during the entire 2007/08 season. Keep it up lads!