It's a relegation fight alright, make no mistake. This squad is nowhere near as good as people seem to believe. The Khans are failures in long term Premiership recruitment. Brighton, Bournemouth, Palace etc. They all have far superior recruitment teams and it shows.
The manager and others point to poor set piece performance.
Then FIX IT !
Tete's lost wandering in space on the first goal after a long throw - ratherthan to enter the goal area to defend - was even poorer then Lukic backing into Berger which prevented a clearance.
And the second goal was poor coaching to have Iwobi mark Keane incorrectly (be goalside & close space to your mark after the corner is kicked - not glued to him at the top of the box where he runs by you).
But IMO team selection was the key factor. Iwobi high [#10] meant his legs were gone when he finally dropped into his correct position (eg. Wolve's) game mid-way through the 2nd half. And Wilson, our one-trick pony, is much more effective coming off the bench after Traore [or better Samu] tires their left back.
I think Marco's earnt the chance to turn things around - this is his team, he's taken us through some great moments over the last few years, there's no reason we shouldn't have some belief in his ability to improve things over the next few months.
Obviously there may be a conversation about his long term future at the club to have, but a) we've got to get through this moment first and b) changing managers partway through a season hasn't worked out in two of the relegation battles we've had under the Khans...
Kevin's clearly a raw talent, still honing his trade, and unlike Willian has entered the team whilst it's in poor health. It'll be rough but there is talent there, and with time he'll be able to turn his potential into end product for us.
As for Chukwueze, I think he could do with a proper match starting at RW for us - we've not seen him properly yet, and even today his time on the field wasn't when the team had a coherent structure in attack. He's shown some really talented moments in previous games and shouldn't be written off yet. If he can help Nigeria qualify for the World Cup, it might give him the confidence lift needed to reach some serious form for Fulham!
It's ugly at the moment, isn't it! Whilst that's definitely on my mind though, the "scrap" hasn't started yet - we've still got time in the season to put a few points on the board and get ourselves into a healthier league position, so I don't think things are as dire as being in the midst of a proper battle yet.
Obviously there's a good chance we keep going on this trajectory, in which case we will be in a serious situation in a few months! I'd like to believe Silva can be the man to turn the team around, and there's a long way to go before he loses my backing given everything he's done with us thus far.
Toffees versus toothless
Only smile I've had thinking about this game haha
It's a relegation fight alright, make no mistake. This squad is nowhere near as good as people seem to believe. The Khans are failures in long term Premiership recruitment. Brighton, Bournemouth, Palace etc. They all have far superior recruitment teams and it shows.
The manager and others point to poor set piece performance.
Then FIX IT !
Tete's lost wandering in space on the first goal after a long throw - ratherthan to enter the goal area to defend - was even poorer then Lukic backing into Berger which prevented a clearance.
And the second goal was poor coaching to have Iwobi mark Keane incorrectly (be goalside & close space to your mark after the corner is kicked - not glued to him at the top of the box where he runs by you).
But IMO team selection was the key factor. Iwobi high [#10] meant his legs were gone when he finally dropped into his correct position (eg. Wolve's) game mid-way through the 2nd half. And Wilson, our one-trick pony, is much more effective coming off the bench after Traore [or better Samu] tires their left back.
The 'rubbish feeling' part, resonates deeply, tho.
Definite Martin Jol vibe…
If Marco cannot try new ideas and they don't recruit in January it will be time to find someone fresh.
I think Marco's earnt the chance to turn things around - this is his team, he's taken us through some great moments over the last few years, there's no reason we shouldn't have some belief in his ability to improve things over the next few months.
Obviously there may be a conversation about his long term future at the club to have, but a) we've got to get through this moment first and b) changing managers partway through a season hasn't worked out in two of the relegation battles we've had under the Khans...
Kevin proved today he is no Willian and Chukwueze showed why Milan was happy to let him go. Under-performer there and remains the same at Fulham.
Kevin's clearly a raw talent, still honing his trade, and unlike Willian has entered the team whilst it's in poor health. It'll be rough but there is talent there, and with time he'll be able to turn his potential into end product for us.
As for Chukwueze, I think he could do with a proper match starting at RW for us - we've not seen him properly yet, and even today his time on the field wasn't when the team had a coherent structure in attack. He's shown some really talented moments in previous games and shouldn't be written off yet. If he can help Nigeria qualify for the World Cup, it might give him the confidence lift needed to reach some serious form for Fulham!
We’re in a relegation scrap. Team looks dysfunctional.
It's ugly at the moment, isn't it! Whilst that's definitely on my mind though, the "scrap" hasn't started yet - we've still got time in the season to put a few points on the board and get ourselves into a healthier league position, so I don't think things are as dire as being in the midst of a proper battle yet.
Obviously there's a good chance we keep going on this trajectory, in which case we will be in a serious situation in a few months! I'd like to believe Silva can be the man to turn the team around, and there's a long way to go before he loses my backing given everything he's done with us thus far.