There seem to be big holes in the attention to coaching at Fulham. We look woeful defending corners while ineffective with corners of our own. If felt to me as if most of us knew Everton were going to turn it around when Silva left it late to make changes. Anderson seems to be getting worse and Cuenca and Bassey should be given a go together. Anderson certainly shouldn't be the captain. As for Leno, this season he has looked weak on crosses and corners and mistakes are creeping into his game. It may be time to be looking for a long term replacement this summer. As for Silva, I personally think he is not the messiah some claim he is and if he does wonder into the sunset this summer, a capable replacement can be found.
When last year's player of the year doesn't start because the Manager says it is up to his replacement to lose his spot then the Game Plan is askew.
When 2 out of our 3 most effective forwards are substituted then Game Management is askew.
Add to that poor coaching of set pieces we are in for another year (3rd in a row) of tailing off - not due to player performances but poor management, poor coaching. Maybe the players' individual skill can overcome poor lineups and poor substitutions - hopefully yes . . .
btw: Moyes says he will now ask his players to reach for Europe
Silva has certainly been in a funk for large parts of the season, but you can see some reasoning in keeping Cuenca in the team (Bassey hardly covered himself in glory last week), or withdrawing visibly tired attackers to try and make a difference to the game.
Whilst there's definitely a question to be asked about the team's resilience - how they continually disintegrate in critical moments - and as you say the set-piece situation is a real concern, if his players finish a few of their chances in the first half Silva's tactics are lauded. I am still firmly in camp Marco and trust him to repair the situation (which is hardly a lost cause, however frustrating!)
Forget about the lack of a good striker we need a goalkeeper who can command his area for corners and set pieces and Leno isn’t the one he flaps at crosses at corners and stands on his goal line unable to catch the ball or clear it he is too old to change his ways and we need to address this problem, he also is bad at kicking out to our players with his passes finding the opposition more often than not. Our defending was awful once again and if we don’t sort it out we can forget about Europe. Marco should have made the substitutions much earlier.
Leno made a few mistakes today, particularly with the aerial balls, which is definitely something he'll have to have brought to his attention. I don't want to completely give up on him though because he does still do a lot for us (several moments where the defence were bypassed flew under the radar because Leno bailed us out with his saves, for instance). You are correct in that we do need to think about a long-term replacement at some point (which is what a sensible team does anyway, right?)
Completely agree about the substitutes and the defending. Marco has work to do with the team!
Yet another fine match report that reads like an autopsy. The patient was doing so well in the first half and then lost the will to live in the second. There is plenty of quality in this Fulham squad, even given Castagne and a declining Leno, so our problem is character. Can you imagine a Mullery or a Murphy allowing us to be overwhelmed by a moderate side like Everton? One of our number must step up to lead this side and I mean really bossing his teammates. The problem is I don’t see a player with the personality to do so and Cairney, bless him, is no longer a 90 minute man. Another problem for Marco to deal with. Regards, Baz.
As always, excellent game report!
I agree with the comment about coaching. Not Silva, but whoever's minding set plays on both sides and, most of all, defense.
A frustrating one to be sure
There seem to be big holes in the attention to coaching at Fulham. We look woeful defending corners while ineffective with corners of our own. If felt to me as if most of us knew Everton were going to turn it around when Silva left it late to make changes. Anderson seems to be getting worse and Cuenca and Bassey should be given a go together. Anderson certainly shouldn't be the captain. As for Leno, this season he has looked weak on crosses and corners and mistakes are creeping into his game. It may be time to be looking for a long term replacement this summer. As for Silva, I personally think he is not the messiah some claim he is and if he does wonder into the sunset this summer, a capable replacement can be found.
When last year's player of the year doesn't start because the Manager says it is up to his replacement to lose his spot then the Game Plan is askew.
When 2 out of our 3 most effective forwards are substituted then Game Management is askew.
Add to that poor coaching of set pieces we are in for another year (3rd in a row) of tailing off - not due to player performances but poor management, poor coaching. Maybe the players' individual skill can overcome poor lineups and poor substitutions - hopefully yes . . .
btw: Moyes says he will now ask his players to reach for Europe
Silva has certainly been in a funk for large parts of the season, but you can see some reasoning in keeping Cuenca in the team (Bassey hardly covered himself in glory last week), or withdrawing visibly tired attackers to try and make a difference to the game.
Whilst there's definitely a question to be asked about the team's resilience - how they continually disintegrate in critical moments - and as you say the set-piece situation is a real concern, if his players finish a few of their chances in the first half Silva's tactics are lauded. I am still firmly in camp Marco and trust him to repair the situation (which is hardly a lost cause, however frustrating!)
Forget about the lack of a good striker we need a goalkeeper who can command his area for corners and set pieces and Leno isn’t the one he flaps at crosses at corners and stands on his goal line unable to catch the ball or clear it he is too old to change his ways and we need to address this problem, he also is bad at kicking out to our players with his passes finding the opposition more often than not. Our defending was awful once again and if we don’t sort it out we can forget about Europe. Marco should have made the substitutions much earlier.
Leno made a few mistakes today, particularly with the aerial balls, which is definitely something he'll have to have brought to his attention. I don't want to completely give up on him though because he does still do a lot for us (several moments where the defence were bypassed flew under the radar because Leno bailed us out with his saves, for instance). You are correct in that we do need to think about a long-term replacement at some point (which is what a sensible team does anyway, right?)
Completely agree about the substitutes and the defending. Marco has work to do with the team!
Yet another fine match report that reads like an autopsy. The patient was doing so well in the first half and then lost the will to live in the second. There is plenty of quality in this Fulham squad, even given Castagne and a declining Leno, so our problem is character. Can you imagine a Mullery or a Murphy allowing us to be overwhelmed by a moderate side like Everton? One of our number must step up to lead this side and I mean really bossing his teammates. The problem is I don’t see a player with the personality to do so and Cairney, bless him, is no longer a 90 minute man. Another problem for Marco to deal with. Regards, Baz.