Player Ratings: Fulham 0-1 Bournemouth
The ratings are in after a miserable day at the Cottage.
These ratings are going to read like an obituary; a farewell to an era that will be looked back on fondly, in time, but yesterday probably hit its lowest low.
It was evident from minute one that Fulham had turned up. The virus seemed to have been shaken, the players were out to prove a point. We had the upper hand and played some lovely stuff. Fulham were still unable to create clear cut chances but the signs were really positive.
Ryan Christie’s clumsy challenge on Timo rightly saw him walk and we were ready to win the first of our three must win games. What happened 10 seconds from the end of the half thumped all of the energy out of the ground and we never recovered. 11 v 11 Fulham were the better team, 11v10 was a godsend, 10v10 was a death sentence.
Bournemouth showed that they possess that edge that we lack and it’s why they are unbeaten in 16 and getting ready for a European adventure. The only positive really is that the new European Entry/Exit System is a nightmare and I hope they all get stuck in massive passport queues on their lovely trips.
Once again, for these Player Ratings, we’re also giving you the scores voted by Fulham Fanalyists on the excellent Fanalysis app.
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Bernd Leno
I’ve seen questions over whether Bernd should have saved Rayan’s deflected pot shot. I’m going to flash my goalkeeper’s union card and say that he’s unsighted and then wrong footed by the deviation, and therefore I won’t mark him down for it. I will mark him down for his distribution however, which at times put his teammates under unnecessary pressure against a high energy Bournemouth side.
Fulhamish Rating: 6/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 58/100
Timothy Castagne
The first half hour of this game was quite funny as both sides clearly saw the opposition’s right back as their biggest weakness. This meant Timo was constantly targeted with balls in behind him which I thought he dealt with well actually. His cross for Muniz merited an assist; possibly the only good cross we put in all afternoon. A solid, unremarkable performance, which is ok.
Fulhamish Rating: 6.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 64/100
Joachim Andersen
Unforgivable. An utterly disgraceful challenge that is totally inexplicable given the context of the game and the fact that he is one of the senior leaders in this side.
You can analyse this game to the nth degree, you can criticise Fulham for their impotence in front of goal, criticise Marco Silva for stale tactics. Ultimately though, there is one player who I see as solely responsible for the result yesterday and that’s Joachim Andersen
His season is defined by an inexcusable red card in the biggest league game of our season and a pathetic foul in the box in the biggest cup game of our season. Those two actions will not be forgotten.
Fulhamish Rating: 0/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 9/100
Calvin Bassey
I think it’s poor the way that Calvin dips his shoulder towards Rayan’s shot and he’ll be disappointed with the half-hearted effort.
However, one of the few players that I think deserves credit today, particularly in the second half. When down to ten men, Bassey didn’t just fulfil the role of two players, but arguably three. He carried out his centre-back duties, alongside playing as a left-back and even left winger when we had the ball. He was desperate to spark some inspiration into our performance and I commend him for that. He’s a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and I think we need more characters like him.
He’s by no means been perfect this year, but finding him a quality partner will go a long way to firming up our back line next season.
Fulhamish Rating: 7/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 69/100
Antonee Robinson
The Jedi of old, but the unrefined version, not the player of the season edition. Defensively I thought he was good, with Bournemouth having little joy down his flank. It was reassuring after his calamitous afternoon in North London.
Going forward it was a horrible throwback. On numerous occasions he marauded forward into troubling positions before delivering woeful crosses. Four crosses, none of them found a white shirt. When your game plan is so strongly built around your left-back creating chances, it falls flat if they’re unable to capitalise on the space they’ve found. The cross that went out for a goal kick when we were chasing the game which was subsequently greeted by numerous boos sums up his performance.
Fulhamish Rating: 5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 52/100
Sasa Lukic
A mixed bag from Sasa. Definitely an improvement from the Emirates but not at the levels that we saw against Villa. Weirdly, I thought he was poorest when Fulham were on top in the first half, unable to reliably control the ball and retain possession.
In the second half he improved and tried his best to get Fulham ticking, clearly frustrated at the lethargy in our approach. He was utterly gassed by the end and took one of the most feeble corners you’ll ever see; he looked dejected when he realised he’d only just about kicked it as far as the 18-yard box.
Fulhamish Rating: 6/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 63/100
Tom Cairney
I wasn’t sure if it was a game that would suit him as a result of the tempo that the Cherries play at. I was wrong. He played 27 more passes and had 19 more touches than any player on the pitch today, on either side.
People may say that they were all sideways but I thought Tom was the metronome that we needed and it was his teammates lacking the finesse and guile that he has that cost us, not TC controlling the midfield. Did exactly what was asked of him and we lost control when he was replaced.
Fulhamish Rating: 7/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 63/100
Harry Wilson
A performance that has prompted a lot of fans to say “thanks for everything, but if you want to go, that’s fine by us”. He was largely anonymous with no real urgency or intent when he had the ball.
It’s the sort of performance that wouldn’t garner many opinions, but when he’s flirting with other clubs during this pivotal part of our season, it’s a very bad look.
Probably the best decision Silva made today was dragging H off after 60 minutes, something hasn’t done much this season.
Fulhamish Rating: 4/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 49/100
Samuel Chukwueze
Samu was the sacrificial lamb for the post-match Riverside appearance and he contributed more in his conversation with Ivan than on the right flank.
He roamed about the pitch far too much, crowding central areas and leaving us without an attacking presence out wide. He’s making life easy for full-backs at the moment, refusing to take them on and always taking the safe option.
Where he really screwed up was for the goal. Robinson delegated Rayan to our winger as he dealt with Adam Smith. The lack of effort he shows to close down their mercurial talent was an embroidered invite to have a shot, which he gladly accepted to drive his side towards Europe.
I’m now firmly in the “do not sign” camp, as the electric Samu we saw months ago feels like he was on a hot streak, rather than a true depiction of the player he is. Maybe another manager will change that.
Fulhamish Rating: 4/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 58/100
Emile Smith Rowe
Looked forlorn at half time when he walked over to the subs bench in his trackies. He was unfortunately the obvious substitution but that wasn’t a slight on his performance.
He was energetic and found good pockets of space, that caused Bournemouth problems. He set the tempo with his press which was great to see.
However, I think I’m setting the bar too low for what we should demand from Emile. Those should be non-negotiables what we need is a spark and he’s not providing that to a high enough standard. Another tidy display but he needs to start finding ways to seriously impact games.
Fulhamish Rating: 6/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 63/100
Rodrigo Muniz
Yikes. 858 minutes, one Premier League goal. If you’re scrambling to remember that goal, it’s because it was on the 16th August, our first game of the season.
He has struggled with injuries and I feel so bad for him because he is such a likeable guy, but these performances are rough to watch. The header that he shunts wide is one that he gobbles up when on song, and his holdup play was so far short of Raul’s, who we sorely missed today.
We won’t be seeing €40m bids for him this summer, so I think we should get around him and try and inspire the player that, when at his best, is more than good enough. We’ve said it so many times since he joined the club but he’s in one of those patches where he simply needs a goal.
Fulhamish Rating: 4/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 44/100
Subs and Manager
Issa Diop
Did fine, but I think he dwelled on the ball far too long, especially when we were desperate for a goal. The silver lining of the Andersen red card is that Issa will get these last two games to further prove that he should never have been dropped and is a better option than the Dane.
Fulhamish Rating: 5.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 63/100
Kevin
Can’t help thinking how different the past couple of months could have been had this little dancer been fit. He’s so raw and he will frustrate with poor decisions and/or execution, but he made a difference when he came on.
We finally exposed 35-year-old Adam Smith at right back and his flair finally made us look vaguely threatening. Such a tough first season, but this kid could fly over the next few years.
Fulhamish Rating: 6.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 69/100
Oscar Bobb
Shock horror, Bobb plays in his preferred position and looks like a good footballer. He needs to improve his weaker foot but today he looked like a player that we signed from Man City.
Some of the interplay and intelligence that he showed out on the left was exciting, and like Kevin, it raises my hopes for future performances. Gutting that after some delightful jinking he skied his shot over the bar, when it was begging for him to just curl it into the corner, but we undoubtedly improved when he replaced Wilson.
If Wilson is to leave for pastures new this summer, which feels very likely, then Bobb should start instead of him for our final two fixtures.
Fulhamish Rating: 6.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 62/100
Josh King
It’s been apparent for months, but this is the guy that you built the next era of Fulham around. He is an immense talent who has an unfortunate knack of being impossibly unlucky.
He tried his best when he came on to bring some pace to our play but his work ethic to chase all the way back and stop Bournemouth going two up was the perfect depiction of a player who cares so much about our club.
How his thunderbolt doesn’t go over the line, I’ll never know, but he’s an absolute star who we need to allow to shine.
Fulhamish Rating: 6.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 68/100
Jonah Kusi Asare came on too late to be fairly rated, but it was nice to see him.
Marco Silva
We are witnessing the end of a marvellous era. The second best Fulham manager of my lifetime, who I will always love. It’s just such a shame that it’s going to end meekly, with a lot of distaste among the fans.
He will get criticised for today, but for 48 minutes and 50 seconds, he was curating a vital win. His leading centre-back let him down, but he does keep picking him despite ample evidence showing that he shouldn’t.
In the second half he didn’t find the solutions we needed. We needed our manager to get us over the line and in the last 15 minutes we played some truly abhorrent football, with a totally incoherent assortment of 10 players. He might have had the best of Iraola from the beginning, but he was out-coached by the end.
This has still been a positive season for Fulham and fans would do well to not take 50+ Premier League points for granted. Since joining Marco has fixed a club that could only dream of finishing 17th to one that is disappointed to not finish seventh. He’s become a victim of his own success in some ways, but this is another year that will be remembered for a limp towards the finish line while others find their second wind and dash past us.
Fulhamish Rating: 4.5/10
Fulham fans on Fanalysis: 48/100