SBNation.com User Blog: giantsfan5689

Breaking News: Fulham Strike a New Deal with Mark Schwarzer

giantsfan5689 — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:19:14 -0000

Fulham have resigned keeper Mark Schwarzer to a contract extension, ending speculation that he may get transfered to Arsenal when the window opens in January. No word on how much the contract is worth, but it will keep him at Craven Cottage through the 2011-2012 season. This is an excellent and well-advised move by Mark Hughes, and will also end speculation on most transfer rumors of other keepers moving to Fulham in January.

Mid-Week Links: Plenty of Transfer Rumors

giantsfan5689 — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:48:22 -0000

The search for back-up plan to Schwartzer continues:
Mark Hughes has interest in Bolton keeper on loan to Wigan as well as Man Utd 3rd stringer

Hughes also keeping an eye on Dutch league defender Anderas Granqvist, formerly of Wigan

Senderos' recovery still on track
The article doesn't mention a timetable but if his 6-month estimated recovery time is indeed on schedule, this puts him on track to be back just around the transfer window opening

Mark Hughes challenges Pantsil to keep starting spot
Forgot to mention this in the recap post but he got an incredible ovation as he entered the pitch and the crowd cheered every touch he got in the first half. It was real nice to see. Also, clearly Mark Hughes reads this blog and agreed with my assessment of Pantsil in the recap post. Just sayin.

The search for back-up plan to Schwartzer continues:
Mark Hughes has interest in Bolton keeper on loan to Wigan as well as Man Utd 3rd stringer

Hughes also keeping an eye on Dutch league defender Anderas Granqvist, formerly of Wigan

Fulham 1 - 1 Birmingham City

giantsfan5689 — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 17:12:58 -0000

This was an interesting and promising match. Been a good long time since we've seen a balanced, calm yet aggressive attack for an extended period of time from Fulham like the 2nd half of this game. I think it's safe to say this team is a clear 2nd half team. Breakdown time.

The Good:

Chris Baird - Created multiple chances off crosses. Some were good and some were bad, but he didn't give any bad balls away, which is a serious weakness of this team. I really liked how he created opportunities.

John Pantsil - Really the whole defense played well, but I single out Pantsil because he came in for an injured (thank God) Salcido at a moments' notice and played outstanding. Not only was he solid in his own end, but he played back on corners and also, like Baird, had a few nice crosses. I think he earned some more playing time over the disasterous Salcido (more on that later).

The entire attack - Moreso in the 2nd half, this was a renewed attack we haven't seen in a while. Dempsey and Gera had nice headers on the lone goal, Dempsey had a great chance later in the game, and the entire half there were chances. They need to figure out how to finish with more than just Dempsey, but for now I'll take baby steps. I was impressed.

The Bad: There aren't many that really stand out, but outside of Salcido I'll try to nitpick a bit.

Salcido - Ugh. Before getting hurt he did nothing to help the team, and once again completely blew what turned into a goal for the other team. After flopping on Tevez's first goal against Man City, today he charged and completely whiffed at a half-hearted tackle on Alexander Hleb. I'm glad he got hurt. Maybe he'll take his time coming back this time.

Brede Hangeland - I don't think there's any question his defensive skills are outstanding. I've been nothing but impressed by him this season. However, his ball skills may need a bit of sharpening. He had a few silly passes and when challenged he usually concedes the ball quite easily.

The officiating - They did an absolutely horrible job figuring out who touched the ball last on multiple occasions, including one that clearly deflected off Nikola Zigic (by the way, did anyone else watching the game find it funny how Martin Tyler enjoyed saying Zigic's name so much?) but was given as a Birmingham goal kick. There were also a number of challenges on both sides that should have been blown dead but weren't. At least they were consistent in letting them play, but I thought it was poor.

Defining moment - Has to be Dempsey's goal, but I considered Dempsey's missed shot later in the match. Both were the culmination of a lot of nifty successful passing and good opportunity making.

What we learned - This team isn't relegation material. They may not be top half of the board by any means, at least not now, but they are definitely not getting relegated, and I firmly believe that. There are a few teams much worse than them, and Fulham fans can breathe easy in that department. However, they have a lot of work to do to move themselves out of the very bottom of the board. I'm confident going forward, but Fulham have a tough few matches ahead, including at Arsenal next. They'll have to bring their A game. If they can avoid a loss in the next 3 matches vs Arsenal, Sunderland, and Liverpool, I'll be happy. And if they avoid a loss in all 3 of those matches, I believe they will pick up a win in the process. It would be a much needed win.

The Good:

The Bad: There aren't many that really stand out, but outside of Salcido I'll try to nitpick a bit.

Defining moment - Has to be Dempsey's goal, but I considered Dempsey's missed shot later in the match. Both were the culmination of a lot of nifty successful passing and good opportunity making.

Fulham Interested in Freiburg Striker Cissé

giantsfan5689 — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:39:24 -0000

According to skysports.com, Fulham have emerged as one of the top interested parties in Freiburg striker Demba Cissé. I don't know much about the 25 year old, but from the sound of it, he's having a breakout year. He's scored 16 goals in 29 appearances, which puts him towards the top in all of Europe. According to the article, Freiburg aren't exactly ready to make him available just yet, and Fulham may have to wait until the summer to make a run for him. Also according to the article, if and once the German team does decide to make him available, the estimated asking price would be in the vicinity of £4 million. He also plays for the Senegalese international team.

This is exaclty what Mark Hughes should be looking for. This team needs help most on the attack, and Hughes should be looking for both players who can keep possession and also those who can not only create opportunities but take advantage of them. Cissé sounds like just that type of player.

Poll

From your knowledge of Cissé, is he worth the £4 million?

Yes, open the wallet!

4 votes

No, Hughes needs to look for cheaper options

0 votes

4 votes | Poll has closed

Fulham 1 - 4 Manchester City

giantsfan5689 — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 18:11:31 -0000

Where to begin with this disaster? Manchester City exposed every single one of Fulham’s weaknesses, and then they exposed some things that nobody even thought were weaknesses that apparently are. Fulham’s defense had been a positive until this match. Let’s break this one down.

The scapegoats:

Damien Duff – Completely ineffective on the defense, his disaster of a clear led to Man City’s 2nd goal. Hughes agreed, taking him out after half, but it was too late by then. This was surprising to me because he has been playing relatively well along with the rest of the defense until this match. Let’s hope this is a one-time thing.

Carlos Salcido – A horrible flop led to the opening goal for City in just the 6th minute. Instead of trying to challenge Tevez and get the ball out of the box, he flopped and tried to get a call, failed, and left Tevez one-on-one with Schwarzer with what basically amounted to a penalty kick, no chance for Schwarzer. The rest of his play was rusty at best, in his first match back in a while, being out with an MCL injury. He made some head-scratching passes and some pretty poor challenges.

Dickson Etuhu – The scapegoat of the 2nd half, he also had some serious clearing issues. Practically whiffing on the clear in the 2nd half, he ended up assisting Tevez’s 2nd goal (Man City’s 4th). Hughes also recognized he was ineffective and subbed in Kamara, but it was also too late by then.

The positives:

Mark Schwarzer – The keeper has been unreal in his last few matches, cementing what I believe is a no-brainer to resign him if he agrees to return at the end of his contract. Every opportunity he’s had he’s made. It’s funny to say the keeper is a positive after a 4-1 loss, but every goal he had absolutely no chance on, with the defense failing so badly. He made a great save one-on-one with Tevez, and another beautiful diving stop on a relatively poor shot by Kolarov. He’s been strong recently.

Zoltan Gera – Not the prettiest shot that ended up being deflected by Dempsey for Fulham’s only score, but he’s been making opportunities on the attack in his little bit of playing time, something that nobody else on the attack can really lay claim to recently. Fulham haven’t scored a meaningful goal since Hangeland’s header in stoppage time to draw Aston Villa 4 whole matches ago. With Andrew Johnson not looking 100% and in my opinion completely ineffective, I may start Gera once or twice if I were Hughes until Zamora gets back. I believe Gera’s earned it.

Brede Hangeland – Despite the defense’s complete disaster today, Hangeland continues to play well. He’s been a force when challenging, and seems to always get a head on the ball off corners. One of the only aggressive defenders Fulham has right now.

Defining moment:

You may be surprised to see I’m not picking a goal here. The moment I’m going with is in the 53rd minute, Fulham was finally mounting some semblance of an attack to open the 2nd half. With chance after chance at a shot, not one person wanted to take the shot. Everyone kept passing the ball, or looking at their teammates for someone else to get the ball. Dempsey, Salcido, Etuhu, and AJ all had touches they gave up to another member of the team. This was shocking to me. Nobody wanted to step up, nobody wanted to be the one to put the team on their back. It was a frustrating moment for the attack, something there has been plenty of in the past few matches.

What we learned:

A lot. Man City have exposed a ton of weaknesses on this team. There are 3 big ones that stand out to me. Two we’ve known for a while now, and the other is completely new, and a bit worrisome. The first is the inability of the attack to finish. They get their fair share of opportunities, but whiffs, poor shots, and an inability to contend with challenges have plagued the offense. The second is the poor passing decision-making. We’ve seen it constantly in the last few matches, every time Fulham get the ball, they seem to always give it right back, relying on their strong defense rather than making good opportunities on the attack end. The one, however, that worries me the most, is the sudden inability of the defense to clear. Etuhu, Salcido, and Duff all completely whiffed or came close to it, directly leading to Man City scores, and in Etuhu and Duff’s cases, actually assisted scores. This is troubling to say the least.

I’d try to look for more statistical analysis of this match, but I know I would rather not dwell on this disaster and I’m sure you probably don’t either. I know being 4th from the bottom on the table is tough to look at, but I wouldn’t worry at this point. This team is NOT as bad as those around, and especially below, them. Best thing to do at this point is move on to Birmingham.

The scapegoats:

The positives:

Defining moment:

What we learned: