Marco Silva was disappointed that Fulham slipped below their usual standards after letting an early lead slip against Aston Villa this afternoon.
The Portuguese head coach told his post-match press conference:
“It was not a good performance from us. I think because we scored the goal the way we did, and unfortunately for us, we conceded too quickly after – it was completely unlucky. We knew that they are going to explore, always, with the position of Rogers there and we were aware of it, and we should have done better.
But, even so, it was an own goal, and in one afternoon that we concede three goals, two of them were own goals – the other one a set piece as well, where we should have done much better. It was a little bit of a weird game, the way we conceded goals and the way we were not able to to punish them in some moments as well. The penalty was a big, a big chance for us that we missed. After the penalty, I felt the team were a little bit nervous – we were not playing at our best level.
Silva was measured in his criticism of referee Darren England’s decision to send off Joachim Andersen.
“Some moments made a big impact on the game. About the red card, I will not make many comments on that, but I would like to have a clear idea on what type of consistency the referees are going to have in these moments. The game against West Ham when Adama was one-on-one with the goalkeeper and was pushed from behind, it was probably the same challenge, almost a copy. On that afternoon it was not a foul. The explanation that came to us was ‘it was a soft touch, not enough for him to go down’, and I would like to ask what type of touch was the one this afternoon, as it was even softer than that one.”
I think that’s an understatement Marco it was a dire perforformance too many players had there head up their backsides, was Smith Rowe on the pitch Iwobi headless chicken,Adama to predicable and worst of all was Perreira how is this man wearing a Fulham shirt I am still fuming about his penalty other than kick off the second half he did absolutely sweet Fxxx All
Jimenez is on form striker then he should take it but Perreira is a Sulky Baby if he don’t take the penalties and that’s Marcos fault as well as corners and free kicks that we never score from how much longer have we got to suffer this man lots of fans near me were disgusted by his total performance,if we do this against Brentford god help us totally inept Today all round Total marks for Perreira 0 out of 10 and he’s lucky to get nought
A perfect start for us. A fortunate equaliser for Villa which put the visitors in the ascendancy. But a clearcut handball gave us the chance to regain the lead but step forward the guy who had made such a nonsensical fuss about the last penalty that we were awarded at Forest. And, almost on cue, he stuffed it.
Putting aside the miss, Andreas Pereira had, yet another, game to forget. I cannot recall a SINGLE thing he did right for the ridiculous amount of time that it took Silva to finally yank him. His corners were, once again, pathetic and his passing was shoddy. How many times did this muppet get caught in possession? I lost count.
The real issue is that Silva champions him and continues with him, week after week. There just HAS to be a better set piece taker within the squad.
Alongside Pereira, we had the abysmal Smith Rowe who slept through the first half, not bothering to break stride. He seemed to wake up for ten minutes or so at the start of the second half but soon lapsed into nothingness again.
To make matters even worse, Sander Berge played like a handicapped donkey; constantly being sold dummies, seemingly unable to find a white shirted player with his passes and I never thought that Sasa Lukic could possibly be missed so much.
This midfield trio was the reason why Villa dominated midfield and a change was much needed by the manager but he did nothing and allowed Villa to dominate again in the second half. We needed somebody like Harrison Reed snapping at Villa ankles and making his presence felt. Instead, the manager handed the game to Villa on a plate.
I have a lot of time for Marco Silva. He has been a great manager for us BUT he is not without faults and a blind loyalty to certain players -whether they perform or not -is high on his list of negatives.
The Andersen sending off was warranted -just as we should have had a penalty against West Ham but, apart from now being without our best player against Everton (and boy oh boy, was the difference between him and Diop ever more evident?) arguing about it is just a smokescreen and does not highlight the REAL issue we have: a toothless midfield.
There were other issues, which I blame yet another International break interruption on, and we have yet another one upcoming, probably just as we regain our Premiership stride.
But, expecting Robinson to perform at a decent level after all the travelling and playing that he had undergone, is a nonsense and, pretty much as usual after these long distance treks, he was way off his game.
Smith Rowe and Sander Berge need to step up their game -big time. Pereira needs to be self-analytic and take a good, hard, honest look at his performance because, from the looks of things, humility is NOT one of his characteristics.
Unfortunately Andersen got caught out and was rightly sent off. Nothing controversial about it at all. WTF is Silva’s obsession with Perriera? I’ve never seen it. Jiminez would have eaten that penalty with the form he is in. Perriera’s effort was weak as water and thats where the game was lost.
The stats suggest that Pereira has the 2nd most assists(20+) in the Premier League, but I thought an assist was the last pass leading directly to a goal. How many goals have we scored? Hmmm 11.
He and Troare were anonymous yesterday and Troare’s misses against City have made him ineffective and it showed. Pace is his only attribute, finishing isn’t.
Too many excuses in that statement. It was a poor performance not helped by stupid managerial decisions. Why is Pereira even starting games every week, let alone taking penalties, which he is no good at? Seems to me he’s absent most of the game. I’d rather see Harrison in there, at least you know you’re going to get 100% effort.
One thing is obvious, unless quite a few things change we have little chance of finishing in the top half.
The significance of a missed penalty and its impact on a team does not seem to be fully appreciated.
Endorse all Keith said. I’m disappointed nobody has mentioned the excellent performance of Raul. He showed skill and effort which was sadly lacking throughout the rest of the team. Still giving 100% in the 97th minute. Charles, he was on the same flight as Robinson but not on the same plane yesterday. Why do we all see what a fraud Pereira is but Marco can’t. Tete left isolated by the lazy Traore and couldn’t cope. The missed penalty changed the match
Agree with Charles that Reed would have been a better like for like replacement for Lukic. Isn’t Berge more a number 8 than a 6? Would have preferred to see a midfield two of Reed and Cairney. The latter is not exactly quick these days but is a more tenacious tackler than he is given credit for, as well as being a calmer presence. Jimenez has to be our designated penalty taker. Let’s hope Marco doesn’t display his stubborn streak on this obvious decision. That said, I for one still appreciate Perreira’s contribution to the team, especially since he has lost his preferred position to Smith Rowe. Has this particular change strengthened the team?
After a great start we went to pieces. The only player that really shone was Jimenez. I thought defensively, until Anderson correct dismissal was just about adequate. Diop’s own goal was awful We did not have a mid field and this is where we lost the match. Without Lukic who to me has been one of our most consistent player s this season we were dire.. Berge looked slow and cumbersome and on performances this season seems an expensive mistake. I would have preferred to have seen Harrison Reed playing. Smith Rowe who I rate was anonymous and should have been replaced earlier. As for Pereira, I have been saying since the beginning on the season he should be dropped. His dead ball and corners have been worse than diabolical He is like Marmite love or hate him . Even looking at playing him at all, it has to be him or Smith Rowe not both in the same team. Traore needed more of the ball given him the chance to destroy Villa’s aging and slow left back. Also why not give Nelson a start so we can see what he is made of. Cairney who is not able to play a whole match now is the one player who can keep possession and make some decent passes