In the heart of Volkswagen country, Fulham motored serenely into the semi-finals of the Europa League with an efficient performance that was surprising only in the simplicity of the win it delivered. Any good motor racing driver will tell you he’s only as good as his engine. I’m in desperate danger of overextending this metaphor, but it’s the same with football teams.
Games are won and lost in midfield. Particularly in European and international football, ball retention is key. Fulham’s engine room has spluttered a little of late. Danny Murphy’s not hit the heights of last season in a campaign disrupted by niggling injuries and suspensions and Dickson Etuhu’s been overshadowed by his makeshift replacement, Chris Baird. I’ve been critical of the Nigerian in the past couple of weeks but he was absolutely outstanding in Germany last night.
Etuhu’s peerless performance becomes all the more impressive when you factor in the amount of times Murphy misplaced a pass. A few weeks ago, some commenters suggested I was being a bit harsh in berating Dickson’s distribution. They were probably right: the boy’s not Xavi Hernandez, is he? Etuhu knows his limitations but he can be a powerful presence at the heart of the Fulham midfield when he’s on song.
It was Craig Brown who told Roy Hodgson that Etuhu, whom he had briefly at Preston, was one of the best players on a training pitch that he’d ever seen. The trouble was harnessing that into consistent performances when it mattered. Etuhu was absolutely immense in both games against Juventus and was back at his best here. He snapped into tackles with real relish, often recovering the ball – one brilliant sliding challenge on Dzeko set Fulham speeding downfield – but his passing was equally excellent.
You felt his primary role last night was to shackle the dangerous Zvjezdan Misimovi?, something he did handily in the first leg at Craven Cottage, but Etuhu went further than that. He was an excellent shield for his back four, winning headers against both Dzeko and Grafite (which when you consider the size of the Wolfsburg forwards in no mean feat), and mopped up many a dangerous situation. Just as vital was his play when he had the ball at his feet.
There’s a tendency to think that Dickson sometimes slows Fulham’s pace down when he’s in possession. Not last night. Fulham’s gameplan was obviously to move the ball quickly through midfield, posing a threat to the home side with quick passing. Etuhu was on the right wavelength throughout. Confident as he was, he didn’t try anything fancy: often playing the simple ball to the open man.
This was the kind of dominant performance that reminded you once again of the value Hodgson saw in the £1.5m deal to bring him in last summer. If Etuhu’s this assertive away from home on a regular basis, Fulham will certainly pick up a few more points on their travels.
I have to admit that I to have beenn disappointed with Etuhu recently but he was excellent last night. I also thought that Chris Baird was superb in RB dispite some interesting attempts 🙂
Yep, Baird was superb yet again last night. Who would have thought last summer that he and Gera would be two of our most consistent performers this season? Consistently superb, that is. My two favourite players at the moment, never stop giving 100%.
Great performance from Etuhu. I didn’t think he played badly against Wigan either, his passing was actually pretty decent. Last night, he completely shackled the Wolfsberg midfield.
Baird was brilliant last night. I particularly liked the moment when Clive Tyldesley said: ‘Martins is in loads of space’. And, then as Baird cuts it out, ‘but he hasn’t got the ball!’
They were all awesome, though. All of them. Superb.
Etuhu’s aerial ability is something that’s stood out for me since his return from injury. In fact I get a niggling feeling that’s why he’s preferred to Baird in the middle, given Murphy’s comparatively short.
I think the way Wolfsburg are set up worked brilliantly for how Fulham play. It was mentioned last night that Wolfsburg’s diamond formation meant that Murphy and Etuhu had plenty of time and space in the centre of that diamond and the fact that Wolfsburg didn’t really push down the wings either allowed the fullbacks plenty of room to get forward – which as we all know is a vital ‘out ball’ for Fulham’s attacking forays.
It was all too easy in the end. Hamburg should be more difficult, but they are only 3pts ahead of the Wolves in the Bundesliga.
For me, Etuhu played the Hangeland role in that everytime a cross went into the box I swear he was on the end of it, an absolute ball magnet last night.
What I want to know is why he can head it well defensively but seems to struggle when trying to score from corners (almost like Hangeland too).
Etuhu is a destroyer. We’re a different team when he’s sitting behind Murphy. He’s had his ups and downs on the offensive side of the ball, but defensively (which is probably more important to Hodgson) he’s been spot on. I think he’s finally fully match fit. For a few matches, he looked a little lost, but that happens to a lot players coming back from injury. I think we’re finally seeing the Etuhu we know.