Well that was a bit poor, wasn’t it? Our unbeaten start to 2021/22 has come to an end, with Blackpool getting the better of us at Bloomfield Road. And in truth, they were well worth the win. They were organised, gave us very little time on the ball and arguably could have had another one or two as we were sloppy at the back. For all of the free-flowing football we have witnessed under Marco Silva this season, we have come back to earth with a bang thanks to a disjointed display.
Our start to this season has been the best in years. Top of the league and scoring goals, Fulham have been a pleasure to watch. But today we looked leggy and that will be down to a couple of things. Firstly, Silva demands a lot from his players. We press high up the pitch and we move the ball quickly when we have it. This isn’t the passive, slow football that the players perhaps had gotten used to under Parker. While this has been a breath of fresh air, it could also come at a cost. This is where the recovery of players is so important. Secondly, we have come off the back of an international break were a lot of our best players have been travelling the world playing up to three matches. Blackpool only have a handful of players in this situation so while we have the better quality in the squad, having two weeks on the training pitch will of course play in their favour more than our own.
For me today I thought that we should have had far more rotation in the starting line-up because of the international break. I thought Ream, Robinson and Mitrovic in particular today looked shattered and Blackpool absolutely took advantage of that. Considering Ream and Robinson got back so late from the USA duty, why not use Mawson and Bryan today? I absolutely love that the Championship has so many games, but we are now in a situation were we have another game midweek. In the Championship you absolutely have to rotate and I think Silva will need to learn this quickly.
We did however get to see a couple of our new boys in action today. Domingos Quina made his debut in for the injured Fabio Carvalho and we finally got to see Rodrigo Muniz in action albeit just for the last 10 minutes or so. Quina’s debut was a mixed bag. I thought he showed some lovely touches on the ball and can spin his man, but sometimes tried to be too fancy with flicks. What I saw today was a player who clearly has ability but maybe needs his teammates to get used to his game. We had a couple of occasions were he just didn’t look to be on the same wavelength as the players around him but I think that will come with time.
As for Muniz, I thought he looked a threat. He looks to get into the right places and clearly has the pace that Mitro lacks. It’s hard to judge based on a cameo appearance, but I reckon he is one to be excited about. Given that I feel that we should have rotated more today, I’d like to see him start on Wednesday night against Birmingham. Let’s see what he can do from the start.
It was a poor display today, but it was oh-so-Championship. We already knew we were in the world’s most unpredictable league, so let’s not have a meltdown. On to Wednesday night.
#COYW
Think this is spot on. There should have been a few more changes. Bryan could have played left back, especially as Robinson played on Thursday morning. Ream looked leggy too and would Mawson have been ropey if he played? I felt like Silva was slow to make substitutions and I couldn’t believe that Cavaleiro stayed on the pitch throughout.
Blackpool were excellent and fully deserved their victory – but, as you say, let’s hope Silva and Fulham learn from this quickly.
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We should have left Ream and Robinson back in Lodon to recover from their trip back from Honduras Bryan . Robinson had a poor match and Bryan who I prefer is more than an able deputy. Mawson had shown he is good cover. I have been saying all season Gazzaniga has not impressed me and Rodak should be given the Jersey. Why or why does every Fulham manager want to start with Cavaleiro . Muniz or Stansfield who was not even on the bench were better alternatives. Seri slipped from his previous very high standar ds today. Let’s not be too negative at the same time nor get too carried away from our excellent start. The season has a long way to go. Finally I hope we get some good news soon on Fabio Cavalero signing a new contract shortly.
Spot on .. When I saw the line up was taken aback . Obvious Seri, Ream , Robinson, and Mitro all needed a rest after international duties and this would have given opportunity to others , so really did not understand Silva on this at all . Thought Kebano again showed his quality . really he should start every match… Agree Muniz looking good. Finally congratulations to Blackpool they deserved all 3 points.
100% correct. With so many games coming up I would leave out Ream and Robinson from the squad completely for the Birmingham match. possibly keep Mitro on Seri on the bench.
The two players that Fulham fans constantly question are Gazzaniga and Cavaleiro. We surely can’t all be wrong!!
Cavaleiro set the tone with his pathetic, early, high and wide effort when in on goal. By my account he has done exactly the same this season on THREE occasions now. Overall, our players -for whatever reason -were just not “up” for this game.
Praise has to be given -albeit reluctantly-to a Blackpool side that was extremely well organised and battled hard throughout, never allowing us to settle but, in all honesty, despite the hype about the strength of our squad, as soon as we lose a couple of key players such as Wilson and Carvalho, we quickly discover that their replacements are sadly lacking similar quality.
A lot of our early season success has been built on the unexpected rejuvenation of players such as Seri and Onomah. Unfortunately, today, both were way below their previous standard.
It’s not such a bad thing to be given a dose of reality at this stage. I am 100% positive that our performance against Birmingham will be the polar opposite of today’s because Marco Silva will simply not tolerate anything less.
Performance wise, Odoi, despite a decent performance against Stoke and almost scoring with a great header today, only highlighted why Silva was so desperate to sign a right back in the window by his inability to attack; constantly choosing the pass back as the easy option. You could almost feel the frustration oozing from his manager each time this happened.
On the opposite flank, Robinson’s famed lack of control was evident throughout, continuously giving the ball away and Bowler walked through both him and Seri for the goal as if they didn’t exist.
Despite Silva admirably refusing to cast blame on the International break, in Robinson’s case due, not so much from actual game time but more down to the hours of travel, it was very apparent that he was struggling today.
Decordova Reid is NOT a winger and his contribution to this game was limited by his having to hug the touchline although, briefly, when he swapped flanks with Cavaleiro in the first half, we started to look a better balanced team but, for some reason, they swapped back again and any advantage was lost.
Unfortunately, Cavaleiro IS a winger- despite Parker’s propensity of playing him as a central striker last season -he’s just not a very good one. He is just not good enough and Silva, I believe, is slowly finding this out. Whenever we start with him, we pretty much know what to expect.
Quina definitely has skill on the ball and gave me the impression that he is the type of player who, one week, will dazzle the fans but, simultaneously, is capable of having us despair with his waywardness. We will see.
Muniz, in a brief ten minute cameo appearance, gave a hint of something better to come, won a couple of headers and had a shot so, hopefully, we have made a decent signing.
We have our two best attacking players Wilson and Carvalho to return plus the likes of Harrison Reed, Chalobah etc to come in so all is good and, fortunately, we have a manager who is nothing but honest regarding our performances and will simply demand better than this moving forward-and will get it.
Charles – Robinson played all three games for the US over the break (one start, two long sub appearances). Shocking that he started here. Ream should have been fresher because he didn’t see the field.
I hope Caveleiro and Odoi don’t start against Birmingham on Wednesday both are not good enough Bryan deserves to play.Still not convinced about Seri . I just hope Wilson and Cavalho are ready to start on Wednesday.
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