The morning after another agonising afternoon at Craven Cottage and the memory of a defeat that followed such domination is damned difficult to eradicate. How did Fulham fail to score in the first half? Could they have done any more to put Newcastle on the back foot? And, perhaps most interestingly of all in the discussions with my fellow Fulham lifers, were Marco Silva’s substitutions the decisive factor?
If that last question sounds harsh because the former full back from Lisbon wasn’t the one who fluffed a plethora of presentable opportunities to break the deadlock, then it is important to establish the caveats. This was arguably one of Fulham’s most complete halves of football of the entire campaign – in stark contrast to the shocking submission at the City Ground in midweek. But it counts for nothing as games last ninety (or more accurately, 100 minutes these days) Peter Rutzler labelled the Whites as ‘the most erratic side in the Premier League’ in a great piece on Wednesday – and until Silva’s charges can cobble together some consistency the frustration is likely to continue.
There’s no bigger cheerleader for the head coach than me. He’s been a breath of fresh air since he revived the club following a painful relegation and I love his boldness that has characterised Fulham’s rise over the course of his three-year tenure. I even enough the explosive nature of his touchline persona because he’s as passionate about his team’s fortunes as we are as fans – and the bond between him and his players appears especially important when you hear various members of the squad talk about how pivotal he was in convincing them to come to the Cottage. But I’ve also admired this site’s steadfast commitment to ask the difficult questions over the years – and, for me, the momentum Fulham had generated in the first half ebbed away after a triple substitution on 65 minutes.
Willian was running riot along the left wing as the liveliest 35 year-old football I think I’ve ever seen. It isn’t that he is blessed with the pace of Antonee Robinson, but his experience is just as valuable. Those Brazilian flashes of flair are matched by the shrewdness of his decision making and an ability to retain possession even when surrounded by a surfeit of defenders. Similarly, Tom Cairney’s coolness on the ball and precise passing was posing Newcastle’s three-man midfield all sorts of problems. It could be that the captain couldn’t go on any more having been introduced earlier than expected in the city of his birth in midweek and that Willian, too, was running on empty. If not, though, those looked like moments where the Whites ceded the initiative.
Harry Wilson’s cameo was distinctly underwhelming, especially as with Willian and Andreas Pereira off the pitch, he assumed the role of de-facto set-piece taker and his radar went wonky. Sasa Lukic scrapped for all he was worth, but the guile had gone from Fulham’s attacks. It is important to note that Adama Traore was lively again as a substitute and, I agree with Chloe when she suggests that he can’t be far from making a starting line-up, but it seemed strange to play Wilson on the left – where he seems a fish out of water – and the speedy Spaniard as an inverted winger.
Where Newcastle’s changes gave them an outlet on both flanks, with Barnes becoming integral to their winning goal and joining Anthony Gordon as an effective outlet, Silva’s changes felt like they surrendered the initiative to a side who had been all at sea in the first half. I guess it goes to show that even geniuses can make mistakes.
He took off cairney, Wiilian and Joa possibly he best 3 players on the day. Traore was the only sub to make any impact and I would like to see him given more time,. If the substitutions had not been made I am convinced we would have got something out of the match
Why do our ball carriers always stop at the penalty area and play square or backwards if the perfect cross is not on. It’s like there is an invisible barrier around the box. Little wonder we have only been awarded penalties in one match this season. Defenders hate being run at in the area.
Definitely not. TC was not affecting the game at all, and Willian wasn’t running. Robinson kept getting left with no help on attacks because Willian wasn’t bothering to back him up. They were the really obvious ones to take off. Wilson and Adama both improved our attacking threat.
Taking both number 10s (TC and Andreas) off and not putting Bobby Reid in that position though, was a mistake. It left us with no attacking threat in the centre behind Muniz. Lukic played well, but wasn’t the man to fill that role.
I’ve no issue with rolling the dice with two forwards on 85 minutes at 1-0 down, but again one of those should have been Reid. Broja is much too lazy to be the one to try to salvage a game at the death.
Seriously? What game were you guys watching?
I love Tom Cairney but he slowed down our attacking impetus so often by square and backward passes when we were charging forward in that first half. In particular, he completely screwed the left sided link between Willian and Robinson that is normally so effective. Each time, it allowed Newcastle to get all their players back behind the ball.
It continued in the 2nd half as well with Willian and Cairney playing tippy tappy passes between themselves on the left and losing possession. Once they were both subbed, Robinson, finally, began to get into good crossing positions but, unfortunately, his attempts were woeful. How much time does he spend practising crosses, I wonder?
As for Harry Wilson, he has not improved since he joined us. He knows only one way to play-cut inside. Surely, as a supposed winger, he could spend time on the training field to modify his game and, occasionally, stun us all by taking a full back on on the outside? His corners, both right and left, against Newcastle, were an embarrassment.
Actually, as he demonstrated against Forest, he DOES have another string to his bow: passing BACKWARDS. His first two touches at the City Ground were passes BACK to Tosin.
Traore is NOT the answer, IMO, but you have to applaud how he immediately takes on his fullback; the only way he knows how to play. I know which I prefer.
I think we had 14 corners and not one of them found one of our players they had 3 and managed to get a goal, i think we had about 40 crosses and most of them never went to one of our players, Robinson being the worst by a mile,as for the game once again we can only play for 45 minutes, this time we were good in the first half and then we gave up in the second half i don’t think the subs helped and I think a better keeper would have saved their goal.We definitely need some new addition’s in the summer.
100% bang on article. Well done Tom