Game Thread vs Utrecht (a).

[Jose Jones]

Roy had pretty much the same team that finished 2nd in the league. The squad needed a winger and a striker to challenge for 4th. The team has been totally dismantled and some very weak purchases have been made. Roy has to take some of the blame for this. He had a good team to start of with which only needed minor adjustments. Now there is fuck all chance of us finishing inside top 4.

 

I don't know what the idea of the board was appointing a coach who had no track record of success and whose team finished 12th behind the likes of Stoke and Birmingham.

 

Well, I'm not too impressed with Poulsen, Konchesky or Jones as purchases and he seems to be persisting with the one buy I do like, Meireles, being played out of position.

I've also not agreed with our deep defending, negative play and we've chopped and changed formation almost willy nilly.

 

That said, I think you're under estimating the job.

There is massive distraction at the club with the ownership situation. The players have been consistently lied to about investment by the board.

He's had to sell to buy and then still make a profit and do it at the last minute, and not had much pre-season due to the world cup.

 

It would have been a struggle for most managers under those conditions.

Still we should be doing much better than we have so far.

[Simbo]

Absolutely infuriating that Mereiles has played on the right for the past 2 games.

 

What was the point in spending just over £10m on a top international central midfielder only to go and stick him out on the right fucking wing?!

[vonk]

Roy had pretty much the same team that finished 2nd in the league. The squad needed a winger and a striker to challenge for 4th. The team has been totally dismantled and some very weak purchases have been made. Roy has to take some of the blame for this. He had a good team to start of with which only needed minor adjustments. Now there is fuck all chance of us finishing inside top 4.

 

I don't know what the idea of the board was appointing a coach who had no track record of success and whose team finished 12th behind the likes of Stoke and Birmingham.

 

The same team??? Except for Masch and Alonso. Only the best central midfield we've had in years!!!

 

And who is buying this winger and striker, Tom, or Georgie?

 

Are you even aware we have no money?

[TommyW]

For me, and I say this clearly as someone who doesn't know the in's and out's of what he is doing behind closed doors, his main failing isn't transfers or even trying to work out his best formation with some bizarre selections, it's the fact he doesn't seem capable of inspiring the team, be it through the media, a team talk or with a substitution or a change of tactics

 

I fear he's hopelessly out of his depth

[TommyW]

And who is buying this winger and striker, Tom, or Georgie?

 

Are you even aware we have no money?

 

To be fair he knew that when he signed on, if he didn't think he could work under these owners (and it's not like the damage they have been doing wasn't out in the open) and get the best out of the players he had then he shouldn't have accepted the job

[mypost]

Yeah right, now fuck off back to Fulham, I am sick of your cowardly shit defensive tactics,

 

Playing players out of position, no tactical substitutions, no attacking intent or plan, no wingers, defending to deep and pairing Lucas and Poulsen in midfield, this is worse than Rafa anno 2009/2010 surely those who wanted Rafa gone for these reasons must see this?......

 

When we won Big Ears last time, did we do it with swashbuckling attacking football, wiping the floor off the opposition? Did we what. We won the ties at home, and grinding out sterile 0-0 draws away in the quarter and semis. At the end of the competition, did we care? No we didn't, we said thank you Rafa for giving us the Cup.

 

I'm not remotely comparing Utrecht to the quality of the teams we beat then, what I'm saying is that a 0-0 draw away from home in Europe is not the armageddon result it's been made out to be. If we take the cup back from Lansdowne in May, nobody will give a toss about last night's defensive tactics, or attacking intent in a 0-0 draw either, when Gerrard parades the cup around on his lap of honour.

 

Only 13 more games until we find out. We hope.

[TommyW]

Noone is talking about this result in isolation though are they?

[Randy Marsh]

I'm no expert on the lad but I was never aware that Raul Meireles was a right sided midfielder? I like the look of him but he does his best work when he comes inside. Likewise with Joe Cole, Roy said that he'd be in his favoured position down the center when he first signed, Joe even said that himself. He spends most of his time wide left. A total waste of two talented players.

 

Must admit, I'm worrying about Blackpool. One thing we can be sure about, though, is that if we do beat them it will probably be a dull, lifeless, scrappy 1-0 and not a commanding, convincing victory and performance that we need badly.

[WaltonRed]

Meireles isnt a winger. Never played there until Roy got his hands on him.

 

Utrecht finished 7th last season, there team is full of journeymen no marks and we drew and could easily of been beaten.

 

Its a boss result for Fulham but we expect better. We should be bumming them make no bones about it.

[Randy Marsh]

Meireles isnt a winger. Never played there until Roy got his hands on him.

 

Utrecht finished 7th last season, there team is full of journeymen no marks and we drew and could easily of been beaten.

 

Its a boss result for Fulham but we expect better. We should be bumming them make no bones about it.

 

It's the same with Birmingham, Sunderland, Trabzonspor etc,. These are teams we should be fuckin walloping no matter what is going on off the pitch. We should atleast set out to have a go at them, but we're not. It's fine to play defensive and contained when you are defending a 2-1 home victory in the Nou Camp or the San Siro, but to play like that again pissing Utrecht? And then to be told by the manager that this was actually a very good result and we played very well against a great team? Jesus Christ, does he think we are all thick with no knowledge of football whatsoever?

 

Sorry Roy, I really want to give you the benefit of the doubt but I'm finding it hard to do so now. I said at the time of his appointment he was not up to it and everything I've seen up to now only strengthens my opinion.

[Kurt]

I hear that said about many of our players. When of the current crop, only Cole (Poulsen at a stretch) was bought from a top class team. And that was on a free.

 

 

 

So if he isn't scoring, who or what beat West Brom then? He had two chances tonight, he missed them. He scores them and Roy's a leg...no they'd still be criticising him anyway.

 

 

 

Every day, our finances, and business side of the club is discussed here at considerable length. A lot more than the team these days.

 

Give me a scrappy 1-0 win on Sunday and whilst not overjoyed, I'll take it now. It's another 3 points. We'll argue the forensics over how it was "achieved" later.

 

 

 

Do you have time to spend here , Roy??

[mypost]

It's the same with Birmingham, Sunderland, Trabzonspor etc,. These are teams we should be fuckin walloping no matter what is going on off the pitch. We should atleast set out to have a go at them, but we're not. It's fine to play defensive and contained when you are defending a 2-1 home victory in the Nou Camp or the San Siro, but to play like that again pissing Utrecht?

 

Sorry Roy

 

Tbh, changing the coach isn't going to get us playing great football anytime soon. We have average players, no transfer budget, and our coaches for many years now, have preached slow build up, containment football. Pellegrini would have done the same, Mourinho would have done the same, Dalglish would have and has done the same here, and elsewhere. There are very few Wenger's around today in the coaching ethos, and the few that are wouldn't touch our job with a bargepole in the current circumstances. So we have to live with our situation.

Edited October 2, 2010 by mypost

[Randy Marsh]

Tbh, changing the coach isn't going to get us playing great football anytime soon. We have average players, no transfer budget, and our coaches for many years now, have preached slow build up, containment football. Pellegrini would have done the same, Mourinho would have done the same, Dalglish would have and has done the same here, and elsewhere. There are very few Wenger's around today in the coaching ethos, and the few that are wouldn't touch our job with a bargepole in the current circumstances. So we have to live with our situation.

 

Totally and utterly disagree with pretty much every point you've just made in that post.

[Trucker Paddy]

Utrecht beat Ajax 2-1 in Ajax arena today, Ajax who drew with AC Milan on Tuesday first home defeat for some time.

[Guest PurpleNose]

Utrecht beat Ajax 2-1 in Ajax arena today, Ajax who drew with AC Milan on Tuesday first home defeat for some time.

 

Does this mean we're actually fucking brilliant?

 

Or that Utrecht had two penalties and were outplayed for most of the game?

[Torvald Utne]

we're brill.

 

anyone can see that, you just have to watch us play.

[Trucker Paddy]

Does this mean we're actually fucking brilliant?

 

Or that Utrecht had two penalties and were outplayed for most of the game?

 

Just pointing it out not defending an obvious lack lusture performance, do Penalties not count these days?

[Guest PurpleNose]

Just pointing it out not defending an obvious lack lusture performance, do Penalties not count these days?

 

They count as goals, but often aren't an indication of performance.

 

For e.g, even though we narrowly lost to United, I thought we were outplayed for quite a lot of the game, not scoring a goal from open play illustrated as much.