Fulham | Global Football Today

Ruthless Rooney Helps United Retain Momentum

Posted by Ivor Irwin on February 5, 2013 at 2:24 pm Blogs/Media, England, European Champions League, From the GFT Blogs, Fulham, Global Football Today, Manchester United

Feb 052013

Fulham 0-1 Manchester United
Often fragile this season, Manchester United showed a strong sense of confidence and resilience while helping themselves to a narrow 1-0 away victory over a determined, diligent Fulham side at Craven Cottage. Despite a massive twelve minute power brownout, the Red Devils’ shrugged off the difficulties of flickering floodlights, the bitter cold and a stuttering strike force to create an intimidating 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League over their main and local rivals at Manchester City. On a night when even United’s talisman striker Robin Van Persie seemed hesitant and slightly off-kilter, job number one was carried out with a ruthless acumen and efficiency by Wayne Rooney.

With the wind-chill off the Thames registering temperatures way below zero, United arrived in southwest London in an attacking mood. With both Antonio Valencia and Nani having both been a disappointment this season, it was a surprise to see Sir Alex ferguson throw the dice and put both wingers on the field simultaneously as part of a 4-4-2 lineup. And it only took eight minutes for United to twice come close as a Carrick corner ricocheted off Brede Hangeland’s shoulder and an unmarked Patrice Evra somehow botched firing home in front of an open goal. His anemic shot was blocked by Philippe Senderos, followed by a brilliant block on the part of John-Arne Riise on the goal line from a blistering Rooney volley.

But this was a completely different Fulham side to the one which had faced United at Old Trafford in the F.A.. Cup a week back. Unburdened of the presence of their shiftless, ball-hogging striker Dimitar Berbatov, the Cottagers’ warmed up their freezing fans with a surprisingly untypical game of pressing, fast-break counterattack. Led by the big Norwegian redhead John-Arne Riise down United’s left flank, United were caught with their pants down more than a few times. Only a brilliant reflex save from the much maligned David De Gea saved United from falling behind. Then, only minutes later, De Gea’s reflexes were successfully tested again as he tipped another Bryan Ruiz shot away off the post.

Consequently, the pattern of the game was set as Fulham kept ten men behind the ball while double making and pressing Carrick and Cleverley. Yet just as Fulham were holding their own, United executed a lovely bit of business in midfield as Nani dribbled into the box, located Cleverley and he set the table for Rooney to smash another unstoppable shot that somehow hit the post.

Then:, out of nowhere, darkness on the 42 minut mark as, just when Rooney was taking a corner, there was a brownout. After a tedious, cold ten minutes, the teams played out the game’s last four minutes before trooping off the field for a second time.

United carried on dominating possession in the second half, but with Carrick and Cleverley repeatedly unable to bolster up action through the middle, the Gaffer forced a tactical change on Fulham’s defense when Chicharito Hernandez replaced Valencia and Rooney took over the left flank in front of Patrice Evra. Yet, just as United looked to be at both their most casual and comfortable, Fulham squandered a couple of fine opportunities as Ashkan Dejagahteed set up Sascha Riether for a low drive, which De Gea did well to save before a brilliant flying Rafael leapt to deflect Ruiz’s header off the line.

Finally, in the 79th minute, Fulham’s slow-footed Philippe Senderos overran a long Evra pass. Then came Rooney’s moment: a clearance by Patrice Evra was misjudged by Senderos, allowing an unmarked Rooney tons of space to hoover the ball up on his left side and shift on the fly to his right, before coolly slipping the ball past a an oncoming Mark Schwartzer.

The one goal, proved to be just enough to suffice for United. Having kept a clean she without any slight sign of nervousness, David De Gea’s ownership of the goal keeping position looks to be back on track. With an in-form Wayne Rooney crackling like bacon in a cast-iron frying pan, England’s international team ought to give Brazil a run for the money on Wednesday.

United Ease Past A Blasé Fulham!

Posted by Ivor Irwin on January 29, 2013 at 6:08 pm Blogs/Media, England, EPL, From the GFT Blogs, Fulham, Global Football Today, Manchester United

Jan 292013

Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
Funny club, Fulham. United have statues of the trinity, Busby and you-know-who outside Old Trafford. Fulham have a dreadful one of Johnny Haines and a gigantic thing remembering Michael Jackson, who is famous for many reasons, none of which have anything at all to do with football. Having flogged their two best performers, Moussa Dembelé and Clint Dempsey, for a healthy profit to Spurs, their manager Martin Jol picked up United’s sad-sack, capricious pseudo-striker Dimitar Berbatov, one of the rare expensive toys the Gaffer chose to toss out of his pram on the cheap. Beggars can’t be choosers, even if your owner is Muhammad Al-Fayed, when your London next-door-neighbor is Roman Abramovich’s oil cash Laundromat at Stamford Bridge . Hope springs eternal, whether you’re the manager or a Cottagers fan, but Jol’s claim at his Friday night press conference that Berbatov was “in the state of mind for one of his hat-tricks” was up there in the fantasy betting stakes of Google locating and mapping Shangri-La and Utopia.

It took but 45 or so seconds for Berbatov’s face to take on that familiar 5,000 kilometer stare we’re all so familiar with as a probing Rooney shot caused instantaneous panic in Fulham’s back line and was deflected for a corner. Wazza’s corner led to Aaron Hughes getting all in a dither as Chris Smalling rose with him for the ball, needlessly raising a hand to divert the ball. Referee Mark Clattenburg wasted no time pointing to the spot. With Rooney still in the Gaffer’s dog house for an accumulation of missed penalties, it was left to the grizzled old Welsh wizard Ryan Giggs to calmly step up and slot the ball home.

Then, 21 minutes in, Giggs had a second penalty chance disallowed as Damian Duff took a chance in sticking an arm out when another one of his passes caught Flham’s whole defense flat-footed. Referee Mark Clattenburg, long up there in the F.A.’s refereeing pantheon of caprice with Howard Webb and Phil Dowd decided to let this one go. Yet, Clattenburg’s decison proved to be of no no consequence. Bad then turned to worse for Fulham. Their abject state of disarray lingered. Bryan Ruiz made a series of bad passes, two of which were intercepted by Giggs. Attempts to feed Berbatov were not so much badly executed, as, having been aimed about fifteen feet in front of the Bulgar prima-donna, invitations for the shiftless genius to run, which was never going to happen. Consequently, after other passes from the likes of Sidwell and Duff failed to land on his toe, Berbatov began to spend more onfield time bawling out his teammates in frustration than running..

Yet before United truly began to dismantle Fulham with a surgical grace, in the second half, the Cottagers managed to hold on to their luck. Anderson and Giggs came close twice and three fantastic saves by Schwartzer from Rooney and Nani kept them in the game. The Cottagers ran out of lucky breaks once the second half began, however.

First, an exquisitely hit Anderson pass found Rooney just inside the box and the Scouser had no problem blasting it past a marooned Mark Schwartzer. Minutes on, Rooney turned schemer. After executing a lovely little step-over and foot switch that Ronaldo would have been proud of, Rooney passed to Nani.. Nani missed his shot on goal, but the rebound bounced back to Rooney off Schwartzer. This time, Rooney fed a short pass to Hernandez, who tapped home the third.

Minutes later, the cheeky Chicharito got his second of the day, as the hapless Aaron Hughes let a Giggs cross bounce off his knee, missed making a clearance, and watched in horror as Schwartzer, already committed to moving in the wrong direction, had no way to stop the Mexican striker’s nicely executed tap-in of a fourth.

Fulham did pull a goal back, as a sloppy United defense allowed itself to become lax again and an unmarked Hughes headed in a corner from winger substitute Giorgos Karagounis’s with 15 minutes to go. And although they did not oppose United with much passion, Fulham may not really be quite as bad as they often looked. After all, on the day, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney looked good enough to take on any opponent. Fulham are clearly not Real Madrid and neither will be Reading, who they face at home in the Sixth Round. Still, if United hope to have a chance against the Spanish champions, they will need Sunday’s Rooney and a far less lax back four.

Barclay’s Premier League Week 2 Wrap-up

Posted by Lanny Short on August 26, 2012 at 11:39 pm Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, England, EPL, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wigan

Aug 262012

Swansea 3 – 0 West Ham
Could Swansea be a contender this season? Well, it’s a bit early for that conversation, but Michael Laudrup has Swans flying high at the top of the BPL table. Now they have played two of the lesser London sides in QPR last week and West Ham on Saturday. They’ve look great doing it last week and they made it look easy against West Ham. Now here is the weird part, they’re doing it by scoring lots of goals. They’ve score the most goals of all the teams so far this season with eight goals in two matches. Last season, they were one of the least goal scoring teams with 44 goals in 38 matches. What’s the difference? Miguel Michu. The man is the engine for Swans. He was instrumental in winning the ball in the midfield and creating the Swans’ attacks. But it was a fluke goal from Angel Rangel in the 19th minute that opened the scoring. Rangel was put into the area by Michu who then dribbled wide toward the goal line. He then hit a blind square ball that bounced off keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and into the West Ham net. The rest of the first half saw the Irons chasing Swans’ shadows with Michu dominating play. He got the second Swansea goal in the 28th minute when he latched onto a very loose back pass from Irons’ defender James Collins. The second half was more of the same domination and Wayne Routledge, in the 60th minute, made a telling pass to Danny Graham who then scored the Swans third goal to secure the match. If West Ham intend to stay in the Premiership, they will need to do more than blow bubbles.

Aston Villa 1 – 3 Everton
Oh man, I would hate to be an Aston Villa supporter just now. They haven’t started well at all and got humiliated by three first half Everton goals in front of their home fans at Villa Park. Boss Paul Lambert could end up being as hated as former boss Alex McLeish if he can’t get the Villains back to winning ways. The match went downhill for the Villains early in the 3rd minute when Steven Pienaar hit a superb strike for the first goal of the match. Steven Naismith, just signed from Glasgow Rangers, made a great cut-back pass and Pienaar hit a great curler past Shay Given into the top right corner of the net. The Toffees laid siege to the Villain goal all day and the in the 31st minute a Shay Given error allowed Marouane Fellaini to grab the second goal. Toffee captain Phil Neville almost got the third shortly there after when his shot went high and wide of the Villa goal. Leighton Baines’ cross from the left found an unmarked Nikica Jelavic in the 44th minute and Jelavic grabbed the third goal. The second half saw more Everton dominance and Pienaar twice carved up the Villa defence and made opportunities for Naismith and Jelavic. Only the intervention of defender Nathan Baker on both occasions prevented further humiliation. In the 58th minute, the Villains were reduced to 10 men when Claran Clark was sent off for bringing down Jelavic and, as the last defender, stopping a goal scoring opportunity. Villa did manage to get a consolation goal in the 75th minute when Karim El Ahmadi’s long shot managed to get past Tim Howard. Substitute Andreas Weimann hit the post in stoppage time, but Villa were never really in this match. I think it’s safe to say that the Villains will be one of the sides fighting relegation this season.

Manchester United 3 – 2 Fulham
Robin Van Persie, Shinjin Kagawa, and Rafael Da Silva finally get the Red Devils march started, albeit with a stutter step or two. The make shift United defense still has holes in it and Damien Duff found one in the third minute as he got past Rafael to grab the opening goal. But United got going when in the tenth minute Patrice Evra put over a fine cross which Van Persie met and put away with a wonder strike. Then he and Kagawa began linking up in really fine fashion and put the Cottager’s goal under great pressure. Kagawa got his first goal as a Red Devil in the 35th minute when he latched onto keeper Mark Schwarzer’s rebound from Tom Cleverly’s hard distance shot on goal. Kagawa later hit the post and Rafael had a goal disallowed for offside, but the right back later scored in the 41st minute when he headed home Ashley Young’s left wing cross. Fulham could have pulled one back right before half time when United keeper David De Gea turned back Mladen Petric’s shot onto the bar and Brian Ruiz fired the rebound over into the crowd. United should have marched on for an easy win, but once again the Red Devils took the foot off the gas pedal and in the 64th minute a mix-up between Nemenja Vidic and De Gea saw Matthew Briggs’ cross rebound off Vidic’s foot and into the United goal. That inspired Moussa Dembele who started driving hard through the United defense. De Gea was forced to make two fine saves from Dembele and stop a late Ruiz header. Vidic also made up for the own goal with a fine block from Hugo Rodallega. The win was dampened when Wayne Rooney was stretchered off in the 83rd minute after receiving a horrible gash after Rodallega caught his cleats on Rooney’s thigh. Reports are that Rooney will be out for at least four weeks. And so the growing injury list has a lot of Red Devil fans worried. Maybe this early injury bug will turn out to be a blessing as it is happening at the beginning of the season and not at the end?

Norwich 1 – 1 Queens Park Rangers
The Canaries and Rangers each get their first BPL points in a draw at Carrow Road. While it’s not a complete recovery from their respective beat downs that each suffered last week, it will do for a start. The Canaries took the lead in the 11th minute when Anthony Pilkington’s cross has headed in by Simeon Jackson from point-blank range. Eight minutes later, new Canary signing Sebastien Bassong was judged to have tripped Djbril Cisse in the penalty area. Replays of the incident made the referee’s decision appear to be a bit harsh as Cisse looked like he had fallen on his own. But a penalty kick was awarded. Cisse took the spot kick, which was saved by keeper John Ruddy. But the rebound was put home by Bobby Zamora. But replays of the kick showed that Zamora was in the area well before the kick was taken. The second half saw a bit of controversy when Robert Green appeared to handle the ball outside his area. The referee saw nothing wrong and play went on. Both sides pressed for and advantage, but the Canaries should have scored as Pilkington made great crosses for Robert Snodgrass, who headed his attempt over the goal, and Chris Martin, whose headed attempt rebounded off the cross bar. But on the whole, Canaries boss Chris Hughton and Rangers boss Mark Hughes should be satisfied with the recovery of each of his respective teams.

Southampton 0 – 2 Wigan
The Latics get two past the Saints weak looking defense. The crowd at St. Mary’s stadium saw their get off to a decent start and they controlled much of the early match. In the 14th minute, Adam Lallana had his shot from 25 yards out saved onto the crossbar by Latics keeper Ali Al-Habsi. Jay Rodriquez ad Danny Fox both had efforts blocked as the Saints continued to press the Latics. And then the rain started. The match got a bit scrappy when the second half started but livened back up when the Latics got a 51st minute lead. It started when keeper Al-Habsi made a great save from a looping, goal bound Rickie Lambert header. The Latics countered and Maloney played Di Santo through onto the Saints goal and Franco Di Santo smashed the ball into the top right-hand corner. To their credit, the Saints tried to immediately respond, but Al-Habsi was equal to the 25 yard volley from Daniel Fox. But the Saints gave the ball away a lot and we all know that is something that you cannot do if you intend to stay in the Premiership. Wigan secured the win when defender Jose Fonte lost the ball to Arouna Kone, who then ran the the length of the pitch and calmly slotted past keeper Davis. There was some question as to whether Kone had tripped Fonte to get possession, but the referee refused to hear any appeals from the Saints. Lesson for the day: if you cherish your place in the BPL, you’d better cherish the football.

Sunderland P – P Reading
Umm… It rained a bit and the pitch got waterlogged. This one got postponed.

Tottenham 1 – 1 West Bromwich Albion
James Morrison gets a stoppage time equalizer to deny Spurs and boss Andreas Villas-Boas their first win of the season. Spurs were quire wasteful in this match. Defoe came the closest to scoring at the end of the first half. He was given a neat square ball from Christian Bale, but made a weak attempt on goal that was easily saved by goalkeeper Ben Foster. That’s how it went for most of the match. Bale would do his usual hard running down the Spurs left wing. Crosses would go into the Baggies penalty area, but the finishing just was not there for Spurs. Beniot Assou-Ekotto finally got Spurs a goal in the 74th minute when his 25 yard shot was deflected past keeper Ben Foster. That should have been that and Villas-Boas should have been able to count his first victory as Tottenham boss. But someone forgot to tell West Bromwich Albion. They pressed and pressed for the equalizer. It finally came in stoppage time from James Morrison. The ball kept pinging around Spurs’ penalty area and defender William Gallas managed to clear it off the line. But Spurs failed to clear their lines and Morrison had the ball fall kindly to his feet and he eased it by keeper Brad Friedel for the equalizer. Jan Vertongen thought he had won the match for Spurs when he volleyed past keeper Foster. But the goal was ruled out for offside. It’s a long season and Villas-Boas should be able to get Spurs going. But it doesn’t look good so far.

Chelsea 2 – 0 Newcastle
The Blues made it looks easy as they get goals from Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres and ascend to the top of the BPL table. Hazard looks like a wonderful buy as he constantly exploited gaps in the Magpie defense. It looks like Torres has found the partnership that he’s been longing for since leaving Liverpool. The two of them made a great combination in the 22nd minute and Torres practically walked around defender David Santon who tripped the Spainard in the Magpie penalty area. The resulting penalty kick had some Blues fans a bit worried as the normal penalty taker, Frank Lampard, was on the bench. But Hazard stepped up to the spot and used the occasion to get his first goal as a Chelsea player. The Belgian midfielder was later provider for Torres as he set the Spainard up for his 45th minute wonder strike past keeper Tim Krul. Newcastle almost got one back before the half time whistle blew when Papiss Cisse let loose with a hard shot straight at keeper Petr Cech. To their credit, the Magpies did try to get a goal back after the half-time break. Hatem Ben Arfa an Jonas Gutierrez both put shots wide of the Blues goal and later Cech pulled off a fine save with his legs after Demba Ba made a fine run into the penalty area. But this was one of those matches that make Stamford Bridge the place where opposing teams come away with nothing but misery. So the European Champions were able to cruise to three easy points ahead of their UEFA Super Copa match on Friday.

Stoke City 0 – 0 Arsenal
Yawn. I think we can bring back the old chant of “Boring, boring Arsenal”. The match at the Britannia Stadium was quite mind-numbing affair. I know it’s a bit unfair to expect the Gunners to pick up where they left off last season, but they really are not very easy to watch. Neither are Stoke City and so the Sunday match plodded on and on. The Potters were the first to attempt an effort in the 6th minute when Jonathan Walters had his goal ruled out for offside. New Gunner boys Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski did try to lift the team out of the doldrums, and the Gunners did dominate much of the possession during the match. But they really didn’t look like making any real dent until boss Arsene Wenger put on Theo Wallcot and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Podolski and Gervinho in the 71st minute. The Gunner attack seemed to pick up a bit, but they never really troubled the Potters’ goal. In the post match interview, Wenger moaned that his attack was missing something. Well, yeah Mr. Obvious. Arsenal have not scored yet, so perhaps the attack is missing a goal scorer? Potters’ boss Tony Pulis seemed more than satisfied with the goalless draw, although he was a bit angry when Jermaine Pennant appeared to have been pushed over by Kieran Gibbs in the Arsenal penalty area and nothing was given. Wenger has a lot of rebuilding to do if the Gunners mean to challenge for silverware this season.

Liverpool 2 – 2 Manchester City
An exciting draw happened at Ainfield as Liverpool took on the Champions. This one was easily the match of the week. The Reds had a lot to play for as they pressed really hard to overcome the drubbing they got last week. It looked like a disaster for the Reds was coming when Lucas had to be substituted in the fourth minute with an injury. But that didn’t dampen the team spirit. There is a reason why Liverpool are so hard to beat at home and you could see that boss Brendan Rogers and captain Steven Gerrard have picked up the team spirit. Both new boys 17 year old striker Raheem Sterling and midfielder Joe Allen looked good and the Reds dominated much of the match. Martin Skrtel got the Kopp on their feet cheering when he headed home Gerrard’s corner kick in the 34th minute. That should have been the start of Liverpool’s win over the champions, but in the 63rd minute a defensive mix-up in the Liverpool area allowed Yaya Toure to scramble an equalizer for the Champions. But before Citeh fans could really get going singing about “Blue Moon” and start doing their backwards dance, Gerrard got hold of the ball and forced new Citeh substitute Jack Rodwell into a hand-ball gaff at the 66th minute. The free kick was placed about 25 yards from the Citeh goal and Luis Suarez hit an amazing free kick that had keeper Joe Hart clawing nothing but air and the Reds had the lead again. But once again, Liverpool’s defending let them down in the 80th minute when Skrtel went from hero to goat by making a horrible back pass that went right to Carlos Tevez. Tevez easily went around keeper Pepe Reina and slotted home the equalizer. It looked like Citeh were going to steal yet another stoppage time win as they pressed the Liverpool goal. But the Reds managed to successfully shake off the effects of Skrtel’s brain freeze and saw out the draw to claim a much deserved point. One Citeh player who seemed to be missing in action was Mario Balotelli. The Reds successfully kept him in check and never allowed him to do any real damage. Boss Roberto Mancini was really angry when Carlos Tevez’s effort on goal, which bounced off the cross bar and along the goal line, was lamely watched by Balotelli who probably could have hustled to push the ball over the line. Citeh’s comeback seemed to be sparked when Mancini hauled off Balotelli in the 62nd minute and put on Edin Dzeko. Could Balotelli still be a tired from this summer, or will he finally be sent packing?

Barclay’s Premier League Week 1 Wrap-up

Posted by Lanny Short on August 19, 2012 at 10:35 pm Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, England, EPL, Everton, Fulham, Global Football Today, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wigan

Aug 192012

Arsenal 0 –0 Sunderland
The Gunners were held to a goal-less home draw against the Black Cats and looked bad doing it. There are no questions about the defending and Arsenal did do their usual possession domination. However, one could see that boss Arsene Wenger has a problem. Who will score the goals this season? We all know about last season’s Golden Boot Winner Robin Van Persie’s exit. The Gunners are a disjointed bunch and it showed on Saturday morning. Time after time they managed to work the ball through the Sunderland defense, only to flub in front of goal. The most glaring miss happened in the 82nd minute when substitute Olivier Giroud burst into the area in typical Gunner fashion, and promptly put his effort wide of goal. The Black Cats did hold their own and Stephane Sessegnon and substitute Louis Saha gave the Gunner defense a scare or two. But this should have been an easy three points for Arsenal. If they have any trophy aspirations for this season, they have a lot of work to do.

Fulham 5 – 0 Norwich
Fulham are top of the league with a brilliant home display. And they did it without want-away American striker Clint Dempsey. New signing Mladen Petric looks like a wonderful replacement for Dempsey. He scored a great header from a Damien Duff corner at minute 41st and hit a great 54th minute strike from 25 yards out that deflected in off defender Michael Turner. Duff started the smack down in minute 26 when he latched onto defender John Arne Riise’s through ball and tucked a way a fine finish. The Canaries never really put up any opposition and went further behind when Petric grabbed his brace. Alex Kacaniklic added a fouth in the 66th minute and Steve Sidwell completed the Canaries’ London humiliaton with an 87th minute penalty kick that had been awarded after Hugo Rodellaga had been fouled in the area. Norwich are one of the three relegation candidates for this season and they really looked awful. Cottagers’ midfielders Moussa Dembele and Bryan Ruiz made the Canaries look very ordinary and their influence could be seen as the main contribution for all five goals. While no one in their right mind thinks that Fulham will stay top for long, they gave a great performance on Saturday.

QPR 0 – 5 Swansea
The other beat down of the day also happened in London as the Swans traveled to Loftus Road to deliver a five goal QPR butt whipping. New Swansea boss Michael Laudrup was feeling all kinds of happy watching what looked like a training ground warm-up match. Rangers’ defending was horrible. And that is being kind. Boss Mark Hughes was visibly upset during the whole match as his boys had no answer for new Swansea signing Miguel Michu. Michu got his first in the 8th minute from a 20 yard strike that got under QPR keeper Rob Green. That’s how things stayed until Michu struck again in the 53rd minute and the rout was on. Nathan Dyer scored in the 63rd and 71st minute as the Swans seemed to move the ball around the pitch with ease. Scott Sinclair’s 81st minute score finished off the whipping. So what does Mark Hughes do now? And how does new Ranger siging Park Ji-sung feel about his team?

Reading 1 – 1 Stoke City
Reading score a last minute penalty to salvage a draw in their debut return to the BPL. Potter’s boss Tony Pulis must be a little upset about losing three easy points to the newly promoted Royals. The Potters did go into the lead in the 34th minute when keeper Adam Federici handed them a gift wrapped goal from Michael Kightly shot. What should have happen then was Stoke to go on to an easy win and for Reading to wonder how long this stay in the BPL is going to last. But Royals’ boss Brian McDermott was has taught his boys to keep fighting for all ninety minutes of the match. It also helped that Stoke were not playing very inspirational football. The Royals’ hard work and perseverance paid off when substitute Garatth McCleary, in the 88th minute, was able to cut through the Potters’ defense and was fouled by Dean Whitehead in the Stoke City penalty area. The referee paused to see if there was any advantage to be gained, and seeing none, brought play back for the spot kick and Whitehead was sent off for a second bookable offense. Adam Le Fondre took the kick from the spot and the match was all tied up. Reading almost won it in stoppage time when Mikele Leigertwood nearly scored from a free kick. If the Royals can maintain that kind of fight for every match, they stand a good chance of staying in the BPL.

West Bromwich Albion 3 – 0 Liverpool
So King Kenny Dalgish’s replacement Brendan Rogers’ debut as the new Liverpool boss was an absolute bust. I went to the local pub to watch this one. I was expecting to see Liverpool make mince meat of WBA and make the home fans wish for Roy Hodgson to come back from managing England and rescue them. I did not expect the Baggies to pull off the shock result of the week. The match started out in Liverpool’s favor and Luis Suarez showed again why he will always be a handful for anyone defending him. He should have opened the scoring when his 8th minute effort was saved by keeper Ben Foster. Suarez’s next chance came in the 16th minute when his shot was saved again by Foster. New Red’s signing Fabio Borini’s 17th minute effort cleared the Baggies goal and Suarez missed another attempt in the 25th minute. The opening goal of the match was scored in the 43rd minute when Zoltan Gera hit a wonderful effort from 25 yards out into the upper 90 of the Liverpool goal. The “Goal of the Week” came when the Reds clearance from the Baggie corner kick came right to Gera’s feet and he buried the shot with wonderful class. Controversy came in the 58th minute when Daniel Agger was judged to have fouled Shane Long in the Liverpool penalty area. Replays seemed to suggest that the initial foul happened outside of the area. Also, Agger was judged by the referee to have been the last man, so he was summarily sent off. The ensuing penalty, taken by Shane Long was one of the worst penalties that one will see. It was a slow run-up followed by a lame kick and Reds keeper Pepe Reina made easy work of the save. But the Baggies were awarded another penalty when Martin Skrtel got caught dithering on the ball and after losing it to Shane Long, clipped the latter’s heal trying to win it back. This time Peter Odemwingie took the spot kick and made sure work of getting the second goal. The third goal is what should have Liverpool fans worried. The Baggies, on a counter-attack, outnumbered the Reds. Liam Ridgewell was able to pick out an unmarked Romelu Lukaku with an easy cross and Lukaku headed the goal home to secure the win. The Reds host the Champions next week and if they perform like they did on Saturday, they’re going to get a right good hiding.

West Ham United 1 – 0 Aston Villa
The Irons announce their return to the BPL with a win over the Villains. Paul Lambert’s debut as the new boss of Aston Villa was messed up by a controversial decision at Upton Park. The match started nice and even with both sides taking their chances. So things went until the 40th minute when Kevin Nolan scored from a Ricardo Vaz Te cross. Initial video indicated that Nolan may have been offside. In fact the referee’s assistant did put up his flag. But the referee had noticed that Vaz Te’s cross had been headed by defender Kieran Clark and by rule Nolan could not have been ruled offside. So the referee rightly overruled the assistant and awarded the goal. There was more controversy in the second half when Irons striker Carlton Cole seemed to have been pushed over in the Villain penalty area by defender Ron Vlaar. But the referee did not see the challenge as anything illegal and nothing was given. Vlaar did nearly mark his debut with an equalizer but put his 30 yard strike wide. But the bubbles are blowing again as West Ham celebrate their return to the BPL with a win. Can Sam Alladyce keep the Irons up?

Newcastle 2 – 1 Tottenham
The Magpies spoil Andreas Villas-Boas’ first match in charge of Spurs. Demba Ba had the best chance in the first half when his left footed strike nearly crept into an open left side of the Spurs net. Villas-Boas’ boys looked really lost without want away midfielder Luka Modric. They also miss last season loanee Emmanuel Adebayor as transfer negotiations with his club Manchester City still have not been finalized. The Magpies went ahead in the 54th minute when striker Demba Ba hit a magnificent curling shot from 20 yards out over keeper Brad Friedel’s left shoulder. Soon afterward, Magpies boss Alan Pardew was sent to the stands after shoving the referee’s assistant in anger after he felt the ball had gone out of play during a Spurs attack that saw Gylfi Sigurdsson shoot wide of the goal. Pardew was really angry when, from his seat in the stands Jermain Defoe grabbed an equalizer in the 76th minute. But Spurs were behind four minutes later when Hatem Ben Arfa brilliantly cut through the defense and was brought down in the Spurs penalty area by a mistimed Rafael van der Vaart tackle. Ben Arfa took the resulting spot kick and Newcastle opened their campaign with a convincing win. I wonder if somewhere on a London golf course Harry Redknapp is smirking a bit?

Wigan 0 – 2 Chelsea
The European Champions start the BPL campaign off in efficient form over relegation candidates Wigan. New Blues signing Eden Hazard was influential in both goals and made a wonderful debut. The first goal came in the 2nd minute when the Belgian midfielder made a very neat turn and sent defender Branislav Ivanovic on a clear run into the box to score. Hazard set up the second goal in the 7th minute when he was fouled in the Latics penalty area by Ivan Ramis. Frank Lampard put away the resulting spot kick and it looked like Chelsea were going to run away with the match. But Blues transfer target Victor Moses nearly scored twice in the first half, with the second attempt saved by keeper Petr Cech after Moses made Ashley Cole look a bit silly. Hazard had to be taken off in the 64th minute still suffering from the effects of a bad challenge from Gary Caldwell that happened in the 10th minute. But the Latics did not really mount much of a threat and if this performance is any indication of how the season will go for them, boss Roberto Martinez will have another bottom of the table struggle on his hands.

Manchester City 3 – 2 Southampton
Boy, do Citeh like end of match drama. I think someone should tell boss Roberto Mancini that he is competing for the BPL Premiership Trophy and not the Daytime Emmys. Did the club get an investment from Oprah Winfrey and she demanded some “Hollywood like dramatics”? This should have been an easy three points for the BPL Champions and they started the match in fine form. They eased the ball around the Etihad Stadium ground with the arrogance that one earns by being champions. But things got shaky in the 14th minute when Sergio Aguero was carried off with an apparent knee injury after a challenge from midfielder Nathaniel Clyne. Things got even shakier for the Champions when David Silva’s 16th minute penalty kick attempt was saved by Southampton keeper Kelvin Davis. But act one of the “Baby-Mamma Drama” was ended when Citeh striker Carlos Tevez finished off a great, low, hard shot in the 40th minute. The second half should have seen Citeh finish off the match, but Gael Clichy, and David Silva both hit easy shots over the bar, Tevez had his shot saved by keeper Davis, and Pablo Zabaleta had his shot blocked. So when Southampton brought on Rickie Lambert for Jay Rodriguez in the 55th minute, the drama really started. It started in the 58th minute when Tevez missed a sure goal and Southampton were able to counter-attack. Guly Do Prado was able to find Lambert who took a great shot from the edge of the area and beat keeper Joe Hart to get the equalizer. The Saints took the lead in the 68th minute from another counter-attack finished off by Steven Davis. Mancini had seen enough and replaced David Silva with Mario Balotelli in the 72nd minute. Shortly afterward, Samir Nasri made a great run along the goal line and was able to find Yaya Toure streaking into the area. Toure found Edin Dzeko with his cross and Dzeko made the match was level. Nasri scored the winner in the 80th minute when he headed in Gael Clichy’s cross and that should have been that. The Saints should have scored the equalizer in the 89th from Steve Davis’ cross, but Pablo Zabaleta made a fine defensive clearance and three minutes into stoppage time (should we now call it Mancini time?) the win was safe and confirmed.

Fulham Hope To End Season On High Note

Posted by GFT Editor on May 13, 2012 at 9:09 am EPL, Fulham

May 132012

Fulham will not be playing for the League title or a possible spot in the Champions League next season but they can still send all Cottagers fans big and small off with good thoughts for the future. Fulham have a chance today with a win and a draw/loss by Everton to grab 7th place and that means more money and more positives heading into this off-season filled with uncertainties. Fulham, who have claimed 52 points – one short of the club’s Premier League record will look to tie it with a draw and break it with a win. Fulham have several contract decisions to make in the off-season, the most important being what will happen with star player and team leader Clint Dempsey.

Dempsey misses the short trip across London after failing to overcome a groin problem and Kerim Frei will be in line as his replacement. Andrew Johnson, Bryan Ruiz and Steve Sidwell are all unavailable to feature in the last game of the season. Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Danny Rose will be unavailable today for Spurs. William Gallas will be shifted outside, with Ryan Nelsen coming in at center half and Scott Parker likely to return in the middle of the park in place of Sandro.

Harry Redknapp thinks Fulham manager Martin Jol will be out to prove a point when he visits White Hart Lane for the first time since he was sacked as Tottenham boss.

Redknapp said: “Martin Jol was the manager here so he will want to come back and do well with Fulham. He won’t want to do us any favours, that is for sure. Fulham are playing really well at the moment so it will be a very difficult game for us but we have to win it.”

Fulham boss Martin Jol led Spurs to consecutive fifth place Premier League finishes in the 05/06 and 06/07 seasons. Fulham’s only defeat in a London derby this season came in the reverse fixture, which Spurs won 3-1. Fulham is just a point shy of their Premier League record haul of 53 – a high achieved when England manager Roy Hodgson was at the helm in 08/09. Spurs have only won one game after falling behind this term. Nine Spurs players have received five yellow cards or more this season, the worst record in the Premier League. Tottenham has kept six clean sheets in their last seven clashes with Fulham at White Hart Lane. Spurs has lost on the final day of the campaign in three of the last four seasons and if Fulham nicks three points and other results go its way, Martin Jol will have led Fulham to its joint-highest Premier League finish of seventh place.

I will predict a Fulham victory by the score of 2-1 on goals by Murphy and Duff.

Fulham Hope For Better Showing Against Liverpool

Posted by GFT Editor on May 1, 2012 at 5:36 pm EPL, Fulham

May 012012

Fulham got embarrassed against Everton last Saturday and there is no easy way to explain why except that they just did not show up. Fulham lost 4-0 at Goodison Park on the 28th of April and with that defeat, their record fell to (12-10-13) to move into a tie for 9th in the table with West Brom with a game in hand. Liverpool currently sit three points and one spot above the Cottagers with 49 points and a record of (13-10-12) and will be looking to hold off their London opponents from catching them in the standings.

Mousa Dembele believes his side have a great chance to win the day and put themselves back in the discussion as a team to look out for next season.

“We can go level on points with Liverpool with a win, which is why I am so hungry to beat them,” he told the Cottagers’ official website, www.fulhamfc.com. “We want to prove ourselves when we go back up to Liverpool because the Everton game was not our best performance.

“We still aim to finish above Liverpool so now is our chance to show them that we can. If we want to do that, we have to win this game and give ourselves the best chance of catching them in the league.”

Liverpool has only won five home games this season, the fewest of teams in the top half of the league. Kenny Dalglish’s side has only scored 20 at Anfield, the fifth worst home return in the division. The Reds have never lost a home match to Fulham in 17 league games and six cup ties. Fulham has won three games away from home – only Blackburn and Wolves have won fewer. Martin Jol’s side has only scored 11 goals on the road, the fewest in the league. The Cottagers have failed to score in over half of their away games this season.

Fulham will have some injury issues to deal with heading into this contest. Stephen Kelly is pushing for a return to the side after a wrist injury, Steve Sidwell remains out with a groin injury and Bryan Ruiz (metatarsal) and Zdenek Grygera (knee) are out for the season. The Reds have no fresh injury concerns after their comfortable 3-0 win at Norwich City last time out. Charlie Adam and Lucas Leiva remain long-term absentees with knee injuries respectively.

I will predict a Fulham victory by the score of 1-0 on a goal by Clint Dempsey.

Everton The Next Challenge For Fulham

Posted by GFT Editor on April 28, 2012 at 4:01 am EPL, Fulham

Apr 282012

Fulham come into today’s contest with a record of (12-10-12) for a total of 46 points and are safe from dropping for another season. They now can set their sights on a possible top 7 finish beginning today with a match against Everton on the road at Goodison Park at 10:00am eastern. The Cottagers are targeting a Merseyside double over the next four days that could set Fulham on course for a top-seven finish. Fulham tackle Everton and then cross Stanley Park to face FA Cup finalists Liverpool on Tuesday night at Anfield.

John Arne Riise knows how tough it will be to go against Everton today.

“It will be a tough game (against Everton) but we have been on a good run of results and I am confident we can go there and hopefully get a good result,” Riise told Fulham’s official website.
“It’s been a tough place to go for the Fulham players and the fans. Hopefully we can change that this weekend.”

Fulham lie just two points below the Merseyside club in ninth, and are four matches unbeaten having secured Premier League safety early under Martin Jol, despite winning none of their first six league games this season. The Cottagers have a poor record against the Toffees who have won six of the clubs’ last eight meetings, including both their previous matches this season in the league and in the FA Cup fourth round. The west London side are poor travellers and only QPR, Blackburn, and relegated Wolves have collected less points away this season. They have also scored the least away goals alongside Stoke with just 11. However the club did complete only their third away win of the season earlier this month over Bolton.

Fulham could name an unchanged line-up from their victory against Wigan, with lone striker Pavel Pogrebnyak having returned from an ankle injury in that game. Forward Bryan Ruiz is unavailable following a metartarsal fracture. Aaron Hughes is expected to continue at right-back in place of Stephen Kelly, who has a wrist injury, with Philippe Senderos featuring in central defence alongside Brede Hangeland. Steve Sidwell has been out since February with a groin problem while Zdenek Grygera (knee) is a long-term absentee.

I will predict a Fulham victory over Everton by the score of 2-1 with goals by Dempsey and Pogrebnyak.

Fulham Take Care of Wigan 2-1

Posted by GFT Editor on April 28, 2012 at 3:33 am EPL, Fulham

Apr 282012

Philippe Senderos’ last-gasp header earned Fulham victory against Wigan last Saturday 2-1. The Switzerland international nodded home his first ever Cottagers goal in the 89th minute to ensure the hosts followed up their win at the DW Stadium earlier in the season with another deserved victory.
Fulham Head Coach Martin Jol knew how hard Wigan would be as an opponent but was so happy with the end result.

“It could have turned out differently but that is hypothetical and I am glad we won in the end,” he said. ”They had zero corners, no chances and they scored out of nothing so it would have been harsh if we had lost.

”The first 20 minutes were good, we played down the flanks but it was very crowded. With their goal it came out of nothing but maybe it came at the right time because we have the Pog and he scored.

”It was good to see Philippe Senderos score as well. It is not easy to play against them. I think we’ve learned from the matches we saw them play against the top sides. They did ever so well and I saw them against Arsenal at the Emirates and they played so compact and didn’t give away too much.

”There was no space on the flanks so we had to be patient. The only problem is if you have to be patient you can fall asleep and they want that. They are very good on the break with Victor Moses and that is what they did in all these games against Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. We were well prepared and in the end I think we deserved to win.”

Wigan took the lead in the 57th minute to put all Fulham fans on edge. Boyce followed up his pass to Sammon and hit an exquisitely-struck shot from 20 yards into the bottom left hand corner. However, the lead lasted just over 60 seconds as Fulham attacked immediately and Pogrebnyak hit a left-footed effort past Al-Habsi from the edge of the box to tie it at 1-1.

While Fulham sit comfortably in the top half, Wigan still face a fight to stave off relegation. The defeat comes after a magnificent run that saw them beat Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Fulham will next take on Everton tomorrow at 10:00am eastern at Goodison Park.

Making A Case For Clint Dempsey To Liverpool

Posted by Adam Uthe on April 21, 2012 at 4:28 pm EPL, Fulham

Apr 212012

That’s right folks…the American blogger wants the American superstar at Anfield. Big surprise, right?

First let’s address the Arsenal rumors. This is a terrible move for Deuce. It has classic “EPL meltdown” (a la Andy Carroll) written all over it. Let me name all the current Gunners who get regular minutes in the midfield or up top: Mikel Arteta (just arrived), Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey, Abu Diaby, Gervinho (just arrived), Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie. Oh, and then there’s the injured Jack Wilshere who will surely be back in August. Now tell me who among those names is departing over the summer? Van Persie is a real possibility, but other than that everyone is coming back. MAYBE Rosicky departs. So where does that leave room for Clint Dempsey to play regularly? You can’t leave him on the bench forever; he’s got to be THE guy. It’s why he’s thriving with Fulham right now. So if he can’t get into Arsene Wenger’s starting XI, then where should he go instead? Here’s a few ideas, bearing in mind that Dempsey has stated a desire to play in the Champions League next season…

Tottenham
Part of this does rest on whether or not Harry Redknapp comes back next season. Let’s say he does and he keeps the majority of his current roster intact. Emmanuel Adebayor is on loan right now from Manchester City, so let’s say he doesn’t come back. That leaves an old Louis Saha and Jermain Defoe up top with Rafael van der Vaart, Luka Modric, and Aaron Lennon in the midfield to compete with for a starting spot. Manchester United and Chelsea both made runs at Modric last summer and United will really want to go after him again this summer. Even after all of that, there’s still room for Dempsey to get his minutes; especially if he has a good start and can hold down whatever spot he ends up occupying. Of course if Harry Redknapp leaves, there could always be a major roster overhaul. But either way there’s more room for him at White Hart Lane than the Emirates Stadium.

Manchester United
This one is really intriguing. There’s an obvious need for a central midfielder, which Dempsey could easily fill despite his tendency to thrive in an attacking role. He probably wouldn’t get time out wide with Ashley Young, Nani, and Antonio Valencia occupying those starting spots. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are (likely) done after this season. Are you telling me Dempsey couldn’t challenge Tom Cleverly, Darren Fletcher, and Anderson for a starting spot in the middle of the park? And wouldn’t it be fascinating having an American compete with a Mexican international to be Wayne Rooney’s strike partner?! The Red Devils are pretty well off up top between Rooney, Chicharito, and Danny Welbeck up top, but there is a definitive need for a central midfielder; a role Dempsey is more than capable of occupying.

Chelsea/Manchester City
There’s no room for him on either of these rosters as their currently constructed. None whatsoever. But a new manager (more likely for Chelsea than City) could very well change that. For now, let’s move on…

Newcastle
Entirely dependent upon whether or not they claim a Champions League spot. This is their one and only chance. They aren’t duplicating this season next year. There’s plenty of room for him in the midfield, even if Alan Pardew doesn’t want to overhaul his currently spectacular roster full of cheap purchases that are paying off massive dividends.

Liverpool
I know, I know! Liverpool WON’T be playing in the Champions League next season, but they did spend a good part of this season challenging for a Top 4 spot until the wheels fell off after Christmas. Plus, as you’ll soon find out, there are plenty of roles Dempsey can step into right away and make this team infinitely better. So much so that a Top 4 finish will be easy to compete for next season.

SPOILER ALERT: I’m expecting another miniature roster overhaul this season. It sounds like Dirk Kuyt will move on and Kenny Dalglish has no desire to play Maxi Rodriguez unless he absolutely has no other choice. Craig Bellamy is not a long term solution. Rumors of a Luis Suarez departure, while expected, are not entirely crazy. I could see John Henry deciding he does not want to deal with another incident involving the volatile Uruguay international and shipping him off elsewhere this summer for a nice price. So that leaves Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, and Lucas for us to work with in midfield and a gaping void up top with Andy Carroll and…nobody. There are several options here:

Option 1

Henderson – Lucas – Dempsey – Downing

Gerrard

Carroll

This one is not exactly ideal, but it would work because Lucas can play the defensive role while Dempsey is free to link up with Downing and Gerrard to feed Carroll. Unfortunately, Henderson is clearly not a wide midfielder and Gerrard would never survive with that kind of attacking responsibility.

Option 2

Dempsey – Henderson – Lucas – Downing

Gerrard

Carroll

While he hasn’t produced any goals or assists, Downing is still a natural left midfielder who can create crosses on his own. Now you have Henderson playing a more comfortable position to help take the attacking burden off Gerrard and Dempsey is free to roam the entire right side of the field; a role he usually occupies with the US Men’s National team on the left side.

Option 3

Henderson – Lucas – Gerrard

Dempsey – Carroll – Downing

This one would create a lot of exciting moments with the two D’s playing on either side of the 6’4 Carroll and three very natural central midfielders close behind. Unfortunately I just don’t see King Kenny being creative enough to use this one, even though it’s probably his best option.

Option 4

Henderson – Gerrard – Lucas – Downing

Dempsey

Carroll

This is the one Dalglish would most likely go with. And it’s a great option too. The only problem is placing Henderson out wide on the right where we know he isn’t 100% comfortable. But the deep forward role between Carroll and the midfield is PERFECT for Dempsey. He’s free to roam and do his thing as he currently does with Fulham and he’s got enough creativity to make Carroll infinitely better. Hell, maybe the Reds go out and sign Right Midfielder X and Henderson has to be relegated to the bench to learn a thing or two. Are you telling me this formation (with a backline of Johnson/Kelly – Skrtel – Agger – Enrique) can’t easily challenge for a Top 4 spot? Arsenal could lose RvP, Chelsea will have a new manager and a lot of old faces, Tottenham will probably have a new manager and no real scoring threats after Adebayor departs, and Newcastle are not having another season like this one next year. Both Manchesters will be tough, but Top 4 is still a very real possibility. If Dempsey can put aside his desire for a Champions League spot just one more season, he can find the perfect home for himself with a bright future to look forward to.

But what do I know? I’m just a star spangled American trying to realize the American Dream…

“Walk on with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone!”

Wigan Will Be Tough Nut For Fulham To Crack

Posted by GFT Editor on April 21, 2012 at 7:29 am EPL, Fulham

Apr 212012

Fulham has gone through too many ups and downs in this season’s campaign to take any opponent lightly, even one that has just climbed out of the drop zone in Wigan. Fulham knows all too well with their storied history of flirting with the relegation line, no team gives up when they are still mathematically in the race to stay up. Wigan currently sit two above the dropzone with 34 points, their last six coming in an massive 1-0 win over Manchester United twelve days ago and an surprise 2-1 win at home over Arsenal less then a week ago. In their last five games, Wigan have beaten Liverpool, Stoke, Manchester United and Arsenal as well suffering a controversial defeat to Chelsea.

Fulham manager Martin Jol is taking an respected approach when discussing today’s opponent and knows how tough it is to keep up a streak when you know you’re not clear of the finish line.

“They still need three or four points so they will fight for their lives. Bolton were in the same situation and we did well so hopefully we can keep the initiative. We have to be patient. Wigan did well at the right time of the season. They could get out of trouble now. They like to play but when they did that they didn’t have the points.”

Strikers Pavel Pogrebnyak and Andrew Johnson return to the squad after recovering from ankle and thigh injuries. Fulham are also without the services of Steve Sidwell (hernia) and Zdenek Grygera (knee). Wigan are not too restricted by injuries with Hugo Rodallega and Shaun Maloney (both knee) missing, but it will not effect Wigan head coach Roberto Martinez, who is likely to field the same side that defeated Arsenal on Monday.

Fulham have lost only one of their last eight games at Craven Cottage. The Cottagers are the only side in the league who are yet to be shown a red card in the Premier League this season. In the last 13 meetings between the two sides only one game has seen more than two goals. The visitors have only won one of their six visits to Craven Cottage in the Premier League, losing four and drawing one. Wigan have conceded more Clint Dempsey goals than any other side, the American has scored six goals in nine appearances against the Latics.

Jol also has noticed the change of pace that Wigan has shown to teams recently and how it has improved their game and will make them a hard out today at Craven Cottage.

“They have changed their style. They defend in numbers and they have got three players up front who do all the damage. They play compact now, like they did against Arsenal. There was no space on the flanks, there was no space in the middle. I went to the Emirates and saw that game, they are a hard team to beat these days.”

I will predict an Fulham victory by the score of 2-1 on goals by Dempsey and Pogrebnyak.

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