I'm writing this immediately after Magath's press conference which was frankly bizarre. So I'll quickly go over the main points from the press-conference before I go on to talk about the game itself. Firstly something that has absolutely infuriated me, "I always knew the young players weren't ready from the first day". SO WHY BUILD YOUR TEAM ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON THEM? It seems Magath was using players like Cameron Burgess out of spite toward Kit Symons and Huw Jennings, and trying his best to destroy their confidence. The stupid team selections have gone from bizarre to absolutely insane now, using players like George Williams, Sean Kavanagh, Ryan Williams and Cameron Burgess appear to be Magath trying to prove a point with regard to youth, and deliberately setting these players up to fail. Magath also said something with regard to Mitroglou- which I think is being blown out of proportion. "Mitroglou is fit to play", not once has Magath insinuated that Mitroglou will indeed play and in my opinion that was more of a come and get me plea coming from a manager who must be desperate by this point to get players who aren't "his" off the books, and I highly doubt we'll ever see Kostas Mitroglou in a Fulham shirt ever again.
Now onto the game this weekend; I honestly have no idea how this game will play out. Cardiff have started very strongly, however their away form has been very sketchy in the league. They've at this moment lost to Wolves and drawn with Blackburn in their away games, so we're not on a hiding to nothing like we were in my opinion against Derby. The team we play this week will either make or break us in this game, and also Magath in my opinion.
We NEED to start Dan Burn. His assured performance against Brentford has re-affirmed what almost every Fulham fan has already known, he is at present our best centre-back alongside Bodurov. His lack of game time throughout the whole of Pre-Season, and prior to the Brentford game in competitive matches has confirmed that at this level he is quality, and Magath would be a fool not to use him. As per Magath's press conference Mr. Trackies is yet to get International Clearance, and in his letter he referred to him as helping the young goalkeepers develop so we once again turn to the debate of Joronen or Bettinelli? I know this may sound weird but the Centre-Backs we use should be the deciding factor in what Goalkeeper we use. If Magath opts to use Dan Burn and/or Shaun Hutchinson I would use Bettinelli, but if Magath decides to stick with Cameron Burgess and Bodurov we should stick with Joronen also- as I've always seen the Centre-Backs link with a Goalkeeper as crucial for any team to succeed, which is why Hughes, Hangeland and Schwarzer played every game together, and when we played Stockdale in Cup games etc. we changed all three.
The Midfield is going to be very interesting for the game this weekend, Cardiff have a very strong midfield for this level with players like Pilkington and Mats Moller Daehli as their creative spark combined with Gunnarsson and Whittingham they have a constant threat from the midfield, and they will also be able to service Jones no problem. With this in mind we need to fight fire with fire in my opinion and use our creative options also. Chris David (although he is frustrating at times) should be the first midfielder on the team sheet (yes, above Parker) as he provides the most assured creative threat in our midfield- as shown by the way in which he weighted the pass to McCormack on Tuesday. I made a point of this in my Brentford review, but I think I should reiterate it here now I'm discussing team selection for tomorrow; I think we should have Parker in the deep lying role exclusively, and look for creativity elsewhere- specifically David, Hyndman and Eisfeld as the three other Midfielders in the diamond.
Ross McCormack should definitely start tomorrow, not only because he's the first of our strikers to score this season- but also it seems as though he is finding his feet after a few tricky games and especially against Brentford provided a constant goal threat. Who partners him is another matter, Woodrow seems to of lost his way a bit and squandered quite a few chances against Brentford- as such it leaves the door open for other options. However Rodallega would appear to of fallen out with Magath judging by his tweet on Tuesday "Esto ya lo veo como algo personal" Which roughly translates as "This I can see it personally" (Google Translate) however I think its meant to say "I can see its personal". Which would leave the only other options as Dembele (which I would strongly oppose after his performance against Ipswich), or dare I say Mitroglou.
The Team I would pick for Cardiff-
Bettinelli
Hoogland Burn Bodurov Stafylidis
Parker
David Hyndman
Eisfeld
McCormack Mitroglou (wishful thinking, we will probably persist with Woodrow
This team would give us the best chance of winning in my opinion, and at the end of the day- for both Magaths sake and Fulham, we need to start getting points on the board after a positive display in the Cup.
Thanks again for reading Feedback is very much appreciated.
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