Hello! We're here for another game- and this one is vital from a Fulham perspective. I'd say we're on the periphery with regard to the relegation battle at the minute, while we're 19th which would appear to be an insecure position the 5 Point Gap we have is a large one when you consider the fact the teams below us aren't there by chance and have picked up points across the whole season quite infrequently. That said, if we lose to Millwall the worst case scenario is we're 2 Points above the Relegation Zone- and on a bad run of form, and the best case is if Brighton lost meaning we'd be 4 above; but Brighton will pickup more points than Millwall between now and the end of the season in my opinion. One good thing that has come from Today is Charlton have comfortably beaten Wigan after Wigan's midweek exploits confirming they're not putting a run together- yet.
Now onto the game today, and as I've said while the game is must not lose- we really should be trying to win the game given all of the stats surrounding Millwall's home form, and form in general. Also judging from comments I've seen from Millwall fans with regard to the their lack of width could mean we won't look completely out of our depth when we play the Diamond; I've already given you my opinions with regard to Tactics here http://t.co/Jthqz0byvs and unless I see an indication Kit is going to change from the Diamond I'm going to stick to it in these Previews.
Of course Bettinelli will continue in goal- while he conceded against Ipswich I thought he had a pretty good game all-in-all and I think tomorrow is as good a chance as any to get him his first Clean Sheet since Sunderland (1)- and with the string of games we have coming up after it Bettinelli's confidence and assured-ness could be key to getting a very limited number of points we realistically can get in the 4 games coming up after tomorrows game.
The defensive selection is still relatively straightforward in my opinion, while Jack Grimmer started against Bolton- Richards came back in for Ipswich and with Kit saying we're looking into extending his loan from my point of view that was basically an admission that Richards is going to continue at Right-Back. Despite the Hutchinson head injury against Ipswich he's fine as per Kit's Press Conference, and while its far from ideal; Fernando Amorebieta is a bit of a way off yet, and I don't trust Dan Burn in a 2 Centre-Back formation when there isn't a really solid player to play next to him. This means for the time being I'd persist with the Bodurov & Hutchinson partnership. While there wasn't anything said of him in the Press Conference I'm working under the assumption Sean Kavanagh is fit given the injury he had and the time thats elapsed since that injury- and after Stafylidis' diabolical display against Ipswich if Kavanagh isn't fit, I'd just pull someone out of the crowd to play Left-Back.
As you'll know if you read my "What Needs Changing" blog I see Tim Hoogland as a midfielder and judging from Kits presser he is at least pretty close to Full-Fitness now and will most likely come in in my opinion because Kit will want to shake the midfield up in my opinion given how stagnant its looked since Forest. As I've said- I'm working under the assumption we're sticking to the diamond, and I can't see up dropping Parker; and if as I think Hoogland is coming in there's one midfield spot in the three- and that should go to Kacaniklic in my opinion. Hoogland and Parker is quite defensive, this means I have more confidence in giving Kacaniklic a bit of free reign while being part of the Midfield Three- and being a bit further back should mean Kacaniklic finds himself in more space. The player in the #10 Role should be the easiest selection all year- with Bryan Ruiz, the god, the messiah coming in to save us.
If Bryan's fitness isn't quite there yet- and given he's had a bug this week that wouldn't surprise me I'd push Kaca up to the #10 Role and bring in Stafylidis to play in the Midfield three- because while from a defensive standpoint he leaves a lot to be desired its not like he offers nothing to the team.
The striking situation is still straightforward in my opinion with McCormack and Hugo continuing up front. As you'll know from my "What Needs Changing" blog if it were fully up to me I'd be pushing McCormack out on the Left- but with the diamond likely to continue that isn't likely for the time being. Hugo is such an interesting player from my point of view- and while he's far from the perfect player he still more than merits his place in the team, and especially against the supposed "lesser" teams Hugo will be key for us, because we will create chances- and we need someone to convert them.
Team for Millwall
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Parker, Hoogland, Kacaniklic
Bryan
McCormack Rodallega
Alternative Selection (Bryans Fitness)
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Kavanagh
Parker, Hoogland, Stafyldis
Kacaniklic
McCormack Rodallega
As I've already said, this game is arguably our most important of the season now- given the situation we're in. An 8 Point cushion, while its not likely to last with the 4 Games we have coming up, is a sizable cushion to have and it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances for an 8 Point gap to be overturned when there's just 12 Points available. On the other hand a 2 Point Gap will be made up in that 4 Games period without a shadow of a doubt- and should we lose tomorrow we'll be in a situation where we're low on confidence headed into the difficult run of games; and in my opinion could mean the end of Kit's tenure as manager- much in the way Rene Meulensteen was disposed of around this time last year.
Thanks for reading as always, and apologies for this being up later than usual; but I hope you still enjoyed reading- and as always feedback is appreciated. All I can say is I hope I'm doing my review tomorrow happy, because if I'm not a rant will be imminent- so if we lose retreat to the bunkers until the sirens have ceased- but lets hope it doesn't come to that.
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