I've already had one blog this season titled "The Definition of Meh" or that'd be going up in lights off the back of todays game. Today's game was really strange- in that there was a lot of endeavour from both sides, not just Fulham; but the lack of an end product on both sides was evident and went a long way to explaining the predicaments both teams are presently in.
There wasn't any goals to speak of, so prepare yourselves for some absolutely brilliant and insightful insight. We went into this game with a 5 Point gap separating us and Millwall in the "Top" Relegation Spot- and it was vital we kept that gap as a bare minimum, had we not I think Kit would've been sacked on the spot. The results today were far from ideal with Brighton winning- but the Rotherham thrashing at the hands of Wolves has aided our cause but more importantly we've kept that 5 Point Gap. Understandably some people are panicking, with "Wolves" and "Back to Back Relegations" being the key terms being banded around at the minute- I'm not quite on that boat, but with 4 Games in a row coming up where we don't have a hope of picking up points unless things start to change its not looking very good. That said Millwall are a very poor team and (trying my best not to jinx it) I can't see them making up that 5 Point gap in the next 4 Games (Sheff. Wednesday, H- Rotherham, A- Middlesborough, A- Norwich, H). This doesn't reflect well on us, but Millwall are looking pretty bad at the minute- their team simply doesn't like being able to score goals, and teams like Middlesborough and Norwich in particular should be able to systematically dismantle them. To put it succinctly- Between Blackpool, Wigan, Millwall and Rotherham we may have found teams bad enough to keep us in the Division- because we sure as hell don't look like doing it off our own backs.
Anyway onto other matters, like the game today- that is the point of this blog right?
Bettinelli had a largely indifferent game, but that was good from my point of view. I said in my Preview Bettinelli's confidence will be key to picking up any kind of points in our tricky run of games so from a Bettinelli perspective I'm happy.
Today's game was our first Clean Sheet in the League this side of Christmas, so naturally there'll be some praise for the defence. But as I've already said- Millwall didn't really look like scoring with the clear cut chance being messed up by Lee Gregory and Ricardo Fuller managing to volley over a two-tiered stand summing up Millwall's attacking prowess. That said with the number of crosses Millwall were pumping in- especially in the first half our Centre-Backs coped really well given their lack of height. This game if we were going to reintroduce Dan Burn was tailor made for him; so as far as I'm concerned until Amorebieta is back in the team the partnership of Bodurov & Hutchinson should be staying in place- as I've already said Millwall were toothless- but with that in mind I thought Bodurov who' come in for some criticism as of late had a really solid defensive display. I was a bit miffed that Stafylidis kept his place at Left-Back in the team after the horror show last week but there was definitely a marked improvement, and while the Rodallega goal was disallowed it would seem Stafylidis finally has his sighters in with regard to crossing. Richards had an indifferent game, but from a defensive standpoint indifference isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The current starting midfield is completely devoid of ideas and looks really stagnant. Christensen could have arguably converted a chance at around the 75-80 minute mark when Bryan set him up, and before Christmas I think he would have. That said Christensen did look a lot better than he has in some games recently, so perhaps he's on the right track after taking a while to get back on the rails after he was rushed back for in the grand scheme of things a meaningless FA Cup game. Parker is definitely key to the team, and today has proven it- with the exception of Bryan he's the only one who brings a calming influence to the team and while that isn't ideal when you're chasing a game as I've already said the priority was must not lose today so while it could have been different had Gregory converted his chance Parker's role was good today. Tunnicliffe is such a varied player, and today his performance fell under the indifferent category- although that is a fair reflection on the game as a whole. Kacaniklic was another indifferent player, he did look pretty good on the counter- and the trio of Kaca, McCormack and Hugo does look dangerous; but we just looked like we were lacking something from a Midfield perspective until Bryan came on and added the extra bit of quality he brings to the team.
When McCormack scored his Hat-Trick against Forest I thought he'd kick on and start scoring regualrly- adding to his game. Instead he's regressed immensely from my point of view- and he's had a string of indifferent games; and he's popped up with two goals since Forest, but both of those were gimme's- and I hope we shake something up with regard to McCormack because we've seen what he's capable of. Rodallega was a strange one today, the offside decision today was marginal at best- I thought he was on; and in Kit's Post Match Press-Conference he said it was the wrong decision- and presumably he's seen it from a "TV" angle. That said, we did look really toothless from an offensive standpoint across all areas- but I hold Hugo the least culpable because its not his job to fashion chances as much as it is to convert them.
The subs we made were good for a change. as I've already said Bryan coming on added the extra bit of quality the midfield was lacking prior; and we definitely looked more likely to make things happen and it isn't a coincidence we had our best offensive spell of the game once Bryan came on. The Fofana sub annoyed the hell out of me, I wasn't against the sub; but I felt the game last week needed Fofana coming on more than Roberts- and while Roberts was a far from ideal sub his pace and undoubted ability to aimlessly dribble which draws defenders would have perhaps given us the extra yard of space we needed.
The result of todays game was far from ideal, and the selection today surprised me because of the lack of changes- that said if we don't make any changes for Wolves on Tuesday I think Kit will be in a straitjacket by the end of the night.
Thanks for reading as always, You have to assume Bryan will be slotted into the first team soon enough- and while its far from likely we'll pick up points in our next 4 games; to give us the best chance we need to be starting him. Anyway thats for another day- I'll be back on in the build to the Wolves game, stay tuned for that and have a good weekend.
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