Hello! It's another Preview, these are almost becoming a regular thing eh? This time we're headed back to the Cottage for the visit of the recently De-Malky'd Wigan. It's impossible to say how Wigan will react to the sacking of Mackay and the appointment of Caldwell- but regardless of who's in charge we would have needed to be very cautious of Wigan and the threat they pose because given the situation we're still in with regard to our proximity of the Relegation Zone we can ill afford to let the gap close between us and 21st. With 5 Games left we're 8 Points clear of Millwall in 21st (albeit they have a game in hand) and we're 9 points clear of Wigan- with this in mind, and the fact Millwall are playing Wigan Midweek next week- if we can avoid defeat tomorrow I'd cautiously say we were safe.
One of the big talking points that came out this week was the renewed speculation over Patrick Roberts' future. I think I first said it in my Birmingham Preview roughly 2 Months ago when I thought we'd disappear into mid-table obscurity that I want us to cash-in on Pat Roberts this summer- and I stand by that. I do think Pat Roberts is a good player who does have the potential to become a top draw player, however at this stage it's just that- potential. In terms of Senior Football Roberts' contributions have been pretty much nothing- and especially in a league like the Championship I'm not really sure how much Roberts can develop in this league, and with that in mind I doubt his stock will be much higher than it is currently and with that in mind (and provided we get a good offer) I'd be very much open to selling him. That's not to say I'd be pushing him out of the door this summer, but if we can get 15+ Million for Roberts and invest it into some quality players who are Championship ready (provided we stay up of course) I'd be all for it.
Now onto the game today, and for the game tomorrow we need to find the right balance between an attacking team because we are at home against a fragile Wigan side- and being defensively sound and impossible to beat. The only result that'd be bad for us is a Wigan win, as long as the gap doesn't shrink between us and Wigan/Millwall between now and the end of the season I'm happy- as such I'd be happy to take a Draw tomorrow, even if some wouldn't.
Of course Bettinelli will carry on in goal tomorrow, it did make me laugh that some of the people I saw on FoF were blaming Bettinelli for the goal on Tuesday saying he should've played to the whistle. In my book that's ludicrous- he couldn't have come out to grab the ball because of the proximity of the offside player, and then he'd have had a split second to get almost all of the way across the goal to even have a chance of saving the shot that went in. My suspicions about Lee were all but confirmed with his lack of a Bench appearance- and from my point of view I'll just be waiting for the announcement that he's joined the coaching staff.
On Tuesday via Injury and Suspension the defence pretty much picked itself because of the lack of options. For tomorrow we do have a few more options open to us- but I'm not sure how much we'll actually be changing. Dan Burn played well on Tuesday, I'm not disputing that- but I still think he's a very limited defender who has the turning circle of a planet, however him and Turner did look like a solid pairing so for the time being I wouldn't want to change it because Tuesday was the most defensively solid we've looked in a while. Grimmer and Richards were back in training but I don't have any insider information as to their fitness situation- but purely judging from Kit's comments it doesn't look likely that Jazz Richards will be back yet, and because I want us to avoid playing Hoogland at Right-Back at all costs I'd stick Grimmer in even if he isn't 100%- and then the other Full-Back spot will of course be taken up by Husband.
The big midfield news in terms of changes from Tuesday is Danny Guthrie has a knock so won't be ready for tomorrow. The big debate in terms of "fit" players would be if we wanted to play Parker given how close together all of these games have been and the upcoming games against Rotherham and Blackpool also being very winnable on paper. However I would give Scott Parker 65 Minutes tomorrow and hopefully by time time we sub him off the damage will have been done, I think we've been rearranged to a Friday because of the Boat Race- but it has played into our hands slightly giving us an extra day between tomorrows game and Rotherham and that's the main reason I'd be happy to see Parker playing. Tunnicliffe is a player who's not necessarily a must in the team- but we do need him for balance, and headed into a game against Wigan- who despite their new manager are still quite fragile without a doubt Tunnicliffe will be key to the balance of the team in my opinion. Off the bench on Tuesday and hopefully starting tomorrow are Kacaniklic and Bryan- in my opinion we need to find the right balance between attacking intent and being a team that limits the number of attacking opportunities, and Parker and Tunnicliffe will fulfill that role in terms of defense- leaving Kaca and Ruiz open to attack and get at the Wigan defence and hopefully turn the screws on them.
The striking situation is relatively straight-forward, McCormack and Smith should be our striking partnership between now and the end of the season- Smith with Bryan in behind him should be a lot better and get more opportunities as he did when Bryan came on against Charlton. McCormack is a player who's annoyed me to an extent since Forest, but as I said in my Charlton Review it's nice for a Striker in a Fulham shirt to be "off form" and still be getting goals.
Team for Wigan
Bettinelli
Grimmer, Turner, Burn, Husband
Kacaniklic, Parker, Tunnicliffe
Bryan
Smith McCormack
The game tomorrow is from a Wigan perspective a must win, and from our point of view it's simply a must not lose- and I think the team I've set out has the right balance to it, and I'm hoping we try and turn the screws on Wigan right from the first minute and not allowing them to settle into the game and let them get a bit more confident on the ball. Home games are still tricky for us- because if we do concede the crowd will start getting unsettled, and as we've seen in recent weeks when the crowd starts getting on the back of the team it does affect the performance on the pitch and we start making more mistakes. However if we can come flying out of the blocks and get an early goal as we did against Charlton I think it'll settle everyone down.
Thanks for reading as ever, we're now very much into the final stretch of the season- which I seriously can't wait to be over. With 5 Games left- and us being 8 Points clear along with the fact our next three games are all against teams below us I'm hoping we can finish strongly, while I highly doubt Kit'll be in charge next season and he wouldn't be my choice I'm hoping he finishes strongly because he is a decent bloke who does love the club. Thanks again for reading, and lets hope the Review tomorrow is another positive one.
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