I mentioned it in my Reading Review, but it's worth repeating here- the 4-2 win last Saturday is more of a stay of execution for Kit as far as I'm concerned. Kit bought himself some more time with last weeks win, although I'm not even sure how much of that win was down to Kit to be honest. That "more time" is most likely going to extend to the next three games before the International Break. We've got three really tricky games against Bristol City, Burnley and Birmingham and if we lose 2 out of 3- or all 3 then Kit's gone. Kit's position is so unstable at the moment it's really not fair, but at the same time that's Football- and with Kit failing to deliver consistent results the pressure will keep intensifying. In short, the Reading game gave Kit a "three game contract"- and the results will determine if he goes any further.
The game tomorrow is definitely going to be an interesting one, and despite Bristol City's league position they're definitely on an upswing at the moment and we have to be wary. On the Goalkeeper front, it's definitely going to be an interesting selection for tomorrow. I was definitely happy to see Joe Lewis keep his place in the team for Reading- but after Reading the debate definitely has to be revisited. With Andy Lonergan fit again and Joe Lewis not being a "stand out" against Reading I'd be leaning towards bringing Lonergan back in. That's not to say I'll be complaining if Joe Lewis were to continue, but for me Lonergan is still the #1.
The defensive selection is quite interesting, but at the same time also straightforward. With Jazz Richards out injured, Ryan Fredericks is the natural (and only) replacement to come in at Right-Back and hopefully continue what he was doing for the 2nd Half against Reading. A lot of praise has to go to whomever is in charge of transfers in-terms of squad depth- most likely Mike Rigg and we've been left in a situation where we can have someone like Fredericks fill-in and that's great. Last Week James Husband and Luke Garbutt both had 90 Minutes to "prove" themselves and stake a claim for the Left-Back position- and it's not even close. Husband is head and shoulders above Garbutt based on what I've seen from both, and should definitely keep his place in the team. At this moment in time the only way I see Garbutt getting back into the team is when Husband goes back to Boro- but with no announced expiration date on his Loan it's hard to say when that'll be. The one worry I've got with Husband is the fact he lets so many crosses coming in from his side, and with Wilbraham up-front for Bristol City that could cause us some problems. The Centre-Back pairing should continue as is, with Ream and Stearman and all we can do is hope for the best.
When it comes to going forward, with the Midfield and the Forwards- I don't see why Kit would do anything other than keep to the 4-3-3 we were playing for the 2nd Half against Reading. Especially with Bristol City playing on Monday, we should be doing everything in our power to start off in the way "that" 7(ish) minutes happened last Saturday. The obvious question is who Jamie O'Hara comes in for, and basing it entirely off performances it should be Christensen. A Midfield Three of O'Hara, Tunniciffe and Cairney would be ideal to me- although perhaps a bit too attack-minded for an Away Game. But as I've already said, given we've got a couple of days on them in-terms of preparation for tomorrow's game we should be trying to attack them. If we go to a 4-4-2 then Christensen should also be the one to drop out, it would just also mean Tom Cairney on the right. Tunnicliffe and Cairney can't be a Centre-Mid pairing as a two, and it's going to up to O'Hara to stay deeper than perhaps he wants to at times. I saw Kit saying he's going to "use the whole squad" in these next three games, most likely implying Parker will be getting some time in the next few games- and I'd be looking at bringing him on for the last 25-30 Minutes depending on how the game's going tomorrow.
The "rotating" 4-3-3 of Kacaniklic, McCormack and Dembele just "clicked" last Saturday, as such Kit would be an absolute idiot to not continue it as such. Kacaniklic hasn't had the best of it since he came back in January, there's been a few flashpoints but he just hasn't had a proper run in the team at any stage. After Saturday, there won't be a better chance for Kacaniklic to try and build on his last performance and try and turn it into a run. I'm not necessarily saying he will turn it into a run, but if Kit doesn't give him the opportunity to after last Saturday then he might as well start packing his bags. Then of course Moussa Dembele and McCormack will make up the other two of the three and we can only hope they make a similar impact on the game as they had in the 2nd Half last Saturday.
Dembele is going to be one of the main talking points for a long while, at the very least until he signs a new Contract (hopefully ASAP) and even then he'll be talked about with big clubs in the picture right up until he leaves. Dembele has the most genuine potential of any of our Youth Players to make it at a really big club since Chris Smalling. The sad fact is, we aren't a big enough club to keep hold of him forever- eventually he is going to be sold and we just have to hope that sale date is a bit of a way off.
Team for Bristol City
Tomorrow's game is definitely going to be an interesting one, and it really is hard to call as are most Fulham games to be honest. We're such a schizophrenic team there really isn't a "safe" bet with us most weeks other than a 2 Goals or more bet. If we can perform as a team as we did 2nd Half against Reading with players like Dembele performing to the level they did we'll score goals and we'll most likely win- but there's absolutely nothing to say that we will. In fact if we're going by our seeming formula this season, we've scored 4 Goals at Home and everyone's happy so we're going to absolutely abject tomorrow and lose 3-0. The sad thing is, would that honestly surprise anyone at this point? I know I've said this at various points throughout the season, but these next three games truly are make or break for Kit- and while I'd never want us to lose a game if us losing results in Kit going I definitely won't be complaining.
When I say Kit's effectively on a three game contract I truly mean it. Burnley is pretty much a write off from my point of view, which makes tomorrow's game even more crucial for Kit- because if we're coming back to the Cottage with 0 Points from these next two games and Birmingham get the upper hand (which they most likely will) at some point the crowd will be ready to turn after a small mistake. That in-turn will put further pressure onto the players and force further mistakes and just generally result in a bad performance. But that's for next week, and for tomorrow we just have to hope none of those issues will arise and we come out of the game with another 3 Points.
Thanks for reading as always, I really try to be optimistic- especially after a result like we had against Reading last week but with Fulham at this point I really just can't. With that said, there's always a chance the Reading game may give us a spark and we actually go on a run and climb the Table. Thanks again for reading, and can any of you honestly think of a better way to be spending Halloween than watching Bristol City against Fulham? No? Didn't think so.
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