Hello! We've had a week off from the crushing disappointment- now we're firmly back in the mixer with three games coming up in quick succession. The game tomorrow is the first of 10 Games that could shape our immediate and long-term future, and it really is a fight or flight scenario for the players.
I think its generally accepted Blackpool are down, mind you they were effectively down before the season even started. I'd make the argument that everyone from Huddersfield (17th) down could still realistically go down- but the teams in immediate danger are obviously Millwall and Wigan; then Brighton, Rotherham and of course us. Given the run of games we have, especially with the run of Wigan and Rotherham at Home followed by Blackpool away in Mid-April I think we should be aiming for a nice round 50 Points that should be enough to stay up with. I've seen a lot of people reacting to the Millwall sacking of Holloway, and while I'm not discounting them- the combination of their run-in; and with respect their lack of quality in quite a few areas means I'm more worried about Wigan's potential to overtake us. The thing I've said quite a few times over the last month is "If we can't get *X* number of points we don't deserve to stay up" and I believe that its applicable here- because if we play like a 8 Point worse team the Wigan and Millwall we deserve to go down.
Now onto the game tomorrow; Sheffield Wednesday are in pretty good form at the minute- winning 3 of their last 4; but I have a hope that Wednesday will be starting to wind down now that they're safe and comfortably Mid-Table; without having a sniff of the Playoff Hunt.
Bettinelli will of course continue in goal, I said it in my Bournemouth Review- and I'll say it again now; Bettinelli wasn't largely at fault for any of the 5 we conceded last Friday- but conceding 5 won't do much for his confidence, so I hope along with the defence they put in a much more reassured performance tomorrow.
Speaking of the Defence, the big news yesterday was the Loan Signing of Michael Turner- who in my opinion was exactly the kind of signing we needed. While I've praised the pairing of Bodurov & Hutchinson I've always conditioned it with the term "far from perfect"- and Michael Turner is exactly the kind of player we need in the heart of our defence both short-term to get us over the line and hopefully Long-Term. Obviously with Turner coming in he'll be playing without a shadow of a doubt- so the question turns to who do we drop out of Bodurov and Hutchinson. It could honestly go either way- and I would support either being dropped- however just from a personal preference I'd keep Bodurov in the team just because he's been a more consistent presence over the course of the season- but as I said it could go either way. In Kit's Press Conference he said with the exception of Kacaniklic and Christensen that we didn't have any injury issues- so on that note it would appear Richards and Stafylidis are fully fit, so in my opinion they should be brought back in.
The Midfield is really frustrating from my point of view, taking Derby out of the equation we've looked really stagnant in the Midfield area since we played Derby's biggest Rival in January. The injury to Kacaniklic doesn't have that much of an impact on the team- because as I've said a few times they system we're playing doesn't suit him anyway. The Christensen injury is more of an impact on the team but he hasn't looked all there since he returned from injury so its not as big of an impact as it would have been the other side of Christmas. With the run of fixtures we have, and the need for points I think we need to prioritise our Home Games- as such I'd keep Parker away from the team for tomorrows game with an eye on Leeds. This opens up a spot in the DM Position- which should go to Hoogland, him starting at Right-Back against Bournemouth I'm hoping was out of necessity with the Richards injury- because unless you were unaware he should be played in the Midfield. The two midfield spots in the three should go to Tunnicliffe of course and Sean Kavanagh. I was really debating Fofana instead of Kavanagh for this game but I can't discount the natural width Kavanagh offers the team. It goes without saying Bryan Ruiz should start in the #10 Role- and whether people like him or not, he'll be a key player to our success or failure over the next 10 Games.
The Striking Situation is interesting once again, I said in my Bournemouth Preview that I thought Rodallega was just winding down the clock on his Fulham career- and he may have been told he's not getting a new deal; and I think his performance last Friday gave a lot of credence to that theory. In my opinion McCormack is a given- and its a fight between Smith and Woodrow for the place alongside him. I've really rated Woodrow when he's played as of late, while he got a knock against Watford I still would have started him against Bournemouth unless his leg was hanging by a thread. That said we can't deny the partnership between Smith & McCormack does work- and Smith's goal last Friday was the only highlight from a Fulham perspective. As with the Bodurov/Hutchinson debate I wouldn't mind seeing either of the guys start- and its entirely up to Kit, once again purely from a personal view I'd start Woodrow because bringing Smith on would add another dimension to our attacking play if need be- and draw defenders in when they're a bit more tired- which in turn would create space for others.
Team for Sheff. Wednesday
Bettinelli
Richards, Turner, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Tunnicliffe, Hoogland, Kavanagh
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
Its crazy when you look back at the reverse fixture just before Christmas- because at the time it looked like we were poised for a push on the Top 10, with a view to the Playoffs- and we of course had overtaken Wednesday on goal difference as a result of the 4-0 Win. We're now 18 Points and 10 Places behind them- and I think thats as damning as any other stat on our performances since Christmas.
Thanks for reading as always, this game as I've said is 1 of 10 that could determine our Long-Term future; we do have the players to keep us up comfortably- whether or not they can perform is a whole other thing. In short the players need to fight for the clubs future, because while Wolves managed to bounce back for every Wolves there's a Bradford. Thanks again for reading, and lets hope the players are up for it- because its going to be one helluva fight.
Friday, 13 March 2015
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
RAW Review: 9th March
Hello! Its another RAW Review, and we're headed into the business end of this Mania build- as such we should be getting a quality product in an attempt to build the "biggest show of the year".
One thing I'm going to pitch before I start reviewing- Something along the lines of "Fantasy WWE", I'd organise it and do all the leg-work obviously, but I wouldn't want to put a load of effort in with nobody actually doing it; so if you're interested tweet me- and I'll gauge people's interest over the next week or so- it'll be free obviously before you ask and if it were to happen I'd be looking at starting it either for Wrestlemania- or the night after Wrestlemania. Now lets get reviewin'
Randy Orton & The Authority Promo
I missed the first bit of this because of Daylight Savings- if it wasn't for me casually scrolling through Twitter working on one of my Mania Week Blogs I'd have missed the whole of the first hour. But anyway, what I saw I really liked- I've never wholly liked Orton as a babyface, especially considering how you've seen he can be as a heel; but for once his Promo was really entertaining- him going down the line of The Authority and roasting everyone was entertaining, but he spared Mercury; you know why because Joey Mercury is god. It was so obvious the way he described destroying Rollins & passing it off as a joke was exactly what would happen later on in the night- but in a way that added to the story.
Daniel Bryan v Bad News Barrett
As far as I can tell this was the first time we'd had Bryan v Barrett since that 10 Minute Ref Bump in the build to Summerslam '13. The pairing has potential, but the match was nowhere near long enough to actually be anything special- and Truth on Commentary was clearly meant to detract from the match in my opinion; fairplay to Truth though because he's somehow got himself into a Mania match and being featured regularly again. They booked themselves into a corner with this match because Bryan can't lose to people at the level that Barrett's at- but at the same time Barrett can't afford losses in the build to this Mania because he's already being made to look like an idiot by failing to get his IC Title back.
Dean Ambrose v Stardust
As I'll get into in my (Realistic) Fantasy Booked Mania, Stardust shouldn't even exist by this stage- but they've gone the way they're going and Cody isn't going to have the Brother v Brother match. That said he's still entertaining enough to keep the wheels turning through Mania. As with with Bryan/Barrett pairing this pairing has potential, we just didn't get enough to really see it. The mass brawl after was alright, Truth has clearly been watching the early Cryme Tyme vignettes because he's become a master thief with the move he pulled. I don't like them consistently making Barrett the joke- especially when you consider how some of the other guys in the match have been booked lately.
Paul Heyman Promo
There's certain times in a Wrestlemania build where you suddenly start to feel like its Wrestlemania Season. This promo was that moment. The build for this Mania has been pretty rough, but Heyman has somehow stayed on track the whole way- and while his promos are always good- this promo was outstanding. 2 of the 3 Nominations in my 2014 Sammy Award for Promo of the Year were Heyman- and I don't think I even need a section this year; if a Promo tops this one it'll either be from Heyman or be the Promo of whomever does so's life.
Bray Wyatt Backstage Promo
This was a pretty short promo, and it was more to set up what was going to happen later- but it was still good, then again its nearly impossible to find a Wyatt Promo that isn't good.
Ryback & Erick Rowan v Big Show & Kane
Ugh.
Stephanie McMahon Promo
I liked this Promo, as we had Triple H "firing" Booker last week- and now the way Stephanie acted during this promo its good we're now seeing the "power trip" side of the "power couple" and they're starting to flex their muscles in that regard. I like it, as long as this is at least close to the last chapter of the Authority Saga.
"Wizdow"
This was alright, in a fun kind of way- I do like them constantly pairing Miz with the guest hosts because it suits his gimmick really well.
Wiz Khalifa Performs
Now this RAW has passed, we're now two RAWs away from Wrestlemania. Any TV time on RAW is prime real estate- so we had nearly 10 minutes of it transpires a baked, pretty bad rapper jumping around progressively wearing less clothes,
AJ Lee v Summer Rae
Summer has really regressed in the ring, she was really starting to piece everything together down in NXT- but now she's massively gone backwards in the ring in my opinion; and her selling is atrocious. I don't necessarily blame her for it though because while I don't always pay attention to things like Superstars, Main Event etc. I can't even remember seeing her mentioned in a match on those "secondary" shows.
Rusev v Curtis Axel
AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
John Cena kills Rusev
The babyface John Cena got a spot on Wrestlemania by choking out the guy standing up for his beliefs- and effectively blackmailing a woman. Good Guy Cena.
The New Day v KiddSaro
THE NEW DAY WON ON RAW, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Natalya v Naomi
These are arguably the best two in-ring workers on the Main Roster at the moment, and as I've said a few times tonight this pairing has a lot of potential- they just weren't given nearly enough time to make anything of it.
Los Matadores v The Usos
LOS MATADORES WON ON RAW, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Undertaker "answers" Bray Wyatt
On a night where Heyman wasn't firing on all cylinders, and then bought new cylinders and fired those as well- this would have been my favourite segment of the night. I've repeatedly said Taker doesn't need to show up, with the way Taker's character has been built he doesn't need to show up to make an impact. The Bray Promo was really strong, and the imagery we've had throughout this feud has been great- but Bray laughing inches away from the flames really was great.
Roman Reigns v Seth Rollins & Randy Orton
The match was short, perhaps thankfully given the fact Roman was involved. The fact Roman is essentially two weeks away from Mania and he's being given 7 Minute Main Events where he isn't even the focal point says a lot for WWE's faith in Roman's ability. The Orton beatdown was satisfyingly brutal- but it did seem a bit overlong in my opinion, I wasn't obviously timing it but I think it ended up going for nearly 10 Minutes overall- no disrespect to Orton but not many people will be getting Wrestlemania because of Orton/Rollins so I'm not sure they really needed this to be positioned where it was. In my opinion the best way to end this RAW was to have the Bray segment last- because it'd have made you believe Taker was showing up because it was positioned in the Main Event segment.
Thanks for reading as ever, This RAW was quite a fun one in all honesty- if it wasn't to build Wrestlemania I'd have said this was one of the better structured RAWs we've had recently, but unfortunately it is- and between the Rumble fiasco, DeMott etc. the build for this Mania has arguably been the worst ever- which I'll discuss in great detail in one of my 31 Mania Week Blogs. Anyway, Thanks again for reading- and don't forget to tweet me if you're interested in the "WWE Fantasy League" idea I pitched.
One thing I'm going to pitch before I start reviewing- Something along the lines of "Fantasy WWE", I'd organise it and do all the leg-work obviously, but I wouldn't want to put a load of effort in with nobody actually doing it; so if you're interested tweet me- and I'll gauge people's interest over the next week or so- it'll be free obviously before you ask and if it were to happen I'd be looking at starting it either for Wrestlemania- or the night after Wrestlemania. Now lets get reviewin'
Randy Orton & The Authority Promo
I missed the first bit of this because of Daylight Savings- if it wasn't for me casually scrolling through Twitter working on one of my Mania Week Blogs I'd have missed the whole of the first hour. But anyway, what I saw I really liked- I've never wholly liked Orton as a babyface, especially considering how you've seen he can be as a heel; but for once his Promo was really entertaining- him going down the line of The Authority and roasting everyone was entertaining, but he spared Mercury; you know why because Joey Mercury is god. It was so obvious the way he described destroying Rollins & passing it off as a joke was exactly what would happen later on in the night- but in a way that added to the story.
Daniel Bryan v Bad News Barrett
As far as I can tell this was the first time we'd had Bryan v Barrett since that 10 Minute Ref Bump in the build to Summerslam '13. The pairing has potential, but the match was nowhere near long enough to actually be anything special- and Truth on Commentary was clearly meant to detract from the match in my opinion; fairplay to Truth though because he's somehow got himself into a Mania match and being featured regularly again. They booked themselves into a corner with this match because Bryan can't lose to people at the level that Barrett's at- but at the same time Barrett can't afford losses in the build to this Mania because he's already being made to look like an idiot by failing to get his IC Title back.
Dean Ambrose v Stardust
As I'll get into in my (Realistic) Fantasy Booked Mania, Stardust shouldn't even exist by this stage- but they've gone the way they're going and Cody isn't going to have the Brother v Brother match. That said he's still entertaining enough to keep the wheels turning through Mania. As with with Bryan/Barrett pairing this pairing has potential, we just didn't get enough to really see it. The mass brawl after was alright, Truth has clearly been watching the early Cryme Tyme vignettes because he's become a master thief with the move he pulled. I don't like them consistently making Barrett the joke- especially when you consider how some of the other guys in the match have been booked lately.
Paul Heyman Promo
There's certain times in a Wrestlemania build where you suddenly start to feel like its Wrestlemania Season. This promo was that moment. The build for this Mania has been pretty rough, but Heyman has somehow stayed on track the whole way- and while his promos are always good- this promo was outstanding. 2 of the 3 Nominations in my 2014 Sammy Award for Promo of the Year were Heyman- and I don't think I even need a section this year; if a Promo tops this one it'll either be from Heyman or be the Promo of whomever does so's life.
Bray Wyatt Backstage Promo
This was a pretty short promo, and it was more to set up what was going to happen later- but it was still good, then again its nearly impossible to find a Wyatt Promo that isn't good.
Ryback & Erick Rowan v Big Show & Kane
Ugh.
Stephanie McMahon Promo
I liked this Promo, as we had Triple H "firing" Booker last week- and now the way Stephanie acted during this promo its good we're now seeing the "power trip" side of the "power couple" and they're starting to flex their muscles in that regard. I like it, as long as this is at least close to the last chapter of the Authority Saga.
"Wizdow"
This was alright, in a fun kind of way- I do like them constantly pairing Miz with the guest hosts because it suits his gimmick really well.
Wiz Khalifa Performs
Now this RAW has passed, we're now two RAWs away from Wrestlemania. Any TV time on RAW is prime real estate- so we had nearly 10 minutes of it transpires a baked, pretty bad rapper jumping around progressively wearing less clothes,
AJ Lee v Summer Rae
Summer has really regressed in the ring, she was really starting to piece everything together down in NXT- but now she's massively gone backwards in the ring in my opinion; and her selling is atrocious. I don't necessarily blame her for it though because while I don't always pay attention to things like Superstars, Main Event etc. I can't even remember seeing her mentioned in a match on those "secondary" shows.
Rusev v Curtis Axel
AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
John Cena kills Rusev
The babyface John Cena got a spot on Wrestlemania by choking out the guy standing up for his beliefs- and effectively blackmailing a woman. Good Guy Cena.
The New Day v KiddSaro
THE NEW DAY WON ON RAW, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Natalya v Naomi
These are arguably the best two in-ring workers on the Main Roster at the moment, and as I've said a few times tonight this pairing has a lot of potential- they just weren't given nearly enough time to make anything of it.
Los Matadores v The Usos
LOS MATADORES WON ON RAW, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Undertaker "answers" Bray Wyatt
On a night where Heyman wasn't firing on all cylinders, and then bought new cylinders and fired those as well- this would have been my favourite segment of the night. I've repeatedly said Taker doesn't need to show up, with the way Taker's character has been built he doesn't need to show up to make an impact. The Bray Promo was really strong, and the imagery we've had throughout this feud has been great- but Bray laughing inches away from the flames really was great.
Roman Reigns v Seth Rollins & Randy Orton
The match was short, perhaps thankfully given the fact Roman was involved. The fact Roman is essentially two weeks away from Mania and he's being given 7 Minute Main Events where he isn't even the focal point says a lot for WWE's faith in Roman's ability. The Orton beatdown was satisfyingly brutal- but it did seem a bit overlong in my opinion, I wasn't obviously timing it but I think it ended up going for nearly 10 Minutes overall- no disrespect to Orton but not many people will be getting Wrestlemania because of Orton/Rollins so I'm not sure they really needed this to be positioned where it was. In my opinion the best way to end this RAW was to have the Bray segment last- because it'd have made you believe Taker was showing up because it was positioned in the Main Event segment.
Thanks for reading as ever, This RAW was quite a fun one in all honesty- if it wasn't to build Wrestlemania I'd have said this was one of the better structured RAWs we've had recently, but unfortunately it is- and between the Rumble fiasco, DeMott etc. the build for this Mania has arguably been the worst ever- which I'll discuss in great detail in one of my 31 Mania Week Blogs. Anyway, Thanks again for reading- and don't forget to tweet me if you're interested in the "WWE Fantasy League" idea I pitched.
Friday, 6 March 2015
Fulham v Bournemouth Review: Gutless
I decided to avoid the rush for the exits by actually staying until the end tonight, I wasn't even going to do this review- but if I don't I'll be stewing on it for the best part of a week, and will of course put me in a bad mood all week; so for the greater good...
The last two games were a pleasant dream- one in which we actually had some fight in the team and looked capable of beating anyone. Then we woke up again. Tonight's game was as bad if not worse than any game under "him"- the really annoying thing, and its bizarre considering they won 5-1; but Bournemouth never even got out of first gear against us- I thought they looked pretty ordinary in all honest, but we made them look like Real Madrid.
All the Bournemouth goals sort of blended into one, first one Amorebieta completely lost his man, second was a deflection- fair enough, third was possibly the worst defending I've ever seen, fourth was a Free-Kick, fifth was a top draw finish. Our goal was a pretty good move in all honesty- it'll get completely lost in the shuffle of the abortion that surrounded it, but it was a good move; and it made me laugh the number of times we launched it up to Smith- but he scored when we kept the ball on the deck.
Bettinelli was pretty much helpless for all of Bourmemouth's goals tonight, I was speaking about his confidence in the last couple of blogs- and getting hit for 5 won't have helped it; but he's definitely on the low end of the totem pole with regard to blame.
I'll try and keep this coherent, Amorebieta left me speechless tonight- the game he had was one of the worst performances I've ever seen in a Fulham shirt ever. I said in my Preview I wasn't sure how fit he was- and sure enough he was winded after about 5 Minutes, he never got tight enough to Ritchie- he lost his man for the first goal; and it all off he got himself sent-off. As soon as I saw Wilson and Amorebieta running after the ball I knew he was going to be sent off- because he was awful tonight- simply awful. I can only assume- or rather hope Jazz Richards is injured; because while Hoogland didn't do a lot wrong- he didn't do a lot right either. Hoogland, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Amorebieta was arguably the worst possible selection for us given where Bournemouth's strengths lie, Hoogland is a Midfielder- I don't care what Kit thinks. Hutchinson and Bodurov didn't even have really bad games tonight- with the exception of the third goal they weren't really culpable for any of them, and as with Bettinelli there's players I'd be blaming a lot more over them.
The Selection tonight was just bizarre, While Stafylidis isn't perfect- at least he has some pace, and in turn would have been able to handle Ritchie a lot better- then we had who should be our back-up Left-Back playing in Midfield. The midfield tonight was completely anonymous- there were a few sparks here and there from Bryan- but that was it; and Bournemouth simply brushed our midfield aside.
Whatever Cauley Woodrow done to Kit in a past life must have really been awful. Woodrow hasn't done a lot wrong when he's played- especially in comparison to how Rodallega's played this side of Christmas. As such the selection was baffling tonight- and the way we ended up playing with aimless long balls wouldn't have brought Hugo into the game on his best day. McCormack along with Bryan are probably the only two of our starters who can come out with any shred of credit- he was far from perfect, but at least it looked like he cared.
Matt Smith is fighting it out with Woodrow for a place in the Starting XI for Sheff. Wednesday- which means we'll end up starting Dembele. When he came on he gave us another dimension without a doubt- but I still think Woodrow would've been able to offer almost the same- and the link up play between McCormack and Smith was great, and thats probably why I'd favour Smith for Sheff. Wednesday. Fofana came on, Gave away 3 Fouls, got booked and that was that. Stafylidis came on out of necessity with the Amorebieta Red Card- and didn't do much either way.
The Sheffield Wednesday performance will determine whether I get on the Kit Out bandwagon- I'm not on it yet because we've seen how we can play under Kit in the last week; but if anything that makes this type of game more of an annoyance. This game was a complete abortion- as I'm writing this I haven't seen Kit's Post-Match Comments, but I don't know how he can defend that.
Millwall are playing Norwich, Wigan are playing Leeds and Rotherham are playing Huddersfield- these are the other three teams along with us I'd say are fighting it out for the two relegation spots, Wigan's win in Midweek is worrying me because they do have the players to go on a good run and get them out of the mess they're in.
Thanks for reading, I left the game today and I wasn't even angry- I just felt nothing; its gotten to the stage this season where I just don't care- anyway perhaps thankfully we don't have a midweek game this week, so I'll be back with my Sheffield Wednesday Preview next Friday (barring something major happening)- and I think the worst thing of all from tonights game- WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE MORE POSSESSION.
The last two games were a pleasant dream- one in which we actually had some fight in the team and looked capable of beating anyone. Then we woke up again. Tonight's game was as bad if not worse than any game under "him"- the really annoying thing, and its bizarre considering they won 5-1; but Bournemouth never even got out of first gear against us- I thought they looked pretty ordinary in all honest, but we made them look like Real Madrid.
All the Bournemouth goals sort of blended into one, first one Amorebieta completely lost his man, second was a deflection- fair enough, third was possibly the worst defending I've ever seen, fourth was a Free-Kick, fifth was a top draw finish. Our goal was a pretty good move in all honesty- it'll get completely lost in the shuffle of the abortion that surrounded it, but it was a good move; and it made me laugh the number of times we launched it up to Smith- but he scored when we kept the ball on the deck.
Bettinelli was pretty much helpless for all of Bourmemouth's goals tonight, I was speaking about his confidence in the last couple of blogs- and getting hit for 5 won't have helped it; but he's definitely on the low end of the totem pole with regard to blame.
I'll try and keep this coherent, Amorebieta left me speechless tonight- the game he had was one of the worst performances I've ever seen in a Fulham shirt ever. I said in my Preview I wasn't sure how fit he was- and sure enough he was winded after about 5 Minutes, he never got tight enough to Ritchie- he lost his man for the first goal; and it all off he got himself sent-off. As soon as I saw Wilson and Amorebieta running after the ball I knew he was going to be sent off- because he was awful tonight- simply awful. I can only assume- or rather hope Jazz Richards is injured; because while Hoogland didn't do a lot wrong- he didn't do a lot right either. Hoogland, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Amorebieta was arguably the worst possible selection for us given where Bournemouth's strengths lie, Hoogland is a Midfielder- I don't care what Kit thinks. Hutchinson and Bodurov didn't even have really bad games tonight- with the exception of the third goal they weren't really culpable for any of them, and as with Bettinelli there's players I'd be blaming a lot more over them.
The Selection tonight was just bizarre, While Stafylidis isn't perfect- at least he has some pace, and in turn would have been able to handle Ritchie a lot better- then we had who should be our back-up Left-Back playing in Midfield. The midfield tonight was completely anonymous- there were a few sparks here and there from Bryan- but that was it; and Bournemouth simply brushed our midfield aside.
Whatever Cauley Woodrow done to Kit in a past life must have really been awful. Woodrow hasn't done a lot wrong when he's played- especially in comparison to how Rodallega's played this side of Christmas. As such the selection was baffling tonight- and the way we ended up playing with aimless long balls wouldn't have brought Hugo into the game on his best day. McCormack along with Bryan are probably the only two of our starters who can come out with any shred of credit- he was far from perfect, but at least it looked like he cared.
Matt Smith is fighting it out with Woodrow for a place in the Starting XI for Sheff. Wednesday- which means we'll end up starting Dembele. When he came on he gave us another dimension without a doubt- but I still think Woodrow would've been able to offer almost the same- and the link up play between McCormack and Smith was great, and thats probably why I'd favour Smith for Sheff. Wednesday. Fofana came on, Gave away 3 Fouls, got booked and that was that. Stafylidis came on out of necessity with the Amorebieta Red Card- and didn't do much either way.
The Sheffield Wednesday performance will determine whether I get on the Kit Out bandwagon- I'm not on it yet because we've seen how we can play under Kit in the last week; but if anything that makes this type of game more of an annoyance. This game was a complete abortion- as I'm writing this I haven't seen Kit's Post-Match Comments, but I don't know how he can defend that.
Millwall are playing Norwich, Wigan are playing Leeds and Rotherham are playing Huddersfield- these are the other three teams along with us I'd say are fighting it out for the two relegation spots, Wigan's win in Midweek is worrying me because they do have the players to go on a good run and get them out of the mess they're in.
Thanks for reading, I left the game today and I wasn't even angry- I just felt nothing; its gotten to the stage this season where I just don't care- anyway perhaps thankfully we don't have a midweek game this week, so I'll be back with my Sheffield Wednesday Preview next Friday (barring something major happening)- and I think the worst thing of all from tonights game- WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE MORE POSSESSION.
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Fulham v Bournemouth Preview: Cautious Optimism
Hello! Its another Preview, and we're back on Sky for a Friday night game against Bournemouth. Unless I'm mistaken- and I've generally tried to block out the last few months, our last Friday Night game was Watford so the only way is up right?
If the last two games didn't happen I'd be writing this game off- but since we've beaten Derby and made Watford look ordinary I'm going into the game tomorrow night with a sense of cautious optimism. Bournemouth haven't been great lately, before Tuesday they'd gone 5 games without a win- and they only won on Tuesday via a questionably Penalty decision; and if we can replicate the performance levels of the last two games we'll at the very least give Bournemouth a huge run for their money- and as with the prior two games as long as we have a go and show guts I won't mind the end result.
Of course Bettinelli will continue in goal, I thought he could have done a bit better for the goal- in terms of where he hit the ball away on Tuesday; but thats a real splitting hairs scenario. While he obviously couldn't come for the Corner on Tuesday- I'd like to see him command the box a bit more from Set-Pieces and come out confidently; he won't always gather the ball but it'll give the defenders confidence knowing he is confident enough to do so- I hope that made sense.
The Jazz Richards Red Card- or rather lack thereof on Tuesday was arguably the biggest talking point from the game, especially coming off the heels of the Nemanja Matic incident- but I still rate him as a defender, and he hasn't gotten a ban so he should be continuing in the team without a doubt; out the current loan players we have Richards would be the guy I'd be most keen to sign permanently. In Kit's Press Conference he sort of hinted one of/both Hoogland and Amorebieta will start, as I've said seemingly a million times Hoogland is a Midfielder- and while I'm not sure what Amorebieta's fitness is like I highly doubt he's fit enough to start given his lack of U21 Action. As such the defence will be unchanged in my opinion- it'll be interesting to see where Kit plays Amorebieta once he does come back, because as I've said a lot lately I'd be playing Amorebieta as a Centre-Back- but perhaps out of necessity given Stafylidis' schizophrenic performances he might have to be pushed out to Left-Back.
Scott Parker's back, I said in my Watford Preview that if the level of performance we got from Parker against Derby could be replicated with him not playing Saturday/Tuesday/Saturday I'd happily see him play less games if it meant a better performance level. It was his best game in a Fulham shirt by a mile- and if he can get to a level somewhat replicating that tomorrow we'll be in business. One thing I didn't see in Kit's Press Conference was any reference to Christensen so I'm going to assume he's out for the game tomorrow; which makes the Midfield Selection a bit more straightforward. As I've already said Hoogland is a Midfielder- so if he is going to start it would push Parker a bit further forward playing on the Right-Side; if he isn't the midfield selection is pretty straightforward in my opinion with Tunnicliffe and Kavanagh occupying the roles in the Midfield three. Then we get to Bryan Ruiz who deserves his place in the Fulham team for as long as he is still breathing, its strange when Bryan picked up a knock after the Bournemouth games on Boxing Day I thought Bournemouth would be his last game for us- thankfully it wasn't though because the statistic of us not winning a game without him in the team still remains.
Matt Smith is not the messiah. We looked better when he came on without a doubt- but Smith's height draws people in no matter what; and contrasting him coming on to the time period we had before he came on- and without Woodrow it was night and day. That said I don't think we should start him ahead of Woodrow and McCormack as although they didn't score on Tuesday- they probably should have done, and on another day they would have. This leaves Hugo somewhat out in the cold- and without any foundation whatsoever I think Hugo might have been told we aren't renewing his deal- because he just doesn't look at all motivated at the moment; and with the utmost respect to Hugo he isn't of the best quality, so we really need him to be motivated to be worthy of a place in the team.
It was interesting Kit made a point of saying Pat Roberts will be with the U21s this week, while I still think we should Loan him out I'll direct you guys to my Birmingham Preview where I said we should be cashing in on him this Summer. I think Kacaniklic is a player for next season really- the system we're playing to get us over the line doesn't really suit him, but I'm hoping Kit (or whoever is in charge) recognises we need width to try and get in the Playoffs and with Bryan surely going this Summer we'll have to surely. I'd like to see us try and buy someone like Matt Jarvis and have Kaca on the other wing because provided we get the Central-Mid pairing right those two on the wing would be lethal.
Team for Bournemouth
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Tunnicliffe, Parker, Kavanagh
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
Potentially
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Parker, Hoogland, Tunnicliffe
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
It was an interesting note to see Alan Curbishley has joined up with Kit until the End of the Season, which I've literally just discovered at 10 to 5 when I was looking over this to make sure I haven't made any glaring errors. One thing I have seen almost universal support for was to bring in someone to assist Kit in either an Assistant or DOF role- so we've gotten what we wanted, and Curbishley's experience will hopefully come good; as long as Ray Wilkins isn't on his hem I don't mind.
As I've already said I'm cautiously optimistic for the game tomorrow- if we can get to the level of performance we've reached in the last two games, and can defend a corner we should be coming away from the Cottage with a point minimum. Whether or not we can produce that level of performance three times within a week remains to be seen however- and I'm still not convinced we can, but I'll happily be proven wrong.
Thanks for reading as ever, I'm a lot happier than I was a week ago- I'm sure we as Fulham fans accept we won't be winning every week, and while people were talking about Playoffs our squad wasn't ready for the proper push this season; that said we do expect so see fully-committed performances with players going for it, and we've seen that twice in the last week so I can't really question us. Hopefully it continues tomorrow and when I'm going back through Bishops Park I have a smile on my face. As always the Review will be up late tomorrow so stay tuned for that and have a Good Friday.
If the last two games didn't happen I'd be writing this game off- but since we've beaten Derby and made Watford look ordinary I'm going into the game tomorrow night with a sense of cautious optimism. Bournemouth haven't been great lately, before Tuesday they'd gone 5 games without a win- and they only won on Tuesday via a questionably Penalty decision; and if we can replicate the performance levels of the last two games we'll at the very least give Bournemouth a huge run for their money- and as with the prior two games as long as we have a go and show guts I won't mind the end result.
Of course Bettinelli will continue in goal, I thought he could have done a bit better for the goal- in terms of where he hit the ball away on Tuesday; but thats a real splitting hairs scenario. While he obviously couldn't come for the Corner on Tuesday- I'd like to see him command the box a bit more from Set-Pieces and come out confidently; he won't always gather the ball but it'll give the defenders confidence knowing he is confident enough to do so- I hope that made sense.
The Jazz Richards Red Card- or rather lack thereof on Tuesday was arguably the biggest talking point from the game, especially coming off the heels of the Nemanja Matic incident- but I still rate him as a defender, and he hasn't gotten a ban so he should be continuing in the team without a doubt; out the current loan players we have Richards would be the guy I'd be most keen to sign permanently. In Kit's Press Conference he sort of hinted one of/both Hoogland and Amorebieta will start, as I've said seemingly a million times Hoogland is a Midfielder- and while I'm not sure what Amorebieta's fitness is like I highly doubt he's fit enough to start given his lack of U21 Action. As such the defence will be unchanged in my opinion- it'll be interesting to see where Kit plays Amorebieta once he does come back, because as I've said a lot lately I'd be playing Amorebieta as a Centre-Back- but perhaps out of necessity given Stafylidis' schizophrenic performances he might have to be pushed out to Left-Back.
Scott Parker's back, I said in my Watford Preview that if the level of performance we got from Parker against Derby could be replicated with him not playing Saturday/Tuesday/Saturday I'd happily see him play less games if it meant a better performance level. It was his best game in a Fulham shirt by a mile- and if he can get to a level somewhat replicating that tomorrow we'll be in business. One thing I didn't see in Kit's Press Conference was any reference to Christensen so I'm going to assume he's out for the game tomorrow; which makes the Midfield Selection a bit more straightforward. As I've already said Hoogland is a Midfielder- so if he is going to start it would push Parker a bit further forward playing on the Right-Side; if he isn't the midfield selection is pretty straightforward in my opinion with Tunnicliffe and Kavanagh occupying the roles in the Midfield three. Then we get to Bryan Ruiz who deserves his place in the Fulham team for as long as he is still breathing, its strange when Bryan picked up a knock after the Bournemouth games on Boxing Day I thought Bournemouth would be his last game for us- thankfully it wasn't though because the statistic of us not winning a game without him in the team still remains.
Matt Smith is not the messiah. We looked better when he came on without a doubt- but Smith's height draws people in no matter what; and contrasting him coming on to the time period we had before he came on- and without Woodrow it was night and day. That said I don't think we should start him ahead of Woodrow and McCormack as although they didn't score on Tuesday- they probably should have done, and on another day they would have. This leaves Hugo somewhat out in the cold- and without any foundation whatsoever I think Hugo might have been told we aren't renewing his deal- because he just doesn't look at all motivated at the moment; and with the utmost respect to Hugo he isn't of the best quality, so we really need him to be motivated to be worthy of a place in the team.
It was interesting Kit made a point of saying Pat Roberts will be with the U21s this week, while I still think we should Loan him out I'll direct you guys to my Birmingham Preview where I said we should be cashing in on him this Summer. I think Kacaniklic is a player for next season really- the system we're playing to get us over the line doesn't really suit him, but I'm hoping Kit (or whoever is in charge) recognises we need width to try and get in the Playoffs and with Bryan surely going this Summer we'll have to surely. I'd like to see us try and buy someone like Matt Jarvis and have Kaca on the other wing because provided we get the Central-Mid pairing right those two on the wing would be lethal.
Team for Bournemouth
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Tunnicliffe, Parker, Kavanagh
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
Potentially
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Parker, Hoogland, Tunnicliffe
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
It was an interesting note to see Alan Curbishley has joined up with Kit until the End of the Season, which I've literally just discovered at 10 to 5 when I was looking over this to make sure I haven't made any glaring errors. One thing I have seen almost universal support for was to bring in someone to assist Kit in either an Assistant or DOF role- so we've gotten what we wanted, and Curbishley's experience will hopefully come good; as long as Ray Wilkins isn't on his hem I don't mind.
As I've already said I'm cautiously optimistic for the game tomorrow- if we can get to the level of performance we've reached in the last two games, and can defend a corner we should be coming away from the Cottage with a point minimum. Whether or not we can produce that level of performance three times within a week remains to be seen however- and I'm still not convinced we can, but I'll happily be proven wrong.
Thanks for reading as ever, I'm a lot happier than I was a week ago- I'm sure we as Fulham fans accept we won't be winning every week, and while people were talking about Playoffs our squad wasn't ready for the proper push this season; that said we do expect so see fully-committed performances with players going for it, and we've seen that twice in the last week so I can't really question us. Hopefully it continues tomorrow and when I'm going back through Bishops Park I have a smile on my face. As always the Review will be up late tomorrow so stay tuned for that and have a Good Friday.
Tuesday, 3 March 2015
Watford v Fulham Review: Our Season in 90 Minutes
Hello! I'm surprisingly not in that bad of a mood considering we've lost, the Derby game has definitely helped my foul moods- because an 8 Point Gap looks so much better than a 5. Millwall were dominated by Boro (unsurprisingly) and Rotherham fell apart against Cardiff, those are the other two teams along with us who haven't reached 40 Points and played tonight. The question we have to ask ourselves, and this could change should Holloway be sacked- but Can Millwall make up an 8 Point Gap against us? In the Championship it is never say never; but the current trajectory for Millwall doesn't look good- that combined with the fact we have a pretty good April fixture wise I'm still relatively confident of survival.
The game today was a condensed reflection of our season as a whole, Started off slowly- conceded a stupid goal defensive-wise; then went on to have a lot of possession, looked semi-threatening but had no end product. I'm not disheartened though, because after Millwall I was convinced we weren't going to pickup any points from this run of games against the Playoff Pushing teams, so in a way we've already exceeded expectations on this current run of 4 games- and I'm cautiously optimistic that we can get something from Bournemouth on Friday.
The Goal from our point of view was criminal. The fact we've conceded from a corner again is infuriating- and its even more annoying because Watford barely had a sniff from that point onward. Defendnig Corners is such a fundamental part of football, if Kit doesn't have everyone at Motspur Park doing corner drills for at least Half a Day between now and Bournemouth I'll have zero respect for Kit or his coaching ability.
Bettinelli could have perhaps got a firmer hand on the ball from the initial attempt from Cathcart (?), but thats a really fine-line and I think it would be harsh to put the goal on Bettinelli when we couldn't defend the corner properly in the first place.
We saw 50 Shades of Jazz Richards tonight, He showed some really quality moments including just before arguably the biggest talking point of the game- and then we saw him do something that should have seen him be Sent Off, it wasn't too dissimilar to the Matic push- which of course got him sent off. I've not been a massive fan of Richards- but at the same time he hasn't been a disaster, but the push on Vydra was just plain stupid, I'm happy to attribute it to a rush of blood and move on though. I thought Bodurov & Hutchinson looked pretty solid again tonight, they've seemingly got a new lease on life after Wolves last week- and are actually looking like competent defenders again. Comparing Stafylidis' game tonight to the 5-0 in December was like night and day- it was far from perfect, but he actually looked like he knew was a football was tonight, so its a start.
Tunnicliffe played alright, in my Preview I said it would be his type of game- and I was right to an extent; He definitely looked better offensively tonight, and if we had a proper poacher in the team we'd have scored from his headed back across goal cross. The main thing I saw from Tunnicliffe tonight was pretty his pretty hilarious attempt to get in the way of the ball when Deeney scored- you can't fault his commitment. Fofana was, well Fofana. He showed a lot of flair with no end product and just frustrates you to no end- I think at this stage of the season we have to start looking to next season, and if we're as I expect not going to be using Fofana coming 15/16 I'd try and phase in another couple of our own young players, who'll be bit-parts next season. I wouldn't mind seeing Della-Verde and Sambou on the bench a few times. Kavanagh looked quite good tonight, Its annoying coming out of a game we've lost and we've on the whole been solid. Bryan was a bit quieter tonight than he was against Derby, but Derby did afford him endless amounts of space to dictate the tempo of the game- that said he did still look alright; and he almost bizarrely scored from a Corner (again).
McCormack looked pretty good tonight, He's looked quite jaded in my opinion as of late; but while he didn't score tonight he was getting in among it all and had a number of chances. He should have arguably converted one of them- but its good to see McCormack getting in those positions again. The same can be said for Woodrow, who once again should have arguably converted one of the chances he got- but its promising we're getting in the right areas- especially against teams like Watford & Derby who are pushing for the Automatic Performances, and if we can replicate those performances against the teams Mid-Table and Lower we WILL score goals.
The Subs Kit made tonight were mixed, Hugo was quite disappointing when he came on- the way the game was shaping up if Kit did want to bring Hugo on I'd have brought off Fofana or McCormack just because as you're chasing a game you inevitably need a physical presence in the box which Hugo on his best day doesn't offer. We saw the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, Oops I meant Matt Smith- the way some fans go on about him you'd think they were on a par. Joking aside we did look quite dangerous once Smith came on, and he does if nothing else draw defenders onto him. I wouldn't start him against Bournemouth, I'd give him another cameo- and see how McCormack and Woodrow perform; and then with that in mind I'd pick the team for Sheff. Wednesday accordingly. Kacaniklic was ineffective- and I'm not sure this game lent itself to Kaca coming on in a Sub role, and I would've rather we brought on Dembele or Hoogland; Dembele for obvious reasons and Hoogland to enable the midfield to push further up with him being the anchor- who can pop up with a goal.
I'm not going to go on about statistics, because at the end of the day you create your own luck and the result is the endgame- not possession or shots or sideways passes. That said we did look positive again tonight, and I'm reasonably happy despite the loss- and as we head into Bournemouth and beyond I'm relatively confident of picking up the required points- and I think 50 would be a good target for us to try and attain.
Thanks for reading as ever, I haven't seen Kit's Press Conference yet- but I can imagine its "we were unlucky, dominated possession etc." and on this occasion he definitely has a bit more of a case, but I said it after Derby and I'll say it again tonight; what we need to do is move on quickly and get ready for the next game in the best shape possible and try and put in a repeated performance. Stay Tuned for the Bournemouth Preview on Thursday this week- and the Review when I get back on Friday. I'm a tad optimistic for Bournemouth- without wanting to be disrespectful Bournemouth haven't been great as of late- and with no basis other than a quick look at Bournemouth's Twitter they only won tonight as a result of a Penalty which came from a dive. Anyway all thats for Thursday- Thanks again, and I hope y'all have a good Wednesday.
The game today was a condensed reflection of our season as a whole, Started off slowly- conceded a stupid goal defensive-wise; then went on to have a lot of possession, looked semi-threatening but had no end product. I'm not disheartened though, because after Millwall I was convinced we weren't going to pickup any points from this run of games against the Playoff Pushing teams, so in a way we've already exceeded expectations on this current run of 4 games- and I'm cautiously optimistic that we can get something from Bournemouth on Friday.
The Goal from our point of view was criminal. The fact we've conceded from a corner again is infuriating- and its even more annoying because Watford barely had a sniff from that point onward. Defendnig Corners is such a fundamental part of football, if Kit doesn't have everyone at Motspur Park doing corner drills for at least Half a Day between now and Bournemouth I'll have zero respect for Kit or his coaching ability.
Bettinelli could have perhaps got a firmer hand on the ball from the initial attempt from Cathcart (?), but thats a really fine-line and I think it would be harsh to put the goal on Bettinelli when we couldn't defend the corner properly in the first place.
We saw 50 Shades of Jazz Richards tonight, He showed some really quality moments including just before arguably the biggest talking point of the game- and then we saw him do something that should have seen him be Sent Off, it wasn't too dissimilar to the Matic push- which of course got him sent off. I've not been a massive fan of Richards- but at the same time he hasn't been a disaster, but the push on Vydra was just plain stupid, I'm happy to attribute it to a rush of blood and move on though. I thought Bodurov & Hutchinson looked pretty solid again tonight, they've seemingly got a new lease on life after Wolves last week- and are actually looking like competent defenders again. Comparing Stafylidis' game tonight to the 5-0 in December was like night and day- it was far from perfect, but he actually looked like he knew was a football was tonight, so its a start.
Tunnicliffe played alright, in my Preview I said it would be his type of game- and I was right to an extent; He definitely looked better offensively tonight, and if we had a proper poacher in the team we'd have scored from his headed back across goal cross. The main thing I saw from Tunnicliffe tonight was pretty his pretty hilarious attempt to get in the way of the ball when Deeney scored- you can't fault his commitment. Fofana was, well Fofana. He showed a lot of flair with no end product and just frustrates you to no end- I think at this stage of the season we have to start looking to next season, and if we're as I expect not going to be using Fofana coming 15/16 I'd try and phase in another couple of our own young players, who'll be bit-parts next season. I wouldn't mind seeing Della-Verde and Sambou on the bench a few times. Kavanagh looked quite good tonight, Its annoying coming out of a game we've lost and we've on the whole been solid. Bryan was a bit quieter tonight than he was against Derby, but Derby did afford him endless amounts of space to dictate the tempo of the game- that said he did still look alright; and he almost bizarrely scored from a Corner (again).
McCormack looked pretty good tonight, He's looked quite jaded in my opinion as of late; but while he didn't score tonight he was getting in among it all and had a number of chances. He should have arguably converted one of them- but its good to see McCormack getting in those positions again. The same can be said for Woodrow, who once again should have arguably converted one of the chances he got- but its promising we're getting in the right areas- especially against teams like Watford & Derby who are pushing for the Automatic Performances, and if we can replicate those performances against the teams Mid-Table and Lower we WILL score goals.
The Subs Kit made tonight were mixed, Hugo was quite disappointing when he came on- the way the game was shaping up if Kit did want to bring Hugo on I'd have brought off Fofana or McCormack just because as you're chasing a game you inevitably need a physical presence in the box which Hugo on his best day doesn't offer. We saw the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, Oops I meant Matt Smith- the way some fans go on about him you'd think they were on a par. Joking aside we did look quite dangerous once Smith came on, and he does if nothing else draw defenders onto him. I wouldn't start him against Bournemouth, I'd give him another cameo- and see how McCormack and Woodrow perform; and then with that in mind I'd pick the team for Sheff. Wednesday accordingly. Kacaniklic was ineffective- and I'm not sure this game lent itself to Kaca coming on in a Sub role, and I would've rather we brought on Dembele or Hoogland; Dembele for obvious reasons and Hoogland to enable the midfield to push further up with him being the anchor- who can pop up with a goal.
I'm not going to go on about statistics, because at the end of the day you create your own luck and the result is the endgame- not possession or shots or sideways passes. That said we did look positive again tonight, and I'm reasonably happy despite the loss- and as we head into Bournemouth and beyond I'm relatively confident of picking up the required points- and I think 50 would be a good target for us to try and attain.
Thanks for reading as ever, I haven't seen Kit's Press Conference yet- but I can imagine its "we were unlucky, dominated possession etc." and on this occasion he definitely has a bit more of a case, but I said it after Derby and I'll say it again tonight; what we need to do is move on quickly and get ready for the next game in the best shape possible and try and put in a repeated performance. Stay Tuned for the Bournemouth Preview on Thursday this week- and the Review when I get back on Friday. I'm a tad optimistic for Bournemouth- without wanting to be disrespectful Bournemouth haven't been great as of late- and with no basis other than a quick look at Bournemouth's Twitter they only won tonight as a result of a Penalty which came from a dive. Anyway all thats for Thursday- Thanks again, and I hope y'all have a good Wednesday.
RAW Review: 2nd March
Hello! Its another RAW Review, everyone contain your excitement. The clock is ticking, and yes- Curtis Axel is still in the Royal Rumble Match; Oh Yeah there's also less and less time until Wrestlemania. With the RAWs going by quicker than the IC Title changes hands the WWE has to start kicking into high gear to avoid their biggest event of the year falling flat. But on a scale of Travesty-Mediocre what was RAW like last night?
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns Promo
Rollins calling out Stewart is a mixed bag in my opinion, with the main positive being it distracts from the other Rollins related new story we've had recently. The Rollins Promo was alright, it wasn't anything special- but at this stage there isn't really much for Rollins to get his teeth stuck into with monologue promos. The Roman Promo was pretty bad- he clearly got thrown by the Punk chants, and he ended up fluffing his lines, so god help him when he has to go in front of crowds like Chicago, Night After Mania etc. Reigns killing everyone was alright, but the end image of Roman standing on the Briefcase was the wrong move unless they were going to work the angle- which they clearly won't.
Rollins, Orton Backstage Promo
I liked this Promo just because it furthered the Orton storyline in a concise way, and Orton seemingly becoming Rollins' enabler and him egging him on could be the catalyst for their Mania match; although it seemingly is going to go down the Stewart route.
Dean Ambrose v Bad News Barrett
I'd like to give WWE the benefit of the doubt and say they wanted this storyline to be a complete cluster. The match itself was alright, but it was never going to be a show-stealer because the attention was predominantly on the goings on outside the ring. Its the most TV Time R-Truth's had in over 2 Years. Everyone stealing the IC Title is a quirky way to get the Title Match over, but in my opinion they have to be careful they don't completely neuter BNB (more so than he already is) and in the eyes of the casual viewer they don't see him as Champion anymore.
"Niagara"
Bray Wyatt Promo
There was a lot of Promo's last night, Thankfully this one was from Bra- and he's doing a great job selling the feud with the very limited ways in which he can build it, sans Undertaker. The whole feud is seemingly about where Taker is, so by the very nature it has to be somewhat cryptic- but I'm just worried with the number of RAWs we have between now and Mania, Bray's words will start to lose meaning; because when there's very little movement on one-side of the feud there's only so much that can be done.
WWE doing an update version of this vignette would be perfect for the situation in my opinion. You don't have to have Taker show up to make an Impact, and I hope WWE realise that. It can be as simple as Bray cutting an In-Ring Promo and the Gong hitting with the Lights going out.
KiddSaro & Natalya v The Uso's & Naomi
Tyson Kidd is the perfect cowardly heel, he's small enough to sell himself as a coward believably but also has enough where-with-all and experience to not overplay it. We've had some variation on this match so often recently it does lose meaning- and I hope WWE start to diversify, and at the very least introducing one of The Ascension & The Primetime Players into the Tag Title mix. The injury angle they worked was a good one, although as Naomi is a babyface I expected her to show some restraint with Nattie getting the roll-up.
John Cena, Stephanie McMahon, Curtis Axel Promo
AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
John Cena v Curtis Axel
AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
Rusev Promo
Rusev got a Rosetta Stone for Christmas- and its paying off! This was probably Rusev's Best Promo- and he really made it work with the crowd, I said after the Rumble he's the last old-school "Boo Me" Heel- and that is really working in Cena's favour- and as I said last week, Cena having to pursue someone adds another dimension to his character which he's been lacking a lot.
Triple H, Booker T Promo
Ah, Wrestlemania 19- Oh the memories! I actually liked this Triple H Promo, He sold his power-trippy side really well; although I would've preferred for Booker to psych himself up like he's gonna kill HHH before he goes, and then HHH says it was a joke- because that would've been a good way to pop the crowd. Similar to the Bray Promo, there's only so much HHH can do when there's no opposing force for the Promo.
Paige v Nikki Bella
We Gave Divas a Chance, and the crowd responded "CM PUNK, CM PUNK, CM PUNK". A.J. coming back is interesting, I still think her days are numbered in WWE- especially with the current lawsuit A.J. is involved with by association with WWE, Amann & Punk. I really am going to be interesting to see how they book A.J. between now & Mania, because they have to balance out Elevating Paige without overshadowing A.J.- although I can't see a scenario where the Bellas don't win at Mania, to finally give Total Divas a triumphant Mania moment- which they could of course give with Paige, but A.J. would be in every celebratory camera shot.
The Today Show, With Seth Rollins
Even with the best will in the world, and Rollins tried his absolute best- but he simply couldn't get his monologue over. It just didn't click. That said, I did (surprisingly) like Stewart's Promo- and I highly doubt it, but I could see him becoming a manager. He played his role in the segment to perfection, and the Promo was alright in fairness, it was refreshing to see a Celebrity come in as a fan, as opposed to plugging something. Orton seemingly inadvertently helping out Stewart was a nice touch, and simplicity will be the key to this angle, and as long as they don't over-think things Rollins v Orton has Show-Stealing Potential in my opinion.
Daniel Bryan v Luke Harper
The match was very limited, in terms of timeframe- so what they could pack into the match was also limited. Harper is perhaps the most underused guy currently, with KiddSaro getting somewhat of a push- and I hope he causes carnage in the IC Title Ladder Match, because as it stands he's the only heavyweight in the match- but he's also capable of high-spots.
The IC Title Hot Potato after the match was really awkward in my opinion- and as I've previously said, they need to be careful the casual viewer doesn't completely forget who is the actual Champion.
Paul Heyman Promo
I usually make jokes saying whoever cut off Roman instantly turned babyface- so on the same token whoever cut off Heyman is a Heel for Life. This Promo was straight out of the top draw- and given the number of talk segments we had tonight for this to shine through like it did is more of an accomplishment than some people would realise. Believe That.
Seth Rollins v Roman Reigns
As far as Roman matches go this was one of the better ones we've had. People could attribute that solely to Rollins, but you can never say I'm not fair and Roman does deserve some of the credit. It worries me to an extent they always feel the need to introduce foreign agents into Roman matches- because when it comes to Mania it'll be Brock, Roman and the Crowd. Orton winning Rollins the match was a nice twist, I do wonder how they're going to get a proper story arc in the very limited time they have left- unless of course Orton v Rollins isn't in fact happening.
Thanks for reading as always, this RAW was quite fun- not be confused with good; but there was enough combustible elements to at least keep you watching. I'm just giving y'all a warning now that I'm going to be doing 31 Blogs during Wrestlemania Week Tuesday-Tuesday finishing with the RAW after Mania Review. I won't be expecting you all to read all of them, but I hope a couple tke your fancy. Anyway, Thats in a couple of weeks,stay tuned- and... AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns Promo
Rollins calling out Stewart is a mixed bag in my opinion, with the main positive being it distracts from the other Rollins related new story we've had recently. The Rollins Promo was alright, it wasn't anything special- but at this stage there isn't really much for Rollins to get his teeth stuck into with monologue promos. The Roman Promo was pretty bad- he clearly got thrown by the Punk chants, and he ended up fluffing his lines, so god help him when he has to go in front of crowds like Chicago, Night After Mania etc. Reigns killing everyone was alright, but the end image of Roman standing on the Briefcase was the wrong move unless they were going to work the angle- which they clearly won't.
Rollins, Orton Backstage Promo
I liked this Promo just because it furthered the Orton storyline in a concise way, and Orton seemingly becoming Rollins' enabler and him egging him on could be the catalyst for their Mania match; although it seemingly is going to go down the Stewart route.
Dean Ambrose v Bad News Barrett
I'd like to give WWE the benefit of the doubt and say they wanted this storyline to be a complete cluster. The match itself was alright, but it was never going to be a show-stealer because the attention was predominantly on the goings on outside the ring. Its the most TV Time R-Truth's had in over 2 Years. Everyone stealing the IC Title is a quirky way to get the Title Match over, but in my opinion they have to be careful they don't completely neuter BNB (more so than he already is) and in the eyes of the casual viewer they don't see him as Champion anymore.
"Niagara"
There was a lot of Promo's last night, Thankfully this one was from Bra- and he's doing a great job selling the feud with the very limited ways in which he can build it, sans Undertaker. The whole feud is seemingly about where Taker is, so by the very nature it has to be somewhat cryptic- but I'm just worried with the number of RAWs we have between now and Mania, Bray's words will start to lose meaning; because when there's very little movement on one-side of the feud there's only so much that can be done.
KiddSaro & Natalya v The Uso's & Naomi
Tyson Kidd is the perfect cowardly heel, he's small enough to sell himself as a coward believably but also has enough where-with-all and experience to not overplay it. We've had some variation on this match so often recently it does lose meaning- and I hope WWE start to diversify, and at the very least introducing one of The Ascension & The Primetime Players into the Tag Title mix. The injury angle they worked was a good one, although as Naomi is a babyface I expected her to show some restraint with Nattie getting the roll-up.
John Cena, Stephanie McMahon, Curtis Axel Promo
AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
John Cena v Curtis Axel
AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
Rusev Promo
Rusev got a Rosetta Stone for Christmas- and its paying off! This was probably Rusev's Best Promo- and he really made it work with the crowd, I said after the Rumble he's the last old-school "Boo Me" Heel- and that is really working in Cena's favour- and as I said last week, Cena having to pursue someone adds another dimension to his character which he's been lacking a lot.
Triple H, Booker T Promo
Ah, Wrestlemania 19- Oh the memories! I actually liked this Triple H Promo, He sold his power-trippy side really well; although I would've preferred for Booker to psych himself up like he's gonna kill HHH before he goes, and then HHH says it was a joke- because that would've been a good way to pop the crowd. Similar to the Bray Promo, there's only so much HHH can do when there's no opposing force for the Promo.
Paige v Nikki Bella
We Gave Divas a Chance, and the crowd responded "CM PUNK, CM PUNK, CM PUNK". A.J. coming back is interesting, I still think her days are numbered in WWE- especially with the current lawsuit A.J. is involved with by association with WWE, Amann & Punk. I really am going to be interesting to see how they book A.J. between now & Mania, because they have to balance out Elevating Paige without overshadowing A.J.- although I can't see a scenario where the Bellas don't win at Mania, to finally give Total Divas a triumphant Mania moment- which they could of course give with Paige, but A.J. would be in every celebratory camera shot.
The Today Show, With Seth Rollins
Even with the best will in the world, and Rollins tried his absolute best- but he simply couldn't get his monologue over. It just didn't click. That said, I did (surprisingly) like Stewart's Promo- and I highly doubt it, but I could see him becoming a manager. He played his role in the segment to perfection, and the Promo was alright in fairness, it was refreshing to see a Celebrity come in as a fan, as opposed to plugging something. Orton seemingly inadvertently helping out Stewart was a nice touch, and simplicity will be the key to this angle, and as long as they don't over-think things Rollins v Orton has Show-Stealing Potential in my opinion.
Daniel Bryan v Luke Harper
The match was very limited, in terms of timeframe- so what they could pack into the match was also limited. Harper is perhaps the most underused guy currently, with KiddSaro getting somewhat of a push- and I hope he causes carnage in the IC Title Ladder Match, because as it stands he's the only heavyweight in the match- but he's also capable of high-spots.
The IC Title Hot Potato after the match was really awkward in my opinion- and as I've previously said, they need to be careful the casual viewer doesn't completely forget who is the actual Champion.
Paul Heyman Promo
I usually make jokes saying whoever cut off Roman instantly turned babyface- so on the same token whoever cut off Heyman is a Heel for Life. This Promo was straight out of the top draw- and given the number of talk segments we had tonight for this to shine through like it did is more of an accomplishment than some people would realise. Believe That.
Seth Rollins v Roman Reigns
As far as Roman matches go this was one of the better ones we've had. People could attribute that solely to Rollins, but you can never say I'm not fair and Roman does deserve some of the credit. It worries me to an extent they always feel the need to introduce foreign agents into Roman matches- because when it comes to Mania it'll be Brock, Roman and the Crowd. Orton winning Rollins the match was a nice twist, I do wonder how they're going to get a proper story arc in the very limited time they have left- unless of course Orton v Rollins isn't in fact happening.
Thanks for reading as always, this RAW was quite fun- not be confused with good; but there was enough combustible elements to at least keep you watching. I'm just giving y'all a warning now that I'm going to be doing 31 Blogs during Wrestlemania Week Tuesday-Tuesday finishing with the RAW after Mania Review. I won't be expecting you all to read all of them, but I hope a couple tke your fancy. Anyway, Thats in a couple of weeks,stay tuned- and... AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
Monday, 2 March 2015
Watford v Fulham Preview: More of the Same
Hello! We're for another Preview- and after a welcome (and unexpected) 3 Points against Derby at the weekend, coupled with another Millwall loss we're suddenly looking a lot more secure than we have done as of late. We're currently on 39 Points, without any backing statistically purely from a gut reaction I'd say 46-48 will be the "guaranteed safety" mark this season, and if we can't pick up effectively 3 Wins from 12 Games- especially when we still have the likes of Rotherham and Wigan at Home we'll deserve to go down.
The Derby game was perhaps a poisoned chalice somewhat- because now we're headed into the game tomorrow with somewhat of an expectation of at the very least a repeated committed display. I would hope we see a repeat performance, because I think Saturday has proven we are capable of performing to a high standard- I don't care what they said on the Football League Show, Derby weren't that poor; we simply outclassed them in the key areas. While its a long-shot we do get something from the game tomorrow with the threat Watford pose as long as we see another full-blooded, gutsy performance I won't really mind.
I didn't think I'd be saying this on Monday, but Bettinelli hardly had a save to make in the whole game on Saturday. So with that in mind it was a hard game to gauge Bettinelli on one way or the other. That said there isn't a question about whether he should be playing or not- and it'll be really interesting to see how he develops over the next 12 Games, and hopefully he can build up his confidence- picking up at least 4 Clean Sheets along the way to set him up for next season.
Clean Sheets are of course not just down to the Keeper, the Defence play a big part in them. Saturday was as good a defensive display I've seen from a Fulham team in seemingly forever. I've been seemingly Bodurov's biggest fan this season, He isn't an all-round amazing Centre-Back- if he was he wouldn't be at Fulham, and while he has looked shaky as of late Saturday proved once again why he deserved his place in the Starting XI- and with the exception of someone coming in, I'd make Bodurov one of the players we build our team on for next season. In my mind Hutchinson has between now and the end of the season to prove himself- if he can put in performances like he did against Derby he'll stake his claim for a place in the team next season- and force Kit (or whoever is in charge) to consider them for a starting place. Our two loanee Full-Backs are a different story, I wouldn't necessarily be against signing Stafylidis permanently- although I would prefer someone else coming in with a bit more of a cool head; I'd be keen to sign Jazz Richards permanently- whether or not he'd want to is a whole other story.
The midfield will be interesting tomorrow- I highlighted in my other Watford Preview the need to boss the midfield to stop penetrating through-balls, and we know how that turned out. One thing I didn't think I'd be saying roughly a week ago was Bournemouth is a winnable game for us; more so than the game tomorrow in my opinion. As such, and with the knock he picked up on Saturday I'd rest him for the game tomorrow, if Saturdays game was anything to go by when Parker doesn't play Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday I'd happily get the more condensed quality performances from him. This of course opens up the Holding Mid spot- and if you read these regularly it won't come as a surprise to know I'm going to say Hoogland, he came on in the DM Role on Saturday; which has me cautiously optimistic that Kit has recognised his best position. Christensen was another player who picked up a knock- and especially after the last time he had a seemingly overnight recovery I wouldn't be considering him for selection. This leaves the two other midfield spots in the three open, and in this case I'd be playing Tunnicliffe- who I think could turn into a key player for us tomorrow because of the type of game I foresee it becoming, and Sean Kavanagh; who'll give us some added width, while also providing more cover for Stafylidis. The player for the #10 Role is a No-Brainer of course- and Bryan should be in that position for as long as his Costa Rican heart desires.
The Striking Situation is relatively straightforward, McCormack and Woodrow seemingly clicked at the weekend- and while McCormack in particular was far from perfect; why change a winning formula. The unfortunate nature of the fixture list is Kit hasn't done a Press Conference for the game tomorrow- so we haven't got an update on Hugo's fitness- as I said in my Derby Review I'm not completely ruling him out because he's had to feed on scraps in the last month or so, and we've seen the kind of goalscoring run he is capable of when he's playing in a team that actually knows what a Football is, and I'd try out dropping McCormack for one of Leeds, Huddersfield and Sheff. Wednesday with Hugo coming in- because as I've been saying recently McCormack has been looking quite jaded.
Team for Watford:
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Tunnicliffe, Hoogland, Kavanagh
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
As I said in my Derby Review, Saturday was pretty much perfection- or the closest we've gotten to attaining perfection in forever. With the exception of one deflected shot, the only nerves I had on Saturday was out of anticipation of something happened- as opposed to something actually happening.
While we can hope for more of the same, that level of performance I can't see us attaining consistently; because if we could we'd have been looking up rather than down. That said, I'm not an ultimate pessimist- and you're only as good as your last game and all those cliches so I'm heading into tomorrows game in an alright mood. The key thing for us was to give us that gap between us and the Relegation Zone, and although I would have preferred Rotherham & Millwall to draw; the Millwall loss has given us a relatively sizable cushion to work with.
Thanks for reading as always, as I've already said; I want to see another gutsy performance tomorrow- and then regardless of the result I'll be happy. I think after Millwall if anyone predicted we'd pick up any points from Wolves, Derby, Watford and Bournemouth they'd have been checked for mental illness- as such we've already exceeded expectations in that regard, and with the way Bournemouth are playing at the minute I'd set a target of getting another point from one of these next two to take us up to 40 headed into the last 10 Games. Anyway, I hope I'm proven wrong with regard to maintaining that level of performance and we're headed from Vicarage Road in high spirits.
The Derby game was perhaps a poisoned chalice somewhat- because now we're headed into the game tomorrow with somewhat of an expectation of at the very least a repeated committed display. I would hope we see a repeat performance, because I think Saturday has proven we are capable of performing to a high standard- I don't care what they said on the Football League Show, Derby weren't that poor; we simply outclassed them in the key areas. While its a long-shot we do get something from the game tomorrow with the threat Watford pose as long as we see another full-blooded, gutsy performance I won't really mind.
I didn't think I'd be saying this on Monday, but Bettinelli hardly had a save to make in the whole game on Saturday. So with that in mind it was a hard game to gauge Bettinelli on one way or the other. That said there isn't a question about whether he should be playing or not- and it'll be really interesting to see how he develops over the next 12 Games, and hopefully he can build up his confidence- picking up at least 4 Clean Sheets along the way to set him up for next season.
Clean Sheets are of course not just down to the Keeper, the Defence play a big part in them. Saturday was as good a defensive display I've seen from a Fulham team in seemingly forever. I've been seemingly Bodurov's biggest fan this season, He isn't an all-round amazing Centre-Back- if he was he wouldn't be at Fulham, and while he has looked shaky as of late Saturday proved once again why he deserved his place in the Starting XI- and with the exception of someone coming in, I'd make Bodurov one of the players we build our team on for next season. In my mind Hutchinson has between now and the end of the season to prove himself- if he can put in performances like he did against Derby he'll stake his claim for a place in the team next season- and force Kit (or whoever is in charge) to consider them for a starting place. Our two loanee Full-Backs are a different story, I wouldn't necessarily be against signing Stafylidis permanently- although I would prefer someone else coming in with a bit more of a cool head; I'd be keen to sign Jazz Richards permanently- whether or not he'd want to is a whole other story.
The midfield will be interesting tomorrow- I highlighted in my other Watford Preview the need to boss the midfield to stop penetrating through-balls, and we know how that turned out. One thing I didn't think I'd be saying roughly a week ago was Bournemouth is a winnable game for us; more so than the game tomorrow in my opinion. As such, and with the knock he picked up on Saturday I'd rest him for the game tomorrow, if Saturdays game was anything to go by when Parker doesn't play Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday I'd happily get the more condensed quality performances from him. This of course opens up the Holding Mid spot- and if you read these regularly it won't come as a surprise to know I'm going to say Hoogland, he came on in the DM Role on Saturday; which has me cautiously optimistic that Kit has recognised his best position. Christensen was another player who picked up a knock- and especially after the last time he had a seemingly overnight recovery I wouldn't be considering him for selection. This leaves the two other midfield spots in the three open, and in this case I'd be playing Tunnicliffe- who I think could turn into a key player for us tomorrow because of the type of game I foresee it becoming, and Sean Kavanagh; who'll give us some added width, while also providing more cover for Stafylidis. The player for the #10 Role is a No-Brainer of course- and Bryan should be in that position for as long as his Costa Rican heart desires.
The Striking Situation is relatively straightforward, McCormack and Woodrow seemingly clicked at the weekend- and while McCormack in particular was far from perfect; why change a winning formula. The unfortunate nature of the fixture list is Kit hasn't done a Press Conference for the game tomorrow- so we haven't got an update on Hugo's fitness- as I said in my Derby Review I'm not completely ruling him out because he's had to feed on scraps in the last month or so, and we've seen the kind of goalscoring run he is capable of when he's playing in a team that actually knows what a Football is, and I'd try out dropping McCormack for one of Leeds, Huddersfield and Sheff. Wednesday with Hugo coming in- because as I've been saying recently McCormack has been looking quite jaded.
Team for Watford:
Bettinelli
Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Tunnicliffe, Hoogland, Kavanagh
Bryan
McCormack Woodrow
As I said in my Derby Review, Saturday was pretty much perfection- or the closest we've gotten to attaining perfection in forever. With the exception of one deflected shot, the only nerves I had on Saturday was out of anticipation of something happened- as opposed to something actually happening.
While we can hope for more of the same, that level of performance I can't see us attaining consistently; because if we could we'd have been looking up rather than down. That said, I'm not an ultimate pessimist- and you're only as good as your last game and all those cliches so I'm heading into tomorrows game in an alright mood. The key thing for us was to give us that gap between us and the Relegation Zone, and although I would have preferred Rotherham & Millwall to draw; the Millwall loss has given us a relatively sizable cushion to work with.
Thanks for reading as always, as I've already said; I want to see another gutsy performance tomorrow- and then regardless of the result I'll be happy. I think after Millwall if anyone predicted we'd pick up any points from Wolves, Derby, Watford and Bournemouth they'd have been checked for mental illness- as such we've already exceeded expectations in that regard, and with the way Bournemouth are playing at the minute I'd set a target of getting another point from one of these next two to take us up to 40 headed into the last 10 Games. Anyway, I hope I'm proven wrong with regard to maintaining that level of performance and we're headed from Vicarage Road in high spirits.
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