Simply Put, when you compartmentalise these last 4 games together- it simply hasn't been good enough. This is less about the game itself, Cardiff weren't outstanding and it was a scrappy goal that settled the game- and this blog will be more to do with how we can improve over the next few games which have the potential to really shape our season.
We've won 8 Games this season (in the League), in those 8 games Bryan Ruiz and Lasse Vigen Christensen were involved every time. While I'm not saying we're incapable of winning without them- when they're fit, which to my best knowledge Ruiz is we should play them without a doubt. I touched briefly on it in my Preview blog- but the McCormack Position Debate opened up again today, in the First Half McCormack had 1 Touch in the Box. McCormack has shown what a quality player he is this season, and although his goal tally has been lackluster he has still been involved in a majority of our goals before the start of December. We need to play McCormack as an out and out striker if we are to get the best out of him- end of debate. Hugo's barren run has directly corresponded with McCormack being dropped deeper, coincidence? When we come to the Reading game we need to revert to either a traditional 4-4-2 with McCormack and Rodallega playing up front- or if we are going to persist with the diamond bring Bryan Ruiz back into the side despite the fact we may be holding off on playing him in anticipation of a bid and not wanting him to get injured. With regard to other options, there are of course people calling to recall Matt Smith given his current goal record of scoring 50,000 goals a minute at Bristol City- however I'm not sure how much Smith could do in this current team because we simply aren't going to create enough to give Smith the goalscoring opportunities he gets at Bristol City.
The Midfield is where the most debate will be had both off the back of today and for pretty much the whole month- and I can see the debate going on for pretty much the rest of the season. The Midfield we played today started in a Diamond;
Tunnicliffe, Parker, Fofana
McCormack
and we eventually transitioned into a Flat 4-4-2
Kacaniklic, Tunnicliffe, Parker, Kavanagh
The fact we played Kacaniklic on the right can be seen as a positive, and while I'm on the subject of Right-Sided Midfielders- Matt Ritchie's agent played a blinder this week didn't he? Back to players we do have at the club though- Kacaniklic on the Right and G. Williams on the Left could feasibly work if Williams could refine his game a bit more, however I would still much prefer us signing a Right-Mid with Kacaniklic occupying the Left-Wing. I've seen various players linked that could fulfill that role in the 7 days since the January Window opened- Ritchie being one of, and Ricardo Vaz Te being another. As I said in my January Window Preview as long as they're to a good enough standard I don't really care what Right-Mid we get, I'd still put the emphasis on either Lee Chung Yong or Albert Adomah- but I don't have an extensive scouting network that presumably we do so I won't get hung up if we don't sign either of the two as long as we sign someone.
As I've already said, I'm not necessarily opposed to using the Diamond if we use players that can fulfill the roles required. For Instance in October/November time we were using a Midfield of;
Christensen, Parker, G. Williams
Ruiz
This midfield- although far from perfect, had enough width to it- and enough work ethic from the two outside midfielders that it worked well enough that we picked up points regularly. I said with regard to losing Ruiz in my January Window Preview that we should revert to using a 4-4-2 and now we're without Ruiz, presumably forever now we should do so in my opinion as we simply don't have the players that suit a diamond currently. That isn't to say this dip has been entirely of our own accord, and hopefully Christensen isn't out for much longer because he seems to be the key to the success or failure of the team.
I said in my January Transfer Window Preview that I'm not overly concerned about our defence- and I am still of the position that a Right-Back and we're good defensive wise, at least until the Summer. Its funny considering everything that is the case, Hutchinson was quite shaky today- but in general he's improved lately and although we're conceding goals its not like many of them we could have obviously done better defensive wise for many of them. The same can be said for Bettinelli, in the Summer after we sold Stockdale a Goalkeeper was an area many identified a new signing would be needed for- but instead we kept what we had and (eventually) Marcus Bettinelli has established himself as our Keeper.
We've now not won, and not scored in 4 Games- and coincidentally these 4 games have directly correlated with Christensens injury, however we can't rely on certain players to be fit in order to pick up points. Especially at Championship level where 9 times out of 10 a player who's performing well will be picked up by a Premier League side- and make no mistakes we are AT BEST a Mid-Table Championship team and at the minute the Playoffs are nothing more than a pipe dream- and we'll probably need the window we're in now, and the Summer Window to correctly build a squad we can push for the Top 6 with.
Lets be perfectly honest here, unless a lot of things go catastrophically wrong we won't be relegated- not because we're good, but there are teams much worse than us such as Blackpool, Millwall, Rotherham, Leeds and Wigan and there are some teams I would expect to come around to the level we're currently at such as Charlton, and potentially Nottingham Forest. As such we should use the next 4 (and a bit) months to build for Next Season, and try to put together a good cup run to give confidence to the players and (maybe) a trip to Wembley. We're not going to get near the Playoffs this season, its kind of funny that for the large part of our Premier League life we were the definition of Mid-Table and thats the position we seem to have taken up in the Championship.
Thanks as always for reading, I know this isn't much of a Review- but the game was two pretty average teams facing off against each other and it was settled by a goal as a result of a Long-Throw, end of story. Anyway, thanks for reading- we've got to score eventually, right? RIGHT?!
Saturday, 10 January 2015
Friday, 9 January 2015
Cardiff v Fulham Preview: Motivation
Hello! Its our first league game of 2015 we're going to a Cardiff team who have just been given a fresh motivation- and a reason for the fans to firmly get behind them in tomorrows game, which given Cardiffs recent patchy form wouldn't have been the case prior to todays news. The "Blue Shirt Effect" will be a short lived spike for Cardiff before they slam back to reality in 2-3 games in my opinion, unfortunately for us we're facing Cardiff during this short spike- and what is already a tricky game has just gotten 10 times harder, because now the crowd will be firmly behind the Cardiff team on Saturday.
Tomorrows game is our first game where Kacaniklic and Tunnicliffe will be eligible since they were recalled, and they effectively feel like new signings given how much the squad has changed (and management) has changed since their last Fulham games. I'm not sure as to how match fit Kacaniklic is, his last competitive game was at the end of November for Copenhagen- I'm not sure if injury played a part, but either way he won't be fully match fit which will raise doubts over his level of inclusion in the team tomorrow. There are no such doubts over Tunnicliffes fitness given the fact he played 4 Full 90 minutes at his last 4 Blackburn games- so the question over Tunnicliffes involvement are less to do with fitness and more to do with options.
Bettinelli should of course continue in goal tomorrow, it was interesting news to see Schwarzer was allowed to leave Chelsea permanently to Leicester when (if the papers are to be believed) the only stumbling block over Schwarzers return to us was Mourinhos unwillingness to let Schwarzer go because of uncertainty of Petr Cech. While I wouldn't substitute Bettinelli out at this stage, it does beg the question about where Bettinelli would have been if Cech (presumably) had given assurances over his future in October/November.
We're going to have to be defensively on point for tomorrows game, especially given the way the crowd will get behind the Re-Blued Bluebirds. We of course kept a Clean Sheet last weekend, and despite conceding two goals against both Brighton and Bournemouth I didn't see anything greatly wrong with the back 4 we were playing and their defensive work. As such I'd continue with the Back 4 we appear to have settled on, and indeed I'd continue with the same back 4 barring new signings and injured players returning- and even then question would have to be asked depending on how the defence is playing at the time.
The Midfield is where the debate is to be had, both for tomorrows game and pretty much the whole month of January. As I've already said with regard to Kacaniklic there will be doubts over his match fitness- and granted I've not seen him in training I would keep him on the bench and give him roughly 30 minutes tomorrow. Although Kit didn't out and out say it, I think Christensen is highly doubtful for this match- and as I said with regard to my Wolves Preview I wouldn't want to risk Christensen and make him worse if he's a 50-50, despite there being points available tomorrow. I'm not sure about Bryans fitness, but I would assume the fact he was on the bench for Wolves- and a week has passed since, with no further news about him he's fit and as I was saying in the summer with regard to players like Bryan and Mitroglou as long as we're paying their wages we should be playing them- and we should take this attitude with Bryan this month. The three midfield spots in behind Bryan (assuming we're going to stick with the diamond for the time being, as the Wolves game indicated) are pretty straightforward for the time being with Tunnicliffe, Parker and Fofana occupying those spots.
We need to start playing McCormack as a Proper Striker. In the last few games he's been playing ridiculously deep- although that could be symptomatic of the lack of Bryan and Christensen and lacking in midfield as a result of these absences, however hopefully with the re-inclusion of Bryan and the addition of Tunnicliffe to the midfield providing enough of a balance to the midfield McCormack can go back to playing up front. This is also why I think we should keep Rodallega in the team- at least for the time being, because he's been ridiculously isolated in our last three games because of a combination of good defences and McCormacks wandering.
Team for Cardiff
Bettinelli
Grimmer, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Tunnicliffe, Parker, Fofana
Ruiz
McCormack Rodallega
With Kacaniklic coming on for Fofana at roughly 60 minutes regardless of the score.
On Paper, Cardiff haven't won in 5 games- and if the game was played yesterday it would have been a much different prospect, but with the way the crowd will undoubtedly get behind the team tomorrow it could be very similar to the supposed "new manager" effect and provide the Cardiff players with enough of an impetus to win the game tomorrow- although in the long-run it won't have much of an effect.
Thanks for reading as always, tomorrows game will be interesting with regard to how the "Blue Shirt" effect counteracts the general ill feeling there has been with regard to Cardiffs recent play under Russell Slade- and how much of an impact the Blue Shirt effect has on the players on the pitch, but thats for tomorrow and if we can frustrate the Cardiff fans for the first 30 Minutes we could get the better of them and take something from the game.
Tomorrows game is our first game where Kacaniklic and Tunnicliffe will be eligible since they were recalled, and they effectively feel like new signings given how much the squad has changed (and management) has changed since their last Fulham games. I'm not sure as to how match fit Kacaniklic is, his last competitive game was at the end of November for Copenhagen- I'm not sure if injury played a part, but either way he won't be fully match fit which will raise doubts over his level of inclusion in the team tomorrow. There are no such doubts over Tunnicliffes fitness given the fact he played 4 Full 90 minutes at his last 4 Blackburn games- so the question over Tunnicliffes involvement are less to do with fitness and more to do with options.
Bettinelli should of course continue in goal tomorrow, it was interesting news to see Schwarzer was allowed to leave Chelsea permanently to Leicester when (if the papers are to be believed) the only stumbling block over Schwarzers return to us was Mourinhos unwillingness to let Schwarzer go because of uncertainty of Petr Cech. While I wouldn't substitute Bettinelli out at this stage, it does beg the question about where Bettinelli would have been if Cech (presumably) had given assurances over his future in October/November.
We're going to have to be defensively on point for tomorrows game, especially given the way the crowd will get behind the Re-Blued Bluebirds. We of course kept a Clean Sheet last weekend, and despite conceding two goals against both Brighton and Bournemouth I didn't see anything greatly wrong with the back 4 we were playing and their defensive work. As such I'd continue with the Back 4 we appear to have settled on, and indeed I'd continue with the same back 4 barring new signings and injured players returning- and even then question would have to be asked depending on how the defence is playing at the time.
The Midfield is where the debate is to be had, both for tomorrows game and pretty much the whole month of January. As I've already said with regard to Kacaniklic there will be doubts over his match fitness- and granted I've not seen him in training I would keep him on the bench and give him roughly 30 minutes tomorrow. Although Kit didn't out and out say it, I think Christensen is highly doubtful for this match- and as I said with regard to my Wolves Preview I wouldn't want to risk Christensen and make him worse if he's a 50-50, despite there being points available tomorrow. I'm not sure about Bryans fitness, but I would assume the fact he was on the bench for Wolves- and a week has passed since, with no further news about him he's fit and as I was saying in the summer with regard to players like Bryan and Mitroglou as long as we're paying their wages we should be playing them- and we should take this attitude with Bryan this month. The three midfield spots in behind Bryan (assuming we're going to stick with the diamond for the time being, as the Wolves game indicated) are pretty straightforward for the time being with Tunnicliffe, Parker and Fofana occupying those spots.
We need to start playing McCormack as a Proper Striker. In the last few games he's been playing ridiculously deep- although that could be symptomatic of the lack of Bryan and Christensen and lacking in midfield as a result of these absences, however hopefully with the re-inclusion of Bryan and the addition of Tunnicliffe to the midfield providing enough of a balance to the midfield McCormack can go back to playing up front. This is also why I think we should keep Rodallega in the team- at least for the time being, because he's been ridiculously isolated in our last three games because of a combination of good defences and McCormacks wandering.
Team for Cardiff
Bettinelli
Grimmer, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
Tunnicliffe, Parker, Fofana
Ruiz
McCormack Rodallega
With Kacaniklic coming on for Fofana at roughly 60 minutes regardless of the score.
On Paper, Cardiff haven't won in 5 games- and if the game was played yesterday it would have been a much different prospect, but with the way the crowd will undoubtedly get behind the team tomorrow it could be very similar to the supposed "new manager" effect and provide the Cardiff players with enough of an impetus to win the game tomorrow- although in the long-run it won't have much of an effect.
Thanks for reading as always, tomorrows game will be interesting with regard to how the "Blue Shirt" effect counteracts the general ill feeling there has been with regard to Cardiffs recent play under Russell Slade- and how much of an impact the Blue Shirt effect has on the players on the pitch, but thats for tomorrow and if we can frustrate the Cardiff fans for the first 30 Minutes we could get the better of them and take something from the game.
Thursday, 8 January 2015
TNA Impact Review: 7th January
Hello! Its a New Year, and a New Network for TNA- combined with a new commentary dynamic with the addition of Josh Matthews in place of Mike Tenay it was definitely a "new beginning" mentality, but did the show follow through?
It was said over 5000 Years ago, Deep in the Himalayan Mountains there was a small tribe. This small tribe were completely cut off from the rest of the world. It was here, deep in the Himalayas that this tribe invented "Ress Ling". It has since had many names, and tried to be destroyed by many, many people. In modern civilisation, there has been one- villainous man in particular who has tried to destroy the art of "Ress Ling", however- thankfully it would appear "Ress Ling" has found a new home on TV. And with Lucha Underground, TNA and potentially GFW all finding homes on US TV this could very well be the year "Ress Ling" makes a strong return whether the evil WWE moves with it, or not.
Now story time with Sam is over, LETS GET REVIEWING!
Mega Brawl/MVP, Kurt Angle Promo
The opening brawl was definitely a different opening compared to what we're used to, it was chaotic (in a good way) and really set the tone for what was to follow. I liked the really random pairings (within the confines of babyfaces and heels) as that reinforced the chaotic nature of it. The Angle promo was good, and the matches he made were a good way to set the tone for the show. The MVP promo was annoying- not because of MVP, but they surely could have muted the crowd- without also muting MVPs mic which made the promo not really flow (understandably).
Kurt Angle v MVP- Street Fight
I thought this was a really good way to open the show, although the commentators didn't really touch on it. With the exception of just a handful (if that) Kurt Angle is the longest serving TNA guy- and he was facing off against (with the exception of a handful) one of the newest talents on the TNA roster so I thought it was a good way to open the show on a new network. The match itself was pretty good, obviously Angle isn't as good as he used to be- and although I haven't been following his career very attentively I can't imagine he's done many, if any Indy shows which would mean ring rust was still firmly in place for him. Either way, opening the show on a new network with a babyface win was always going to be the case- and the fact they were wrestling in street clothes was a fresh occurence and really added to the match.
Mike Tenay w/ James Storm
I don't know if this is going to be a regular segment, similar almost to the Michael Cole interviews on YouTube- but on TV, but as long as it keeps Tenay as far away from the commentary table as possible I'm happy. I really liked the Taz-Matthews dynamic, or at least I did tonight, they seemed really motivated tonight- and they were actually calling what was happening in the ring and the Taz commentary was actually- well good, shocking right? The Storm promo was good, although his claim that they're not after titles- just blood doesn't really tally with the fact Sanada has been after the X Division Title on numerous occasions, and they cashed in their Feast or Fired- but oh well its a small thing in the long run.
The Revolution v The Wolves- Tag Title Match
Again, this match was good enough. For some reason I found those weird slashes on the Wolves oddly distracting. Given the time constraints, and the story they wanted told with regard to the Hardys etc. I thought this was a decent enough match. I like the Hardys inadvertently doing in The Wolves, because it can lead to either the Hardys or the Wolves turning on the other- and great matches that the two will clearly put on together.
EC3, Spud, Borash Promo/Shaving
I've missed EC3 so, so much. I like JB "taking one for the team" on the first edition, as he's been one of the constants. This is obviously my first Impact Blog since all of the contract renewals, and I think EC3 could very well be the best bit of business TNA has done in god knows how long. With the exception of Bram and Magnus, EC3 is the only guy I can see TNA feasibly building their future on. EC3 played his heel role to perfection here- although thats like saying the sky is blue (granted it rarely is in the UK). Spud came off as a good babyface here, although it is fairly obvious where they're going with regard to Spud giving EC3 his first loss- the journey should be a good one given who's involved.
Austin Aries v Low Ki- X Division Title Match
This was a proper wrestling match. Given who's involved it almost feels like a disservice to praise the fact this was a good wrestling match, because it would be more noteworthy if it wasn't. What we got given the time constraints was a good back-and-forth match with a good finish, and teed up what would happen later on perfectly and allows both guys to move on.
Knockouts Battle Royal
This match was a bit of a cluster until it got down to the final three. There are always so many moving parts in a traditional battle royals its hard to keep up, combine that with the fact there were a few missed camera cues tonight made it difficult to follow. I like the fact they kept Havok off the mat until the double dropkick spot in the Final Three as that enabled her to stay looking like a monster for what happened next... KONG IS BACK! This was definitely a way to shake up the Knockouts Division, and as the commentators points out- this was very much a fantasy booking moment with active competitors; and judging by Twitters reaction I'm just one of many that are looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Quick Side Note, It may have just been a coincidence- but when Taryn was coming out Madison was standing in the middle of the Beautiful People; foreshadowing?!
Bobby Rooooooo v Lashley- TNA WHC Match
I've seen some people blowing up over the finish, saying same old TNA etc. etc. I was at least satisfied with the ending because it left you with an incentive to stay tuned the next week. What you have to consider is this was the first show on the new network and they needed to give any new eyes on the product a reason to watch past the first show. Firstly, the new MVP faction will be interesting as they've been teasing tension between Lashley and MVP for a while now- and the motivations of the MVP faction are yet to be established. I like Low Ki being in the faction, although I am somewhat worried about how his involvement will affect Kenny Kings. I love Samoa Joe being in the faction, lets be honest- Joe is a good babyface, but he's an amazing heel; and if he can transition back into being the absolute killer he was ages ago- and eventually go rogue on MVP & Co. becoming an unstoppable monster all of the swerve finishes will be worth it. I'd have to look back into my Impact Reviews, but I'm 99% sure I called the EY Heel Turn back in September, and I love it- the fact these two have a genuine history that they can play with will only add to the feud, and crucially the fact that everyone except Angle in the current Main Event picture is against Roode will have him coming off as the perfect babyface.
Overall this was a great show, time constraints were an issue for some matches- but this was the first US Wrestling Show thats left me full satisfied outside of NXT in a long while.
Thanks as always for reading, I'm genuinely not sure if there is another Impact tomorrow so if anybody who reads this could clarify that'd be great- and these Impact Reviews will be back regularly now after the Winter Break. Thanks again, and stay tuned because this month I'll be going full throttle with my Wrestling & indeed Fulham blogs.
It was said over 5000 Years ago, Deep in the Himalayan Mountains there was a small tribe. This small tribe were completely cut off from the rest of the world. It was here, deep in the Himalayas that this tribe invented "Ress Ling". It has since had many names, and tried to be destroyed by many, many people. In modern civilisation, there has been one- villainous man in particular who has tried to destroy the art of "Ress Ling", however- thankfully it would appear "Ress Ling" has found a new home on TV. And with Lucha Underground, TNA and potentially GFW all finding homes on US TV this could very well be the year "Ress Ling" makes a strong return whether the evil WWE moves with it, or not.
Now story time with Sam is over, LETS GET REVIEWING!
Mega Brawl/MVP, Kurt Angle Promo
The opening brawl was definitely a different opening compared to what we're used to, it was chaotic (in a good way) and really set the tone for what was to follow. I liked the really random pairings (within the confines of babyfaces and heels) as that reinforced the chaotic nature of it. The Angle promo was good, and the matches he made were a good way to set the tone for the show. The MVP promo was annoying- not because of MVP, but they surely could have muted the crowd- without also muting MVPs mic which made the promo not really flow (understandably).
Kurt Angle v MVP- Street Fight
I thought this was a really good way to open the show, although the commentators didn't really touch on it. With the exception of just a handful (if that) Kurt Angle is the longest serving TNA guy- and he was facing off against (with the exception of a handful) one of the newest talents on the TNA roster so I thought it was a good way to open the show on a new network. The match itself was pretty good, obviously Angle isn't as good as he used to be- and although I haven't been following his career very attentively I can't imagine he's done many, if any Indy shows which would mean ring rust was still firmly in place for him. Either way, opening the show on a new network with a babyface win was always going to be the case- and the fact they were wrestling in street clothes was a fresh occurence and really added to the match.
Mike Tenay w/ James Storm
I don't know if this is going to be a regular segment, similar almost to the Michael Cole interviews on YouTube- but on TV, but as long as it keeps Tenay as far away from the commentary table as possible I'm happy. I really liked the Taz-Matthews dynamic, or at least I did tonight, they seemed really motivated tonight- and they were actually calling what was happening in the ring and the Taz commentary was actually- well good, shocking right? The Storm promo was good, although his claim that they're not after titles- just blood doesn't really tally with the fact Sanada has been after the X Division Title on numerous occasions, and they cashed in their Feast or Fired- but oh well its a small thing in the long run.
The Revolution v The Wolves- Tag Title Match
Again, this match was good enough. For some reason I found those weird slashes on the Wolves oddly distracting. Given the time constraints, and the story they wanted told with regard to the Hardys etc. I thought this was a decent enough match. I like the Hardys inadvertently doing in The Wolves, because it can lead to either the Hardys or the Wolves turning on the other- and great matches that the two will clearly put on together.
EC3, Spud, Borash Promo/Shaving
I've missed EC3 so, so much. I like JB "taking one for the team" on the first edition, as he's been one of the constants. This is obviously my first Impact Blog since all of the contract renewals, and I think EC3 could very well be the best bit of business TNA has done in god knows how long. With the exception of Bram and Magnus, EC3 is the only guy I can see TNA feasibly building their future on. EC3 played his heel role to perfection here- although thats like saying the sky is blue (granted it rarely is in the UK). Spud came off as a good babyface here, although it is fairly obvious where they're going with regard to Spud giving EC3 his first loss- the journey should be a good one given who's involved.
Austin Aries v Low Ki- X Division Title Match
This was a proper wrestling match. Given who's involved it almost feels like a disservice to praise the fact this was a good wrestling match, because it would be more noteworthy if it wasn't. What we got given the time constraints was a good back-and-forth match with a good finish, and teed up what would happen later on perfectly and allows both guys to move on.
Knockouts Battle Royal
This match was a bit of a cluster until it got down to the final three. There are always so many moving parts in a traditional battle royals its hard to keep up, combine that with the fact there were a few missed camera cues tonight made it difficult to follow. I like the fact they kept Havok off the mat until the double dropkick spot in the Final Three as that enabled her to stay looking like a monster for what happened next... KONG IS BACK! This was definitely a way to shake up the Knockouts Division, and as the commentators points out- this was very much a fantasy booking moment with active competitors; and judging by Twitters reaction I'm just one of many that are looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Quick Side Note, It may have just been a coincidence- but when Taryn was coming out Madison was standing in the middle of the Beautiful People; foreshadowing?!
Bobby Rooooooo v Lashley- TNA WHC Match
I've seen some people blowing up over the finish, saying same old TNA etc. etc. I was at least satisfied with the ending because it left you with an incentive to stay tuned the next week. What you have to consider is this was the first show on the new network and they needed to give any new eyes on the product a reason to watch past the first show. Firstly, the new MVP faction will be interesting as they've been teasing tension between Lashley and MVP for a while now- and the motivations of the MVP faction are yet to be established. I like Low Ki being in the faction, although I am somewhat worried about how his involvement will affect Kenny Kings. I love Samoa Joe being in the faction, lets be honest- Joe is a good babyface, but he's an amazing heel; and if he can transition back into being the absolute killer he was ages ago- and eventually go rogue on MVP & Co. becoming an unstoppable monster all of the swerve finishes will be worth it. I'd have to look back into my Impact Reviews, but I'm 99% sure I called the EY Heel Turn back in September, and I love it- the fact these two have a genuine history that they can play with will only add to the feud, and crucially the fact that everyone except Angle in the current Main Event picture is against Roode will have him coming off as the perfect babyface.
Overall this was a great show, time constraints were an issue for some matches- but this was the first US Wrestling Show thats left me full satisfied outside of NXT in a long while.
Thanks as always for reading, I'm genuinely not sure if there is another Impact tomorrow so if anybody who reads this could clarify that'd be great- and these Impact Reviews will be back regularly now after the Winter Break. Thanks again, and stay tuned because this month I'll be going full throttle with my Wrestling & indeed Fulham blogs.
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
RAW Review: 5th January
Hello! Its the first RAW Review of the year, which of course means it was the first RAW of the year- which meant no matter how bad it got, it was the best RAW of the year by a country mile.
John Cena, The Authority Promo
Ah, How I've missed monotonous and repetitive promos in the Opening Segment. I did like the way The Authority started to praise Cena in a kind of half spiteful, half sincere way as that has the potential to add another dimension to the Cena character if they so wished, and I'm not talking about a Heel Turn- more Cena becoming an Anti-Hero sort of character. He was Superman, now he's Batman kind of thing. I like the addition of Rollins to the Title match for a number of reasons, primarily it means we won't see Cena v Brock IV. If they're given enough time and Vince permitting I can see Brock and Rollins working some magic- as with the exception of Punk this'll be the first time we'll see Brock in the Ring with someone who isn't classed as a Heavyweight. I also liked it because The Authority finally used their power to suitably fit their own ends, much in the way I thought they should have done in the Build to Survivor Series to stack the odds completely in their favour.
Bad News Barrett v Dolph Ziggler- IC Title Match (2 out of 3 Falls)
This, and what happened later on in the night is the start of the Mega-Build for Dolph going into Mania in my opinion. I liked the way this match played out in all honesty, as it left Dolph with a gripe with regard to losing his title and kept him looking strong- while also leaving Bad News Barrett looking vicious and very heelish while taking the belt. The match itself wasn't of the highest quality, although that was more due to the way the match played out with regard to the quick finish- and subsequent one-sided match.
The Ascension v Two Unnamed Jobbers
Firstly, I don't see why everyone was going ape over Ascension mocking the Road Warriors. Its Pro-Wrestling for god sake, Batista was screaming "Eddies Dead" not so long ago, and that was more in bad taste than this was and there was less of a reaction. The match was what it was, the two people they faced were so Jobbery they didn't even get names.
Roman Reigns v Big Show
The next chapter of this great feud was written tonight, with yet another 5* Action Packed extravaganza. "NOW... BACK TO REALITY!".
Nikki Bella v Natalya
So now Paige is inexplicably a babyface again, although if it means she gets a run of PPV matches for the Title- whether she wins them or not then I'm all for it.
Erick Rowan v Luke Harper
I really liked the J+J part of this match, they played enough of a comedic role- while also being heelish to make it really work. The match was what was, given the time constraints and presumably what they were told to do with regard to giving Rowan the Upper-Hand before quickly being dispatched.
Naomi, Alicia Fox Backstage Promo
This was pretty good all round, Alicia looked dangerous and a bit bitchy- and Naomi came off like a babyface.
Bray Wyatt v Dean Ambrose- Ambulance Match
It might just be me, but I thought this was pretty tame. Granted, having to structure a match that should be a trainwreck (in a good way) around Ad Breaks is ludicrous in and of itself. In comparison to some of the matches they've churned out this was one of the least violent ones- perhaps that is good in a way because it means the chance of either getting injured is lessened. Hopefully this was the Final Chapter, because despite me liking both guys- these stipulation matches are getting stale and are harming both guys.
The Miz's & Alicia Fox v The Usos & Naomi
They seem to be toning down Mizdows involvement with regard to selling to thin-air at the moment. I'm hoping this means they're going to transition Mizdow into becoming a more serious character, but it more likely means they're simply trying to position Miz above Mizdow again. The distraction finish was just bizarre, and I'm honestly not sure what they were going for- although that could be to do with the fact I was half-asleep by this point.
Ryback v Seth Rollins & Kane
I don't know why Handicap matches are never Tornado anymore, it works better on all fronts with regard to the heels being heels and the Babyface looking better when they get offence in because they've fought off both guys at the same time. The match was pretty boring in my opinion, although as I've said it could be to do with the fact I had one eye on my pillow the whole time- but there wasn't a moment in the match to really pop anyone. I did like the fact it took 2 Curb Stomps to put Ryback away, its the small things on Random RAWs such as this that help build people into looking like credible threats down the line.
Big E v Adam Rose
Unless I'm mistaken (or it happened off camera) Kofi & Xavier weren't even taken out by Tyson & Cesaro, which begs the question why they didn't help when Big E was attacked. The match was alright considering the time constraints- and the fact this was used primarily to get Tyson and Cesaro over, which is alright by me.
John Cena Appreciation Night (You Know, Officially- unofficially its been every night for over 10 Years)
I really liked the outcome of this segment. It leaves so many options- all of which I'm sure WWE will ignore. The option I'd be most in favour of is Cena having to go through hell to get all three guys re-hired, only for one (preferably Dolph) to then turn Heel on him and build to a Mania match between the two. However, there are of course other options- along the lines of a Three-Man Stable where they could either be Heels and work for The Authority- or they could be Babyfaces and wreck everything until WWE rehires them. The Dynamic of the three guys does lend itself to a stable- and they could provide a good balance if they do go down this road. They could also go down the road I've been touting for a while of having Dolph v Triple H- which is also an option now HHH has fired Dolph. These are just a few of many, many options available and I'm very intrigued to see where this thing goes.
Thanks as always for reading, as always any feedback is appreciated- and I'd also like your thoughts on the ideas I've touted with regard to Dolph, Ryback and Rowan and if you have any ideas of your own with regard to the three guys. Thanks again, and remember- this was the Best RAW of the Year.
John Cena, The Authority Promo
Ah, How I've missed monotonous and repetitive promos in the Opening Segment. I did like the way The Authority started to praise Cena in a kind of half spiteful, half sincere way as that has the potential to add another dimension to the Cena character if they so wished, and I'm not talking about a Heel Turn- more Cena becoming an Anti-Hero sort of character. He was Superman, now he's Batman kind of thing. I like the addition of Rollins to the Title match for a number of reasons, primarily it means we won't see Cena v Brock IV. If they're given enough time and Vince permitting I can see Brock and Rollins working some magic- as with the exception of Punk this'll be the first time we'll see Brock in the Ring with someone who isn't classed as a Heavyweight. I also liked it because The Authority finally used their power to suitably fit their own ends, much in the way I thought they should have done in the Build to Survivor Series to stack the odds completely in their favour.
Bad News Barrett v Dolph Ziggler- IC Title Match (2 out of 3 Falls)
This, and what happened later on in the night is the start of the Mega-Build for Dolph going into Mania in my opinion. I liked the way this match played out in all honesty, as it left Dolph with a gripe with regard to losing his title and kept him looking strong- while also leaving Bad News Barrett looking vicious and very heelish while taking the belt. The match itself wasn't of the highest quality, although that was more due to the way the match played out with regard to the quick finish- and subsequent one-sided match.
The Ascension v Two Unnamed Jobbers
Firstly, I don't see why everyone was going ape over Ascension mocking the Road Warriors. Its Pro-Wrestling for god sake, Batista was screaming "Eddies Dead" not so long ago, and that was more in bad taste than this was and there was less of a reaction. The match was what it was, the two people they faced were so Jobbery they didn't even get names.
Roman Reigns v Big Show
The next chapter of this great feud was written tonight, with yet another 5* Action Packed extravaganza. "NOW... BACK TO REALITY!".
Nikki Bella v Natalya
So now Paige is inexplicably a babyface again, although if it means she gets a run of PPV matches for the Title- whether she wins them or not then I'm all for it.
Erick Rowan v Luke Harper
I really liked the J+J part of this match, they played enough of a comedic role- while also being heelish to make it really work. The match was what was, given the time constraints and presumably what they were told to do with regard to giving Rowan the Upper-Hand before quickly being dispatched.
Naomi, Alicia Fox Backstage Promo
This was pretty good all round, Alicia looked dangerous and a bit bitchy- and Naomi came off like a babyface.
Bray Wyatt v Dean Ambrose- Ambulance Match
It might just be me, but I thought this was pretty tame. Granted, having to structure a match that should be a trainwreck (in a good way) around Ad Breaks is ludicrous in and of itself. In comparison to some of the matches they've churned out this was one of the least violent ones- perhaps that is good in a way because it means the chance of either getting injured is lessened. Hopefully this was the Final Chapter, because despite me liking both guys- these stipulation matches are getting stale and are harming both guys.
The Miz's & Alicia Fox v The Usos & Naomi
They seem to be toning down Mizdows involvement with regard to selling to thin-air at the moment. I'm hoping this means they're going to transition Mizdow into becoming a more serious character, but it more likely means they're simply trying to position Miz above Mizdow again. The distraction finish was just bizarre, and I'm honestly not sure what they were going for- although that could be to do with the fact I was half-asleep by this point.
Ryback v Seth Rollins & Kane
I don't know why Handicap matches are never Tornado anymore, it works better on all fronts with regard to the heels being heels and the Babyface looking better when they get offence in because they've fought off both guys at the same time. The match was pretty boring in my opinion, although as I've said it could be to do with the fact I had one eye on my pillow the whole time- but there wasn't a moment in the match to really pop anyone. I did like the fact it took 2 Curb Stomps to put Ryback away, its the small things on Random RAWs such as this that help build people into looking like credible threats down the line.
Big E v Adam Rose
Unless I'm mistaken (or it happened off camera) Kofi & Xavier weren't even taken out by Tyson & Cesaro, which begs the question why they didn't help when Big E was attacked. The match was alright considering the time constraints- and the fact this was used primarily to get Tyson and Cesaro over, which is alright by me.
John Cena Appreciation Night (You Know, Officially- unofficially its been every night for over 10 Years)
I really liked the outcome of this segment. It leaves so many options- all of which I'm sure WWE will ignore. The option I'd be most in favour of is Cena having to go through hell to get all three guys re-hired, only for one (preferably Dolph) to then turn Heel on him and build to a Mania match between the two. However, there are of course other options- along the lines of a Three-Man Stable where they could either be Heels and work for The Authority- or they could be Babyfaces and wreck everything until WWE rehires them. The Dynamic of the three guys does lend itself to a stable- and they could provide a good balance if they do go down this road. They could also go down the road I've been touting for a while of having Dolph v Triple H- which is also an option now HHH has fired Dolph. These are just a few of many, many options available and I'm very intrigued to see where this thing goes.
Thanks as always for reading, as always any feedback is appreciated- and I'd also like your thoughts on the ideas I've touted with regard to Dolph, Ryback and Rowan and if you have any ideas of your own with regard to the three guys. Thanks again, and remember- this was the Best RAW of the Year.
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Fulham v Wolves Review: The Definition of "Meh"
Well, that was a thing. I'd like to start off by saying the small amount of boos at the end was idiotic, its not that I'm necessarily satisfied with the performance- and in the Cup a Draw doesn't mean much, but drawing with a team as in form as Wolves are currently shouldn't be underestimated.
I usually do a paragraph talking about the goals scored... Instead I'll talk about the team selection, and what it meant- at least in my opinion. Firstly, I'm both glad and annoyed we showed respect for the Cup. I said in my preview that if it was 50-50 on Christensen for the game today we shouldn't have taken the risk given there were no points up for grabs, so naturally I raised an eyebrow when I saw he was starting today- and of course he was subbed off after half-an-hour. Perhaps its a relief that he didn't do any further damage and he just tweaked the injury he already had, but in my opinion it was fairly naive from Kit and the Medical Staff to rush Christensen back as quickly as he did. Rodallega is looking a bit jaded in my opinion- which is why I thought we should have rested him today and I hope long-term we don't regret passing on the opportunity to rest him. It was perhaps a good thing we kept the same Back 5 today, and the Clean Sheet today will hopefully help to build the confidence of the defence, and you can't ignore that that is now 3 Clean Sheets from out last 5 Games- which given our defensive woes both this- and lasts season is a sign we're taking a step in the right direction, even if we were extremely lucky we did so today.
I thought Bettinelli was definitely one of our better players today- as he is in most games in all honesty. He made a few good saves today, although he was a Clarke howler away from losing his Clean Sheet- but the good saves he made were at crucial times in the match and I was generally happy with him, although there is very few games were I wouldn't find it hard to praise Bettinelli- and he is definitely one of our players of the season at this stage.
As with Bettinelli, the Defence keeping a Clean Sheet- despite the circumstances of the Clean Sheet can only be a good thing for us in the long run. The unchanged defence I thought coped generally with the threat Wolves posed- especially in comparison to how we dealt with Wolves back in August. It is also interesting to compare the two defences- as this is the first time we've played what I would label as a "First Team" against a team we faced under "him".
Back 5: Fulham 0-1 Wolves (20th August)
Joronen
Hoogland, Bodurov, Burgess, Kavanagh
Back 5: Fulham 0-0 (Today)
Bettinelli
Grimmer, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
There is only one player who's held onto their position in the Back 5 of the team, and that is definitely a symbol of how we've progressed both in terms of team selection and defensive "steel" since we brought Kit in.
The Midfield was interesting today, firstly I would like to think Bryan wasn't fully fit- but given the fact we played LVC I'm not sure that would have been a massive issue. Bryan, for all the stick he gets is still a very good player- whether some Fulham fans want to admit it or not, and I would have had him in the team today in a heartbeat as opposed to warming the bench. Onto the midfield we did have on the pitch today. I think Christensen is not only an amazing talent individually, but I think we need him to balance the midfield- and we definitely looked worse off in the midfield once Christensen went off, despite Kavanagh's impressive performance. I thought Fofana looked relatively dangerous today, but he is still definitely lacking something from his game- although if he wasn't lacking something I doubt he'd be at us in the first place. I thought it was summed up perfectly in the Second Half when he went clean through on goal- and sort of tried to chip Ikeme and blew what I would label a "clear goalscoring opportunity". Of course the guy who put him through for that chance was Scott Parker, who I thought had a good game today. Obviously I don't watch training every day so I can't really speak for it- but purely from an outsiders point of view I'm worried about Parkers performances tailing off around March/April time when if anything we'll need them to improve if we are in and around the playoffs. Considering how deep McCormack was playing again, I'm putting him in the midfield section for the game today. I thought McCormack played well all things considered, and the position he had to be in today- I don't know if its a lack of faith in the three in behind without Christensen from McCormack or Kit, but McCormack playing so deep isn't good for our goalscoring threat from both him- and the other attacking threats on the pitch.
As I've already said, Rodallega looked really jaded today- at least in my opinion. He simply he doesn't look as sharp as he was looking a month or two ago, not just because of his lack of goals- but also his play as a whole. I thought Woodrow looked pretty good today, he's definitely someone- or a player of his type that we've been missing over the last few games where we've needed an extra dimension to our game, and another reason why we should consider recalling Matt Smith- especially now he's gotten some confidence scoring 4 in 3 for Bristol City.
The Subs we brought on I thought looked really good today- crucially they also looked hungry, something we definitely looked devoid of against Brighton in particular. Kavanagh had the majority of the game to play- and I'd say he was our best, or at least one of our best players of the game today. Similar to Dembele, he looked really up for it today- and although he didn't score I thought he did look really good.
We're back in League Action next weekend against Cardiff- and the team selection will be interesting with the options we have after the recalls, and perhaps some new signings between now and next weekend.
Thanks for reading as always, this was a hard game to talk about- some of this might have been a bit elongated, but in our first 0-0 since 9th February 2013 there weren't that many talking points from the game. Despite the lack of shots on target, we're still in the hat for the next round- and on top of that we've kept a Clean Sheet, so onward to next week and the Replay.
I usually do a paragraph talking about the goals scored... Instead I'll talk about the team selection, and what it meant- at least in my opinion. Firstly, I'm both glad and annoyed we showed respect for the Cup. I said in my preview that if it was 50-50 on Christensen for the game today we shouldn't have taken the risk given there were no points up for grabs, so naturally I raised an eyebrow when I saw he was starting today- and of course he was subbed off after half-an-hour. Perhaps its a relief that he didn't do any further damage and he just tweaked the injury he already had, but in my opinion it was fairly naive from Kit and the Medical Staff to rush Christensen back as quickly as he did. Rodallega is looking a bit jaded in my opinion- which is why I thought we should have rested him today and I hope long-term we don't regret passing on the opportunity to rest him. It was perhaps a good thing we kept the same Back 5 today, and the Clean Sheet today will hopefully help to build the confidence of the defence, and you can't ignore that that is now 3 Clean Sheets from out last 5 Games- which given our defensive woes both this- and lasts season is a sign we're taking a step in the right direction, even if we were extremely lucky we did so today.
I thought Bettinelli was definitely one of our better players today- as he is in most games in all honesty. He made a few good saves today, although he was a Clarke howler away from losing his Clean Sheet- but the good saves he made were at crucial times in the match and I was generally happy with him, although there is very few games were I wouldn't find it hard to praise Bettinelli- and he is definitely one of our players of the season at this stage.
As with Bettinelli, the Defence keeping a Clean Sheet- despite the circumstances of the Clean Sheet can only be a good thing for us in the long run. The unchanged defence I thought coped generally with the threat Wolves posed- especially in comparison to how we dealt with Wolves back in August. It is also interesting to compare the two defences- as this is the first time we've played what I would label as a "First Team" against a team we faced under "him".
Back 5: Fulham 0-1 Wolves (20th August)
Joronen
Hoogland, Bodurov, Burgess, Kavanagh
Back 5: Fulham 0-0 (Today)
Bettinelli
Grimmer, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis
There is only one player who's held onto their position in the Back 5 of the team, and that is definitely a symbol of how we've progressed both in terms of team selection and defensive "steel" since we brought Kit in.
The Midfield was interesting today, firstly I would like to think Bryan wasn't fully fit- but given the fact we played LVC I'm not sure that would have been a massive issue. Bryan, for all the stick he gets is still a very good player- whether some Fulham fans want to admit it or not, and I would have had him in the team today in a heartbeat as opposed to warming the bench. Onto the midfield we did have on the pitch today. I think Christensen is not only an amazing talent individually, but I think we need him to balance the midfield- and we definitely looked worse off in the midfield once Christensen went off, despite Kavanagh's impressive performance. I thought Fofana looked relatively dangerous today, but he is still definitely lacking something from his game- although if he wasn't lacking something I doubt he'd be at us in the first place. I thought it was summed up perfectly in the Second Half when he went clean through on goal- and sort of tried to chip Ikeme and blew what I would label a "clear goalscoring opportunity". Of course the guy who put him through for that chance was Scott Parker, who I thought had a good game today. Obviously I don't watch training every day so I can't really speak for it- but purely from an outsiders point of view I'm worried about Parkers performances tailing off around March/April time when if anything we'll need them to improve if we are in and around the playoffs. Considering how deep McCormack was playing again, I'm putting him in the midfield section for the game today. I thought McCormack played well all things considered, and the position he had to be in today- I don't know if its a lack of faith in the three in behind without Christensen from McCormack or Kit, but McCormack playing so deep isn't good for our goalscoring threat from both him- and the other attacking threats on the pitch.
As I've already said, Rodallega looked really jaded today- at least in my opinion. He simply he doesn't look as sharp as he was looking a month or two ago, not just because of his lack of goals- but also his play as a whole. I thought Woodrow looked pretty good today, he's definitely someone- or a player of his type that we've been missing over the last few games where we've needed an extra dimension to our game, and another reason why we should consider recalling Matt Smith- especially now he's gotten some confidence scoring 4 in 3 for Bristol City.
The Subs we brought on I thought looked really good today- crucially they also looked hungry, something we definitely looked devoid of against Brighton in particular. Kavanagh had the majority of the game to play- and I'd say he was our best, or at least one of our best players of the game today. Similar to Dembele, he looked really up for it today- and although he didn't score I thought he did look really good.
We're back in League Action next weekend against Cardiff- and the team selection will be interesting with the options we have after the recalls, and perhaps some new signings between now and next weekend.
Thanks for reading as always, this was a hard game to talk about- some of this might have been a bit elongated, but in our first 0-0 since 9th February 2013 there weren't that many talking points from the game. Despite the lack of shots on target, we're still in the hat for the next round- and on top of that we've kept a Clean Sheet, so onward to next week and the Replay.
Friday, 2 January 2015
Fulham v Wolves Preview: The Value of a Cup Run
Hello! Its the first match, and also my first blog of 2015- so lets make it a good one on both fronts. We're coming into the FA Cup, and as usual- in fact more so than usual the questions are being asked with regard to whether a cup run would benefit us or hurt us. I (to an extent) have a foot in both camps, however for the game tomorrow I think we need to try to win the game at all costs.
Before I start, there was of course the news yesterday that we'd recalled Ryan Tunnicliffe from his loan at Blackburn. With the addition of Tunnicliffe, and of course Kacaniklic we've added two really good options to use at our discretion from the Cardiff game onwards. It will be really interesting to see the team- and subs we make when we square off with Cardiff in just over a week, as we now have a variety of options to choose from.
Now onto more immediate matters. The game tomorrow is potentially the first step on a path to Wembley. I personally don't think we should prioritise a Cup Run- and judging by how Kit treated the Derby game in October I don't think he does either. However, we're coming into this game off the back of two consecutive losses for the first time under Kit- and the sooner we can get back to winning ways and instill some confidence back in the team the better.
The Goalkeeper debate is a bit more open than usual because of the Cup, however I don't think Bettinelli needs to be "rested" and I think the more games Bettinelli plays in at this stage of his career the better so I would continue with Bettinelli in goal.
The defence is a very interesting debate to be had now. As I said in my Brighton, and Bournemouth reviews I don't think the defence was inherently bad in either game- and when it comes to Cardiff (injury and new signings not permitting) I would stick with the same back 4. However coming into this Cup game I think we can afford to make a few changes. Unless I'm mistaken Bodurov has played the most number of minutes out of anyone in our current squad, and is deserving of a rest in my opinion. This of course opens up a spot at Centre-Back and in my opinion Dan Burn should be coming in to replace him, using Wolves' game against Brentford as a basis- they generally play 1 up front. This means despite Burn being burnt for pace in comparison to Nouha Dicko- a combination of him and Hutchinson should be enough to deal with Dicko as an individual, while also dealing with the physical threat Wolves undoubtedly have. The full-backs are also an interesting debate to be had, especially when you consider who they are potentially going up against with regard to Sako and van la Parra. Despite that, I would rotate both Grimmer and Stafylidis in favour of The Montenigrin Messi and Sean Kavanagh in the interests of fitness.
The Midfield is another interesting debate to be had, both in regard to formation and who will play in it. If we're using the Brighton game as a basis- and as I've been saying over the last few blogs it looks like we're going to be playing a traditional 4-4-2 with the current options available. While that could- and as you'll see in my Cardiff Preview should change once we get to the Welsh capital and beyond for the game tomorrow I think we should stick with it. According to Kits Press Conference Christensen could be fit for tomorrows game, however with a player as important as Christensen has become I'd rather leave him out if it was a 50-50 on whether he should play or not, especially considering the fact there is no points available. Considering how congested the fixture list has been over the last week (and a bit) I'd rest Scott Parker for tomorrows game, and this conveniently makes the Central-Midfield selection really simple with Fofana and Hyndman taking up those spots. The wingers are an interesting debate for this game, I think we should have Chris David take up the Right-Mid spot that he can fulfill (and Fofana can't) with George Williams taking up the spot on the other wing to see how he'll play in a team that will be a lot faster on the break.
The Strikers are relatively straight-forward in my opinion, I would rest Hugo without a doubt leaving the obvious selection being McCormack- who in my opinion we need above anyone else in the team and Cauley Woodrow, and it'll be interesting to see how this combination works.
Team for Wolves
Bettinelli
Zverotic, Hutchinson, Burn, Kavanagh
David, Fofana, Hyndman, G. Williams
Woodrow McCormack
I know Kit was quoted as saying there would be minimal changes, however I think 5 Changes is required both in the interests of shaking the team up after the woeful Brighton game- and in the interests of keeping everyone fit.
Thanks for reading as always, this game will definitely be an interesting one after we were completely bullied by Wolves in late August. So thanks again, and lets hope we're in the hat for the 4th Round when the Draw comes around.
Before I start, there was of course the news yesterday that we'd recalled Ryan Tunnicliffe from his loan at Blackburn. With the addition of Tunnicliffe, and of course Kacaniklic we've added two really good options to use at our discretion from the Cardiff game onwards. It will be really interesting to see the team- and subs we make when we square off with Cardiff in just over a week, as we now have a variety of options to choose from.
Now onto more immediate matters. The game tomorrow is potentially the first step on a path to Wembley. I personally don't think we should prioritise a Cup Run- and judging by how Kit treated the Derby game in October I don't think he does either. However, we're coming into this game off the back of two consecutive losses for the first time under Kit- and the sooner we can get back to winning ways and instill some confidence back in the team the better.
The Goalkeeper debate is a bit more open than usual because of the Cup, however I don't think Bettinelli needs to be "rested" and I think the more games Bettinelli plays in at this stage of his career the better so I would continue with Bettinelli in goal.
The defence is a very interesting debate to be had now. As I said in my Brighton, and Bournemouth reviews I don't think the defence was inherently bad in either game- and when it comes to Cardiff (injury and new signings not permitting) I would stick with the same back 4. However coming into this Cup game I think we can afford to make a few changes. Unless I'm mistaken Bodurov has played the most number of minutes out of anyone in our current squad, and is deserving of a rest in my opinion. This of course opens up a spot at Centre-Back and in my opinion Dan Burn should be coming in to replace him, using Wolves' game against Brentford as a basis- they generally play 1 up front. This means despite Burn being burnt for pace in comparison to Nouha Dicko- a combination of him and Hutchinson should be enough to deal with Dicko as an individual, while also dealing with the physical threat Wolves undoubtedly have. The full-backs are also an interesting debate to be had, especially when you consider who they are potentially going up against with regard to Sako and van la Parra. Despite that, I would rotate both Grimmer and Stafylidis in favour of The Montenigrin Messi and Sean Kavanagh in the interests of fitness.
The Midfield is another interesting debate to be had, both in regard to formation and who will play in it. If we're using the Brighton game as a basis- and as I've been saying over the last few blogs it looks like we're going to be playing a traditional 4-4-2 with the current options available. While that could- and as you'll see in my Cardiff Preview should change once we get to the Welsh capital and beyond for the game tomorrow I think we should stick with it. According to Kits Press Conference Christensen could be fit for tomorrows game, however with a player as important as Christensen has become I'd rather leave him out if it was a 50-50 on whether he should play or not, especially considering the fact there is no points available. Considering how congested the fixture list has been over the last week (and a bit) I'd rest Scott Parker for tomorrows game, and this conveniently makes the Central-Midfield selection really simple with Fofana and Hyndman taking up those spots. The wingers are an interesting debate for this game, I think we should have Chris David take up the Right-Mid spot that he can fulfill (and Fofana can't) with George Williams taking up the spot on the other wing to see how he'll play in a team that will be a lot faster on the break.
The Strikers are relatively straight-forward in my opinion, I would rest Hugo without a doubt leaving the obvious selection being McCormack- who in my opinion we need above anyone else in the team and Cauley Woodrow, and it'll be interesting to see how this combination works.
Team for Wolves
Bettinelli
Zverotic, Hutchinson, Burn, Kavanagh
David, Fofana, Hyndman, G. Williams
Woodrow McCormack
I know Kit was quoted as saying there would be minimal changes, however I think 5 Changes is required both in the interests of shaking the team up after the woeful Brighton game- and in the interests of keeping everyone fit.
Thanks for reading as always, this game will definitely be an interesting one after we were completely bullied by Wolves in late August. So thanks again, and lets hope we're in the hat for the 4th Round when the Draw comes around.
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Fulham- January Transfer Window Preview
Hey! Another blog incoming, this is as the title suggest a Transfer Window Preview where I'll talk about a very important window for us as a club- I'll combine incomings as well as likely outgoings with a combination of media speculation and hopes to give us the best chance of launching an assault on the Top 6.
Incomings
Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth)- I was talking about signing him in the Summer and of course he's gone on to have the most assists in the League and be generally good. There's been links in the media quoting a fee of £4million for him and as I'll discuss later we should have that coming in from the sale of one player so the money- and financial fairplay implications won't be an issue. In fact the only issue I can see as to why we wouldn't be able to sign him would be his desire to leave a team that have an almost guaranteed spot in the Playoffs for a team who's massive aspirations as it stands will be to creep into 6th. With Kacaniklic coming back (no section for him as its a recall) Ritchie would provide the perfect Right-Sided player so we can fit Kaca into a traditional 4-4-2 that'll suit both.
Lee Chung Yong (Bolton)- If we don't sign Matt Ritchie we should definitely explore other options with regard to a Right Winger. LCY is another player I've been harping on about for a long time on this blog and is a player I'd very much like to see in a White (and grey striped with random orange bits) shirt. Again he would provide a definite balance to the team, and in comparison to Ritchie probably a bit more pace however I would still prioritise Ritchie as this season he's proven himself to be more effective and when we're pushing for the Top 6 we need effective players- not to say LCY isn't, just less so. Although there isn't a quoted fee for LCY like there is Ritchie I can't imagine he'd cost more than £3 Million so would be a very viable option for us and with Ruiz 99% going (more later) the traditional 4-4-2 is looking to be the obvious option as such a quality right-sided player is required, another option we could look at is Boros Albert Adomah or another alternative that would qualify under the "Quality Right-Mid" umbrella, and this need was all but confirmed when we played Fofana on the Right against Brighton.
Speaking of Fofana...
Seko Fofana (Man City)- Yes, this counts because his loan expires on January 31st. On the one hand as I've referred to earlier with Bryan most likely going and us going to a 4-4-2 to properly incorporate Kacaniklic- Fofana's spot may be under threat which would mean extending his loan becoming unnecessary. However, if City were happy for him to be part of a rotation system and not being a guaranteed starter we could really use Fofana in our push to get as high up the table as possible. He's proven in the games against Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday his undoubted quality and a midfielder of his ilk will most definitely be a good option to have. As I keep saying the most likely scenario we go to is a 4-4-2 and (injury notwithstanding) Christensen and Parker shouldn't be dropped under any circumstances, however as we've seen in the Championship the games do come in massive clumps sometimes and we need Parker to be on top of his game every time he steps on the pitch so we will have to rotate him out for some midweek games/weekend games which may be deemed a lower priority/we can win without him.
Chris Baird (West Brom)- The signing of Baird will give us a very versatile option. We've seen with the Hoogland injury and Kay Vosers sudden death we've been left with Zverotic and Grimmer as our Right-Back options, while Grimmer has played well on occasion he's also shown his level of inexperience at this level and doesn't look entirely comfortable- yet. Signing Baird, who can play Right-Back as well as Centre-Back and Holding Midfield would be a good way to add experience to the team as well as signing someone who understands what Fulham is about already, and is willing to fight for the badge on the front- not the name on the back. As with Fofana we will need to rotate Parker sometimes so Baird could also fill in at Centre-Mid when we need to do that if needed and the same goes for Defence. Wages would be an issue, and I've seen some people saying they would see it as a step back re-signing someone but we definitely need to add experience to the team as going into the run-in of the season we'll need to keep cool heads if we are in and around the Playoff spots.
Kyle Naughton (Spurs)- As with Baird he will provide a good Right-Back option, and he will be a very good Right-Back and would definitely be a good addition to the team and with DeAndre Yedlin coming back to Spurs in January (work permit permitting) Naughton will very much be surplus to requirements at Spurs. If you look at an "everyone fit" scenario at the minute I'd rank Hoogland as our number one Right-Back- but I'm still yet to be convinced by him in a defensive capacity. His impressive goal tally aside he hasn't been a good "Right-Back" in my opinion and his lack of pace is definitely an issue. Then we see Grimmer who as I've already said has impressed- but is still showing clear signs of inexperience and if we are serious about pushing for the Playoffs we need a Right-Back who's fully ready now, which Naughton definitely is, another option I've seen discussed is Chris Gunter who would also fulfill the role just as well and either would really be acceptable.
Freddie Sears (Colchester)- This is a link I've seen recently and is one of the weird rumours that could be true, but you don't see any solid reasoning as to why they would be. Sears was one of the most hotly touted Youth Players not so long ago, but because of a number of circumstances his career has largely stalled. Despite Colchester's position Sears has still shone scoring over 10 Goals already. As I said though, I don't see a reason as to why we would sign Sears- and why he would want to sign for us in all honesty. As I'll write about later I'm not giving much credence to the McCormack Rumours and I think Hugo will stay until at least the Summer and with Woodrow and/or Dembele, Sears wouldn't even be guaranteed a spot on the bench.
Contrary to what most people believe, I don't think we should be prioritising a Centre-Back. In an "everyone fit" scenario I think we have a really good back four with the addition of a Right-Back;
Naughton, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Stafylidis
I think that back four is easily Top 10 worthy and possibly Top 6 and with Shaun Hutchinsons resurgence in the last few games we have a lot of different options that will be good depending on the circumstances with regard to opposition and injury from Hutchinson and of course Burn.
Outgoings
Bryan Ruiz- Perhaps the most obvious outgoing we have this January is Bryan. I don't think any logical Fulham fan expected Bryan to have pulled on a Fulham shirt again- especially after the World Cup he had. But, as such we've added another 3 Months to Bryans Fulham tenure but I can't see it becoming 5+. If the media is to be believed Werder Bremen are in for him again and I'd happily accept anything north of £4million for him as I highlighted with Matt Ritchie that'll give us a decent amount of money (assuming we reinvest it) to get a suitable replacement.
Lasse Vigen Christensen- A Common theme for these next few will be "I Can't see it happening" but as there have been links made I'm almost obligated to talk about it. In Christensens case Aston Villa was the main link I've seen- and I'm sure there have been some others. However, I Can't see it happening- considering Christensens contract runs until 2017 it would have to take an extraordinary bid to take him off our hands. However, considering how well Kit knows Christensen and vice versa- and Christensen not being guaranteed first team football would mean it would have to be a special set of circumstances for LVC to not be in a Fulham shirt come February.
Ross McCormack- Opening gambit for this is I'm not putting any validation to these rumours, but I would be wrong to completely ignore them given the fact they're rumours that have come out from the Papers- which is more than some of the other players I'll have discussed in this blog. I saw two different stories, one that Derby were preparing a bid- which I highly doubt given Derby's financial constraints and we were willing to listen to offers from Premier League teams for McCormack, which is more likely but teams that would actually benefit from McCormack in the Premier League would most likely not be able to afford him.
Hugo Rodallega- I saw some links this week, of Rodallega going to a La Liga team. However, once again I don't see a likely scenario where we get rid of Hugo and where Hugo would want to go. He loves being loved, and with the way he's currently playing (despite his recent dip) with a team thats partially built around him with a solid partnership with McCormack in the City of London where presumably his family is settled it would have to be an extraordinary set of circumstances for us to sell him- and for him to want to go.
Dino Fazlic- Yes, he still exists. A Grand Total of 0 Competitive minutes for us says it all- when he couldn't get a minute with "his" ridiculous rotation policy it says a lot for him as a player and I would expect him to be sold for a nominal amount, loaned out or simply released at the very latest this summer.
Mark Fotheringham- What to say about him eh? Unfortunately he did get minutes with "his" ridiculous rotation policy to the detriment of the team and my sanity. As with Fazlic I would expect us to get to sell, loan or release him by the Summer- and I would expect a Low End League 1 or any League 2 team to want him.
Adil Chihi- Despite Shahid Khans Lamborghini exploits, I can't see Chihi being a Fulham player for much longer. His cameo against Cardiff being his sole appearance for the club and I would expect us to sell him for a nominal fee to free up wages and squad space..
Kay Voser- Contrary to some reports, he didn't die on his way back from the Reading game despite not being seen since. With Zverotic, Grimmer and Hoogland already above him in the pecking order with the potential addition of a Right-Back there simply isn't room for Voser and as with the four names preceding I expect we'll sell him for a nominal fee in order to free up squad space and wages.
Thomas Eisfeld (Loan)- Despite Eisfeld coming in from Arsenal in his minimal appearances for the club he's far from impressed, and with the other midfield options we have- and the further options we have potentially coming in I can't see a scenario where someone like Eisfeld, who does have a decent pedigree about him being happy to play for the Reserves/U21s and I would expect us to Loan him to a League 1 team or abroad as he is still relatively young- and he has shown enough quality the times I've seen him play for Arsenal to make me think he has something that could add to the team.
Adam Taggart (Loan)- Taggart is a highly rated prospect, and with the right set of circumstances he could be in the first team. However with the Hugo and McCormack partnership currently flourishing with Woodrow and Dembele on the bench I can't see a set of circumstances where Taggart slots into the first team this season. As such I'd loan him out to a League 1 team to get proper match experience in English Football this season.
Chris David (Loan)- Similar to Taggart, Chris David is a player who is highly rated- but for a variety of reasons he hasn't factored into the first team plans under Kit. However, a player of David's quality is too good to simply get rid of as such I'd loan him out- most likely to the Eredivisie where he can develop his game.
Patrick Roberts (Loan)- This might be contrary to what some people think, but I don't see Pat Roberts as being ready yet. Yes, he has undoubted dribbling ability and general talent- but he's still very naive in a football sense and needs to streamline his game a great deal before he's ready to play a regular part in the Fulham team and a loan to a team in League 1 that plays "good" football would enable this development- as Roberts sitting on the bench isn't doing anyone any favours.
There are some other players who I would loan out if we were to bring in some of the players I suggested, for example if we do bring in Kyle Naughton I'd loan out Grimmer to further his development with Hoogland providing Right-Back cover for us and if we hit another injury crisis we can just recall Grimmer as we did in November
Most of these players are surplus to requirements, and between getting rid of at least 75% of these players and bringing in a minimal amount of quality players once we come out of this window we'll hopefully have a more streamlined squad with quality options.
My Hopeful Team come February (Everyone Fit)
Bettinelli
RB, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Stafylidis
RM, Christensen, Parker, Kacaniklic
McCormack, Rodallega
Bench:
Kiraly
Hoogland (Potentially coming in to play as a DM if holding onto a lead)
Hutchinson
Fofana
G.Williams
Hyndman
Woodrow
This team will provide us with the best chance of getting to the Playoffs in my opinion and if we were to have this team and with further options of players like Burn, Dembele and Zverotic we'll have a good depth in almost all of the areas of the team and give us a really good chance of stealing a Playoff spot. While the team quoted above is a long shot, its not entirely beyond the realms of possibility.
Thanks for reading as always, I'm of course open to other suggestions/alternatives there are of course some other players that would be on the outgoing list but these are the notable ones in my opinion and with a Fulham transfer window theres always a signing that nobody has heard of or anticipated so we need to brace ourselves for that one. Thanks again, I haven't made my mind up as to when I'm going to put this out on New Years Eve or New Years Day so either way Happy New Year.
Incomings
Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth)- I was talking about signing him in the Summer and of course he's gone on to have the most assists in the League and be generally good. There's been links in the media quoting a fee of £4million for him and as I'll discuss later we should have that coming in from the sale of one player so the money- and financial fairplay implications won't be an issue. In fact the only issue I can see as to why we wouldn't be able to sign him would be his desire to leave a team that have an almost guaranteed spot in the Playoffs for a team who's massive aspirations as it stands will be to creep into 6th. With Kacaniklic coming back (no section for him as its a recall) Ritchie would provide the perfect Right-Sided player so we can fit Kaca into a traditional 4-4-2 that'll suit both.
Lee Chung Yong (Bolton)- If we don't sign Matt Ritchie we should definitely explore other options with regard to a Right Winger. LCY is another player I've been harping on about for a long time on this blog and is a player I'd very much like to see in a White (and grey striped with random orange bits) shirt. Again he would provide a definite balance to the team, and in comparison to Ritchie probably a bit more pace however I would still prioritise Ritchie as this season he's proven himself to be more effective and when we're pushing for the Top 6 we need effective players- not to say LCY isn't, just less so. Although there isn't a quoted fee for LCY like there is Ritchie I can't imagine he'd cost more than £3 Million so would be a very viable option for us and with Ruiz 99% going (more later) the traditional 4-4-2 is looking to be the obvious option as such a quality right-sided player is required, another option we could look at is Boros Albert Adomah or another alternative that would qualify under the "Quality Right-Mid" umbrella, and this need was all but confirmed when we played Fofana on the Right against Brighton.
Speaking of Fofana...
Seko Fofana (Man City)- Yes, this counts because his loan expires on January 31st. On the one hand as I've referred to earlier with Bryan most likely going and us going to a 4-4-2 to properly incorporate Kacaniklic- Fofana's spot may be under threat which would mean extending his loan becoming unnecessary. However, if City were happy for him to be part of a rotation system and not being a guaranteed starter we could really use Fofana in our push to get as high up the table as possible. He's proven in the games against Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday his undoubted quality and a midfielder of his ilk will most definitely be a good option to have. As I keep saying the most likely scenario we go to is a 4-4-2 and (injury notwithstanding) Christensen and Parker shouldn't be dropped under any circumstances, however as we've seen in the Championship the games do come in massive clumps sometimes and we need Parker to be on top of his game every time he steps on the pitch so we will have to rotate him out for some midweek games/weekend games which may be deemed a lower priority/we can win without him.
Chris Baird (West Brom)- The signing of Baird will give us a very versatile option. We've seen with the Hoogland injury and Kay Vosers sudden death we've been left with Zverotic and Grimmer as our Right-Back options, while Grimmer has played well on occasion he's also shown his level of inexperience at this level and doesn't look entirely comfortable- yet. Signing Baird, who can play Right-Back as well as Centre-Back and Holding Midfield would be a good way to add experience to the team as well as signing someone who understands what Fulham is about already, and is willing to fight for the badge on the front- not the name on the back. As with Fofana we will need to rotate Parker sometimes so Baird could also fill in at Centre-Mid when we need to do that if needed and the same goes for Defence. Wages would be an issue, and I've seen some people saying they would see it as a step back re-signing someone but we definitely need to add experience to the team as going into the run-in of the season we'll need to keep cool heads if we are in and around the Playoff spots.
Kyle Naughton (Spurs)- As with Baird he will provide a good Right-Back option, and he will be a very good Right-Back and would definitely be a good addition to the team and with DeAndre Yedlin coming back to Spurs in January (work permit permitting) Naughton will very much be surplus to requirements at Spurs. If you look at an "everyone fit" scenario at the minute I'd rank Hoogland as our number one Right-Back- but I'm still yet to be convinced by him in a defensive capacity. His impressive goal tally aside he hasn't been a good "Right-Back" in my opinion and his lack of pace is definitely an issue. Then we see Grimmer who as I've already said has impressed- but is still showing clear signs of inexperience and if we are serious about pushing for the Playoffs we need a Right-Back who's fully ready now, which Naughton definitely is, another option I've seen discussed is Chris Gunter who would also fulfill the role just as well and either would really be acceptable.
Freddie Sears (Colchester)- This is a link I've seen recently and is one of the weird rumours that could be true, but you don't see any solid reasoning as to why they would be. Sears was one of the most hotly touted Youth Players not so long ago, but because of a number of circumstances his career has largely stalled. Despite Colchester's position Sears has still shone scoring over 10 Goals already. As I said though, I don't see a reason as to why we would sign Sears- and why he would want to sign for us in all honesty. As I'll write about later I'm not giving much credence to the McCormack Rumours and I think Hugo will stay until at least the Summer and with Woodrow and/or Dembele, Sears wouldn't even be guaranteed a spot on the bench.
Contrary to what most people believe, I don't think we should be prioritising a Centre-Back. In an "everyone fit" scenario I think we have a really good back four with the addition of a Right-Back;
Naughton, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Stafylidis
I think that back four is easily Top 10 worthy and possibly Top 6 and with Shaun Hutchinsons resurgence in the last few games we have a lot of different options that will be good depending on the circumstances with regard to opposition and injury from Hutchinson and of course Burn.
Outgoings
Bryan Ruiz- Perhaps the most obvious outgoing we have this January is Bryan. I don't think any logical Fulham fan expected Bryan to have pulled on a Fulham shirt again- especially after the World Cup he had. But, as such we've added another 3 Months to Bryans Fulham tenure but I can't see it becoming 5+. If the media is to be believed Werder Bremen are in for him again and I'd happily accept anything north of £4million for him as I highlighted with Matt Ritchie that'll give us a decent amount of money (assuming we reinvest it) to get a suitable replacement.
Lasse Vigen Christensen- A Common theme for these next few will be "I Can't see it happening" but as there have been links made I'm almost obligated to talk about it. In Christensens case Aston Villa was the main link I've seen- and I'm sure there have been some others. However, I Can't see it happening- considering Christensens contract runs until 2017 it would have to take an extraordinary bid to take him off our hands. However, considering how well Kit knows Christensen and vice versa- and Christensen not being guaranteed first team football would mean it would have to be a special set of circumstances for LVC to not be in a Fulham shirt come February.
Ross McCormack- Opening gambit for this is I'm not putting any validation to these rumours, but I would be wrong to completely ignore them given the fact they're rumours that have come out from the Papers- which is more than some of the other players I'll have discussed in this blog. I saw two different stories, one that Derby were preparing a bid- which I highly doubt given Derby's financial constraints and we were willing to listen to offers from Premier League teams for McCormack, which is more likely but teams that would actually benefit from McCormack in the Premier League would most likely not be able to afford him.
Hugo Rodallega- I saw some links this week, of Rodallega going to a La Liga team. However, once again I don't see a likely scenario where we get rid of Hugo and where Hugo would want to go. He loves being loved, and with the way he's currently playing (despite his recent dip) with a team thats partially built around him with a solid partnership with McCormack in the City of London where presumably his family is settled it would have to be an extraordinary set of circumstances for us to sell him- and for him to want to go.
Dino Fazlic- Yes, he still exists. A Grand Total of 0 Competitive minutes for us says it all- when he couldn't get a minute with "his" ridiculous rotation policy it says a lot for him as a player and I would expect him to be sold for a nominal amount, loaned out or simply released at the very latest this summer.
Mark Fotheringham- What to say about him eh? Unfortunately he did get minutes with "his" ridiculous rotation policy to the detriment of the team and my sanity. As with Fazlic I would expect us to get to sell, loan or release him by the Summer- and I would expect a Low End League 1 or any League 2 team to want him.
Adil Chihi- Despite Shahid Khans Lamborghini exploits, I can't see Chihi being a Fulham player for much longer. His cameo against Cardiff being his sole appearance for the club and I would expect us to sell him for a nominal fee to free up wages and squad space..
Kay Voser- Contrary to some reports, he didn't die on his way back from the Reading game despite not being seen since. With Zverotic, Grimmer and Hoogland already above him in the pecking order with the potential addition of a Right-Back there simply isn't room for Voser and as with the four names preceding I expect we'll sell him for a nominal fee in order to free up squad space and wages.
Thomas Eisfeld (Loan)- Despite Eisfeld coming in from Arsenal in his minimal appearances for the club he's far from impressed, and with the other midfield options we have- and the further options we have potentially coming in I can't see a scenario where someone like Eisfeld, who does have a decent pedigree about him being happy to play for the Reserves/U21s and I would expect us to Loan him to a League 1 team or abroad as he is still relatively young- and he has shown enough quality the times I've seen him play for Arsenal to make me think he has something that could add to the team.
Adam Taggart (Loan)- Taggart is a highly rated prospect, and with the right set of circumstances he could be in the first team. However with the Hugo and McCormack partnership currently flourishing with Woodrow and Dembele on the bench I can't see a set of circumstances where Taggart slots into the first team this season. As such I'd loan him out to a League 1 team to get proper match experience in English Football this season.
Chris David (Loan)- Similar to Taggart, Chris David is a player who is highly rated- but for a variety of reasons he hasn't factored into the first team plans under Kit. However, a player of David's quality is too good to simply get rid of as such I'd loan him out- most likely to the Eredivisie where he can develop his game.
Patrick Roberts (Loan)- This might be contrary to what some people think, but I don't see Pat Roberts as being ready yet. Yes, he has undoubted dribbling ability and general talent- but he's still very naive in a football sense and needs to streamline his game a great deal before he's ready to play a regular part in the Fulham team and a loan to a team in League 1 that plays "good" football would enable this development- as Roberts sitting on the bench isn't doing anyone any favours.
There are some other players who I would loan out if we were to bring in some of the players I suggested, for example if we do bring in Kyle Naughton I'd loan out Grimmer to further his development with Hoogland providing Right-Back cover for us and if we hit another injury crisis we can just recall Grimmer as we did in November
Most of these players are surplus to requirements, and between getting rid of at least 75% of these players and bringing in a minimal amount of quality players once we come out of this window we'll hopefully have a more streamlined squad with quality options.
My Hopeful Team come February (Everyone Fit)
Bettinelli
RB, Bodurov, Amorebieta, Stafylidis
RM, Christensen, Parker, Kacaniklic
McCormack, Rodallega
Bench:
Kiraly
Hoogland (Potentially coming in to play as a DM if holding onto a lead)
Hutchinson
Fofana
G.Williams
Hyndman
Woodrow
This team will provide us with the best chance of getting to the Playoffs in my opinion and if we were to have this team and with further options of players like Burn, Dembele and Zverotic we'll have a good depth in almost all of the areas of the team and give us a really good chance of stealing a Playoff spot. While the team quoted above is a long shot, its not entirely beyond the realms of possibility.
Thanks for reading as always, I'm of course open to other suggestions/alternatives there are of course some other players that would be on the outgoing list but these are the notable ones in my opinion and with a Fulham transfer window theres always a signing that nobody has heard of or anticipated so we need to brace ourselves for that one. Thanks again, I haven't made my mind up as to when I'm going to put this out on New Years Eve or New Years Day so either way Happy New Year.
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