Fulham 0-1 Arsenal: Fantastically Wasteful

Steve Sidwell’s tackle in the 12th minute earned him another straight red and doomed the squad despite a valiant effort a man down.

Following a harsh decision but also a baffling challenge by Steve Sidwell in the 12th minute, Fulham were immediately handcuffed for most of the match, and doomed to failure off the bat against a top-4 side in Arsenal.  Instead of laying down and dying, the lads put in a fantastic effort, and deserved much more than a 1-0 loss.

However, when put in a disadvantageous position such as this, a team ABSOLUTELY MUST take advantage of the few chances they are given, and Fulham failed to do that today, applying the dark mark to the match.  Dimitar Berbatov was a sulk-machine up front while wasting the few chances he had, and it rubbished a wonderful wing performance by both men on the touchline.

The red card decision was a bit harsh in my opinion.  It’s definitely a yellow, but for Sidwell to be sent off that early for a challenge that didn’t come up high and hardly caused any damage is a bit questionable.  That being said, for Sidders to give the referee the opportunity to make that call by going in two-footed, spikes-up late is utterly stupid, and having just come off his suspension for the previous red, lasting 12 minutes is condemnable.  Martin Jol agreed:

“I can’t defend him because it would probably sound ridiculous. It was the first foul and it spoilt the game a bit. Sometimes you hope the referee will book you because it wasn’t intentional, but if you are consistent it is a red card.”

The disadvantage showed early and often, and was evident in the stat book following the match.  Arsenal attempted 768 passes compared to Fulham’s 285.  Arsenal grabbed over 71% of the possession. Of the 27 highest passing combinations in the match, Fulham had one of those.

The good:

Urby Emanuelson – After putting in multiple poor performances with the club, a lack of midfielders/wingers forced him into the squad, and he gave back a fantastic effort.  Someone once told me they thought Emanuelson fit much much better in Serie A than in the Premier League because he’ll get the space to use his pace and runs much more effectively.  He isn’t a precise passer, and his strength lies in speed, dribbling, and creating openings on the ball rather than cutting edge passing or runs off the ball.  Today, thanks to Sidder’s red, it gave him an opportunity to show off his skills, and he thrived on the counter with the space to produce on-ball chances.  I don’t think he’ll ever make it big in the Premier League for this reason, and I don’t think he’ll get a chance in a match this season to put in another performance like this, but it’s nice to see him succeed, and the effort he gave was second to none.  Every time he lost the ball he threw himself into it to get the ball back.

Alex Kacaniklic – Given a start so soon after being recalled from Burnley, he used the same opportunity Emanuelson had with space to create chances, although Kacaniklic is a different player in the sense that he’s less about pace and more about finding seams and making big passes into the box.  The two of them used different strengths and different styles to be incredibly effective on the outside of the pitch, and Arsenal were scratching their heads to figure out what to do about it.  I’d love to see him get more opportunities, because his style applies to the Premier League much more than Urby’s, and he’s definitely a big part of the future of Fulham.  With Dejagah out for the remainder of the season, Alex may find himself with plenty of minutes down the stretch.

Eyong Enoh – Put in a really tough position with his central midfield partner sent off so soon, Enoh took control of the middle of the pitch and performed admirably on his own.  With Fulham playing mostly on the break, there wasn’t much bossing to do, but he still did plenty of his part.  He was 30/34 passing, received all 19 of the passes sent to him, made 2 of 3 tackles in the attacking third, and best of all stepped in front of 6 passes. Enoh’s physical presence was felt but he didn’t overdo it, committing 4 fouls but avoiding the referee’s book.  Someone on Twitter aptly compared him to Mahamadou Diarra (thankfully much younger).  With an entirely new midfield not out of the question for next season, Martin Jol would do well to heavily consider exercising Enoh’s buy clause on the loan.

Honorable mention: Stanislav Manolev – Manolev filled in for the injured Riether well.  He played almost exactly the same role, and it was hard to notice a difference.  Manolev was busy, receiving 44 of Fulham’s 219 completed passes in the match (20%).  He was involved in 79 of Fulham’s passes (36%) (44 received, 35 passed).  He sent 7 crosses into the box, completing 3 of them.  He was fantastic on the defensive end as well, succeeding on both his tackles and intercepting 5 passes, and blocked a cross as well.  It was like Riether never left the squad.

The bad:

Dimitar Berbatov – Making a scene when a teammate doesn’t complete a pass you want or makes a run you disagree with is fine, when you back it up with results when they do give you the ball.  Instead, Berbatov whined and complained about his lack of touches, but did nothing with the chances he was given.  He drove directly at Fabianski from the right side of the box in the 20th minute when Kacaniklic found him in space.  That would be his best chance of the match, and it wouldn’t get any easier.  He was passed to 5 times in the box, and only found the ball once out of those 5.  He completed just 3 of his 7 forward passe, all in the attacking third.  He won just 2 of his 7 ariel duels.  It wasn’t a good day for the Bulgarian.

Bryan Ruiz – For the second straight match, Ruiz was obviously below par, although it was nowhere near to as bad as the Chelsea match.  He showed a little more strength and a little better possession, but it was hard to go anywhere but up from his performance Wednesday.  His passing was good (32/37), but only 18 of those 32 completed passes went forward.  For an attacker slotted just behind the striker on a team playing on the break, that’s a poor number.  His time to break out and show his worth was today with the space left by the red card, and while Urby and Kaca took advantage, Ruiz did not.

The corner game – Corners represented some of the best opportunities for Fulham today, often given after promising breaks that were defended at the last moment.  In a match where the club needed to take advantage of all their opportunities, Fulham failed miserably from all set pieces, but the corners were particularly bad.  Many were too short, and overall failed to produce any danger for Arsenal.  In fact, only one corner found a Fulham player, and it was a corner played short by Bryan Ruiz.  All 6 corners sent into the box produced nothing.

Funny note – I called Per Mertesacker scoring in my preview post, saying he’d be a good risk at 10/1 odds to score, and 55/1 odds for first goalscorer.  Good on you if you selected the latter, that’s a wonderful payout.  Hopefully someone took heed of my tip! I also hit on the fewer than 2.5 goals tip, but that was a significantly lower payout.

Man of the Match – Have to give it to Urby for his wonderful effort.

The squad gave it a vailant go overall.  Down to 10 men, it’s a mountain to climb for such a long time.  Great to see the effort, and with results not overly important right now, that’s the most important thing.  However, it still is quite disappointing not to come away with any points.  Thankfully all the bottom 3 teams lost again this week, so safety is even more assured at this point.  Headed to Merseyside, I can’t be very optimistic given our prior results there, but there are still a few opportunities to pick up points in the final 4 matches.  Here’s to the best finish possible, and a major overhaul in the summer, Martin!

Fulham v. Arsenal Preview: Limping Down The Stretch

Don’t expect a goalfest like the 6-score marathon played at the Emirates earlier this season.

Despite all the pleas by the team for fans to know they still have motivation to finish out the season strong, it didn’t show midweek. At Craven Cottage, a sort of fortress for Fulham throughout the years, they were outclassed 3-0 by a better, stronger, and more ruthless Chelsea squad. The team didn’t play poorly, but they didn’t have the conviction needed to win a match of this caliber. The squad will be tested further by an in-form Arsenal squad that’s fighting for their Champions League lives towards the finish line.

It’s been a while since Fulham drew with Arsenal 3-3 at the Emirates earlier this season. That match was incredibly exciting, as Fulham haven’t come from behind to grab many points this season, but down 2-0 they came back to lead 3-2 before the final equalizer just moments after in the 69th minute by Olivier Giroud. The way the two clubs have played recently, I wouldn’t expect the same excitement. Arsenal are coming off a physical but goalless draw with Everton, and Fulham have had very little punch at all in recent matches. It remains to be seen whether Dimitar Berbatov not only can replicate his performance from the Emirates, but whether he will receive the same support as well.

State of Fulham:

“We need to be more aggressive tomorrow. We could have put more pressure on Chelsea. We have to quickly clean the slate concerning the Chelsea game, pick the things we did and focus on them. This is a must-win game now, we can’t think otherwise.” -Eyong Enoh

Good to hear a new player wants to get a result. While this is nowhere near a must-win game for Fulham, it’s nice to hear a sense of urgency after a dud against Chelsea. It remains to be seen whether Enoh will be selected to start his third straight match for Fulham, but hopefully that attitude rings true with more than just one player.

The squad is pretty similar to what we saw against Chelsea. Steve Sidwell will be returning after his 3-match ban, but many important figures will still be missing. Ashkan Dejagah, lost for the year with an ankle injury, is seeming a bigger and bigger miss each week. In their stead, Alex Kacaniklic, who scored against Arsenal in the reverse fixutre, has been called back up from his loan spell at Burnley and Martin Jol specifically stated he would be slotted right into the matchday squad. That doesn’t mean he’ll start, but he will probably feature in some aspect. My first instinct says he’ll start, but Martin Jol seems to avoid starting recently joined players until they’ve been with the squad for some time. Whether Kacaniklic falls under that category remains to be seen. If you watch Martin Jol’s matchday preview, he makes a strong indication that Kacaniklic could start, saying he’s “desperate to play and so I have to decide who will play on the left and who will be on the right” which sounds like he will be in there in some aspect. He also said Sidwell will be in the squad, and says with a big smile “I will never give away my lineup but you know Steve did very well, so it’s 1-and-1.” I’m not sure what basketball free throws have to do with Sidwell playing or not, but you can expect him to return.

Because Sidwell will most likely play, that leaves a selection problem for Jol with either Enoh or Giorgos Karagounis for the second central midfield spot. Not available for selection in that spot will be Emmanuel Frimpong, who cannot play against his parent club. Sascha Riether is a doubt with an ankle injury, although Jol called him a “German soldier” so we’ll see if he can make the squad.

The Whites had a stretch for about 2 months where they picked up 11 points in 5 straight matches, but since then it’s been 2 losses and a draw, so results are becoming more and more hard to come by.

State of Arsenal:

The Gunners are playing admirably with the goal of finishing in a Champions League spot, and are in the thick of the battle raging at the top of the table. Arsenal are in a very tedious 4th place, and their immediate threat is the hated Spurs just 2 points back in 5th place. Since winning at Bayern despite still dropping out of the Champions League, Arsene Wenger’s squad has picked up 13 points to Tottenham’s 4. Arsenal are just 1 point back of Chelsea, and would do themselves a massive favor if they were able to leapfrog Chelsea into 3rd position. Therefore, they’ll be coming to play and play hard.

They’ll be without Lukasz Fabianski (who’s name has the most randomly placed and useless letter “z” I’ve ever seen) who is still recovering from a cracked rib. Fellow Pole Wojciech Szczesny will start in his place between the sticks. It will be interesting to see if Wenger selects one or both of Nacho Monreal or Lukas Podolski, both of whom have ridden the bench in the last few matches. Podolski’s situation is especially interesting, given that Olivier Giroud has performed quite well in the lone striker’s position. Giroud has played 2,229 Premier League minutes this season as opposed to Podolski’s 1,657 minutes, and the latter has been relegated to substitute duties in the 8 matches.

EA Sports Match Stats:

-Like they were against Chelsea before Wednesday’s game, Fulham are unbeaten in their last 4 matches against Arsenal.

-10 of Olivier Giroud’s 11 goals this season in the Premier League have come at The Emirates.

-Brede Hangeland averages one interception every 15 minutes.

-There has been a red card in each of the last 2 Premier League matches at Craven Cottage between these teams (Johan Djourou and Zoltan Gera).

888sport.com Lines of the Match:

–Under 2.5 goals: 11/10
I can’t see that many goals in this match to be honest. The Fulham defense was good against Chelsea, despite allowing 3 goals. The first was unblockable, and the final two were silly mistakes that didn’t have anything to do with consistent bad defending. For example, Sascha Riether gave John Terry too much space in the box on the second goal, something I’ve never seen him do before. On the other side, Arsenal have also been good at the back recently. They’ve allowed just 3 goals in their last 5 matches, and nobody’s scored more than 1 against the Gunners in that span.

–Per Mertesacker to score: 10/1
It’s a risk no doubt, but it’s a calculated risk. If anyone is going to take advantage of the strong but mistake-prone Fulham defense, it’s a tall, imposing defender off a set piece getting a head on the ball. Sounds like Mertesacker to me. He’s got 2 goals on the season, and could nick another one in this match.

–Neither team to score: 11/1
I don’t think this will happen, but given some of the lines, this seems like a good one to take a chance on. Arsenal to score is at a miniscule 1/7, and given the Gunners’ last match with Everton that finished 0-0, seeing them waste so many chances, it’s not a wild conclusion.

Prediction:

I’m seeing a lot less optimism surrounding this club than was abound before the Chelsea match, and rightly so. It’s obvious the club will be doing more limping than running towards the finish of the 2012/2013 season. However, getting a result in this match wouldn’t be farfetched at all. Arsenal are in great form, and have a lot more to play for, but the underdog storyline is something Fulham seem to flourish on, and there were a lot of positives from Wednesday that may not have gotten a lot of attention. If Bryan Ruiz can actually contribute instead of play like a man in over his head, Fulham can get a result similar to the one at the Emirates earlier this year. I’d like to be a little more optimistic than I was prior to Wednesday, so I’m going to go with a tough, hard-fought 1-1 draw heading to Merseyside next week, with Berbatov and Giroud grabbing goals and Alex Kacaniklic returning to the side and playing well.

BREAKING NEWS: Martin Jol Does Something; Signs Emmanuel Frimpong

Isn’t Craven Cottage supposed to be a family establishment?

In one move, Martin Jol has gotten the ball rolling on everything he’s said the last month. Just a day ago:

The situation is that it is not a good market in January – you have all these players who are doing well, so you have to take them when they are doing badly.

We’ll have to see in this last week, maybe there will be one or two surprises. We’ll have to wait and see. All these clubs jump on the same players but we want to be a bit more like pioneers and adventurers, but it’s not easy.

Both those apply today as, in typical Fulham fashion, the first transfer of the window (besides young Chris David) comes with 6 days left before it shuts.

Fulham have confirmed they’ve signed 21-year-old midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong on season-long loan.  The Ghana-born player came through the famed Arsenal academy, and has also been loaned out to Wolves last year and Charlton earlier this season.  This year he’s played very little, making 3 appearances for Arsenal (2 starts) and 6 for Charlton (only 1 start).  However, he’s coming off his second ACL tear of his career, only returning this past October.

This desperately fills a need for Fulham in a central midfield which has been racked by injuries and departures, and before the transfer included just Steve Sidwell, Chris Baird, and Giorgos Karagounis.  It’s been widely reported that Jol is after Tom Huddlestone to cover this particular need, but with injuries to Sandro and a few others back at White Hart Lane that’s looking much less likely, so this is a backup – and much less expensive – option.  The less-expensive part is key, considering the new Riverside stand has suddenly forced the club into being a bit cash-strapped (we think).

Will this be a rare get for Fulham in the next few days as the window closes, or will this start the floodgates as Jol looks to cover other needs up and down the pitch.  I still believe, in a perfect world, this club still needs another striker, a young center back, and maybe even a goalkeeper.

Aaron Ramsey Targeted Again

Aaron Ramsey has been linked with Fulham before, but this time it makes a lot of sense.

With Danny Murphy gone and a midfield rock needed who can both defend and attack, Martin Jol has looked to a man rumored to be interested in a move to Craven Cottage in the past, Aaron Ramsey.

Last year, Mark Hughes tried to secure a season-long loan deal for Ramsey, with an option to buy at the end, but ultimately Arsene Wenger didn’t bite.

Now, despite starting 27 matches and appearing in 7 more last season, it seems that with Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshire set to be healthy (they hope), plus Arsenal are the leading candidates for Yann M’Villa. With those three men ready to go by the start of the season, it could see Ramsey bow out of the Gunners starting lineup.

Thus, as footballers are always looking for playing time to stay sharp and show the world what they’re capable of, Ramsey may be interested in joining Fulham to secure regular playing time, of which he’d see a lot of, with the departure of Danny Murphy.

According to a very reliable source on Twitter, Fulham are set to make Arsenal an initial offer of £5.5 million, with a maximum of £4 million more possibly tacked on depending on appearances, cup and league finishes, etc. Also, Fulham would offer Ramsey around £45,000 a week base salary, plus a lot of incentives which could see that go way up depending on how he performs.

Editor’s note: NOTHING HAS BEEN OFFERED YET. These are preliminary figures and just a possibility. Fulham are just in initial talks at the moment. That is all we know for now.

Another distinct possibility is that Fulham could take Ramsey on a season-long loan. That’s what Mark Hughes tried to get last year, but he wanted a permanent option at the end of it and Wenger wouldn’t give it to him. We’ll see if Jol tries to take the same route.

Seeing a player drop ranks like this isn’t something that happens every day, so I wouldn’t all get your hopes up as if this is a done deal. However, it makes a good deal of sense from the perspective of both parties, and apparently Ramsey has already had an initial meeting with Martin Jol and Alistair Makintosh, meaning that, if true, there’s a good deal of promise to this deal.

This deserves monitoring, as it’s nothing concrete, but there’s some sense to what is being said here.

One more thing to close this out: as you may know, I don’t post transfer rumors on here too often, because 95% of them are rubbish and there are bull-you-know-what rumors out there every day. If you are a Fulham fan, be wary in the next few weeks. With Danny Murphy having left, lazy journos are going to start linking Fulham with every midfielder out there who’s having even the slightest bit of trouble with his club. Be careful what you read when it comes to midfielder links in this transfer market. I only know this one is legitimate because the source is very reliable. Keep your guard up!

Clint Dempsey: Will He Stay or Will He Go?

Clint Dempsey has been the unquestionable player of the year for Fulham, scoring 22 goals (and counting)

Editor’s note: This post is by Austin Beacham, who will be helping me with posts on the site, since I’ve had a hard time posting regularly.  I’ll still be running the site and making posts, but he will be helping to add content. Austin’s been reading Fulham’s Finest regularly for over a year now. To give some background, he’s been a fan of Fulham for several years – since he saw them live against Portsmouth in 2007, and has followed them seriously since after the 2010 World Cup.  Please welcome Austin and treat his posts like you would mine!  -Kyle

It’s time to talk about Fulham’s main man for the past two seasons: Clint Dempsey. He’s been in fantastic form for a long time now, and that’s coincided with inexorable speculation over his future. This summer will basically be the last good chance to get any money out of him, in my opinion. I don’t see many teams that Clint would be interested in moving to being willing to pay proper money for him next January, so if he is going to be sold, rather than leaving for free, it’ll be this summer. In addition, I don’t think with the way this club is run and the way Martin Jol has dealt with transfers so far that he’ll be allowed to leave for nothing in 2013. So, essentially, I think that if he’s to be sold, he’ll be sold this summer.

Clint’s said himself that he won’t make a decision until this summer, so although there is an offer on the table, don’t expect anything to happen until then. To me, that statement from the Texan sounds like he’ll wait to see what offers Fulham receives from other clubs before he signs or doesn’t. And honestly, I don’t think Fulham fans could expect anything else. He’s given everything for the club since he’s been here and has been an incredible asset to the team for a long time now. He’s never hidden the fact that he wants to play in the Champions League, and it doesn’t seem to me that Fulham supporters could have much to complain about for that. The last great thing he could do for the club would be to bring in a hefty transfer fee so that we could adequately replace him. He’ll be difficult to replace directly, but a good chunk of money certainly wouldn’t help.

So, on to what I think. The answer isn’t as clear cut as many seem to think it is. I think his departure, or lack thereof, will completely depend on who comes in for him, and whether the price is right. If a club like Arsenal (as has been rumoured) come in for him, I think he’s gone. He won’t pass up the chance to play for a club at that level, for multiple reasons. I think, first of all, he personally wants to prove himself on that level. He won’t worry too much about initial playing time – he’s had to deal with managers not playing him for much of his time at Fulham, and has proved himself capable every time. He may not get an automatic start at a legitimate Champions League club, but he’ll get enough time to stay satisfied. I also feel that he wants to play in the Champions League to do so as an American. He speaks often of needing to prove himself that little bit more because he’s of his nationality, and I think that shows that his country is on his mind. He, as cheesy as it sounds, wants to do it for the USA.

To follow up on the Arsenal link, I have to disagree with people who say he wouldn’t fit in Wenger’s system out wide. It’s true that Gervinho and Walcott were the first choice at the beginning of the season, which essentially meant pace, trickery, and direct attacks. Clint doesn’t fit that description, but he could play the role that the left winger has been playing lately – that of a wide midfielder, able to drift inside and link up, as well as give Arsenal’s attacking left-back room to operate. Yossi Benayoun, Aaron Ramsey, and Tomas Rosicky (and even Samir Nasri last season) played that role, and I believe Deuce could excel in such a position. Wenger especially uses this tactic in big games in order to keep possession, and once again I think Dempsey could play that role, such as – oddly enough – in the Champions League! It would be out of character for Arsenal’s manager to pay a hefty fee for a 28-year-old, but he showed with Mikel Arteta last summer that he’s willing to splash on quality. That, coupled with Dempsey’s versatility (he could conceivably play either wing, striker, or the CAM role at Arsenal) make this transfer more likely than some seem to think.

Besides Arsenal, which seems to be the main club, there is reported interest from Liverpool, Schalke, Roma, and the Spanish trio of Valenica, Sevilla, and Malaga. Liverpool it seems could be eliminated due to their total lack of Champions League football and, truth be told, they don’t seem to be moving in that direction at all. Roma is an interesting one, due to their American owners, but once again actual Champions League football seems a stretch for a least a couple of seasons for them. The Spanish clubs each have their owns issues with qualification, except perhaps Valencia, but it’d be surprising to see Valencia splash. They’re deep in debt and have been following a transfer policy of buying young and unknown and selling for as much profit as possible, and Dempsey wouldn’t fit that at all. If Malaga qualify they could be a possibility (I bought him on FIFA 12 for them!), but they’d have to work out their strange transfer ban situation first. Sevilla, lastly, don’t look likely to qualify, so I wouldn’t see the point there. So that leaves Schalke, who will more than likely be in the Champions League next year. If one of Raul or Klaas Jan Huntelaar leave, this seems a real possibility, but I don’t know enough about Schalke’s situation to say much more. He could conceivably get time out wide, and they do have another American in Jermaine Jones at the club, so, once again, it seems possible.

So that covers most of the known clubs “in” for the Deuce. While I think Arsenal would be slightly surprising, they are a real possibility. But I think a club like Schalke is the most likely to nab him – a club that has qualified and doesn’t look like getting worse next season. Perhaps PSG? They would be interested in a shirt-seller like Deuce, but one of Nene, Jeremy Menez, or Pastore would need to move for this to be likely. Lille is possible, as he could work as a replacement for the almost-certainly-leaving Eden Hazard on the left wing. In general, clubs like these are those that I see being interested in him. I think there will certainly be offers in the summer, but if the price isn’t right or the club not right, Deuce will stay. He does enjoy Fulham and living in London, so I think the situation will need to be very specific for him to depart.

The last thing I’ll mention is that people saying that he doesn’t have the quality for the Champions League are insane. Fourth top scorer in one of the two best leagues in the world, Fulham’s all time single-season and overall top scorer in the Premier League, a fantastic strike rate for the United States, versatility galore – what more could a club want? He’s not on that very top level, and is a bit of a tweener (number 3 in this article for an explanation), but many many clubs in the Champions League could use his knack for scoring, tenacity, and utility. There does seem to be a bias against Americans in this respect – if he was an Englishmen he’d surely have a suitor from every top club in the league. Same goes a Spaniard or – of course – a Brazilian. While I’d love to see Clint stay at Fulham, as a USA fan I also wouldn’t mind seeing the man in the Champions League – he’s earned it. Whatever happens, he’s earned the admiration of every Fulham supporter and should be respected regardless of the decision he makes.

So that concludes my first post. I hope you enjoyed it, and please feel free to comment with your opinion or general discussion!

Fulham 2-2 Arsenal: What a Difference 10 Minutes Makes

Steve Sidwell puts home the first goal of the match (courtesy Guardian.co.uk)

70th minute: Fulham are leading Arsenal 2-1, Tottenham are beating Birmingham City 1-0, and Everton had Seamus Coleman sent off, giving them a man disadvantage against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

80th minute: Zoltan Gera had been sent off for a stupid tackle, possibly taking a Europa League spot away from Fulham. Tottenham had let up an equalizer. And 7th place Everton had scored a man-down goal and was up 1 on Chelsea.

What a difference 10 minutes makes.

Spurs ended up beating Birmingham City, sending them down. But Arsenal ended up equalizing later, and Everton beat Chelsea, securing 8th place for Fulham instead of tying their best ever finish, and Zoltan Gera may have destroyed the Cottagers’ chances at a Fair Play bid into Europe.

In his last acton in White, Gera slid hard with both spikes up into Thomas Vermaelen, and totally deserved a red card for his actions. Something I mentioned on Twitter is the thought of him doing it on purpose. I don’t believe it at all, but I did want to bring it up as a possibility. Some players as well as Mark Hughes in the past have expressed their displeasure in the thought of a Fair Play bid, and I’m sure it’s somewhat possible that Mark Hughes told Gera to get a red card. Do I believe it? Absolutely not. But a lot of the pieces fit. It happened just 4 minutes after coming on, it wasn’t anywhere close to the ball (Vermaelen had kicked it away a second or so earlier), and coming around all the questions of if people wanted Europe or not, it seems to be plausible. But Gera and Hughes are just not the types of people to do that at all to me, so I don’t believe it.

We’ll find out in a few days if we’re playing in the Europa League or not. Reports are that Blackpool have taken the Fair Play spot from us, but I find it hard to believe since we have better scores than them in all but one category in the table released April 30th. Red and yellow cards are just one of 5 categories. We’ll have to wait and see what UEFA decides. Let’s break today down.

The good:

-Andy Johnson: He was really fun to watch, especially in the first 20 minutes or so when everyone else was lollygagging around the pitch.  He was lively, and played with a creativity that I frankly haven’t really seen from him before.  Loved it.

-The midfield: They played with a lot of action, instead of sitting back, they often attacked the opposition, both when they had the ball and when the Gunners had it.  Sidwell got the first goal in a beautiful flash through Szczeney’s legs, Danny Murphy was all over the place even after tweaking his ankle, and Greening didn’t have his Birmingham City magic but still put a few really good balls in the box.  Dempsey was a bit invisible the first half but in the 2nd he had a few buildups that could have been better if the through balls were more accurate.

-Bobby Zamora: I think it’s obvious at this point that Fulham are at their best when Zamora is in the lineup.  He seemed to get quite stiff towards the middle of the 2nd half, but especially in the 1st hafl and even in the 2nd when he got his goal, he continues to make things happen.  He’s a chance creator (assisted Sidwell’s goal) and a chance finisher (headed in the 2nd one).  Heck of an asset to have for sure.  Just gonna have to get a good attack mate for him in the summer.

I would have included Schwarzer in here, because he played great, and had an incredible save in the first half when it was still 0-0, but the final goal should have been stopped, I believe.  He got a hand on it, and tapped it wide, but not wide enough.  I think he had enough time that he should have gotten it farther wide.  I know some won’t agree with me on that, but I do think he could have gotten it.  Otherwise though, he played great.

The bad:

-Zoltan Gera: 4 minutes, 1 tackle, 1 red card, 1 Europa League bid in danger. What an awful way to end a great run at Craven Cottage.

-Matthew Briggs: The kid actually played well, but at the end he got incredibly tired and was having trouble keeping up with the Gunners attack.  This led to the equalizing goal.  I’m not going to totally throw him under the bus because another defender played worse, and he was solid for most of the match, but missed a few assignments and in the end had athleticism troubles.  I still think he’s going to be solid in the back in a year or two.

-Philippe Senderos: In the match against his old team, Senderos missed a lot of assignments and was most to blame for Arsenal’s first goal.  Nobody played horrifically bad, but I would say Senderos played the worst of any of the Fulham members.

Man of the Match: Gonna have to go with Zamora here. He really energizes the club.

So where do we go from here? We’ll just have to wait and see if UEFA gives the Fair Play bid to Blackpool or Fulham.  If Blackpool get it, there will be 2 teams in the Championship next year playing in the Europa League.

As far as this season goes, 8th place is certainly an acceptable finish.  Fulham finish with 49 points and a +6 goal differential.  They finish with 8 wins, 7 draws, and 4 losses at home, and 3 wins, 9 draws, and 7 losses away for a total record of 11-16-11.  Given the injuries Mark Hughes had to deal with, he did an excellent job bringing this club up the table from the relegation zone. Here’s what I think we learned about the club:

1) Mark Hughes is the right man for the job. End of story.

2) Bobby Zamora is essential to this club’s success.

3) The club needs a good strike partner for Zamora in the summer and they can really go places.

4) Fulham are based on solid defense and creating lots of chances.  They’re not the best finishers (albeit not the worst either), but if you create enough chances one or two are bound to go in.

5) If this summer goes well, I think the club has a legitimate shot to contend for a regular Europa League bid next season.

6) This summer is incredibly important.

Any other things you think that are important that I left out, feel free to leave it in a comment.  We’ll go through some more rumors throughout the summer here on the blog, and I’ll be giving you breaking news on Twitter as well as it comes in so make sure to click that follow button!

A little bit of news that I’ll get more into later is John Pantsil is not going to be returning to Craven Cottage as expected.  The two sides were clearly at odds but for a bit were thought to be making progress.  But Mark Hughes confirmed today Pantsil will be leaving.