Fulham at the bowl 1/01/19

[northbank123]

Last year we got 63 points. This year we are currently on course for about 10-12 more. As a broad yardstick that would be excellent progress. If this was last season we would currently be knocking around 2nd with our current points haul.

The defence hasn’t been good enough - we are leaking chances and goals. Emery doesn’t get a free pass on that one as it’s the one area where he hasn’t done well for me - but there are huge mitigating circumstances.

We didn’t have one shaky year defensively, we haven’t defended properly for 10 years. He inherited an abysmal keeper, no decent CBs, two very average full-backs and a useless holding midfielder in Xhaka. He was given a transfer budget to fix the entire squad about the same as Liverpool and Chelsea spent on their keepers and as United spent on Lukaku last year. The only two decent performers at the back have been Sokratis and Leno - his two signings there.

If we could turn out Bellerin, Sokratis, Holding and Monreal every week that would still be a very average backline personnel-wise but we could start to get some consistency. As it is everybody is injured all the time and we can’t finish the game with the same defence that we started it with, never mind name the same defence for a few games in a row. Our defence recently has heavily featured Xhaka (shit in midfield never mind defence), Lichtsteiner (free and his one real flop signing), Kolasinac (free and shit), Koscielny (finished), Mustafi (persistent disaster) and Maitland-Niles (not ready for the first team and out of position). He isn’t picking these players for a laugh or ahead of good defenders, they are what he has been left with.

As I said he doesn’t get a complete free pass and definitely expect to see some form of improvement if we can get our full-backs fit consistently. Just try and put this in a bit of perspective for fucks sake.

[Jock Gooner]

Iwobi had some nice touches today, if he keeps it simple he plays okay.

I rather suspect that his replacement today will be longer term. Saka at 17 getting his PL debut is telling i think.

But unfortunately he over cooked passes to whoever was providing the overlap on 3 or 4 occasions which isn't really acceptable. Dick has obviously been working with him though on making runs across the park which he did several times to no avail as nobody in the midfield could hit their man from further than 10 paces.

The plus point today for me was AMN who is beginning to gain in confidence and had some good moments.

I was a bit bemused by the booing of the Laca / Ramsey substitution as the same people were chanting "sign him up" after Ramsey scored. We spent a fair bit of time watching backwards passing which against a side as shit as Fulham pissed people off so taking Laca off was seen as another backward step perhaps and hence the response.

[OneBardGooner]

In the last 30 - 40 seconds of this post (Fulham) match interview Unai Emery seems to either confirm we are looking at Cahill or we aren't (sorry hard to tell) - Unless I have mis-understood


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/46730804

[begeegs]

In the last 30 - 40 seconds of this post (Fulham) match interview Unai Emery seems to either confirm we are looking at Cahill or we aren't (sorry hard to tell) - Unless I have mis-understood


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/46730804

I can't see it to be honest. I would imagine that with Mustafi and Kos fit again along with Mavropanos coming back, he will stay with what he has. I could see the Denis Suarez rumour coming to fruition, however. We need another winger for certain as Ramsey isn't a winger, if he stays, and who knows what is happening with Ozil. Miki is out injured and outside of that, we really do not have a natural winger in the squad, unless you count Iwobi as one (who did pretty well today in the 1st half before fading).

[OneBardGooner]

Just watched / listened again and he says we have NOT spoken with Cahill.

[goonersid]

Sid has had it in for Emery since before the Chavs game so he never did have much time for him.

Not true! But I’ve always said it could take 2,3 or more appointments to get it right! And we shouldnt perservere with someone if it doesnt seem to be working !

FFS are you for real?? WTF do you think is going to come in and take over this mess...and with our owners. So 6 months in and we are 5th, but "it's not working".....where did you think we would be with this shitfest that Wenger left. Do you honestly think firing a manager every 6 months is the answer. Do you think any top draw managers are lining up to take over this cluster f*ck???

Enmery is working with what Wenger left....you cannot polish a turd...all you can do is throw glitter on it. If Emery doesn't get money, this is not going to change. If he gets money and couple of transfer windows and this stays the same, fine, fire him...but you want to fire him before his first transfer window???

If you cant read my posts then dont fucking well reply to them!
Ive never suggested that emery should have sorted wengers mess!
Just that he could organise a defence and a squad full of international players not to concede loads of goals against the worst teams in the league ! And to have a gameplan against the form team in the lge that would ensure we werent humiliated! Fat sam, pulis ans anyone worth their salt could do it!
This clown cant !

[Ray C]

Can we play Fulham again next week ?.

[wilko49er]

Not sure why some are insulting the fans that booed the Laca substitution. I was there and felt it wasnt necessarily directed at Emery, if at all. it was due to the fact that it was another odd substitution, and it was laca again. Regardless of Rambo coming on, that was good. It should have been iwobi subbed at that time. All those around me were saying the same kind of thing. So it isnt so clear that the fans that booed, are all crunts!! Hopefully thats cleared that up a bit. Not denying some may have booed Unai. But dont paint all with the same brush.

[DB10GOONER]

Hmmm... really not sure where the Comedy Iwobi praise is coming from lads.... he "had a couple of good touches"? Is that the required level in the PL now? For me he was just as poor as he has been from day one.

He simply can't measure a pass so overhits or underhits it, can't retain posession, can't cross well consistently, has no end product 99% of the time when he bobbleheads along with the ball, can't tackle so adds nothing there, has no pace so wtf Redkrapp is on about regarding his "energy" is anyone's guess, and to cap it all he is bone lazy and does not track back - something Ozil gets slaughtered for on here ffs.

Dundee or Maidstone beckon. Hopefully the door won't hit either of his fat arses on his way out.

[StuartL]

Not sure why some are insulting the fans that booed the Laca substitution. I was there and felt it wasnt necessarily directed at Emery, if at all. it was due to the fact that it was another odd substitution, and it was laca again. Regardless of Rambo coming on, that was good. It should have been iwobi subbed at that time. All those around me were saying the same kind of thing. So it isnt so clear that the fans that booed, are all crunts!! Hopefully thats cleared that up a bit. Not denying some may have booed Unai. But dont paint all with the same brush.

I thought it was a bizarre substitution - Lacazette was working hard, had scored a goal, seemed to be making things happen, which up to that point Aubameyang hadn’t. Iwobi was the obvious choice for me.
In the post match press conference Emery said they put Ramsey on to counteract Fulham’s sub (can’t remember who it was)

Oh and we need to stop the high ball up to Aubameyang cos it’s shit, he hardly ever wins it and nobody picks up the second ball (it usually stems from needlessly passing back to Leno, which is another leftover frustration from Wenkers days (years ) )

[xisstential]

Sid has had it in for Emery since before the Chavs game so he never did have much time for him.

Not true! But I’ve always said it could take 2,3 or more appointments to get it right! And we shouldnt perservere with someone if it doesnt seem to be working !

FFS are you for real?? WTF do you think is going to come in and take over this mess...and with our owners. So 6 months in and we are 5th, but "it's not working".....where did you think we would be with this shitfest that Wenger left. Do you honestly think firing a manager every 6 months is the answer. Do you think any top draw managers are lining up to take over this cluster f*ck???

Enmery is working with what Wenger left....you cannot polish a turd...all you can do is throw glitter on it. If Emery doesn't get money, this is not going to change. If he gets money and couple of transfer windows and this stays the same, fine, fire him...but you want to fire him before his first transfer window???

If you cant read my posts then dont fucking well reply to them!
Ive never suggested that emery should have sorted wengers mess!
Just that he could organise a defence and a squad full of international players not to concede loads of goals against the worst teams in the league ! And to have a gameplan against the form team in the lge that would ensure we werent humiliated! Fat sam, pulis ans anyone worth their salt could do it!
This clown cant !

You post like you are blind drunk or suffering serious bouts of Roid Rage. You hate Emery, we get it........

And it's not really advisable to lecture people when you behave like the aggressive,loudmouth drunk in the bar that nobody wants to talk to.

[xisstential]

Hmmm... really not sure where the Comedy Iwobi praise is coming from lads.... he "had a couple of good touches"? Is that the required level in the PL now? For me he was just as poor as he has been from day one.

He simply can't measure a pass so overhits or underhits it, can't retain posession, can't cross well consistently, has no end product 99% of the time when he bobbleheads along with the ball, can't tackle so adds nothing there, has no pace so wtf Redkrapp is on about regarding his "energy" is anyone's guess, and to cap it all he is bone lazy and does not track back - something Ozil gets slaughtered for on here ffs.

Dundee or Maidstone beckon. Hopefully the door won't hit either of his fat arses on his way out.

He reminds me a bit of Gervinho, with less ball control, his limbs look disconnected from his body at times, jerking like a puppet......Like Gervinho he sets off on these bewildering runs, then 3/4's of the way into it, it's almost like he's forgotten where he wants to go or what his original intention was. He mostly always ends up down a blind alley and gets dispossesed.

[OneBardGooner]

Not sure why some are insulting the fans that booed the Laca substitution. I was there and felt it wasnt necessarily directed at Emery, if at all. it was due to the fact that it was another odd substitution, and it was laca again. Regardless of Rambo coming on, that was good. It should have been iwobi subbed at that time. All those around me were saying the same kind of thing. So it isnt so clear that the fans that booed, are all crunts!! Hopefully thats cleared that up a bit. Not denying some may have booed Unai. But dont paint all with the same brush.

I thought it was a bizarre substitution - Lacazette was working hard, had scored a goal, seemed to be making things happen, which up to that point Aubameyang hadn’t. Iwobi was the obvious choice for me.
In the post match press conference Emery said they put Ramsey on to counteract Fulham’s sub (can’t remember who it was)

Oh and we need to stop the high ball up to Aubameyang cos it’s shit, he hardly ever wins it and nobody picks up the second ball (it usually stems from needlessly passing back to Leno, which is another leftover frustration from Wenkers days (years ) Decades )

[augie]

Not sure why some are insulting the fans that booed the Laca substitution. I was there and felt it wasnt necessarily directed at Emery, if at all. it was due to the fact that it was another odd substitution, and it was laca again. Regardless of Rambo coming on, that was good. It should have been iwobi subbed at that time. All those around me were saying the same kind of thing. So it isnt so clear that the fans that booed, are all crunts!! Hopefully thats cleared that up a bit. Not denying some may have booed Unai. But dont paint all with the same brush.

I thought it was a bizarre substitution - Lacazette was working hard, had scored a goal, seemed to be making things happen, which up to that point Aubameyang hadn’t. Iwobi was the obvious choice for me.
In the post match press conference Emery said they put Ramsey on to counteract Fulham’s sub (can’t remember who it was)

Oh and we need to stop the high ball up to Aubameyang cos it’s shit, he hardly ever wins it and nobody picks up the second ball (it usually stems from needlessly passing back to Leno, which is another leftover frustration from Wenkers days (years ) )

And 90% of the time that ball is passed back by that steroid riddled bosnian elephant (he aint no footballer ), and the other 10% by the useless german clown alongside him

[OneBardGooner]

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