Jack and Loz Not at the Cottage - Blog 178

Date: 10th May 2021

Opposition: Burnley

Score: 0-2

MOTM: no one. Obviously

Dinner: Jack - prawn stir fry; Loz - melanzana

A wise man once said, “We are not a train station,” and he was right. In fact, Fulham Football Club are a lift - we go up and down all the time.

Our latest descent was sealed (not before time, Frankly) on Monday night in a match which said it all about this woeful season. In yet another Must Win Game, we were outplayed and out fought by the team one place above us.

A lot of football fans would say they wouldn’t want to watch Burnley every week. Sure, the football is basic, often aerial and generally unattractive. The players shout “Away!” literally every time the opposition have the ball in their box and, somewhat inexplicably, they shout, “Ball!” when said object is anywhere else on the pitch. However, the method works and the shouting Burnley players are safe in the Premier League for another season.

In contrast, very little Fulham did on Monday night worked, in keeping with the rest of the season. As usual, there was some nice passing, lots of possession and some actual shots on target. But there was nothing else. No end product, no creativity, no urgency. No fight. The players ensured we went down without even a whimper.

Burnley were fast, aggressive and ambitious. Fulham (for whom this was a Must Win Game, remember) were slow and placid. The once mighty defence continued its recent habit of crumbling under pressure. The midfield was desperately missing Harrison Reed and whilst we have been crying out to watch Mitro play for 90 minutes, he was ponderous and plodding.

Whilst the match felt very stop-start with lots of free kicks and throw ins, it was full of incident. We nearly had a penalty, Frank nearly broke the bar, Areola was nearly sent off. Those fine margins again!

In fact, Areola had a good game, as he has had a good season. Alone of Monday’s line-up, he could walk into any squad in Europe. The formerly heroic Andersen was at fault for both goals and the formerly inspirational Lookman was hesitant and wasteful. Robinson and Tete both put in a lot of effort but no effective crosses; Frank was purposeful at times and half-hearted at others. Maja was full of running but didn’t link up with Mitro at all; Bobby was anonymous and Cav was Cav.

A shout out to Lemina for playing every outfield position on the pitch and sometimes two at once and to Tosin for showing what we all felt when Scott made the final sub......

Which brings us to the man himself. What must it be like, as a young, inexperienced coach trying to manage a blended squad of loanees, newbies and old timers with a dubious management structure above him and in the toughest league in the world? Scott Parker had an impossible task this season - going up at the very last minute, the squad not being assembled until even later, no new striker - and we don’t envy him the job.

However, pretty passing and getting to half time at 0-0 might be an identity but it doesn’t cut it as a strategy to stay in the Premier League. And when you’re 2-0 down in a Must Bloody Win Game you don’t wait so long to make your subs. Most of all, when you have 15 minutes left to save the season, you don’t make a bad situation worse by bringing on your most useless player. That will take some time to forgive.

Random musings:-

- the minute’s silence for Alan Slough was touching and well observed

- Frank got a yellow card for apologising to someone

Relegation is obviously disappointing but it doesn’t feel as gut wrenching as last time. Partly because we’ve all been resigned to it for a while and also, depressingly, because we’re getting used to it. Later on, when the drop doesn’t feel so raw, it will be time to assess and apportion fault for this miserable outcome to what could have been an exciting season. Certainly, no one person, or group of people, bears all the blame.

For now, let’s remember the Cottage dappled with shadows on a fine May evening and the dusk enveloping the ground and the floodlights electrifying the atmosphere. We will be back. Soon.