Jack and Loz Not at Goodison Park - Blog 288

Date: 26th October 2024

Opposition: Everton

Score: 1-1

Fulham goal scorer: Alex Iwobi

MOTM: Iwobi didn’t just score the goal, he played 3 positions and was a big part in why Fulham dominated the game so effectively and for so long (ie. For as long as Alex was on the pitch…) His classy celebration is as much part of who he is as the skill with which he scored.

Snacks: Loz - chocolate almonds, Jack - Belgian chocolate cookie

For the lifetime of younger fans and what felt like a lifetime to older ones, Goodison Park was the unhappiest of hunting grounds for Fulham. We just couldn’t win there. Then Marco Silva came along and, as with so many other things at the Club (but - spoiler alert - not all of them!) turned things around so that Fulham went to Goodison on Saturday with realistic hopes of leaving it for the last time on a high.

There is more chance of the sun rising in the west than Marco making significant changes to a league line up so, other than Diop coming in as expected for the banned Andersen, the team was the same as last week. So the same as the one when they remade The Play That Went Wrong on a football pitch.

However, Fulham made dominating the first half look easy. Scapegoat du jour, Andreas Pereria set about proving his critics wrong with his work rate if not his finishing ability, Diop slotted straight back in and both full backs carried on where they left off last week. There were two revelations - first, Sander Berge has improved massively in just 7 days. He’s found some composure and grasped the gameplan. He made a couple of stunning clearances and his passing was assertive and accurate. He’s still a bit clumsy on the ball but when you’re built like a Norwegian Spruce that’s probably inevitable.

The other revelation wasn’t a positive one - it turns out that our record signing isn’t always very good at football. With a first touch that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Sunday league and a positional sense an Under 11 would have been proud of, Emile Smith Rowe contributed nothing in the first half except a shot over the bar. In fairness, the scrappy game didn’t suit him but you’re not at Arsenal anymore, Emile.

And he certainly wasn’t alone in being wildly off target. Raúl, Adama, Iwobi, Diop, Pereria and Tete all forgot where the goal was too. Whilst Fulham commanded the pitch and hogged the ball we couldn’t find a way through the Everton defence and we couldn’t capitalise on their mistakes or general lethargy and carelessness. Our own defence was largely solid but had to survive an early Halloween scare courtesy of VAR.

Whilst there was a lot of what we love to see - perfect passes and sweeping pitch-long moves - there was also a lot of faffing around and giving the ball away. The first half was full of promise and disappointment in equal measure.

The match restarted in much the same way give or take an aggressive cuddle between Raúl and Jordan Pickford. But then Emile decided to earn this week’s wages by collecting the ball in Fulham’s half and bringing it to the edge of the Everton box, dodging about six defenders on the way. He passed to Iwobi whose finish was stunning.

The goal was brilliant and the lead was deserved. Everton were dejected and in disarray. The match was there for the taking; they had to be killed off but, once again, the intent was there but the finish was lacking. Adama was replaced and the pace went from fast to Lightning. But although this was a seminal performance from Reiss he added only dynamism, not goals.

When someone writes Marco’s biography (and we’d be up for the job) there will be a long chapter on subs. Or his Substitutions Philosophy as he probably calls it. But however grand the title, subs are often too late, too few or too random. On Saturday, other than the introduction of Reiss, they were just wrong.

We accept that Marco’s options are limited but was Harrison Reed really a better choice than Tom Cairney? Was Harry Wilson really a better choice than …..nobody? And why on earth bring on Jorge Cuenca who has never played in the Premier League before and is just coming back from injury for the last few minutes when you are increasingly desperately defending a one goal lead???

[Note to owners of large clubs - this is a massive failing and you should on no account hire Marco Silva to manage your team].

Everton looked stronger after their subs; Fulham looked panicky and chaotic. We all knew the goal was inevitable; there’s no point in blaming anyone for it. We should have killed the game off earlier, we shouldn’t have invited pressure by going to five at the back, there were enough experienced players on the pitch to have kept the ball rather than hoofing it around (and they couldn’t even do that effectively).

One Fulhamish habit Marco hasn’t yet cured is the enduring lack of ruthlessness, the inability to cynically punish other teams week after week. Yes we’ve got better but letting struggling opponents off the hook by conceding late goals is becoming a dangerous trait this season. Is it mentality, is it bad tactics? But shouldn’t one compensate for the other?

In some ways a point away isn’t a bad result and the good performance was exiting and reassuring. But Everton were so bad that not beating them can only go down as a failure.

It’s still early in the season and there are lessons to be learnt. Despite the assist, Emile needs to pull his socks up in more ways than one. Reiss Lightning needs to start, allowing Adama Traore (it rhymes with glory - if you know, you know) to go back to being a super sub. And whilst geniuses are allowed off days, Marco needs to rethink his subs and his Game Management Philosophy as well.

Random musings:-

- The poppies looked very good on the white shirts (and Everton’s blue ones too)

- We know the guy with the tights comes from somewhere hotter than Merseyside but does he realise this is only autumn? What’s he going to wear in February - a ski suit?

In many ways, this match was a microcosm of the season so far. Good but not Goodison enough; we won the stats but not the match; there is so much to like but fans end up feeling frustrated.

There are many reasons to be hopeful - Andersen to return bringing leadership and control, Lukić coming back, Berge continuing to improve, Emile eventually finding his groove as he no doubt will. But, for now at least, the errors at both ends of the pitch are the difference between mid-table and Europe. And on Saturday there were errors from the sidelines too, and with a Fulhamish irony, if we don’t get to Europe at the end of the season, the person who made them will probably leave.