Jack and Loz Not at Deepdale - Blog 201

Date: 27th November 2021

Opposition: Preston North End

Score: 1 goal which should have been disallowed - 1

Fulham goal scorer: Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaammmm!

MOTM: on Wednesday night, we watched the Fulham players struggle to prove that they are not a One Man Team. On Saturday, it turned out that they are a One Man Team but that man is not Aleksandar Mitrovic, it’s Tim Ream. Our MOTM against Derby was our most influential player again although, given the standard of the competition, this is not the accolade it might have been. However, when Seri swung in a lethal free kick only one man had the timing and the desire to get on the end of it. This was Tim’s first goal since December 2017 and rarely has one been so well deserved.

Lunch: Jack - leek and potato soup; Loz - aubergine tagine

We’ve all been to work feeling ill. You wrap up warm, struggle through the day, drink copious cups of tea and hope your boss doesn’t ask you to do anything challenging. Like play Championship football.

For the second time this week, most Fulham players looked under the weather. They hadn’t recovered from the virulent bug circulating Motspur Park or from a match which finished two and a half days earlier. They were a little less sharp than usual, more prone to make mistakes and quick to tire. The last symptom was the most obvious. We started the game quite well and were dominant in the period around Tim’s goal. But play became increasingly scrappy and tentative, particularly in midfield. Things deteriorated rapidly so that in the second half we were second to every ball and second best all round

The Preston press was threatening and their defending committed and organised. Even fully fit Fulham would have found it hard to find a breakthrough; flaky Fulham stood no shance. Every move broke down, there was no link up play at all, passes were wayward bordering on suicidal. At the back, the Hendecagon of Doom was once again in evidence with some desperate last ditch defending, most of which came off although often more due to luck and bad shooting than good judgment.

In terms of personnel, Denis Odoi is immune from mortal illnesses and looked solid and competent. Antonee worked very hard and was better than on Wednesday (which isn’t saying much) but contributed little other than throw-ins. Tosin was even worse than Wednesday and we would rather have seen Hector. Kebano and Wilson were once again shadows of their usual selves and Fabio had lost his spark. On Wednesday, we missed Mitro and on Saturday we missed him again even though he was on the pitch. We admire him for wanting to play but can’t help feeling that the energetic Muniz would have made life more difficult for Preston.

Fulham’s grip on the game loosened further after the substitutions - Bobby was completely invisible and neither Josh nor Knockaert made any impact. In other words, this was an all round worse performance than against Derby but once again we should have won.

This brings us neatly to the Wrongly Allowed Goal. Is this first time in the history of football that a goal has been both assisted by and scored by a hand ball? It’s not the first time there’s been an offside goal, or a goal allowed after a foul on the keeper but for there to be two handballs and a foul and an offside suggests unprofessionalism more than mere incompetence from the officials.

Marco certainly thought so and there was a war of words on the touch line. We weren’t surprised at both Marco’s and Boa’s tempers fraying but you know when mild mannered Stuart Gray gets involved that your cause is righteous.

Bearing in mind the team were ill, tired and robbed this was a hard won point and one well worth having. Preston were tough opponents but they cheated to get their goal. And they got away with it.

Random musings:-

- we liked the Preston rainbow flags and rainbow captain’s armband

- the Preston players didn’t take the knee though which is a bit of a dichotomy

- we’ve had some decent refs recently but this one was poor throughout. As well as his complicity in the goal, he only gave Antonee a yellow card when the Preston players asked for it and he allowed the player who was “injured” in injury time to roll around on the pitch when it would have been easier for him to roll off it

- and don’t get us started on the appalling sky commentary….

-…..we’re still Top of the League though…..

The players now need some time to recover then intensive training must recommence in earnest. On Friday night Fulham will play the biggest game of the season so far - first versus second, new manager versus old, exciting attack versus dull defence. The return of Scott Parker and the revenge of Aleksandar Mitrovic.