Jack and Loz Not at Stamford Bridge - Blog 239

Date: 3rd February 2023

Opposition: Chelsea

Venue: Stamford Bridge

Score: 0-0

Matchday squad cost: £680m - £123m

MOTM: Kenny Tete’s stats for this match were impeccable. 10 duels won, 6 ball recoveries, 11 Chelsea players embarrassed, never dribbled past etc. But you don’t need the stats to know that Kenny had an incredible game, you just had to watch it. Scintillating going forward, flawless racing back; he’s so neat and tidy with his tackles that his opponents are flummoxed and he’s always on the alert for danger. And he carries it all off with the kind of nonchalance that implies that being the best right back in the league is all in a day’s work

Dinner: Jack - Scampi and chips; Loz - veggie pasta

However much you look at the Premier League table (and, let’s face it, Fulham fans check it at least twice a day at the moment) there’s a feeling that what we’re seeing isn’t real. We’ve all got a touch of imposter syndrome.

This means that we’ve all got our feet on the ground and one eye on the likely points needed for 17th place, so despite our relative league positions (ie. We’re above them) and the fact we beat them 3 weeks ago, we went into our away match with our neighbours and rivals as underdogs. In fact, if you listened to the media, you’d have thought Chelsea weren’t playing anyone at all or, at least, that they’d won the match before it had even started.

Although this bias is annoying, there was good reason for it. When we beat Chelsea at the Cottage 3 weeks ago (in case we hadn’t mentioned that already) we calculated in our blog that their team cost the same as the UK’s Track and Trace system and was just as useless. Alarmed by this proof that there was Only One Team in Fulham, Chelsea’s owner used the January transfer window to spend the GDP of a medium sized country on some new players. However, said owner has never heard the advice, “Don’t buy a player on the back of a decent World Cup performance,” or “Don’t buy a player who was kept out of his last team by Manor Solomon.”

A 0-0 draw sounds dull but Fulham don’t do boring and this match had it all. Except goals, obviously.

The first half was a textbook demonstration of how to prevent your opponent playing their game. Fulham’s defence and midfield were so well organised that Chelsea were floundering. In a short space of time, Ream and Diop have developed a psychic understanding allowing one to go forward, one to stay back; one to challenge, one to cover.

We’ve already lauded Tete but Robinson had a great game too and, of course, our defence wouldn’t be half the unit they are without João Pahlinha. In all the stats we see about João, there’s never one for his trademark move: the lighting quick sliding tackle in which he dispossesses his opponent, gets to his feet and passes the ball in one smooth movement. Its a bit like flow yoga only more aggressive. He was doing this all night on Friday, even after a diving Chelsea player tricked the ref into giving João a yellow card.

The half billion pound Chelsea attack could find no way round the largely Championship Fulham defence and no way through it either. They had some success in going over it but those balls were dealt with by Bernd Leno who was having yet another outstanding game. The one which eluded him was cleared by Tim Ream, practising for later.

The best attempt on goal during the first half was a venomous strike from Andreas which was well saved. One of Tete’s excellent crosses fell to Willian who unselfishly passed the ball to Mitro who wasn’t ready for it, but overall Fulham were the better team in both attack and defence in the half.

If the first half was a little cagey, the second was a full-on local derby with Chelsea starting by throwing more millions off the bench and onto the pitch. Fulham were unfazed. We were defending a lot but defending well. The match became scrappy as both sides misplaced passes and pressed furiously.

Willian’s quality was almost the difference on a couple of occasions while Harrison Reed was zipping around the pitch switching between attack and defence at will. One thing which was really noticeable in this match is how so many of Fulham’s moves are choreographed, not just the set pieces. The fast attacking interchanges don’t happen by chance, the right passes don’t get played by accident. The hours and hours on the training ground, the blisters and the bruises translate to pitch perfect performance.

A word now on Mitro. Our hero is going through one of his flickering phases again - slightly off the pace,

a little clumsy with the ball, a shade slower than his teammates. As we all know, Mitro does a lot more for the team than just score and, as usual, he was in the thick of the battle throughout, but he badly needs a goal and he won’t be his usual self again until he gets one.

During the home match, which we won, Graham Potter made a quadruple substitution which reminded us of the old saying about the kitchen sink. Once again, Potter threw everything at the game as the half went on. The Fulham defence stretched but didn’t break. Chelsea’s best chance of the match was when some seven figure sub or other managed to beat Leno and a goal looked certain but the sub, and everyone watching, had forgotten one thing: Tim Ream. Just when we thought we couldn’t love him any more he pulls off the clearance of the season!

Once again, Marco was the purveyor of the late, late subs and this time he got it right. Manor carried on where he left off against Sunderland with some flair and trickery and Harry Wilson looked better, using his pace to advantage and finding some defensive know-how. It would have been amazing if Vinicius had scored the winner again but it wasn’t to be. It felt like we were holding on at the end, but there was no chance this Fulham team was going to let go.

Random musings:-

- We really like the smart black socks

- As in the game at the Cottage (which we won) Willian got a great reception from the Chelsea fans and they even seemed to enjoy his exhibition of close ball control when it confounded their current players

- Just the two attempts on Kenny’s life and limbs this week

- Mitro’s long shot was a great idea and perfectly on target

- Both Chelsea’s marquee signings have very dodgy neck tattoos

- Apparently Mudryk had to come off at half time because he had a cold. Such a shame Potter had no other players to use. In other news, a dog ate his homework

- This was Bobby Decordova-Reid’s 150th match for Fulham. What a player he is for us, Friday’s match and every match.

Chelsea may be below us in the table but, let’s give them credit, they are a formidable team. To have taken 4 points off them this season is one of Marco’s greatest achievements (in an ever-growing list). It was a shame not to score and, realistically, not to win but our pride in this team and our excitement at what they can do increases every week.

Chelsea bought the players and they bought the headlines but they couldn’t buy a win against Fulham.

And all the money in the world can’t buy how it feels to be a Fulham fan in 2023.