Fulham 1 Everton 3 (Drenthe, Saha, Rodwell)

Never done one of these so I think its time for a hero to stand up and be counted to try and win us one with a positive opening thread.... but as there are no heroes available i'll do it.

Fulham away is our bogie fixture, All in all this will be our 24th visit to craven cottage, and in the previous 23 visits we have lost 14 of them.

Fulham lie just above us in the league now, which should mean that it will be a chance for us to move ahead of them, but while Fulham's away form is poor (despite a creditable 0-0 draw at chelsea when Alex got sent off) their home form is excellent.

At home Fulham are hard working and full of life, they won their last home game 6-0 against QPR (who have improved since they beat us 1-0 at our place! ).

They also managed to come back from 2-0 down to draw with City at their place, and indeed haven't lost a game at the cottage this season.

So on paper this should be an easy victory for Fulham, afterall Everton's away form is nothing to write home about, our last win was away to Blackburn and that was curtesy of a dodgey penalty and even dodgier Blackburn shooting. And some of the fans are taking it out on Moyes / Kenwright / Cahill, etc.

But in times of crisis, if Everton have problems, if no one else can help, and if we can find them, maybe we can find... a clean sheet a hero!

Hopefully someone will step up to the plate and help turn our season around and get us back on a winning streak....

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can play the redshyte and look like winning
And risk it on a referee's double cross,
And lose, and start again at your beginning
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be an Evertonian, my son!

0-1 to the Blues, Velios 79th minute, top right hand corner - COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!!!!

what a long post

2-0, Duff and Murphy. We can't score and we can't keep a clean sheet.

Let's hope Fulham's Euro excursion is a distraction.
Ditto for our Chavs and Mancky games.

4-0 fulham. at least we'll win a few in the championship next year.

Albert wrote:4-0 fulham. at least we'll win a few in the championship next year.

Go and play with your goats Albert.

2-3 McFadden Hattrick.

Yankthattoffee wrote:

Albert wrote:4-0 fulham. at least we'll win a few in the championship next year.

Go and play with your goats Albert.

And yeah, I'll take a draw at the moment....

Yankthattoffee wrote:

Albert wrote:4-0 fulham. at least we'll win a few in the championship next year.

Go and play with your goats Albert.

8.7/11

Tonteau wrote:2-3 McFadden Hattrick.

Woo hoo!

IF ever there was a time to break this Fulham away jinx - IT IS NOW

They've had a game midweek
So COME ON YOU BLUES
Cleansheet

0-2

The President wrote:IF ever there was a time to break this Fulham away jinx - IT IS NOW

They've had a game midweek
So COME ON YOU BLUES
Cleansheet

0-2

Good point about Fulham's Euro trip Pres. Hoping that some of their players are knackered and we can take advantage. Wish that he hadn't rested Zamora, Murphy and Dempsey but we will hopefully be the fitter side.

I would lke to see us play 2 strikers and give Cahill a week off. I think that Saha has looked pretty good in the last couple of weeks and having Vellios next to him would only help this. Vellios also surely deserves a start.

Dixie Land wrote:

The President wrote:IF ever there was a time to break this Fulham away jinx - IT IS NOW

They've had a game midweek
So COME ON YOU BLUES
Cleansheet

0-2

Good point about Fulham's Euro trip Pres. Hoping that some of their players are knackered and we can take advantage. Wish that he hadn't rested Zamora, Murphy and Dempsey but we will hopefully be the fitter side.

I would lke to see us play 2 strikers and give Cahill a week off. I think that Saha has looked pretty good in the last couple of weeks and having Vellios next to him would only help this. Vellios also surely deserves a start.

I really hope he starts

The President wrote:

Dixie Land wrote:

The President wrote:IF ever there was a time to break this Fulham away jinx - IT IS NOW

They've had a game midweek
So COME ON YOU BLUES
Cleansheet

0-2

Good point about Fulham's Euro trip Pres. Hoping that some of their players are knackered and we can take advantage. Wish that he hadn't rested Zamora, Murphy and Dempsey but we will hopefully be the fitter side.

I would lke to see us play 2 strikers and give Cahill a week off. I think that Saha has looked pretty good in the last couple of weeks and having Vellios next to him would only help this. Vellios also surely deserves a start.

I really hope he starts

I think most of us do mate.

I also think that we should try giving Drenthe and Barkley/Gueye a start on the wings as well. They could tear a tired Fulham side apart.

It'll be the same side that played at Chelsea probably.

We get to this stage every season it seems, when the fans are desperate for something different, some flair, some excitement. We don't care if we get a hammering, we just want a sniff of something other than dour, one man up front, sideways passing, hump it up for Cahill stuff.

I'd like to see Barkley, Drenthe and Velios get a start or at least 45 mins. But it won't happen.

0-0

Bryan wrote:0-0

That is my gut feeling as well.

Dixie Land wrote:

Bryan wrote:0-0

That is my gut feeling as well.

I'd be inclined to take that at the moment. I am starting to feel that we really need to start picking up some points before we are dragged into the bottom of the table.

Just listening to Radio City, and Drenthe is in the starting XI.
Good move by DM, I hope.
At least something unpredictable is likely to happen.

Yankthattoffee wrote:Just listening to Radio City, and Drenthe is in the starting XI.
Good move by DM, I hope.
At least something unpredictable is likely to happen.

Like a red card in the first 5 minuets

Doc( Ninetoes )blue wrote:

Yankthattoffee wrote:Just listening to Radio City, and Drenthe is in the starting XI.
Good move by DM, I hope.
At least something unpredictable is likely to happen.

Like a red card in the first 5 minuets

Sod off Doc.

Yankthattoffee wrote:

Doc( Ninetoes )blue wrote:

Yankthattoffee wrote:Just listening to Radio City, and Drenthe is in the starting XI.
Good move by DM, I hope.
At least something unpredictable is likely to happen.

Like a red card in the first 5 minuets

Sod off Doc.

Howard
Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines
Osman, Neville, Fellaini, Rodwell, Drenthe
Vellios.

Dixie Land wrote:

Yankthattoffee wrote:

Doc( Ninetoes )blue wrote:

Yankthattoffee wrote:Just listening to Radio City, and Drenthe is in the starting XI.
Good move by DM, I hope.
At least something unpredictable is likely to happen.

Like a red card in the first 5 minuets

Sod off Doc.

Howard
Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines
Osman, Neville, Fellaini, Rodwell, Drenthe
Vellios.

Good bench as well:

Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Bilayletdinov, Stracqualursi, Saha, Coleman, Cahill

One step forward, one step back.
Brings in Drenthe and Vellios, but also Neville in midfield.
A Greek army of One.

Yankthattoffee wrote:One step forward, one step back.
Brings in Drenthe and Vellios, but also Neville in midfield.
A Greek army of One.

I hope that Osman or Fellaini play as a very attack minded midfielder or Vellios could end up isolated. Not an easy task when you are only making your first start. I would have liked to see Saha start instead of Neville or Hibbert (with the other playing RB) to be honest