Derby...this really is a MUST WIN game

Apologies for the lack of posts this week. Our house is having major surgery which means I've been unable to get online as much as normal, and even more annoyingly, this is putting my trip to Derby in serious jeopardy. Aaarrrggh!

My ticket has been purchased, the seat has been booked on the coach from CC and the itinerary for the long haul up from the south coast has been planned. Whether or not I'm there at kick-off, however, remains to be seen.

Thankfully, there will be plenty of us there even if I don't make it as we've sold out our allocation and that is fantastic news. It just goes to prove how a crisis brings everyone together. And it needs to because tomorrow really is a MUST WIN game if we want to stand any chance of retaining our Premier League status. This really is the most important match of our season.

Derby may only have 10 points on the board but they are no push-overs - as they proved with their draw against us earlier in the season (which they were unlucky not to win) and even against title chasing Manchester United a couple of weeks ago.

Good luck everyone...we'll need it

Preview: Sunderland v Fulham

Facing Roy Keane on a football pitch must have been one of the scariest prospects imaginable. But how will coming up against his team compare? Well, our boys will find out later today when they travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Premier League 'new boys' Sunderland.

On paper it certainly doesn't seem a great match for a neutral to watch. The home side have lost their last three games while we haven't won away on the road in 21 matches. Yes, that's right, 21 matches! Unbelievable isn't it?

The only potential postive (and I'm really clutching at straws here) is that our last victory away from the Cottage came in this neck of the woods when we beat Newcastle - but even that was soured by the injury sustained to Jimmy Bullard.

Sunderland currently lie three places below us at 16th in the league but have exactly the same number of points: eight. They have two wins so far, both coming at home, scoring 11 goals and conceding 19.

Today we go into the match without the suspended Konchesky, while Hameur Bouazza is out with a shoulder injury - a bit of a weakness it seems. Most of the rest are fit, including a rejuvenated Antti Niemi whose awe-inspiring display last weekend helped push us up to 13th in the table.

Bizarrely I actually fancy us to get something out of today's game. However, while a point would be okay, a win could really kickstart a turnaround in fortunes for the team. The confidence boost that three points away from home provides would be very welcome.

Preview: Fulham v Derby

Tomorrow is Judgment Day for Lawrie Sanchez. That might sound a bit dramatic considering it's still only October but quite frankly our match against Derby is the most important game of the season so far.

It's all very well getting the players stirred up to face Chelsea at the Bridge, but it's making sure they're in the right frame of mind to play the teams closer to us in the league that will provide Sanchez with a stiffer test. How they respond will tell us a lot about his management qualities.

Win tomorrow and we will be set up nicely for next week's trip to Sunderland and the following week's visit of Reading. Lose and the proverbial storm clouds will be gathering above the Cottage. If we can't beat the team at the bottom of the table, where else will we score points?

Derby have had a pretty torrid time so far this season. Their sole victory - at home to Newcastle - has been the only highlight of a miserable campaign and they are already being installed as the red hot favourites for a swift return to the Championship.

They have accumulated just five points (the aforementioned win against the Geordies, as well as home draws against Bolton and Portsmouth) from their nine league games and have only found the back of the net five times, while conceding a whopping 22 goals.

Their away form has been particularly dire: Liverpool thrashed them 6-0; Arsenal put five past them and even Spurs ran out 4-0 winners.

However, there is no reason for us to feel smug.

Although we haven't been on the end of such drubbings we have still only scored two more points and when statistics such as Derby not having scored a point or a goal away from home start getting quoted it makes me very nervous. Wouldn't it be Fulhamish to let them break at least one of those ducks tomorrow?

Our record this year is pretty woeful which is why we're also marooned in the bottom three. We have only scored two more points than Derby - by virtue of two extra home draws - and although our goal difference is still in negative territory it does at least look a bit healthier. The back of the net has been found 12 times by us - against 16 conceded - even though our shooting boots haven't been packed for the last two games against Pompey and Chelsea.

Maybe I'm being too gloomy, but I now see every match we play in 'nightmare scenario' terms. The sooner we get another win under our belts the better. Come on Lawrie, make us believe.

Preview: Fulham v Portsmouth

I've said it before virtually every match this season and I'll say it again: tomorrow is going to be a very tough game. If we manage to get a 1-1 draw - which is my prediction - then that would be an achievement, even though we badly need to get some wins under our belt.

Pompey have had a good start to the season and are currently lying in 6th spot with 12 points from their first eight games. This includes three wins - at home against Bolton and Reading, and away at Blackburn, and three draws - away at Derby and at home to Manchester United and Liverpool. Their two losses have both been on the road, at Chelsea and Arsenal.

They have bagged 15 goals - making them the second highest scoring team behind Arsenal on 16 - although it's worth bearing in mind that a whopping seven of those came last weekend in their thrilling 7-4 home win over Reading. On the downside they have conceded 12 goals.

Their top scorer is Benjani Mwaruwari with five (three of which came last weekend), while Kanu and Utaka have each netted twice. Taylor, Davis, Muntari, Kranjcar and Hreidarsson all have one goal to their names.

Last season both our matches ended in 1-1 draws. Zat Knight (remember him?) got our goal down at Fratton Park in November, while an injured Ian Pearce scored our equaliser at the Cottage in March.

So what's likely to unfold tomorrow?

Well, as Rich on CCN points out, we can virtually guarantee that big Papa - as Cookie used to call him - will score an absolute thunderbolt. We know what he's capable of but, as Portsmouth will eventually find out (probably after he returns from the African Nations Cup) you only get to see glimpses of his genius. Most of the time he is very mediocre at best. I, for one, am glad we got shot of him in the summer and that's not a case of sour grapes. When he was good, he was very good. It's just those times were few and far between.

Tomorrow also sees the return of another son - Sean Davis. Now Seany is a different matter entirely. He will, predictably, be given abuse tomorrow but I won't be joining in. I like him and am grateful for the part he played in our rise up the divisions. I still maintain that he would have become an established part of the England set-up and our club captain if he'd stayed with us but there you go. Sad all round really.

Enjoy the match and let's keep our fingers crossed for all three points - and if you haven't already picked up your copy of the Fulham Review then Rich and the boys will be selling them tomorrow at the ground.

Preview: Chelsea v Fulham

On paper it certainly doesn't look much of a contest. Chelsea's multi-million pound superstars of world football against our battling side which has been put together for a fraction of the cost, but there are some factors which could swing the advantage in our favour.

Firstly is the upheaval that's happened in recent weeks with the departure of the 'Special One' and the installation of the hitherto virtually unknown Avram Grant to the manager's chair. It's a bizarre situation and unsettling - as their lacklustre showing against Man Utd illustrated.

Secondly, it is being reported that Roberto Carvalho and Frank Lampard won't be fit to play tomorrow which is good news - although Didier Drogba is poised to make a shock return to the side which is worrying, considering the damage that he can inflict.

Thirdly, we know they're not invincible.

Don't forget we turned them over at the Cottage (come on, who could forget that afternoon!!!) on March 19th last year when, arguably, they were at the very peak of their powers under Mourinho and en-route to their second successive Premier League title.

Both teams have had troubled starts to this season, although the Blues are certainly in a healthier position at present.

So far they are 6th with 11 points on the back of three wins, two draws and two defeats. Victories have been recorded against Birmingham and Portsmouth at the Bridge, and Reading away, while they drew 0-0 at home against Blackburn and 1-1 at Liverpool. The two defeats - both 0-2 reversals - were suffered on the road at Aston Villa and Manchester United.

In the league they have scored seven goals and conceded eight. Their leading scorer so far is Frank Lampard with three, while Drogba, Pizarro, Malouda and Essien have all chipped in with one-a-piece. However, they have failed to score in their last three league games.

This form is in stark contrast to this time last season at which point they had won five out of their first six games and were topping the league with 15 points.

As for us, we have now slipped to a miserable 17th with just six points having been notched up so far. The results table shows one win, three draws and three defeats. Our home record shows a win against Bolton, draws against Spurs and Manchester City, and defeat at the hands of Boro. A draw at Wigan and defeats at Aston Villa and Arsenal illustrate the fact we haven't won on the road for more than a year. That is woeful in anybody's book.

We certainly don't appear to have a problem scoring. Twelve goals have been netted so far in the league, with Dempsey topping the charts with three and Healy and Smertin bagging two each. Kamara, Bouazza, Murphy, McBride and Davies have all got one. However, we have let in a whopping fourteen goals - six in the last two home matches alone.

At this point last season we were sitting in 11th position with eight points, having won twice, drawn twice and lost twice.

So what's going to happen at Stamford Bridge tomorrow?

I believe we have every chance of scoring goals this weekend; my biggest fear is how many we're going to concede. Our defence has, to put it politely, been rather fragile of late and that's not a great way to go into a crunch game.

While it pains me to return to the familiar discussion point of Chris Baird - I'm starting to feel like we're part of a gang bullying this lad - I think for his sake he needs to be rested this weekend as things just aren't going his way and Volz brought back into the right back position.

However, that is unlikely to happen. On his icons.com blog, Volzy reveals he's been spending time on the treatment table so we'll have to get behind Baird and hopefully help him to deliver the kind of performance of which he is capable.

Elsewhere I believe that Sanchez will stick with the familiar line-up in midfield and attack that we've seen of late with Smertin being restored to the side after having been rested for Wednesday's disastrous outing against Bolton. Bouazza will probably return as well, with Seol on the sidelines, poised to cause mayhem in the last 20 minutes if necessary.

Healy will probably be given his starting berth back, although I would definitely like to see Kamara test himself against the likes of Terry & Co at some stage. As far as goalkeepers are concerned, I really don't know what's best as I am yet to see Keller first-hand. I presume Sanchez will stick with Niemi - let's just hope he's got his form back.

To see a full breakdown of our recent record at Stamford Bridge click here.

Our record at Stamford Bridge

As part of our pre-match coverage, we have gone through the record books to analyse our record at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League...Although most of the games were superb, the statistics don't exactly make for pleasant reading.

In the six encounters since we won promotion, we have drawn twice and lost on the other four occasions. We have scored nine goals and conceded 14, although two of those were own goals. Here is the full breakdown:

2006/07 season.
December 30th, 2006
Chelsea 2 - 2 Fulham
Rosenior (og), Drogba - Volz, Bocanegra

2005/06 season
December 26th, 2005
Chelsea 3 - 2 Fulham
Gallas, Lampard, Crespo - McBride, Helguson

2004/05 season
April 23rd, 2005
Chelsea 3 - 1 Fulham
Cole, Lampard, Gudjohnsen - John

2003/04 season
March 20th, 2004
Chelsea 2 - 1 Fulham
Gudjohnsen, Duff - Pembridge

2002/03 season
April 26th, 2003
Chelsea 1 - 1 Fulham
Goma (og) - Boa Morte

2001/02 season
March 6th, 2002
Chelsea 3 - 2 Fulham
Melchiot, Gudjohnsen, Forssell - Saha (2)

Preview: Fulham v Bolton (cup)

Crystal ball time.....Right, how are we all feeling about tonight then? I've got a sneaky suspicion that it will be a fairly drab 1-1 affair, then we'll run out 3-1 winners after extra time. Well, you've got to have confidence eh? I suggest (and this won't be a surprise) that Volz comes in for Baird, Keller for Niemi and perhaps Murphy for Smertin as our Russian dynamo has looked tired of late. The rest of the team should stay as it is with Bouazza on for the first hour then Seol coming on for some extra spice. Annoyingly, other commitments mean i wont be at the Cottage tonight but fingers will be firmly crossed all evening. Good luck everyone.

Preview: Fulham v Manchester City

Here’s a preview of the Manchester City game. We have also had a chat with Kevin Parker, general secretary of their supporters’ club which can be found here.
....Incidentally, tomorrow is also the first day of sales for The Fulham Review, the book written by the guys behind Craven Cottage Newsround. We'll certainly be getting our copies.

Another match, another tough test. Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Manchester City will arrive at the Cottage tomorrow brimming with confidence as they are currently second in the Premiership on 12 points and only one point behind leaders Arsenal. This time last year they had four points and were lying just above the relegation zone in 17th spot. What a contrast.

How much of this is Sven’s doing is unclear. Is it his inspirational team talks? Is it having the rub of the green? Critics point out that they’ve won matches by the slenderest of margins and ridden their luck in others, but does that really matter? After all, you don’t extra points for scoring more goals. If we’d have shut up shop better when we were leading matches then we wouldn’t be languishing at the wrong end of the table now. A fact acknowledged here by Kamara.

You certainly can’t deny that the ice-cool Swede has the right credentials. His list of honours in club football includes winning a Serie A title with Lazio, along with the Super Cup and European Cup Winners; the Uefa Cup with IFK Gothenburg, three Portuguese titles with Benfica and the Swedish title during his time at Gothenburg.

I felt the criticism levelled at him during his time with England was unjustified – and his knockers are beginning to realise this now that we’ve been struggling to even qualify for next summer’s European Championships under McClaren. I truly believe he took us as far as the current England team could have gone. Forget talk about the dream generation, where we finished in those tournaments was an accurate reflection of our ranking in world football at the time: somewhere in the top eight.

So far Sven has led City to home wins over Derby County, Aston Villa, and most notably, Manchester United, as well as an away victory over West Ham on the opening weekend. The two defeats suffered, though, have both come on the road – at Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers - which gives us some cause for optimism.

They have scored five goals in the league, with Michael Johnson and Geovanni topping the list with two-a-piece and Rolando Bianchi pitching in with one. Bianchi, however, also got his name on the score sheet during City’s 2-1 home win over Bristol City in the League Cup, adding to Emile Mpenza’s opener.

In defence they have been very frugal with just two goals conceded. Only Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas and Blackburn’s Benni McCarthy have beaten the hugely talented Kasper Schmeichel – the offspring of the legendary Peter Schmeichel.

We certainly seem to have the most potent strike force of the two teams with nine goals scored so far – six at home and three away. Clint Dempsey has been the main wearer of the shooting boots with three, Alexey Smertin and David Healy have weighed in with two each, while Brian McBride and Joe Kamara have netted once.

Our defensive record, however, is pretty shameful. We’ve picked the ball out of the net eleven times already and, in this, we’ve fared worse at home then away with six conceded at the Cottage and five on the road. If we can at least keep a clean sheet (at some stage this season) then that would be progress made.

Looking at the statistics it’s also unclear whether or not we want history on our side as our record in the past two seasons against tomorrow’s visitors has been very mixed.

Last season City took all six points from our two encounters with both games ending in miserable 3-1 defeats. The away match at the City of Manchester Stadium in November saw the home side race into a three goal lead by half-time, thanks to Bernardo Corradi (2) and Joey Barton. Collins John replied for us.

The second match, in early April, had more far-reaching consequences for the under pressure Chris Coleman. Boca’s goal after Barton, Beasley and Vassell had already got onto the scoresheet wasn’t enough to stop the curtain coming down on Cookie’s reign. The next time the team appeared – at Reading – Lawrie Sanchez was in place.

Looking back further, the fixtures against City in the 2005/06 season were much more fruitful. Two great goals by Steed Malbranque – either side of a Lee Croft strike – were enough to secure us all three points at Craven Cottage in November, and prompted Cookie to say: “I was delighted for Steed Malbranque to get two goals because his attitude and performance were excellent”.

The return leg up at Manchester at the end of April saw us notching our first away win of the season although, in typical style, we made it hard work. Richard Dunne had put the home side ahead and we didn’t equalise until six minutes to go when Colins John slotted home from close range. With stoppage time left, Malbranque drilled home to give us a very rare three points on the road. The match was also memorable for Liam Rosenior’s unbelievable goal line clearance. Top stuff.

In summary, it’s going to be a big ask…If we manage to get all three points tomorrow that will be a fantastic achievement in my book. And if we lose? Not to worry, we’ve only got a trip down the road to Chelsea to look forward to in a week’s time!

Interview: George Chilvers - Wigan webmaster

As part of our pre-match coverage we had a brief chat with George Chilvers who runs The Ultimate Wigan Athletic Website for his views on the season so far.

Q. What do you think of your start to the season? You’re in a good position at the moment
A. We’re delighted but have our feet on the ground. We’re doing well, and more importantly playing well. With the squad we have it’s probably going the way we feel it should.

Q. Who should Fulham fear the most this weekend?
Jason Koumas has provided solidity in the midfield that we lost last year when we lost Jimmy Bullard to yourselves. But Emile has been playing well, and showed that over the last week. I think he’ll now come back to League action brimming with confidence.

Q. Where do you think you’ll end up this season?
About mid-table. Hopefully we’ll win the games at home we should, do well away, and I think we’ll pick up some odd points from “the Big Four” which we haven’t so far. We’re not going to set the world alight (that’s next year), but good solid mid-table with no panic situations like last year.

Q. How has Michael Brown settled in?
Seems fine, but haven’t really seen much of him up to now. I think he and Koumas in midfield are going to be key to us this season. I’m really pleased we have him.

Q. What do you think the score will be on Saturday?
2-0 Latics.

Our thanks to George for taking the time out to answer our questions.

Next one up: Wigan away

Well it’s almost time for our annual trek to Wigan. Let’s just hope this year’s visit proves to be a bit more fruitful than in the past.

Our record in the Premier League at the JJB consists of one 0-0 draw last season and a 1-0 defeat in 2005/06 due to Pascal Chimbonda’s injury time winner.

The only contact with Wigan since has been to sell them our captain, Michael Brown, who joined in the summer on a three year contract for an undisclosed sum.

Getting an away win under our belts early in the season would be good – as Lawrie Sanchez noted yesterday: “The sooner we get that monkey off our backs the better”.

Wigan, however, will provide tough opposition, not least of all because of the resurgent Emile Heskey who comes into the game off the back of two impressive performances for England.

The Latics currently sit 9th in the table having won both their home games – a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough and a 3-0 walloping of Sunderland – and drawing 1-1 away at West Ham. Their two league defeats, both away, have come at the hands of Everton on the opening day of the season (2-1) and Newcastle (1-0). However, they are already out of the Carling Cup, having gone done 0-1 at home to Hull City.

Heskey has already got one goal for his new employers, while the real find seems to be Antoine Sibierski who has already scored three. One to watch this Saturday. Boca & Co please take note.

Thankfully our boys that were away on international duty appear to have reported back in one piece – don't you always fear at least one will be injured? – so I imagine Lawrie will probably stick with roughly the same team as the one that faced Spurs.

However, perhaps we will see Kuqi, at least on the bench, as we’ve only got him until the end of this year and he’s apparently keen to “resurrect his career”. Whether he has the requisite talents to form a partnership with Healy up front remains to be seen.

Spurs are going to be tough opposition

Make no mistake everyone; Spurs are going to be a real handful today. Despite their patchy start to the season I truly believe they will be there or thereabouts come May, especially as Man U and Chelsea don't look quite so infallible this year.

Personally, I'm feeling very nervous today. We shall be leaving for the match in about two hours - we normally drive up - and savour the whole match day experience...is there a better way to spend a Saturday then at the Cottage? I really can't think of one.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for the right result and i'll be back on tonight with my thoughts on the game.

Prediction: 3-1 defeat.

Interview: Paul Smith of Spurs Odyssey

We asked Paul Smith, who runs the Spurs Odyssey website (http://www.spursodyssey.com/), for his views on Tottenham's season so far and to give his predictions for how the match will play out tomorrow. Cheers Paul.

What do you make of the season so far for Spurs?
Pre-season we (and many pundits) had Spurs marked down as the best bet to break the current top four cartel. Personally, i think that our poor commitment in the first two games has blown that idea out of the water, and we already have a battle to match the last two years of reaching fifth place. We improved and beat Derby emphatically, and despite the loss at Old Trafford, our performance was one to restore some of our hopes for the season ahead.

What's your view on the Martin Jol situation?
I would have been calling for his head, had we lost against Derby. That didn't happen and he did make adjustments to the team and playing style that were not just dictated by the injuries. This led to an early rush of goals, and a thoroughly relaxing game for Spurs fans to watch, which is still a rare commodity, despite our second successive qualification for Europe through the League.

Martin Jol is a sincere, humble, honest and amiable guy, who in my view (and that of countless Spurs fans) has not deserved the degree of pressure that has been put upon him by the club's board, and the resulting media coverage. The board are entitled to make contingency plans, but failed to keep their activities quiet, and then when faced with press exposure also failed to reduce the resulting furore with weak explanations.

In conclusion, in my view, Martin Jol should be given more time this season to match the ambition of the fans and the club's board. Some fans will be happy if we manage to win a trophy or again make the UEFA Cup, but I must admit, I want Spurs in that top four!

Who should we be fearing the most on Saturday?
Berbatov hasn't hit his greatest form yet, but hopefully any transfer speculation will be truly out of the way, and he can give us one of his stylish and enthralling performances. He showed a flash of such quality at Old Trafford, with a pull-down of a high ball, control, turn and curling shot that had Van Der Sar beaten, but went just over the stanchion.

Gareth Bale made his debut last Sunday and was Spurs' man of the match, playing most of the game in front of Young-Pyo Lee on the left.

You saw in the FA Cup last season how players such as Robbie Keane can show great class, and if Spurs produce that sort of football again, you should be very scared!

What's your impression of Fulham this season?
I haven't seen too much of your team, but the results clearly indicate close calls, and of course you suffered through a referee's decision (or should that be lack of decision) in your game against Middlesbrough. Shame you didn't hold on against the gooners!
Lawrie Sanchez looks like being a breath of fresh air for you, and I fancy there might be a touch of the Northern Ireland v England spirit this Saturday.

What do you reckon the score on Saturday will be?
We always have to ask "Which Spurs side will turn up?" Equating this to Fulham and our poor record in recent away league games against you, will it be the side that scraped a 1-1 draw in the League, or the one that demolished you 4-0 in the FA Cup? I think it could be somewhere in between and I'll take Spurs to win a hard-fought game 2-1. It could go either way though!

Banana skin ahead!

Tonight we trek up to Shrewsbury for what, on paper, should be a comfortable victory for us, but what, in reality, is likely to be a potential disaster. Maybe it's the depression surrounding our defeat at Villa Park that's colouring my mood today, but I fear we could come totally unstuck tonight. Therefore, with a heavy heart i say we'll go down 3-2....if so, at least we can start spouting the "well, it gives us a chance to concentrate on the league" tosh tomorrow morning! Fingers crossed i'm wrong.

By the way, a big thank you to our friends at the excellent Craven Cottage Newsround blog for giving us a mention this morning. Much appreciated guys, thanks very much.

A prediction for today

Feeling very confident today. I reckon we will record our first victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park since that fantastic 2-0 FA Cup win on Saturday January 23rd, 1999. My prediction is a 2-1 victory with goals coming from Healy and Kamara.

Talking about that victory eight years ago spurred me on to get the programme out. As you will remember, we were in the second division at that time (the third tier for younger readers) and Villa were flying high at the top of the Premiership.

The Villa programme was full of praise for us. In a five page feature it labelled the team as 'no ordinary second division side' and highlighted how chairman Mo was 'bankrolling a soccer revolution on the north bank of the Thames'.

As a mattter of interest our 16-strong squad was listed as follows: 1. Maik Taylor; 2. Steve Finnan; 3. Rufus Brevett; 4. Simon Morgan; 5. Chris Coleman; 6. Kit Symons; 7. Barry Hayles; 8. Paul Bracewell; 9. Geoff Horsfield; 10. Paul Peschisolido; 11. Steve Hayward; 12. Gus Uhlenbeek; 13. Andre Arendse; 14. Neil Smith; 15. John Salako; 16. Dirk Lehmann.