All hail the slippers

Forget Jimmy Bullard and Brian McBride - they haven't been the true catalysts for our return to winning ways...it is all down to a pair of slippers on the other side of the Atlantic. Brian of Craven Cottage Newsround fame has been wearing these during recent matches and each time we have come away with points. I promised a picture of them would go pride of place on the blog if we beat the toffees...so here we go" Apparently, rumours that Brian even has them on in the shower are wide of the mark.

UPDATE: Apparently they did make an appearance in the shower as well...but got a bit soggy!

Burst of enthusiasm

Isn't it funny what three points does for the moral eh? By 9am yesterday morning I was on the phone to the club to order tickets for Derby and Reading which I imagine will be two season defining games. I have even booked a seat on the coach for Derby as my partner in crime isn't able to make that match so let's just hope we pull a couple of away wins out of the bag.

Player rankings: Fulham v Everton

Here's how I scored the lads yesterday.

Keller: 7/10
Solid, dependable, and there when he was needed.

Konchesky: 7/10
Another good performance, although he didn't look quite so confident when he was pushed up the park and replaced at the back by Boca.

Hangeland: 8/10
Awesome display by the big fella. Kept Yakubu as quiet as a sleeping baby.

Hughes: 7/10
Competent and assured.

Stalteri: 7/10
Good display and also provided some testing crosses. Nice to see him getting forward.

Murphy: 5/10
One good touch; three bad. Frustrating but not as woeful as usual.

Bullard: 5/10
Not one of his better games. His passing radar was way off today.

Andreason: 7/10
Pushed out wide for much of the game but then brough into the centre. As ever, a solid game.

Davies: 6/10
Missed a golden opportunity to put us two up, but a great cross to find Brian for the goal.

Johnson: 6/10
An A for effort. Came close at the end and showed enough to indicate he will be good once he finds his Premiership feet.

McBridge: 7/10
Great goal. Age is catching up with him but he put in a terrific shift again.

Substitutes

Bocanegra: 6/10
Did everything that was required of him when he slotted into Konch's left back slot.

Volz: 6/10
Added steel to the midfield

Dempsey: 6/10
Looked very sharp in his brief appearance. Maybe a rest was just what he needed.

Man of the match: Brede Hangeland. A fantastic defensive display.

An opinion: Fulham v Everton

You can't describe this as a classic football match to watch and there were plenty of things not to like, such as Jimmy B's wayward passing, but it was an occasion on which the result mattered far more than the performance.

Ignore the media droning on about the Toffees' European hangover, this was a fantastic victory over a very good Everton side. One of the best, in fact, that has come out of that side of Merseyside for many years.

Roy got the tactics pretty much bang on. Having two players up front works infinitely better - I can recall us all chanting: Four, Four, Two at Coleman and, when he eventually conceded defeat and implemented this strategy, it helped turn us around.

I like the look of Eddie Johnson - despite the dogs abuse he was subjected to from some people behind me in the Hammy End. He's quick, unsettles defenders and possesses a fierce shot. It will come together for him and when it does we'll have a superstar on our hands.

It was a great goal from Brian who started to look back to his best; winning headers and putting himself about; and a great cross from Simon Davies, even though he squirmed the chance to put the match out of reach with an opportunity he can normally be relied upon to bury.

All in all a great day out.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fantastic result; fantastic atmosphere; fantastic day out. On an absolute high this morning and will be back on with more later...

An apology

Almost 10 years ago we played Liverpool in the Carling Cup at Anfield. It was a fairly cold late October evening and I had to sit in the 'home' end having not secured tickets in time. We lost, although Paul Peschisolido scored a peach of a goal that, at one stage, allowed us to dream.

As the minutes ticked down with Michael Owen & Co well in command, the Fulham fans as one started singing: We'll be back in two years' time. It even drew a round of applause from our hosts and illustrated the great spirit we have at this club.

I was reminded of this during the depths of my mini-depression during the past 10 days following our painful - tho predictable - defeat at the hands of United. The defeat had sent me into a sulk from which I've only just emerging.

I haven't even been able to summon the enthusiasm to keep the blog updated. Sad? Yes. Pathetic? Undoubtedly, but football brings out the irrational animal in most of us. Or does it? Roy Hodgson, it appears, is above all that.

You don't hear him bemoaning his lot; whinging about the state of the pitch or the fact that the referees were against us. He just quietly, confidently, gets on with the job in hand. No fuss, no fanfare, no histrionics. I, for one, am glad that he is at the helm.

Now, quite frankly I think our number is up this season but I intend going to every match I can - home and away - to support our boys. Having the backing of the crowd might just swing the pendulum in our favour, and if it doesn't? Well, as we sang back in '98 we'll be back again.

A few pointers about yesterday

Right, cards on the table time. I'm angry, hurt and bloody miserable this morning so here's a list of factors associated with yesterday that are annoying the hell out of me this morning:

1. LG's marketing gimmick
Felt totally used by Diddie encouraging us all to hold up our "Come on Fulham" banners at the start of the match - no purpose other than to publicise LG's latest washing machine and make us look ridiculous. It appears to have worked on both grounds.

2. Late susbstitutions
Just what was supposed to be achieved by bringing on Joe and Nevland deep in injury time? Ridiculous. Brian should have been taken off half hour earlier and replaced by one of them rather than waiting until it was impossible for any difference to be made.

3. Lack of respect by players
We cheered and chanted throughout yesterday's match but they couldn't be bothered to come over and clap us. Bloody irritating. We are all in this dogfight together and that's why we need to stick together. Someone get this through to the players.

4. Stop the crap in the programme
If I read another 'interview' with a player spouting the usual PR guff of: we know we're in a dogfight; the team spirit is better than the war; the fans are everything...I will go mad. Pass the sick bowl and prove it on the pitch.

5. Shocking refereeing decisions
Nani. Need I say more? The only punishment his farcical dive received was when Konch shoved him into the advertising hoardings. Pathetic.

That will do for now.