| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham 23:50 - Apr 8 with 3815 views | HarryfromBath |
“Fulham are a Saturday afternoon team. There is always a feeling of animated recreation rather than solid professionalism about the scene, so that girls playing on tennis courts near the ground… appear almost part of the game itself. And there is the feeling of the past, with rows and rows of Victorian houses from which old men stare through stained glass eyes of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.”
John Moynihan’s classic ‘The Soccer Syndrome’ was penned in 1966 and was a book ahead of its time. Written in a series of pithy chapters reflecting on the game in the decades after the Second World War, Moynihan alters his gaze from players to supporters to the wider game, but he really hits his stride dissecting individual clubs and gives the reader full value when he turns to Fulham.
“Since the War I have seen Fulham transfer from a side of humourless efficiency watched by humourless, patriotic spectators, who were always cynical of the music hall comedians of Stamford Bridge, to a side of happy, sometimes comic triers watched by garrulous actors who detest the thorough efficiency of the now highly organized Stamford Bridge set up.”
Although Moynihan was a Chelsea supporter he had a keen awareness of the psychological make up of a close rival. His portrait of a club with Tommy Trinder in the stands and Johnny Haynes on the pitch echoed Mr John’s Corinthian values, where a good day out would never be blighted by the outcome of the game. Walking up to the ground today, you could see where he was coming from.
Stolling through the adjacent public gardens and Thames path in blissfully warm sunshine it felt more like a day-trip to the Wimbledon Lawn-Tennis Championships. The birdsong was interrupted by the passing S.S. Ipswich Town flotilla with a disjointed cacophony of “Blue Army!” chants. As one pedestrian observed, “There are a load of noisy sods on that second boat as well!”
This was a soft day that could lull you into a false sense of security. To beat this lot and their quick technical players, we needed cold raw Aston Villa away type weather or more ideally a tempest. Craven Cottage looked good bathed in sunshine. There’s a touch of Portman Road about the ground which carries a sense of history while remaining proportionate for the club and the surroundings.
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When the line-ups were announced, there was little to query although Jokanovic had shown his ruthless side in jettisoning keeper David Button and defender Tim Ream, and recalling the distinctive Chris Martin up front. I worried that our 3-5-2 may struggle against a team which relies on wingers and overlapping full-backs but we also had their dangerous three-man central midfield to deal with.
Once the game kicked off, it was instantly clear that Fulham weren’t hanging around and that this was not going to be a cagey chess game. Forward they came, especially down our left flank where Sone Aluko and Ryan Fredericks were combining cleverly and linking up with Stefan Johansen and chief orchestrator Tom Cairney in midfield. Left-winger Floyd Ayite was popping up everywhere.
Fulham also relied on a high-pressing game and a very high back line, compressing our midfield and forcing David McGoldrick into the centre-circle where his lack of pace made him less threatening. While this style of play was risky it was also instantly clear that this Fulham team enjoy doing risky.
The cut-and-thrust football was yielding Fulham chances through their clever passing and interplay while we were capitalising on errors. Early chances for Ayite and Johansen were counterbalanced by McGoldrick fluffing a gifted ball from Cottagers’ keeper Marcus Bettinelli. The hosts were building their rhythm with their passing game and their overlapping full-backs were helping forge openings.
There was a chorus of booing for Chris Martin when the teams had been announced and not just from the Suffolk contingent. An early through ball from Fredericks reached Martin but he miscontrolled it out of play at the edge of the six-yard box. His stomach happily broke his fall and prevented any serious injury. His tussles with Berra all day were an old-school throwback in a technical game.
The opening goal was no surprise. It had been coming, not on the balance of pressure but on the sharpness and alertness of the hosts. Another cross, this time from Ayite, and Bart saved smartly from Martin but Ayite was quickest to react. A series of half-chances followed for both sides, inevitably created by Fulham’s clever interplay (for them) and their neurotic defending (for us).
“How easy was that?” Fulham’s second goal was far more problematic. An innocuous throw in on our right and some short passes saw Fulham’s quieter Scott Malone ghost in and knife the ball past Bart into his far corner. We had not picked up the runner and switched off at the back yet again.
“Give him the budget and he will get you promoted.” The away crowd had been vocal for the first half hour and fully behind the team but the second goal heralded a change. The Portman Road fans have been unhappy for months but hearing the away fans starting to become negative was new.
“Norwich are winning 5-0.” While our friends up the road were typically flattering to deceive, we were flattering nobody. Fulham were now controlling the tempo of the game, varying it in the warm sunshine along a slow-slow-quick-quick-slow rhythm to conserve energy and catch us out. They were happy to fire long goal-kicks downfield for wingers to sprint on to and win set-pieces.
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There was no argument about the half-time score. We were losing the game in midfield and there was little we could do about it. Maybe having Skuse out there would have disrupted the prowling Johansen or the Fulham conductor-in-chief Tom Cairney but their central trio were trumping ours.
The most telling recurring pattern kept happening in midfield. Fulham pressed and killed space with a high defensive line when we were in possession. They would invariably isolate our midfield ball carrier in a one-versus-two battle before dispossessing him and working the ball quickly to one of their wingers of full-backs bombing forward. It was clever, pre-planned and difficult to stop.
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The switch to a 4-4-2 at the interval was an attempt to add some attacking balance by introducing Tom Lawrence while stifling Fulham’s threat down the wings. Yet another formation switch which begged the question as to why Mick doesn’t know his best set-up having worked with this squad for four years. Jokanovic in contrast had a style of play up and running with a squad rebuilt last summer.
Away we went for the second half and once again the game was being played in the same hysterical pattern. Sears nearly found the net straight after the break and while Fulham were getting chances at the other end, McGoldrick in particular was fashioning chances which we just could not finish.
After Bettinelli made one excellent save, the inevitable happened when Fulham broke and scored a third. It was a simple counter attack which left Johansen with time and space in the box to compose himself and fire home past Bart. 3-0, Game over. "Marcus Evans, get out of our club", “We want McCarthy out.”
“We want our Ipswich back.” The supporter standing beside me wondered just how many of our second half chances might have been taken had we bought a natural finisher in the January window. We had been wasteful in front of goal and it had bitten us. The wider mood was turning toxic with chants being aimed at Mick and Evans in equal measure and all a sharp contrast to the first half-hour.
“Fulham were actually better than this at Portman Road.” My companion said that they were playing far riskier football in the sunshine than they had over Christmas. There is a flawed beauty to the type of football Fulham play, delightful going forward but leaving wide open spaces and passing recklessly into the bargain. I fear they may be unable to string three good play-off games together in May.
There was no streetwise closing the game out as Fulham kept on attacking and leaving gaps in their hunt for a fourth goal, but by now most of the away end were occupied with letting the owner and the manager know what they thought of them and the season. Berra’s consolation goal in stoppage time was followed by Chris Martin skewing a shot wide and the game was mercifully concluded.
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It is tempting to dabble in a little Kremlinology when interpreting post-match players’ interactions with the crowd. They all came over and applauded us but many of us would have given good money to work out what Chambers and McGoldrick were thinking as they stood and clapped us. Mick went straight to the tunnel without glancing over. It is safe to say he probably heard what was been sung.
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Just after I left the stadium and walking in the flow of people towards Putney Bridge, a fellow Blue turned to me and said “I’m worried that the club are going to slaughter us for protesting during the game but it’s not wrong our protesting, is it? The football is awful, there’s every chance we could go down next season and there’s no way I can see it changing. What else can we do?”
He had been in a small knot of boisterous supporters at the front of the away end who were vocally protesting and encouraging others to join in. The truth, of course, is that he is right. The Town crowd warmly applauded every chance the players created, even in the second half when we were taking the game to Fulham, but the difference in calibre between the sides was just too obvious.
If you look back in recent years there are two ways of dropping into League One. You may not be big enough to survive (Yeovil, Milton Keynes, Peterborough) but incompetent ownership in whatever guise lies behind a majority of recent relegations (Blackpool, Bolton, Charlton, Pompey, Coventry, etc.) and it’s happening again this year with Forest and Blackburn currently fighting for their lives.
An owner is far more likely to relegate a football club than a manager. It nearly happened to us in 2013 and if the club don’t wake up it could well happen next season. There has been a paradigm shift in the Championship due to the new money being pumped in to the Premier League and our current investment level simply won’t cut it in this new world. This is not wishful thinking, it is reality.
The thing that struck me was how a fellow Blue was seeking affirmation for having voiced his fears during the game. It takes so little to make us happy as a band of supporters. We haven’t had success for a generation but we know what this club is capable of achieving. It’s such a pity that the people wielding control of the club either can’t recognise it or lack the ambition to try and make it happen.
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I was travelling on the train back to Bath from Paddington and a large number of Bath Rugby supporters boarded at Reading. When I saw half-a-dozen middle-aged alickadoos wearing Henley-style blazers with Black, Blue and White stripes I burst out laughing. I am so grateful to love football and support such a down to earth club. We may lose our tempers but at least we keep our dignity.
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 00:00 - Apr 9 with 3733 views | bluewein |
That last paragraph ... ðŸ‘ðŸ»ðŸ‘ðŸ»ðŸ‘ðŸ»
I did the same on the way back to Reading. Rugby fans are idiots, no matter how hard they try to big themselves up. Harrisholes, the lot of them. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 00:11 - Apr 9 with 3690 views | LankHenners |
It saddens me somewhat to see some of the abuse aimed at Mick, and I really do think that it's not one at all, but the relationship between him and the fans is clearly fractured, with both parties in some part responsible but both refusing to accept it.
It sounded to me a game which could have had goals galore if both teams were more clinical but failing to create and take chances whilst letting the other team in (although Fulham are a very dangerous attacking force) has been a huge problem for us all season.
I too worry about next season - if Mick is really going to stay (which seems unlikely to me) then he needs the money to compete; if he isn't, then the club needs to get its act together quickly. A concern of mine if Mick goes would be that we're losing the one 'footballing brain' at the top level, and the new guy could run into just as many problems as Mick but would be relying on a different style of football to make a difference.
A sorry state to be in when we were so close against all odds just a couple of seasons ago. Back then we couldn't imagine we were going to end up feeling like this. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 00:16 - Apr 9 with 3654 views | BanksterDebtSlave |
A quality read Harry, thanks. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 00:24 - Apr 9 with 3622 views | StNeotsBlue |
As things stand next season is going to be an ordeal. |  | | |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 07:19 - Apr 9 with 3398 views | bluehook |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 00:24 - Apr 9 by StNeotsBlue |
As things stand next season is going to be an ordeal. |
Even worse than this one has been. |  | | |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 07:25 - Apr 9 with 3377 views | Dubtractor |
Good report Harry.
I summed it up at half time as ability vs effort, you seem to agree. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 07:36 - Apr 9 with 3347 views | hoppy |
Excellent read Harry. Like one of Turner's paintings of the Thames, giving a great atmospheric picture of the whole day as well as the match. For one unable to be there, or even know much about what was happening, I very much appreciated that. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 07:40 - Apr 9 with 3328 views | Benters |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 07:19 - Apr 9 by bluehook |
Even worse than this one has been. |
It will be if ME keeps to his lack of transfer spending,and dear old Mick decides from his deck chair to stay until 2018 at least ! |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 08:02 - Apr 9 with 3253 views | hype313 |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 00:00 - Apr 9 by bluewein |
That last paragraph ... ðŸ‘ðŸ»ðŸ‘ðŸ»ðŸ‘ðŸ»
I did the same on the way back to Reading. Rugby fans are idiots, no matter how hard they try to big themselves up. Harrisholes, the lot of them. |
I'm a big Wasps fan, aswell as supporting town over the last 30 years, historically Rugby fans have been pretty awful but these days a day out at the rugby is far more enjoyable than a trip to PR, supporting the two sports isn't mutually exclusive and it's a bit 1995 with the whole "Rugby fans are awful"
If anyone gets the chance to spend a day at Saracens then I would highly recommend it, football could learn a lot from what they provide as a day out. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 08:17 - Apr 9 with 3195 views | TractorWood |
Good read. Well done. I think we'd have lost by more with Skuse playing. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 08:35 - Apr 9 with 3148 views | Bluebell |
A great read Harry.
The best part of the day for us was the lovely walk along the Thames from the tube station. Seeing the fans on the boat and listening to them made me realise that no matter how badly Town play, we still all love Ipswich and they can't take that away from us.
Walking away from the game a Fulham fan, dressed in a suit and tie (on a hot day like yesterday), said we were the best team he had seen at Fulham for a while and we were unlucky not to score more goals. Whether he was trying to make us feel better or telling the truth, we couldn't tell.
So onto Burton on Friday. A new ground and hopefully a win!
We want our Ipswich back but unfortunately I can't see it happening while Marcus Evans holds the purse strings. |  | | |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 08:54 - Apr 9 with 3065 views | RegencyBlue |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 07:40 - Apr 9 by Benters |
It will be if ME keeps to his lack of transfer spending,and dear old Mick decides from his deck chair to stay until 2018 at least ! |
To be honest whoever the manager is he will struggle under the Evans regime as it currently operates!
I've had enough of MM and can't wait for him to leave but in isolation it's not going to solve the major problem at PR which is Evans. |  | | |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:07 - Apr 9 with 3003 views | PJH |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 08:17 - Apr 9 by TractorWood |
Good read. Well done. I think we'd have lost by more with Skuse playing. |
Yes,I can see the logic in your point about Skuse-you mean if he had been playing in goal don't you? |  | | |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:17 - Apr 9 with 2977 views | Mullet |
Lovely stuff - it's just not our year is it? |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:21 - Apr 9 with 2960 views | blueblueburleymcgrew |
That's a great read. |  | | |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:23 - Apr 9 with 2942 views | Reuser_is_God |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:17 - Apr 9 by Mullet |
Lovely stuff - it's just not our year is it? |
Just not our year? Bit of an understatement! |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:25 - Apr 9 with 2932 views | Mullet |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:23 - Apr 9 by Reuser_is_God |
Just not our year? Bit of an understatement! |
I meant in terms of 12 months rather than 2017. Although you should know by now, I'm not prone to over-emphasis or dramatic ostentation in my words. | |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:28 - Apr 9 with 2911 views | brogansnose |
Thanks Harry always a delight to read your interesting measured reports especially from someone who is unable to make that many home games.
I really don't get Evans and he can no longer hide behind his managers. Even the most loyalist of supporters can see that his policies will offer us more chance of relegation than promotion and , for him, more funding of the club, or more austerity. He may purport, through his channels and mouth pieces, to be commited to Town being successful but it's clear to see that he's either been blinded by Mick over achieving on his budget or completely clueless.
If he believes that Mick can't deliver him success then he needs to get rid because this toxicity, which although horrible, is predictable, understandable and is eating away at the fabric of the club. I mentioned this last night to Mullers but a lot of what's not happening on the pitch all leads back to Evans. Even Chambers , in last interview, alluded to the fact that the players wanted to be part of a successful team and that more investment was neccessary. There is also the is he going or is he not factor leading to uncertainty within the playing staff before we get to the fans reactions.
Evans needs to get on with making some important decisions now instead of what's increasingly looking like a standoff between him and Mick. |  | | |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:32 - Apr 9 with 2891 views | Steve_M |
I was surprised we went with such an open side, and that we kept the three central defenders. That would be my main criticism of McCarthy yesterday rather than the moans by numbers that too many were coming out with.
It's been clear for a very long time that playing three central defenders only works in the case that:
a) a side is ultra defensive;
b) two or more are comfortable on the ball
c) one is effectively a midfield player, a la Sedgely
Chambers - Smith - Berra offers none of those and, despite the caricature, we've rarely been ultra defensive this season. We might not have been very good but that is a different matter. The switching off for the second goal was truly awful.
As much as Fulham were better than us, yesterday was a match rather than the non-event of Boxing Day. We only needed to have taken one of our many good chances at 2-0 to have made a game of it. Goals change games, I've seen enough where we've been comfortable until conceding.
The difference between a side with a lot of confidence and technical ability (going forwards anyway) and one without is stark. McCarthy is due some criticism but Evans remains chiefly to blame for deluding himself that we can continue to out-perform our budget whilst selling good players and not replacing them. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:40 - Apr 9 with 2856 views | ericclacton |
Great piece Harry, I'm now off to Germany.
Keep smiling!!!!
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 10:03 - Apr 9 with 2766 views | Superfrans |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 07:19 - Apr 9 by bluehook |
Even worse than this one has been. |
For me, it'll be tougher without Mick than with him. On a tight budget (as we are) I'm not sure there are too many who would do better.
That said, it's clear that he won't bring around certain fans. Singing "your football is sh!t" yesterday, when we were clearly trying to play football yesterday, is perverse. Also, just a few months ago, many of our fans were saying that they wouldn't mind losing or drawing, as long as we were having a go and trying to play football - but when we lose by trying to play football, they boo and jeer our players and manager anyway.
So, Mick will be gone in the summer, possibly not because the owner has lost faith in him (or because he isn't the best man for the job) but because it's necessary to begin puncturing this poisonous atmosphere that surrounds the club.
Personally, while it seems a crazy reason to get rid of your manager, I can't help feeling it's inevitable, maybe even essential. |  |
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 10:55 - Apr 9 with 2595 views | WeWereZombies |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 08:02 - Apr 9 by hype313 |
I'm a big Wasps fan, aswell as supporting town over the last 30 years, historically Rugby fans have been pretty awful but these days a day out at the rugby is far more enjoyable than a trip to PR, supporting the two sports isn't mutually exclusive and it's a bit 1995 with the whole "Rugby fans are awful"
If anyone gets the chance to spend a day at Saracens then I would highly recommend it, football could learn a lot from what they provide as a day out. |
I was not at Craven Cottage yesterday or on Harry's train but I had to uptick your post, the one sour note in an otherwise great read (especially that opening paragraph - the value of research, eh? Corinithian, I'd say) was the transference of opinion on a bunch of Hooray Henrys to all rugby supporters. If you are reading this, Harry, I am wondering if you have been to Bath's rugby ground - I have had it recommended to me as a good venue whatever the quality of the game for the three sides of stand and open end giving a view of the city.
Anyway, I was cheering on a Fulham player yesterday afternoon. Larnell Cole, currently on loan at Inverness. Callie were funnelling all their attacks through him and a delight to watch with movement on and off the ball, precise passing and great at finding space, Sign him up Mick. Then in the 82nd minute a fairly innocuous foul against him isn't given and he strides towards the ref effing and blinding. A yellow of course but he carries on so a second yellow fifteen seconds later and then he wanders round in circles for a minute before going off. Manager ignores him but one of the coaches provides a consoling arm - and then has to guide him to the tunnel as he tries to go and sit on the bench. Sometimes Scottish football is great comedy, and sometimes the comedian is English. Err, don't sign him up Mick. [Post edited 9 Apr 2017 11:16]
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| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 11:05 - Apr 9 with 2557 views | TractorWood |
| Messing About by The River - Reflections on Today’s Game at Fulham on 09:07 - Apr 9 by PJH |
Yes,I can see the logic in your point about Skuse-you mean if he had been playing in goal don't you? |
You seen the comparative points hauls with and without Skuse? | |
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