A blog of two halves

The road to safety looks steep but still there’s hope

In my report of the Leicester City match I commented:

28 December 2018
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Claudio Ranieri has to prepare his existing squad to cope with the reality of the top tier. PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES

In my report of the Leicester City match I commented:

‘Fulham had openings which would have resulted in goals if they had fallen to cooler souls than Denis Odoi and (Abou) Kamara.’

Back in May 2018 Odoi’s headed goal took Fulham to the play-off final, something for which he will always be remembered with gratitude. Kamara’s speed and strength also contributed to that victory over Derby County though he marred his performance with a ludicrous dive. This season both men have earned their places in the Premier League squad, and Claudio Ranieri selected them to start against West Ham on a drenched Saturday evening at the Cottage.

Fulham adapted quickly to the appalling conditions and in the ninth minute Aleks Mitrovic sent Kamara through with only goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to beat. The striker’s shot was too early and too predictable, allowing Fabianski to knock the ball away from the goal.

Eight minutes later a dithering Odoi was dispossessed by Felipe Anderson, whose shrewd pass allowed Robert Snodgrass to put West Ham ahead.

Fears that the game was already lost were compounded when Javier Hernandez headed an Anderson centre on to an unmarked Michail Antonio. Fulham 0 West Ham 2. Tim Ream, whose defensive work had been so crucial to the club’s promotion, should have beaten Hernandez in the air and Alfie Mawson, new this season, was caught out of position.

Ranieri may feel the need to sign yet more players, but the ability of Odoi, Kamara, Ream and Mawson is not in doubt and they made positive contributions during the match. Felipe Anderson, who caused Fulham so much bother, admits that he found the Premier League really daunting at first. Belatedly Ranieri has to prepare his existing squad to cope with the reality of the top tier. West Ham had only three shots on target yet achieved a decisive victory.

Kamara was named as substitute for the pre-Christmas visit to Newcastle, but Odoi, Ream and Mawson combined into a solid back three to achieve Fulham’s first clean sheet of the season. Odoi made one vital goal-line save and Ream was nearly back to his best.

It would have been marvellous to see a goal from Mitrovic against the club that undervalued him or from Kamara, who came on in the 76th minute. They tried individually and together, but the Newcastle goalie had an easy afternoon.

Halfway through the season Fulham have beaten only two Premier League teams. Though the road to safety looks extremely steep a few more victories could inspire fresh hope.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

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Morgan Phillips

Morgan is our Fulham FC blogger.

Born in Fulham in 1939 Morgan has lived in the district ever since. His parents (both Fulham supporters) took him to Craven Cottage in 1948 and he was immediately smitten, though it was not until the mid-1960s that he became interested in the club's history.

Articles in the supporters' magazine Cottage Pie were followed in 1976 by Morgan's publication of the first complete history 'Fulham We Love You'.

In the 1980s he wrote occasional articles for the reconstituted Cottage Pie under his own name and under the pseudonym Henry Dubb.

As public interest grew in football history, Morgan compiled 'From St Andrew's to Craven Cottage' (2007) describing the evolution of a church team into a professional organisation with its own stadium.

This led to regular articles in Hammersmith & Fulham Council's h&f news and then to a blog on the council's website.

In 2012 he produced an illustrated history of St Andrew’s Church Fulham Fields and the following year he and the vicar (Canon Guy Wilkinson) persuaded Fulham FC to install a plaque in the church commemorating the origins of the football club.

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