Sunday at 2.00pm sees us hop across London to Craven Cottage for the second of four games in a Thursday – Sunday – Thursday – Sunday sequence. This one is sandwiched between the two legs of our Europa League Round of 16 games against Sporting Lisbon, coincidentally the birth place of Fulham’s Portuguese manager, Marco Silva, 45 years ago.
This was always one of Dave’s favourite grounds to visit, nestling on the banks of the Thames, a mere 1.7 miles by road from the Bus Stop in Fulham, but light years away in terms of culture and respect, and a fair separation in terms of this year’s League positions too. Fulham currently sit in 7th place, behind Liverpool only on goal difference until last weekend’shilarious happenings at Anfield, while Chelsea are 5 points and 3 positions further back in 10th. Long may that continue! After being relegated or promoted in each of their last five seasons, Fulham seem certain to consolidate and build on their Premier League status.
Things are changing at Craven Cottage. In 2019 the owner, Shahid Khan, signed the deal to develop the Riverside Stand, alongside the Thames, into a new quality venue for bars, cafes, a hotel facility and new stand that would add around 4,000 to their capacity, taking it up to 29,000, in readiness for the season opening in 2022. If you are to be among the travelling faithful this weekend however, you will have to curb your enthusiasm as the original plan has been changed and delayed, and is now due to open for the beginning of the 2023/24 season. Such changes are not new to Fulham though. Way back in the 1980s it was announced that they were intending to turn Craven Cottage into an all-seater stadium as they had plans to buy a settee!
Fulham have long standing close rivals in West London, namely QPR and Brentford, from their time playing each other mostly in the lower divisions. The rivalry is fierce, as evidenced in the story about the Fulham fan, the Brentford fan and the QPR fan who were out climbing a mountain together and arguing about who loved his team more. The Brentford fan insisted he was the most loyal. “This is for BRENTFORD !“, he yelled and threw himself off the side of the mountain. Not to be outdone, the Fulham fan was next to profess his love for his club. “This is for FULHAM !”, he yelled and threw the QPR fan off the mountain.
The History
I have decided North Bank Ned does this kind of thing much better in his previews than I do – and there are other issues I would like to touch on – so I’ve limited the stats to just our Premier League head to head history. Of 31 games Fulham have won just 3, there have been 6 draws and 22 Arsenal wins. Of 9 Premier League games since 2012, Arsenal have won 7 and drawn 2.
In their 26 games this season Fulham have W11, D6, L9, GF38, GA34, Pts39. In our 26 games this season Arsenal have W20, D3, L3, GF59, GA25, Pts63.
Team News
For Fulham, Cedric Soares is ineligible as he still belongs to us (sigh), Tom Cairney, Layvin Kurzawa and Neeskens Kebano remain out due to a mix of injury and suspension. I have to admit to knowing nothing about any of them so cannot guess whether this will greatly affect their chances.
As ever, Aleksandar Mitrovic is by far their main threat with 11 goals and 3 assists this season. Bobby Reid and Manor Solomon are next in the rankings with 9 goals and a solitary assist between them.
For the Arsenal, Martin Ødegaard and Kieran Tierney are both being monitored following their midweek illnesses. Leandro Trossard is apparently doubtful with the groin injury he picked up against Bournemouth, and is more likely to be fit for the return of Sporting Lisbon on Thursday. Eddie Nketiah is also a doubt with an ankle problem. Mikel Arteta continues to tease us with the latest “news” on Gabriel Jesús. He is said to be nearing a return from his knee injury but is “unlikely to be rushed back into action”. That’s all clear then! At least I guess he must be guaranteed to rise again at Easter …?
Émile Smith-Rowe is so obviously a class player, it would be good to see him continue his route to full fitness with some time from the bench.
Team selection is becoming a foregone conclusion these days, which must be a credit to either the strength and conditioning staff, or the psychologists, and will almost certainly be:
Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Ødegaard, Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Martinelli, Nelson.
However, Trossard will presumably start in place of Nelson if fit, and I wonder if Arteta might start Vieira and give a tired looking Saka a rest on the bench.
Other Issues
I’ve taken the liberty of including some thoughts on some broader matters here, something that was thought by the management to be a good idea a while back. These two issues should certainly spark a bit of debate in the drinks – be quick though, this will all be gone tomorrow as games are coming thicker and faster than Aaron Lennon just now.
Added Time
Pierluigi Collina, he of the bald head and staring eyes, scarily ceased refereeing nearly 20 years ago. He is now FIFA Head of Referees. Bizarrely and utterly in keeping with referees’ propensity for inconsistency, he has been questioning Andy Madely’s decision to allow only 3 added minutes in Man Utd’s 7-0 thrashing at the weekend, while also talking about plans to introduce a “mercy” rule in football, whereby if a team is losing heavily at the end of 90 minutes, the officials could decide to end the match without completing the correct, full amount of added time! This seems, in metaphorical terms, like complaining you haven’t got enough cake and then moaning that you don’t want to eat it!
The implications are no less ridiculous just because they are blindingly obvious. A game is supposed to be 90 minutes long. Some struggling teams already try to waste as much of that 90 as possible to earn or save a point. It’s infuriating when they get away with it and it cheats the paying fans out of the entertainment they have paid to watch. Quite aside from the pure entertainment aspect of this problem, it prevents attacking teams from having as much time as possible to earn as many points and score as many goals as possible – a factor which could be decisive at the end of a season in a league that can be won or lost on Goal Difference.
There are a couple of incidental issues related to this apparently bonkers idea. Firstly, who, and at what point in time exactly, decides that proceedings should be brought to a premature end, and what precisely determines that a team is losing heavily enough for the rule to be employed? Our officials can’t apply the present set of rules anything like consistently – I have long since given up pretending to understand what is and isn’t handball anymore – and introducing this bugger’s muddle sounds like a recipe for total anarchy on the pitch.
Secondly, the more general issue of time wasting. Lying down “injured” has long been a way of players eating up remaining minutes because they know that despite the actual rules about stopping play for injuries, referees will invariably do so if you hit the deck and stay there. This applies particularly to the new concussion protocols, where stupid players are stretching the rules by feigning head injuries to get play halted immediately. It quickly becomes obvious when players have done this and it should result in an automatic yellow – or red? – card. This rule was implemented for players’ safety and protection and to use it dishonestly is especially objectionable.
The Celebration Police
Oh ffs! Having turned down 3 penalty appeals in our match against Bournemouth, referee Chris Kavanagh was so miffed that we still managed to win that he reported us to the FA for over celebrating. They must have been waiting a long time for this too as the FA have now announced that they will be investigating our celebrations.
I guess the problem is that these people are so convinced that football is now purely a business, that they just don’t understand how players, managers and fans can still get overcome with raw emotions when they win a crucial match with the last kick of the game, but what the hell is the point of it all if you can’t celebrate winning? Those scenes at the end of our game will sell the Premier League to millions more people round the world than any number of adverts for health insurance or mega expensive watches ever could – if that really is the only criterion by which they can get their fat heads round the issue.
Years of anti-Arsenal, anti-Wenger feeling, the refereeing bias towards United (unconscious or otherwise) and the refereeing standards we particularly still suffer from today – that’s quite a list – have contributed to the amazing reconnection between club and fans this season, as we finally have a team that can genuinely compete again, a team everyone can get behind with real hope and a chance to settle years of old scores.
The treatment of Diaby, Ramsey, Eduardo, Cazorla and the way officials almost allowed it to happen to soft, foreign Arsenal, and the media excusing the culprits as “not that kind of person”, incensed Arsenal fans and to this day the balance has never been redressed.
There is massive love and pride for this club, and deep anger at the way the club has been treated for a long time. Beating those thuggish players, er, inconsistent officials, media detractors and oligarchs and sheiks who have bought their way past us to the top, is providing us with a release valve to let out all that pent up frustration, quite apart from the joy, excitement and hope of maybe winning the league again.
We are doing it fairly and with class. But please do it quietly!
The Holic Pound
Typical odds for this one are 5/1 against a Fulham win; 16/5 against the draw and 3/5 on an Arsenal win. Of all our strikers the only two guaranteed fit to start are Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli who are both quoted by betfair at 11/2 to score first, and 15/8 to score at any time, if you prefer more generous odds.
Kick-off is on Sunday 12th March at 14.00 UK time. TV coverage on Sky Sports. Referee is David Coote. VAR is Peter Bankes. The choice of personnel shouldn’t matter but ….. you know …
Try to relax and enjoy the game – 12 to go!
Great preview Trev! I won’t be at the Cottage tomorrow, although I know several ‘holic’s that will. Have a great game chaps and bring back all three points!
Masterful preview Trev with some hard truths at the end. Hard truths that definitely needed saying, and still bear repeating over and over. Arsenal three points any which way please.
Thanks Trev! A fine preview covering a wide range of issues and a classic joke thrown in for free. What more could the punters want?
Any win will do now of course, I think I’d start ESR and bring Nelson on later but we might also see Vieira starting wide I suppose if Ode has recovered in time to start.
Just watched Bournemouth roll over Liverpool 1-0. Makes our performance last week look a little better 🙂
Bad day for Liverpoo, Salah missed a penalty, and as the Liverpoo players surrounded the ref to appeal after he initially said no then no doubt a fine will follow.
Great preview Trev and a pity we won’t have long to debate the important issues you outline at the end . Fortunately the noose has been taken from our neck over the celebrations but unrecorded ( I happen to know ) we were warned about over celebration by the authorities who have given us the choice of either refusing to score or if we do to ignore any celebration or risk a points deduction .
I shall be at the Cottage tomorrow with the estimable Bath and Btm but we will be undercover in the aforementioned Riverside Stand . I’ve seen the defeats you mention personally but I’ve also seen us win many times there , the last being a 5-1 win under the great Unai Emery ( a good manager but too many rough edges ) .( 🧥 fetched)
It will be extremely tough tomorrow after the impact of Thursday’s game from a physical perspective and any win for us will be hugely welcome . I shall convey my thoughts tomorrow evening
Excellent preview Trev. And pithily articulated description of the chaos and unfairness and inconsistencies— if not barely hidden outright biases — against Arsenal.
CER, forgot to post my comments on your wonderfully enjoyable review of the Sporting game. I felt it was a good learning experience for the team. In Europe especially the tactical tweaks necessary and in-match recalibration of how and when to build from the back require this learning curve. Sporting’s high press may have lacked the consistent physicality of say Dortmund or Liverpool at their best but the tactical execution of it was really good, and unsettled us. A 2-2 draw was a fair result and we should be able to build on that and use our home advantage this Thursday.
Coming back to Fulham, for a far-flung supporter like me it’s probably one of those PL matches, especially London derbies, where I find it the intense dislike for the opposition doesn’t generate itself so automatically. However, Mitrović and his annoying presence takes care of raising the despisability quotient, so much so that even Leno — who I think was excellent for us for the most part, and we should have played him and not an aging Chelsea mole in Baku in that final — between the goals on the other doesn’t diminish that dislike. Watch out for a Xhaka-Mitrović kerfuffle …
I think your team selection is spot on if Ødegaard has fully recovered. If not then Vieira takes his place, and we likely start with Nelson on the left and ESR to come off the bench later in the game. If Martin is fit then I suspect Fabio may actually start on the left instead of Reiss, Gabi and Saka are in the other two roles in front three.
If Partey-Xhaka-Zinchenko can impose their customary control over the midfield we should be able to make our quality count. But we will have to be patient and take our chances and get back to doing the defensive basics which lately seem to have formed a habit of deserting us intermittently.
Come on Arsenal!
With the score staying 0-0 so long, I was hoping for a miracle but no. Pressure back on.
Cheers Trev, splendid preview. I’ll take a scrappy victory with a Willian own goal tomorrow.
Three points, nothing else.
A Palace draw against City probably would have been a bridge too far considering that they showed zero goal threat for 90 minutes. I had my hopes up in the second half but weakly. It’s all in our hands at Fulham.
Lovely, Trev.
Take three centre forwards out of the squad of any PL team and ask them to compete at the top of the league and “Yer ‘avin a larf, ain’t ya” would be one of the more polite responses that might be expected.
Can Arsenal?
Yes we can.
Looking forward to my first visit to the Cottage.
That’s a great preview Trev and I love the Morris Minor. I first heard your joke aboout Molecular Biologists! I agree on your predicted XI and also agree 100% with your point of view on both topics you raise.
Referees have been extremely dilatory in their application of the rules on time keeping. When a team starts wasting time after 10 minutes, as we have frequently seen our opposition do this season, a yellow card for a goalkeeper in the 80th minute is just taking the piss. If the ref sanctions a keeper when he fails to respond to his first warning, will we ever see a second yellow for further time wasting? I think not. The average time the ball is in play is apparently around 60 minutes. The added time in the World Cup was a refreshing development but given the ineptitude of our refs I think timekeeping should be taken out of the hands of the man in the middle and the clock stopped whenever there is an extended break as in an injury, leisurely free kick, goal kick, corner or goal celebration. A notional 30 seconds could be alllowed for each of these but thereafter additional time used is objectively calculated by a dedicated timekeeper.
Criticism for excessive celebration is simply the redirection of their anger at an Arsenal win by those who hate us. The little simian who works for Bein clearly also has an agenda about the boss. He can go forth and procreate.
Like BtM, I too look forward to my first visit to the Cottage, courtesy of TTG. As you say, Trev, it was Dave’s favourite away trip and I also look forward to the walk along the river that he so loved.
Go win, Gunners!
Goal ( Charles Watts ) suggests Jesus, Trossard and Odegaard are all in the squad . One assumes Jesus will start from the bench
Haven’t been to Craven Cottage for more than 30 years now, but I guess the walk along the river hasn’t changed too much, have a great day gents! I hope The Arsenal have a great day too. All the last 12 PL games are little cup finals now but this is one of the trickier ones and the three points would be fantastic.
@10 Completely agree Bath about separating out the time keeping duties. No reason the ref needs to do it and the PL could even make a few quid by outsourcing the job to Rolex, Seiko etc, as official time-keeper for the PL.
The celebration issue is easily solved by adopting the Japanese custom of bowing politely to each other after a goal. The lack of physical contact will also greatly reduce infections in this virusitically challenged age. Win-Win!
Or you could of course follow MA’s advice and “go to church” if you don’t like excessive celebrations.
Careful Mikel, don’t mess with a
Matt, I very much like the suggestion of the mutual bow after a goal is scored. If our players could achieve such a degree of self control I would be confident we have the mental strength to win this league.
And thanks for the clip of the Eurhythmics. I haven’t listened to them or Annie herself in years. That’s a project for next week.
Enjoy the Cottage, baff and others. I was lucky to attend this fixture a couple of times with Dave, always a great pleasure.
Thank you for the kind comments – not long to go now.
Cup final 1 of 12 ! Fingers crossed for a great day if you’re going 🤞🏻
You’re very welcome Bath, some Friends of mine in Osaka are big Eurythmics fans so I get a regular medley of songs every time I’m over at their house.
Pre-match nerves kicking in…..
Excellent preview, Trev. “Thicker and faster than Aaron Lennon” is always a winning line.
Spot on about time wasting and the celebration police.
Happy travels to those going to the Cottage.
Envious of those going today. Beers in Putney. The walk over Putney Bridge and through Bishops Park, by the river to the ground. The unmistakable and inimitable mock Tudor cottage. Best away day in football. COYG!
Thanks Trev for an entertaining & informative preview. This is a tricky game as Fulham have shown enough skill & dtermination to get results on a good day – let’s hope we have enough in our tank to prevail with a deserved win ( although I’ll happily take an undeserved win if necessary).
My last visit to Craven Cottage was in 1961 when they had Johnny Haynes mastering them midfield along with Jimmy Hill on the wing and the wonderfully named Tosh Chamberlsin as inside forward – yes, it does make me feel old ( probably because I am 😃 ). iIRC we came away with all 2 points!
For all those visiting have a great day out and bring back 3 points please.
COYRRR
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Tosin, Ream, Robinson, Lukic, Andreas, De Cordova-Reid, Mitrovic, Solomon
Subs: Rodak, Wickens, Diop, Robinson, Francois, Harris, Wilson, James, Vinicius
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Trossard
Subs: Turner, Holding, Tomiyasu, Tierney, Jorginho, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Jesus
Trossard back and starting.
Cheers Trev! And Trossard returns!
And Jesus on the bench!
Good to see Trossard back, and Jesus too. Looking much stronger as a squad with that bench.
Those were the days, Uply !
Nailed on studs on your Adidas Predators – polished up with dubbin, no doubt !
Johnny Haynes, of course, retired from football to write a library’s worth of car maintenance manuals 😏
Cheers Esso ! That is indeed a good looking bench 👍🏻
Mik Arteta called him
Said; “Now’s your time to shine,
‘Cause I’m collecting Gabis
And gonna make you mine”.
They say he walks on water
And turns it into wine.
Ohhhh, I believe in Jesus,
The Arsenal’s number nine
Uply@21: To jog your memory, our only game at Craven Cottage in 1961 was on March 31, which ended in a 2-2 draw. We played them again at Highbury three days later and won 4-2.
That was the season Johnny Haynes became the first £100-a-week footballer. It was also Jimmy Hill’s last before retirement. George Cohen, Alan Mullery and Graham Leggat would have been playing for them then, too.
I saw Fulham get pasted 4-0 at the Cottage by the Red Mancs in 1968. George Best masterclass.
Excellent preview, Trev. Hopefully Trossard is properly fit, we can see 5 or 10 minutes from Jesus and a good 30 from ESR.
Esso @29 👍🏻👍🏻
Trev@27: I don’t think there were Predators in those days or even nailed-in studs anymore. My boots back then had screw-in studs and came with a little metal ring wrench that kept getting lost. There was always one stud that would get stuck and you couldn’t get it out of those blue nylon soles on Adidas boots when you needed to change studs or clean the boots. Scrubbing brush and a bucket of water. Then the black dubbin. Tell that to the youth today…
Hints of Spring here despite the cold. It looks like nobody is wearing short sleeves at the Cottage either. Good to see Trossard and Ødegaard in the team and Gabriel Jesus on the bench. Three points any which way please. COYG!!!!
Cautious start but playing it around well enough. Saka clattered early by Robinson.
The “Predators” were a joke, Ned 😏
Bastarded by VAR. Bollocks.
Unlucky Xhaka, great ball for the disallowed goal, then did well to get a shot in that Leno saved.
Didnt save that one though!
1-0 !
Deserved lead too, been excellent last 10 minutes
2-0 Martinelli!! Good work and cross from Leo.
Earlier nice ball out from Saliba to Xhaka, who found
Leo. 2nd assist for Leo, good to have him back
Get in Tross, a hattrick of assists
Great timing for the third, great footwork from Ode, made it look easy.
We have been brilliant first half, slowly started to dominate, got two in
front, defended well apart from one iffy moment, then a killer third.
Happy, happy, 😃
The Fulham defender who clattered Saka early on was Robinson. He has had a richly deserved nightmare since.
Halfway through the 2nd half and Fulham finally had a decent chance
after sloppy play but well saved by Aaron and then a header off the bar
fortunately.
Time for some subs, Saka, Zin off and KT, Reiss on.
Gabi for Leo?
Leo and Gabi off for Jesus and Vieira.
Welcome back 😀
Tomi for Ben and we have been able to let a few have a break.
Playing this one out well and with 7 minutes to go and a 3-0 lead
I’m going to uncontroversially call this one for The Arsenal
5 points clear, Top of the League and a champion performance
Granit, TP5 excellent today I thought, but really a very strong team performance
Ooh , Ode a little lucky not to get a 2nd yellow there.
More restrained celebrations this week 😉
well funny, trev, and salient points re time and the celebrations flowing.
what a fine game to watch. some of what we played was among the best i’ve seen from arsenal…
Well in scruz and even better from Arsenal 🤩
At times, the football today was breathtaking. Not a perfect performance – Ramsdale had a couple of strange monuments and perhaps with a bit more luck they might have scored. But we are so far ahead of schedule it’s ridiculous. And it’s quite possible we could be extraordinary next season.
Great performance. Great result. Come on you Arsenal!
Looking forward to next Sunday when I will be in attendance and hopefully see us batter the cunts from a suburb of Croydon.
Well in for the half-ton, Scruz.
Some wonderfully flowing play today, studded with a couple of harum-scarum moments (yes, Ramsdale, looking at you). We could, perhaps should, have scored five or more. Partey was outstanding, and Martinelli and Trossard were at the top of their games. Great to see Jesus back, too.
Beautiful, wonderful, dreamy football by the Thames.
I don’t have the clip but there one moment of absolute filth by Thomas when he he took on three Fulham players and wriggled away with the ball into open space. Worthy of Zidane.
Happy Days. And in all this, a sneaky half-ton from scruz. Well done all around.
I’m happy to enioy cool wins like that rather than the drama of last week (once in a while is OK….).
Say we are, top of the league, say we are top of the league!
Well, that was a lovely day out!
A very nice lunch in good company, a saunter through the park to the ground to be treated to a champion masterclass in the first half with three great goals and in fact, we should have been 5 up at half time if two exquisite moves had ended in a decisive finish. The second half was managed out professionally with a single scary moment and the cherry on top was the return of JESÚS who injected the last few minutes of the game with the same high energy and zest for the ball that he displayed in August – and oh my, wouldn’t it have been miraculous (:0)) if he had scored that chance?
And yes, C100, that chip and turn by TP5 to escape three opponents surrounding him brought echoes of PV4 in his pomp.
WDYG
I believe in Jesus.
He’s Arsenal’s number 9!
Saliba’s sweeping crossfield pass to Xhaka that started the move for our second goal was quite outstanding.
Ned @61, it was absolutely superb but merely 1 of 22 passes in the build unto that goal – albeit a critical one! Along with Xhaka’s well timed lay-off to Trossard (my MotM by a whisker from Ødegaard and Saliba) and the latter’s sublime chip to Gabigol.
An inane prattle free MotD2 is coming on shortly. Wonder who will be on first?
Fun stat – Gabriel’s third goal in the league is equivalent to 131 million quid (Antony and Richarlison combined).
Great post match comments by Ødegaard and Trossard, who seem to enjoy playing together.
@61 Ned, yeah, great ball Saliba but also clever of Xhaka to have sneaked forward while the others were pinging it around the Fulham press
Our passing was excellent yesterday (for me) and although I have already seen a couple of match reports saying a poor Fulham performance made it easy for us I think the crispness of our passing and our movement never gave them a chance. One of the trickier of our dirty dozen last games safely navigated.
>>>>>>>