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Fulham Funday

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Now that everyone has been stimulated by England's crushing victory over Slovenia, can we keep the momentum going by defeating Fulham on Sunday? Should Moyes really go for it and seek goals, goals, goals??? Why not??

They don't have much in their attacking locker, and I think I am right in saying that Johnson is unavailable for them. Moyes could also show Bily and Heitinga that he doesn't intend to take any prisoners when we are dealing with teams outside the top 4.

No cautious tinkering with only Jo marooned up front, and too much back-passing and square balls. We have a decent record against Fulham and I firmly believe if we are serious this season, we should be beating teams like them home and away.

Surely, it's now time for Moyes to throw off that all-too-familiar cloak of cautiousness and start rubbing the noses of our supposed inferiors into the mud. I don't want Bily to become quickly discontented and disgruntled at our lack of attacking resolve. He is a Russian, remember — Urragghhh!!! (their equivalent of Banzai)!!

Moyes said after the Burnley defeat that he thought things needed freshening up a bit; well, here is his chance with an injection of new blood. Come on, David, let's see some attacking flair right from the off, and please don't stick one man up front on his own... Let's see you "freshen things up" by being bold and launching waves of attacks.

Their defence is probably better than their attacking ability, so all you have to do is get our players in the right frame of mind to prove our attack is better than their defence. Then we can go to Athens for My Big Fat Greek Winning, washed down with retsina and ouzo.... COYB.
John Brennan, Washington, Tyne & Wear     Posted 07/09/2009 at 13:56:57

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Adam Fenlon
1   Posted 08/09/2009 at 05:17:29

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I actually think given Fulham are a pretty decent side and that we’ve got a woeful record there, that this is exactly the sort of game where we should be conservative and try to build pressure slowly rather than being gung-ho from the start.

The sort of game where keeping a clean sheet should be first priority.
Derek Thomas
2   Posted 08/09/2009 at 07:02:45

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Moyes throw off his cloak of cautiousness?? Never in a million years, it’s just not in his nature!
Anthony Newell
3   Posted 08/09/2009 at 07:30:05

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"... That all-too-familiar cloak of cautiousness" — therefore Billy & Heitenga on the bench.

If they started in place of Hibbert & Osman, I’d be cock-a-hoop!
Phil Roberts
4   Posted 08/09/2009 at 08:01:50

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A decent record against Fulham... as in the last player before Leon Osman to score a winner was Alan Ball — and that was just after he signed for us.

Sorry John but you are either so young your memory does not go back beyond 18 months or so old you are suffering from Alzheimer's!

3 points will be great but I will take 1. Fulham have been back in the Premier League for 8 years — that is 7 defeats and one win for us down there. The decent record is the 8 wins at GP.
Dennis Stevens
5   Posted 08/09/2009 at 10:07:50

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In some ways, Moyes reminds me a little of Gordon Lee. He’s never going to throw caution to the wind & those occasions when his team play great football will always be the exception rather than the rule. The big difference between then & now seems to be the expectations of the supporters, in terms of both performance & achievement.
Gary Drain
6   Posted 08/09/2009 at 11:02:31

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There’s no way Moyes will play two attackers away from home. He struggles to be that positive in home matches!!

I reckon he’ll go for...

Howard
Hibbert Yobo Distin Baines
Osman Neville Fellaini Cahill Pienaar
Jo
Dick Anderson
7   Posted 08/09/2009 at 11:17:52

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Wasn’t there some kind of rule that the Everton/Fulham games always resulted in home wins? I’m sure that we had won 100% of the games at Goodison and they had won 100% of the games at their place. Of course, that all went out the window last season with Osman’s double at Craven Cottage.
Mark Dawson
8   Posted 08/09/2009 at 11:40:25

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Moyes has got to drop Osman and Hibbert in place of the new lads. I think the reason why Bily wasn’t thrown on sooner against Wigan was down to the way the game was going in that we needed a goal from anything; in other words, just lump the ball up and hope for something to happen, which it did thanks to Fellaini and Jo. Now that we’re away from home he can start with the new additions and we can see how they get on... the only one Moyes will not drop is Neville:

Howard
Heitinga Yobo Distin Baines
Neville
Fellaini Rodwell
Pienaar Bilyaletdinov
Saha

Tony Williams
9   Posted 08/09/2009 at 12:11:09

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Mark, he will not just throw the new lads in, as he will not really have a chance to watch them in training. Bily came in the Friday, played a few minutes on Sunday, then flew back to Russia. Heitinga was here an even shorter amount of time. The interview on Everton TV comfirms that he signed, did the photos then flew off to the Holland squad.

He may have a gamble on Heitinga at right back but I can see him dropping Ossie to break up the left flank, our better side to play someone he hasn’t really had a chance to train with.

Bily looked shell-shocked and overawed in the Wigan game, quite a lot of players and the manager made mention of this, so I would imagine him being on the bench and eased in to the game.
Ciaran Duff
10   Posted 08/09/2009 at 12:32:11

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Not sure what you’re smoking, John, but it must be good stuff! ;-) Fulham are not a bad team and this will be a tough test. Just look at the Paddy Power odds if you want an objective view.

I’m dying for the new lads to be involved and hope they are a roaring success but there is no way they will (or should) be thrown in from the start. A gradual introduction has to be the way to go.

Alan Kirwin
11   Posted 08/09/2009 at 12:47:36

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I’m guessing John works in a factory that makes white board marker pens. They say it becomes addictive.
John Crook
12   Posted 08/09/2009 at 12:59:29

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I have a feeling that Heitinga will start on the bench as by the time he arrives at Finch Farm on Friday after Holland duty he will only have time for 1 training session? And, with this in mind, watch Hibbert have an absolute stormer and make himself undroppable and the new chant on the terraces "There's only one Tony Hibbert". I also have a feeling that Bily will start but in an inside left position and I would not expect him to last 90 mins but I still feel we will win this game with Saha scoring!!!
Tom Bowers
13   Posted 08/09/2009 at 13:28:57

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Mark, I agree entirely with the line-up. If they are all fit they should start and we should think positively about winning. Too many times we struggle because of lack of enterprise which is the way DM operates. He was a defender and has that mentality.

Sure, he has had success without winning anything so far and isn’t likely to do so but at least let’s try to get a team that plays attractive soccer the way the School of Science used to be. After the Arsenal debacle, we should have rebounded at Burnley but were anything but adventurous. We got lucky at the death against Wigan but now it’s time to start showing the loyal fans the power of positive thinking. Let’s give a good showing at Fulham for once.

Mark Dawson
14   Posted 08/09/2009 at 13:57:38

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I dont agree with this idea that because the players havn’t trained they should be eased into the team, what if we bought someone like Messi (haha), would people be saying the same thing? Put them on from the start and let's have a go.
Tony Williams
15   Posted 08/09/2009 at 17:43:18

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The thing with Messi is that we certainly know he will easily be the best player in the team but Heitenger and Bily are not "wonder" buys like Messi so the two circumstances are not comparable
Keith Glazzard
16   Posted 08/09/2009 at 20:37:05

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Dini and John haven’t been bought to warm the bench. We know that Moyes has kept new players there for a long time, but, like Distin, these are ’readymades’. Dini has already made his debut.

Fulham are a good side. They are a footballing side, and I suspect that the manager might take them on in the same way he did Oloumouc. Risky, and they could have scored many times, but we came out 5-1.

I think Heitinga and Dini will start. Neville as captain too, and its getting unthinkable to imagine our team without Rodwell (who Stuart Pearce was shouting to the other evening to organise the U21 attack).

On the bench, then ....
Keith Glazzard
17   Posted 08/09/2009 at 21:08:26

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OK - I never pick the starting line-up I want, only what I think Moyes will. And I really think he’s got more realistic options than he’s had possibly since the start of his tenure. My guess is this -

Howard
Heitinga Yobo Distin Baines
Cahill Neville Rodwell Pienaar Bilyaletdinov
Saha
Subs - Jo, Fellaini, Osman, Hibbert, ......

I think John and the Cap’n will both start. Either might be at right back.

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