Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Daily Fulham- Winning in Wigan
50 Plays21 days ago
Gavin looks back on all the key moments from Fulham's 4th round FA Cup tie with Wigan Athletic.
Zencastr- Built for quality- Designed for growth
A new era for creation is here.
The only complete audio + video platform to get best-in-class recording, intuitive editing, Al-powered growth features, and top-tier tools all in one place.
Get started for free!
We highly recommend it!
Global Sports Podcast Network- Creating the world's first network of 30-minute daily podcasts for the world's biggest sporting export, the English Premier League.
For advertising and sponsorship details or to learn more about the scale and demographics of our audience- email Ken Davies, VP Business & Development at:
ken.davies@globalsportspodcastnetwork.com
www.globalsportspodcastnetwork.com
Copyright] 2024| Global Sports Podcast Network] All Rights Reserved
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Daily Fulham Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Every club. Every day. The Global Sports Podcast Network. work Hello again everybody, welcome back to the Daily Fulham Podcast.
Fulham vs Wigan: Match Overview
00:00:13
Speaker
My name is Gavin Ruffell and today it's the start of a new week and we start that new week by looking back at the weekend's game as Fulham emerged victorious in their trip to Wigan Athletic to secure progress to the next round of the FA Cup although it wasn't quite smooth sailing was it? So let's get into it, let's take you through all the key details from the game.
00:00:34
Speaker
As always with Marco Silva teams in the f FA Cup or Carabao Cup, any cup competition, you're kind of wondering what team he's going to put out, how strong it's going to be. We saw in the previous round against Watford it was a bit of a mix and match and I was expecting something very similar, especially given Fulham's position in the league where they would attack this competition and would take it seriously.
Marco Silva's Team Selection: Risky Changes?
00:00:54
Speaker
So I was a little bit surprised to see that he made 10 changes. A little bit disappointed, truth be told, because they did get caught out in the Cabo Cup, a way to press them, making a lot of changes. And I felt 10 was probably on the high side. Four or five, I would have thought, that's okay, that's fine. Obviously certain players need opportunities, but you want to give the opposition the respect that they deserve and still retain that quality in your side to seal progress through to the next round. The way I look at it is,
00:01:22
Speaker
win the game first and then you can look at wrestling players after that but he saw it differently and and others will think differently as well. There was opportunities to start for the likes of Josh King and Godot and for some people they want to see those youngsters start and get minutes under their belt. Certainly that's the way Marco Silva saw it as well. There was a lot of talk leading up to the game certainly from the Wigan Athletic side about Anthony Robinson returning but he wasn't involved in the matchday squad which was probably met with some disappointment while quite a lot of disappointment for the home fans but understandable that he would get a rest.
Player Performances and Opportunities
00:01:53
Speaker
Robinson is the only real left back at the club so I didn't have a problem with him sitting this one out. The only player that remained from the last league game against Newcastle was Tim if he could stand here and that's because they don't have any other right backs to call upon. Obviously missing out on that area in the transfer window.
00:02:10
Speaker
So I did feel it was a bit risky to make that many changes and if you make that amount of changes you have to win the game. There's going to be uproar if you go out to lower league opposition anyway but if you make that amount of changes given the league position then there's going to be a lot of question marks thrown your way and rightly so with it so it is a gamble. And the other notable name in the squad was Willian not ready to start as of yet probably not likely to see him start in the next few games as he works his way back up to fitness but he took a place on the bench a very strong Fulham bench and the game started with Fulham dominating possession as you would kind of anticipate against a lower league side but there were no clear-cut chances early on. It was interesting to see what position Josh King would take up because Godot was the only natural winger included in the 11 so Josh King was playing as a winger but he wasn't necessarily hugging the touchline. He was linking up with Kostanya but he was predominantly playing an infield and it was actually Josh King that had the first attempt on target for Fulham. Bit of a tame effort, bit of a P-roller that the winging goalkeeper is able to save.
00:03:15
Speaker
Fulham were passing it nicely, passing it crisply, on a slightly difficult pitch, nothing too bad, but it's not quite the bowling green they used to play on in the Premier League. Wigan on the flipside, they were happy to camp in their own half and ask Fulham, can you break us down? I talked about application and attitude and mentality and commitment and I was i was pleased with the way Fulham started the game.
00:03:38
Speaker
there wasn't that air of complacency you might see when you're playing in a game that you're expected to win, and you just need that professional professional performance in order to get the job done. And for them, we're the team to score first, and it's a goal from Rodrigo Muniz. Patient build-up. It's good play from Josh King initially. The ball gets sent out wide to Ryan Sesignon, who puts in a delicious first-time ball, begging to be attacked. Muniz nips in ahead of two Wigan defenders,
00:04:05
Speaker
and with some part of his body, either his head or his shoulder, he manages to get on the end of the cross to put Fulham in front. There was contention about the goal at the time whether it might be an own goal from Luke Robinson, but I do believe the goal got credited as Rodrigo Moniz, so again another goal for him starting this time to go with the goal he got in the last round against Watford.
00:04:26
Speaker
So Ryan Sessony on playing a big part in that goal and he did give a warning to Wigan before then as he put in a cross that no Fulham players were quite able to get on the end of just moments earlier which was cleared for a corner so that goal was coming from Fulham, no clear cut chances as I said ah until that moment but Fulham were dominating the game in terms of territory and they were the team looking likely to score so that asked the question of Wigan how they would respond, how they would change tactically because they were content to sit in and soak up pressure but now they needed to commit more bodies forward and whilst you commit bodies forward that always leaves spaces in behind for Fulham attackers to exploit so they had to be clever in their way of going about it because they couldn't go gung-ho otherwise Fulham would just be all over that and if they were to go into a 2-0 lead then the floodgates may well open so it was a bit of a balancing act in that respect. There was a chance for 2-0 it's Godo, it's a real good opportunity this is a ball over the top from Pereira, Muniz is challenging with a Wigan defender but it goes over both of their heads and Godo was able to break free
00:05:26
Speaker
is a chance to square, I believe Kings up with him, but he opts to go for goal instead and hits the side netting. Fulham were looking purposeful at this point and they certainly hadn't taken the opposition for granted, but there was another chance for Isidiopp from a Pereira corner, he gets free in the box, makes good contact with a header but it's straight down, Sam tickles, throat, you felt like a second goal would put this game to bed, the belief would drain out of the Wigan players then and it would be too much of a mountain to climb for them. Wigan, they weren't really fashioning much in open play but you've got to be wary of set pieces and long throws that they had at their disposal. So at half time full and went into the interval 1-0 to the good.
00:06:08
Speaker
You wanted that second goal just to kill off any belief of Wigan but overall I think i think Marco Silva would have been happy with the team's performance, they didn't really give Wigan a sniff, they were passing the ball well and it was just about fashioning more opportunities as they kept doing what they were doing and then the chances would come and hopefully more goals would come. and Alternatively if Wigan were to get back in the game then Fulham had the reinforcements on the bench that could potentially make a difference in the second half.
00:06:34
Speaker
and on to the second half action shortly but before then a few words about our sponsors. Here at the Global Sports Podcast Network we spent a lot of time selecting our delivery platform, Zencaster came out the clear winner. With 4k video recording from your phone and AI editing that automatically removes all those ums and r's it's super easy to start a podcast that sounds great and is delivered efficiently. If you're ready to tell your story check out the link in the show description to learn more about Zencaster.
Wigan's Equalizer: Pressure on Fulham
00:07:03
Speaker
onto the second half action then and it started in a dramatic way with an equaliser for Wigan which was out of the blue out of nothing because up until that point in the first half they hadn't really fashioned anything one or two moments from corners and throw-ins but apart from that ah they looked limited in what they could do what they could hurt Fulham with as far as open play went but this was a goal a really good goal and Wigan for the first time in the game were able to string a few passes together the ball gets swung in from the left and Johnny Smith it is he finds space he's outside the box he positions it on his left foot from about 22-23 yards and he tries his luck
00:07:39
Speaker
and he cools one into the far left corner you gotta hold your hands up and just say fair play it was completely against her in the play completely out of the blue but it was a worldy very similar to the worldy that Fulham conceded in the last round against Watford and Steven Benzer a rear outing in goal for him he must be thinking why does this keep happening against me why do people keep scoring great goals against me when I have the chance to play ah so at this point it's a bit of a sucker punch but for Fulham they have to respond now the crowd are up the crowd a sense in blood they feel there could be an upset on the cards full of need to quiet them as soon as possible and show that Premier League class that they have and they did just that it's Rodrigo Menus who gets on the score sheet for the second time in this game and this one definitely is his while there was some doubt about his first goal there's definitely no doubt about this one and it comes from Akane short pass that's played into Andres Pereira who whips a lofted ball around the corner first time for Menus to run onto and he finishes it with a plan
00:08:33
Speaker
with conviction with his right foot and that's a blow for Wigan given the fact that they had just scored themselves. So questions are asked of Wigan now, what can they do to respond? There's a little bit of a lengthy stoppage midway through the second half. Pereira is receiving treatment after going down from a collision with James Carragher, son of Jamie, looked like a foul but nothing was given. Just watching the game unfold, they needed to be a bit careful. Wigan was showing the odd flash of inspiration.
00:09:00
Speaker
and Fulham was starting to get a little bit sloppy on the board. Harrison Reed, rare start for Harrison Reed, he hasn't started in a long time, obviously was out for a while with injury. He got dispossessed and there's Darcy, one of the Wigan substitutes. He tries his luck from 20 yards, similar distance from the first goal. This one just on the other side with his right foot, but it goes past the post. And the substitutes for Fulham, we see Adama Torori come on, we see Alex Oobi come on for the last 15-20 minutes. Marshall Godot replaced. Of course, if things had worked out differently, Marshall Godot could have been playing this weekend for Watford. Instead, he remained at Fulham and he was starting his first game for the club here.
00:09:40
Speaker
and I'm sure the fans will be happy to see him getting minutes under his belt, getting an opportunity to start. Good ovation for both fans as he enjoyed a successful spell at Wigan last season. Some final substitutes for Wigan as they try to get that equalising goal but Steven Sesignon who has just come back from injury, he remained on the bench as they went in search of that equaliser. So no family reunion, no chance for Ryan to play against Steven, but understandable given the situation that Wigan needed to try and get back into the game, and obviously they're not going to bring the right back necessarily to do that.
00:10:14
Speaker
Almost disaster for Fulham, almost disaster for Isidiopp. He's a Darcy, low driven cross from the right side which Isidiopp intercepts but he almost puts it in his own net. He manages to just divert it over his own bar and from the resulting corner Scott Smith tries his luck from the edge of the box.
00:10:34
Speaker
Stephen Bender's able to make a decent save, low down as the ball goes through a sea of bodies. As I touched on Fulham, I've just become a little bit sloppy in possession and Wigan were having a good spell in this game. They had to commit bodies forward and with a damnatroyo on the pitch now, you feel that could be something that works to Fulham's favour. and There was almost a calamitous moment for Stephen Bender. He's sweeping up, miss kicks a clearance, it breaks for Darcy,
00:11:02
Speaker
who luckily isn't able to get a clean shot away with an un-guard and that he's under pressure from a couple of Fulham players. ah Fortunately for Fulham it's a bit of a tame shot, so lucky escape, lucky reprieve there for Steven Bender. There's another long range effort, this again from another substitute, Owen Dale, fully 30 yards out.
00:11:19
Speaker
Bender has to be alert to save low down. Final changes for Fulham, Emil Smith Rose on, Sander Burgers on and Fulham are hanging on at this point. It's gotten a bit edgy from a game that looked really comfortable and one which would provide a smooth passage into the next round. All of a sudden Wigan were up, they were at it, they were being more aggressive and Fulham needed the final a whistle. Getting Burgher on, the idea of that was probably just to calm things down a little bit in the centre of the park.
00:11:47
Speaker
Six minutes were added on. We saw a rare appearance for Carlos Vinicius. One of those players I spoke about that might leave on deadline day but he stayed firmly put. So he had a few minutes towards the end of the game.
00:12:00
Speaker
and it looked like Wigan had got their equaliser. There's a shot from distance from Dale. Bender spills it and there's Roma Darcy there to put it in. However, Fulham, delighted to see the flag up raised for offside. There's a few Wigan players offside. And they were also happy to see the final whistle.
00:12:20
Speaker
because the game looked like you could be going pear shape but ultimately Fulham survive and advance. Not a great second half showing, you gotta give credit to Wigan who were more aggressive but it's job done for Fulham as they progress to the next round of the FA
Fulham's Narrow Victory and Future Reflections
00:12:34
Speaker
Cup and still cling on to the chance of ending the season with some silverware. Some final thoughts to come but before then let me point you in a direction of GSPN.
00:12:45
Speaker
The Global Sports Podcast Network is changing the face of football podcasts. With dedicated daily content for every Premier League team, women's football, fantasy football and a daily Premier League wrap-up broadcast in five different languages, it's your one-stop shop for your daily football fix. Find GSPN wherever you find your usual podcasts.
00:13:04
Speaker
So there was no run out for William, despite his return to the match date squad. There's still some obvious question marks about his fitness. We know he hasn't played in a little while, had a difficult time of things in out in Greece. He put out a cryptic message Dini on Instagram about how that was a difficult time for him and now he's back at a place. He probably feels more appreciated, certainly more appreciated by the players.
00:13:28
Speaker
He had a great reception on his return in the end, fondly fought off by his peers, by his fellow players, and is an important member of that dressing room and what he will give for some of the youngsters, for instance, likes of God Owen King, who started this game, the knowledge and just the presence of him being around the place, what that can provide for those younger players.
00:13:50
Speaker
If the game had gone differently, if it had gone to extra time and penalties where Fulham had that extra sub available to them, we might have seen him on for the last 5-10 minutes. We know how good a penalty taker he is, but he will continue to work his way to fitness and hopefully he can have an impact, have some input for Fulham for the rest of the season because there's no doubt, certainly seeing the starting 11, that they are short in wide areas. Josh King having to play a bit of an unfamiliar role.
00:14:18
Speaker
Godo staying at the club. I feel like both of those players but probably could have done with a lone spell to a championship club. I know there was an offer on the table for Godo to go to Watford, but given how short Fulham are in that position with Rhys Nelson, the fact that he's going to be out for longer than as anticipated due to a new injury is such a shame. so Willian will definitely gonna get his minutes in the coming weeks so he needs to get up to fitness very quickly. Marco Silva after the game he reflected on a meeting in the Carabao Cup actually a couple of seasons ago against Crawley which proved a turning point on how he said it was a changing moment which brought about a change
00:14:56
Speaker
of mentality to approach these games differently and more seriously and I feel like Fulham certainly did that in the first half it was a professional display they would have been disappointed going into half time that they were only a goal in front and whilst they were only a goal in front it gave that belief to Wigan that they could claw themselves back into the game which they managed to do so and the final whistle came at the perfect time for Fulham because they were hanging on a little bit There were a lot of changes in that and it's understandable how maybe certain players faded a little bit in the second half just because they haven't seen much action recently and you can have as many training sessions as you as you want. There's no replica for actually playing games. Harrison Reed was a bit sloppy in the second half and there was a lot of talk about the goalkeeper as well, Steven Benzer. whilst he made a couple of decent saves there were also a couple of scary moments one poor clearance and nearly led to Wigan goal and then another time where they did have the ball in the back and then after rebuild a shot from range. I feel like clubs should have a clear number one that should be clear and decisive I know Arsenal had a situation a couple of seasons ago where they had Royer and Ramsdale and there was all that talk about well who's the number one it's not a healthy situation to have two
00:16:00
Speaker
almost number one goalkeepers, and ah I certainly go along with that. I was talking after this game about that being a problem position, but the fact that Bernd Leno is going to play 99.9% of the games, I feel like it's not such a problem. As much as we talk about Harrison Reed there, maybe lacking fitness, lacking match fitness, the same probably applies to the goalkeepers. If you're only getting the odd cup game here and there, it's difficult for a goalkeeper to get into that sort of rhythm as well. So it's maybe understandable, but yeah, there were certainly some scary moments from him but luckily Fulham were able to get away with it and they they secure their passage through to the next round. Marco Silva also spoke about the competition amongst the striker between Jimenez and Moniz said that it's good to have two strikers that have been scoring goals and Rodrigo Moniz proven that he's not just the super sub a guy that can come off the bench for the last 15 minutes and pop up with an equalizer with a winning goal as he has done on a couple of occasions this season
00:16:55
Speaker
getting the chance to start and I think he was credited with the first goal so he's got two goals here which go along with the one he scored against Watford and he looks sharp in this games and he was probably the pick of the bunch for Fulham and you might see that for the remainder of the season now that healthy competition between those two strikers that if one's not quite at it then we might see the other come in and and take their place.
00:17:14
Speaker
Muniz was clearly the main striker at the start of the season but after having a goal drought, Jimenez took his place and I think they've both had respectable decent seasons. Jimenez in double figures in all competitions and Muniz could be on his way to that as well and whilst there has been some talk about that position, probably being a weakness in the area that needs to would be addressed, the goal return from both players is certainly respectable enough and they've done a decent enough job. I don't think there's any doubt about that.
00:17:41
Speaker
I feel the other player that deserves some praise is Ryan Cessignon and laying it in the left back position but having a more advanced role with Fulham dominating the ball in this game. He's not asked so many questions going back as he would in a Premier League game. You would have doubts if He was to play a Premier League game in that position. If something happens to Antid Robinson, a suspension, or ah or he picked up an injury, that is an area of concern for Fulham, but I think he had a good outing. Really good ball in for the first goal, and he he gave a warning to Wiggins defence just prior to that. He whipped another good ball in before that, but Fulham weren't able to do anything with it. So very good outing for him. There would probably have been some disappointment for him that Steven, his twin brother, wasn't able to come on the pitch, but I'm sure they shared some words after the game. Nevertheless,
00:18:27
Speaker
We talk about the wide options. Sesignon, with that display, he can also put his name in the hat as someone that could be an option if Fulham needs to rotate, that he could play further forward because, let's be honest, when he had his most successful run at Fulham, it was playing in a more advanced role, wasn't it? So, let's not forget, despite maybe the lack of wingers, Ryan Sesignon could potentially be another option in that position with the long-term absence of Rhys Nelson and Harry Wilson.
00:18:56
Speaker
But all in all, job done, wasn't it? You do take a risk making so many changes and it could have backfired, but Fulham secured their progression
Fulham's FA Cup Ambitions
00:19:05
Speaker
to the next round. Some relief after the final whistle because it was getting a bit nervy towards the end, but they're in the fifth round, aren't they? And they still have a good chance, depending on the draw, to possibly get to an FA Cup final, to possibly lift some silverware. They're only two games away from getting back to Wembley.
00:19:21
Speaker
And I think from now on at this stage, I would like to see Marco Silva play his big hitters. I don't want to see 10 changes, again regardless of who the opposition are. At this stage, we don't know who they're going to face in the next round. But this has to be a priority now. And whilst the players on the pitch did the job for him, I feel like the first 11 needs to be starting from now on. And i think that would include the goalkeeper as well, to give Fulham their best chance of going even further in the competition.
00:19:47
Speaker
We await the draw. Who's does everyone fancy? I feel like for them I have a good chance against most teams who would have won to avoid. Well, probably Manchester City. Not the Manchester City ripping up trees, they barely squeaked by Leighton Orient. But just the fact that they always seem to lose to them.
00:20:04
Speaker
and the other team they always seem to lose to is Manchester United. It doesn't matter how bad they are, there always seems to be a way that Manchester United find the better of them. So probably apart from those two sides, I think fallen fans would probably be happy to take anyone else. But it's exciting going into the latter end of the season with something still to play for. Whilst they have had a good season and league and there is still a realistic chance that they can break their record points tally,
00:20:26
Speaker
maybe european qualification via that means is somewhat unlikely so given a decent draw in the fa cup then who knows who knows there is there's still that chance of full lift in their first major silver despite some people trying to claim that the intertoto cup represents just that Job done for Fulham, it was a professional enough performance just to get by Wigan Athletic. Onto the next round which kicks off at the start of March I believe so that's something to look forward to and fingers crossed their progress will continue beyond that.
00:21:04
Speaker
That'll do it for today's episode. That'll do it for today's review of the fourth round of the United Cup funds meeting with Wigan Athletic. Thank you all once again for tuning in. I've been Gavin Ruffle, your host as always, and hope to catch you all on the next one.
00:21:24
Speaker
sports podcast network work work