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Forecast Friday: Another dreaded game against relegation fodder
46 Plays6 days ago
Gavin looks forward to Fulham's meeting with Leicester as both sides look to bounce back from disappointing results in midweek. He outlines the need to cut out costly errors and gives his appraisal of Ruud Van Nistelrooy's Foxes.
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Transcript
Introduction to Forecast Friday
00:00:05
Speaker
sports podcast network work Hello and welcome back to the Daily Fulham Podcast. Very happy to have you here once again, or if you're joining us for the first time, where have you been? But happy to have you here as well. It's never too late to join in the fun. My name is Gavin Ruffle, your host as always, and today is our forecast Friday edition It's Leicester away and your build up starts right here. and Both sides come into this fixture off the back of disappointing results in mid week. Both going down to London opposition. The defeat against West Ham, that was their first
00:00:42
Speaker
defeat of any kind since the 23rd of November, whereas for Leicester, defeats have been a bit more regular. that was their six consecutive premi league defeat they did have a nice win in the fa cup in and amongst that all but worryingly for them defeats have been a regular recurrence Both teams will be eager to right the wrongs of mid week and turn a bad week at least into an indifferent one. Broken in length about Fulhams and beaten run but I think after after the midweek game there were a lot more glass half empty people than there were glass half full people because if you look at the form for both sides combined in the in the last 14 games they've only won two between
Recent Performances and Reactions
00:01:20
Speaker
them. They were Fulhams wins the one over Chelsea and there was one before that against Brighton as well.
00:01:28
Speaker
Looking back to the fixture in August, this was Fulham's first home game of the season, and it was won by two goals to one. Goals from Embeil Smithrow and Alex Aouobi, either side of one from Wout Fass. And if you want calls for encouragement going into the weekend, Fulham have won on the last two occasions at the King Power Stadium, the last one being a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Alexander Mitrovich.
00:01:51
Speaker
So yeah, after the West Ham defeat there's always Fallout, a lot of people are very reactionary and critical and probably lose perspectives don't they? And analysing the performance, I think the performance, I think Marco Silva said it in his press conference as well and about the performance that he was happy with it but they were let down by individual mistakes and As is the case, whenever a team loses, it's the end of the world, isn't it? And it's all doom and gloom. I've seen some stuff about certain players. The usual suspects to get it, isn't it? Andreas Pereira. And fair play to Andreas Pereira. It was a really bad mistake, wasn't it? But her he owned up to that on social media at the end of the game. and
00:02:30
Speaker
You know he played himself for the defeat. I do have sympathy with him at the minute just because I do feel he's playing in a position that he probably shouldn't be playing in and there's all that talk around his current status. so Talk of a new contract or still time left in the window that he might be on the
Maintaining Perspective and Aims
00:02:45
Speaker
move you never know. and the damage row I saw it got a lot of flack as well for his miss at the end which was completely over the top just like it's just like a shot actually but people are making it out as if that's the worst miss of all time it it definitely was and you can tell the people who have played football and the the people who haven't because if I look at some of the worst Premier League misses of all time you're talking about the Ronnie Rosenthal which was before my time the worst one I can remember was Fernando Torres for Chelsea against Manchester United
00:03:13
Speaker
but I wouldn't put that anywhere near that category. In that moment when the game's late, you probably lost a bit of composure but I wouldn't say I was an absolute sitter because there were about six West End players in front of him. I think Les has been talked about the Sassalucas chance before him but but you're only allowed to criticize certain players aren't you? So that's funny. The nature of some of the goals recently has been has been extremely disappointing but I think Alex Woebe said after the game and Marco Silva said in his in this press conference that you can't afford to dwell on that you go into the next game without that baggage mindset on the game in front of you. Although it is it is easier said than done isn't it? I think as well maybe there has been just too much of an emphasis from fans maybe expectations have risen given the way Fulham have been performing certainly for the first half of the season and and talk of Europe I think it's been a bit I wouldn't say it's foolhardy I think people have become preoccupied with that
00:04:03
Speaker
If you had said to most Fulham fans at the start of the season you'd be 9th for this stage. No fears about relegation. I think everyone would have been happy with that. But just such as the nature and and fickleness of fans that you must always be doing better and some of the performances have deserved more points. Ultimately points get rewarded by who scores more goals and Fulham probably just haven't won as many games as they feel they probably should have this season.
00:04:27
Speaker
so that's something they need to work on and yeah not everything's black and white it's not always the case where you win a game and everything's great everything's fantastic we're on the charge we're on the up and on the flip side when you do lose a game all of a sudden it seems like this play is not good enough this play is too old this player doesn't want to be here and people make up their own narratives don't they so sometimes after those sort of games you just lose a sense of realism and and perspective and understanding and the bigger picture really which is that Fulham and DeMarco Silva in the Premier League have been that comfortable mid-table team and that's what they have been this season and whilst you always want more it's always important to to keep that perspective but this is an important game for Fulham just because I feel known this type of fixture the difficulties they've had in winning against teams in the bottom half this season you don't want the second half of the season to sort Peter out where you're in a bit of no man's land where
00:05:24
Speaker
You're not vying for anything in terms of European qualification, at least not in the league anyway, but also you're not in any immediate threat, barring an absolute disaster of going down.
Leicester's Challenges and Changes
00:05:33
Speaker
People on the outside make Star Luck and you're thinking you're on the beach. I think quietly Marco Silva will have targets of where he wants his team to be at.
00:05:40
Speaker
I think I've said it before, wherever would they finish in the league, I think given the start they've made, one target that I think is is in reach, which would definitely represent the good season, which would be to aim for the highest points tally. And despite recent setbacks and and that loss in midweek, they are still in a good position to do that. But yeah, I mean, as a football fan, you want to see your side win games and maybe ah there haven't been enough full and wins just to please everybody in recent times. But um as I said, it's not black and white. It's not the end of the world. It's not a disaster.
00:06:09
Speaker
The next game comes, it's the beauty of league football, there's always a game around the corner, you dust yourself off and you go again. In the next part I'm going to be turning the attention to Leicester, focusing on them. But before I do that, let me tell you all about our sponsors.
00:06:25
Speaker
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00:06:49
Speaker
So as I touched on in the beginning, it is worrying times for Leicester fans with 6 defeats coming in a row and probably the biggest concern is that they failed to score in 4 of those games. Now in the early part of the season they did have that goal threat, they were scoring in most of their games and were very competitive in them. So so the Crystal Palace game for them probably a little bit of a similar story similar tale to the full one where they dominated in terms of that in terms of possession and shots on goal but maybe just lacking that cutting edge and lacking that clinical side and defensively they do have their problems
00:07:20
Speaker
And Ru Van Nisseroy, is he under pressure? It's a strange one, isn't it? Because he came in and he did have a bit of ah an impact, and immediate impact. He lasted all of two games, four points from the first two games, and then six subsequent defeats. And to be honest, I'm not being wise after the event here, but I never understood the decision to sack Steve Cooper. Okay, he might not have been the most popular Leicester manager, but the table shows that when he was in charge,
00:07:46
Speaker
They were about 13th or 14th in the league and he has experience of keeping sides in the division. He did that with Not in the Forest two seasons ago. I know Not in the Forest fans were very sad to see him go. They were always behind the manager. You just feel with Lester they weren't fully on board. With Steve Cooper maybe they felt a bit of disappointment in the summer because of links emerging with Graham Potter. They felt that Steve Cooper was ah was not the best option but i feel like he was harshly treated, harshly sacked modern day with ah the way owners are you don't get surprised when managers are sacked but that was one that did catch me off guard and i felt that was a that was a bit of a strange one and then going to rude van this arroy is a massive gamble because you're talking here about a very inexperienced manager just had a couple of Premier League games in charge of Manchester you know he wanted them ironically enough against Leicester but
00:08:34
Speaker
You also got to think with Rude Van Nysroy, this is a guy throughout his playing career, he's not been used to being in these situations, playing for teams like Real Madrid and Manchester United, he's he's only known success and being in size that are competing to win trophies, being at the top end of the table, so this is something completely alien to him and you just wonder how he's gonna cope with a situation like that. In his playing career, ah would he have ever gone six games in a row where his his team's lost? Probably not, so... it's very difficult I think in this situation for a guy with that experience to turn things around for Leicester now and we have seen in the past teams that got relegated with more than two managers for them did it themselves I think Swansea as well which it would not surprise me if things don't start turning around quickly at Leicester if they're in that position and they and there's a bit of sweaty palms start thinking have we made the right decision here and it's tough times for them. The positive is they aren't cut adrift They are in touching distance of the teams around them to decent results for them as well. The other teams towards the bottom end, Everton and the Wolves are also suffering defeats. So it's not lost yet. They're not cut drift by any means. A win here on the weekend and they're possibly out of the bottom three. So all's not lost. Don't give up hope just yet. The good news for them is they have avoided any PSR charges. So
00:09:52
Speaker
ah just for the immediate future there's no threat of any points deductions or anything like that you can imagine a points deduction at this stage could really hinder their chances but they are only two or three points away from the safety net they do have a chance but they are in a bit of freefall at the minute lack of goals and they're conceding a lot of goals as well. I think it is an important month, important transfer window for them to do some business despite the fact that they have been cleared of any wrongdoing as far as PSR that might still have an impact on what business they are likely to do. Any incomeings will have to be offset without goings as well but I look at their side and I think they need more. Jamie Vardy he's
00:10:31
Speaker
Still going evergreen at the age of 38 can still score goals at the top level But I think whilst that's a great story knowing the career that he's had it's also I did say that's also concerning as well I felt this was probably something they needed to address in the summer and was surprised that they didn't look to strengthen in that position. Signing someone like Andre Iu was not necessarily the answer for me as far as that's concerned, but the fact that they are relying on a 38 year old to get them their goals, yeah, I think they need more. I look defensively, obviously, you know, it's highlighted by the number of goals that they've conceded, but they're sent to heart for me. In the championship, I think they're okay. They can do a
Fulham's Strategies and Predictions
00:11:11
Speaker
job. I think at the Premier League, fast investor guard, if you're an attacker playing against them,
00:11:16
Speaker
you'll quietly fancy your chances that you're going to have a good day. I know they just signed a fallback in Kula Bali, but in terms of what they need, I think they need five or six players to come in. As dramatic as that sounds, I feel they need that amount of players to to turn things around because I just look at the makeup of their side and what we could see on the weekend. I just don't think there's ah overall enough quality in there. I feel like this is going to be a couple of important weeks as far as the transfer window is concerned and also it's going to be a couple of important weeks for Van Nisseroy so we can bring in the players that he wants there and start to turn this around for them
00:11:50
Speaker
In the final part, I will give a brief preview of this game and what we may be able to expect, but we are brought to you by the Global Sports Podcast Network, so let me tell you all about GSPN. 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 the 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.
00:12:21
Speaker
So as I alluded to, this is one of those daunting games for Fulham, one of those games against the bottom half teams, one of those games against the team in the relegation zone, which they've struggled with this season, and only winning three games against bottom half teams this season, which puts them 12th in the overall table. As far as that statistics concern,
00:12:39
Speaker
I would refer to these games as your bread and butter games where Fulham have clearly struggled in haven't they and you compare that to Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest success they're having you can put that down to a number of factors but one factor in that is how good and efficient they have been in beating this side in the bottom half of the table and they're unbeaten against bottom half sides they ranked second in the league table for points against bottom half side so on paper would you would you say Fulham are much different from Nottingham Forest? I would say most people probably at the start of the season felt Fulham would finish higher I know I did myself I was guilty of saying Nottingham Forest could go down but it just shows how Fulham in these games the bread and butter games obviously caused them problems that hasn't it and
00:13:23
Speaker
Yeah, you you want to learn from your mistakes, two big mistakes, and it has probably been talked about in the Leicester dressing room, the meetings is before this game, what happened with Bernd Leno in midweek, and I'm sure whether it's Jamie Vardy or whoever, if the balls at Bernd Leno's feet then close him down, why wouldn't you? You'll have some nervousness after what happened in midweek, so prey on that and don't make it easy for them as far as thbe news is concerned i normally have a good inklingk for what team he's going to put out on the weekend but for this one
00:13:54
Speaker
this could go any number of ways i think the good news is that sander berger what we've gleaned is that he is fit, he is available, and they probably need him back. I think ideally he wouldn't want to rush a player that's come back from injury into the starting 11, but I think he has been the loss for them and they need him. I think the problem comes from the form of the other players as as well. You know, ah Emil Smith-Roe is not hitting those heights that he did in the earlier part of the season when he scored a really good goal in this fixture. And Andres Pereira, when he seems to have a good game, he he doesn't back it up, does he? So you could be looking at changes there. It's not an easy one to predict. I think ideally he would like to stick with the same team that played against West Ham as he felt the performance was good enough to get the three points, it was just individual errors that let them down on the night. But he might feel that he might have to play Sanderburger in this one. Because what we saw from him when he was at his best was a guy that did have that composure, that calmness on the ball and
00:14:53
Speaker
Yeah, it's evident in the recent game, certainly after the Chelsea game, that he has been missed. you They always say it in in sport, in team sports, that you're always a better player when you're out of the side and his stock has probably risen exponentially in the last few weeks whilst Fulham haven't been getting the results they would have liked whilst they have been chipping quite a few goals. I said this after the game against West Ham, you shouldn't have to score three or four goals to win a football game. Fulham do carry that goal threat.
00:15:20
Speaker
and expect them to score in this game, but for Leicester you are encouraged by Fulham's frailties at the back and the fact that they don't keep clean sheets, even the fact that you look at yourselves and you haven't been scoring goals.
00:15:32
Speaker
But maybe that doesn't tell the full picture as well because, as I said, in the game against Crystal Palace the stats lent towards Leicester and even in a game against Manchester City recently they played and they yeah they were probably unlucky not not to come away with a result in that game. For them, they have some injuries of their own. For Tahu, who I quite like, young player, very raw at this stage but I think he's got a bright future, he's out for the season. Wilfred indeed is out as well, we're not going to see him probably until February that's a blow for them as well because he he was a guy that started the season well and he's got that Premier League experience which when you're a team fighting relegation I feel it's important to have players with that Premier League experience even if they're not necessarily starting so guys like in Indeedy and Connor Cody what they can do for you in the dressing room
00:16:15
Speaker
having been there, what knowledge they can pass on to some of the younger players. Buena Notta is a guy who's who's on loan. He has impressed me at stages this season. He's that guy that can play behind the striker and is good in in tight spaces and and can be a creative source that they need.
00:16:31
Speaker
I think maybe his form has just ah taken a dip recently and and maybe that's a reason why they're not scoring so many goals so I think he's a player that they need to start getting the best out or if they're to turn around their fortunes. By look at the defence and I think if you're a full and fan you are rubbing your hands with excitement with the possibilities there and and the lack of pace and the full backs have struggled. James Justin really struggled in in the corresponding game earlier in the season so I have no worries about Fulham scoring again they've scored two goals in the last four league games but yeah the the disappointment from that is they were only able to win the one of those which was the Chelsea game so
00:17:11
Speaker
I feel like they will score but then it's just keeping the back door shut and and eradicating those mistakes which have reared their ugly head in recently. I do fancy Fulham to win this game. I look at Leicester and I think they're a good team to play against right now. So if Fulham can get the basics right, to the fundamentals right and avoid those lapses and concentrations and avoid kicking the ball straight to the opposition player to give them a free shot on goal then I think they'll be okay in this one but at the moment that's proven a big but but I do fancy for them to come out winners in this game probably 3-1 and then all the troubles of West Ham and the fallout the negativity after that
00:17:52
Speaker
can be forgotten and everything's rosy in the garden again. So yeah, for them to win this one, 3-1. That'll do it for today's forecast Friday. Thank you all once again for listening. Be sure to catch me again as I'll be back with you with all the fallout from the Leicester game. I'll catch you all soon.