Heroes and the Villains
Fulham's fourth home fixture of the season serves up the tasty prospect of laying into Aston Villa and restoring the side to winning ways. The visitors are a pretty ordinary bunch by any standard. But every match-up against Villa I confidently predict us to walk all over the claret and blue shirts, and it never happens.
We have been unable to beat them in the past six encounters. Memories of our surrender up there last winter are still painful. Not just the manner of a last-minute goal that should have been easily prevented, but on the afternoon the Whites turned in one of their most abject of away performances under Martin Jol – and there have been a few. We began the month with an away win at QPR, the Pog had hit the ground running, confidence was high. Yet on the day we looked pedestrian from the off and allowed the under-pressure Brummies to dictate play throughout. It was a truly awful display, and quite inexplicable.
That was also to be Villa's only win from 16 in a lamentable run of form that buried McCleish and saw the side finish just two points clear of relegation. To remind you they had further frustrated us in a goalless draw from the season opener, though at the time we were all happy to cut Jol some slack on his debut. On Saturday nothing but a rousing home win will do!
The bookies have us as firm favourites to take three points, but football follows its own set of rules. The past few weeks have taught us all to be cautious regarding the makeup of the team, such has been the vogue for big names picking up silly injuries late on in the week. One minute Ruiz is talking to the press promising Fulham fans will soon be seeing him playing up to potential (and about time, you may well ask), the next he is returning to London from abroad carrying a thigh strain.
In the greater scheme, it should be immaterial if Bryan plays or not. He remains too ephemeral a figure for my taste. The firepower for this one must surely be invested in Berbatov, Petric, Rodallega and perhaps Kerim Frei from the bench. All are fit as I write, but heaven knows who may collect a dodgy kebab from the corner shop or slip on a raspberry in the kitchen before called upon Saturday to strut their stuff. Any realistic supporter who has witnessed the side to date is basking in the prospect of the goals to come, but lest we forget Fulham remain a disjointed unit in midfield, and more susceptible than usual to conceding.
It has been refreshingly honest of Richardson to own up to a ‘schoolboy error' costing the side all three points at Southampton. But JAR's lamentable late slip against Citeh that undid all the sterling defensive work beforehand has elicited no comment. So let's hope the team is vigilant and disciplined at the back, virile in midfield (a start for Karagounis or Richardson?) and deadly up top. This is a very poor Villa side, make no mistake. They should be put to the sword.
It is hard to understand the malaise at Villa Park. The hounding the previous manager took is soon to be visited upon his successor. Whatever Paul Lambert could conjure at Carrow Road seems to have eluded him in the West Midlands. Now £24 million pound man Darren Bent seems headed for the exit door. A year ago it was Charles N'Zogbia who proved an expensive flop. Next Gabby Agbonlahor forgot where the goals stood. I'm not sure about the credentials of the new strike force – just one solitary win from six games to date, and five points to Fulham's 10. Villa have run up huge losses in the past couple of years and their current side has a youthful and inexperienced look. Lambert felt they were in the game at Spurs a fortnight ago but was critical of £7 million pound striker Benteke for missing two gilt-edged chances. At 21 the Belgian is still learning his craft. Let's hope come Saturday he's subject to a master class in finishing from Fulham's front men.
It's another sell out at the Cottage…a win puts us in reach of the top six…you know it makes sense, so…COYW!!!
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