The Tanner Report
Fulham fans would have received the victory over Brentford with mixed feelings. If we lost they hoped it would mean the end of Magath. In fact it would not. Chairman Khan publically supported him. Magath has convinced Khan, to whom he has a direct line, that his project and bizarre methods will work. The latest, according to former defender Jon Arne Riise, was to bring the team back for training at 10-30 pm after the Derby defeat. One of Magath’s frequent defences is that at Stuutgart he brought on the likes of Lahm and Neuer but – hold on – that was 12 years ago in a different league. He simply does not know the championship and has no contacts in English football. I was speaking to Ivan Conway the other day who said what a difference the loanee from Liverpool Teixeira has made to Brighton as they have won 3 ganes with him. Hyppia used his old Liverpool connections to achieve this loan deal that has transformed the side. Magath has to go Germany and sign a 36 year-old keeper.
Still it was a good result and performance. Chris David played well according to reports. This probably means he will dropped as has happened already after a good performance on the opening day. Youngsters Hyndman in midfield and keeper Joronen in goal have also played well only to be binned. Most of us do not rate Stafylidis who has played every game nor Parker who was at least subbed. There seems to be no rational thinking behind selection but a constant choosing and dropping which accounts for the 49 players that have worn the shirt since Boxing Day.
Yesterday I was at the bank and fell into conversation with my manageress, a Middlesbrough fan. She said this was their fifth season since demotion and they have not even got near to a play-off. This was a club who had the likes of Ravanelli, Emerson, Juninho, Schwarzer and some capable youngsters too. I fear that Magath has convinced Khan that it will take time to build his project and we will be a Middlesbrough, Bolton, Blackburn, Ipswich or Leeds: a championship side with an ever distant memory of being a mid-table Premier side who once toppled both Juventus and Shaktar Donetsk.
Well, we’re not the worst team in the entire Football League after all, which I had genuinely feared.
Alan, you undermine your well-considered viewpoints by citing anything JAR says. If he had better positional awareness and real commitment, that alone may have been enough to grind out the additional points needed to retain our Prem status last campaign. Further, his phone is not ringing, and he has been publicly called out by Paul Lambert for falsely citing dialogue about joining Villa. Lambert clarified that it was actually (JAR’s) monologue.
And, c’mon, doesn’t a mid-week cup match justify at least some squad rotation? Even our beloved Roy Hodgson rotated the squad when faced with two matches on a three-day interval.
Big one this Saturday — COYW !!!