The Tanner Report : Liverpool 2 Fulham 0
It was a better performance by the boys – but will it be enough to save Slavisa Jokatovic?
In the first half the defensive organisation was much improved. We were unlucky to have first a goal overruled for a marginal offside after which – before the ref gave time to regroup – Liverpool broke away to score from the free kick for offside (that had been taken with a moving ball).
The second half was “same old, same old”: heads went down after Shaqiri scored the second.
Since I last assessed the position, Fulham have lost three more games including a crucial one at Huddersfield where the performance was hapless.
The coach has not helped himself with his comments about being a fantastic coach and criticising the players publicly. His English is so gutteral and broken that it’s not always easy to discern the point he is making.
However, he has three things going for him: the fans have not turned against him , I have not heard one chant of “Joka out!”; there is no attractive replacement available; and he has the support of the chairman.
It is undeniable that he has restored the fortunes of the club with a brand of attractive football but – as BT analyst Marc Schwarzer shrewdly observed – that is the past. The recruitment over the summer was poor, increasing expectation but lowering performance.
Aside from Marc Schwarzer I was not that impressed by BT’s coverage.
When a table went up of teams that have failed to score this season, Fulham headed it – but hold on – we scored twice against Brighton.
Michael Owen, the other BT analyst, said that Fulham had not won at Anfield in 55 years. He was obviously not there when we won there 1-0 in 2012!
These sorts of errors are unacceptable – pundits are well paid and information should be accurate. Jeff Stelling has made a career out of his statistical knowledge. Years ago David Coleman would walk around the garden of his home in Chalfont St Giles memorising detail.
When Motty prefaced some statistic with “I think I’m right in saying …” you knew that he would be.
In the cases of Coleman and Motty they did not have the benefit of the internet. Motty recorded his information in large tomes.
