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The Tanner Report: Manchester United 4 Fulham 1

I wonder what Fulham owner Shahid Khan is thinking right now.

Fulham are still propping up the league, have conceded 40 goals and £55million of talent in midfield in Anguissa and Seri failed to make much impact. He may be consoled by the tightness at the bottom (5 points separate the bottom 7 teams), a good run of 7 points out of 9 can hoist you out of the relegation zone, but this won’t happen if you continue to leak goals.

The essential problem is that Fulham do not stay in the game long enough and once again we were one down after 13 minutes.

If you can hold out until half time which with our defence we cannot, home fans get restless and – if you can get to 70 minutes – you might even get a point or snatch a goal.

Brighton are especially good at this. We are not.

The inexplicable absence of our best player in recent games Calum Chambers, who was not even on the bench, was explained by Claudio Ranieri as “a little problem”. If you ask me it’s big one.

Maybe he wants to keep him and Mitrovic, who was subbed at half time when we were 3 down and who is on 4 yellow cards, available for the key game against West Ham this Saturday.

Certainly you are vulnerable with a referee who gave Anguissa a yellow – his second – and then red for a tackle which seemed quite lawful.

Seri too was penalised for a foul that would only be awarded at Old Trafford and nowhere else.

The fact is that these games are not about Fulham losing but Mourinho winning, so any bad decision against his team is maximised by him in the press and media.

No one listens to Ranieri if he moans about a bad decision.

Will the owner make a big signing in the January window? A big defender and personality is needed urgently to marshal the back four.

Gary Cahill of Chelsea springs to mind. Interesting but worrying times at the Cottage.

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About Alan Tanner

After a distinguished military service in the Catering Corps, Alan Tanner did well in mufti with his chamois as a window cleaner. Sadly he had to retire after falling from the fifth floor of Danny Murphy's mock Tudor home. He spends his retirement watching and writing about his beloved Fulham whom he has supported for over 50 years. The Alan Tanner Report is sponsored by Tanner Crystal Clear Ltd, Window Cleaners to the Gentry. More Posts