Articles by Alan Tanner
The Tanner Report
I’m enjoying a couple of days off on the south coast with my missus and decided not to journey back to Stamford Bridge for the second leg of the Youth Cup Final. I could say that I was still angry about the weak-kneed way we left the Premier, but the truth is the game was on ITV 4 and I [...]
20 Reasons why Fulham were relegated
1) dismantling the old Fulham board of Cole, Collins and Turner when Khan took over; 2) believing Alastair Mackintosh the CEO could run the club without the input of a Fulham board; 3) not having an adequate left back all season; 4) getting rid of Aaron Hughes, without whom Brede Hangeland was [...]
The Tanner Report
As worshipful master of my lodge I cannot easily drop out of Masonic dinners, even when they clash with a Fulham game. So, last night, I was resigned to missing the Youth Cup Final between Fulham and Chelsea. The dinner finished at 9.00pm, so I jumped into a taxi to catch the second half on [...]
The Tanner Report
Although one view might be that sloppy defending cost us the points, I blame more Felix Magath for four reasons: 1) he set up the team wrongly in the first half. Riise, a slow left back, cannot play left midfield and Holtby was ineffective on the right; 2) to correct the position, Magath made two [...]
The Tanner Report
Given that we had four key absentees – Reither, Richardson, Diarra and Holtby – and that two superb saves were required by Lloris, the performance was not as disastrous as the result, or indeed the other results. It was a performance such as we have often seen, where we matched the [...]
The Tanner Report
Once again Felix Magath baffled us when he switched to a new system of 3-5-1-1 with one of our best players, Lewis, withdrawn more into deeper midfield. It seems to baffle the boys too as, without two fine saves by Stockdale, we could have been trailing 2-0 at half time. Yet it was us that took [...]
The Tanner Report
For a natural pessimist I travelled up to Aston Villa on the Chiltern Line in hope. We did play well against Everton and, if we could replicate our form of the first hour, we would surely overcome an inconsistent Villa side who had beaten Chelsea at home and next home game lost to Stoke. They were [...]
The Tanner Report
Some things do not change in the fifty years I have been supporting Fulham and one is is the picturesque walk through Bishops Park. Yesterday I took an alternative route to Putney Bridge Station to enjoy it. There were three distinct groups : home fans, Everton fans and tourist football fans. [...]
The Tanner Report
There is life in the old embers after an eventful victory versus Newcastle yesterday. In his programme notes Felix Magath spoke of “positivity”. I am not sure if such a word – though often used – actually exists, but I get his drift. He is big on the attitude of the team, [...]