The Tanner Report

I don’t much like football on Friday nights and nor do Fulham. Aside from a crushing defeat of Manchester City some 16 seasons ago when a German striker Dirk Lehmann who looked like a porn star bagged a brace I cannot recall a decent performance. I remember an all time low when Hayes dumped us out of the FA Cup and before that losing to Blackburn; without that loss we would have started the weekend top of the old second division. More recently we produced a flaccid performance against Brentford.

Let me say straight away of yesterday’s thrashing that Watford were very good. In Abdi they had an Argentinian style midfielder that ran directly at defence which is something we cannot cope with and is a reason for our lamentable defensive record. Tozer alongside him posed threat from the outset when a big defeat seemed likely. Matters were not helped by Bettinelli getting red carded. I do not know why keepers bring down a forward. Is it a rush of blood or a calculated attempt to get away with it? Whatever the motive the result is we were 2 goals down with 10 men. Game over.

Another difficulty is consistency from our youngsters. Those that starred against Brighton, Bettinelli, Christensen and Grimmer had poor games whilst the experienced Scott Parker and new boy Forfana were not protecting the back line. Another player who has disappointed is Bodurov. He gave away a silly foul early doors and never looked reliable.

We are still nearer the bottom than the top and until we achieve the consistency to put a run together we will stay there.