The Tanner Report: Fulham 0 Arsenal 3
Twenty years ago, when Fulham were promoted under Jean Tigana, we were comprehensively beaten 3-1 by Arsenal: yesterday it was 3-0 but the difference in class was just as palpable.
Two years ago we lost 0-5 at home.
I was not that dejected, not least as I predicted the result in a text to an Arsenal mate prior to the game.
I would take a victory over say WBA or Brighton, Aston Villa, Leeds, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United or Newcastle over points off the big boys any time.
There were some positives.
Anguissa, out on loan to Villarreal last season, looked effective in midfield when he came on.
Head Coach Scott Parker who may well never again pick this side, ten of which started against Brentford in the play-off final but none of them can now complain they were not given a chance.
The bald and sad fact is that many of them will struggle at this level.
It’s also a fact that Fulham could not afford the cost in terms of transfer fee and wages of Arsenal’s Ozil, Sokratis, Mustafi, Torreira and Pepe – none of whom started for Arsenal and some were not even on the bench.
Next week we play Leeds who got off to a good start at Liverpool, losing 4-3 in a classic, but not intimidated by their opposition.
To go to Elland Road would have been a testing experience given the passion of their fans, but not behind closed doors.
One major irritation was my satellite signal went down in the wind.
I pay a £132 monthly sub to Sky and £30 to BT so you might have thought a communal satellite dish could withstand the wind.
A incomprehensible message came up “Initalising return soon for service”: I returned very soon and very regularly but it was not until 5 pm, when the wind had still not dropped, that I got a signal.
Why cannot the message tell the truth in simple terms e.g. “Weather may be affecting your signal. Please contact SKY or dish provider“, which most sensible people would do anyway. I was left feeling like having a personal rant on the Rust following the post on stresses of the digital age last week.
