Fulham vs. Stoke: Cheeky Jol Strikes Again
I love when Martin Jol does this. The king of backhanded compliments is at it again:
“It’s a very difficult style to play against and they have been effective. But I think football will always prevail. I could try to play like that, but I haven’t got the players. It is English. I always would like to play organised football that is very attractive. They are different from us. I will stick to my beliefs and principles and will let Tony (Pulis) stick to his.”
I chuckled. On to the match:
State of Fulham:
Fulham were just given a huge boost when they learned Damien Duff will be back for another year. The Duffer signed a new contract with Fulham, a 1-year deal that will cover the entirety of next season. This is great news, considering Duff’s dished out 7 assists this year, which is the amount he had in the last 2 seasons combined, and is his highest assists total in a season since he had 9 in the 2003/2004 season with Chelsea.
The match against Stoke will be just Fulham’s 3rd match of February, after playing 7 in January. Fans have been left 2 weeks without a fixture, but on the team front this is a fantastic thing. The age of the squad has been heavily discussed, and the more rest they can get the better they’ll most likely perform.
The club played to a 0-0 snoozer with Norwich their last time out 2 weeks ago, and hopefully Martin Jol will stay true to his promise of more attractive football, because I’m not getting up at 7:45 in the morning to watch a replay of that horrible entertainment product.
On the injury front, Fulham have gotten news that both Kieran Richardson and Stephen Davies are now healthy and able to return to play, but they won’t be available for selection for this match. The duo will most likely return for the match at Sunderland.
State of Stoke City:
Stoke are sitting at 10th in the Premier League table, which is pretty remarkable considering they have a whopping 1 win away from the Britannia all season. They defeated Reading 2-1 at home in their last match, which ended a streak of 6 league matches without a win. Somehow, during that stretch, which saw Stoke pick up just 4 points, the club only dropped from 8th to 10th in the table. Before that drought, the Potters racked up 10 straight undefeated matches, all in 2012, which included their 1-0 win at home against Fulham, but the new year hasn’t been kind to them.
Tony Pulis oozed about Stoke’s away form this season, stressing they’ve been good but just haven’t gotten results (the concept of which eludes me, considering how when Fulham lose away it’s often pretty ugly), but nonetheless, it’s been a struggle for the Welshman’s squad outside of the Britannia all year.
EA Sports Stats of the Week:
-In the 6 matches Dimitar Berbatov has scored in this season, Fulham have drawn 3 and won 3 (key note here: no losses).
-Oddly enough, despite their 8-match clean sheet drought, only 4 teams in the Premier League this season have allowed fewer goals than Stoke.
-Jonathan Walters has racked up 35 shots on goal this year for Stoke, although only 16 have been on target (46%).
-Who’s sent in the most crosses for Fulham? That’s right, the unstoppable Sascha Riether, with 45.
Prediction: I can only see a 2-0 Fulham win, maybe 2-1 if we provide fans with the weekly “I’ll be right back, I have to go to the restroom and pull my hair out while I yell loudly” moment. Stoke are too leaky at the back right now and have such dreadful away form this season, anything less would be points dropped for the Whites. A big 3 points could be in the offering, as it could potentially jump Fulham up to 11th, 1 point below the Potters.