Fulham 1-0 Aston Villa Play Off Final Post Match Thread

[SoccerHQ]

The fact that we scored one goal in all three play off games says a lot.  In the four consecutive finals we have lost at Wembley, if you accept yesterday as a final tie, we have scored one goal.  0-1 Chelsea, 1-2 Manure, 0-(fill in a number) Arse and 0-1 Mighty Fulham.  We can't score goals against decent opposition in big games.

On the subject of scoring goals, everybody was shouting for Kodjia yesterday as Grabban played like a poor man's Savo, let us not forget that this erstwhile saviour of our bacon defied the Villa doctors and got crocked for a season  in the ACN.  Had he respected the club that pays his very substantial wages and picks up the equally expensive tab for the medical treatment that keeps him in the game, he could have scored the goals in the 2017/18 season that won us automatic promotion.  His contribution to the campaign just concluded so in gloriously has been a big fat zero.

More that that we didn't have a corner yesterday which was the same in 2015. If you combine the four big finals we've played since 2000 I doubt we've had more than 5 shots on target over the four games.

Dunno what's happened to us but seems as a club we're content now to put in big performances in the semi finals and just enjoy the day out at Wembley and see what happens. You don't get trophies or promotion with that I'm afraid.

The mid 90s team remains the last Villa one with the right mentality when it come to the crunch.

[john e]

I wake up this morning depressed enough, and then I think of our "fans" smashing the windows on that London bus full of totally innocent Fulham fans.

I know every club has them, but we carry some grade A fucking idiots.

I didn't know that stupidity of the highest level

I might be in a group of none here but I was quite impressed with the Fulham fans yesterday
with all the stuff about there ticket allocation I thought they supported there team well and did fill there end

in fact they made more noise and supported there team far better than the Liverpool and Arsenal fans did at Wembley against us imo

The prick who threatened me on the escalator at Baker Street with his clapper can piss right off.

did he threaten you with his clapper ?

[SteveN]

I had the misfortune to watch it in a pub as I think the only Villa fan and about a dozen Fulham "fans".  They paid no attention to the game, looked up when they scored, cheered and went back to ignoring it.

[Bad English]

They paid no attention to the game, looked up when they scored, cheered and went back to ignoring it.

A bit like our team then.

[Richard E]

I wake up this morning depressed enough, and then I think of our "fans" smashing the windows on that London bus full of totally innocent Fulham fans.

I know every club has them, but we carry some grade A fucking idiots.

I didn't know that stupidity of the highest level

I might be in a group of none here but I was quite impressed with the Fulham fans yesterday
with all the stuff about there ticket allocation I thought they supported there team well and did fill there end

in fact they made more noise and supported there team far better than the Liverpool and Arsenal fans did at Wembley against us imo

The prick who threatened me on the escalator at Baker Street with his clapper can piss right off.

did he threaten you with his clapper ?

I'm reading that and imagining Jeremy Paxman asking it of Michael Howard.

[Tony Erdington]

All this chat about some people smashing windows and terrifying other people although discussion worthy isn't much to do with Fulham 1 Viila 0.

We set up to be tight and reliant on Grabban up front to be a hold up player and to occupy four weak Fulham defenders, well Dean Saunders his not. so that was a flaw in our plan, creativity we had Jack (read that how you like) they had one shot of any intent and scored, the referee may as well have put a white shirt on, as early on, any build up play we did make was stopped by fouling and the referee did not punish it, but first opportunity he got. chester was in the book.

So on here there were people stating it wasn't a big game and they could handle losing as "whats another year in the championship" well now we will find out.

[brian green]

In the middle of immediate post match suicidal angst in a packed tube carriage I related very loudly to a tearful little Villa boy surrounded by Fulham's finest some of the jokes their Chairman Tommy Trinder used to tell about how rubbish his club was.  Not a murmur out of any of them.  Cheered the boy up though.

[mr underhill]

let's look at the positives - lots of tasty local derbies to look forward to andI'm pretty sure we'll win more matches than we would have in the land of milk and honey

[PaulWinch again]

What I found bizarre was that we simultaneously managed to have every player, possibly bar Grabben, behind the ball, but at the same time allowed them huge chasms of space between the midfield and the defence. That’s quite a failing.

[aj2k77]

let's look at the positives - lots of tasty local derbies to look forward to andI'm pretty sure we'll win more matches than we would have in the land of milk and honey

The derbies are shit. They're against shithouse clubs who consider anything but a drubbing against us as a moral victory. Take this seasons game against the rags, we won 2-0, ended up with Adomah and Grealish out for the next game. They're shit, can't be arsed with 12 o'clock kick offs either because of morons.

Sorry but the land of milk and honey calls out to me more than the swamp of farts and piss that we are stuck in.

[mr underhill]

come on, cheer up. The Wolves game was great and so was the home win against SH. I love those matches.

[brontebilly]

Highlights clip?

Could not stomach to watch the whole game I recorded.

As for the game. Soon as we saw the line up I think we knew. Too many of our better players just did not turn up

Adomah
Snodgrass
Hutton
Hourihanne
Grabban

Without them firing we were doomed

Thought Adamoah and Hourihane were decent in the second half, both were hardly in it first half. Agreed on the other three.

Grabban doesn't seem interested playing up front by himself, woeful last three games. Nothing Snodgrass did came off yesterday, three times in the first half he had chances to slip Adamoah in behind the full back. Hutton had a shocker for the entire game and cost us the goal.

Looking back, Johanson should have finished it for Fulham during our good spell after another bad error from Chester. Mitrovic bullied Chester yesterday. I will give our lads credit for the 20-25 mins after half time, gave it everything but Fulham were far superior all over the pitch. They will do well next season as will Wolves.

[SoccerHQ]

come on, cheer up. The Wolves game was great and so was the home win against SH. I love those matches.

It used to be better when we were beating them in the top 6 of the premier league though.

[Zouch Villa]

Like many on here, feel more despondent this morning than I did last night.

My only hope is that a fundamental rebuild was needed whether we secured promotion or not, but hopefully it is now a more pressing inevitability facing yet another season in the 2nd Division.  Dr X has to realise that Bruce has failed at the job he was brought in to do, and has been given enough time.  We showed little yesterday to suggest a light touch would suffice.  Root and branch is needed.

[martyn ellis]

Odd isn't it. When that goal went in you just knew that's how it would finish. Plan A out the window; now what about Plan B - oh, do we have a Plan B?
A few observations:
1. I dread to think what our season would have been like next year if we'd scraped through. We may have just avoided a 9-month nightmare. Unfortunately, we may be just about to endure another one in the Championship.
2. SB - love the man; loathe his 'tactics'. Safety first, keep it tight. Noses in front, defend. To an extent he's 'turned the club around' as we keep being told. But it's a bit like turning an enormous oil tanker around - there's no flair.
3. It's alright going on about Fulham being cute and targetting JG, but my god some of the tackles were criminal and Jack got very little protection.
4. Interesting to note that in the Sky interview with that lowlife Fredericks (yes that's what he is as it was a cowardly challenge) there was no mention of his stamp (a la 'were you a bit lucky to be on the pitch after that tackle?'). Likewise in the Guardian report this morning, lots of praise: Quote: 'Ryan Fredericks was again mightily impressive' with not a mention of his darker arts. OK, Fulham are the darlings of the 'proper football' brigade, but a red at that stage for one of their lynchpins WOULD have changed the game. What's worse, it happened right under the nose of the 4th official who ignored it like a passerby conveniently 'not seeing' an assault in the street because he doesn't want to get involved.
4. This thread is full of comments about the dangers of setting up as we did against Boro. I'd like to know what Bjarnasson has done to upset the manager. For a few games in mid-season he was a revelation sitting just in front of the back four; he also scored a couple of lovely goals. Yesterday, just when we needed that creative spark he was nowhere to be seen. Bunging on Onomah, Hogan and Kodjia alongside a tiring Grabban was never going to work.
5. Good luck Fulham.