The silly season: Fulham v Newcastle, and it's a must win game for the whites

It seems silly to talk about must-win games in December, but football is silly these days.    Fulham stand above the relegation places with all the confidence of a drunk on a tightrope.  We need wins.  Lawrie Sanchez needs wins.

If you think I'm exaggerating, have a look at the following, copied and pasted from the BBC's preview of Saturday's game:

Won three of 21 Premier League matches under Sanchez; just two in 16 this season.
The current total of 13 points is their lowest ever return after the first 16 games of a Premier League season; eclipsing the point a game tally recorded in the 2005-06 season, when they eventually finished 12th.
Conceded 81% of their league goals in the second half; 22 of 27.
Cannot close out games. Lost the lead eight times in league matches this season and beaten in three games in which they held the lead; against Arsenal (a), Middlesbrough (h) and Aston Villa (a). Dropped 17 Premier League points from winning positions. Only Spurs have an inferior record, having squandered 19 points in similar fashion.

As charge-sheets go it is quite extensive.   Despite this I remain cautiously optimistic: if Sanchez is not necessarily the right man for the job, I remain unconvinced that he is the wrong one.  There's a moment in the first season of the Sopranos when Tony and his daughter, Meadow, are in Maine.  They're looking at colleges for Meadow, and are staying in a motel in between campus visits.   Also in Maine is a former 'acquaintance' of Tony's who has been relocated under a witness protection scheme.  Tony clocks him, and the man, now named Fred, realises he's been found.    Later there comes a moment when Fred, knowing what all this means, aims a gun at Tony from the shadows of the motel carpark.   He is on the verge of pulling the trigger when another couple return to their room and distract him.  Tony and Meadow survive. Fred disappears into the night.  Tony tracks him down in the morning and strangles him with some sort of rope.

Fred had his moment, his big chance, and he blew it.    It's been the same for Fulham this year.   I've been through this before - too many times - but (the otherwise excellent) Clint Dempsey was clean through at Ashburton Grove when we were 1-0 up.  If we'd beaten Arsenal away to start the season everything might have been different.   Then Diomansy Kamara hit the very inside of the post against Villa away, also when we were 1-0 up.  We lost both games 2-1.  Those were our Fred moments, and like Fred, we blew them.

Fred is dead.  He could have altered history by killing Tony Soprano, but he didn't do it.  Tony has gone on to have a long and interesting career, Fred has long been forgotten.  Nobody is interested in what nearly happens in football, no matter how close that nearly was. 

It's part of what divides Sanchez "out!" fans and Sanchez "hang on, let's see" fans.   But both groups know that at some point it comes down to winning football matches.  This has not been happening.  Fulham being Fulham we'll probably see another draw this weekend, a result that proves nothing and that will change nobody's mind, but time is running out. 

Comments

[bq]

Nice one Rich. I like the analogy!