Lee Dixon: Fulham will stay up!

Match of the Day threw us a curveball last night.  I was half-asleep on the sofa when I heard Lee Dixon say that he thought we'd stay up, "just".  I sat bolt upright as if stung on the foot by a bee.  What?  What?!

Why are we staying up, Lee?  What do you see that others do not?  The BBC experts do not generally care for Fulham: Shearer would've just said "no, no chance now" in that "I used to play the game so do not doubt my wisdom, peasant" manner of his; Hansen would've probably dismissed the issue as beneath him too.  Lawrenson gave up on us a long time ago, although sometimes he says nice things about us.  Gavin Peacock is generally quite thoughtful so at least his prediction would've had some substance behind it, but as I recall he's not a Fulham booster either.  Lee Dixon seems to be quite intelligent, so his views would have been worth hearing on this subject.  But Ray Stubbs cut him off!  How frustrating.

What could Lee be thinking then?

I was quite optimistic all year but that is now in the past, and I am currently resigned to relegation.  Here, though, is the Lee Dixon escape plan:

Fulham have four very winnable games left.  These are Sunderland and Birmingham at home, and Reading and Derby away.  If they win those they might have a chance. 

I think that's it.  Lee may have noticed that we have been quite unfortunate this year.  Three weeks ago Nobby Solano decapitated Antti Niemi for the winning goal; this week Morten Gamst Pedersen performed a rear leg block (judo move) on Paul Stalteri to free himself before heading home.  This is not a Fulham fan whining (well it is), this is fact.  We should not have conceded those goals.  Supporters are frustrated with Roy's 4-5-1 formations and conservative approaches, but it is, generally speaking, working.  It just needs to keep working, and at a slightly higher level.

This, I believe, is what Lee Dixon was driving at.  That or he hadn't been listening when Ray surprised him with the question and he thought they were talking about Newcastle.

Comments

[NJR]

I too am still reeling from the shock of Dixon's optimism. Its been said so often that its almost passé for a pundit to make the usual cursory acknowledgment of the teams’ efforts only to qualify their sentiments with some extraordinarily insightful comment like "... but it does look grim at this late stage of the season". When Dixon gave us the seal of approval on MOTD I nearly choked on my late night Kit Kat! I can't say I completely share his optimism as we still sadly lack penetration in the final 3rd, but we are starting to dictate the tempo in more games and with Jimmy knocking them in from free kicks who knows? Please, please make it so! Sorry. What am I talking about? We keep getting robbed by refs anyway so all hope is useless. Oh Lee, why tease us so?

[Macca]

Good old Lee! Can it be the same Lee Dixon who, last April, predicted with the usual certainty expected of TV pundits that Fulham were down as he couldn't see us taking another point.

We're as good (i.e. not worse) than the teams immediately above us, but the gap in points is going to put massive pressure on the players to win the "winnable" games, and we don't look like scoring enough goals in open play to do that.

We're not down (yet) - but the fat lady's clearing her throat ...

[JRE]

I was also quite surprised (no, very!) to hear Lee Dixon's comments.

I never put 'pen to paper', or as in this case 'keyboard to net', on issues such as these. But I was drawn out of myself by reading the posting regarding Lee Dixon's recent comment on MOTD. So I am commenting, not only on this, but just a few other things, many of which have been elaborated on at length by those used to airing their views in public.

First of all can I say, watching MOTD is a marathon. Normally, the Fulham game is somewhere at the end. By that time you have seen the 'top teams', listened to the comments of the famous, and are basically fed up and mentally exhausted. In your heart you know Fulham will get a few minutes at best, and not be too suprised if the highlights begin with the second half! Then they will be mentioned by the Panel if they are unlucky, and normally with disdain.

It really is so depressing.

Now I have a new strategy to ease my pain.

Normally, with MOTD, which I have watched for many years, I have forced myself not to discover the Fulham result beforehand. That strategy has inevitabily ended in disappointment. Not only have Fulham lost, but you have had to endure this long introduction featuring almost every game in the League that day.

Of late, I cheat. I sneak a view of the result, then decide to watch it or not. I can then see how Fulham did. I am a fan of 45 years, and just can't cope with the disappointment any more!

But putting Lee aside, I can see Fulham are playing better. They look more organised, pass the ball to each other, and generally seem on the up. Therefore, returning to Mr Dixon, I think he's right, and I also feel they will escape. I base that on what I have seen in the Blackburn game (I discount Fulham's efforts against Arsenal and Man Utd because I think we lost before we started), and for once, I think it is not a pious hope.

Let's hope so!!

[FB]

'Media in (semi-)positive about the Whites' A shocker to be sure!

I was thinking the same as Lee and that a couple of odd draws and we could still do it. We need Nevland and GAM to make a showing, and I have a feeling that at least one of them will have a positive impact.

We are better (just) and have more depth than those around us. I'm not an optimist by nature, more a 'glass half full...and which fecker's got the other half?' type, but I haven't given up hope yet.

KTF