Exactly right.

Having gone in at 1-1 we knew Mourinho would say/do something to motivate his team and rather than wait to see what it was we made a totally uncharacteristic half time change without pausing for thought. If you were going to introduce Wilf it should have been on 60 minutes. Eze was playing ok and contributing both ends of the pitch. Unless he was injured it was a strange decision to substitute him, but after 4 years of them I suppose I should be used to it.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him lose his place to Schlupp.

I think the substitution was to early. But what makes me laugh is the fact that so many on here cry out for , Hodgson, to be more positive, in his subs, more positive all round. And here he was being more positive in all respects, and that’s wrong as well for many because it didn’t work.
His timing was wrong, our shape changed with the decision, and that gave some world class forwards all the room they needed.
Who knows if he had stuck with what has been well tried by him, and well criticised , by many on here , Spurs might have hit the bar and post pulled three great saves from Guita, and we might have sneaked a draw, even a win.

I don’t think he did anything wrong, he was doing as much of or as little as everyone else in the first 30 minutes as we struggled to get a foothold in the game. After that though I thought he settled and started to look more involved.

What caused the massive gaps straight after half time was that the players appeared to think Wilf being on the pitch was a licence for all out attack. We looked totally out of sorts defensively and paid the price.

I hope Eze does not get too disheartened by being substituted at half time. He is a great player in the making.

Some will argue that he holds on to the ball too long, is not dynamic enough with his languid style, and slows our attacks down from time to time.

Some will see the likes of Raphinha,Bowen, Benrahma etc who are energetic and really go at the opposition at pace as opposed to Eze who has a more conservative style but perhaps the setup of the team is a contributary factor.
In style of play and technical ability,Eze reminds me of Ejaria of Reading.

In general terms, when one is playing in a team who are more dynamic and have better movement, players have more options when on the ball.

Edited by Willo (09 Mar 2021 10.19am)

It was a poor defensive display, taken full advantage of by Spurs.

We fannied about at the back against the tottenham press and lost the ball for the first. Kouyate was caught ball watching for thier second. Jairo should have stood tall rather than turn his back for Kane's wonderful shot. And finally, Ward was caught several yards off Son when a delightful pass just evaded his head for the forth. The determination and resillience shown in the previous 3 games had been consigned to a distant memory.

I'm guessing the exertions of a Covid-19 schedule exaggerated by an aged team took its toll.

We all have been pining for proactive substitutions sooner than ones made in the last 10 minutes. However RH got this all wrong and we paid a heavy price. If anything he shouldve taken off Townsend for Shlupp at half time and then brought on Zaha on the wing for Eze, i.e. minimal changes to our dogged first half display.

As for Eze, he played an instrumental role in the build up to our goal. Agreed, playing in an unfamiliar central role, he has been more of a passenger often playing the ball back or sidewards. More pertinently, however, it is the whole team, rather than just Eze, that has taken the defence first mantra too far. Too many times we have played the ball all the way back to the keeper from midway in the opposition half.

'Play the ball F*@!king Forward' the cry from Wilf could be heard.

It should be remembered, Eze has been at his best playing alongside Wilf. Flourishing in the space created by Wilf pushing forward.

When asked what Roy would do now that Plan A had failed, Coleman's reply brought on rueful grin.

'Try harder at Plan A'

It's this dire, hard to watch football, that has yeilded the most points in the premiership, at this stage of the competition.

A new way comes with risks for sure. But we also know without Zaha, we wouldve been relegated a long time ago. I hope the powers that be take note of Fulham's transformation. What can be achieved while still being defensively sound. If not I fear the day Zaha leaves.

Edited by GujiRascal (09 Mar 2021 1.06pm)

Edited by GujiRascal (09 Mar 2021 1.13pm)

Glass half full.