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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 20h

Iwobi central - drags player wide - opens up space for chance

Iwobi wide - cuts inside - opens up space for chance

Where do you want Alex Iwobi to start our next game? And does anyone still want to tell me he’s not good enough? 😉

More in my #FULWOL match thread 👇

The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 21h

Iwobi central - drags player wide - opens up space for chance

Iwobi wide - cuts inside - opens up space for chance

Where do you want Alex Iwobi to start our next game? And does anyone still want to tell me he’s not good enough? 😉

More in my #FULWOL match thread 👇

The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

The less focussed on switch in Fulham’s midfield shakeup for #FULWOL was Josh King going across from left to right 10

The result? More attacking punch when the ball came across to the side of the pitch we sometimes neglect 💪

More in the full thread below 👇

The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

Fulham’s xG leader this season is Sasa Lukic 🤔

And in #FULWOL we scored 3 without our ST getting off a shot

The natural finishing abilities of Sess, Wilson and OG have carried us so far, but is that sustainable?

More musings on our attack in this week’s match thread 👇

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

But with attacking talent starting to get back to fitness there is reason to hope that the handbrake really may be coming off now

And not a moment to soon! Even if our LB and RW have always been above average finishers, you don't want to rely on them and 'OG' for too long! 😅

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

The question now for Marco Silva's men is if that emerging creativity continues when we don't have those game state advantages

And if the lighter weight midfield (who didn't have to scrap so much here) can carry the burden defensively and in duels against tougher matchups 🤔

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

If the 1st goal showed how Iwobi drifting from inside to out could open up central chances, the 3rd was a reminder of how the traditional dynamics of him receiving wide and cutting inside creates too 🪄

1 goal and 1 man down, those familiar spaces in transition were on

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

For all the excitement around Kevin (whose width was key in many of our moves) a lively cameo from Chukwueze reinforced my view that his direct dribbling and creativity on that isolated right will be a transformative force in this side

If only this one had gone in! 😮‍💨

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

More fundamentally, Iwobi at 8 got the key Kevin-Sess-Iwobi triangle on the pitch and allowed for rotations down an overloaded left when Berge also supported 📐

In turn, this opened up space for more shots elsewhere, including down a more isolated right for Wilson and the rest

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

Insufferable #FFC tacticos like myself finally got our wish. Iwobi starting in the middle with a lone DM. A sense the handbrake might be coming off 🥳

And we weren't disappointed! Intelligent movement and intent on the ball opened up space we've rarely seen, even before the red

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

First things first, this felt like a lesson in game state dictating football matches 🧐

(Harsh) sending off aside, the early goal produced a game we could control even without total dominance or hitting top gear. Opportunities to play in a way that suits us more materialised

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 1d

Nerves steadied at Craven Cottage after an early goal and red card made #FULWOL fairly simple work 😅

And though it is hard to judge a game against 10 men, there were signs of evolution and progress to be cautiously optimistic about

So let's take a look at them 👇

🧵1/8

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 2d

That’ll do! 👏

Early goal + Red card = Easy enough win

Enjoy that (rare) Saturday winning feeling and on to the next one and some inevitably bigger challenges!

Proper #FULWOL analysis coming tomorrow 🔜

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 6d

Followers of this account know I really like Alex Iwobi and often defend him from criticism about the things he doesn’t excel at

That’s because what he does excel at (finding space + backing himself to make a progressive pass) is what we so desperately need

See here again 👇

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 6d

Let’s be honest, last night was a tough watch. But this was basically the only thing that got me out of my seat:

👌 That pass from Iwobi

👑 The turn from King

🤦‍♂️ Shame about the finish though!

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

Did the departure of Sasa Lukic coincide with Fulham losing control of #NEWFUL? 🇷🇸

And what should that mean for the #FFC midfield makeup going forward?

More in this week’s match thread 👇

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

Four consecutive defeats leave us close to the relegation zone, but the largely competitive nature of those defeats and who they were against are enough to avoid panic for now

But with Wolves now a must win, there are some big big calls to be made before that one🤞

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

For all the shouts to let off the handbrake, the other element of the subs this weekend which may go under acknowledged is how key the solidity of Iwobi, Lukic and Berge together was 💪

It’s no coincidence the withdrawal of Sasa and relocation of Iwobi was when this one got away

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

Seeing Smith-Rowe hooked at HT after another anonymous outing (last completed 90 mins in April '22 btw!) doesn’t help combat the idea he’s not the livewire who can save us

But the positives from Kevin’s arrival off the bench surely only intensify calls for him to start? 🇧🇷

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

Our attacking numbers this year are dreadful 📉

Yes it’s early, yes we’ve had injuries. But we barely get shots on target and struggle to finish moves other than with crosses which don’t connect

When that’s the case leaving record transfer fee attackers on the bench is bold!

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

Fulham undeniably got a grip of this game when Iwobi came inside to run the show and Kevin held width and stretched Newcastle with his direct dribbling threat inside and out

It was clear as day in our goal! But something Marco explicitly turned away from initially 🤷‍♂️

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

The ball playing quality under pressure in that back 4 (though Diop + Tete had good games generally) was simply not good enough vs a team whose punchy press pounce on such things 🥊

But has that tendency to stick with plan A for patterns and personnel become a wider issue?

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

More interesting is what Bassey’s selection over Cuenca signalled 🤔

Marco Silva, often lauded by me as the master of complementary partnerships (Ream + Robinson, AP + Mitro, Andersen + Bassey etc) picking on seniority and trust even though Cuenca's passing would help Diop more

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

On errors, we need to talk about a horrendous day for reigning POTS Calvin Bassey

To get done once trying to be clever at SJP is bad, twice having worked so hard to draw level is criminal

The 1st error is the worst for me, the 2nd Leno will surely be v disappointed with too 🫠

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The Cottage Tactico @cottagetactico.bsky.social · 9d

Defensively there are now two worrying and growing tendencies:

1️⃣ Errors that gift high quality chances or goals seemingly out of nowhere

2️⃣ Poor managing of momentum/moments under pressure, leading to us presenting those chances after we’ve scored/conceded or late in games

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