Premiership
Fulham 0-1 West Ham United 

Saturday, 23rd February 2008
by Gordon Thrower

I was looking forward to this one for a while. Not because I was expecting a feast of football – let’s face it, it was Fulham we were playing. No, I figured that since I was paying £45 for the ticket, my matchday “experience” would include some fantastic special gift from the proprietor of Harrods.



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Player Ratings

Robert Green
Coped comfortably with what little came his way. One fine save and a few easy ones.


Lucas Neill
Fairly comfortable though a couple of passes went astray.


George McCartney
Linda has a problem when Ljungberg plays left side. That is Ljungberg?EUR(TM)s habit of NOT playing left side. This leaves Linda with no support or cover, hence his penchant today of playing the long ball out of defence.


Anton Ferdinand
Fairly steady though he did have one worrying moment as both he and Upson lost out to McBride & Camara respectively.


Matthew Upson
Tried to bring the ball out of defence whenever he could. One dodgy moment as mentioned above.


Hayden Mullins
Did the usual Mullins thing but his distribution wasn?EUR(TM)t the best today and he got caught out of position a few times.


Mark Noble
Effective without dominating like we know he can.


Freddie Ljungberg
A funny game really. At times he looked capable of causing problems. Then he?EUR(TM)d go missing. Really must learn that if he?EUR(TM)s playing on the left he needs to help out Linda from time to time.


Julien Faubert
Struggled to make an impact and was often crowded out. The switch of wings failed to improve things.


Luis Boa Morte
Not nearly as bad as some people make out. Worked hard and laid the ball off well for the goal.


Carlton Cole
Was getting a lot of unmerited stick from one or two supporters. Had four attempts on goal. The first three were difficult but he ought to have done a lot better with the header.



Substitutes

Nobby Solano
(replaced Faubert, 63) We looked a lot better with Nobby on the pitch. Put in at least one superb 40 yard pass and, whilst there may have been a spot of fortune about the goal, that would have resulted from his determination to win the ball.


Dean Ashton
(replaced Cole, 80) Looked a little sharper than of late and did well in running the clock down at the end.


Jonathan Spector
(replaced Ljungberg, 90) Not on for long enough to register more than the slightest blip on the radar.


Richard Wright
Did not play.


John Paintsil
Did not play.



Match Facts

West Ham United: Robert Green, Lucas Neill, George McCartney, Anton Ferdinand, Matthew Upson, Hayden Mullins, Mark Noble, Freddie Ljungberg, Julien Faubert, Luis Boa Morte, Carlton Cole.

Goals: Nobby Solano 87                  .

Booked: None.

Sent off: None.

Fulham: Niemi, Staltieri, Konchesky, Hangeland, Hughes, Bullard, Murphy, Andreasen, Dempsey, McBride, Camara.

Subs not used: Keller, Nevland, Smertin, Bocanegra.

Goals: .

Booked: Murphy (14), Hangeland (20), Andreasen (28).

Sent off: None.

Referee: H.Webb.

Attendance: 25,280.

Man of the Match: Nobby Solano.