FULHAM v MIDDLESBROUGH TACTICS TALK 18-12-06
Stuart Ward



Boro continue to become emroiled in a relegation battle and head to London for a vital clash against fellow strugglers Fulham tonight. We'll take a look at the opposition first.

Key Players

Brian McBride - The American striker is scoring goals again this season.

He is a big strong athlete of a player, who is VERY good in the air. He will be used as the target man for Fulham.

Woodgate and Xavier will have to be strong against him, or he will dominate and create havoc.

If he plays well then Fulham tend to do better, he CAN make them play a long ball game at times though, which is something Boro tend to deal with well nowadays.

Franck Queudrue - The former Boro man is returning from injury for tonight's match.

The French left back will need to be on his game to deal with the in-form James Morrison.

We all know that he is a decent tackler, and likes to bomb forward. If our right-winger can hold his position he will be afforded space when Franck gets caught out of position supporting an attack.

We will need to look out for him at set pieces too, he is VERY dangerous in the air and can chip in with goals.

Antti Niemi - The Finnish keeper has been one of the top performers in the Premier League for years now.

He is a great shot stopper, which is his main strength. Yakubu and Viduka will have to be at their best in order to get the ball past him.

He does look a little sloppy when coming for crosses occasionally however, so this is something Boro will need to exploit by getting plenty of crosses in from Downing and Morrison.

The Manager

Chris Coleman - He is finding it tough going at Fulham recently.

Always very vocal whenever asked his opinion, he saw fit to have a go at foreign chairmen in the Premier League, despite the fact that his is Egyptian.

His teams play decent enough football, but Fulham appear to struggle every year. This is either down to a lack of quality or a poor manager and I think it may be a bit of both.

Possible Lineup

                          Niemi

Volz    Knight    Pearce    Queudrue

Radzinski    Brown    Christanval    Jensen

                McBride        John

There are a few changes expected from the team who lost to Liverpool so heavily, mainly enforced due to injury. Crucial players Papa Bouba Diop and Luis Boa Morte are both out.

Queudrue returns to bolster the Fulham defence which doesn't really have a stand-out player.

Zat Knight is extremely tall, so will tend to dominate any long balls that are sent up for headers, which means the service into Viduka will have to be spot on.

Ian Pearce seems to have been playing football for as long as I can remember. He is the weak link in the centre, his lack of pace could be exploited by the Yak if he stays central for once.

In midfield, the rapid Radzinski has converted from a forward to a right winger. The former Everton striker now uses his pace to get forward and support the strikers, especially with skipper Boa Morte out.

In the centre of midfield Brown is a good solid player who is decent on the ball and likes to get forward and support the attacks.

Christanval will come in to replace the injured Diop. He is usually a defender, but can play midfield to, this means that he will be asked to sit in midfield and help the defence out rather than get forward.

Upfront, the speedy Collins John (SURELY his name is backwards?) combines with the big Burly Brian McBride.

This will take the typical Big man - little man combo, with John looking to feed off the scraps left by McBride's challenges in the air.

With Fulham out of the way, onto Middlesbrough.

Key Men

Jonathan Woodgate - The Boro centre half will be even more important this week, with his usual centre half companions Pogatetz and Huth out injured.

It will be up to him to lead the Boro defensive line. He proved against Wigan that he is able to play with Xavier alongside him.

Woodgate will need to be playing well to combat the threat of the on form McBride and this battle could be key to deciding what could be a scrappy affair.

Mark Viduka - The big Aussie has returned from a couple of broken toes and looks set to play a vital part for the Boro.

He is without doubt the best we have at holding the ball up and he will have to be at his imperious best to win any balls in the air against the giant Zat Knight.

I am sure he will be fresh and with a move in the January transfer window being whispered about, he will be looking to play well.

Lee Cattermole - Returning from suspension, Cattermole will be looking to continue the good form he has demonstrated as of late.

He is growing in stature with every game now, looking assured on the ball and providing good defensive cover.

He will look to limit the creativity of Brown in the Fulham engine room, whilst also looking to get forward and influence the attacks.

The Manager

Gareth Southgate - He looks set to keep the 4-4-2 formation that saw us create a hatful of chances against Wigan, and he is right to do so.

He has made changes to the backroom staff, getting rid of McClaren favourite Steve Round and citing differences in theory. Let's hope this makes an immediate effect and we see a much improved attacking performance against Fulham.

Likely lineup

                          Schwarzer

Parnaby    Woodgate    Xavier    Taylor

Morrison    Cattermole    Boateng    Downing

                    Viduka        Yakubu

Cattermole returns to centre midfield, with Parnaby slotting in at Right back, as Xavier moves to centre half to cover the suspended Pogatetz.

Xavier moves to centre half as he did against Fulham, and he certainly looks like he can do a job there, as long as it is temporary, we don't want Parnaby in the side for too long do we?

In midfield, Cattermole will return to give us a boost in the middle, with Arca dropping out. This will help give us vital drive and passion in the centre, something which Arca can't quite carry off for us just yet.

Boateng will continue as he has all this season, mystifying this writer as to what the world sees in him.

Morrison and Downing will be vital for the Boro, if they can get good service into the box. With the added presence of Viduka, Boro could hopefully cause a few problems for Fulham.

Up front, Viduka and Yakubu will try again to establish themselves as a top flight partnership. They are both top strikers individually. Let's hope they can do it as a pairing for once!

How it will go

I really don't see us taking anything from this match. We are a poor side at the minute and so are they, but we NEVER do well infront of Sky on a Monday, EVER.

This will be a tight, horrible, scrappy game, and I fancy Fulham to just shave it.

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