Fulham hosted Manchester United on Saturday, December 19, 2009 in the English Premier League. Both clubs are in the top half of the table and have had successful seasons domestically and in Europe. Man U are in second place heading into the match and in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League while Fulham are in the top half of the table and into the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League.

Basking in the afterglow of a rare West Ham win, I have been browsing at some statistics on the most creative Premiership players so far in the English Premier League 2009/2010 season. What I used to gauge creativity is the amount of chances created and assists credited, which should be a fair enough assessment of a player's creativity.

Image via Wikipedia Fullham supporters finally have something to talk about throughout the entire week, last Saturday their favorite team outperformed the Mighty Reds with three goals extravaganza at CRAVEN Cottage. Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff gave the Fullham supporters a reason to rejoice for the rest of the week.

A Manchester United side decimated by injuries were strangely subdued on their visit to Craven Cottage and found themselves unable to defend adequately and Danny Murphy and Bobby Zamora gave Fulham a two goal lead before Damien Duff added a third.

Roy Hodgson's Fulham side were coming off the back of a fine win in Basle midweek and were good value for their win with their attacking play constantly causing a makeshift Manchester United back four troubles and the west London side did their near neighbours Chelsea a big favour for beating the reigning champions.

As comfortable a 3-0 win over the second best team in Europe as we're likely to see. We've beaten big teams before, but rarely with such ease. This was a walkover, a bewilderingly comfortable win from a Fulham side at the very top of its game.

It was, of course, a good time to play United.

Ever since the ‘did it, didn't it cross the line' debate sparked by Geoff Hurst second ‘goal' in the 1966 World Cup Final, the arguments for and against the introduction of goal line technology have rarely been out of the headlines.

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There was once this Bobby Zamora, scorer of 70 goals in 119 appearances for Brighton & Hove Albion, a legend to this Seagulls fan some years ago:

Blessed with power, pace, some aerial ability and a calm finish, Zamora led the Albion up two divisions with successive championships at the start of the decade through his goalscoring exploits.

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Here, belatedly, is part 4 of the midfield analysis. Just got the numbers and still at work (poor me!) so might as well post up now.

So, of our intrepid centre midfield quartet, who is being useful? We, by now, think that they're all fairly good but there are some differences.

At the risk of speaking too soon... Bobby Zamora seems finally to be coming of age in a Fulham shirt. Last season's story was one of hit-and-miss showings but continued team selection due to the fact that he gave us something no-one else could. This year he has added consistency, turning in decent performances on an almost weekly basis.

The UEFA Europa League is down to its let week of group stage matches including Fulham v FC Basel on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. The teams are in Group E and currently 2nd and 3rd (8 and 9 points) with the match determining who will make the knockout stage. Fulham have to win to advance to the next stage while Basel will advance with a win or a draw.

It feels like we've gone to another level, from being a handy middle of the road English side to one that is legitimately pretty good. Tonight Basel were sliced and diced and beaten to a pulp in their own stadium, and that's that: we're through!

It was win or nothing, but who really expected us to pull it off?

Clint Dempsey came on for the final 20 minutes as Fulham advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League with a 3-2 win over FC Basel. Fulham finished second in Group E to AS Roma. Bobby Zamora socred in the 42nd and 45th to give Fulham a 2-0 lead at the half. Alexander Frei cut that to one from the penalty spot in the 64th-minute.

Fulham's Craven Cottage is never a particularly easy place to go. In eight games at home this season the Cottagers have lost just twice and have won five so this will not be an easy fixture by any means for Sir Alex's men.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is a very tactically aware manager and breaking them down won't be easy.

They Think It's All Over... reacts to a day of surprises in the Premier League.

McCarthy takes the mickey. With the majority of football fans (including ourselves) haranguing Mick McCarthy for his unsportsmanlike decision to field a weakened side against Man United last week in preparation for their match against Burnley, it seems McCarthy's had the last laugh.

When United traveled to London on Saturday to take on Fulham in their quidditch pitch at Hogwarts cottage, Liverpool had already become the first casualty of the night, and they'd done it in style at that. One comment stands out from all the reactions to Masch's tackle, from Jamie Reeves "Well, he certainly didn't go for the foot ball there".

This Saturday when Fullham faced off against Tottenham Hotspur, they were clearly the favorite in the match. The keepers from both the teams were kept on their toes throughout the match as every striker from each time had a go at the goal at one time or the other. Clint Dempsey, Bobby Zamora, Damien Duff [.

A goal from Bobby Zamora was enough to see Fulham past Sunderland at Craven Cottage.

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There were two main matches on Sunday, December 6, 2009 in the English Premier League as Fulham hosted Sunderland and Totteham Hotspur traveled to Goodison Park to face Everton. All four teams are in the top half and in contention for a spot in Europe for next season. Here's a recap of both matches along with video highlights.

Phew. A battle and a half, but early goals are everything in football and Bobby Zamora nabbed one to deliver a fine three points today. It was a funny game, with Fulham having the better chances and Sunderland long periods of possession, but ultimately Fulham's organisation and stability trumped Sunderland's increasingly desperate improvisational efforts.

Mr Hodsgon are you high?

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Fulham manager Roy Hodgson believes striker Bobby Zamora may be worthy of a place in England's World Cup squad.
Zamora, 28, scored his sixth goal of the season in a 1-0 win over Sunderland prompting Hodgson to suggest he could offer an alternative to Emile Heskey.

According to the Star (I know, I know), Arsenal have asked Barcelona about the availability of 19-year-old striker Bojan Krkic.

Good idea, Arsene what Arsenal really need is another tiny young forward who can be served up as a starter to the likes of Chris Samba, Nemanja Vidic and Abdoulaye Faye.

Why do football players, managers and owners pay so much attention to the endless noise on football forums?

More has come out about Bobby Zamora's little fit towards his own fans on Saturday, after a rare goal for a striker who has received some criticism from fans on Fulham forums, including the official version (if only more would read our defence of Bobby).

Bobby Zamora scored his sixth Premier goal this season- beating the combined the total of his last two seasons in the English top flight.

I've heard some derogatory comments towards Zamora in my time as a Fulham supporter, and it is true that he can be an easy target. (Note miss against Manchester City this season) However, his team game is a joy to behold, and his technical aspect brings a lot of other players into the game as a result of his unselfishness in front of goal.

Okay, another angle for explaining Bobby Zamora's ups and downs.

The last few years of his career:

03-04 Spurs/West Ham, 6 goals in 25 starts
04-05 West Ham, 13 in 20
05-06 West Ham, 10 in 20
06-07 West Ham, 11 in 30
07-08 West Ham, 1 in 11
08-09 Fulham, 4 in 36
09-10 Fulham 4 in 15 (not including Europa qualifiers)

All well and good.

T'was a wonderful footy weekend involving grown men touching each other. Personal space on the pitch was at a premium, with many guys showering affection unto each other. Some of it was hot. Some of it was not.

For two action-packed days, we bore witness to uninvited cheek-to-cheek action (Bobby Zamora, Fulham; David Nugent, Burnley), in-yo-face lecturing (Daniel Agger & Steven Gerrard, Liverpool; The Ref; Andrey Arshavin, Arsenal) and earlobe caressing (Diego De Ascentis, Atalanta).

Bobby Zamora, yes Bobby Zamora, scored two goals right before half-time as Fulham upset Basel 3-2 in Switzerland to book a place in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League.

photo credit: nicksarebi

Basel were heavy favorites here to progress to the knockout stages after having won all five of their previous European home games, while Fulham had yet to get an away win.

Mini match report: Prior to last night, Basle had won all five of their previous European home games this season and by two goals or more while Fulham had precisely zero wins away in the Europa League.

But Fulham were good value for their win in Switzerland, which sees them progress to the last 32, although Basle fought until the final whistle for the draw they needed.

Bobby Zamora continued his hot run as Fulham secured their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League at the expense of Basle. Second-half goals from Mika Vayrynen, Viktor Elm, Gerald Sibon (two) and Darryl Janmaat won the game at a canter for the hosts, but it proved not to be enough as Hertha Berlin did the necessary against Sporting Lisbon.

Yesterday Bjorn-Helge Riise delivered two ultimate bastard crosses. This is a new term, used to denote a cross that simply cannot be defended.

How often do we hear commentators bemoaning poor 'final balls'? All the time. Sometimes I think this is a bit unfair, as truly good crosses are very rare.

If he's good enough for her, he's good enough for me
Our Funny Feeling Friday selection this weekend is Fulham's Bobby Zamora. You might think we're crazy - as Fulham take on Manchester United, but we're pretty confident with this choice, coming off the back of four straight successful Funny Feelings - (Lee Chung-Yong, Branislav Ivanovic, Lee Bowyer, and Guille Franco).

It was another successful Saturday on December 19, 2009 as several Americans were playing in the top European leagues. DaMarcus Beasley continues to score for Rangers and now seems likely to stay with the club after earning a regular spot in the starting line-up.Brad Friedel and Aston Villa are on a roll as they won again and earned a clean sheet.

Bobby Zamora struck at the right time for Fulham as they had a dream win over Manchester United at Craven Cottage. The disappointing 3-0 loss might cost dearly to Man United who needed a win to pressure Chelsea in the Premier League table. Liverpool's bad form continued as they sunk deeper in the hole and [.

Fulham 3-0 Manchester United: Match Observations

After this showing, question marks will be raised over Manchester United and their hopes of defending their crown this season. Is it really because United are struggling without Ronaldo or something else? I have, and still, believed that the Red Devils can win the Premier League title again this year, despite already suffering our fifth defeat of the campaign, or Chelsea having another chance to extend their lead at the top of the table.

I know. That headline looks silly. Because despite his recent run of form and the above performance vs Man Utd, Fulham's Bobby Zamora isn't brilliant.

But he's not bad either, and he's in form, and crucially he looks as if he can play the Heskey role.

I'm a big believer in the way Capello sets up the England team right now.

After Fulham's 3-0 drubbing of Manchester United this past weekend, coupled by Aston Villa's steady climb up the English Premier League table, it leads you to believe that big money spending alone doesn't lead to success on the field.
Mark Hughes saw that formula doesn't always work at Manchester City, as he was fired this past weekend after big spending to assemble his roster didn't translate to any higher than 7th in the standings.

It's as if the Premier League get bored when it comes to arranging Boxing Day fixtures. Fulham for the third time in three years? Conspiracy theorists will be having a field day.
To compound matters, we're being playing this edition away from home. If Ewood Park is a traditionally tricky venue, then Craven Cottage is just as troublesome.

The Christmas period is upon us. And, like the toxic yellow egg-nog I poured on my cornflakes this morning, the games are coming thick and fast.

With barely enough time to watch Saint Edmonds throw on a makeshift halo and fix the world by buying it an X-box, Spurs are whisked off to the Cottage for an afternoon with their westerly neighbours.

There is still much water left to flow under the 2009 bridge, but now seems as reasonable time as any to take a look back.

As I write this, on Christmas Eve, things couldn't be much better for Fulham FC. We have a solid squad with a settled team and legitimate backup options in most positions.