Cottagers Confidential: Fulham’s Drawing Ways Persist

It's been a frustrating season for Fulham fans, seeing eight Cottager draws in 13 matches send last year's Europa League finalists toward the bottom of the English Premier League table. Fulham is now in 16th place, one point above the drop, facing a visit from Manchester City, and while their 0-0 at Newcastle can be seen as a positive, an accumulation of draws is threatening Fulham's survival.

I left this game impressed with the play of Newcastle. This was a tough match and Fulham should be happy to get the draw. I also watched a future star in Andy Carroll for Newcastle. He is such a physical presence, and luckily Hangeland did a great job on him.

For Fulham, the back four did a great job controlling the strikers of Newcastle. Mark Schwarzer was again in top form. Danny Murphy played great in central midfield. Up front, I think Dembele is so close to really breaking out. He was very impressive today.

So, Fulham again show that they can compete on the road, but can't figure out a way to win. Next week it doesn't get much easier for the Cottagers. Manchester City come to Craven Cottage to face Fulham. The Cottagers will need to score next week if they plan on winning.

They will need to score, they will need to keep defending well, and Mark Hughes is going to find some edge. Fulham's lost Bobby Zamora until 2011, an absence that can't be overlooked, but when you have a team that's coming close enough to get eight draws, it's hard not to ask if there's a tweak the manager could implement to get three where his team is otherwise getting one.