Just got back from the match.
Thought it was a very tight game that could have gone either way. Before the red we probably edged it, afterwards Fulham did.
Thought the referee was terrible. I'm not one to blame referees for lost points normally, and am happy to admit we weren't clinical enough in front of goal. In an ideal world we'd have been three up at half time and not given the ref the opportunity to make such significant mistakes....
But we weren't. Because Fulham aren't a bad side, and we didn't play all that well. I like Andy Carroll, but it was a bad, bad move to play him. Hangeland is a beast, but he and Senderos are ponderously slow, and we should have had Maxi, Suarez and Bellamy running at them for 90 minutes. Carroll was under so much pressure that even when he did win flick ons, they never went where he wanted them to. Some neat touches but not enough impact.
Beyond that, I thought we were ok. Put Fulham under a lot of pressure. Henderson, who I think was our best player after Suarez, had a good game and was unlucky to hit the post, as was Downing. We haven't had much luck in that department this season, and if Downing's shot had crept in we'd probably have won.
But the ref has cost us points, however you look at it. Suarez's goal looked onside to me, and I thought the treatment that the ref gave Suarez throughout was poor. Every time, whether it was a 50/50, 60/40, even 70/30 in Suarez's favour, he gave the free kick against him, with the odd 'token decision' to try to make out he was being fair, usually with the ball deep in out own half. Suarez doesn't help himself sometimes, but that doesn't mean he should be victimised like this.
I thought the Adam 'penalty' was very tight. Looked to us like a penalty, although at the end of the day Adam really should have passed it before he was brought down.
And the red card? I'm sorry, but at the time I thought it was barely a foul and after watching again, I haven't changed my mind. Decent tackle that Dembele made the most of. What pissed me off was that the referee followed the ball until he heard Demebele screaming and shouting. Turned round, saw him writhing around on the floor, and calmly sent Jay off. Went from 'play on' to 'red card' in seconds, I don't understand it.
If Suarez's goal is allowed? We might well have won, or at worst a 1-1 draw.
If Jay wasn't sent off? Think we would have got at least a point.
Ref cost us points there, no doubt about it. That, along with bad luck AND poor finishing has left me feeling pretty disconsolate.