Ademola Lookman is not to blame for Fulham losing to West Ham

If you’re reading this article, you will have almost certainly already seen it several times, many of them in slow motion.

Ademla Lookman’s outrageously abysmal Panenka penalty took the media headlines after West Ham’s 1-0 win over Fulham. But it wasn’t the entire game.

Former Arsenal player Perry Groves called him “The Panenka plonker of the weekend” adding he would ban players from doing it, as if removing an option from the taker made life more difficult for the opposing keeper.

Former Newcastle and Manchester United striker Andy Cole said banning players from taking Panenkas may be going too far, but added:

“I wouldn’t ban them, I would fine them if they missed it. Fine them a couple of weeks’ wages.”

The miss was indeed all the media rage after a game that had prompted few talking points.

For 90 minutes, the two London sides had battled out an entertaining if relatively chance free goalless draw. There had been 26 shots but most of them had been blocked. In the Hammers goal, Lukasz Fabianski had only been forced to make one save of note, from a weakish effort by Bobby Cordova-Reid.

“Both Lookman and Kamara have scored more recently than the giant Serb who doubtless will punish me for writing this by scoring against Scotland this week.”

At the other end, Fulham had led a somewhat more charmed life. Sebastien Haller’s seventh-minute header hit the bar to draw a close to a very strong opening by the home side.

Alphonse Areola was called into action fairly often in the first half as the Hammers peppered his goal with more frequency than West Brom had managed in the Cottagers’ previous game.

Only the woodwork saved Fulham once more when the impressive Aaron Cresswell’s free-kick clipped the bar at the opposite end five minutes after half-time.

Fulham had 47% of he possession and created some pretty patterns but in all honesty, looked more threatening during the extra time minutes after Tomas Souckek’s 91st minute winner than they had in the 91 minutes before it.

Lookman was among the players who had been a large part of that intricate short passing game. He had his best game in a Fulham shirt. His confidence grew as the game unraveled. It will be an enormous challenge to Scott Parker, his staff and Lookman’s teammates to rebuild that confidence, as without it, he will not be the same player.

Lookman has since apologised to fans, posting on social media on Sunday: “After yesterday’s mistake, I take full responsibility and onus for it.

“To my teammates, manager and the supporters I vow to put the next one in. I will not let one failure hold me back. ⁦@FulhamFC”

Parker’s squad is already infinitely better than it was on opening day when Arsenal sauntered to an easy 3-0 win. 

This is already having an effect. Last year, Harrison Reed when fit, was an automatic selection in the defensive midfield area. Pressure for his place was paper thin.  The arrival of Mario Lemina has changed all that. Lemina had a very impressive first half against West Brom before an injury forced Parker to replace him with Reed.

Lemina did not recover in time to face West ham so Reed started. And boy did he start. For the first 30 minutes, he was everywhere. Every time a Fulham defender or midfielder received possession, Reed was nearby for them to release when under pressure.

The costly turnovers which had become a hallmark of Fulham’s early season play had been removed. Reed played like his place was on trial. Every Fulham player should be playing under that assumption every week. It does not take a genius to work out that, as an example, Aleksandr Mitrovic does not lose much sleep over being dropped for Aboubakar Kamara.

Lookman’s misfortune hides the fact that Mitrovic has not scored for seven games, when he netted twice in the 4-3 loss at Leeds on September 19th. The lack of a serious contender for his starting slot should be of concern to all Fulham-minded people.

Both Lookman and Kamara have scored more recently than the giant Serb who doubtless will punish me for writing this by scoring against Scotland this week.

“It’s not a betrayal of the football gods to lump one into the six yard box when you have a poacher like Mitrovic waiting, and sometimes, yes, it is just a numbers game.”

Ola Aina does not look like a typical full back. He’s pretty skilfull for a man his size. He also has energy and managed many forays into the Hammers half. However the quality of his crosses, when he eventually made them, did not quite match the rest of his play. All too often, he reached an advance position and opted for a short pass as Mitrovic and Tom Cairney waited for service in the danger zone.

It’s not a betrayal of the football gods to lump one into the six yard box when you have a poacher like Mitrovic waiting, and sometimes, yes, it is just a numbers game.

Fulham’s next game is with Everton who also just suffered a setback, losing 3-1 at home to out of form Manchester United on November 22.

Parker will have more squad options by then assuming none of his charges are injured on international duty. He should have Aina practising crosses and Lookman practising penalties in that space.

More than anything, he has to solve the conundrum of how to turn his intricate passing game into shots on target.

If Fulham have to rely on 95th minute penalties awarded by VAR to salvage points, it isn’t going to really matter who takes them.

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