Source: Telegraph
Bobby Zamora miss leaves Roy Hodgson short of finishers
Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, leapt to the defence of confidence-shorn Bobby Zamora after the £4.8m forward produced one of the misses of the season, and spurned the opportunity to end his team's search for a first away league victory, during this dismal stalemate. [LNB]Zamora, whose sorry goals tally for Fulham reads just two goals in 25 first-team appearances, somehow headed over the crossbar from two yards midway through the first-half. [LNB]It was a terrible miss, although not the only case of poor finishing at the JJB Stadium, and it highlighted the deficiencies of a Fulham team that has scored just three goals on their travels this season. Yet despite his wastefulness, Hodgson insisted that Zamora's performance was actually an improvement on his last outing for the club. [LNB]Hodgson said: "Bobby needs a goal, there is no question about that. He was certainly lacking confidence after the Portsmouth game last week, but I thought he played very well here and was perhaps too unselfish on occasions. [LNB]"He was unlucky with the chance he missed because it came to him very quickly and flew over the bar. On another day, it would have gone in. But this was a chance for us to end our away-duck and we will regret it when we look at the newspapers on Sunday morning." [LNB]With the new £1.78bn Premier League television deal making no provision for the '39th step,' the controversial plan to stage top flight fixtures across the globe, the residents of Doha, Sydney and Bangkok can rest easy in the knowledge that Wigan versus Fulham will not be taking place on their doorstep any time soon. [LNB]This game always had the potential to be a slow-burner, considering Fulham's awful away record and the fact that Wigan are still coming to terms with the loss of Wilson Palacios and Emile Heskey during the transfer window, but the reality was ultimately worse than even the most pessimistic observer could imagine. [LNB]Chances were not thin on the ground. Far from it. It was the quality that was lacking and the missed opportunities underlined the problems that both of these teams are suffering from in front of goal. [LNB]Fulham's £15m strike-force of Andy Johnson and Zamora were simply awful, the only difference between the pair was that Zamora at least put himself in a position to miss. Johnson, whose number has now surely been erased from Fabio Capello's contacts book, resembled a striker bereft of confidence and one who too often looked for the pass when a shot on goal was the best option. [LNB]Zamora? The former West Ham forward is a worker is nothing else and he forced a fine save from Chris Kirkland before heading Simon Davies's corner over the crossbar from two yards. [LNB]Wigan had their own opportunities, but Mido was equally wasteful in front of goal, heading wide from six yards after being picked out by Maynor Figueroa's dangerous left-flank cross. Mido, a January signing from Middlesbrough, was one of three Wigan players substituted before half-time due to injury. It was one of those days. [LNB]Steve Bruce's team have now gone five games without a victory, however, and the January departures of Palacios and Heskey have left sizeable holes to fill. They remain unfilled and, until the new faces find their feet, Wigan are going to struggle to sustain cling onto their top ten position. [LNB]Bruce said: "That was x-rated stuff, but I played too many players who weren't fully fit and I hold my hands up. Luckily, my defenders kept us in the game." [LNB]
