Saturday Fulham Stuff (19/04/14)...

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Tottenham v Fulham: BT Sport match preview
Felix Magath will be hoping his Fulham side can produce a third win on the bounce as they try to escape relegation, while Tim Sherwood looks for a strong end to the season to reinforce his position at White Hart lane.

As Tottenham prepare to face Fulham live on BT Sport 1 this Saturday, both managers will be hoping for a victory for very different reasons.

Since taking the reigns as Tottenham boss in December 2013, Tim Sherwood has been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, most of which have been shown very visibly on his contorted face.

His 'Jekyll and hyde' Spurs side have suffered heavy defeats at the hands Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, but have also proved themselves with good wins away at Manchester United, Newcastle and Southampton.

Last weekend the north London outfit came from three-goals down to draw at West Bromwich Albion, a match that perfectly illustrated in 90 minutes the inconsistency Spurs have shown throughout the season.

And it is this erratic form on the pitch, plus Sherwood's histrionics off it, that have led many to believe that there will be a new man at the helm before the start of next season.

Sherwood himself has brushed off speculation of his future at the club, but with Chairman Daniel Levy watching his every move, nothing less than a win over lowly Fulham will do.

Sherwood's opposite number at Fulham, Felix Magath could inspire one of the great escapes of the season, should the Cottagers avoid relegation at the end of the season.

The German took over from Rene Meulensteen in February of this year, with his tough, no-nonsense approach preceding him.

The month of April has seen Fulham burst into life, with crucial wins over fellow strugglers Aston Villa, and then Norwich last week, giving them a real chance of survival.

A win at White Hart Lane would see them leapfrog the Canaries into 17th place, the first time they would have made it out of the bottom three since January.

OPTA MATCH STATS:

Tottenham have won seven of their last eight Barclays Premier League meetings with Fulham, losing the other.
No side has taken fewer points from Premier League London derbies this season than Fulham (six).
Tottenham have made 19 errors leading directly to a goal this season, more than any other side.
Fulham have drawn only three games all season. The Premier League low for draws in an entire season is three by Chelsea in 1997-98.
None of Fulham's last 46 Premier League games have ended 0-0 – the longest current run of all Premier League teams.
Christian Eriksen has scored four goals and assisted three more in his last four Premier League appearances for Tottenham.
With 93 goals, Emmanuel Adebayor is the current Premier League player with less than 100 goals nearest to reaching that landmark.
Fulham have conceded 17 goals in London derbies this season, more than any other side.
Tottenham have scored only six goals in eight London derby games this season.

Live coverage of Tottenham v Fulham from 12pm on BT Sport 1 this Saturday.



http://sport.bt.com/sportfootball/football/tottenhan-v-fulham-bt-sport-match-preview-S11363894002545?

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Transfer news: John Heitinga ready to discuss new Fulham deal if they avoid drop


John Heitinga: Open to Fulham extension talks if they stay in the Premier League

Centre-back John Heitinga has revealed he is willing to discuss a new deal with Fulham, should they retain their Premier League status.

The former Everton defender joined the Cottagers on a free transfer during the January transfer window, but is out of contract at the end of the season.

Heitinga has now revealed he was happy to short-term deal at Craven Cottage, but claims he is ready to give his all in Fulham's fight for survival.

Victory over Norwich last weekend saw Fulham move into 18th, just two points adrift of safety.

"I deliberately signed a six-month deal," he said in The Sun. "In principle, I'll be a free agent in July. But our entire focus is on staying up.

"If we do, I aim to sit around a table and discuss a new deal."

Fulham travel to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham on Saturday before a final run-in consisting of Hull City, Stoke City and Crystal Palace.

Heitinga revealed morale is high in the Fulham dressing room and the Dutchman believes they have the edge of rivals Norwich, who must face Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

"We have always believed we can do it," he added. "The fixture list is in our favour, with Norwich having to play four top sides.

"If we can win two games, we should be safe.

"People raised questions about the manager's training methods. But the simple fact is they have made us super-fit."


http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9270795/transfer-news-john-heitinga-ready-to-discuss-new-fulham-deal-if-they-avoid-drop?

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It`s Chelsea for Fulham
   
With Fulham having already reached the FA Youth Cup Final, courtesy of a two-legged semi-final win over Reading, we awaited the outcome of the second semi-final, last night, to see who we`d meet in the final.

The second semi-final was between Arsenal and Chelsea with the latter having won the first leg, at Stamford Bridge, 2-1.

In front of a crowd of just under 10,000 at the Emirates Stadium, it was to be Chelsea that ere to make the final when they beat Arsenal 1-0, on the night, to win 3-1 on aggregate.

The final will, therefore, be a cracking local derby with Chelsea probably starting as favourites considering they`ve now reached four finals, of this competition, in five years.

Can our lads deliver the silverware?

I wouldn`t bet against it.

COYW`s!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=356365#ixzz2zGvZUZDW

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LAWRO'S PREDICTION

Tottenham v Fulham (12:45 BST)

I was sceptical about the amount of younger players Fulham manager Felix Magath has been using but they have freshened up his side and given them hope - the Cottagers have now won two straight games for only the second time this season.

Hugo Rodallega has scored the winner in both of them, and he is another player to be given a chance by Magath - before his appointment in February, Rodallega had only started one league game this season.

Rodallega does not always contribute a lot to the team outside the box, or when they do not have the ball, but he can score goals and Magath has obviously weighed that up and gone with him.

With four games to go, the Cottagers are still fighting for their lives, while Tottenham are on cruise control.

The uncertainty over Tim Sherwood's future as Spurs boss will not help but, at home, I still think they will be too strong for Fulham.

That will not be the end of the Cottagers, though. After beating Norwich last week they are only two points behind the Canaries, who have a much tougher run-in

Norwich play Liverpool on Sunday and I think the gap will still be two points at the end of the weekend. Fulham will still have hope of staying up with three games to go.

Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Doherty's prediction: 1-1


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26996642

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TEAM NEWS: Holtby ineligible for Fulham, Spurs welcome Dembele back

LEWIS HOLTBY is unavailable for Fulham's trip to Tottenham tomorrow (12:45pm) because the loanee is not allowed to face his former club.

Holtby is on loan at Fulham until the end of the season but the terms of his temporary move prevent him from facing Spurs.

The Cottagers' club-record signing Kostas Mitroglou remains sidelined with a knee injury, but is expected to return against Hull the following weekend.

Mousa Dembele's return is the only boost for Spurs boss Tim Sherwood, with the Belgium international back after a hip complaint.

However, defender Jan Vertonghen (ankle) is not ready while Kyle Walker (pelvis) and Michael Dawson (hamstring) also remain absent, as does Erik Lamela (back), Roberto Soldado (hamstring) and Etienne Capoue (foot).

Tottenham provisional squad: Lloris, Friedel, Archer, Naughton, Kaboul, Chiriches, Dawson, Fryers, Rose, Sandro, Paulinho, Chadli, Dembele, Veljkovic, Eriksen, Sigurdsson, Bentaleb, Winks, Lennon, Townsend, Kane, Adebayor.

Fulham provisional squad: Stekelenburg, Stockdale, Heitinga, Amorebieta, Hangeland, Riether, Riise, Burn, Zverotic, Sidwell, Karagounis, Kvist, Parker, Richardson, Kacaniklic, Dejagah, Kasami, Woodrow, Bent, Rodallega.


http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/471153/TEAM-NEWS-Holtby-ineligible-for-Fulham-Spurs-welcome-Dembele-back

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David Stockdale: This Fulham team is a band of brothers and we will fight to the end to stay in Premier League
Goalkeeper David Stockdale says Fulham's Premier League run-in is a battle for survival... and one they will win


Fighting talk: David Stockdale insists Fulham will never surrender
Photo: PHILIP HOLLIS

Strong character is required in the fight against relegation. Fulham certainly have a strong character in David Stockdale, their goalkeeper who faces Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday determined to give everything to stay up in the Premier League.

"We will stay up because we're Fulham, because we're bulldogs and we'll keep fighting," explained Stockdale, sitting upstairs in the characterful old pavilion at Craven Cottage. "I'm from the barracks. If you need someone to get going in a war, I'd step up. I'd pick Steve Sidwell to come with me straight away as a mate. I'd pick Scott Parker and Brede Hangeland. I call them 'the bulldogs'. 'Send the bulldogs in'. Hugo Rodallega has come in and shown he can do it.

"It's like 2008 (survival) again with Danny Murphy, another bulldog. We have this ability to fight on. Pundits counted us out on 20 points. We're on 30 points now. Three wins in five games is good form. For a club that was meant to be going down we didn't roll up and die.

"The people we bring here are people who want to fight for the club and are also good people. You'll never have Fulham in the papers because we've got outrage in the ranks. People pull together. If there's something wrong we deal with it in-house. A few of the lads had a talk recently. 'Do you understand where you are?' I said. 'You're at Fulham Football Club. We can't just let this crumble into nothing and fade away'.

"Fulham are the club who gave me the chance. If I move on one day, there's always a place for Fulham in my heart. This club is special. It starts with this building we're sitting in. No other club has a cottage. There's a picture of the old cottage somewhere." Stockdale surveyed the walls. "There it is, there you go. 'Original Cottage'."

This ancient sepia print of the building contained a couple of blurred figures in the foreground. "There's Michael Jackson," I remarked to Stockdale. "And Johnny Haynes is over there!" he laughed. "We've got a Michael Jackson statue! How many other clubs have got a Michael Jackson statue? We're unique."

Mohamed Al-Fayed's off-the-wall idea has since been moved by the new owner, the charismatic Shahid Khan. "The old chairman did so much for us," continued Stockdale. "We have to stay up. It would be so sad to see the new chairman come in, trying his hardest, putting money in, if we didn't (stay up). He's a character. But that's Fulham. Mohamed Al-Fayed, the ultimate character, was brilliant for us. Fulham are a lovable club, a family club. We're the only Premier League club to have a mixed end where fans can sit together."

The Leeds-born 28-year-old is polite and no-nonsense, arriving early for the interview with one request. "Tea, please. Yorkshire." He laughed at the thought of his living in the VIP area of the Premier League bubble. "I like to pop the bubble. I go to the park with the kids. Being grounded keeps me away from the hype. Football's just a game. The Premier League hypes the game. I box that hype away, walk on the pitch, and get on with it. I work hard. I'm ready. I believe in fate - what will be will be. I don't feel any pressure with football.

"If I start thinking about the high stakes I might start chewing my gloves off in goal. I do get upset by things but I soon get my dad telling me to sort myself out. Or her (wife Kate's) dad. When I scored that own goal (in the Everton game), and was in a bit of a mood, her dad started laughing at me and said 'good finish'. That made me laugh and eased the tension."

Stockdale scored in a trial for his beloved Leeds United. "Leeds had these big trials at Thorp Arch," he recalled, embarking on a fascinating run-through of his early years which help explain why he is so grounded. "One half I played in goal, kept a clean sheet, then played striker and scored.

"It does upset me what's happened to Leeds. I'm still a Leeds fan. I look at the quality of goalkeepers we've had: Scott Carson, Paul Robinson came through, Nigel Martyn when I was watching the Champions League run, Neil Sullivan at one point and David Seaman when he was younger.

"That Champions League team was so good. I played at Ipswich when Lee Bowyer was there. Me and my family were star-struck when we met Lee Bowyer. He's a Leeds legend. I played against Alan Smith a few times, got his shirt. Leeds are an incredible club with incredible fans who have always got their hands in the pockets, going to games. My father-in-law goes nearly every other week. I nipped back to Leeds last weekend, went to see my friends, and all we talked about was Leeds and they were asking me about Jack Butland."

Ignored by Leeds, Stockdale went via Huddersfield Town's youth system to York City. He fell out with Billy McEwan, went on loan to Wakefield & Emley and Worksop Town, before York released him. Stockdale was 20 and unemployed. "Neil Redfearn was going to sign me for Scarborough, then they went bust. I thought: 'I need to find a job'.

"I worked for £50 a week for a few months, getting up at 6am, doing building work and carrying bricks, doing groundsman work at cricket grounds that needed rolling, cutting, painting. I actually played cricket for New Farnley. I was a good fielder. I loved running after the ball, catching it. I was the man they put at Cow Corner. I liked to slog it out of the ground, so I was a good 20-20 batsman. Leeds Schools noticed I could slog it so they called me up."

His journey to the top in football has certainly been a long slog, putting in the miles. Stockdale went to Darlington before Fulham signed him in 2008. His career has been spent frequently on loan, at Rotherham United, Leicester City, Plymouth Argyle, Ipswich Town and Hull City twice. Now Felix Magath has dropped Maarten Stekelenburg, the World Cup finalist, and turned to the more vocal Stockdale.
"He's one of the best goalkeepers in the world," said Stockdale of the Dutchman. "He's been fine with me. He wishes me luck when I go out of the dressing-room. There's competition but there's also the goalkeepers union. If he gets picked, I'll tell him 'good luck, clean sheet today'. You're all trying to fight each other, and in training we might fire a few past each other to remind each other we're still there, but we're fighting for the same thing: Fulham to win the game, to stay in the league."

Stockdale has responded with a series of fine saves, notably to thwart Norwich City's Ricky van Wolfswinkel, last weekend. "After the game he came up to me and said: 'I can't believe what you're doing to me. It's 20 hours (since he last scored). Do you know that?' I also saved from him at their place. It was disbelief. He just thought: 'I can't even shank one into the net against him.' Ricky's a really nice fellow and I wish him all the best. I actually think he's a good player but he's not having any luck.

"Wayne Rooney is the toughest striker I've faced. Every time I face him he annihilates me. He always seems to score. I have so much respect for him." Some others frustrate him. "Strikers are so quick, running through, so tricky, and they can go down. It's called diving but they're just trying to win their clubs a penalty. People call it cheating. If there's contact, that's for the ref to decide. Sometimes, they say 'diver' but the guy hasn't appealed for a penalty. It's that lucrative now that people feel they have to do something."

Stockdale just enjoys the opportunity to play and impress, repaying Magath's faith. "I always have the belief. It was having the backing. The manager pushes us but he doesn't need to shout to give an order. He's got presence."

The German is Fulham's third manager of the season. "Footballers are creatures of habit and when things change it scrambles your mind," said Stockdale. "Now everyone's adapted in a quick time and you can see the benefits on the pitch. The lads have really taken to him. He speaks brilliant English, better English than I speak German. Mine are all swear-words.

"I'd love to be able to speak languages like Philippe Senderos. He speaks eight languages. Eight! Unbelievable. I tried to learn Spanish because we went on holiday to Spain and it's polite. If I got lost, I could ask for help. I speak to Hugo in Spanish. I can understand Hugo when he speaks Spanish if he talks slower.

"I want to travel the world when I stop playing. I talk to (Mahamadou) Diarra about Mali and the conflicts there. The world's a messed-up place. He loves his country. I love my country. He tries to tell me the good bits, the bad bits. I want to see places. I want to see how America works. We are going to Florida this summer, the first time I've been to America."

England will be there at the same time, preparing in Miami for the World Cup. Stockdale hit the headlines in 2011 when he turned down a chance of an England debut against Switzerland because his wedding to Kate was booked. "It was a big thing," he acknowledged. "I was jumping about when I was called up by my country! I'm a patriot. I'm English. I never thought I'd be in the England squad not through lack of belief but because of the depth of goalkeepers we had. It was one of the best days of my life.
"But the people who were coming to my wedding were those who support me whether I was in the England squad or a plumber. My fiancée said: 'I'll change it.' But it was a woman's 'I'll change it'. Everything was booked."

The wedding went ahead. "The staff at England were brilliant. On the day of my wedding, I got texts saying 'good luck'. Fabio Capello said: 'It's not going to hinder your chances. It's not because you get married you get dropped from the squad.' Luckily enough he continued to pick me." He has been on the bench four times but never played.

England fans would argue that Stockdale made quite a sacrifice for Kate. "It should be more the sacrifice she made for me," he countered. "She moved to London. She was working at the time, a good job as an NHS secretary. She just dropped it all to follow my career. Got kids as well. She has to look after them every day.

"People say: 'what's London like?' I say: 'I don't know, never really been in.' We don't live in the city. We're very family-orientated. We sit at home, do everything together. When the kids are on iPads, we don't just let them play games. They play number games. It's evolution. We used to do numbers on a pen and paper, now it's an iPad. I like to think I'm a good dad but they've got a good mum as well."

Stockdale also relaxes driving classic cars, fishing and horse racing. "I've got a few cars. Rolls-Royce 1976 and Jaguar Mk 2 1961, the Sweeney car. I've passed my racing licence but I can't race competitively (because of his Fulham contract). I do go on track days. I've a Mustang 1966 – iconic – and an Austin A40. I've got a Mini 1971, the Italian Job one. Hasn't got the Union Jack on the roof! It's got No 13 on the side. That's my lucky number.

"I must have had 20 Minis. I brought Steve Sidwell into training in the Mini. He loved it. Well, he said he loved it. He likes the Rolls-Royce better because the seats are comfier. When my wife is away I might take the Jaguar out for a run, makes sure it's working right, take the Rolls-Royce out. I put the old driving gloves on. It's relaxing.

"I fish all over. I've met up with (fishing legend) Keith Arthur and Jimmy Bullard. I got into carp fishing because of the size of them. I sit there, have a cup of coffee, read a book. I'm reading Bernie Ecclestone's at the moment. I read biographies of jockeys - the mental toughness of those guys is amazing. The sacrifices people go through.

"I met David Seaman at Ascot. We've tried to go out fishing but never found the time. He's similar to what I seem: very laid-back, quietly confident, not too in the hype. He's calm, talks well. He's well-mannered. It's nice to be known as a nice person. Even if I leave football with nothing, if people are left with good memories of me that's all I can ask for.

"You'll always find me saying 'excuse me' and 'thank you'. No matter who you are in life, manners costs nothing. That's how I've been brought up. I used to get a thick ear if I didn't say my manners. I'm not saying my dad hit me but he would remind me, saying: 'I've brought you up better'."

Stockdale is a conscientious character. On the morning of Tuesday's Hillsborough Memorial service at Anfield, the Yorkshireman posted a tweet in memory of the 96 Liverpool fans. "It's a bit of a Northern thing but everyone should unite at a time like this. There's more to football than rivalry. You can see that with the Everton fans and the tributes around the country. I've read a lot of books about the Hillsborough Disaster. Football should be about going to a match, having an enjoyable day out and then going back home. But that day they didn't.

"Liverpool fans are special. When I went to Anfield, someone said 'don't forget to clap the Kop'. At Leeds, if you clap the Kop, you'll get a few fingers! It's general respect for the opposition goalkeeper at Liverpool. So I clapped back, showed them my respect."

"I'm rooting for Liverpool in the title race. Luis Suarez! What a player! When he's coming towards me, I think I've got to stop him, got to save my club but what do I do? I voted for him as (PFA) Player of the Year and Daniel Sturridge as Young Player. I like how Sturridge plays; he has panache. I saw him visiting a school the other day, caring. That's good."

Stockdale's own compassionate nature has seen him and Sidwell spend time with Macauley Rogers and George Ludlow from the hospice Shooting Star Chase. The boys' interviews with the Fulham players have become a bit of a YouTube sensation.

"Steve has given chocolate up for Lent and then said 'until we stay up'," explained Stockdale. "Macauley sent us a tweet when we beat Norwich, saying 'well done lads' with a picture of a full packet of chocolate biscuits and some Easter eggs. Macauley's bringing them in but we won't be eating them - yet."


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/10774973/David-Stockdale-This-Fulham-team-is-a-band-of-brothers-and-we-will-fight-to-the-end-to-stay-in-Premier-League.html

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Ashkan Dejagah says Felix Magath is the right man to keep Fulham up
Fulham's winger was in a similar predicament with Wolfsburg three years ago and says the experience was invaluable


Ashkan Dejagah says Wolfsburg were in a worse position three years ago than
Fulham are as they try to avoid the drop. Photograph: David Levene

Ashkan Dejagah cannot help but chuckle at the similarities. A team forlorn, enduring a trauma of a season under three different managers, has summoned the last, Felix Magath, in desperation with disaster looming large. His is a near-impossible task, with an established member of the elite teetering on the brink and four games left to define a campaign. "Only it was actually a much worse situation back then," says the winger. "We had no momentum, and had forgotten how to win. But we still did it. Felix still did it."

For Fulham in the three weeks ahead, read VfL Wolfsburg three years ago. Bundesliga champions in 2009 with Magath in charge, Die Wölfe had stumbled under Steve McClaren and plunged further over the brief interim stewardship of Pierre Littbarski. They were last but one in the division when Magath was rehired in mid-March, two days after his sacking at struggling Schalke, but none of his first four matches were won and Wolfsburg were left pinning hopes on the run-in. Then came the revival. Three of those last four games were won, a nine-point haul enough to hold off a resurgent Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Dejagah witnessed that upsurge first-hand as a member of Magath's side, a player flung on from the bench at Hoffenheim on the final day with the scores level and everything in the balance, before Mario Mandzukic and Grafite completed the visitors' scoring.

These days the Iranian and the man once nicknamed "the Torturer" by his overworked players are reunited, the former's role again often one of impact substitute – largely owing to a niggling groin injury – and with the last batch of fixtures critical: Tottenham Hotspur away , then Hull, Stoke and Crystal Palace. After Martin Jol and René Meulensteen, it is up to Magath to inspire the recovery. "And winning the last two games has given us the belief and confidence," Dejagah says. "Fulham has to play in the Premier League and Felix Magath is the right manager to achieve that. A good appointment, a good option.

"Back home in Germany he is a big name, a manager who has won championships with Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, a man with a reputation. He has the ability to relax people, to get them focused. He knows when the time is to work, or to make 'funnies'. He recognises the balance needed, and it's important to have someone who has been through this before. At Wolfsburg we needed a win on the last day [to avoid a relegation play-off] and he saw us through it. He speaks a lot to his players, reassures them, reminds us what our jobs are. The most difficult thing in this situation is the pressure, what happens in here [he taps his head], but he releases that just by talking to us. We believed before the Norwich game, and after the game we believed even more. We won at Tottenham last season, so we have a chance."

Dejagah's attitude is almost matter of fact, that of a player who has seen this before and will endure the drama in the unswerving belief his team will emerge triumphant. Pressure might eat away at others but this is a 27-year-old who has endured much over a career that has taken in three clubs and two national setups, his allegiances inked on his body: his right forearm sports the word "Teheran", the German spelling of the city where he was born in 1986; his left arm "Berlin", where he grew up and played for Hertha. His neck is tattooed with the mantra: "Never forget where you're from".

He had been capped from junior to under-21 level by Germany, winning the 2009 European Championship after moving to Wolfsburg, before his club career endured a lull, his progress checked by injury, and a wave of younger players leapfrogged him in the pecking order.

"Germany had a lot coming through, a new generation, so that was a hard situation for me but I'd always had the option to play for Iran. Both my parents are Iranian. My wife, like me, is Iranian but brought up in Germany, so we all spoke and I followed my heart. I was born in Tehran. I have a lot of family there. I still count Iran and Germany as 'my countries', but I'm proud to represent Iran: a beautiful country whose fans love football.

Sometimes people – team-mates, friends – ask me: 'How is it there?' I can just say it's a nice country with nice people. Other things, I don't want to speak about. Other things ... I go there to play football, to see my family, to represent my country. That is what I know. I'm proud to play for Iran but a lot of people see just the negatives, the things that are reported in the news. That's why they're scared a bit about Iran. I can just say the Iranian people are very nice, and it's my country."

That represents the extent to which Dejagah is prepared to dip into politics, his caution an acknowledgement Iran – where he established his career – is still considered a pariah state by the west. His reticence is understandable. It is seven years since he pulled out of a trip to Tel Aviv with Germany's Under-21s, a decision accepted by the coaching hierarchy and born of concern at potential reprisals on his family in Iran, whose government have not recognised Israel since the 1979 December Revolution.

Iranian athletes have invented mysterious ailments to swerve similar dilemmas over the years, with Dejagah guilty most obviously of being too honest. Yet his withdrawal drew stinging criticism from Germany's Central Council of Jews and politicians in his adopted country. Recollection prompts a shudder of apprehension. "This was a long time ago," he says. "It is in the past. Yes, it helped me grow up but now I only look to the future."

That future, beyond the culmination of the English domestic season, is a World Cup in Brazil where Iran, ranked 37 by Fifa and under Carlos Queiroz's stewardship, will attempt to unsettle Argentina, the Africa Cup of Nations champions Nigeria and the newcomers, Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Team Melli" have added talent from the Iranian diaspora to their squad – Dejagah, Daniel Davari, Reza Ghoochannejhad and Steven Beitashour, born in San Jose, California and currently with Vancouver Whitecaps – with Queiroz having called in his contacts to secure friendlies with Belarus, Montenegro and Angola as preparation next month.

"I know it's not easy to take friendly games with Iran but Queiroz has experience," says Dejagah, who scored twice on debut against Qatar. "That's why he can arrange these games. It's an unbelievable thing for Iran, to be in Brazil. "The whole country is proud, even if we felt obliged to qualify. We had 100,000 people in the national stadium screaming for us, and we are the second best team in Asia after Japan. But at the tournament itself, no pressure. We can go there and just play. If we get into the next round, it'll be the first time for Iran. Argentina will go through as group winners, but against Nigeria and Bosnia we have a chance. Why not? We have a talented team.

"I know there are not as many Iranians playing in 'big' leagues now, particularly in the Bundesliga. There is Reza [at Charlton] also here but it's hard for our younger players to make names for themselves. I was luckier, growing up in Germany, but not many scouts go to Iran to watch games. Maybe they come from teams in Dubai or Qatar but you need a lot of luck to be spotted and given an opportunity by a European team. That's why I hope, in this World Cup, our players show the world how good they are."

Until that pool of talent is tapped, Dejagah is a lonely ambassador for his country, a cult figure at Craven Cottage and an émigré with survival on his mind. "If we stay up with Felix Magath in charge of us, Fulham will surprise a few teams with what we might achieve. Look at Wolfsburg: after that fight against relegation, we almost qualified for Europe the following season." The German club finished eighth, four points off the Europa League qualification places. Magath, and Dejagah, are hoping history repeats itself.

Ashkan Dejagah was speaking at an event for Marathonbet, main sponsor of Fulham. The new Marathonbet app is available to download in the app store and at marathonbet.co.uk/mobile


http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/18/asgkan-dejagah-felix-magath-fulham?

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Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham: match preview
Read a full match preview of the Premier League game between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham at White Hart Lane on Saturday April 19, 2014, kick-off 12.45 (BST)


Back at the Lane: Former Spurs midfielder Scott Parker (right) could return for Fulham against Tottenham
Photo: ACTION IMAGES

Saturday, April 19, 2014
Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham
White Hart Lane
Kick-off: 12.45 BST.
TV: Live BT Sports 1, Highlights, BBC ONE Match of the Day.

Tottenham (Possible, 4-4-2): Lloris; Naughton, Chiriches, Kaboul, Rose; Lennon, Chadli, Paulinho, Eriksen; Adebayor, Kane.
Out: Capoue (foot), Dawson (hamstring), Lamela (back), Soldado (hamstring), Vertonghen (ankle), Walker (pelvis)
Test:

Fulham (Possible, 3-1-4-2): Stockdale; Heitinga, Hangeland, Amorebiate; Diarra; Riether, Sidwell, Parker, Richardson; Kasami; Rodallega.
Out: Briggs (hernia), Duff (knee), Holtby (ineligible), Mitroglou (knee).

Referee: Lee Probert. Matches: 17, R2 Y25.

Betting: Home 8-15, Away 5-1, Draw 16-5.

Team News
Mousa Dembélé's return is the only good news on the injury front for Tottenham ahead of their match with embattled Fulham.

The Belgium international has missed recent matches with a hip complaint but is fit to face his former club, unlike countryman Jan Vertonghen.

Kyle Walker and Michael Dawson also remain absent, as does Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado and Étienne Capoue.
Fulham, meanwhile, are missing German midfielder Lewis Holtby at Tottenham.

Holtby is on loan from White Hart Lane until the end of the season with the terms of the agreement preventing him from playing in the fixture.

Club-record signing Kostas Mitroglou remains sidelined with a knee injury, but is expected to return against Hull the following weekend.

Match Notes
Fulham can climb out of the relegation zone for the first time in 10 weeks if they repeat last season's victory at Tottenham, although that was only their third ever league win at White Hart Lane.

Felix Magath has reached 10 points in fewer games than previous managers Martin Jol and René Meulensteen, but his side still have the worst defensive record and goal difference in the Premier League.

Stat of the game: Tottenham have lost six out of 10 London derbies in league and cup this season.

Gerry Cox's prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Fulham 2.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/10768668/Tottenham-Hotspur-v-Fulham-match-preview.html