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Friday Fulham Stuff (19/09/14)...

Started by WhiteJC, September 18, 2014, 07:14:38 PM

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WhiteJC

 
The end of Felix Magath

Well there we go, it happened.

It's pointless trying to defend the undefendable – clearly Magath was not fit for purpose – but as with most recent Fulham decisions, the timing is iffy.

Honestly, you decide after an away defeat to the top of the table team that enough is enough?

Never mind. It's a long season and there's plenty of petrol left in the tank.

Whatever the manager's merits, at some point you have to take supporter sentiment into account. Tension, anger and frustration have a way of finding their way onto the pitch. The players needed room to breathe. Magath had to go, for every reason.

In some ways the next manager walks into a reasonable position. Magath has done a lot of the dirty work in overhauling the relegation squad. Now, we might not like what he did after he'd overhauled it, but it was a big job and he ploughed through it with some (too much?) gusto.

The new manager also inherits a team that is, if not in a false position, then at least in a position from which we might reasonably expect a significant rebound. It's the sort of role Harry Redknapp would have loved, jumping into a superficially sinking ship and saving it through the power of regression to the mean.

The players are okay, too. If not all of them are to the new man's liking, at least there aren't that many of them and they are mainly quite young. The only glaring personnel problem Magath has left behind is the absence of a goalkeeper, with two kids and Gabor Kiraly fighting for the no.1 jersey. It's a battle in which nobody wins really, and the folly of letting David Stockdale go seems even worse with hindsight. We don't know the details but it feels like an idiotic thing to have done, a transaction that might have been vetoed in a less dysfunctional organisation.

Those players that remain are hard to judge, looking fairly bewildered at their predicament. If the new manager picks the first team on merit then he has some dazzling attacking talent to draw on. If he can organise the defence, too, Fulham should be a reasonably good team quite quickly.

Magath feels like the closing of a particularly ridiculous phase in Fulham's history. The ineptness of the Jol era, the Meulensteen/Curbishley/Wilkins fiasco, then Felix Magath... a long-running comedy of cock-ups. We could say that the next appointment is crucial, but it's not just that. Looking back, the club's approach to recruitment has veered all over the place in recent years, with each manager emphasising different types from different regions. Where is the overall direction here? Have the board ceded too much control to too many people?

It feels that way. And for an industry where so much money is flying around, the decision making has often been bewildering. We've mentioned Stockdale, but seeing Kasami and Mitroglou having some Champions League success more or less sums up what an absolute shambles Fulham have become. Good enough for the highest level of football, but not for Fulham? And our friend Bryan Ruiz, who had such a fine World Cup, can't get a game in the Championship. Riiight. These are not the decisions of a club working effectively.

The other stuff – the bewildering team selections, the harsh substitutions, the dropping of players, these might not be optimal management but they're all things that a manager can reasonably do. The big decisions though, there should be some sort of high level control here. You can't just walk into a club and act with a free hand; it shouldn't work that way. Everyone here has a lot of questions to answer. If this were English cricket there'd be an enquiry into prolonged poor performance. I'm sure Mr Khan's businesses would do the same if one went badly wrong over a sustained period of time, made a series of bad decisions. It's time for Fulham FC to have a good look in the mirror and decide what it wants to be. Are we blitzing the Championship on the back of mega-spending? Are we coaxing the youth team into a machine for the future? Whatever is decided the fans need to understand the message and need to be on-board with it. The latter is easier said than done, but fans will respond to things being done in what might be called "the right way." This was always Magath's problem: he did things badly and unconventionally, and fans never did quite work him out. Fulham can't afford a repeat of this, so while a track record of some sort is obviously important, the intangibles are not to be overlooked either. Danny Murphy joining the existing temporary setup might make more sense than we think.

We won't go down. We probably won't go up. But at least now we can look forward to some kind of coherence about the club. This ought to have been a terrific season, where the kids got their chances and where we didn't just turn up against the super-rich teams for a hiding. It's not too late, though. Fulham have done the right thing for the first time in a long time. Let's see what happens next.


http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/the-end-of-felix-magath/?

WhiteJC

 
Manager Watch: Hughton early Fulham favourite, Symons not far behind

Felix Magath's sacking means Fulham are in search of their fourth manager since Shahid Khan took over the club. Here are the early front-runners...

Chris Hughton

It is a new dawn for Fulham fans. Yes, another one, after Felix Magath became the third manager to be sacked under owner Shahid Khan in a period of just several months.

The need to look forward is imperative, however, as easy as it would be to dwell in hindsight on a series of appointments that can be described as nothing other than bad choices.

And, according to bookmakers - as detailed by Oddschecker - Chris Hughton is the early favourite to succeed Magath at Craven Cottage. The former Newcastle United, Birmingham City and Norwich City boss has achieved promotion from the Championship before and can be found at odds of as low as 5/2 to be given the Fulham job by Khan.

Hughton has, though, been linked with the Watford and Leeds United jobs in the recent past, neither of which appear to have come to fruition.

Tim Sherwood

Surprisingly, former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood is next in line to take the reins in west London, according to the bookies. The 45-year-old's only managerial job to date was at Tottenham Hotspur, where he lasted just half a season before being moved on.

A lack of experience may thus be a concern for any Fulham fans but Sherwood is nevertheless priced at 4/1 with some bookmakers to land the Cottagers job, while he is ranked at the same odds as Hughton by one in particular.

Neil Lennon

Following Sherwood is former Celtic boss Neil Lennon, who can also be found at 4/1 by a couple of different bookies. The Northern Irishman was a huge success in Scotland, winning a number of titles with Celtic before leaving the club this summer.

Lennon has been out of managerial work since, instead focusing on media work and punditry. The 43-year-old has a good record as a manager but is unproven in terms of English football.

Kit Symons

The man a lot of Fulham fans seem to want, Kit Symons, is next in the running, priced at 8/1 to be named Craven Cottage's next permanent manager. And the 43-year-old might just be in pole position when it comes to the recruitment process.

Indeed, the academy coach has been put in caretaker charge in west London, giving him the perfect chance to audition for the role of manager. Symons is a former member of Chris Coleman's coaching team at Wales and is highly regarded by Fulham supporters.

Many have called for Symons to be given the role with Danny Murphy as his no.2, appointments that would be considered to get back 'the soul of the club.' Appointing an academy coach does seem to have done the trick at Norwich...

Honourable Mentions

Beyond the front four, several names are mentioned but only time will tell as to whether they are serious candidates. The nature of such processes often see twists and turns on a daily basis, with some favourites being ruled out almost instantaneously and others seeing their odds rocketing by the minute.

Murphy himself is worth mentioning but, without any managerial experience, the former Fulham midfielder is expected to be appointed as a member of the coaching staff if he is to be given a role within the club. Glenn Hoddle, meanwhile, is another option - but one Khan may disregard after his unsuccessful appointments of Ray Wilkins and Alan Curbishley in technical roles last term.

Beyond that, Alan Pardew, Micky Adams, Lee Clark and Tony Pulis can all be found with odds of less than 20/1.


http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/09/19/manager-watch-hughton-early-fulham-favourite-symons-not-far-behi/?

WhiteJC

 
All good things come to an end. Fulham appoint Kit manager

The news that Brentford fans have been dreading was confirmed yesterday as Fulham finally lost patience with 'manager' Felix Magath. Despite his belief that he "would have stopped the downfall of the club with drastic changes in the squad to a young team" chairman Shahid Khan, owner of the most luxuriant moustache in football, didn't share this wonderful self-confidence.

Surely the club's woeful run can't continue as, after three managers last campaign, Kit Symons has been temporarily appointed their second one this time around. As such, Brentford fans can thank Felix for a job well done and revel in a Championship record that, with one point and goal difference of -12 after 7(seven) games, sees them nailed firmly to the foot of the table.

Former Bee Chris Hughton is 3-1 favourite to land the job on a full time basis although, interestingly, one bookmaker is giving odds on on Uwe Rösler (albeit at 66-1). Whoever gets the job, I'm just hoping they can continue Magath's fine work – at least until November's derby is out of the way.

On to other matters and am I alone in being driven nuts by the 'interview stories' that appear on the official site? Primarily the fact that every sentence forms its own paragraph, giving the look of something that has been designed for people with double figure IQs. Then there is the content.

Even if this awful spacing is some sort of website constraint (although other clubs don't seem to have it – the Loftus Road mob can string three lines and two full stops into one paragraph) the other thing that grates is the awful habit of preceding a players' disjointed quotes by telling you exactly what he is about to say.


The recent piece on Alex Pritchard and the non-penalty against Norwich City was a perfect example of this. The article tells us:

Alex said it (the England U-21 game) had taken something out of him but was a great experience.... then proves it with the quote "It was a great experience"

Or how about: Alex said Norwich's first goal came from a mistake... and then demonstrates this for those who doubted it, with: "That won't be the last mistake we make" and "He made a mistake"

Cone on. It's bad enough that these features look like they were written for five year olds (and make the players look as though they can't string two sentences together) but there's really no need to spoil the surprise and describe what pearl of wisdom he is about to impart.

Finally, the Champion's League. Manchester United players have to limit their participation in this year's tournament to pointing the mute button at Adrian Chiles. Twitter user Notmatchoftheday (@NOT_MOTD) has demonstrated this fact by publishing a picture of Wayne Rooney relaxing on his sofa in front of the TV.


http://nickbruzonslastword.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/all-good-things-come-to-an-end-fulham-appoint-kit-manager/?


WhiteJC

 
Pulis keen to manage again, speaks of Palace respect

Tony Pulis said he will watch Crystal Palace as a fan in the next month but that he has "far too much energy" to walk away from management.

Ex-Palace manager Pulis left the Premier League club by mutual consent last month, just days before their season opener at Arsenal.

Pulis won the Premier League's Manager of the Year award last term for guiding the Selhurst Park outfit to safety – and ultimately 11th position – despite the perilous state he found them in when replacing Ian Holloway in November.

Disagreements with Palace co-owner Steve Parish are said to have led to Pulis' departure, namely over transfer targets.

But despite his messy departure, Pulis – who will not give up on management and is sure to be in-demand as the season progresses – does not hold a grudge and insists Palace have a place in his heart.

"At Christmas it's fair to say we had differences of opinion with respect to players coming in," Pulis told the Daily Mail.

"But, look, a chairman has every right to ask why you're doing things and challenge you. It's their football club, their money.
At the end of the day, we were two adults going in different directions.

"I have no problem with that and, to be honest, I don't really want to go any further into the reasons why I left; only to say that I had a wonderful 10 months there.

"I have affection for the players. I will go and watch them in the next month.

"I did it with [former club] Stoke. Nobody knew I was there. I just bought a ticket and stood among the fans. But I'll enjoy that because I've got an association not just with the players but with the football club.

"The supporters were just magnificent. I haven't had a chance to thank them but I'd like to now.

"I won the [managers] award but they should have given it to the football club because everyone stepped up to the plate last season.

"[But] I've moved on. That's it for me. But that 10 months was as good as any 10 months you could have at a football club."

Pulis could be a target for Championship clubs Cardiff City and Fulham, who dispensed with the services of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Felix Magath respectively on Thursday.




Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/pulis-keen-manage-again-speaks-palace-respect#QmIe1vkcXfeDtSff.99

WhiteJC

 
Sky Bet Championship: Danny Murphy interested in Fulham job


Danny Murphy: Interested in manager's job at Fulham

Former Fulham captain Danny Murphy has expressed his interest in the vacant manager's job at Craven Cottage.

Fulham are searching for a new manager following the sacking of Felix Magath after just seven months in the job.

Magath paid the price for Fulham's disappointing start to this season in the Championship with the Cottagers rooted to the bottom of the table following their relegation from the Premier League last term.

Murphy, who spent five years at Fulham between 2007 and 2012, admits he would be open-minded about returning to the club as manager as he feels he has a real bond with the club.

"I care about the club deeply and I've always had a desire to get involved but that's out of my hands," Murphy said.

"I've always said I'd like to go back to Fulham at some point in some capacity because I have an affinity with the supporters there.

"If they did want to speak to me, of course I'd be open-minded to that. I would never disregard something like that."

Meanwhile, Magath has admitted he is "disappointed and surprised" to have been sacked, insisting he would have got things right at Craven Cottage.

"I am disappointed and surprised, because I am sure I would have stopped the downfall of the club with drastic changes in the squad to a young team, although the first results of the season have not shown this," Magath told German news agency DPA.


http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9477388/sky-bet-championship-danny-murphy-interested-in-fulham-job?

WhiteJC

 
Chris Hughton overtakes Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew as favourite for Fulham job

Former Birmingham and Norwich manager is leading the race, say bookies

Chris Hughton has overtaken Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew as the favourite to replace Felix Magath.

The German manager was axed on Thursday afternoon after a disastrous start to the season that has seen them fail to win any of their opening seven games.

Hughton has been out of work since being sacked by Norwich City five games before the end of last season and is itching to get back into management.

And the former Tottenham full-back is now the front-runner, ahead of Pardew, with SkyBet pricing him at 11/4 to get the vacant Cottagers job.

Pardew's odds have dropped from 3/1 to 8/1 although he remains a candidate given his precarious position at St James' Park.

Other names in the frame include Tim Sherwood, Neil Lennon Glenn Hoddle, caretaker boss Kit Symons and Tony Pulis.

Fulham owner Shahid Khan said: "This is an unfortunate but necessary change. I am doing what I feel is right and needed for Fulham Football Club, for today as well as tomorrow.

"I thank our supporters for standing by us during these most difficult of times on the pitch, and promise better days ahead."



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chris-hughton-overtakes-newcastle-united-7795607?


WhiteJC

 
Tickets For Troops

Fulham FC has invited our HM Armed Forces to join us at Craven Cottage again this season, having joined forces with the charity Tickets For Troops to provide tickets for every home game.

Tickets For Troops was set up in 2009 in recognition of the brave servicemen and women who spend months away from their families, putting their lives on the line for our country.

They recognise the troops' commitment, drive and dedication by offering them, on behalf of their donors, tickets to events which they can share with their loved ones, as a small acknowledgement of the work they do.

Since 2009, the charity has been donated over 124,000 tickets from football clubs across the UK, with over 35,000 being donated last season alone. This has enabled thousands of servicemen and women to enjoy watching their favourite teams around the UK and demonstrates the phenomenal support the football community has for our Armed Forces.

Veronica Bamford, Director of Operations at Tickets For Troops, said: "It is great to have Fulham FC on board again this year and we are hugely grateful to the club that they will be offering their military fans the well-deserved opportunity to attend all home games at Craven Cottage."

Scott Parker, Fulham Club Captain, said: "The squad and I cannot thank the servicemen and women of our HM Armed Forces enough for the dedication and bravery that they demonstrate on a daily basis. We're delighted to be able to provide them with tickets as a token of appreciation for all that they do and we hope that they enjoy their time at Craven Cottage."

Registered members can book tickets for Fulham FC at www.ticketsfortroops.org.uk.The charity has over 140,000 members of the military registered and has distributed over 500,000 tickets for events ranging from The Isle of Wight Festival,  England football, the rugby Premiership, top class cricket, darts, horse racing and snooker as well as major theatre performances and other music events.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/september/19/tickets-for-troops?