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Monday Fulham Stuff (06/02/17)...

Started by WhiteJC, February 06, 2017, 07:45:36 AM

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WhiteJC

 
MATCH REPORT: Blues V Fulham

Gianfranco Zola can finally breathe one big sigh of relief after today's 1-0 win for Blues today against a Fulham side who came into the game in quite good form. It was a deserved one and it was something Zola needed!

Blues dominated the early exchanges with pretty much most of the chances. Fulham on the other hand, found a friend in catching us on the counter attack, just as Reading did on Tuesday night. Still, Zola's men were on top with a few of the new signings starting. Nsue & Keita at right and left back, Gardner in the middle, with Jerome Sinclair playing as a winger. The Hornets loanee started well, playing as if he really did fit in the Blues side and Birmingham Talisman Lukas Jutkiewitz played as good as always, holding the ball up well allowing the midfielders to join the attack. Through this, there were attempts on goal where we could have scored early on and we nearly did when Juke headed off the bar; the first half really did begin to build in tension.

Fulham's loan star from Derby County, Chris Martin, who has gone under the radar lately, took a shot and it was bravely blocked by Paul Robinson. In the process it hit Robinon straight in the face, but being the heroic captain he is, Paul got straight back up and carried on with the game and instantly blocked another Fulham effort where the visitors from Craven cottage could have easily grabbed an equaliser.

Apart from spells of promising passing football and some close chances, there wasn't much else for Gianfranco Zola and his team to shout about in the first half, but a really good showing from the Blues and no danger going into half time that Slavisa Jokanavic's men could take the lead.

The second half began and left back Cheick Keita was Blues' most consistent player going forward and was a shining star throughout the second 45. A diagonal ball across the pitch from David Davis to Keita was heading out of play and he kept it in with a sublime touch and then chip passed it onto the running feet of Jerome Sinclair. He then shortly after came off and was replaced by number 14 – Che Adams, who came on as a winger to support Lukas Jutkiewitz and the game started to have that sense that Blues were going to get something out of the game, but being at home and Zola still without that 'first illusive win', the boys in royal blue really did need to win. Again, the Blues dominance was heard by Fulham and maybe too much from right back Ryan Fredericks who was shown a straight red card for challenge on Craig Gardner. With 20 minutes remaining, the Cottager's chances failed to test Tomasz Kuszczak and from Kuszczak's handling, was where young Keita could make his influential runs up the pitch. The former Bolton and Burnley striker netted home from close range and to the Blues fans' delight, they led 75 minutes in!

Blues didn't sit back and kept pushing Fulham, many more chances were flooding in and one was a palpable acrobatic over-head kick from Jutkiewitz which was tipped over from David Button. But from there on in, it didn't seem like Fulham were to score and brake Birmingham's hearts, it was meant to be for Gianfranco that he was to get his first Blues win from the 11th time of asking...

Jokanavic's side were solid for the majority of the game through the middle, but considering the Whites are a few games unbeaten they didn't threaten a team who'd lost 10 in a row whatsoever and the search for Zola's first win as Blues manager is over – a 1-0 against Fulham puts Blues on 40 points and they face Sheffield Wednesday next Friday night. Will Jonathan Grounds and Paul Robinson keep their places in the heart of the defence?

Team Lineups:
Birmingham City – GK; Kuszczak , RB; Nsue , CB; Robinson , CB; Grounds , LB; Keita
CM; Gleeson , CM; Davis , CM; Kieftenbeld
RW; Gardner , ST; Jutkiewitz , LW; Sinclair

Subs:
31. Bielik
20. Stewart
21. Frei
7. Tesche
1. Legzdins
25. Cogley
14. Adams

Fulham – GK; Button , RB; Kalas , CB; Ream , CB; Fredericks , LB; Sessegnon
CDM; McDonald , CDM; Johanson
RM; Aluko , CAM; Cairney , LM; Piazon , ST; Martin

Subs:
8. Parker
1. Bettinelli
15. Madl
11. Ayite
9. Syriac
4. Odoi
3. Malone

Match Facts:
Possession – Birmingham; 49.1% , Fulham; 50.9
Shots – Birmingham; 18 , Fulham; 13
Shots on target – Birmingham; 8 , Fulham; 2
Corners – Birmingham; 8 , Fulham; 4
Fouls – Birmingham; 17 , Fulham; 16


http://bcfcfollowers.com/match-reports/match-report-blues-v-fulham/

WhiteJC

 
View from the South – Birmingham City v Fulham

Saturday morning once again and once again I found myself standing on the platform at my local station for the train to Reading. The violent winds of Friday had settled and it was a pleasant, mild day which promised to be perfect for football; providing the conditions were similar in the Midlands of course. I did go to the Reading game on Tuesday to watch Blues fall to a late goal having dominated much of the second period. In keeping with the previous game at Norwich, Jutkiewicz missed a glorious chance from barely three yards that would undoubtedly have changed the outcome but for a slight deflection and the fact he took his eye off Frei's pass resulted in the ball passing between the big man's legs to safety. Sometimes the ball simply doesn't run kindly and this is how I see Blues' fortunes at the moment. A total inability to keep a clean sheet doesn't help but nevertheless, as I stated in my last blog report, our team are not playing badly but the lack of a win in ten games in all competitions is of concern. It is clear that the natives are getting restless and I heard a number of fans verbally lashing out and blaming the whole scenario on Zola and the loss of Gary Rowett. I am going to state my view here, and there will undoubtedly be many that will disagree with me, but for what it's worth here is my twopen'orth:

Firstly, a run of poor results was due; we had been riding our luck big time just before Rowett's departure and quite frankly I expected that we were about to lose a number of the fixtures that followed. We were getting found out defensively and teams were beginning to work us out. It was a matter of time. Zola has come in and clearly wants to change the philosophy and the way we play. Now if this ultimately leads to the sort of football that Watford were playing which laid the foundations for their eventual promotion to the top flight, well quite frankly, Zola gets my vote! In the last two matches, Blues created more than enough good chances to win both games but our forwards simply have to score them. The sort of misses seen at Carrow Road last week and St Andrews on Tuesday will cost any team in this division and unfortunately the way we defend, the cost is usually all three points. What possible good will come out of dismissing Gianfranco Zola at this stage given that he has brought in a raft of new players that clearly have strengthened the squad regardless of results? I can fully understand the frustration and disappointment of many fans who vocalised those sentiments on Tuesday. They are sentiments I share but knee jerk reactions by the owners acceding to some fans' wishes will only result in more turmoil and in all probability another string of poor results before things start to improve and we cannot afford such indulgence. We have to keep faith, the team has to try and keep playing decent football and we have to back our team and our manager. As I said last week, I have seen enough evidence to convince me that the elusive first win is coming soon to a club near you. I accept that we have some players who are not comfortable playing out from the back but I don't think this window marks the end of the rebuilding of the squad. There will be further improvements made in the summer. I never expected to be in the playoffs at the start of this campaign but I will be disappointed if we are not having a serious dart at it next season.

I arrived at Coventry as usual at about 12.25 and Chris picked me up and we went back to Baginton for a pint prior to going on to St Andrews. We collected little Jack (barely 12 and already six foot tall!

WhiteJC

 
Boro's U23s In Action In London On Monday

BORO's U23s are up against Fulham for the fourth time this season...

So far the Cottagers have proved a tough nut to crack, winning all three of the meetings so far - at three different venues.

The first coming together was in the Premier Cup at the end of September at Motspur Park, the venue for Monday's game and also the venue for the grandstand scenes in the film Chariots Of Fire.

Next up was a league game at Rockliffe, then most recently it was Hartlepool's Northern gas and Power Stadium for the reverse fixture in the cup.

Fulham's youth team, that contained several members of the U23 squad, were beaten in the FA Youth Cup at Bishop Auckland.

So familiar faces will be on view, at least those wearing white shirts. No fewer than 10 Boro players used in the three games so far have moved on, either on loan or permanently.

"We know all about each other," says Lead Coach Paul Jenkins, "it's about time we got our noses in front.

"I'm expecting a good game and we'll be giving it another good go.

"We've had to cope with a changing squad for most of the season, but that has been with good reason as the lads move on the first team football and develop their careers. That's what we're about, developing players."

Kick-off at Motspur Park is 2pm and admission is £3.



Read more at http://www.mfc.co.uk/news/article/2016/boro-fulham-u23s-premier-league-2-3558094.aspx#LmJSASAwXIqDXYmW.99


WhiteJC

 
Seol joins South Korea national team as assistant coach

The Korea Football Association have appointed former Fulham forward Seol Ki-hyeon as assistant coach to national team manager Uli Stielike, the KFA said on Monday.

Seol was part of the 2002 World Cup squad that reached the semi-finals on home soil, scoring the equalizer against Italy in the last 16 before Ahn Jung-hwan gave the Koreans a stunning 2-1 win with a 'golden goal'.

South Korea's qualification campaign for the 2018 World Cup finals under German Stielike has been far from plain sailing, and while they are second in Group A behind Iran they are just a point ahead of Uzbekistan in third.

The top two from Groups A and B qualify automatically for the World Cup in Russia while the third-placed teams will meet to decide who goes into a CONCACAF-Asian Zone playoff for a place at the finals.

KFA technical director Lee Yong-soo said they had been looking for a coach from Europe to fill the vacancy left by Shin Tae-yong, who took over the under-20 squad late last year, but were unable to find a suitable replacement.

"We contacted several coaches from Europe but couldn't agree conditions and since we couldn't afford to spend more time looking we chose from a pool of domestic coaches," Lee said in a statement.

"Having spent much of his career in Europe, Seol will be able to understand how a foreign manager works. He also brings a lot of football knowledge and experience to the table and this will be a big help to Stielike."

Seol spent the early part of his career in Belgium with Royal Antwerp and Anderlecht before moving to England, where he played for Wolves, Reading and Fulham. He played for the national team for 10 years, winning more than 80 caps.

(Reporting by Chae Yun Hwan; Writing by Peter Rutherford; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)


http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-southkorea-seol-idUKKBN15L076?rpc=401&

WhiteJC

 
Fulham star: 'I think I got fouled about 10 times in the space of five minutes' at Birmingham
The Whites received three free kicks in the space of five minutes after the midfielder was fouled; two resulting in yellow cards as the midfielder was away


In the wars: Tom Cairney hurdles Craig Gardner (Photo: Getty Images Europe)

Tom Cairney felt he was harshly treated during Fulham's 1-0 defeat at Birmingham after he was the victim of rough tactics by Blues players.

The Whites received three free kicks in the space of five minutes after the midfielder was fouled; two resulting in yellow cards as the midfielder was away.

There were also a number of occasions where Cairney was fouled but was able to shoulder the tackle and maintain his charge forward.

The 26-year-old was visibly frustrated as this continued and he is not sure if Birmingham boss Gianfranco Zola had told his side to stop him by fair means or foul.

He said: "I think I got fouled about 10 times in the space of five minutes. I was away sometimes and I got caught. I wish it'd even up.

"I don't know if they were instructions from Zola but I felt I got fouled a lot today."


Red: Ryan Fredericks is sent off (Photo: Birmingham Mail)

Despite the home side's physical tactics it was Fulham who ended the game with 10 men after Ryan Fredericks saw red for a foul on Craig Gardner.

The dismissal changed the game with Lukas Jutkiewicz scoring the winning goal soon after.

Cairney added: "I think the sending off changed the game. If we'd kept 11 on the pitch, I'd have fancied us to win it.

"It's one of those things. They needed a win massively and sometimes those things help you."

On the red card, Cairney said: "I think it's one where if it's against you you want a red and if it's your team, you want a yellow.

"I think the reaction of the players helps with everyone jumping in and Ryan Fredericks getting aggressive after the tackle."


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-star-i-think-fouled-12561074