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Tuesday Fulham Stuff (17/10/17)...

Started by WhiteJC, October 17, 2017, 07:39:45 AM

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WhiteJC

 
Ticket Office Bulletin [16.10.17]: Be here for Fulham on Saturday

Aston Villa v Fulham

Sky Bet Championship
Saturday October 21
Kick-off: 3pm
Villa Park
Prices: £20 to £33 (adults), £15 to £20 (concessions), £10 to £17 (U21s), £5 to £10 (U16s), £45 to £55 for a Family Package (two adults and two U16s)
Wheelchair bays: Available by calling the Ticket Office on 0333 323 1874
NOW: On general sale on phone and in person
Only tickets purchased before 3.30pm on Thursday September 21 will be posted to supporters. 
All tickets purchased after this deadline will be available for collection only - or you can Print at Home if you book online and have access to a printer.
Supporters are advised to collect their tickets as early as possible to avoid the disappointment of missing kick-off.   
Tickets can be collected from the Villa Village Ticket Office up to 12.30pm on matchday after which point, tickets can only be collected from the Trinity Road Ticket Office which will be open from 1pm.
All Pride Rewards members will receive 20 points upon purchase. However, points will not be awarded for additional purchases made by other supporters.
In person: Villa Park
On phone: 0333 323 1874
Buy online: ONLINE BOX OFFICE.



https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2017/10/16/ticket-office-bulletin-16-10-17

WhiteJC

 
Influential Fulham star delivers surprising update on his recent injury


Speaking to Get West London, Tom Cairney has admitted he is still struggling with a knee injury, despite making his Fulham comeback over the weekend.

Cairney, who was the driving force behind Fulham's play-off push last season, has been limited to just four Sky Bet Championship appearances this campaign, with a knee injury troubling him.

The 26-year-old missed all of September, but returned to action over the weekend, appearing as a half-time substitute as Fulham battled to a 2-2 draw with Preston North End at Craven Cottage.

Slavisa Jokanovic's side were 2-0 down when he turned to Cairney, and despite Fulham's captain helping to turn the game around, he admitted he was still struggling with an ongoing knee problem.

He said: "It's a strange one, it's like a constant pain that I can't get rid of but we're working really hard behind the scenes and off the pitch trying to sort it out, but it's difficult."

Cairney went on to express his delight at his return, admitting it had been hard to watch on from a distance during the early stage of the season, before stating he is looking to build on last season's success.

The midfielder scored 13 goals last year, helping Fulham clinch a place in the Championship's play-offs.

This year, Jokanovic's side have endured a sluggish start, and after 12 fixtures sit ninth, two points adrift of the top-six.

The Cottagers face a difficult task on Saturday, travelling to Villa Park for a clash with Aston Villa, before returning to West London to face Bolton Wanderers and Bristol City in back-to-back home fixtures.

The Verdict

Cairney is clearly not 100% fit, but Jokanovic has felt it necessary to push the midfielder into an early return, which highlights his importance to Fulham.

Jokanovic will have to be patient with the midfielder on his return, particularly after the player has admitted that he is still struggling with a knee injury.

Cairney was key to Fulham's play-off push last season, and their chance of a top-six finish could once again rest on his shoulders, meaning Jokanovic has to be looking at any long-term damage he could cause by rushing the midfielder back.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/influential-fulham-star-delivers-surprising-update-on-his-recent-injury/

WhiteJC

 
Aston Villa news and transfers LIVE: Villa prepare for Fulham clash after Wolves defeat

Bringing you all the latest news from AVFC

Diogo Jota and Leo Bonatini fired Wolves to the top of the Championship with second-half goals that sunk in-form Villa at Molineux.

The deadly duo bagged to give the hosts a deserved win that sent a real warning sign out to the rest of the Championship.

Wolves mean business and while there remains a long season ahead, they will take some stopping now after a dominant performance against their local rivals and the in-form team of the division.

Join us throughout the day for all the latest news from the Villa camp as Steve Bruce's side return to Bodymoor Heath to prepare for the visit of Fulham on Saturday.

We'll be bringing you live updates and plenty of Villa coverage throughout the day, so stay tuned.

Jack Grealish returns

Jack Grealish will make his long awaited return from injury in Aston Villa under-23s' match with Wolverhampton Wanderers tonight.

The midfielder only returned to full training recently following a freak injury against Watford in Villa's final pre-season friendly resulted in him having a kidney operation.

The 22-year-old wasn't expected to be back in contention until December but has made a speedy recovery and will feature at Telford's New Bucks Head this evening.



http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-news-transfers-live-13766389


WhiteJC

 
Leeds summer target Jordan Graham still awaiting first Fulham start

Leeds United summer target Jordan Graham is enduring a difficult time with Championship rivals Fulham.

Towards the end of the summer transfer window, the Daily Mail reported that Leeds and Fulham were among the four sides looking at Wolves winger Jordan Graham in the hope of signing him on loan.

Graham would ultimately end the window as a Fulham player, but based on how life at Craven Cottage has started for the winger, he may perhaps be wishing - if they did confirm their interest with a bid - that he instead picked a move to Leeds.

The talented wide-man - who has had to cope with a nightmare time with injury over the last couple of years - has made just one substitute appearance for the Cottagers so far, and has been an unused substitute in their last three Championship games.

Meanwhile, despite their brilliant start to the season, Leeds have gone off the boil in recent weeks, losing their last three and four of their last five in the league.

One of their main problems has undoubtedly been the lack of creativity coming from the three players playing off the sole striker.

Apart from Samuel Saiz perhaps, it appears that few of those attacking players are making a strong case to Thomas Christiansen that they should remain in the team - so the Whites may also be ruing not bringing Graham in.

On his day, he is capable of giving full-backs some real headaches, so he may have been a fantastic option to have to try and give Pierre-Michel Lasogga more service.

Hadi Sacko's bright display when he came on against Reading at the weekend showed the potential problems genuine wingers could cause, so perhaps both Leeds and Graham himself may now be wishing that the final hours of the transfer window had played out differently.



http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/10/16/leeds-summer-target-jordan-graham-still-awaiting-first-fulham-st/

WhiteJC

 
A tough 180 minutes await Northern Ireland in FIFA World Cup play-offs

With the draw for the World Cup Qualifying Play-off's taking place on Tuesday in Zurich (1pm GMT), we take a look at the possible opponents for Northern Ireland.

Of the four seeds Northern Ireland could face, Switzerland are currently the highest ranked team sitting in 11th place in the FIFA World Rankings announced today.

After an impressive record of nine straight wins in Group B they went into their final match needing just a point against Portugal to qualify automatically for the Finals in Russia.

However, a 2-0 defeat in Lisbon meant they lost out to Portugal on goal difference after both countries had finished on 27 points.

Switzerland, who have appeared in 10 previous World Cup Finals, have played Northern Ireland on four previous occasions, the most recent meeting being a goalless draw in Zurich in a friendly encounter in August 2004.

While many of the Swiss squad will not be household names the GAWA will have heard of Stoke City's Kosovan-born winger Xherdan Shaqiri who has scored 20 goals in 66 appearances for his adopted country.

A close eye will also need to be kept on Benfica striker Haris Seferovic who scored four goals for Vladimir Petkovic's side during qualification.

Italy, who have been crowned World Champions on four occasions, are, without question, the most high profile nation that Northern Ireland could be paired with in the play-off's next month having taken part in 18 World Cup Finals since 1930.

The only time that the Azzurri have failed to make it through to the Finals of the competition was in 1958 when Northern Ireland topped the qualification table following a famous 2-1 victory over the Italians at Windsor Park.

Italy, who finished five points behind Group G winners Spain, may not be the footballing powerhouse they once were, but they still have quality players throughout their squad who play at the highest level in Europe.

They can call upon Lazio striker Ciro Immobile, scorer of six goals in qualification, and Southampton forward Manolo Gabbiadini - a team-mate of Steven Davis at St Mary's.

Denmark have been frequent visitors to Belfast over the years having played Northern Ireland no fewer than six times at Windsor Park since 1978.

The last encounter was ten years ago when David Healy's sublime chip gave Northern Ireland a deserved 2-1 victory in atrocious weather conditions at Windsor.

The Danes, who have played in four previous World Cup Final tournaments, finished second in their Group behind a very impressive Robert Lewandowski led Polish outfit.

Poland's only loss in Group E though came last month in Copenhagen when Denmark put four past them without reply.

Among the scorers in that game was Spurs attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen, who ended the qualifying campaign with a highly creditable eight goals.

Other players of note are former Arsenal and current Rosenborg forward Nicklas Bendtner, who scored in that 2007 defeat in Belfast, and Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

The last of the four seeded teams are Croatia, who Northern Ireland fans will remember ended Michael O'Neill's three-year unbeaten home run with a 3-0 friendly success in Belfast in November 2016.

The Croats, who will be seeking to qualify for their sixth World Cup Finals tournament and their fifth in succession, finished just two points behind surprise Group I winners Iceland.

Their main threat is Juventus striker Marion Mandzukic, who has scored 30 goals in 80 games for the national side, including five in ten qualifying matches. He also scored in that 3-0 win in Belfast!

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric may now be 31, but the former Spurs man is pivotal to the side as is 29-year-old Ivan Rakitic of Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Zlatko Dalic was appointed as Croatia's new head coach on 7th October, winning his first game in charge against Ukraine 2-0.

The Play-off games will take place on a home and away basis, with the first legs taking place between 9 and 11 November and the second legs between 12 and 14 November.

You can watch the draw live on www.fifa.com and FIFA's social media channels.



https://www.irishfa.com/news/2017/october/italy-croatia-switzerland-denmark-we-look-at-northern-irelands-potential-play-off-opponents

WhiteJC

 
Checkatrade Trophy Tickets

Fulham's Under-21s travel to the Valley to take on Charlton Athletic on Wednesday 1st November. 7:45pm.

This is the second group match in the Trophy, with the Whites having already taken two points from the south coast when they played Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

After a thrilling 3-3 draw, Fulham won the match and took the bonus point with a perfect set of penalties.

With a limited number of tickets available to purchase, Fulham fans can show their support and purchase tickets over the phone on 0203 871 0810.

Tickets are priced as below:

Category    Pricing
Adult    £10
Over 65    £5
Under 21    £5
Special Offer (Adult & Junior)    £11

Tickets purchased over the phone via FFC Ticket Office and Ticketmaster Call Centre subject to a £1.50 per ticket booking fee and an overall £2.50 transaction fee.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2017/october/16/checkatrade-tickets


WhiteJC

 
It was and is how we bounce back, Fulham up next

Before the match against Wolves, I wrote something about if we didn't spank them or win or play as we would have liked after the international break, the important thing was how we bounce back. The break was always going to, for me anyway, mean a possible lapse in continuity. It did.

So it comes down to how we do against Fulham at the weekend. Three points and all will be back on track. No three points and the vultures will be out in force. But we're 12 games in and I think that is what we have to try and not forget.

But you know, we had such a great run before the international break, sitting top of the form table and winning week after week and even then, some were not happy with Bruce. It goes deeper than winning for some.

And I understand that too. They just don't like the man or think he can't get us promoted. And despite the evidence at the time (before the international break), they could not be swayed. So, Bruce is in a very hard place because even if he wins the next five and we sit top of the table, there will be some saying he has to go.

And the thing is, for those that think all things considered he's the best chance we have of getting promoted, there is nothing we can say other than, look at the season before he joined us - he got Hull promoted and he has done it before too. And at no time, has the football been great. It's been effective.

We could also look at the current form table, where we remain top, but that isn't going to be enough either. Or the chart showing our progress. But again, that's not enough. Sometimes, there is never enough.

And you know, you're not going to go the season winning every game or unbeaten in this League. So when he loses like this, like I wrote before the match, it's how we bounce back. I think the players will have a point to prove against Fulham.




https://www.thevillablog.co.uk/aston-villa-blog/avfc-opinion/fulham-villa-park-next/

WhiteJC

 
Norwood: Tough Comeback

Ollie Norwood certainly was at the heart of a huge comeback in the 2-2 draw with Preston North End but insists that the standards must be raised.

The Northern Irish midfielder had a couple of chances to score before his well taken penalty in the 74th minute and then he missed another before Denis Odoi snatched a dramatic result in added time.

"We did [Show great character], and at 2-1 I missed an absolute sitter," said Norwood. "I just completely missed the ball and misjudged it.

"I should've scored really to make it 2-2 and Denis got me off the hook with a last minute goal.

"First-half we know and we accept that is nowhere near good enough, that's not us but you have to give a bit of credit to Preston.

"They came, they pressed high, they were aggressive, they won the ball back and didn't let us settle into our rhythm that we normally have at home and sometimes you have to give credit the opposition who stopped us doing what we want.

"Then we tweaked it a little bit at half-time and I thought the second-half was a lot better and obviously we're delighted with a point when we score in the last minute," he said.

Fulham went into the break 2-0 down thanks to goals from Jordan Hugill and Sean Maguire, much to the annoyance of Norwood who concedes that the early performance wasn't acceptable.

Norwood said: "It was nowhere near good enough, it wasn't us, as I say sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition.

"We didn't move the ball quick enough and we gave them too many opportunities and they punished us, but we stuck at it and we came away with a point".

A change in mentality was needed at the break and Slaviša Jokanović also made a personnel change too with Tom Cairney replacing Neeskens Kebano as the Head Coach imparted some guidance on his players at half-time.

Norwood said the Fulham Head Coach told them to: "Just have more confidence, believe in yourselves, move the ball quicker, move them about and run them out of spaces.

"It was kind of man-for-man out there with the way that they played in the first-half and second-half we changed our shape a little bit.

"We got TC on the ball and maybe that gave us a better grip on the game with the different positions and as I say we are delighted with a point."

When Norwood slotted his penalty in the bottom right-hand corner of the goal the Fulham crowd started to believe a comeback was on the cards and the midfielder says he is happy to shoulder the penalty-taking responsibilities.

He said: "I wanted to take the one at QPR, the gaffer is the one who decides who takes it and he told me to take the ball and take the penalty so I'm happy that I've scored but I regret the one I missed at the back post where I misjudged the ball and I should've scored which would've been more important.

"You do start to think we've hit the post, their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves, a few flashed wide but we kept going and the goalkeeper dropped one at the end and Denis stuck it in the net and it was a good finish." 



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2017/october/16/norwood-preston-reaction