Thursday Fulham Stuff (31/05/18)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Ryan Sessegnon's decision to spurn Tottenham interest this summer is a smart one

The brilliant teenager looks set to stay at Fulham this summer.


Photo: Getty Images

Links between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham starlet Ryan Sessegnon have been incessant this year, but recent comments from Fulham chairman Shahid Khan in The Times appear to confirm the 18-year-old will not be leaving Craven Cottage this summer.

Sessegnon's decision to remain at Fulham is undoubtedly the correct one, as the young winger will be guaranteed Premier League football and will continue his development at his boyhood club.

The 18-year-old played a crucial role in Fulham's 1-0 play-off final victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, delivering a pinpoint assist that delicately set up Tom Cairney's winning goal.

It was yet another brilliant touch of class from the English U21 international, who either scored or assisted all of Fulham's goals in the play-offs and finished the season as the club's top-scorer.

Sessegnon enjoyed a fantastic season in southwest London, winning the Championship Player of the Year Award and becoming the first second division player to be nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year Award.

The academy product is thriving at Fulham and it would be foolish to leave the club where he has already achieved so much at a young age.

Sessegnon clearly loves Fulham, as evidenced by his badge-kissing celebrations and public comments, and remaining at the club will benefit his career.

Fulham supporters and followers of the Championship alike can attest that Sessegnon is most effective when played in an advanced left-wing position, and it is difficult to see where the youngster would fit in to Spurs' current star-studded attack.

First-team football, week-in and week-out, is priceless for a player of Sessegnon's age, as time spent sitting on the bench at Tottenham Hotspur would only hinder the winger's development.

The correct move for the future of Ryan Sessegnon's hugely promising career is to remain at Craven Cottage, and it comes as a welcome surprise to see the Englishman is choosing the right decision.

Staying in the nurturing environment of SW6, progressing under the superb management of Slavisa Jokanovic, and leading Fulham to Premier League success will prove to be beneficial to the teenager's footballing career.



https://tbrfootball.com/ryan-sessegnon-spurn-spurs/

[WhiteJC]

 
2 Ideal attacking signings that could complement Sessegnon at Fulham including £15m star

Wolves clinched the Championship title in style with four matches to spare, collecting 99 points from 46 matches. They will be joined by Cardiff City and Fulham, who beat Aston Villa in the play-off final at Wembley to secure promotion in the Premier League.

Fulham simply deserved to play in the Premier League again. The Cottagers played an attacking style of football with a lot of pace and width under manager Slavisa Jokanovic. All the players responded to his tactics well and here they are again, in the Premier League for the first time since 2014.

However, the club will need strengthening in almost every department whilst also retaining the services of their star, Ryan Sessegnon.

Sessegnon enjoyed a breakthrough season at Fulham, scoring 16 goals and supplying 8 assists, including the assist for Tom Cairney's winner in the play-off final against Aston Villa at Wembley. The 18-year-old has been the toast of the Fulham side and his meteoric rise has seen him get linked with a host of elite Premier League as well as European clubs.

Sessegnon is considered as one of the sought-after talents in English football. A typical modern-day full-back, he loves to get forward and help his teammates in their attacking endeavours.

His humble attitude reflects in his style of play. Selfless, tenacious and always eager to learn, Sessegnon operates with a lot of pace on the left. He is capable of playing in the defence as well in attack but he actually bursts into life when played in an attacking role.

With the vision of a seasoned attacker and smart utilisation of pace to find pockets of space behind the defenders at such a tender age, Sessegnon is destined for bigger things. Retaining his services will be of utmost importance for Fulham but they just cannot hang around if they are to stay in the Premier League.

Jokanovic has to make some bold signings at Fulham. He has to persuade owner Shahid Khan to spend big in order to keep his flowing style of play intact.

That being said, here are two attacking signings Fulham must consider to complement the buzzing Ryan Sessegnon.

Aleksandar Mitrovic (Newcastle United)

Aleksandar Mitrovic was a revelation after arriving on loan from Newcastle in January. He netted 12 goals in the Championship to cement his place in Serbia's World Cup squad and was one of the chief reasons behind Fulham's promotion to the top-flight.

In just five months, the big Serb became a fan favourite at Craven Cottage. Securing Mitrovic on a permanent basis must be the priority of Jokanovic. At just £15million, Fulham can secure the tall centre-forward's services permanently.

Matej Vydra (Derby County)

According to reports, Derby County could sell their most prized asset, Matej Vydra, after missing out on the promotion to the Premier League.

The Czech Republic international enjoyed an excellent season, scoring 22 goals and supplying 4 assists in all competitions. The 26-year-old is a versatile forward, capable of playing anywhere in the attack.

Fulham must surely sign Vydra. He is certainly well known to Jokanovic, having played under the Dane at Watford. Jokanovic knows the 26-year-old attacker's attributes as he looks to bolster his attacking options. In every case, a move for Vydra in summer makes complete sense for Fulham.



https://soccersouls.com/2018/05/31/2-ideal-attacking-signings-that-could-complement-sessegnon-at-fulham-including-15m-star/

[WhiteJC]

 
Ryan Fredericks set to join West Ham on a free transfer despite winning Premier League promotion at Fulham

    Ryan Fredericks is set to join West Ham despite Fulham's top flight promotion
    Fredericks will be out of contract next month and is close to agreeing terms
    The 25-year-old right-back could become Manuel Pellegrini's first signing
    Fulham are keen to keep Fredericks and have offered him an improved contract

Ryan Fredericks is set to join West Ham despite winning promotion to the Premier League with Fulham.

Fredericks will be out of contract next month and is understood to be close to agreeing terms with the Hammers as a free agent.

The 25-year-old right-back could become Manuel Pellegrini's first signing as the new West Ham manager looks to bring in a number of transfer targets quickly.


Ryan Fredericks is set to join West Ham despite Fulham's promotion to the Premier League

Pellegrini has focussed on defence and midfield, and the Premier League club have already tabled a £13million bid for Barcelona centre-back Marlon Santos.

Fulham are keen to keep Fredericks and have offered him improved terms. There has also been interest from Crystal Palace and Newcastle.

However, West Ham have been watching the former Tottenham academy product since November and are confident of signing him even though he hinted at staying at Craven Cottage after Fulham beat Aston Villa in the Championship Payoff Final at Wembley last weekend.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5788821/Ryan-Fredericks-join-West-Ham-free-despite-Fulhams-promotion.html#ixzz5H3lkuZjA
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[WhiteJC]

 
Fredericks to meet Hammers on Monday

West Ham United are in a four-way fight to land out of contract Fulham right back Ryan Fredericks.
Fulham are desperate for him to renew following their promotion to the Premier League and both Southampton and Crystal Palace are interested in the defender.
Fredericks is is currently away in Las Vegas, with the Fulham team as they celebrate their arrival in the Premier League but the Irons are due to meet him on early on Monday as they move fast to get their man.
There is big confidence in the Irons camp that they can persuade Fredericks to sign as they believe they can outbid the other clubs on his personal terms.
The world wide reputation of new manager Manuel Pellegrini could also count heavily as the player considers his decision.
The  Hammers are keen to get their summer business completed as quickly as possible and want to avoid a bidding war over Fredericks.
The 25 year old was voted into the PFA Championship side of the year and his  serious pace and athleticism is considered right exactly what the Irons require.
The club are very hopeful Fredericks will be the first player to put pen to paper as they move fast to complete their business with more signings expected over the next two or three weeks.



http://www.claretandhugh.info/fredericks-to-meet-hammers-on-monday/

[WhiteJC]

Fredericks poised to join West Ham?
by Dan on May 30, 2018

Ryan Fredericks is poised to join West Ham on a free transfer next month despite helping Fulham win promotion to the Premier League, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

The 25 year-old right back is reportedly close to agreeing terms with the Hammers and could become new manager Manuel Pellegrini's first signing since taking over at the London Stadium. West Ham, who have watched the former Tottenham academy graduate since November, are confident of clinching Fredericks' signature despite Fulham's determination to hold onto their first-choice right back for their first top flight season in four years. Both Crystal Palace and Newcastle United have also been linked with a move for Fredericks in recent weeks.

Fulham have offered Fredericks a new contract that includes a wage increase and higher bonuses and the speedy defender hinted that he might be tempted to stay at Craven Cottage following the Whites' play-off final victory over Aston Villa last weekend. Fredericks has made 115 appearances for Fulham since joining the club from Bristol City in August 2015.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2018/05/fredericks-poised-to-join-west-ham/

[WhiteJC]

 
Should Newcastle United and Crystal Palace trade Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andros Townsend?

Crystal Palace are said to be interested in snapping up Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

According to the Chronicle, Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is of interest to Crystal Palace, and that could open up the door to a deal which could benefit all parties.

If Palace do want Mitrovic, then Newcastle are unlikely to stand in the way of the Serbian striker.

However, rather than asking for cash, Rafael Benitez may be tempted to strike a deal to bring Andros Townsend back to St. James' Park.

Newcastle sold Townsend back in 2016 for £13 million, after they were relegated to the Championship, but they have been linked with bringing him back in every transfer window since.

Benitez was a major fan of the England international, and he got the very best out of the wide-man during his time with the Magpies.

Townsend has had an impressive season with Palace, but arguably hasn't been quite as effective as he was at Newcastle.

ownsend scored four goals in 13 appearances for the Magpies, but only has five goals to his name in 79 games for Palace.

The Eagles already have their eyes on other wingers this summer, with Michail Antonio linked.

And it could be that swapping Townsend for Mitrovic would suit everyone involved in the potential deal, if it went through.



http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/05/31/could-newcastle-united-and-crystal-palace-trade-aleksandar-mitro/

[Bill2]

The Secret Ref | Fulham plan shows psychology is key to your prep

Years ago the psychology behind the game, even at the highest levels, was left to nothing more than a lonely drive home and the wait for your assessment.

What was in that assessment, when shared between amateurs long before SG1 and 2 came into being, would often have centred on the struggle to retain control during flare-ups between multiple players and the well-meaning pursuit of conflict resolution.

Even the current head of PGMOL, Mike Riley has confessed he was left with no alternative but to buy a few books and hope for the best when he was out there in the thick of it.

These days things may not be left to your own initiative, but only time will tell if the right people are in the right place to give our top referees the support as and when it is needed most.

I would be pleasantly surprised if this is what transpired following the Championship play-off final between Fulham and Villa, but for the sake of a holistic approach to the mental side of Anthony Taylor's game, it certainly should have done.

Whoever his coach is, he should have made sure they sat down together to best review the key match incidents on a TV or, more likely, a laptop. Only then, in the best, most open environment possible, could they hope to trace the source of the problems that arose.

And only then will they have been able to agree on a plan to improve on what went wrong, and to be fair, a lot of things went right for him in this match and his mistakes did not, in my opinion, unduly affect the outcome.

Fulham made the most of their dominance and, even having rightly been reduced to ten men, went on to clinch that coveted Premier League place so many people felt they had already earned by finishing third at the end of the regular season.

Where Anthony went wrong was not merely in blatantly missing the Ryan Fredericks stamp on Jack Grealish, due to his poor view, obscured as it was by a mass of players from either side, nor even in having had the misfortune to have Kevin Friend, the fourth official, apparently miss the same incident, too.

No, there was evidently something lacking far further back, which only allowed the Grealish situation to go from bad to worse and for this negligence to belatedly lead to a failure of control and authority on one of the biggest occasions of the season.

The slightest amount of homework would have told Anthony that a likely Fulham game-plan would involve singling Grealish out, just as it proved. Not only that, but you add to that homework a good look at the respective tea-sheets one hour out, just to confirm the need for any tweaks in your prep. You then share this with your team, which of course would have included Friend, and take into account any input they might have to offer.

As well as factors such as the temperament of Grealish, for example, you would assess the speed and otherwise of potential opponents such as Sessegnon and Terry. It was a rare match indeed where I had not predicted a good 18 or 19 of those names on that sheet, and it all plays a part in giving yourself the peace of mind that comes from being on top of things.

As soon as you identify the kind of tactics employed by Fulham, and they did deliberately use several players to take it in turns to niggle Grealish as well as just foul him, you let the captain know you are not having it and that, if his players do not respond, you will do something about it.

Sadly we saw none of this at Wembley. Not only should Fredericks have gone, and there's no two ways about it, VAR would have delivered that verdict, but Grealish himself would have gone, too, before Denis Odoi got his own marching orders. Who were his fouls committed against, by the way? You guessed it, Mr Grealish.

From the very off you have to be asking yourself, why is this happening? Involve your own team, by all means, but show both sets of players that you are on top of it by acting, and it's not as if it's difficult to take effective action with the cards at your disposal

Instead we were left with a show-piece marked less by skill than by the festering threat of confrontation that could so easily have been nipped in the bud. There's something, at least, that we can all learn from in that.



https://theref.online/the-secret-ref-fulham-plan-shows-psychology-is-key-to-your-prep/

I can only assume the person who wrote this article was doing so with his Villa shirt on and an Pty box of tissues by his/her side. The Fulham team was the same as virtually it has been all season, the only difference was AK. The first foul of the game was on Cairney, yet again. We all know that Fred can get hot headed during the game but if he stamped on Grealish deliberately what made him. Me thinks something else went on. He doesn't mention the Grealish tackle on TC or in my eyes the blatant penalty appeal we had for AK. Then he does not mention the fact that Ryan S got wrestled to the ground off the ball in the first half on the penalty box. No doubt there are a number of incidents that need to be reviewed which he just does not mention.

[Bill2]

The Secret Ref | Fulham plan shows psychology is key to your prep

Years ago the psychology behind the game, even at the highest levels, was left to nothing more than a lonely drive home and the wait for your assessment.

What was in that assessment, when shared between amateurs long before SG1 and 2 came into being, would often have centred on the struggle to retain control during flare-ups between multiple players and the well-meaning pursuit of conflict resolution.

Even the current head of PGMOL, Mike Riley has confessed he was left with no alternative but to buy a few books and hope for the best when he was out there in the thick of it.

These days things may not be left to your own initiative, but only time will tell if the right people are in the right place to give our top referees the support as and when it is needed most.

I would be pleasantly surprised if this is what transpired following the Championship play-off final between Fulham and Villa, but for the sake of a holistic approach to the mental side of Anthony Taylor's game, it certainly should have done.

Whoever his coach is, he should have made sure they sat down together to best review the key match incidents on a TV or, more likely, a laptop. Only then, in the best, most open environment possible, could they hope to trace the source of the problems that arose.

And only then will they have been able to agree on a plan to improve on what went wrong, and to be fair, a lot of things went right for him in this match and his mistakes did not, in my opinion, unduly affect the outcome.

Fulham made the most of their dominance and, even having rightly been reduced to ten men, went on to clinch that coveted Premier League place so many people felt they had already earned by finishing third at the end of the regular season.

Where Anthony went wrong was not merely in blatantly missing the Ryan Fredericks stamp on Jack Grealish, due to his poor view, obscured as it was by a mass of players from either side, nor even in having had the misfortune to have Kevin Friend, the fourth official, apparently miss the same incident, too.

No, there was evidently something lacking far further back, which only allowed the Grealish situation to go from bad to worse and for this negligence to belatedly lead to a failure of control and authority on one of the biggest occasions of the season.

The slightest amount of homework would have told Anthony that a likely Fulham game-plan would involve singling Grealish out, just as it proved. Not only that, but you add to that homework a good look at the respective tea-sheets one hour out, just to confirm the need for any tweaks in your prep. You then share this with your team, which of course would have included Friend, and take into account any input they might have to offer.

As well as factors such as the temperament of Grealish, for example, you would assess the speed and otherwise of potential opponents such as Sessegnon and Terry. It was a rare match indeed where I had not predicted a good 18 or 19 of those names on that sheet, and it all plays a part in giving yourself the peace of mind that comes from being on top of things.

As soon as you identify the kind of tactics employed by Fulham, and they did deliberately use several players to take it in turns to niggle Grealish as well as just foul him, you let the captain know you are not having it and that, if his players do not respond, you will do something about it.

Sadly we saw none of this at Wembley. Not only should Fredericks have gone, and there's no two ways about it, VAR would have delivered that verdict, but Grealish himself would have gone, too, before Denis Odoi got his own marching orders. Who were his fouls committed against, by the way? You guessed it, Mr Grealish.

From the very off you have to be asking yourself, why is this happening? Involve your own team, by all means, but show both sets of players that you are on top of it by acting, and it's not as if it's difficult to take effective action with the cards at your disposal

Instead we were left with a show-piece marked less by skill than by the festering threat of confrontation that could so easily have been nipped in the bud. There's something, at least, that we can all learn from in that.



https://theref.online/the-secret-ref-fulham-plan-shows-psychology-is-key-to-your-prep/

I can only assume the person who wrote this article was doing so with his Villa shirt on and an empty box of tissues by his/her side. The Fulham team was the same as virtually it has been all season, the only difference was AK. The first foul of the game was on Cairney, yet again. We all know that Fred can get hot headed during the game but if he stamped on Grealish deliberately what made him. Me thinks something else went on. He doesn't mention the Grealish tackle on TC or in my eyes the blatant penalty appeal we had for AK. Then he does not mention the fact that Ryan S got wrestled to the ground off the ball in the first half on the penalty box. No doubt there are a number of incidents that need to be reviewed which he just does not mention.

[cmg]

Thanks again, WhiteJC, for providing this valuable daily digest.

Our return to the top flight will see a much greater quantity of stuff written about us. Unfortunately, it seems that the quality will remain much as before.