Thursday Fulham Stuff (16/08/18)...

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Celta Vigo's Hugo Mallo suggests he turned down Fulham move

Hugo Mallo has suggested he turned down an offer to join Fulham in favour of staying with Celta Vigo this summer.

The right-back - Celta's captain - was understood to be a target for the Whites ahead of transfer deadline day along with Valencia's Martin Montoya and Manchester United's Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

Fulham's director of football operations Tony Khan insisted on deadline day that "after we talked over all of our options internally, I decided to go in a different direction and pursue someone else" as the club signed Fosu-Mensah on loan.

Montoya joined Brighton on the same day while Mallo signed a new five-year contract at Celta this week, and he told Spanish newspaper Marca: "I knew the figures I was going to earn at Fulham, but in life it's not all about money and my aim was to continue at Celta.

"That's why the deal (to sign a new contract) was so quick and easy."

Fulham signed 12 players in the summer transfer window, including five on deadline day, as Luciano Vietto, Sergio Rico, Joe Bryan and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa joined Fosu-Mensah at Craven Cottage.

The west London club, who were promoted via the Championship play-offs last season, also signed Calum Chambers and Andre Schurrle on loan, and Alfie Mawson, Jean Michael Seri, Maxime Le Marchand, Aleksandar Mitrovic and goalkeeper Fabri on permanent deals.

The Whites lost their opening game of the season at home to Crystal Palace, however, succumbing 2-0 to strikes from Jeff Schlupp and Wilfried Zaha.



http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11681/11473606/celta-vigos-hugo-mallo-suggests-he-turned-down-fulham-move

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Fulham round-up: Duo depart & £9m target explains rejected move

A selection of news and gossip from Fulham.

Cairney ready to fight

Fulham captain Tom Cairney played a crucial part in his side's promotion from the Championship last term but he faces a stern battle to retain his spot in 2018-19 following an influx of transfer activity at Craven Cottage.

The competition for places has increased significantly with the signings of Jean-Michel Seri, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and many more but Cairney is relishing the fight to land a regular starting berth in the line-up.

In comments made to Sky Sports, Cairney praised the club's hierarchy for showing their ambition and admitted he was extremely excited by the club's activity on Deadline Day – where five new faces were secured.

Norman and Djalo exit

With plenty coming in, it has been clear that there needs to be movement away from Craven Cottage and Fulham have sent two of the younger members of their squad away on loan for the season, as reported by Sky Sports.

21-year-old goalkeeper Magnus Norman, who is yet to make a senior appearance for the club, has left to join Rochdale until January after the signings of Fabri and Sergio Rico pushed the stopper down the pecking order.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Marcelo Djalo has moved to Spanish second division outfit Extremadura on loan until the end of the season after making just four appearances last term after signing for the west London outfit.

Hugo Mallo rejection

Fulham did not get everyone they set their sights on in the summer and failed to lure Hugo Mallo to the club from Celta Vigo after tabling a £9m offer for the experienced full-back, according to Marca, before then turning their sights towards Manchester United's Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

The 27-year-old elected to remain with the LaLiga side and has now explained the reasons behind that decision to Marca, ahead of the commencement of the new campaign in Spain this weekend after signing a new deal with the club.

    "In life, money isn't everything. My intention was always to continue playing for Celta. So the agreement with the club was simple and very fast."

– Mallo explains his decision for turning down Fulham.

Sessegnon focused

The shining light of Fulham's successful promotion push last season, plenty of eyes were cast towards Ryan Sessegnon in the summer with the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur heavily linked with the future England star.

Sessegnon netted 15 goals and bagged six assists last season for the Cottagers but never had his head turned by the reported interest from other sides, he told Sky Sports, although he admitted he has received a boost from the suggestion he is ready to play Champions League football.

From Fulham's perspective, the 18-year-old did not offer an update on his contract situation and said he was not aware of a new deal being in the pipeline.



https://tbrfootball.com/fulham-round-up-3/

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Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa impresses in first Fulham training

The Cameroon international took part in his first training session with the Cottagers after his record signing from France

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa trained with his Fulham teammates for the first time since completing a deadline-day transfer from Marseille.

The Cameroon international, 22, did not feature as his side where handed a 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace to mark their English Premier League return on Saturday.

However, on Wednesday, the player who was reportedly signed for £30 million [€33m/$39m] had a feel of his new environment.



http://www.goal.com/en/news/andre-frank-zambo-anguissa-impresses-in-first-fulham/1iwzirz2kmbm71n3qe3ibzipmt

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Why early season promise shows this Fulham star is bound to play a key role for Slavisa Jokanovic

Why Jean Michael Seri will be a vital asset for the Cottagers this season

Fulham made a number of big additions to their club before the transfer window slammed shut. The newly-promoted side splashed the cash and crossed the £100million mark this summer. The ever-inflating transfer market once again proved to surprise with mammoth fees being paid for stars.

But the Cottagers' coup of the summer has to be the acquisition of midfielder Jean Michael Seri from OGC. Fulham paid a fee of around £25million to land the Ivorian on a four-year deal. The move came as a massive surprise with Fulham beating the likes of Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund to earn his signature (h/t Telegraph)

Though Slavisa Jokanovic's men were unable to come away with a win against Crystal Palace last weekend, Fulham looked confident and composed as they went forward. Seri flourished in a left central midfield role alongside the likes of Kevin McDonald and Tom Cairney.

The Ivorian brought about a sense of stability and cohesion in the middle of the park. Seri was an omnipresent force and covered almost every area on the field. His distribution proved to be highly beneficial for Fulham while going forward. Furthermore, Seri averaged a pass success rate of 89.2% in the game against Crystal Palace.

He also possesses the versatility to operate in a number of different systems. Under Slavisa Jokanovic's style of play, Seri is expected to pick up the ball from deep in the midfield and move it forward as swiftly as possible. Coincidentally, that is the exact kind of role he was playing for Nice as well.

The 27-year-old displayed his brilliant work rate last weekend. Seri looked fast and agile throughout the whole game, barely showing any signs of fatigue. The midfielder is an able deputy when it came to offering support to the defence as well. He's aggressive off the ball and his relentless running will prove to be cumbersome for a good number of sides in the Premier League.

As Jokanovic's men prepare for their clash against Tottenham Hotspur next, the manager must ensure he fields Seri in a similar role. The Ivorian must relish the opportunity to take on the likes of Christian Eriksen and Eric Dier in the middle of the park. It will be interesting to see if Seri can use his defensive prowess to stop Eriksen from pulling the strings in the midfield.



http://www.mediareferee.com/2018/08/16/why-early-season-promise-shows-this-fulham-star-is-bound-to-play-a-key-role-for-slavisa-jokanovic/

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Cottage Talk: View Of The Opposition - Tottenham Hotspur
Take a listen to a podcast that focuses on Fulham Football Club.

This episode is an interview with Kevin DeVries, the host of the EPL Round Table.  He is a Tottenham Hotspur supporter, so he was on the show to give the Spurs perspective on this upcoming match.  This show is our preview episode for this match.

you can listen to the podcast here...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cottagetalk/2018/08/15/cottage-talk-view-of-the-opposition--tottenham-hotspur

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Mature and motivated: Aleksandar Mitrovic ready to fire for Fulham

The Serbian endured a tough time against Crystal Palace last Saturday but he remains excited about helping the west London side re-establish themselves in the Premier League


Aleksandar Mitrovic looks to retain possession while under pressure from James Tomkins during Fulham's 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Joe Toth/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock

It was the equivalent of having a bucket of water chucked over your head on the first day at big school. Fulham took on Crystal Palace last Saturday in their return to the Premier League after four years away. They dominated possession, with an 88% pass completion rate, had 15 shots on goal ... and lost 2-0. "It's going to be a long season", said Aleksandar Mitrovic afterwards.

Against Palace, Mitrovic resumed a role critical to Fulham's success last season. He is the focal point of the team, an attacking fulcrum with his back to goal, a player around whom talents such as Ryan Sessegnon and Tom Cairney rotate. On Saturday he enjoyed a mixed outing. He won just 33% of his aerial challenges against the Palace's central defenders, Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins. He was dispossessed three times in the game and his pass completion was the lowest on the team (bar Sessegnon). At the same time he was the home side's most potent attacking threat by far and drew three good saves from Wayne Hennessy.

Mitrovic has not set himself a goalscoring target for this season. "I never say I want to score 15 or 20 goals." Instead, he says, he concentrates on making an effective contribution to the team, anticipating that if they do well the goals will follow. "Of course a striker wants to score as much as possible, it's nice scoring goals, goals are like an addiction; when you score you want to keep doing more and more," he adds. "But my target is to play and to help the team, to do my job as best as I can. I say that if the team play well and use me in the right way... the goals will come."

Worth noting in those remarks is the phrase 'use me in the right way'. Mitrovic joined Fulham this summer for a club record £22m after an outstanding loan spell in the Championship last season. The 23-year-old striker scored 12 goals in 17 appearances as Fulham went through the gears on the way to winning the play-offs. Watching Mitrovic thrive in this Fulham team would have come as a surprise to anyone who had seen the striker struggle during his time at Newcastle United where the Serbian forward cut a forlorn figure, standing stock still on the last man waiting for a cross that he could put his head to.

Is this the first time Mitrovic has been at a club willing to play to his strengths? "To be honest the answer is yes", he says. "I had that time in Belgium with Anderlecht, but this is the first time in England that I feel really comfortable in the system and in the way we play.

"I think the manager and my team-mates ... they all know my strengths and try to use them in the best way that they can. They play high with a lot of crosses, a lot of players around me, always around the box. I feel really comfortable in this combination and I think this is the reason I had a really good time last season."

There is no doubt that in his fellow Serb Slavisa Jokanovic, Mitrovic has a manager who understands his abilities and wants to make best use of them. But Jokanovic also appears to have helped the striker develop as a man. When he arrived in England at the age of 20, Mitrovic had a reputation as a bad boy. When he turned 21 he was averaging a booking every three and a half games. Last season, at club level, he earned just three yellow cards all year.

When listening to him speak, Mitrovic seems a mature individual; thoughtful when responding to questions and with a good command of English. When he says it is a long season ahead for Fulham, he means not only that the challenge will be hard but that there will be opportunity to improve.

"I'm always looking forward and I try to continue to push myself and to do the best that I can", Mitrovic says. "I had an amazing four months last year in the Championship and of course I want to continue this in the Premier League. I know it's going to be hard, it's a better league with much more quality but I know I have abilities, I have quality and of course I want to show everybody that I can play in the best league in the world, that's normal.

"I say again: I want to score goals, I want to play, but the first thing is that this team is winning games and making good results. If the team plays well, the goals will come for sure."



https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/15/aleksandar-mitrovic-fulham-premier-league-return

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Aleksandar Mitrovic finds home at Fulham: 'I do not need time to settle in'


Aleksandar Mitrovic on his first league start for Fulham after his permanent transfer  Credit: Reuters

In the moments following Fulham's victory over Aston Villa in the Championship play-off final, as the champagne was still fizzing on the Wembley pitch, Aleksandar Mitrovic felt the arm of Tony Khan weighing on his shoulder. Turning towards the club's vice-chairman, Mitrovic wrapped his arms around Khan and lifted him from the ground, laughing in his ear and then sinking into an exhausted Serbian bear-hug.

It was during these celebrations, Khan later tweeted, that Mitrovic was told the club wanted to turn his loan move from Newcastle United into a permanent deal. After four years in the second tier, Fulham were heading back to the Premier League and they needed to keep hold of the forward who, perhaps more than any other player, had made promotion possible.

Fortunately for Slavisa Jokanovic, their head coach, Mitrovic had no intention of going anywhere else. Other teams were interested, but their advances were ignored. "Since the season finished I did not talk to any other clubs," Mitrovic says. "I told my agent that I wanted to come back here and Fulham made a big push. They did everything that Newcastle wanted from them. I am thankful."

The £22m transfer was finally completed at the end of July, two months after that victory at Wembley. "I feel like I did not leave," says Mitrovic, who returns to the national stadium to face Tottenham Hotspur this weekend. "I feel like I am home. I do not need time to settle in, I know how this club works, how the staff work, how everything works."

Mitrovic was one of 12 recruits in a remarkable transfer window, when Fulham became the first promoted side to spend £100m, but the Serbian stands alone among the new signings as an indispensable and proven cog in the Jokanovic system.


Mitrovic celebrates Fulham's promotion and play-off final victory Credit: Getty Images

After joining on loan at the end of January, Mitrovic scored 12 goals in 17 league appearances as Fulham produced a 23-game unbeaten run that propelled them into the play-offs. He provided a focal point for an attack that lacked muscle and a physical edge for a side that was short of bite. "That is my style of play, my strength: hold up, playing with my back to goal," Mitrovic says. "Last season my team-mates used me in my best way. Now players know me better and they will try to stop me but there will be more space for the other players."

In short, Fulham have provided the sort of platform that Mitrovic was never afforded at Newcastle. Before moving south, he had made just six appearances in the Premier League last season, and in the previous year had scored only four goals in 11 starts in the Championship. Rafael Benitez, reportedly unimpressed with the Serbian's work ethic in training, was never willing to build his side around the bullish centre-forward.

Mitrovic was presumably not helped by his reputation for hot-headedness — he was banned for three games last season after elbowing West Ham United's Manuel Lanzini in the head — but he still felt like Newcastle never played to his strengths.

"In England, this [at Fulham] is the first time that I really feel comfortable in the system and in the way we play," he says. "I think the manager and my team-mates, they all know my strengths and try to use them in the best way that they can. The result was that I scored a lot of goals and we won games."

At 23, Mitrovic now has to show he can do this in the Premier League. There are plenty of doubters to prove wrong, and no shortage of critics who have said that £22m is too much money for a man who is yet to deliver in the top flight since arriving from Anderlecht in 2015.

"I know it is going to be hard," Mitrovic says. "It is a better league with much more quality. But I know I have the ability, I have the quality. I want to show everybody that I can play in the best league in the world and score goals."

Mitrovic, who is far more soft-spoken and conscientious than his on-field demeanour suggests, knows that he will be judged on his scoring record.  "Goals are like an addiction," he says. "When you score you want more and more."

It seems that the same can be said for Fulham's approach to signing players. No fewer than five new faces joined on deadline day, and there were six debutants in the 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday.

"Competition is good," says Mitrovic, who looked dangerous on the opening day but was denied a goal by two fine saves by Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. "They will need time to settle down a bit but they are all good players and they brings something that we did not have."

Listening to him speak about his new team-mates, it is easy to forget that Mitrovic is also a relatively recent recruit. It is a measure of how comfortable he feels in south-west London, how much he feels at "home", that he sounds almost paternal towards the latest arrivals.



https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/08/15/aleksandar-mitrovic-finds-home-fulham-do-not-need-time-settle/

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Jagielka red card splits opinion and a missed penalty for Fulham in Mark Halsey's Ref Review

The Premier League is back! Which means so is our expert former referee Mark Halsey from TheRef.online. The first weekend of action saw several penalties given, one which wasn't, and an opinion-splitting red card as newly promoted Wolves faced Everton. Mark kindly returns for the 2018/19 season to offer his expert view on proceedings.

Andre Marriner (Manchester United vs Leicester City)

There's been a lot of talk and controversy in the World Cup surrounding handball situations but Andre has started as he means to go on here.

I don't know what Daniel Amartey is thinking of. It's a definite deliberate movement of arm towards the ball and it's an odd one because Andre definitely thought about it for a couple of seconds and then eventually gave it.

But he's arrived at the correct outcome despite taking a few seconds to come to his decision. He got the weekend off to a good start; Andre's one of the referees you can rely on and trust.

Martin Atkinson (Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur)

It was a good performance from Martin and great to see goal line technology come to the fore again. In real time there's no way any match official would have given that as a goal because it's just impossible.

It was a fraction over the line and the technology worked.

Kevin Friend (Bournemouth vs Cardiff City)

I thought the penalty for Bournemouth was one of those where it didn't really look like there was anything in it.

Had Kevin played on and given nothing I don't think anybody would have complained. To me it looked like the player tripped himself up but Kevin was right there and he's given the decision.

Mike Dean (Fulham vs Crystal Palace)

Mike was in a great position to give Fulham a penalty. Whether he thought there was no contact or he went down too easy or was simply too close, I don't know because it's a clear penalty.

Mike will be disappointed he never gave Fulham a penalty. It was a game changing moment because Fulham were 1-0 down and it could have made a big difference to the outcome of the game.

Chris Kavanagh (Huddersfield Town vs Chelsea)

I watched this game live and I just felt although it was a correct decision to award Chelsea a penalty, I think Chris was a bit indecisive and he was inconsistent with his decision making.

It's his second season and he'll be thrown into some more difficult games now and it's difficult to criticise a first game of the season. He's looking for match practice and fitness so let's hope we see improvement as the season goes on.

Craig Pawson (Wolves vs Everton)

What Craig told BT at half-time and the Everton officials was he sent Jagielka off for denial. It clearly wasn't denial of a clear goal scoring opportunity, it didn't meet the criteria for denial.

Then after the game it was serious foul play and that it was two offences in the same incident. The more serious offence always takes preference so the PGMOL have come out with a statement to get them out of a tight corner.

It was one of those incidents where you can back the referee with the red card but also support him if he shows a caution. At the end of the day it's the opinion of the referee and you have to accept that.

Anthony Taylor (Liverpool vs West Ham United)

It was a poor decision from Adam Nunn to miss the offside on Sadio Mane because that's an easier offside decision you'd want to make as an assistant referee.

He was a good yard offside so I can only assume he's switched off or lost concentration for a split second. You shouldn't need to have VAR and technology to see that incident because it was clear.

Michael Oliver (Arsenal vs Manchester City)

Michael made the game look easy. I thought it was a very good performance but in the first few moments I thought he failed to stamp his authority on the game.

As a referee you're always looking for that early moment to do that. It doesn't always need a caution but Laporte committed a reckless challenge on Aubameyang and I thought that was the moment to stamp his authority.

A few minutes later he cautioned Sterling and I think he got those the wrong way around. But it's a minor criticism because I thought he had an excellent game. Players trust him because he knows how to manage a game.

Is the Premier League missing VAR?

A lot of people say it was a success at the World Cup but it was only a success in matter of fact decisions. When a decision was given either just inside or outside the box and with factual incidents of offside goals, the VAR worked extremely well.

Where it lacked training and education was when decisions were subjective. There were a lot of incidents where VAR shouldn't have been recommended to the referee and some which should have been reviewed that weren't.

I think there's a lot of work to be done and it's not ready for the Premier League yet. We haven't got the people yet; the VAR is only as good as the people operating it and unfortunately we've got a severe lack of quality officials to do the VAR.

I think the Premier League were absolutely spot on not to bring it in. I understand there have been trials over the summer at youth tournaments with select group officials and it hasn't worked well at all, it's gone badly. I think we should have been seeing a lot of retired top referees to come and act as VAR because it's a totally different mindset.



https://offsiderulepodcast.com/2018/08/16/everton-jagielka-red-card-fulham-penalty/