Friday Fulham Stuff (31/03/18)...

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Cottage Talk: View Of The Opposition - Brighton & Hove Albion
Take a listen to a podcast that focuses on Fulham Football Club.


Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

This episode is an interview with Alan Wares from The Albion Roar. He was on the show to give theBrighton & Hove Albion perspective on this upcoming match. This show is our preview episode for this match.

You can also listen to the show by following this link...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cottagetalk/2018/08/30/cottage-talk-view-of-the-opposition--brighton-hove-albion

[WhiteJC]

 
Rondon, Mitrovic or Joselu? The battle of Newcastle United strikers past and present

Can Newcastle's strikers Joselu and Salomon Rondon prove Rafa Benitez was right to ship out Aleksandar Mitrovic?

Is Aleksandar Mitrovic better than Salomon Rondon? Superior to Yoshinori Muto? Or, whisper it, is Joselu actually top of the lot?

Strikers, we're regularly told, live and die by goals which puts Mitro top of the pile at the moment to the delight of him and discomfort of Rafa.

His two goals brought Fulham victory over Burnley and made it three in three, while Joselu has incredibly scored United's only Premier goals to date. Two flashing headers in 2-1 home defeats.

A lot of folk never expected Mitro and Joselu to be top goalscorers but then in fairness to United's two newcomers neither has completed 90 minutes as yet. They have started from the back of the grid.

However, we cannot get away from one outstanding fact – Mitrovic's goalscoring record since his arrival at Fulham has produced great embarrassment on Tyneside where goals are as scarce as snowfall in the Sahara.

He has bagged 15 bullseyes since initially joining the Cottagers on loan in January – yes, a lot in the Championship – but only Liverpool's prolific Mo Salah has scored the same amount during that time.

Playing Manchester City next while Fulham and Mitro go to Brighton hardly tips the odds in the favour of the Magpies strike force.

Rondon is likely to be as isolated at City as he was against Chelsea, which obviously makes for difficulties in finishing.

His slow start in terms of minutes on the pitch is, he reveals, down to match fitness after what was a "terrible pre-season" when West Brom, knowing they were about to unload him, didn't bother playing him in their friendlies.

In other words, a dithering United signed him far too late for their own good.

However, the intriguing comparison as the season unfolds will unquestionably be between Rondon and Mitrovic. Both muscular, both aggressive and combative.

Benitez rejected the Serb as his line leader and instead chose Rondon, who he pursued with persistence throughout the summer while those above him dragged their heels.

Time will produce its own verdict on who and what was right.

Rafa is pretty well bombproof with the fans who recognise the difficulties he has to endure, but all the same he needs Mitrovic to go on a regular goalscoring spree like a thorn in his side.

I was unconvinced by Mitro up here where he looked sluggish, disinterested at times and always walking the disciplinary tightrope, but he insists that was because of the way he was forced to play and that he has been unleashed by a supportive Slavisa Jokanovic.

Certainly confidence and a feeling of being loved is important to most players and hopefully Rondon can have that up here as Mitro now has in the smoke.

Significantly, Jokanovic said after Mitro's two-goal salvo sank Burnley: "His attitude is fantastic, he is a quality player. Aleksandar can keep us in the Premier League."

Rondon's league cup goal at Nottingham when going on as a late sub at least meant he had put down a marker if it achieved nothing else in terms of the team.

Joselu's positivity must have increased with his couple of goals though of course we still wait to see if they were a passing whim as many would believe rather than a permanent change to the norm.

When you play Man City you need patience and organisation declared the Premier League's new boss Nuno Espirito Santo in the aftermath of Wolves surprisingly halting the blue juggernaut last week.

United will certainly need that in abundance when the smarting PL champions come home Saturday tea-time hell bent on a quick return to the winner's enclosure having sacrificed their accustomed top spot to main rivals Liverpool and Newcastle conquerors Spurs and Chelsea.

You can say that United have been unlucky each and every time they have set foot on PL soil – a second-half fightback deserved a point against Spurs, a last-minute penalty miss deprived them of victory at Cardiff, and an own goal four minutes from time brought defeat by Chelsea.

However, the bottom line is that one point has been gathered out of nine and yet another league cup exit to a team from a division down in midweek has hardly lifted Tyne depression. Now the champions lie in wait with Arsenal to follow. Not a happy state of affairs.

When will it all end? Very shortly or long term?



https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rondon-mitrovic-joselu-battle-newcastle-15090805

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Millwall to face Fulham in Carabao Cup Third Round

Lions welcome London rivals to The Den

Millwall will face Fulham in the Carabao Cup Third Round.

Ties to be played week commencing Monday 24th September.

Full details, such as a confirmed date, kick-off time and ticket selling arrangements, will be announced in due course.



https://www.millwallfc.co.uk/news/2018/august/millwall-to-face--in-carabao-cup-third-round/

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Fulham Travel To Millwall

Fulham will travel to the Den for our Third Round Carabao Cup tie against Millwall.

Two late goals this week saw the Lions overcome the challenge of Plymouth Argyle in Round Two, while they needed penalties to get past Gillingham prior to that.

The match will take place the week commencing Monday 24th September, with more details to follow on fulhamfc.com in due course.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2018/august/30/fulham-travel-to-millwall

[WhiteJC]

Fulham will face Millwall in the Third Round of the Carabao Cup
The club will face quite a familiar foe

After a great win over Exeter, Fulham were drawn against Millwall at the Den in the third round of the Carabao Cup. Kickoff will take place sometime on the week of September 24th and will be between Fulham's Premier League fixtures against Watford and Everton. The two sides met before in league play last season with Fulham winning both fixtures 1-0 and 3-0, respectively.

This season, Neil Harris' side are currently in 16th in this young Championship season but have recently suffered defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and newly promoted Rotherham. However, it seems like Millwall's early season returns look quite grim on the stat sheet. The Lions are among the worst teams in possession (44.8%) and in passing success (62.1%) and none of their seven additions to the club have gone on to make a major impact. Much can change within the next month, but like our previous opponents, this will surely set the stage for an interesting cup tie between two clubs in completely different trajectories.



https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2018/8/30/17801128/fulham-will-face-millwall-in-the-third-round-of-the-carabao-cup

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Hughton seeking more home comforts for Albion

Albion boss Chris Hughton has targeted three more home points before the international break, when several members of his squad will head off to represent their countries.

Promoted Fulham's visit on Saturday follows a satisfactory start for the Seagulls to their second season in the Premier League.

They beat Manchester United at the Amex in-between away defeats at Watford and Liverpool.

Hughton said: "There's pressure on all games, but going into the international break when you won't be playing for a couple of weeks there is always a better feel knowing that you're on the back of a good result.

"They (Fulham) are a side that spent big in the summer, I think they've recruited really well.

"I would have to say most, if not all, of the players we knew. They've brought in very good players."

Fulham's signings include the return of Serbian centre-forward Aleksandar Mitrovic (above), who was a target for Albion in January when he was at Newcastle. He scored twice in the Londoners' first win of the season last weekend against Burnley at Craven Cottage.

Hughton said: "I think it's the same with any player that's in form. It's not just about stopping one individual, it's about making sure you have a good enough foothold in the game that enables him maybe not to have that service.

"But he has started the season very, very well and I think he's had the continuity from last season. He obviously feels very much at home there."

Fulham, promoted with Wolves and Cardiff, have spent over £100 million strengthening their squad.

Hughton said: "Of the three teams that have come up - two in particular (Fulham and Wolves) have spent big money – and I think this will be, if anything, perhaps even a more challenging season than last season.

"Every team is conscious of a Stoke going down (last season), a West Brom going down, and a Swansea going down. Arguably three teams that people didn't expect to go down so I think everybody's more conscious and wary of how difficult this league is.

"At the moment, we're on the back of two good performances. I think we have learnt that our levels have to be somewhere like that to get results."

Fulham will be without captain Tom Cairney (ankle).



http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/16609264.hughton-seeking-more-home-comforts-for-albion/

[WhiteJC]

 
Hammyend's August Player of the Month

This season at Hammyend.com we have a new feature for you. We have decided to launch our 'Hammyend Player of the Month' throughout the season. The Hammyend team will pick four players every month who have stood out and we will give you a run down of their impac that month, then it is down to YOU to vote.

The first month of the season is always going to be a strange one, with a new players around the squad. It can take a while for everyone to settle and for the manager to figure out what his best team is. Plus Fulham this year have to deal with a massive jump up in quality, so there is no surprise that Slavisa Jokanovic has made changes to his starting team every week. We have played three Premier League games, losing two and winning one, while we have progressed to the next stage of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable win over Exeter City. Performances have been good across the pitch and the Hammyend team have come up with our four nominations.

1. Joe Bryan

One of a host of players through the door on deadline day, Bryan made the headlines because of the nature of his move. Whether or not Steve Bruce chased Bryan down the motorway when he found out about his Villa snub remains a mystery, although I have my doubts. What we can be sure of, however, is that Bruce does have a reason to be frustrated at missing out on Joe Bryan's services, because he looks every bit a Premier League player in the three matches he has played so far. He looks assured on the ball and loves getting forward. He is an upgrade on Matty Targett in my opinion, and if his inch perfect ball across the face of goal for our goal at Spurs is anything to go by, I think we are guaranteed assists from him this year.

2. Jean Michael Seri

Seri genuinely looks like the best player to have pulled on a Fulham shirt in years. I'm not surprised that he was interesting European giants Barcelona just last summer. With three games played Seri is the 6th best passer in the league and is has had the 6th most touches. He is also 11th in the league for interceptions and has scored one of the goals for the season so far. We have signed someone special here.

3. Maxime Le Marchand

Le Marchand was somewhat of an unknown package when he signed on the same day as Seri earlier on in the window, and I don't think anyone really expected him to hold onto the centre back shirt for long but he looks to be a real catch from the recruitment team. Remarkably, Le Marchand one of three Fulham players who features in the top 20 passers in the league, and he is 4th in therms of clearances made, with 26 so far. He looks to fit very well into Jokanovic's footballing philosophy, so I reckon other players in the centre back position due to come back from injury have their work cut out for them winning the shirt back off him.

4. Aleksandar Mitrovic

The Serbian is the only nominee who played for Fulham last year, showing just how good the recruitment has been at Fulham this summer, but there is no way you could leave him off this list. Mitrovic signed permanently in the summer after scoring Fulham to the Premier League during the last half of the 2017/18 season. So many Newcastle fans and even pundits have doubted whether he could make it in the PL but so far he has gone a long way to proving them all wrong. Three games, three goals and a player of the match award so far. He is the striker who Fulham have been missing for so long. He is loved at Fulham, and I fully believe that that makes a big difference in his productivity for us.

Now that you have the nominations, it's time to vote. Click on the link below to select your August Player of the Month and we will announce the winner next week.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/JC9RQR8

#COYW



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2018/08/hammyends-august-player-of-the-month/