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Saturday Fulham Stuff (15/09/18)...

Started by WhiteJC, September 15, 2018, 07:25:49 AM

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WhiteJC

 
PREVIEW: Manchester City vs Fulham – 15/09/2018

Manchester City vs Fulham

Date: 15/09/2018

K/O: 15:00 hours

Venue: The Etihad Stadium

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Manchester City will not be expecting much resistance this Saturday, with the Champions facing a newly-promoted Fulham side who are still adjusting to life in the Premier League.

Much has been made of the slight stumble of Manchester City away at Wolverhampton Wanderers this season, where the Citizens went and registered only a surprising 1-1 draw – couple this with Liverpool's perfect start, recording four wins from four and there is already talk of Manchester City struggling to reclaim their title. It would be wise to be cautious when making any assumptions about the credibility of contenders to City's crown; three wins and a draw was their record after four games last season as well, a campaign where they amassed 100 points. Therefore it is impossible to know whether anything will change in the competitiveness of the league this time around.

City's last two home games have both been victories, with the hard-fought win against Newcastle United showing that City can grit out a result, as opposed to their previous home game that yielded a cruising 6-1 victory over Huddersfield Town. Fulham have shown signs of settling into the league in recent weeks but their defensive record remains suspect. Despite getting four points from their last two games, they've conceded four goals in those two as well, raising concerns about their new defensive recruits and how to line-up at the back going forward.

Fulham sit 13th in the table as it stands, with one win, a draw and two losses in their first four games. It hasn't been a disastrous start at all in their return to the Premier League but problems have most definitely arisen, particularly at the back which will be seen as a major concern if the trend for sloppy mistakes continues.


PREVIEW: Manchester City vs Fulham – 15/09/2018
By Jack HallFeaturedFulhamGW5 PreviewManchester CityPremier LeaguePreview | 14 September, 2018

Manchester City vs Fulham

Date: 15/09/2018

K/O: 15:00 hours

Venue: The Etihad Stadium

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Manchester City will not be expecting much resistance this Saturday, with the Champions facing a newly-promoted Fulham side who are still adjusting to life in the Premier League.

Much has been made of the slight stumble of Manchester City away at Wolverhampton Wanderers this season, where the Citizens went and registered only a surprising 1-1 draw – couple this with Liverpool's perfect start, recording four wins from four and there is already talk of Manchester City struggling to reclaim their title. It would be wise to be cautious when making any assumptions about the credibility of contenders to City's crown; three wins and a draw was their record after four games last season as well, a campaign where they amassed 100 points. Therefore it is impossible to know whether anything will change in the competitiveness of the league this time around.
Embed from Getty Images

City's last two home games have both been victories, with the hard-fought win against Newcastle United showing that City can grit out a result, as opposed to their previous home game that yielded a cruising 6-1 victory over Huddersfield Town. Fulham have shown signs of settling into the league in recent weeks but their defensive record remains suspect. Despite getting four points from their last two games, they've conceded four goals in those two as well, raising concerns about their new defensive recruits and how to line-up at the back going forward.

Fulham sit 13th in the table as it stands, with one win, a draw and two losses in their first four games. It hasn't been a disastrous start at all in their return to the Premier League but problems have most definitely arisen, particularly at the back which will be seen as a major concern if the trend for sloppy mistakes continues.



In their last outing Fulham drew 2-2 away at Brighton, a result that on paper does not tell the full story of Fulham's frustration. The Cottagers went 2-0 ahead in the second half only to concede two Glenn Murray goals to throw away precious points. The second goal, a penalty, was given away by an inexplicable hand-ball by Aleksander Mitrovic, who used his arm to bring down a high ball in the penalty area. The Serbian striker, who is on excellent goal-scoring form, still has a maverick edge to his overall play and Fulham will hope he can continue to make the headlines for all the right reasons.

Team News:

Despite injuries to key players in Kevin De Bruyne and defensive cover Danilo and Claudio Bravo, Manchester City have looked spoiled for depth in the first four weeks of the new season. Summer signing Riyad Mahrez has barely had time to show why his new club paid 60 million pounds for him, while young superstar of last season, Leroy Sane, has been left out of the match squad on more than one occasion. Manchester City can rotate like nobody else in the Premier League, with quality replacements available for every player, which will undoubtedly cause Fulham, and every other team in the league, problems in regards to preparation.

Fulham were given a much-needed defensive boost last week with the debut of Alfie Mawson, out injured since his transfer from Swansea, playing in the centre of defence alongside Denis Odoi. It will be touch and go as to whether key midfielder Tom Cairney will be fit enough to start against Manchester City, having picked up an ankle injury in their 4-2 win against Burnley. For a trip to the champions, it would seem unwise to risk him too early.

Predicted Starting XI's:

Manchester City:
Ederson; Mendy, Kompany, Laporte, Walker; Fernandinho, D. Silva, B. Silva, Sterling,;Jesus, Agüero

Fulham: Bettinelli; Bryan, Mawson, Le Marchand, Fosu-Mensah; Seri, McDonald, Anguissa, Schürrle; Vietto, Mitrovic

Score Prediction – Manchester City 4 Fulham 0

Although Fulham's last two results have shown plenty of promise, Saturday's visit to the Etihad is likely to be the hardest game they face all season. Perhaps Fulham would be more fancied to cause problems to the champions elect if they had exhibited any degree of defensive nous this season but even in their best result to date, their 4-2 victory over Burnley, they were poor defensively, and for that reason there should be very little doubt as to the identity of the winner here.



https://90maat.com/2018/09/14/preview-manchester-city-vs-fulham-15-09-18/

WhiteJC

 
Notes from August meeting with Fulham FC

Carmelo Mifsud (CM, media relations manager), Casper Sylsvig (CS, chief revenues officer) and David Daly (DD, non-executive director) of Fulham Football Club met with Ian Clarke, Dan Crawford and Archie Rhind-Tutt of the Fulham Supporters' Trust at Motspur Park on Monday 13 August as part of the ongoing structured relationship between the Club and the fans.
CM welcomed everybody to the meeting and gave Alistair Mackintosh's apologies for his absence.

MATTERS ARISING FROM JULY MEETING
CM and CS confirmed that Sean O'Loughlin has left Fulham Football Club to take up a position as finance director at Crystal Palace. The Club are currently recruiting for a new finance director.

The Trust inquired again as to the possibility of the play-off final highlights package and the review of the season DVD to be made available as a digital download following some queries from our members. CS confirmed that following conversations with Fulham FC's suppliers both items will be soon made available to download via iTunes and the cost of the upload would be borne by the Club so the price to supporters would be the same as the physical media.

The Trust representatives referred to the safe standing trial currently in operation at Shrewsbury Town and the Government review of policy that has been trailed over the summer. CM confirmed that the Club were interested in fans views about this, but any policy changes would have to wait until the Premier League and the football authorities had reached a firm view on the matter.

RIVERSIDE STAND

The Club had not yet appointed a contractor to carry out the Riverside Stand rebuilding works. The Trust will be following this up with Alistair Mackintosh in due course. The Club confirmed that, once the contractor has been appointed and a clearer timescale for the works is in the place, they would want to set up a Riverside Stand working group with season ticket holders to discuss the various relocation options. The Trust and the Club agree that it is vitally important to provide supporters with as much information as possible about the changes to their matchday experience at Craven Cottage.

CM said that the Club had talked to a number of clubs about their experience of undertaking similar rebuilding work – and that he had personally visited Bristol City, who also had to move long-standing season ticket holders during their building work. The Club are committed to continuing with the Riverside Stand work and will keep supporters updated as to progress.

DD, who has been working on the promotion of the Club's history since his appointment to the Board, confirmed that he would be wiling to discuss how to represent Fulham's history in the new stand with the fans. The Trust will be setting up a meeting with DD and potentially other Club officials to discuss this in greater detail.

TICKETING ISSUES

The Trust raised the issue of the increased cost of upgrading tickets for matches this season. CS informed the meeting that, during a period of mystery shopping and direct phone calls to supporters seeking to renew their season tickets and memberships, that they discovered a number of adults who held concessionary memberships or season tickets.

Detailed analysis from last season on the number of games that season ticket holders miss showed that genuine concession holders are most likely to miss midweek evening kick-offs for a variety of reasons, particularly travel time to and from the game, so the Club wanted to keep the option of upgrades open. CS confirmed that the Club will keep this policy under review, but stressed that it had already proved successful in deterring the number of touts offering Fulham tickets for sale.

The Trust also raised the concerns of some members that they had purchased full adult tickets that had concession printed on them – and this was leading to problems at the turnstiles. CS replied that the Club would be looking into this as a matter of urgency.

The Trust representatives reiterated our concern at the expense of attending Fulham matches this season and the increase in season ticket prices. CS reiterated that there have been no discussions about the setting of prices for next season and that the Trust's feedback would be given weight when those decisions are taken.

LOYALTY POINTS

The Trust put forward the suggestion made by a number of members that there could be a reduced number of tiers of loyalty points for some away fixtures. CS said that the Club recognised that loyalty points was an emotive issue for supporters but that the Club had received specific feedback that fans with a high number of loyalty points wanted the ability to buy tickets first. CS also commented that the Club are looking at other ways of giving supporters with high loyalty points additional benefits.

MERCHANDISING

CS confirmed that the Club has never sold as many replica shirts. The Trust raised the issue of the cost of purchasing a replica shirt, which has risen considerably over the past few years. CS said that he was aware of this issue and it was one of the reasons why the Club had reinstated the ten per cent discount for season ticket holders this season.

The Trust also raised queries from members that a number of popular sizes of shirts, training kit and other merchandise sell out exceptionally quickly. CS explained that the Club has to place orders with their supplies seven months in advance, which accounts for the shortage of stock in some sizes. DD confirmed that this is standard practice within the industry. CS confirmed that the next delivery of adult shirts is due in October and November.

CS revealed that takings in the Club's stadium store on Stevenage Road were 50% higher than ever before during the opening home game of the season against Crystal Palace. He also said that the Club were looking to freshen merchandise more regularly this season and that the Club have appointed a specific member of staff, Sean Davies, to oversee this.

CS and CM confirmed that this season's official third kit will be last season's black away kit.
Following a further discussion on the kit manufacturing process, CS said that the only organisations who can fully design their own Adidas shirts are Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester Utd and Germany.
In response to a question from the Trust, CS confirmed that the Club are still trying to still the shirt sponsor space on the Under 18 kit, which cannot display the Dafabet logo due to age restrictions on gambling.

FULHAM FC TV

The Trust had been made aware of instances of passwords and log-in information for the Fulham FC TV subscription service being sent in plain text email. The Trust raised this concern and the implications for GDPR. This issue will be looked into by CM and any supporters experiencing this should contact the Club immediately.

CARD PAYMENTS

The Club admitted that, following the decision to make more card-only payment areas available within Craven Cottage for the friendly against Celta Vigo and the first Premier League home game against Crystal Palace, the signage and knowledge of staff was not good enough at these games. CS has undertaken a review of the current operation and is aiming to ensure that it is better for the forthcoming home game against Burnley.

It was also confirmed that it is the Club's intention to operate a card-only payments policy in the Riverside Stand once the new stand is fully built.

STEWARDING

The Trust raised the issue of over-zealous stewarding during the Celta Vigo game. CS and CM replied that the Club has to comply with the ground regulations and that Craven Cottage is designated an all-seater stadium, although they do recognise that there are some areas of the ground where supporters are left with a severely restricted view. CS commented that the Club are reliant on stewards to operate in line with their match day briefings, but said the Club would keep an eye on these issues.

The meeting closed at 1.32pm.



http://fulhamsupporterstrust.com/news/2018/8/21/notes-from-august-meeting-with-fulham-fc.html

WhiteJC


Three Players to Watch: Matchday 5 vs. Manchester City
This will surely be one of Fulham's most ultimate test


Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The Premier League is finally back and boy are Fulham in for a real test. After showing what they were worth through four fixtures that included an away day back at Wembley versus Tottenham, now the boys will have to travel to the Etihad and take on the defending Premier League Champions. Even with a draw to Wolves and the loss of Kevin De Bruyne due to a knee injury, this Manchester City side is still quite good. They didn't get to 100 points and score 106 goals because it was just a fluke.

Simply put, Pep Guardiola is the greatest manager of his generation and he has a squad that perfectly fits his system and can be as interchangeable as possible. If anything, new signing Riyad Mahrez or established stalwart Ilkay Gundoghan can come in to replace the reigning player of the season and still be as invincible as ever. According to Understat, City's 10.49 expected goals scored is not that far from their league leading 11-goal output. Along with that, their 2.9 expected goals conceded is not that far from the three they've given up so far. We're still at a point where sample sizes are just too small to draw to conclusions about City's chances for repeating as champions. However, they are off to a great start and are simply one-bad day in the office from completely changing the narrative of their season.

As for Fulham, they are in for a world of trouble regardless of whether or not Tom Cairney is playing tomorrow. Even if Raheem Sterling is the latest to be out for City due to injury while playing for England, that basically means a better chance to play more playing time for Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane. The one thing we do know is that Fulham will continue to play in their normal 4-3-3 formation regardless of personnel while City...

Yeah, that might be the one caveat of this fixture for Fulham because Guardiola has already tried everything from a 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and a 4-1-3-2. Talent is not an issue at all but City's lineup was so intact that their starting XI played in a 4-3-3 in all but 683 league minutes last season. Already, they have played 270 minutes outside of their standard system. If anything, there concern is being able to maintain cohesion while missing pieces are on the shelf. Can a Gundoghan-Fernandinho central midfield work in 2018/19? How about Sane coming in as a Delle Alli style midfielder or would he better suited in a three-man attack with Aguero and Jesus? The questions are endless, but that doesn't mean that they should be scared a Fulham team still trying to figure out who they are when at their best.

While Slavisa Jokanovic's team is not in sight of relegation just yet, they will have to sort out their defense quickly. Understat currently has them at 8.01 expected goals against, which is lower than Huddersfield and West Ham United. Along with that, only the Hammers are worse in conceding non-cross passes within 20-yards from their own goal than Fulham's 36 so far this season. They've already tried four differeny back four combinations and they would be wise to trot out a fifth because Maxime Le Marchand has no business playing fullback anymore. But until there's consistent and dependable answers on that side of the pitch, don't expect this to improve anytime soon, especially when Watford, Everton and Arsenal are next before the next international break.

In the meantime, here are three of the zillions of players that Fulham have to watch out for on Saturday.

Sergio Aguero

It's quite amazing that a 200-goal scorer for his club is this much of an afterthought in the mainstream football world. But that is what Sergio Aguero has become while being on a team full of stars and with the Premier League constantly churning new and exciting talent every season. If Mo Salah is Drake, Aguero might as well be Bruce Springsteen. Their best years are behind them, but he ain't dead yet and you absolutely know what you're going to get out of him every year. Plenty of him being behind the shadow could also be because of his invisible and injury-riddled performances in World Cups, but this man is a legend, regardless of what anyone things. Already with three goals and an assist onto his account, and a xG Chain of 1.08 per 90 minutes that is only topped by Salah among all Premier League players with over 200 minutes played, expect the 30-year old to still be a part of the golden boot race all-season long.

David Silva

We go from one ageless wonder to the next in a former World Cup winner and 2x European Champion. It was sad to see David Silva not be able to bow out of the Spanish National Team in style, but he has been such a wonderful servant with any side he has played for. His 125 international appearances are sixth all-time for his country and he is one goal shy of his 100th for his entire club career.

If there are any signs of wear-and-tear for the 32-year old, it could be that he hasn't been committed to the defensive/pressing side of the game this early into the season. However, his assist total should eventually start racking up once one of his trade mark passes leads to a goal for his club. With De Bruyne out and Mahrez getting used to his surroundings, there is no denying how much City still have to depend on Silva for creativity from midfield.

Benjamin Mendy
All data from whoscored.com

Lastly, we talk about the "find" of the season so far for City in Benjamin Mendy. The term find deserves to be in quotes because we all know what the 24-year old 2018 World Cup winner can deliver (seriously, how many of these guys has so much National Team pedigree?). However, a torn ACL will do that for ya as Mendy had to watch City's title-winning campaign from the stands. But that didn't stop City fans from making him a cult-hero with his joyful personality and his love for sharks.

This season, Mendy has returned with a vengeance with four assists already into his account. All he needs is one more helper to tie his career high for any season and that was back in his lone campaign at Monaco. His expected assist total of 1.37 is nowhere near that total, but it still leads all City players and his total xG Buildup of 2.92 (or 0.73 per 90 minutes) is tops of the club as well. It will be fascinating to see if he can maintain this level of form as he has never had an xG Buildup higher than 0.33 per 90 minutes, but he already is showcasing what everyone has been missing of the Frenchman.



https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2018/9/14/17853896/three-players-to-watch-matchday-5-vs-manchester-city


Sgt Fulham

Big praise that from a world class player like Aguero. Top man!

WhiteJC

 
Rafa Benitez: I do not regret selling Aleksandar Mitrovic to Fulham


Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored more goals than Newcastle this season CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

Rafael Benitez, the Newcastle United manager, insists he has no regrets about selling Aleksandar Mitrovic to Fulham, even though the Serbian is the Premier League's top goalscorer.

Mitrovic has scored six goals in his last four games for club and country, while Newcastle have managed just four goals all season, with just three in the league, as they await their first win of the campaign.

The sale of Mitrovic for £22.5m in the summer infuriated some sections of the club's support but Benitez is unrepentant, insisting he would not have scored as many goals if he had remained at Newcastle.

Benitez allowed Mitrovic to join Fulham on loan at the start of the year, as he was not playing him on Tyneside, privately claiming the 23-year-old was not suited to the team's style of play and was not fit enough to play as a lone striker.

There were also question marks over his temperament following a series of costly red cards during his two-and-a-half years in the North East and Benitez decided to sign Salomon Rondon to replace the former Anderlecht forward in the summer.


Mitrovic had a mixed time at Newcastle CREDIT: PA

Newcastle's loss is starting to look a lot like Fulham's gain as Mitrovic appears to be a far more dynamic and effective player in south London than he was in his final months in the North East.

Asked if he had any regrets about effectively forcing Mitrovic out of the club, Benitez replied: "He is doing well, he did well for Serbia, but Rondon was doing well for Venezuela.

"Each player has his own environment and they can do well in one team and maybe not as well in the other one.

"We have to make a decision in terms of what we needed and we knew what we needed, that's it, now we have to move forward.

"It doesn't change my decision. I have to carry on with Ayoze Perez, Joselu, Yoshinori Mutuo and Rondon, that's it."



https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/09/14/rafa-benitez-do-not-regret-selling-aleksandar-mitrovic-fulham/

WhiteJC

 
Match Prediction Poll Result Offers Fulham Fans Some Encouragement

This afternoon Fulham, in our opinion, face their most difficult fixture of the season so far.

In fact, we could go so far as to say that they face the most difficult fixture of the season, a trip to the Etihad Stadium to take on the reigning Premier League title holders, Manchester City.

It's a trip that very few football pundits can see Fulham getting anything from, but football, as the legend that is Jimmy Greaves often said;

    "Is a funny old game."

Therefore, in the build-up to the game, we offered you the opportunity to predict the result.

We gave you the three usual options to choose from:

• Manchester City to win.
• Fulham to win

and

• A draw.

The result suggested that not everyone views the outcome of this game as a foregone conclusion.

Although 46% of those who voted opted for a Fulham win, 23% are expecting Fulham to pull off a shock and return south with the three points.

A further 31% are of the opinion that the game will end in a draw, which, by our mathematics suggests 54% of those who voted expect the Cottagers to get some kind of result.

COYW's


https://fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/match-prediction-poll-result-offers-fulham-fans-some-encouragement/