Friday Fulham Stuff (19/10/18)...

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Cardiff v Fulham preview: Tom Cairney won't be risked

Cardiff go in search of their first Premier League victory of the season on Saturday as Fulham visit south Wales.

Neil Warnock's men are one of three teams without a league win this season, along with Huddersfield and Newcastle. If Cardiff fail to win on Saturday then it would be their worst-ever start to league season after nine games.

Finding stability at the back has been a problem for Warnock's side since stepping up from the Championship. They've conceded 17 Premier League goals this season - only Fulham (21) have conceded more.

The pressure is slowly rising on manager Slavisa Jokanovic, who oversaw a summer net spend of £105m.

However, Jokanovic has played down the significance of Saturday's fixture.

Even though Jokanovic's inconsistent team can secure three vital points and finally build some momentum amid speculation surrounding his future, he said: "After this is 29 games more. The end of the game is not the end of the Premier League.

"If we win, a long period is ahead and we will find more tough afternoons. If we lose, it's the same - there are 29 more."
Team news

Fulham skipper Tom Cairney is nearing a return but won't be ready for this weekend.

Cairney's ankle problem flared up in the defeat to Everton and he won't be risked while Joe Bryan is remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.

However, Timothy Fosu-Mensah could be back in the fold despite dislocating his shoulder last month.

Meanwhile for Cardiff, Aaron Gunnarsson is in line for a return from his knee injury but Warnock's men will be without the suspended Joe Ralls after his red card against Tottenham.

Opta stats

    Cardiff City and Fulham have met in the Premier League twice previously - the Bluebirds won both games against the Cottagers during the 2013-14 season.
    Fulham are without a clean sheet in their last 21 matches against Cardiff in all competitions - however, they haven't lost any of their previous seven games against the Bluebirds (W3 D4 L0).
    Fulham are the only team that Cardiff have beaten more than once in the Premier League (two wins) - in the top-flight, they've won four of their six meetings with the Cottagers (P6 W4 D1 L1).
    In the last nine meetings between Cardiff and Fulham in all competitions, the side scoring first has gone on to win just twice (W2 D5 L2).
    Cardiff are winless in their last 12 Premier League games (D3 L9), losing the last five in a row. They last lost six consecutive games in league competition back in November 1985.
    Cardiff are winless in their last eight Premier League home games (D2 L6), shipping 22 goals in that run. The last side they beat in the competition at the Cardiff City Stadium were Fulham (3-1 in March 2014).
    Fulham have conceded 21 goals in the Premier League this season, four more than any other side. The last team to concede more in their first eight games of the season were Southampton in 2012-13 (24).
    Fulham have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 22 Premier League away games. The last team to concede in more consecutively were Queens Park Rangers (23 between October 2011 and November 2012).
    Cardiff manager Neil Warnock has won just one of his last 10 matches against Fulham in all competitions (P10 W1 D4 L5).
    Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon has scored in all four of his matches in all competitions against Cardiff for the Cottagers, scoring a goal in each match.

Merson's predictions

This is a must-win game for Cardiff. If they don't win this game I think they will really struggle to beat the drop. I know people will say there are 29 games left but for me, it will be difficult for Cardiff to turn things around.

Fulham also need a result but they are away from home and the pressure will be firmly on Cardiff, who haven't won a game all season. I know Fulham went to Cardiff last year in the Championship and won but I think Cardiff could bully them this time around. They'll cause Fulham, who are a bit flimsy at times, problems at the back and that's why I'm backing a home win.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (17/2 with Sky Bet)



https://www.skysports.com/football/cardiff-vs-fulham/preview/390839

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Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic says Cardiff clash will not define season

Slavisa Jokanovic said he was not feeling under any pressure as Fulham boss and stressed his side's trip to Cardiff on Saturday will not define their season.

Fulham sit just outside the relegation zone, three points clear of bottom side Cardiff, but any talk of the match being a six-pointer was dismissed by Jokanovic.

"After this game there are 29 more, and independent of the result on Saturday, the end of the game is not the end of the Premier League for us," he said.

It's a long period ahead of us and there will be more tough afternoons after this game independent of the result.

"If we lose the game it's the same, there are another 29 games. It's not the last game for us, it's not the last game for Cardiff.

"We must be focused and ready for the game, not only the Cardiff game, all games in the Premier League are important to try and win the points.

"This trip is not close to the end, this season will finish in the middle of May and many different things will happen."

Jokanovic explained his target is not just to keep Fulham in the Premier League, but to see his side improve and play better football along the way.

When asked if he was feeling extra pressure given Fulham's league position, the Serb's response was straightforward.

"No," he said. "Eight games are behind us and for four years now Fulham supporters have been waiting to watch Premier League games at Craven Cottage.

"It is normal that people are nervous and not especially satisfied if we don't have a good result but it's part of the process and part of football.

"Our target is to improve, to play better football and win the game too."



https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11681/11528907/fulham-boss-slavisa-jokanovic-says-cardiff-clash-will-not-define-season

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Former FA chairman David Bernstein labels lack of grassroots funding in football a 'national disgrace' and calls on Premier League clubs to be 'taxed'

    Former FA chairman David Bernstein has had his say over the Wembley sale
    Bernstein says there needs to be better schemes in place for grassroots funding
    He also thinks that the Premier League club should be taxed effectively
    Fulham owner Shahid Khan has withdrawn his £600million offer for Wembley

Former chairman David Bernstein has called for the Premier League to be 'taxed' after branding the lack of funding in grassroots football a 'national disgrace'.

Plans which the FA had for major investment in grassroots facilities were put on hold this week after Fulham owner Shahid Khan withdrew his £600million offer for Wembley Stadium.

Khan said the deal had become too 'divisive' a week before the FA Council were due to vote on the potential sale.


Former FA chairman David Bernstein wants more money to go towards grassroots funding

In a further twist, another former FA chairman, Greg Dyke, has criticised FA Council members whose opposition led to the collapse of the Wembley sale as 'tosspots who don't want change.'

Bernstein told the BBC: 'There is not anywhere near enough money at the bottom end of our game — grassroots has been neglected. We are completely out of balance in this country.

'The Premier League does pay some monies across to other parts of football, but it is nowhere near enough. My view has consistently been that the Premier League should be levied, money should go to the FA, which would be distributed to the wider game and which would make the selling of Wembley unnecessary.

'A Premier League tax if you like. It is a major, major issue. It is something that should be explored and, if necessary, looked at by Government.'

Since 2000, the Premier League have paid more than £200m into grassroots projects via the Football Foundation, but that is a tiny fraction of the money generated by English football's top flight in television rights deals. 

Former England defender Gary Neville, who was fiercely opposed to the Wembley sale, suggested taxing agents when they broker transfer deals.

And Dyke told The Times: 'If the FA had the guts they could put a levy on the Premier League clubs for every time they did a transfer or paid an agent, but it would lead to a real bust-up with the clubs. I'm not sure they do have the guts to do that.'

But FA chief executive Martin Glenn scoffed at the idea. In an interview with The Evening Standard, Glenn said: 'Gary Neville would say put a tax on agents and a windfall tax on the Premier League. Good luck with that.'

Glenn defended the FA against criticism for exploring the deal with Khan and rejected accusations that they did not have a clear strategy for how the money raised would be distributed.

'Critics of the deal cite the spending plans, claiming there were always more questions to be asked,' he said. 'That's very unfair. The proposal was really clear. So, when people say there wasn't a way to spend it intelligently, they are wrong. They just didn't want the deal to happen.

'We knew we had a way, from over 20 years of intelligently investing money, which was very exciting. I feel proud about how we put that plan together.'

Glenn said he had no intention of quitting despite his passion for the deal and the disappointment of seeing Khan pull out.

'Most CEOs get fired,' said Glenn. 'The syndrome seems to be you keep your nose clean, don't do much and then a reforming chairman comes in and says, "Hang on, what's been going on for the last few years?" Or you push the needle and face resistance.

'I've never worked in an organisation where people have welcomed change. The FA are a bit more political, because you have stakeholders.'



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6292323/Former-FA-chair-David-Bernstein-labels-lack-grassroots-funding-football-national-disgrace.html

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Academy youngsters at Fulham given training to improve communication skills and ignore their mobile phones

    Fulham are giving their young players advice to enhance communication skills
    The hope is to improve relationships between players both on and off field
    Fulham return to Premier League action with visit to bottom club Cardiff City

Fulham have begun training their youngsters in the art of conversation by instructing them to ignore their mobile phones and talk to their team-mates more.

The idea behind the initiative is so that the kids do not simply bury their heads in their devices once back in the changing room or during team meetings.

Aimed at the academy, a speaker was invited in to teach the Premier League side's starlets about how communicating better off the pitch can benefit them on it.


Ryan Sessegnon's fellow Fulham starlets will receive training to improve their communication

ulham want their youngsters to be able to exchange with one another and openly express views, having become worried by the modern day obsession with mobile phones.

The senior squad could perhaps do with similar training in communication, with Slavisa Jokanovic's side having conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season.

Fulham face Neil Warnock's bottom-of-the-table Cardiff City away this weekend - a fixture which the Cottagers head coach needs to avoid losing.

According to insiders, there have started to be concerns over whether Jokanovic's attack-first style of play issuitable to England's top flight.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6291875/Academy-youngsters-Fulham-given-training-improve-communication-skills.html

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

This episode is an interview with Dominic Booth, who writes about Cardiff City for Wales Online. During the intervew, he shared his view on Cardiff City's start of the season, the key players in this match-up against Fulham, and much more. We ended the interview with his prediction for the match. This is our preview show for this match.

You can also listen to the show here.
https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2018/10/19/17997188/cottage-talk-view-of-the-opposition-cardiff-city

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Fulham: why Jokanovic's defence simply must improve

Fulham made history earlier in the season by being the first team to spend over £100 million during the summer transfer window immediately after being promoted from the Championship to the Premier League.

The Cottagers brought in some real talent during the window, including the familiar names of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andre Schurrle, as well as introducing some new players to the Premier League such as Jean Michael Seri. While these new signings have been delivering the goods for Fulham, it's hard to tear your attention away from the fact that Fulham have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season – 21 in total, giving an average of just over two and a half per match.

The newly-promoted club are yet to retain the same defensive line-up in consecutive Premier League games which doesn't allow the back line to gel and understand eachother. Is this simply a rotation system implemented by Slavisa Jokanovic, or is the Serbian manager struggling to find a solid system at the back?

Marcus Bettinelli, a talented young shot stopper who was recently called up to the England squad, is yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League. The 26-year-old has been called upon to make a host of great saves this season, but even the best keepers cannot single-handedly prevent a thrashing every game.

Since Fulham's goalkeeper impressed Gareth Southgate enough to represent the national team, there must be something less than impressive going on at the back. It is evident from Fulham's last two games where the area of weakness seems to be, and that is straight down the middle – the centre-backs are having trouble defending their goalkeeper. After shipping five against Arsenal and three against Everton, problems are continuing and need to be addressed with urgency.

Denis Odoi, who has played in all of Fulham's last six matches, has been paired with just about every other centre back the team has to offer with none of these partnerships being a success in stopping the goals. The central defenders struggle to close down the attackers and often fail to get a foot in when the ball is in their box, which inevitably leads to conceding goals.

With some recent injuries to some of their defenders, things have got even worse for the Cottagers – eight goals in two games against have left Fulham with a sore goal difference of negative twelve. If Fulham continue in this way their negative goal difference could come to haunt them at the latter of the season. In their most recent match against Arsenal, Jokanovic deployed an interesting system that involved three centre-backs (Odoi, Ream, Le Marchand). Whether this was a response to the amount of goals conceded from central positions, or just a way to make the most of the limited resources at his disposal, we all know that it didn't work and the Gunners thrashed Fulham 5-1.

The Whites may need to splash out a bit of cash during the January transfer window, even after they spent so much in the summer. A little more quality in defence could turn Fulham into a formidable team, since scoring themselves is not something they've found too difficult this season. Nine goals in eight games is not bad going for a newly-promoted club and there is plenty for fans to be optimistic about.

Fulham's next challenge comes in the form of Cardiff City, followed by crucial matches against Bournemouth and Huddersfield. Two of these teams are the joint lowest scorers in the league, presenting an opportunity for Fulham to get themselves on the right side of the scoreline and start climbing up the table.



https://90maat.com/2018/10/19/are-fulhams-defensive-frailties-turning-them-into-relegation-contenders/