Tuesday Fulham Stuff (13/11/18)...

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Why now is the time for Fulham to back not sack Slavisia Jokanovic

Fulham news includes a look at the former keeper's comments and why sacking the head coach would be the wrong step

After a seventh defeat in a row, former Fulham great Mark Schwarzer is the latest man to claim that the side need to sack Slavisa Jokanovic.

A 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend left them adrift at the bottom of the Premier League, with both Cardiff City and Newcastle United picking up vital three points in their games on Saturday.

Schwarzer was a pundit on BT Sport for the loss at Anfield and after the game claimed that changes needed to be made at Craven Cottage.

"They seriously have to be considering it, there's no doubt whatsover," he said.

"After you've invested over £100million in a side once you've been promoted, and results don't go your way, but it's not just about the results. It's more about the performances.

"Today was a better performance, particularly in the first half, but I don't think it was enough. Changes have to be made."

But in my eyes, I have to respectfully disagree with him.

Anyone who watched Fulham's drab performance at Huddersfield Town on Monday night will tell you that Sunday was much, much better.

That first half was a performance we haven't seen from the side so far this season, at least in a defensive sense.

Bringing Alfie Mawson into the heart of the defence added some solidity, while having Calum Chambers in a defensive midfield partnership added more.

They looked compact and organised, while going forward they had chances to hurt Liverpool – especially with the goal that gets ruled out for offside.

If they score that, they go in 1-0 up and then who knows?

I think saying this performance wasn't enough is very harsh – Liverpool were never a team that was targeted for points but to play the way they did was encouraging and gives Jokanovic something to build on over the international break.

The international break.

Lots has been made of this two-week period between the loss at Liverpool and the crunch tie with Southampton at the Cottage, with a fair few I've spoken to saying this would be the best time to bring a new man in.

It's something that Schwarzer also picked up on in his post match comments, saying: "The positive is that there has been an improvement today but I don't think the improvement has been significant enough and I think that having the two week break leading up to the next game against Southampton at home, if you're going to make change now it's the ideal time to do it with the new manager coming in and implementing any changes he wants to make."

People say the break is a good time to get a new head coach in, but after Sunday's performance, where the players have clearly taken on board what Jokanovic said after Huddersfield, what would that do for a side looking to haul itself back to where they could be?

A new man brings in new ideas, yes, but if you're saying Jokanovic hasn't been able to find his best team having had the team for 12 games after being handed 12 new players, how will a new manager do it in a two-week period?

He can't, so now isn't the best time, and I don't think it can said that there ever will be.

This international break, the last before March, gives Jokanovic time to drill the players that will be left behind more ahead of the Southampton game, a game where continuity will give them the best chance of winning, not disruption.

Jokanovic has been panned for making too many changes, so having a new manager come in and make more is the perfect preparation for a must-win game against Southampton? No chance.

Unlike Schwarzer, I saw enough from the Liverpool game that tells me the players still want to work with Jokanovic and that there are positives there to build on.

More defensive cohesion is one - they frustrated a Liverpool side full of players like Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino and it took a lucky counter attack goal to get them in front.

It wasn't the most attacking performance we've seen from Fulham, but it showed they returned to basics at Motspur Park and that Jokanovic has put an emphasis on cutting out the sloppy mistakes and easy goals.

It's something that Jermaine Jenas agreed with, saying on Match of the Day 2: "I saw a 40 minute display, which was an organised display, that showed me they'd been working on a few things on the training ground that I think they can lean on, build on going into not only a huge fixture after the international break but future games as well."

Ryan Sessegnon and Aleksandar Mitrovic had chances, but the attacking side can be worked on after the defensive issues are erased - you don't lose matches if you don't concede goals.

In respect to Schwazer's comments on needing a change, if Fulham's new defenders are finally looking better together under Jokanovic, how would getting rid of him now and giving a new man a week or so to re-organise it ahead of Southampton produce anything better?

He went on to say: "You're running out of games. You've still got 26 games to go however if a manager comes in with a new way of playing that takes time to adjust to.

"It's all about whether the confidence is still there in the manager at the club - the hierachy, the people in charge making those decisions. I'd be surprised if they still think he's the right man."

This is where the recruitment should be called into question.

Can anyone, be it Jokanovic, Jose Mourinho or Sir Alex Ferguson, know what his best team and best system is when he's been given 12 new players over the summer, with nine of those in the space of a week before the season starts?

Absolutely not – it's an impossible task.

Jokanovic has gone a long way in the past 12 matches to start finding out who fits where and how people play, sacking him now and bringing someone else in just restarts the whole process.

"I'd be surprised if they still think he's the right man." is the line that gets me here from Schwarzer.

12 matches ago, having got them to the Premier League, he was the best thing to have happened to Fulham, playing good, attacking football with a settled squad.

It's the heirachy that have given him those 12 new players and expected him to come out with a fully formed team in months.

For me, if they don't think he's the right man any more, they're the ones who have signed his P45 with the signings they brought in for him in the summer.

If they didn't think then he was the right man, why spend £100m on new players for him, only to sack him 12 matches later?

In my view, the worst possible thing Fulham could do now is sack Jokanovic.

There's no easy way out of this, the team and management will have to fight tooth and nail for every single point and will have to learn how to get the best out of one another.

Bringing in a new head coach makes no promises that the team won't continue to struggle, but what it does confirm is that there will be even more upheaval, something they cannot afford at such a crucial point in the season.

And at the moment, the man that brings the most stability and the best chance of getting them out of this mess is Jovanovic.



https://www.football.london/fulham-fc/fulham-back-not-sack-jokanovic-15406105

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Solution to their defensive woes? Fulham would bag a massive coup by signing this three-time capped Dutch ace

Jairo Riedewald would be an ideal solution to Fulham's defensive woes

According to Football London, Crystal Palace defender Jairo Riedewald has emerged as a transfer target for Turkish giants Galatasaray who are looking to bolster their defensive options in January.

The 22-year-old Dutch international made his move from Ajax to Crystal Palace last season to reunite with his former Ajax manager Frank de Boer. He wasn't used as a regular last season but produced some impressive performances after Roy Hodgson took over as the new manager. Riedewald made only 12 appearances for the Eagles last term, eight of which came from the bench.

Riedewald, who has been capped by the Netherlands thrice, has found regular minutes hard to come by in the Premier League this term. Hodgson has preferred the centre-back pairing of James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho. His involvement this season has been limited to the Carabao Cup only, where he has made three appearances.

The former Ajax man is a tactically versatile centre-back who is also capable of playing as a central defensive midfielder due to his superior ball distribution ability. He has a good technique which allows him to run comfortably with the ball at his feet.

In fact, he averaged 60.2 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 92.4 back in the 2016/17 season when he was plying his trade for Ajax. A good accurate long passer, Riedewald averaged 4.5 successful long balls, which speaks volumes of his ability as a ball-playing centre-back.

He is also a good reader of the game and uses his anticipation to make crucial tackles and interceptions, averaging 1.1 tackles and 2.2 interceptions in the 2016-17 season. Standing at just over 6ft, Riedewald is not particularly tall for a centre-back and is not recognized for his aerial prowess but he makes up for it with his body strength and reflexes.

To put things into perspective, he would be a good addition to Fulham's squad. The Cottagers have struggled to make an impact in the Premier League this season, losing 9 out of their first 12 games.

Slavisa Jokanovic's men are in the bottom of the Premier League standings and are shipping goals at an alarming rate, having already conceded 31 with a goal difference of -20. Quite clearly, Fulham need a quality ball-playing centre-back to suit Jokanovic's philosophy of playing out from the back and Jairo Riedewald ticks all the boxes.

To be honest, Fulham have been far too exposed at the back in all the games this season. The manager has tried out different combinations in the heart of the defence but none has worked out so far. Tim Ream, Maxime Le Marchand, Alfie Mawson and Denis Odoi have all played in central defence but have failed to provide stability to the backline.

That said, Fulham should hijack Galatasaray's move for the Crystal Palace man as he might be the perfect solution to their defensive woes.



https://www.mediareferee.com/2018/11/13/solution-to-their-defensive-woes-fulham-would-bag-a-massive-coup-by-signing-this-three-time-capped-dutch-ace/

[WhiteJC]

 
Liverpool could launch double transfer raid on Fulham

Reds would do well to strengthen their squad with pair from the Cottagers

Fulham might be struggling at the bottom of the Premier League but a couple of their players really caught my eye on Sunday and I wouldn't mind Liverpool coming in with a bid for either of them.

They weren't the worst team that's come to Anfield this season by a long way.

They created three good chances and looked to have a bit of a go and on this showing I fail to see why they're bottom of the league.

Andy Robertson has been an absolute revelation since he came to Anfield and solved the long-standing left-back issue but I'd still like Liverpool to reignite their interest in Ryan Sessegnon who can play in that position but was being deployed further up the left flank against the Reds.

He's still only 18 but has almost played 100 senior games already.

I know a lot of clubs are interested in him but he can play at either full-back or in midfield and you can see he'll go far that lad.

I was also impressed with Aleksandar Mitrovic. He's the type of player you'd want coming off the bench, he's big, strong and scores goals.

He gives you something that little bit different and I like him as a squad player.

The way Liverpool play they could do with someone who provides a bit of diversity and a Plan B.

Maybe it's not Mitrovic himself, but I think they could really benefit from having someone like that, a target man who can bring others into the game.

For whatever reason, Dominic Solanke has just fallen away a little bit.

He can come again, he's still only a young lad, but we'll have to just wait and see.

Somewhere down the line I think Liverpool should be looking to strengthen in that department.



https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-could-launch-double-transfer-15408052

[WhiteJC]

 
Southampton Man Set potential For Fulham Return

Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand picked up his fifth yellow card of the 2018/19 Premier League campaign last Saturday during our unfortunate draw with Watford.

Our skipper has been an ever-present since taking the armband under manager Mark Hughes, but with five cards reached he will now miss the trip to Fulham's Craven Cottage as he serves an automatic one game ban.

That could open the door for youngster Matt Targett to finally get a fifth appearance on the pitch himself.

The 23-year-old Academy graduate last featured in the game against Everton at the beginning of October, and should he get the nod for this one, it would be fitting given his loan with Slavisa Jokanovic's side last season as they won promoted via the Play-Offs from the Championship into the Premier League.

With plenty of interest in him during the summer transfer window, fans were largely pleased to keep him with us so hopefully, he can make a point to Hughes and get a bit more regular game time now given how highly rated he is at the club.



https://southampton.vitalfootball.co.uk/southampton-man-set-potential-for-fulham-return/