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Thursday Fulham Stuff (15/11/18)...

Started by WhiteJC, November 15, 2018, 07:45:37 AM

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WhiteJC

 
'Up the Fulham' - Leicester City fans might have a new favourite second team after Claudio Ranieri appointment

The Premier League winner has a different task at Craven Cottage - and City fans want him to do well

Leicester City fans might have found themselves a new second team after Claudio Ranieri's appointment at Fulham today.

The former Foxes boss joins the struggling Cottagers, who are bottom of the Premier League, on a "multi-year deal".

However, City fans' goodwill won't extend to December 5, when Claude Puel's side travel to West London, and when Ranieri returns to the King Power in the away dugout on March 9.

Nevertheless, the overwhelming sentiment is clear from the Foxes faithful: they want Ranieri to be a success on the banks of the River Thames.

Jamie Austin: UP THE FULHAM! #ffc #lcfc

Phil: Good luck at Fulham Claudio

Jase Bayliss: Good luck to King Claudio. Not on Wednesday 5th obvs. Up The City

Colin Hall: Best wishes to Claudio as he tries to keep Fulham up.

As long as he can sort out the dodgy defence, they have enough quality players to survive with some comfort.

Wonder if he'll try to recruit some City cast-offs come January?

Mark Grimbo: Made up to see Ranieri back in the Premier League. Nothing but respect for that man.

Jake Smalley: Fulham to win the Premier League!

Tom Chalmers: A mixture of emotions this morning - Claudio Ranieri, deliverer of the greatest sporting experience of my lifetime, to manage Fulham. Great to have him back but not sure how I'll cope seeing him with someone else...

Cristi Bratu: Good luck Ranieri! Treat him well.

Simon Robert Eaton: Will an opposition managers name ever be sang as loudly as when the Don comes to the King Power?

Joe Diamond: Fulham away next month just got a bit tasty.

Oliver Samuals: Ranieri at Fulham, feels wrong.

Christian Hewgill: Claudio Ranieri back. As a Leicester fan I still feel very protective over him and I think my heart will hurt a little bit when I see him in the Premier League managing another club. That said, good luck Fulham. Hope you stay up.



https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/claudio-ranieri-leicester-city-fulham-2217988

WhiteJC

 
"Fulham Have More Intent Than Manchester United" Football Fans React As Claudio Ranieri Returns To The Premier League With Fulham

Football fans were stunned this morning as Fulham announced they had replaced the manager who had got them promoted to the Premier League, Slavisa Jokanovic, with the charismatic Claudio Ranieri.

Ranieri, of course, is most well-known for leading Leicester to the most surprising of Premier League title wins in 2016 but his most recent spell in football management was in France, with Nantes. Now he is back in the Premier League to some people's delight and other's bemusement.

FulhamJon on Twitter said: "Well we are either going to win the league or get relegated."

Meanwhile, a whole host of Fulham fans were gutted at the sacking of Jokanovic, a man who turned their club around and lead them to the Premier League via the play-offs last season.

AK said: "@Jokanovic you bought back happy, flowing football to @FulhamFC. You & your staff stuck with making Fulham an attractive team to watch & I for one loved it. You took us to

Wembley & got us to the BPL. Very sad to see you leave. All the best Slav. "

Patrick Dodds was not pleased: "No respect for the best manager we've had in near 10 years. Very poorly done."

Meanwhile, Adam Norton shared a similar sentiment and thanked Fulham's departed gaffer: "Whether you wanted him gone or not, Joka will go down in our record books. Did an excellent job getting us from relegation contenders to promotion favourites. We at Fulham, thank you for everything you've done @Jokanovic"

@RealistYahz on Twitter was full of praise about this appointment: "What a signing to be honest. Even Fulham have more intent than Manchester United"



https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/fulham-have-more-intent-than-manchester-united-football-fans-react-as-claudio-ranieri-returns-to-the-premier-league-with-fulham

WhiteJC

 
Steve Sidwell gives his immediate reaction to Fulham hiring Claudio Ranieri

Premier League bottom club Fulham surprisingly appointed former Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri as Slavisa Jokanovic's replacement on Wednesday.

Be honest, who saw this coming?

It was no secret that Slavisa Jokanovic was under pressure at Fulham after a dreadful start to the Premier League season that has seen them lose their last seven games, sitting bottom of the table with a bleak five points so far.

But there was no indication that he would be given the boot on Wednesday morning – or that Claudio Ranieri would be immediately appointed as Jokanovic's successor.

Two years after leading Leicester City to the Premier League title in stunning fashion, the 67-year-old is back in English football, though saving this Fulham side from an immediate return to the Championship represents a very different task.

But speaking to Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT (14 November, 9.30am), former Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell is already backing Ranieri to keep The Cottagers up – and believes he is the right man to solve their much-publicised defensive problems.

"There's no way Fulham will want to go back down. I still speak at people at Fulham and they conceded far too many goals, they're obviously very naïve and it happened many, many times," Sidwell said.

"There's a few tweaks that could've happened (under Jokanovic). With Leicester, (Ranieri) was keeping clean sheets.

"I'd have to say yes (Ranieri will keep Fulham up). They've got all the ingredients to do it, they just need to fine tune a few things, in particular the defensive unit straight away."

Leicester conceded just 36 goals during their unforgettable 2015/16 season under the veteran tactician, just seven more than Fulham have let in during the opening 12 games of the current campaign.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/11/14/do-steve-sidwell-gives-his-immediate-reaction-to-fulham-hiring-c/


WhiteJC

 
Ranieri set to take on some familiar faces

After Southampton match, new Fulham manager to face previous two PL teams he has managed

Claudio Ranieri will be facing familiar opponents soon after his appointment as the new manager of Fulham.

His first match is at home to Southampton, against whom a victory would pull Fulham level with their opponents on eight points.

Ranieri's next two opponents are teams he has managed in the Premier League.

Fulham's next eight matches

Date     Opp     Date     Opp
24 Nov     SOU (H)     15 Dec     WHU (H)
02 Dec     CHE (A)     22 Dec    NEW (A)
05 Dec     LEI (H)     26 Dec     WOL (H)
08 Dec     MUN (A)     29 Dec     HUD (H)

Fulham make their shortest away trip of the season on 2 December to Stamford Bridge, where Ranieri was manager of Chelsea for three years, leading them into the UEFA Champions League in his final season, 2003/04.

Then, three days later, Fulham welcome Ranieri's most recent club and the one where he achieved his greatest success, Leicester City.

The season after Leicester had escaped relegation with a late-season surge Ranieri came in and led the Foxes to an improbable title success in 2015/16.

Ranieri was at King Power Stadium last weekend for the tributes to the late Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and the four others who died in the recent helicopter crash.

After the Leicester match, Fulham face a tough trip to Manchester United but their four matches thereafter are all against teams in the bottom half of the table.



https://www.premierleague.com/news/911841

WhiteJC

 
Festive Football

18/19 Members can now purchase four tickets each to Fulham's home Premier League matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Huddersfield Town.

Adult Members can also take advantage of their exclusive £5 ticket discount to both these matches, with a £3 ticket discount available for concessions.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

The Whites will be spending Boxing Day in SW6 for the first time in six years when we welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Craven Cottage on Wednesday 26th December, kick-off 12:30pm.

The boys will be looking to repeat last season's win over Wolves when we ran out 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Ryan Sessegnon and Aleksandar Mitrović.

Huddersfield Town

Three days later we return to Craven Cottage when we take on Huddersfield Town on Saturday 29th December, kick-off 3pm.

In what will be the Whites' last game of the calendar year, kick-start your New Years celebrations and enjoy Premier League action in SW6.

Priced from £30 adults and £20 juniors, tickets to both fixtures are available online at fulhamfc.com/tickets, by phone on 0203 871 0810 or in person from the Fulham Ticket Office.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2018/november/14/festive-football

WhiteJC

 
The full story behind Slavisa Jokanovic's sacking at Fulham

Fulham news includes a look at the story behind Jokanovic's sacking at Craven Cottage

Slavisa Jokanovic was only told this morning over the phone that he had been relieved of his duties at Fulham.

Shahid Khan announced on Wednesday that Claudio Ranieri would be taking over the reins at Craven Cottage, signing a multi-year deal with Fulham after holding talks with both Khan and Tony Khan over the past week.

It comes with the side rock-bottom of the Premier League and winless in seven games, although Fulham's performance at Liverpool in the 2-0 defeat was far more encouraging than what we've seen in recent weeks.

Just over two weeks ago Khan publicly backed Jokanovic before the AFC Bournemouth match, where he slammed the 'sensational and fictional' headlines that stated he would be sacked if he lost to both the Cherries and Huddersfield Town.

However, Fulham's statement revealed that Khan had spoken with a number of candidates over the manager's role during the past week, despite Jokanovic still being head coach and unaware that his time at Craven Cottage was at an end.

That in itself is unusual for a club to openly admit, but only on Monday, in a monthly meeting with the Fulham Supporters' Trust, Chief Executive Alistair Mackintosh told those present that the club remained supportive of Jokanovic and wanted him to be successful at Fulham.

He also stated that it was down to his coaching methods and leadership that the club were promoted to the Premier League and that they wanted him to be the man to steer them through this difficult run of form.

Going forward from here, Khan confirmed in his statement that Khan jnr will continue to oversee player recruitment and contract renewals and will work close with Ranieri on both fronts.

Fulham face Southampton at Craven Cottage after the international break in what is a crucial tie for both clubs, with a win for the Cottagers taking them level on points with the Saints.



https://www.football.london/fulham-fc/full-story-behind-slavisa-jokanovics-15414170


WhiteJC

 
Arsene Wenger rejected Fulham before Claudio Ranieri appointment

The Frenchman decided to turn down the Premier League strugglers as they looked to replace Slavisa Jovanovic

Arsene Wenger turned down a sensational return to management with Fulham before Claudio Ranieri was appointed.

As we predicted last month, the Premier League's bottom side finally axed Slavisa Jokanovic on Wednesday after the Serb lost the confidence of the Craven Cottage board.

Following defeats to Bournemouth and Huddersfield, Fulham sounded out former Arsenal boss Wenger with the promise of substantial funds to further strengthen the side in January.

But he stuck to his insistence he won't take another top flight job in England out of respect to the Gunners, where he was in charge for 22 years until this summer.

Fulham instead turned to Ranieri to replace Jokanovic and Mirror Sport understands the 67-year-old will get a huge January war chest to strengthen an ailing squad.

Arsene Wenger turned down a sensational return to management with Fulham before Claudio Ranieri was appointed.

As we predicted last month, the Premier League's bottom side finally axed Slavisa Jokanovic on Wednesday after the Serb lost the confidence of the Craven Cottage board.

Following defeats to Bournemouth and Huddersfield, Fulham sounded out former Arsenal boss Wenger with the promise of substantial funds to further strengthen the side in January.

But he stuck to his insistence he won't take another top flight job in England out of respect to the Gunners, where he was in charge for 22 years until this summer.

Fulham instead turned to Ranieri to replace Jokanovic and Mirror Sport understands the 67-year-old will get a huge January war chest to strengthen an ailing squad.

The Italian, who oversaw Leicester's 5,000-1 Premier League title miracle in 2016 but was fired less than a year later, said: "The objective at Fulham should never be to merely survive in the Premier League. We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed. This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is contrary to its position in the table.

"I know this team is very capable of better performances, which we will work on straight away as we prepare for Southampton at the Cottage.

"It is an honour to accept Mr. Khan's invitation and opportunity to lead Fulham, a fantastic club with tradition and history."

Owner Shahid Khan admitted holding talks with Ranieri behind Jokanovic's back.

The US businessman said: "Making a change without having the right answer or succession plan was not an option, so having someone of Claudio's calibre ready to accept our challenge was comforting but, most of all, essential."

Fulham, who went on a £100million spending spree after winning promotion in the summer, want to sign two defenders and are also seeking more firepower after managing just 11 Premier League goals in the 12 games so far this season.

The west Londoners had been ready to give such backing to Wenger in the hope that his capture would have convinced quality players to join their fight for survival.

Khan and son Tony are close to Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke through NFL circles — Khan also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kroenke the Los Angeles Rams.

Wenger is waiting for a big European job.

He insists he will return to work in January and is surprised he has yet to receive an offer from one of the European powerhouses.

The 69-year-old has turned down interest from China as he wants to be a day-to-day manager in Europe rather than take a director of football role.

The Frenchman has been linked with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and would be keen on another huge challenge.



https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsene-wenger-rejected-fulham-before-13588051

WhiteJC

 
Chelsea and Fulham youngsters shine in England Under-19 win

Chelsea's Conor Gallagher and Fulham's Steven Sessegnon scored as England's Under-19s began their European Championship qualifying campaign with a 4-0 win against Moldova.

Gallagher (pictured) put England ahead in the first half and they added three more goals after the break, with Bukayo Saka of Arsenal and Danny Loader of Reading also scoring.

Gallagher was one of six Chelsea academy products to feature in the game, which was played in Turkey.

Fellow Blues youngsters Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tariq Lamptey, George McEachran and Marc Guehi also played.

So too did Jonathan Panzo, who moved to Monaco from Chelsea during the summer.



https://www.westlondonsport.com/chelsea/hudson-odoi-conor-gallagher-england-u19

WhiteJC


Slavisa Jokanovic was Claudio Ranieri's first Chelsea signing ... now he has been replaced by him as Fulham boss

Claudio Ranieri has replaced the sacked Slavisa Jokanovic at Fulham, but this is not the first time the pair have impacted each other's careers.

When Ranieri was appointed as Chelsea manager in 2000, he immediately set about bolstering his squad with fresh talent.

Having spent the previous three seasons managing in Spain, with Valencia and then Atletico Madrid, Ranieri looked to La Liga for this first signing: a 32-year-old Slavisa Jokanovic from Deportivo for £1.7 million.

Jokanovic was brought in on a two-year contract to fill the void left in central midfield after Roberto Di Matteo suffered a broken leg.

The Serbian went on to make over 50 appearances for Chelsea but was far from a fan favourite. So much so that, upon his release at the end of his contract, the Chelsea website wrote: "He wasn't the most popular player with the fans but his input was always appreciated by the staff and players."

As the Evening Standard reported at the time: "The 33-year-old was notoriously unpopular with Chelsea fans and was regularly barracked whenever he came on the field, most notably as a substitute during the club's FA Cup semi-final against Fulham in April."

Jokanovic apologised to Chelsea supporters for his performances after being released on a free.

He said: "I know that in some games the supporters weren't very happy with me, but every time I pulled on the Chelsea shirt I tried to do well.

"That was all I could do and I know if I look myself in the mirror I can say I always tried my best.

"I understand that sometimes that wasn't good enough for the supporters and for that I'm sorry, but I always tried. It's true I was a regular and played a lot of games last season, but I know I played well in some matches and not so well in others.

"I was too inconsistent. The fans must know I tried to play well every time I played."



https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/slavisa-jokanovic-was-claudio-ranieri-s-first-chelsea-signing-now-he-has-been-replaced-by-him-as-a3989811.html


WhiteJC

 
Khan fires Fulham coach, hires former Leicester City boss

Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired the head coach of his other club, Fulham, with the London-based team mired in last place in England's Premier League.

Shad Khan has dropped the axe on his latest coach hire on the other side of the Atlantic, but Doug Marrone doesn't need to worry just yet.

The Jaguars' owner fired Slavisa Jokanovic, manager of Khan's Premier League club Fulham, on Wednesday morning with Fulham in last place in England's top flight.

Khan has appointed Claudio Ranieri, the Italian who guided Leicester City to an improbable Premier League trophy in 2015-16, as Fulham's new manager.

Jokanovic, a 50-year-old from Serbia, is the fifth manager dismissed since Khan purchased Fulham in July 2013, following Martin Jol, Rene Meulensteen, Felix Magath and Kit Symons.

In a statement issued by the club, Khan said, "I wasn't anticipating having to make this announcement related to Slavisa and wish the circumstances were such that I didn't have to, but our path this season has led me to make what I know is the correct decision, at the right time, for our players, the Club and our supporters. Slavisa will always have my appreciation and respect for everything he did to return Fulham to top-flight football."

The firing marks the latest bump in a dual-continent disappointment for the Jaguars' owner, whose son Tony serves as Fulham's vice chairman and director of football operations.

Much like the Jaguars, Fulham has watched a once-promising season collapse into disarray. The club entered the season with high hopes after earning promotion in May, but after 12 games, Fulham languishes in 20th and last place with five points (one win, two draws and nine losses), in severe danger of being relegated in its first year back in the top tier.

Fulham has lost its last seven matches, six in the Premier League and one in England's League Cup, by a combined score of 20-3.

Khan is banking on a turnaround under Ranieri, who directed one of the most memorable underdog stories in professional soccer.

The 67-year-old led Leicester City from the brink of relegation to the English title in 2016, a near worst-to-first story that made world headlines. However, his following season brought the return of struggle, and he was dismissed in February 2017 with Leicester once more under relegation threat. His most recent job, at French club FC Nantes, ended in May.

Ranieri has managed more than 15 clubs during his career, including Fulham's West London neighbor and rival Chelsea from 2000 to 2004. In a coincidental twist, Jokanovic played 39 games under Ranieri as Chelsea's anchor of the midfield during that stint.



https://www.jacksonville.com/sports/20181114/khan-fires-fulham-coach-hires-former-leicester-city-boss

WhiteJC

 
Claudio Ranieri sets sights high after replacing Slavisa Jokanovic at Fulham

Claudio Ranieri has his sights set higher than mere Premier League survival following his return to management at Fulham.

Fulham chairman Shahid Khan announced via a statement on the club's website on Wednesday morning that Slavisa Jokanovic had been sacked and replaced by Ranieri, who memorably led Leicester to the title in 2016.

Ranieri has been given a "multi-year" contract as Fulham hope a change of manager will lift them off the bottom of the table, after Jokanovic managed just five points from 12 Premier League matches.

It is a disappointing return for a club who were among the Premier League's highest spenders in the summer, shelling out approximately £100million to bolster their squad following promotion from the Championship via the play-offs.

Jean Michael Seri, previously linked with Barcelona, was among the eye-catching arrivals, while World Cup winner Andre Schurrle also signed, as well as Aleksandar Mitrovic and Alfie Mawson.

Ranieri believes there is "exceptional talent" in the Fulham squad and he is already looking up the table ahead of what will be his first game in charge against fellow strugglers Southampton at Craven Cottage on November 24.

"It is an honour to accept Mr Khan's invitation and opportunity to lead Fulham, a fantastic club with tradition and history," said Ranieri, who has had a spell in charge of French Ligue 1 side Nantes since leaving Leicester in February 2017.

"The objective at Fulham should never be to merely survive in the Premier League. We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed.

"This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is contrary to its position in the table. I know this team is very capable of better performances, which we will work on straight away as we prepare for Southampton at the Cottage."



https://www.itv.com/news/london/2018-11-14/claudio-ranieri-sets-sights-high-after-replacing-slavisa-jokanovic-at-fulham/

WhiteJC


Slavisa Jokanovic made Fulham great again - his impact will be felt for years to come

Fulham reporter Ryan O'Donovan has taken a look back at Jokanovic's time at Fulham and why he will always be remembered

Slavisa Jokanovic's time at Fulham should not be remembered by the past three weeks, but rather by the almost three years that saw him transfer the club into the Barcelona of the Championship.

Before the Serbian arrived at Craven Cottage, the outlook was bleak and the club was facing the real possibility of relegation to the third tier of English football after a fall from grace in the Premier League.

The Europa League cup run and top ten finishes were but a distant memory, with the shadow of Felix Magath more prominent as the club slipped further and further down the table.

But on December 27 2015, that all changed as Shahid Khan announced the appointment of Jokanovic after a lengthy search for their new head coach.

He kept them up that season, and that's when the real magic began to happen.

The next campaign saw Fulham finish in the play-offs, playing attractive, attacking football that fans could only have dreamed of seeing the season before.

And while the season ultimately ended in defeat in the play-offs to Reading, hope had been restored to SW6 that the Premier League wasn't a distant memory, but something to aspire to again with Jokanovic at the helm.

However, 2017/18 started poorly, and by November the side were 17th in the Championship with promotion looking unlikely and there were calls for Jokanovic to leave.

But from December onwards, Jokanovic and Fulham would give fans one of their best memories of supporting the club, going on a 23-game unbeaten run where the club rocked up at any and every ground with the outlook that they were going to win, and win with style.

Wolves, who are doing so well in the Premier League this season, came to the Cottage and were sent back to the Midlands with their tails between their legs as Fulham's charge to promotion continued to gain momentum.

And then came Wembley - day that fans will remember forever as Jokanovic guided Fulham back to the Premier League.

For me, Jokanovic will forever be remembered at Craven Cottage for the man that brought hope back to the club, imprinting that in a classy football side that feared no one.

He wasn't without his faults - he had a tenancy to make some strange decisions with his starting line ups while his outbursts in press conferences over transfer policies will only have strained the relationship between him and the hierarchy at Fulham.

His inability to find a defence and adapt his tactics, for the most part this season, also contributed to his eventual sacking, but for me Jokanovic was always going to be fall guy for a summer experiment that, at the moment, sees Fulham bottom of the table.

To expect him to be able to find a team that was able to fire on all cylinders and hold their own in the Premier League, the most competitive league in the world, after a summer that saw 12 new faces come in, with the majority of those late in the window, was always an expectation that was too high.

It was a thankless task to try and develop such a new team into one that could compete in the top flight, and Jokanovic would always be the fall guy were it to fail.

He deserved his shot at the Premier League, and while we didn't see the football that we had grown so used to seeing in the past few seasons, it's not those games that he should be remembered by.

It's the attacking full backs, Tom Cairney's role in midfield cutting teams apart and Aleksandar Mitrovic's 12 goals in 16 games that fans should look back on and remember from Jokanovic's time at Fulham.

It's the 23-game unbeaten run, Ryan Sessegnon's 16-goal season and the scenes on the hallowed Wembley turf in May.

It's seeing Fulham lift a trophy at the national stadium.

And let's not forget the impact the Serbian has had on youth at the club.

He wasn't afraid to blood young talent in his side, from Sessegnon's debut at 16 at Leyton Orient to Harvey Elliott becoming the youngest ever player to play for the side - Jokanovic's impact on the club will be felt for years to come.

Jokanovic came to Fulham at a time when there was a feeling of doom and gloom around the club, but three and a bit years later than has been eradicated and replaced with one of identity through the football he had the club playing.

It's clear from social media and from speaking to fans that his sacking, whether they think it was right or wrong, has left a huge hole in the fabric of Fulham.

That will take time to fill - Claudio Ranieri, with his charisma and quirky anecdotes has the ability to do that, but the feeling of togetherness that Jokanovic got the club feeling, especially last season, will never be replaced.

It didn't end how everyone hoped, but Jokanovic's name will forever be remembered by Fulham for what he did for the club in turning it around and giving them a sense of identity again.



https://www.football.london/fulham-fc/slavisa-jokanovic-made-fulham-great-15414424


WhiteJC

 
Fix the shambolic defence, choose a keeper and get maverick Aleksandar Mitrovic firing again: What Claudio Ranieri must do to keep Fulham up

    Claudio Ranieri has replaced Slavisa Jokanovic as Fulham manager
    The Italian has been tasked with avoiding relegation from the Premier League
    To succeed, Ranieri must start by fixing the large problems at Craven Cottage
    They include sorting out the league's worst defence and picking his No 1 keeper

Having climbed to the very top with Leicester, Claudio Ranieri will return at the bottom of the Premier League with Fulham.

The challenge is clear: rescue the season and save the club from relegation without completely abandoning the popular attacking principles embedded by Slavisa Jokanovic during their promotion campaign.

Then, next season, improve.

At 67, Ranieri will need all of his experience to pull this off and he will need to start at the back.


Claudio Ranieri has replaced Slavisa Jokanovic as Fulham try to stay in the Premier League

Sort the worst defence in the Premier League out
Fulham have been brutally exposed in defence.

In the Championship they were able to overpower teams especially when they added the aerial presence of Aleksandar Mitrovic to the pace and skill of Ryan Sessesgnon and the midfield vision of Tom Cairney.

In the Premier League, stronger teams have found it easier to keep them out and punish them on the break. It is a ruthless league.

In their first 12 games, Fulham have conceded 31 goals and have a goal difference of minus 20, which will prove problematic in what is shaping up to be a tight relegation contest.

Jokanovic, it was said, devoted much of his time on the training pitch to work on tactics and possession. Ranieri is sure to start by focusing more acutely on ways to tighten up and stop conceding goals.

Decide on his first-choice keeper and stick with him
Fulham signed two new keepers in the summer and with Marcus Bettinelli also at the club they don't seem to know which one is the best. Fabri started the season but has not appeared since August.

Goalkeeping coach Sambede Carreira, who was thought to have recommended signing Fabri from Besiktas for £5million, left soon afterwards.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6388667/Fix-shambolic-defence-Mitrovic-firing-Ranieri-Fulham-up.html

WhiteJC


Claudio Ranieri at Fulham: Cottagers hope Italian can reinvent spirit

Claudio Ranieri is always a welcome presence in the Premier League - with even neutrals warming to the dignity, class and gentle humour of the man who was sacked after taking Chelsea to the Champions League semi-final before producing one of the greatest feats of management in sporting history at Leicester City.

The 67-year-old Italian replaces Slavisa Jokanovic as manager of bottom club Fulham, a little over two years after masterminding arguably the biggest surprise in British sport at the King Power Stadium in 2015-16.

His popularity sometimes overshadows the years of experience Ranieri has gathered in the game at elite locations such as Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Juventus, Inter Milan and Monaco.

It is this experience Fulham owner Shahid Khan is calling on when he describes Ranieri as "risk-free and ready-made" for Fulham and the Premier League. He will enjoy his new manager's popularity but he will also want his pragmatism and expertise to get results.

Ranieri's warm personality will lift some of the clouds over Fulham in an instant and they will also garner support among neutrals purely because of the Italian's presence.

Yes, it did go wrong in the final months at Leicester City but his methods were still enough to take an unheralded squad to unimaginable heights in the previous season.

And they were not always conventional.

Who can forget Ranieri's imaginary "dilly-ding dilly-dong" bell he claimed to use when players were not paying attention - even giving his players a small bell as a light-hearted Christmas present?

Earlier in that glorious campaign Ranieri complained about a lack of clean sheets, promising his players a pizza as a reward. He duly delivered with a trip for his squad to a local pizzeria after his demand was fulfilled.

Ranieri's man-management also fostered the sort of spirit Khan hopes he can reinvent at Fulham.

Leicester City's players asked for a break if they got nine points from three tough games in February 2016. A last-minute loss at Arsenal meant they only got six - but Ranieri gave them their holiday anyway.

And to show his human side, he spent the day Leicester City clinched the title - when Spurs only drew with Chelsea - in Rome celebrating his mother's 96th birthday.

When his arrival at Leicester was questioned he said: "I like to travel. I like to discover new places. I am like Christopher Columbus."

But will charm and affability be enough for what he will he discover at Craven Cottage?

Can popular Ranieri get tough?
There is no doubt that Ranieri's charisma will be crucial in lifting spirits at a club that started the season high on optimism before plummeting to the foot of the table, despite spending £100m in the summer following promotion from the Championship.

And Khan will be hoping he gets the Ranieri who inspired Leicester City to the Premier League on a tidal wave of momentum that saw his 'Tinkerman' reputation ditched in favour of continuity - although this Fulham side will certainly need some tweaking to achieve its potential.

Khan will not want the second-season scenario at Leicester, where Ranieri's glory boys quickly went off the rails and the manager lost his sure touch to such an extent that he was sacked only nine months after his greatest moment, with the Foxes one point off the relegation zone.

Ranieri also left amid suggestions of discontent among the players and his own backroom staff. It was certainly not a happy ending to that mercurial management tenure.

Khan, then, will want a manager with fire in his belly and a determination to end his Premier League story on a high after the disappointing end to his short time at Leicester, although the love he still inspires at the King Power was illustrated when he was back recently to pay tribute to owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha following his death in a helicopter crash.

What are Ranieri's biggest priorities?
Ranieri will walk into Fulham's secluded Surrey training ground and Craven Cottage to find plenty of sympathy for Jokanovic, who was actually his first signing as Chelsea manager.

Jokanovic took Fulham into the Premier League playing attractive attacking football and Tom Greatrex, chairman of the club's Supporters' Trust, said in a glowing testimonial: "He will always go down as one of the great Fulham managers."

Indeed, it was only two weeks ago that owner Khan delivered combative support for Jokanovic in his programme notes for the home game with Bournemouth in response to stories he was facing the sack, writing: "I'm in equal parts amused, astonished and disappointed. I ask you not to believe everything you read. Or, in this case, don't believe anything you read."

The subsequent 3-0 loss to the Cherries, a damaging 1-0 reverse at fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town and Sunday's defeat at Liverpool meant things changed quickly - as Ranieri knows they can after his own sacking at Leicester.

Now he must use his well-honed brand of charm and personal magnetism to not only lift a team short on confidence and low on morale, but also apply a fix to serious flaws in a Fulham side that was expected to live comfortably in the Premier League.

Fulham spent big in the summer to confirm the loan signing of Aleksdandar Mitrovic from Newcastle United for £20m and bring in the likes of Jean Michael Seri from Nice for £25m, Marseille midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for £22.3m and Germany World Cup winner Andre Schurrle on loan from Borussia Dortmund, as well as Swansea City defender Alfie Mawson for a deal that could eventually be worth £20m.

There have been questions about how many of these deals were at Jokanovic's request but only Mitrovic has been a real success and the result has been an imbalanced, uninspired side that has lost its best attacking qualities and has also conceded more goals than anyone else in the Premier League - 31 - and has the worst goal difference at minus 20.

Curing that defensive flaw will be his biggest challenge but he has proved he can do it before - while also getting those big-money buys to justify those lavish price tags.

Ranieri will arrive at Fulham on a tide of goodwill, despite replacing the much-admired Jokanovic, but Fulham's situation is so serious he may not be able to use the light touch immediately as one of management's most enduring and popular characters gets back to business.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46209650

WhiteJC

 
Ranieri's Leicester blueprint will help Fulham tighten up and climb the table

Early on in Leicester's now legendary 2015/16 season, Claudio Ranieri's side struggled badly defensively and only kept their first clean sheet on 25 October 2015.

The Foxes conceded 17 goals in their opening ten matches before Ranieri settled on a more defensively minded pair of full-backs in Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs and created a much sturdier back four.

We all know how the rest of the season panned out once that solid bedrock was established and now Ranieri takes over a Fulham side which is leaking goals at an alarming rate.

The malaise is deeper, but Ranieri has shown his ability to tighten up a defence in a side that was struggling and that will stand him in very good stead at Craven Cottage.

The Italian will arguably working with a more talented array of raw materials than the defence he inherited at Leicester, but the key is deciding on a formula and sticking to it.

Slavisa Jokanovic's problem was almost that he had too many options. He would choose a back four for a game and after they failed to keep the goals out, he had expensively recruited options knocking on his door asking to be put in for the next game and the chopping and changing ultimately cost him his job.

If Ranieri follows his Leicester blueprint, he should not make similar mistakes.



https://tbrfootball.com/ranieris-leicester-blueprint-will-help-fulham-tighten-up-and-climb-the-table/


WhiteJC


Claudio Ranieri's managerial career in numbers

Claudio Ranieri has taken over as Fulham manager, replacing the sacked Slavisa Jokanovic.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at the Leicester title-winner's managerial career in numbers.

17 – teams managed by Ranieri – Fulham are his 16th club, in four different countries and with two spells at Valencia, while he also briefly managed the Greece national team.

209 – Premier League matches as a manager for Ranieri in six seasons with Chelsea and Leicester, winning almost half of them (104). He has over 1,000 games as a manager across his career.

5,000-1 – Leicester's title odds in 2015-16 when Ranieri led them to glory. Fulham are currently available at the same odds with several bookmakers to claim the crown this season.

10 – their winning margin in points as they lost only three games all season – home and away to runners-up Arsenal, and against Liverpool at Anfield.

10 – Ranieri is one of only 10 managers to win the league title in the Premier League era. Only Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho have more than one title.

297 – days between Leicester winning the league and Ranieri being sacked following a terrible start to the 2016-17 season.

4 – his reign with Greece lasted just four matches, before a defeat to the Faroe Islands saw him sacked.

39 – all of Jokanovic's Premier League appearances came under Ranieri's management at Chelsea, having been the Italian's first signing for the club.



https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/fulham/news/claudio-ranieris-managerial-career-in-numbers_341550.html

WhiteJC

 
This is when Claudio Ranieri will return to the King Power Stadium with Fulham

The former Leicester City boss has a new job - and it's sure to be an emotional reunion with his old side

The news that Claudio Ranieri is returning to the Premier League with Fulham has evoked some strong memories among the Leicester City fanbase.

Ranieri has joined the Cottagers on a "multi-year-deal" - his first return to English football since departing the King Power Stadium last year having steered City to an improbable Premier League title.

The Italian returned to the King Power for his first game on Saturday as the club paid tribute to chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha following his death in a tragic helicopter accident at the end of last month.

But he will head back to Leicester as a manager of a club for the first time on March 9 - and it's sure to be another emotional afternoon at the home of the Foxes.

If you can't wait until then and want to serenade Ranieri with thanks, you can do so when the Foxes head down to West London on December 5 (7.45pm).



https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/claudio-ranieri-fulham-leicester-city-2218632

WhiteJC

 
Slavisa Jokanovic's Fulham sacking is still a surprise... he did an incredible job

Nobody should forget the incredible job that Slavisa Jokanovic did at Craven Cottage.

When he took over in December 2015, he inherited a listless, directionless squad and the fanbase were extremely restless. There was disruption behind the scenes, which he handled with quiet determination and dignity.

From that, he built a team who played some of the best football the Championship has ever seen and gave Fulham fans one of the greatest days in memory earlier this year — the Play-off Final victory over Aston Villa at Wembley in May. Members of the Supporters' Trust met Alistair Mackintosh, the club's chief executive, earlier this week.

While we were aware of the speculation about Jokanovic's future that had followed the run of poor results, there was little sense from that meeting that he was about to lose his job.

So today's news has come as a bit of a surprise.

Claudio Ranieri has a big job to do to try to keep Fulham in the Premier League. He was a likeable, popular manager of Leicester, who led them to the Premier League title and was surely sacked too soon the season after he achieved that.

This is a good chance for him to demonstrate that he is still a top-level manager, so I hope he can show he is and that we can survive in the Premier League this year. Yes, it is a gamble, as he has not worked in English football since his sacking in 2017 but he has shown he is adept at assessing a squad and building a competitive team.

We have some good players at Fulham but they just haven't managed to gel this season. That is Ranieri's first  challenge.

Whatever happens, though, we should all be grateful to Jovanovic.



https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/slavisa-jokanovics-fulham-sacking-is-still-a-surprise-he-did-an-incredible-job-a3990006.html


WhiteJC

 
Fulham star Ryan Sessegnon issues heartfelt message to sacked boss Jokanovic

Ryan Sessegnon has issued a heartfelt message to Slavisa Jokanovic after Fulham sacked the Serbian boss on Wednesday.

Jokanovic, 50, took over the Cottagers when in December 2015 and saw them reach the play-offs in consecutive seasons between 2016-18, winning promotion last season.

His time at the club coincided with the development of wonderkid Sessegnon, who notched 16 goals and eight assists in the league last season.

Indeed, the U19 European Championship winner set up the lone goal in last season's play-off final to see Fulham promoted.

And after the Whites announced Jokanovic had been replaced by Claudio Ranieri, the 18-year-old forward took to Twitter to say thanks.

"Thank you for everything gaffer," he wrote in a post.

"You believed in me and gave me an opportunity. You changed the club around and made our fans smile again and for that you'll always be remembered.

"All the best for the future."

Jokanovic took the Craven Cottage helm after a destabilising period for the west London club, which saw Felix Magath and Kit Symons ultimately try and fail to see them bounce back from relegation.

After a search which lasted more than a month for Symons' replacement, Jokanovic was appointed as head coach.

As well as Sessegnon's emergence as a future England star, the former Chelsea man also saw Aleksandar Mitrovic rediscover his best form for club and country.

But the Whites, without a win since August, decided to part with his services after a 2-0 defeat at Anfield which succeeded defeats to Bournemouth and Huddersfield.



https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/fulham-star-ryan-sessegnon-issues-heartfelt-message-sacked-boss-jokanovic-133544852.html

WhiteJC

 
A tale of two seasons – where it went wrong for Jokanovic and Fulham

Fulham have now turned to Claudio Ranieri

Fulham's dismal start to the season has cost Slavisa Jokanovic his job, with Claudio Ranieri taking over as manager.

It comes after Jokanovic led the Cottagers to promotion from the Championship and here, Press Association contrasts their record last term with this.

– Fulham have already lost more league games this season than last. They have nine defeats in 12 games since returning to the top flight, compared to eight in 46 in the Championship (though they also lost their play-off semi-final first leg 1-0 to Derby).

– They have yet to keep a clean sheet this season, conceding more than two and a half goals per game on average (31 in 12 games). Last season they conceded an average of one goal per game, the joint-sixth best record in the Championship, with 15 clean sheets and two more in the play-offs.

– Even at the other end of the field, Fulham have struggled with just 11 goals scored – less than one per game, down from an average of 1.72 last season (79 in 46 games).

– Last season's promotion push was built on a 23-match unbeaten run – 18 wins and five draws – between December 23 and their penultimate game on April 27 against Sunderland. A closing defeat at Birmingham dropped them into the play-offs.

– This season, they have only once put together back-to-back games without defeat – beating Burnley and then drawing with Brighton in their third and fourth games. Jokanovic's sacking comes on the back of six straight defeats.

– Jokanovic has twice left clubs after gaining promotion to the Premier League. He took Watford up in 2015 but was replaced after failing to agree a new contract.



http://sport.bt.com/news/a-tale-of-two-seasons-where-it-went-wrong-for-jokanovic-and-fulham-S11364310307374