Sunday Fulham Stuff (17/02/19)...

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Goal of the Month Result

Jay Coleman's stunning long ranger has been voted as our Goal of the Month for January, in association with ICM Capital.

When a ball was played in front of her 30 yards out, the midfielder had no hesitations in letting fly first time, crashing in a thunderous effort with the outside of her boot which curled majestically into the top left corner.

It was a finish which summed up a marvellous 90 minutes' work for Fulham FC Women, as they ended the day with a 6-1 victory over Aylesford Ladies in their first fixture of the calendar year.

André Schürrle won the official Premier League Goal of the Month award, but his sweet effort at Burnley couldn't compete with Coleman, who claimed more than half (54 per cent) of the votes.

Schürrle came in second with 29.1 per cent, ahead of Calum Chambers who garnered 13.3 per cent for his crucial volley at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2019/february/16/goal-of-the-month-result

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Barnsley 2-1 Wycombe: Cauley Woodrow brace for Tykes
The Tykes strengthen their grip on second spot in League One

Cauley Woodrow scored both goals as Barnsley strengthened their grip on second spot in League One with a 2-1 win against Wycombe.

Barnsley's Daniel Pinillos saw his low shot deflected wide before the hosts took the lead.

The goal came from a 13th-minute penalty, Woodrow scoring from the spot after Luke Bolton was penalised for his foul on Mike Bahre.

Pinillos' deflected long-range effort was then palmed wide by Ryan Allsop.

Wycombe went close to equalising when Nick Freeman's shot forced a good save from Adam Davies.

At the other end, Alex Mowatt wasted a good chance just before the break when he shot straight at Allsop from close range.

Ryan Hedges and Jacob Brown then combined to set up a second goal for Woodrow, who fired into the roof of the net after 64 minutes.

Woodrow went close to a hat-trick with a header which was tipped over by Allsop.

Wycombe had skipper Adam El-Abd sent off deep into stoppage time following an off-the-ball clash with Cameron McGeehan.

Joe Jacobson scored a consolation penalty at the death for the 10 men after Ethan Pinnock fouled Scott Kashket, but Barnsley had already done enough.



https://www.skysports.com/football/barnsley-vs-wycombe/393479

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Why Fulham should have somehow signed this solid Englishman in January – would have solved a key problem

Fulham Opinion: Cottagers wanted Clyne in January – a bad miss?

Fulham spent heavily in the summer transfer window but now find themselves in a serious relegation scrap. They are 19th on the table, eight points adrift of safety and are looking very likely to play Championship football next season.

Claudio Ranieri has lifted the spirits in the players after replacing Slavisa Jokanovic but it's not proving enough. Despite bolstering the squad in January by bringing in the likes of Ryan Babel, Lazar Markovic and Havard Nordtveit, Ranieri's side still lack the quality to beat the drop.

According to a report from the Evening Standard, Fulham were interested in signing Liverpool right-back Nathaniel Clyne on loan until the end of the season. But the Cottagers missed out on Clyne, with the defender opting to join Bournemouth on loan instead.

The manner in which Clyne has slotted seamlessly into the Bournemouth XI since joining from Liverpool begs the question — did Fulham miss a trick by not signing the 27-year-old in January?

Timothy Fosu-Mensah joined Fulham on a season-long loan from Manchester United in the summer but has played just nine Premier League games. He has found game time hard to come by under Ranieri, with the Italian manager not trusting the versatile defender. In fact, he was open to let him go back to United last month.

Cyrus Christie is good going forward but is shaky when it comes to defending. Ranieri opted to go with Denis Odoi at right-back against Manchester United but that move didn't work as well. That's where the signing of Clyne would have made so much difference for the Cottagers.

Clyne is an experienced right-back, known for pace, agility, stamina and work rate. He is excellent going forward and defensively disciplined as well. The former Southampton star may have lost a bit of spark after missing most of the 2017-18 season with a back problem but there's no doubting his positional awareness and ability to read a game.

Conclusion

Fulham didn't sign a right-back in January when Ranieri actually needed one.

They don't have quality in their squad to retain their Premier League status and hence, a player of Clyne's class and experience could have had a huge say on their relegation battle.



https://soccersouls.com/2019/02/17/why-fulham-should-have-somehow-signed-this-solid-englishman-in-january-would-have-solved-a-key-problem/

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The Tony Gale Column

The form Manchester United have been in, Saturday was a game that people probably weren't expecting us to get anything from, but that doesn't make it any easier to take. They're one of the best teams in the country at the moment on current form. Perhaps we paid them a little bit too much respect, because we were overpowered in the end. The manner of it was disappointing, too, as all the goals were preventable.

We actually started really well, though, and could have been 1-0 up inside the first minute. When you get your chances against the top sides you have to take them. There's no saying we definitely would have won if Vietto had scored that chance, but you never know. The way we're set up at the moment is to play a containing game and try and nick it. I'd like to see us take a little bit of a risk. For me, Cairney and Sessegnon would add a little something going forward, creating things for Mitrović, and that's what we need.

The lads have got some time to work hard on the training pitch now before we've got West Ham next Friday night. They're an attacking team. I went to see them against Crystal Palace where they were excellent in the first half, but Palace absolutely battered them in the second half. It's important that we don't just sit there and take it on the chin. At the moment we look like we're trying to nick a game rather than taking it to the opposition.

I've seen probably as much of West Ham this season as I have Fulham. West Ham will always give you a chance. In the game at Craven Cottage we had an excellent first half and should have been winning, but found ourselves 2-0 behind because we missed several chances. Palace had 25 chances against West Ham's six at the weekend, yet West Ham with their quality going forward managed to score. We don't want to be too open but we certainly have to offer more going forward, because West Ham will give you that chance, without a doubt.

West Ham and Fulham are my two favourites sides, but I always say to people that whoever needs the points more is the side I'll be rooting for. I'm not commentating on the game so I'm going as a fan, a fan of both teams, but in my heart I'll want Fulham to get the three points. West Ham are safe with the points they've got already, whereas we desperately need to pick up wins, starting at the London Stadium. A warning to the Fulham fans, though; bring your binoculars!

Rodney Marsh has been over from the States recently, and it was great to catch up with him. I did an evening with Marshy and Les Strong at a casino while he was over, and we also did some filming for Sky about George Best ahead of the United game. That was a great, nostalgic evening with about 30 or 40 Fulham fans in the audience, with Marshy in really good form. He managed to catch a couple of Fulham games while he was over, too, which was nice for him.

Back in the day, I was Marshy's boot boy, which he ensures is well documented by reminding me all the time. But he probably tripled my wages over the season. I was on £16 a week as an apprentice, but Rodney Marsh and George Best were sponsored by Puma King at the time. They used to get a new pair of Puma King Peles every three weeks, so Marshy – being the same size boot as me – just to give them to me. They were the 'in' boot at the time, so instead of wearing them I used to flog them, and tripled my wages in the process! He did ask my how much I sold them for and he wanted a cut, but he didn't get any of it back! ­­



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2019/february/13/the-tony-gale-column

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Liverpool fans shouldn't turn their noses up at Aleksandar Mitrovic in the summer

Jurgen Klopp is surely expected to bolster his attacking options when the transfer window reopens in the summer.

The German authorised the sale of Dominic Solanke to Bournemouth in January leaving only Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi as back up to Roberto Firmino at Anfield. Both men face uncertain futures at the club with the Englishman's contract set to expire in the summer.

Despite scoring the winner in the Merseyside derby, Origi could also be sold after failing to have an impact in the first-team and was even linked with a move to Tottenham in January. The Belgian was touted to be leaving the club in the summer and January – so a summer exit now seems extremely likely. Their departures would force Klopp to bolster his attacking options when the window opens.

One man the Reds could target is Fulham star – Aleksandar Mitrovic. Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the 24-year-old was key to their successful promotion bid in the Championship last season, netting 12 goals after joining on loan from Newcastle. His move was made permanent in the summer and his excellent form has continued in the higher division.

The Serbia international has ten Premier League goals for the struggling Cottagers and Claudio Ranieri could struggle to keep hold of their star man if they are relegated. Mitrovic would give Liverpool a plan B from the bench and allow Mohamed Salah to move back to his favoured right wing role. His aggression and lethal finishing abilities would give the Reds the quality attacking depth they have been missing.

Still improving, Mitrovic could flourish in a squad of Liverpool's quality under the world-class management of Klopp in the summer. Indeed, the Reds have certainly enjoyed success when it comes to buying players from relegated sides before.



https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league/liverpool/liverpool-fans-shouldnt-turn-their-noses-up-at-aleksandar-mitrovic-in-the-summer/