Amongst all the excitement and euphoria of a spectacular deadline day I don't want anyone to forget that two absolutely first class professionals left the club today. Two players who, whilst not being the most talented footballers out there, never once gave anything less than 100% for the club. We might not get the best players at Fulham but by god do we get the triers and Aaron Hughes and Phil Senderos were the epitome of that.
I want everyone to see the below tweet from Senderos after he was sold to Valencia tonight:
(http://s7.postimg.org/e56xepzrv/Big_phil_tweet.png) (http://postimage.org/)
(http://postimage.org/app.php)
That symbolises everything that Fulham FC is about. This guy took so much stick, often from people who didn't even attend games and just saw him on TV, or even worse just listened to Gentleman Jim's pathetically biased commentary; but the whole time he never stopped giving 110% for our club and never uttered so much of a word of discontent or retort. In many ways he is the anti-Berbatov- he may not have the most class in terms of footballing ability, but boy was his attitude class. Played his heart out on the pitch, never moaned, gave it all for the fans and behaved like a true professional.
Aaron Hughes is a legend of the current era. He has been an absolute stalwart for the last seven seasons, featuring in that magical night in Hamburg and in some amazing victories. He trained like a professional, oozed class, always had time for the fans and had a wonderful ability to bring out the best in players around him. He might be showing signs of age recently, but his attitude on the field and off has remained as good as ever.
In Phil and Aaron Hughes, our club has lost two absolute pros in an era when such traits are a rarity. I for one would rather have them at our club then a hundred Berbatovs and I really hope our new players will bring a similar attitude. So give them your best and wish them well at their new clubs. I for one will welcome them back at the cottage any time.
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well said! 065.gif :clap_hands:
I've cursed and laughed at Senderos, but you cannot say he did not care, or that he did not try and put out his best. Classy goodbye.
He's a great guy and would probably make a great friend. I wish him all the best in a league where defense is not a priority. He has plenty for them
Nice guy and tried but an absolute car crash of a defender. Glad he is leaving.
Well said, Pluto.
It was interesting to hear Rene say that work ethic was a selection criterion for the new recruits.
I'd rather senderos stayed than berbatov. He actually played some really good games for us this season
Well said Pluto, a very fitting tribute. However from a playing point of view, although I see no need for some people to insult him, I am delighted to see Senderos go. I was never comfortable with him at the back even on his better days. It was a shame Aaron had to go but at this level time catches up with players very quickly.
Pluto . I agree both gave 100% every time they played .
If everyone gave 100% as they did we would NOT be in the bottom 3 .
They have left because are more more talented alternatives now - I pray these alternatives give the same effort.
I wish both the best .
:plus one:
I've always liked Phil and am sad to see him go. He nearly went in the summer so I suppose it was always going to happen sometime
Good post Pluto.
Hughes has been a rock for so long now, and whilst Senderos was solid rather than spectacular he gave a toss, his heart was in the right place, and he never deserved the abuse he got in certain quarters.
Well said. I suspect there will be some sabotage along the way but it is a shame this thread cannot be packaged and sent to them. Like many players they leave without a round of applause which both deserved.
Never doubted his efforts and passion for FFC just his actual ability to perform wekk in week out
I wish him an Aaron Hughes all the best at their new clubs 065.gif
When Senderos came into the side it seemed to take him a few games to get into his stride, then he seemed to grow in confidence and look more solid. In fairness centre back must be a tough position to play if a player's out after a few games, but at best he always seemed to be third choice. Good luck in Spain.
Quote from: mullers on February 01, 2014, 09:59:01 AM
When Senderos came into the side it seemed to take him a few games to get into his stride, then he seemed to grow in confidence and look more solid. In fairness centre back must be a tough position to play if a player's out after a few games, but at best he always seemed to be third choice. Good luck in Spain.
Sorry nice bloke and all that but he never looked confident, never got in his stride never looked remotely solid, Renee has got it right, the fans got it right a long time ago, he is not a Prem quality player, Wenger saw that years ago.
Senderos was not a great defender in my eyes but I will miss his great attitude despite the stick he got. I hope he does well in Spain and hopefully enjoys the sun. Aaron will always be a legend in my eyes for his solid participation in the Europa run which gave us so many precious memories. Good post, I will miss both of them.
Could never cut it and should have been shipped out two seasons ago. Maybe our goal difference wouldn't be so awful if we had addressed our deficiencies there earlier. He might be a nice bloke and big hearted trier, I don't know Ive never met him. But I do know that he's not up to premier league standard.
Sad to see Hughes go as he's been such a great servant to this club. One plus side to him leaving though is we haven't got to hear the worst song we sing anymore Aaron Hughes Aaron Hughhhesss.
With Senderos I really do wish him well in Valencia, but I'm very happy he has moved on.
His agent has to be the best in the world. We're the smallest club he's played for since is first club.
Good luck Phillipe. You were not the most naturaly gifted but you cared. Enjoy Spain.
Aaron you were brought in by Laurie Sanchez. For a few seasons your pairing with Breda looked to be the best in the league. Unfortunately you are now at the wrong end of your career and we need to replace with younger blood. Good luck at the rangers and we hope to play against you next year
Pluto. Spot on. All players make mistakes sometime. Senderos was unfairly castigated IMHO. Both of them were great servants of the club. Especially Hughes who was crucial to our Europa campaign.
Hughes is legend and Senderos was a real workhorse and we are missing them already.
Today with Lovebite reportedly injured and the new boys not yet ready we play 90 minutes football without cover for Hangeland and Burns.
Good luck to them both -top pros and top men, and in Aaron's case, an integral part of our most successful Prem team.
But - there is, sadly, no room for sentiment in modern, cut throat football, and you have to hand it to Rene for making the tough decisions - and he will be hailed if he, and the new signings save us, and condemned if he doesn't - but that's what he's paid for.
Nice one Pluto - my take as follows:
Senderos - First of all, being objective imo he was not, and never has been a good defender. He is one of the modern types who gives more regard to jostling with his attacker, rather than concentrating on his positional sense in relation to the ball, and actually attacking it.
When he signed, I sighed, and although he had one or two good, isolated moments, he never built up a consistency (even 2 games on the trot) where I could be confident in his ability.
Might sound harsh, but it's my honest opinion.
However, he always gave 100%, visibly cared, whether it be on the back of a loss or defeat, and for that reaqson I would wish him well, and only good luck in the future.
Hughes - a solid performer over the years, who has just come to the end of his Premier League ability due to his age.
In contrast to Senderos, he was a proper defender, with great positional sense (which always made up for a slight lack of pace), and his partnership with Brede up until a couple of years ago was very assured.
Again, I'd wish him all the best, but just disappointed that would mean helping the muppets from W8. Just want to say thank you Aaron for the great service.
Berbatov - was over the moon when he signed, but ever since (apart from a few moments of brilliance) have been hugely underwhelmed. Not by his talent, which is undebateable, but his work rate (which, I know comes with his game), but mostly his attitude, which has been demonstrably and visibly disgusting.
In fact a complete p***-take of his employers, team-mates and us, the fans.
Regrettably then my send off to Berbatov would be good riddance!
064.gifGive me a Senderos or Etuhu any day over a Ruiz. Neither were a waste of money and both gave maximum effort to Fulham. Compare them to the players some style fascists drool over like Dembele and Berbatov. I know mentioning Dembele will rile some devotees but I think he is greatly overrated.
Senderos was already carrying a bit of a calamitous reputation before he joined us - so fans were always sceptical.
He had a good attitude and he was resilient. He had to be after the flack he used to get!
But in truth, he was always a mistake waiting to happen. He often looked nervous and I think other teams targetted that.
This season was probably his best in Fulham colours.
The Sheff Utd game last week exposed Senderos and Hughes for the standard they really are now, and thats not PL standard unfortunately.
Hughes has been a great servant to the club, and in fairness to Aaron Hughes - he shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Senderos.
Aaron was Mr Reliable for a number of years and a top professional.
Him and Hangeland had a great partnership and it's sad that it's the end of an era there.
But this club is in transition and it's time to let our young prospects through and clear out the 'dead wood'.
Even by sugarcoating it with praise for two players, people still feel the need to trash Phil. He is a very capable defender and this highlighted by the amount of interest he gets from big clubs past and present. He'll do well and will enjoy his time in Spain, along going to the world cup. I cannot image what it is like playing against the crowd at home, must be an awful feeling and hopefully he gets a fairer ride in Valencia.
Nice words Pluto and well said. Hopefully it is a watershed moment for our new manager to kick on with his own team and establish new "fan favourites", although I fear for Richardson in the wake of Phil's departure.
Got to feel sorry for all of our back for when your put under pressure for 70% of a game and the rest of team mates are half way up the pitch your more then likely to make a mistake
He was never the same after Barton came in his face
Seriously though, he seems like a top guy. I wish him well, and i felt sorry for him a lot of the time getting **** from our fans. But in fairness, he was a terrible football player.
Quote from: HatterDon on February 01, 2014, 03:27:45 AM
well said! 065.gif :clap_hands:
Agreed 100%
Good luck Phil
Great to see so many nice comments and that people appreciate the work ethic and attitude these two put in. :54:
This is a tribute thread for those who appreciate the commitment these players gave us so if you do want to trash talk then kindly head elsewhere.
Someone (the landlord of my local - a Cardiff fan) just told me that the club that bought Senderos thought they'd got Hangeland. To the extent of posting a picture of BH on their website. True?
Quote from: Shredhead on February 02, 2014, 10:53:35 PM
Someone (the landlord of my local - a Cardiff fan) just told me that the club that bought Senderos thought they'd got Hangeland. To the extent of posting a picture of BH on their website. True?
The way Hangeland played yesterday, I wish they'd have bought him instead of Phil.
Quote from: Chesh on February 01, 2014, 11:31:46 AM
Nice one Pluto - my take as follows:
Senderos - First of all, being objective imo he was not, and never has been a good defender. He is one of the modern types who gives more regard to jostling with his attacker, rather than concentrating on his positional sense in relation to the ball, and actually attacking it.
When he signed, I sighed, and although he had one or two good, isolated moments, he never built up a consistency (even 2 games on the trot) where I could be confident in his ability.
Might sound harsh, but it's my honest opinion.
However, he always gave 100%, visibly cared, whether it be on the back of a loss or defeat, and for that reaqson I would wish him well, and only good luck in the future.
Hughes - a solid performer over the years, who has just come to the end of his Premier League ability due to his age.
In contrast to Senderos, he was a proper defender, with great positional sense (which always made up for a slight lack of pace), and his partnership with Brede up until a couple of years ago was very assured.
Again, I'd wish him all the best, but just disappointed that would mean helping the muppets from W8. Just want to say thank you Aaron for the great service.
Berbatov - was over the moon when he signed, but ever since (apart from a few moments of brilliance) have been hugely underwhelmed. Not by his talent, which is undebateable, but his work rate (which, I know comes with his game), but mostly his attitude, which has been demonstrably and visibly disgusting.
In fact a complete p***-take of his employers, team-mates and us, the fans.
Regrettably then my send off to Berbatov would be good riddance!
Pretty good summing up.
Lets be realistic, few of our signings unfortunately will be 'world class' but as a supporter we want to feel that the club has players who will give 100% and really care every time they are on the pitch. Big Phil & Aaron were such players, I hope they have happy memories of the club and truly wish them all the best of luck - they deserve it.
The great shame about Berba is that despite the slogans on his shirt we never really felt he was 100% committed, ever. He had it in him to become a legend but he just never appeared to be bothered.