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Clint Dempsey vows to never play for Fulham again

United States footballer Clint Dempsey has told Fulham manager Martin Jol he is intent on leaving the club to move to a bigger club.

Dempsey scored 17 Premier League goals for Fulham last season and Liverpool have been reported as favourites to capture the twenty-nine-year-old.

But Fulham boss Martin Jol says they will only allow Dempsey to leave if they receive the right price for their prized goal scorer.

Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand



http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/sport/113592/clint-dempsey-vows-to-never-play-for-fulham-again? (http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/sport/113592/clint-dempsey-vows-to-never-play-for-fulham-again?)

 
American Exports: Dempsey saga takes turn for surreal

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According to Martin Jol, Clint Dempsey refuses to play for Fulham again. According to Dempsey himself, there might be more to the story than that.

The will-he-move-or-won't-he saga took a turn for the surreal on Friday, as Fulham's manager blasted the US international during a press conference and called the situation the club is in regarding a rumored move to Liverpool "almost embarrassing."

"Clint Dempsey wants to move," Jol said. "He doesn't want to commit to this club and, while I would like to keep him, it's impossible because he wants to move. He told me that he wants to go to a Champions League club – he said it last year, he said it in the summer, and he said it again."

Jol added that Dempsey would not figure in Fulham's 2012-13 Premier League debut on Saturday vs. Norwich City. Dempsey – the Cottagers' top scorer last season with 23 goals in all competitions – has been absent from Fulham's preseason preparations and tour, training instead with the club's youth side back in London.

The two-time World Cup veteran has yet to publicly respond to Jol's comments, but he didn't shy away from Twitter on Friday.

"There are two sides to the story," he tweeted, then followed that up with, "The truth will come out soon."

Dempsey had been linked to a move to Liverpool recently, but interest from the Reds – who didn't qualify for the Champions League this year, either – appears to have cooled.

The 29-year-old attacker is in the final year of his contract. He's been with Fulham since 2007.



http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/08/17/american-exports-dempsey-saga-takes-turn-surreal? (http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/08/17/american-exports-dempsey-saga-takes-turn-surreal?)

 
Fulham reject 'low' bid from Manchester United for Belgian star

Manchester United have had a surprise bid for Fulham midfielder Moussa Dembele rejected by Fulham.

Cottagers boss Martin Jol confessed on Friday that there had been a derisory offer, thought to be less than £5m, from a Premier League side and TalkSport report that the bid came from Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

However Ferguson will know that it will take a much larger proposition to prise the midfielder away from West London and Jol is insistent that Dembele is keen to stay at Fulham for the upcoming season.

"There was one low bid from one Premier League club, very low. Moussa is quite happy here. He wants to play here and if something happens, we will have to wait," he said.

Dembele has impressed at Craven Cottage since arriving from AZ Alkmaar two years ago and has been the subject of intense speculation with the likes of Real Madrid and Tottenham interested in the Belgian midfielder.




http://www.cleansheetsallround.co.uk/2012/08/fulham-reject-low-bid-from-manchester-united-for-belgian-star? (http://www.cleansheetsallround.co.uk/2012/08/fulham-reject-low-bid-from-manchester-united-for-belgian-star?)

 
Liverpool FC refuse to be drawn into war of words with Fulham over Clint Dempsey

LIVERPOOL FC will not be drawn into a war of words with Fulham over Clint Dempsey – as they insist their move for the forward is a non-starter.

Cottagers boss Martin Jol had launched an angry attack on the Reds, accusing them of unsettling the American international.

Dempsey has been fined by Fulham after refusing to play in their Premier League opener against Norwich City today. The 29-year-old had pulled out of a Swiss training camp earlier in the summer, amid ongoing rumours of a £9m bid from Liverpool.

Brendan Rodgers, the Reds boss, had confirmed that an enquiry had been made for Dempsey, who scored 23 times for Fulham last season, but the Daily Post understands that initial interest is unlikely to be followed up, with Liverpool reluctant to meet the financial demands of both Fulham and Dempsey.

Jol had expressed his disappointment with Dempsey during a press conference, claiming that Liverpool had created an "embarrassing" situation by failing to submit a formal offer for the player.

Jol said: "He is not committed to the club. He wants to leave.

"I would like to keep him, but I think it's impossible. It's a sad and an almost embarrassing situation.

"(Liverpool's conduct) was very disappointing. There was never an offer. Clint himself told everyone he was going to Liverpool before he came back so we really thought there was quite a firm interest in him.

"Even (Rodgers) told everyone he was interested in Clint Dempsey, but our people never had an offer on the table, so it's almost embarrassing.

"If you have shown interest in a player, especially in England, you have to follow it up with an offer. They didn't."

Jol also insisted that the former New England Revolution man would not be allowed to go on the cheap, despite him having just one year left to run on his current Fulham contract.

"Maybe Liverpool will come back," he added.

"I can assure you that our chairman is strong enough. But our view is that we won't let Clint Dempsey go on the cheap, that's for sure."



http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-news/liverpool-fc/2012/08/18/55578-31647290/? (http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-news/liverpool-fc/2012/08/18/55578-31647290/?)

 
Liverpool target hits back at Fulham after blast

Transfer news: Clint Dempsey is set to leave Craven Cottage

Liverpool target Clint Dempsey has reacted furiously to Fulham manager Martin Jol's blast.

The American wants to leave Craven Cottage with a move to Merseyside the most desirable outcome and his alleged wish to move led to him being withdrawn from the Whites' season-opener against Norwich.

"There are two sides to the story," Dempsey wrote on Twitter. "The truth will come out soon."



http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/liverpool_target_hits_back_at_fulham_after_blast_1_1486701? (http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/liverpool_target_hits_back_at_fulham_after_blast_1_1486701?)

 
Darts Take Cottagers` Keeper on Loan

Blue Square Bet Premier new boys Dartford have signed goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli on a month`s loan from Barclays Premier Leaguers Fulham.

The 20-year-old's path to date has certainly not been without set-backs, having spent considerable time on the sidelines as a result of injury.

But he has shown his character time and time again, with his desire to return stronger than ever, clearly evident.

In recent seasons he has worked closely alongside the likes of Mark Schwarzer and David Stockdale, who have both commended Bettinelli for his shot-stopping ability.

Brave off his line and when taking crosses, Bettinelli`s father Vic is Fulham's Academy goalkeeping coach.



http://www.footballconference.co.uk/news/details.php?news_id=7756 (http://www.footballconference.co.uk/news/details.php?news_id=7756)

 
MAN UTD BOSS FERGUSON RUNS THE RULE OVER FULHAM'S DEMBELE

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Under Fergie gaze: Dembele is on United's radar.

Sir Alex Ferguson has fuelled speculation Manchester United are set to launch a bid to sign Moussa Dembele after being spotted at Craven Cottage for Fulham's season opener against Norwich.

Reports this morning claimed the Scot had failed with a cheeky £5million bid for the 25-year-old with Fulham boss Martin Jol confirming the club had rejected a "very low" bid from a Premier League rival.

Whilst the Dutchman refused to reveal the identity of the club in question, reports claim United are the interested party with Ferguson admitting on Friday he could bring one more new recruit to Old Trafford this summer " if a certain player would become available".

United's midfield is an area of concern for Ferguson and with Dembele starring in a more withdrawn role for the Cottagers last season he could be the man to remedy the issues.

Dembele, signed by former Mark Hughes in a£5m deal from AZ Alkmaar in 2010, claimed last week that his agent was also in talks with Real Madrid about a possible move to the Bernabeu.

However, Jol insists that was not the case and has had stern words with Dembele's representative, Jan de Visser, regarding the issue.

Ahead of today's Premier League opener against Norwich City at Craven Cottage, Jol said: "I spoke to his agent and I said to him it's not the cleverest thing to do, to speak about players.

"There was no offer on the table (from Madrid) and hopefully the situation will stay as it is. Hopefully Dembele will stay here."

However, Ferguson's appearance at Craven Cottage alongside England boss Roy Hodgson has heightened talk of a renewed bid from United this week should the Belgian international impress.

Jol knows he could face a fight to hold onto his star man were United to return with an offer too good to turn down. "Moussa is quite happy here. He wants to play here and if something happens, we will have to wait," he said.

Aside from monitoring Dembele, Ferguson's presence in west London can also be attributed to the fact United take on Fulham in their first home game of the season next weekend.

With a number of new faces at the Cottage, Fergie will no doubt be keen to acquint himself with the new boys as he takes nothing  to chance with United's start to the new campaign.



http://www.sport360.com/article/man-utd-boss-ferguson-runs-rule-over-fulhams-dembele? (http://www.sport360.com/article/man-utd-boss-ferguson-runs-rule-over-fulhams-dembele?)

 
Fulham 5 Norwich 0: Five-star Cottagers are fine without wantaway Dempsey

Fulham showed they can manage admirably without Clint Dempsey with a stunning opening-day victory.

The United States striker, fined for refusing to play in the game as he tries to force a move to Liverpool, was not missed in the slightest as Martin Jol's side turned on the style.

Although the fans chanted 'Are you watching, Clint Dempsey?'

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Easy does it: Mladen Petric was in scintillating form as he took apart the Norwich defence

Jol refused to gloat and has not given up hope that the club's leading scorer last season will remain at Craven Cottage.
'It was an awkward situation,' said the Fulham manager. 'There was no bid on the table but maybe Clint knows more than us. Hopefully, he will play for us again.'
On this evidence big clubs could move in for other Fulham stars, with the watching Sir Alex Ferguson sure to have been impressed by Moussa Dembele, for whom the Manchester United manager is rumoured to have already made a bid.
The Belgium midfielder, so well balanced and clever on the ball, was outstanding in a fluent Fulham display. But so were Mahamadou Diarra, Alex Kacaniklic and Bryan Ruiz.

Then there was Mladen Petric, the 31-year-old bought from Hamburg to score goals, who netted twice on his Premier League debut. What a start for him and the team. The fans sang 'Don't leave us, Moussa' but Jol was unfazed. 'Moussa is different (to Dempsey),' he said.

'He wants to play every game, he wants to play for Fulham, and that's what I like.'

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And we're off: Damien Duff opened the scoring for Fulham at Craven Cottage

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Rare surge: Anthony Pilkington (right) and his fellow attacking players could not get into the game

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Dropping in at the Cottage: Former Fulham boss and England manager Roy Hodgson was joined by Sir Alex Ferguson at the game

It was no surprise when Fulham went ahead after 26 minutes. Norwich keeper John Ruddy had already produced excellent saves to deny John Arne Riise and Petric, while Ruiz had volleyed over from Ruddy's misplaced clearance. Ruddy was left exposed when Marc Tierney was slow to react to Riise's crossfield pass and Damien Duff nipped in to stab the ball home.

Petric added a second, flicking in Duff's corner, which Johnny Howson, on the line, could not keep out. Fulham showed no signs of letting up after the interval as Petric drove in his second, with the aid of a deflection off Michael Turner.

Kacaniklic finished off a delightful move involving Dembele and Petric before substitute Steve Sidwell added the fifth from the spot after former Sunderland defender Turner, on a miserable debut, had brought down Hugo Rodallega and was lucky not to be sent off.

Norwich were in shock as memories were rekindled of the 7-1 opening-day defeat by Colchester three years ago, which changed their history.

This trouncing will not have the same effect but new manager Chris Hughton has to pick the players up quickly for next Saturday's home clash against QPR, who also lost heavily yesterday.

Hughton said: 'It was a surprise and I certainly didn't see it coming. The performance wasn't acceptable but we know we will lose games in this division. It's a question of how we react.'

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Bossed: The likes of Mahamadou Diarra (centre) dominated in the centre of the park

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Red hot: Petric bagged two goals and a brilliant assist

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Up we go: Petric expertly took his side's second goal

The Cottagers put on a sublime display to tear Norwich apart and demoralise the Canaries fans who had travelled to south-west London hoping to see Chris Hughton win his first match in charge of the Norfolk club.

Petric scored twice after Damien Duff had poked home a brilliant pass from John Arne Riise to open the scoring.

Alex Kacaniklic, chosen to play in Dempsey's position, scored his first Fulham goal to make it 4-0 and substitute Steve Sidwell blasted home a penalty four minutes from the death to seal the rout.

Norwich looked a shadow of the team that finished 12th under Paul Lambert last year, and had it not been for a good performance from John Ruddy, the Canaries could well have conceded seven or eight.

A Fulham victory looked on the cards from the off. The home side started confidently, with Kacaniklic and Bryan Ruiz both swinging in dangerous crosses that just evaded Petric.

Brede Hangeland sent a raking ball over the Norwich defence to find Duff, but Michael Turner came to the Canaries' rescue by nudging the winger out wide.

Norwich raced up the other end and forced Mark Schwarzer into a save when Andrew Surman fired at goal, but that proved to be the visitors' only chance of the first half as Fulham dominated.

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Jubilant: The home faithful were treated to a perfect start to the season with the 5-0 hammering

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Ruddy's awful clearance landed straight at the feet of Ruiz, but the Costa Rican cleared the bar while the Canaries stopper raced back to his line.

Ruddy made amends by saving well from Riise and Petric, but the Norwich goalkeeper was beaten soon after by Duff's opener.

Riise hit a delightful cross-field pass to find the former Blackburn man and his shot trickled in off Ruddy's outstretched leg.

Fulham almost added a second when Petric found Ruiz in the box but Ryan Bennett raced across the back four to put in a crucial tackle.

The Cottagers had their second from the resulting corner, however, as Petric glanced home Duff's cross in. Jonathan Howson hooked the ball clear, but the linesman correctly ruled it had already crossed the line.

Ruddy pulled off a terrific flying save to deny Ruiz just before half-time as Fulham threatened to run riot.

Hughton brought on Steve Morison for Andrew Surman and switched to 4-4-2, but Norwich were still by far the worst team on the pitch.

Eight minutes into the second half Fulham scored their third.

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Contrast: Martin Jol and Chris Hughton (right) look on during the match

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Too easy: Fulham's opening game went without a hitch as they battered Norwich 5-0

Ruiz found Petric in space and the Croatian fired home a 30-yard shot that took a wicked deflection off Turner.

Thirteen minutes later it was 4-0. Petric backheeled into the path of Kacaniklic from a Mousa Dembele pass and the 21-year-old finished calmly.

The backheel proved to be Petric's last contribution to the game as he was substituted for fellow debutant Hugo Rodallega.

Bradley Johnson found space on the edge of the Fulham box and forced Schwarzer into a rare save, but the home side hit back and were not willing to settle for four.

Kacaniklic lost his marker after drifting in from the flank and fired a powerful shot that Ruddy did well to save.

Four minutes from the end Fulham were gifted another goal when Turner's awful tackle on Rodallega earned the London club a penalty and Sidwell hammered the spot-kick into the roof of the net.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2190205/Fulham-5-Norwich-0-Five-star-Cottagers-fine-wantaway-Dempsey.html#ixzz23yPx2byF (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2190205/Fulham-5-Norwich-0-Five-star-Cottagers-fine-wantaway-Dempsey.html#ixzz23yPx2byF)

 
REPORT - FULHAM 5-0 CITY

City suffer heavy opening day defeat

THE opening day of the Barclays Premier League season was one to forget for City as they fell to a heavy 5-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Despite a positive opening ten minutes, Martin Jol's side soon took control as Damien Duff fired past England International John Ruddy just before the half hour mark; a goal from debutant Mladen Petric soon followed to leave City two behind going into the break.

Despite the introduction of striker Steve Morison, City continued to struggle and Fulham put the game beyond doubt on 54 minutes as Petric grabbed his second. It was soon four for the home side as the Croatian International added an assist to his tally to set up Alex Kacaniklic.

Steve Sidwell rounded off a bad day at the office for the Canaries as he fired home a fifth from the penalty spot.


On the performance boss Hughton said: "Unfortunately that is the nature of our game. When you don't put in a good enough performance particularly against a team as good as these there's every chance you're going to come unstuck but you certainly don't expect to concede five goals especially on the first game of the season.

"I thought we started ok. In the first 25 minutes we kept possession quite well and restricted a very good Fulham team to only minimal chances but for me it turned on the two goals we conceded in the first half. It gave them the lift they needed and forced us to change our approach.

"You have to remember that it's the first game of the season, we've all been there before. Whether it's at the start of the season the middle or at the end defeats are defeats and you have to be able to bounce back from them and learn from them."

City boss Chris Hughton made one change from the side that lost 2-0 to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Canaries' final pre-season match last weekend, with Andrew Surman coming into the side, and new signings Robert Snodgrass and Michael Turner both made the starting eleven.

The 4-4-1-1 formation previously assumed quickly started to look like a more fluid 4-3-3 system for the Canaries, with wingers Anthony Pilkington and Snodgrass flanking captain Holt up front.

Searching for a first win at the Cottage since 1986, the Canaries showed their intent early on as some good possession ended with a Snodgrass corner being headed away at the near post by Mahamadou Diarra. 

The home side quickly responded as only some superb defending from debutant Turner could deny Damien Duff a golden chance to score. It forced an instant response from the Canaries, Andrew Surman forcing a smart stop from Schwarzer at the near post after a deft flick on from Holt.

City were in trouble again just five minutes later as John Ruddy's clearance fell straight to the feet of Bryan Ruiz, Turner again putting the attacker under enough pressure to force a wild shot over the bar.

The pressure was building on the Canaries backline. Riise and Petric soon tested England international Ruddy as the City defence, before the pressure eventually told as Duff gave Fulham the lead just short of the half hour mark. Picking up a good long ball from Riise, Duff made no mistake this time as he slotted home past the City stopper.

With half an hour gone, City were in need of a response. With little in the way of attacking options at times, the Canaries best opportunities were coming from the set-piece. Snodgrass with a free-kick effort just wide following a foul on Holt.

But it was Fulham who had all the attacking poise to please their home faithful and soon Ruddy's goal was in danger once again; Ryan Bennett doing brilliantly to stop Ruiz in his tracks after being put clean through by Sascha Riether.

Just a minute later Fulham doubled their lead. After more persistent pressure City's Jonny Howson did all he could to stop Petric's header from a corner from going over the line. The linesman concluded that it did and City were two down.

As half-time approached City did well to keep the deficit to two as only a great save from Ruddy could deny a dipping free-kick from Fulham danger man Bryan Ruiz.

Half time - Fulham 2-0 Norwich City

In need of an immediate boost, City boss Hughton brought on Welsh international Steve Morison for the second half as he replaced Surman and the Canaries reverted to a 4-4-2 formation.

It brought a bit of a flurry for the Canaries as the substitute broke down the right flank before hitting in a teasing cross into the area, but with lack of numbers in support the Canaries failed to convert what was turning out to be a rare opportunity.

And soon City's task was made even greater as Mladen Petric's long range effort took a deflection off Turner, to leave Ruddy helpless as the ball hit the back of the net with just ten minutes of the second half gone.

Chris Hughton reacted immediately by bringing on Elliott Bennett for Scot Snodgrass on the right wing. City had 35 minutes to try and salvage something.

If the Canaries were getting any joy it was down the right hand side and soon Holt evaded his marker to guide in a low cross towards Pilkington, who under pressure from Hangeland could only divert the cross wide.

This was not a good day at the office for the Canaries. With 25 minutes to go Fulham made it four as double scorer Petric flicked on a Dembele pass, falling to former Porto man Alex Kacaniklic who made no mistake as he slotted the ball into the back of the net.

There was little left to take from this match for the Canaries, but Wes Hoolahan replaced Holt on 77 minutes in a final attempt to try and put some injection into City's attack.

The game came to a close as City failed to clear their lines leading to Turner bringing down Rodallega in the penalty area. Steve Sidwell stepped up to the spot to smash home a fifth past Ruddy.

Full time - Fulham 5-0 Norwich City

Teams

Fulham: Schwarzer, Riise, Hangeland, Petric (Rodallega 66), Ruiz (Sidwell 81), Duff (Kasami 74), Hughes, Diarra, Riether, Dembele, Kacaniklic Subs not used: Stockdale, Kelly, Baird, Halliche.

Norwich City: Ruddy, R Martin, Turner, Johnson, Snodgrass (E Bennett 55), Howson, Holt (C) (Hoolahan 77), Surman (Morison 45), Pilkington, Tierney, R Bennett. Subs not used: Rudd, Vaughan, Barnett, Lappin.



http://www.canaries.co.uk//news/article/ft-fulham-5-city-0-319480.aspx?&pageView=full#anchored (http://www.canaries.co.uk//news/article/ft-fulham-5-city-0-319480.aspx?&pageView=full#anchored)

 
Petric at the double as Fulham demolish Norwich

Premier League: Fulham 5-0 Norwich City

Fulham got their season off to a blistering start as they demolished Norwich City in the bright sunshine at Craven Cottage.

The absence of wantaway forward Clint Dempsey was quickly forgotten as Martin Jol's side, led in attack by the excellent Mladen Petric, put Norwich to the sword.

Fulham, who are unbeaten at Craven Cottage by the Canaries since 1986, take their place at the top of the Premier League table after this resounding victory.

The first clear chance of the game fell to Damien Duff, latching on to Brede Hangeland's ball over the top after 12 minutes. The Irishman couldn't get the ball out of his feet, however, and Norwich debutant Michael Turner recovered to clear.

Fulham were easing their way into the game, with midfielders Bryan Ruiz and Alex Kacaniklic particularly bright in the opening stages.

Costa Rica international Ruiz had a great opportunity to score after 21 minutes, chipping over after a dreadful clearance from Norwich keeper John Ruddy.

But just five minutes later, Duff atoned for his earlier miss as he got Fulham's opener.

A superb cross-field pass from John Arne Riise found Duff in the clear again and this time Ruddy could only deflect his clipped finish into the corner of the net.

Fulham continued to find openings in Norwich's exposed backline but their second goal came from a set-piece.

Duff's corner from the right was headed goalwards by Croatian striker Petric and the ball had already crossed the line when Jonathan Howson hooked it clear.

Petric, a new signing from Hamburg, scored five goals in as many games for Fulham in pre-season, and the 31-year-old's ruthless streak in front of goal continued here.

There was still time for another effort from Ruiz before half-time, as his whipped free-kick was tipped over athletically by Ruddy.

Norwich's hopes of getting back into the game were dashed in the 54th minute, when Petric grabbed his second and Fulham's third.

The Croatian was allowed acres of space by the hapless Norwich backline and his driven effort from 25 yards took a deflection of Turner as it looped into the net.

Fulham were running riot and their fourth goal was a thing of beauty.

The industrious Mousa Dembele found Petric inside the box, and his backheeled flick through a defender's legs fell to Kacaniklic, who made no mistake from eight yards out.

There was still time for one more for the rampant Cottagers, as substitute Hugo Rodallega, making his Fulham debut, was felled in the area by Turner.

Fellow substitute Steve Sidwell stepped up and dispatched the penalty high into the net to round of the scoring for the hosts.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise, Diarra, Ruiz (Sidwell), Kacaniklic, Dembele, Duff (Kasami), Petric (Rodallega). Subs not used: Stockdale, Kelly, Baird, Halliche.

Norwich: Ruddy, Martin, Bennett, Turner, Tierney, Surman, Howson, Johnson, Pilkington, Snodgrass, Holt. Subs: Rudd, Morrison, Vaughaun, Hoolahan, E Bennet, Lappin, Barnett.



http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/petric_at_the_double_as_fulham_demolish_norwich_1_1486854? (http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/petric_at_the_double_as_fulham_demolish_norwich_1_1486854?)

 
Match report: Fulham 5-0 Norwich City

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Mladen Petric (left) enjoyed a dream debut at the Cottage. Photo: PA


Fulham 5-0 Norwich

Fulham debutant Mladen Petric scored twice and set up one more as Martin Jol's side hammered Norwich to prove they can easily cope without Clint Dempsey.

Some have predicted Fulham will struggle this season after they lost Andrew Johnson to QPR and look set to lose Dempsey as he tries to force through a move to Liverpool.

If today's display is anything to go by, Fulham will not miss their 23-goal talisman from last season one bit.

The Cottagers put on a sublime display to tear Norwich apart and demoralise the Canaries fans who had travelled to south-west London hoping to see Chris Hughton win his first match in charge of the Norfolk club.

Petric, signed on a free transfer from Hamburg this summer, was the star of the show, scoring twice after Damien Duff had poked home a brilliant pass from John Arne Riise to open the scoring.

Alex Kacaniklic, chosen to play in Dempsey's position, scored his first Fulham goal to make it 4-0 and substitute Steve Sidwell blasted home a penalty four minutes from the death to seal the rout.

Norwich looked a shadow of the team that finished 12th under Paul Lambert last year, and had it not been for a good performance from John Ruddy, the Canaries could well have conceded seven or eight.

A Fulham victory looked on the cards from the off. The home side started confidently, with Kacaniklic and Bryan Ruiz both swinging in dangerous crosses that just evaded Petric.

Brede Hangeland sent a raking ball over the Norwich defence to find Duff, but Michael Turner came to the Canaries' rescue by nudging the winger out wide.

Norwich raced up the other end and forced Mark Schwarzer into a save when Andrew Surman fired at goal, but that proved to be the visitors' only chance of the first half as Fulham dominated.

Ruddy's awful clearance landed straight at the feet of Ruiz, but the Costa Rican cleared the bar while the Canaries stopper raced back to his line.

Ruddy made amends by saving well from Riise and Petric, but the Norwich goalkeeper was beaten soon after by Duff's opener.

Riise hit a delightful cross-field pass to find the former Blackburn man and his shot trickled in off Ruddy's outstretched leg.

Fulham almost added a second when Petric found Ruiz in the box but Ryan Bennett raced across the back four to put in a crucial tackle.

The Cottagers had their second from the resulting corner, however, as Petric glanced home Duff's cross in. Jonathan Howson hooked the ball clear, but the linesman correctly ruled it had already crossed the line.

Ruddy pulled off a terrific flying save to deny Ruiz just before half-time as Fulham threatened to run riot.

Hughton brought on Steve Morison for Andrew Surman and switched to 4-4-2, but Norwich were still by far the worst team on the pitch.

Eight minutes into the second half Fulham scored their third.

Ruiz found Petric in space and the Croatian fired home a 30-yard shot that took a wicked deflection off Turner.

Thirteen minutes later it was 4-0. Petric backheeled into the path of Kacaniklic from a Mousa Dembele pass and the 21-year-old finished calmly.

The backheel proved to be Petric's last contribution to the game as he was substituted for fellow debutant Hugo Rodallega.

Bradley Johnson found space on the edge of the Fulham box and forced Schwarzer into a rare save, but the home side hit back and were not willing to settle for four.

Kacaniklic lost his marker after drifting in from the flank and fired a powerful shot that Ruddy did well to save.

Four minutes from the end Fulham were gifted another goal when Turner's awful tackle on Rodallega earned the London club a penalty and Sidwell hammered the spot-kick into the roof of the net.

"Are you watching Clint Dempsey?" echoed around Craven Cottage in the closing stages, the home fans clearly delighted that they had opened their season with an emphatic victory without their leading talisman.



http://www.itv.com/sport/football/article/2012-08-18/match-report-fulham-5-0-norwich-city/? (http://www.itv.com/sport/football/article/2012-08-18/match-report-fulham-5-0-norwich-city/?)

 
Two for Petric in Fulham romp

(http://www.westlondonsport.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Mladen-Petric.jpg)

Fulham 5 Norwich City 0

Mladen Petric scored twice on his debut as Fulham stormed to a superb opening-day victory.

The Croatian international headed home a corner on the stroke of half-time before firing in another from 20 yards out just after the break.

Damien Duff had earlier put Fulham ahead when he latched on to John Arne Riise's through-ball and beat John Ruddy.

Promising young winger Alex Kacaniklic scored his first Fulham goal after the hour-mark before substitute Steve Sidwell converted a penalty on his return from injury.

As well as Petric, Martin Jol also handed a debut to German defender Sascha Riethe, with Hugo Rodallega starting from the bench.

Bryan Ruiz joined Petric up front in place of Clint Dempsey, who was left out of the squad by Jol after making known his desire to leave Craven Cottage this summer.

Fulham were comfortably two-up at the break thanks to Riise's vision to pick out Duff and the assistant referee spotting that Petric's header had indeed crossed the line before it was cleared.

Petric, who signed from Hamburg this summer, found the corner from distance to add a third before setting up Kacaniklic to slot home and was eventually replaced by Rodallega.

Sidwell was a late substitute for Ruiz and stepped up to fire a spot-kick high into the net after Rodallega had been tripped in the box.



http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/two-for-petric-in-fulham-romp? (http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/two-for-petric-in-fulham-romp?)

 
Five-star Fulham maul Canaries
Rampant Cottagers run riot on opening day of the season

(http://e0.365dm.com/12/08/660x350/fulham-v-norwich-damien-duff-scores_2813552.jpg)
Damien Duff pokes in the opening goal on 26 minutes

Fulham opened their Premier League season with an emphatic 5-0 win over Norwich at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Man of the match: Debutant Mladen Petric is off to a flier with his new club, scoring twice and assisting another on a fine introduction to the Premier League.
Goal of the match: Alex Kacaniklic finished off the move of the day, but it was all about the build-up as Dembele picked out Petric, who backheeled the Swede through on goal.
Save of the match: Despite the scoreline, John Ruddy saved Norwich from further embarrassment, with the pick of his saves coming from Petric's early effort at the near post.
Talking points: Can Norwich adapt to the changes since Lambert's departure? Will Clint Dempsey perform a U-turn on the back of this performance?

The Cottagers controlled the game from the off, with Damien Duff providing the breakthrough on 26 minutes after being picked out by John-Arne Riise.

Four minutes before half-time, debutant Mladen Petric glanced in the first of his two goals, with the second coming less than ten minutes into the second half.

Alex Kacaniklic provided Fulham's fourth in a well-worked goal involving the impressive Petric, before a late Steve Sidwell penalty completed the rout.

The Cottagers put on a sublime display to tear Norwich apart and demoralise the Canaries fans who had travelled to London hoping to see Chris Hughton win his first match in charge of the Norfolk club.

Norwich looked a shadow of the team that finished 12th under Paul Lambert last year, and had it not been for a good performance from John Ruddy, the Canaries could well have conceded seven or eight.

Confident start

A Fulham victory looked on the cards from the off. The home side started confidently, with Kacaniklic and Bryan Ruiz both swinging in dangerous crosses that just evaded Petric.

Brede Hangeland sent a raking ball over the Norwich defence to find Duff, but Michael Turner came to the Canaries' rescue by nudging the winger out wide.

Norwich raced up the other end and forced Mark Schwarzer into a save when Andrew Surman fired at goal, but that proved to be the visitors' only chance of the first half as Fulham dominated.

Ruddy's awful clearance landed straight at the feet of Ruiz, but the Costa Rican cleared the bar while the Canaries keeper raced back to his line.

Ruddy made amends by saving well from Riise and Petric, but the Norwich goalkeeper was beaten soon after by Duff's opener.

Riise hit a delightful cross-field pass to find the former Blackburn man and his shot trickled in off Ruddy's outstretched leg.

Fulham almost added a second when Petric found Ruiz in the box but Ryan Bennett raced across the back four to put in a crucial tackle.

The Cottagers had their second from the resulting corner, however, as Petric glanced home Duff's cross in. Jonathan Howson hooked the ball clear, but the linesman correctly ruled it had already crossed the line.

Ruddy pulled off a terrific flying save to deny Ruiz just before half-time as Fulham threatened to run riot.

Hughton brought on Steve Morison for Andrew Surman and switched to 4-4-2, but Norwich were still by far the worst team on the pitch.

Wicked deflection

Eight minutes into the second half Fulham scored their third.

Ruiz found Petric in space and the Croatian fired home a 30-yard shot that took a wicked deflection off Turner.

Thirteen minutes later it was 4-0. Petric backheeled into the path of Kacaniklic from a Moussa Dembele pass and the 21-year-old finished calmly.

The backheel proved to be Petric's last contribution to the game as he was substituted for fellow debutant Hugo Rodallega.

Bradley Johnson found space on the edge of the Fulham box and forced Schwarzer into a rare save, but the home side hit back and were not willing to settle for four.

Kacaniklic lost his marker after drifting in from the flank and fired a powerful shot that Ruddy did well to save.

Four minutes from the end Fulham were gifted another goal when Turner's awful tackle on Rodallega earned the London club a penalty and Sidwell hammered the spot-kick into the roof of the net.

"Are you watching Clint Dempsey?" echoed around Craven Cottage in the closing stages, the home fans clearly delighted that they had opened their season with an emphatic victory without their leading talisman.

Fulham   Team Statistics   Norwich City
5   Goals   0
2   1st Half Goals   0
9   Shots on Target   2
2   Shots off Target   4
4   Blocked Shots   3
6   Corners   3
12   Fouls   11
2   Offsides   1
0   Yellow Cards   0
0   Red Cards   0
90.1   Passing Success   82.6
11   Tackles   16
81.8   Tackles Success   68.8
59.9   Possession   40.1
46.6   Territorial Advantage   53.4
568   Total Passes   374
22   Total Crosses   22
121   Lost Balls   110
55   Recoveries   21
57.1   1st Half Poss.   42.9
62.8   2nd Half Poss.   37.2



http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/261563/report (http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/261563/report)

 
Fulham 5 Norwich City 0: match report
Read a full match report of the Premier League game between Fulham and Norwich City at Craven Cottage on Saturday Aug 18 2012.

(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02313/fulham_2313948c.jpg)
Nice one sun: Fulham's Alex Kacaniklic celebrates his goal with Mladen Petric at sun-drenched Craven Cottage
Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Who needs Clint Dempsey? Not Fulham, on this evidence at least.

With the American on strike as his ill-advised attempt to force a move away from Craven Cottage continues, Martin Jol's men simply got on with the job and cruised past Norwich City.

Fulham cannot afford to allow a man who scored 23 goals last season to sit idle, but there was a firm message here that they can thrive even without their Player of the Year.

They had far too much class for Chris Hughton's Norwich and were utterly rampant. Goals from Damien Duff, scoring in his 13th different Premier League season, and two from debutant Mladen Petric ensured the game was over well before the hour mark. Alex Kacaniklic added a fourth and Steve Sidwell a late fifth as Norwich were ruthlessly put to the sword.

Norwich barely threatened, but still all the talk afterwards was about Dempsey. Jol claimed that it was a joint decision not to play the 29 year-old in case he got injured and scuppered a potential move – and said he could even play for the club again.

"If you take it literally it is a bit harsh to say he refused to play," said Jol. "If you want to move you don't want to take risks in case you get an injury. It was an awkward situation for us.

"Someone told him Liverpool wanted him and his head was turned, but for us there was nothing on the table.

"We feel he should stay if there is no other bid. Hopefully he will play for us again. He was a terrific player for us, the most productive in the whole league."

And the game? "That was exactly what I had in mind. We know what we are capable of."

Yet for Hughton there was only disappointment after his first match since succeeding Paul Lambert.

"It was an awful day for us," he said. "Four goals were avoidable. We know it can happen, we know we are playing in a tough league and what is important for me is to see what reaction we get from the team."

Fulham were superb, and one of the principal reasons Jol can look forward was the display of Brian Ruiz.

The Costa Rican could benefit from being the centre of attention if Dempsey does leave and he was in fine form here, creating chances for John Arne Riise and Petric that were both well saved by John Ruddy.

Yet the goalkeeper could do nothing when Fulham hit the front after 26 minutes. Riise was the architect on this occasion, hitting a delicious long pass that took out the entire Norwich defence. Duff had not scored since netting the winner against the same opponents back in March but he took his chance well, bringing the ball down before flicking it past Ruddy and into the far corner.

Norwich had no answer to the midfield craft of Ruiz, Mousa Dembele and Mahamadou Diarra, and it was two shortly before half-time as Petric's header from Duff's corner crossed the line before Jonny Howson could hook it away.

Fulham killed the game with their third as Petric let fly from distance, although a big deflection off Michael Turner certainly helped, and it was four when Kacaniklic slotted home his first for the club after some superb approach play.
Sidwell lashed home a penalty after Michael Turner brought down Hugo Rodallega, and as the fans chanted at the end: 'Are you watching Clint Dempsey?'

NEW SIGNINGS
Mladen Petric could hardly have done any more to endear himself to the Fulham faithful. Two goals and an impressive all-round display will have pleased Martin Jol, while Sascha Riether was solid at right back. An horrendous day for Norwich's Robert Snodgrass and Michael Turner though.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/9477956/Fulham-5-Norwich-City-0-match-report.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/9477956/Fulham-5-Norwich-City-0-match-report.html)

 
Fulham's Mladen Petric kicks off with double against poor Norwich City

(http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2012/8/18/1345303994378/Fulhams-Damien-Duff-of-Fu-006.jpg)
Damien Duff of Fulham, second right, celebrates opening the scoring against
Norwich City at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Fulham started their campaign with this thrashing of Norwich City but Martin Jol still found grounds for complaint, criticising those of his own side's fans who mocked the absent Clint Dempsey.

The USA attacker, who scored 23 goals last term, did not feature in the game after he refused to play in the hope that it would accelerate a transfer to Liverpool. Fulham coped admirably without him as they ruined Chris Hughton's first game in charge of Norwich courtesy of goals from Damien Duff, Steve Sidwell, Alex Kacaniklic and a double from the debutant Mladen Petric. The home fans greeted Fulham's fifth strike – a fierce penalty from Sidwell – by chanting "Are you watching Clint Dempsey?" clearly delighted they had proven they can easily do without the American's services.

But Jol feels the 29-year-old deserves more respect from the fans despite his rebellion. "I don't want to hear the fans were chanting against him because he was a terrific player for us," Jol said. "He was the most productive midfield player in the whole league last season."

Jol is angry that Liverpool failed to follow up their interest in Dempsey with a firm bid. The manager had said it was "impossible" for Dempsey to remain at Craven Cottage but he now seems open to the possibility of the midfielder staying. "Hopefully he will play for us again," Jol said. "There is one season to go [on his contract] and no one has come in for him.

"To say he refused to play is probably a bit harsh but he wanted to move and if you want to move, you don't want to take risks so you don't want to play in case you get an injury. So for me that was a very awkward situation and it was for him as well. There is nothing on the table from Liverpool. Maybe Clint knows more than us but we feel he should stay if there is no other bid."

Hughton was hoping to score a victory against his former mentor but his Norwich side looked a shadow of the team who finished 12th under Paul Lambert last season. Fulham, on the other hand, played out of their skin.

Duff controlled an excellent pass from John Arne Riise to put the home side ahead after 25 minutes before Petric added two more goals either side of half-time. The Croat then played a superb backheel to Kacaniklic for Fulham's fourth and Sidwell blasted home a spot-kick in the dying minutes after Michael Turner's awful foul on Hugo Rodallega in the Norwich box.

Kacaniklic, starting only his third league game, received praise from Jol for slotting in to the team in Dempsey's place.

"I thought we did well on the left. It was not easy to follow in the footsteps of Clint Dempsey but luckily enough [Kacaniklic] did well," Jol said. "We did well. We let the ball do the work and we were very good to watch."

Hughton, who worked under Jol as a coach at Tottenham, admitted his first top-flight game in 20 months could not have gone worse. "It was an awful day for us," he said. "That's not how you want your first game of the season to go. Four of the goals were avoidable. In pre-season we have looked very solid in defence. I had no inkling this would happen.

"The players are hurting. They know this wasn't acceptable and they want to make amends."



http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/aug/18/fulham-norwich-city-premier-league? (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/aug/18/fulham-norwich-city-premier-league?)

 
Brace for Petric as Fulham run riot

Fulham 5 Norwich 0


Fulham debutant Mladen Petric scored twice and set up one more as Martin Jol's side hammered Norwich to show that they can cope without Clint Dempsey.

Some have predicted Fulham will struggle this season after they lost Andrew Johnson to QPR and look set to lose Dempsey as he tries to force through a move to Liverpool.

If today's display is anything to go by, Fulham will not miss their 23-goal talisman from last season.

The Cottagers put on a sublime display to tear Norwich apart and demoralise the Canaries fans who had travelled to south-west London hoping to see Chris Hughton win his first match in charge of the Norfolk club.

Petric, signed on a free transfer from Hamburg this summer, was the star of the show, scoring twice after Damien Duff had poked home a brilliant pass from John Arne Riise to open the scoring.

Alex Kacaniklic, chosen to play in Dempsey's position, scored his first Fulham goal to make it 4-0 and substitute Steve Sidwell blasted home a penalty four minutes from the death to seal the rout.

Norwich looked a shadow of the team that finished 12th under Paul Lambert last year, and had it not been for a good performance from John Ruddy, the Canaries could well have conceded seven or eight.

A Fulham victory looked on the cards from the off. The home side started confidently, with Kacaniklic and Bryan Ruiz both swinging in dangerous crosses that just evaded Petric.

Brede Hangeland sent a raking ball over the Norwich defence to find Duff, but Michael Turner came to the Canaries' rescue by nudging the winger out wide.

Norwich raced up the other end and forced Mark Schwarzer into a save when Andrew Surman fired at goal, but that proved to be the visitors' only chance of the first half as Fulham dominated.

Ruddy's awful clearance landed straight at the feet of Ruiz, but the Costa Rican cleared the bar while the Canaries stopper raced back to his line.

Ruddy made amends by saving well from Riise and Petric, but the Norwich goalkeeper was beaten soon after by Duff's opener.

Riise hit a delightful cross-field pass to find the former Blackburn man and his shot trickled in off Ruddy's outstretched leg.

Fulham almost added a second when Petric found Ruiz in the box but Ryan Bennett raced across the back four to put in a crucial tackle.

The Cottagers had their second from the resulting corner, however, as Petric glanced home Duff's cross in. Jonathan Howson hooked the ball clear, but the linesman correctly ruled it had already crossed the line.

Ruddy pulled off a terrific flying save to deny Ruiz just before half-time as Fulham threatened to run riot.

Hughton brought on Steve Morison for Andrew Surman and switched to 4-4-2, but Norwich were still by far the worst team on the pitch.

Eight minutes into the second half Fulham scored their third.

Ruiz found Petric in space and the Croatian fired home a 30-yard shot that took a wicked deflection off Turner.

Thirteen minutes later it was 4-0. Petric backheeled into the path of Kacaniklic from a Mousa Dembele pass and the 21-year-old finished calmly.

The backheel proved to be Petric's last contribution to the game as he was substituted for fellow debutant Hugo Rodallega.

Bradley Johnson found space on the edge of the Fulham box and forced Schwarzer into a rare save, but the home side hit back and were not willing to settle for four.

Kacaniklic lost his marker after drifting in from the flank and fired a powerful shot that Ruddy did well to save.

Four minutes from the end Fulham were gifted another goal when Turner's awful tackle on Rodallega earned the London club a penalty and Sidwell hammered the spot-kick into the roof of the net.

"Are you watching Clint Dempsey?" echoed around Craven Cottage in the closing stages, the home fans clearly delighted that they had opened their season with an emphatic victory without their leading talisman.




http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/brace-for-petric-as-fulham-run-riot-563506.html (http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/brace-for-petric-as-fulham-run-riot-563506.html)

 
Is the Grass Greener?
   
Much has been said about Clint Dempsey`s apparent refusal to play today.

For me, it felt like a kick in the teeth for all those loyal Fulham supporters who have cheered him every time he`s pulled on his shirt whilst also contributing towards a weekly salary many of us can only dream of.

I`m also of the opinion that Clint should honour the contract he was, no doubt, happy to sign not too long ago.

However, if he has got his heart set on a move to Liverpool, he might like to reconsider if the grass is greener up at Anfield after our thrilling performance today and Liverpool`s embarrassing performance against West Bromwich Albion where they were turned over 3-0.

The grass is not always greener on the other side Clint!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=290482#ixzz23yc3zXFV (http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=290482#ixzz23yc3zXFV)

 
Liverpool Football: Much Better Options Than Clint Dempsey

Following the not-so breaking news that Clint Dempsey wants to leave Fulham, Liverpool have understandably been crowned his new suitors despite no firm contract offer ever being handed to him.

Dempsey is a top player and I'm sure he would offer some much needed midfield goals to the team.

But the issue for me is that I believe he is just another Charlie Adam; two very different players but both shone at smaller teams and I think both will fail to reach similar heights at Liverpool.

Dirk Kuyt and his industrious style of play will be missed now that he has moved on but I don't believe that Dempsey is a great replacement just because he can also play in numerous positions.

Even if Dempsey isn't seen as a replacement, I still think a should-be perennial contender like Liverpool could attract a better calibre of player.

If you want a player who can play off the striker, either wing or even up front, I can think of a few better options from around the footballing landscape.

With a goal every 3.7 games for Fulham, Dempsey does provide a spark but there are better, younger players with similar versatility and far more long-term potential.

I just don't see Dempsey getting any better.

A fee of £10 million for his services is a fair one but spending an extra 5 million on top of that for someone quite a bit younger presents better value in my eyes.

One such player is Dries Mertens of PSV Eindhoven.

Capable of playing all of the same roles as Dempsey, the 25-year-old is four years Dempsey's junior and also a better overall player.


I understand that some may view Dempsey as a striker but I will never consider him an out and out forward.

Mertens moved to PSV only a year ago but he has already receive interest from huge clubs like Bayern Munich.

The Belgian international has also been linked to Inter Milan and due to the demand, PSV would be looking for around £12 million.

A fair price when you consider he signed a five-year deal only a year ago.

He scored 25 goals in 43 games last season.

A second player who could be a nice alternative to Dempsey is Younes Belhanda of Montpellier.

The 22-year-old Morrocan is also a very versatile player who was a vital contributor to the Ligue 1 winning side last season.

Belhanda was given the 'free' role last season and being allowed to play as a secondary striker really allowed his creative instincts to flourish.

He was named the best young player of Ligue 1 and his stellar form led to interest from Arsene Wenger and Arsenal.

Belhanda has already said he is open to a move away from France and Liverpool would be making a smart move if they were the ones to snatch him up.

Valued at £10 million, PSG are being linked with a £20 million bid for the playmaker by  www.metro.co.uk (http://www.metro.co.uk), which definitely is crazy money.


But, to be fair, PSG have been linked to any decent players and so unless something is in the pipeline, a cheeky bid in the region of £10-12 million would be smart.

The third and final alternative I can think of is Gaston Ramirez.

Ramirez has already been linked with Liverpool but a fee of around £12 million had been reportedly agreed between his club Bologna and Southampton.

Contrary to most reports, www.football-italia.net (http://www.football-italia.net) reports that Bologna club president Albano Guaraldi is not yet happy with the deal Southampton are offering; despite Ramirez himself saying it was almost finalised.

It seems nothing has been accepted on Bologna's end

Either way, Bologna's annoyance at Ramirez's agent and the offer on the table allows Liverpool a second bite at the cherry and they should definitely be looking into another approach if or when this deal collapses.

Ramirez too can play pretty much anywhere in midfield and in attack and would also present good value due to the fact he is only 21 years old.

Bologna want £15.8 million which is a lot of money, but better value than spending 10 million on Dempsey.

I still think Liverpool will end up signing Dempsey but he isn't an impact player that will catapult Liverpool into the Champions League or even towards the top four; but I believe my alternatives would have a bigger say in doing so.



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1302476-liverpool-football-much-better-options-than-clint-dempsey? (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1302476-liverpool-football-much-better-options-than-clint-dempsey?)

 
Norwich City boss Chris Hughton warns the Canaries to cut out the defensive charity after Fulham loss

Chris Hughton has warned his Norwich City players to cut out the basic defensive errors or risk a long Premier League struggle this campaign after a 5-0 opening day hammering at Fulham.

City's wretched recent run at Craven Cottage continued with Hughton's first competitive match in charge turning into a torturous afternoon in the sweltering temperatures by the Thames. Hughton will leave the post-mortems until Monday morning after reviewing a video nasty of his side's defensive charity over the weekend.

Damien Duff got the ball rolling for Martin Jol's men with a cool finish after the City back four had been caught sleeping and they doubled their lead thanks to a Mladen Petric header before half-time.

The Croatian made it 3-0 early in the second period when his long range effort took a wicked deflection off Michael Turner to leave John Ruddy helpless. But the goal of the afternoon came when a flowing move involving Petric and Moussa Dembele ended with Alex Kacaniklic sliding past Ruddy.

Norwich's misery was complete in the 85th minute when Michael Turner brought down Hugo Rodallega and substitute Steve Sidwell hammered home the penalty.

"It was an awful day for us. It was tough watching," he said. "The first game of the season you want to get off to a good start. We knew it was going to be difficult because these are a good side. These days they don't lose many games here but for there were pivotal moments in the game. I thought for the first 25 minutes, our team shape was quite good even though we weren't quite as big a threat as I would have liked. We looked solid and resillient in our shape. Goals change games and we conceded two poor goals in that first half period. Four of the goals were for me really avoidable and that is the most disappointing aspect. It is an area we had looked very solid in pre-season. We went with five in midfield. We know it can happen. We know we are playing a really tough league and for me what is more important now is the type of reaction we get."



http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/norwich_city_boss_chris_hughton_warns_the_canaries_to_cut_out_the_defensive_charity_after_fulham_loss_1_1486905? (http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/norwich_city_boss_chris_hughton_warns_the_canaries_to_cut_out_the_defensive_charity_after_fulham_loss_1_1486905?)

 
Fulham 5-0 Norwich City

(http://cravencottagenewsround.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/2012-08-18-16-52-07-e1345309236419.jpg?w=768&h=1024)

Mankind's advances are wonderous indeed, but we don't know everything yet. How, for example, to explain a day where Fulham beat Norwich 5-0, comedy rivals QPR lose 5-0, at home, after a huge spending spree, and Liverpool, the glamourous (if overly made-up) secretary in the Clint Dempsey Love Triangle, get humped to the tune of 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion, the team that Roy Hodgson made. Fantastic, eh?

Today's slaughter was of the highest order. Norwich were absolutely obliterated, Fulham's players on a thoroughly different level and largely in cruise control throughout.  Everywhere you looked somebody was dominating their area of the pitch, Mahmadou Diarra being the sun around which all these stars flew. No wonder Jol felt able to let Danny Murphy go! Diarra really does do it all, and with Dembele you have a superstar engine-room that few teams will be able to match.  They were awe-inspiring.

John-arne Riise set us off by pinging a giant throughball over the top to Damian Duff, who scored well. we'd deserved that, having given Norwich the run-around, Ruiz wizarding about promisingly, Kacaniklic and Riise combining well and aggressively down the left.

We got another from a corner. Mladen Petric nearly scored with a smart control/volley combo, but got what he deserved here. Replays will be needed to establish exactly what occurred, but it seemed to involve a big Hangeland header and a scramble.

Then a third, Petric walloping home from distance via a deflection, and a fourth, Petric feeding Kacaniklic for his first Fulham league goal, again a neat finish, but fabulous creation.

Hugo Rodellega, on as a sparky sub, was tripped for a penalty, which Steve Sidwell ramrodded home into the top corner with some belief. A 5-0 scoreline by no means flattered the men in white (and black!) and at this point six might have been very achievable but everyone looked a little tired from their exertions in what had been presumably the hottest day of the year so far, or ever perhaps.

You don't get games like this all that often, so we must savour the memories while they're still fresh. The performance was thrillingly good, enough to make me spontaneously cheer a propos of nothing at one point. I was just really happy at what I was seeing. Fulham were amazing.



http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2012/08/18/fulham-5-0-norwich-city/? (http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2012/08/18/fulham-5-0-norwich-city/?)

 
Clint Dempsey fined £25k by Fulham 'for trying to force Liverpool transfer'
Clint Dempsey has been fined £25,000 by Fulham after he refused to be included for their opening Premier League match against Norwich amid speculation he is going to join Liverpool before the end of the month.

Dempsey is keen for a move away from Craven Cottage, and is said to have declined to play for Fulham in the meantime in the hope of forcing through a transfer.

That stance has left Cottagers manager Martin Jol fuming and the club has sanctioned the American a week's wages - £25,000 – for his petulance.

'Clint was not involved over the last four weeks so he is not going to be in the squad,' said Jol.

'He is not committed to the club - he wants to leave.

'If we get the right price for him we will sell him, if not he will stay.

'I would like to keep him, but I think it's impossible.

'We won't let Clint Dempsey go on the cheap that's for sure. It's a sad and almost embarrassing situation.'

Dempsey was on the radar of many clubs this summer following another impressive season - but it seems the 29-year-old has his heart set on a move to Anfield.

But Jol has confirmed that, despite the apparent need for Dempsey Liverpool, have failed to make an approach for the star.

'There was never an offer - Clint himself told everyone he was going to Liverpool so we really thought there was a firm interest in him,' added Jol.

'But our people never had an offer on the table. If you show interest in a player you have to follow it up. They didn't.'



Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/908945-clint-dempsey-fined-25k-by-fulham-for-trying-to-force-liverpool-transfer#ixzz23yekuooA (http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/908945-clint-dempsey-fined-25k-by-fulham-for-trying-to-force-liverpool-transfer#ixzz23yekuooA)

 
Fulham 5-0 Norwich: Fulham Slam Open The Season's Door

(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02313/fulham_2313948c.jpg)
Alex Kacaniklic hugs Mladen Petric, the man who set up his first Premier League goal with a brilliant back heel.

Forget slamming open the door, Fulham busted down the door like a SWAT team looking for a tweaked out crackhead with a sawed-off shotgun.

Clint who?

Add that to the fact that QPR got drubbed by Swansea sans Brendan Rogers and Gylfi Sigurddson, and Liverpool were ripped apart by West Brom sans Roy Hodgson, and it was quite a day for Fulham fans.  The Whites are now at the top of the table, thanks to a +5 goal differential as well as alphabetical advantage over Swansea.

The Fulham new boys were right in the thick of things.  Mladen Petric scored twice (which sounds almost like an afterthought considering how many players had stellar days), Hugo Rodallega definitely would have scored had he not been scythed down for a penalty, and Sascha Riether was just as sharp as any of the defenders in support of the clean sheet. Best part? They didn't cost a single pound in transfer kitty.

Finally, Alex Kacaniklic bagged his first Fulham first-team goal, a fitting reward for such a promising young kid who just missed a screamer the last time he came so close.

This not only was a massive victory on the pitch, but it gave Fulham fans a respite from the Clint Dempsey madness, something which all of us have been begging for.

The good:

Hmm, well this section could probably compete with a Harry Potter novel in size if I had all the time in the world to write, but alas, I do not, so I'll do my best to pick three. And even though I'm tempted to do so, the three will NOT be 1) the offense 2) the midfield 3) the defense, even though after a performance like this I'm incredibly tempted to do so.


Mladen Petric – I said in the preseason after his flurry of goals that we should expect a nice surprise but not to put too lofty of expectations on the Croatian.  While that still holds true, what a nice surprise! I think the best thing Fulham fans can take from this match in terms of Petric – it confirms that he's clearly a perfect fit for the Premier League style of play.  He doesn't rely on pure strength like Pogrebnyak, and has a good deal more polished ball skills, and is a very well-rounded target man at the point of the attack. I can promise you this, you wouldn't have EVER seen the Pog pop out a back heel like that to set up Kacaniklic for a goal.  He and the rest of the attack sliced up the Norwich defense in a more technical way, a way that you can see lasting a lot longer than Pogrebnyak's short burst of strength did.

Mahamadou Diarra – The Danny Murphy replacement played exceptionally well in the old captain's spot.  These first few weeks many of the Fulham players are going to be compared to the men whose spots they're taking, it's just the way things are going to be.  And I can safely say if we see this on a consistent basis from Diarra, Craven Cottage will be able to put Murphy in the past very quickly.  He won't be forgotten, of course not, but moving on is a necessary task, and this kind of rock solid play in the midfield brings back memories, in a good way. By the way, remember when Diarra was bought by Real Madrid for €26 mil? Remember when Martin Jol got him for free? Performances like this bring back memories of the €26 million Diarra. Brilliant.

First half Damien Duff and John Arne Riise – Both men faded quite a bit in the second half, but not for a lack of performance, merely others (such as Alex Kacaniklic and Bryan Ruiz) stepped up to grab the spotlight.  However, their first half was something to behold.  Riise AGAIN was so incredibly close to a goal when he tried to nutmeg Ruddy, although that turned out to not be such a good idea, as a shot to either side would surely have been his first Fulham goal. But he was so dangerous with his play.  He made a few lethal runs down the left side (one of which resulted in that near-goal), and the clean sheet speaks for itself.  Finally, the cross to run Duffer through for the first goal was on point, and something we can certainly rely on for this season going forward.

Honorable mention – Bryan Ruiz and Alex Kacaniklic both performed admirably on both ends of a number of attacks (by that I mean they both did the deadly crossing and received it). Moussa Dembele was 70-73 passing (96%).

The bad:

The bad? That Fulham aren't alone at the top of the table, although there's quite a silver a lining to that one as well (High 5 to QPR!). Let's skip this section, shall we?

Man of the Match:

Martin Jol.  This stems from his experimentation last season in his first year with the club.  All that mixing and matching has payed off, as he now has found the prime pitch locations for players like Dembele, Diarra, and Ruiz.  Now that they will spend a full season in those spots, we're reaping the rewards in heaps after just the first match.  I give all the credit to the gaffer.  I'm still nervous about bringing in the players we need to survive a long season, but in the short term, I couldn't be happier with the man leading the way.  Lead on, Jol!

Something to watch:

I was thinking this while writing about Riise's runs down the left-hand side – Kacaniklic and Riise seem to have a pretty well-developed innate understanding of each other on the left side of the pitch, don't they? Often when you get an attack-minded defender and a competent winger on the same side it can cause mix-ups on the edge, but Kacaniklic gave way when Riise made runs, and when the youngster was forward the Norweigan knew to stay back.  This is something to keep an eye on, and something that will be a massive asset if it continues.

Manager's reaction:

On the beginning of the game:

"It's a new team. We've got new players up front and Bryan Ruiz came back from his injury and played in the hole. I don't think we started in the way we wanted to but after that slow start we picked up the pace, then we slowed it down again so it wasn't exactly what we wanted from the start."

On Dempsey:

"He wants to move and if you want to move you don't want to take risks and don't want to play. It was a very awkward situation for us and for him. He didn't want to play because of a situation with another club. But what was more awkward is that there is no actual bid or offer from any club. Someone has told him Liverpool want him and his head was turned but for us there was nothing on the table – maybe Clint knows more than us. We feel, and the players feel, he should stay if there is no bid. In a normal world you have to stay where you are because you signed your contract. Hopefully he will play for us again."

On fans mocking of Dempsey:

"I don't want to hear the fans were chanting against him because he was a terrific player for us. He was the most productive midfield player in the whole league last season."

Finally, on others who need to step up in Dempsey's absence:

"Clint scored 17 league goals last season but he wasn't there today. It's not easy for us, it's not easy for the team but today they showed they can do the business. We were open about it – the other players have to stand up and give a bit more in their productivity and their goals. We've always had goals in this team but, before, they never really showed it. Moussa Dembele is a very good player but would only score two or three goals on average, so he should stand up, for example."

Jol also reiterated his desire to add to the midfield and attack in the market.


http://fulhamsfinest.com/2012/08/18/fulham-5-0-norwich-fulham-slam-open-the-seasons-door/? (http://fulhamsfinest.com/2012/08/18/fulham-5-0-norwich-fulham-slam-open-the-seasons-door/?)

 
Jol holds Dempsey hopes
Boss refuses to admit midfielder's pending exit is a formality

(http://e1.365dm.com/12/07/660x350/Clint-Dempsey-Martin-Jol_2802741.jpg)
Martin Jol: Has not given up on Clint Dempsey's Fulham future

Fulham manager Martin Jol still hopes to hang on to contract rebel Clint Dempsey despite seeing his 'new team' thump Norwich 5-0 in their Premier League opener.

Dempsey has refused to play for the Cottagers as he bids to force a move away from the club, with Liverpool known to be interested in his services.

Jol described the situation as 'embarrassing' earlier in the week, but is optimistic the American will perform a U-turn and stay with the club.

"Hopefully, in the future, he can be involved in the team again," Jol told Sky Sports following Fulham's emphatic win at Craven Cottage.

"Clint scored 17 league goals last season but he wasn't there today. It's not easy for us, it's not easy for the team but today they showed they can do the business.

"We were open about it - the other players have to stand up and give a bit more in their productivity and their goals," he added.

"We've always had goals in this team but, before, they never really showed it.

"Moussa Dembele is a very good player but would only score two or three goals on average, so he should stand up, for example."

Rout

Damien Duff broke the deadlock before a Mladen Petric brace either side of half-time put the hosts in charge.

Further goals from Alex Kacaniklic and Steve Sidwell, who netted a late penalty, confirmed Fulham's dominance.

Jol believes his new-look strike-force came good in the end, despite making a slow start to proceedings.

"It's a new team," claimed Jol, who fielded new signings Petric and Sascha Riether, while Hugo Rodallega made his debut from the bench.

"We've got new players up front and Bryan Ruiz came back from his injury and played in the hole.

"I don't think we started in the way we wanted to but after that slow start we picked up the pace, then we slowed it down again so it wasn't exactly what we wanted from the start."



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/8001789? (http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/8001789?)

 
Young Celts earn draw with Fulham

A CELTIC Under-17s team earned a deserved 1-1 draw against Fulham Under-18s on Saturday at the FA's National Football Centre, St George's Park.

The youngsters created the better openings in a hard-fought contest against the London side but found themselves a goal down against the run of play in the first half.

However, a strike from Jack Kirwan restored parity before the half-time interval, and neither side were able to find a winner before the final whistle.

The young Hoops had accepted an invitation to be one of the first teams to play at the newly-opened facility.

The superb state-of-the-art complex at Burton-upon-Trent is the FA's flagship for the future of football and the young Celts had stayed in the site's top-class hotel last night ahead of today's game.

It is hoped that the youths will revisit St George's Park again throughout the season



http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=2958 (http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=2958)

 
Leave Clint alone! Fuham boss Jol criticises chants directed at wantaway Dempsey

Martin Jol criticised the Fulham fans who mocked the absent Clint Dempsey during Saturday's 5-0 hammering of Norwich.

Dempsey, who scored 23 goals last term, did not feature in Saturday's game after he refused to play for Fulham in the hope that it would accelerate a transfer to Liverpool.

The Cottagers coped admirably without him as they ruined Chris Hughton's first game in charge of Norwich by recording a 5-0 thrashing courtesy of goals from Damien Duff, Steve Sidwell, Alex Kacaniklic and double from debutant Mladen Petric.

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/18/article-2190331-1499BB4B000005DC-465_468x304.jpg)
New star man: Mladen Petric scored two goals and made another in Fulham's 5-0 thrashing of Norwich

The home fans greeted Fulham's fifth strike - a fierce penalty from Sidwell - by chanting 'Are you watching Clint Dempsey?', clearly delighted they had proven they can easily do without the American's services.

But Jol, whose team sit top of the embryonic Barclays Premier League, feels the 29-year-old deserves more respect from the fans despite his recent rebellion.

'I don't want to hear the fans were chanting against him because he was a terrific player for us,' Jol said after the game.
'He was the most productive midfield player in the whole league last season.'

Jol launched a furious attack on Liverpool on Friday for failing to follow up their initial interest in Dempsey with a firm bid for the player.

The Dutchman said that it was 'impossible' for Dempsey to remain at Craven Cottage, but he now seems open to the possibility of the midfielder staying.

'Hopefully he will play for us again,' the Fulham boss added.

'There is one season to go (on his contract) and no one has come in for him.

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/18/article-2190331-149629E4000005DC-204_468x339.jpg)
Chants: Some sections of the Fulham support jeered Clint Dempsey, chanting, 'Are You Watching Clint Dempsey?'

'To say he refused to play is probably a bit harsh but he wanted to move and if you want to move, you don't want to take risks so you don't want to play in case you get an injury. So for me that was a very awkward situation and it was for him as well.

'There is nothing on the table from Liverpool. Maybe Clint knows more than us but we feel he should stay if there is no other bid.'

Hughton was hoping to score a victory against his former mentor, but his Norwich side looked a shadow of the team that finished 12th under Paul Lambert last season.

Fulham, on the other hand, played out of their skin. Duff controlled an excellent pass from John Arne Riise to put the home side ahead after 25 minutes before Petric added two more goals either side of half-time.

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/18/article-2190331-14995798000005DC-965_468x316.jpg)
Him too: Damien Duff got in on the act with a goal of his own

The Croatian then played a superb backheel to Alex Kacaniklic for Fulham's fourth and Sidwell blasted home a spot-kick in the dying minutes after Michael Turner's awful foul on Hugo Rodallega in the Norwich box.

Kacaniklic, starting just his third league game, received praise from Jol for slotting in to the team in Dempsey's place.

'I thought we did well on the left. It was not easy to follow in the footsteps of Clint Dempsey but luckily enough (Kacaniklic) did well,' Jol said.

'We did well. We let the ball do the work and we were very good to watch.'

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/18/article-2190331-149959D9000005DC-829_468x329.jpg)
Defence: Martin Jol (left) was critical of those at Craven Cottage who jeered the absent Dempsey

Hughton, who worked under Jol as a coach at Tottenham, admitted that his first top-flight game in 20 months could not have gone worse.

'It was an awful day for us,' Hughton said.

'That's not how you want your first game of the season to go.

'Four of the goals were avoidable. In pre-season we have looked very solid in defence. I had no inkling this would happen.'

Hughton is confident that his men will bounce back from the thrashing, however.

'The players are hurting,' the former Birmingham manager said.

'This won't be the only defeat that we will have and it won't be the only defeat that we will have by a few goals, but the players will want to react well.

'They know this wasn't acceptable today and they want to make amends.'



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2190331/Martin-Jol-criticises-fans-jeering-Clint-Dempsey.html#ixzz23ylLNYfq (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2190331/Martin-Jol-criticises-fans-jeering-Clint-Dempsey.html#ixzz23ylLNYfq)

The View From South Texas: Fulham FC v. Norwich City

by HatterDon

I forgot that I had some volunterring to do shortly after the second half started, so this is as quick as I was able to get this report up. MAN, it's nice to be doing match reports again.

Nice Day for a Stroll

Bathed in warm summer sunshine, Fulham fought off that "at the beach" feeling to demolish a very poor Norwich side 5-0. The goals went to Petrić, Duff, Petrić, Kacaniklic, and Sidwell (penalty). Schwarzer enjoyed his 141st Premier League clean sheet, and if he had an easier one, at his age he probably can't remember it.

How poor were Norwich? Very poor. They were easily bossed around in midfield, toothless in attack, and their chief defensive tactic appeared to be maintaining a high line, and then turning and watching Fulham attackers hare towards goal. If England manager Roy Hodgson came to the Cottage to watch Ruddy and Holt, he certainly went away disappointed. Holt commanded some airspace, but did nothing with it, and Ruddy confirmed the absolute truth of England's weakness in goal. If he can be capped and considered to be part of England's future, then England is in serious trouble. I'm sure, by the way, that Hodgson didn't come to watch Fulham, as there wasn't an Englishman in sight all day until Sidwell came on – as the third substitute – with about seven minutes left. He didn't have time to do much, but dispatched his penalty very well.

How good were Fulham? Perhaps the better question would be "how aggressive were Fulham." Fulham took control of the game shortly after kickoff and maintained that control for 90+ minutes. Diarra, Dembélé, and Ruiz commanded the midfield so well that the back four and Tha Big Aussie had very little to do. I think Mark had to make two saves and, in his only action of the first half, fisted away a high cross. There were several players who caught my eye early and never allowed me to look away from them subsequently. Riise screamed down the left wing more in the first half today than he did in any month last season. His aggression and Special K's trickiness caused Norwich no end of trouble in protecting their right flank. Ruiz still has good feet and a great pass on him, but he's added something else this season: he is much quicker and is much more difficult to nudge off the ball. I think it's fair to say that, based on what we saw today, Fulham will lean very heavily on Ruiz and Diarra – the latter playing as close to a perfect game as I've seen in many a moon.

And then there are the new guys. Petrić looks like the complete forward. He holds the ball well, distributes it well, defends very well in the box, nicks the ball smoothly and very much knows where the goal is. He more than earned his brace, and put more into the side than he took out of it. Riether surprised me early on with his pace. He attacks well up the right and his defensive positioning struck me as disciplined and knowledgeable. I think Kelly edges him defensively, but Riether is more of a complete player. Rodallega didn't get much of a chance to do anything, coming on as he did in the 67th minute, but he didn't look slow or indecisive, and that's a good thing.

I was especially pleased to see Pajtim Kasami enter the fray. He didn't perform as well as the man he replaced, but the man he replaced was Damien Duff, so that's no shame. Let's hope he doesn't get buried again this season. He's nowhere near the finished product, but he's getting there. Closer to a finished product is Kacaniklic. He's a legitimate left winger, a huge upgrade over the very good Kerim Frei, and he's not afraid to take a crack. I didn't see anything to criticize in his performance.

So, a good day for a walk in the park turned out to be a walk in the park. As usual, I haven't read any reports or even looked at the other final scores, but I expect we'll be top of the league at the end of the weekend. One swallow doesn't make a summer, and today's result against the side I figure to finish 20th doesn't make us a behemoth, but we've often struggled or seemed to be happy with a 1-0 at home and a 0-0 on the road against teams like this. Today, we went for the throat from the off, and ripped at it time and again. In the last 7 or 8 seasons, I've seen Fulham play "the perfect game" twice in the Premier League – that is (1) making no serious mistakes and (2) everything we tried to do worked. This was true at the Cottage at home to QPR last season. It was true today.

There were entirely too many stellar performances on the pitch today to award a single player man of the match, so Hatter Don's Man of the Match goes to the man who chose the squad and put the 14 players out on the pitch. Martin Jol; well done that man.

COYW


http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=174 (http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=174)

 
FULHAM 5 - NORWICH 0: CANARIES PETRI-FIED

CLINT who? Dempsey dominated thoughts at Craven Cottage before kick-off after Fulham boss Martin Jol launched an angry attack on the player and Liverpool.

But the future of the wantaway striker was soon forgotten as Craven Cottage saluted a new hero in Croatia hit-man Mladen Petric.

Petric produced a near-perfect debut with two goals and a clever assist for a third as Jol's side crushed sorry Norwich.

"To say Clint refused to play is probably a bit harsh," explained Jol, "but he wanted to move and if you want to move, you don't want to take risks so you don't want to play in case you get an injury.

"So for me that was a very awkward situation and for him as well. And obviously what was more awkward is there was no offer from a big club.

"Of course someone told him Liverpool wanted him and his head was turned but for us there was nothing on the table.

"Maybe Clint knows more than us but we feel and the players feel and everyone else feels he should stay here if there is no other bid.

"In the normal world you have to stay where you have a contract and hopefully he will play for us again."
It didn't take Jol's side long to show there can be life Dempsey – Fulham's leading scorer last season.

Bryan Ruiz was almost gifted an 18th minute opening goal when Norwich keeper John Ruddy fluffed a clearance and the Fulham man's chip flew just over the bar.

That was hardly the kind of moment Ruddy needed in front of watching England manager Roy Hodgson – and he had another nervy moment later in the first half.

But Fulham's dominance was always likely to deliver a breakthrough and it came when John Arne Riise set Damien Duff clear and the winger struck the 26th minute opener.

Petric made it two four minutes before the break when his header crossed the line before Jonathan Howson could hook it clear.

New Norwich boss Chris Hughton reacted at half time by changing his side's shape.

But Petric's second, nine minutes after the break, meant there was never any chance of a Canaries comeback.

Instead it went from bad to worse with Alex Kacaniklic converting after the move of the match.

Then with Norwich looking a beaten side, Michael Turner brought down Hugo Rodallega and Steve Sidwell converted from the spot.

Hughton had an opening day to forget and said: "It was an awful day for us. What's important now is what kind of reaction we get."



http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/340657? (http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/340657?)

 
Fulham manager holds out olive branch to Clint Dempsey

United States forward Clint Dempsey has not burnt his bridges with Fulham by refusing to play and could still feature for the west London club if a desired move does not materialize, manager Martin Jol said on Saturday.

Fulham showed they hardly needed last season's top scorer when they romped to a 5-0 home win over Norwich City on the Premier League's opening day but Jol's post-match news conference was still dominated by Dempsey's no-show.

"If you want to move you don't want to take risks, you don't want to play because you could get an injury. That's a very awkward situation for us and for me and for him as well," Jol told reporters.

"Maybe Clint knows more than us but we feel and the players feel and everyone else feels that he should stay here if there is no other bid because there is no other bid.

"In a normal world you have to stay where you are because you signed your contract and hopefully he will play for us again." added Jol.

Dempsey scored 17 league goals for Fulham last term despite not being an out-and-out striker and United States boss Juergen Klinsmann said in May he hoped the 29-year-old would move to a Champions League side after his fine campaign.

Liverpool, who are not in the Champions League this season and started life under new manager Brendan Rodgers with a 3-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, have long been linked in the media with a bid for Dempsey along with Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side, who drew 0-0 with Sunderland, are in Europe's elite competition and need fresh forwards after selling leading striker Robin van Persie to Manchester United.



http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/fulham-manager-holds-out-olive-branch-to-clint-dempsey/article4487956/? (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/fulham-manager-holds-out-olive-branch-to-clint-dempsey/article4487956/?)

 
Horror Show
   
This was to be the start of a new era, Paul Lambert has gone and Chris Hughton duly took a Norwich City side heavily influenced by Lambert to Craven Cottage for the first game of the season.

Two of Hughton`s summer signings, Michael Turner and Robert Snodgrass were in the City first eleven - other than that it was familiar faces all round.

A back four of Martin, Tierney, Bennett and Turner sat behind a midfield three of Surman, Johnson and Howson. Upfront, Captain Holt was supported by Pilkington on the left and Snodgrass on the right.

The match kicked off in glorious 30 degree sunshine and for ninety seconds or so, Fulham didn`t see the ball, Norwich playing a slick passing game. After that though, it all started to go wrong.

An impressive Fulham side started to push the Canaries backwards. It quickly became very hard for the City players to get the ball, let alone keep it or do much with it.

Riise spent most of this match in the Norwich half and made some tremendous surging runs. On the other side it was Damien Duff who did the same.

City were being pushed further and further back with Pilkington and Snodgrass dropping back to help out time and time again. Eventually they were playing as extra full backs as City started to play with six at the back - I`m sure this wasn`t tactically what Hughton had in mind when he was planning for this game at Colney during last week.

City had the odd chance on the break, the "best" falling to Surman who ran onto a lovely Holt flick. Unfortunately he was pushed wide and had no choice other than to hit a shot from a tight angle which brought a sharp save from Schwarzer.

A Fulham goal was coming and on 18 minutes, it almost came to Ruiz as Ruddy`s shanked clearance fell to Ruiz. Luckily though, he could only he could only lob over the cross bar.

Dembele was controlling the midfield now and Ruddy had to make three very good saves from Riise, Ruiz and then Petric that will have pleased the watching Roy Hodgson.

On 26 minutes though the inevitable happened. Riise played a huge 60 odd yard cross field to Duff who raced toward Ruddy with the City defence flailing. He slotted the ball past Ruddy who will feel disappointed as he almost stopped it with his right foot.

Petric doubled the lead when he headed Duff`s corner in, the ball was correctly ruled over despite Howson`s clearance.

At half time it was 2 nil and Fulham were cruising. Holt had become an increasingly isolated figure up front, alone and in need of help.

For the second half, Hughton took off Surman and brought on Steve Morison. City were chasing the game and Surman will feel his luck was out as he had been one of the midfield`s livelier performers - that`s not saying much though.

Norwich reverted to a 4-4-2 but you have to get crosses into the box for players like Holt and Morison - in the first half this just didn`t happen.

In the second there was a brief rally from the Canaries before they fell three behind. Ruiz played Petric into space 25 yards out and he had a go. His shot deflecting off Michael Turner to leave Ruddy stranded.

The game was now over, although City`s performance suggested that was the case a long while before the third goal went in.

Snodgrass was replaced immediately with Elliot Bennett but no amount of changes would do anything here today.

On 66 minutes, Petric played a lovely flick to Kacaniklic who strode forward and slotted the ball past Ruddy to make it four nil - an absolute nightmare and with 25 minutes still to play.

Bradley Johnson`s 25 yard effort was about as good as it got for the City faithful and Schwarzer blocked it with his knees, without too much trouble.

Petric had been replaced by Rodallega after the fourth goal and was looking to add to Fulham`s tally - what better time to make your debut?

With just three minutes left and the Canary fans starting to drift away, Rodallega was up-ended by a clumsy challenge from Turner in the box - Steve Sidwell smashed the resulting penalty past a helpless John Ruddy to finish the scoring at five nil.

Another, shell shocked afternoon at Fulham for Norwich City - at one point I thought it was going to be worse than the infamous six nil defeat there in 2005.

Make no mistake about it though, this was a terrible drubbing at the hands of a decent Fulham side. But they aren`t Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal or Chelsea are they? No disrespect to you Fulham lads - you were by far the better side today.

Chris Hughton will be mightily worried by what he saw - as were the rest of us. Norwich offered little or nothing in an offensive manner and our most threatening times were from set pieces which were on the whole, comfortably dealt with.

Quite why this happened, only the players know. It was a very hot afternoon and I wouldn`t have fancied running around for ninety minutes, but Fulham managed it just fine.

Arguably, last season, we were only drubbed twice - both times at the hands of Champions, Manchester City and they have a team of Galacticos.

If Norwich City want to stay in this league then they have to be more than competitive against the teams around them, which you would assume is what Fulham are.

The City management team must now respond and so must the players.

Next week we play our first home game against a QPR side who were also drubbed five nil by a free scoring Swansea team. This game now takes on important status for both sides.

If either side lose heavily, then a truly awful start to the season is complete. Both managers will know this and do everything they can on the training pitch this week to ensure it doesn`t happen.

Which set of players will respond the best? I`m hoping that it`ll be the Norwich lads. I`m also hoping that our manager is looking at further attacking signings.

I still feel that we need another goal scorer - We have two target men in Holt and Morison and I know James Vaughan could be like a new player for us but if you don`t score, you won`t win.

On this display though, the defence could do with some help as well. Javier Garrido is in the building and there may be another - anyone else notice that Steve Morison has vacated the number five shirt he requested last season for the number sixteen shirt(?!). Let`s hope this signals the arrival of another centre back because on this performance our defence is leakier than ever.

We move on and look forward to our first home match now - onwards and upwards, it`s the only thing we can do. This cannot happen again or we`ll be playing Ipswich next season.

OTBC



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Spurs are planning another bid for Fulham star – report

Tottenham are planning to table another bid for Fulham's Moussa Dembele, the Sunday Mirror say.

Dembele has previously been linked with a move to White Hart Lane and Spurs are again said to be pursuing him.

The same paper also suggest Luka Modric will snub a fresh approach from Chelsea to join Real Madrid from Tottenham, and that Chelsea have been tracking Newcastle midfielders Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye.

The Sun on Sunday pick up on Chelsea youngster Josh McEachran's imminent loan move.

Related West London Sport stories:
McEachran poised to complete Boro move
McEachran expects six-month loan move

Meanwhile, The People say QPR boss Mark Hughes is planning an ambitious bid for Barcelona centre-back Andreu Fontas.

It is claimed talks have begun ahead of a possible £4.5m move for the 22-year-old, who has a year of his Barca contract left to run.


http://www.westlondonsport.com/paper-talk/spurs-are-planning-another-bid-for-fulham-star-report (http://www.westlondonsport.com/paper-talk/spurs-are-planning-another-bid-for-fulham-star-report)

 
Fulham 5 - 0 Norwich

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/62361000/jpg/_62361705_62361617.jpg)

Mladen Petric scored twice on his debut as Fulham crushed Norwich 5-0 on the first day of the Premier League season.

The Croatian striker headed in a Damien Duff corner and scored with a 25-yard effort that deflected in off City defender Michael Turner.

Duff poked in the first from 12 yards after latching onto John Arne Riise's through ball while Alex Kacaniklic tucked in the fourth from close range.

Steve Sidwell smashed in a late penalty after Hugo Rodellaga was bundled over.

The Cottagers bossed the match almost from the opening whistle with their quick, neat passing game leaving Norwich chasing shadows on a gloriously sunny day in west London.

Moussa Dembele and Bryan Ruiz were at the centre of much of Fulham's better work, controlling the middle of the pitch and feeding Duff down the right and Riise the left.

However, it took 18 minutes for the home side to have their first shot on goal and that came from a Norwich mistake - goalkeeper John Ruddy screwing a clearance straight at Ruiz but the Costa Rican's lobbed effort sailed over the crossbar.

Spurred on by the chance, Fulham created three of their own in quick succession but Ruddy was equal to each, showing why he won his first England cap in the midweek 2-1 friendly win over Italy.

Firstly, he was down smartly to keep out Riise's low drive, before gathering a tamer 20-yard Ruiz shot and palming a sharp Petric effort round the post.

Duff's delight
Fulham's Damien Duff has now scored in 13 Premier League seasons. The only other Irishman to match that record is Robbie Keane. Duff's first top-flight goal came in the 1997-98 season

The Fulham goal that looked so likely eventually came when Riise pinged a beautiful 60-yard crossfield pass to Duff and although Ruddy managed to get his right foot on the goal-bound shot, the ball spun into the net.

Petric doubled the lead before half-time, nodding in Duff's corner, to score his first goal for the Cottagers - assistant referee Charles Breakspear correctly ruling that the ball had crossed the line despite Jonny Howson's attempted clearance.

New Norwich manager Chris Hughton brought on Steve Morison at the start of the second half to give lone forward Grant Holt some support but with Fulham continuing to boss the midfield, they were getting little service.

Indeed it was Fulham who further extended their lead when a neat passing triangle involving Ruiz and Petric saw the latter find space 25 yards from goal and his left-foot effort deflected off Turner to leave Ruddy wrong-footed.

If the third goal had an element of fortune about it, the fourth was delightfully crafted with Petric flicking a Dembele pass into the path of Kacaniklic and the Swede neatly slotted the ball past Ruddy.

Petric was immediately substituted to a standing ovation and, with the game won, Duff was afforded the same accolade by manager Martin Jol.

Bradley Johnson's 25-yard drive was a rare highlight for the visiting fans but Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer kept the shot out with his knees.

With Norwich fans already beginning to drift away, Rodellaga was felled by Turner and Sidwell converted the penalty as Fulham maintained their record of never having lost a home Premier League game on the opening day of the season.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19221586 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19221586)

 
Flawless Fulham canter past the Canaries
by DAN on AUGUST 19, 2012

(http://d.yimg.com/i/ng/sp/empics/20120818/16/3863457906-soccer-barclays-premier-league-fulham-v-norwich-city-craven-cottage.jpg)
Damien Duff slides Fulham's first goal past John Ruddy at the Putney End

Poor old Norwich City. Every time they travel to Craven Cottage they seem to relive the same nightmare. They came with genuine hope of pulling off the impossible back in 2005 with a win on the final day of the season the only way they could prolong their all too brief stay in the top flight under Nigel Worthington. Fulham, with lean, mean Brian McBride playing party pooper, dispatched their with such disdain it was almost cruel and unusual. It was much closer in March when Paul Lambert's side looked well beaten after two early strikes from Clint Dempsey and Damien Duff, but threatened to pinch a point after Aaron Wilbraham's spirited riposte with thirteen minutes to play.

On another roasting summer's afternoon alongside the Thames, there was clear water between these two sides by half time. Fulham, with just one defeat in a pre-season campaign that was all about finessing Martin Jol's revamp of the club's footballing philosophy, had the game settled by half time. There was no American to torment the Canaries, with McBride limited to cameos for Wembley FC, and Dempsey persona non grata after attempting to force through away from the Cottage in the wake of a truly astonishing twelve months of football.

On the flanks were one evergreen Irishman in Damien Duff, who opened the scoring with a sumptuous finish after sprinting onto a raking crossfield ball from John Arne Riise which Mark Tiereney decided to admire along with the rest of the Riverside Stand, and Fulham's newest international in Alex Kacaniklic, who underscored the potential he showed as a Melwood junior, with his first senior Premier League goal only three days after coming off the bench for his Swedish debut against Brazil. Fulham's four summer additions all featured with Mladen Petric grabbing a couple on his Premier League debut, Sascha Riether raiding forward from right back, Hugo Rodallega winning a penalty from the bench and Mahamadou Diarra, who made his short-term switch permanent over the close season, delivering the kind of imperious display that convinced Real Madrid to make him their big-money replacement for Claude Makelele. In these times when we're asked to make every penny count, the fact that Martin Jol has yet to spent any of Mohamed Al Fayed's millions and has strengthened considerably since last season's surge in the final furlong is commendable.

Not that Chris Hughton enjoyed his chastening reintroduction to life as a top flight manager. The Canaries hadn't looked particularly porous during a tight opening 25 minutes, limiting Fulham's flowing one-touch football to a few snapshots from distance until the end of the first quarter. Bryan Ruiz, playing in the inside forward role that was Johnny Haynes' for a decade, buzzed around with a frenetic energy that has only intensified during his first full pre-season in England.

The Costa Rican might have opened the scoring with an impudent chip over John Ruddy after the England keeper had mishit a clearance but the man handed his international opportunity by Roy Hodgson in Bern was equal to efforts from Riise and Ruiz from the edge of the box. He might have felt he should have prevented Duff's dinked finish from rolling in off the far post having seen the ball spin away off his right foot, but any opprobrium should be saved for the way his back four allowed Riise's sixty yard diagonal pass afford Duff a sprint through on goal. The thirty-three year-old has now scored in thirteen top flight campaigns since 1997-98, a record only bettered by Robbie Keane, Alan Shearer, Gary Speed, Andrew Cole, Ryan Giggs and his compatriot Robbie Keane.

Petric, who needed no introduction to the Fulham faithful after his fierce free-kick at the Hammersmith End threatened to ruin Fulham's big night in the Europa League three years ago, continued his clinical conversion rate with a glancing header from a Duff corner three minutes before the break. There was no need for the goal-line technology even Sepp Blatter's so keen on, assistant referee Charles Breakspear's alertness swiftly informing  Michael Oliver that Jonny Howson's attempt to clear before his own crossbar took place inside the net.

Hughton was pair enough to pair Steve Morison, who might have moved from Millwall to Craven Cottage rather than Carrow Road in the January window a couple of years, with the isolated Grant Holt for the second period but his back four failed to heed his half-time words about the need to regain their discipline. The Canaries allowed Ruiz and Petric far too much room to operate in 25 yards from goal and were punished courtesy of the former Hamburg forward's left foot, with Ruddy a spectator after the ball spun off Michael Turner into the opposite corner.

Norwich's rearguard were left looking even more leaden footed by a move straight off the Motspur Park training board. Another of Moussa Dembele's mesmorising dribbles created the space for a lovely triangle between Ruiz, Petric and Kacaniklic. The Croatian's cute backheel gave the Swede the chance to skip away from a horribly square defence and steer a low shot beyond the helpless Ruddy – which was a fitting reward for Kacaniklic's energetic display. A fifth arrived from the penalty spot after Turner needlessly felled Hugo Rodallega after Norwich tried to play their way out of trouble from the edge of their own box and the spot-kick was comprehensively converted by Steve Sidwell, who took out twelve months of injury frustration on the ball, a few minutes after arriving as a substitute.

Mark Schwarzer was a virtual spectator for much of the contest called upon to make only two saves, although his late stop from Bradley Johnson's dipping drive was worthy of the clean sheet that took him above David Seaman into second place on the Premier League's all-time tally behind only David James. Craven Cottage, soon to be expanded to a 30,000 capacity, can't have seen many better starts to a season than this. Delia Smith and Chris Hughton will be glad it'll be at least twelve months since they have to return for a league fixture.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Schwarzer; Riether, J.A. Riise, Hughes, Hangeland; Diarra, Dembélé; Duff (Kasami 74), Kacaniklic, Ruiz (Sidwell 81); Petri?  (Rodallega 68). Subs (not used): Stockdale, Kelly, Halliche, Baird.

GOALS: Duff (26), Petric (41, 54), Kacaniklic (66), Sidwell (pen 87).

NORWICH CITY (4-5-1): Ruddy, R. Martin, Turner, R. Bennett, Tierney; B. Johnson, Howson, Surman (Morison 45), Pilkington, Snodgrass (E. Bennett 56); Holt (Hoolahan 77). Subs (not used): Rudd, Barnett, Lappin, Vaughan.

REFEREE: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

ATTENDANCE: 25,062.



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