Friends of Fulham

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/800906/SCHWARZER-GERMAN-TAUNTS-FIRED-US-UP.html


SCHWARZER: GERMAN TAUNTS FIRED US UP


Why Thursday was a good night for Fulham


By Aidan Magee, 01/05/2010

MARK SCHWARZER only needed to look at the German newspapers after last week's first leg in Hamburg to help inspire Fulham to the Europa League final.

The Australian keeper's parents are from southern Germany and emigrated from the country four years before Schwarzer was born.

The Fulham star is fluent in the language and was shocked at the rough treatment his side received at the hands of so-called local experts covering the game.

He read out some of the cutting remarks on the plane home from Hamburg last Friday and believes it gave the players added determination against the Bundesliga side as they won through to a final showdown with Atletico Madrid on May 12.

Fulham edged out Hamburg 2-1 on the night with goals from Simon Davies and Zoltan Gera after the goalless draw at the Nordbank Arena a week earlier.

It means Schwarzer will have a chance to make amends for the 4-0 thrashing he suffered with Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven in 2006.

"When people keep putting you down it lifts you," he said.

"I said to the boys after last week's game that a lot of the so-called German experts had written us off and said we weren't any good.

"They had written and said that Hamburg only had to come to Craven Cottage and play decent football and they would beat us.

"I translated the papers and heard the reports and that got players going even more so. And we showed them what we could do with a great performance.

"I don't think Hamburg can have any complaints about the way the game went on the night. It just shows what you can do if you believe strongly enough.

"I've said to the players all through this campaign 'you've just got to believe', have faith in the team and what we're doing and really go for it.

"I don't think anybody would have thought that Fulham would be where they are today. It just goes to show that anything's possible.

"When I played for Middlesbrough against Sevilla, 4-0 was not an accurate reflection of the way the game went. We conceded three in the last 15 minutes while we were chasing the game and Mark Viduka missed a chance from six yards out.

"Don't forget also how good Sevilla were. They won the UEFA Cup the year after and then went on to play in the Champions League."
Memorable

Schwarzer, 37, whose side host West Ham today, believed his chance of appearing in another European final had passed him by.

The Australian international also gave a unique insight into the kind of team spirit that has kept Fulham going in the competition and seen them produce memorable fightbacks on the way to the final in Hamburg in 11 days' time.

"Our song tonight was 'I've Got a Feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas. That was played many times before the game," said the Sydney-born keeper.

"Why did we choose that one? Simple, we had a feeling that tonight was going to be a good night! One of our keepers Pascal Zuberbuhler kept playing it and we said 'it's broken, it's on repeat' so it just kept on playing and playing.

"In the end the boys are going 'oh my God, can you turn it over,' but afterwards they were all saying we've got to keep playing it from now on."

Roy Hodgson has hinted that he is ready to throw in the towel on his attempt to lead his Euro heroes to another top 10 finish.

The Fulham boss admits he will be asking a bit much of his side to finish strongly in their last three games because they have already played 59 games this campaign.

It means the club will almost certainly miss out on up to £3million of prize money as a result of having to name weakened sides in their remaining games as they prepare for the Europa League final a week on Thursday. Fulham were spared a fine or even a possible points deduction by the Premier League this week when West Ham's complaint that Hodgson had rested key players in the defeat at Hull on March 27 was dismissed.

Outstanding

Last season they achieved their highest place finish in the top flight since they were promoted nine years ago, and the Fulham chief believes a similar feat will have to be sacrificed if they are to have a realistic chance of beating Atletico Madrid in Hamburg.

"Thursday was our 59th game of the season and the players have been outstanding," said Hodgson.

"I don't have a big squad and many of these players have played a large number of games and we've still got four to go, so it is going to be quite incredible.

"More attention will now focus on the final and everyone will understand that.

"It would be nice if we could keep our league form going but I can't keep whipping these boys time and time again.

"I suppose they could crack up but they haven't done so for 59 games so maybe I will manage to get another four out of them. It's been hard because we are playing such good teams.

"We had to beat Basel and Roma to get into the group stages and then we played Shakhtar, Juventus and Wolfsburg, the German champions.

"I don't think there was ever going to be an easy way and we have to be happy that we could compete let alone beat them."

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/football/800961/SUNDERLAND-PURSUE-CITY-ACE-IRELAND.html


SUNDERLAND PURSUE CITY ACE IRELAND


Zamora interest likely to be in vain


By Neil Ashton, 01/05/2010


STEVE BRUCE wants Manchester City outcast Stephen Ireland in a £4million deal this summer.

The Sunderland chief is convinced he can resurrect Ireland's career after a frustrating season on the sidelines at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Ireland was City's Player of the Year last term, but is one of a number of stars expected to leave the club this summer.

He has made just 16 Premier League starts this season, but has rarely featured under Roberto Mancini.

Bruce also fancies Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, but Roy Hodgson will offer him an improved contract this summer.

The Black Cats chief is also keen to tie down loan signing Alan Hutton from Tottenham on a permanent deal.

The Scottish right-back has already become a firm favourite with Sunderland fans who call him the 'white Cafu' after the Brazilian World Cup-winning wing wizard.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/800980/YOURE-JUST-TOO-FUL-OF-YOURSELF-JOSE.html


YOU'RE JUST TOO FUL OF YOURSELF, JOSE


Inter boss could take a leaf out of Hodgson's book


01/05/2010


WHEN Jose Mourinho was manager of Chelsea and I was boss at Macclesfield, we were drawn together in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge.

Jose couldn't have been nicer. In the build-up to the game he paid us the ultimate compliment of scouting Macclesfield in the same way he would have Manchester United or Arsenal for a Premier League game.

Although we lost 6-1 there was no crowing from Mourinho. In fact, he went round every single one of the players and shook their hands, got them signed Chelsea shirts and treated us wonderfully.

In short, he was a class act.

So, having seen that side of Jose, it really wound me up on Wednesday when he showed another side of him that does him no favours whatsoever.

Beating Barcelona over two legs was a magnificent achievement and I know from personal experience how much it would have meant to every single Inter fan to make it to the Champions League Final.

But why did Jose have to make it all about himself? Why that mental run across the pitch at the final whistle? Why all the showboating?

Don't get me wrong, his record is absolutely phenomenal. If you want a guarantee of success, dig deep and hire Mourinho, no question.

Wednesday night, though, should have been about the Inter players.

As a manager, you can plan and organise until you're blue in the face but it's about the fellas who actually go out onto the pitch and make it happen that count.

People like Lucio, Walter Samuel, Wesley Sneijder and Esteban Cambiasso, players who ran themselves into the ground, put their bodies on the line and who fought until they dropped to keep Barcelona.

They were the heroes in the Nou Camp not a bloke in a suit, no matter how big a part Mourinho played.

To me it looked like nothing more than an audition for any Real Madrid director or fan who was watching.

Look at me, look what I did to your biggest rivals in the Nou Camp. Gissa job and I'll do the same on a regular basis next season.

Contrast that with Roy Hodgson 24 hours later.

I would argue that taking Fulham to the final of the Europa League is a greater achievement that Inter reaching the Champions League Final yet what did Roy do at the final whistle?

He shook hands with his staff. He commiserated with the Hamburg bench and then he quietly walked off across the Craven Cottage pitch and into the dressing rooms.

There was no hogging the limelight. No leaping about or self-congratulation, he just acted with absolute dignity even though he must have been bubbling inside.

Even the next day he wasn't telling the world what a brilliant job he'd done. Roy simply accepted all the praise and spoke with great humility, paying tribute to his players and then insisting he'd keep his feet on the ground because Fulham hadn't actually won anything yet.

That's a mark of the man, somebody with wonderful experience who's seen the best and worst side of football and never acted any differently.

A few weeks ago I said that Roy would be my manager of the year and Thursday night simply underlined how brilliantly he's done this season.

If he wins that award, then I'm sure he'll be happy. If Jose won it, he'd be rubbing everybody's noses in it from now to next season.

Both men are fantastic managers. Only one has real dignity.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/800821/Hodgson-takes-Rob-Shepherds-vote-for-boss-of-the-season.html


ROY'S THE BOY FOR MY MANAGER OF THE YEAR VOTE

European exploits make Fulham boss the ideal choice

Rob Shepherd thinks Capello should succeed Sir Alex.


01/05/2010


A COUPLE of months ago when I ventured to suggest that Roy Hodgson should be considered as manager of the year, the most polite remark I got was: "That's a bit left field."

Now everyone thinks Hodgson should get a gong.

I just hope the Fulham boss and his team go on to beat Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final later this month.

That would be another testament to the virtues of 'old school' management and why, if Fabio Capello does quit England in the summer, Hodgson is the best man to take over.

He was a better bet than Sven Goran Eriksson when Kevin Keegan quit in 2001.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/football/800772/WILLIAMS-FEARS-LIBERTY-STADIUM-EXODUS.html


Leon Britton, who will be out of contract at the end of the season, is also wanted by Wigan while Spanish full-back Angel Rangel is on Fulham's shopping list.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/fulham/7664227/Fulhams-miracle-season-has-been-built-on-hard-work-says-manager-Roy-Hodgson.html


Fulham's 'miracle' season has been built on hard work, says manager Roy Hodgson


As an endorsement it does not get much more effusive. Sir Alex Ferguson was filled with boyish enthusiasm as he described Roy Hodgson's achievements with Fulham this season as a "miracle".


By Duncan White


Published: 4:41PM BST 01 May 2010

The story is captivating. As successive European giants have been put to the sword, the money-saturated cynicism of modern football has faded, replaced by the honest and naïve celebration of heroic achievement. It is fairy-tale stuff down at the Cottage.

Hodgson is not easily turned. He is proud, fiercely so, of what his team has achieved but also alert to any hint of condescension towards Fulham. Yet, fresh from speaking to Sir Alex to thank him for his support, even he is ready to concede that these are special, probably unique, times in the history of this club.

"We really need to enjoy this while it lasts because this will not happen to Fulham every year," he said. "It might have captured the imagination because it taps in to what sport is about, overcoming the odds. What it does is show that with a good bunch of players, who are willing to sacrifice their egos to the greater good, you can achieve more than you might imagine.

"I want to savour this because you know next season I have to get back to my main job which is keeping Fulham in the Premier League. It has been an amazing challenge – starting in July and ending in May. I'm not a great lover of comparisons but it is one of the best moments in my career. I remember when I won my first championship with Halmstads in 1976.

"I never thought it would get better than that. However, these two seasons can compare with anything I have achieved in the game. When I have retired and look back at my career I'm sure these days will be among the very best of my memories."

As Basel, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg were left in their wake, the inspiring comparison drawn is that of Greece, who won Euro 2004 as complete outsiders. Fulham, though, have managed to beat some of the best sides in Europe while also fighting on the Premier League front and, crucially, they have often done it playing entertaining football.

The journey has an epic quality. It started in Lithuania nine months and 18 games ago and it has encompassed everything from Clint Dempsey's sublime chip against Juventus to the squad defying a traffic jam by marching up and down the hard shoulder of the autobahn on their way to Hamburg.

They've even taken volcanic eruptions in their stride. "It has been a marathon. The semi-final was our 59th game and we were rather hoping to play 63. We've got that now. Most seasons here we'd be happy playing 43 or 44 games – that would be thought a half decent season. It's effectively playing a season and half, with what is a limited squad."

If it looks serene on the surface it's only because the engine is working so hard underneath. Fulham's revolution has been industrial, a reassuring translation of graft into success.

It is Hodgson's mantra: repetition, repetition, repetition. "Strangely football is a sport in which some don't expect to rehearse or practise," he said. "It's baffling. If you play tennis you will go out and spend hours and hours just working on your serve. If you are a golfer you will go out and spend hours working on one particular shot with one particular club.

"You have to bring that culture to football. There's no point in doing something for 10 minutes and then just have a game of five-a-side. The important thing is that what you are coaching the players to do has direct relevance to what will happen in a match situation.

"People worry that it can get boring but I actually think players get bored if training isn't serious, if you're just doing passing drills and games of five-a-side. If I turned up now and just threw the ball out to my players they would not be happy with it. They've completely bought into what we are trying to do."

For all the preparation, mental and physical, there is something more instinctive in play, a visceral emotional response to the unfolding story that, in the intimacy of Craven Cottage, has fused fans and players to common purpose.

What Hodgson, 62, is keen to stress is that the support has been made more meaningful by the fact that they were there for him and his players in the bad times as well as the good. In his first nine league games, after taking the job in December 2007, Fulham got just 13 points. Relegation appeared inevitable but the fans did not turn on them.

"The fans have been good from the very first minute and we have been tremendously grateful for that," he said. "In terms of results they were in a dark place that was getting darker. They took to us from the very first minute and they stuck with us. It is tremendous that we can pay them back."

A by-product of Hodgson's success has been a restoration of faith in English coaches. Steve McClaren could win the Dutch title with FC Twente this afternoon and become the first English manager to win a league title since Hodgson won the Danish league with Copenhagen in 2001.

"What Steve has done tells you that there is real English coaching talent. It's a fantastic achievement and he deserves every accolade. He's gone from sinner to saint but maybe we in England should think a little bit about how quickly we turn saints into sinners.

"I'm certain he will have picked up things from seeing people who have a different way of doing things. I think it sets a great example to other English coaches and it shows that we are just as capable of working abroad as foreign coaches are capable of working in England."

Hodgson believes that English coaches need more support, which means greater opportunity for exchanges of ideas at the planned centre of excellence in Burton and a technical director to oversee the coaching of coaches, like the coaching guru Allen Wade, who had such a profound influence on his own work. That man could well be Hodgson himself.

"You have to decide what are the principles that you want to promote. I think the quicker the FA centre gets off the ground the better. Then the FA needs to plough money into the coaching of players and the coaching of coaches. There is a lot of talent in this country but it is dangerous to just let it blossom of its own accord. There needs to be co-ordinated coaching at all levels.

"I certainly think I've got a lot more to offer to players at the top level for several years yet. But you never know what route your life will take. Maybe when I do decide to call it a day and step out of the fray I would have the time to devote myself to a project like that. I'd like to think I'd have something to contribute. There is no doubt that it is a job that does need doing."

There can surely be no man better qualified to do it. There will be plenty of challenges before that: the 2012 Olympic team? Liverpool? England? All in good time. Atletico Madrid in Hamburg first, as Hodgson seeks the perfect end to this compelling story.

Roy's incredible journey: Hodgson's managerial career

   * 34: Years spent in management (eight in England)
    * 12: Clubs managed (Halmstad, Bristol City, Örebro, Malmö, Neuchâtel Xamax, Inter Milan, Blackburn, Grasshopper, FC Copenhagen, Udinese, Viking Stavanger, Fulham).
    * 3: National teams managed (Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland).
    * 5: Languages spoken (three fluently).
    * 10: Trophies won (six Swedish leagues, two Swedish cups, one Danish league, one Danish Super Cup).


Marathon men: Fulham's draining season in numbers


* 63: Games Fulham will have played by the end of the season - the most they could have played is 78.
    * 18: The London club have completed 18 Europa League games in reaching the final in Hamburg - Inter Milan and Bayern Munich have played 12 to reach the Champions League final.
    * 18,136: Miles covered by Fulham on their Europa League adventure.
    * 30: Players used by Roy Hodgson in all competitions - none have been ever-present.
    * 8: Fulham were eight minutes from going out of the Europa League against Juventus until Clint Dempsey's strike secured a place in the last four.

MANAGER Roy Hodgson (Fulham). Nobody else even gets a look in for me. The Moses of West London.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1270318/PIERS-MORGAN-Heres-Premier-crew-vintage-season.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0miaKJbr0 (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1270318/PIERS-MORGAN-Heres-Premier-crew-vintage-season.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0miaKJbr0)

http://www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0,,12306~2040986,00.html


Fulham: The unexpected finalists


We track Fulham's magnificent rise from near extinction in 1996 to the Europa League final in 2010.

"Stand up if you still believe, stand up if you still believe." It rang out like a mantra from each corner of Craven Cottage, followed by the clatter of plastic chairs as every home supporter sprang to their feet, writes Claire Harmer.

Fulham's hopes of making the Europa League final had been dealt a sickening blow. In any other circumstances, Whites fans might have been able to appreciate the quite beautiful strike from Hamburg's Mladen Petric. But not now. Not with their European final at stake.

Even at 1-0 down, with Hamburg scoring that all important away goal in the semi-final second leg, Fulham fans really did still believe they could get to the final. After all, in a quite incredible season, they had come back from behind to beat the mighty Juventus, seen off holders Shaktar Donetsk and brushed aside Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg. And that was just in the Europa League.

In the Barclays Premier League, they had comfortably beaten champions Manchester United 3-0 and outplayed Liverpool with a 3-1 win.

dire straits

Fourteen years ago, the thought of Fulham beating just one of those teams would have been laughable. Not even in the dreams of the most diehard fan.

A year before multi-millionaire Mohamed Al Fayed's takeover in 1997, the club was in dire straits.

Bottom of the football league, with home gates averaging only 4000 and just seven full time members of staff, the club faced the prospect of non-league football and even the possibility of extinction.

Just months prior to Harrods owner Al Fayed's arrival, the situation had started to improve, with the team securing promotion for the first time in 15 years. Al Fayed promised top-flight football within five seasons and there was even mention of Fulham becoming the Manchester United of the South.

While comparisons with the Red Devils still remain few and far between, Fulham found themselves in the Premier League in 2001, meeting Al Fayed's pledge to play top flight football with a year to spare.

After a few mid-table finishes under managers Jean Tigana and Chris Coleman, the Cottagers flirted with relegation for two successive seasons. The second of which, the 2007/08 term, saw the departure of Lawrie Sanchez and the arrival of Roy Hodgson.

ultimate miracle

Few Fulham fans could have guessed that the former Blackburn Rovers manager could have had such a dramatic impact on the club's success. Despite enjoying a successful career abroad, little was known about Hodgson on English shores.

But after masterminding the club's escape from almost certain relegation in 2008, his reputation grew and grew, and he quickly became the darling of the Fulham faithful. When Fulham stayed up on the last day of the season, after three successive away wins for the first time since their promotion, many fans thought Hodgson had pulled off the ultimate miracle.

spine-tingling

However this was quickly bettered the following season. The club recorded their highest ever Premier League finish of seventh, thanks largely to Hodgson's tactical nous, canny ability in the transfer market and excellent man-management skills that saw players low on confidence transformed in to world beaters. That fantastic season ensured Fulham's passage to European football for the first time since they won the now defunct Intertoto Cup in 2003.

Fast forward 18 European matches later, and Fulham, who have never lost at home in the Europa League, are 1-0 down against Hamburg. In a spine-tingling second half, Hodgson's side rallied, with well worked goals from Simon Davies and Zoltan Gera booking their place in the final.

Chants of "Stand up if you still believe" were quickly re-jigged. "Stand up for the Roy Hodgson" bellowed around the ground as Fulham fans saluted their manager and his well drilled team.

Few would have thought that when they lined up against Lithuania's Vetra nine months ago, Fulham would be among the last two of 193 clubs left standing in the competition.

The last team in England left playing European football, Atletico Madrid await Fulham in the final at the Hamburg Arena on 12th May.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/7664208/Henry-Winter-football-emerges-from-era-of-player-power.html


Henry Winter: football emerges from era of player power


Everybody is pontificating about the Manager of the Year when really we should be celebrating the Year of the Manager.


By Henry Winter


Published: 5:30PM BST 01 May 2010


Managers show who is the boss as football emerges from era of player power
Captain of the Bridge: Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti Photo: ACTION IMAGES

From Roy Hodgson to Jose Mourinho, the stars of the European season have been emerging from dugouts to stride across the pitch at the final whistle, dodging sprays of Champagne or water sprinklers.

From Carlo Ancelotti to Sir Alex Ferguson, the kings of the Premier League campaign have been strong men in suits guiding young men in boots.

Even Avram Grant has shown the importance of a touch of quiet wisdom in the technical area. Even, amazingly, the Wally with the Brolly, Steve McClaren, has found sunshine after the rain. Fabio Capello confirmed this to be the Year of the Manager by taking only 10 minutes to strip John Terry of the England armband.

Over the past decade, as the ramifications of Bosman gave power to the playing people, managers seemed increasingly undermined. How do you keep a twentysomething disciplined and hungry when he boasts millions in the bank?

Football went mad, choking on soaring salaries and egos, but the encouraging evidence of this season is that the warders have regained control of the asylum.

Some wonderful footballers have taken the breath away this season from Wayne Rooney to Lionel Messi and Xavi, from Cristiano Ronaldo to Arjen Robben.

Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda, Paul Scholes, Carlos Tévez and Steven Pienaar have lit up the Premier League. James Milner, Joe Hart and Jack Rodwell give hope for England's future. Any other Js? Yes. Jack Wilshere, improving nicely. There's young talent about but this season has been about the older generation.

Take Real Madrid (and Jose probably will). On May 22, the elegant Bernabeu will pay homage to Mourinho and Louis van Gaal, coaches who have bended teams to their iron will and tactical game-plans. Inter Milan and Bayern Munich are not overstocked with star quality, barring Robben and the suspended Frank Ribery for the Germans. They march to their manager's beat.

When Robben reacted stroppily to being subbed against Lyons, Van Gaal reacted as a strict father putting a young child in his place. Robben was the picture of contrition afterwards. To borrow a line from the Bayern fans' bewitching anthem, Van Gaal is "the star of the south''.

Uefa has chosen an ironic venue for the Champions League final. Real's decision to bow at the altar of the great god Galactico, rather than relying on strong, savvy management, has again been punished. If Ronaldo, majestic player though he undoubtedly is, is valued at £80m, what price the alchemist Mourinho?

When set against their individual contributions, managers are undervalued financially. Look at Owen Coyle. It is no hyperbole to hail the likeable Scot as the £100m man.

If a year in the Premier League is worth a minimum of £50m, including TV cash and increased ticketing and merchandising revenues, then Coyle's midterm defection from Burnley to Bolton Wanderers had a season-defining impact on both clubs. To think that Bolton paid only a laughably low £1m compensation for Coyle, the best piece of business Phil Gartside has ever done.

Compensation figures will surely spiral up as a managers' transfer market echoes players' prices. Wages have risen and rightly so. The manager is the club's key employee and his payslip should reflect that. Currently most managers would struggle to make the top five earners. Should Michael Ballack really rake in more than Ancelotti?

Rooney, the one true on-field star of a drama-rich, technically-average season, is worth every penny of his £100,000-a-week wages but Ferguson, the architect of Manchester United's dominant position on the English landscape over the past decade, is more important to the club's long-term health.

And Ferguson doesn't get injured or disappear on international weeks. When Ronaldo left United, Old Trafford resembled Trafalgar Square without one lion. When Ferguson eventually departs, it'll be like Trafalgar Square without Nelson's Column.

The enduring prominence of Ferguson, and welcome presence of Ancelotti, highlight this to be the Year of the Manager. Ferguson could finish with only the Carling Cup yet even his stellar reputation has been enhanced. He lost Ronaldo, failed to land the centre-forward he wanted in Karim Benzema, which in hindsight may not have been such a disaster, yet is in with a shot of a record fourth successive title.

Those of a churlish disposition might argue that the successful 4-5-1 system was forced upon Ferguson by the Ronaldo/Benzema outcomes but it has worked. His purchase of Antonio Valencia from Wigan Athletic and work at Carrington on Nani's mind and delivery promise much for the future. United have kept in the title race partly because of their manager's strength of personality.

Ancelotti has brought some calm to the court of Tsar Abramovich. Chelsea's engaging coach often inquires after the health of his players' families, a human touch appreciated by Malouda and company. After a few months of tweaking, Ancelotti has made this the most watchable Chelsea team in living memory. He has even got the best out of Didier Drogba and turned Branislav Ivanovic into a rampaging right-back.

Yet it is a sign of the managerial quality out there that Ancelotti could do the Double and not win Manager of the Year. Ancelotti, once of AC Milan, seems to have his life haunted by coaches with Inter connections. First Mourinho, now Hodgson.

Ferguson, Ancelotti and the rest of the nation's dugout dwellers gather in London on May 10 to celebrate the season and salute their pick as Manager of the Year, expected to be a case of Hodgson's choice. Scarcely 48 hours later, Fulham take the field against Atletico Madrid in Hamburg. Even if Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan find a way past Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland, Hodgson still deserves sustained acclaim.

As he unwinds over a glass of wine in the summer, savouring the view across Tuscany or the Thames, Hodgson can reflect proudly on the year that he took some journeymen on a magical journey. This is not to disparage the qualities of Simon Davies, Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and company but Hodgson has made them punch above their weight.

The tightening of purse-strings has placed greater onus on a manager's skills of tactical acumen and man-management so Hodgson makes the ideal representative of the era. The managerial industry has also been assisted by having a strong union leader in Richard Bevan. The LMA's chief executive can look around the London dinner with a feeling of satisfaction, knowing he has given the organisation more bite, particularly in the protection of contracts.

Despite the FA's craven decision to waste £757m on Wembley rather than invest properly in home-grown coach development, some English managers are high-profile LMA members. Harry Redknapp has revived Tottenham Hotspur, making them perform with panache.

His ability to make players believe is seen in the much-improved Michael Dawson. Like Redknapp, Steve Bruce is committed to attack, playing with two forwards, and his Sunderland side are highly capable of upsetting Ferguson this afternoon. Sam Allardyce has made Blackburn difficult to beat.

Respected managerial figures are everywhere. A distinguished graduate of the Scottish talent factory, David Moyes, settled Everton down after Joleon Lescott's messy exit to finish the season with a flourish. Stoke City are hardly a purist's dream but Tony Pulis has them well-organised and has clamped down on player dissent.

In the spaghetti junction of West Midlands football, Martin O'Neill continues to be the star of the Aston Villa firmament. Along with Steve Walford and John Robertson, O'Neill keeps making good players like Milner better. Across at St Andrew's, Alex McLeish has turned Birmingham City into a respected, mid-table force built on a solid defence.

Up at Molineux, Mick McCarthy has also worked quiet wonders, comfortably keeping Wolves from the trapdoor. For all the controversy over his white flag of a team selection at Old Trafford, a damaging incident for the Premier League's beloved "sporting integrity'', McCarthy has single-mindedly led Wolves to safety. Apart from the excellent Kevin Doyle, Wolves have no stars. The manager is the main man at Molineux.

Even those managers who have singularly failed still have admirers.

Even Rafa Benítez, whose cold hand is thankfully at last being prised from the Liverpool tiller, is still regarded highly enough as a tactician to send the Old Lady of Turin into a swoon.

The Year of the Manager extends outside the chandeliered ballroom of the Premier League. Chris Hughton has kept Newcastle united and guided them back up with a touch of style.

Ditto Roberto di Matteo at West Brom. Ian Holloway has performed miracles at Blackpool. Paul Lambert has lifted Norwich City up off their knees. Eddie Howe's achievements at Bournemouth almost defy belief.

Fingers crossed, touching wood and buying Lady Luck a large G&T, the Year of the Manager will extend into the World Cup finals because England will then have a chance.

Other countries like Spain, Brazil, Argentina and France can boast far deeper playing resources but none can match the influence of Fabio Capello, who moulded a collection of individuals into a team in qualifying that believed in itself, its tactics and its coach.

Capello is so revered that if England melt on the Veld then the headlines will focus on English player inadequacy rather than any mistakes by the Italian. After all, this is the Year of the Manager.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Fulham-stars-hail-Hodgson-as-club-braces-itself-for-summer-approaches-article411133.html


Fulham stars hail Hodgson as club braces itself for summer approaches

Published 23:00 30/04/10


By Neil McLeman


Roy Hodgson is hot favourite to be named Manager of the Year after leading Fulham to their first-ever European final.

His players and fellow managers queued up yesterday to heap praise on the veteran who has taken the Cottagers from the brink of relegation to the Europa League final.

And the final leg of their "great journey" back to Hamburg to face Atletico Madrid on May 12 will not be done by bus.

Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed said he expected approaches from other clubs for Hodgson's services this summer and the veteran boss would certainly bring stability to ­Liverpool.
Click here to find out more!

The spontaneous applause in the press room after Thursday's victory over Hamburg showed the warmth of affection for the down-to-earth 62-year-old who has worked miracles this season.

Brede Hangeland, who was also coached by Hodgson at Viking Stavanger, said the manager is as calm and collected in the dressing room as he is away from it.

"I remember him ­celebrating with the team when we stayed up at ­Portsmouth a couple of years ago," recalled the Norwegian. Other than that, he is mostly always calm.

"When we score I think he is already one step ahead and thinking about the next attack or the final 15 or 20 minutes. That is probably why he gets such good results.

"He organises the team really well and gets the best out of his players. We have all played our part but mostly it is down to him."

Hangeland said previous miracles – especially coming back from 4-1 down against Juventus – had meant the players still believed they could beat Hamburg even after falling behind.

"If we scored four against Juve, why couldn't we score two against Hamburg? We were all confident we could do it," he said.

Striker Bobby Zamora said: "Roy has got to be Manager of the Year in my eyes. He has taken this club from almost relegation to a European final in two seasons and that is unheard of." A

And Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer said: "The manager has put a team together that has no real big names – there are no superstars in the side. They all just want to fight for one another."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger described Fulham's ­achievements this season, which also include an FA Cup quarter-final and a comfortable 12th place in the Premier League, as "fantastic".

He said: "Roy's the one who has made the team more than anybody else and his side fights above its weight.

"The career of people ­sometimes has mysterious ways. Maybe he is at the best period of his life now. It is a job that needs a bit of ­experience."

Tomorrow Fulham host West Ham in their 60th game of a long season. Their 63rd and last will be at the Nordbank Arena but Hangeland insisted they still won't be favourites in the biggest game in the club's 131-year history.

"This is a small club and I think in every knockout stage in this ­competition we have been the underdogs," he said.

"Atletico will be favourites but so were Juventus, Shakhtar, ­Wolfsburg and Hamburg. So we will see what happens..."

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Bobby-Zamora-I-ve-got-one-game-left-in-me-this-season-the-Europa-League-final-article411177.html


Zamora: I've got one game left in me this season

Published 23:00 30/04/10


By Neil McLeman


Bobby Zamora insists he can battle on for one more game this season – the Europa League final.

The Fulham striker needed an injection to play an hour of the semi-final win over Hamburg. Now the 19-goal hitman faces a race against time to be fit for the May 12 final against Atletico Madrid.

"The injury is not the greatest, but I just want to make sure I'm fit for the final," he said. "I'd be devastated to miss it.

"I think I have one game left in me this season. I am not even thinking about the World Cup."

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_method=full%26objectID=22227306%26siteID=93463-name_page.html


Burnley have a back-door route into the competition if they maintain their place in the Fair Play table and Fulham defeat Atletico Madrid on May 12.

Clarets boss Brian Laws said: "We are all Fulham fans at the moment and it would be fantastic for our club. We have proved we are not a dirty club and we have played the game the right way in the Premier League.

"That would take care of our pre-season. I want to be at the club next season and we can take heart from the way West Brom have shown you can bounce back.

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_method=full%26objectID=22227597%26siteID=93463-name_page.html


Rafa Benitez has paved the way for an emotional farewell in front of the Kop today - by insisting he's been betrayed by broken promises from Liverpool's owners.

And as the Spanish boss prepares his shell-shocked stars to face Chelsea today, he gave his biggest hint yet that his six-year love affair with Liverpool is drawing to a bitter close.

Senior club officials have also acknowledged that his time is up - Juventus want him and AC Milan are also interested - and they have taken the first steps for life after Benitez by drawing up a short-list of contenders to replace him.

Jose Mourinho is top of that list, with Fulham's Roy Hodgson, Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill, Turkey boss Guus Hiddink and Bayern Munich's Dutchman Louis van Gaal possible choices.

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_method=full%26objectID=22227589%26siteID=93463-name_page.html


2 May 2010

EURO HERO HODGSON LEAVES 'EM GUESSING

Roy Hodgson has given his strongest hint yet that he could be willing to quit Fulham, writes DAVE KIDD.

After leading Fulham to the Europa League final, Hodgson (left) admits he might still move on to a more high-profile job.

Hodgson, 62, has been widely tipped as a potential successor to Fabio Capello and has also been linked with the Liverpool job, with Rafa Benitez likely to be heading for the Anfield exit.

And asked if he wanted to finish his career at Craven Cottage, Hodgson said: "I don't know. I am only 62 years of age and I don't know where I will end my days. Let's see where Fulham go from here and see where that takes us."

Hodgson believes he will not be handed significant transfer funds this summer, despite three seasons of miracle-working.

And the Europa League final appearance comes on the back of the club's highest-ever topflight finish of seventh place. But chairman Mohamed Al Fayed has spent vast sums on Fulham over 13 years, and is unlikely to make any more massive investment.

Hodgson signed a one-year rolling deal at Fulham last year, to keep his options open.

The manager's relationship with Al Fayed is good and he admits the chairman will give the side a hefty bonus if they beat Atletico Madrid in Hamburg on May 12 and clinch their first major silverware.

Hodgson said: "He is very generous and is always prepared to reward us."

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_method=full%26objectID=22227599%26siteID=93463-name_page.html


2 May 2010


FULHAM will wear blue

Fulham will wear blue - the colour of West London rivals Chelsea - for their Europa League final with Atletico Madrid. The fans were hoping to see the team in their traditional white shirts for their first major final since 1975.

But Atletico will be in their red and white home strip in Hamburg ... leaving Fulham in an unfamiliar third kit for the biggest night in their history.

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_method=full%26objectID=22227604%26siteID=93463-name_page.html


2 May 2010


ROY'S HAPPY TO SEE DOUBLE


HOTLINE


Alan Nixon; Dave Kidd; Steve Bates; Tom Hopkinson; Dean Jones; Alan Oliver; Pete Jenson

Fulham have made Steve Sidwell a £3million target as Roy Hodgson prepares a double swoop on ASTON VILLA.

Sidwell, 27, has been on the bench for much of the season and it is believed Villa boss Martin O'Neill could be willing to sell at the right price.

The Europa League finalists are unlikely to spend big in the summer despite this season's heroics and Hodgson wants former Chelsea man Sidwell in his central midfield.

Hodgson also wants to clinch a permanent deal for Villa left-back Nicky Shorey - a team-mate of Sidwell's at Reading - who has had a successful loan spell at Craven Cottage since January.

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_method=full%26objectID=22227600%26siteID=93463-name_page.html


2 May 2010


Ve have vays of making you play better


German spy Schwarzer lifts Fulham to Euro glory


Dave Kidd

Fulham v WEST HAM

Today, KO 3pm

Mark Schwarzer last night admitted he was the German-speaking spy who inspired Fulham to Europa League semi-final glory over Hamburg.

Fulham's Aussie keeper, who has parents from Stuttgart and is a fluent German speaker, revealed that he translated German press and TV reports which belittled Roy Hodgson's team after the drawn first leg.

The criticism motivated Fulham to a 2-1 second-leg victory which booked a final date with Atletico Madrid on May 12 - when the west London side can win the first major trophy in the club's 131-year history.

And Schwarzer said: "Nobody thought this could happen but you're going to have to believe us soon! When people keep putting you down and writing you off it motivates you.

"I said to the boys after the first leg that a lot of the so-called German experts had written us off and said we weren't any good, that Hamburg only had to come here and play decent football and they would beat us comfortably.

"I read and heard the reports and translated them, which got the players lifts going even more - and we showed them. I don't think Hamburg could have any complaints about the way the second leg went."

Fulham had already knocked out Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals and will return to Germany for the third time in five weeks for the final in Hamburg, hoping to complete the greatest German fairytale since the Brothers Grimm wrote Hansel and Gretel.

Schwarzer was also part of the last unfashionable English side to reach a European final - the Middlesbrough team which Steve McClaren led to the 2006 UEFA Cup final.

They lost 4-0 to Seville, after a series of amazing comebacks to rank alongside Fulham's current run.

And Schwarzer said: "If anything, this run has been even more remarkable than that Boro campaign, if you look at the teams we've beaten.

"We've played a few more games and beaten the reigning champions Shahktar Donetsk, then Juventus in such dramatic circumstances, Wolfsburg, the champions of Germany, and now Hamburg.

"It's probably slightly more impressive what's happened here - but it was still a remarkable achievement for what we did at Middlesbrough, as well.

"The 4-0 scoreline in that final was not a reflection of how the game went - they scored three in the last 15 minutes, Mark Viduka missed from six yards and the keeper made a fantastic save.

Fantastic

"A penalty decision went against us at 1-0 and we pushed forward in the last 15. That was against an unbelievable Seville side, so you still look back at it with fantastic memories.

"I've said to the boys all through this campaign: 'You've just got to believe. Believe in the team and what we're doing and really go for it.' I don't think anybody would have thought Fulham would be where we are today."

Today's Premier League clash with London rivals West Ham is likely to see a party atmosphere at Craven Cottage.

And Schwarzer, 37, insists he does not want to be rested, having already featured in 54 club matches this term, as well as longhaul trips to play for Australia. Schwarzer said: "Some of the younger players want to keep playing and I'm one of them!"

Schwarzer admits Fergie helped rouse the Fulham troops - the lead singer of Black Eyed Peas, not Sir Alex!

He said: "Our song for the Hamburg game was 'I've Got A Feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas. That was played many times before the game.

"The words were right: 'I've got a feeling, tonight's gonna be a good night.' I think they're all saying we've got to keep playing it from now on until the final."

http://www.people.co.uk/news/news/tm_method=full%26objectID=22227496%26siteID=93463-name_page.html

2 May 2010



AND ANOTHER THING ... If


Dave Kidd

And Another Thing ... If Rochdale pensioner Gillian Duffy was a Fulham fan, she wouldn't be moaning about eastern European immigrants - not after Hungary's Zoltan Gera earned a place in the Europa League final.

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_method=full%26objectID=22227602%26siteID=93463-name_page.html


2 May 2010


ZAM THE MAN FOR ECK


HOTLINE


Alan Nixon; Dave Kidd; Steve Bates; Tom Hopkinson; Dean Jones; Alan Oliver; Pete Jenson

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has made Fulham striker Bobby Zamora a £5.75 million summer target.

Birmingham have struggled for goals this season - Cameron Jerome is top scorer with 10 - and McLeish wants Zamora to beef up his attack.

After Zamora's scoring heroics this season, which has attracted Fabio Capello's interest, Fulham will want about £7m. The player, who has only one year left on his contract, will not rush into a decision as, at 29, he knows his next move will be his last big pay day.

January are Another Fulham striker, Diomansy Kamara, 29, wants to make his loan spell at Celtic permanent but the Cottagers want a £3m fee.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/800843/BOBBY-ZAMORA-CLAIMS-I-NEVER-THINK-ABOUT-ENGLAND.html


ZAMORA CLAIMS: I NEVER THINK ABOUT ENGLAND


Goals are just numbers on a piece of paper


By Neil Ashton, 01/05/2010


TO Bobby Zamora they are just numbers on a piece of paper, a statistical record of a remarkable season.

For Fabio Capello they are World Cup currency, forcing England's manager to reconsider his options before announcing his provisional 30-man squad.

The Fulham striker is finally on Capello's radar, a potential World Cup wildcard after a stunning season.

Zamora's 19 goals in 47 appearances only tell half the story, deflecting attention from his work-rate and the responsibility of leading Fulham's frontline.

"Let's get one thing straight, if you asked people at the start of the season who would be scoring goals they wouldn't say Bobby Zamora," he admitted.

"I've had a good season, but to me the goals are just numbers on a piece of paper.

"I hold the ball up, I create chances for other people but the difference this season is that the ball's gone in the back of the net."

Recognition does not sit comfortably with the Fulham striker, reluctant to accept that his Europa League exploits have catapulted him into World Cup contention.

He remains uncapped, at a disadvantage when Capello searches for a potential strike partner to the undisputed talent of Wayne Rooney.

The Manchester United striker is the only certainty, guaranteed a place from a pool that also includes Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent, Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole and the untried Zamora.

"I never think about England - ever," admitted Zamora, despite the growing clamour for Capello to include him in his preliminary World Cup squad next month.

"Most English strikers in the Premier League have already played for the country and they will all be ahead of me.

"Darren Bent has scored more than 20 goals this season and hasn't had a look in apart from playing against Brazil.

"It's not easy to play Brazil is it, they're half decent. After that there is Heskey, Crouch, Carlton Cole, Gabby Agbonlahor and then there's Rooney. I look at their performances and - with the exception of Rooney - I feel I'm on a par with the rest. That's the way I see it, I've had a decent season and that's it.

"I thought Egypt was a possibility in March, but it didn't happen. I'm not beating myself up about it. Playing for Fulham won't make a difference, he will pick me if he wants to.

"Jimmy Bullard has been in a squad. Ryan Shawcross at Stoke, he looks at every player to see if they have it.

"I've had no communication with England, but why would I? It's not down to me, I'm not going to ask someone to send Fabio Capello a DVD of my goals." He doesn't need to. Capello is well aware of Zamora's impressive run, earmarking the Fulham forward for a possible audition against Mexico next month.

The Achilles in his left ankle is very sore, but he will put an operation to cure the condition on hold if the call comes from Capello.

He will not play against his former club West Ham today, resting his injury as the countdown begins for the Europa Cup final against Atletico Madrid.

The striker has a condition called tendinopathy, a painful inflammation in his Achilles that requires rest and possibly an operation to provide a cure. He still threw himself into last Thursday's humdinger against Hamburg, declaring himself fit to play just an hour before kick-off.

"It's so sore and I've not been training at the same intensity, but I just hope the swelling will ease off before the final.

"I've known about the condition for a while and it has been really sore, but there's time for it to improve before the final."

Those Thursday night Europa League matches have brought Zamora's goalscoring form sharply into focus, altering perception of a player who scored just four times last season.

"Playing in Europe has been a big stage for the team, it has been great for the club," he added.

"It singles us out, it's the only football that's on TV on a Thursday night. It's great for our club to go out there and put in the performances we have.

"To beat the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk, Wolfsburg and Hamburg in the Europa League, as well as Manchester United and Liverpool in the league is something special.

"In the last two years the manager has built a new team and last year was a learning curve, taking time for players to gel. This year we have been more the finished article. The Europa League has affected our Premier League form and our position doesn't do the team justice.

"We have played nearly 60 games this season and it's hard for a club with the size of our squad to keep churning out results."

Zamora's nine Premier League goals still count, a decent return for a striker playing alone up front after Andy Johnson's injury ruled him out for the rest of the season.

He is convinced that little in his game has changed, other than the odd slice of luck in front of goal and a more muscular approach in a Fulham shirt.

"The perception of me outside the club is different, but in terms of performances nothing has changed for me since last season," he added. "When I was 18 or 19 coming up against Sol Campbell or Tony Adams I was bouncing off them, but I have put a lot hours in the gym since then. When I was young I was always the little one in the team, so I knew I needed to get stronger.

"When you come into training and the facilities are there, I put in half an hour of work a day. I've had to alter my game - I've got stronger, I've grown, I've developed. It is a physical game, so quick and strong that I have to be able to compete.

"In terms of football intelligence and touch it has never worried me, I always felt OK with that.

"The only thing that has changed is the number of goals.

"Statistics showed that I created more chances for the team last season, putting seven people through one-on-one.

"Those things never get talked about, but I did it for the team. In terms of holding up the ball, being closer to midfield because that's what I was asked to do, then I had a good season.

"Roy Hodgson has been brilliant, really top drawer. I owe him a lot, even when I wasn't scoring. Goals are all that people look at, but he understood what I give to the team.

"Last year I had a bit of stick from the fans, but the manager stuck with me and that's important."

Zamora was getting it in the neck at the start of the season, accused by a small section of Fulham fans of failing to put in a decent shift.

That is one thing he will not tolerate, always noted for his work ethic at Bristol Rovers, Brighton, Tottenham, West Ham and Fulham.

And he has responded brilliantly, top scorer under Hodgson (bottom left) at Craven Cottage and enjoying the most productive spell of his career in the Premier League.

At first he was bitter, but now it's a by-product of this successful season, forgotten the moment his fortunes with Fulham took an upturn.

Zamora added: "There was a little section, about four of them giving me stick when I was running down the touchline.

"They would make their feelings known, but I hope they have changed their perception of me now. Not many of them were keen on me when I wasn't scoring, but that's their right. It doesn't bother me."

He didn't let it affect him, not the type to take his work home with him when he walks away from the training ground. Zamora loves the game, but leaves the hype to others, switching off in the afternoons when others are submerged in breaking news and talk of the Big Four.

The Fulham striker, 29, added: "I never let criticism affect me when I get home. I switch off away from football, I don't pay any attention to what's going on.

"I don't watch too much football on television, except for a game like Barcelona v Inter. I'm just not a football nut.

"It's 24/7 isn't it, it's my life, doing it day in, day out. To whack the football on the second I get through the door is not me.

"I'd rather sit down at home and watch a DVD, relax and think about something else.

"I'm not getting carried away with what's happened this season, I'm not going around giving it the big one.

"I just like to go home and forget about football. If I don't score goals next season, I know people will talk about me as a flash in the pan blah, blah, blah¿"

For now he has nothing to fear, rising to prominence during a magnificent season for Fulham and their fans. Capello will announce his provisional 30-man squad next month, with the majority of names already chosen.

After the season Zamora's had, he could still be a vital statistic.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/801472/RED-ROY-AS-LIVERPOOL-TARGET-FULHAM-BOSS-Hodgson-tells-friends-hes-interested-in-Anfield-post.html


RED ROY AS LIVERPOOL TARGET FULHAM BOSS


Hodgson interested in Anfield post


By Neil Ashton & Chris Bascombe, 01/05/2010

ROY HODGSON has emerged as the shock front-runner to succeed Rafa Benitez at Liverpool this summer.

The Fulham chief is a wanted man after leading the Londoners to the Europa League final.

Although Benitez's future will not be resolved until the end of the season, Hodgson has emerged as a potential replacement at Anfield.

Hodgson, 62, has told friends he has one big job left in him after his remarkable work with Fulham and is now one of the names being considered by Liverpool.

The Kop have already explored other options, including Martin O'Neill - who is sure to be on the short-list - and Jose Mourinho.

But Hodgson has become a serious contender after leading the London club on an exhilarating European run. The Fulham chief has always wanted the England job, but his path has been blocked by the excellent work of Fabio Capello.

Hodgson is aware that Capello intends to see out his contract with the FA, which runs until 2012, and is unlikely to quit even if England won the World Cup this summer.

Instead, Hodgson has told close friends he is interested in transforming Liverpool's fortunes, though there has been no official approach.

Liverpool will not make their move for a new manager until the end of the season and will not be panicked into an appointment.

Hodgson's work at Fulham over the past two seasons is much admired at Anfield and he has become a credible solution to their ongoing problems.

The Fulham chief has an excellent managerial record, with the exception of his second season in charge at Blackburn.

At 62, he believes there is another big challenge left in his career and is prepared to listen offers from another club.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/scottish/scottish_sport/801144/Celtic-legend-reckons-Neil-Lennon-is-wrong-option.html


It's a huge rebuilding job and only an appointment along the lines of Martin O'Neill will fit the bill.

Celtic should be looking to someone of the ilk of Roy Hodgson. I appreciate they might not be the only ones casting an envious eye towards him after his near miraculous run to a European final with Fulham, but if you don't ask you don't get.

Here's a guy with vast experience of club and international football in several countries. Inter Milan, Blackburn, Finland, Switzerland are just a few of his posts. He ticks all the right boxes.

Who's to say the chance to make Celtic a European force again might not tickle his fancy?

He's not the only experienced manager out there - Alan Curbishley and Mark Hughes are among those currently out of the game.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article7113982.ece


Hodgson deserves glory



Hugh McIlvanney

Even those of us who are generally inclined to find the dramas of the Europa League eminently resistible have happily yielded to the intoxicating appeal of Fulham's adventures in the tournament this season. In my case, there was perhaps previously an exaggerated tendency to be put off by what seemed rather strained attempts by some of Europe's most powerful clubs to ratchet up excitement over their involvement in the competition as a means of making their failures at Champions League level appear less culpable.

Liverpool gave the impression of taking that line recently after their early ejection from the continental championship. But even consolation prizes have proved beyond them in a season of merciless deprivation and their supporters' sufferings deepened when overcoming a 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final was too much of a task at Anfield on Thursday night. If the red contingent on Merseyside were unlikely to gain solace from happenings by the Thames on the same evening, a multitude of other football fans in this country must have had their spirits lifted by the latest heroics of Roy Hodgson and his players.

Certainly by the time Fulham had come from behind to win a match that was a clean-cut decider with Hamburg after a goalless draw in Germany my own coolness towards the Europa League had become a distant memory and the final against Atletico was looming as an occasion demanding fierce allegiance. The stirring of commitment has, of course, been cumulative as Fulham progressed through the tournament in a series of dramatic surges and now I'm obliged to admit that anybody whose heart hasn't been warmed by their deeds might have to check his surroundings to ensure he is not already with the embalmers.

Few cup campaigns anywhere can have exerted more evangelising charm than this one and at the core of it is the engaging and endlessly impressive figure of Hodgson. He is a manager of vast experience across Europe and everything he does confirms that no job he ever held has failed to add to his knowledge and authority. But maybe his most attractive qualities are personal. He is intelligent, dignified and modestly understated whether winning or losing. Two dear departed friends of mine who were stalwarts of Fulham long ago, the rumbustious centre-half Bobby Keetch and the genius inside-forward Johnny Haynes, would have considered their beloved club privileged to have such a man in charge.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/fulham/article7113863.ece


Hodgson's Heroes


18,200 miles, 273 days, 1 match from glory

Duncan Castles


There was just one track blasting out of the speakers in the Fulham dressing room. Again and again, the message bled through the old Cottage walls. If the Hamburg players were confident that this was going to be their evening, a natural progression to a Europa League final at their hypermodern World Cup stadium, the neighbouring DJ wanted them to know otherwise. "I've gotta feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night...that tonight's gonna be a good night...that tonight's gonna be a good, good night..."

Pascal Zuberbuhler picks the tunes at Fulham. The 39-year-old, 6ft 5in Swiss goalkeeper is built like Arnold Schwarzenegger and has the self-confidence to match. Studying the German media with Fulham number one, Mark Schwarzer, he'd been unimpressed with what was written after their team's goalless draw in the away leg.

"We said to the boys that a lot of the so-called German experts had written us off and said we weren't any good," says Schwarzer. "That Hamburg only had to come here and play decent football and they would beat us. That got players going even more so. And we showed them. I don't think they've got any complaints about the way the game went."

It went as improbably as much of the rest of Fulham's 18-match, nine-month odyssey through the competition's qualifying rounds to their first final. Hamburg had the better of the first-half, scoring midway through it when Mladen

Petric propelled a 30-yard free kick into the top right-hand corner of Schwarzer's net.

An away goal to the good, and with their opponent's best striker, Bobby Zamora, visibly handicapped, Hamburg were set fair. Fulham would surely need to break out of their carefully structured 4-4-1-1 and take risks, leaving the door open for a decisive second goal.

"At 1-0 down a little guy pops up on your shoulder and says it looks like it's going to be the end of the road for you guys," recalls Schwarzer. "But then you beat him down and say 'no, we're going to turn this around' and we'll give it everything. At halftime we said, 'Whatever happens we don't give up, we keep fighting'. We said we were going to go out and win the game. It wasn't about going gung-ho for the first half-hour. It was about being organised, keeping our shape and putting them under as much pressure as possible. And it worked."

As the game entered its final quarter, Danny Murphy spotted Simon Davies accelerating away from his usual station as a withdrawn left-winger and down a centre-forward's channel. One exquisitely weighted pass and cleverly juggled finish later, the Cottage sensed victory. When the visitors made an unholy mess of clearing Fulham's next corner, Zoltan Gera claimed it. Like FC Basle, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus and Wolfsburg before them, Hamburg had been undone by a team that refuses to accept anything less than success.

At their helm is England's most astute manager. When Roy Hodgson was appointed in December 2007 he inherited a club short of points and self-esteem after Lawrie Sanchez's catastrophic reign. Keeping Fulham in the Premier League by winning their final three matches was extraordinary. Finishing seventh the next season, better still.

Hodgson's methods are unashamedly orthodox, adhering to principles he developed more than three decades ago. On top of a fine eye for a player and some deft handling of the transfer market, he prepares for every opponent in what by modern Premier League standards is an unusually painstaking fashion.

Most of Fulham's training time is spent schooling the first team on match formation. "We work on it every day," says Davies. "I've been working with the manager three seasons now and every day is team shape. He gets the 11 that he wants and he drills everything in that he wants. We've got the ball - it's never unopposed. It's certain drills, defensive and attacking, and we work very hard at it. There's no diagrams, it's just all on the pitch. We do a lot of work after every game, sorting the bad things out, sorting the good things out. It's nice to know what you work hard on works so well."

Fulham are calm and resilient under pressure. Their preference is to pass from the back, but there is little hesitation to target Zamora with long balls if other avenues becomes overly risky. Exceptionally well co-ordinated, they can be thrilling when attacking, but play the percentages when necessary.

"We have a little laugh about it now and again," says Davies of the training ground grind. "But when he came in we were fighting relegation and now we're in the Europa League so you take it. If you're going to play for him you've got to put a shift in, work to a system and be tight defensively."

Schwarzer and Zuberbuhler epitomise the manager's transfer strategy. The former has been in goal for every game bar one League Cup tie, while intermittently flying halfway round the world to represent Australia. "For me, Schwarzer is on the top of the Premier League," says Zuberbuhler. "He's a machine. He made the long trips with Australia and he's absolutely here mentally. He played every game and I have to search for goals he conceded because of a mistake." Zuberbuhler played every minute of Switzerland's four matches at the 2006 World Cup without conceding until a penalty shootout. Remembering the player's character from his time coaching the Swiss national team, Hodgson invited Zuberbuhler to form a training ground and matchday partnership with Schwarzer that has become central to the team's spirit.

Zubi was responsible for one of the lighter moments of Fulham's European campaign. He spotted pictures in German newspapers of the actor and Fulham fan Hugh Grant watching the Wolfsburg tie accompanied by the club's communications and marketing director Sarah Brookes and handed out copies on the plane home before translating for the team.

Grant has been invited to Hamburg for final night. Fulham believe it's going to be a good one.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article7113892.ece


Forget Euro stars, my top man is at Fort William


The real managers of the year have achieved success without money, fans or even players


Rod Liddle


The roar around Craven Cottage on Thursday night was so great that you could almost hear it in Craven Cottage. The players must have wondered what the hell was going on, all that hubbub instead of the usual polite whispering.

Roy Hodgson is, probably rightly, everybody's choice of Premier League manager of the season, partly on account of his achievements at Fulham and partly because he seems such a patently decent human being. Not being an embittered, mean-spirited, carping idiot counts for quite a lot these days when top managers are capable of whining simultaneously about referees having played too much stoppage time and not enough stroppage time; or there being a conspiracy, possibly involving the United Nations and the Zionist Occupation Government against their team; or referees being unfit or stupid or ugly.

So Hodgson wins by popular acclaim and I for one wouldn't argue. But a word for a couple of other bosses in the Premier League who deserve praise: Mick McCarthy at Wolves, for a start, whom I had nailed on for relegation. I still suspect you and I could probably beat Wolves if we put a couple of jumpers down in a local park, and if they had Chris Iwelumo playing up front; but, somehow Ol' Big Nose kept them up and huge credit to him. And if he does it next season, he deserves a knighthood.

And for those other clubs prepared for a season of struggle, the time to give up all hope is when Iain Dowie appears hovering over your ground, like the angel of death.

My other runners-up are Harry Redknapp, for instilling a semblance of conviction into Tottenham Hotspur, and Tony Pulis, whose Stoke side play neater football than they are given credit for and were pretty much safe come the turn of the year.

But it's below the Premier League where the real miracles occur; I reckon the manager of the season across all four divisions is Chris Hughton at Newcastle United; yes, he had more resources than most [especially in the January transfer window] but he also had the Geordies on his back and a club in freefall staffed with fractious and deluded players. You just hope they remember this when the Magpies are lying 15th in the Premier League come October and there are calls to replace him with Magic Johnson or Barack Obama or Malcolm Macdonald.

Meanwhile, Ian Holloway may well be crazier than most, but he has proved once again that he is a fine manager, imbued with passion and nous and an ability to connect with a club. Looked at across the 92 league clubs, Blackpool's achievement is perhaps the most remarkable, coming from a small population base in a declining area already saturated with big league teams; they should have the receivers knocking at the door, not the Premier League.

The proud tangerine advance reminded me, happily, of that fine Blackpool side at the turn of the 1970s, with Tony Green scampering up and down the wing: older readers may recall even more adept Blackpool wingmen, from a time when towns the size of Blackpool could really punch their weight. Times have changed, though and I would argue that hoisting the Seasiders into a playoff position is all the more remarkable now. Without Holloway, where would Blackpool be? That's the test.

Sean O'Driscoll at Doncaster Rovers deserves similar plaudits for similar reasons and with the added bonus that they are one of the most entertaining teams in the league, even if they do play in rugby shirts. Why has no Premier League club tried to prise him away from the Keepmoat? Do they think Doncaster's unlikely successes have been down to luck?

Below there, Danny Wilson at Swindon and Kenny Jackett at Millwall have overachieved, through extraordinarily good organisation and the inculcation of discipline and team spirit, with a crop of players of moderate ability sprinkled with one or two genuine talents. Both of these managers have been serially underrated; in Jackett's case may this long hold true because we don't want to lose him. But in the same division Chris Turner deserves credit for having kept Hartlepool up yet again and John Barnes deserves credit for having left Tranmere. It is always the best thing John Barnes has done as a manager, left somewhere.

The Premier League scouts have already been checking out young Eddie Howe at Bournemouth in League Two, while Keith Hill at Rochdale needs to be watched too. Rochdale are another side who the economics of modern football suggest should not exist. This has been their best season since the invention of the Spinning Jenny in 1764, which, actually, was several years before they were formed.

Good managers sometimes fail, of course, as we saw with Paul Hart at Portsmouth. Logic suggests Neil Woods will ultimately fail at Grimsby Town but yesterday's home win against Barnet has given his team a slim chance of survival, though they will need to win at Burton Albion on Saturday and hope other results go their way.

And a special mention for Calum McLean, the manager of Fort William FC. Bottom of the Highland League for year after year, playing on a pitch that is almost entirely under water, bereft of fans, money and even players. They sit proudly third bottom this year after two stunning away wins: that's achievement, Hodgson, okay?

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/172721/Alan-Mullery-spellbound-by-Roy-Hodgson-s-magic-

ALAN MULLERY SPELLBOUND BY ROY HODGSON'S MAGIC


Sunday May 2,2010


By Richard Edwards


ALAN Mullery, the last man to lead out Fulham at a major final, knows what it's like to sample success on the banks of the Thames.

But even one of Fulham's favourite sons admits that he never expected to see his former club in a European final.

Mullery joined Fulham at the age of 15 and, after eight successful years at Tottenham, returned to captain the club in their sole losing FA Cup final against West Ham in 1975.

And now Mullery (right), a UEFA Cup winner with Spurs in 1972, believes manager Roy Hodgson can inspire the club to a final win over Atletico Madrid.

"I don't think I've ever seen a Fulham crowd so boisterous and up-for-it as they were against Hamburg," said Mullery.

"I've never heard as much noise, even when there were 40,000 people in Craven Cottage. After the first half I couldn't see Fulham scoring two goals but the crowd lifted them to another level."

The crowd undoubtedly played their part but the Hodgson effect cannot be overestimated.

"You just have to look at the teams that Fulham have beaten in this competition to see what an incredible job he has done as manager," added Mullery.

"The achievement to get to where the football club is at the present time is just incredible.

"Roy had been out of the country for so long (before joining Fulham) and he hadn't really achieved anything in English football, but as soon as he came in you could see a difference in both the club and the team itself.

"We haven't seen a story like this since Wimbledon beat Liverpool in the FA Cup final in 1988."

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/172722/Al-Fayed-set-to-reward-Fulham-heroes



AL FAYED SET TO REWARD FULHAM HEROES


Sunday May 2,2010


By Colin Mafham

FULHAM owner Mohammed Al Fayed is set to reward manager Roy Hodgson and his players with a bumper bonus for their historic achievement in reaching the Europa League final in Hamburg on May 12.

Harrods boss Al Fayed (above, right), who has already spent more than £280million on the Premier League club, is expected to splash the cash again to say thank you to Hodgson and co for turning unfancied Fulham into Britain's only Euro finalists this season.

And he is also likely to step up efforts to secure 62-year-old Hodgson's services beyond the official retirement age after his manager declined to commit his long-term future to the club whose fortunes he has transformed in little more than two years.

Hodgson admitted he didn't know how much longer he will be at Fulham, saying: "I'm only 62 and I don't know where I'll end my days.

"Let's see where we go from here and see where that takes us."

Exactly how much Hodgson and his players will now pocket in bonuses is being kept a secret because of sensitivities over players' pay. But Hodgson revealed: "Mr Al Fayed is very generous and is always prepared to reward us.

"Of course we have to be careful about rewards because we are already well-paid people. But hopefully we can also reward him for all the effort and money he has put in."

Hodgson, however, admitted that he and Fulham are in footballing heaven.
      
"I've had some great moments and results that have excited people in Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Italy," said Hodgson. "But right now all this is a magnificent feeling.

"You'd have got very big odds on Fulham reaching a European final when we started last year in the second qualifying round.

"But these players have produced performances time and time again against Europe's best, and have deservedly won matches without any luck."

Fulham are at home to London rivals West Ham in the Premier League today and Hodgson added: "We've still got four games to go this season and it would be nice if we could keep our league form going. But I can't keep whipping these boys time and time again.

"I suppose they could crack up but they haven't done so for 59 games, so maybe I'll get another four out of them!"

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/172720/Roy-Hodgson-is-a-diamond-geezer-ask-the-Germans/


ROY HODGSON IS A DIAMOND GEEZER- ASK THE GERMANS


Sunday May 2,2010


By Jim Holden


ROY Hodgson has been a treasure of English football for 20 years, yet for most of that time he's been treated like a dusty old relic, a jewel locked away and neglected in a dark storeroom at the British Museum.

So, yes, it is a great joy to see his reputation fly so high, to see Hodgson suddenly displayed as the star exhibit of our national game after leading Fulham to a European club final amid exultant scenes at Craven Cottage on Thursday.

It also reminds me that he was shamefully disdained in his homeland for so long.

When a few of us, and we were a very few, advocated that Hodgson should be made manager of England in November 2000 following the resignation of Kevin Keegan, the idea was met with either outright scorn or an amused, indulgent tolerance. They went for Sven instead.

It was the same in 2006 when Steve McClaren was appointed, and the same in 2007 when Fabio Capello tookover.

Roy Hodgson? No, the vast majority of fans, media, administrators and players in English football laughed at the idea that he should be England team manager.

Nobody laughs now. In fact, everybody thinks it is a wonderful thought. Hodgson for England is the cry, Hodgson for Manager of the Year, Hodgson for Prime Minister.

The man himself will meet this transformation from dusty old relic to diamond geezer with a wry smile. His personal view of what constitutes professional success was eloquently revealed in an interview four years ago when he was the manager of the Finland national team, the best ever in that country's history.

"You can't always be winning trophies and medals," said Hodgson.

"But you can be acknowledged by your peers as a good coach and this brings its own contentment. You do get a lot of satisfaction from being accepted into the elite football family."

Hodgson has been recognised by the continental elite of football for two decades and more.

It is now 12 years since Franz Beckenbauer chased him to become the national team manager of Germany. He was about to take one of the great prestige jobs of world football, until at the last moment the Germans decided that, on principle, they couldn't have a foreigner in charge.

This is the Germany that has reached the fi nal of 11 of the 21 major tournaments played since 1966, winning fi ve of them. They thought Hodgson was their man. England didn't. That's England with no fi nal at all since 1966. That's England who abandoned principle, even though they had a precious jewel of their own. It's not as if taking Fulham to the final of the Europa League, the old UEFA Cup, is the first time Hodgson has achieved that particular glory. Oh
no, he did it back in the mid-1990s when he was manager of Inter Milan.

For the past several World Cups and European Championships, there has been a special panel of football experts set up to make an offi cial assessment of the tactics, technicalities and style of play for FIFA and UEFA.

Hodgson has been the man they always call for from the home of football. He's the best, as Beckenbauer will tell you. Now, finally, suddenly, happily, belatedly, at the age of 62, Roy Hodgson is recognised here for the world-class manager/coach that he has long been.

It is a moment to treasure. His Fulham team have won unexpected success and it is a dazzling achievement to take a modest club so far.

What also makes Hodgson's work so admirable is that his team plays an attractive style of football, and that he has substantially improved the quality of specific individuals in the team. The progress of Bobby Zamora into a consistent high-class striker is a case in point.

Earlier this season, when Hodgson was the first man to air the thought that Zamora would adorn the England squad, the idea was met with scorn – or at least an amused, indulgent tolerance.

Nobody is laughing any more. In fact, there is sadness that injury to the Fulham striker might prevent a call-up from Capello for the World Cup.

It looks certain now that Hodgson will be named Manager of the Year. It's a fine honour that will be thoroughly deserved, although it should be acknowledged that there are other excellent contenders.

If you ask me, the job done by the unsung Chris Hughton to take Newcastle straight back to the Premier League has been magnificent.

So has the work of Paul Lambert, who started the season with a 7-1 win away to Norwich when he was boss of Colchester – and then made the Canaries champions of League One when they swiftly nabbed him for themselves.

I would also like to add honourable mentions to two managers restoring the fortunes of long forgotten former League clubs. Dean Holdsworth made Newport County the champions of the Blue Square South with 103 points,
while Liam Watson inspired Southport to be winners of the Blue Square North.

Whatever level of football you work at, management can be a tough and lonely job much of the time. Roy Hodgson has been doing it all over the world with admirable style and success and humility since the mid-1970s. 

He is lonely no longer. Everybody thinks he's a hero today.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/may/02/roy-hodgson-manager-of-the-year (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/may/02/roy-hodgson-manager-of-the-year)


Roy Hodgson for romance and Carlo Ancelotti for logic

But Sir Alex Ferguson could manage a surprise for manager of the year


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Roy Hodgson

The Fulham manager, Roy Hodgson, has taken the club to their first-ever European final. Photograph: Joe Giddens/Empics

Since the Premier League began, only one manager-of-the-year award has been bestowed on an individual whose team did not finish top. In 2001 George Burley was honoured for qualifying for the Uefa Cup with an Ipswich team in their first season back in the top flight, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson scantly rewarded for a then unprecedented third successive title.

The Manchester United manager would not have minded the award going to a fellow Scot. He had already won five of the gongs by that stage, has gone on to pick up another four, and probably felt like everyone else that distinctions handed out by sponsors are of comparatively little merit next to honours won on the pitch. Yet Ferguson is currently chief cheerleader for Roy Hodgson as manager of the year. Even if an official award did not exist, the managerial achievement of the season would still be a topic keenly discussed at every level of the game, precisely because the game has so many levels.

If it is a little disappointing that the official award tracks the destination of the title so closely it is hardly surprising, because any other course would be fiendishly difficult as well as endlessly controversial. David Moyes, for instance, has never won a trophy at Everton, yet there have been several seasons when the results and consistency he has produced on a limited budget have been little short of astonishing. Then there are all the relegation firefighters and the managers down through the divisions who produce small-scale miracles against all expectation. Ian Holloway at Blackpool this season comes to mind, as well as Chris Hughton at Newcastle, Steve Cotterill at Notts County and Keith Hill at Rochdale.

Sticking to the Premier League to simplify the argument, this season alone there have been claims made on behalf of Moyes, Harry Redknapp, Martin O'Neill and Tony Pulis, yet realistically, with their present clubs at least, none of those is'' going to get close to a title. Rafael Benítez, on the other hand, has been agonisingly close to a title. In addition to a major miracle in Istanbul and a thrilling FA Cup final win in previous years, his Liverpool side of last season suffered only two league defeats, positively parsimonious compared to the present situation where everyone has lost at least half a dozen, yet manager of the year passed him by. Benítez ultimately had to face the fact that even beating United home and away could not prevent his rival and adversary picking up a third successive title for the second time in his career. It is hard to argue against success on that scale.

So while Hodgson would be a wonderfully romantic and completely deserving choice as manager of the season for his magnificent feat in guiding Fulham to the Europa League final, logic and precedent are not on his side. Carlo Ancelotti is on course to win a league and Cup Double in his first season in England, and no one has ever done that before. Arsène Wenger managed it in his first full season in England, which was a considerable achievement in its own way and earned him the manager-of-the-year award in 1998, though it felt much more like his second season here as he arrived in September of 1996. José Mourinho won just the league in his first season with Chelsea, repeated the achievement the following year, and was manager of the year both times. So Ancelotti could feel aggrieved, to say the least, were a double in his first season to count for nothing.

Manchester United could still derail Chelsea's title bid today, or to be more exact Liverpool could, and were the title to end up at Old Trafford it would be United's fourth in a row, and no one has done that in the entire history of English football. Were Ferguson to claim such a success at the age of 68, breaking Liverpool's record of 18 titles to boot, Hodgson might have to get on the pitch and score the winning goal in Hamburg to wrest the award from its most regular recipient.

The way Fulham's fairytale has been panning out, however, you wouldn't bet against him doing that. Even Ferguson is behind him, describing Fulham's run to the final as one of the best British performances of all time, though he could simply be playing down Chelsea claims. It amounts to little in the scheme of things: it is only a talking point, a matter of opinion. But Fulham's success is unexpected, Chelsea's more or less demanded. And Hodgson has built a squad, with the help of considerable funds from his owner, whereas Ancelotti inherited an already capable one.

Here's the weird bit, though. Hodgson is definitely getting younger. No one else in football management has ever managed to pull off that trick. Hodgson has not just reinvented the glory game, he appears to have stumbled on an antidote to stress as well as the secret of eternal youth. Why stop at manager of the year? Based on his Thursday performances there is still time to be the next prime minister.

I see in the BBC gossip column that Wenger has Brede on his shopping list again according to the Sunday Mirror

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/more-sport/2010/05/01/drury-s-yell-of-a-verdict-115875-22225164/


Drury's yell of a verdict


By Alan Mckinlay 1/05/2010

SPORT ON TV

Liverpool's grudging participation in the Europa League - after being "relegated" from the Champions League - contrasts starkly with Fulham's joyous ride to the final in Hamburg.

And so, too, did the TV coverage on Thursday.

"We can't even win the scrubby old Europa League these days," summed up the feeling on Five, while over on ITV4, the fathful band of digital airmchair fans were treated to arguably the most enjoyable hour of the season.

And commentator Peter Drury had his own Bjorge Lillelien moment.

Lillelien was the Norwegian commetator who famously reacted to his countrymen's victory over England in 1981 by screeching out a list of names of English historical icons and ended with "Maggie Thatcher, your boys have taken a hell of a beating".

Well, cometh the Craven Cottage hour, cometh the commentator.

"The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is the place to be tonight," yelled Drury, as the camera panned along the crowd, showing faces with smiles and tears in equal measure.

"There isn't a club, a pub or a party in the land you'd rather be at.

"This is fresh, this is new, this has never happened before."

After listing nine of 17 English sides that had made European finals, Drury went on: "But none have done it with such disbelieving joy as Fuham are enjoying now.

"This is Fulham for heaven's sake, a club which 15 years ago didn't have two farthings to rub together.

"Bought by a very wealthy man, it has become a hugely enriched club.

"Hamburg will stage the Europa League final. Fulham will play in it."

Drury captured the barely believable excitement of a small club's greatest night. As long as they do it in XL, put me down for the T-shirt.

Hosts name preliminary squad

McCarthy drafted back in as South Africa set out their stall

Last updated: 1st May 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed


South Africa have named a 29-man preliminary squad as they step up their World Cup preparations.

Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is the man charged with the task of steering the hosts to glory on home soil, with much expected of the Brazilian and his troops.

Among those called upon by the South American are four players currently plying their trade in the Premier League.

West Ham striker Benni McCarthy is handed an international recall, while Everton's Steven Pienaar, Portsmouth's Aaron Mokoena and Fulham's Kagisho Dikgacoi also make the squad.

Six names will be cut from the preliminary line-up before the finals get underway on 11th June.

"We have been preparing this process for three years and a lot of factors were taken into consideration," Parreira said on revealing his selections.

"I'm happy with the players we have selected and I want to concentrate on them, not those who didn't make it."

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/01052010/63/zola-hails-hodgson.html


Zola hails Hodgson

Sat, 01 May 13:26:25 2010

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has paid tribute to Fulham boss Roy Hodgson ahead of their clash on Saturday.

Fulham reached the UEFA Europa League final on Thursday after beating Hamburg 2-1, where they will face Atletico Madrid next month, however, after knocking out favourites Shakhtar Donetsk and then Italian giants Juventus, the Cottagers will be confident of claiming victory.

Zola was at Craven Cottage to see Fulham narrowly defeat their German opponents and admitted that he has been the manager of the season.

"He has done a brilliant job. I watched them and they were really good considering the team he has got. Roy has done very well. I was really impressed. Personally I voted him to be manager of the year," Zola told the club's official website.

"I am not an envious person. I appreciate and I admire what he has done because he has achieved a big result with his team. I just respect what he has done and I will tell him Sunday when I see him.

"Fulham have been working hard, they have a good manager. They have had a very good atmosphere. All of these things create a perfect recipe to have success."

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/01052010/63/hangeland-urges-cottagers-keep-focus.html


Hangeland urges Cottagers to keep focus

Sat, 01 May 14:08:32 2010

Brede Hangeland has reminded Fulham's Europa League heroes there are still Barclays Premier League points up for grabs this season.

Hangeland admits the prospect of meeting Atletico Madrid in their European final at the Hamburg Arena on May 12 will be dominating every player's thoughts as it will be the biggest match in the club's 131-year history and will conclude a fairytale season under manager Roy Hodgson.

But the defender insists that with a 10th successive season in the Premier League already guaranteed, Fulham must not lose interest in their domestic duties.

"Of course the final will be in the back of our minds but the worst thing we could do would be to drop the standard in the Premier League and then think we can raise it again for the final," he said.

"We need to keep going the way we have done all season and do our best in the league games, which will be good preparation for the final.

"You need to perform to stay in good shape, both as individuals and as a team, so I'm sure the manager will not let us drop our standards."

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/view/133323/Fulham-s-Roy-Hodgson-is-a-real-hero/

FULHAM'S ROY HODGSON IS A REAL HERO


DAILY STAR SUNDAY

2nd May 2010


By Daily Star Reporter


EVERYONE'S quite rightly full of praise for Roy Hodgson and his fantastic Fulham.

Their epic Europa League adventure has delighted the nation while the Big Four of Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal and ­Liverpool have fallen on foreign soil.

It's been one hell of a continental ­crusade by the Cottagers, starting off last summer against the unknowns of FK Vetra and Amkar Perm and taking in victories over holders Shakhtar Donetsk, mighty ­Juventus and the German pair of ­Wolfsburg and Hamburg.

Now they face Liverpool's conquerors Atletico Madrid in Hamburg's Nordbank Arena and only a bitter Chelsea die-hard would not wish them success in a first foreign final in their 130-year history.

Hodgson, of course, is hardly an ­overnight success and, in fact, the ­Croydon boy has probably spent more time abroad than a tax eile.

Starting off in 1976 he has been boss of (deep breath) Halmstads, Bristol City, ­Orebro, Malmo, Neuchatel Xamax, Inter Milan (twice), Blackburn, Grasshopper, Copenhagen and Viking.

He took ­Switzerland to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and and also managed the UAE and Finland – not bad for a bloke who never made it in professional football.

Sir Alex Ferguson rightly says he should be the next Manager of the Year while ­others wrongly want him to be the next England manager if Fabio Capello quits after a World Cup disaster.

Let's hope the affable Hodgson, for whom the phrase 'decent cove' could have been invented, never gets the Wembley ­hot-seat.

He will end up being ridiculed and hounded out like fellow Englishmen ­Graham Taylor, Steve McClaren, Terry ­Venables and Glenn Hoddle were.

Hodgson is 62 and, surely, doesn't need the media madness the England job brings.

He's also being linked with Liverpool and Manchester City – both unsuitable for ­different reasons.

Here's an idea: why doesn't he simply stay at Craven Cottage?

Good luck to Fulham and Hodgson against Atletico – let's hope this time the good guy does come first.

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/celtic/174518-celtic-join-fulham-and-bolton-in-norwegian-scouting-mission/


Celtic join Fulham and Bolton in Norwegian scouting mission

Marcus Pedersen and Mohammed Fellah were among two players watched by a wealth of clubs, including Celtic, on Saturday night in a Norwegian Premier League match.

02 May 2010 14:28 GMT


Thomas Rogne could be joined by two of his compatriots if a scouting mission to Norway was successful. Pic: ©SNS Group

Celtic were amongst a host of English and European clubs represented at Saturday night's Tippeligaen match between Valerenga and Stromsgodset. The Norwegian fixture, the ninth of the 2010 campaign for the two teams, featured a wealth of young talent attracting interest from teams keen to tap into a burgeoning Scandinavian talent pool.

Stromsgodset striker Marcus Pedersen, 19, and Valerenga attacking midfielder Mohammed Fellah, 20, were amongst the players under the watchful eyes of the Hoops' scouts in the region.

Officials from Fulham, Bolton, Sunderland, Blackburn, Borussia Monchengladbach, Hamburg and Auxerre were all reportedly at the fixture, which was won 1-0 by Stromsgodset.

According to Norwegian newspaper VG, six other young players are also being monitored by the clubs. Stromsgodset's Jo Inge Berget and Muhamed Keita, both 19, and defender Lars Saetra, 18, are all tipped for bigger things. For Valerenga, Harmeet Singh, 19, Moa Abdellaoue, 24, and his younger brother Mos Abdellaoue are also interesting clubs across Europe.

Pedersen and Fellah are two of the highest rated at both clubs and are both Norway under-21 internationalists. Pedersen, who had a trial with Liverpool in 2006, has scored five times in nine games this season for Godset, having moved from HamKam in 2009.

As demonstrated in a video on IMScouting from a game against Sandefjord in April, the tricky player scored twice and set up another in a 4-2 victory and was unfortunate not to add to his tally, terrorising the opposition defence with his direct style.

Fellah, who is of Moroccan descent, is a 5ft 5in attacking central midfielder who is renowned for his creativity. Born in Oslo, he overcame a broken leg in an under-18s match with Norway in 2007 to establish himself in the Enga's team.

Celtic made use of their scouting network in Scandinavia in the January transfer window, bringing in three players from the region. From Norway, young defender Thomas Rogne was picked up on a Bosman from Stabaek and has since gone onto to feature in the first team, although his progress has been hampered by injury.

Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld was picked up from Swedes AIK and striker Morten Rasmussen signed from Danish club Brondby. Swedish forward Emir Kujovic, 21, was also a reported signing target for Tony Mowbray back in January but the 6ft 4in player remained with Halmstad.