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Bale, Hojberg, Lamela, Lo Celso: Tottenham injury updates and return dates ahead of Fulham clash

The latest Spurs injury updates as Jose Mourinho's side return to Premier League action this week.

Tottenham Hotspur will return to Premier League action tomorrow as they host Fulham in the Premier League.

Spurs beat non-league Marine 5-0 in the FA Cup third round on Sunday and will be hoping to a move to within a point of joint leaders Liverpool and Manchester United as they get back to the league.

Jose Mourinho's players will start the week in fourth place in the league standings with 29 points from their 16 matches to date.

Manchester City, Southampton and Everton also all have the same number of points and with just four points separating the top seven clubs, it is turning into one of the tightest league campaigns for years.

Tottenham boast a near-fully fit squad which should stand them in good stead for the months ahead.

With that in mind, here is a round-up of all the very latest Spurs injury news going into the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

There was a chance the Denmark international was going to be involved against Marine over the weekend but he didn't make the squad.

The former Southampton midfielder has been a mainstay in Spurs' midfield this season, racking up 26 appearances in all competitions so far.

He was forced off in the latter stages of the clash with Brentford last Tuesday evening after being on the receiving end of an ill-timed challenge from Bees midfield ace Josh DaSilva, which resulted in the former Arsenal man being sent-off.

Hojbjerg had a war wound to take home with him although it was not as bad as it looked and it was hoped he might be involved in the FA Cup.

His absence, however, means his return could be against Villa.

Gareth Bale

Real Madrid loanee Bale went off injured at half-time during Spurs' 3-1 win over Stoke City at the quarter-final stage of the Carabao Cup just prior to Christmas.

At the time, Mourinho said the Welshman would be out for the next "few weeks" with a calf injury.

sked whether or not Bale would be fit for the tussle with Marine, Mourinho revealed that the winger had returned to training and could be in the matchday squad.

In the end, he got the final half-hour, coming on in the second half as a substitute for Dele Alli so should be ready to start against Villa if required.

Giovani Lo Celso

The 24-year-old is currently sidelined after picking up a hamstring injury in Spurs' 2-0 defeat to Leicester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 20.

He has not made any of the past five matchday squads in league and cup.

"Gio is injured. I don't know for how long but he is not playing in the next few weeks, it is not a simple situation, he is not going to play in the next few weeks," Mourinho said recently.

When the Argentine could make a return to action remains to be seen.

Erik Lamela

Winger Lamela could return to the squad for the clash with Villa after being left out of the match-day squad for the showdowns with both Leeds and Brentford.

Ahead of the match with Marcelo Bielsa's side last weekend, it emerged that Lamela, along with Sergio Reguilon and Lo Celso had breached Tier 4 coronavirus rules by gathering for a Christmas party.

Now that the winger, who had only just returned from a spell on the sidelines through injury prior to these events unfolding, has been forced to miss three matches, Mourinho had hinted that he could return for the trip to Merseyside yesterday - but he wasn't in the squad.

"Lamela maybe [will be involved]," said Mourinho at the time. "I am waiting for tomorrow [Saturday].

"So tomorrow last day. Lamela possible."



https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/tottenham-team-news-fulham-injury-19554734

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Fulham: A huge mismatch on paper



Fourth place Tottenham host third bottom Fulham on Wednesday, with the home side expected to take all three points in the must win affair.

Spurs are only four points adrift of leaders Liverpool with a game in hand, and are gigantic favourites to leave Hotspur Stadium with a vital victory. Here's some of the more telling numbers as Fulham take the short trip north to Tottenham tomorrow.
Tottenham

    Tottenham have won eight of their last nine matches against Fulham in all competitions, including five of six in the Premier League
    Tottenham have scored at least two goals in eight of the their last nine matches against the West London side
    Spurs enjoy a strong scoring record of late at home, scoring at least twice in five of their last six matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
    Tottenham have the joint fourth best home record in the top flight, taking 14 points from a possible 24. That return isn't exactly emphatic, but Spurs have been better at home of late, winning four of their last five
    Tottenham enjoy the joint second best defensive home record, conceding eight goals in as many matches
    Son Heung-Min, with 12 tallies, is just a goal behind Mo Salah for top honour in the top flight, while Harry Kane leads the league in assists with 11, three ahead of his nearest rival (Kevin De Bruyne)

Fulham

    Fulham have drawn their last four top flight matches
    Currently sit in a relegation spot, three points from safety
    They haven't won since Nov. 30, when they unexpectedly beat Leicester 2-0 at King Power Stadium
    With five points from a possible 21, Fulham have the third worst away record in the top flight
    Conceded only 11 goals on their travels, the same amount as Manchester United and two less than Liverpool
    Have the fourth most anemic attack on their travels, scoring only seven goals in as many matches
    Haven't lost since Dec. 5, when Fulham fell 2-0 to Man. City at the Etihad
    Haven't played in almost three weeks due to a Covid-19 outbreak within the camp. Their last match was a 0-0 draw with Southampton on Boxing Day




https://hotspurhq.com/2021/01/12/tottenham-hotspur-vs-fulham-a-huge-mismatch-on-paper/

Mourinho hints that Dele Alli could be involved on Wednesday in Premier League

Jose Mourinho has hinted that Dele Alli could be involved in Tottenham Hotspur's clash against Fulham on Wednesday on the back of his display in the 5-0 win over Marine on the weekend.

Alli was handed a rare start in the FA Cup third-round clash and was one of Spurs' best players that evening.

Even though the Lilywhites were clearly up against sub-part opposition, Mourinho praised the midfielder's performance in the victory.

Multiple reports (Telegraph and Foot Mercato) over the last couple of weeks have linked the midfielder with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Mourinho has now hinted that the 24-year-old could have a route back into the Tottenham side.

The North Londoners were initially scheduled to play Aston Villa on Wednesday but it has now been confirmed that their postponed clash against Fulham will be played on that day instead after several positive COVID tests in the Villa camp.

When asked whether Alli could be involved, Mourinho said (via Eurosport): "He was here today and of course it was not the match to measure the quality, but the professionalism and attitude and I am very happy with it.

"I will not be surprised if next Wednesday Dele is playing with us."

Spurs Web Opinion

I do not expect Alli to start on Wednesday as Son, Kane and Ndombele will likely come back into the team. However, Mourinho's words of praise for the England international suggest that the midfielder could play a bigger role in the second half of the season than he has done so far.




https://www.spurs-web.com/spurs-news/mourinho-hints-that-dele-alli-could-be-involved-on-wednesday-in-premier-league/

Fulham fuming with Tottenham match being rearranged on two days' notice

Fulham have been left furious with the Premier League at the decision to rearrange their match with Tottenham for Wednesday night on just two day's notice.

Spurs were due to play Aston Villa on Wednesday, but due to the Villains suffering numerous positive coronavirus tests the game has been postponed.

Tottenham vs Fulham had previously been postponed due to the Cottagers struggling with positive tests so the fixture has been hastily rearranged for Wednesday night.

While Jose Mourinho's side were always expecting to be playing on Wednesday, Scott Parker's men were not due to compete again until Friday against Chelsea, a game that has now been pushed back to Saturday evening.

Parker was only informed of the change of plan at 9.30am on Monday, despite the Premier League being aware of the possibility last week, reports the Sun.

The Cottagers played Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup on Saturday, not thinking they were playing until the following Friday and team selection would likely have been very different if they knew they were playing on Wednesday.



Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/12/why-fulham-are-fuming-over-having-to-play-rearranged-tottenham-match-13887846/?ito=newsnow-feed?ito=cbshare

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

Knockaert loan extended

Nottingham Forest are delighted to announce that Anthony Knockaert's loan deal has been extended.

The winger joined initially on loan until the start of January from Fulham but has now extended that deal until the end of the 2020-21 season.

The Frenchman has featured 16 times for The Reds since moving to The City Ground in October, providing two assists and scoring once, and will now remain as part of Chris Hughton's squad for the rest of the campaign.



https://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/2021/january/knockaert-loan-extended/

Scott Parker was the forgotten £10m man who fell by the wayside in Jose Mourinho's brilliant Chelsea team... 15 years on, they meet again with Fulham's boss determined to prove himself against a manager who 'didn't fancy' him at Tottenham

    Jose Mourinho's Tottenham take on Scott Parker's Fulham on Wednesday night
    The pair worked together during Mourinho's first stint at Chelsea in 2004-05
    Parker struggling for regular minutes and was sold after a season to Newcastle
    The Fulham boss has since admitted that Mourinho simply 'didn't fancy me'
    Now the pair meet again in a hastily arranged fixture change tomorrow evening

Fairly often in professional football, paths re-collide which will trigger either fondness or ill-feeling between two individuals - or perhaps a simple case of what might have been.

It's been over 15 years since Jose Mourinho worked with Scott Parker during his first stint as Chelsea boss, in a season which will go down in history from start to finish.

From the famous 'special one' announcement on his first day in charge to a then-record points tally of 95, the Portuguese's introduction into English football was brilliantly eventful yet Parker, rated as one of England's brightest midfield prospects at the time, was one who simply fell by the wayside.

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/11/37902164-9137705-image-m-12_1610449865814.jpg)
Jose Mourinho worked with Scott Parker during his first season as Chelsea boss in 2004-05

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/11/37904780-9137705-image-a-17_1610449967841.jpg)
But the midfielder (left) only made a handful of appearances in a season of frustration for him

Admittedly, the midfielder was signed by Mourinho's predecessor Claudio Ranieri in January 2004, five months before upheaval at the Bridge, for £10m.

But at 24, Parker was entering the prime years of his career, following a start at Charlton which saw him thrive under Alan Curbishley in a deep-lying role and make his England debut, in November 2003.

Yet, as Ranieri was replaced by Mourinho, so Parker saw his first-team opportunities limited - and even then his fitness let him down.

Parker was under no illusions - with Claude Makelele one of the most effective defensive midfielders in Europe at the time and Tiago signed that summer to play alongside him, the England international was an understudy. A back-up. A reserve.

He started just once in the Blues' opening ten league games - a 4-0 win against Blackburn - before a few Champions League outings as Chelsea topped their group. 

Mourinho, with an array of talent as his disposal, was aware of Parker's continued frustration at being left on the sidelines, saying: 'I can accept the player is not happy when he is not playing... Parker is a top professional and is working every day absolutely fantastically.'

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/11/37902224-9137705-image-a-18_1610449988515.jpg)
Great things were expected of Parker after his £10m signing but things did not work out

But in mid-December, having come on as a substitute, disaster struck against Norwich as Parker broke his foot. Ten weeks later, as he neared the end of his rehabilitation, he broke his foot again.

And that was very much that - not just for the season but for Parker's Chelsea career. He did not play again for the club, as the Blues won the League Cup and the Premier League, though he did pick up a league winners' medal and joined in the title celebrations.

But Parker was not interested in being someone's back-up. In the summer of 2005, club and player quite happily parted ways and he moved to Newcastle for £6.5m.

Speaking shortly after moving up north, Parker said: 'I didn't play a lot there [at Chelsea], and when I did, especially under Mourinho, I thought I did well. But it wasn't meant to be.

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/11/37905610-0-image-a-41_1610451456488.jpg)
Parker's stay at Chelsea was short-lived as he moved to Newcastle for £6.5million in 2005

'For one reason or another the manager didn't fancy me.'

Both moved on with their careers, with Parker having a distinguished conclusion to his time playing as he hopped from one London club to the next, while Mourinho won a glut of trophies across Europe.

Soon after taking over as Fulham's caretaker boss in 2019, Parker spoke rather admirably about Mourinho's managerial attributes: '[He's] very honest, ruthless at times, certainly you need to have that about you. He had the ability to make you feel ten feet tall or make you feel like you'd done the worse thing in the world.

'There was no middle ground in that sense. His communication with people at that time - making people feel a million dollars and getting the right people around him. Obviously everything else says a lot about him, a winner.'

Now though, the pair will collide again in a hastily-arranged Premier League encounter.

A game originally scheduled for December 30 but postponed due to a Covid outbreak at Fulham, it has been dramatically shoehorned into this week's set of Premier League games, much to the annoyance of the Fulham boss.   

Battling for survival in the relegation zone, with Mourinho having title aspirations at the other end of the table, the pair could not have more contrasting goals this season.

But don't count out Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tomorrow night - they held Liverpool to a draw last month and perhaps should have come away with all three.

They've also lost just once in their last six league games - against Man City - with Parker's side who were deemed by Jamie Carragher as 'dead certainties' for the drop showing some much-needed spirit in this frenetic part of the season. 



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9137705/Scott-Parker-barely-given-chance-Jose-Mourinho-Chelsea-paths-cross-again.html

Fulham knew about the Tottenham rescheduling before the FA Cup 3rd round

Despite frustration from Fulham at the Spurs rescheduling, the club reportedly knew of a possible reshuffle prior to Saturday.

Premier rescheduling

The recent rescheduling of matches has caused a stir amongst some Premier League clubs with Fulham one of the most affected. Spurs were due to play Aston Villa this week but because of a coronavirus outbreak in the West Midlands club the game has been postponed and replaced with the match against Fulham.

Aston Villa’s match against @SpursOfficial, due to be played at Villa Park on Wednesday 13 January, has been rescheduled following a decision by the Premier League Board

Full statement: https://t.co/wFj1It79ia #PL #AVLTOT pic.twitter.com/4Mr2HiTchJ

— Premier League (@premierleague) January 11, 2021

Fulham themselves experienced an outbreak at the club near weeks ago and was the reason for their match with Spurs not going ahead. The decision to postpone the match was taken just mere hours before kick-off and Jose Mourinho was not particularly happy with the decision and posted on his Instagram page in frustration about the choice.

Fulham were aware of possible rescheduling

Now, however, it is Fulham that are frustrated with the decision-making processes of the league who have decided to reschedule their fixture for this midweek's round of games. Fulham are reportedly unhappy with the lateness of the decision considering the fact several first-team players were used in their FA Cup 3rd round win over QPR at the weekend.

Had they have known they would have been playing a Premier League fixture against Spurs, Scott Parker may have chosen to rest some senior figures ahead of the match.

Interestingly though, Matt Lawton of The Times has reported that Fulham were made aware of the possibility of a rescheduling of the fixture prior to their FA Cup match with QPR.

Lawton wrote, 'It is understood Fulham were first approached about the reshuffle before their FA Cup victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.'

If this was indeed the case, Parker would have been aware of this and could have thought about his team selection with the possibility of a rescheduling in mind. What has been to the benefit of Fulham is their match which was scheduled to take place on Friday against Chelsea has been postponed by one day to allow for extra recovery.



https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/fulham-knew-about-the-tottenham-rescheduling-before-the-fa-cup-3rd-round/

'Scandalous'... 'Are you serious?!': Jose Mourinho says he has NO sympathy for Scott Parker, who is FURIOUS that Fulham have to go to Spurs at 48 hours' notice after Covid-hit fixture list was torn up

    Tottenham host Fulham on Wednesday evening in the rearranged league match
    Spurs were scheduled to meet Fulham on December 30 but that was called off
    The match was postponed after a Covid-19 outbreak among the Fulham squad
    Tottenham were meant to face Aston Villa away this Wednesday evening
    But Fulham have replaced them as Spurs' opponents after Villa's Covid outbreak

Jose Mourinho has claimed Fulham should apologise for jeopardising the completion of the Premier League if they turn up at Tottenham with a full-strength team.

'Do you want to finish the season or not?' snapped Spurs boss Mourinho as angry accusations flew from both sides ahead of Wednesday night's hastily rearranged London derby.

Fulham boss Scott Parker said it was 'scandalous' and 'blatantly wrong' for his team to be forced into a game at such short notice — to ease Tottenham's congested fixture list.

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/12/37906222-0-image-a-41_1610452803344.jpg)
Jose Mourinho's Tottenham side host Fulham in their rearranged league match on Wednesday

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/13/37908996-9138191-image-a-60_1610457660799.jpg)
Scott Parker is furious his Fulham side were given such short notice for the rescheduled fixture

'I'm angry, I'm disappointed,' fumed Parker. 'Do I believe this would happen if it was a top-of-the-table clash? No I don't. I don't think it should happen to anyone. It is very unfair.'

Fulham have players only just back from isolation and claim they would have taken a different approach to Saturday's FA Cup tie at QPR, won in extra time, had they known they were at Spurs four days later.

'We're not making this up,' insisted Parker as he stressed the 'integrity of the game' and the 'welfare of the players' but there was little sympathy from Spurs.

Mourinho said: 'We've played, if I'm not wrong, 11 more matches than Fulham since the beginning of the season.'

Although his numbers were one out — unless he counts the Carabao Cup tie forfeited by Leyton Orient because of a Covid outbreak — his point was clear. This is Tottenham's 30th game in 122 days since the season started. It is Fulham's 20th.

'We played every week three matches a week,' said Mourinho. 'We played in one week, four matches. They played Saturday against QPR. They have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the game.

'If they come with half of the team, I will be the first one to apologise to them, and I will be the first to say we played this game with an advantage.

'If they come with their best team, I think they should apologise to all of us.'

The original fixture due for December 30 was called off on the day of the game, at Fulham's request when they recorded positive Covid tests within the camp. It still rankles with Mourinho.

Asked if it was acceptable for Fulham to be given only 48 hours' notice, he replied: 'Are you serious? They had 48 hours to prepare for this game. I had the news I was not going to play them two hours before the game.'

Parker said the postponement in December was 'an irrelevance' and the issue was being ordered to play a Wednesday game at 9.30am on Monday. 'Tottenham knew they had a fixture,' he said. 'Mourinho's team selection at the weekend suggested that. He will have planned for that.'

Spurs were expecting to go to Aston Villa on Wednesday night but that was called off because of Covid issues at Villa. And Dean Smith's side are believed to have asked the league for Sunday's game against Everton to be postponed, too, amid fears they will not be allowed back into their training ground until the day before the match.

'We had cases almost every week,' said Mourinho. 'One coach, one player, one medical staff. We had it all the time but we went in the direction of doing the best we can.

'We have to play football no matter what because if you have 14 players you have to play. We never tried to take advantage of it.'

His focus on the league's vague 14-player directive hinted at a feeling at Tottenham that some rival clubs were using the testing protocol to gain an advantage.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9138191/Tottenham-boss-Jose-Mourinho-NO-sympathy-Fulham-ahead-rearranged-Premier-League-clash.html

Jose Mourinho praises 'positive' decision to rearrange Tottenham vs Fulham

Spurs were due to play Aston Villa but that game was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak at the Midlands club

Jose Mourinho says the Premier League's solution to rearrange Tottenham's game with Fulham on Wednesday is a "positive" one.

Spurs were due to play Aston Villa but that game was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak at the Midlands club and their match with the Cottagers, postponed on 30 December, was hastily slotted in.

Mourinho is pleased with the decision.

"The biggest impact is to have matches postponed, that is the biggest impact," Mourinho said.

"The changing of the order of the matches, the impact is minimal because in the end you have to play 19 matches at home and away, you have to play two matches against every team.

"If it is to help the Premier League to go and end properly, I think it is a solution we all have to accept as a positive."

Fulham were understood to have their concerns about rearranging the game at such short notice, with their match at Chelsea also moved, while their fans have not taken the news well.

The original game was called off at less than three hours notice.

Asked whether Fulham had a right to be upset, Mourinho replied: "Are you serious? I had the news I was not going to play them two hours before the game started."

Mourinho rubbished suggestions that Harry Winks is going to join Valencia on loan.

"What do I have to say to stop with this talk? I said already that he's going nowhere," he said. "When I say he's going nowhere, what more do you want me to say?

"He played the last matches. He didn't play the last one because it was a chance to let players like Gedson (Fernandes) get minutes.

"Tomorrow he's selected again. If someone's talking to other clubs I'd say don't waste your time."

PA



https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/tottenham/fulham-villa-postponed-jose-mourinho-b1785976.html

Fulham boss Scott Parker left furious over 'scandalous' decision to play Tottenham game this week

Scott Parker has hit out at the Premier League and said it is "scandalous" that Fulham have been forced to play Tottenham on Wednesday night at such short notice.

Parker has revealed Fulham first heard about the potential fixture reshuffle on Saturday afternoon and they were then told at 9.30am on Monday that they would be playing Spurs.

"I am angry because it is not right," said a furious Parker. "It is is scandalous. It is not acceptable. It is madness. It is wrong. That is why I am so angry."

Tottenham were originally due to have played Aston Villa on Wednesday but the Midlands club have suffered a Covid-19 outbreak.

In a bid to minimise fixture congestion, the Premier League told Fulham that their game with Spurs, which was postponed on December 30 after the west London club had a Covid-19 outbreak of their own, would take place instead.

Fulham were first approached about the reshuffle before their FA Cup win over QPR on Saturday. Parker chose a strong team for the third-round tie at Loftus Road, which went to extra-time, and is unhappy they were not given advance more warning.

Spurs manager Jose Mourinho has said he has little sympathy with Fulham over the rescheduling of their fixture.

But Parker said: "For me, this is not acceptable.

"The possibility of playing Spurs came on Saturday afternoon. I probably did not think that would be realistic. And then got I told on Monday morning at 9.30 that we now fill in for Aston Villa and have to play Spurs on Wednesday.

"We all realise that we live in a time that is not predictable and it is not ideal. I am normally the last to moan because I realise it is tough out there. But what has happened to us, to confirm a Premier League game at 9.30 on Monday morning, it is scandalous.

"It is the notice, maybe these people in these places do not understand how you manage teams and how you manage players. It is madness really.

"Tottenham knew they had this fixture in. Jose's team selection on Saturday suggested that. Do I see that this would happen if this was a title clash with two of the biggest teams, with two of the biggest managers? Probably not. And rightly so.

"The integrity of the game, the welfare of the players. With two days' notice we have to play a game. It gives us hardly any time.

"I sit here angry because I do not think it is right. It is wrong. I believe we can give Spurs a game. But I am disappointed because I think it is wrong.

"It is not about the amount of games and the fixture pile-up, it is the predicament we are all in. We do not play in Europe like a lot of teams. My big problem here is the time. How can you be told at 9.30 on Monday morning that you are going to play a Premier League game on Wednesday? It is beyond belief."



https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/scott-parker-fulham-tottenham-scandalous-b850953.html

Scott Parker hits out at 'scandalous' decision to rearrange Spurs vs Fulham at short notice

Fulham will now travel to Tottenham on Wednesday evening

Scott Parker has labelled the decision to rearrange Fulham's match with Tottenham at such short notice as "scandalous".

The Cottagers were preparing to play Chelsea on Friday evening before the match between Aston Villa and Spurs was postponed following a coronavirus outbreak at the Midlands club.

The Premier League then decided to slot the Tottenham vs Fulham fixture, postponed last month on the day of the game after their own outbreak, in its place.

Parker has been left bitterly disappointed by the move hinting that he would have rotated his squad more for the FA Cup tie with QPR on Saturday had he known they would be playing again on Wednesday.

"I am angry because it is not right. It is wrong. That is why I am so angry," he said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. "The possibility of playing Spurs on Wednesday came on Saturday.

"We didn't think that was realistic and we were informed Monday morning at 9:30am. To confirm that on Monday morning is scandalous. I accept we have to play the game, but it's the notice."

Asked earlier whether Fulham had a right to be upset, Jose Mourinho replied: "Are you serious? I had the news I was not going to play them two hours before the game started."

Parker unsurprisingly disagreed with his former boss.

"The people making these decisions don't understand players. We have had it tough. We thought they had six days' recovery time. It is madness really," he added.

"Getting a game called off is irrelevant. That is disappointing. To have a game agreed at 48 hours' notice. Jose will know you plan for one game or the other. Tottenham knew they had a fixture. He will have planned for that with his team selection.

"Would this have happened with two of the biggest teams in a title clash? Probably not. This is not acceptable."



https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/fulham/tottenham-match-scott-parker-b1785995.html

Premier League boss reinforces 'critical importance' of Covid-19 rules in letter to clubs

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has written to clubs to "stress the critical importance of adhering" to strengthened Covid protocols.

Clubs are reminded that "handshakes, high fives and hugs must be avoided".

In the letter, seen by BBC Sport, Masters said the league was "fortunate to be able to continue to play and bring our competition to fans".

He described images of some players ignoring social distancing rules in the FA Cup as "concerning scenes".

"This brings justified additional scrutiny and the league must take the lead in setting the right example," he added.

He also said that Premier League clubs should plan for more matches being postponed or rearranged at short notice because of the virus - something Fulham manager Scott Parker called "scandalous" earlier on Tuesday.

So far this season several Premier League matches have been postponed following Covid-19, including Aston Villa v Tottenham on Wednesday.

The Premier League also issued new enhanced guidelines and graphics on what was expected of players and staff on matchdays.

It includes the banning of shirt-swapping after matches, and "unnecessary contact, particularly between opposition clubs".

Face coverings "must also be worn at all times by players, coaches and staff whilst travelling, arriving at the stadium and within the stadium including in the dressing room".

On Tuesday night players embraced after goals in all three Premier League matches.

Speaking after Manchester United's win over Burnley manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: "It's an emotional game. We have to understand the players when they celebrate but also understand the concern nowadays for a bit of less emotions and less hugging.

It is difficult, I have to say. Football brings out the best and worst in you, when you score you want to celebrate with your teammates. We'll do our best to keep with the guidelines and carry on football safely.

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Dressing-room celebrations are known to have concerned government ministers, and referees will now remind Premier League captains and coaches of the need to avoid unnecessary contact such as handshakes and hugging during goal celebrations.

"We have the benefit of government support to continue playing while the country as a whole is facing severe restrictions," Masters wrote, but said that was "conditional".

In the letter Masters also tells clubs that "we must do all we can to efficiently utilise all available calendar slots, given there have been three significant outbreaks at clubs to date, we should therefore realistically plan for the fact that there may be more.

"Inevitably, requests for postponements will be at short notice and present difficulties for all parties and we appreciate clubs' ongoing flexibility in helping us achieve our collective objectives."

The Football Association also wrote to member clubs on Tuesday to "strongly reiterate the importance of complete compliance with the relevant FA Cup protocol".

Parker angry at Monday fixture reshuffle
Fulham manager Parker said it was "scandalous" Wednesday's match against Tottenham was only confirmed on Monday.

The Premier League game was originally scheduled for 30 December but was postponed at short notice because of a coronavirus outbreak at Fulham.

In a fixture reshuffle on Monday, it was rescheduled after Spurs' match at Aston Villa was postponed.

"I am angry because it is not right. It is wrong. That is why I am so angry," said Parker.

"The possibility of playing Spurs on Wednesday came on Saturday.

"We didn't think that was realistic and we were informed Monday morning at 9:30. To confirm that on Monday morning is scandalous. I accept we have to play the game, but it's the notice."

Asked if Fulham had a right to be upset, given the original match was called off with less than three hours' notice, Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho said: "Are you serious? I had the news I was not going to play them two hours before the game started."

Parker, whose side are 18th in the Premier League, said he spent "numerous hours on Sunday trying to explain it wasn't feasible" after being told the game may be rearranged for Wednesday.

The Cottagers last played on Saturday, when they beat QPR 2-0 after extra time in the FA Cup third round.

"The people making these decisions don't understand players. We have had it tough. We thought they had six days' recovery time. It is madness really," he said."

The postponement of the Villa game - because of a coronavirus outbreak in the Villa camp - left Spurs needing to rearrange three matches in a cramped fixture list that also includes Europa League commitments.

Mourinho said the Premier League's decision to rearrange their game with Fulham for Wednesday is a "positive" solution.

"The biggest impact is to have matches postponed," he said.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55634082

How Do You Solve a Problem Like RLC?
It's not been the match made in heaven that we were all hoping for. Drew says it's not working out for our Chelsea loanee, and it might be time to cut our losses.

---

"What I'm most looking forward to about the Chelsea game is that Loftus-Cheek can't play."

This message from none other than Dom Betts in the Fulhamish WhatsApp group has stuck with me since the weekend. I'm feeling rather optimistic about the mighty Whites at the moment – almost leaning towards thinking we might scrape survival – but there's one piece of this puzzle I'm not enthused about, and it's Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Who's doing who a favour?
I'm reminded of the words of Tony Khan in the summer, who – when aiming a jab in the ribs at Spurs owner Daniel Levy regarding a possible loan for Ryan Sessegnon – said: "We get two [Premier League] loans and I can't be in the business of developing other people's players when they don't have time to play them."

Now, in fairness to Khan, he added "Ryan already played for us in the Premier League and he didn't do enough to keep us in there" and "I actually rated Josh [Onomah] equally with Sessegnon" in the same breath, but still, he must have rued his words when he and his team decided to pursue the opportunity to bring in RLC. The deal, we're led to believe, sees us pay half of Loftus-Cheek's wages and has no option to make the deal permanent.

That's all well and good – bringing in players to help us achieve our primary objective and then move on is all part and parcel of the loan system. Not all loans have an option and nor should they (see Anthony Knockaert). But a player's brought in to do a job, they have to hit the ground running. So far, RLC hasn't broken into anything more than a light jog.

So who's helping who with this deal? Certainly Chelsea benefit; they've trimmed a reported £50,000 from their weekly wage bill and one of their home-grown stars is starting regularly in the Premier League. We were meant to get "a world-class player in the prime of his career" who helped Crystal Palace to a mid-table finish in 2018, before making 40 appearances for the Blues in 2018/19, scoring 10 goals.

Instead, we've seen a player who, despite obvious ability, has shown little of the dynamic player we saw a couple of years ago. And aside from a consolation goal against Everton and a decent showing against Liverpool, has failed to make the impact many thought he would.

Some favour.

If you come for the King...
Parker deserves immense credit for the turnaround he is starting to mastermind this season. There's a long way to go, of course, but this new formation has made us a lot harder to beat. It's a fantastic start. But it's only a start. We have huge problems going forward; there's no real conductor between defence and attack. And RLC needs to shoulder a significant portion of that blame.

It also doesn't help his case that our club captain has been shunted to the bench in favour of a youngster from our local rivals who'll be long gone before Euro 2020 even kicks off. Both RLC and Cairney have made 10 appearances this season (RLC seven starts, Cairney nine), and TC beats Loftus-Cheek in almost every metric, including notably pass success and key passes per game. If you're going to be favoured over a fan favourite who, by all accounts, didn't deserve to lose his spot in the side, there really is no room for error – or inefficiency.

Indeed, as the graphic below from Fulhamish stats guru George Singer shows, RLC's under-performing when it comes to similar players in the Premier League. His 85% pass completion rate might look like an asset, but when you look at how many he actually makes and what he does with them, it becomes less impressive. And when it comes to his creativity, well, you can see we're getting less than we might've expected. The figures show that while RLC's comfortable on the ball, he's not so comfortable moving it forward and creating things with it. At the moment, it's almost as if he saps the energy out of an attack, rather than adding to it.

Parker's Patience
Simply put, we have no room for passengers if we want to stay in the Premier League. And yet, game after game we're left asking "what does RLC actually do?" Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this whole thing is that Scott Parker is under no illusions as to his weakness.

"Sometimes I feel like Ruben has a tendency for games to drift him by", Scott said after RLC's best (and only) performance in a white shirt, against Everton. It's a trait we continue to see. Against QPR in the FA Cup, we saw him strolling about, looking like a lost puppy in a game he could and should have asserted his dominance on. Instead of grabbing it by the scruff of the neck, he showed all the languidness of Berbatov, without the class or end product.

Thanks, but no thanks
The damning conclusion might simply be that it's the right time to say "this isn't really working", and cut our losses when it comes to RLC. There's no shame in it. For him, or for us. We have limited space in our 25-man spot, and with players like Josh Onomah on the way back, there's more competition than before.

The argument "give him time" doesn't really wash here – we're approaching the halfway point in the season, and we saw last time out what happens when you try to get your house in order while in the midst of the 100mph Premier League. Let's cut out losses, free up a loan space, and have another roll of the dice as we look to survive. 

And if not, well, there's always the Chelsea game on Saturday to enjoy.



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2021-01-12-how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-rlc/

Parker fumes at 'scandalous' fixture rescheduling

Scott Parker has slammed the Premier League's decision to reschedule Fulham's postponed trip to Tottenham for tomorrow night – at just 48 hours notice – as 'scandalous'.

The Fulham boss believes his side have been put at a disadvantage by being forced to fulfil the fixture following the postponement of Aston Villa's scheduled game against Tottenham – and questioned whether such a rearrangement would have been forced on a bigger side. Parker told his pre-match press conference:

The possibility of playing Spurs came Saturday afternoon. We didn't think it was realistic. We were told on Monday at 9.30 that we had to fill in for Villa. I realise we live in unpredictable times. We have to move things in what we are used to as a manager. I speak for a lot of managers. It is not ideal. I accept that. I am normally the last one to moan or whine about anything as I realise it is tough out there. But what has happened to us is that to confirm a Premier League game at 9.30 on Monday morning is scandalous.

It is not about the fixture. I accept we have to play but it is the notice. Maybe the people in these places making these decisions don't understand how you manage teams and manage players. You are constantly working out well in advance. We have had it tough. We thought they had six days before the next fixture to get up to speed. It is madness really.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/01/parker-fumes-at-scandalous-fixture-rescheduling/

Team News: Erik Lamela in line for Tottenham recall against Fulham

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho will consider recalling Erik Lamela for the rearranged game against Fulham.

Lamela has been absent since he was pictured breaking coronavirus rules over the festive period, with Mourinho hinting at a period of self-isolation.

Giovani Lo Celso (hamstring) misses out and Steven Bergwijn is a doubt (knock), but Mourinho will bring back all of his big guns after they were rested for Sunday's FA Cup trip to Marine.

Fulham manager Scott Parker said none of his players were feeling any after-effects of Covid-19 after admitting the club had "had it tough" in terms of the virus.

Parker made a number of changes for his side's FA Cup third-round win at QPR on the weekend, with Alphonse Areola, Ademola Lookman, Tom Cairney, Joachim Andersen and Frank Anguissa among the absentees, and it remains to be seen how many will be available against Spurs.

However, long-term injured Josh Onomah, Kenny Tete and Terence Kongolo all returned from the sidelines on Saturday and could feature on Wednesday.

Tottenham provisional squad: Lloris, Hart, Gazzaniga, Tanganga, Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Sanchez, Davies, Reguilon, Winks, Hojbjerg, Sissoko, Fernandes, Ndombele, Moura, Vinicius, Alli, Lamela, Bergwijn, Son, Kane.

Fulham provisional squad: Areola, Aina, Adarabioyo, Andersen, Robinson, Reed, Lookman, Loftus-Cheek, Decordova-Reid, Cavaleiro, Mitrovic, Rodak, Ream, Kongolo, Kebano, Onomah, Tete, Cairney, Bryan, Kamara



https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/spurs/team-news/team-news-erik-lamela-in-line-for-tottenham-recall-against-fulham_430251.html

REVEALED: Fulham WERE warned of the possibility of having to play Tottenham in midweek when Aston Villa finally requested their clash with Jose Mourinho's side be postponed on Saturday

    Aston Villa's game with Spurs was called off due to Covid outbreak in their camp
    The Premier League said Villa had requested for Spurs game to be postponed
    Fulham were furious as their game was subsequently moved at 48 hours notice
    The league didn't take action sooner as Villa didn't make a request until Saturday

Aston Villa didn't submit an official request for their clash against Tottenham to be postponed until Saturday, Sportsmail can reveal.

Fulham manager Scott Parker has been infuriated after the Premier League rearranged their previously postponed clash against Spurs for Wednesday at just 48 hours notice.

Jose Mourinho's side were due to be facing Villa on Wednesday but Dean Smith's squad has been ravaged by a Covid outbreak which put the game versus Spurs in doubt.

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/16/37915348-9139121-image-a-5_1610468838132.jpg)
Aston Villa's first-team squad has been ravaged by an outbreak of coronavirus cases

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/16/37915360-9139121-image-a-15_1610469272977.jpg)
Villa were due to play Tottenham on Wednesday but the game was called off at their request

However, Villa did not make an official request for the game against Tottenham to be postponed until Saturday.

Fulham's main gripe has been at the lack of official notice they were given about the Spurs game, Parker raising questions over why Fulham weren't notified of the potential rescheduling at the end of last week.

However, there was no request for the Premier League to action as Villa did not lodge their correspondence until just hours before Fulham's game against QPR on Saturday.

Fulham were informed of the possibility of playing Spurs before their game against QPR kicked off.

The Premier League, following an immediate board meeting to consider Villa's request, approved the fixture changes on Monday morning.

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/16/37916308-9139121-image-a-14_1610469188967.jpg)
Scott Parker was furious that Fulham's game with Spurs was rearranged at just 48 hours notice



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9139121/Aston-Villa-did-not-request-clash-Tottenham-postponed-Saturday.html

Scott Parker shares his one major Fulham concern heading into Chelsea fixture

The former Chelsea midfielder takes on his old side in the Premier League on Saturday evening

Fulham manager Scott Parker says he has no issue with the tight turnaround between the matches his side are playing as they face the prospect of three games in a week heading into Saturday's visit of Chelsea to Craven Cottage.

It would have been three games in six days had the Blues not agreed to move their visit down the road to their neighbours in west London from Friday night to Saturday evening, giving both Frank Lampard and Parker a bit more preparation time.

Fulham will play a rearranged match against Spurs on Wednesday night, previously scheduled for December 30 but was postponed after an outbreak of Covid at Fulham.

Spurs were due to be playing Aston Villa on Wednesday but they are suffering an outbreak of their own so the decision was taken to play the Fulham game instead and announced on Monday.

That left Parker less than happy after his players came through a gruelling 120 minutes against QPR in an FA Cup third round tie at the weekend as Fulham laboured to a 2-0 victory in extra time.

Chelsea won't have played for a week by the time the match comes round in west London on Saturday and Parker has only one concern heading into their double-header against two London rivals.

"The tight turnaround isn't the issue," the manager said at a press conference ahead of the Spurs game.

"We were fortunate over Christmas. Some teams had two games in three days. I'm not upset at that.

"We can play Wednesday-Friday, Wednesday-Saturday, the issue is as a manager of a football club is the training. It would be very different to where we are now."

Parker's players will have, at most, two days of training ahead of their game against Lampard's side after the game against Spurs.

Once European football returns for Chelsea with their Champions League last 16 tie against Atletico Madrid on February 23, the fixture schedule will become congested once again.

In that regard, Parker has said he is lucky that he doesn't have to deal with that issue like Lampard did earlier in the season and will continue to do so as far as Chelsea go in the competition.

"I just think it's wrong. I keep going back, thinking 'has this happened before?'

I just wouldn't have expected it, it's wrong. It's a predicament we're all in, I'd be the last to complain, we don't play in Europe.

"The problem is the time we've been told. It's beyond belief really."



https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/fixtures-results/chelsea-fulham-spurs-parker-lampard-19610794

The Premier League Is Losing Its Battle Against COVID-19

"I am angry because it is not right. It is wrong. That is why I am so angry." That is Fulham manager Scott Parker, talking about the Premier League rescheduling his side's postponed match with Tottenham for Wednesday, with only two days' notice. The original fixture had been scheduled for December 30, but was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Fulham's camp. A different outbreak, at Aston Villa, forced the Premier League's hand; the Lions were originally set to play Tottenham on Wednesday but do not have enough first-team players cleared in order for the match to go on.

Welcome to the Premier League's scheduling nightmare, a scenario that was easily predictable at the start of this jam-packed season, and one that the league now must maneuver through on the fly in order to finish out its 38-game campaign alongside two domestic cup tournaments and the top clubs' European commitments. That last bit is why Fulham now has two days to prepare for a match against fourth-place Tottenham, as Spurs have to schedule around their Europa League matches. There simply isn't enough time in the weeks to come for Spurs to have a match day fall idle, and since Villa is in no shape to play on Wednesday, the league threw Fulham in at the last minute.

This isn't really fair to Fulham, which didn't think it had any matches until the coming weekend's game against Chelsea. As Parker said, he picked his team over the weekend—a 2–0 FA Cup win against Queens Park Rangers—without knowing he'd have another game four days later. On the other side, José Mourinho did know Tottenham would have a game on Wednesday, he just thought it would be against Villa, not Fulham. Sure, swapping tactics in two days comes with its own difficulties, but at least his own team selection on Sunday came about with a midweek game in mind. (It didn't hurt that Tottenham played eighth-division Marine, allowing him to play a heavily rotated side.) Perhaps that's why Mourinho called the Fulham rescheduling a "positive" solution to his club's scheduling problem; the alternative would be to have three games in one week at some point.

More broadly, though, this isn't a Fulham problem, or a Spurs problem. This is a Premier League problem, one brought about by a lack of foresight, and one exacerbated by the Euros this summer. Ideally, no club would be told that it has a match two days before said match. Without the Euros providing a hard stop for the 2020–21 season, the Premier League could simply move Fulham-Tottenham to the back end of the season. Instead, this situation popped up, and now everyone has to scramble.

It's important to reiterate here that both Fulham and Tottenham played cup games over the weekend, because the cups are another contributing issue here. Even in a normal, non-coronavirus year, the December schedule in England is brutal thanks to the existence of both the FA Cup and the League Cup. Having to cram two cup tournaments into an already over-stuffed 2020–21 Premier League schedule was always going to be a problem, and we're seeing why now.

So, what can the league do? There are three main options, and none are too appealing. The first is to simply cancel games and play a season with fewer than 38 games, in order to protect the players from overwork, fatigue, and injuries—a non-starter for TV revenue and competitive integrity reasons. The second is to postpone matches in hopes that the sides with the tightest schedules—those in European competitions—crash out early, giving the league time to reschedule matches for, say, March or April. That could work, but could also backfire if any of those teams goes on a deep run in Europe. The third is to do what they are doing with Fulham by rejiggering the schedule as needs must, and hope no one suffers or complains too much.

Of course, the league could also shut down again. That's the thing no one wants to think about, but reports say that English authorities are losing patience with soccer and that further protocol breaches that lead to outbreaks could force the government to step in and stop play. The vaccine could help with that. Perhaps the league shuts down again for a few months, everyone gets vaccinated, and it returns. But again, because of the Euros over the summer, a stoppage and subsequent restart would lead to all of the same schedule problems the league is already dealing with, only worse.

There is no simple solution to any of this, which makes planning for or predicting the future extremely difficult. The only clear thing is that as the virus goes, so the Premier League will go, and right now it doesn't look to be going anywhere good.



https://defector.com/the-premier-league-is-losing-its-battle-against-covid-19/

Boost for Chelsea as two injured stars could return against Fulham

Team News: Chelsea could welcome back Reece James and Andreas Christensen against Fulham

According to Football.london, Chelsea could be set to welcome back two injured stars for the trip to Fulham.

The trio of Reece James, Andreas Christensen, and N'Golo Kante all missed the 4-0 win against Morecambe in the FA Cup on Sunday night.

While it is debatable if they would have started in the first place, their availability would have given Frank Lampard more options.

With the Blues set to return to Premier League action on Saturday. Two of the three could be in contention as the Bleus prepare to face off against Fulham.

Managed by former Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker, Fulham are a side who can be dangerous on their day. The Blues, meanwhile, cannot afford to drop any more points.

Already in training ahead of the game against Morecambe, James could make the squad for Fulham provided his recovery goes as expected. The same can be said of Christensen, who returned to training last weekend.

Kante, however, is still injured and it is not known exactly when he will return to action. The Frenchman is suffering from a hamstring injury but thankfully, it is not expected to keep him out for long.

With the likes of Billy Gilmour showing good form, the Blues have enough options to cover for the Frenchman until his return.

Apart from the three, Lampard has a full-strength squad to choose from. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz were on the scoresheet against Morecambe. Hopefully, the German duo will now use it as a stepping board to scale greater heights.



https://astamfordbridgetoofar.com/2021/01/13/chelsea-team-news-reece-james-and-christensen-back-to-face-fulham/

Fulham manager backing Chelsea loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek to deliver more

Scott Parker has backed Ruben Loftus-Cheek to really showcase his abilities as he finds his feet after a tough start to his Fulham loan spell.

The Chelsea star hasn't featured as regularly as some may have expected during his temporary switch across west London. He completed the full 90 minutes for only the second time of his Whites stint during their 2-0 extra-time win over QPR at the weekend.

But his boss is adamant that there is more to come from the powerful midfielder.

"I thought he did very well against QPR," assessed Parker.

"Ruben's been out for some time – this is probably the only consistent run of games he's had over the last 18 months. We're certainly seeing big improvements in that. He came on against Everton, got a goal, and again at the weekend he showed his quality in moments.

"He's probably getting to know us a little more and what's expected of him. I certainly still see lots and lots of levels from Ruben – this is a technically gifted beyond belief player. I see him getting better and better with each game. Goals, assists, grabbing games by the scruff of the neck – these are all elements of Ruben's game that he can do. There's only a handful of players you can probably say that about, so it just shows you the capabilities he possesses."

Parker also confirmed that a number of players who were missing from the QPR match would return to the squad for Wednesday's clash with Tottenham Hotspur. The Whites boss hinted that had he known in advance of the Premier League's plans to move the fixture forward, it would have impacted his thinking for the FA Cup clash.

"Everything has a consequence. We went for 120 minutes at the weekend. Like Jose managed the weekend – he knew had a fixture on Wednesday, whether that's Aston Villa, or, maybe my knowledge that he may have known it would have been us. He definitely knew it was going to be one of us. At that moment you adapt and you try to work out the best scenario. You're always looking at what games are coming up and how players are.

"Working players at the weekend who have been out for 10 days with Covid to get them up to speed because there's six days left before your next fixture – these are all elements of management and professional sport. That's constantly the balancing act of anyone in my position. That's exactly what we tried to do.

"If this fixture was put in last week on Wednesday or Thursday, you adapt again. It probably wouldn't have been ideal but I wouldn't be sitting here moaning about it. But at this moment now, with the way it's been done, it's just unfair. It's just not right. And when something is unfair and not right, that's when I have a problem.

"The squad have reacted fine. They've come in and prepared as well as we can – they're raring to go. There probably is an element where they want to get back out into competition. Can we use this for us? For sure we can. [To] galvanise us? I don't feel like we need that. I feel like we're in a good place – the team and the players are relishing the battles that we face every single weekend when we play in this division because that's where we are."



https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/fulham-manager-backing-chelsea-loanee-ruben-loftus-cheek-to-deliver-more/

Jose Mourinho: Tottenham boss says Fulham should apologise if they play strong side vs Spurs

Jose Mourinho feels Fulham will only have "one or two" players missing for their game at Spurs on Wednesday; Fulham boss Scott Parker called decision to put in fixture at 48 hours' notice "scandalous"; Tottenham were originally due to host Fulham on December 30

Jose Mourinho says Fulham should "apologise to all of us" if they play their strongest side against Tottenham on Wednesday night.

Spurs were originally due to host Fulham on December 30 before the game was postponed hours before kick-off due to a coronavirus outbreak within Scott Parker's squad - something which had frustrated Jose Mourinho - and the game was this week rescheduled for Wednesday.

Parker was unable to hide his anger at the late notice of his team being put into the fixture in place of Aston Villa - whose issues with a coronavirus outbreak led to the Premier League making the switch - and branded the move "scandalous".

Mourinho says he is expecting a good Fulham side to be named to play his team, who have take 29 points from 16 Premier League matches.

"They played Saturday against QPR in London," Mourinho said. "They have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the game tomorrow (Wednesday). If they come with half of the team I will be the first one to apologise to them, and I will be the first one to say we played this game with an advantage.

"If they come with their best team I think they should apologise to all of us. Come on, let's play football, let's behave the best we can, let's protect our industry, our image, and let's play football."

"We should see their team, their starting line-up, their bench, the players that are not involved," he added.

"After that, we can all feel sorry for them or we can all think that they shouldn't speak. My feeling is that they will play with everybody, maybe one player out, maximum two, that's just my guess. Of course we don't have access to any of this information, it's just a feeling I have, the best Fulham will be here.

"When we see the best Fulham then you realise lots of things they don't make sense."



https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/12186243/jose-mourinho-tottenham-boss-says-fulham-should-apologise-if-they-play-strong-side-vs-spurs

MATCHDAY: Fuming Fulham head to Spurs for rearranged match

A look at what's happening around European soccer on Wednesday:

ENGLAND

Fulham's players head to Tottenham aggrieved they were only given two days' notice for their Premier League game. Tottenham was scheduled to play Aston Villa but that match was postponed on Monday at the request of Villa because 10 of its players tested positive for the coronavirus last week. The Premier League announced simultaneously that Tottenham would instead play Fulham -- a match initially scheduled for Dec. 30 which was postponed following a coronavirus outbreak in the Fulham squad. Fulham manager Scott Parker has said it is a "scandalous" decision to force the game on his team, which is in the relegation zone. Fifth-place Tottenham would likely climb to third place with a win. Sixth-place Manchester City is tied for points with Tottenham heading into its home match against Burnley.



https://apnews.com/article/europe-neymar-soccer-france-la-liga-d241ae85c6880fb04f3225bda722ac7d

spat Scott Parker 'disconnected with real world' as Jose Mourinho insists Fulham boss should APOLOGISE for calling short-notice of Tottenham clash 'scandalous'

EXCLUSIVE

Scott Parker has been labelled out of touch with the real world by talkSPORT host Hugh Woozencroft as Jose Mourinho insisted the Fulham boss should apologise for calling the short-notice of his side's Tottenham fixture 'scandalous'.

Fulham will travel to Spurs on 48 hours' notice this Wednesday as the postponed clash was rescheduled to take place instead of Tottenham's match with Aston Villa, which got pushed back by COVID-19.

The London derby was originally due to take place on December 30 before an outbreak of coronavirus at Fulham meant it was called off just three hours before it was due to kick-off.

While Tottenham knew they had a match this Wednesday, albeit against different opponents, Parker was not expecting to play until Friday against Chelsea, in a match which will now take place on Saturday.

Reacting to the news, the Fulham manager described the short notice of the Spurs fixture as 'scandalous' – and Mourinho was not impressed with his former Chelsea player.

The Spurs boss said: "In relation to Fulham, I think we should wait for tomorrow. We should see their team, their starting line-up, their bench, the players that start, the players on the bench, and the players not involved in the game.

"And after that we can all feel sorry for them. Or we can all think that they shouldn't speak.

Mourinho was left bewildered by Parker's comments

"My feeling is just my feeling. It's that they will play with everybody. Maybe one player out. Maximum two.

"That's just my guess because all this is confidential information and we don't have access to any of this. It's just a feeling that I have, the best Fulham will be here, so when we see the best Fulham, then you realise lots of things don't make sense.

"We played, if I'm not wrong, 10 more matches than Fulham since the beginning of the season.

"We played every week, three matches a week. We played, in one week, four matches. They played Saturday against QPR. In London.

"They have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the game. If they come with half of the team, I will be the first one to apologise to them. And I will be the first one to say we played this game with an advantage.

"If they come with their best, I think they should apologise to all of us. Come on, let's play football."

Meanwhile, talkSPORT presenter Woozencroft was also disappointed with Parker's comments given how the rest of the world has been forced to react to the ever-changing COVID-19 crisis.

"Football is showing, once again, it is disconnected with the real world," Woozencroft said.

"It's been months now and we all know how flexible we have to be, those of you with children out there understand that because earlier on this month you were told, with less than 24 hours notice, that you would have to be homeschooling your kids off to school.

"So we should all get it by now, but clearly we don't, because Scott Parker is so annoyed at being given two days to prepare for a match.

"Clearly he doesn't understand what people are going through, because it's a privilege to play football and he should be absolutely delighted that he's got a game to play.

"What does he want? Would he want it to be forfeited? At least he's got a chance of playing the match."



https://talksport.com/football/816658/

Three Things to Look for From Fulham Versus Tottenham

As Tottenham Hotspur finally host Fulham in a make-up game from late December, there are some things about the Cottagers that should not surprise us.

Two weeks ago, when these two teams were originally scheduled to meet, Fulham was the on-form team having lost only one of their previous six matches. While that streak has run to 1 of the previous seven matches, Tottenham Hotspur have since played three matches – all shut out wins. While before Fulham was the on-form team, now both are playing well and Spurs need to be ready, so what can we expect from Fulham.

Fulham Getting Behind the Ball
Whether Fulham stick with their three-man back line with a five-man midfield in front or invert that and go with a five-man defense with a three- or even four-man midfield, expect at least nine players behind the ball for Fulham. The Cottagers will not completely park the bus and will be looking to counter, but their prime objective is going to be keeping a clean sheet.

Fulham have only given up two goals in their last five matches in all competitions. Both of those matches ended in 1-1 draws, including a draw with Liverpool one month to the day of the match. Scott Parker and his side understand their best opportunity to score is going to be on the counter and the best chance to counter comes from a well-organized defense.

Fulham Ready to Play
While Scott Parker was complaining about how much advanced notice, he and the club received prior to the match against Tottenham being scheduled, the reality is Fulham are not overworked. Yes, the club has several players and/or staff recovering from Covid-19, but the team has only played one game all month.

Whereas Tottenham have played three games, including one on Sunday, Fulham have played only the one FA Cup match on Saturday against Queens Park Rangers, a 0-2 victory. Admittedly a team would want to know about a game as soon as possible and even before that prior match. However, given them limited time involved in notifying Spurs about this same match originally being postponed, the time is more than adequate.

Early and Late Cottager Attack
Realizing that the overall game plan is to get bodies behind the ball, Fulham is going to look to get out to an early lead. Expect to see an extremely aggressive Fulham defense from the kickoff. The idea is that the Cottagers might catch someone early before they have settled into the game. If Fulham can get an early lead, Parker will look to capitalize on that as they almost did against Liverpool.

If Fulham cannot get an early goal, but neither do Spurs, expect Fulham to look to bend but not break and fight to control some possession deep for that middle forty minutes of the match. The idea would be if Fulham cannot score early, hang on and then the pressure shifts to Tottenham late, as any mistake that might lead to a Cottager goal would be devastating.

After scoring two goals in extra time against QPR at the weekend, Fulham is likely to come in with the confidence that they can find those goals late if they cannot get them early. Ultimately, it will be up to Tottenham to take control of the match as early as possible and ideally take the lead to force Fulham to become more expansive, which will create more opportunities for Spurs to score. While Fulham certainly can steal some points here, if Spurs can get on the ball early and maintain the momentum gained over the last two weeks, Tottenham should win.



https://hotspurhq.com/2021/01/13/things-look-fulham-vs-tottenham/

https://hotspurhq.com/2021/01/13/things-look-fulham-vs-tottenham/

Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham | Wednesday 13th January 2021 | 8.15pm | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | #TOTFUL

The opposition

    Spurs were able to rest the majority of their first team players for Sunday's 5-0 FA Cup victory over Marine, with Jose Mourinho making nine changes to his team. Lucas Moura and Moussa Sissoko were the only survivors from their Carabao Cup win over Brentford five days earlier.
    In their most recent Premier League fixture, Tottenham recorded a 3-0 success against Leeds United to end a run of four league outings without a win. Now, they welcome Fulham having scored 10 and conceded zero goals in their last three matches across all competitions.
    Scott Parker is taking on a club for whom he made 63 appearances in his playing days, while he will also come up against Jose Mourinho, his boss for a year at Chelsea.

Tottenham team news

Giovani Lo Celso is the home side's only confirmed absentee, with Erik Lamela and Steven Bergwijn coming back into contention.

Fulham team news

The Whites have no new injury concerns, and have been boosted by the successful returns to action of Josh Onomah, Kenny Tete and Terence Kongolo at the weekend. (NB: January rules stipulate that the 25-man squad list can be amended on a match by match basis until the transfer window closes.)

Coverage

The match will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video, while commentary from Gentleman Jim and Jamie Reid is available for FFCtv subscribers.

Player insight

Joachim Andersen is looking forward to testing himself against Harry Kane when he lines up opposite the England captain.

"I think Harry's one of the best strikers in the world," he told FFCtv. "He's a really good player and you always want to play against the best.

"These are the games where you can learn something, and I'm looking forward to playing that game."

Form

Tottenham: WDWWW

Fulham: DDDDW

Pre-match quotes




https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2021/january/Spurs-Matchday-Preview/

Full Tottenham squad revealed for rearranged Premier League clash vs Fulham

Tottenham Hotspur will be aiming to maintain their winning start to 2021 when they face Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday evening

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to register a fourth successive victory in all competitions when they welcome Fulham to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this evening, kick-off 8:15pm.

Spurs, who progressed to the FA Cup fourth round at the weekend, defeating non-league outfit Marine 5-0, were supposed to lock horns with Aston Villa this evening at Villa Park, but the game was postponed earlier this week due to an outbreak of Covid-19 within the Villa camp.

Instead, Spurs, who have won their last three games without conceding a goal, will take on Fulham, who they were meant to face on December 30. On that occasion, the game was postponed just hours before kick-off following a Covid-19 outbreak within the Fulham squad.

With Jose Mourinho's preparations for the trip to Villa Park having had to have been scrapped on Monday, you could have forgiven the Portuguese chief for being less than impressed with the situation. However, Mourinho, who watched his side defeat Leeds United 3-0 in their last Premier League outing, is seemingly happy that the clash with Fulham will be ticked off Spurs' fixture list this evening.

"The biggest impact is to have matches postponed," said Mourinho during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday lunchtime. "That is the biggest impact. The changing of the order of the matches, the impact is minimal I would say.

"In the end, you have to play 19 matches at home and 19 away, and two matches against every team. So if it's to help the Premier League to go and to end properly, it's a solution we all have to accept as a positive solution."

After a bumpy few weeks at the end of 2020, Spurs have had a flying start to 2021, winning three matches in a row, scoring ten goals in the process. However, the visit of Fulham will be a completely different test for Mourinho's players, with the Cottagers having improved defensively in recent weeks, conceding just one goal in their last four outings in all competitions.

Assessing the challenge facing his players, Mourinho continued: "In this moment, it's difficult to play against them. To defend the way they do with five in the back, and sometimes a second line of four, other times with three, is not easy to score goals against them.

"That's obvious and then they have different ways of being dangerous. One thing is to be dangerous with [Aleksandar] Mitrovic, another thing is to be dangerous without Mitrovic, and they are good in these different situations.

"They can counter-attack well, they can arrive in crossing positions and create difficulties. They are a good team.

"They transform a little bit their philosophy, they understood well how to change, they did it. They are having results. And it's going to be difficult."

After making numerous changes for the clash with Marine on Sunday, Mourinho is likely to revert back to a more familiar starting line-up, meaning the likes of Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane are amongst those poised to return.

Son was named on the bench for the trip to Merseyside but was not called upon by Mourinho.

Elsewhere, Erik Lamela could return to the squad for the first time since breaking coronavirus lockdown rules. The Argentine was discovered to have attended a party alongside Sergio Reguilon, Giovani Lo Celso and West Ham United's Manuel Lanzini during the Christmas and New Year period.

Full Tottenham squad available to face Fulham:

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris, Joe Hart, Paulo Gazzaniga, Alfie Whiteman & Brandon Austin.

Defenders: Serge Aurier, Matt Doherty, Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon, Japhet Tanganga, Dennis Cirkin & Sergio Reguilon.

Midfielders: Lucas Moura, Jack Clarke, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli, Gedson Fernandes, Harvey White & Steven Bergwijn.

Forwards: Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Carlos Vinicius & Dane Scarlett.



https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/fixtures-results/tottenham-squad-team-news-fulham-19611875

Jose Mourinho demands Scott Parker apology if he names strong Fulham side vs Tottenham

Spurs will play the Cottagers on short notice after their game with Aston Villa was called off at short notice due to a Covid-19 outbreak

Jose Mourinho has called on Scott Parker's Fulham to apologise if he fields a strong side against Tottenham on Wednesday night after complaining about the short notice for their rearranged fixture.

Parker labelled the decision to force the Cottagers to play the Premier League game on 48 hours notice as "scandalous", but Mourinho has zero sympathy for the struggling Londoners.

With the match initially scheduled to take place on 30 December, it was scrapped with less than three hours before kick-off due to Fulham suffering from a coronavirus outbreak.

And after Spurs' scheduled game at Aston Villa on Wednesday was called off for the same reason, the Premier League moved quickly.

Mourinho said: "In relation to Fulham, I think we should wait for tomorrow. We should see their team, their starting line-up, their bench, the players that start, the players on the bench, and the players not involved in the game.

"And after that we can all feel sorry for them. Or we can all think that they shouldn't speak.

"My feeling is just my feeling. It's that they will play with everybody. Maybe one player out. Maximum two.

"That's just my guess because all this is confidential information and we don't have access to any of this. It's just a feeling that I have, the best Fulham will be here, so when we see the best Fulham, then you realise lots of things don't make sense.

"We played, if I'm not wrong, 10 more matches than Fulham since the beginning of the season.

"We played every week, three matches a week. We played, in one week, four matches. They played Saturday against QPR. In London.

"They have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the game. If they come with half of the team, I will be the first one to apologise to them. And I will be the first one to say we played this game with an advantage.

"If they come with their best, I think they should apologise to all of us. Come on, let's play football."

Mourinho says the Premier League has moved the goalposts by allowing games to be postponed when it was agreed at the start of the season that they would go ahead if sides had 14 players available.

With a congested schedule for most teams in the second half of the season, he says there is no room for manoeuvre, which will leave some teams unhappier than others.

He said: "Look, since the pre-season when I was told that if you have 14 players available, you play football. Since that moment, I thought, 'We are going to play, we are going to end the season and we are not going to have problems'.

"That rule, if we can call it a rule, for some reason changed. We had some matches postponed. And since that moment, the situation became a little bit more difficult.

"Then, we needed leadership. We needed decisions to be made. And if we all are very selfish, or if you all want the perfect situation for ourselves, it is going to be very, very difficult for the Premier League to make it amazing for everyone.

"That's obvious. I can also ask why Aston Villa played against Liverpool in the FA Cup. But Aston Villa doesn't play against me tomorrow.

"Of course, Aston Villa have very good young players and they played beautiful game against Liverpool. But I would love to play tomorrow against that Aston Villa.

"Why am I not playing them? And you want me now to be crying about that. I'm not crying about that. I'm crying about that fact that we cannot have more matches postponed. We can't."

PA



https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/tottenham/jose-mourinho-fulham-scott-parker-b1786441.html

Scott Parker says Premier league are risking Fulham players' safety with rearranged Tottenham clash

The Cottagers boss says a bigger club would never be asked to play at such short notice

A furious Scott Parker has accused the Premier League of risking the safety of his Fulham players in tonight's rearranged fixture at Tottenham and says a bigger club would never have been put in the same position.

Emotions have flared ahead of the London derby, with Parker describing the League's decision to reschedule the game at 48 hours' notice as "scandalous" – but Jose Mourinho claiming Fulham should apologise to Spurs if they field their strongest side.

Tottenham's game at Covid-hit Aston Villa was postponed on Monday morning, with the Premier League announcing that Fulham's trip to north London, which was called off hours before kick-off on December 30 due to a coronavirus outbreak in Parker's squad, would take place tonight instead.

Parker is livid that Fulham were informed of the decision after Saturday's FA Cup tie against QPR, which went to extra-time, and says there is a heightened risk of injuries to his players, many of whom isolated for 10 days before the weekend game.

"This is not an injured player who has been out for 10 days and for three of those days has been on the grass and in the gym," said the Fulham boss.

"For 10 days you are locked in your house. You cannot come out. After that, you are trying to get them to some kind of level to play in the Premier League. There is no denying that it could heighten the injury risk.

"Everything has a consequence. We went 120 minutes at the weekend with players who have been out for 10 days with Covid, bringing them in and working them because you now need to get them up to speed, thinking they then have six days left until your next fixture.

"I understand this season is not ideal. But the way it has been delivered, for me is just unfair.

"Do I believe that this would have happened if this was a top-of-the-table clash? No, I do not," Parker added. "I don't think it should happen to anyone. I do feel that this is very unfair. I do not want to get into: 'is it because we are little old Fulham?' [But] I suppose it's easier for this to happen to us. That's the world."

Parker suggested it was obvious at the end of last week that Villa would be unable to play Spurs and called for the Premier League to be more "proactive", saying their decision was "just too late".

Mourinho, though, had no truck with his counterpart's complaints, having been furious that the original tie was postponed at Fulham's request around three hours before kick-off.

The Spurs manager, who has said clubs should be made to fulfil fixtures if they have just 14 available players, felt the Cottagers had been unwilling to play with a weakened team and predicted Parker would be able to field his strongest XI tonight.

"We played 11 more matches than Fulham since the beginning of the season. Eleven," the Spurs manager said.

"Every week, we played three matches a week. We played in one week four matches. They played Saturday against QPR. In London. They have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the game. If they come with half of the team, I will be the first one to apologise to them. And I will be the first one to say we played this game with an advantage. If they come with their best, I think they should apologise to all of us.

"Come on, let's play football. Let's behave the best we can. Let's protect our industry. Let's protect our image and let's play football.

"We should see their team – their starting line up, their bench and the players not involved in the game – and after that we can all feel sorry for them. Or we can all think that they shouldn't speak. My feeling is just my feeling. It's that they will play with everybody. Maybe one player out. Maximum two. It's just a feeling that I have: the best Fulham will be here, so when we see the best Fulham, then you realise lots of things don't make sense."

Mourinho could welcome back Erik Lamela but Giovani Lo Celso remains sidelined.



https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/fulham-scott-parker-tottenham-player-safety-b869190.html

Onomah targets regular football with Fulham after recovering from injury

The Nigerian midfielder is hoping to get more game time under his belt in order to help the Cottagers secure positive results

Josh Onomah has revealed his desire to play regularly for Fulham after recovering from injuries which have sidelined him for a major part of the current campaign.

The Anglo-Nigerian suffered a knee injury at the start of the season which ruled him out for more than three weeks, and also suffered a knock in October.

The 23-year-old returned to action for the Craven Cottage outfit on Saturday, in their 2-0 FA Cup third-round victory against Queens Park Rangers, playing for the duration of the game to help his side progress to the next round of the tournament.

Onomah has only made five appearances for Scott Parker's men across all competitions this season due to his injury problems and provided two assists.

The midfielder is delighted with his return for Fulham and has set a target of helping the club secure impressive results.

"I've been working hard for the last two months trying to recover from my injury," Onomah told the club website.

"I want to thank all the staff involved with that, and my teammates, for helping me through that. It was good to get back, especially to do it with a win in the FA Cup, so I was buzzing all around.

"It was crazy playing 120 minutes for my first game back. I loved every minute, it just felt so good to be back out there playing with the lads and helping us get the win.

"As I said, full credit goes to the staff who've helped me over the last couple of months. They've kept me in good nick, and I felt really strong out there.

"My main is to prove to the manager that I'm fit enough to make the 25-man squad. When the opportunity arrives I've got to make sure I take it.

"We've got two games in four days coming up so I'm just looking to be available and up for selection. I'll be ready whenever the gaffer needs me to try and do my part and help the team get some points."

Onomah started his career with Tottenham Hotspur and played 13 league games for the club before leaving the side to team up with Fulham permanently in the summer of 2019.

The Craven Cottage outfit will take on the Lilywhites in their next Premier League game on Wednesday night and the forward is eagerly looking forward to the outing.

"When the fixtures first came out, that was the first team I was looking for. It would be good to play against them, a team that I had been with basically my whole life," he continued.

"It would be quite weird because Tottenham is all I'd known for a long time, but now that Fulham is my home I can't wait to go back there and hopefully come away with a win.

"Both teams have got positive momentum. Spurs have won a few recently but we've been doing well, too.

"Speaking to the lads, everyone is up for it, especially after not playing for a couple of weeks with everything that's happened, so the lads can't wait to get back playing Premier League football."



https://www.goal.com/en/news/onomah-targets-regular-football-with-fulham-after-recovering/77d6680fqg0x1ndbeb3n1y47k

Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham

TEAM NEWS

Tottenham Jose Mourinho has intimated Harry Winks will again start, while Gareth Bale could make his first league appearance in almost four weeks.

Mourinho is also weighing up whether to recall Erik Lamela following injury, but Giovani Lo Celso remains sidelined.

Fulham head coach Scott Parker reported no fresh injuries after their FA Cup win at the weekend.

Top scorer Bobby Decordova-Reid made a telling contribution from the bench at QPR and is pushing for a recall.

LAWRO'S PREDICTION

Aston Villa's Covid-19 cases meant Tottenham's fixture was switched on Monday lunchtime so they host Fulham instead of going to Villa Park but I don't think that will make too much difference to Jose Mourinho's side.

They were meant to play the Cottagers at the end of December before that game was postponed, so they will have done their homework already.

Hardly any of the Spurs team who started their win against Marine in the FA Cup on Sunday will start this one. Fulham played their FA Cup tie against QPR on Saturday, so they should be fresh enough too.

Prediction: 2-0

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

    Tottenham have won 10 of the past 11 Premier League meetings.
    Fulham's most recent victory against Spurs was 1-0 away in March 2013, when Dimitar Berbatov scored against his former club.
    Fulham have not scored more than once in any of their past 13 league trips to Tottenham.

Tottenham Hotspur

    Tottenham have won just two of their past seven league matches, drawing three times and losing twice.
    They have recorded eight victories in their past nine fixtures in all competitions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, keeping seven clean sheets.
    Spurs have won their last 10 home league matches played on a Wednesday by an aggregate score of 24-3.
    Tottenham are unbeaten in their past seven London league derbies, winning three and drawing four.
    Son Heung-min and Harry Kane have combined for 13 Premier League goals this season - no pair have ever combined for more in a single campaign.
    Kane has scored five goals in three appearances against Fulham.

Fulham

    This will be Fulham's first Premier League match since their goalless draw with Southampton on Boxing Day.
    They are unbeaten in five matches in all competitions, including their extra-time FA Cup win over QPR at the weekend.
    Fulham have drawn four successive league games. It's their longest unbeaten top-flight run since a five-match streak between February and April 2013.
    The Cottagers have lost their 13 most recent Premier League London derbies - an all-time record losing streak in the top flight.
    Fulham are winless in their last 14 top-flight away matches played on a Wednesday, dating back to 2002.
    Scott Parker made 50 Premier League appearances for Tottenham between 2011-13.
    Parker made four league appearances for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho during the 2004-05 campaign.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55420342

Quote from: whitejc on January 13, 2021, 12:55:26 AM
spat Scott Parker 'disconnected with real world' as Jose Mourinho insists Fulham boss should APOLOGISE for calling short-notice of Tottenham clash 'scandalous'

EXCLUSIVE

Scott Parker has been labelled out of touch with the real world by talkSPORT host Hugh Woozencroft as Jose Mourinho insisted the Fulham boss should apologise for calling the short-notice of his side's Tottenham fixture 'scandalous'.

Fulham will travel to Spurs on 48 hours' notice this Wednesday as the postponed clash was rescheduled to take place instead of Tottenham's match with Aston Villa, which got pushed back by COVID-19.

The London derby was originally due to take place on December 30 before an outbreak of coronavirus at Fulham meant it was called off just three hours before it was due to kick-off.

While Tottenham knew they had a match this Wednesday, albeit against different opponents, Parker was not expecting to play until Friday against Chelsea, in a match which will now take place on Saturday.

Reacting to the news, the Fulham manager described the short notice of the Spurs fixture as 'scandalous' – and Mourinho was not impressed with his former Chelsea player.

The Spurs boss said: "In relation to Fulham, I think we should wait for tomorrow. We should see their team, their starting line-up, their bench, the players that start, the players on the bench, and the players not involved in the game.

"And after that we can all feel sorry for them. Or we can all think that they shouldn't speak.

Mourinho was left bewildered by Parker's comments

"My feeling is just my feeling. It's that they will play with everybody. Maybe one player out. Maximum two.

"That's just my guess because all this is confidential information and we don't have access to any of this. It's just a feeling that I have, the best Fulham will be here, so when we see the best Fulham, then you realise lots of things don't make sense.

"We played, if I'm not wrong, 10 more matches than Fulham since the beginning of the season.

"We played every week, three matches a week. We played, in one week, four matches. They played Saturday against QPR. In London.

"They have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the game. If they come with half of the team, I will be the first one to apologise to them. And I will be the first one to say we played this game with an advantage.

"If they come with their best, I think they should apologise to all of us. Come on, let's play football."

Meanwhile, talkSPORT presenter Woozencroft was also disappointed with Parker's comments given how the rest of the world has been forced to react to the ever-changing COVID-19 crisis.

"Football is showing, once again, it is disconnected with the real world," Woozencroft said.

"It's been months now and we all know how flexible we have to be, those of you with children out there understand that because earlier on this month you were told, with less than 24 hours notice, that you would have to be homeschooling your kids off to school.

"So we should all get it by now, but clearly we don't, because Scott Parker is so annoyed at being given two days to prepare for a match.

"Clearly he doesn't understand what people are going through, because it's a privilege to play football and he should be absolutely delighted that he's got a game to play.

"What does he want? Would he want it to be forfeited? At least he's got a chance of playing the match."



https://talksport.com/football/816658/

Mourinho is being Mourinho, nothing new here. That talkSport guy though, is he for real? Did he even hear what Parker said? Unbelievable!

Sent from my Redmi Note 8 using Tapatalk

Could Fulham's transfer deadline day trolley dash be their salvation this time around?

Fulham's decision to spend heavy on deadline day appeared to repeat mistakes of the past - but it seems to be paying off

It felt as though the warnings from history had been ignored. Not once, in fact, but twice. Come the Premier League transfer deadline day, Fulham signed three players. On its Football League equivalent, they added one more.

It took the tally of the new arrivals to 11. This was Fulham, that byword for bad buying, the club who spent £100 million in the summer of 2018 and who beat a swift and ignominious return to the Championship. Had they learnt nothing?

Three months on, different conclusions can be drawn. Perhaps the problem in the past was not a policy of buying, but who they bought and how they fitted in. Now Fulham's deadline-day dash may have looked more a case of desperation than inspiration but it has produced their chance of salvation.

Their revival may not rank as a dramatic one. They upset the odds to defeat Leicester but only have two league wins this season and one was against West Bromwich Albion. But a side who seemed simple to beat are now altogether harder opponents, even if the progress is not reflected in the table. They have drawn their last four league games. Their next three are against Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United and after that, they may look relegation fodder again.

As it is, Fulham are still in the drop zone. And yet since their December defeat at Manchester City – a respectable 2-0, not the thrashing that might have been forecast a few weeks earlier – they have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League. An asterisk can be attached to that statistic: COVID postponements mean they have also played the fewest games.

But it amounts to improvement after their shambolic start to the season; their prospects would be better but for some entertainingly hopeless penalty taking. A new defensive unit, with deadline-day recruits Tosin Adarabioyo and Joachim Andersen installed at centre-back and the latter a rare loanee wearing the captain's armband plus the borrowed goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, has brought some solidity. Each has justified his signing. Scott Parker's leftfield gambit to reinvent Bobby Decordova-Reid as a right wing-back has been justified as he has combined energy with goals.

When so many join at the last minute, it is harder to maintain it is a masterplan, but it highlights how the underestimated Parker has shown his capacity to adapt to changing circumstances, forging a team from his squad of strangers, using the late injection of more quality. His last league line-up, who held Southampton on Boxing Day, featured six summer signings, plus a loanee acquired permanently, in Harrison Reed, and a player who had returned to the club after being lent out, in Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. It included only two who started the season in the team: Reed and Ivan Cavaleiro, and both of them have been benched in the meantime.

Plans have been jettisoned. The talismen Tom Cairney and Aleksandar Mitrovic have been dropped. Ademola Lookman, Decordova-Reid and Cavaleiro have offered a different way of attacking, even if a return of two goals from their last five games suggests Fulham require more incision to turn draws into wins.

But they have inverted footballing logic. The received wisdom is that some of the promoted teams who survive do so with continuity and understanding. Fulham have ripped up the core of their team but those early-season showings, conceding three goals in the first hour each to Arsenal and Aston Villa and four to Leeds, indicated they – and their defence in particular – simply were not good enough. Now they have conceded fewer goals than Manchester United.

Others who beat the drop have the momentum to make swift starts; Fulham, in contrast, were awful in September. Some have defined and different styles of play, like Sheffield United last season; not Fulham. Still more land their first-choice targets and get their business done early; not Fulham.

They may be breaking every rule in the survival manual. It might not be enough to rescue their season but their frantic dealing has provided hope. And, perhaps, reasons for others to emulate them on deadline day next season.



https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/could-fulhams-transfer-deadline-day-trolly-dash-be-their-salvation-this-time-around

Premier League stars warned over goal celebrations by government amid covid crisis

Premier League players have been told to withdraw from celebrating in groups as the country battles the coronavirus and remains in lockdown

Government officials have again asked Premier League players to curb their celebrations to limit social contact.

A recent rise in coronavirus cases has again tested the country's resources and resulted in a third lockdown.

Elite sport though has been allowed to continue, but greater responsibilities have been placed upon it.

Even clubs have seen a spike in cases that has meant games have been postponed, some at the eleventh hour.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam when questioned admitted that all social contact is "avoidable" and wants to see footballers taking that seriously.

He said: "I completely agree with you (that footballers shouldn't come together for celebrations).

"We are in a very dangerous place now... This is like saying I'm building a big perimeter fence around my property so that the baddies can't get in.

"But you can't celebrate that when you've put three posts in and two sections of fence - or maybe a bit more in the case of the NHS so far. Because people just go round the fence.

"You've got to build the whole fence. And we cannot relax until we've got a very substantially vaccinated population.

"And until then, we are in a dangerous place... Every close human contact that is avoidable should be avoided because one in three of us will get the infection and have no symptoms at all.

"So I'm afraid, yes, on the football point, on the sporting point, I do agree with you."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has previously weighed in on the debate despite being in favour of football continuing.

He has though asked that players respect the rules and "act like they've got the virus".

He said: "I think elite sport is important because these are tough times, and being able to watch the football on the telly is really important because there's loads of things that you can't do, and watching it from the comfort of your own home is a perfectly safe activity.

"I know that the Premier League really think hard about this.

"It's important that it is carried out in a way that is respectful of the rules.

"Now of course they have special arrangements to ensure that the players are safe and they have a testing regime, but I do think that it's important that everybody respects, not just the letter but the spirit of the rules because it's actually the spirit of the rules that's important, which is don't pass on the disease, act as if you've got it and then you won't pass it on to others."



https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/premier-league-players-celebrations-covid-23310431

Jose's five-point preview - Fulham

Jose Mourinho looks forward to this evening's Premier League clash against Fulham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Kick-off is 8.15pm.

Last word on Marine

First up, a quick reflection on a special FA Cup third round occasion at Marine on Sunday...

Jose: "It was good. We won, we gave a good image of the Club and the professionalism of our players. As a Club, I believe everything we did for them shows our dimension. They were proud, and everyone who plays at their level felt some pride in the way they represented that level because they lost, but they competed. Overall, it was a very good FA Cup match."

Team news

The latest news on the squad...

Jose: "Honestly, I think only Gio Lo Celso is out. Apart from that, I believe maybe Bergwijn, maybe Lamela, maybe they have a chance to be back."

Fulham

After a tough start, Fulham have found form, four unbeaten in the Premier League and a 2-0 win at QPR on the FA Cup on Saturday...

Jose: "In this moment it's difficult to play against them. To defend the way they do with five in the back, and sometimes a second line of four, other times with three, is not easy to score goals against them, that's obvious. Then they have different ways of being dangerous. One thing is to be dangerous with Mitrovic, another thing is to be dangerous without Mitrovic, and they are good in these different situations. They can counter-attack well, they can arrive in crossing positions and create difficulties. They are a good team, they transformed a little bit their philosophy, they understood how to change, and they did it. They are having results, and it's going to be difficult."

Scotty

Scott Parker spent a season at Chelsea under Jose before moving onto Newcastle, West Ham, Spurs (2011-13) and Fulham. He later managed our Under-18s before re-joining Fulham as coach, and now manager. Jose was asked in his press conference what he's made of his career as a manager...

Jose: "Very happy, he was a great guy, a great professional, a team player. When he decided to go to Newcastle to play more than he was playing with us, that showed his character, that showed his personality and after that he had a very good career in the Premier League and the national team. Then he went back to Fulham on his learning process as a coach, progressively got the job, and what can you say? He got promotion, and after promotion, he is showing also that is very capable of giving them the stability to stay in the Premier League. I like him very much, he knows that, I don't hide it, and he feels it, so I am very happy with the good things he is doing."

Keeping it clean

It may be slightly under the radar, but we've now kept nine clean sheets in our last 15 games, and 11 in our last 20 - that matches last season's total in all competitions...

Jose: "Yes, and we have to try for one more, because clean sheets help us get results. The most important thing is to win matches, but I understand that the clean sheet shows organisation, shows commitment. It's a good feeling not just for the keepers, but for the whole team. That helps you to win matches, but we need to score goals."



https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2021/january/joses-five-point-preview-fulham/

Report from Europe claims Anderlecht want to loan Fulham star Aleksandar Mitrovic

According to a report in Voetbal24, Anderlecht are keen on bringing Fulham star Aleksandar Mitrovic in on loan this month.

This comes just days after EuroSport claimed that Fulham are ready to listen to offers for the Serbian striker.

It's fair to say that Mitrovic has been off the pace this season, he's only scored two league goals for Fulham, and he's rarely seen in the starting XI these days, starting just one league game in the past two months.

Unfortunately, it seems as though Mitrovic is out of favour at the Whites, which is a real shame considering his goals fired them to promotion last season.

Mitrovic, of course, has played for Anderlecht before, so he may not be opposed to a return to Belgium, and perhaps even more interestingly, he was due to re-join the Belgian outfit on deadline day in 2018, before Fulham's late swoop saw him join the Cottagers.

Mitrovic certainly has history in Belgium, and he's scored plenty of goals there in the past, so this sort of move could be exactly what he needs to rediscover some of the confidence he seems to have been lacking in recent weeks.

From Fulham's perspective, loaning out their only recognised number nine without getting a replacement in first makes very little sense, but with links to Dwight Gayle still circulating, they may soon have a Mitrovic replacement through the door.

It remains to be seen whether or not the ex-Newcastle United man heads out this month.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/01/13/report-from-europe-claims-anderlecht-want-to-loan-fulham-star-aleksandar-mitrovic/

Jose Mourinho's Comments Will Have Fired Up Fulham – Former Premier League Winger

Former Premier League striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has insisted that Jose Mourinho's incendiary comments are likely to fire up the Fulham players for tonight's clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Premier League arranged Tottenham's visit to Fulham tonight at short notice and that left Scott Parker fuming about the way the game was arranged.

The Fulham boss pointed out that his squad just returned from isolation and he could have approached the FA Cup game at the weekend differently had he known what his side would do on Wednesday night.

Mourinho has hit back at Parker's complaints and suggested that Fulham should tender an apology if they field their best team tonight after their moaning.

Agbonlahor conceded that Fulham players must be seething at the moment for the way they are being treated and stressed that they could use Mourinho's words to further motivate themselves.

He believes the Fulham have real motivation to pull off an upset win against Tottenham and see how the Spurs boss reacts if his side get beaten.

The former striker said on talkSPORT: "If I was in their position now, I'd be fuming as a Fulham player.

"Your manager is probably getting you into meetings saying, we are going to beat them tonight because of what happened and because of Jose Mourinho's words.

It is going to lift your game as a player and you'd be thinking, let's go and beat these tonight and upset Spurs.

"And then afterwards, let's see what Jose Mourinho has got to say then.

That would spur me on tonight."

Parker indicated that the Premier League would not have treated his team the same way if they were one of the heavyweights of the league.



https://insidefutbol.com/2021/01/13/jose-mourinhos-comments-will-have-fired-up-fulham-former-premier-league-winger/489581/

'I'd be fuming': Pundit explains why Fulham will beat Tottenham; it will be Mourinho's fault

A fired-up Fulham have every chance of beating Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur in Wednesday night's re-scheduled Premier League clash, Gabby Agbonlahor told talkSPORT (9.15am, 12 January).

In these strange and unsettled times, nothing is set in stone; not even the fixture schedule.

Tottenham were slated to face Aston Villa in midweek but, thanks to a sudden COVID outbreak at the Midland giants, it is now Fulham who will be travelling to North London instead.

Cottagers boss Scott Parker was far from impressed with what he deemed a 'scandalous' decision, pointing out that his players have had just two days to prepare for a daunting trip to one of the division's most fearsome sides.

It wasn't long before the fork-tongued Mourinho responded, of course, with all the subtlety of a herd of rodeo bulls at Antiques Roadshow.

"If they come with half of the team, I will be the first one to apologise to them. And I will be the first one to say we played this game with an advantage. If they come with their best (team), I think they should apologise to all of us," Mourinho said, via the Standard.

"Come on, let's play football. Let's behave the best we can. Let's protect our industry. Let's protect our image and let's play football."

But former Aston Villa captain Agbonlahor believes Mourinho may regret stirring the pot, tipping the unfancied Fulham to upset the applecart and pull off one of this season's most surprising results.

"If I'm those Fulham players, or Scott Parker, there's no better way to get up for this game. And I fancy them to upset Spurs tonight and get a result," Agbonlahor said.

"And if I was in this position now, as a Fulham player, I'd be fuming. The manager is probably getting you into meetings saying; 'We're going to beat these tonight', because of Jose Mourinho's words.

"It's going to lift you up for a game. As a player, you're going to be thinking; 'Let's go and beat these and see what Mourinho has to say afterwards'.

"That would spur me on."

A much-improved and suddenly well-drilled Fulham are unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches and took four points off Leicester City and Liverpool recently.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/01/13/id-be-fuming-pundit-explains-why-fulham-will-beat-tottenham-it-will-be-mourinhos-fault/

Giovani Lo Celso blow gives Jose Mourinho a new Spurs headache

Tottenham Hotspur are still without star midfielder Giovani Lo Celso ahead of their clash with Fulham this evening, as manager Jose Mourinho revealed in his pre-match press conference.

When asked about the latest on the €60m (£55m) maestro, he told reporters, via football.london:

"He's injured. For a few weeks."

Early diagnosis before the New Year was that Lo Celso would miss their first few games of 2021, but now it looks as if he will be out for the remainder of the month.

It hands Mourinho one massive nightmare in terms of selection, even more so following their performance in the FA Cup third-round on Sunday night.

There are really only two names that can step up in the no.10 role – Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli, now both have had their controversies since the Special One took the helm in November 2019.

The Frenchman, who cost a club-record £55m, was heavily out-of-favour last term but has since turned that around to become a regular starter this season having started 12 of 15 league matches.

However, he's still not able to complete a full 90-minute match too often. Indeed, he has only done so three times from 22 appearances in all competitions, which is hardly what you need from your superstar signing.

And then there is Dele Alli, who has almost done the reverse of Ndombele. His career looked to benefit from the arrival of Mourinho as he contributed towards six goals in Spurs' first four Premier League games under his management.

Things have tailed off since as the 24-year-old hasn't even made the matchday squad in ten of their 16 league outings, playing a total of just 74 minutes all season.

Against non-league minnows Marine in the cup on Sunday, he ran the show as we outlined here, so it now gives Mourinho something to mull over ahead of tonight's encounter with Fulham.

Does he stick with Alli – after all it was only an eighth-tier side – or does he return to Ndombele, knowing he's unlikely to play the full 90? It's one major call to make.

Had Lo Celso been fit, then you'd imagine he'd be the one starting over either of the pair.



https://www.footballfancast.com/tottenham-hotspur-news/giovani-lo-celso-injury-latest-update-blow-dele-alli-tanguy-ndombele-selection-jose-mourinho-dilemma-analysis-statistics-premier-league-gossip-rumours-news

Pereira nets late penalty as Luton U21s defeat Fulham
Town emerge victorious against Cottagers

A last-gasp penalty from attacker Dion Pereira saw Luton Town U21s run out 2-1 winners against Fulham in a friendly this afternoon.

The Hatters fielded goalkeeper Harry Isted for the match, along with Corey Panter, Sam Beckwith and TQ Addy.·

A goalless first half saw Isted made a good low save, with Town then going closest when Beckwith's left-footed drive cannoned off the outside of the post.

Moments after the break, Addy's cross was turned in by a Fulham defender to put Town in front.

Although the Cottagers equalised, Pereira was on target with the late spot-kick to ensure Luton were victorious.

Hatters: Harry Isted, Avan Jones, Aidan Francis, Corey Panter, Joseph Halsey, Sam Beckwith, Jake Peck (c), Ed McJannet, Dion Pereira, John Allen, TQ Addy.

Subs: Jameson Horlick, Ben Tompkins, Callum Nicolson, Ben Stevens, Casey Pettit.



https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/football/luton-town/pereira-nets-late-penalty-luton-u21s-defeat-fulham-3095464

Jose Mourinho and Tottenham have the perfect chance to send out Man United and Liverpool warning

Here we take a look at some of the main talking points ahead of Tottenham's Premier League clash against Fulham

Team selection

The games keep coming thick and fast for Jose Mourinho and his Tottenham side with Fulham making the trip across the capital this evening.

Initially down to travel to Aston Villa instead for the league match between the sides, it was announced on Monday that the fixture at Villa Park had been postponed following a coronavirus outbreak at the Midlands club last week.

That means the Lilywhites will play their game in hand against the Cottagers this evening, with Scott Parker labelling the decision as "scandalous" after they were only given 48 hours' notice of the rearrangement.

While Spurs did play a day later than Fulham in the FA Cup after taking on non-league side Marine on Sunday, Mourinho will be able to field a fresh team following the changes he made in Crosby a couple of days ago.

Hugo Lloris, Serge Aurier, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Kane will all come in after not making the trip north at the weekend, with Steven Bergwijn also a possibility to do likewise if his recent injury problems, which Mourinho announced after the Leeds win, aren't hampering him.

You would imagine that Davinson Sanchez and Harry Winks will also do the same, although Toby Alderweireld and Moussa Sissoko will be hoping that isn't the case as they look to get the nod.

It may be a hectic period for Spurs at present in terms of fixtures but the XI Mourinho named at Marine means that the majority of his players will be fit and raring to go after just over a week without minutes since the Brentford win.

More minutes for Dele

One player who will be pushing for a starting spot against the west London club is Dele Alli.

The 24-year-old impressed on Sunday against Marine with a mature display and he played an important role in Carlos Vinicius' first two goals of the night.

Mourinho was very happy with his player's showing as he hailed his "very professional attitude and good performance" when speaking to the media after the 5-0 victory.

It has been a tough few months for Alli but he's definitely put himself in a good position to get more minutes after taking his chance with both hands at the Marine Travel Arena.

The ex-MK Dons man was actually tipped to start against Fulham just after Christmas and he could well be given his opportunity in the XI either from the start or off the bench tonight given how he impressed his boss in Crosby.

Alli desperately needs more minutes at Spurs and Mourinho will find it hard to deny him them if he continues to catch his eye when given the chance.

Send out warning to Man United and Liverpool

Much has been made over the past 24 hours of a potential title race between Manchester United and Liverpool.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men are now three points ahead of their great rivals at the top of the Premier League and the sides meet at Anfield on Sunday afternoon in a mouthwatering game.

It's extremely tight towards the top at present with the likes of Leicester City, Everton, Spurs, Man City and Southampton riding high.

Spurs have played one game less than the four sides ahead of them in the table at present but they can move into third this evening with a win over Fulham.

That will leave them a single point behind Liverpool in second and four off Manchester United at the summit, although Mourinho and Spurs fans will feel that they should currently be a lot higher after dropping points against Newcastle United, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Wolves in recent months.

While the Lilywhites are going to have a hectic fixture schedule to deal with over the next few weeks with an FA Cup tie away at Wycombe also coming up, the team do have a nice set of games on the horizon in the league.

Four of their next six matches are against Premier League strugglers Fulham, Sheffield United, Brighton and West Brom, with Liverpool and Chelsea, who have both endured a dip in form of late, to play at home.

The next month is going to be key for Spurs and they can send a message out to both Manchester United and Liverpool that they really do mean business between now and May.

Spurs have started 2021 in fine form and it could well continue when you take a glance at the upcoming fixtures.



https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/fixtures-results/mourinho-tottenham-man-united-liverpool-19620681