Wednesday Fulham Stuff (13/08/14)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Olympiakos plot loan move for Fulham misfit Mitroglou

Greek side want to re-sign striker after sorry spell at the Cottage


Going: Kostas Mitroglou

Olympiakos are ready to offer Kostas Mitroglou an escape route from Fulham.

The Greek side sold the striker to the Whites for £12million January, but his time at Craven Cottage has been a disaster.

Mitroglou has been dogged by injury problems and was restricted to just ONE start and two more appearances off the bench as the Whites were relegated from the Premier League last season.

Boss Felix Magath has made it clear Mitroglou is not in his plans, with £11m signing Ross McCormack spearheading Fulham's promotion charge instead.

Olympiakos are prepared to end his sorry spell in SW6 and are lining up a loan move to take him back to Greece.


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/olympiakos-plot-loan-move-fulham-7598601?

[WhiteJC]

 
Scott Parker, tigers, Fulham's youngsters and why we look at all of these things differently

Further to an excellent comment below, yes Scott Parker probably is being judged to higher standards than his teammates at the moment.

When we make up our minds about players we're not just reacting to what we see on the pitch. So say Scott Parker gets 5/10. When we think about Scott Parker we all draw on our expectations of what Scott Parker is.

Suppose we meet a tiger in the street for the first time. Now, I don't know about you, but I have no experience of tigers. But I'm able to draw an inference that this tiger might be dangerous, so I act accordingly. If the tiger then bares its teeth I'm going to be twitchy. Now, it turns out the tiger was just yawning, but it gave me an awful fright for a moment. After a while, as we get used to the tiger, we realised that it's not going to bite us at all, and we recalibrate our expectations a bit. Now, if someone new to the area comes across the tiger they're all "whoah!" but to those of us who have seen it around and got used to its habits, we realise that this tiger doesn't bite. We relax. It's just a big friendly tiger. That doesn't mean we're completely sure about our tiger. It might bite us. But we're not super-charged in our fear here. Respectful is the word. It would have been stupid to decide the tiger wouldn't bite after seeing it just once – although a lot of people would have done exactly this – but after we've seen it a few times we do recalibrate our expectations.

So it is with Parker. When we got Scott Parker he wasn't far removed from being England's player of the year. He'd played well enough for Spurs and felt like just what we needed. Now, some people might have made snap judgement, particularly those with access to fitness reports perhaps, but for the rest of us it was a question of waiting and seeing. This was Scott Parker! Saviour of West Ham. England hero. Good egg. Leader. We were lucky to have him. But as time moved along we realised that rather than being part of the solution, Parker was a big part of the problem. It wasn't just him, but somehow all of Fulham's combinations were wrong last year and because we'd expected so much of Parker it felt quite easy to point fingers at him. We had an expectation of what Parker might be and what we saw wasn't it. We expected an 8/10 player and we got a 6/10 player. But to us – for the reasons outlined above – he felt like a 5/10 player.

Fast forward to the Championship. Alright! Scott's going to dominate here, what with his knowhow.

But again, he didn't deliver. He played okay, but it felt like there were too many occasions where he tried to do a bit more on the ball than his skillset might warrant. There are players in this team who do some things better than Parker, but he seemed to want to impose himself on various moves rather than just keeping things ticking along. As I noted at the time, there were occasions when an obvious recycling ball looked on, but Parker failed to take the option, ran into trouble, then played the same kind of ball anyway. Now, like Bryan getting dispossessed, this probably happened far fewer times than my mind thinks it did, but nevertheless, these are the things I take from watching Parker now. I'm biased, I have made up my mind: I look for the things he's not doing well to back up my feeling that he's no longer up to it. I don't do this on purpose and if he plays out of his skin I'll notice this, too, but generally speaking if he's bumbling around having a middling game it's the things that conform to my perception of Parker that I'll remember.

By way of contrast, if one of the 18 year olds plays the same way they'll get 6 or 7/10 from most of us. We have no preconceptions, they're young and starting out, so we have lower expectations, we desperately want to see the best in them, so we'll overlook the negatives and focus on the positives. The Ipswich first goal comes when a bouncing ball is badly headed by Hyndman (?), then Parker doesn't take control and they score. Now, everyone focuses on Hutchinson getting burned here because that was very obvious, but in midfield we focus on Parker, not Hyndman. We want the kids to do well, desperately so. They get more rope. Parker doesn't get that.

This of course is why Fulham have been very smart in going the way they have. Facing an absolute meltdown of a season the club have cleared the decks of the tainted many and brought in the kids. The fans will pretty much back the kids come what may. The board, the manager, and yes, Scott Parker, are likely to get some flak, but the kids will ensure that there's some feelgood factor around the club this season. That's clever.

Whether the tiger ends up biting anyone is beyond me, but by now I suspect not.


http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/scott-parker-tigers-fulhams-youngsters-and-why-we-look-at-all-of-these-things-differently/?

[WhiteJC]

 
International Friendly

Fulham Football Club is delighted to be hosting an international fixture between Saudi Arabia and Australia on Monday 8th September (8pm).

The Socceroos qualified for this summer's FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil and competed against Spain, Holland and Chile in the group stages. Tim Cahill scored one of the goals of the tournament with a stunning volley against Holland in a narrow 3-2 defeat.

Whilst Saudi Arabia will be making their first appearance at Craven Cottage, this will be Australia's fifth match in SW6, their most recent appearance a 3-0 win against Canada in October 2013.

This fixture may see London based players such as Fulham's summer signing Adam Taggart as well as Crystal Palace midfielder and captain of the side, Mile Jedinak lining up.


Saudi Arabia Head Coach, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, took over from Frank Rijkaard in January 2013. His first competitive game in charge resulted in a 2-1 win against China in an Asian Cup qualification match. All players are drawn from the Saudi Pro-League.

Both nations will be preparing for next year's 2015 AFC Asian Cup which will be hosted in Australia in January.

Saudi Arabia Head Coach, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, said:

"This friendly is an important one in preparation for the Asian Cup 2015. We will face a good team on the international level, and we hope to perform well to honour the Saudi Football."

Australia Head Coach, Ange Postecoglou, added:

"The match against Saudi Arabia presents a good challenge for the Socceroos leading into the Asian Cup. We made some steps forward in terms of our performances at the 2014 World Cup but our focus is now on converting those performances into positive results as we prepare to host the Asian Cup on home soil in January 2015. Saudi Arabia has also qualified for the Asian Cup so it will be good to gauge where we are at against another Asian team."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/august/12/international-friendly?

[WhiteJC]

 
Official Car Partner

The flagship dealer group Motor Village has teamed up with Fulham Football Club to become our Official Car Partner this season.

In a one-year deal, which officially kicks off this week, the London-based retailer will supply Fulham with a fleet of vehicles for use as matchday corporate shuttles and, on non-match days, for the Club's Player Care and Academy departments.

The arrangement perfectly complements the history and heritage surrounding London's oldest football club – formed in 1879 – and Fiat, which has produced more than 90 million vehicles since it was founded in Turin in 1899.

Fiat's popular 500L family car, the Fiat Doblo people carrier, and the sporty Alfa Giulietta are among the cars initially being provided to Fulham FC as part of the arrangement. As well as the car supply, the deal brings Motor Village a set of marketing rights including in-stadium advertising and the opportunity to showcase vehicles to both Fulham FC players and fans.

With such a huge fan base at the club, the deal will increase awareness of the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Chrysler and Abarth brands among thousands of potential customers.

"We are proud to be involved with Fulham FC for this season," says Tony Dittli, Managing Director, Motor Village. "At a time when Fulham is gearing up for new challenges of their own, we want to be part of that journey, and share in their success. This opportunity will allow us to showcase all Fiat Group cars to players, staff and fans. We are a perfect fit for the Football Club."

"I am delighted to welcome Motor Village as Fulham's Official Car Partner for the 2014/15 season," adds Alistair Mackintosh, Fulham Football Club Chief Executive. "It is a well-established and prestigious London company. We look forward to having a successful relationship with them through this campaign and hopefully further into the future."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/august/12/official-car-partner?

[WhiteJC]

 
Jim's Co-Commentator

Fulham commentator Jim McGullion will be joined by former Whites midfielder Sean Davis for every league match at Craven Cottage this season.

Sean – who made almost 200 appearances for the Club – will act as co-commentator to Gentleman Jim, providing analysis and insight into our home matches in the Sky Bet Championship, exclusively on fulhamfc.com.

"I'm looking forward to getting up on the gantry," he told the official website. "It's exciting so I'm just hoping I do myself some justice and don't get too much stick for my wording and stuff like that!

"I'm doing every home game which will be good – it's nice to be a part of something like this and I'm happy to have this opportunity."

Sean's first commentary match is just days away when Millwall visit the Cottage, and there are still tickets available for the London derby, priced from just £30 for adults and £15 for juniors.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/august/12/jims-cocommentator?

[WhiteJC]

 
Football fans unite to march over ticket prices

Hundreds of football fans are set to march on Premier League and Football League headquarters on Thursday August 14 to demand cheaper price tickets, the Football Supporters' Federation has announced.

The national fans' group and supporters believe that clubs should use the multi-billion pound media deals to lower ticket prices for both home and away fans.

The Premier League's current media deal is worth £5.5billion.

Kevin Miles, chief executive of the FSF, said: "Nine out of 10 fans think football's simply too expensive. There's always the odd deal that clubs can quote to play it down, but the truth is supporters tell us they think tickets cost too much.

"It's not just top-flight football either, fans throughout the leagues tell us prices are too high.

"Football is swimming in money, with clubs pocketing record amounts from broadcasting deals while squeezing supporters with high prices. Something has to give.

"Ultimately we, as football supporters, have to speak up about this."

The march will leave London's Marble Arch at 1pm before heading to the Premier League and Football League offices.


http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/brentford/football_fans_unite_to_march_over_ticket_prices_1_3723524

[WhiteJC]

 
The Sean Davis Column

Finally the season has begun! It's been a long summer and to be honest I didn't watch much of the World Cup as I was a bit down from us getting relegated, but now domestic football has started again.

It's a shame we couldn't get the new campaign underway with a positive result at Ipswich Town on Saturday, but to lose isn't the end of the world. The good thing about the Championship is the games come thick and fast. You can't feel sorry for yourselves, you've got to get up and get on with it because there's always another game right around the corner. It's one of the hardest leagues to predict because the bottom team can beat the top team in this league. It's such a hard division but if you can get on a good run of form and be really consistent then you've got a great chance of achieving good things.

Felix Magath started with a young side at Portman Road, but the Fulham fans have heard so much about our youth team, so why not give them a go? Emerson Hyndman played the full 90 on Saturday and when I've seen him in the past he's been very impressive – his touch, he moves the ball well, he's quite athletic as well. If the Manager can show faith in the young lads, and the Fulham fans can connect with them, then I'm sure they'll get behind them like they got behind me. If that happens then I'm sure we'll see a prosperous season and a good future for Fulham.

It's massive for your confidence when the Manager places that trust in you. Getting thrown in for one game and then pulled out can be quite deterring and you wonder if you've done something wrong when they might actually be protecting you. But when you get that faith and the manager plays you week in, week out, to learn your trade in such a competitive league like the Championship, it's a great boost.

I'm looking forward to getting back to the Cottage on Saturday when Millwall visit, although this time I'll be watching from a different viewpoint as I'll be up in the gantry commentating alongside Gentleman Jim. If I wasn't at Fulham for all those years I probably wouldn't have had this opportunity but I'm happy to have it and I'm looking forward to it a lot. Phil Neville got a lot of stick when he did it at the World Cup but that's a bigger stage so hopefully there won't be a Twitter frenzy trying to "get Sean off co-commentary!"

I've done some commentary before and I say it how I see it but hopefully I won't offend too many people because we'll be winning games and I won't have to criticise the Fulham players! I'm a converted fan now – when you're retired people ask you who you support and back in the day I used to be a Chelsea fan, it's no secret, but my first team now is Fulham so I'll be commentating as a Whites supporter.

It's going to be a good game at the weekend – I'm looking forward to quite a lot of the London derbies this year. We'll be looking for a strong start in our first home match – it's a chance for the players to kick-start the season, and it should be a great atmosphere.

We're then back at the Cottage a few days later when Wolverhampton Wanderers come to town. They're a bit similar to us really – they've got a lot of hungry players who want to prove something. Kenny Jackett's done a fantastic job – I've always been a big admirer of his, I thought he did a lot of good work at Swansea City and at Millwall, and he's shown what a good manager he is. So that'll be a tough game as well but Fulham are at home, we're a big club, and we need to make Craven Cottage a fortress again this season.

If you win most of your home games then you'll be up there or thereabouts, and if you can nick a few away you never know where that can take us. For me, it's got to be the Play-Offs as a minimum. I want us to go straight back up and a lot of the fans will want that as well. If we do that, and we're breeding all these young players as well, it can only mean good things at Fulham Football Club.

Like I've said before, when I look back at my career now, that 2000/01 campaign, being promoted and being in the Fulham history books, that's the best season I've been involved in and the most exciting. Hopefully the players can look at that and say "I want to be a part of something special" and provide the performances and create something special for the fans to remember and think about. When I speak to the fans at games they always remember going to Carlisle United away the season we got promoted, or the year we won the title they always talk about the Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday matches. I was a part of that and it makes you feel special, it makes you feel like you achieved something, so if the players can grasp that and push on then I'm sure they can achieve it, too.

Join Sean when Millwall visit the Cottage on Saturday, with tickets still available for the London derby priced from just £30 for adults and £15 for juniors.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/august/12/the-sean-davis-column?

[WhiteJC]

 
Former Manchester United youngsters looking for Fulham exit – report

The two former Manchester United graduates moved to West London in January 2014, although they managed to make just four league appearances between them for the Cottagers.

Signed by former United youth coach Rene Meulensteen, neither Tunnicliffe nor Cole could prevent Fulham's slide out of the Premier League.

Less than a month after signing with the Cottagers, Felix Magath was appointed head coach, and both youngsters were farmed out on loan; Tunnicliffe made five appearances for Wigan Athletic, while Cole featured three times for MK Dons.

With Fulham's relegation to the Championship, both former England youth internationals would have hoped to play a key part in the Cottagers' attempted return to the Premier League, although it now appears as if both midfielders are to leave Craven Cottage - having been told that they have no future at the club.

Get West London is reporting that Magath has demoted the duo to the Under-21 squad, and has made it clear that they will play no part in his plans for promotion.

Both players still have three years to run on their contracts, and, although the 21-year olds offer the depth and versatility need for a long and gruelling league campaign, Magath is intent on using other options.

The duo have received a rough deal since leaving Old Trafford in search of first-team football. While they would have presumed that they would play a key part in the midfield of their current club, the managerial merry-go-round has left them tied to long-term contracts with no route of escape.

While many fans will be left questioning another of Magath's decisions, the best thing he could do for the pair of youngsters would be to allow them to leave for a negligible price so that they may continue their careers.



http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/08/12/former-manchester-united-youngsters-looking-for-fulham-exit-repo/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham among clubs interested in QPR's Onuoha, report claims

Fulham, Crystal Palace, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion are interested in QPR defender Nedum Onuoha, as are clubs in Turkey, Goal.com say.

It is claimed that Rangers boss Harry Redknapp wants to discuss a new contract for the 27-year-old but that Onuoha could look to move on amid 'uncertainty' over his role following the recent signings of Rio Ferdinand and Steven Caulker.

A source is quoted as saying: "Nedum is happy at QPR and figured prominently last season, but he won't accept sitting on the bench this season, and he knows there is interest elsewhere."


http://www.westlondonsport.com/features-comment/transfer-gossip-fulham-swansea-crystal-palace-and-wba-linked-with-qpr-man-wls-football

[WhiteJC]

 
Wolves face battle for Wood
Wolves face competition from several Championship rivals for Leicester City striker Chris Wood.

Sky Sports understands the likes of Norwich, Fulham and Derby are all eyeing moves for Wood as they look to bolster their attacking options.

Wolves have made Wood one of their top targets and Kenny Jackett revealed last weekend that they had made an approach for the New Zealand international.

Wood is expected to find his first-team team chances at Leicester limited this season, following the big-money arrival of Leonardo Ulloa from Brighton.

Wolves were hopeful of landing Wood with Jackett a big fan of the 22-year-old having worked with him during his time in charge of Millwall, but now Norwich, Fulham and Derby are weighing up moves for the powerful forward.



http://www.football365.com/derby-county/9419155/-?

[WhiteJC]

 
Former Fulham man goes from hero to zero as Millwall beat Wycombe

Capital One Cup first round: Millwall 1 Wycombe Wanderers 0

Matthew Briggs went from hero to villain as Millwall progressed to the second round of the Capital One Cup at Wycombe's expense.

The former Fulham man picked up his first yellow card after he took his shirt off to celebrate scoring his first goal for the club on 27 minutes.

He received his marching orders just before the hour mark after his high foot caught Sido Jombati on the edge of Wycombe's area and will miss his return to Craven Cottage.

Manager Ian Holloway was absolutely livid after the first yellow and the needlessness of the second challenge will do nothing to improve his mood.

Millwall were, by and large, sloppy for most of the game; struggling to string passes together and, on occasions hoofing the ball to the striker and it was Wycombe who looked more like the Championship team.

The Chairboys enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges even if David Forde was barely tested in the Millwall goal as the wet and windy conditions played havoc.

The Lions produced their best football of the half and were rewarded with the opening goal of the game.

Scott McDonald picked the ball up on the left hand side of the penalty area, cutting inside two defenders.

The Australian lined up Briggs who fired the ball home across Matt Ingram and into the net, spookily as a flash of lightning lit up the sky above.

Wycombe were not undeterred and, were it not for the brilliance of Forde, would have been back on level terms.

Jombati, having charged forward, unleashed an effort to the Republic of Ireland stopper's right but Forde expertly beat the ball away for a corner.

The second half started in the same vein as the first before Briggs' second moment of stupidity.

As Jombati looked to clear the ball, the 23-year-old jumped in with his foot raised and caught the full back.

Referee Andy D'Urso had little hesitation in producing a second yellow card and followed it up with the red.

Playing with 10 men helped Millwall as it gave Wycombe a lift and they looked to attack more.

First, Scott McDonald went close before Fred Onyedinma outpaced the Wycombe defenders before going down under pressure from Ingram.

The Millwall fans vehemently appealed for a penalty but D'Urso was unmoved.

Wycombe came again and a ball in from the right flank caused chaos before falling to Paris Cowan-Hall.

Almost surprised by the ball falling to him miskicked it and Forde gathered the ball.

Time ran out on the Chairboys and it was the Lions who enter the next round.

Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Shittu, Briggs, Webster, Wright, Abdou, Gueye (Onyedinma 48), McDonald (Powell 63), Easter (Siafa 84), Gregory.

Unused Substitutes: Bywater, O'Brien, Goodman, Marquis.

Wycombe Wanderers: Ingram, Jombati, Pierre, Mawson (Craig 82), Jacobson, Cowan-Hall, Murphy, Wood, Kretzschmar (Bloomfield 82), McClure (Amadi-Holloway 72), Hayes, Wood.

Unused Substitutes: Richardson, Craig, Morias, Rowe, Walker.

Referee: Andy D'Urso.

Attendance: 3,403.


http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/millwall/former_fulham_man_goes_from_hero_to_zero_as_millwall_beat_wycombe_1_3724057

[ScalleysDad]

What a good piece on Scott Parker. He has friends in high places including one just down the road, a mere bus ride away, and I would not be at all surprised to see an orchestrated escape plan before the end of August. He may well be a tiger on the edge but as a jigsaw piece it is simply not working for him under Magath and although he put a shift in he did not look like a leader or the 'go to' man for a single minute. Could be a tricky call to make as the back four need a leader as well. Two captains? Not likely so one of the new boys? Not likely either. Parker stays, goes through the motions and leaves later? Likely and a real shame.

[Fulham1959]

What a good piece on Scott Parker. He has friends in high places including one just down the road, a mere bus ride away, and I would not be at all surprised to see an orchestrated escape plan before the end of August. He may well be a tiger on the edge but as a jigsaw piece it is simply not working for him under Magath and although he put a shift in he did not look like a leader or the 'go to' man for a single minute. Could be a tricky call to make as the back four need a leader as well. Two captains? Not likely so one of the new boys? Not likely either. Parker stays, goes through the motions and leaves later? Likely and a real shame.

Agreed, on the original piece :  a bit of level-headed writing.  Surely, if Fulham have good coaching staff they should be pointing Parker in the right direction, to correct what many Fulham fans (seemingly) perceive to be his weaknesses.

In all respects - be it Magath, Parker, the youngsters, the goalkeeping situation -  for heaven's sake let's give it 10 matches to allow things to settle down before we all cry, "everybody out".  I acknowledge that we do not quite have that length of time to remedy the (perceived) goalkeeping problem.

[ScalleysDad]

What a good piece on Scott Parker. He has friends in high places including one just down the road, a mere bus ride away, and I would not be at all surprised to see an orchestrated escape plan before the end of August. He may well be a tiger on the edge but as a jigsaw piece it is simply not working for him under Magath and although he put a shift in he did not look like a leader or the 'go to' man for a single minute. Could be a tricky call to make as the back four need a leader as well. Two captains? Not likely so one of the new boys? Not likely either. Parker stays, goes through the motions and leaves later? Likely and a real shame.

Agreed, on the original piece :  a bit of level-headed writing.  Surely, if Fulham have good coaching staff they should be pointing Parker in the right direction, to correct what many Fulham fans (seemingly) perceive to be his weaknesses.

In all respects - be it Magath, Parker, the youngsters, the goalkeeping situation -  for heaven's sake let's give it 10 matches to allow things to settle down before we all cry, "everybody out".  I acknowledge that we do not quite have that length of time to remedy the (perceived) goalkeeping problem.

I am not so sure it is just down to a coaching issue. Parker towards the end of last season and on Saturday just looked fed up.
Kind of agree on ten games. The upheaval and overhaul has been immense and we need some settling in time but does Magath even know the spine of his team yet? It does seem to be numbered balls out of the bag still at the moment although the U21's coming through has been top our wish list since Jol came in so as you say patience .............................................. which as we all know is almost as cruel as hope.

[jarv]

I think we all hoped to see a modern day Alan Mullery when Parker joined, but suspect the difference is that Mullery was Fulham, through and through. Parker is just another ageing, wealthy journeyman.

[JBH]

I think we all hoped to see a modern day Alan Mullery when Parker joined, but suspect the difference is that Mullery was Fulham, through and through. Parker is just another ageing, wealthy journeyman.

Parker is more like an Alan Partridge than a Mullery