Danny Murphy On Verge Of New Contract

[White Noise]

http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/Sport/Bedford-Town-FC/Hughes-believes-in-Murphy-77845.xnf?BodyFormat=0



Hughes believes in Murphy

Mark Hughes believes Danny Murphy can continue delivering for Fulham despite his advancing years.

Former England midfielder Murphy is expected to lead a strong Cottagers team in Tuesday's Carling Cup third-round clash with Stoke.

The 33-year-old heads a queue of Fulham players who are in the last season of their contracts and Hughes has been impressed by his form, saying: "Danny is playing well and is in the team by rights. If he continues the same way there is no reason why we shouldn't look to make sure that he stays as he's very influential both on the pitch and off it."

He added: "Danny is realistic and knows himself that he can sustain his level. From what I have seen, there is no reason why he can't.

"When I arrived here nine or 10 players had one year left on their deals.

"It's a long big list and while we were are working through it, we haven't got quite through everything.

Hughes, who was appointed Fulham manager in late July, is ready to select his strongest available line-up against Stoke as he continues to assess the strength of his side.

"I made the point before and after the last round that we are very early in the season and we don't need to make many changes," he said.

"Physically we recover as well as anybody and we never compromise by playing anybody when they are not fully recovered, so it's not an issue.

"I made the point before and after the last round against Port Vale that we're very early in the season and I don't think you need to make that many changes."

[The Doctor]

Good news, and it would be nice to think that maybe we could benefit from offering Murphy his first coaching role a couple of years down the line.

What a random paper for that article to appear in though!  Is there a connection I'm missing?

[White Noise]

Good news, and it would be nice to think that maybe we could benefit from offering Murphy his first coaching role a couple of years down the line.

What a random paper for that article to appear in though!  Is there a connection I'm missing?

No, they just seem to be the only ones who picked it up at Sparky's last press conference. Now they have, it is on Sky Sports and Virgin etc.

Agree about the coaching role. Its interesting that Sparky says that they both he and Murph know he can sustain this level of performance. I am coming round to the view that Danny has perhaps found a new plateau in terms of his performance. He has adapted to the slower pace his body can achieve and I think maybe he can keep tghis up for another two or three seasons. I think he has got the ideal manager to help him manage his body through this and to take a sympathetic view of what Murph can contribute to the team. Sparky was almost 39 when he finally stopped playing so he must be able to pass on plenty of advice as to how to keep your body going week in and week out.

[Terry Tibbs]

I didn't realise that MH was almost 39 when he stopped playing.  However, Danny plays in the middle, so doesn't get the same opportunities to take breathers in a game that a forward can.  Great point about MH knowing how to prolong a career (and I expect he learnt a lot about that side of things at places like Barca and ManUre).  On the plus side, Danny's 33, not 36, so not exactly old father time!  All-in-all I'm hopeful that we can get a few decent seasons out of him if we're sensible.

[HatterDon]

I think that Danny's improvement over the last two matches is directly related to the more adventurous role given to The Nigerian Giant. There's a bit more open space in midfield now, and Danny's brain is quicker than ever to exploit those spaces.

[FatFreddysCat]

I was rather hoping we'd ship him out, i think he's in decline and miffed we didn't get Sidwell to replace him. Or offer Blackpool £5 Million for Charlie Adam a real class act. How old is he?

[AlFayedsChequebook]

I was rather hoping we'd ship him out, i think he's in decline and miffed we didn't get Sidwell to replace him. Or offer Blackpool £5 Million for Charlie Adam a real class act. How old is he?

Charlie Adam is 26 and when Blackpool go down we should offer them £5m for him, he is quality.

[SmithyFFC]

Charlie Adam? 24

[fulhamwannabe]

he's passed it me think,no point in lying  :031: