Wednesday Fulham Stuff - 17/09/25...

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'Smart thinking' – Brighton confirm two key additions as ex-Fulham and Arsenal men agree
Brighton confirm off field changes as former Arsenal man joins

Jason Ayto has joined the club as sporting director, and will take up the position with immediate effect.

Deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber said, "We are delighted to welcome Jason to the club. We are all very much looking forward to working with one of the most talented young sporting directors in the country."

Based at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre, Ayto will report to Barber, and work closely with men's and women's team head coaches Fabian Hurzeler and Dario Vidosic.

Ayto honoured to join 'smart-thinking' Seagulls
The 40-year-old will also oversee all footballing areas of the club, including player recruitment, performance and medical for the club's senior men's and women's teams and academies.

Ayto said, "I'm honoured to be appointed sporting director at Brighton & Hove Albion and I'm very grateful to Tony Bloom, Paul Barber and the board for this opportunity.

"This is a special club, admired across the footballing world for its culture, ambition and smart thinking, all of which has underpinned some remarkable progress in recent years.

"To be joining at a time when there is such a strong desire to build on those excellent foundations, innovate further, and bring success is incredibly exciting.

"I'm looking forward to getting started and working with, and supporting both our head coaches Fabian Hurzeler and Dario Vidosic, and their respective playing squads."

Former Fulham man Mike Cave promoted
In a further organisational change assistant technical director Mike Cave has been promoted to the role of technical director.

Mike added, "I'd like to firstly thank Tony Bloom and Paul Barber for their continued support during my time at Brighton. I'd also like to put on record my thanks to David Weir for the opportunity and support he's shown me since I joined.

"Having this new opportunity to further grow my role and involvement at the club is an exciting next chapter for me personally.

"Having the chance to take on this role working alongside Jason is something I'm extremely excited about. Jason's reputation amongst his peers and within the wider game is outstanding.

"We have complimentary skills and experiences that I believe will allow us to continue to innovate and develop our technical areas towards our goals as a club."

Reporting to Ayto, Cave, will work in close partnership with our new sporting director across all technical areas, including men's and women's teams and both academies, and men's first-team medical and performance areas.

Ayto added, "I'm also delighted to have the opportunity to work with Mike, who is an excellent operator, incredibly well respected within the game, and with his working knowledge of the club, it will be hugely beneficial working alongside him.

"Together, our focus will be on supporting all of our players, coaches and staff to help us achieve our aims on the pitch."

Ayto progressed at Arsenal
Ayto left Arsenal at the end of last season, where he held a number of technical roles, including assistant sporting director to Edu, during more than a decade with the Gunners.

He was promoted to the role of interim sporting director at Arsenal last November, following Edu's departure – a role he fulfilled until May of this year.

Hailing from Nottinghamshire, Ayto studied at the University of Leicester, and is multi-lingual, speaking Portuguese and Spanish as well as his native English.

He joined Arsenal from Norwich City, where he worked in a senior role in academy recruitment, during a period when the Canaries' won the FA Youth Cup in 2013.

Prior to that, he had a spell in the US with a start-up football club in Chicago and has several years' experience from his time working at a sports management company in London.



https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/sport/football/brighton-and-hove-albion/smart-thinking-brighton-confirm-two-key-additions-as-ex-fulham-and-arsenal-men-agree-5319010

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"Happy to see" - Fulham star makes Leeds United declaration with Daniel Farke agreement and victory claim
Fulham looked set to be held by Leeds United in Saturday's Premier League clash at Craven Cottage.

Fulham star Joachim Andersen has made a Leeds United admission, featuring Whites boss Daniel Farke agreement after Saturday's 1-0 victory against his side.

Andersen's Fulham outfit went into Saturday's visit of Leeds still seeking a first win of the new Premier League season and the wait looked set to continue heading deep into second half stoppage time.

Farke's visitors appeared destined to leave Craven Cottage with a goalless draw but an unfortunate 94th-minute Gabriel Gudmundsson own goal ultimately gave the hosts all three points.

Speaking post match to Fulham FC club media, Danish defender Andersen admitted his men got "lucky" with Gudmundsson's own goal, despite claiming that his team were the "closest" to pushing for all three points.

Andersen, though, also expressed agreement with Whites boss Daniel Farke who declared that the quality of Fulham's substitutes and in particular Brazilian winger Kevin proved key.

"Happy emotions," said a delighted and clearly relieved Andersen.

"It was a tough game. It was not pretty but we got the three points which is most important and we really needed that especially after our first three games where I felt like everything went against us that could possibly go against us.

"Today we were lucky"
"Today we were lucky with that last goal so that was a really nice winner.

"Today was not our best game. The first half we could do better.

"In the second half we created more chances, especially our subs made a real impact.

"I was happy to see Kevin, great players and trying things.

"I think we were the team closest to getting the three points but obviously it was not our best game in terms of play and making things dangerous for the opponent.

"But we need to win those games as well."



https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/leeds-united-joachim-andersen-fulham-daniel-farke-premier-league-5319222

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Marco Silva must relax his desire for control when the time is right
Dan Cooke discusses his desire for Fulham to be able to break out of the current rigidity in pursuit of some more creative flair.

Marco is meticulous. It's an essential trait for a manager at the top level - you need to be a perfectionist. You need to be constantly tweaking, adapting, evolving. Marco has done that gradually since he took charge and I'm in awe at how far he's brought us.

Compare that Championship-winning side with the one we see today, and while initially the tactics might not seem that different, I think there's a definite contrast. It's a largely necessary evolution. A team wins the Championship every year, but not many of them go on to have the sustained stability that we've seen from our Fulham.

The early Premier League campaigns were driven by an ability to be better than teams of a similar stature. However, we lamented our inability to get results against the big boys; we're football fans; we're insatiable. Marco knew this and he rectified it. He tinkered away until he'd formed a team that could beat Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Beating them in ways that weren't flukes, but with performances that vindicated the countless hours he'll have spent in pursuit of those points.

However, as mentioned, we're never fully satisfied - and we've picked a new stick to beat Marco with. This new Fulham team that have stood up to the big bullies and refused to hand over their lunch money, seem to have forgotten how to dish out some wedgies of their own. We used to be great at swatting away teams below us and Saturday was a stark reminder that something needs adjusting in order to get some mojo back.

Control
The word that I keep going back to is "control". I think it's the foundations on which anything that Silva does tactically is built. He often speaks about it in press conferences, however, I think his vision of control has changed as we have evolved as a team.

That first season in the Championship was about domination. We "controlled" a game if we got on the front foot, boxed our opponents in and just relentlessly tormented them with our plethora of attacking talent. Forwards were given the freedom to express themselves and we were absolute brutes.

We were all well aware of how different the Premier league is and it's so commendable how Marco has cemented us as a stable side. However, I do think in seeking a side that can punch upwards, we've started to lose some of the joy in our football. Why? I think it goes back to this idea of the changing definition of control.

Previously the focus was on what we do with the ball, through this evolution I think we've seen a shift to how we can control games without it. By holding opponents at arm's length, funnelling them into areas of the pitch where we feel comfortable, then getting ready to pounce, we've found a formula that produces results in games where we'd previously get nothing. We strive to not let our opponents dictate the flow of the game, so while they may have possession, we are attempting to control what they do with it.

This requires a much more rigid structure fulfilled by players who are able to follow instructions and be disciplined. This is where I think trust has become a big factor. Players like Iwobi, Berge, Lukic, and up until this year, Andreas Pereira, have been relied on heavily by Marco. They know the patterns of play; they don't divert from the game plan; they are controlled.

Unfortunately, I feel this has spilled over into games where we could be evoking more of that old mentality. The patterns of play that were once repetitive are now monotonous. Players who have had a rigidity drilled into them for when the big hitters come to town, seem unable to break out of this structured mentality when we need a spark.

I really want to see some of that freedom come back into our football. I wrote a piece about how bringing Iwobi into central midfield could be an exciting switch and Saturday was further proof that it's something we should consider. You know exactly what you'll get from Berge and Lukic but that's not necessarily always a good thing. We need some randomness, something unexpected, unscripted, in order to find that zing again.

This is what got us all so excited about Kevin, and I anticipate that Samuel Chukwueze will evoke similar feelings. They are wingers who will make decisions based much more on feeling and intuition, as opposed to instructions. Unfortunately, this is why I won't be surprised if it's a while before they're getting consistent starts because while we're spilling over with excitement, desperate to see what Kevin does when he next gets the ball, I think that unknown is something that Marco Silva will be apprehensive about. He's gotten used to players doing the expected, carrying out his painstakingly prepared game plans.

I know he's not a defensive manager - in fact I've criticised him in the past for being too cavalier. Currently though, I think we've gone too far the other way. If we can find that balance, if we can establish the right definition of control in the right games, then I'll have to find something else to moan about.



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/p/marco-silva-must-relax-his-desire

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Coventry City to hand West Ham and Fulham blow as big Jack Rudoni update emerges
Coventry City's Jack Rudoni is set to sign a 'bumper' new contract to stay at the club, despite Premier League interest in the attacking midfielder.

The 24-year-old has been outstanding for the Sky Blues since Frank Lampard's appointment, with Rudoni scoring ten times and registering 12 assists in the previous campaign.

That form has carried on this season, as the ex-Huddersfield man has found the net twice in the first five games, with Coventry occupying the final play-off spot at this early stage, and they are yet to taste defeat.

Jack Rudoni set to sign new Coventry City contract
As you would expect, those performances have put Rudoni on the radar of other clubs, with Southampton having tried to prise him from the CBS Arena in the summer window.

However, the player opted to stay put, and TalkSPORT has revealed that Rudoni is now in line to sign a new and improved contract with Coventry, even though Fulham and West Ham have been monitoring him ahead of the transfer window.

They explain that Rudoni is happy in the Midlands, and it's said that he is 'close' to putting pen to paper to sign the extension and to commit his future to Coventry.

Jack Rudoni will be key to Frank Lampard's long-term project at Coventry City
This is great news for Coventry, as Rudoni has been magnificent for the club since Lampard's appointment, and he has arguably been the best player outside the Premier League in the past ten months.

When you look at the goals and assists he has contributed, it's no surprise that other clubs have tried to bring him in, so Coventry deserve credit for keeping him at the club.

They are now rewarding him for such form, and Rudoni is sure to appreciate that, as he still has three years to run on his current contract, so the club didn't need to act.

From the perspective of Rudoni, it makes total sense for him to stick around at Coventry because he is a key player and Lampard's coaching has helped take his game up a level.

At 24, he still has room to develop, and Rudoni will no doubt have ambitions of playing at the top level, but he will feel he can achieve that with Coventry, who will believe that promotion to the Premier League this season is a real possibility given the talent they have in the squad.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/coventry-city-jack-rudoni-development-shared-amid-fulham-and-west-ham-transfer-interest/