Sunday Fulham Stuff (17.04.11)

[White Noise]

[White Noise]

http://aggbot.com/link.php?id=13171905&r=tw&c=43

Espanyol waiting for Fulham offer for Osvaldo


17.04.11 | tribalfootball.com


Espanyol insist they're yet to hear from Fulham over their interest in Dani Osvaldo.

Espanyol claim, while they have received interest in the 25-year-old, there have been no concrete offers tabled for his signature.

A club source told skysports.com: "We have received calls and contacts but at this moment there is no formal proposition on the table.

"Osvaldo is an important footballer for us and only a big offer could change our decision.

"We will study his situation at the end of the season."

[White Noise]

http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/sunderland-boss-bruce-admits-they-are-relegation-battle-1575241

Sunderland boss Bruce admits they are in relegation battle


16.04.11 | tribalfootball.com


Sunderland boss Steve Bruce admits they're in a relegation battle after defeat to Birmingham City.

Goals from Sebastian Larsson and Craig Gardner lifted City above the injury-hit Black Cats.

They have taken one point from the last nine games after being contenders for a European spot in January.

Bruce said: "There have been a few times recently when I have said the performance has not been good enough.

"But I could not ask any more from a young, makeshift side today.

"We have to try and take the positives out of today and if we play like that, we can still turn the season around and finish with a flourish.

"We are in it (a relegation battle), no question about it. There are 10 teams in it and we are one of them.

"The lads know we have not got enough points. We have one point from nine games and we've got to try and arrest that slump."

Bruce added: "We've now got back-to-back home games with Wigan and Fulham so it is an opportunity to put things right.

"Maybe 41 points will be enough to stay up. One win might do it. I think so."

[White Noise]

Only Ferguson can take sweeping decisions without having them weighed and costed by that geekish American family which leveraged its unlikely way into Old Trafford. The next manager, whoever he may be, will enjoy nothing like the same autonomy.

Arsene Wenger is just a shade less powerful than Ferguson. Almost single-handedly, he has created the modern Arsenal and he well deserves his status. The club's new, American owner, Stan Kroenke, is said to be a confirmed admirer of Wenger, but time may test the depth of that passion.

As for the other 18, there can be no real doubt about who calls the shots. The manager is merely an employee and an expendable employee at that. For this is the age of the owner. These people control our major clubs and thus they control our national game.

Do we have sufficient knowledge of their means? Not really. Take Birmingham City: the Premier League and the FA are about to consult with club directors to see if they can be granted a Uefa licence and allowed to play in next season's Europa League.

There are doubts about their ability to meet the financial criteria and continue as a going concern. Now, some might say that the initial investigations of Birmingham's credibility should have been a touch more searching when the club were taken over in October 2009.

Others, more stubbornly, recall the original 'fit and proper persons' test, which gave us the likes of Thaksin Shinawatra and various chancers at Portsmouth. If we lack confidence in the investigative powers of the League and FA, then we have sound reason for scepticism.

The truth is that the owners are pretty well beyond control. Most of them — foreign or British — have little or no interest in their image, in how they are perceived by the public which supports their teams.

Kroenke gives no interviews, Mike Ashley, of Newcastle, seems to revel in his notoriety, Mohamed Fayed puts up a grotesque statue at Fulham and tells any supporters who don't like it to go off and follow Chelsea. And then there is Abramovich.

He remains the most intriguing of all, since his motives are as mysterious as the provenance of his billions. Almost all the others are motivated by profit. They have bought their tickets in the hope of winning the raffle.

By contrast, the Russian has invested the best part of £1bn, with no obvious prospect of return. Since altruism is not his most obvious characteristic, we must assume that he has undivulged reasons for philanthropy on this prodigious scale.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1377686/Patrick-Collins-Lampard-butters-boss-really-counts.html#ixzz1JlA0cPJj

[White Noise]

http://wolves.theoffside.com/team-news/bottom-but-wolves-in-the-mix.html

Bottom, but Wolves in the mix

By: DJ | April 16th, 2011



They say that the team that are bottom at xmas always goes down. Well that's bad news for West Ham but surely it's even more likely that the team bottom in Mid April will go down. Well Wolves now find themselves there but I remember saying that if we lost to Everton that the league table was going to get very ugly by the time the Fulham game came around. And now we know that it doesn't look anywhere near as bad as feared. Just three points off 16th with a game in hand.

The bad news is that the likes of Villa, Albion and Birmingham have taken themselves to one win away from the required points target. The good news is that the likes of Fulham, Stoke and Sunderland are on a similar mark and will still be looking over their shoulder, especially Sunderland who have got one point from their last nine games. But the best news of all is that Blackburn, Blackpool, West Ham and Wigan are within three points of Wolves and none of them look capable of putting a run of results together.

West Ham are likely to make no further progress in April as they visit Chelsea and Man City on the next two weekends and they will likely be bottom going into the last three weeks before they have 3 games where points look possible at home to Blackburn and Sunderland and away at Wigan.

Wigan have away games at Sunderland, Villa and Stoke and home games against Everton and West Ham. They were the hot favourites for the drop but now look like they might escape and that home game against West Ham on the penultimate weekend looks like a cup final.

Blackpool look unlikely to get anything more on their travels as they visit Spurs and Man Utd. So their hopes rest on homes games against Newcastle, Stoke and Bolton. But they have got only one point from their last six games so it would be difficult to see them winning many games now.

Blackburn's last three home games are against Man City, Bolton and Man Utd so they might need to rely on points away. And their two games away are six pointers at West Ham and Wolves. Their last ten Premier League games have seen them get 4 draws and 6 defeats so are they capable of winning many of the last five?

So how many will these teams end up with? Blackpool currently have 33 points and I can't see them ending on more than 37. Blackburn currently have 35 and I can't see them getting more than 38 before they come to Molineux on the final day. Forgetting the game where they play each other, I think West Ham and Wigan can both get 6 more points. That would take Wigan to 40 and West Ham to 38.

All that leads to two games deciding the relegation teams. The losers of the Wigan v West Ham on the penultimate weekend, and the losers of the Wolves v Blackburn game on the final weekend joining Blackpool in the Championship.

But that all depends on how many points Wolves get in the five games before that final weekend. Fulham home, Stoke away, Birmingham away, Albion home and Sunderland away. If they dont get 4 points then they are likely to be already down. 4, 5, 6 or 7 will likely mean its all down to beating or at least not losing to Blackburn. 8 or 9 and then a draw on the last day will likely be enough and if results go their way they might even be safe.

Wolves met Blackburn in their last FA Cup Final in 1960. They won that one 3-0. It's looking increasingly likely that Molineux on May 22nd will see a game much more important than that.

[White Noise]

http://www.teamtalk.com/fulham/6876060/Stockdale-vows-to-wise-up


Stockdale vows to wise up


Saturday 16th April 2011 15:08


David Stockdale admits he has found life at Fulham frustrating of late, but he accepts discussing it on Twitter was not the best option.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper took to the social networking this week to admit he was not entirely content about playing second fiddle to Mark Schwarzer for all but 10 games this season.

"It's been difficult stepping back," Stockdale told Fulham's official website.

"But that's the life of a goalkeeper - at times it's a bit of a waiting game. Every player wants to play, and I'm no different.

"I've been in the press this week as a result of something I said on Twitter, but it was taken out of context. I was naive, and should have been more aware because quite a lot of players have got in to trouble from statements of their own this season.

"I said that in seeing Mark Schwarzer do so well, that next year I might have to evaluate my situation. I can see why people thought I was suggesting that I wanted to leave, but that's really not what I meant because I'm very, very happy here.

"I've spoken to the club and they know that I want to be a Fulham player for a long time to come. I like communicating with the Fulham fans on Twitter, but I'll have to be a bit wiser.

"I didn't want to cause any trouble, and it's all quite unfortunate, but again, I have no desire to leave!"

[White Noise]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2011/04/16/2444384/fulham-complete-signing-of-darlington-youngster-dan-burn

Fulham complete signing of Darlington youngster Dan Burn


Cottagers beat Everton to the signing of the 18-year-old defender who has been playing non-league football, but has been backed by his manager to be a top flight player


By Joel Lamy


16 Apr 2011 18:08:00


Fulham have confirmed that they have completed the signing of young Darlington defender Dan Burn, according to BBC Sport.

Burn had reportedly also been the subject of a bid from Everton, with David Moyes being spotted on a scouting mission during a Champions League night before admitting his interest in the player.

However, the 18-year-old has opted to sign for Fulham for an undisclosed fee and will join the squad in the summer.

Burn has only played 10 times for Darlington this season, but has helped them to the final of the FA Trophy and his manager Mark Cooper has previously stated that he will be a Premier League player in the future.

Speaking about the transfer Darlington chairman Raj Singh told the Northern Echo: "This represents a fantastic bit of business for Darlington and we're delighted for Dan that he's joining a top, Premier League club.

"Mark Cooper wanted to make sure Dan joined the right club and he kept me informed of all enquiries, ensuring we got the best possible deal while also looking after the player, so he deserves a lot of credit for that.

"I'd also like to thank Dan's parents for the way they've handled themselves.

"They allowed us to handle the deal without getting involved and trusted us to make sure it was right for both the club and the player.

"Dan will join Fulham at the end of the season and, naturally, we wish him our luck in what we hope and believe is the beginning of a very successful career."

[Oakeshott]

Sounds as though someone sensible has spoken to David Stockdale. Even if Mark remains our no. 1 for the next two seasons, David has every chance of being the no. 1 for ten years after that. And hopefully Hughsie will make sure David gets, for example, all our Cup and European games next season.

[zzamora]

Strange, i thought murphy was our slowest!

[White Noise]

Fulham's U18 Academy side beat BCFC 2-1 at the Training Ground on Sat. Top of the League with 1 game left to play and 11 games undefeated.

[Whiteroom]

Strange, i thought murphy was our slowest!

Very well said!

[White Noise]

Strange, i thought murphy was our slowest!

Very well said!

Its an optical illusion. The mans a whippet. :011: