Tuesday Fulham Stuff (26.04.11)

[White Noise]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26042011/58/premier-league-match-facts-fulham-v-bolton-wanderers.html


Premier League - Match facts: Fulham v Bolton Wanderers


Tue, 26 Apr 01:12:00 2011



Facts and figures ahead of the Premier League clash between Fulham and Bolton Wanderers at Craven Cottage.


Fulham v Bolton Wanderers


Fulham have failed to score in their last three meetings with Bolton in all competitions.

The last three Premier League meetings between Bolton and Fulham have ended as draws.

Bolton have scored exactly one goal in seven of their nine Premier League away games against Fulham and none in the others.

Ivan Klasnic has scored in his last two visits to Craven Cottage.

Fulham have won 16 of a possible 18 points from their last six matches at home in the Premier League.

Just one of Bolton's last 11 Premier League matches have ended in a draw.

Bolton Wanderers have collected just one point from their last nine away matches in the Premier League.

In these last nine Premier League away games, Bolton have netted just four times.

Daniel Sturridge has scored seven goals in nine Premier League appearances for Owen Coyle's side.

Fulham have conceded only one penalty in the Premier League this season; fewer than any other side.

Opta

[White Noise]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11681_6895980,00.html


Henry slams mouthy Murphy

Wolves skipper reignites feud with Fulham midfielder



Last Updated: April 25, 2011 11:08am



Karl Henry has accused 'big mouth' Danny Murphy of altering Wolves' image in the eyes of the public and Premier League referees.

The Fulham midfielder spoke out earlier in the season about tough tackles, having seen team-mate Bobby Zamora suffer a broken leg.

That injury was sustained in a meeting with Wolves and Murphy suggested that Mick McCarthy's men can be overly physical at times.

"I think he's just a bit of a big mouth. He doesn't really want to say much on it. He just says it off it."

Karl Henry

Quotes of the week

Henry believes Wolves have been victimised ever since those comments were made, with officials now looking to crack down hard on a side they believe like to bend the rules.

He feels Murphy should have kept out of an issue which had little to do with him, with Wolves having paid the price for his outburst.

"We had seven yellow cards [at Craven Cottage] and everything that has happened after that has not helped our season," said Henry.

Perception

"Murphy's comments have changed the public perception of us and maybe the referees' perception of us, too. It's taken us a long time to lose that tag. [But] it's been dragged up again because we were playing Fulham.

"We thought we had lost that tag a long time before we played Newcastle away [on 2nd April]. It seems the referee up there had it in his mind straight away that he was going to book us.

."The advice was to not do anything silly and not pick up any silly yellow cards. We picked [them] up anyway.

"The referee identified that we were targeting Joey Barton. That was a load of rubbish. That flatters Joey Barton a ridiculous amount because we don't even talk about him in our team talks."

Asked whether Murphy said anything to him during Wolves' 1-1 draw with Fulham on Saturday, Henry replied: "Not really, there was nothing much said on the pitch.

"I think he's just a bit of a big mouth. He doesn't really want to say much on it. He just says it off it."

.

[White Noise]

http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/fulham-offer-4m-man-city-winger-swp-1591881


Fulham to offer £4M for Man City winger SWP


25.04.11 | tribalfootball.com


Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips is a target for Fulham.

The People says Wright-Phillips, 29, is determined to prove he is good enough to be a first-team regular next term but may have to consider his options if City add even more ­attackers to the payroll in the close season.

Fulham boss Mark Hughes wanted him on loan in January and is weighing up a £4million bid when the transfer window reopens.

However, the Cottagers will not be ­willing to pay Wright-Phillips more than £40,000 a week.

[White Noise]

http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/west-brom-s-hodgson-it-vital-odemwingie-stays-1592201

West Brom's Hodgson: It is vital that Odemwingie stays


25.04.11 | Andrew Slevison


West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson has made it clear that the club needs to hold on to striker Peter Odemwingie.

The Nigerian has now scored 13 goals for the Baggies in his debut season in England and his exploits have attracted plenty of interest from the some big clubs in Europe, including Italian giants Juventus.

Hodgson said it is vital that the West Midlands retain Odemwingie if they are to be any chance of producing higher than finishes in the Premier League.

"It would be nice if Juventus told us (they were interested) rather than us having to hear it from the media," Hodgson said.

"But it's a no-brainer really isn't it? If you're going to have a spell of years - even if it's only two - in the Premier League then you've got to improve your team.

"We were very lucky to survive my first six months at Fulham but we did improve the team quite considerably going into the next season and again into the season after that and now we'd all agree Fulham are not a only a mid-table team but I would put them up as one of the top 10 teams in the country."

He added: "We are running on a reasonably small squad of players. We are asking an awful lot of inexperienced players who are getting better all the time.

"But if we want to have a good Premier League campaign next season, it is very important we sign several players in the summer that will really help us.

"It will also take some of the burden away from the Youssuf Mulumbus and Peter Odemwingies who, you must remember, are in their first season in the Premier League."

[White Noise]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/25042011/58/premier-league-team-week-krul-summer.html


Premier League - Team of the week: Krul summer

Tue, 26 Apr 00:01:00 2011


GK: Tim Krul (Newcastle United) - The keeper, standing in for the injured Steve Harper, was in great form for Newcastle, who were grateful for two saves in particular.

RB: John Flanagan (Liverpool) - You wouldn't think the 18-year-old is a Premier League novice given his assured display in Liverpool's demolition of Birmingham.

CB: David Luiz (Chelsea) - The mop-haired defender was in solid defensive form in Chelsea's shut-out of West Ham. Always poses a threat going forward.

CB: Phil Jagielka (Everton) - A commanding performance at the back alongside Sylvain Distin. Unlucky to end up on the losing side at Old Trafford.

LB: Carlos Salcido (Fulham) - Solid at the back and dangerous going forward, the Mexican was the standout performer for Fulham in their draw at Wolves.

RM: Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) - Tireless is the best word to describe the Dutchman. Once again, he didn't stop running for 90 minutes and was rewarded with another goal for his Herculean efforts.

CM: Jordan Henderson (Sunderland) - Scored a great first goal and was on hand to stroke home a second as Sunderland laid their relegation fears to rest.

CM: David Vaughan (Blackpool) - The Welshman starred alongside Charlie Adam in Blackpool's midfield as they came from behind to grab a point against Newcastle.

LM: Maxi Rodriguez (Liverpool) - Rodriguez was in sparkling form, scoring three goals for his first Liverpool hat-trick and terrorising the Birmingham defence all game long.

FW: Javier Hernandez (Manchester United) - Hernandez proved his worth once again with a late match-winner to inch United closer to the title. Without doubt one of the signings of the season.

FW: Steven Fletcher (Wolves) - Only time tell how crucial his goal against Fulham was but if Wolves do stay up, he will have had a great deal to do with their survival.

Eurosport

[White Noise]

Successful passes by midfielders (2010/11): 1. Danny Murphy (1642) 2. Michael Essien (1596)4. Gareth Barry (1365) 5. Alex Song (1354) 6. Yaya Toure (1330)8. Jack Wilshere (1279) 9. David Vaughan (1272) 10. John Obi Mikel (1247)

[White Noise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/apr/25/karl-henry-wolves-stoke-city

Wolves captain Karl Henry warns of 'ugly, dirty game' against Stoke

• 'Both teams will be kicking lumps out of each other'


• Comments sure to offend Mick McCarthy and Tony Pulis


Share3  Stuart James guardian.co.uk, Monday 25 April 2011 22.31 BST Article history


The prediction by Wolves' Karl Henry of a roughhouse at Stoke will not go down well at either club. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto

Karl Henry has risked inflaming the Premier League match between Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night by predicting "a really dirty game" where "both teams will be kicking lumps out of each other".

Henry has previously accused the Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy of changing the way Wolves are perceived by referees and the public this season, yet his own remarks about what lies ahead at the Britannia Stadium suggests he recognises his side can be uncompromising at times. "It's going to be a really dirty game up there," Henry said. "Both teams will be kicking lumps out of each other. It's going to be an ugly, dirty game that no one wants to go and watch."

The Wolves captain's comments are unlikely to go down well with his manager, Mick McCarthy, who became aggrieved earlier in the season when Wolves picked up what he felt was an unfair reputation for being overly aggressive.

Tony Pulis, whom Henry played under during the Stoke manager's first spell in charge, will also be less than impressed with the notion that his side, who have been criticised for their approach, will be going out to kick Wolves.

Whatever the nature of the game at Stoke, Wolves are desperate for points to climb out of the bottom three. "It's a huge game again, Stoke are a good side," said Henry. "I know Tony from my time there. He sticks to his principles, strategy, regardless of what's going on. Everyone hates playing Stoke and going there but we are going to relish it. They've done so well in getting to the FA Cup final."

Henry said that Pulis should be named manager of the year for his achievement in getting Stoke to Wembley. "Maybe people are starting to realise they need to give him the respect he deserves. It's not easy to win games and for years people have been trying to come up with ways of winning games. Barcelona do it their way, Blackpool do it their way, Stoke do it their way. They pick up points, they are horrible to play against and that's credit to him. I'm sure they will go on and do even better next season."

In comments that will surprise some, Henry suggested that he failed to make enough tackles to keep Pulis happy. "I wasn't his type of player when he came, that was it for me," the 28-year-old said. "Maybe back then I didn't put my foot in as much. I just came through at the wrong time and sometimes you just need to move on and find yourself. Perhaps I could do a job for him now – older, wiser and perhaps I'd now know what he wants. Things didn't work out there but no grudges, he was always a top man with me."

[White Noise]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/match/49061/fulham-vs-bolton-wanderers/preview

Fulham - Bolton Wanderers Preview: Owen Coyle's side looking to end away woes and scupper Cottagers' fine home form

One goal and points shared in the previous three Premier League clashes suggest it will be tight at Craven Cottage, with the hosts still looking to guarantee their safety

By Andrew Kennedy

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Fulham (4-2-2): Schwarzer; Salcido, Hangeland, Hughes, Baird; Sidwell, Murphy, Dempsey, Davies; Zamora, Dembele. 

Bobby Zamora could make his return to the starting XI, with the striker's physical presence likely to be a key factor in Mark Hughes thinking as his side search for the three vital points that would ensure Premier League survival.

Bolton Wanderers (4-3-3): Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Robinson, Cahill, Knight; Muamba, Taylor, Lee; Elmander, Davies, Sturridge. 

Owen Coyle looks set to stick with the same starting line-up that ended Arsenal's title hopes on Sunday with a 2-1 victory at the Reebok.

While loanee Daniel Sturridge has bagged seven goals in nine games following his January move from Chelsea, fellow striker John Elmander has only managed two goals in the league since the turn of year.

DID YOU KNOW?


•These sides have already met once at Craven Cottage this season, in February's FA Cup fifth round. A 1-0 victory for the visitors thanks to Ivan Klasnic (pictured right) would eventually see Bolton play a Wembley semi-final, in which they which they were handed a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Stoke City.

•Their previous three meetings in the Premier League have all been draws, the most recent two both being goalless.

•The season before that, Fulham did the double over Bolton, with a 2-1 home victory followed by a 3-1 win at the Reebok.

•Both have a positive goal difference this season, Bolton with four and Fulham on one, with the Cottagers having only conceded 36 this season.

•Bolton on the other hand have bagged 48 so far in the campaign, however, only 15 of those have come on the road.

•Fulham have the joint second best home form with Manchester City and Liverpool, having won five and drawn one in their last six games.

•Something which may be ominous for Bolton, who have the joint worst away record, along with Blackpool, Blackburn and Stoke, having lost five and drawn one.

•In the fair play leagues Fulham have the eighth best record in the Premier League with no red cards and 40 cautions, whereas Bolton players have seen red four times and yellow 60, giving them the second worst record.

[White Noise]

http://www.boltonwanderers-mad.co.uk/news/prev/fm_preview_fulham_v_bolton_wanderers_27_apr_2011_672311/index.shtml


FM Preview: Fulham v Bolton Wanderers 27 Apr 2011

By Footymad


Updated Tuesday, 26th April 2011


The game between Fulham and Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League on 27th April 2011 at 20:00 takes centre stage for FootyMad's preview analysis.

History of the Fulham v Bolton Wanderers fixture

Bolton Wanderers face a trip to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Wednesday evening, hoping to improve upon an average previous return from this fixture. Of the 39 games played, The Trotters have recorded 11 wins, and Fulham have come away with 17 victories.

The most recent encounter between these two sides was earlier this season, with Bolton Wanderers inflicting a narrow 0-1 defeat upon the Cottagers in a F.A. Cup match.

Recent encounters between the teams

Season Date Team Result Team Comp
2010/2011 Sun 20 Feb Fulham 0-1 Bolton Wdrs. F.A. Cup
2010/2011 Sat 14 Aug Bolton Wdrs. 0 - 0 Fulham Premier League
2009/2010 Sat 06 Feb Bolton Wdrs. 0 - 0 Fulham Premier League
2009/2010 Sat 28 Nov Fulham 1 - 1 Bolton Wdrs. Premier League
2008/2009 Sat 14 Mar Bolton Wdrs. 1 - 3 Fulham Premier League
2008/2009 Sat 13 Sep Fulham 2 - 1 Bolton Wdrs. Premier League
2007/2008 Tue 29 Jan Bolton Wdrs. 0 - 0 Fulham Premier League

For a detailed analysis of the complete head-to-head record between the two sides, click here

Recent respective form guides

Fulham have lost just once in their last six home games, winning four and drawing the other one. These high-scoring games have yielded a total of 11 goals for the Cottagers, with 3 goals against.

The The Trotters have had a decent run of form away from home recently, coming away with three points on 3 occasions, but drawing 1 and losing 2. The The Trotters's have a narrow positive goal difference over these games, with 7 goals for and 6 against.

Fulham see themselves just below half way in the Barclays Premier League, showing a record of 39 points from their 33 games played so far,

Bolton Wanderers lie just outside the playoff positions in the Barclays Premier League, picking up 46 from their 33 games so far.

Current overall team form

Team P W D L F A P
Fulham 6 2 2 2 9 8 8
Bolton Wanderers 6 3 0 3 9 11 9

For a detailed analysis of current team form guides in this or any division, click here

FootyMad's prediction ...

Nothing appears to be going right for the The Trotters out on the road recently, yet the Madmen can see a turn around in fortunes as they battle to a victory in a closely fought contest at Fulham. Away win

Sequence statistics

Team Sequences
Fulham 4 games since last home draw.
Not won in the 2 most recent games.

Bolton Wanderers Lost each of the previous 2 away matches.
Not won in previous 2 away matches.
Last drawn game 8 outings ago.

[White Noise]

Why Wolves should call Fulham 'dirty'


Tuesday 26th April 2011, 9:10AM BST.





Wolves columnist John Lalley saw the ugly side of Fulham as the row between the two sides erupted again on the pitch in a high-stake game at Molineux.

Intriguing elements of gamesmanship are constantly evolving in the game, but I can safely say that I've never caught sight of what Fulham striker Bobby Zamora tried last Saturday.

At first I was bemused when Zamora, before even touching the ball, raised his right arm the moment goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was in possession of the ball.

When the Fulham substitute continued his semaphore routine using thumb and digits to count the seconds, he resembled a boxing referee standing over a prostrate fighter with brains scrambled struggling to beat the count.

It turned out that Zamora was somehow trying to influence the referee into penalising Hennessey for holding onto possession for longer than the requisite six seconds.

On one occasion, Wayne – instead of taking not a blind bit of notice as he should have done – hastily booted the ball into touch and paid unnecessary heed to the pantomime performance on Zamora's agenda.

Clearly there was a genuine spill over of the ill feeling the two teams generated at Craven Cottage six months ago.

Fulham manager Mark Hughes made an exhibition of himself with his hysterical over-reaction after one of his players was routinely penalised.

His inaccurate bottle booting was a display of infantile petulance which, in retrospect, he should cringe about.

Banished to the stand, Hughes couldn't resist cupping his hand to his lughole when his team equalised, safe in the knowledge that a TV cameraman would dutifully record such a childish and predictable response.

The Fulham players engulfed their dugout after the goal and their wildly over the top celebrations said more about a residue of resentment than a run of the mill point that had been theirs for the taking virtually from the kick-off.

Clearly, should we take the drop there will be few tears shed in on the banks of the River Thames.

For our part, Richard Stearman set the ball rolling with a thoroughly ill-advised studs-showing lunge that risked immediate dismissal.

This was a worrying reoccurrence of the rash and reckless time-bomb that ticks resolutely within Stearman's DNA. Had he seen red, the consequences could have been calamitous.

Stearman is not a dirty player but there exists this latent urge that surfaces in spitefully ugly fashion from time to time, when all reason and common sense is shot to smithereens and he is left with not a shred of mitigation to excuse his lack of discipline.

It's a failing he needs to address with immediate effect, his sometimes inflammable temperament is not doing neither him nor the team any favours.

Karl Henry felt the need – understandably born out of immense frustration – to label Danny Murphy a 'bit of a big mouth' after the game and also to rake over the spat with Joey Barton to infer that referees have been influenced against Wolves after listening to criticism about our supposedly robust approach.

Henry's sense of injustice is easy to understand – Murphy's partial and less than objective summary of the Wolves tactics and the Match of the Day judiciary inviting the population to condemn Wolves without trial with Barton, of all people, turning Queen's evidence were both infuriating and demonstrably one-sided.

But, this time, I can't help feeling that the Wolves captain would have been better advised to say nothing.

Six months back when this nonsense started, Wolves were rattled and temporarily destabilised and Henry's over robust challenge leading to his dismissal at Wigan was the boil over at the sense of injustice, but events move on and so now should Karl. He has enough to occupy himself given our current predicament without raking over events of last September.

Years ago, the notoriously belligerent Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell engaged in a furious on field spat with his equally competitive England counterpart Tony Greig.

Asked to explain details of the set to by an inquisitive press afterwards, Chappell explained it this way "I said, good morning Tony and Tony answered, good morning Ian."

It's usually best to leave disagreements on the field instead of running off at the mouth in front of a microphone.

Anyway all this superfluous chat about Wolves being too physical, Murphy influencing referees or what personal vendettas were shaped six months ago, carries absolutely no weight in relation to our survival in this league.

Our level of performance has dipped alarmingly since the outstanding win at Villa and Karl Henry, players and management should turn their attention to identifying the reasons why.

Events from last September can look after themselves, I just hope we can look after the next four weeks.


Read more: http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2011/04/26/why-wolves-should-call-fulham-dirty/#ixzz1KcbZXlDY

[White Noise]

http://www.ealinggazette.co.uk/sport/fulham-fc-ealing/2011/04/26/senderos-set-for-fulham-debut-64767-28584681/


Senderos set for Fulham debut

Apr 26 2011



By Jacob Murtagh


MARK Hughes hopes to hand Philippe Senderos his Fulham debut before the end of the season.

The Switzerland defender has been sidelined since rupturing his Achilles in pre-season training after arriving on a free transfer from Arsenal.

His comeback has been delayed by niggling back, hamstring and calf injuries, but he has now returned to full training.

And boss Hughes wants to finally end his injury hell by giving him his first appearance in a white shirt.

He said: "Philippe's doing really well. He hasn't got the fitness of the majority of the squad because of the time he has had out.

"Rafik Halliche is a little bit ahead of him in terms of his fitness.

"We would like to get Philippe a taste of the action but we will have to wait and see."

[White Noise]

http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/52953/Black_Cats_count_the_cost_.aspx

Black Cats count the cost

Author:  Andrew Allen


Posted on:26 April 2011 - 10:30 AM


Phil Bardsley, Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan are all in a race against time to be fit for Sunderland's clash with Fulham on Saturday.

The euphoria of the win over Wigan, which all but secures their Premier League place for next season, was tempered by yet another round of injury problems for Steve Bruce's men.

Welbeck went into the game with a worry over his hamstring and limped out of the action with the problem, fellow striker Gyan was stretchered off with a similar problem and Bardsley left the field with concussion after clashing heads with Nedum Onuoha after just 10 minutes.

All three will be closely monitored this week as Bruce prepares a side to take on Fulham at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, but it is unlikely the trio will all be fit.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/April/EtuhuBoltonPreview.aspx?

Home Advantage

Fulham will have the opportunity to break back into the top ten on Wednesday evening when Bolton visit Craven Cottage.

And speaking to fulhamfc.com, midfielder Dickson Etuhu was keen to stress the importance of the Whites continuing their fine home form.

"We're not thinking about Bolton – we're thinking about us," the midfielder explained. "Respect to Bolton because they've done really well this season. We played at their place earlier on in the season and we got a draw in what was a tough game.

"Their manager, Owen Coyle, has done really well but when they come to our patch it's not going to be easy for them. We're playing at home and everyone knows Fulham are a good team at home.

"The Manager has a way he wants us to play and we're working hard on that – we believe we can win every game. We go into every game believing that we can win it and that's the case with the games we've got coming up this week.

"We're going to go out there and approach the game in the right manner but we believe we've got enough to win these games."

Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/April/EtuhuBoltonPreview.aspx?#ixzz1KdMp44P5

[WhiteJC]

http://www.eatsleepsport.com/fulham/top-10-on-etuhus-wish-list-1203776.html?

Top 10 on Etuhu's wish-list


Dickson Etuhu is targeting a win against Bolton on Wednesday which would propel Fulham back into the Premier League's top 10 places.
The midfielder is looking forward to the Cottagers' game in hand at Craven Cottage against a Trotters side that was in FA Cup semi-final action when the fixture was due to be played just over a week ago.

Bolton lost 5-0 to Stoke at Wembley and Etuhu wants to heap more misery on them by helping Mark Hughes' men continue their good home form, secure the points to fire them to guaranteed Premier League safety and also towards a top-10 finish.

Etuhu told the Fulham website: "We're not thinking about Bolton - we're thinking about us. Respect to Bolton because they've done really well this season. We played at their place earlier on in the season and we got a draw in what was a tough game.

"Their manager, Owen Coyle, has done really well but when they come to our patch it's not going to be easy for them. We're playing at home and everyone knows Fulham are a good team at home.

"The Manager has a way he wants us to play and we're working hard on that - we believe we can win every game. We go into every game believing that we can win it and that's the case with the games we've got coming up this week.

"We're going to go out there and approach the game in the right manner but we believe we've got enough to win these games."

[WhiteJC]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/football/article-23944413-fulham-sights-on-better-half.do?

Fulham sights on better half

Fulham will be aiming for the top half of the table when Bolton visit Craven Cottage tomorrow night.

Mark Hughes's team are 13th at present on 39 points, two behind 10th-placed Sunderland, and midfielder Dickson Etuhu said: "We're not thinking about Bolton - we're thinking about us. We believe we can win every game.

"We're going to go out there and approach the game in the right manner but we believe we've got enough to win these games."

Bolton striker Daniel Sturridge - on-loan from Chelsea - is likely to be fit. The 21-year-old was forced off with an ankle problem after scoring against Arsenal

[WhiteJC]

http://www.teamtalk.com/match/preview/978/6897784/Fulham-v-Bolton-preview?

Fulham v Bolton preview

Team news ahead of Wednesday night's Premier League clash between Fulham and Bolton at Craven Cottage (8pm).

Fulham captain Danny Murphy and star striker Bobby Zamora are expected to be fit to start.

A dead leg forced Murphy off during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Wolves, while Zamora was restricted to a late cameo after tweaking his back in training.

It remains to be seen whether winger Damien Duff has recovered sufficiently from his Achilles injury to return after two-and-a-half weeks out, while Philippe Senderos is still working his way back to full fitness having missed the entire season to date.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle is hoping striker Daniel Sturridge will have recovered from an ankle knock.

The on-loan Chelsea man scored his seventh goal in nine games in Sunday's 2-1 win over Arsenal but was forced off with the problem late in the game.

Sam Ricketts (Achilles), Sean Davis and Stuart Holden (knee) are all long-term absentees.

Fulham (from): Schwarzer, Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Salcido, Etuhu, Duff, Davies, Murphy, Sidwell, Dempsey, Duff, Dembele, Zamora, Johnson, Stockdale, Kelly, Gudjohnsen, Kakuta.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Robinson, Cahill, Wheater, Knight, Muamba, M Davies, Gardner, Petrov, K Davies, Elmander, Klasnic, Taylor, Alonso, Rodrigo, Cohen, Steinsson, Blake, Lee, Bogdan, Sturridge.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.eecho.ie/news/sport/murphy-and-zamora-set-to-return-for-bolton-clash-502742.html?

Murphy and Zamora set to return for Bolton clash

Fulham captain Danny Murphy and star striker Bobby Zamora are expected to be fit to start tomorrow's Barclays Premier League game with Bolton.

A dead leg forced Murphy off during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Wolves, while Zamora was restricted to a late cameo after tweaking his back in training.

It remains to be seen whether winger Damien Duff has recovered sufficiently from his Achilles injury to return after two-and-a-half weeks out, while Philippe Senderos is still working his way back to full fitness having missed the entire season to date.

Provisional squad: Schwarzer, Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Salcido, Etuhu, Duff, Davies, Murphy, Sidwell, Dempsey, Duff, Dembele, Zamora, Johnson, Stockdale, Kelly, Gudjohnsen, Kakuta.

[ToodlesMcToot]

Why Wolves should call Fulham 'dirty'


Tuesday 26th April 2011, 9:10AM BST.





Wolves columnist John Lalley saw the ugly side of Fulham as the row between the two sides erupted again on the pitch in a high-stake game at Molineux.

Intriguing elements of gamesmanship are constantly evolving in the game, but I can safely say that I've never caught sight of what Fulham striker Bobby Zamora tried last Saturday.

At first I was bemused when Zamora, before even touching the ball, raised his right arm the moment goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was in possession of the ball.

When the Fulham substitute continued his semaphore routine using thumb and digits to count the seconds, he resembled a boxing referee standing over a prostrate fighter with brains scrambled struggling to beat the count.

It turned out that Zamora was somehow trying to influence the referee into penalising Hennessey for holding onto possession for longer than the requisite six seconds.

On one occasion, Wayne – instead of taking not a blind bit of notice as he should have done – hastily booted the ball into touch and paid unnecessary heed to the pantomime performance on Zamora's agenda.

Clearly there was a genuine spill over of the ill feeling the two teams generated at Craven Cottage six months ago.

Fulham manager Mark Hughes made an exhibition of himself with his hysterical over-reaction after one of his players was routinely penalised.

His inaccurate bottle booting was a display of infantile petulance which, in retrospect, he should cringe about.

Banished to the stand, Hughes couldn't resist cupping his hand to his lughole when his team equalised, safe in the knowledge that a TV cameraman would dutifully record such a childish and predictable response.

The Fulham players engulfed their dugout after the goal and their wildly over the top celebrations said more about a residue of resentment than a run of the mill point that had been theirs for the taking virtually from the kick-off.

Clearly, should we take the drop there will be few tears shed in on the banks of the River Thames.

For our part, Richard Stearman set the ball rolling with a thoroughly ill-advised studs-showing lunge that risked immediate dismissal.

This was a worrying reoccurrence of the rash and reckless time-bomb that ticks resolutely within Stearman's DNA. Had he seen red, the consequences could have been calamitous.

Stearman is not a dirty player but there exists this latent urge that surfaces in spitefully ugly fashion from time to time, when all reason and common sense is shot to smithereens and he is left with not a shred of mitigation to excuse his lack of discipline.

It's a failing he needs to address with immediate effect, his sometimes inflammable temperament is not doing neither him nor the team any favours.

Karl Henry felt the need – understandably born out of immense frustration – to label Danny Murphy a 'bit of a big mouth' after the game and also to rake over the spat with Joey Barton to infer that referees have been influenced against Wolves after listening to criticism about our supposedly robust approach.

Henry's sense of injustice is easy to understand – Murphy's partial and less than objective summary of the Wolves tactics and the Match of the Day judiciary inviting the population to condemn Wolves without trial with Barton, of all people, turning Queen's evidence were both infuriating and demonstrably one-sided.

But, this time, I can't help feeling that the Wolves captain would have been better advised to say nothing.

Six months back when this nonsense started, Wolves were rattled and temporarily destabilised and Henry's over robust challenge leading to his dismissal at Wigan was the boil over at the sense of injustice, but events move on and so now should Karl. He has enough to occupy himself given our current predicament without raking over events of last September.

Years ago, the notoriously belligerent Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell engaged in a furious on field spat with his equally competitive England counterpart Tony Greig.

Asked to explain details of the set to by an inquisitive press afterwards, Chappell explained it this way "I said, good morning Tony and Tony answered, good morning Ian."

It's usually best to leave disagreements on the field instead of running off at the mouth in front of a microphone.

Anyway all this superfluous chat about Wolves being too physical, Murphy influencing referees or what personal vendettas were shaped six months ago, carries absolutely no weight in relation to our survival in this league.

Our level of performance has dipped alarmingly since the outstanding win at Villa and Karl Henry, players and management should turn their attention to identifying the reasons why.

Events from last September can look after themselves, I just hope we can look after the next four weeks.


Read more: http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2011/04/26/why-wolves-should-call-fulham-dirty/#ixzz1KcbZXlDY

Would've never guessed that Howard Stern was a Wolves supporter.

[White Noise]

Fulham duo Murphy and Zamora fit to face Bolton

Published 13:16 26/04/11


By MirrorFootball





Fulham captain Danny Murphy and star striker Bobby Zamora are expected to be fit to start tomorrow's Barclays Premier League game with Bolton.

A dead leg forced Murphy off during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Wolves, while Zamora was restricted to a late cameo after tweaking his back in training.

It remains to be seen whether winger Damien Duff has recovered sufficiently from his Achilles injury to return after two-and-a-half weeks out, while Philippe Senderos is still working his way back to full fitness having missed the entire season to date.

Provisional squad: Schwarzer, Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Salcido, Etuhu, Duff, Davies, Murphy, Sidwell, Dempsey, Duff, Dembele, Zamora, Johnson, Stockdale, Kelly, Gudjohnsen, Kakuta.



Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Fulham-duo-Danny-Murphy-and-Bobby-Zamora-fit-to-face-Bolton-article728255.html#ixzz1KdQIzk1Y