Wednesday Fulham Stuff (03.03.10)

[White Noise]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/player-ratings-2086618.html


Player Ratings



Wednesday March 03 2010

Shay Given 6

Ponderous with an early kick, but was otherwise unable to do much about the keynote incidents of the match. Did well to palm an early free-kick from Adriano over the bar, but was powerless to prevent Andrews own goal and became increasingly irate with his defenders amid second half chaos.

Stephen Kelly 5

Fulham defender made positive start, trying to supplement the attack before showing defensive prowess to get in the way of an Adriano strike which would have really tested Given. Quiet enough thereafter as Brazilians took control and Robinho continually slipped away from his marker.

Kevin Kilbane 6

Considering Kilbane has spent most of the winter on the subs bench, he performed reasonably well compared to some of his struggles in the World Cup campaign. First Brazilian goal did come from his side of the park, but arose from quick break that caught midfield napping. Spent most of second half chasing.

Paul McShane 5

After a competent opening, he started to become prominent for the wrong reasons by felling Kaka to start an ongoing battle with the Real Madrid star that was a sideshow to the opening goal. Had a fierce second half row with Given as well before ponderous nature almost gifted Brazil a present.

Sean St Ledger 6

A test for St Ledger in that his Irish education has primarily come alongside the steady hand of Richard Dunne. Has been consigned to Championship football since Paris and did well in the first half, but was increasingly exposed as game developed, with one second half howler to gift a chance to Dani Alves.

Glenn Whelan 6

Stoke man was prominent in the first half, although he gave the ball away on a couple of significant occasions -- particularly annoying Robbie Keane with one sloppy touch that brought a promising move to a conclusion. Combative enough before being called ashore early in the second half.

Liam Lawrence 5

Preferred to Aiden McGeady and Stephen Hunt after his fine play-off displays, even though he has been largely under-utilised at club level. Showed a degree of rustiness on the night and faded out of the game after the interval, compared to the first half when he was industrious enough in terms of his output.

Keith Andrews 5

Physical as ever in a difficult midfield battle, and began brightly as the Brazilians endured a difficult start. Unfortunate to find himself in the wrong place to open the scoring in the worst manner possible and was over-run after the interval when the opposition owned the ball and Whelan departed.

Kevin Doyle 7

The Wolves striker was given a resounding vote of confidence by Trapattoni before the game and proved that he can be a handful for defenders with his bustling energy and physical prowess. The closest he came to end product was a first half header that Julio Cesar was alert to palm away.

Robbie Keane 6

The Irish skipper started the game deeper than usual, roving in an attempt to offer creativity and support the midfield. Competent in that respect. However, he suffered a frustrating evening in and around the penalty box and seemed a bit more agitated than usual, dishing out a few bollockings to both team-mates and opponents.

Damien Duff 6

Probably the form player of this Irish side at club level and looked confident in his early involvement, when providing Maicon with a few hairy moments and producing some decent crosses from set-piece situations -- although it was a poor attempt that led to the Brazilian goal when a pass to Lawrence looked to be the better alternative.

[White Noise]

http://www.safc.com/news/20100303/noble-makes-england-u19-debut_2256213_1982489


Noble makes England U19 debut


Ryan Noble came off the bench for England under-19s in Holland last night.

Sunderland starlet Ryan Noble made his England U19 bow as the young Lions drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in Waalwijk.

The 17-year-old striker came off the bench just after the hour for his first taste of international football at under-19 level as England were denied a win by a late equaliser.

Jacob Mellis gave England a 7th-minute lead when he latched on to a pass from captain Matthew Briggs before finishing coolly.

The goal looked like it would be enough for Noel Blake's youngsters, but they were pegged back four minutes from time when a set-piece struck the unlucky Reece Brown and deflected in.

Noble, who has scored 34 goals for the reserve and youth teams this season, will now return to Wearside ahead of Saturday's Academy derby with Middlesbrough.

[White Noise]

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/editors-choice/Rowell-SAFC-v-Fulham-was.6114961.jp

Rowell: SAFC v Fulham was Sunday Worst

Gary Rowell


Published Date: 02 March 2010



This football column could easily be just one long diatribe against Sunderland this week and I don't think anyone could complain if it were.
The performance against Fulham was desperate and the game overall was horrible to watch.

More than 40,000 fans turned up to the Stadium of Light but there was rarely any danger of a game breaking out for them.

And anyone who tried to brand that as "entertainment", might find themselves in trouble under the Trade Descriptions Act.

It was an awful game and there's no point in shying away from it.

But we also have to appreciate that every performance at the moment is being cast in an unfavourable light through being viewed in the context of this seemingly never-ending winless run.

Shortcomings are amplified, missed opportunities count double in a run like this and patience gets ever shorter as the anxiety levels rise.

This run – which now extends to an agonising 14 league games without a win – is like a millstone around the neck, dragging down both the supporters and the players.

Until Sunderland can get that win, you won't see the same sort of team you saw at the start of the season.

And me, the fans, the players and I'm sure Steve Bruce will agree that it doesn't matter how that win comes – just so long as it comes.

After the Arsenal game and right up to match-day, I think the one phrase I heard over and over and over again was: "I don't care if it's an ugly 1-0 win against Fulham. I don't mind if we win ugly."

The performance has now become completely secondary to the result.

People really don't care how it happens or how awful the game is, just so long as they get that win.

Unfortunately on Sunday, they got only half the equation – an ugly game and still no win!

The worrying side of this is that these four home games we had pinpointed to turn our season around are now down to three, with no real progress.

And the most hurtful thing for my point of view is that this was the one game I thought we had most chance of winning. I know Bolton, the team we face next week, are below us, but I think that will be a tougher game than Fulham.

Fulham were coming in off a tough midweek game in the Europa League in the Ukraine. They'd travelled thousands of miles, had a punishing travel schedule and then returned home to find they were facing their longest away trip of their domestic season.

On top of that, they had to field the same starting 11 that they put out against the Ukranians.

If Bruce could have picked a time and a venue to face Fulham this season, he would have chosen the circumstances Fulham were facing at the end of last week.

But Sunderland just never got going in the final third and the Fulham defence, far from having tired bodies stretched to the limit, must have had one of their easiest afternoons of the season.

[White Noise]

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/10/03/03/SOCCER_England_Under-21_Pearce.html&TEAMHD=soccer

Defender Chris Smalling admits seeing the likes of Shawcross, Leighton Baines and Joe Hart called into the senior set-up has given the rest of the players added incentive on Wednesday night.

"It drives everyone on," he said. "The competition's very healthy and we all get on in training, and to see players like that step up gives us the chance to go out there in the big game that it is and hopefully everyone can step up."

England drew their away fixture with Greece last year but Smalling, who will join Manchester United from Fulham at the end of the season, is confident they can take the three points this time.

"When we went over there we had a very good game but I think, coming to our home ground, hopefully we can exert the early pressure and get the win to put us at the top of the group," he added.

"Hopefully this game will put us on the road to that major tournament and we're all looking forward to that next summer."

[White Noise]

Support The Academy

Wednesday 3rd March 2010


Fulham FC News

Fulham's U18 Academy side are replicating the success of the Club's First Team in cup competitions this season.

Once Roy Hodgson's side have battled Spurs for a place in the Semi-Final of the FA Cup this Saturday, it will be the turn of Fulham's U18 side on Tuesday evening.

Gary Brazil's side will be challenging Aston Villa in the FA Youth Cup Quarter Final on Tuesday night (KO 7pm) and supporters are encouraged to head down to the Cottage and get behind the boys.

Gary Brazil's side have earned their place in the FA Youth Cup Quarter Final following impressive wins over Stockport, Bolton and Ipswich.

Tickets can be bought (cash only) on the turnstiles at the Cottage on Tuesday night.

FA Youth Cup Ticket Prices
Adults: £4

Concessions & Juniors: £1


Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/March/AcademyQuarterFinal.aspx#ixzz0h7O9gGUv

[White Noise]

http://betting.betfair.com/football/fa-cup/fa-cup-betting-expect-plenty-of-goals-this-weekend-030310.html

A Cup Betting: Expect plenty of goals this weekend

FA Cup  / Andrew Atherley / 03 March 2010 / Leave a comment


Bobby Zamora's Fulham host Spurs in the FA Cup this weekend and over 2.5 goals is definitely the call

Andrew Atherley tells us why the stats don't lie and backing over 2.5 goals across the board in this weekend's FA Cup ties should prove to be a winning formula.

"Looking at this weekend's all-Premier ties, over 2.5 goals is favoured in Chelsea v Stoke at 1.66 – just as you would expect in a league match. But in the other two matches in that category – Fulham v Tottenham and Portsmouth v Birmingham – there appears to be some value in over 2.5 goals, which is a firm outsider in both cases."

Three of this weekend's FA Cup quarter-finals are all-Premier League affairs and a key question for Betfair punters is whether to treat these matches any differently because they are in the cup instead of the league.

In one important respect at least, the answer is probably yes. The Premier League five-year average for under/over 2.5 goals is 54% in favour of unders, but all-Premier League ties at this stage of the FA Cup tend more strongly towards over 2.5 goals - the five-year average is 57% overs.

That average comes from a much smaller sample than the league figures, but extending the period to ten seasons there is an even stronger trend towards over 2.5 goals in all-Premier League meetings in the FA Cup, with 68% over 2.5 goals (a figure that doesn't change when replays are included).

Looking at this weekend's all-Premier ties, over 2.5 goals is favoured in Chelsea v Stoke at 1.66 - just as you would expect in a league match. But in the other two matches in that category - Fulham v Tottenham and Portsmouth v Birmingham - there appears to be some value in over 2.5 goals, which is a firm outsider in both cases.

Over 2.5 goals is 2.22 to back at Fulham and 2.46 at Portsmouth, even though the stats indicate that matches at this stage of the competition tend to produce more goals than the normal expectation - probably because teams are more likely to go for goals in a knockout tie.

[White Noise]

http://hammyend.com/?p=5783

Random Fulham photo of the day

by Dan on March 2, 2010

The teamsheet from Sunderland.

[White Noise]

http://www.thefa.com/England/MensUnder-21Team/MatchCentre/2010/EnglandGreece/MatchPreviews/ChrisSmalling.aspx

Men's Under-21 Team


Smalling eyes big chance


By Jamie Bradbury - Wednesday, 03 March, 2010

The Fulham defender aims for England glory against Greece.

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England Under-21s defender Chris Smalling is hoping he can build on a whirlwind season as the Three Lions prepare to face Greece in Doncaster this evening.

The Fulham man recently agreed to join Premier League giants Manchester United in the summer, 18 months after his arrival at Craven Cottage from non-League Maidstone.

He has also collected three caps for Stuart Pearce's men, and has started the last two games, including the 1-0 victory over Portugal at Wembley in November.

Having made his Fulham debut from the bench on the last day of last season his first start came against CSKA Moscow in September. Smalling's first appearance for the Under-21s arrived in Holland in August and after just nine games for the Cottagers he agreed to move to Old Trafford in the summer.

"At the minute things are going at such a fast rate, it's one thing after another," Smalling admitted. "It's all exciting at the minute, and came out of the blue. I was very much concentrating on Fulham, but it's a huge opportunity for me.

"When you have one of the biggest clubs in the world considering you it's just a massive compliment. Everything was done in January, now I can just focus on playing for Fulham.

"We started the season strong, we're still in two competitions, so hopefully we can finish well."

Next on his agenda, though, is Greece at the Keepmoat Stadium, where a win will put England in pole position in Group Nine with two games to go. And there's an added incentive for Smalling and his team-mates, after seeing a number of Under-21s make the step up into Fabio Capello's Senior set-up.

"That certainly drives everyone on," said the 20-year-old. "The competition's healthy in this squad and we all get on in training, so to see players step up gives us the boost to go out there and make the most of our opportunities."

And Smalling knows the importance of a result against the current group leaders this evening.

"I think when we went over there it was a very good game. We got the draw but hopefully here, at home, we can exert the early pressure and we can get that win to put us clear at the top of the group.

"This game will hopefully put us on the road to a major tournament and it's something we'll all want to be a part of next summer."

Smalling's progress into top-flight football and England recognition is a similar path previously trodden by his Under-21s Coach. Pearce was a player with non-League Wealdstone before he moved to Coventry City, then Nottingham Forest, on the way to 78 England caps.

But while he would love to follow in Pearce's footsteps, he has also drawn comparisons to another England defender, Rio Ferdinand, who he may soon be linking up with at Old Trafford, but the Greenwich-born defender was modest with the praise.

"My first Under-21s call-up was in August and he's always been there and has offered a helping hand," Smalling said of the Coach. "Where he came from he's proved that as long as you work hard and have the ability then you can go far in the game.

"When you're young and you see someone playing in the same position, you'll look at how they play. Rio has played so many games for Manchester United and England and is considered a world class player. But I'm a long way off being compared to him."

[White Noise]

Fulham v Spurs


FA Cup Quarter-Final


Saturday 6 March


Kick-Off 17:20

 

The Whites will be looking to reach Wembley for the first time since the FA Cup Final in 1975 when Roy Hodgson's in-form side take on Spurs in the FA Cup Quarter-Final at Craven Cottage this Saturday, 6th March (kick-off 5:20pm).

With a place in the Semi-Finals at stake, Roy and the team need your support as they look to take another step closer to Wembley!

The Club would like to recreate the same wonderful atmosphere recently produced at our home match against FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Your support made the difference and will, once again, prove vital on Saturday.

With the match set to sell out in the coming days, we urge you to purchase your tickets now to avoid missing out on this special occasion.

 

Buy tickets now|

 
Hospitality Options
Alternatively, why not watch the game in style with one of our last remaining hospitality packages. Hospitality has sold out in many areas and we now only have limited availability in our Riverside restaurant, Executive Suites and on our fantastic Harrods Matchday Experience.
Read more |




 

   

On-sale dates     

Tickets are now on sale to Season Ticket Holders and Members (4 tickets)

Season Ticket Holders who are on the Home Cup Tie Scheme will automatically have their ticket loaded onto their Season Ticket Access Card. If your are on the Cup Scheme and your payment card details have recently changed, please inform the Ticket Office on 0870 442 1234 opt 3 (Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm).

Buy tickets now|

Advance booking prices
Adults  £25
Concessions (over 65 and under 21s)  £15
Juniors (under 16) £10

Matchday price
Adults £30
Concessions (over 65 and under 21s)  £20
Juniors (under 16) £15   
How to Buy Tickets
buy tickets online  - 7 days a week, 24 hrs a day. Save on booking fees by booking online*
by phone on 0870 442 1234 (option 1) - 7 days a week, 24 hrs a day
in person from the Ticket Office: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; non-match day Sat 10am-12pm
by fax 0207 384 4810 (download printable form )
by postal application to FFC Ticket Office, Stevenage Road, Fulham, SW6 6HH enclosing a stamped addressed envelope (download printable form )
Seatwave - the official fan-to-fan ticket exchange
Thomas Cook - match breaks for all Fulham FC home games


* Lower booking fees compared to telephone booking


Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Tickets/Games/FACup6thRound.aspx#ixzz0h7QTTPb3

[White Noise]

Fulham – Tottenham

The Cottagers held the Black Cats to a stalemate last Sunday taking their Premier league streak to five consecutive undefeated encounters. However, having failed to shoot on target at least once, it was no surprise that the Fulham goalkeeper was the best man on the pitch for Hodgson's side.

Back home Fulham should play more at ease although there is no denying that the four games following this FA Cup encounter will serve as a distraction. They will be meeting the two Manchester teams and Juventus twice.

Ahead of the visit to Juventus' Olimpico Hodgson might give a rest to few of his key men. He does want to make a better impression than that of his last return to Italy when Fulham lost 2-1 at Roma's Olimpico.

Tottenham, which defeated a hard-headed Everton at White Hart Lane last weekend, have targeted the fourth place after managing to climb up there on level points with Mancini's City.

This match does prove a distraction for both teams so there should be no surprises if it ends in the same manner it finished when they met at Craven Cottage on Boxing Day, that is 0-0.

Bentley and King might make a return in this match for Tottenham. Fulham should recover Konchesky and are waiting on Murphy for a comeback.


Verdict: X

Neither manager will want to waste much energies on this game. Fulham have their sights set on the Europa League whilst city rivals Tottenham have targeted qualification to the Champions League.


Read more: http://www.bettingexpert.com/league_preview.php?id=583#ixzz0h7XntlGt

[White Noise]

http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/34983/Burnley_Fulham_and_Wigan_in_shock_battle_for_Europe.aspx

Burnley, Fulham and Wigan in shock battle for Europe


Author:  Nigel Brown


Posted on:03 March 2010 - 12:45




Premier League trio Burnley, Wigan Atheltic, and Fulham are ready to battle it out for a surprise Europa League spot. England are currently third in the UEFA Fair Play rankings and if they finish the campaign in the top three one of the Clarets, Cottagers, or Latics would be in pole position to claim a place in Europe next season.

At this point in time Burnley, Wigan Athetic, and Fulham are the highest placed sides who could claim the award. Despite this, Burnley are currently fighting a relegation battle in the Premier League under new manager Brian Laws, and even if the Clarets were relegated they would still be entitled to the European slot if they finish the highest in the Premier League Fair Play table.

Wigan Athletic are aiming for a top half finish in Roberto Martinez's first season, while Fulham are currently fighting it out in the last 16 of the Europa League after beating holders Shakhtar Donetsk to set up a glamour tie against Italian giants Juventus. If Fulham win the Europa League it would mean that the next best placed team in the Fair Play table would claim the slot in the Europa League for next season.

The current standings of the Premier League Fair Table are:

1 Fulham 32 1 34
2 Manchester City 34 2 38
3 Arsenal 41 0 41
4 Manchester United 34 4 42
5 Burnley 38 2 42
6 Aston Villa 41 2 45
7 Chelsea 38 4 46
8  Wigan Athletic 44 1 46
9 Blackburn Rovers 44 2 48
10 Everton 46 2 50
11 Tottenham Hotspur 48 1 50
12 Birmingham 49 1 51
13 Liverpool 43 5 53
14 West Ham United 47 3 53
15 Wolverhampton Wanderers 48 3 54
16 Bolton Wanderers 51 2 55
17 Hull City 49 4 57
18 Stoke City 50 4 58
19 Portsmouth 57 4 65
20 Sunderland 58 6 70

[White Noise]

Juventus Screening

Wednesday 3rd March 2010


Fulham FC News Powered by 


Roy Hodgson's Team face two-time European Champions Juventus in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League, with the first leg taking place in Turin on Thursday 11th March.

Don't worry if you can't make it to the game, as you can cheer the Team on with fellow Fulham fans at one of our stylish bars at the Cottage (from 6pm, Thursday 11 March).

We are also offering a great value food and drink deal - a beer and a pie for just £5 .

Arguably the biggest match in the Club's history, this is a game you won't want to miss!

Register your interest
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Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/March/JuventusScreening.aspx#ixzz0h7uHhBN8