Sunday Fulham Stuff (14/08/11)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Damn Cheek of It!

Word reaches us that we`re being treated a second class citizens.

Having qualified for the final round of qualifying fixtures and having been drawn to take on Dnipro, it transpires that we were scheduled ot play the first leg of the two leg tie at Craven Cottage.

However, it appears that UEFA ordered us to play away in the first leg as they had reservations about Fulham and Spurs both being at home on the same night, what with Spurs playing in the same competition.

Anyone care to explain why we should switch and not them?



Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=250953#ixzz1UzvwSlYh

[WhiteJC]

 
Mark Walton's charity cycle ride
by DAN on AUGUST 14, 2011

Interesting piece in the Norwich Evening News about a cycle ride by former Canaries midfielder Jeremy Goss cycling 13,000 miles to Italy to raise money for the blind. It seems Goss got some valuable help from former Fulham goalkeeper Mark Walton:

He paid particular tribute to former City and Fulham goalkeeper Mark Walton, who has accompanied Mr Goss on the ride, driving a back-up motor home and acting as navigator on the 1300-mile journey.

He added: "Wally has been truly magnificent. He's looked out for me every inch of the way and kept me going when things got tough."

Walton made 48 appearances for Fulham after signing from Bolton Wanderers in August 1996. He was a regular in goal as Micky Adams' side won promotion from Division Three in 1996-97 and, after the arrival of Ray Wilkins and Kevin Keegan, eventually signed for Gillingham in February 1998 for £40,000.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2011/08/mark-waltons-charity-cycle-ride/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Preparation Impaired?

I was one of those who believed that playing competitive football, albeit in the Europa League, would stand us in good stead for the start of the Premier League season.

I thought it`d be better than playing meaningless friendly fixtures which would degenerate into a substitution fest in the second forty-five minutes.

Now I`m not quite so sure.

I`m not quite sure the calibre of opposition we encountered in those early Europa League qualifying rounds was sufficient enough to thoroughly prepare us.

Yesterday, against Aston Villa, we looked a little of the pace in the first half and not able to turn possession into chances.

After the 0-0 encounter, Martin Jol had a few comments for the media, comments that could be seen to, almost, second my own thoughts,

"To be back in the Premier League was a great feeling."

"We didn`t pass the ball well enough in the first half, but at least we changed a few things in the second half."

Perhaps we should be thankful we started against Villa and not one of the top teams otherwise we could be contemplating a poor start to the season!



Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=250955#ixzz1V0Yz03lj

[WhiteJC]

 
Cottage chief bemoans average display

Martin Jol gave Fulham a mark of only "six and a half" out of 10 after their 0-0 draw against Aston Villa.
Chances were few and far between for both sides but the game ended in a stalemate as the defences came out on top.

Jol, taking charge of the Cottagers in the Premier League for the first time, said: "We had three good chances but, for a home match, I would like to have more control, more initiative and we have to score at first.

"So, 0-0 at home, you can't say that is a very good result."

He added: "The first half, I thought they kept the ball better than we did and we looked nervous. We didn't keep the ball well enough for a home game.

"But the second half, especially the first 20 minutes, was good. If you're in their half, you have to keep the ball, and that is what I thought we did better in the second half."



http://www.eatsleepsport.com/fulham/cottage-chief-bemoans-average-display-1260750.html?#.TkfIBnPHo98

[WhiteJC]

 
Cottagers line up Spanish raid

Fulham are one of three Premier League sides reportedly set to battle it out for the loan services of Real Madrid winger Pedro Leon.
The 24-year-old is looking to secure a move out of the Bernabeu having grown disillusioned with life under Jose Mourinho after making just ten appearances last term following his arrival from Getafe in an £8.74million deal 12 months ago.

Chelsea and Hercules failed with attempts to take Leon on loan last season, while it is now being claimed that the player is looking to secure a move to England before the end of the current transfer window.

And, that has seemingly alerted Cottagers chief Martin Jol, who is on the lookout for a right-sided midfielder, while Everton and Aston Villa are the other clubs being credited with an interest.



http://www.eatsleepsport.com/fulham/cottagers-line-up-spanish-raid-1260738.html?#.TkfIZ3PHo98

[WhiteJC]

 
Blind analysis – Fulham Villa



Average position charts from ESPN.  Things to note:

Looks like the team's going for a sort of old school imbalanced back four.   This is not uncommon in football's history, and attacking full-backs are an important part of the game now.   At Barcelona they have a system in which Dani Alves storms forward, whereas the left back is less progressive and Sergio Busquets drops back while Alves raids.   Riise is clearly going to play a very aggressive role on the left, so I can see how – for now – the three centre-backs will shuffle over to cover for this.  You can see how much more advanced Riise was than Hughes.

Also interesting are the relative positions of Murphy and Etuhu.  The annoying Murphy/legs gone platitudes we see on message boards were missing Murphy's fine contribution to the team, but it's also true that Murphy is at an age where footballers typically lose something.  He had played a more defensive role under Hughes, a sort of Pirlo job that maximised his attacking and defensive talents, while Etuhu was off the leash a bit more, and Sidwell was much more box-to-box.   This time Etuhu seems to have sat deep and Murphy played ahead of him.  I didn't see the game – at a wedding – but interesting to see how this shapes up.

We seemed to be challenging the Villa inside right channel with Duff, Zamora and AJ all prominent in that area.   This would fit with the Riise thing earlier – overload the right with attacking players where Hughes isn't going to do too much, create space on the left for Riise.  It should be a productive tactic, especially with Dempsey cutting inside. Opposing teams will have to respect him, which really should give Riise a lot of fun this season.  Worth keeping an eye on.



http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/blind-analysis-fulham-villa/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham Chasing Winger!

It`s fair to say that Martin Jol`s signings have been steady rather than spectacular so far.

But could that be about to all change?

One member of the Sunday tabloid fraternity has Fulham firmly in the race to sign Pedro Leon from Real Madrid.

Leon, a 24 year old winger, has failed to nail down a place in the real Madrid first eleven since Jose Mourinho took over and having turned down a move to Getafe is casting his eyes towards the Premier League.

Naturally, we have rivals for his signature with Everton and Aston Villa pitched against us.

Fingers crossed everyone this could be a great signing if we can pull it off!




Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=250959#ixzz1V0aGuFEW

[WhiteJC]

 
A Heartfelt Apology To Shay Given From An Aston Villa Cynic

The problem with writing down all my thoughts on Aston Villa is that they're kept for posterity -- and if I'm wrong about something, those words can be thrown back in my face. But I've never been more happy to be wrong than right now, having watched Shay Given against Fulham yesterday. My usual cynical self was rather dismissive when Aston Villa signed the goalkeeper, but now, I'm ready to kiss his keeper gloves.

In this week's Friday Feedback, both Aaron and I said we thought Charles N'Zogbia would be a more valuable signing than Given. Having seen Blazing Roaches in action for during the first half yesterday, I still stand by that statement. But it was premised on the idea that keepers have less of an impact on the game than outfield players. I'm not sure anyone who saw the Fulham match yesterday would think that Given's presence had little significance.



If it weren't for our new keeper, there would have certainly been a goal by Fulham, possibly more. He saved a shot by Andy Johnson, pushed away one from Bobby Zamora before sliding in to stop another, and probably more that aren't on the highlights package. It sure felt like more, standing in the away end at Craven Cottage, heart in mouth. While our central defense was fairly solid yesterday, there's still a definite weakness on the right, in the form of Luke Young. Given made up for that, thank goodness.

There are still areas in our squad that need strengthening. There are choices to be made that might not make Alex McLeish more popular. But at least I can say that the Villa can rest easy on the goalkeeping front.



http://www.7500toholte.com/2011/8/14/2362303/aston-villa-shay-given-fulham?

[WhiteJC]

 
Given gives McLeish a helping hand
Soccer:  Alex McLeish admitted Shay Given had got him and Aston Villa off the hook with a point-saving debut in yesterday's Premier League opener at Fulham. McLeish was not exactly welcomed with open arms at Villa Park and defeat would have provided ammunition to his critics.

And but for new signing Given, that could easily have been the outcome today, the Republic of Ireland star making several saves in what was otherwise a pretty dire goalless draw.

McLeish said: "The bottom line is, when there was all the furore, I always said it's about results. We started the league with a very good away point."

He added of Given, who Villa rescued from his Manchester City nightmare last month: "His experience tells him when to go into the right positions. You might have seen other goalies diving for one of the two that came point-blank at him, but that's the experience of a great goalkeeper."

Any antagonism towards McLeish from the hordes of travelling Villa fans was drowned out by their new-season optimism as they gave team and manager a rousing reception as they entered the field.

"I was very, very pleased to walk across the turf and the Villa fans were very appreciative," McLeish said. "I was delighted with it.

Supporters would have left ambivalent about what they saw, with Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer not having had a serious shot to save.

But McLeish insisted a draw was a good result.

"I don't consider it a bad one, that's for sure," he said. "Anyone coming here, I think will find it hard. Fulham have taken some massive scalps at Craven Cottage over the years."




http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/soccer/2011/0814/1224302433893.html?