Friday Fulham Stuff (26/08/11)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham target Moroccan ace Assaidi but face fight with PSG



Fulham face competition from Paris Saint Germain to sign Moroccan international Oussama Assaidi, according to reports in France.

The midfielder is being tracked by Fulham after the player caught Martin Jol's eye when he was in charge of Ajax.

But Jol's hopes of signing the Heerenveen star have been dealt a blow by the news that big-spending PSG are also interested in the 23-year-old.

The Qatari-backed club have been spending heavily and their interest, would drive the price up for a player considered one of the most talented youngsters in Holland.



http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/1023/99/fulham-target-moroccan-ace-assaidi-face-fight-psg?

[WhiteJC]

 
Pardew Focuses On Fulham

Fulham have not enjoyed the best of starts to the Barclays Premier League campaign, with a draw and a defeat from their opening two games, but Alan Pardew believes their performances have been better than their results suggest.

Martin Jol's side began the season with a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at Craven Cottage before losing 2-0 at Wolves last weekend to leave them with just one point so far.

But the Cottagers have progressed to the Europa League group stages after overcoming Ukrainian side FC Dnipro and Pardew expects them to enjoy another good year after finishing in the top ten in two of the last three seasons.

"From what I've seen, sometimes the right results don't reflect the performances," said the Magpies manager. "I think their performances have been very strong and they've got some very good players.

"They'll have another strong season.

"They're a good defensive unit and they're playing a little bit more expansively under Martin Jol, so that's a little tweak on their style.

"And obviously we're tweaking our style a little bit. We haven't actually got it as I want it yet but (Yohan) Cabaye probably had his best game last night and was starting to influence things for us and making us look a bit different."

Both teams were in action on Thursday, and Pardew accepts that tiredness could come into play at St. James' - so he plans to make full use of his squad over the 90 minutes.

He said: "I think both managers, myself and Martin, will be looking at our side and looking for fatigue around the 60, 70 minute mark and maybe need to freshen the team up.

"Certainly I think we'll both use 14 players. You have to remember it's a squad game in the Premiership and the competitions you're in.

"Our squad has come through with flying colours in the first three and now we have a big game on Sunday."




http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20110826/pardew-focuses-on-fulham_2281670_2432971?

[WhiteJC]

 
Davies Knee Woe

Having sustained a knee injury during our first Europa League qualification match, news has broken that will not please Fulham supporters.

Sky Sports are reporting that Simon Davies could be out for a further five months due to complications related t the original knee problem.

We`ll provide further details when they are available!




Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=252786#ixzz1W9TcWHBA

[WhiteJC]

 
Blow for Fulham as midfielder Davies is ruled out for five months with knee injury

Fulham midfielder Simon Davies faces up to five months on the sidelines after suffering complications with a knee injury.

The 31-year-old was expected to be back in the Cottagers set-up soon after returning to training but the injury is more complicated than first thought.

Davies is still experiencing problems with the bone in his right knee and could now be out until next year.


Setback: Simon Davies faces a spell on the sidelines for a further five months

'Simon has a pretty tough injury,' said manager Martin Jol. 'He will be out for the next couple of months.'

When questioned further, the Dutchman added: 'It is a technical thing. It could be four to five months.'




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2030463/Simon-Davies-ruled-Fulham.html#ixzz1W9TpWo3a

[WhiteJC]

 
Team News

After touching down in London in the early hours of Friday morning, Fulham's players returned to Motspur Park for a recovery session on Friday afternoon ahead of Sunday's Barclays Premier League match against Newcastle United at St. James' Park.

Manager Martin Jol spoke to the press ahead of training and revealed that the fitness of Bobby Zamora and John Arne Riise will be assessed on Friday afternoon as the Dutchman prepares his Team for Sunday's match.

"We've got a few knocks from the match on Thursday evening but we'll make an assessment [on the players] this afternoon," explained Jol. "There were a few players with ice packs after the game but I don't think it will be a problem.

"We've got seven or eight players who will take part in a proper training session but the rest will be in for a recovery session. It's not a priority to load them this afternoon or make it an intensive session.

"Of course Bobby [Zamora] is still a doubt for the game on Sunday against Newcastle. We will make an assessment on Bobby this afternoon but he's fifty-fifty.

"John Arne Riise had to come off after 20 minutes on Thursday night so he'll be a doubt for Sunday. He will go for a scan today an after that the Club's Medical team will let me know.

"I think John is one of the best left backs in the business. He wanted to come back to England and we were very happy to get him. I couldn't let the opportunity to sign him pass us by. It was disappointing he got injured last night because he's such a good player."



Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/August/NewcastleTeamNews.aspx?#ixzz1W9UER8Xm

[WhiteJC]

 
Zamora and Riise doubtful for Newcastle
by DAN on AUGUST 26, 2011

Bobby Zamora and John Arne Riise are Fulham's main injury concerns ahead of Sunday's trip to Newcastle.

Zamora has missed Fulham's two fixtures due to ankle complaint, while Riise was substituted in the first half of Fulham's Europa League defeat to Dnipro last night with a knee injury. Martin Jol says that the pair will be assessed after training this afternoon – with Riise going for a scan on his knee problem – and monitored in the run-up to Sunday's game at St. James' Park.

We've got a few knocks from the match on Thursday evening but we'll make an assessment this afternoon. There were a few players with ice packs after the game but I don't think it will be a problem.

We've got seven or eight players who will take part in a proper training session but the rest will be in for a recovery session. It's not a priority to load them this afternoon or make it an intensive session.

Of course Bobby [Zamora] is still a doubt for the game on Sunday against Newcastle. We will make an assessment on Bobby this afternoon but he's fifty-fifty.

John Arne Riise had to come off after 20 minutes on Thursday night so he'll be a doubt for Sunday. He will go for a scan today an after that the Club's Medical team will let me know.

I think John is one of the best left backs in the business. He wanted to come back to England and we were very happy to get him. I couldn't let the opportunity to sign him pass us by. It was disappointing he got injured last night because he's such a good player.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2011/08/zamora-and-riise-doubtful-for-newcastle/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Simon Davies Update

The Club can confirm that Simon Davies will have a minor operation on his right knee, and the initial prognosis is a 3 month rehabilitation process following surgery.



Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/August/SimonDaviesUpdate.aspx?#ixzz1W9UhyA3k

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham face Champions League dropouts

Fulham will face FC Twente from Holland, Odense from Denmark and Wisla Krakow from Poland in Group K of the Europa League.
Boss Martin Jol will know all about the Dutch club, who won the title under Steve McClaren when Jol was in charge of Ajax.

Twente, who are the group seeds, missed out on Champions League qualification this week when they lost 3-1 to Benfica in Lisbon to go out 5-3 on aggregate.

Their star player Bryan Ruiz has been linked to Fulham but, according to chairman Joop Munsterman, was not interested in a switch to Craven Cottage.

Fulham have also shown interest in Twente winger Nacer Chadli and the liklihood of the club holding onto their best players has decreased now they have dropped out of the Champions League.

Odense finished second in the Danish Superliga last season and failed to get past Villarreal in the Champions League qualifiers this week.

Their star player is Nigerian forward Peter Utaka, who scored 14 league goals last season, but they also have the experienced Eric Djemba-Djemba in midfield once of Manchester United.

Wisla complete a trio of Champions League dropouts in the group - the Polish club having been stunned 3-2 on aggregate by Cyriot side APOEL.

They also have a strong Dutch influence with coach Robert Maaskrant and several players brought in from Eredivisie clubs by sporting director Stan Valckx.




http://www.eatsleepsport.com/fulham/fulham-face-champions-league-dropouts-1270537.html?#.TlfGN3PHo98

[WhiteJC]

 
Draw Reaction

Following Friday afternoon's UEFA Europa League draw, Fulham Manager Martin Jol spoke of his belief that Fulham can progress through Group K despite the fierce competition his team will face against FC Twente, Odense BK and Wisla Kraków.

"It's obviously a tough group," Jol told fulhamfc.com. "We were in pot two so we weren't in the strongest group of teams but I think the other teams in our group will recognise us as a strong team. I feel that it's a tough group for all the teams involved.

"We're a Premier League side and we've got the quality to make it difficult for all the teams in our group.

"It's about how strong you can be as a team on the Thursday and if we've got our strongest team I think we've got a good chance to go through to the next stage.

"Of course you always need a bit of luck, as we did when we reached the Final in 2010. It raised the profile of the Club and the players so it's an important competition for us."




Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/August/EuropaDrawReaction.aspx?#ixzz1W9VFFKr9

[WhiteJC]

 
Newcastle v FULHAM: Zamora and Riise doubts for trip to St James' Park

Fulham pair Bobby Zamora and John Arne Riise are doubts for Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash at Newcastle.

The England international striker missed Thursday night's Europa League play-off against Dnipro with an ankle injury and is rated 50-50 for the match at St James' Park.

Riise was forced off with a groin problem and has had a scan, while Simon Davies could face a further five months out with a knee injury.


Crocked: Riise picked up a knock during the defeat to Dnipro

Provisional squad: Schwarzer, Etheridge, Kelly, JA Riise, Hangeland, Baird, Senderos, Hughes, Halliche, Sidwell, Kasami, Murphy, Gecov, Duff, Etuhu, Dempsey, Johnson, Dembele, Zamora.




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2030492/Newcastle-v-Fulham-Bobby-Zamora-John-Arne-Riise-doubts.html#ixzz1W9VSLxB1

[WhiteJC]

 
Newcastle    v    Fulham
Barclays Premier League
Venue: St James' Park Date: Sunday, 28 August Kick-off: 1300 BST Coverage: Watch highlights on Match of the Day; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles

TEAM NEWS
Newcastle are expected to begin life without midfielder Joey Barton, meaning Dan Gosling or Sylvain Marveaux could get a run in the team.

Shola Ameobi is a doubt, while Hatem Ben Arfa, Steve Harper and Mike Williamson are injured.

Fulham suffered a blow when John Arne Riise was carried off with a leg injury in the Europa League clash with Dnipro.

In further bad news, Simon Davies has been ruled out for five months.

MATCH PREVIEW
I was interested to read Mick McCarthy's comments about qualifying for the Europa League through a Uefa Fair Play Award: "If we get anywhere near that Fair Play thing, I'm going to tackle someone down the tunnel," was the opinion of the Wolves boss.

It's safe to say he's not a fan of that route into European football; yet that is the way that Fulham got into Europe this season, and after a long journey back from the Ukraine the match at Newcastle will already be Fulham's 11th of the season.

There's no doubt that there'll be a spring in the step of every Newcastle fan after last weekend's victory at Sunderland. Although there will surely be plenty of questions asked about the make up of their team for this match given the imminent departure of Joey Barton to QPR, who, incidentally, are Newcastle's next opponents on 12 September.

With Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique having also moved on in recent weeks Newcastle's squad is not the biggest, but four points from their opening two fixtures is a very good start to the campaign.

Martin Jol didn't want to blame tiredness for last weekend's defeat to Wolves at Molineux, but it will be a far more valid reason if Fulham don't pick up three points this weekend - and it won't only be the players who might be a touch fatigued.

The lunchtime start means Fulham's fans using official coaches will be leaving Craven Cottage at 5.15 in the morning for the 1pm kick off.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

Fulham lead the overall head-to-head count by 26 wins to 24, with 13 draws.
Last season's encounter at St James' Park ended 0-0, Fulham won the reverse fixture 1-0 at Craven Cottage.
Newcastle

Newcastle's win over Sunderland was only their second in their last nine league matches.
Cheick Tiote had been booked in his previous six games before the win over Sunderland. He has never gone more than three matches without a yellow card in the division, according to Infostrada.
Fulham

Fulham have kept clean sheets in 10 of their last 15 competitive games (including Europa League qualifiers). They have shut out their opponents in four of their last seven Premier League matches.
Fulham conceded just 23.3% of their goals last season from set pieces, the lowest proportion in the top flight.
They also conceded just one penalty, fewer than any other Premier League side.
This will be their 11th match of the season.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14606026.stm?

[WhiteJC]

 
Lawro's prediction


By the looks of things so far, Fulham are good at home and average away, but the biggest factor for Cottagers boss Martin Jol is that his side have to travel back from a Europa League match in the Ukraine for this game.

Jol says his side were not tired from playing in the same competition before last week's defeat at Molineux but, whether they were or not, Wolves boss Mick McCarthy was clever to make something out of it for his team.

Newcastle were excellent in what turned out to be quite a strange derby game against Sunderland last week, and I can see them getting another three points here.

We don't know whether Jol has finished his spending ahead of deadline day next week but I think Alan Pardew will definitely be bringing somebody in. He is actively looking for a striker, and after watching them against Sunderland, you can tell he needs one.

Prediction: 1-0



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/football_focus/14617155.stm

[WhiteJC]

 
Jol set for Dutch dates

Fulham will face FC Twente from Holland, Odense from Denmark and Wisla Krakow from Poland in Group K of the Europa League.

Boss Martin Jol will know all about the Dutch club, who won the title under Steve McClaren when Jol was in charge of Ajax.

Twente, who are the group seeds, missed out on Champions League qualification this week when they lost 3-1 to Benfica in Lisbon to go out 5-3 on aggregate.

Their star player Bryan Ruiz has been linked to Fulham but, according to chairman Joop Munsterman, was not interested in a switch to Craven Cottage.

Fulham have also shown interest in Twente winger Nacer Chadli and the liklihood of the club holding onto their best players has decreased now they have dropped out of the Champions League.

Odense finished second in the Danish Superliga last season and failed to get past Villarreal in the Champions League qualifiers this week.

Their star player is Nigerian forward Peter Utaka, who scored 14 league goals last season, but they also have the experienced Eric Djemba-Djemba in midfield once of Manchester United.

Wisla complete a trio of Champions League dropouts in the group - the Polish club having been stunned 3-2 on aggregate by Cyriot side APOEL.

They also have a strong Dutch influence with coach Robert Maaskrant and several players brought in from Eredivisie clubs by sporting director Stan Valckx.



http://www.clubcall.com/fulham/jol-set-for-dutch-dates-1270537.html?