Friday Fulham Stuff (02/09/11)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Ruiz, the Shooter

For such a high-priced signing, a lot of us didn't know a whole lot about Bryan Ruiz. Unfortunately, I haven't found many good information sources for the Dutch Eredivisie, but Ruiz does have a handful of Champions League and international appearances that I can pull shooting data from. A few things I was able to find:

Has a 60-40 preference toward his left foot, but seems competent with both. He'll mix a few headed shots in, mostly off of set pieces and crosses.

Didn't seem to create a lot of shots on crosses from out wide, but can create from central positions. That could show his versatility – he's not necessarily just a winger.

Generally hasn't been used as a set piece taker. When he misses, he's more likely to miss left or right than over the bar, so he may not have the excessive power that many teams want on free kicks. Relies more on accuracy.

Most interstingly, he really likes to shoot from long range, and he's really great at it. Out of the 18 games I looked at, he only had one shot blocked. That's excellent – only about 5% vs a Premier League average rate around 25%. He put 38% on target, which is slightly below average overall, but a very good rate for long-range shooters. If you take away set piece situations (where he seems to be a bit less effective), he's up to 50% on target despite taking very difficult shots. Fantastic.

There's been discussion of whether or not we could use him as a striker. It's a small sample, but these numbers suggest that he'll be extremely effective from typical midfield positions, and we should try to take advantage of that.



http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/ruiz-the-shooter/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Andre-Pierre Gignac Fulham Deal Was In Place Admit Marseille

Marseille sporting director Jose Anigo has confirmed that the French club had an agreement in place for Andre-Pierre Gignac to join Fulham.

Gignac flew to London on transfer deadline day and was ready to put pen to paper on a season-long loan with Martin Jol's side. There was also some late interest from Newcastle in the former Toulouse striker.

And Marseille were happy for the 25-year-old to sign for the Cottagers, as Fulham had agreed to take on the full cost of Gignac's €300,000 per month salary.

However, Marseille were confident of signing a striker to replace the French international, with Juventus forward Amauri expected at the Stade Velodrome.

But Amauri U-turned on a potential deal and Anigo was forced to pull the plug on Gignac's English move.

"Amauri wanted to come, but after he did some thinking it stalled and he did not arrive", Anigo told RMC.

"With Fulham there was an agreement but the deal was not confirmed. It was close to the deadline.

"In order not to take any chances we stopped the negotiations and Andre-Pierre Gignac returned to Marseille.

"He was OK with signing for Fulham and it seemed to please him. But he is back with good intentions. We talked and he intends to continue his career."




http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/09/01/andre-pierre-gignac-fulham-deal-was-in-place-admit-marseille/48323/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Weighing up where we are
by DAN on SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

After all the drama of deadline day, this has been a taking stock kind of a day. Speaking to a number of Fulham fans today, there's real satisfaction where we find ourselves at the close of the transfer window. Losing out on Andre-Pierre Gignac, who perhaps would have given Jol a potentially explosive back-up to Bobby Zamora, was really disappointing and – if we were being ultra-critical – perhaps the long-term replacement for Danny Murphy hasn't materialised, but the arrival of Bryan Ruiz has certainly transformed the glass from being half-empty to half-full.

One of our new contributors to HammyEnd.com – my Swedish friend Mattias – has been asking me over the past couple of weeks whether the squad Jol is building is now stronger than the one that Hodgson took to the Europa League final. I'd been resisting initially, perhaps because even the passing of a couple of years had left me sentimentally misty-eyed about Hodgson's achievements (or that the run proved the squad were greater than the sum of their parts), but after our work in the last 24 hours, you'd say that the current squad has impressive depth to it.

It was the special one who eulogised about the importance of a strong squad on his arrival at Chelsea. Mourinho reckoned that the modern game required the top sides to have two top-quality players for each position – and, remarkably, Fulham might just be approaching that position. Much will depend on how Jol sets his side up. While he seems to have favoured a fluid 4-2-3-1 in his opening matches, the potential of a 4-3-3 (the continental system of choice) might be explored with these new arrivals. Have a look at how strong we look positionally now:

GK: Schwarzer, Stockdale
RB: Baird, Gygera
LB: J.A. Riise, Briggs
CB: Hughes, Hangeland, Senderos
MC: Sidwell, Etuhu, Murphy, Gecov
RW: Duff, B.H. Riise
LW: Ruiz, Davies
AMC: Dempsey, Dembele, Kasami
FC: Zamora, A. Johnson, Sa

That list is certainly interchangeable. Ruiz could play on either flank or up front, while Dembele might be more useful out wide at times. Clint Dempsey might even have a chance to play in his most natural position – just behind the striker – as well.

The strength of the squad is remarkable considering where the club were at the start of Hodgson's tenure. Even before then, Fulham's back five at the back end of 2006 comprised Antti Niemi, Liam Rosenior, Franck Queudrue, Ian Pearce and Zat Knight. It was no wonder we would soon be scrapping for our Premiership lives. Our recent success has come largely on the back of defensive stability provided an altogether more reassuring defence. It seems – although it could yet still be wishful thinking – that we've made strides to address the problems at the other end of pitch over the last couple of days. One thing's for sure: they'll be some real selection dilemmas for Jol in the weeks to come.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2011/09/weighing-up-where-we-are/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Briggs stars on England U21 debut
by DAN on SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

Fulham's Matthew Briggs continued his brilliant start to the season with an impressive debut for the England under-21s as Stuart Pearce's side put six past Azerbaijan in their first Euro 2013 qualifier at Vicarage Road tonight.

The 20 year-old left back was handed a start by Pearce in a new-look England U21 team and looked very composed coming forward from the back. Briggs did brilliantly to create captain Jordan Henderson's fine strike for England's third goal of the evening and came close to adding one of his own with a powerful left-footed drive shortly after the interval. There was another barnstorming run to go with some diligent defensive work in an excellent first appearance at under-21 level for the Fulham Academy graduate.

Much of the evening was a stroll for Pearce's side. Henri Lansbury and Craig Dawson both grabbed braces, while Henderson's terrific effort was topped by a stunning long-range strike from Martyn Waghorn on his debut. The under-21s now head to Israel for a friendly on Monday ahead of two tough away fixtures against Iceland and Norway.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2011/09/briggs-stars-on-england-u21-debut/?

[WhiteJC]

 
England kids hit Azerbaijan for six

Henri Lansbury rampaged through the Watford gaps to give Stuart Pearce a flying start on the road to Israel.

Returning to Vicarage Road, where he spent a profitable season on loan from Arsenal two years ago, Lansbury scored twice - including a spectacular volley - and made two more as England's six maniacs enjoyed a 6-0 romp against Azerbaijan.

Amid the allotments, potting sheds and bike sheds of Watford's three-sided ground, Pearce's young Lions followed their manager's instructions to the letter and hit the ground running in their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

Although the urban myth persists about a Russian linesman helping England to win the World Cup, Tofiq Bakhramov, the official who awarded the second goal of Sir Geoff Hurst's hat-trick in the 1966, was actually from Azerbaijan.

Bakhramov's compatriots did his memory proud - because they flagged for England compliantly.

From the moment West Brom's Craig Dawson met Lansbury's corner with an emphatic header after just five minutes, Pearce's cubs rose to the Caucasian effortlessly.

Then Lansbury, who joined West Ham on a season-long loan from Arsenal on deadline day 24 hours earlier, doubled England's money with a brilliant scissor-kick from fellow Gunner Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross.

And by the time skipper Liverpool's Jordan Henderson curled home a beauty from 20 yards on the stroke of the interval, Pearce's cubs scented a mauling.

Lansbury grabbed his second goal after 73 minutes, substitute Martyn Waghorn, of Leicester, fired in a 30-yard rocket 11 minutes from time and Dawson finished the night as he started it, heading home Lansbury's exemplary set piece delivery.

As we all know, the Azeri FA is celebrating its centenary in 2011 - and they never looked like beating England in 100 years.

"Henri has come of age," smiled Pearce. "It takes some players longer than others to make their mark at Under-21 level, but he has been patient, his training has been fantastic and we saw a more mature young man in the summer.

"We expected great things of Henri and he delivered - in terms of the result and performance, I could not be happier."

ENGLAND: Butland (Birmingham) 7, Flanagan (Liverpool) 6, Caulker (Swansea) 7, Dawson (West Brom) 7, Briggs (Fulham) 7, Henderson (Liverpool) 8, Rodwell (Everton) 6, Lansbury (West Ham) 8, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) 8 [Shelvey, Liverpool, 79], Wickham 5 (Sunderland) [Waghorn, Sunderland, 69], Delfouneso (Aston Villa) 7 [Sordell, Watford, 69].

Attendance: 7,738



Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/England-U21s-6-0-Azerbaijan-U21s-Henri-Lansbury-2-Craig-Dawson-2-Jordan-Henderson-Martyn-Waghorn-hit-visitors-for-six-in-Euro-qualifier-article794283.html#ixzz1WlujUIXe
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