Monday Fulham Stuff (19/09/11)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham 2 Manchester City 2: Stuart Brennan's verdict

City's title rivals, looking for signs of post-Champions League hangover, found plenty of evidence as the Blues tossed away a two-goal lead.

The script for the season reads that the Blues – unused to juggling the heightened demands of taking on Europe's elite with the more physical, less cerebral challenges of the Premier League – might suffer as a result.

The expectation from the nodding heads of the Premier League and its press pack is that City will find the dual burdens too much to bear and do what Tottenham did last season.

Four days after the Napoli match, this was the first opportunity to scrutinise the Blues for any cracks which might appear, and the critics were not disappointed.

The validity of using this game to take City's temperature was tempered by the fact that Fulham were also coming straight out of European competition, following Thursday's draw with FC Twente in the Europa League.

But the Cottagers rested four players for that one, while City's only changes – again – came in the full-back positions, where Micah Richards and Gael Clichy replaced Pablo Zabaleta and Aleks Kolarov.

The difficulties became apparent when manager Roberto Mancini took off the tiring Sergio Aguero – whose two clinical goals had put them in the driving seat – and David Silva, whose excellence had spurred City to that position.

The early signs were not great for the Blues.

Vincent Kompany nervously and unnecessarily gave away a corner, the ball was bouncing off Edin Dzeko like a pinball bumper, Joe Hart dangerously smashed a free-kick across the face of his own box and almost let in Clint Dempsey, and there was a sluggish feel to City's possession football.

That changed suddenly, and inevitably it was Silva who sparked things. Kompany began the move with a perfectly-executed tackle on the edge of his own box, quickly freeing the little Spaniard for a scampering run.

He arrowed a pass to Samir Nasri and then dashed for the return, the only disappointment in a scything move being his finish into the side netting.

It was almost as if that move clicked things back neatly into place, as the Blues kept the ball, probed and remained patient as Fulham tried to ape Napoli and squeeze the space in the final third with alert, determined defending.

The Londoners' manager Martin Jol went into this game with a record of six wins from six in Premier League games against City, from his days as Tottenham boss – he also knocked them out of the Uefa Cup with Hamburg three seasons ago.

But City set about ending that record and on 18 minutes moved smoothly ahead.

Gareth Barry, running things in his efficient, effective manner, did the unglamorous stuff, working the ball around the packed defence and then darting a pass in to Silva.

His control and instant pass to Aguero were of top quality, and the little Argentinian tucked it away in clinical style.

Fulham were not tempted to come out of their shell.

Their philosophy remained to sit deep and try to frustrate the Blues, while hoping for a break at the other end.

But now City were in the mood and Mark Schwarzer became a central figure for the home team.

He clawed the ball away from Edin Dzeko's head as Aguero crossed with menace, turned Clichy's pile-driver round the post and then, best of all, produced a magnificent reflex save to push Dzeko's cracking shot over the bar.

At this point it seemed that the only edifice about to crumble was the one Fulham had tried to build between City and their goal.

Confirmation of that came just 10 seconds into the second half, as City went route one from the kick-off.

The ball was played back to Clichy and he launched it long for Dzeko, whose header was perfect for Aguero.

The finish from the City new boy was never in doubt.

Now was the time for the Blues to show the ruthlessness that Mancini had spoken of two days before – Fulham were down, and needed to be knocked out.

But instead the Cottagers took advantage of some slack City defending to haul themselves back into it.

Mousa Dembele and Dempsey were allowed too much time to work an opening, and Bobby Zamora was left unmarked to turn and crash his shot past Hart.

The whole mood changed in a heartbeat, and moments later Richards was forced into an athletic chase and well-timed tackle to prevent Dempsey from sprinting through on goal.

Then Hart was forced into a tremendous save, diving full length to push the ball round the post from Dembele's shot.

Mancini's concern was obvious as he took off Silva – playing his third game of the week and clearly tiring – and put on Pablo Zabaleta to offer his beleaguered defence better protection.

It didn't work. Fulham had their tails up and inevitably grabbed an equaliser with quarter of an hour to go.

Again City failed to close down well enough and Danny Murphy's shot cannoned off Kompany to wrong-foot Hart and nestle in the corner.

With Aguero and Silva departed, the Blues lost all attacking momentum and were left clinging to a point.

Now they have to show that this was a blip, and not a sign of weakness.   




http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1459034_fulham-2-manchester-city-2-stuart-brennans-verdict?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham blow as Hughes ruled out of Chelsea clash



Fulham defender Aaron Hughes is set to miss his side's Carling Cup tie at Chelsea on Wednesday due to a knee injury.
But the Northern Ireland captain is hoping to return for Saturday's trip to West Brom.

The 31-year-old missed Sunday's 2-2 draw with Fulham after injuring his knee during last Thursday's Europa League clash with FC Twente.

And although Craven Cottage boss Martin Jol was hoping to welcome Hughes back for Wednesday's trip to Stamford Bridge, the player has already ruled himself out.

"Wednesday might be too soon, but hoping I have a chance for Sat," he said.



http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/1115/99/fulham-blow-hughes-ruled-out-chelsea-clash?

[WhiteJC]

 
What next for Clint Dempsey?



Despite playing a risky, aggressive game, Dempsey rarely gave the ball away against City, and had three good attempts at goal. Is this evidence of a distillation of the various Dempseys we've seen so far?

One of the interesting things about the Martin Jol era has been the play of Clint Dempsey.

I remember Dempsey's early Fulham career.  Lots of step-overs.  They never really got him anywhere, but still he persisted. Under Hodgson Dempsey won his place back and gradually saw his game clipped back. The step-overs disappeared, the long shots (at one point he took a lot of these) seemed to decline, too.  Hodgson, in retrospect, didn't really care for flair in his players, and it's to Dempsey's credit that he altered his game to accommodate his manager's wishes. Sure, it's the obvious thing to do – the manager picks the team – but footballers don't always respond in the right way to such challenges.

Under Hughes Dempsey continued to eschew the long-shot, and played at centre-forward a lot. Now his role was more or less functional, his involvement in buildup play relatively limited but his ability to find space in the area crucial. All of his goals (I think) were first time efforts, which says a lot about the (good) decisions he was making and the quality of his runs.

By now he's gone from a raw talent to a reasonably complete player (within the parameters of his potential ability, at any rate: he was never going to be a superstar). Under Jol we're seeing the gloves come off a bit. He's back to dribbling again, the step-overs are on the menu again. The long shots are back. You get the feeling that he's back to being the player he originally wanted to be.

Top musicians master their instruments so that they can make simple things sound extraoardinary. Similarly, footballers need a complete command of the game's basics to raise their game to another level. Witness David Silva in City's first goal: Barry's pass to him was quite hard and about shin height; Silva took it down as if it was the perfect delivery, turned it onto Aguero, who scored. Nobody mentioned this because he made it look so simple, but most players couldn't have done this. Xavi of Barcelona never seems to do much special, until you watch closely and see the little twists and turns and changes of angle and overall excellence of everything he does. He's so good because he knows the game inside out, has complete mastery of the ball in every situation. He's brilliant.

Dempsey will never be as good as either of them, but the new freedom could be important for Fulham. His education under Hodgson may have been painful (I don't think he enjoyed missing the European run when Davies was preferred on the left and Zamora – barely fit – up front) but was clearly the making of him as a player.  Under Hughes he continued to develop, and last year's goals speak for themselves.  Now we have the distillation of all of the above, the original Dempsey, possessor of a wider base of skills, but back to being himself. It could be spectacular, it could be more of the same, but it'll be interesting to see what happens next.




http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/what-next-for-clint-dempsey/?

[WhiteJC]

 
The ghosts of Stevenage Road



One of the things that struck me while researching "When Football Was Football" was the view across the pitch from the river side of the ground. Whether it's 1911, 1931, 1961 or 2011, in almost any photograph of a match you can see the silhouettes of supporters standing at the back of the Stevenage Road stand. This sort of boggles the mind: for all the changes in football that have passed before the old stand, in some ways nothing has changed at all. Throughout the book we see the same thing over and over, timeless views of fans back there in front of the windows. They might have been cheering on Johnny Haynes or Clint Dempsey, but they're there, spookily there.  We can't know who they are, what they did, when they left this earth, but at some point they've all sat there there to watch Fulham.  I think about this every game, now, which in some ways is odd, in others not. Part of what makes Fulham so magical.


(c) Mirrorpix



http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/the-ghosts-of-stevenage-road/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Chelsea Ticket Update

Fulham supporters wishing to attend Wednesday night's Carling Cup match at Stamford Bridge can purchase tickets online until 4pm on Monday 19th September (postal deadline).

Fans can still buy their tickets from the FFC Tickets Office at Craven Cottage ahead of the game or by phone (0843 208 1234). Tickets will not be available to buy at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening.

Prices:

• Shed Upper Tier Adults £25
• Shed Lower Tier Adults £25
• Shed Upper and Shed Lower Over 65/under 17 £12



Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/September/ChelseaTicketDeadline.aspx?#ixzz1YPPe4MMc

[WhiteJC]

 
Third Kit 2011/12

2011/12 Third Kit
The brand new Fulham Third shirt for the 2011/12 season is now available for you to pre-order for delivery on the official launch day, Sunday 2nd October.

The new Third shirt has the striking gold features, embroidered Ominis to both shoulders, FxPro branding and a small FFC logo to reverse of the collar. A great colour that is sure to make you stand out in the crowd.

However there is an extra special feature to the shirt which will be fully revealed on Monday 26th September.

10% Season Ticket Holder discount
Season Ticket Holders also get a 10% discount throughout the season, so remember to stock up on your Fulham FC goods,and pre-order the new Third shirt today!



Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/September/ThirdKit201112.aspx?#ixzz1YPrc4Jgf

[WhiteJC]

 
Jol on that Comeback!

Yesterday, down by the Thames, was one of those afternoons that make football such a wonderful game.

Trailing 2-0 and coming back to snatch a point made the long traipse home seem like a short stroll.

What is it about Manchester City and our ability to produce a comeback?

Yesterday had me thinking about the Diomansy Kamara inspired comeback on their patch, another sublime afternoon.

After the game, Martin Jol seemed quite pleased that we`d rescued a point from what looked like an impossible situation remarking,

"The spirit will always be 100 per cent if you get the results and we didn`t have the results - it was as simple as that. I felt like we had nothing, with only two points, and the players felt the same."

"But to show against a team like Manchester City that you can come back and score two goals, must have given us a big boost and confidence for the future."

"We were a little bit tired but you could see they were as well, after playing in midweek."

"It was a fantastic achievement to come back against them because I don`t think they`ll give away leads like that in the future."

The comeback also saw us lift ourselves off the bottom of the Premier League, another fact Jol was acutely aware of remarking,

"It was awful being at the bottom. You have to win your home games. It was not a nice thing to see we were bottom of the league."

"Now we`re 18th and that`s better than being bottom of the table.

It certainly is!



Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=256083#ixzz1YPruCrYT

[WhiteJC]

 
Rosales reveals Ruiz praise
Youngster commended by Ruiz after taking new role at Twente

FC Twente's Roberto Rosales says former team-mate Bryan Ruiz has been in touch to congratulate him on his recent performances on the wing for the Dutch club.

Rosales, formerly a right-back, has taken over on the right flank in place of Ruiz, who left Enschede for Fulham last month.

The 22-year-old Venezuelan provided three assists in his new role against ADO Den Haag at the weekend, having previously impressed when Twente took on Fulham in the UEFA Europa League last week.

And he claims his displays have not gone unnoticed by the departed Ruiz.

"After the game against Fulham, Bryan phoned to say that I had played some good crosses," he told De Telegraaf.

"This position is not entirely new to me. In Venezuela and at (former club) Gent, I have also played this role.

"It does not really matter to me what position I play, but when I play."

Frustrating

Rosales, who helped Venezuela to fourth place in this year's Copa America in the summer, is pleased to be seeing more action after finding playing time limited in the opening few games.

"That was frustrating, but luckily I now have a chance," he added.

"In Venezuela, we had a great tournament - we came in fourth. That had never happened and led to a huge celebration in Caracas.

"Then I just had a week's holiday. But I feel OK now."






http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11915_7189434,00.html?