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Thursday Fulham Stuff (11.03.10)

Started by White Noise, March 11, 2010, 06:36:35 AM

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White Noise

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/danny-murphy/article/4150/


Gutted to be missing Juve tie




Thu Mar 11 12:18PM

From a personal perspective, it is very disappointing to be suspended for both legs of our tie against Juventus in the last 16 of the Europa League.
In my opinion, it is a lengthy ban for the nature of the challenge on Darijo Srna which led to my dismissal. There was no intention to harm my opponent, but I must accept responsibility. It was a spontaneous reaction which wasn't at all ill-intentioned.

Our manager Roy Hodgson was delighted with the result, which allows us to continue our excellent run in the Europa League. Of course, Juventus is a great challenge for us. They have international quality throughout their squad and have the European pedigree that may prove to be essential at this stage of the competition.

If we aren't at our very best we may find it tough, but saying that we were big underdogs in the Shakhtar Donetsk tie, where we faced the defending champions. We are full of confidence at the moment and, as a squad, are heading into every fixture believing we can win it.

Juve have a number of stars but the one individual that I believe poses their main threat is Alessandro del Piero. His ability to unlock defences is second to none, and the excellent reputation he has earned at the very top of the game for so many years is unquestionable. He is a definite match-winner for them, and someone we must monitor very closely.

I do believe the quality gap between the Premier League and the Serie A has increased over the years. The Premier League is now the most dominant league in the world, closely followed by La Liga. Both leagues have developed a reputation for fast-flowing, exciting games on a regular basis.

Unfortunately for Serie A, the overall perception is that the teams within the league are generally quite cautious and rarely risk-averse, which can make fixtures a little monotonous for the fans.

Of course, there is still quality within the league with the two Milan giants and Juventus always coming to the fore, but as an overall league the perception still remains.

This may be a factor that contributes to the Italian teams generally struggling in recent years in European competitions.

The strength of the last 16 in the Europa League as a whole is deep and should make for a highly entertaining run-in. We will look to take one fixture at a time, and hopefully manage to keep our excellent run going.

White Noise

http://www.tribalfootball.com/fulham-attacker-gera-i-know-all-about-juventus-serie-fan-694761


Fulham attacker Gera: I know all about Juventus as Serie A fan

11.03.10 | tribalfootball.com

Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera says he knows all about tonight's Europa League opponents Juventus from watching Serie A highlights every week!

Gera is excited to be facing Juve in the Europa League.

And he told fulhamfc.com: "It's a very good opportunity for us to play against one of the best clubs in the world.

"We are very happy to be at this stage, playing for a place in the Quarter-Finals. It's very good for the supporters and the Club.

"I like to watch football in general so I know Juventus and the players. I watch a lot of games from the Italian and Spanish leagues so there won't be any surprises because I've seen them a few times.

"They have very talented players, especially up front with players like Del Piero and Trezeguet. They are good defensively and offensively but hopefully we can do a good job on Thursday night."

White Noise

http://www.tribalfootball.com/crouch-urges-spurs-not-look-beyond-fa-cup-replay-against-fulham-694681

Crouch urges Spurs not to look beyond FA Cup replay against Fulham

11.03.10 | tribalfootball.com

Peter Crouch doesn't want Tottenham fans getting ahead of themselves in the FA Cup.

Spurs face Fulham in a quarter-final replay at White Hart Lane in a fortnight's time, with the winner heading to Wembley for a semifinal against Portsmouth.

"It's easy to say its all mapped up for us but the first hurdle is Fulham and all we must think about for now is getting the right result in the replay next week," Crouch told the Spurs website.

"We knew it was going to be tough on Saturday and to be honest, we'd have taken the result (the draw) before the game. We're more than happy to get them back to White Hart Lane where we have beaten them already this season and we have to be confident.

"These are exciting times and if we can get past Fulham we've got a semi-final against Portsmouth to look forward to at Wembley with the chance of reaching the final.

"But as I said, we can't look further than Fulham, we don't want to look too far ahead."


White Noise

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/football/teams/b/bristol_rovers/8559802.stm

Brown eyes Bristol Rovers return

Bristol Rovers on-loan midfielder Wayne Brown is looking to force his way into the team after returning from injury.

The 21-year-old, who recently had his loan from Fulham extended by a month, injured his ankle against Walsall and has missed the last five matches.

"It's hard to change a winning team," Brown told BBC Radio Bristol.

"I've had a good eight sessions on my ankle and I've had no problems so far. I'll be working hard this week and we'll have to see what happens."

He continued: "I haven't been injured for almost two years, but it's something all players have to deal with and come back hungrier than before."

Rovers are nine points outside the play-off zone, but Brown says the players haven't given up hope of a top six finish.

"It's definitely achievable, there's a few games to go and if you put a run of games together and perform the way the lads have been performing in the last few weeks it's definitely a possibility," he added.

White Noise

http://news.hereisthecity.com/news/football/10087.cntns

Fulham Owe A Huge Debt Of Gratitude To Roy Hodgson

By John Aitken


'We should drop down a league and play proper football. That way we can stay at the Cottage too' - that was the suggestion of more than one Fulham fan when we had to groundshare with Queens Park Rangers in order for redevelopment work to be undertaken at our own ground. It was all doom and gloom back in 2002, when Fulham had to move home. Many of us were wondering whether the 'old man' would ultimately sell the Cottage to developers, and feared that we'd end up on an industrial estate on the M40 corridor.

Fast forward to 2010, and Fulham, still at the Cottage, commence a two week fixture list that includes a two-leg Europa Cup tie with Juventus (for a place in the last 8), and a replay with Spurs for a place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.  And we're sitting comfortably-placed in the Premier League too. Dreamland!

Fulham fans, however, owe a huge debt of gratitude to manager Roy Hodgson. He set about saving Fulham from relegation just two season ago, and has masterminded a spectacular turnaround. We now have a team playing with an abundance of confidence. And just look at on fire Bobby Zamora - last season 4 goals in 41 appearances. But Hodgson stuck with him, and this season the striker is on 15 goals in just 36 appearances!

Hodgson's quiet excitement has worked its way through to the home fans - and even the press, and the public. Everyone has a good word for him, his methods, the way he conducts himself. He is a man with total credibility. But while Hodgson is quoted as saying: 'We can't expect to win all those games in the next two week', every Fulham fan believes we might just pull off a few more surprises!

And remember - just 14 years and 2 months ago, Lisa Marie Presley was busy divorcing Michael Jackson, and London's oldest football club, Fulham, had less than 1,000 season ticket holders and were sitting in their lowest-ever league position - 97th. Not long after, Fulham appointed Micky Adams as manager, and the rest is history...

John Aitkin is a Fulham season ticket holder.

timmyg

"Not everybody's the perfect person in the world. I mean everyone kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me, whatever." -- Terrelle Pryor, on Michael Vick