Monday Fulham Stuff (23/07/12)...

[JBH]

As much as I love the daily round up, can you please stop putting the bleacher report on here?

It's obviously made up by idiots and giving idiots publicity for their shobby product isn't a good idea in my book.

Ta

:plus one: They are pathetic!

[NogoodBoyo]

Two Ton Ted - that's a great name.  Are you related to Tommy Two Sheds?  That bloke had the best screen name of all but yours is very close.
Nogood "loving alliterative names, isit" Boyo

[SKSW6]

As much as I love the daily round up, can you please stop putting the bleacher report on here?

It's obviously made up by idiots and giving idiots publicity for their shobby product isn't a good idea in my book.

Ta

I definitely agree. Each "article" is identical to the last, and they don't deserve the website traffic.

[Two Ton Ted]

Two Ton Ted - that's a great name.  Are you related to Tommy Two Sheds?  That bloke had the best screen name of all but yours is very close.
Nogood "loving alliterative names, isit" Boyo

No, but I live in Teddington and drive the baker's van.

[WhiteJC]

 
REF REVIEW 2012: Fulham. Unacceptable refereeing.

By DogFace and Walter Broeckx

Untold Arsenal has a team of qualified referees who have reviewed more than 40% of the EPL games from last season. The reviews themselves were based on full match video footage with the advantage of video technology features such as slow motion and pause.

By reviewing those 155 games we have made a database of more than 7000 decisions that have been judged by our panel of dedicated and qualified referees.

The numbers you will see are based on those decisions and those reviewed games.

Fulham ended in 9th place in the league.  But how did the referees do in their matches? We will try to find out of course.



Fulham is another team of which we managed to review 10 games. This represents one in 4 games of their season. It is a good number in a way but if you find this should be higher and better you and if you are a ref you can always try and join our team. It would result in being able to do more games and make these surveys more complete.

Let us see how the refs in general did in the Fulham games.



Well this sure doesn't look good at all. This is a bad result for the referees in general. I would say this is an unacceptable result. We don't want a score below 70% in general decisions. This is more than 7% worse than the league average which itself is already a very low number.

Does any team in the league has to be satisfied when refs in their games make one mistake in every 3 decisions they have to make? I will repeat it to make sure you get the picture: 1 in 3 decisions was wrong.

Let us see how these numbers look when we dig deeper in to the different type of decisions.



The goal difference is lower than the already too low league average. This is a really bad number I think.

The offside decisions are almost the same as the league average. Just under 90%. So 10% short of what the PGMOL claimed earlier this year.

The other decisions is with just under 66% some 6% lower than the league average. I think anything below 70% is not acceptable in the PL. That might be acceptable in a pub competition but not in the PL.

The penalty decisions are looking ridiculous. With only 33%. Compare this with the already unacceptable 62% of the league average and you see that this is a number that must get higher.

The only number that is better than the league average is the red cards decisions. But again do we have to accept 33% as good enough? Not in my book.

The yellow cards are close to 50%. Again  I ask would it change a lot if we would throw up a coin to decide if we give a yellow card or not?

These numbers are a big shamble and a disgrace. And something that we should not accept in the PL.Regardless of who is playing in these games: this is too low. Up to now we don't know if there is anything wrong with these numbers apart from the fact that they are disgraceful.

The next thing to do is to see if there was someone who benefited from this?



Well obviously someone did benefit. The normal (non-existing according to Mike Riley) negative away bias turns in to a positive bias for Fulham when playing away from home. Granted this was only done on 4 away games of the 19 but still a remarkable result.

And the home bias is almost 3 times the normal home bias! This leads to a positive bias overall of more than 3.600 bias points for Fulham. This was the result of doing almost 1 in 3 home games from Fulham.

If we put weight on the decisions we see that the normal negative away bias of -2.619 changes in a positive bias for Fulham of 1.500. That is a positive swing of 4.119 bias points away from home.

And the home bias is also very high in their favour. That is also almost 3 times what you normally could expect at home as an overall average.

The final outcome gives a positive bias swing of some 4.800 points in favour of Fulham.

Let us see which refs are involved in this farce of refereeing?



We had 7 refs in the Fulham games. Two had a negative bias result. Michael Oliver with a rather big negative swing and Howard Webb also had a bad score.

Mark Halsey had a zero score, so that is good for a ref who rarely gets a zero bias score in his games.

Kevin Friend  had a moderate positive bias in favour of Fulham. And Mark Clattenburg enters the zone where I start to get an uneasy feeling.

Mike Dean had two games and a big positive bias for Fulham. But the master of Fulham when it comes to refereeing was Lee Probert.  I think one of the biggest biased numbers in total I have seen this season.



If we put weight on it than we see almost the same numbers. This time 3 referees with a negative bias. The numbers going up (or down of course in case of a negative bias) and Mark Halsey joining the negative numbers but not with a high score. Kevin Friend and Mark Clattenburg also have a higher number. Mike Dean also rises to a very high positive bias.

Lee Probert goes off like a rocket and ends up with a score of 30 bias points. Unacceptable numbers.




In this graphic we can clearly see the influence of the refs on their results. When the ref was clearly in their favour they got extra points.

One game they could complain about and clearly dropped points,  shows how important it is to have the ref in your favour.

We can ask ourselves what was the matter in some of those games?

FINAL CONCLUSION

What is the matter with the referees when they did Fulham games? This is one of those unexpected results from doing this referee review all season long.

I know that their chairman complained when he was entitled to complain after a bad decision going against them. But I didn't hear him in all those games when they had the refs clearly on their side.

The refs were very very poor  in the Fulham games in general and they clearly favoured Fulham. This is a very bad example on how it shouldn't be done.

Some games we reviewed:

Manchester City – Fulham
Fulham – Manchester United
Fulham – Arsenal
Fulham – Liverpool
Fulham – Manchester City
Fulham – Blackburn
Fulham – Chelsea
Manchester United – Fulham

Editorial Footnote: Occasionally readers wish to make the point that our figures or methods are themselves fixed or biased.  If you have such a view and wish to argue that point please do take a look at our article on data and conclusions first.   If you want to see past articles in this series they are at EPL REFEREE REVIEW 2012- An historic study on the refs in the EPL




http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/23026?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham warn suitors off duo

Fulham "would not welcome" any bids for reportedly in-demand duo Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey.

Dembele, 25, and Dempsey, 29, have been linked with summer moves to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

Belgium international Dembele last month reiterated his commitment to Fulham, having joined the club from AZ Alkmaar for £5 million in 2010.

Dempsey, however, has expressed his ambition to sign for a so-called bigger side, and last week Liverpool were forced to clarify a report that suggested they were set to acquire the American.

Fulham, though, are understood to have not yet received a bid for either player. A source told ESPN: "Fulham have nothing to say on either player, other than no bids would be welcome for any of our players."

Asked whether United or Liverpool have tabled offers for Dembele and Dempsey respectively, the source added: "There are no current bids, and none would be welcome."



http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1126456?&cc=5739

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham offer Romelu Lukaku an escape route from Chelsea

Fulham have offered to take Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku on a season-long loan.

Lukaku, who moved to Stamford Bridge for £18million last summer, has become frustrated with the lack of first-team opportunities at Chelsea.

Fulham boss Martin Jol is looking to sign a striker after missing out on Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and Roberto Di Matteo will allow the 19-year-old to make a temporary switch.

Lukaku scored twice against the Seattle Sounders in the first game of Chelsea's pre-season tour of America last week.



http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/fulham-offer-romelu-lukaku-an-escape-route-from-chelsea-7965481.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Admiring Fulham's stance on Dembele & Dempsey



Most of us assumed that come the Summer, Fulham would turn their back while the vulture clubs swooped for their biggest assets. Not so, they're showing some admirable resistance.

Without trying to sound in any way patronising, it would have been very easy for Martin Jol to encourage the sale of Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele early in the transfer window and then focus on redistributing the revenue generated from their departures.

Dembele came on record confirming that he had no real desire to leave Craven Cottage – and you have to credit Jol for that, because players who are that talented don't stay at clubs unless they sniff ambition.

Clint Dempsey is a slightly different case admittedly, but the American has to now face the reality that a Champions League club – the competition which he years for – isn't really a plausible destination for him. Honestly, given a straight choice between Fulham and Liverpool, he should stay in London. He'll never play in Europe's premier club competition if he stays where he is, but then, neither is he going to if he goes to Anfield. Liverpool, whether their fans accept it or not, are an also-ran now – and that probably won't change within the timespan of the American's career. Stay at Fulham, he can play every week, and the side can win or lose on him – that's a great position to be in. Does he really want to go to Anfield? Brendan Rodgers is about to spend £15m on Joe Allen – that club is going nowhere near the Champions League.

A lot of these decisions ultimately come down to the players themselves, but it's good to see a second-tier club standing their ground and not just surrendering to the bigger sides. If Fulham can keep their key pieces in place, then there's no reason why they can't get back into the Europa League this season – they've got a really decent spine down by the river; Steve Sidwell, Brede Hangeland, and now Hugo Rodallega in addition to Dempsey and Dembele. Plus, watch out for Kerim Frei this season, this could be a break-out year for him.

Positive times.



http://thepremierleagueowl.com/admiring-fulhams-stance-on-dembele-dempsey/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=admiring-fulhams-stance-on-dembele-dempsey

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham still in for Buttner
Vitesse full-back set to move despite Southampton deal collapsing


Alexander Buttner: Vitesse Arnhem full-back is a target for Fulham after a move to Southampton fell through

Alexander Buttner's agent claims Fulham are still keen on the Vitesse Arnhem full-back after a move to Southampton fell through.

Southampton had agreed a fee for Buttner earlier this month and the 23-year-old had expressed a wish to finalise a move to St Mary's.
However, reports claim the involvement of a third party scuppered the transfer and Buttner is now training with Vitesse's reserves as the Dutch club do not expect him to be part of their plans for the coming season.

Fulham were reported to have made a bid for Buttner last month and the left-back's representative Alexander Busac has confirmed there is still plenty of interest in the player.

"At the end, we didn't come to a deal with Southampton and Vitesse," Busac told De Telegraaf. "We look ahead and happily there is a lot of interest.

"Hannover and Fulham are very serious.

"Two French clubs have confirmed by mail they are looking to sign Buttner, but haven't made a bid. Within the next days they will contact Vitesse."



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/7928111?

[WhiteJC]

 
International Membership 2012/13

The Barclays Premier League excitement continues in the 2012/13 campaign as Fulham look forward to hosting the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal to name but a few.

Fulham International Membership is the best way to help secure your seat at the Cottage throughout 2012/13. So, if you are making that all important trip to watch the Whites, guarantee your tickets today!

Even if you can't make it to the Cottage each week, this season, as an International Member, you will receive a host of great benefits. These include items such as the brand new Members' pack, which features a personalised fixture list calendar to guide you through the season ahead and the option of receiving the printed version of Fulham's Official Club magazine Fultime, for just an additional £8. You will also be entitled to exclusive retail offers 10 times a year that will be based online so you can take advantage of offers made just for fans who support FFC from overseas!

What's more, as a fan living outside of the UK, you could join or even start your own Fulham International Supporters Club. Now that we have Official Supporters Clubs in America, Italy, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands, as well as other countries all over the world, all you need is 10 international members to start your own FFC Official Supporters Club! Once you do, you'll receive signed merchandise from the Club and a host of additional benefits.

Check It Out Today




http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2012/July/InternationalMembersip201213.aspx?

[WhiteJC]

 
Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku to be loaned to Fulham

Fulham have managed to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku on a season long loan, according to the Sun.

Lukaku has been hugely out of favour at Stamford Bridge since joining under the tutelage of Andre Villas-Boas last Summer. At 19, after signing for Chelsea for a significant £18 million fee, the Belgian was considered a huge prospect, well capable of breaking into a first team which, this time a year ago, included the likes of Didier Drogba and the still present Fernando Torres. Despite the latter's drop in form, however, Lukaku only started one league game.

This led to an open admittance from Lukaku that he wanted to leave the current European Champions and, at one point, he refused to touch his club's new trophy because he hadn't deserved it.

"I've not even touched the cup," said the striker after his side had just beaten Bayern Munich on penalties to win the Champions League .

"I don't deserve it because I was not on the list. I don't touch anything I don't deserve. That's why I also didn't touch the FA Cup."

Life didn't get any better for him, though, and it's thought that the opportunity to gain first team football barely a mile away from Stamford Bridge is an appealing prospect to him. Jol sees the appeal too, and the Dutchman is keen to link Lukaku up with new signings Hugo Rodallega and Mladen Petric.

Some sources have claimed that the deal will be confirmed, with the Belgian joining up with his new team mates, after Chelsea's tour of the USA.



http://www.cottagersconfidential.com/2012/7/23/3177368/chelseas-romelu-lukaku-to-be-loaned-to-fulham?

[WhiteJC]

 
Manager's Thoughts

Martin Jol and his Fulham team are back on English soil now after our three-game tour of Germany came to an end with a 2-2 draw against Kaiserslautern on Saturday.

The Whites went the entire tour unbeaten and our Manager was satisfied with his side's determination after fighting back from a two goal deficit against FCK.

"It was good to see that we showed a bit of character," Jol told fulhamfc.com. "Of course we used a lot of players and they had to repair the damage but they did well. The first half an hour was not what we wanted as we gave away two goals from two crosses.

"Nobody picked their strikers up and that was too sloppy. We started without the flank players, like I played in the first two matches. Mesca [Na Bangna] didn't start and Kerim Frei wasn't in the team but in the second half it was nice to see the ability of the youngsters to give us a bit of a lift."

As is common in pre-season competition, our Manager opted for a blend of youth and experience in his team, and it is a decision he feels was justified.

"Alex Brister had a few problems when he started because he was a bit nervous," Jol explained. "But in the second match he showed his quality.

"Of course we know about Kerim, he's a settled player. Mesca surprises everyone and he will be a very good player in the future which we saw in the second half against Kaiserslautern. So I was quite happy with the youngsters. 

"Mladen Petric can make a difference and he certainly showed that with the first goal on Saturday. Of course I know him from Hamburg but hopefully he will do it in the future as well.

"I'm happy with how pre-season is going. In hindsight you can say that it has paid off and to go to Germany was good."   



http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2012/July/ManagersThoughts.aspx?

[WhiteJC]

 
No bids received for Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd & Spurs targets, say Fulham

Transfer news: The Whites have insisted that they have not received any offers for Mousa Dembele or Clint Dempsey

Fulham have insisted that they have not received any bids for Clint Dempsey or Mousa Dembele.

Liverpool have declared their interest in the American, while Manchester United have been looking at the Belgium star with Arsenal and Tottenham also in the hunt for the pair.

"Fulham have nothing to say on either player, other than no bids would be welcome for any of our players," a source is quoted as saying by ESPN.

The Whites have also insisted that no bids have been received for either play.

"There are no current bids, and none would be welcome," they added.



http://www.london24.com/sport/arsenal/no_bids_received_for_arsenal_liverpool_man_utd_spurs_targets_say_fulham_1_1455488?