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Tuesday Fulham Stuff (31/07/12)...

Started by WhiteJC, July 31, 2012, 04:39:14 AM

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WhiteJC

 
Newcastle United rival Fulham for Bolton Wanderers striker Odelusi

Bolton Wanderers striker Sanmi Odelusi is attracting Premier League interest.

The Daily Star claims Newcastle United and Fulham are keeping an eye on the 19-year-old.

The youngster is expected to push for a first team berth at relegated Wanderers this season.



Read more at http://www.clicklancashire.com/sport/bolton-wanderers-fc/1213067-newcastle-united-rival-fulham-for-bolton-wanderers-striker-odelusi.html?#LUxurhy7SrACU7kV.99

WhiteJC

 
Category One Status

The Club are delighted to announce that the Fulham Academy has been awarded Category One status under the new Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).

The EPPP is a Barclays Premier League initiative, backed by the Football League and Football Association, with the aim of revitalising youth football by developing areas such as coaching, education, welfare and medical care and providing greater opportunities for young players to progress.

Fulham are already one of the clubs leading the way at academy level having won their respective league title for the past two seasons and the national final last term. During the 2011/12 campaign Kerim Frei, Alex Kacaniklic, Tom Donegan, Neil Etheridge, Lauri Dalla Valle and Marcello Trotta all made their First Team debuts, with Buomesca Tue Na Bangna and Alex Brister involved in Martin Jol's pre-season plans this year.   

As the Club look ahead to further success, fulhamfc.com caught up with Academy Director Huw Jennings, in the first of two interviews, to find out what the Category One status means for the future of the Club...

First of all Huw, congratulations to everyone that was involved in the Academy achieving Category One status - because after no end of preparation on your team's part and a very stringent audit carried out by Double Pass (the League's auditors for classification), this was the news that we were all hoping for...

It was, and first and foremost I would like to thank all the staff at the Academy who have worked tirelessly to make sure we achieved top status. The inspection took place over three days and it was a very thorough and exhaustive process. To complete the pre-inspection alone was a huge undertaking and took at least 80 days preparation. We were assessed in several areas including management, quality of coaching, education and welfare, recruitment, facilities and productivity – pleasingly they were very complimentary as we met what was needed. That was a massive boost and shows that we are heading in the right direction because out of the 23 clubs that applied for Category One status we were one of the first to be audited.

So what does our Category One status mean for the Academy and Club?

As fans are probably aware, the EPPP is a new system that has been introduced this season and basically it will categorise all professional football clubs for their youth programmes. That categorisation ranks from one to four, with one being the highest. So to be ranked in the top bracket is obviously great news for everyone associated with the Club, because the benefits in many ways are endless. One of the main benefits is that a Category One club gets the opportunity to play in a national games programme at Under-21, Under-18 and Under-16 level – providing a more competitive environment. Crucially, we will also retain the maximum funding level for our academy programme and over the next couple of years the funding to support that will increase as well. Then, on a playing front, we also have the added benefit that over time we will be able to sign players from further afield and spread our net more widely.

One of the key focuses of this re-structure is the long-term development of our young players as well isn't it?

Well the idea is to develop more, and better, players for our First Team. Of course, over the past couple of seasons we have started to see some of our younger players make the step up, but we want to create a regular stream of future talent. The Category One status will allow us to give our boys an even more extensive programme by providing increased contact time for our players and coaches. With the success of our Coombe School programme in recent years, we are already in a good place in that sense, but I think we all know how important it is to give players more time with a ball and there will now be up to 12 hours of on-pitch coaching time per week for these players. The award will also demonstrate to our players and their parents that we have the best standards possible at Fulham and with the Category One licence granted for the next three years it is a chance to push on and do even better.

As part of the classification, there will also be a new Under-21 league which will be introduced to provide a competitive element within the new categories...

With the introduction of the EPPP, the creation of an Under-21 Barclays Premier Development League is just one of a number of changes that have been put into place ahead of the 2012/13 season. In essence it's designed to bring together the country's best young players in a competitive format – and for me, that was an important step. I think many clubs felt that the old reserve team system just wasn't working. The Under-21 matches will mirror those of our Under-18s and Under-16s, which bring cohesion to the process. It's a national programme and provisionally we will be in a group of seven which includes Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace and Wolves. Each team will be able to field three overage players as well, and an overage goalkeeper. It's about providing a competitive environment and one that will hopefully provide a stepping stone to our First Team.




http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2012/July/Category1Status.aspx?

WhiteJC

 
Fulham defender made available for loan

MARTIN Jol is willing to let Fulham defender Rafik Halliche leave the club to gain regular first-team football.

The Algerian international has made just two substitute appearances since his switch to Craven Cottage from Nacional in 2010.

Halliche had a spell on trial at Celtic last season, but a move to the Scottish giants never materialised.

The 25-year-old was included in Fulham's pre-season tour to Germany, but boss Jol is looking to offload the centre-back in a bid to get him some action elsewhere.

"He's a good boy," Jol told the Chronicle. "I've played him a couple of times and he looks good, but we've got six or seven centre-backs.

"That doesn't make it easy for him so we're still looking to maybe put him out on loan somewhere.

"He wants and needs to play. He's an international player so hopefully we find something for him."



Read More http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/fulham-fc/2012/07/30/82029-31509275/?#ixzz22AUImKaT


WhiteJC

 
Dempsey pulls out of Fulham tour to force Liverpool move
The American told manager Martin Jol he did not want to fly to a training camp in Switzerland and was left behind in London as the club jetted overseas on Monday

EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent


Clint Dempsey has pulled out of Fulham's pre-season training camp in Switzerland to try and force through a move to Liverpool.

Sources have told Goal.com that Dempsey told manager Martin Jol last Friday that he did not want to take part in the week-long trip.

It is understood the player and the manager had a heated debate at the training ground but Jol reluctantly accepted Dempsey's demand and the attacking midfielder was left behind to train with the youngsters in London as the first-team squad flew overseas on Monday morning.

Fulham will spend the week in Switzerland ahead of a friendly in neighbouring France against Nice on Saturday before returning to the UK.

Dempsey has raised the stakes in his battle to quit the club as he becomes the latest high profile Premier League player to pull out of a pre-season tour, following in the wake of Robin van Persie at Arsenal and Luka Modric at Tottenham.

The 29-year-old has made it clear to Jol and senior Fulham figures that he wants to quit the club for Liverpool, whose manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he has made enquiries about signing the player.

As revealed by Goal.com earlier this month, the attacking midfielder, who scored 17 Premier League goals last season and 23 in all competitions, has rejected Fulham's offer of a new three year-contract that includes an option for a fourth year.

Dempsey, who moved to west London five-and-a-half years ago, believes that Liverpool's interest could be the last opportunity he gets to play for one of the elite Premier League clubs.

Nevertheless, he has vowed to remain professional while his future remains in doubt and trained with Fulham's youth team at their Motspur Park base on Monday morning along with Dickson Etuhu, who has been told by Jol that he can find another club. New signing Hugo Rodallega has also been left behind in London to recover from injury.

Despite Dempsey's desire to quit Fulham, Liverpool have not yet made a formal offer for the USA international and, indeed, are not expected to try and sign him until Andy Carroll's future is resolved.

Fulham value Dempsey at £9 million but a combination of his age - 29 - and his contract situation - he has just entered the final year of his current deal - mean that they will settle for a fee of around £5-6m

Liverpool need to free up some cash before moving formally for Dempsey, given that they have already signed Fabio Borini in a deal worth £11.2m and are also strongly pursuing Swansea midfielder Joe Allen.

Fulham do not want to lose their free-scoring midfielder but also will do their best to avoid a protracted saga, so they have enough time to bring in a replacement.



http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/07/30/3276041/dempsey-pulls-out-of-fulham-tour-to-force-liverpool-move?

jarv

5-6 million is nowhere near enough to replace Dempsey. Options.... tell Dempsey he has to stay and suck it up. tell Liverpool 10 million. Let Dempsey rot in the reserves like they used to. Probably not.

West Ham has had a Carroll bid accepted. Match it with Dempsey as part of the deal. (on Fulham's terms of course).

Black, White and Fred

Eager To Impress
Tuesday 31st July 2012


Many, including Manager Martin Jol, have tipped Bryan Ruiz to enjoy a prosperous 2012/13 campaign – sentiments that have seemingly buoyed the Costa Rican international.

Having missed the final six fixtures of last season, the forward made an eagerly anticipated return to action this month when starting the Team's final game of their German tour. He then shone in Saturday's 3-0 defeat of Wycombe Wanderers, impressing with his clever movement and footwork before firing in a stunning late free-kick.

In scoring goals to remember against Everton and Bolton last term, it appears Bryan has a penchant for the spectacular.

"As a player that plays further up the pitch, it is one of my responsibilities to help in that area," Bryan told fulhamfc.com. "Whether that is through assists or scoring goals, that's what I am here to do.

"It's nice to score goals like that, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how they go in. It would be nice to score a few more as the new season progresses though and that's something that I know that I am capable of doing."

The 26-year-old scored twice in 30 appearances in all competitions during his debut campaign and, while he caught the eye in flashes, there was an undoubted sense that there was more to come from the skilful attacker.

"I agree, I think there is more to come," he admitted. "I know that the Manager has talked about me making a greater contribution and that he has faith that I can. Is that pressure? I don't think so.

"It is exactly what I want to hear because I came to England to show my qualities. If I am honest, I believe that it has taken me a little while to find my feet. Having had almost a year to adjust to the culture, the Team, the Manager and my team-mates, I feel that I have a lot more confidence.

"I am enjoying pre-season and I feel good. I want to be an important player for the Club and one that can make a difference. It's nice that people believe that I can do it – so I want to show that I can."

Joining from FC Twente on the final day of last year's summer transfer window, Bryan is fast approaching a year at the Club. As the 2012/13 season opens, 12 months in, he is no longer the new boy.

"It can be difficult joining a new club," he said. "So if I can help the players that have come in after me then I will. There are a few new faces in the dressing room already and in Sascha [Riether] and Mladen [Petric] we have two very important additions.

"From what I have seen so far, they look really good. Sascha is a strong defender while, further forward, Mladen has done well too. He has scored a lot of goals so far, and hopefully he can continue to do so.

"Okay, they might be pre-season goals, but you can only score in the games that you are part of. As a striker, it will give him confidence going into his first campaign at the Club, and that is the important thing.

"Hugo [Rodallega] has come in as well, and we're looking forward to seeing him in action. He did well in his time at Wigan and, as a result, has Premier League experience. He'll be hoping he can make an impact too, and I'm sure he will be a success.   

"It's nice to welcome new players. The spirit of the Team is really good and we are all looking forward to getting the season started. We had a good year together last season, and we want to do good things again."
'A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.'

Friedrich Nietzsche

3rd Gen Fulham Fan since 1996