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Sunday Fulham Stuff (19/08/12)...

Started by WhiteJC, August 19, 2012, 07:51:26 AM

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WhiteJC

 
Clint Dempsey fined £25k by Fulham 'for trying to force Liverpool transfer'
Clint Dempsey has been fined £25,000 by Fulham after he refused to be included for their opening Premier League match against Norwich amid speculation he is going to join Liverpool before the end of the month.

Dempsey is keen for a move away from Craven Cottage, and is said to have declined to play for Fulham in the meantime in the hope of forcing through a transfer.

That stance has left Cottagers manager Martin Jol fuming and the club has sanctioned the American a week's wages - £25,000 – for his petulance.

'Clint was not involved over the last four weeks so he is not going to be in the squad,' said Jol.

'He is not committed to the club - he wants to leave.

'If we get the right price for him we will sell him, if not he will stay.

'I would like to keep him, but I think it's impossible.

'We won't let Clint Dempsey go on the cheap that's for sure. It's a sad and almost embarrassing situation.'

Dempsey was on the radar of many clubs this summer following another impressive season - but it seems the 29-year-old has his heart set on a move to Anfield.

But Jol has confirmed that, despite the apparent need for Dempsey Liverpool, have failed to make an approach for the star.

'There was never an offer - Clint himself told everyone he was going to Liverpool so we really thought there was a firm interest in him,' added Jol.

'But our people never had an offer on the table. If you show interest in a player you have to follow it up. They didn't.'



Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/908945-clint-dempsey-fined-25k-by-fulham-for-trying-to-force-liverpool-transfer#ixzz23yekuooA

WhiteJC

 
Fulham 5-0 Norwich: Fulham Slam Open The Season's Door


Alex Kacaniklic hugs Mladen Petric, the man who set up his first Premier League goal with a brilliant back heel.

Forget slamming open the door, Fulham busted down the door like a SWAT team looking for a tweaked out crackhead with a sawed-off shotgun.

Clint who?

Add that to the fact that QPR got drubbed by Swansea sans Brendan Rogers and Gylfi Sigurddson, and Liverpool were ripped apart by West Brom sans Roy Hodgson, and it was quite a day for Fulham fans.  The Whites are now at the top of the table, thanks to a +5 goal differential as well as alphabetical advantage over Swansea.

The Fulham new boys were right in the thick of things.  Mladen Petric scored twice (which sounds almost like an afterthought considering how many players had stellar days), Hugo Rodallega definitely would have scored had he not been scythed down for a penalty, and Sascha Riether was just as sharp as any of the defenders in support of the clean sheet. Best part? They didn't cost a single pound in transfer kitty.

Finally, Alex Kacaniklic bagged his first Fulham first-team goal, a fitting reward for such a promising young kid who just missed a screamer the last time he came so close.

This not only was a massive victory on the pitch, but it gave Fulham fans a respite from the Clint Dempsey madness, something which all of us have been begging for.

The good:

Hmm, well this section could probably compete with a Harry Potter novel in size if I had all the time in the world to write, but alas, I do not, so I'll do my best to pick three. And even though I'm tempted to do so, the three will NOT be 1) the offense 2) the midfield 3) the defense, even though after a performance like this I'm incredibly tempted to do so.


Mladen Petric – I said in the preseason after his flurry of goals that we should expect a nice surprise but not to put too lofty of expectations on the Croatian.  While that still holds true, what a nice surprise! I think the best thing Fulham fans can take from this match in terms of Petric – it confirms that he's clearly a perfect fit for the Premier League style of play.  He doesn't rely on pure strength like Pogrebnyak, and has a good deal more polished ball skills, and is a very well-rounded target man at the point of the attack. I can promise you this, you wouldn't have EVER seen the Pog pop out a back heel like that to set up Kacaniklic for a goal.  He and the rest of the attack sliced up the Norwich defense in a more technical way, a way that you can see lasting a lot longer than Pogrebnyak's short burst of strength did.

Mahamadou Diarra – The Danny Murphy replacement played exceptionally well in the old captain's spot.  These first few weeks many of the Fulham players are going to be compared to the men whose spots they're taking, it's just the way things are going to be.  And I can safely say if we see this on a consistent basis from Diarra, Craven Cottage will be able to put Murphy in the past very quickly.  He won't be forgotten, of course not, but moving on is a necessary task, and this kind of rock solid play in the midfield brings back memories, in a good way. By the way, remember when Diarra was bought by Real Madrid for €26 mil? Remember when Martin Jol got him for free? Performances like this bring back memories of the €26 million Diarra. Brilliant.

First half Damien Duff and John Arne Riise – Both men faded quite a bit in the second half, but not for a lack of performance, merely others (such as Alex Kacaniklic and Bryan Ruiz) stepped up to grab the spotlight.  However, their first half was something to behold.  Riise AGAIN was so incredibly close to a goal when he tried to nutmeg Ruddy, although that turned out to not be such a good idea, as a shot to either side would surely have been his first Fulham goal. But he was so dangerous with his play.  He made a few lethal runs down the left side (one of which resulted in that near-goal), and the clean sheet speaks for itself.  Finally, the cross to run Duffer through for the first goal was on point, and something we can certainly rely on for this season going forward.

Honorable mention – Bryan Ruiz and Alex Kacaniklic both performed admirably on both ends of a number of attacks (by that I mean they both did the deadly crossing and received it). Moussa Dembele was 70-73 passing (96%).

The bad:

The bad? That Fulham aren't alone at the top of the table, although there's quite a silver a lining to that one as well (High 5 to QPR!). Let's skip this section, shall we?

Man of the Match:

Martin Jol.  This stems from his experimentation last season in his first year with the club.  All that mixing and matching has payed off, as he now has found the prime pitch locations for players like Dembele, Diarra, and Ruiz.  Now that they will spend a full season in those spots, we're reaping the rewards in heaps after just the first match.  I give all the credit to the gaffer.  I'm still nervous about bringing in the players we need to survive a long season, but in the short term, I couldn't be happier with the man leading the way.  Lead on, Jol!

Something to watch:

I was thinking this while writing about Riise's runs down the left-hand side – Kacaniklic and Riise seem to have a pretty well-developed innate understanding of each other on the left side of the pitch, don't they? Often when you get an attack-minded defender and a competent winger on the same side it can cause mix-ups on the edge, but Kacaniklic gave way when Riise made runs, and when the youngster was forward the Norweigan knew to stay back.  This is something to keep an eye on, and something that will be a massive asset if it continues.

Manager's reaction:

On the beginning of the game:

"It's a new team. We've got new players up front and Bryan Ruiz came back from his injury and played in the hole. I don't think we started in the way we wanted to but after that slow start we picked up the pace, then we slowed it down again so it wasn't exactly what we wanted from the start."

On Dempsey:

"He wants to move and if you want to move you don't want to take risks and don't want to play. It was a very awkward situation for us and for him. He didn't want to play because of a situation with another club. But what was more awkward is that there is no actual bid or offer from any club. Someone has told him Liverpool want him and his head was turned but for us there was nothing on the table – maybe Clint knows more than us. We feel, and the players feel, he should stay if there is no bid. In a normal world you have to stay where you are because you signed your contract. Hopefully he will play for us again."

On fans mocking of Dempsey:

"I don't want to hear the fans were chanting against him because he was a terrific player for us. He was the most productive midfield player in the whole league last season."

Finally, on others who need to step up in Dempsey's absence:

"Clint scored 17 league goals last season but he wasn't there today. It's not easy for us, it's not easy for the team but today they showed they can do the business. We were open about it – the other players have to stand up and give a bit more in their productivity and their goals. We've always had goals in this team but, before, they never really showed it. Moussa Dembele is a very good player but would only score two or three goals on average, so he should stand up, for example."

Jol also reiterated his desire to add to the midfield and attack in the market.


http://fulhamsfinest.com/2012/08/18/fulham-5-0-norwich-fulham-slam-open-the-seasons-door/?

WhiteJC

 
Jol holds Dempsey hopes
Boss refuses to admit midfielder's pending exit is a formality


Martin Jol: Has not given up on Clint Dempsey's Fulham future

Fulham manager Martin Jol still hopes to hang on to contract rebel Clint Dempsey despite seeing his 'new team' thump Norwich 5-0 in their Premier League opener.

Dempsey has refused to play for the Cottagers as he bids to force a move away from the club, with Liverpool known to be interested in his services.

Jol described the situation as 'embarrassing' earlier in the week, but is optimistic the American will perform a U-turn and stay with the club.

"Hopefully, in the future, he can be involved in the team again," Jol told Sky Sports following Fulham's emphatic win at Craven Cottage.

"Clint scored 17 league goals last season but he wasn't there today. It's not easy for us, it's not easy for the team but today they showed they can do the business.

"We were open about it - the other players have to stand up and give a bit more in their productivity and their goals," he added.

"We've always had goals in this team but, before, they never really showed it.

"Moussa Dembele is a very good player but would only score two or three goals on average, so he should stand up, for example."

Rout

Damien Duff broke the deadlock before a Mladen Petric brace either side of half-time put the hosts in charge.

Further goals from Alex Kacaniklic and Steve Sidwell, who netted a late penalty, confirmed Fulham's dominance.

Jol believes his new-look strike-force came good in the end, despite making a slow start to proceedings.

"It's a new team," claimed Jol, who fielded new signings Petric and Sascha Riether, while Hugo Rodallega made his debut from the bench.

"We've got new players up front and Bryan Ruiz came back from his injury and played in the hole.

"I don't think we started in the way we wanted to but after that slow start we picked up the pace, then we slowed it down again so it wasn't exactly what we wanted from the start."



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/8001789?


WhiteJC

 
Young Celts earn draw with Fulham

A CELTIC Under-17s team earned a deserved 1-1 draw against Fulham Under-18s on Saturday at the FA's National Football Centre, St George's Park.

The youngsters created the better openings in a hard-fought contest against the London side but found themselves a goal down against the run of play in the first half.

However, a strike from Jack Kirwan restored parity before the half-time interval, and neither side were able to find a winner before the final whistle.

The young Hoops had accepted an invitation to be one of the first teams to play at the newly-opened facility.

The superb state-of-the-art complex at Burton-upon-Trent is the FA's flagship for the future of football and the young Celts had stayed in the site's top-class hotel last night ahead of today's game.

It is hoped that the youths will revisit St George's Park again throughout the season



http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=2958

WhiteJC

 
Leave Clint alone! Fuham boss Jol criticises chants directed at wantaway Dempsey

Martin Jol criticised the Fulham fans who mocked the absent Clint Dempsey during Saturday's 5-0 hammering of Norwich.

Dempsey, who scored 23 goals last term, did not feature in Saturday's game after he refused to play for Fulham in the hope that it would accelerate a transfer to Liverpool.

The Cottagers coped admirably without him as they ruined Chris Hughton's first game in charge of Norwich by recording a 5-0 thrashing courtesy of goals from Damien Duff, Steve Sidwell, Alex Kacaniklic and double from debutant Mladen Petric.


New star man: Mladen Petric scored two goals and made another in Fulham's 5-0 thrashing of Norwich

The home fans greeted Fulham's fifth strike - a fierce penalty from Sidwell - by chanting 'Are you watching Clint Dempsey?', clearly delighted they had proven they can easily do without the American's services.

But Jol, whose team sit top of the embryonic Barclays Premier League, feels the 29-year-old deserves more respect from the fans despite his recent rebellion.

'I don't want to hear the fans were chanting against him because he was a terrific player for us,' Jol said after the game.
'He was the most productive midfield player in the whole league last season.'

Jol launched a furious attack on Liverpool on Friday for failing to follow up their initial interest in Dempsey with a firm bid for the player.

The Dutchman said that it was 'impossible' for Dempsey to remain at Craven Cottage, but he now seems open to the possibility of the midfielder staying.

'Hopefully he will play for us again,' the Fulham boss added.

'There is one season to go (on his contract) and no one has come in for him.


Chants: Some sections of the Fulham support jeered Clint Dempsey, chanting, 'Are You Watching Clint Dempsey?'

'To say he refused to play is probably a bit harsh but he wanted to move and if you want to move, you don't want to take risks so you don't want to play in case you get an injury. So for me that was a very awkward situation and it was for him as well.

'There is nothing on the table from Liverpool. Maybe Clint knows more than us but we feel he should stay if there is no other bid.'

Hughton was hoping to score a victory against his former mentor, but his Norwich side looked a shadow of the team that finished 12th under Paul Lambert last season.

Fulham, on the other hand, played out of their skin. Duff controlled an excellent pass from John Arne Riise to put the home side ahead after 25 minutes before Petric added two more goals either side of half-time.


Him too: Damien Duff got in on the act with a goal of his own

The Croatian then played a superb backheel to Alex Kacaniklic for Fulham's fourth and Sidwell blasted home a spot-kick in the dying minutes after Michael Turner's awful foul on Hugo Rodallega in the Norwich box.

Kacaniklic, starting just his third league game, received praise from Jol for slotting in to the team in Dempsey's place.

'I thought we did well on the left. It was not easy to follow in the footsteps of Clint Dempsey but luckily enough (Kacaniklic) did well,' Jol said.

'We did well. We let the ball do the work and we were very good to watch.'


Defence: Martin Jol (left) was critical of those at Craven Cottage who jeered the absent Dempsey

Hughton, who worked under Jol as a coach at Tottenham, admitted that his first top-flight game in 20 months could not have gone worse.

'It was an awful day for us,' Hughton said.

'That's not how you want your first game of the season to go.

'Four of the goals were avoidable. In pre-season we have looked very solid in defence. I had no inkling this would happen.'

Hughton is confident that his men will bounce back from the thrashing, however.

'The players are hurting,' the former Birmingham manager said.

'This won't be the only defeat that we will have and it won't be the only defeat that we will have by a few goals, but the players will want to react well.

'They know this wasn't acceptable today and they want to make amends.'



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2190331/Martin-Jol-criticises-fans-jeering-Clint-Dempsey.html#ixzz23ylLNYfq

WhiteJC


The View From South Texas: Fulham FC v. Norwich City

by HatterDon

I forgot that I had some volunterring to do shortly after the second half started, so this is as quick as I was able to get this report up. MAN, it's nice to be doing match reports again.

Nice Day for a Stroll

Bathed in warm summer sunshine, Fulham fought off that "at the beach" feeling to demolish a very poor Norwich side 5-0. The goals went to Petrić, Duff, Petrić, Kacaniklic, and Sidwell (penalty). Schwarzer enjoyed his 141st Premier League clean sheet, and if he had an easier one, at his age he probably can't remember it.

How poor were Norwich? Very poor. They were easily bossed around in midfield, toothless in attack, and their chief defensive tactic appeared to be maintaining a high line, and then turning and watching Fulham attackers hare towards goal. If England manager Roy Hodgson came to the Cottage to watch Ruddy and Holt, he certainly went away disappointed. Holt commanded some airspace, but did nothing with it, and Ruddy confirmed the absolute truth of England's weakness in goal. If he can be capped and considered to be part of England's future, then England is in serious trouble. I'm sure, by the way, that Hodgson didn't come to watch Fulham, as there wasn't an Englishman in sight all day until Sidwell came on – as the third substitute – with about seven minutes left. He didn't have time to do much, but dispatched his penalty very well.

How good were Fulham? Perhaps the better question would be "how aggressive were Fulham." Fulham took control of the game shortly after kickoff and maintained that control for 90+ minutes. Diarra, Dembélé, and Ruiz commanded the midfield so well that the back four and Tha Big Aussie had very little to do. I think Mark had to make two saves and, in his only action of the first half, fisted away a high cross. There were several players who caught my eye early and never allowed me to look away from them subsequently. Riise screamed down the left wing more in the first half today than he did in any month last season. His aggression and Special K's trickiness caused Norwich no end of trouble in protecting their right flank. Ruiz still has good feet and a great pass on him, but he's added something else this season: he is much quicker and is much more difficult to nudge off the ball. I think it's fair to say that, based on what we saw today, Fulham will lean very heavily on Ruiz and Diarra – the latter playing as close to a perfect game as I've seen in many a moon.

And then there are the new guys. Petrić looks like the complete forward. He holds the ball well, distributes it well, defends very well in the box, nicks the ball smoothly and very much knows where the goal is. He more than earned his brace, and put more into the side than he took out of it. Riether surprised me early on with his pace. He attacks well up the right and his defensive positioning struck me as disciplined and knowledgeable. I think Kelly edges him defensively, but Riether is more of a complete player. Rodallega didn't get much of a chance to do anything, coming on as he did in the 67th minute, but he didn't look slow or indecisive, and that's a good thing.

I was especially pleased to see Pajtim Kasami enter the fray. He didn't perform as well as the man he replaced, but the man he replaced was Damien Duff, so that's no shame. Let's hope he doesn't get buried again this season. He's nowhere near the finished product, but he's getting there. Closer to a finished product is Kacaniklic. He's a legitimate left winger, a huge upgrade over the very good Kerim Frei, and he's not afraid to take a crack. I didn't see anything to criticize in his performance.

So, a good day for a walk in the park turned out to be a walk in the park. As usual, I haven't read any reports or even looked at the other final scores, but I expect we'll be top of the league at the end of the weekend. One swallow doesn't make a summer, and today's result against the side I figure to finish 20th doesn't make us a behemoth, but we've often struggled or seemed to be happy with a 1-0 at home and a 0-0 on the road against teams like this. Today, we went for the throat from the off, and ripped at it time and again. In the last 7 or 8 seasons, I've seen Fulham play "the perfect game" twice in the Premier League – that is (1) making no serious mistakes and (2) everything we tried to do worked. This was true at the Cottage at home to QPR last season. It was true today.

There were entirely too many stellar performances on the pitch today to award a single player man of the match, so Hatter Don's Man of the Match goes to the man who chose the squad and put the 14 players out on the pitch. Martin Jol; well done that man.

COYW


http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=174


WhiteJC

 
FULHAM 5 - NORWICH 0: CANARIES PETRI-FIED

CLINT who? Dempsey dominated thoughts at Craven Cottage before kick-off after Fulham boss Martin Jol launched an angry attack on the player and Liverpool.

But the future of the wantaway striker was soon forgotten as Craven Cottage saluted a new hero in Croatia hit-man Mladen Petric.

Petric produced a near-perfect debut with two goals and a clever assist for a third as Jol's side crushed sorry Norwich.

"To say Clint refused to play is probably a bit harsh," explained Jol, "but he wanted to move and if you want to move, you don't want to take risks so you don't want to play in case you get an injury.

"So for me that was a very awkward situation and for him as well. And obviously what was more awkward is there was no offer from a big club.

"Of course someone told him Liverpool wanted him and his head was turned but for us there was nothing on the table.

"Maybe Clint knows more than us but we feel and the players feel and everyone else feels he should stay here if there is no other bid.

"In the normal world you have to stay where you have a contract and hopefully he will play for us again."
It didn't take Jol's side long to show there can be life Dempsey – Fulham's leading scorer last season.

Bryan Ruiz was almost gifted an 18th minute opening goal when Norwich keeper John Ruddy fluffed a clearance and the Fulham man's chip flew just over the bar.

That was hardly the kind of moment Ruddy needed in front of watching England manager Roy Hodgson – and he had another nervy moment later in the first half.

But Fulham's dominance was always likely to deliver a breakthrough and it came when John Arne Riise set Damien Duff clear and the winger struck the 26th minute opener.

Petric made it two four minutes before the break when his header crossed the line before Jonathan Howson could hook it clear.

New Norwich boss Chris Hughton reacted at half time by changing his side's shape.

But Petric's second, nine minutes after the break, meant there was never any chance of a Canaries comeback.

Instead it went from bad to worse with Alex Kacaniklic converting after the move of the match.

Then with Norwich looking a beaten side, Michael Turner brought down Hugo Rodallega and Steve Sidwell converted from the spot.

Hughton had an opening day to forget and said: "It was an awful day for us. What's important now is what kind of reaction we get."



http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/340657?

WhiteJC

 
Fulham manager holds out olive branch to Clint Dempsey

United States forward Clint Dempsey has not burnt his bridges with Fulham by refusing to play and could still feature for the west London club if a desired move does not materialize, manager Martin Jol said on Saturday.

Fulham showed they hardly needed last season's top scorer when they romped to a 5-0 home win over Norwich City on the Premier League's opening day but Jol's post-match news conference was still dominated by Dempsey's no-show.

"If you want to move you don't want to take risks, you don't want to play because you could get an injury. That's a very awkward situation for us and for me and for him as well," Jol told reporters.

"Maybe Clint knows more than us but we feel and the players feel and everyone else feels that he should stay here if there is no other bid because there is no other bid.

"In a normal world you have to stay where you are because you signed your contract and hopefully he will play for us again." added Jol.

Dempsey scored 17 league goals for Fulham last term despite not being an out-and-out striker and United States boss Juergen Klinsmann said in May he hoped the 29-year-old would move to a Champions League side after his fine campaign.

Liverpool, who are not in the Champions League this season and started life under new manager Brendan Rodgers with a 3-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, have long been linked in the media with a bid for Dempsey along with Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side, who drew 0-0 with Sunderland, are in Europe's elite competition and need fresh forwards after selling leading striker Robin van Persie to Manchester United.



http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/fulham-manager-holds-out-olive-branch-to-clint-dempsey/article4487956/?

WhiteJC

 
Horror Show
   
This was to be the start of a new era, Paul Lambert has gone and Chris Hughton duly took a Norwich City side heavily influenced by Lambert to Craven Cottage for the first game of the season.

Two of Hughton`s summer signings, Michael Turner and Robert Snodgrass were in the City first eleven - other than that it was familiar faces all round.

A back four of Martin, Tierney, Bennett and Turner sat behind a midfield three of Surman, Johnson and Howson. Upfront, Captain Holt was supported by Pilkington on the left and Snodgrass on the right.

The match kicked off in glorious 30 degree sunshine and for ninety seconds or so, Fulham didn`t see the ball, Norwich playing a slick passing game. After that though, it all started to go wrong.

An impressive Fulham side started to push the Canaries backwards. It quickly became very hard for the City players to get the ball, let alone keep it or do much with it.

Riise spent most of this match in the Norwich half and made some tremendous surging runs. On the other side it was Damien Duff who did the same.

City were being pushed further and further back with Pilkington and Snodgrass dropping back to help out time and time again. Eventually they were playing as extra full backs as City started to play with six at the back - I`m sure this wasn`t tactically what Hughton had in mind when he was planning for this game at Colney during last week.

City had the odd chance on the break, the "best" falling to Surman who ran onto a lovely Holt flick. Unfortunately he was pushed wide and had no choice other than to hit a shot from a tight angle which brought a sharp save from Schwarzer.

A Fulham goal was coming and on 18 minutes, it almost came to Ruiz as Ruddy`s shanked clearance fell to Ruiz. Luckily though, he could only he could only lob over the cross bar.

Dembele was controlling the midfield now and Ruddy had to make three very good saves from Riise, Ruiz and then Petric that will have pleased the watching Roy Hodgson.

On 26 minutes though the inevitable happened. Riise played a huge 60 odd yard cross field to Duff who raced toward Ruddy with the City defence flailing. He slotted the ball past Ruddy who will feel disappointed as he almost stopped it with his right foot.

Petric doubled the lead when he headed Duff`s corner in, the ball was correctly ruled over despite Howson`s clearance.

At half time it was 2 nil and Fulham were cruising. Holt had become an increasingly isolated figure up front, alone and in need of help.

For the second half, Hughton took off Surman and brought on Steve Morison. City were chasing the game and Surman will feel his luck was out as he had been one of the midfield`s livelier performers - that`s not saying much though.

Norwich reverted to a 4-4-2 but you have to get crosses into the box for players like Holt and Morison - in the first half this just didn`t happen.

In the second there was a brief rally from the Canaries before they fell three behind. Ruiz played Petric into space 25 yards out and he had a go. His shot deflecting off Michael Turner to leave Ruddy stranded.

The game was now over, although City`s performance suggested that was the case a long while before the third goal went in.

Snodgrass was replaced immediately with Elliot Bennett but no amount of changes would do anything here today.

On 66 minutes, Petric played a lovely flick to Kacaniklic who strode forward and slotted the ball past Ruddy to make it four nil - an absolute nightmare and with 25 minutes still to play.

Bradley Johnson`s 25 yard effort was about as good as it got for the City faithful and Schwarzer blocked it with his knees, without too much trouble.

Petric had been replaced by Rodallega after the fourth goal and was looking to add to Fulham`s tally - what better time to make your debut?

With just three minutes left and the Canary fans starting to drift away, Rodallega was up-ended by a clumsy challenge from Turner in the box - Steve Sidwell smashed the resulting penalty past a helpless John Ruddy to finish the scoring at five nil.

Another, shell shocked afternoon at Fulham for Norwich City - at one point I thought it was going to be worse than the infamous six nil defeat there in 2005.

Make no mistake about it though, this was a terrible drubbing at the hands of a decent Fulham side. But they aren`t Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal or Chelsea are they? No disrespect to you Fulham lads - you were by far the better side today.

Chris Hughton will be mightily worried by what he saw - as were the rest of us. Norwich offered little or nothing in an offensive manner and our most threatening times were from set pieces which were on the whole, comfortably dealt with.

Quite why this happened, only the players know. It was a very hot afternoon and I wouldn`t have fancied running around for ninety minutes, but Fulham managed it just fine.

Arguably, last season, we were only drubbed twice - both times at the hands of Champions, Manchester City and they have a team of Galacticos.

If Norwich City want to stay in this league then they have to be more than competitive against the teams around them, which you would assume is what Fulham are.

The City management team must now respond and so must the players.

Next week we play our first home game against a QPR side who were also drubbed five nil by a free scoring Swansea team. This game now takes on important status for both sides.

If either side lose heavily, then a truly awful start to the season is complete. Both managers will know this and do everything they can on the training pitch this week to ensure it doesn`t happen.

Which set of players will respond the best? I`m hoping that it`ll be the Norwich lads. I`m also hoping that our manager is looking at further attacking signings.

I still feel that we need another goal scorer - We have two target men in Holt and Morison and I know James Vaughan could be like a new player for us but if you don`t score, you won`t win.

On this display though, the defence could do with some help as well. Javier Garrido is in the building and there may be another - anyone else notice that Steve Morison has vacated the number five shirt he requested last season for the number sixteen shirt(?!). Let`s hope this signals the arrival of another centre back because on this performance our defence is leakier than ever.

We move on and look forward to our first home match now - onwards and upwards, it`s the only thing we can do. This cannot happen again or we`ll be playing Ipswich next season.

OTBC



Read more: http://www.norwich.vitalfootball.co.uk/sitepage.asp?a=290539#ixzz23ynx7IMU


WhiteJC

 
Spurs are planning another bid for Fulham star – report

Tottenham are planning to table another bid for Fulham's Moussa Dembele, the Sunday Mirror say.

Dembele has previously been linked with a move to White Hart Lane and Spurs are again said to be pursuing him.

The same paper also suggest Luka Modric will snub a fresh approach from Chelsea to join Real Madrid from Tottenham, and that Chelsea have been tracking Newcastle midfielders Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye.

The Sun on Sunday pick up on Chelsea youngster Josh McEachran's imminent loan move.

Related West London Sport stories:
McEachran poised to complete Boro move
McEachran expects six-month loan move

Meanwhile, The People say QPR boss Mark Hughes is planning an ambitious bid for Barcelona centre-back Andreu Fontas.

It is claimed talks have begun ahead of a possible £4.5m move for the 22-year-old, who has a year of his Barca contract left to run.


http://www.westlondonsport.com/paper-talk/spurs-are-planning-another-bid-for-fulham-star-report

WhiteJC

 
Fulham 5 - 0 Norwich



Mladen Petric scored twice on his debut as Fulham crushed Norwich 5-0 on the first day of the Premier League season.

The Croatian striker headed in a Damien Duff corner and scored with a 25-yard effort that deflected in off City defender Michael Turner.

Duff poked in the first from 12 yards after latching onto John Arne Riise's through ball while Alex Kacaniklic tucked in the fourth from close range.

Steve Sidwell smashed in a late penalty after Hugo Rodellaga was bundled over.

The Cottagers bossed the match almost from the opening whistle with their quick, neat passing game leaving Norwich chasing shadows on a gloriously sunny day in west London.

Moussa Dembele and Bryan Ruiz were at the centre of much of Fulham's better work, controlling the middle of the pitch and feeding Duff down the right and Riise the left.

However, it took 18 minutes for the home side to have their first shot on goal and that came from a Norwich mistake - goalkeeper John Ruddy screwing a clearance straight at Ruiz but the Costa Rican's lobbed effort sailed over the crossbar.

Spurred on by the chance, Fulham created three of their own in quick succession but Ruddy was equal to each, showing why he won his first England cap in the midweek 2-1 friendly win over Italy.

Firstly, he was down smartly to keep out Riise's low drive, before gathering a tamer 20-yard Ruiz shot and palming a sharp Petric effort round the post.

Duff's delight
Fulham's Damien Duff has now scored in 13 Premier League seasons. The only other Irishman to match that record is Robbie Keane. Duff's first top-flight goal came in the 1997-98 season


The Fulham goal that looked so likely eventually came when Riise pinged a beautiful 60-yard crossfield pass to Duff and although Ruddy managed to get his right foot on the goal-bound shot, the ball spun into the net.

Petric doubled the lead before half-time, nodding in Duff's corner, to score his first goal for the Cottagers - assistant referee Charles Breakspear correctly ruling that the ball had crossed the line despite Jonny Howson's attempted clearance.

New Norwich manager Chris Hughton brought on Steve Morison at the start of the second half to give lone forward Grant Holt some support but with Fulham continuing to boss the midfield, they were getting little service.

Indeed it was Fulham who further extended their lead when a neat passing triangle involving Ruiz and Petric saw the latter find space 25 yards from goal and his left-foot effort deflected off Turner to leave Ruddy wrong-footed.

If the third goal had an element of fortune about it, the fourth was delightfully crafted with Petric flicking a Dembele pass into the path of Kacaniklic and the Swede neatly slotted the ball past Ruddy.

Petric was immediately substituted to a standing ovation and, with the game won, Duff was afforded the same accolade by manager Martin Jol.

Bradley Johnson's 25-yard drive was a rare highlight for the visiting fans but Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer kept the shot out with his knees.

With Norwich fans already beginning to drift away, Rodellaga was felled by Turner and Sidwell converted the penalty as Fulham maintained their record of never having lost a home Premier League game on the opening day of the season.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19221586

WhiteJC

 
Flawless Fulham canter past the Canaries
by DAN on AUGUST 19, 2012


Damien Duff slides Fulham's first goal past John Ruddy at the Putney End


Poor old Norwich City. Every time they travel to Craven Cottage they seem to relive the same nightmare. They came with genuine hope of pulling off the impossible back in 2005 with a win on the final day of the season the only way they could prolong their all too brief stay in the top flight under Nigel Worthington. Fulham, with lean, mean Brian McBride playing party pooper, dispatched their with such disdain it was almost cruel and unusual. It was much closer in March when Paul Lambert's side looked well beaten after two early strikes from Clint Dempsey and Damien Duff, but threatened to pinch a point after Aaron Wilbraham's spirited riposte with thirteen minutes to play.

On another roasting summer's afternoon alongside the Thames, there was clear water between these two sides by half time. Fulham, with just one defeat in a pre-season campaign that was all about finessing Martin Jol's revamp of the club's footballing philosophy, had the game settled by half time. There was no American to torment the Canaries, with McBride limited to cameos for Wembley FC, and Dempsey persona non grata after attempting to force through away from the Cottage in the wake of a truly astonishing twelve months of football.

On the flanks were one evergreen Irishman in Damien Duff, who opened the scoring with a sumptuous finish after sprinting onto a raking crossfield ball from John Arne Riise which Mark Tiereney decided to admire along with the rest of the Riverside Stand, and Fulham's newest international in Alex Kacaniklic, who underscored the potential he showed as a Melwood junior, with his first senior Premier League goal only three days after coming off the bench for his Swedish debut against Brazil. Fulham's four summer additions all featured with Mladen Petric grabbing a couple on his Premier League debut, Sascha Riether raiding forward from right back, Hugo Rodallega winning a penalty from the bench and Mahamadou Diarra, who made his short-term switch permanent over the close season, delivering the kind of imperious display that convinced Real Madrid to make him their big-money replacement for Claude Makelele. In these times when we're asked to make every penny count, the fact that Martin Jol has yet to spent any of Mohamed Al Fayed's millions and has strengthened considerably since last season's surge in the final furlong is commendable.

Not that Chris Hughton enjoyed his chastening reintroduction to life as a top flight manager. The Canaries hadn't looked particularly porous during a tight opening 25 minutes, limiting Fulham's flowing one-touch football to a few snapshots from distance until the end of the first quarter. Bryan Ruiz, playing in the inside forward role that was Johnny Haynes' for a decade, buzzed around with a frenetic energy that has only intensified during his first full pre-season in England.

The Costa Rican might have opened the scoring with an impudent chip over John Ruddy after the England keeper had mishit a clearance but the man handed his international opportunity by Roy Hodgson in Bern was equal to efforts from Riise and Ruiz from the edge of the box. He might have felt he should have prevented Duff's dinked finish from rolling in off the far post having seen the ball spin away off his right foot, but any opprobrium should be saved for the way his back four allowed Riise's sixty yard diagonal pass afford Duff a sprint through on goal. The thirty-three year-old has now scored in thirteen top flight campaigns since 1997-98, a record only bettered by Robbie Keane, Alan Shearer, Gary Speed, Andrew Cole, Ryan Giggs and his compatriot Robbie Keane.

Petric, who needed no introduction to the Fulham faithful after his fierce free-kick at the Hammersmith End threatened to ruin Fulham's big night in the Europa League three years ago, continued his clinical conversion rate with a glancing header from a Duff corner three minutes before the break. There was no need for the goal-line technology even Sepp Blatter's so keen on, assistant referee Charles Breakspear's alertness swiftly informing  Michael Oliver that Jonny Howson's attempt to clear before his own crossbar took place inside the net.

Hughton was pair enough to pair Steve Morison, who might have moved from Millwall to Craven Cottage rather than Carrow Road in the January window a couple of years, with the isolated Grant Holt for the second period but his back four failed to heed his half-time words about the need to regain their discipline. The Canaries allowed Ruiz and Petric far too much room to operate in 25 yards from goal and were punished courtesy of the former Hamburg forward's left foot, with Ruddy a spectator after the ball spun off Michael Turner into the opposite corner.

Norwich's rearguard were left looking even more leaden footed by a move straight off the Motspur Park training board. Another of Moussa Dembele's mesmorising dribbles created the space for a lovely triangle between Ruiz, Petric and Kacaniklic. The Croatian's cute backheel gave the Swede the chance to skip away from a horribly square defence and steer a low shot beyond the helpless Ruddy – which was a fitting reward for Kacaniklic's energetic display. A fifth arrived from the penalty spot after Turner needlessly felled Hugo Rodallega after Norwich tried to play their way out of trouble from the edge of their own box and the spot-kick was comprehensively converted by Steve Sidwell, who took out twelve months of injury frustration on the ball, a few minutes after arriving as a substitute.

Mark Schwarzer was a virtual spectator for much of the contest called upon to make only two saves, although his late stop from Bradley Johnson's dipping drive was worthy of the clean sheet that took him above David Seaman into second place on the Premier League's all-time tally behind only David James. Craven Cottage, soon to be expanded to a 30,000 capacity, can't have seen many better starts to a season than this. Delia Smith and Chris Hughton will be glad it'll be at least twelve months since they have to return for a league fixture.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Schwarzer; Riether, J.A. Riise, Hughes, Hangeland; Diarra, Dembélé; Duff (Kasami 74), Kacaniklic, Ruiz (Sidwell 81); Petri?  (Rodallega 68). Subs (not used): Stockdale, Kelly, Halliche, Baird.

GOALS: Duff (26), Petric (41, 54), Kacaniklic (66), Sidwell (pen 87).

NORWICH CITY (4-5-1): Ruddy, R. Martin, Turner, R. Bennett, Tierney; B. Johnson, Howson, Surman (Morison 45), Pilkington, Snodgrass (E. Bennett 56); Holt (Hoolahan 77). Subs (not used): Rudd, Barnett, Lappin, Vaughan.

REFEREE: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

ATTENDANCE: 25,062.



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