Wednesday Fulham Stuff(22/08/12)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Cottagers keen on Stekelenburg
Dutch keeper on Fulham's radar


Maarten Stekelenburg: Has spent just one season in Italy with Roma

Sky Sports understands that Fulham are lining up a move for Roma's Holland international goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

The 29-year-old shot-stopper only moved to Italy last summer, bringing to an end his long association with Ajax.

A product of the Dutch club's famed academy system, Stekelenburg made close to 300 senior appearances before opting to take on a new challenge.

His Serie A adventure could, however, be brought to an end after just 12 months and Fulham are believed to be keen on taking him to the Premier League.

The Cottagers have Mark Schwarzer and David Stockdale on their books, but are looking to bring in another experienced keeper with his best years ahead of him.

Stekelenburg fits into that category having been involved in two World Cups and two European Championships - including Euro 2012.



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/8009641?

[WhiteJC]

 
Mr Reliable

Mark Schwarzer's appearance in Saturday's victory over Norwich City meant that the Australian stopper has now performed in 16 of the 21 Premier League campaigns in the competition's history.

It's a statistic that can only be matched by an elite group of footballers but Mark has always remained humble regarding his undeniable accomplishments.

"I suppose it's because of the appreciation of what you've got and what a great life we have, and what a great job I have," the 'keeper explained. "So it's that appreciation of what I do and not taking it for granted I think that is probably the key for me the older I've got, and wanting to make the most of it."

Since making his debut for Bradford City as a 24-year-old in November 1996, Mark has gone on to make hundreds of appearances between the sticks on English soil and our No.1 admits that he has seen the game change considerably during his time in the UK.

"I think the whole standard has improved dramatically from when I first arrived in 1996," Mark said. "I think the professionalism of the clubs has just gone through the roof. It has had to, I think, with the influx of foreign players.

"There was such a gap in the way foreign players trained and lived their life as a footballer in comparison to British players back then. But things have evolved tremendously and I think that definitely helped the game in this country.

"Some would argue that maybe it's halted the growth of some of the British players coming through, but I think on the contrary. I think it's actually helped a lot of the players improve and become world class players as a result of the influx of top quality footballers that have come to this country."

Schwarzer is now one of the Club's longest-serving current players and while the 39-year-old has enjoyed nothing other than success during his time in SW6, he remains eager to help his Team continue to grow as a Premier League force.

"This is my fifth season at the Club and in the four seasons I've been here we've been in the top ten three out of those four times," Mark stated. "And the one time we weren't, we made the Europa League final so that wasn't a bad consolation.

"So we want to continue to establish ourselves as a top ten team and show that it has not just been a good couple of seasons for us. Hopefully there will be a lot more to come in the future.

"We're a Club that deserves the right to have been in the Premier League for as long as we have been. We are a family orientated Club who play in a very traditional stadium - which I think the league needs.

"Time and time again we have proven we can mix it with the best teams and have had some fantastic results every season against the best sides in the country which goes to show that we fully deserve to be in the league we are in."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/august/22/mr-reliable?