Too much, too quickly?

[General]

The rate at which the team that got us to the europa league final got dispanded has been almost entirely completed.

We had an incredible strong team spirit, a squad full of top pros who respected the club and respected each other - when you achieve a European final that make sense.

But when you don't sign these players up to good contracts, when you let them go and show no respect to them or their work then it can leave players dillusioned - is this what has happened to Dempsey?

Whether you liked AJ, Zamora etc, they all did well and where good friends.

Etuhu must have been the last straw - along with Murphy and no incomings who weren't coming in for a free one year deals or loans must've put a massive bee in his bonnet. It's well noted that Dempsey and Etuhu are good friends.


Also - anyone else find it off that Petric, Ruiz and riise have all just fallen injured in our last two games?

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Danny Murphy- 35
Bobby Zamora - 31
Andy Johnson - 31
Dickson Etuhu 30

I think this might be more to do with why they left

[Jack Fulham]

Teams change because managers change. Roy's football is different to Martin's football it requires a different type of player.

[Lighthouse]

Players fell out with Jol for whatever reason. Sadly we seem not to have a plan to replace them. Hardly young players brought in to replace some of them but so far the squad is very weak in most positions. Three days to go and now Jol is saying that like most clubs we wait for the last few days. He only said a few days a go that he hoped not to leave things to the last minute.

[zzamora]

Players fell out with Jol for whatever reason. Sadly we seem not to have a plan to replace them. Hardly young players brought in to replace some of them but so far the squad is very weak in most positions. Three days to go and now Jol is saying that like most clubs we wait for the last few days. He only said a few days a go that he hoped not to leave things to the last minute.

Media media media.

[fulhamfan]

teams change because players get old yeh?

[General]

Danny Murphy- 35
Bobby Zamora - 31
Andy Johnson - 31
Dickson Etuhu 30

I think this might be more to do with why they left

..... *head in hands*... You think? But it's not just an age thing.... it's a dynamic thing, and it's the simplistic thinking you show in this post that is probably the way the idiot who let all these deals go through without having people to bring in.

No person in their right mind minds about players leaving, but when you add in the levels of success that they had, their friendships and you take apart the meaning that they've developed with those friendships and the success that these players had, then players like Dempsey who were here and succeeded with them start doubting the wisdom of the moves as the players were still capable of producing the goods or at least the memories to make a player feel comfortable of being in a place capable of achieving something - they can see it - Etuhu, whether you thought he was any good scored that goal in Turin. Danny pulled all the strings. Zamora terrorised defences.

These successes, no matter how old the players where were a good enough reason for Dempsey to stay as it reminded him of his success and the posibility of success. Add in that foreign/alien element and you're back to square one.

[Lighthouse]

teams change because players get old yeh?

The team will change very quickly if the replacements are also old.

[Classic94]

The club are pinning their hopes on the likes of Briggs, Frei, Kacaniklic, Mesca, Trotta, amongst others to step up from the youth setup while bringing in stop-gaps such as Reither, Riise, Diarra, Petric etc. and retaining a handful of experienced players - Schwarzer, Hughes, Hangeland + Duff to ease the transition. Nevertheless, the club simply cannot sustain the losses of Dempsey + Dembele in a single window without significant reinvestment.

[west kowloon white]

Am amazed that anyone could be disappointed at any of the above being let go(perhaps Murphy-but spared the posts re how slow he is)

[LBNo11]

The club are pinning their hopes on the likes of Briggs, Frei, Kacaniklic, Mesca, Trotta, amongst others to step up from the youth setup while bringing in stop-gaps such as Reither, Riise, Diarra, Petric etc. and retaining a handful of experienced players - Schwarzer, Hughes, Hangeland + Duff to ease the transition. Nevertheless, the club simply cannot sustain the losses of Dempsey + Dembele in a single window without significant reinvestment.

...that's how I see it too. I am all for bringing in the youth - as long as they are good enough. Kacaniklic and Frei and possibly Mesca look good enough, and I still have the faith that Briggs will make the grade. I have yet to see Trotta really impress me but he shows more signs than Kasami. We also have Burn and Peniket who are gaining maturity so we certainly look to have a good young set up overall. Of course we need the wise old heads as the backbone of the team, but if they are injured we will look lightweight, and with Dembele all but gone and the suspected imminent loss of Dempsey and his goals will be cause for major concern.

Too much too soon for me too, I would have preferred a gradual transition that doesn't put all the kids under pressure at the same time. Yes we have a few hours left before the transfer window closes and the release of Dembele may have been the required trigger to bring someone else in, but although squad players are fine we still need the game turners, and the Dems were just that...

[TonyGilroy]

Am amazed that anyone could be disappointed at any of the above being let go(perhaps Murphy-but spared the posts re how slow he is)

I agree.

I understand that as the group is dismantled those remaining may become anxious or disaffected but change was necessary. Murphy might have managed one more year and had I been in charge I'd have given him a 2 year contract to keep him but for all that Jol is right to be looking at a post Murphy team.

The mystery is Dempsey's attitude but, for all that we might guess, none of us really know what that's about.

[LordNelson]

The club are pinning their hopes on the likes of Briggs, Frei, Kacaniklic, Mesca, Trotta, amongst others to step up from the youth setup while bringing in stop-gaps such as Reither, Riise, Diarra, Petric etc. and retaining a handful of experienced players - Schwarzer, Hughes, Hangeland + Duff to ease the transition. Nevertheless, the club simply cannot sustain the losses of Dempsey + Dembele in a single window without significant reinvestment.

WHY--so we can just sell them off whenever they begin to peak a la Smalling?????????

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Danny Murphy- 35
Bobby Zamora - 31
Andy Johnson - 31
Dickson Etuhu 30

I think this might be more to do with why they left

..... *head in hands*... You think? But it's not just an age thing.... it's a dynamic thing, and it's the simplistic thinking you show in this post that is probably the way the idiot who let all these deals go through without having people to bring in.

No person in their right mind minds about players leaving, but when you add in the levels of success that they had, their friendships and you take apart the meaning that they've developed with those friendships and the success that these players had, then players like Dempsey who were here and succeeded with them start doubting the wisdom of the moves as the players were still capable of producing the goods or at least the memories to make a player feel comfortable of being in a place capable of achieving something - they can see it - Etuhu, whether you thought he was any good scored that goal in Turin. Danny pulled all the strings. Zamora terrorised defences.

These successes, no matter how old the players where were a good enough reason for Dempsey to stay as it reminded him of his success and the posibility of success. Add in that foreign/alien element and you're back to square one.

*head in hands*

You are suggesting that these players, who are now several years older, would have played exactly as well as they did under Hodgson this coming season.

This ignores the fact that we have since had two managers with different styles, the current one more than the last.

The Hodgson team was great because it was a team. We had a solid spine which ran the team - Schwarzer, Hangeland, Murphy, Zamora. This was great and these players, along with their team mates, exceeded expectation by pulling together in a particular style.

Fast forward to now. We are two years down the line. We have a second new manager (through no fault of the clubs) who wants to play a different sytem. This is perfectly understandable. We also had a load of players who were getting to the end of their careers. The two conflated to produce the need to move forward with new players.

I dont really see your point at all. Do you honestly believe we should have simply kept the same team indefinitely? Football is about constant change, particularly for a club like Fulham

[bulgariawhite]

According to press reports Dembele was having a medical last night. Still no confirmation, so is there a hick-up on personal terms or something

[LordNelson]

The club are pinning their hopes on the likes of Briggs, Frei, Kacaniklic, Mesca, Trotta, amongst others to step up from the youth setup while bringing in stop-gaps such as Reither, Riise, Diarra, Petric etc. and retaining a handful of experienced players - Schwarzer, Hughes, Hangeland + Duff to ease the transition. Nevertheless, the club simply cannot sustain the losses of Dempsey + Dembele in a single window without significant reinvestment.

Too much too soon for me too, I would have preferred a gradual transition that doesn't put all the kids under pressure at the same time.

:plus one:

[Grant]

Let's hope so.

[Swfc1234]

Wrong section

[Classic94]

The club are pinning their hopes on the likes of Briggs, Frei, Kacaniklic, Mesca, Trotta, amongst others to step up from the youth setup while bringing in stop-gaps such as Reither, Riise, Diarra, Petric etc. and retaining a handful of experienced players - Schwarzer, Hughes, Hangeland + Duff to ease the transition. Nevertheless, the club simply cannot sustain the losses of Dempsey + Dembele in a single window without significant reinvestment.

Too much too soon for me too, I would have preferred a gradual transition that doesn't put all the kids under pressure at the same time.

:plus one:

I also agree, which is why I believe atleast 4 players are needed before September 1st, two of which should be genuine first-team material rather than squad players. If this doesn't happen then I will be concerned and extremely angry. The kids should be eased in. Throwing them all in at once is not ideal, particularly at this level.

[jarv]

Too much too soon....sounds a bit like last year with the back 4.  I have confidence (but the road will be bumpy now).
Look at otehr teams in the division......wigan, southampton, west ham, aston villa, norwich, qpr.....I expect Fulham to finish above all of them.
Jol needs to improve away results and the team needs to understand every game against the above is a 6 pointer, starting with west ham on saturday.  A win would be huge for morale.