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Tuesday Fulham Stuff (02/10/12)...

Started by WhiteJC, October 02, 2012, 04:32:59 AM

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WhiteJC

 
Petric`s Return!
   
Deprived of the services of Dimitar Berbatov on Saturday, Martin Jol was looking towards Mladen Petric to provide the attacking threat needed to break Manchester City`s defiant defence.

As it turned out, Petric got on the score-sheet, from the penalty spot, but was unable to prevent the tidal wave of City attacks that left us reeling.

After the game, Jol mulled over the return of Petric but also Berbatov`s absence, remarking to the media,

"Petric did well, coming back after three or four weeks out."

"But of course Berbatov has qualities that can make a difference against a team like Manchester City. Someone told me he`s played 10 times against them and lost only once which gave me confidence."

"So it was very disappointing for us when he got his injury on Thursday."

It was, but I get the impression that we`d have been hard done t match City, on Saturday, even with Dimitar in the starting eleven, they were that vibrant.


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=295124#ixzz286p6nZXW

WhiteJC

 
Would Reo-Coker Be an Option?
   
With our midfield, in my opinion, not as good as that we had last year, how could we go about improving it?

With most options out of the question due to the transfer window being closed, the best option left to us is to secure the services of somebody who is out of contract.

One such player is Nigel Reo Coker.

Still only 28 years of age, Reo-Coker is without a club having left relegated Bolton Wanderers to seek Premier League football.

But it appears his quest to achieve that is being frustrated by bogus agents with Reo taking up the story,

"I`ve discovered people have been contacting clubs, claiming to represent me, and been telling them how much money I supposedly want."

"Yet no one has spoken to me about it. I`ve made no demands."

"If it was all about money, I`d have stayed at Bolton and picked up a Premier League wage in the Championship."

"I left because I wanted to stay in the top flight and to move nearer to London as I`ve just got married."

Reo-Coker has, during his career, played for West Ham and Aston Villa, as well as Bolton, could he offer us something different?

Your views please!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=295125#ixzz286pHiGzm

WhiteJC

 
Liverpool U21s 3-0 Fulham U21s

Fulham Under-21s went down by three goals to nil against a strong Liverpool outfit in Merseyside on Monday afternoon.

The Whites went into the game looking to build on their fine win against Manchester City, but an established Reds side featuring Joe Cole proved too strong.

"The scoreline was probably fair enough as they created the better chances," Manager Kit Symons told fulhamfc.com after the game. "We were one-nil down at half-time through a goal from Joe Cole who scored with a good finish across the 'keeper.

"In the second half they were the better team; we were up against the wind and couldn't really get out of our half. Although saying that, we had a really good chance early on in the second period to equalise which we didn't take. Tom Donegan got a good cross in from the right – he worked very hard today and was probably our best player – he flashed the ball across the face of the goal and then two or three players came in but all just missed it for a tap-in.

"We lacked a bit of belief and came too deep and couldn't really get out – we were penned in for long periods. Then we found a bit more belief but they scored the second and then the third was an own goal. It came off the 'keeper and then Sean Kavanagh couldn't get out the way so it was a bit unfortunate the third one. It wasn't a particularly good display; there weren't enough good performances."

The match saw some familiar faces return to the starting XI – and one new one – which Kit admitted were the only positives he could really take from a disappointing afternoon.

"There were lots of people coming back from injury," he said. "It was James Musa's first game since he signed which was obviously good. It was Alex Brister's first game back from injury, he's been out for a few weeks so things like that we'll take as positives but there's not too many today to be honest.

"Liverpool are a good team but we obviously set our standards very high and I still expected more than what we were able to produce today. There's no shame or embarrassment losing 3-0 away to Liverpool because they're a decent side but it's more the manner of the defeat that disappointed me."


The Whites don't have to wait long for the opportunity to return to winning ways as local rivals Chelsea visit Craven Cottage on Friday evening. Show your support for Kit and the boys, with tickets priced at just £3 for adults and £1 for concessions!

Liverpool: 1. Gulacsi, 2. McLaughlin, 3. Wilson, 4. Sama, 5. Sokolik, 6. Coady (c), 7. Morgan (16. Ibe), 8. Roddan, 9. Ngoo, 10. Adorjan (14. Teixeira), 11.Cole (15. Pelosi)

Subs (not used): 12. Huertas, 13. Ward


Fulham: 1. Somogyi, 2. Brister, 3. Kavanagh, 4. Minkwitz (14. Altman), 5. Musa, 6. Grimmer, 7. Dalla Valle, 8. Smith (c), 9. Trotta (16. Islamovic), 10. Donegan, 11. Banya


Subs (not used): 12. Grainger, 15. Vigen Christensen, 17. Pritchard



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/01/u21s-result?


WhiteJC


Dan Burn keen to extend Yeovil Town loan stay after 'crazy' debut

Defender Dan Burn's eventful Yeovil Town debut has not knocked his desire to stay in Somerset for the rest of the season providing he impresses.

The giant Fulham youngster is in line for his second appearance of a youth loan spell tonight against Portsmouth, just three days after starting at Preston North End.

The Glovers slumped to their fifth consecutive npower League One defeat on Saturday, with Burn scoring at either end in the 3-2 reverse.

Despite have just 90 minutes under his belt so far, Burn said he would be happy to extend his deal beyond the initial month if he proves a success.

"We will see how it goes and see what happens," he said. "If I play well and I put in some good performances and the team is playing well I can't see why it can't go until the end of the season."

Twenty-year-old Burn first caught manager Gary Johnson's eye as a teenager at the Cottagers, having first played for local club Darlington in the season they were relegated from the Football League.

Although yet to make a Premier League appearance, Burn - a regular in this Fulham's under-21 development side - comes highly-rated by his parent club.

The 6ft 6ins left-footer described his Yeovil bow as "crazy", saying: "It was great to be playing first team football, we are just disappointed with the result.

"There are not many games that you can say you have scored an own goal and gone up the other end and scored as well. It was my first goal in three years.

"It (the own goal) was just one of them where if I had reacted quicker I would have been in a position to deal with it but I was in my stride and I couldn't get out of the way if I tried.

"I had it in my mind that that I would just go for it and try to get my team back in the game. I saw the ball drop over the keeper and I was in total shock.

"It would have been great if that goal had gone in and we won 3-2, it was just a shame I scored when we lost."

Burn said the Glovers were now focused on channeling their disappointment into tonight's clash with Pompey and ending their point-less streak.

"It is a very frustrated dressing room but we will train and get it out of our minds and try and get back on winning ways," he said.

"That is the thing with the league, we have got games Saturday, Tuesday so we haven't got time to think about that game which is gone because it is out of your mind and we can focus on the next game.

"It is a shame what has happened to Portsmouth but they are still playing in a very good league so they are going to be a tough test.

"They have got some good players and some young players but it is probably a good time to be playing them if there is one to play Portsmouth.

"It takes it out of you mentally when you feel you have got to win every game to get out of it but going into Tuesday we will just try to get that win straight away.

"Bringing in new lads brings a bit of freshness and lifts the team so I am hoping I can do that."



http://www.thisisdorset.co.uk/story-17018959-detail/story.html?

WhiteJC

 
Grygera suffers Fulham setback

ZDENEK Grygera's chances of landing a new Fulham deal were dealt a blow after he suffered a setback in his comeback from injury.

The versatile Czech defender is out of contract after suffering cruciate ligament damage back in November last year, but is still training with the Whites in a bid to earn fresh terms.

Grygera was nearing full fitness after playing a handful of games for the reserves, only to pick up a thigh problem last week.

And boss Martin Jol will wait until the injury clears up before making a decision on his future.

He said: "Grygera has had a setback because he got injured. He looked ever so well, played in the reserves and kept them together and they had better results than before.

"He has a thigh problem so we have to wait and see because we wanted to make a decision on him in the next week and now there's a little step back again."



Read More http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/fulham-fc/2012/10/02/82029-31948579/?#ixzz289Lma6J3

WhiteJC

 
Bittersweet Return

Saturday's clash with Barclays Premier League champions Manchester City saw Mladen Petric return to the starting XI in place of the injured Dimitar Berbatov.

The striker took just 10 minutes to announce his return with a goal as he clinically sent Joe Hart the wrong way from 12 yards after John Arne Riise had been felled in the penalty box.

And although Mladen was delighted to be back in the side and amongst the goals, he was unable to enjoy his achievement post-match, as the Whites were left empty-handed following Edin Dzeko's late winner.

"Of course I'm happy to be back scoring again," Petric told fulhamfc.com. "It's always good for a striker to score. I had a good start to my Fulham career but then I was a bit injured. I'm happy to be back now and of course I'm happy about my goal but I wasn't really happy because we didn't win.

"We were not too pleased with our game in the second half – I think we were too deep and they had a lot of possession and we needed to be a bit braver. We defended very well but at the end it was a pity that they scored.

"Of course it's hard to play against footballers as good as that but we shouldn't have let them play as much as they did. If we'd managed to keep the ball a bit more then it would have been a different game but they were better than us on the day and probably deserved to win."

Petric's inclusion at the weekend highlighted the depth of attacking options Martin Jol now has at his disposal and Mladen admits he is looking forward to his first run-out alongside Berbatov.

"It will be good when Dimitar comes back to fitness and I look forward to attacking with him," he said. "He's a very good player and I'm looking forward to playing with him in the future and I'm sure we can cause some trouble for the teams we play."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/02/bittersweet-return?


WhiteJC

 
Injury setback for Grygera


Zdenek Grygera: Suffered an injury setback

Zdenek Grygera has suffered an injury setback to throw his Fulham future further into doubt.

The Czech defender damaged cruciate ligaments in November but though his contact subsequently expired, he continued to train with the Cottagers in a bid to earn fresh terms.

Grygera was nearing full fitness after playing a handful of games for the reserves, only to pick up a thigh problem last week that could now influence manager Martin Jol's decision.

"Grygera has had a setback because he got injured," Jol told the Fulham Chronicle. "He looked ever so well, played in the reserves and kept them together and they had better results than before.

"He has a thigh problem so we have to wait and see because we wanted to make a decision on him in the next week and now there's a little step back again."



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/8132886?

WhiteJC

 
Most Fulham players do not get on with Martin Jol, claims Bobby Zamora

Bobby Zamora today claimed the "vast majority" of Fulham's squad dislike Martin Jol and believes his management style is driving top players away from Craven Cottage.

The 31-year-old left the club in January to join Queens Park Rangers in a £5million deal after a clash with Jol at the training ground is thought to have opened a rift between the pair.

Zamora was used sparingly by Jol, who reportedly made him train with the reserves at one point last December, forcing the striker to seek regular first-team action elsewhere in order to keep his dream of playing at Euro 2012 alive.

Clint Dempsey went on strike after being denied the chance to leave before Fulham relented on deadline day and allowed him to join Tottenham, where Mousa Dembele also moved after indicating a desire to leave if a top club met his £15m release clause.

Asked by Standard Sport whether he felt the trend of high-profile departures was because of an issue in the squad, Zamora replied: "Yes.  I left because I didn't see eye to eye with Martin Jol. I think that is the case with the vast majority of players there now. A lot of the lads aren't happy. But that's that. There were a few bits and pieces but we just didn't see eye to eye."

Fulham refused to comment but Giorgos Karagounis praised Jol in an interview with Standard Sport today. The midfielder, who joined the club last month, said: "He is a very experienced coach, who wants to play football the right way."



http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/most-fulham-players-do-not-get-on-with-martin-jol-claims-bobby-zamora-8193922.html

WhiteJC

 
Jol to delay stopper deal decision

Zdenek Grygera's hopes of securing a new deal at Fulham have been hit by a setback in his recovery from a long-term knee injury.

The Czech Republic international defender joined the Cottagers from Juventus on a 12-month contract in summer 2011, but his season ended prematurely in November when he damaged cruciate ligaments.

Grygera has been allowed to stay at Craven Cottage in order to get back to full fitness despite his previous deal expiring on June 30.

However, having featured in several reserve-team games, Grygera has now picked up a thigh injury and boss Martin Jol will now delay his decision on whether to offer the player new terms at the club.

"Grygera has had a setback because he got injured," Jol told the Fulham Chronicle. "He looked ever so well, played in the reserves and kept them together and they had better results than before.

"He has a thigh problem so we have to wait and see because we wanted to make a decision on him in the next week and now there's a little step back again."



http://www.clubcall.com/fulham/jol-to-delay-stopper-deal-decision-1478529.html?


WhiteJC

 
Academy Insight: James Musa

In getting to know some of the Club's younger players, fulhamfc.com will pay a regular visit to our Under-21 and Under-18 squads in the hope of putting our young hopefuls in the spotlight. Today we spoke to Under-21 defender James Musa who talked us through his fledgling career so far and his journey from Plymouth to New Zealand.

You were born in Devon but grew up in New Zealand, how did that move come about?

My dad used to work at a hospital down in Plymouth and then one of his colleagues went over to New Zealand and she sorted him out with a job so we relocated – my whole family went over there. It's a nice place; it's a good place to grow up. I was six, turning seven when I went out there so was pretty young. My parents and my sister are still out there but I've got a lot of family back here and I've also got my dad's family in Zimbabwe.

Was it quite daunting coming back to the UK on your own then?

I didn't feel particularly daunted coming here on my own as I've been back a few times to see family and I've been on a couple of trials over here. But I think now I'm a bit older and more mature I can look after myself. My family is still there to support me and if I do get into trouble I'm sure they'd be on the next flight out! I keep in contact with them every day so it's almost as if I'm at home anyway.

You secured a contract with the Club after impressing on trial – you must have played well in those pre-season matches?

I played two trial games and they went alright. Obviously I didn't really know anyone so it's always good to come in and make a statement so the other players start to respect you and you do your best to make an immediate impact so I thought I did okay. All the players are really friendly here and we all get on really well so it was good.

Can you give us a bit of an insight into your career before you moved to SW6?

There is one team from New Zealand [Wellington Phoenix] that plays in the A-League [Australia's top league] and someone I knew got me a trial with them. I did quite well so I was signed as an injury replacement for a couple of weeks and then I did well during that spell which led to a full-time contract for the next season. I was only around 17, 18 then and was there for a season and played three games in the A-League. Then I was released, along with a lot of other players, at the end of that season as the owner left so they had to release a lot of players. Then I joined up with the New Zealand Under-20 side and went to the U20 World Cup last year. I played in that where we did alright and came back to New Zealand and just played locally to try and help me get into the Olympic team. I managed to do that and then obviously played in that and I must have done reasonably well as it got me to Fulham!

What was it like playing in the Olympic Games at Old Trafford?

Especially coming from a country like New Zealand, it's every kids' dream to play in big stadiums like Wembley and Old Trafford so to be able to do it and to get something out of it [moving to Fulham] was pretty special.

Is the Barclays Premier League popular in New Zealand?

We get most of the Premier League games televised back in New Zealand and I tried to watch most games when I could and I try to focus on people in my position to see what they do in different situations. It will be good to get along to some games at Craven Cottage and feel like I'm part of the Club – that will be pretty cool.

What ambitions do you hope to achieve here at Fulham?

In the immediate future, because I'm on a short-term, one-year contract, I'm looking to extend that by doing well over the next year. I want to impress the right people with my work ethic and the way I do things and hopefully I'll get re-signed for a long period of time. Looking beyond that, maybe I could go out on loan in the future to try and get some game-time at other clubs and then, obviously, in the long-term I want to make a career out of football, playing regularly and consistently at the highest level, week-in, week-out in the Premier League. I think it's every footballer's dream to do that and obviously I'm in a really good position to do that and make it come true so I've just got to take it with both hands and make the most of it. There are a lot of people sitting at home who would die to be in the position I'm in and so I'm determined to make the most of it.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/02/academy-insight?

WhiteJC

 
Following The Money

City had 71% possession on Saturday. They attempted 23 shots to Fulham's 7. They completed 646 of their 726 passes. Fulham attempted just 276. If those stats aren't enough, the passing charts bear out the notion that this really was a match between the haves and the have-nots.



And so it is. Like Chelsea before them, and Leeds before them, and whoever else before them; City resembles everything that is wrong with current economics of football.

No, it's not about wealthy owners coming in, "splashing the cash" (dear lord that cliche is awful), and buying whomever they wish. And it's not it the media touting bullpoo narratives like Mancini didn't get all the transfers in he wanted; despite dropping nearly £90m over the summer.

Nor is it having loads of depth off the bench; that's what good teams always have.

What's so maddening is how they, like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern, et al, are freely able to amass talent and own not just the best players, but all the not-so-best-but-still-damn-good players too. And just pay them to basically do nothing in the reserves, or make an occasional cup appearance.

Honestly, what the heck is Victor Moses doing at Chelsea (anyone remember Steve Sidwell in a Chelsea shirt?) Or Nuri Şahin at Real Madrid? I'm sure we could flood the comments with other examples.

For all the chatter about how a salary cap will fix this issue; it won't. It's the fact that players get new contracts whenever they sign for a different club that spurs on the stratification. The wealthy owners will just continue to spend, spend, spend and ultimately kill the game not just because they can, but because the players are all willing accomplices.

Take a look at City's bench. I won't list the names, but how much they cost: £1m, £22m, £16m, £24m, £25m, £27m, £22.5m. Nearly £140m just sitting there; and that's not including their annual salary. Most of them are bonafide stars, but several aren't. And lets look at the players who didn't even feature because of injury or whatever else: Jack Rodwell (£12m), Sinclair (£6.2m), Maicon (£3.5m), Kolo Toure (£16.m).

No wonder the likes of Wayne Bridge and Roque Santa Cruz are still on City's payroll; and Adam Johnson and Jô were for so long.

I've written about this before, but how can any sporting system that allows this to happen even consider itself legitimate?

Take baseball in America: a sport that everyone loves to hate because the New York Yankees always have the highest payroll and  it's the least socialistic in its share of revenue and payroll. "The Yankees buy everyone" is often the refrain; as the masses turn their attention to the NFL. Yet what limits the Yankees literally buying everyone like the big European clubs do is that they can only give good players BIG contracts when they are free agents. And so they often have to make do with the likes of Eric Chavez and Raul freaking Ibanez.

Players like Matt Weiters and Manny Machado from my local Baltimore Orioles, who will probably someday play for the Yankees, are going to remain an Oriole until their contracts run out. There's little incentive for them to join a better team and possibly not play much if they're going to get paid the same. It behooves them to play out their contract, and hopefully do really well in their contract year.

Yet if this was footy, they would be Yankees by this time next month when the season's over, mainly because they'd see a huge increase in their salary. And the fans wouldn't bother come watch the sport anymore.

This isn't sour grapes, just something that annoys me. And I wish we didn't have to play these type of teams as I get no enjoyment from  it; win, lose, or draw.

(Okay, I enjoy the win. But we all know the narrative won't be about us winning, but them losing).


http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/following-the-money/?