Thursday Fulham Stuff (04/10/12)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Academy Talent

Academy Director Huw Jennings believes the international debut of Under-16 midfielder Patrick Roberts underlines the excellent work that is taking place throughout Fulham's Academy.

Roberts, who has been a key player for Mark Pembridge's Under-16s, made his England Under-16 debut last week in a 5-0 defeat of Northern Ireland in the Victory Shield.

Goals from Liverpool duo Tom Brewitt and Jordan Rossiter, Manchester United's Demetre Mitchell and a double from Middlesbrough's Callum Cooke gave England the perfect start as they look to seal a 12th successive Victory Shield title, with Roberts himself going close on three occasions as a second-half substitute.

With a number of youth internationals within our Under-21 and Under-18 squads, Jennings is confident that Roberts' involvement can serve as a benchmark for our schoolboy hopefuls.

"I think it's a sign of how far we have come as an Academy – to see one of our younger players representing his country is absolutely fantastic," said Huw to fulhamfc.com. "As we know, our Under-18s have performed really well over recent seasons and have shown that they can compete with the best.

"Mark Pembridge works our Under-16 players extremely hard and in terms of preparing them for the step up, I think he deserves a lot of credit. He will be pleased with Patrick's involvement and perhaps we will see two or three more follow in his footsteps. 

"We have some very talented players further down in the Academy, and this can only serve to motivate them. However, as always, it's crucial for them to understand the importance of working hard and in Patrick's case, realise that this is just the first step.

"There's a long way to go, and while we take nothing away from this achievement because it's a very special moment for the player and his family, it's important to find the right balance.

"Patrick is certainly a player we have high hopes for, though; he's bright, creative on the ball and makes things happen. He's been involved with our Under-18s already this season, so he's making progress."

Roberts, 16, echoed Jennings' thoughts and said he just wants to concentrate on developing as a player and doing well for his club, having only joined the Academy two seasons ago from Sunday League football.

"Playing for England was unbelievable, it's something that I've always dreamed of," added Patrick. "But I'm not taking anything for granted, and although I'd love to be involved again, it was only one game.

"I need to keep doing well for Fulham and train as hard as I can. I love playing in the Academy and over the past two years I think I've learned a lot here. I think this is a good place to be.

"I look up to players like Kerim Frei, who have come through the Academy and gone on to play for the First Team. He's not the only one either, which shows that there are opportunities to do well.

"Like every one of my teammates, I would love to do the same, but I know that it will be tough. Hopefully I have what it takes."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/03/patrick-roberts?

[WhiteJC]

 
Moving on up

Frank Zappa: Suzy? You just got to town and we've been... we've been very interested in your development... since you took the shots
Suzy: Forget it!

Frank Zappa, It can't happen here, Freak Out

There is an interesting dynamic on the messageboards, whereby people occasionally bring up one of the now departed players and instantly get told not to discuss these people, who of course, are no longer Fulham players and therefore are of no concern.

I don't know about you, but I enjoyed watching Clint Dempsey play. He was, if a 36 year old man can have such a thing, my favourite Fulham player. I liked how he played the game, I liked watching him do his thing.

Dembele was great, too, wasn't he? You could see the promise straight away, the way he glided around, his almost supernatural balance. He was like a disco-dancing ice skater brought to football.

For both players the great thing was seeing them develop from decent players who looked to have more in their locker, to upper echelon Premiership players. Dembele will keep pushing on and could become a serious star; Dempsey, less obviously gifted, has at least made it to a top team, a team that can beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

I'm delighted for both of them. I don't know how many times I watched them play for Fulham but between them it must be over 250 matches. Over those games we saw them gradually become what they are.

It was great.

That done, is it not reasonable to take an interest in how things go from here? These are players whose careers, when they look back, will owe a great deal to their time at Fulham. Dembele might end up a star, but without Martin Jol switching him, he might have remained a frustrating dribbling machine. Dempsey, it might be argued, could have got more goals more quickly somewhere else, but it could equally be argued that he became a much more rounded player at Fulham than would have been the case had he not had to fight through the Roy Hodgson shape years.

So I'm certainly interested in how they do now they're at Spurs. Just how good can they be? Will they earn the respect of their new fans like they did here? I think it'd be a bit odd not to be interested really.



http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/moving-on-up/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Head-To-Head

Show of Support

Over 2,000 Fulham fans will travel to the South Coast on Sunday to watch Martin Jol's Team compete against Southampton at St Mary's Stadium.

Despite last weekend's painful late defeat to Manchester City at Craven Cottage, Jol's side remain in a strong position (ninth) in the league thanks to wins in September against West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic.

Unfortunately Sunday's match may come too soon for striker Dimitar Berbatov (hip injury), but Jol's hand will be strengthened after Bryan Ruiz and Mladen Petrić came through last weekend's game unscathed following recent injuries.

Jol's pre-match press conference is scheduled for Friday afternoon so keep an eye on fulhamfc.com towards the end of the week for the Manager's video preview and all the latest Team news.

The Opposition

Team: Southampton
League Position: 17th
Form: P6/W1/D0/L5
GF: 10 GA: 18  GD: -8

Whilst the stats show five defeats in six Barclays Premier League fixtures for Southampton this season, a more detailed analysis of their campaign to date tells a very different story. The Saints are far from struggling performance-wise on their return to the top table after a seven-year absence.

On the opening day of the season, Nigel Adkins' side took champions Manchester City to the wire in a five-goal thriller at the Etihad Stadium. A disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Wigan followed, before Robin van Persie broke Southampton hearts at the beginning of September, with two late goals at St Mary's to secure a 3-2 win for Manchester United.

A heavy defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates has been the only real blemish on Southampton's season so far, with six goals fired past Kelvin Davis on 15th September.

However, Adkins' side bounced back in style a week later, recording a morale-boosting 4-1 victory over Aston Villa to earn their first points of the season.

Last weekend the Saints failed to stop high-flying Everton as three first-half goals for the Toffees effectively ended the game before the break at Goodison Park. The fixture list has been far from kind to Adkins' newly-promoted side, but his team's performances against last season's front runners and Aston Villa provide plenty of optimism and hope for the coming season.

Ones to Watch

Rickie Lambert:

After notching in Southampton's inaugural Premier League game against Manchester City, Rickie Lambert joined a select group of players to have scored in all four league divisions.

The 2011 Championship Player of the Year has scored four goals in six Premier League matches this season.

Southampton's 30-year-old goal-machine has now scored 91 times in 157 appearances (all competitions), including 31 goals last term to earn him Southampton Fans' Player of the Season award for the second time in three years.

Fulham will definitely not want to give away a penalty this weekend – Lambert has a 100% conversion rate from 12 yards, scoring 26 times from the spot.

Adam Lallana:

Southampton's 24-year-old captain, Adam Lallana, is a true success story of the Saints' prolific Academy and featured in the Club's 2005 FA Youth Cup runners-up team alongside Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Leon Best and Nathan Dyer.

Named in the Championship Team of the Year last season alongside his teammates Rickie Lambert and Kelvin Davies, Lallana has amassed 190 appearances, scoring an impressive 44 times from midfield (all competitions).

Having represented England at Under-18 and Under -21 level, Lallana has caught the eye of former Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, earning a first call-up to the senior England squad for the 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine at Wembley.

Lallana not only has a keen eye for goal, with more strikes than any other Southampton player this season (12), but he is also providing ammunition from midfield, with three assists to his name. 

Gaston Ramirez:

Uruguayan international Gaston Ramirez joined Southampton from Serie A outfit Bologna in July 2012 for a reported club record £12m fee.

Ramirez was reportedly chased by a host of European teams before signing a four-year deal with Southampton on transfer deadline day.

The versatile attacking South American is both a creator and scorer of goals and was outstanding in the Saints' recent 4-1 win over Aston Villa. Ramirez scored his first goal for Southampton during last weekend's 3-1 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park.

Last Time They Met

Southampton 3-3 Fulham (05/01/2005)

Fulham's last Premier League meeting with Southampton at St Mary's took place more than seven years ago.

Back in January 2005, Papa Bouba Diop, Steed Malbranque and Tomasz Radzinski were all on the scoresheet for Fulham, before Liam Rosenior's unfortunate own-goal in the 71st minute handed struggling Southampton a point against Chris Coleman's side.

Relegation followed for Harry Redknapp's team but after a seven-year absence from the top flight, competitive action between the two sides will resume on Sunday.

Historically, Southampton has the upper hand from the four Premier League meetings on the South Coast, claiming the sole victory in 2002/03, whilst the three other fixtures ended in draws.

Teams (05/01/2005)

Southampton: Niemi, Telfer, Lundekvam,Davenport (Jakobsson 84), Higginbotham, Anders Svensson, Delap,Redknapp, Fernandes (McCann 44), Phillips, Crouch. Subs (not used): Smith, Cranie, Ormerod.

Booked: Redknapp, Phillips

Goals: Phillips 21, 29, Rosenior 71 og

Fulham: Van der Sar, Rosenior (Fontaine 90), Rehman, Knight,Bocanegra, Malbranque, Diop, Pembridge, Boa Morte, Cole (McBride 90), Radzinski (John 61). Subs Not Used: Clark, Crossley

Booked: Rehman, Cole

Goals: Diop 20, Malbranque 43, Radzinski 50

Att: 27,343

Ref: G Poll (Hertfordshire)



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/03/head-to-head?

[WhiteJC]

 
Frei Fitness Boost

Martin Jol will soon have a welcome selection headache when it comes to choosing the widemen in his starting XI, as our Manager revealed that three of his wingers returned to training last week.

New signings Ashkan Dejagah and Kieran Richardson will both soon be in contention, as will last year's emerging talent, Kerim Frei.

Frei made 25 appearances for the Whites last season, but is yet to turn out for the Club in the 2012/13 campaign after picking up a knock on international duty with Turkey, and the youngster is raring to go after returning to fitness.

"Last week on Thursday I started training again," he told fulhamfc.com. "We've been making sure that I didn't come back too fast in case the injury came back. We did some little games on Tuesday - three lots of 20 minutes - and everything was fine so hopefully I will be back in the Team soon.

"I missed playing football very much, I missed having the ball at my feet and things like that but I'm very happy to be back and I'm looking forward to playing my part in the season ahead."

Jol could soon have an abundance of wingers at his disposal, with Damien Duff and Alexander Kačaniklić competing with the likes of Frei, Richardson and Dejagah for a place in the starting line-up.

"It's always good to have competition for places," Frei said. "It makes you work harder as you always want to be the best. But just one person can play in each position so you obviously have to work hard and try your best and never give up at all."

Six games into the Barclays Premier League season, Fulham sit ninth in the table and Kerim has been impressed by his teammates' efforts so far.

"In first game against Norwich City, when we won 5-0, we played some really good football and that was a great start," he said. "Then in the game against Manchester United we deserved a point over there I think, so that was quite a frustrating match to lose.

"But I think we've played some great football so far and our mentality in the Team is very good. Everyone fights for each other so that's the main thing – that everyone in the Team helps each other."

The Whites head to the South Coast this weekend where we face top-flight newboys Southampton, and Kerim admits that victories on our travels will be imperative if we're to enjoy another prosperous campaign.

"It'd be nice to get a second consecutive away victory on Sunday," he said. "I think if you want to be in the top 10 in the league then you need to regularly get three points away from home.

"I think we've got the quality to beat Southampton – we've got great players and I think we'll be able to do it."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/03/kerimupdate?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham Fallout - Fantastic Facts About Fulham

There maybe only one F in Fulham but there are plenty of FACTS about the West london club and one again The Ugly Inside bring them to the masses.


Many football fans consider Fulham to be something of a new kid on the block kind of club, probably due to their many years in the football wilderness before Mohammed El Fayed took over and kick started their rise up the leagues, but actually Fulham are the oldest established Premier league club in London having been formed in 1879.

Fulham could easily be nicknamed the Saints, they were formed as Fulham St Andrews Church Sunday School Football Club, perhaps one of the longest names in history, they soon shortened the name, first to Fulham Excelsior and then to the present title in 1888.

Fulham had one of the first foreign players to play League football, Heggy Hegazi was an Egyptian forward who played one game in 1911, before Fulham realised they had been the victims of a pyramid selling scheme.

Fulham were actually responsible for the formation of near neighbours Chelsea, when they rejected an offer to move the club to Stamford Bridge which had been built but had no team to fill it, after Fulham's rejection the grounds owners decided to form their own team in 1910 called Chelsea.

Fulham are truly football nomads, playing at 10 grounds in 16 years before settling at Craven Cottage in 1895 where they stayed till 2002 before a brief sojourn at Loftus Road, returning to the Cottage in 2004. The Cottage that stands in one of the corners of the ground is the source of their nickname The Cottagers, rather than the alledged arrest of the entire first team squad at an incident in some public toilets in Putney.

Fulham have got to two cup finals but lost them both, the FA Cup final in 1975 followed by the Europa League final in 2010, however their greatest triumph was perhaps the Lurkers album Fulham Fallout a seminal milestone in punk rock history, featuring several Fulham players on backing vocals, however this was not the album that featured a crowd picture of a teenage Stuart Pearce, that was on the follow up Gods Lonely Men, a concept album telling the story of Fulhams travelling away support.

Fulham have an affinity with saints in the fact that we have both sacked Ian Branfoot, the Cottagers giving him the bullet in 1996 when they stood 17th out of 24 in division 3 or whatever League One was called back then, ironically his successor was a member of his side at Saints, Micky Adams, other Saints connected managers of the club include Bill Dodgin Snr, Kevin Keegan & Mark Hughes.

Mohammed Al Fayed has owned Fulham since 1997 when he decided to expand his small empire that consisted of a corner shop in Knightsbridge to also owning a football club, within weeks Fulham became big news when Al Fayed's son Dodi was killed in the same car crash as princess Diana, in another Saints connection Princess Di's mother in law had presented the FA Cup to Saints in 1976 and had often bored her daughter in law with tales of the drinking exploits of that team over cucumber sandwiches ( Liz & Di ate cucumber sandwiches, there is no evidence that Saints drinking sessions were fueled by that delicacy)

Fulhams big rivals are Chelsea, the two grounds are barely two miles apart, however Chelsea fans didnt notice Fulham till 2001 when they got to the Premier League and the Cottagers had to make do with QPR and Brentford as their rivals, mainly Brentford as even QPR seemed to spend most of the time in higher divisions. Gillingham were also rivals in the 1990's after a Fulham supporter was killed in a brawl outside the Kent Club's ground.

Fulham have had some famous supporters, David Mellor was a big fan early in his career and even wrote the progrmamme notes in the 70's before deciding that he had better find a club that was succesful and suddenly metamophosised into a Chelsea fan. others who have expressed an allegiance to Cottaging include Hugh Grant, Keith Allen and his daughter Lily, Seargeant Carter in the 70's programme the Sweeney was also a fan, although in real life Dennis Waterman was a Chelsea supporter. 



http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/fb_news.php?storyid=18306

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham winger Kerim Frei ready to boost Martin Jol's options at Craven Cottage


Kerim Frei: Happy to be back in training and hoping to push for a start

Fulham have been boosted by the return to fitness of winger Kerim Frei and the teenager is ready to fight for his place.

Frei impressed last season when given the opportunity but has yet to feature in the current campaign after picking up a knock on international duty for Turkey.

Now the 18-year-old is ready to step up his training and he admits he cannot wait to get back into the first team at Craven Cottage.

"Last week on Thursday I started training again," he told the club's official website.

"We've been making sure that I didn't come back too fast in case the injury came back.

"We did some little games on Tuesday - three lots of 20 minutes - and everything was fine so hopefully I will be back in the team soon.

"I missed playing football very much, I missed having the ball at my feet and things like that but I'm very happy to be back and I'm looking forward to playing my part in the season ahead."

Chance

With new signings Ashkan Dejagah and Kieran Richardson also edging back to fitness, the Austria-born youngster knows he must work hard to earn a chance.

"It's always good to have competition for places," Frei said.

"It makes you work harder as you always want to be the best. But just one person can play in each position so you obviously have to work hard and try your best and never give up at all."

Fulham have three wins and three defeats from their six games so far this season and were beaten last time out at home to Premier League champions Manchester City.
But it is the 2-1 win in their last away game at Wigan that Frei is anxious for the team to repeat when they travel to face newly-promoted Southampton at the weekend.

He added: "It'd be nice to get a second consecutive away victory on Sunday. I think if you want to be in the top 10 in the league then you need to regularly get three points away from home.

"I think we've got the quality to beat Southampton - we've got great players and I think we'll be able to do it.

"I think we've played some great football so far and our mentality in the team is very good.

"Everyone fights for each other so that's the main thing - that everyone in the team helps each other."



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/8135959?

[WhiteJC]

 
Bullard Signs On!
   
Yesterday, we reported on how the unfortunate Jimmy Bullard had been forced to retire due to the ongoing effects of the knee injuries he`s suffered.

However, it appears that Jimmy won`t be out of football for long with it being reported that the 33 year-old has joined non-league Holland FC as their player coach.

Holland FC participate in the Essex and Kent Border and we`d imagine that Jimmy`s association will pay dividends, financially, for the club.

Also, with his effervescent personality, don`t be too surprised if Jimmy fronts up on a few football punditry shows!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=295453#ixzz28IXESjao

[WhiteJC]

 
Trouble in the Camp?
   
You`d have thought that lying at the bottom of the Premier League table, Bobby Zamora would have had more to think about rather than try to muddy the waters at Craven Cottage.

But it seems that Zamora can`t keep his trap shut and has gone to the red-top publications to offer a few words about an apparently troubled Craven Cottage.

Zamora, who is in danger of going from hero to zero, has offered what he believes are the following words of wisdom,

"I left because I didn`t see eye-to-eye with Martin Jol. I think that is the case with the majority of players there now."

"A lot of the lads aren`t happy."

I can only hope that when Queens Park Rangers get around to coming to Craven Cottage, all this kind of garbage is remembered and Zamora gets the hot reception his comments deserve.


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=295452#ixzz28IXPLhTP

[WhiteJC]

 
Grygera in Fresh Injury Setback!
   
Having missed a huge proportion of last season with a bad knee injury, Zdenel Grygera was hoping to get an opportunity, in the first team, to impress and earn a new contract.

Sadly, for the defender, that plan has been somewhat derailed with Grygera picking up a thigh injury in a recent reserves outing,

Doubts now exist relating to whether he will be given that new contract with Martin Jol being reported as remarking about the situation,

"He has a thigh problem so we must wait now."

We`ll report further when anything else becomes apparent.


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=295454#ixzz28IXXyEd3

[WhiteJC]

 
Christmas Parties

We're already approaching that time again where attention starts to turn to the festive season, and this year why not host your Christmas party here at Craven Cottage?

For a special Christmas celebration wanting first-class service and personal attention, we can accommodate all types of Christmas parties to suit your requirements, while you dine, dance and party the evening away in our unique and intimate stadium.

Prices start from £35 per person (+VAT)* and all packages come with exclusive room hire, and a Christmas Cocktail Reception; whilst food choices vary from a Christmas finger buffet to a traditional three-course Christmas Dinner.

Why not register your interest at fulhamfc.com/visit today and we will contact you about our range of packages.

*Subject to availability and minimum numbers.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/03/christmas-parties?

[WhiteJC]

 
Martin Jol's tactical nous saves Fulham's blushes

Deadline day almost sounded like a death-knell for most Fulham fans, as our two creative outlets, main goalscorers and best players left for the supposed greener grass that was Tottenham Hotspur. Mousa Dembele and Clint Dempsey seemingly gutted Fulham's midfield from the original outset, leading to a rather fitting gutless first half against West Ham United, conceding three goals in quick succession. A lot of fans were re-watching videos of Kamara and all that from the 'great escape' a few seasons ago, reassuring ourselves that we can fight ourselves out of a crisis – as it seemed we were heading that way.



Step forward Martin Jol, who, much like 1990′s street poet Vanilla Ice, had a problem, and yo, he solved it. He saw that the creative outlet came from the middle of the park, and with that completely removed – he could not start all of Fulham's attacks from the middle, especially with the midfield consisting of an ageing Mahamadou Diarra and a lightweight Steve Sidwell. He tried using new boy Kieran Richardson on the left hand side, but after having the worst first half debut I've ever seen that wasn't Ali Dia, he needed a new plan.

Enter this man.



Chris Baird was one of the key players in Roy Hodgson's march to the Europa League final, but he became a forgotten man under both Mark Hughes and Martin Jol. He is also very versatile, operating across the back or where he currently resides at the moment, in the middle of the park. The Sidwell/Baird combination started off very well, with two wins against West Brom and Wigan, and a complete transformation of how Fulham went forward. It became all about the wings, with seasoned veteran Damien Duff on the right hand side, and young Swedish starlet Alexander Kačaniklić on the left.

Twenty-one year old Alex started off getting a few cameos in the first team at the back end of last season. From seeing him against Norwich, I noticed one particular thing – he is quick as lightning. Bombing down the wings with reckless abandon, terrorizing full-backs into submission, he was the rapido winger we needed. But this was meant to be alongside our two more attacking midfielders, but the best laid plans and all that.

So more pressure was put onto the wingers to provide the service to the strikers, and make the centre of the park more defensive, making them the enforcers rather than the flair players. This wasn't exactly helped by the long-term injury to Diarra itself, so it seems that Sidwell and Baird will become the midfield duo, with Pajtim Kasami and new old-boy Giorgos Karagounis as the back-up duo. The money that went from the Dembele and Dempsey deals went partly on signing Dimitar Berbatov from Manchester United (a ridiculous steal in hindsight) alongside a great free transfer in Mladen Petric, with the rest in safe keeping for January. Definite case of counting chickens before they are hatched for those who plotted the downfall of the West London club once our two biggest players have left.



It's why I always say in Jol we trust. It will be another season of mid-table mediocrity for us – but you must admire the fact that we've turned a very big negative into a great positive.



http://ballsybanter.com/2012/10/03/martin-jols-tactical-nous-saves-fulhams-blushes/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Defeat For Dan

Dan Burn got another 90 minutes under his belt but Yeovil Town were defeated 2-1 at home to Portsmouth on Tuesday night.

The young Fulham defender, on loan with the Glovers for an initial month, was handed his Town debut in Saturday's 3-2 loss at Preston North End – a game in which he scored at both ends.

He was then given his home bow against Pompey at Huish Park, picking up a booking as Izale McLeod and Gabor Gyepes struck either side of a Reuben Reid penalty to secure the points for the visitors.

The result means Yeovil have now lost six successive games and sit in 16th position in League One.

The Glovers host 17th-place Colchester United on Saturday (3pm).




http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/03/defeat-for-dan?

[WhiteJC]

 
Len Quested: Footballer both feared and fearless

Len Quested was a footballer both feared and fearless, a tirelessly combative midfield workhorse who wielded immense influence with Fulham, then Huddersfield Town, in the decade and a half after the Second World War.

Tall and lean, almost skinny, but infinitely more powerful, durable and generally warrior-like than his appearance suggested, the effervescent Quested was also a natural lifter of team-mates' spirits, a boon to any manager.

In his pomp, which straddled his days at both Craven Cottage and Leeds Road, he might have been considered unfortunate never to win a full cap – the nearest he came was a call-up for England "B" against The Netherlands in 1950 and an FA tour of South Africa six years later – but competition for wing-half berths was unremittingly fierce, with the likes of Billy Wright, Jimmy Dickinson, Ronnie Clayton and eventually the incomparable young leviathan Duncan Edwards among his rivals for international selection.

Quested signed for Fulham as a teenage amateur in the early 1940s then served in the Royal Navy throughout the rest of the conflict. He was stationed in Australia and played football alongside the future Manchester United star John Aston for the Golden Hind, a team for servicemen in New South Wales.

On demob he rejoined the Cottagers from his local non-League club, Folkestone Town, in August 1946 and after conversion from inside-forward to wing-half he finished that season in the lacklustre side which finished in the bottom half of the Second Division. Thereafter, though, Fulham improved steadily and Quested was a key performer as the divisional title was lifted in 1948-49, his energetic all-knees-and-elbows style meshing splendidly with the rock-like Jim Taylor and the thoughtful Pat Beasley in a half-back line of high quality.

However, with only slim financial resources, they toiled grimly among the elite under manager Bill Dodgin, who enraged many regular supporters in November 1951 by allowing Quested to join fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town in a deal which saw centre-forward Jeff Taylor move in the opposite direction. Sadly for the still-ambitious midfielder, the Terriers were relegated the following spring, in company with Fulham, but the indomitable Quested buckled down in 1952-53 to help seal instant promotion as runners-up to Sheffield United, becoming in the process part of the most settled "back six" in the history of the game.

Manager Andy Beattie fielded goalkeeper Jack Wheeler, full-backs Ron Staniforth and Laurie Kelly, and the half-back trio of Bill McGarry, Don McEvoy and Quested in all 42 League games, thus attaining a formidable level of consistency. This continued into the following season, in which the team touched new peaks, finishing third in the race for the top-flight title behind Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion, with the free-scoring marksman Jimmy Glazzard and star left-winger Vic Metcalfe garnering lavish plaudits.

Quested was as integral as ever, but only until January, when he suffered a leg fracture in an FA Cup tie at West Ham which kept him out for the remainder of the campaign. Typically determined, though, he bounced back to be ever-present in the next two seasons, but was devastated when his efforts weren't enough to avert demotion in 1955-56.

Now in his thirties but with his effectiveness unimpaired, he proved an inspiring captain in the second tier, first under Beattie and then under his successor, Bill Shankly. Youngsters at Leeds Road, including the emerging Scottish genius Denis Law and England's future World Cup-winner Ray Wilson, were particular beneficiaries of the veteran's experience, wisdom and generosity of spirit, and to many of them, away from home for the first time, he was like a second father.

However, having married an Australian, he emigrated to her country in 1957, going on to play for several clubs in his adopted homeland, including Auburn, Hakoah and Campbelltown, and to manage Cumberland United.

Wilfred Leonard Quested, footballer and coach: born Folkestone, Kent 9 January 1925; played for Fulham 1946-51, Huddersfield Town 1951-57; married (two children); died Queensland, Australia 20 August 2012.



http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/len-quested-footballer-both-feared-and-fearless-8196437.html

[WhiteJC]

 
James Beattie wants Southampton to make it a St Mary's fortress

JAMES Beattie still has the ball at home – a reminder of the day he put three goals past one of the greatest keepers of the modern era.

It was ten years ago this month that the striker hit his one and only Saints hat-trick, in a 4-2 Premier League victory against Fulham at a windswept St Mary's.

Even the distinguished presence of Edwin van der Sar in the visitors' goal could do nothing to stop the forward breezing through the Cottagers' back line that day.

Lee Clark's early strike, via a deflection off Michael Svensson's back, and Steed Malbranque's emphatic finish, after some rather generous defending allowed a simple low cross to slip through to him, had put Fulham well in command.


No matter, though.

It took just two minutes for Saints to pull one back, Beattie firing a trademark penalty into the top corner after Alain Goma had handled.

The match was level by half-time, as Beattie cushioned a header past Van der Sar having latched onto the end of a Fabrice Fernandes cross.

"We were two down and the fans were giving us a bit of abuse," recalled Beattie.

"But I scored a penalty and then we got it back to 2-2. Fernandes delivered a great ball to the back post and I headed it back across Van der Sar.

"We came out in the second half and played much better."

Within ten minutes of the restart, Saints had the lead. Anders Svensson's free-kick from the left touchline skidded off the top of a leaping Beattie's head and flew past Van der Sar.

"Anders put in a freekick and I just glanced it into the far corner," said Beattie. "Then Brett (Ormerod) scored the last one."

The match proved to be a microcosm of Saints' season, starting badly but finishing with a flourish.

One win in their first eight games had left Gordon Strachan's men in the relegation zone.

But the Fulham success capped a three-match winning streak that lifted the team into mid-table.

It was also a second consecutive home victory – something a win over the London side on Sunday would mean for the current team.

The game finished with Beattie catching Antti Niemi's goal-kick as the final whistle blew. The hattrick ball was safely tucked under his shirt and now has pride of place at his house.

"It was my first hattrick," said Beattie. "I used to get quite a few braces, but it was my first hattrick.

"It was great and I've still got the ball. There's a couple of messages from Oaksey (Matt Oakley) and Bridgey (Wayne Bridge) on it saying 'First of many' – but obviously it wasn't!"

Beattie's hat-trick helped spark not only his most successful season ever – he scored 24 times across all competitions – but also one of Saints' most memorable campaigns, with the club reaching the FA Cup final and finishing eighth in the Premier League.

The 34-year-old, currently a free agent, is keeping his fingers crossed that a positive result for Nigel Adkins' men against Fulham this weekend will help kickstart their own campaign.

"Hopefully it will," said Beattie. "It's a great opportunity and a big game for them, being at home.

"But Fulham have signed some good players and they will be hoping to get a result as well.

"The key to it is the home form. That is going to be massive, as Norwich and Swansea have shown. I think Swansea is one of the hardest places to go to in the country and get a result.

"They've got to try and emulate teams like that."

Saints had no trouble with results at St Mary's in the 2002/03 campaign. They lost just two of their 19 home fixtures in the Premier League that season.

"It was just a great time in my life down in Southampton," said Beattie, looking back on it.

"Gordon Strachan was the best manager I have worked under. He was brilliant.

"I still speak to him now. He's a top guy."

Beattie added: "I remember leading the goal charts all the way through that season.

"Barclaycard were giving out a trophy for the first to ten, and the first to 20, which I got.

"Then I think Van Nistelrooy scored three in his second-tolast game and Henry got one to go ahead of me.

"We were playing at Maine Road on the final day and I was just shooting from everywhere trying to get a goal."

Rather than Beattie, it is Rickie Lambert who is now shouldering the bulk of the goalscoring responsibilities at Saints.

A hat-trick for him against the Cottagers this weekend would do Adkins' side the world of good.

"He's done really well," said Beattie of the man currently leading the Saints line. "He's been prolific in League One and the Championship, and he's carried that on and scored a few in the Premier League now.

"Hopefully he can keep that going. He just needs the service. He's shown that, if you give him that, he's a great finisher.

"I've met him on a couple of occasions and he's a really nice lad. You want people like that to do well in the game.

"The fans love him and he just gives the whole club a lift. The rest of the lads really respond to him being on the pitch. Look at the Manchester City game. He came on and scored within a few minutes and straight away they kicked on and found another gear."

That is something Saints will be hoping to find again on Sunday.




http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/9964285._/?

[WhiteJC]

 
No Joy For Etheridge

Neil Etheridge suffered his first loss since joining Bristol Rovers on loan as the Pirates went down to a 1-0 home defeat to Cheltenham Town on Wednesday night.

The Fulham goalkeeper, on loan with League Two Rovers for an initial month, started his third game for the club.

But after Etheridge had saved Chris Zebroski's initial effort, the Cheltenham striker slotted home the rebound on 39 minutes as the visitors claimed the points.

The result means Rovers, who sit in 21st place in League Two, remain without a home win this season.

They host mid-table Northampton Town on Saturday (3pm).



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/04/no-joy-for-etheridge?

[WhiteJC]

 
Ruiz, Rodallega and luxury

Looking over the latest Whoscored.com data for the Man City game, I noted with interest that Bryan Ruiz was rated as our Man of the Match, largely based on the fact that he had more of the ball than anyone else, used it quite well, had a couple of shots, made a couple of interceptions, and generally acquitted himself decently in a tough match.

This means that he's behind only Berbatov in the website's ratings over the season.

It made me question something we hear a bit, that Ruiz is a 'luxury' player. I think this is not a new term. I first came across it being used about Glenn Hoddle, Matt Le Tissier, too.

What does it mean?

My reading is that football is a team game and that when teams attack individual contributions are quite obvious. But when teams defend it's all about the collective. If a player contributes one way, but not the other, he's doing the flashy stuff that attracts attention, but not the dirty work that really matters. Hence luxury.

Now this is a questionable definition and it's a questionable subject matter. England's teams in the 80s and 90s were generally pretty good. Sometimes very good. But probably not so good that we could afford to leave out players as gifted as Hoddle and Le Tissier (I remember Hoddle, when he was England manager, scheduled an England B game before selecting his squad. Le Tissier got a hat-trick, but wasn't picked in the squad, which makes you wonder exactly what Hoddle was looking for, and why he picked Le Tiss in the B Squad in the first place). Le Tissier in particular could do things with a football that needed to be seen to be believed, and year upon year he kept Saints in the top division on the back of these extraordinary moments of genius. It wasn't just the occasional moment, he simply kept pulling rabbits out of the hat. There was a video at the time: Matt Le Tissier, Ubelievable! And honestly, it was. Not in a Rodney Marsh show-pony type way either, Le Tissier was legitimately useful. Goals, goals, goals.

But he was a luxury player and we never did work out how to fit him into the England team.

Ruiz suffers a bit from the term but such criticisms miss the point entirely. A) he is making useful contributions to the team when we have the ball. B) he's not a great defender but he does try, and often that's enough. Just get in the way for a bit, cover, contribute to the team's shape, then do your thing when we win it back.

I don't know what more we expect. A goal would be nice but he'll get there sooner or later. He's already creating chances for others, too. And he does his bit defensively, given the position he's playing. He isn't a luxury player at all.

On the defending thing, City's first goal was a good example of the type of thing we're vulnerable to now with our new attacking approach. Under Hodgson we were always very controlled in our attacks, mindful of what might happen when we lost the ball even while we had it. This meant that when we lost the ball our team could transition to defence quickly, and helped to keep games tight. It also limited our attacking options, as getting men ahead of the ball creates space and openings (for both teams). All this partly explains how Clint Dempsey leapt up to 23 goals in a season last year.

Anyway, Hugo Rodallega got caught upfield and initially started to jog back. By the time he realised that there was trouble afoot it was too late, Tevez wandered unchallenged for too long, got off a shot that eventually got turned in by Aguero. It was a bit annoying because the move unfolded in a sort of slow motion in my eyes, danger growing, Rodallega jogging, goal scoring. It felt like someone might have been there to block Tevez, although we must accept that Silva/Aguero/Tevez were making the defence nervous about over committing, resulting in some of the backing off we saw. But mainly it was Tevez running straight through where Rodallega would've been had he been back. And I think he could've been back.



http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2012/10/04/ruiz-rodallega-and-luxury/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Back surging Saints to beat fighting Fulham...but only just
Southampton are at football betting odds of 13/4 to beat the traditionally travel-sick Cottagers by a one-goal margin.

Having got the monkey of a first Premier League home win comprehensively off their backs with a 4-1 success against Aston Villa, Southampton will be confident of kicking on when they host Martin Jol's Fulham this weekend.

Home form has been key to the Saints' rise from League One to the Premier League as they have lost just four times at St Mary's over the past two seasons, which brought back-to-back promotions for the club.

Despite that statistic and Fulham's notorious travel sickness – they have a ridiculously poor away win record of 12% over the past five years – you can still get 33/20 for a home win in bwin's 3Way football betting market.

Premier League-established Fulham are actually favourites to pull off the 'upset' at 31/20 and the draw is 23/10.

Key to the Saints' tremendous home form is their goalscoring prowess, with the recent 2-0 loss to Wigan Athletic the first time in 2012 they have failed to hit the back of the net at St Mary's.

As such, 13/10 for over 1.5 home goals looks good value, as does 5/2 for Southampton to strike in both halves.

Home form has been key to the Saints' rise from League One to the Premier League as they have lost just four times at St Mary's over the past two seasons, which brought back-to-back promotions for the club

Rickie Lambert has passed 200 career goals in helping Saints to the promised land and has brought that form into the Premier League, with four goals in five games already.

New customers using their free £20 bet to back Lambert to continue that run with the first goal on Saturday at 6/1 stand to win £140 if the former Bristol Rovers hitman breaks the deadlock.

That's not to say Fulham don't have some serious firepower of their own, including summer signings Mladen Petric (9/5 to score at any time) and Hugo Rodallega (2/1).

This will be a worry to Saints boss Nigel Adkins, who has not seen his side keep a clean sheet thus far, so a fifth Southampton game featuring over 3.5 combined goals also looks a good shout at 39/20.

With Saints' defensive slackness combined with Fulham's increased away resilience under Jol (saving 18 points from losing positions last term), a second-half Cottagers comeback to save a point is also worth considering at 25/2.

However, I will be siding with Southampton to triumph, but considering how evenly matched the teams are, backing them to prevail by a one-goal margin at 13/4 could provide a tempting longer-priced alternative to their billing in the 3Way market.

Recommended bet: Southampton to beat Fulham @ 33/20
Outside punt: Southampton to win by a one-goal margin @ 13/4


http://bwinbetting.com/leagues/premier-league/surging-saints-fighting-fulham,25829.html?

[WhiteJC]

 
Split Decision

Ahead of the Whites' match against Southampton at St Mary's, fulhamfc.com caught up with a former Finnish international goalkeeper whose heart will be torn on Sunday afternoon.

Antti Niemi spent four years at St Mary's before a two-season spell at Craven Cottage and since retiring from the game in 2010, the former Fulham number one has returned back to Finland to help nurture the next generation of home-grown talent.

"I'm now working in Finland as goalkeeping coach to the senior national team," he explained. "Obviously we're a pretty small footballing nation and our Football Association is not massive but anything to do with goalkeeping I'm always there!

"I spend about 70 days a year with the senior national team, obviously travelling, in hotels and preparing for the games. There's also office-based work and the production of material for coaching and education purposes. We have goalkeeping seminars and lots of other things going on and I probably work in football roughly about 150 days a year.

"With the senior national team I'm working with goalkeepers who are pretty much the finished article. They're over 20 years of age and have their own style. My role is more about preparing them for the games. You don't want to do too much coaching but obviously there are things you need to point out every now and then.

"For example, how they play as individuals and what they can expect from the teams we're facing. I wouldn't call it coaching – it's more about preparing for the matches and I hope my experience playing at a high level is proving beneficial."

Niemi played almost 20 years as a professional and, whilst he misses the game, retirement has brought its benefits, not least being able to spend quality time with his family and two young children.

"At the moment, outside of football I'm left me with approximately 200 days a year and I'm calling myself a taxi firm because both my kids are very active. My son plays football and my daughter is an ice-skater.

"They are nine and 12 years of age and even though you sometimes feel like you're sitting in a car and driving everywhere, I know there aren't too many years I'll be doing this for, so I'm actually enjoying this time with them.

"I'm pretty sure at some point in the future I would like to work with younger goalkeepers – that's my dream to be honest, to be working on a daily basis with some of the younger kids."

Niemi has quite literally never looked back since he left London in 2008 and admits that with such a busy professional and personal life back in Finland, he has struggled to maintain contact with his former teammates.

"I haven't been back to London since I left Fulham but I met my former Southampton teammate Michael Svensson last week because he was over for a few days with his family," said Niemi. "It's funny, and kind of sad, that I spent roughly 10 years in the UK and once you stop playing football you don't see your teammates anymore.

"Slowly but surely you lose contact but I think that's the same for everyone. I did keep in touch with some people but not as many as I would have thought when I was playing. Such is life."

Niemi may have lost contact with his former teammates, but the memories from his time at Craven Cottage are cherished. When asked to name his favourite game, he recalled one famous day at the Cottage when SW6 breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"I have a lot of good memories from my time at Fulham and whilst it's difficult to pick out one game in particular, the feeling after we played Liverpool at home in May 2007 and beat them 1-0 was unbelievable, because we were no longer in danger of being relegated," Niemi explained.

"I buried a few demons that day because I was relegated at Southampton. It was an awful, awful feeling being relegated and a few years later, when I was at Fulham, we were really struggling before that win.

"First of all, I'd enjoyed a pretty good game, we'd beaten Liverpool and - most importantly - secured our place in the Premier League."

Niemi has been supporting his former clubs from afar in recent years and his affection for Southampton and Fulham will evidently cause the Finnish coach some problems on Sunday.

"Fulham have been fantastic over the past few years and it's great to see the so-called smaller clubs can have a crack in the Premier League," said Niemi. "Seeing clubs like Fulham and Everton doing really well is so refreshing.

"At the very top it used to be just Manchester United and Chelsea, but now you have the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City – I think from a neutral point of view the Premier League is getting more interesting now.

"Every Saturday, Sunday and Monday, I check the papers and the internet to see how my three clubs are doing; Hearts, Southampton and Fulham.

"I have some great memories from my spells at all three clubs and I always hope they do well in every game. It's going to be a funny feeling on Sunday knowing who to support!

"It's really difficult for me and I just hope it's a cracking game that ends in a 3-3 draw. I want to see lots of goals, excitement and a draw to make me happy! That's my wish!"

Niemi knows a thing or two about facing Premier League strikers and believes Fulham will have to keep a close eye on Southampton goal-machine Rickie Lambert this weekend, although his respect for the man he will have to beat couldn't be higher.

"Lambert is the obvious threat for Fulham on Sunday," stated Niemi. "It's great to see a player like him, who was not known by the big audience so to speak, until he joined Southampton. Even then, people were saying, 'well it's the Premier League next and that's a different story'.

"Well, he's been absolutely fantastic, scoring four times in six games already. He's a big, physical player who finishes really well so I think Brede Hangeland and Mark Schwarzer will have to be on their toes this weekend.

"Mark's been at the top of his game for 15 years now – he's a goalkeeper I admire so much and he proves it's not about your age. It's about how they play and obviously they've been injury free which helps a lot.

"When I watch Schwarzer play I think he looks like he's getting better and better. You'd think that a goalkeeper would hit their peak in their 30's but he's unbelievable.

"I have to say he's so fit - I'm jealous because he looks marvellous when he's standing in that goal! Once he finishes his career, whenever that will be, people will look back and say he was one of the best."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/04/niemi-interview?