Where Do Fulham Need To Improve?

[White Noise]

http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/36841/Top_three_areas_Fulham_MUST_improve.aspx


Top three: areas Fulham MUST improve

Author:  Jonny Abrams


Posted on:13 April 2010 - 16:08


Given that it has been another fantastic season for Fulham and Roy Hodgson, it seems churlish to try and identify areas of weakness at Craven Cottage. However, we're doing a series so it's dutifully onto the Cottagers we go. Sport.co.uk looks at three areas in which Fulham must improve for next season...


Find a midfield general who can lead the side for years – Danny Murphy has been a revelation for Fulham but has shown signs of slowing down in recent months, while Dickson Etuhu and Chris Baird have performed admirably in the holding role for the Cottagers but are not of the requisite class required to make the next step up. Funds are tight but if Roy Hodgson could find some akin to Scott Parker to bring to Craven Cottage then Fulham could make a substantial leap forward.


Bring in defensive reinforcements – Players like Aaron Hughes, Paul Konchesky, Brede Hangeland, John Paintsil and Baird have played an awful lot of football for Fulham over the past two seasons and cannot reasonably be expected to remain the rigid base of the Cottagers side throughout the whole of a third consecutive campaign. Injuries, fatigue and loss of form will strike at some point so, given how crucial a strong backline has been to Fulham's success under Roy Hodgson, some viable backup options need to be brought to Craven Cottage this summer.


Another goal-scorer to ease the burden on Bobby Zamora – Many of Zamora's 19 goals so far this season have been vital match-winners as opposed to superfluous cappings of routs, so if his goals dry up then Fulham need someone else they can turn to. Neither Andrew Johnson nor Erik Nevland have proved reliable in this respect and the jury remains out on Stefano Okaka. It's time for Hodgson to work his magic on another journeyman striker.

[Lighthouse]

We are an old side so it is a case that everything needs to be looked at. But in the very short term, central midfield and Up front are the areas to look at. Yes we need strength everywhere but we don't have the money and hopefully a reserve or two will be able to fill the void.

[NogoodBoyo]

Creativity in the centre of midfield to replace or back up Murphy is the biggest priority.  It used to be the need for a dominating (or even half-decent) centre half.  Coleman failed; Sanchez failed.  Hodgson saw it immediately, acted on it and solved the problem that had plagued us for years.  If Hodgson stays with us, we'll be OK.  If he doesn't , look for the ordure-laden paddle.
Nogood "doesn't bear thinking about, do it" Boyo

[McBridefan1]

how much money would we win if we won the Euefa???

[ImperialWhite]

About €6m (in total), or £5.36m. Not a huge amount...

[CincyFulham]

About €6m (in total), or £5.36m. Not a huge amount...

5.36 may not be much, but in Roy's hands I could see him getting 2 players and with 1 getting turning out to be a gem.

[Tom]

About €6m (in total), or £5.36m. Not a huge amount...

5.36 may not be much, but in Roy's hands I could see him getting 2 players and with 1 getting turning out to be a gem.

I agree with you Cincy.

[McBridefan1]

So we want our boys to work hard earn the team 5 mil so we can replace them with younger personnel??? Oh the business football is a necesary evil I suppose.

[ron]

So we want our boys to work hard earn the team 5 mil so we can replace them with younger personnel??? Oh the business football is a necesary evil I suppose.

It was ever thus McB. How long is the list of discarded heroes who ensured our ascent through the leagues since the genius of a certain discardee (?) called Micky Adams decided to stop our freefall into obscurity?

[Rupert]

Oh yes, we want the lads to commit themselves to dear old Fulham for life, or at least until we deem them to be useless donkeys at which point we want them off the payroll. :59:

No less a figure than Jimy Hill told me, years ago, that there was no loyalty in football beyond the chequebook, and from our point of view there is no loyalty beyond the formbook. Steed Malbranque is subject to boos and jeers because he left us when he was still a good player, Luis Boa Morte is fondly remembered for going to Wet Spam for £5 million when his best days were behind him.

[McBridefan1]

No matter what happens next season I will always remember every member of this particular team very fondly... all the boys have worked very hard and deserve nothing but our admiration even when they are gone.

[Tktd]

I have to agree - we've always needed strength in depth, especially in defence. Hangeland, Hughes, Pantsil and Konch are all great and bairds is proving to be the buy we were hoping for when first signed from Southampton, but that cant hide the fact that apart from Shorey there aren't many other genuine players to compete for some of our most important positions.

Midfield is less of an issue and with so much more money coming in from Europe from this seasons run, I can imagine Fulham and Al fayed giving Roy the money he needs or wants to go forward. Signs from the chairman, including putting his sons on the board, would suggest they're here for the long run and it may even become a family business - If so, then I'm over the moon as I believe Mo to have his heart and mind in the right place regarding Fulham and I think it's somthing he will have instilled in his son Omar, that said only time will tell, but Mo seems passionate.

If he sees Roy as manager being an opportune time to put some more cash into the club then the right time would be this summer.

In midfield I'd like to see Per Cilijan Skjelbred - I know I hark on about him and I don't know a lot about him, but i've heard some good things about him and that was before Roy came and we got mentioned with an interest. He's apparently one of Norways brightest talents and is an AM who I think could learn alot from Murphy and under Roys guidance. He's also international teammates with Riise and Hangeland and hasn't made the biggest mark at the moment so could be picked up cheaply and potentially made a profit out of.

Up front and in defence though i'm no expert, I'd like to think we could capitalise on what we did this season in Europe but if we're not in Europe next season I can't see us making high(ish) profile signings and tbh I don't think Roy would want to and it could also compromise the values of the club, values we've upheld through thick and thin, (see Malbranque, Saha etc etc)...

Any suggestions though? Maybe next season will be a good season to slowly push in a few academy players like buchtmann?

[VicHalomsLovechild]

Toilets, Half Time Entertainment and Online ticket purchasing.

[Mr Fulham]

Maybe next season will be a good season to slowly push in a few academy players like buchtmann?

Definitely. Buchtmann, Keanu Marsh-Brown (who is a great player, very versatile and consistent), Matthew Briggs, Danny Hoesen (a great finisher) and Wayne Brown (that guy has to get a new contract!) are only some of the names who are ready for some Premier League action.

I also agree with what you say about our squad players. We definitely need some fresh, young, fast and hungry players to put pressure onto the first team. We should keep hold of Nicky Shorey and maybe sign players like Reo-Coker or Matthew Taylor from Bolton (finds first team football hard to come by under Coyle) to rotate a bit.  Damien Duff has played nearly every match for us just like Dempsey. His injury has to be seen as an alarm signal that our players are strained overmuch!

And we should sign some lower League players.

I can see us making another bid for Jamie O'Hara but I think that he'll join Newcastle, Sunderland or West Ham in the end. I don't want to make suggestions because Roy does his own thing and only he knows what will and what won't happen this summer.

[CincyFulham]

So we want our boys to work hard earn the team 5 mil so we can replace them with younger personnel??? Oh the business football is a necesary evil I suppose.

Who said anything about replacing players? 

[McBridefan1]

So we want our boys to work hard earn the team 5 mil so we can replace them with younger personnel??? Oh the business football is a necesary evil I suppose.

Who said anything about replacing players? 

The name of this thread is  Where Do Fulham Need To Improve? Since we do not have the deep pockets of even a team like New Castle, in order for us to bring in players to help improve our squad it is a bit naive to think we will also keep all of our current squad... I wish we could keep 'em all and add a few, but that just isn't realistic. So to answer your question; no one specifically said anything about replacing players it is however implicit in the title.

[CincyFulham]

So we want our boys to work hard earn the team 5 mil so we can replace them with younger personnel??? Oh the business football is a necesary evil I suppose.

Who said anything about replacing players? 

The name of this thread is  Where Do Fulham Need To Improve? Since we do not have the deep pockets of even a team like New Castle, in order for us to bring in players to help improve our squad it is a bit naive to think we will also keep all of our current squad... I wish we could keep 'em all and add a few, but that just isn't realistic. So to answer your question; no one specifically said anything about replacing players it is however implicit in the title.

I think your wrong McB1.  I would wager that we lose some of the dead weight, and keep our starting 11 in place with the addition of better quality backups.  I can see your point on the title of the thread, but I was talking about bringing in better support for the players we already have.  I think the price tag of players that could step into the starting 11 would be more than what MAF would be willing to spend.  We have a solid first 11, we just need more depth.

[Tom]

So we want our boys to work hard earn the team 5 mil so we can replace them with younger personnel??? Oh the business football is a necesary evil I suppose.

Who said anything about replacing players? 

The name of this thread is  Where Do Fulham Need To Improve? Since we do not have the deep pockets of even a team like New Castle, in order for us to bring in players to help improve our squad it is a bit naive to think we will also keep all of our current squad... I wish we could keep 'em all and add a few, but that just isn't realistic. So to answer your question; no one specifically said anything about replacing players it is however implicit in the title.

I think your wrong McB1.  I would wager that we lose some of the dead weight, and keep our starting 11 in place with the addition of better quality backups.  I can see your point on the title of the thread, but I was talking about bringing in better support for the players we already have.  I think the price tag of players that could step into the starting 11 would be more than what MAF would be willing to spend.  We have a solid first 11, we just need more depth.

I agree with you Cincy. But I do think we could bring in a quality forward.

[CincyFulham]

So we want our boys to work hard earn the team 5 mil so we can replace them with younger personnel??? Oh the business football is a necesary evil I suppose.

Who said anything about replacing players? 

The name of this thread is  Where Do Fulham Need To Improve? Since we do not have the deep pockets of even a team like New Castle, in order for us to bring in players to help improve our squad it is a bit naive to think we will also keep all of our current squad... I wish we could keep 'em all and add a few, but that just isn't realistic. So to answer your question; no one specifically said anything about replacing players it is however implicit in the title.

I think your wrong McB1.  I would wager that we lose some of the dead weight, and keep our starting 11 in place with the addition of better quality backups.  I can see your point on the title of the thread, but I was talking about bringing in better support for the players we already have.  I think the price tag of players that could step into the starting 11 would be more than what MAF would be willing to spend.  We have a solid first 11, we just need more depth.

I agree with you Cincy. But I do think we could bring in a quality forward.

Tom, I would take a quality forward in a heart beat.  We did get 10m for Smallings and if Roy is allowed to spend it, who knows what could happen.