Monday Fulham Stuff (22/10/12)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham defender praises star duo after Aston Villa win

Fulham's Sascha Riether was full of praise for the Cottagers' goal hero Chris Baird and debutant Ashkan Dejagah after their 1-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Baird's late strike was enough to give Martin Jol's side their fourth league win of the season just as they looked to be heading for a draw.

Riether told Fulham's official website: "It's always important to win at home.

"We tried to get the goal as we wanted to win the game. At the end we had some chances and finally we got a present!"

On Baird, he said: "Chris always fights and always gives his best for the team so for us it was very important that he was able to score."

Riether is also confident Iran international Ashkan Dejagah, his former team-mate at German side Wolfsburg, can be a success in the Premier League.

"You saw the possibilities that Ashkan created and it is clear that he is a good player," he said.

"He and I played a few years together and I hope we can go on and continue to work well with each other like we did on Saturday."


http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/fulham_defender_praises_star_duo_after_aston_villa_win_1_1664598

[WhiteJC]

 
MuroZone: Jol's Fulham fortress

Fulham's 1-0 victory against Aston Villa means Martin Jol's side have taken 32 points out of a possible 42 at Craven Cottage in 2012.

Only Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City have won more points at home this year. Summer signing Dimitar Berbatov was again the star man on Saturday and Jol said: "He wants to take responsibility, he feels good, he loves the atmosphere at the training ground and it is a new challenge for him. I am very pleased."


http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/murozone-jols-fulham-fortress-8220371.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham reject Blackburn approach for first-team coach Billy McKinlay


Billy McKinlay (R): Fulham rejected an approach from Blackburn for his services

Fulham have rejected an approach from Blackburn for permission to speak to their first-team coach Billy McKinlay about the vacant manager's position at Ewood Park.

Steve Kean resigned from his post as Rovers boss on 28 September following a turbulent 21-month spell in charge of the Lancashire club.

Eric Black has taken over as caretaker-manager since Kean's departure but they appear to have drawn a blank in their pursuit of McKinlay.

The 43-year-old, who combines his role at Fulham with that of Northern Ireland assistant manager, played in midfield for Blackburn from 1995 to 2000 before ending his career at Craven Cottage.


http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11676/8187205?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham's Martin Jol: Why I Wish Villa Had Made Him Our Manager

In 2010 we opted for Houllier over Martin Jol and have since had two reasons fighting off relegation. Here's why we made the wrong choice...

Cast your mind back a little over two years to the 9th August 2010, after three successive top-six Premier League finishes, Martin O'Neill walks out on Aston Villa. The search for a new manager began immediately and the favourite names thrown around were Mark Hughes, Martin Jol and Gerard Houllier. Villa ended up appointing former Liverpool manager Houllier, with Jol taking Mark Hughes' former position as the manager of Fulham.

Houllier had a difficult time in charge of The Villains, with many fans disagreeing from the off that he was the right man to push the club on to the next level, Champions League qualification. That seems like a distant memory now after two seasons of relegation struggles. After lasting just ten months in charge of Villa, Houllier had a heart scare and had to step down from managerial duties for the good of his health. Although many Villa fans think that had it not happened he might have been on his way out come the end of the season regardless.

And so after Houllier's departure, Aston Villa were back at square one, in need of a manager. I'm not even going to go into the how or the why, but we did end up with former Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish in charge, that also ended disastrously. McLeish was obviously instantly disliked, not just because he was manager of our rivals but because his style was boring and defensive and he had got a decent Birmingham City team relegated twice in three seasons in the Premier League, while having a comfortable amount of money to play with. He lasted just 12 months, in a tumultuous time for Villa in which we were fighting off relegation for the majority of the season yet again.

By the end of the 2011-12 season, there was a massive 14 point difference between the two teams

So by the time we employed Paul Lambert at the start of this season, there had been three managers at Villa Park in two years. Martin Jol has spent all of this time in charge of Fulham and has been making some enviable progress if you're a Villa fan. In the first year (2010-11), Fulham only finished one point above Villa, but had a much more comfortable season and their expectations were arguably lower considering this is the time we were trying to push from Europa League qualification to Champions League qualification. By the end of the 2011-12 season, there was a massive 14 point difference between the two teams. You could try and put that down solely to Villa struggles, but you can't deny that Fulham managed to gather four points more than the previous season.

I don't blame Houllier for our downward slide, in fact I was very happy with his appointment and thought it would take us to the next step, but in the time we've been slipping down the table (and pecking order), Fulham have been making steady progress year on year. This progress while incorporating a stylish playing philosophy has attracted widespread acclaim and many admirers. You only have to take a look at the names on the Fulham team-sheet these days to see evidence of how much the club has improved. Former Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra and Premier League Golden Boot winner Dimitar Berbatov are the stand-out names, but the way the squad has been moulded into Jol's own is impressive to say the least. He has signed very well in terms of potential and experience too; with the aforementioned Berbatov and Diarra adding experience to the youthfulness and potential of the likes of Kasami and Kacaniklic.

The ironic thing is this seems to be the route we are taking now we have Paul Lambert in charge, mixing youth with experience under a controlled (tight) budget. Karim El Ahmadi and Ron Vlaar were cheap additions (and potentially bargains) but necessary in a squad that lacked depth and experience; with younger more inexperienced signings coming in the shape of Matthew Lowton and Christian Benteke.

It's not that I think Lambert is the wrong man for the job. In my opinion, he will get it right and build a successful squad to take us back up so that we are challenging the top-eight again. As long as he's given time to orchestrate his project, and the required resources to do so. What I am saying is that if we'd have named Martin Jol as our manager instead of Houllier two years ago, then we might not be in this position in the first place... Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?



http://www.sabotagetimes.com/football-sport/fulhams-martin-jol-why-i-wish-villa-had-made-him-our-manager/?

[WhiteJC]

 
U18s 1-2 Crystal Palace

Fulham Under-18s slipped to a third straight defeat on Saturday – going down 2-1 against Crystal Palace at Motspur Park.

After a bright start, Steve Wigley's side were rewarded on 20 minutes when striker Cauley Woodrow finished smartly following a clever move from deep.

Woodrow went close to a second shortly after, with Muamer Tankovic and Jordan Evans also creating chances and the visiting 'keeper making two key saves.

Lyle Della Verde teased in an inviting delivery as Palace started the second half on the back foot, however, as the half wore on, it was the visitors who began to look the more threatening.

As a result they pulled level when Fulham failed to clear a corner from the right with 30 minutes remaining and then added a second 15 minutes from time.

Academy Director Huw Jennings said: "It was a disappointing game especially after what was a very positive first 45 minutes. We created opportunities and really should have added to the lead we had made for ourselves.

"But credit to Palace, they responded really well in the second half where we struggled to get to grips with their direct style. We won four, but have since lost our last three – but that's the yo-yo of youth football I suppose.

"We need to bounce back, and I'm sure we will."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/october/22/u18s-highlights?

[ScalleysDad]

Good, constructive piece from the Villa fan so they are not all drunken oiks then.

The Baird goal is considered a "deft touch" by some and a flick by others. In slow motion it is actually a very neat piece of footwork indeed.