Tuesday Fulham Stuff (27/11/12)...

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Chelsea vs. Fulham: Preview and Projected Lineups

Rafael Benitez will be looking for his first win as Chelsea manager Wednesday as cross town rival Fulham visits Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea is coming off a 0-0 draw against Manchester City at the Bridge on Sunday, in which fans showed obvious displeasure with the recent firing of manager Roberto Di Matteo and subsequent hiring of former Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez. The draw marked The Blues’ third consecutive home match without a victory and drops them into 4th place in the table, five points behind league leading Manchester United.

Fulham is coming off a 0-1 defeat at Stoke City at the weekend, and will be looking to get a result against what seems a recently vulnerable Chelsea side. Fulham currently sits 10th in the table and have scored 25 goals this season, tied for the second highest total in the league with Manchester City. Unfortunately, The Cottagers have conceded 23 goals, tied for third worst in the league, which accounts for their lack of results. Fulham has also struggled mightily on the road this season, winning just one of seven away matches while giving up 16 goals in the process.

With such a quick turnaround from the weekend matches, both squads should feature a few new faces, but with Rafael Benitez looking for his first three points as a manager, expect a lot of the regulars to be in the lineup for Chelsea.

Projected Lineups

Chelsea: Petr Cech, David Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ashley Cole, Juan Mata, Oscar, Ramires, Victor Moses, Oriol Romeu, Fernando Torres

Fulham: Mark Schwarzer, John Arne Riise, Philippe Senderos, Aaron Hughes, Sascha Riether, Steven Sidwell, Giorgos Karagounis, Damien Duff, Ashkan Dejagah, Mladen Petric, Dimitar Berbatov




http://www.examiner.com/article/chelsea-vs-fulham-preview-and-projected-lineups?

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On The Comeback Trail
   
It seems to have been a long time since we saw Simon Davies in action.

Knee and hip injuries have seen the thirty-three year old Welshman sidelined and devoid of action.

But that is about to change with it being confirmed that Simon is set to return to training this week.

Let`s hope everything turns out okay.



Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=301021#ixzz2DOWjlIKI

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Riether ready for Chelsea test


Sascha Riether

SASCHA Riether admits he is likely to feel some childlike excitement when he sets foot inside Stamford Bridge on Wednesday – even though he is very much a seasoned pro.

The Fulham defender has not experienced the passion of the west London derby with Chelsea, but is convinced it is something he is will relish, having recently visited the home of the European champions for the first time.

"A few weeks ago I was there, and I saw Chelsea against Juventus. It was my first time at Stamford Bridge and it was a good game," the German right back told the Chronicle.

"I thought ‘Yes, soon you will play there’. It will be my first time playing there and I hope we get a good result. I’m not really aware yet of how big a game it is for Fulham, but it’s nice to know we will be big heroes if we win there.

"Every game is special, but if it’s a derby, it’s a little bit more.

"I never played in the biggest derbies in Germany like Schalke against Dortmund, but Cologne against Moenchengladbach is a derby, so I played in that and it’s always something special."

The Whites will be bidding to win at the Bridge for the first time in 33 years – since October 1979, when they won 2-0 in the old Second Division. There have been 14 games since then, mostly defeats, although last season Fulham did draw 1-1 with their neighbours.



Read More http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/fulham-fc/2012/11/26/82029-32310127/?#ixzz2DOXAYOWg

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Active Autism

On Sunday 25th November, the Fulham Autistic Boys football team took part in the Surrey FA’s Football for All League. This was the fourth consecutive year in which the team, consisting of twelve young people with Aspergers or other forms of Autism, have taken part in the competition.

The Football for All League hosts a monthly tournament featuring pan-disability teams from across Surrey, whose players are aged eight years and over. 2012/13 is now the fourth year in which Fulham Autistic Boys has entered an U13 and an U16 team into the tournament, where they compete in a round-robin format to develop skills such as teamwork, sportsmanship and concentration, in a relaxed and fun environment.

The Fulham Autistic Boys side was developed from the successful Active Autism programme which formed in 2008, when Fulham FC Foundation was approached by various partners in the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames who had highlighted a lack of opportunities for autistic local children and their families. Within a few weeks, funding was indentified and a sports programme specifically for young people with autism was established. Since then, there have been almost 200 weekly sessions and the Fulham FC Foundation has engaged with over 60 young people from within the borough. The programme has also been recognised by Kingston Primary Care Trust as a best-practice model, and other local boroughs have shown an interest in replicating the successes of the project.

Tommy Lafferty, Head Coach of the Fulham Autistic Boys team, who has been involved since the start of the project, said:

“All of the children that have taken part in the sessions have seen huge benefits and the parents think it’s a great idea. The friendship and relationships that have been formed between both participants and parents has been wonderful, and the parents have increased their support network considerably.”

Since the launch of the project, and in particular Fulham Autistic Boys team, the results have been fantastic. Parents have spoken about improved co-ordination, a huge difference in communication and interaction and a remarkable increase in concentration and self-esteem. The team has participated in many different tournaments and won the annual Daytripper’s tournament at London Soccerdome in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

For more information on the Active Autism programme or Fulham Autistic Boys team, please contact Fulham FC Foundation on 0870 442 5432 or visit www.fulhamfc.com/foundation.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/november/26/active-autism?

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Chelsea U21 3-0 Fulham U21

Fulham Under-21s slipped to a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Chelsea Under-21s on Monday night.

Kit Symons’ young side came unstuck against an in form Blues side that entered the game unbeaten in their last five outings and one buoyed by the presence of the watching Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and interim manager Rafael Benitez.

The hosts started well and threatened to break the early deadlock with Islam Feruz and Billy Clifford missing decent opportunities. Their pressure was rewarded however, when Nathan Ake opened the scoring with an impressive curled finish on 15 minutes.

Both Charles Banya and Omri Altman tested the Chelsea defence with some clever inter-play, however, it was the Blues that made the telling difference once more, when Feruz kept his cool to finish smartly beyond the reach of Jesse Joronen.

When Adam Phillip made it 3-0 just before the break, sliding in from Lewis Baker’s cross, the striker gave Fulham a mountain to climb.

Joronen made a fine stop to deny Reece Mitchell on the hour mark before George Saville shot wide, while James Musa made an excellent tackle to deny a further chance for the Blues.

It was an undoubtedly difficult evening for Symons’ charges, who face Liverpool at Motspur Park next Monday. While some billed this match as a dress rehearsal for the First Team’s encounter at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening, Fulham will be hoping for a bit more luck in two days’ time. 

Fulham U21: Joronen; Grimmer, Musa, Pritchard, Briggs; Brister, Minkwitz, Donegan, Banya; Altman, Islamovic. (Subs: Joronen, Arthurworrey, Evans, Tankovic and G Williams)



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/november/26/u21s-v-chelsea?

[whitejc]

 
LAWRO'S PREDICTION

Chelsea v Fulham

New Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez got started with a draw against Manchester City on Sunday after receiving what was a mixed reception to say the least.

But he won't let the booing or the banners protesting against his appointment bother him one bit.

Chelsea were well organised against City, which is the least you expect from a Benitez team. It was interesting to see him pick the 'Three Amigos' of Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard too - he obviously thinks he can play with all three of them.

But I think the Blues are a little bit leaderless without John Terry. On the pitch he is a massive influence for them.

Even without Terry, however, I think they will have too much for Fulham.

The Cottagers look quite stable compared to their west London rivals Chelsea and QPR, and manager Martin Jol is clearly getting the best out of his team.

They got bullied by Stoke on Saturday but it was always going to be tough going to the Britannia Stadium without the suspended Brede Hangeland.

In their last three away games before that, the Cottagers picked up a point after falling behind but generally, when they are on the road, if you get into them and manage to score first against them you usually end up winning the game.

Prediction: 2-0



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20486485