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Tuesday Fulham Stuff (05/02/13)...

Started by WhiteJC, February 05, 2013, 04:30:59 AM

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WhiteJC

 
I am Tiger Woods: Urby Emanuelson is spitting image of American golfer

Tiger Woods just secured his 75th PGA Tour title, so you wouldn't have thought he'd be looking at a career change any time soon.

Which is why anyone looking at the Fulham bench during their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United would have been surprised to see Woods apparently joining the team's substitutes.

In fact, the man on the bench was Fulham's Urby Emanuelson.


Lookalike: The Fulham midfielder was the spitting image of Tiger Woods in this shot


Legend: Woods won his 75th PGA Tour title last month


Substitute: The midfielder spent most of Fulham's clash with Manchester United on the bench


The hair was a little fuller than Woods would usually wear it, but apart from that the midfielder was the spitting image of the golfing legend.

The picture was taken as Emanuelson watched his side down to Manchester United in the Premier League at the weekend.

He was substituted on in the 68th minute but couldn't change Fulham's fate as they lost 1-0.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2273252/Fulhams-Urby-Emanuelson-looks-like-Tiger-Woods.html#ixzz2Jznf2DU8
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

WhiteJC

 
Jol on Loan Signings
   
Anyone hoping to see our trio of deadline day signing make their debuts against Manchester United, on Saturday, were disappointed.

Only Urby Emanuelson was included in the eighteen selected and he had to be content with a place on the bench.

It`s quite possible that the other two will take some time to get their fitness levels up to the standard expected of the highly competitive Premier League.

After the final whistle, Martin Jol clarified matters admitting in his media conference,

"We have to be honest. Most of these players haven`t played a lot for their clubs."

"That`s what you have to do - take them when they are bad, when they are leftovers."

"We had targets on the left and in midfield and we couldn`t get them but I was still happy to get Urby, who is a character and a good player, and also Eyong Enoh."

It has to be said though, that during his time on the pitch as a second half substitute, Emanuelson looked to be more than a useful acquisition.


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=307973#ixzz2JzoG7TVc

WhiteJC

 
Heart Attack Time!
   
If we were to be brutally honest, I guess that three points out of the last six available was the best return we could have hoped for.

For would have been nice but getting anything out of a fixture against Manchester United would have been a lot to hope for.

Therefore, our hopes of accumulating sufficient points to have no anxiety about relegation have still to be abated.

Our manager, Martin Jol, remarked after the loss to Manchester United,

"First you need 36, 37 points. After that you know about 40 points - it`s always the same."

"If we had beaten United and 31 points now, it would be finished."

"But if you`ve got to wait until the last game of the season, you`ll probably end up in hospital just before that - which is not what you want."

If it is a case of waiting until the last game of the season, like it was in that famous season when we had to get a result at Portsmouth, I reckon there`ll be a few more of us looking for hospital beds!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=307974#ixzz2JzoUhohp


WhiteJC

 
Riether on Fighting Spirit!
   
Once again, our on loan full back, Sacsha Riether, showed just how classy an operator is and it will be a shame if we have to lose him at the end of the season.

Riether, talking to the media after the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, had this to say about the game,

"We had a great performance and we deserved a point. But at least we saw a team on the pitch - and that`s important."

"The fans saw there were 11 players who fought and who wanted to win against the best team in the league."

"We understand that the fans were not happy earlier, because we had not been fighting to the end."

"But in the last two games, there has been a change. There was a team with fighting spirit."

There was and, at the death, we almost got a point except for a late off-the-line clearance by Robin Van Persie.


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=307975#ixzz2JzomC5Rt

WhiteJC

 
Powercut during Fulham FC game plunges Craven Cottage into darkness

DARKNESS fell on Craven Cottage at the weekend as a power cut brought Fulham's game against Manchester United to a standstill.

The tension was palpable on Saturday (Feb 2) evening as The Whites found themselves bravely keeping the league leaders at bay when all of a sudden, moments before half-time, the lights went off.

Fulham Reach resident and Chronicle reader, Wyn Morgan, captured the moment.

He said: "It was quite surreal really, fans took it in good humour as it was just before half time.

"Many took the opportunity to head out for an early pie and a pint."

Despite their best efforts Fulham eventually lost the game 1-0.



Read More http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/fulham-and-hammersmith-news/local-fulham-and-hammersmith-news/2013/02/04/82029-32744886/?#ixzz2Jzp0HIMK

WhiteJC

 
Fulham's Urby Emanuelson happy to work with manager Martin Jol


Urby Emanuelson: Happy to have been reunited with manager Martin Jol

Urby Emanuelson has revealed that the presence of Martin Jol at Fulham was a major reason behind his decision to move to Craven Cottage.

Emanuelson joined the Cottagers on loan from AC Milan last week and made his first appearance for the club against Manchester United on Saturday as he was brought on in the second half.

He previously played under Jol during the Fulham manager's time as boss at Ajax and admits he was keen to renew the working relationship.

"Martin Jol was a big part of the move as I'd worked already with him," he told the club's official website. "I need a little bit of trust at the moment and he's a coach who believes in me. That is one of the big reasons why I came here."

Emanuelson believes Fulham were unfortunate to lose 1-0 at home to Manchester United, having been impressed by the performance of his new team-mates.

"It wasn't an easy game to make my debut in," said the Dutchman. "It was a tough match, but in the second half we really fought well and it looked like we would get at least a point.

"We fought as a team. You saw in the second half that we were getting stronger and stronger. We were unlucky in the box as well. But with the strikers they have, they can always score goals.

"We can be happy with the way we played but, of course, the result was not what we wanted."

Emanuelson replaced Giorgos Karagounis in midfield and says he is happy to play anywhere, having also gained experience at left-back and on the wing.

"I'm comfortable playing there (in the centre)," he stated. "I'm used to playing in a lot of positions and with my style of play I can play anywhere in the midfield. It's started for me now and I want to grow as a player and help the team.

"The result wasn't to be but I'm really happy that I got some minutes on the pitch and it went well.

"It's a good feeling to make my debut. I just want to play more than I was in Milan. I'd only trained once with Fulham before the game so I'm happy that I could play 25 minutes."



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/8471470?


WhiteJC

 
Jol key to Fulham loan move, says Urby Emanuelson
The Netherlands international has joined the London side from AC Milan until the end of the season, linking up with his former manager while at Eredivisie outfit Ajax

Urby Emanuelson says the chance to work with Fulham manager Martin Jol was the key reason behind his switch to the club from Italian giants AC Milan.

Jol was Emanuelson's boss when the 26-year-old was at Ajax and, after an indifferent spell at San Siro, he jumped at the chance to be reunited with the Cottagers' manager on deadline day.

"Martin Jol was a big part of the move as I'd worked already with him," he told the club's official website.

"I need a little bit of trust at the moment and he's a coach who believes in me. That is one of the big reasons why I came here."

Emanuelson made his debut for Fulham as a second-half substitute in the narrow 1-0 loss at home to Manchester United, and the 26-year-old admitted is was a tough baptism of fire.

The London side had two goal-bound efforts cleared off the line and hit the woodwork before Wayne Rooney netted the sole goal 11 minutes from time, and the midfielder recognised his new side were unlucky to come away from the clash empty handed.

"It wasn't an easy game to make my debut in," he added. "It was a tough match, but in the second half we really fought well and it looked like we would get at least a point.

"We fought as a team. You saw in the second half that we were getting stronger and stronger. We were unlucky in the box as well. But with the strikers they have, they can always score goals.

"We can be happy with the way we played but, of course, the result was not what we wanted.

"It's a good feeling to make my debut. I just want to play more than I was in Milan. I'd only trained once with Fulham before the game so I'm happy that I could play 25 minutes."


http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/transfer-zone/2013/02/04/3726595/-?

WhiteJC

 
Fulham could face Premier League sanction for Craven Cottage floodlight failure during match against Man Utd
Fulham could face punishment for the floodlight failure which halted Manchester United's Premier League win at Craven Cottage.


In the dark: Craven Cottage plunged into darkness following a floodlight failure on Saturday
Photo: GETTY IMAGES


The Premier League confirmed on Monday night they were writing to the west London club to ask for an explanation for the blackout which caused a 10-minute hold-up to United's 1-0 victory on Saturday.

A range of sanctions are available, including a fine, if Fulham are unable to provide a satisfactory explanation.

A Premier League spokesman told Telegraph Sport: "It very much depends on the reasoning behind it."

Fulham confirmed they were conducting an internal investigation and that members of their operations team met with the company responsible for maintaining the floodlights at Craven Cottage yesterday morning.

The club refused to reveal whether they had already determined the cause of the problem but they would not face punishment if they could prove the failure was due to circumstances beyond their control.

A spokeswoman said: "We conducting our own internal investigation to ensure that any questions that need answering can be answered.

"I'm sure that when the Premier League come and ask for our representations, we will be able to give them wholeheartedly."

The floodlights failed abruptly after 42 goalless minutes of Saturday's match as United were preparing to take a corner.

The players left the field while power was restored before returning 10 minutes later to complete the first half.

United then clinched all three points thanks to Wayne Rooney's 79th-minute winner.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/9848736/Fulham-could-face-Premier-League-sanction-for-Craven-Cottage-floodlight-failure-during-match-against-Man-Utd.html

WhiteJC

 
U18s 5-1 Southampton

Fulham's Under-18s thumped their Southampton counterparts 5-1 on Saturday morning at Motspur Park.

Patrick Roberts hit the post early on, but the same player was on hand to put the Whites in front, slotting home Muamer Tankovic's pull-back.

Tankovic made it 2-0, hammering a shot into the roof of the net from a tight angle after a swift Fulham counter-attack from a Southampton corner.

The visitors pulled one back just before the break after Max Oberschmidt had misjudged a cross, but the Fulham goalkeeper made amends with a fine save early in the second half to keep the Whites in front.

Fulham regained their two-goal advantage when Tankovic scored from the penalty spot after Moussa Dembele had been brought down in the box by the Southampton keeper as the striker latched onto a short backpass.

Dembele then made it 4-1 when he headed home, before Jordan Evans put the seal on the win with Fulham's fifth with a low shot from the edge of the box after a mazy run.

Academy Director Huw Jennings told fulhamfc.com: "The scoreline wasn't a fair reflection on the game. Southampton gave us a tough examination and three goals in the last 10 minutes flattered us a bit.

"But after a tough week which saw us go out of the FA Youth Cup, it shows our desire is right up there."

Fulham's Under-18s are next in action on Saturday (11am) when they head to Everton.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/february/05/southampton-u18s?


WhiteJC

 
Pescara hoping they can force through Fulham youngster's loan deal



Pescara and Pajtim Kasami's agent are ready to appeal to the Italian football federation to rubber-stamp the Fulham start's botched loan move.

Kasami was set to move to the Serie A side on loan during the transfer window but the move collapsed in ridiculous circumstances.

A poor internet connection at the hotel in which the documents were due to be sent from meant the midfielder's move to Italy could not be officially finalised.

The deadline came and went and Kasami's agent, the influential Mino Raiola, vented his fury at the hotel's facilities.

But with Fulham manager Martin Jol unlikely to call on the Swiss Under-21 youngster any time soon, it has left the 20-year-old in limbo.

Raiola, though, is ready to go the Italian authorities with the necessary paperwork that shows an agreement was sorted before the deadline.

And Pescara hope the FIGC grants the loan request.



Read more: http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/130205/pescara-hoping-they-can-force-through-fulham-youngsters-loan?#ixzz2K2fqDkI6
Follow us: @talksport on Twitter
Read more at http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/130205/pescara-hoping-they-can-force-through-fulham-youngsters-loan?#suJE2mVk1LrPEeTA.99

WhiteJC

 
Etheridge in Azkals line-up vs Myanmar

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-British player Neil Etheridge will be suiting up for the Azkals when the Filipino squad plays a tune-up game against Myanmar in Yangon on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-3 goal keeper was tapped along with 18 others to play the FIFA international friendly, which will jump start their campaign for the 2013 Challenge Cup qualifiers.

Also joining the Azkals are Filipino-Germans Manny Ott and Patrick Reichelt, Filipino-British Rob Gier, siblings James and Phil Younghusband, Filipino-Dutch Jason De Jong and mainstays Chieffy Caligdong, Eduard Sacapano and Ian Araneta.

Completing the 19-man roster are Marvin and Marwin Angeles, Jeffrey Christiaens, Ref Cuaresma, Roel Gener, Chris Greatwich, Nestorio Margarse Jr., OJ Porteria and Matthew Uy.

The game takes place in Yangon, Myanmar and it will be aired live on ABS-CBN Studio 23 starting 6 p.m. (kickoff at 6:30 p.m.)

Myanmar, currently ranked 162 in the world, will be looking to avenge its 0-2 defeat to the Azkals in the AFF Suzuki Cup last year.


http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/02/05/13/etheridge-azkals-line-vs-myanmar?

WhiteJC

 
It's all child's play for Northern Ireland defender Aaron Hughes


ELDER STATESMAN: Aaron Hughes

Aaron Hughes has admitted he feels out of touch as the Northern Ireland team is getting younger by the minute.

Without a comprehensive knowledge of the latest console games, the 33-year-old has said times are certainly changing.

"I honestly look around and feel as if I am the one who needs to make the effort to fit in, rather than the younger ones coming through to settle in the team," he said.

"They all know each other from the under 18 and under 21s, I could be sitting at lunch or dinner on a table on my own! They're all chatting about Fifa '13 or Call of Duty and I'm... well, not really in the conversation!"

Naturally, the Fulham defender has a wealth of experience which the younger recruits can benefit from sharing in, although Hughes says it's down to them to drive their own education.

"It's never really been a case of younger players asking me about much, the experienced ones tend to pass it on during training and encourage them to pick up good habits, as well as show a strong work ethic.

"It's a good thing, however, that the squad is so young. A lot of them are scoring at their own clubs regularly, which you could argue is the opposite to Northern Ireland normally, but you hope they'll bring their confidence to the game which should yield goals.

"There's probably an element of fearlessness among them, possibly verging on being a bit naive about the whole thing, because it's all new. But it's still football and they're no less professional.

"It's just a positive, because they get out and play, without thinking about any pressure. They don't have the same baggage."

This will be Michael O'Neill's eighth game in charge since taking over on February 1, 2012 – and he is still searching for a first win.

The elusive victory is something Hughes knows is needed, if only to change the record.

"It would be great to get the first win for Michael, so we don't have to talk about it anymore.

"We are missing Chris Baird and Kyle Lafferty for the next qualifier so changes do need to be made. We go away for club football and the break in between can be two or three months. This therefore is a welcome refresher, but we are looking for the performance first and foremost, something which can give us a boost ahead of the qualifiers restarting.

"I know people will say 'it's only a friendly' and that it's a grind to be away, but it's always good to be part of the set-up."



http://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/football/it-s-all-child-s-play-for-northern-ireland-defender-aaron-hughes-1-4753685


WhiteJC

 
Solid Sascha: The Right Right-Back


Riether ranks up with the best defenders in the Premier League, including Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand.

It's been a while since Fulham has had any consistency at the right-back position. Think back through the last couple years. Stephen Kelly, John Pantsil, Fredirk Stoor, Moritz Volz (could The Electrician have restored power during the outage at Craven Cottage???), Elliot Omozusi. Then you remember Steve Finnan. Finnan is a name in the minds of all Fulham fans as probably the last established right-back at Craven Cottage, playing 5 stellar seasons and 172 matches in White, helping them blast through the lower divisions into the Premier League, before moving on to bigger and better things at Anfield.

Sascha Riether has brought back some fond memories for the home fans at Craven Cottage, and his no-nonsense attitude on the touchline has been a bright spot in an otherwise porous and aging defensive line. On loan from FC Cologne, Riether looked for a way out after their relegation to the German second division 2. Bundesliga, and found his respite in SW6. At first glance, bringing on a player from a relegated German club brought a few fans to question the decision, thinking back to the revolving door the right-back position had typically been for Fulham. However, when you look a little deeper, you also see Riether had won a Bundesliga title with Wolfsburg in a dream season where they at one point won 10 straight matches, including beating Bayern Munich 5-1, and the right-back also registered two vastly important goals. He banged in the winner at Borussia M'gladbach and also found the back of the net in a road draw with Hertha BSC.

At Fulham, it's been no different. Although not the fastest player on the pitch, he's brought an attacking flair down the right side, bringing pace to the touch and swinging in some fantastic crosses, as well as developing an immediate partnership with Damien Duff and his old Wolfsburg teammate Ashkan Dejagah.

However, it's been his defensive ability that's not only caught my eye, but been his most valuable asset. Riether's ability to track any winger or striker on the dribble down the touchline is more than impressive, and he displays a tackling precision that allows him to take on just about anyone one-on-one, something that's been missing elsewhere in the back 4 this year. As Lydia Campbell pointed out in her fantastic Hammy End article on Riether, I can't remember an incident where I saw Sascha out of position, despite sometimes being in attacking positions. On the flip side, we saw just last week Philippe Senderos make a fatal mistake staying too long for a header he had no chance at winning, causing him to be horribly out of position for Manchester United's only goal.

Thanks to the great work of the folks at EA Sports, I've gotten some Player Performance Index numbers on Riether, and they're just as fantastic as you'd imagine. I mentioned his tackling precision – he has a 76.6 tackling success percentage, highest of anyone on the squad with regular playing time (Matthew Briggs is the only player with a higher percentage, and he has too small of a sample size to be in the discussion). In fact, that tackling percentage is 2nd among all right-backs in the Premier League. He has 16 clearances and 83 interceptions, both third highest on the squad behind our two regular center backs.

In fact, according to the EA Sports Player Performance Index, Sascha Riether is the 4th best right-back in the Premier League, behind household names Rafael, Branislav Ivanovic, and Pablo Zabaleta; he's also the 12th ranked overall defender in the league. That's high praise when you notice names behind him such as Per Mertesacker, Gael Clichy, Robert Huth, Kieran Gibbs, and Martin Skrtel (who's having a horrible season). Don't forget, this is Riether's first season in the Premier League.

I've pulled his dossier from possibly Fulham's best defensive performance of the season, their 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge at the end of November. Statistically Steve Sidwell was a defensive machine, but Riether was all-around our best defender that day. Here's his dashboard:


Obviously this was a fantastic defensive display by Fulham as a whole, but aside from a few failed clearances and some incomplete long passes up the touchline, Riether was virtually perfect. Also, he took a Torres to the face:


LOOK OUT, A FLYING TORRES!

Now while his defense is by far what I've been most impressed with the German about, his attacking ability has also been incredibly positive to the club. With such a weak attacking midfield, Fulham have relied heavily on their ability to stretch the field to the touchlines and use their wingers to provide creativity. The club isn't a very good crossing team, so often they use the wing-backs or wingers to serve as the link between the back and front through the middle third, and then players like Bryan Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov take it from there, feeding the strikers up top. Just look at Riether's dashboard again from Chelsea. He doesn't cross the ball much at all. He provides passes just beyond the midline, usually to someone like Damien Duff or Bryan Ruiz who bring it up through the middle from there. Let's look at one of the most recent positive attacking matches Fulham played, their 1-0 loss to Manchester United. They didn't score, but the club put on some real pressure, especially late. The clean sheet kept by United had mostly to do with a few factors at the end product up front. The buildup, Riether's role, was fantastic. Take a look at the progression, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about:

He takes the ball from the central defense over to the wing:


Riether brings it up over the midline and then it's off to either Dejagah or Ruiz. In fact, Riether to Dejagah was the most common passing combination for Fulham, happening 13 times.

 

As you can see, Riether is a major link up the right side, taking the ball from the back and feeding it into the middle from the wing. Even passing to Dejagah, a winger, is more into the middle of the pitch than up farther along the touchline.

Finally, there is one more attacking number I'd like to give you from the gracious people at EA Sports. Riether has connected on exactly 400 passes in the attacking half of the pitch – 2nd most on Fulham behind only Dimitar Berbatov. That's how much they trust Sascha to be the connective force on the attack for Fulham. It's also a product of the fact that he's the only player on Fulham to have played in all 25 matches this season, so he's seen more playing time to accumulate those passes. But it's still a very important number to understand the trust Riether has developed from Martin Jol. Thanks in large part to this, the EA Sports Player Performance Index has Riether the 2nd most valuable player on the club behind Berbatov.

That trust didn't come right away either. Check this out: Riether, in our season-opening match where Fulham dominated Norwich 5-0, Fulham held the ball 60% of the time, and Riether passed the ball 49 times, but only 6 of those 49 were in the attacking third. In the second game of the season, at Old Trafford, it was the same story – Fulham only held the ball 40% of the time, limiting Riether's passes to 38, but only 2 of those 38 were in the attacking third. Now, fast forward to Saturday's match with Manchester United, where Fulham only possessed the ball 45% of the time, and Riether only had 36 passes as a result...but 16 of those 36 passes came in the attacking third. He's touching the ball much more up front now as opposed to dumping it off to the midfield way back in the defending half like he did in his first few forays with the squad. The trust has developed.

Now, we shouldn't jump to conclusions with Sascha, because remember, he is 29. I wouldn't start comparing him to Steve Finnan just yet, because he may not have the window of opportunity to play for as long with the club as Finnan did. We've all seen how age can break down our beloved center back pairing into shells of their former selves. But if Martin Jol can secure a permanent deal for Riether, we may have a bit of security for a few years in that corner of the pitch.

And that part is the key: securing the deal. There is a very strong argument for Sascha Riether for Fulham's Player of the Year so far this season, and he absolutely needs to be back next year. In fact, I'd argue that if Martin Jol does not secure a permanent deal for Riether after the season and he goes elsewhere, it is quite possibly a fireable offense. He talks all the time about keeping our players, including recently being happy to keep all our players through the January transfer window. So this time, we absolutely need to keep this particular player. I don't expect it to be a problem, especially at age 29 I doubt any bigger clubs will come calling, but you never know.

Keep up the fantastic work Sascha, it's a wonderfully bright spot for the present and the future of Craven Cottage.


http://fulhamsfinest.com/2013/02/05/solid-sascha-the-right-right-back/?

WhiteJC

 
Fulham frontman on trial in Norway

FULHAM forward Lauri Dalla Valle is on trial with Molde.

The Finnish frontman is training with the Norwegian outfit, managed by former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with view to a possible move.

Dalla Valle has made just two substitute appearances for Fulham since his switch from Liverpool in 2010 as part of the deal that took Paul Konchesky to Anfield.

The 21-year-old has spent spells out on loan at Bournemouth, Dundee United, Exeter and Crewe.



Read More http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/fulham-fc/2013/02/05/82029-32751027/?#ixzz2K2lASpH8