Tuesday Fulham Stuff (19/03/13)

[White Noise]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/130318/west-ham-fight-fulham-mali-defender-193889


West Ham to fight Fulham for Mali defender


By talkSPORT | Monday, March 18, 2013




West Ham and Fulham are battling it out to sign Mali international Mahamadou N'Diaye.

The 22-year-old, who plays for Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes, has been scouted by both Premier League sides and could end up in London this summer.

The defender started out at Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca before switching to Vitoria in 2010, where his displays earned him a call-up for Mali, despite the fact he was born in Senegal.

N'Diaye has managed 17 club appearances in all competitions this season, scoring once.


Read more: http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/130318/west-ham-fight-fulham-mali-defender-193889#ixzz2Ny4lzpau

[White Noise]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/march/18/back-in-business


Back In Business


Monday 18 March 2013 10:45


Fulham forward Bryan Ruiz is pleased that his side are beginning to earn the points their performances deserve in the Barclays Premier League following Sunday's excellent 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

The last four outings for the Whites have yielded an impressive eight points, with just two goals conceded in the process, and Ruiz hopes that the foundations are now in place for a strong end to the campaign.

"After this victory we can look forward to making sure we stay in the top 10 places," he said. "That's what we've wanted since the beginning of the season. We had a bad period but now we are back in business so we will try to finish in the top 10.

"We've been playing good football already for a while and sometimes we didn't get the points we deserved, but I think we've changed our mentality and we're playing with confidence. We're working very hard on the field and defending well and we have quality up front also."

Dimitar Berbatov took his tally for the season to 11 at the weekend and Bryan – who has been playing in the hole behind the Bulgarian – praised the contribution of the striker, but insisted the upturn in form is the result of a collective team effort.

"It was a really good team goal," Ruiz admitted. "We worked it well down the right side, put the ball into space and it was a great finish.

"It's good to play with Dimitar but it's teamwork and we showed that on Sunday. We defended very well. It's down to all 11 players who played to do a great defensive job, which we did.

"We did well when we had the ball too and that's when we can use the quality that Berbatov has. People talk a lot about Dimitar and we agree that he's a good player but it's about teamwork. He's doing well, but all the team is doing well."

[White Noise]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/march/18/loan-round-up


Loan Round-Up


Monday 18 March 2013 10:30


Hull City and David Stockdale went down to a 2-1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest in the npower Championship on Saturday.

George Boyd gave the hosts the lead, but Darius Henderson equalised after a Simon Cox strike came back off the crossbar. And Lewis McGugan clinched the win when he slotted in Billy Sharp's low cross.

Despite the loss, the Tigers remain second in the table as Watford were defeated 1-0 at Barnsley. Matthew Briggs was not in Watford's matchday squad.

In the same division, Alexander Kačaniklić and 10-man Burnley conceded an injury-time equaliser in a 1-1 draw at bitter rivals Blackburn Rovers.

The Clarets took the lead when Jason Shackell followed up after his own header rebounded off the woodwork from Ross Wallace's free-kick.

But Burnley were then reduced to 10 when Ben Mee was shown a second yellow for a late tackle on Grant Hanley. And, with only a minute left, David Dunn drove in the equaliser to earn Rovers a share of the spoils.

In League One, Marcello Trotta was a 71st-minute substitute as Brentford moved into the automatic promotion places after an injury-time Sam Saunders penalty saw them defeat Preston North End 1-0.

Saunders converted the spot-kick after he was brought down by John Mousinho and the Bees are now just two points off leaders Doncaster Rovers.

In the Blue Square Bet Premier, Brian Smikle scored an injury-time winner as Hereford United and James Musa came from behind to beat struggling Barrow.

In an ill-tempered clash, Adam Boyes put the visitors ahead from six yards, before Sean McConville was sent off for handball and Joshua O'Keefe scored from the spot. The Bulls snatched the win when Smikle converted Ryan Bowman's cross from six yards.

In the same division, Marcus Bettinelli and Dartford were beaten 3-0 at Hyde. Scott Hogan, Matthew Blinkhorn and Louis Almond were on target for the hosts.

In the Blue Square South, Richard Peniket started as Farnborough earned a 1-0 win at Sutton United. Dave Tarpey scored the only goal in the 52nd minute for Boro, who now lie six points off the Play-Off places.

Overseas, and Pajtim Kasami played the full 90 minutes as FC Luzern drew 0-0 at Grasshoppers in the Swiss Super League on Sunday.

Last but not least, in Australia, Corey Gameiro and Wellington Phoenix earned a shock 2-1 win at Perth Glory in the A-League on Sunday.

Goals from Paul Ifill and Stein Huysegems put Wellington in the ascendency, with Ryo Nagai's 75-minute strike proving to be little more than a consolation.

[White Noise]

Spurs Highlights


Monday 18 March 2013 09:16


Our Captain described it as "the perfect away performance", so why not watch for yourself and savour the highlights of yesterday's victory at Tottenham.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/march/18/spurs-highlights

[White Noise]

Captain's Verdict


Sunday 17 March 2013 20:10


Captain Brede Hangeland reflects on an outstanding team performance as the Whites beat Tottenham at White Hart Lane for the first time in 10 years.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/march/17/captains-verdict

[White Noise]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/march/17/manager-reaction


Manager Reaction


Sunday 17 March 2013 18:23


Martin Jol praised the organisation shown by his side as Fulham came away from White Hart Lane with a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Dimitar Berbatov's 52nd-minute strike proved the difference and Jol was pleased with the manner in which the Whites contained their hosts.

"In the first half we tried to restrict them and we didn't play as well as we could but we were very well organised," he said. "I think the second half was better – we should have scored a second goal with Ashkan Dejagah, and maybe Brede Hangeland could have made it 2-0, but we couldn't and they are such a strong team so we had to be nervous until the end. Then Mark Schwarzer made that incredible save but, overall, I don't think they had a lot of 100 per cent chances, so we did well.

"It's all about the three points and it's nice that it was here because White Hart Lane is so difficult to go to and get a result. They had four wins and one defeat in their last five league games – one defeat away to Liverpool – at home it's a different kettle of fish. They are strong but we kept it simple against Gareth Bale and Mousa Dembele and I think it was probably Bale's quietest game, so we did well."

The win moved Fulham back into the top half of the table, with a healthy cushion of nine points now separating us from the drop zone, and our Manager admitted it is satisfying to continue to distance ourselves from the bottom three.

"I was very pleased because we needed the three points," he said. "There were a lot of clubs around us with 33. Wigan Athletic have a game in hand and could be on 30 points so there will be one or two clubs in that mess and nobody wants to be in that bottom three.

"You've got Reading and, of course, Queens Park Rangers, but who else will be there? That is the thing that is always on your mind so we needed the points. But I have to say that before the game you hope for a point. Berbatov promised me, he said 'you have to trust me' and I thought he was joking but he said it before the match against Stoke City too. He's a wonderful player and a remarkable boy.

"I think you have to pick up two or three wins – and that was before today – so you need 38, 39 points. But we've played the top four now – the only ones are Chelsea and Arsenal at home. We've got a few difficult ones away from home but hopefully we are fine."

[White Noise]

http://hotspurhq.com/2013/03/18/tottenham-pay-price-against-fulham-for-earlier-errors-of-judgement/




Tottenham Pay Price, Against Fulham, For Earlier Errors of Judgement


Mar 18th, 2013 at 4:43 am by Logan Holmes


Tottenham suffered an unexpected home defeat to Fulham but the loss of three points could have serious consequences on the outcome of the club's season. The cause for the defeat might be put down as tiredness following a gruelling two hours in Milan on Thursday evening but decisions taken earlier in the season contributed to the defeat.

Tottenham gave a lethargic display against a well organised Fulham team and while Mark Schwarzer made two excellent saves to deny Jermain Defoe, he had a relatively comfortable afternoon at White Hart Lane. It was the perfect away performance from Fulham – good organisation at the back, hard work in midfield and always looking for a quick counter-attack from which Dimitar Berbatov scored the only goal of the game.

Andre Villas-Boas refused to blame tiredness for the defeat in his post match interviews. Teamtalk.com reported that when questioned on the issue, AVB said,


""No. We played lots of players who were not involved recently and had a couple of fresh legs on the pitch – five at least."

Spurs should have been prepared for such a performance from Fulham – they've faced many other teams playing in a similar style at White Hart Lane. Tottenham struggled to have any impact on the game and while weariness and injuries played their part for Spurs, the deeper reasons lie with decisions taken much earlier in the season. The problem hasn't just appeared against Fulham but in previous matches they have been hidden due to the exceptional form of Gareth Bale and the goals scored by Jermain Defoe in the opening months of the season.

Tottenham's 3 Errors of Judgement

1. Lack of Creativity:

For the past two seasons, Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart provided the creative touch from midfield for Tottenham – they were the two players the team looked to against a packed defence. They were able to find a pass, a flick or a cross-field ball to create an opening which played the strikers in on goal. The transfer of both players last August left Andre Villas-Boas lacking in that department. It was common knowledge that Modric was looking to join Real Madrid and after protracted negotiations the deal was competed in mid-August. Without signing a replacement for Modric, Van der Vaart was allowed to return to Hamburg on the final day of the transfer window, leaving the team without a truly creative player.

Tottenham signed Mousa Dembele and Gylfi Sigurdsson in the summer, along with the late acquisition of Clint Dempsey who fulfills a role between midfield and striker but none were a direct replacement for the two departed players. Numerous reports appeared of news of Tottenham seeking that replacement but the failure to ensure that signing was completed was a major error which was compounded when nothing was done to address the issue in January. Lewis Holtby arrived but again he was not a direct replacement and was seen as a young player for the future.

Against Fulham, the midfield was static and as in previous matches, the ball was passed sideways and backwards. On a good day that is described as "patient build up play" but when it isn't working, it is just so easy for the defending team to wait for a misplaced pass. Frequently, the central defenders were forced to carry the ball forward in an attempt to create an opening.

For the final 23 minutes against Fulham, 20 year old Tom Carroll was brought on and he at least attempted to pick a pass and be a creative force in the team. He was eager to receive the ball and was always looking to play someone in behind the defence. His run from central midfield which saw him go past three defenders before playing a ball for Gareth Bale to run onto was one of the few creative passes from Spurs in the whole match. Only the speed of Schwarzer off his line denied Bale a scoring opportunity. Carroll showed what the team had been lacking for over an hour but while he has shown the ability to do that in previous matches in Cup and European games, it would be too much to expect him to be able to do it regularly in the Premier League.

The point remains, however, if that was what was needed against Fulham why wasn't a player signed who could fulfill that role for the team on a regular basis.

2. Strikers:

Tottenham have a squad with an abundance of central defenders and central midfield players but lacking in strikers. It was always going to be a risky strategy to try to get through a season with only two strikers. It has been made even more difficult with Emmanuel Adebayor's failure to rediscover the form he displayed last season. For various reasons, Spurs have gone through much of the season with only one senior striker available. In the opening months, Jermain Defoe's goals managed to hide the problem but he hasn't scored since Boxing Day and in the opening months of 2013 Gareth Bale's exception run of goals has helped to overcome the inability of the strikers to find the net.

Not recruiting an additional striker is another serious error of judgement. At some point in the season, it was going to become an issue and it may be now as the season reaches the crucial final games. Without a cutting edge in front of goal, Tottenham gave Fulham a relatively easy afternoon – at no point were Fulham forced back into a backs to the wall defensive display, holding on to take the three points.

3. Loan of Andros Townsend

It might appear strange to include allowing a young reserve to go out on loan as a major issue but Tottenham's game is based on width and pace from the wings. Bale and Aaron Lennon have had an excellent season but there is no cover if either of them is missing. That makes the decision to allow Andros Townsend to join Queen's Park Rangers, on loan, for the rest of the season difficult to understand. Townsend was never going to get in ahead of either Bale or Lennon but he could have been useful to bring off the bench or start if either was absent.

Spurs missed Lennon and Bale against Inter and the decision to use Lennon at the San Siro as a substitute, back-fired as he aggravated his injury and had to miss the Fulham game. Townsend came on against Swansea in December and showed that he could trouble defences and has shown for QPR that he can score and create chances in the Premier league. The decision to send him to Loftus Road was taken for the further development of his career but it has left Tottenham lacking a replacement on the wing and having to alter the shape of the team to accommodate the introduction of Sigurdsson or Dempsey in a wide position.

On a team selection point from yesterday's match, it seemed strange to omit Kyle walker when Lennon wasn't playing. While Walker has struggled recently, the team could have used his pace on the right, something Kyle Naughton who played quite well, doesn't provide. With neither Walker or Lennon on the right, Bale played a considerable part of the game there, rather than the roving central role he has taken on, of late.

The three decisions have created a lack of variety in the Tottenham squad and contributed to the defeat to Fulham. If these difficulties persist and Villas-Boas fails to get a positive response from the players in the coming weeks, the lack of foresight through the season could bring about the ultimate failure of Tottenham achieving their objective for the season – a top four season, and that could have dramatic consequences in coming seasons.

[White Noise]

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2013/03/scott-parker-tottenham-fulham/


Scott Parker: Tottenham didn't deserve to lose to Fulham


Scott Parker says Tottenham didn't deserve to lose to Fulham but urges Spurs to stay positive after loss reopens top-four race


By TSR staff   


10:44pm UK, Monday 18 March 2013




Scott Parker felt Tottenham did not deserve to lose to Fulham but urged his team-mates to stay positive after Sunday's defeat blew open the race for a top-four finish.

Dimitar Berbatov returned to haunt his former employers by netting the winner in the second half at White Hart Lane as Andre Villa-Boas's men slumped to their third straight loss in all competitions.

Spurs are now just four points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal, who have played a game less than their north London rivals.

But 32-year-old Parker insists Tottenham are still in "good position" heading into the final eight games of the season in search of Champions League qualification.

"We're all disappointed," Parker told Spurs' website. "You don't want to make excuses but we just a looked a bit flat.

"Having said that, I don't think we deserved to lose the game. They hit us on the break and scored a goal, so it was difficult. Mark Schwarzer then produced an unbelievable save at the end. It was one of those days for us.

"We need to stay positive now, that's the main thing.

"I've always said that you can't mope around in these situations. It was a bad result, but we need to look forward now.

"It's not ideal how it went and everyone's frustrated, us, the fans, but we're still in a good position and we need to keep going."

[White Noise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/mar/18/tottenham-hotspur-internazionale-fulham


Villas-Boas does not blame European exertion for Premier League defeat


• Gylfi Sigurdsson says Milan game 'played part' in Fulham loss

• Manager insists there were 'fresh legs' at White Hart lane



David Hytner

The Guardian, Tuesday 19 March 2013



Tottenham's Welsh midfielder Gareth Bale feels the strain during the 1-0 home defeat by Fulham – and he did not play in Milan. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images


André Villas-Boas believes it is "science fiction" that the demands of the Europa League have a negative bearing on Premier League form and fitness but, after a traumatic week at Tottenham Hotspur, it is unclear whether all of his players agree.

"We just never got going," said Gylfi Sigurdsson after the club's 1-0 home defeat by Fulham on Sunday. "It was almost as if everyone was a bit down and there wasn't enough energy or movement. There was just something missing from our game."

The defeat had come after Thursday's Europa League tie in Milan, when the team had needed extra-time and the away-goals rule to squeeze past Internazionale and set up a quarter-final against Basel. The 4-1 defeat at San Siro was mentally and physically sapping. "I don't want to be making excuses but the 120 minutes from Thursday night probably played a bit of a part [against Fulham], and also the travelling, but we could have played better even if we were tired," Sigurdsson said. "It could have been a factor but we have to make sure we are fresh and ready for the next game."

Villas-Boas started with five players against Fulham who had been the distance in Milan and substituted Sigurdsson and Mousa Dembélé, both of whom played 120 minutes at San Siro, midway through the second half. He maintained after the game that the Milan tie had not contributed to the flat and uninspiring performance. "We had fresh legs on the pitch as you could see," Villas-Boas said. "We rotated the squad." But whether Villas-Boas likes it or not, the impression has taken root. If Tottenham do not finish in the top four and miss out on Champions League qualification, it will be seen, in some measure, as being down to the Europa League. Chelsea, who are also into the Europa League quarter-finals, where they face Rubin Kazan, might feel the same thing, although their schedule is even more intense due to their ongoing involvement in the FA Cup; they play Manchester United in the quarter-final replay at Stamford Bridge on 1 April, three days before the first leg of their Kazan tie.

Chelsea have played 53 games this season – the number will swell to 70 if they go all the way in both cup competitions – while Tottenham have played 44 and could go as high as 57. Arsenal, the third London club chasing a top-four finish, have also played 44 times but their season, after elimination from the Champions League and FA Cup, has distilled into nine league fixtures.

Their victory at Swansea City on Saturday, coupled with Tottenham's defeat by Fulham, means they are now four points behind their fourth-placed neighbours with a game in hand. Arsène Wenger has found himself asked whether Arsenal's clarity of focus might be an advantage.

"Sometimes progress [in the knock-out tournaments] keeps the squad on a high and there are no squad rotational problems; it becomes more natural, so there are a lot of benefits," the manager said. "Physically it can be a disadvantage but mentally it could be an advantage. We will know at the end of the season."

Tottenham and Chelsea have made it plain that Champions League qualification is the absolute priority but Villas-Boas knows that the Europa League, which he won with Porto in 2011, has been good to him so far during his debut season at White Hart Lane, permitting him the scope, initially, to reinforce his match-day methods and build momentum.

And then there is the ideal of glory and silverware, which is highly prized by supporters. Here is an interesting question for the Tottenham faithful - would they rather win the Europa League and finish outside of the top four or vice versa?

For now, though, Villas-Boas wants it all and, despite the Fulham defeat, he remains convinced that he can have it. His team have lost three on the spin for the first time - they were beaten at Liverpool before the trip to Milan - and it has escaped the attention of nobody that Tottenham have crumbled at around this stage of the previous two seasons, albeit under the former manager, Harry Redknapp.

But Villas-Boas believes that his squad have the toughness to engineer a turning-point, and he hopes it can come at Swansea on Saturday week, following the international break.

"We are still confident for the Champions League," added Sigurdsson, who will face his old club at the Liberty Stadium. "We've shown during the season that we are more than capable. We've had a couple of bad results but we won't start doubting ourselves."

[A Humble Man]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/march/18/back-in-business

Ruiz almost seems jealous of Berbatov's success.  I noticed when the goal was scored Ruiz did not react at all.

Back In Business


Monday 18 March 2013 10:45


Fulham forward Bryan Ruiz is pleased that his side are beginning to earn the points their performances deserve in the Barclays Premier League following Sunday's excellent 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

The last four outings for the Whites have yielded an impressive eight points, with just two goals conceded in the process, and Ruiz hopes that the foundations are now in place for a strong end to the campaign.

"After this victory we can look forward to making sure we stay in the top 10 places," he said. "That's what we've wanted since the beginning of the season. We had a bad period but now we are back in business so we will try to finish in the top 10.

"We've been playing good football already for a while and sometimes we didn't get the points we deserved, but I think we've changed our mentality and we're playing with confidence. We're working very hard on the field and defending well and we have quality up front also."

Dimitar Berbatov took his tally for the season to 11 at the weekend and Bryan – who has been playing in the hole behind the Bulgarian – praised the contribution of the striker, but insisted the upturn in form is the result of a collective team effort.

"It was a really good team goal," Ruiz admitted. "We worked it well down the right side, put the ball into space and it was a great finish.

"It's good to play with Dimitar but it's teamwork and we showed that on Sunday. We defended very well. It's down to all 11 players who played to do a great defensive job, which we did.

"We did well when we had the ball too and that's when we can use the quality that Berbatov has. People talk a lot about Dimitar and we agree that he's a good player but it's about teamwork. He's doing well, but all the team is doing well."

[White Noise]

http://www.thfc1882.com/2013/03/18/well-that-wasnt-in-the-script-was-it-spur-0-1-fulham/


Well that wasn't in the script was it? Spurs 0 – 1 Fulham


March 18th, 2013


Mar, 18 2013


2 Comments »

Well that wasn't in the script was it? Fulham obviously didn't get their copy in the post. It had them laying down, not having a backbone and definitely not having a keeper willing to deny us at the depth.

Credit where credits due Martin Jol sent his boys onto the White Hart Lane pitch with a game plan and it paid off. They soaked up our tired pressure until they had the opportunity to strike. And when they did it came in the familiar shape of Dimitar Berbatov putting the ball into the back of the net.

There wasn't much Hugo Lloris could do about the goal but when I saw it in full flow (my stream was as jumpy as a kangaroo on speed) I couldn't help but think that a fully energised Tottenham Hotspur would have dealt with that counter attack with minimal fuss. The goal came from a tame Bale shot that Schwarzer waisted little time getting a swift counter attack on the go down the Fulham right wing. After some good work from Riether and what seemed to be a lot of confusion in the Spurs defence Berbatov did well to slot in under pressure from Naughton.

I for one believe that Naughton showed his inexperience letting Berbatov get goal side of him. But as a player who possesses quite a bit of speed he should have also been able to get back in position and at least block the shot from Berbatov, who is not known for his blistering pace.

We had our own chances: Bale having a header cleared off the line, Parkers attempt of a worldy and the two cracking chances that fell to Defoe. We were unlucky that none of them resulted in a goal and on another day they all could have, which would have resulted in what would have seemed a comfortable win. But in the end it wasn't to be our day.

In the long run I don't see this being the beginning of the wheels falling off our season. We looked jaded and in need of a rest. And a rest they shall get. The International break has come just at the right time for our squad and it will be a blessing that Lennon and Dawson have had to pull out of the England squad as it gives two of our more influential players get back to full fitness for our tough run in (let's hope Bale pulls out of the Wales squad eh?).

I still have faith that we will finish in the Champions League positions and have a good crack at the Europa League (who knows, we could win it). This past week in just a small bump in the road to our goals, it's not a slump. And hey, we're Tottenham Hotspur, it wouldn't be us if we did it the simple way.

Man of the March: Mark Schwarzer. Why is it playing against us brings out the best in Keepers?

[White Noise]

http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/fulham_boss_we_have_a_difficult_run_in_with_arsenal_and_chelsea_1_1983024


Fulham boss: We have a difficult run-in with Arsenal and Chelsea



Fulham Manager Martin Jol stands in the dugout prior to the Barclays Premier League match at Craven Cottage, London. Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire


Monday, March 18, 2013 3:18 PM



Fulham manager Martin Jol is refusing to rest on his laurels as the Whites enter the closing stages of the season.

Despite a healthy cushion between themselves and the bottom three, Jol maintains there can be no relaxing just yet.

He said: "There as a lot of clubs around us with 33 points and Wigan have two games in hand, that is the thing which is always on your mind.

"I think you need 38, 39 points. We still have to play Chelsea and Arsenal at home and have a few difficult ones away from home."

"But we have got five wins, four draws and only three defeats this year, so that is good."

[White Noise]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2013/03/18/3834531/-


Redknapp: QPR must beat Fulham & Reading away to avoid relegation


Latest Everton defender Shane Duffy denies pro-IRA posts on Twitter NextVlaar keen for Weimann to sign new Aston Villa deal


By Arthur Virgo


18 Mar 2013 08:38:00


The Rs manager believes it is still possible to stay up but lamented the defensive lapses that saw fellow strugglers Aston Villa come from a goal down to win 3-2 on Saturday

Harry Redknapp insists QPR can still avoid relegation but now must win away from home in order to do so following their 3-2 defeat to fellow strugglers Aston Villa.

With 16th-placed Southampton and 18th-placed Wigan also winning at the weekend, the loss leaves the Rs seven points off safety with eight games to play.

"This is probably harder from where we were. It is going to be tough. But we are playing all right. That is the key," Redknapp told reporters following a 15th defeat of the season.

"We are playing well at the moment, that is the encouraging thing. In the first half I couldn't have asked for more from them. Even all through the game we had chances."

"Now we have got to go and win away from home somewhere. We have got to win at Fulham, we have got to win at Reading.

"We have got to win one of those games and we have got to win our home games. If we can do that we can still stay up. It is not impossible."

Jermaine Jenas put the west London club ahead midway through the first half but Redknapp saw defensive lapses overturn the scoreline before Christian Benteke netted the winning goal nine minutes from time.

"[Goalkeeper Julio Cesar] should have dealt with it better," he said of the first goal, when Gabriel Agbonlahor headed in Matt Lowton's diagonal ball.

Commenting on Andreas Weimann's finish from the edge of the area for Villa's second, Redknapp hinted keeper Julio Cesar may be dropped following his inability to stop the shot.

Asked if Rob Green would have played had he been free from illness, he replied: "Oh, I couldn't say that, could I? I'd be putting myself right under the cosh. I don't need that at the moment. Why would I cause myself a problem saying that?"

[IranianCottager]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/march/19/ashkans-spurs-joy?utm_source=hoot&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=allsocialandre

Ashkan's Spurs Joy

Tuesday 19 March 2013 09:15

Ashkan Dejagah emphasised the scale of Sunday's triumph over Tottenham Hotspur and hopes Fulham can now consolidate their place in the top half of the Barclays Premier League.

The winger has been in scintillating form for the Whites in the last three matches and he followed up his two assists against Sunderland with another eye-catching display at White Hart Lane – a game that he was delighted to take three points from.

"We were very happy because it was a big game and it's not easy to win against Tottenham," Ashkan told fulhamfc.com. "We played good football and we stuck together as a team from the first minute. We fought all together on the pitch and that was very important.

"It was great, also, to keep another clean sheet. All the world knows that Tottenham have good players; Gareth Bale, Emmanuel Adebayor, many players. But I think we played together very well on Sunday as a team and we're happy to win what was a big game."

With the five teams directly below Fulham all dropping points at the weekend – four of them have played a game more – the Whites now occupy a healthy position in the table, and Ashkan is keen to ensure that we continue to push on and finish the season on a high.

"The top half is where we want to be so obviously we're pleased to be 10th again in the league," he said. "We have quality in the team – we showed that at the weekend and we have to make sure we concentrate on the next game and hopefully in the next few weeks we'll take our chances to continue moving up the table."

The next opportunity to add to our points haul of 36 comes on Easter Monday (8pm) when local rivals Queens Park Rangers visit the Cottage.

Fulham go into the match seeking redemption for the 2-1 defeat at Loftus Road earlier in the season and Dejagah expects no less than a victory for the home side if we replicate the performances that have seen a four game unbeaten run put together.

"We're taking good form into the next match," he admitted. "We've got a break now as we go away for the internationals, but then we've got QPR which is another big game. We're playing at home and if we play the same as we did against Spurs, and the last few games, then I think we will win this match."

[White Noise]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/130319/fulham-target-distances-himself-premier-league-move-193967

Fulham target distances himself from Premier League move



By Alex Shaw | Tuesday, March 19, 2013



Fulham target Maarten Stekelenburg says he does not want to move to the Premier League amid rumours he could leave Roma.

The Dutchman, 30, wanted to join Fulham in the January transfer window after he lost his first team place to Mauro Goicoechea.

But despite boarding a plane to London, he could not finalise a deal and he remained at Roma.

He has since won his place back under Aurelio Andreazzoli and now he does not want to play for Martin Jol.

"There is no reason to leave," he said. "I knew that I could do well and I know how football works.

"It was a very difficult period for me, but the new coach has faith in my abilities."


Read more: http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/130319/fulham-target-distances-himself-premier-league-move-193967#ixzz2O05qLUcK

[White Noise]

Spurs player fired the most long balls in last weekend's EPL games. Top 6 includes Man City, Aston Villa & Norwich players.

http://blog.squawka.com/2013/03/19/spurs-player-fired-the-most-long-balls-in-last-weekends-epl-games-top-6-includes-man-city-aston-villa-norwich-players/201303196627

Bale Out Time? Player Ratings from Fulham capitulation for full Spurs squad.

http://blog.squawka.com/2013/03/19/bale-out-time-player-ratings-from-fulham-capitulation-for-full-spurs-squad/201303196635

[White Noise]

What's wrong with the PL Refs: Case study 4: Fulham

http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/27799

[White Noise]

http://blogs.metro.co.uk/sport/fulhams-mark-schwarzer-showing-age-boundary/

Fulham's Mark Schwarzer showing age is no boundary


1:08 pm Tuesday 19 March 2013 Mark Schwarzer



Aging well: Fulham's Mark Schwarzer (Picture: Action Images)

At what age is it normal for a professional footballer to be cast aside onto the scrapheap? 35? 36 maybe?

It is, of course, somewhat different for a goalkeeper. Their role is a little less physically demanding and it's not uncommon to see top-flight keepers play beyond 38 years of age. But Mark Schwarzer is setting his own standard at 40.

And he's not doing it with intermittent first-team appearances – he's the first choice at Craven Cottage and he is still, consistently, putting in faultless displays.


Over the last two seasons he has held off the threat of an impressive David Stockdale and has seen a move for Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg... fall through

His agility belies his age and his reactions have only sharpened in his five-year stint in south-west London. And, while the years have failed to detract from the physically pristine Australian, experience has only further aided his understanding of the game; his positioning, his timing, his defensive organisation.

These are all things that regularly get overlooked in a goalkeeper as we all applaud the spectacular. But Schwarzer has a touch of the heroic, too.

His two point-blank saves from Jermain Defoe on Sunday, as Fulham battled to a wonderful 1-0 away victory over Tottenham Hotpsur, showed that. He was every bit as important to our victory as Dimitar Berbatov, who scored our only goal.

As such, it's time he got some credit. Over the last two seasons he has held off the threat of an impressive David Stockdale and has seen a move for Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg – somewhat fortunately for him – fall through.

And he has remained composed throughout. With yet another superb season for Schwarzer coming to an end, there are suggestions he is about to sign a new one-year contract extension that would keep him at Fulham until just short of his 42nd birthday.

What a tremendous achievement if so.

[White Noise]

http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/tottenham-hotspur/tottenham-hotspur/inside_lane_a_spurs_fan_s_view_of_the_defeat_against_fulham_1_1984131


Inside Lane: A Spurs fan's view of the defeat against Fulham


Fulham's Dimitar Berbatov in action against his former club Tottenham


By Daniel Grigg


Tuesday, March 19, 2013 12:42 PM



Tottenham blogger Daniel Grigg looks back on Sunday's 1-0 home defeat against Martin Jol's Cottagers at White Hart Lane.


Everything looked rosy after the victories over Arsenal and Inter Milan a fortnight ago and Spurs fans were hoping that their side would build on those results – particularly when they led 2-1 away at Anfield. But those hopes have since faded badly.

Tottenham have now suffered three successive defeats and conceded eight goals in the process, scoring just three. It does not make pretty reading, and that sequence has helped to galvanise Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton, who all won at the weekend and have a league game in hand.

The standard instruction is to look forward, not back – but that is not hugely encouraging either as we look ahead to a difficult run of fixtures: Swansea away, Everton at home, Chelsea away and Man City at home.

On its own, the loss at Liverpool didn't change the momentum too much - there were positive performances that day, despite the very sloppy second half and the first league defeat since early December.

However, the trip to the San Siro a few days later was costly, as Spurs suffered a frankly horrible 4-1 defeat away at Inter Milan and just about scraped through a tie that they had been leading 3-0 after the home leg.

It is difficult to recover from that, both mentally and physically, in less than three days – and whatever Andre Villas-Boas and his players did, it didn't work.

Tottenham were bereft of any impetus going forward against Fulham, despite the changes to the personnel.

It was a very strange decision moving Benoit Assou-Ekotto forward to the left side of midfield, given the options on the bench, and he struggled to get to grips with the role. Surely there were better ways to drop Jake Livermore and move Mousa Dembele back into the centre again?

Mark Schwarzer certainly enjoyed an easier afternoon than most goalkeepers get away at White Hart Lane. He made a couple of good stops to earn his clean sheet, but was also indebted to Tottenham's ineffectual passing and failure to create chances.

Even a well-rested Gareth Bale, who was probably fortunate to miss the gruelling 120 minutes of heart-in-mouth agony last Thursday, found little joy – which was surprising given that Fulham's lumbering centre-back pairing looked like the perfect fodder for him.

On the other hand, it was not so perfect for Emmanuel Adebayor, who started up front on his own against the dominating and physical figure of Brede Hangeland.

In effect, the match was ultimately a tale of three strikers. Adebayor worked hard enough this time but could make virtually no impact or impression on the game.

Jermain Defoe is without a goal since Boxing Day and had very few touches of the ball after appearing as a second-half substitute – although he twice came close to scoring.

The third was Dimitar Berbatov, who was probably the best striker of my time as a Spurs supporter – even ahead of Jurgen Klinsmann and Teddy Sheringham.

Unfortunately, he reminded us all of what we are missing at the Lane, scoring the only goal of the game to take his tally to 38 in his last Premier League games, despite his star supposedly waning.

There was only really one positive to cling onto on Sunday amidst the gloom – a decent display from 20-year-old Tom Carroll, who replaced Mousa Dembele and was preferred to the unused substitute Lewis Holtby.

Carroll was recently called up for the England Under-21s for the first time, and he at least tried to get his foot on the ball and move it down the pitch with some rapidity, despite sometimes giving possession away.

It's hard to know whether an international break is a good thing when a side have just lost.

Sometimes teams and fans like to jump straight back in with another game. But, after seeing Spurs' demeanour against Fulham - shell-shocked, exhausted and uninspired - another league game would probably have done more damage than good.

Follow me on Twitter @daniel_grigg

[White Noise]

http://www.topspurs.com/newsnow/thfccol-190313a.htm


Lucky scarves and fairies



19 March 2013



A happy smiling six year old girl believes in fairies, her father is aged thirty five and often wears a blue and white "lucky scarf" while attending his favourite football club. He is university educated working in a professional job, sceptical of religion and does not believe in fate. One of his oldest friends sits next to him at White Hart Lane, as he has done for the last dozen years and who he has known since he is 13,went to grammar school is highly numerate and works in the IT industry. This person often asks the four people who he attends matches with to "keep their lucky position" if his team is winning after the half time beer interval. Their mutual friend, who died a couple of months ago and who would have been 36 on day we were humbled by Fulham, was a qualified barrister and total cynic, wore "lucky" gloves when he attended a football match.



What is the relevance of these statements? All the above people, even one who has sadly passed on are or were delusional, but one of them at least as the excuse of being a young imaginative child.



We match-going football fans make virtually no difference and our "lucky" paraphernalia inconsequential. The most important thing in football these days is the average wage paid to the football team. That is what decides results over the course of a season.



In 2010'11 every club in the Premier League finished within two places of where they rank in terms of average wages with the exception of perennial losers West Ham (13th in wages table, 20th in league position) and West Brom (19th in wages table, 11th in league position).



In the most recent table I can find published we sit sixth highest in terms of wages paid to our players. We have finished no higher than 4th and no lower than 5th for the last three years, so we have actually slightly over performed on this basis. However unsurprisingly our average position over the last seven years is exactly 6th place. Why have I chosen seven years? Because this is around the time when ENIC decided to change our wage structure slightly and support whoever was the managing incumbent (at the time Jol) a little bit more than his predecessors.  So, Hoddle, Graham et al finished 9th-14th because under Alan Sugar and early days of ENIC we paid less in wages.



Indeed Martin Jol himself helps proves the point, he now manages the side who pay the 10th highest in terms of wages and guess what they currently sit 10th. This instead of 9th, 5th, 5th while he was our boss, if he moved onto Wigan he would probably get them to 15th-17th because they pay the 16th highest wages and if moved on Barnet instead of the legendary Edgar Davids who are one of the lowest wage payers in the football league, they would be battling relegation every season, just like they are now. It is almost inconsequential who is in charge.



Our own Jim Duggan has mentioned before about this "cult of the manager". I like AVB, I think that by and large he seems to know what he is doing (albeit not in the last two matches) but am I being as delusional as a lucky scarf? Is the truth that Redknapp, AVB or any other manager that we employ by and large going to obtain similar results.  At the moment we pay the sixth highest wages, so over the course of season will have results that reflect more or less the sixth highest remunerators. So if a manager finished 4th or 5th they have slightly overachieved and 7th or 8th underachieved.



Think of Chelsea, new manager every season, but still up there every year, winning trophies etc, some do slightly better than others, but from a statistical view point, there is little difference.



The reason we choke so regularly as a club, when we appear to be on the cusp of achieving something significant, is because over a course of a season it was always going to happen. We were inevitably about to collapse because the players earn lower wages on average to the teams we eventually succumb to.



Just as in the real world, generally speaking, more difficult jobs command higher wages and the best performers within those roles earn more money (plenty of exceptions to the rules {Adebayor for example}, indeed I'm sure we can think of examples within our own career paths, but generally speaking the more successful are paid more money.



So here we are, seven points clear of Arsenal two weeks ago, but now two league defeats on the bounce)and  likely to have just a one point lead very shortly.



Arsenal has a much higher wage bill than us, so the likelihood is we will finish lower than them again. Perhaps we should celebrate the fact that we have been above them for so long and stop thinking of it as choking and more capitalism at work.



So I am questioning what the hell I am doing wasting my time on something which is so predictable. It is nearly 18 years since we finished above Arsenal; it is becoming as fanciful as fairies that we will finish above them.

So perhaps I will chuck out the lucky scarf and look at the bottom of the garden for a footballing fairy, although perhaps the fairies have a wage structure too.



Then again, I just can't help it, I still love football and I still love Spurs and I still hate Arsenal even though deep down I know it is all bullpoo. Maybe there is only one thing to do, look at the back of wardrobe. I am sure I had a lucky shirt in there somewhere.



Up the Spurs.