Monday Fulham Stuff (29/04/13)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Not Good Enough Fulham!
   
It`s a damn good job that we actually have enough points on the board not to be in contention for relegation.

Because the way we`re playing, in recent weeks, doesn`t bode well for the future.

In five Premier League games we`ve failed to trouble the scorers four times and up at Goodison Park yesterday afternoon, we failed to muster a single shot on target.

Following the defeat to Everton, Martin Jol had a few words for the media, remarking about the performance,

"From the start you could see that they were eager."

"They played with two up front and were causing us problems and they scored a good goal."

"But it was only 1-0 and in the second half we played with a bit of possession. With a little bit of luck we could have scored. But they could have scored two or three as well."

Exactly!

If we don`t arrest this slump, next season could prove to be a memorable one for all the wrong reasons.


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=317827#ixzz2RovBdIf2

[WhiteJC]

 
Trotta Heartbreak!
   
Over at Griffin Park, home of Brentford, one of our players out on loan had a chance to go down in Brentford folklore as a hero.

Unfortunately, there`s a fair chance that he`ll forever be known as a plonker!

Marcello Trotta had the chance to send Brentford into the Championship when, deep into stoppage time with the score at 0-0, Brentford won a spot kick against promotion rivals Doncaster Rovers.

After a discussion with his team-mates, but against the wishes of his manager, Uwe Roler, Trotta stepped up to take the kick.

Sadly, for Trotta his kick cannoned against the cross bar, bounced down and in the ensuing melee, was cleared up field.

But things were to get worse for Trotta when, from the cleared ball, Billy Paynter found James Coppinger who gleefully scored, with the last kick of the game, to give Doncaster Rovers the title and condemn Brentford to the play-offs.

What a plonker!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=317829#ixzz2RovMfwDM

[WhiteJC]

 
Berbatov, Jol Set to Leave Fulham over Budget Concerns - Report

Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov may leave Fulham this summer because of concerns over the club's spending plans, according to a media report.

The Sunday People report says that Fulham boss Martin Jol could also leave the club.
Berbatov, who signed for Fulham because of his good relationship with Jol, is said to be frustrated at the club's refusal to strengthen their squad significantly.

Jol's relationship with well-regarded chief executive Alistair Mackintosh is understood to be strained over the issue, the report says.

Berbatov also has another year on his contract with Fulham. However, numerous clubs are believed to be interested in signing the prolific 32-year-old forward.



http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=149933

[WhiteJC]

 
Misery on Merseyside

Entirely predictable. Everton full value for their 1-0 win Saturday. Nothing positive whatsoever to be taken from yet another spluttering, limp away performance by a wheezing, broken unit that is so clearly dysfunctional it seems bordering on madness to keep persisting with it. Even the manager's post-match ramblings are as predictable as the play. How much more of this must we take?

This blog comes in two parts. I shall dispense with the match facts, then get on to the longer-term implications for the Fulham board going forward.

It may have only needed one goal from the Toffees, but Fulham's 20th successive league trip to Goodison without gaining so much as a point was never in doubt. Not for the first time this season the opposition's goalkeeper was not called upon to make one single save. The Everton back four could have played in carpet slippers. The press reports are uniform in reporting the yawning gulf in class and attitude between the teams.

A fast aggressive opening 25 minutes from David Moyes' boys was enough to craft an excellent finish from Steven Pienaar and suggest Everton had far too many tricks up their sleeve for the Whites.

The early departure of top scorer Dimitar Berbatov on 30 minutes (torn calf muscle) only highlighted the lack of a Plan B in Martin Jol's armoury. While Moyes actively engaged with his side from the touchline, barking instructions, cajoling his troops and urging them on, Martin mutely watched proceedings arms-folded with the grimace of a man enduring a root canal.

Fulham's current problems with team selection are manifold so let's deal just with the most glaring issues. The form of 10.5 million-pound signing Bryan Ruiz has -- incredibly -- gone backwards since his last injury before Christmas. His contribution and ability to influence games has all but dropped off the graph. He was crying out to be subbed off.

Any criticism of Ruiz from this quarter was routinely rebuffed by many up till spring. There are still a few blinkered acolytes of Bryan's among posters, but they are rapidly falling silent by the week. I'm sorry, but I am finished with the guy. It's pointless expending any more words on him.

Mladen Petric plays as if his boot-laces are tied together. His first touch is appalling. He is too small to threaten defences and his runs off the ball offer up nothing to the side. Fulham did have a big guy who filled this role so impressively it won him an England call-up, but we all know what Jol did to him.

Damien Duff is on his last legs. Yet the club have already seen fit to reward him with another year. Doh! If similar deals are offered to Petric and Giorgos Karagounis Fulham can start preparing for life in the Championship now. John Arne Riise is finished at Fulham, but with Kieran Richardson seemingly injury-prone they are seriously in need of a decent left-back.

One of my more perceptive followers tweeted at half-time for Hugo Rodallega to be on for the second half in place of the Greek veteran. It took Martin until the 77th minute to see if that might be worth a try.

One final observation. Urby Emanuelson is surely heading back to Milan? And if so, why is he playing? (Loved the PR blurb from the team website on eve of the game: "Urby loves London and our stadium." He loves our corrugated iron rabbit hatch ahead of the San Siro???  Yeah, right.).

All I've seen from Urby to date is a head -down dribbler, and yet another lightweight. He should have hit the target with the one big chance that came his way Saturday, and he sure as hell is no makeshift left-back! I would have done better.

Who emerged from the mind-numbing display with reputations intact? Mark Schwartzer. He made three fantastic saves and not for the first time this season kept Fulham in it. Very unsettling that Mark should quite understandably be sitting on his new contract while Jol so blatantly courts alternatives in the market.

Both Fulham centre backs kept their heads and worked manfully to repel the Everton forwards. Marouane Fellaini was kept relatively quiet. And in midfield Alex Kacaniklic showed up better than anyone else around him in white.

Now here comes the rub for those guiding the fortunes of Fulham FC. Examine the four names mentioned above. They were all signed to the club before Jol arrived. If we include the three who came in off the bench, of the 14 men who saw match action Saturday at Everton, nine were Jol additions to the squad -- be they loans, free transfers, or players Fulham paid fees on. This is pretty close now to being a side Martin Jol has fashioned. And it is a poor one.

Memo to the board. Do you really think after his two years in the hot seat this shows progress?

Draw your own conclusions. Should the board continue with the current strategy, if substantial funds are not made available for major new signings, Fulham are heading for the Championship. I sense supporters' pain from posts here and elsewhere. Time to take note, Mr. Chairman.

Twitter@fulhamphil



http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/fulham/id/972?&cc=5739

[WhiteJC]

 
Jol: Fulham were too relaxed against Everton

The Cottagers boss was frustrated with his side's complacent approach in their 1-0 defeat to the Toffees at Goodison Park on Saturday, and believes it was an opportunity missed

Fulham manager Martin Jol lambasted his side for their "summer night" approach after a 1-0 Premier League defeat to Everton on Saturday.

The west London club went down to a first-half goal from Steven Pienaar and struggled to impose themselves on the match throughout.

Jol told the Fulham Chronicle:"I feel this was one of these days. We could have had a result.

"The only thing is you need to play with a bit more purpose. The first half was a bit too relaxed for me, like a summer night game.

"The second half we did a bit better in possession, but it's still disappointing.

"The players are professional. They want to get as high in the league as possible, like I do. I will give anything to be in the top 10.

"It's disappointing that we couldn't get a result in the last three or four games."



http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2013/04/28/3939113/-?

[WhiteJC]

 
Brentford manager Uwe Rosler refuses to blame Marcello Trotta after penalty miss against Doncaster Rovers
Mark Twain said the only certainties in life are death and taxes, but you can be sure that if Brentford win a penalty in the League One play-offs, Marcello Trotta will not be taking it.


Devastated: Brentford players collapse to the ground after the final whistle. Photo: ACTION IMAGES

Club captain Kevin O'Connor made that abundantly clear after the Italian, on loan from Fulham, ignored the orders of manager Uwe Rösler to take the 95th-minute penalty that gave Brentford a chance to replace Doncaster Rovers in second place and gain automatic promotion to the Championship.

Trotta would not give the ball to O'Connor, the first-choice penalty-taker, and strode confidently to take the kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time. But his shot hit the bar rebounded out and eventually ended at the feet of Doncaster substitute Billy Paynter, who ran to the opposite end and teed up James Coppinger for the goal that won Rovers the game and the League One title, after leaders Bournemouth had drawn at Tranmere.

Cue celebrations among the visitors, desolation in Brentford's ranks, and Rosler could barely suppress his anger. O'Connor, in his 15th year at the club, was more measured as he spoke nearly two hours after the final whistle, having spent 90 minutes with the drug-testers.

"It's hard to take, thinking we were going to have elation at the end with the penalty, then hitting the bar and them scoring after that. It's very disappointing.

"I should have taken the penalty and was trying to take it but all credit to Trotts he wanted it and had the ball, so I couldn't physically get it off him. I wasn't going to try to do that because it wouldn't have done anyone any good. In the end Trotts took it and unfortunately he missed."

Trotta was distraught afterwards, and mindful that he needs the young striker fully motivated for next week's playoff with Swindon, Rösler resisted the temptation to castigate him.

"We needed cool heads and to follow instructions but won't hang anyone out here," said the German.

O'Connor sympathised. "I completely understand that," he said. "I tried to follow orders but Trotts has gone into the zone, got the ball, and he was extremely confident. What can you say? If he scores it, it's perfect but unfortunately he's missed it and it's cost us.

"But we have to realise we have a very good chance in the play-offs, with the potential to play at Wembley if we win over two legs. There is some light at the end of the tunnel."

And if Brentford are awarded a penalty, O'Connor will take responsibility. "Yes, I'll be taking it. I'm not saying I'll score it but I'll certainly take it."

O'Connor says he has missed only "four or five times" in 25 or so attempts from the spot, but admitted it would have been nerve-racking to be in Trotta's place.

"I would have been more nervous than usual because there was so much riding on it. I would have done my usual thing and hopefully scored. But it doesn't matter now."

While Brentford prepare for the play-offs, Doncaster can start preparing for life in the Championship, and John Ryan, their charismatic chairman, has a number of contracts to negotiate, not least with his manager Brian Flynn. The 57-year-old was promoted from assistant manager when Dean Saunders left for Wolves in January, and said: "My contract finishes on Sunday.

I'll be seeing the chairman, but I don't know when.

"I was asked six weeks ago, when we went top, about my future, and I said I'll wait until the end of the season and we can do it then. I was quite comfortable with that. When the chairman offered me the job in January I was quite happy to see it through to the end of the season and it remains the same now."

The amiable Welshman last won promotion 20 years earlier, to the day, with Wrexham, and would love a tilt at a higher level.

"Oh yes, to manage in the Championship? That would be a first for me. I imagine I have quite a good case after today!"
Neil Sullivan will also look for a new deal, having come back into the fold for the run-in. The former Spurs and Scotland goalkeeper went back on loan to Wimbledon, where his career started, earlier this season and was delighted to see the team managed by his former team-mate Neal Ardley retain their League status on Saturday.

"I'm going to ring Neal and congratulate him because he deserved it. He's a very good manager and for them to stay up as well makes it a great day."

Sullivan admits the final minute was mayhem, after a game in which the nearest to a goal was when Bradley Wright-Phillips hit his post in the early stages. "I don't think anyone has ever experienced anything like that before. It was amazing, absolutely amazing.

"We've gone from third to champions within the space of abut 30 seconds. When we went down last year it was tough, I don't think anyone expected us to bounce straight back but it's a great bunch of lads, great management and a great club." And he wants more.

"My contract's up. I'm one of many at Donny in that position because we didn't know what was going on, who the manager's going to be, it was all up in the air. The chairman's certainly going to have a busy summer."

Match details

Brentford (4-4-2) Moore; Logan (Forshaw 64), O'Connor, Dean, Bidwell; Forrester (Saunders 69), Diagouraga, Douglas (Trotta 77), Adeyemi; Wright-Phillips, Donaldson. Subs Gounet, El Alagui, Hodson, Pierre. Booked Wright-Phillips, Douglas, Donaldson.

Doncaster Rovers (4-4-2) Sullivan; Quinn, Jones, McCombe, Spurr: Cotterill, Furman, Lundstram (Keegan 61), Coppinger; Hume (Paynter 77), Brown (Syers 83). Subs Woods, Husband, Wakefield, Bennett. Booked McCombe, Lundstram, Quinn, Cotterill, Coppinger.

Referee M Oliver (Northumberland).



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/league-one/10023910/Brentford-manager-Uwe-Rosler-refuses-to-blame-Marcello-Trotta-after-penalty-miss-against-Doncaster-Rovers.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Memory Lane



From the past or present, we catch up with a different Fulham personality. This week, Dennis Turner talks to Robert Wilson.

Supporters have a special affection for players who are born locally and come through the ranks of our junior sides, but it's something of a decreasing trend in modern football. However, Robert Wilson was one of a number of home-grown youngsters who made the breakthrough in the 1970s and 1980s, at a time when our youth scheme seemed to provide the nucleus of our first team.

Now a professional northerner - "with a flat cap and a couple of whippets to prove it," he claims, Robert was happy to look back on his two spells at the Cottage, two contrasting periods during which he made 256 appearances in midfield.

"I was born in Fulham and was a supporter as a boy," Robert said. "My Dad took me to Chelsea, where we used to watch the likes of Bobby Tambling from the Shed, me perched on my Dad's shoulders. But my Mum, one brother and I were all Fulham fans. I played schools football for St Edmund's and represented West and Inner London Schools and I used to get time off from school to play. I joined Fulham as a 16-year-old in 1977, when Ken Craggs was in charge of the youth side and from there the likes of Tony Gale, Dean Coney, Paul Parker, Jeff Hopkins, Jim Stannard, Peter Scott, John Marshall and many others all progressed to the league team.

"Bobby Campbell was the Manager who gave me my opportunity in the first team. He put me in for a cup tie at Blackburn Rovers in January 1980 and said I was to keep an eye on someone named Howard Kendall. We got a draw that day. I then got a handful of games in the rest of that season, but it was a difficult time. We ended up being relegated with a pretty good set of players. Nobody can really explain why we went down that year, but when the 1980/81 started, I was in the team.



"A couple of months later, Bobby was gone and Malcolm Macdonald took over. He brought in several coaches, first Roger Thompson and then George Armstrong and Ray Harford, who all helped turn things around. By the following season, we were pushing for promotion and I missed very few games. The midfield was Sean 'Noisy' O'Driscoll, me, Ray Lewington and Peter O'Sullivan and between us we got 17 goals as well as creating chances for Dixie [Coney] and Gordon Davies up front.

"That was a good team, as we proved the following season. We won our first away game at Shrewsbury Town 1-0, a match that has special memories for me. I got the only goal, and it was probably the best one I ever scored. Malcolm likened it to Ricky Villa's goal for Tottenham Hotspur that won the FA Cup against Manchester City. I remember going past player after player and then slipping the ball into the net. I've got some newspaper cuttings of the match but no film. I really wish I could see that again. I also remember getting two goals against Grimsby Town and two against Carlisle United in the run-in."

But the story of that season was, of course, how we fell away in the closing weeks and squandered a 12-point lead. In the end, we finished fourth, a point behind promoted Leicester City having looked odds-on favourites for most of the season.

"I don't think we bottled it," Robert claimed. "The pressure probably did get to one or two of the players but there were some key events which cost us. Early in the season, we led Barnsley 3-0 at Oakwell but somehow managed to lose 4-3. Then, over Easter, we went to Sheffield Wednesday and I got a goal which looked to have earned us a vital draw. But in the very last minute we conceded a goal which cost us a valuable point. Then, 48 hours later, we had to play Queens Park Rangers on the plastic at Loftus Road and Lew was harshly sent off. We lost that 3-1. I know most people still think the Leicester game was the turning point but we still could have made it after even after that defeat. Those two Easter games meant we were always chasing the third promotion place.



"And then came the Derby County fiasco, which I saw again recently on television on the Big Match Revisited. It really was a frightening experience and several of us were roughed up by the crowd. To have spectators forming the touchlines was ridiculous and would never be allowed today. Even the referee said he hadn't played the full 90 minutes. We were certainly intimidated but, in truth, we never looked like winning and only had a couple of shots on goal. Malcolm pressed really hard to have the match re-played and I went up to League HQ with him and Jeff Hopkins but in our heart of hearts we knew we were clutching at straws."

Not surprisingly, the Macdonald team lost momentum after that near miss. It took several months to get going again the next season, the highlight of which was three League Cup ties against Liverpool.

"We were all devastated after missing out on promotion," admitted Robert. "But at least against Liverpool we showed there was real quality in the side. I have a photo from the Anfield match with me challenging Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson. That's a great memory."

Soon after that, Macdonald went and the team broke up, prematurely from the point of view of Fulham supporters. Robert joined the exodus. "My contract was up," he explained. "And I was looking for a better deal. I spoke to Lennie Lawrence at Cardiff City but George Graham persuaded me to sign for Millwall. They had just been promoted to the (old) Second Division and had some very good players, like Neil Ruddock and John Fashanu. A young Teddy Sheringham was used as an occasional substitute in those days. We finished ninth and I got 12 goals in 28 league appearances. The crowd at the old Den were hard to please and I think I did reasonably well. But in the summer of 1986, George Graham went off to Arsenal and I didn't really see eye to eye with his successor, John Docherty. So, hearing I was unhappy, Ray Harford called me and it suited everybody that I moved on to First Division Luton Town.



"Ray was coach at Kenilworth Road and John Moore was manager and there were some good players there, with big reputations and big egos. Although I wasn't a regular, I really enjoyed playing in the top flight and scored on my home debut – a header past Peter Shilton against Southampton. After a while, Ray took over as manager. It wasn't an easy job and he was under pressure and I found I was getting subbed a lot. He took me off in a midweek game and I made a silly gesture to show my disapproval. I regretted doing it, but it was frustration as much as anything but it annoyed the Luton chairman who didn't want me in the side again. Ray did pick me, however, although it was difficult for him.

"I played against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and Lew was watching. By then he was back at Fulham as Player-Manager and phoned to see whether I fancied going back. He, Jim Stannard and Ivor [Davies] had all gone back and I think Ray wanted people around him he could trust.

"People say you should never go back, and it was different, but I still enjoyed it. We made the Play- Offs in my second season back but blew up against Bristol Rovers. It was Lew's first managerial role and a tough job. I think we felt he didn't have an entirely free hand which made his job even harder, but he's done well since and I'm delighted for him."

There were two more moves for Robert in the league; Huddersfield Town in 1989 and then Rotherham United in 1991. "At Huddersfield, Eoin Hand was in charge with Peter With as his assistant and it was an ambitious club," he recalled. "We came close to the Play-Offs when I was there but only made it the year after I left.

"At Rotherham, we did win promotion in my only season there, from the Fourth to the Third Division. After that, I went non-League, on a part-time basis, with Altrincham Town, Osset Albion and Accrington Stanley. But a neighbour of mine had a company involved in workwear and offered me a job and I got involved in selling. That lasted 12 years and then I went to another company making similar but a wider range of products. Football was always part of the conversation when I was selling and I found people loved talking about it."



Leaving football after his playing days ended is a decision Robert now regrets. "I wanted a break," he explained. "I'd done nothing else since I left school and had moved around the country a lot with the various transfers. But I'd done all my coaching badges and should have thought about coaching earlier. But I wasted a few years until, in 1999, I got invited back to Huddersfield to help on the youth development side.

"This was only part-time but I loved doing it and we were successful. In the seven years I was there, we had high-profile managers like Neil Warnock and Steve Bruce and we worked hard to get the club its academy licence. Gerry Murphy was the main man on the youth side until Andy Ritchie came in as manager. He changed things a lot. Gerry got sacked, and a lot of youngsters were released he hadn't even seen play, including my son Adam. I know letting players go is all part of the job, and more are released than make it, but it got me thinking whether I wanted to be part of this system. So I decided to take a step back. I didn't have a falling out with the club and they've asked me back since but I'd had enough.

"Instead, I watch Adam in non-League football with Brighouse Town and my company also has season tickets at Old Trafford. I watch Fulham whenever I can and will be at the Reading game with my son. We both followed the Club all round Europe in 2009/10 but had to miss the Final because my daughter was getting married a couple of days later and she was worried we wouldn't get back in time.

"Fulham still means a lot to me. My Mum lives in the area and a brother is a Season Ticket Holder and every time I go back I'm reminded what a friendly Club it is and how welcoming the supporters are. I think Martin Jol is doing a terrific job, gradually fashioning the side the way he wants it. On more limited resources than many Premier League clubs, Fulham continues to punch above its weight. I look back on my time at the Cottage with great affection. I scored 75 first-class goals - and probably got as many bookings - in over 400 appearances, a record I'm proud of, and the Fulham years were very special."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/april/28/memory-lane

[fulhamphil]

Among the mods usual daily update of Fulham related stuff fans might want to reference what our American cousins are posting. We have a respectable fan base dotted around pockets of the USA, these guys watch a lot of football via cable and they make some keen observations. Check it out.

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/fulham/id/972?&cc=5739

[WhiteJC]

 
Premier League: Fulham boss Martin Jol plans summer transfer moves

Fulham boss Martin Jol is ready for another summer of hard work in the transfer market as the Cottagers' Premier League season limps to a close.

Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Everton at Goodison Park was a third in succession for Jol's men, and they have claimed just one point from their last five fixtures.

But with 40 points already on the board and only one place in the drop zone left to be filled following QPR and Reading's relegation on Sunday, Jol is already looking to next season.

The Dutchman told reporters: "We will always find players like Mladen Petric or Hugo Rodallega.

"But, of course, it's not easy. I think we had five new players in, so it's not easy to settle.

"I'm satisfied we've got the points to be safe, although I'm a bit disappointed we couldn't get more points in the last few weeks and gone even higher."



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8679698/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Eyong's Assessment

Eyong Enoh felt that Fulham didn't do themselves justice in the weekend's loss at Goodison Park.

The Whites failed to really test Tim Howard in the Everton goal as a 16th minute Steven Pienaar effort clinched the game, and Enoh admits his side are capable of better.

"For me, the disappointing thing on Saturday was not just the result, it was the way we played," he told fulhamfc.com. "We were not very good – we didn't play compact, they put us under pressure, we couldn't play our game and get comfortable on the ball. That's the disappointing thing for us, that we couldn't play our game.

"Honestly, I think we have more quality than we showed on Saturday with the kind of experience we have. We should have shown a bit more character because each and every one of us didn't really show that much.

"You want to win every game and get that momentum. We've got a spirit in the team to win all the time, but I think, for us, it's been missing in the last few games and we'll have to fight and make sure we get it in the next game."

That next game sees Reading visit the Cottage at the weekend – their first match since relegation was confirmed – and Eyong has earmarked the clash against the Royals as the opportunity to get back on track.

"The last two home games we lost against Chelsea and Arsenal so it will be a very important game as we look to get back that confidence," he said. "We want to make the fans smile again and for us, as a team, it's important to get that next win because it's been a while."

And the combative midfielder will hope to be in contention for the match after an awkward landing towards the end of Saturday's game saw him in some pain.

"I landed wrongly on my ankle," Eyong explained. "It was the same one that I took a kick on before and I've twisted it again so it was quite painful and it was a little bit swollen. I just hope I recover from it as fast as possible."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/april/29/eyongs-assessment?