Sunday Fulham Stuff (16/06/13)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Amorebieta says leaving Athletic Bilbao was hard, but Premier League came calling



Fernando Amorebieta joined Fulham on a free transfer this summer.  Before making the move to London, he'd spent his entire career with Athletic Bilbao.

When asked about leaving La Liga to come to the Premier League, the 28-year-old said it was tough and a bit emotional to leave his first and only team.

"I appreciated Athletic's offer, which was very good, but in the end I thought I would be fooling myself. I was very excited about the Premier League and was eager to go there, even though my dream was to triumph with Athletic."

He even said the money he was offered in London wasn't the deciding factor. "Money did not make the difference. I'd still have accepted less to sample a new league."

The fact he speaks of less money in the fictional sense suggests he's getting more with Fulham than what Athletic offered him.

The Venezuelan has a few regrets about how he parted ways with his old club, but he's moved on to greener pastures, and more playing time.

"It wasn't easy to make this decision. It's true that I would have liked to say goodbye on the pitch after helping the team, but the coach decided that others were in a better condition to play rather than myself and that must be respected. On one hand I'm grateful that we got to two finals [under Marcelo Bielsa] and that is something hard to forget. But the end of last season was very difficult to take because I was deprived of game time."

It will be extremely exciting to watch the Venezuelan in action, most likely alongside Brede Hangeland.  With so much experience and yet still young enough to be in his prime, it's a perfect combination to add to the Fulham squad.



http://fulhamsfinest.com/2013/06/15/amorebieta-says-leaving-athletic-bilbao-was-hard-but-premier-league-came-calling/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Stranger Than Strange
   
Last season, with David Stockdale more than doing his bit to get Hull City promoted, the general assumption was that Steve Bruce would take Stockdale on a full-time contract.

However, the price put on Stockdale`s head, by Fulham, said to be £4 million frightened off the Humberside club and Stockdale has now returned to Craven Cottage to resume a Fulham career.

But, in some strange quirk of fate, Hull City now look as if they may pick up a more than capable goalkeeper with Fulham connections.

Having been released by Fulham the tabloid press believe that the 40 year-old Australian is in with a chance of getting a contract at newly promoted Hull City.

Stranger than strange wouldn`t you say?


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=321885#ixzz2WMcnWDTA

[WhiteJC]

 
Interest in Frei
   
Now it would be, we believe, a strange decision to part with Kerim Frei.

The 19 year old Turkish midfielder has talent in abundance and when that can be harnessed correctly could / should be a mainstay of our midfield for many a year.

However, the vultures are circling believing they can get a deal and today we`re led to believe that two Turkish sides, Galatasaray and Beziktas believe they can lure the youngster back to Turkey.

We`ll sit back and see shall we!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=321886#ixzz2WMcxGqSa

[WhiteJC]

 
2012-13 Internet Player Of The Season

The final input into the 2012-13 season from the point of view of Man of the Match voting is to find out which players performed the most consistently across the entire campaign. The overall monthly winners across the season were as follows:

August 2012 : Marek Stech
September 2012 : Marek Stech
October 2012 : Marek Stech
November 2012 : Joe Edwards
December 2012 : Marek Stech
January 2013 : Paddy Madden
February 2013 : Dan Burn
March 2013 : Dan Burn
April 2013 : Luke Ayling
May 2013 : Dan Burn

What this shows up is how much the season split into two halves in terms of which players were picking up the votes - goalkeeper Marek Stech in the lead-up to Christmas, then Fulham loanee Dan Burn taking the plaudits in the second half of the season. Striker Paddy Madden of course picked up a Football League monthly award for his goalscoring feats, and he came in third place in the overall seasonal totals, but despite Dan Burn's late run in the final four months of the season, it was goalkeeper Marek Stech who held on by a relatively comfortable margin and so is the 2012-13 Internet Player of the Season.

The final totals for the top ten, including the percentage of the vote cast, are as follows:

1 Marek Stech 14.7
2 Daniel Burn 10.5
3 Paddy Madden 8.8
4 Byron Webster 8.5
5 Ed Upson 7.6
6 Sam Foley 7.4
7 Joe Edwards 7.4
8 Luke Ayling 6.8
9 Korey Smith 5.1
10 James Hayter 4.8

Many thanks to Sarah, who has kept a myriad of Excel spreadsheets alive to help keep the sums correct. And of course thanks to everyone who voted across the season. This will return in the 2013-14 season - we're currently looking into ways of speeding up the results publishing on this, as we're aware that particularly during the second half of the season we were a bit slow to publish!



http://www.ciderspace.co.uk/ASP/news/news.asp?NewsItemId=19692

[WhiteJC]

 
Villa, Palace, Fulham, Newcastle, Everton, West Ham, WBA & Hull target not for sale, insists boss

Transfer News: Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer has admitted it is his priority to keep hold of Jordan Rhodes.

A host of clubs have been linked with a move for the Rovers striker, including Aston Villa, Fulham, Newcastle, Everton, West Ham, West Brom, Crystal Palace and Hull, after the 23-year-old scored 27 goals in 43 Championship games.

"I'm not talking about letting him go," Sawyer said. I think the figures that people talk about, I don't entertain it at the moment.

"He was fantastic for this football club last season and we're wanting to build a team around him and reproduce what he did last season and be better. We'll be setting him that target.

"He got pipped at the post by Glenn Murray as the top goalscorer in the division, and we want him to be top goalscorer next season. Hopefully that then fires us to promotion."

He added: "I've not been told that we have to sell anybody, that's been perfectly clear.

"I'm aware that we're making funds available to sign people already, like we have done. We'll be competitive in the market."



http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/villa_palace_fulham_newcastle_everton_west_ham_wba_hull_target_not_for_sale_insists_boss_1_2237988

[WhiteJC]

 
Sako Deal Close
   
It is being widely reported that Martin Jol`s attempts to bring the Wolves winger Bakary Sako to Craven Cottage are nearing fruition.

It`s being reported that a deal worth £3 million has been agreed and that a weekly salary of £30,000 has been agreed.

If so, we await for official confirmation from the club to be forthcoming!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=321892#ixzz2WMdvRDZY

[WhiteJC]

 
Is this the greatest Bargain Premier League XI of all time?

Big spending. It started with Jack Walker investing a few million pounds into Blackburn Rovers over 20 years ago, and it continues to this present day with Roman Abramovich and Sheik Mansour pumping much more finance into both Chelsea and Manchester City.

Whilst it can't be argued that big spending usually brings either a brief or prolonged spell of success, money isn't always needed to sign the best players. In the Premier League's 21 year history, there have been many players that have shined for their clubs, that cost very little or even no money whatsoever.

Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar

It took Manchester United six years to find a suitable replacement for the great Peter Schmeichel, but even though he was 35, van der Sar left a big impression on the Red Devils. Costing a reported £2m from Fulham, he won numerous championships at Old Trafford including 4 Premier League titles and a Champions League; he saved the decisive penalty in the 2008 Champions League shoot-out final from Nicolas Anelka. He spent six years with United, and helped them win a total of 11 trophies in total.

Centre-midfielder: Danny Murphy

This may surprise a few. I chose Danny Murphy for his Fulham career, no matter what he had done at Liverpool, Charlton and Tottenham. Fulham signed Murphy on a free from Spurs in 2007, and the midfielder was one of the players that helped the Cottagers save their Premier League status on the final day of the 2007/2008 season. The club needed a win at Portsmouth, and Murphy scored a rare headed goal as Fulham won 1-0, ensuring their top-flight position. The following season, Murphy was made Fulham captain, and helped the club finish seventh in the league and qualify for the Europa League, their highest ever finish. The next season, Fulham lost in the final to Atletico in the Europa League final. Whilst he may not receive as much attention as others English centre-midfielders, Murphy was influential at Fulham, and a cult hero.




http://thisisfutbol.com/2013/06/blogs/is-this-the-greatest-bargain-premier-league-xi-of-all-time?

[WhiteJC]

 
Schwarzer is not one for taking his eye off the ball

As inevitable as qualification may seem, Mark Schwarzer knows all about the threat posed by Iraq if they perform anywhere near their best at ANZ Stadium on Tuesday night.

Though the Iraqis have been the most disappointing of teams so far in group B - they are the only nation that cannot qualify for the World Cup heading into the final match day - they have consistently troubled Australia in recent times.

Their clashes, originally tinged against a delicate global backdrop, have become engrossing not just for the political intrigue but for the closeness of the matches.

Australia have won four of the six matches they have played but have never won by more than a single goal. After being obliterated by Iraq in the 2007 Asian Cup, the Socceroos had to rely on an injury-time winner from Harry Kewell to avoid the dose four year later.

In their most recent match, last October in Doha, Iraq looked set for victory through Ala'a Abdul Zahra's goal in the 72nd minute before Tim Cahill and Archie Thompson saved the day with late strikes.

Schwarzer has played in all six games against Iraq and is acutely aware of how little separates the teams. "They've always given us a very tough game and I'm not buying into the fact that they're out of the competition now," he said. "Iraq will come to Australia with every intention of winning the game. They'll want to knock us out of the World Cup. If anything, all the disappointment they'll have suffered from missing out, they'll try to channel that into knocking us and gaining some sort of satisfaction from that."

Even though they will be missing captain Younis Mahmoud and star playmaker Nashat Akram, who both dramatically quit international football this week, Schwarzer has seen their depth first-hand. "They've got some talented players and they'll all be pretty keen to show what they can do. We also know they've got some other players who have said they'll be stopping after this campaign, so this could be their last game for their country. There's enormous amount of pride for them on Tuesday."

Despite the close shave in Doha, Schwarzer feels as though that match offers plenty for the Socceroos to draw on leading in this next encounter. "I think the scoreline was not a true reflection of the game. I thought we dominated the game and had control of the game for about 98 per cent of it," he said. "They pretty much broke once and scored.

"If we approach the game exactly how we approached the Jordan game, and completely understand our opponent, we'll be in the right frame of mind. We know that if we're not aware, we'll get stung."

The 40-year-old keeper has conceded just one goal in two matches this month and puts much of that down to the combination of Lucas Neill and Sasa Ognenovski. Despite questions about whether the pair could play together - and especially over Neill's fitness - they have been solid against Japan and Jordan.

"I understand where those questions were coming from and why they had to be asked but I think Lucas, in particular, put those doubts to bed after the Japan game," Schwarzer said. "I don't think there were any indications that Lucas hadn't played a game in a couple of months. It was if he'd stepped off a plane and been playing week in, week out.

"'Sash' has slotted in like he has never been away. If anything, I think he's playing as well as he ever has for the Socceroos. Now we need everyone to continue their roles, pulling their weight. You saw that the other night when Archie [Thompson] came on, his presence lifted everyone. That's what we need, for everybody to understand their jobs and to step up once again."



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/schwarzer-is-not-one-for-taking-his-eye-off-the-ball-20130615-2oay7.html#ixzz2WMevSqjE

[cmg]

Stranger Than Strange
   
Last season, with David Stockdale more than doing his bit to get Hull City promoted, the general assumption was that Steve Bruce would take Stockdale on a full-time contract.

However, the price put on Stockdale`s head, by Fulham, said to be £4 million frightened off the Humberside club and Stockdale has now returned to Craven Cottage to resume a Fulham career.

But, in some strange quirk of fate, Hull City now look as if they may pick up a more than capable goalkeeper with Fulham connections.

Having been released by Fulham the tabloid press believe that the 40 year-old Australian is in with a chance of getting a contract at newly promoted Hull City.

Stranger than strange wouldn`t you say?


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=321885#ixzz2WMcnWDTA

So (if there is any truth in this), Hull would, of the two goalkeepers, prefer the one who we, ourselves, preferred; who, had we not signed someone who we consider an improvement, we would probably have continued to prefer; and will cost nothing.

"Stranger than strange wouldn`t you say?". I think even Mr Spock would say, "No. Totally logical."

[Nero]

I think what you can also tell is Stockdale seems happy at Fulham this season and feels he has a chance to fight it out for no.1 shirt so the rumors with regards to Schwarzer been guaranteed his place would seem to be ture