Thursday Fulham Stuff (15/08/13)...

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FULHAM PREVIEW: There's a new Khan do attitude in boardroom at the Cottage but Jol needs to sort out travel sickness

Story of the summer...
The biggest story at Craven Cottage has been in the boardroom, where Mohamed Al Fayed sold the club after 16 years as owner. Al Fayed helped Fulham rise from the third tier to the Premier League so new man Shahid Khan has a lot to do before he endears himself to fans as the Egyptian did.

Manager's main challenge...
Sorting out Fulham's wretched away form. It has been abysmal in the Premier League – in their last five seasons they have won just 15 of 95 away matches.

Needing to find a way to win away: Martin Jol must sort out Fulham's wretched form on the road - the club have won just 15 of 95 away matches in the last five seasons

Hiccups on horizon...
Jol could still do with some reinforcements, particularly in central midfield where they are short of real class. But a new owner does not always mean new players.

First name on the team sheet...
Dimitar Berbatov – The Bulgarian is still pure class, when he feels like it.


Talisman: Dimitar Berbatov still oozes class and will be key to everything Fulham do this season

Youngster to watch...
Noe Baba Age: 16 Position: Defender Twitter: @noebaba

Fulham beat Manchester United to the signature of highly-rated and versatile defender Baba, who was born in Cameroon but moved to Ireland at the age of 10. A combative player who has shown his leadership potential in captaining the Republic of Ireland Under 17s. Baba initially played as a striker when he arrived in Ireland as he didn't speak enough English to ask to play in defence.

Pre-season quote...
'My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future that fans of present and future generations can be proud of.' – Shahid Khan

Top Tweeter
David Stockdale (@stockogk1313) -  Owns a bait and tackle shop.


Maverick: Adel Taarabt will strut his stuff at Fulham for a season after a loan deal from QPR

Ins: Sascha Riether (Cologne, £1.3m), Derek Boateng (Dnipro, undisclosed), Fernando Amorebieta (Athletic Bilbao, free), Maarten Stekelenburg (Roma, undisclosed), Ange-Freddy Plumain (Lens, free), Adel Taarabt (QPR, loan)

Outs: Chris Baird (released), Simon Davies (released), Mahamadou Diarra (released), Csaba Somogyi (released), Mladen Petric (released), Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea, free), Tom Donegan (released), Alex Smith (Swindon, free), Dan Burn (Birmingham, loan)

New kit
New season and new sponsors all round for Fulham, who have swapped Kappa for adidas and FxPro for bookmakers Marathonbet.

Fulham have come up with some attractive, simple strips during their time in the Premier League and their black-and-white number is about as straightforward as they come.

It was Fulham's current stars that unveiled the new home kit but the club have turned to their promotion winning stars from 2001 to help launch their new away strip. Kit Symons, Luis Boa Morte and Rufus Brevett were on hand to unveil the new red design.

Kit cost: £49.99


Old boys: Promotion winning stars from 2001 including Rufus Brevett launched the away strip

Stats from 2012-13 season...
Former goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer saved more penalties than any other in the Premier League – saving three of the six that he faced.

Dimitar Berbatov scored the first goal of the game more often than any other player in 2012-13 (nine times).

Of all players to have contested over 100 headers in 2012-13, Brede Hangeland had the best success rate (74 per cent).

No player made more goal line clearances than Sascha Riether last season (four).

Fulham gained just five points from losing positions all season, a league low.

They suffered the joint-longest run of consecutive home defeats in the PL in 2012-13 (four between April-May).

Only QPR (one) won fewer points from their final six PL games than Fulham (three).

Fulham won more headers in their own box than any other PL team in 2012-13 (420) but won the fewest in the opposition box (115).


The future's bright: Noe Baba, 16, joined Fulham ahead of Manchester United

Where do I buy tickets and how much do they cost?

Tickets can be bought through the official website, via phone, 08432081223 or at the stadium box office, which is open 9-5 Monday to Friday. Category A £49-£70 and Category B £25-£45.

Pre-season results
July 14 Cartagines (Estadio Nacional, San Jose) - won 3-0
July 17 Alajuelense (Estadio Nacional, San Jose) - won 3-1
July 20 Deportivo Saprissa S.A.D. (Estadio Nacional, San Jose) - drew 2-2 (won 5-3 pens)
July 28 Werder Bremen (Weser Stadion, Bremen) - lost 0-1
August 5 Real Betis (Craven Cottage) - drew 1-1
August 10 Parma (Craven Cottage) - lost 1-2


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2392913/Fulham--Premier-League-preview-2013-14.html#ixzz2c38HMFDJ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

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David's Dream



Chris David hopes that the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season will be a breakthrough campaign for him, as he works towards a spot in Fulham's First Team.

The omens are good for the Dutch youngster, who arrived from FC Twente in the January transfer window, as he featured in half of our pre-season fixtures, and was on the bench for the others.

"Going to Costa Rica was a great experience for me as it was the first time I'd trained with the squad," David told fulhamfc.com. "I had some minutes on the pitch with the First Team as well, so I was happy with that and I think I did quite well which the Manager was happy about.

"It's a good start for me and I'm getting fitter and fitter and hopefully this season will be my season. We will see – I want to make my debut this season, for sure.

"It's been my dream and I'm 20-years-old now so I think it's the right moment to make my debut. After that I want to play a lot of minutes for Fulham and then, hopefully, I'll end up being a First XI player. But first I have to train hard and do well and then maybe I will get a chance this season."

The Fulham team can boast a series of international footballers who have played at the highest levels possible, and David admitted it can only aid his development when he's in the company of such esteemed professionals.

"We've got a lot of big players here at Fulham," he said. "People like Brede Hangeland, Damien Duff, Steve Sidwell and Giorgos Karagounis, and I speak with them a lot. They are helping me with their experience, which is great.

"I talk to Karagounis a lot especially because he's such a good midfielder. I ask him a lot of questions and he helps me very much, so that's good. It's good to have a mix of older players and younger players because, in the future, we will be standing there in the First Team."

The Netherlands youth international also praised the impact his compatriot Martin Jol is having on his career and highlighted his desire to do his Manager proud when called upon.

"It's always good to be a part of the group and we're always talking to each other," David explained. "He tells me what I can do better and what I'm doing well. I like that because now I know what I have to work on which is good and I don't want to disappoint him because he put faith in me. I want to show everybody what I can do.

"I think everyone kind of dreams of playing in the Premier League, and now I'm so close. I've only been here for little more than six months now, and I've had to get used to it, but I'm getting better and better."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/august/15/davids-dream?

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Bent Set For Palace?... Nope, It's Fulham

News has broken with a late twist in the Darren Bent saga.

Rumours were rife last night as talk of Darren Bent heading for a medical this morning had appeared during the England game. But, in a shocking late twist, Bent pulled out of having a medical with Palace and now seems set to undergo a medical at Fulham today ahead of a transfer for a rumoured loan spell. The loan move would include a £2m fee for his season loan spell, Fulham paying his wages & £3m to complete his move at the end of the season.

Many football writers and sports editors, including Ed Malyon, Stuart James and John Percy, have all reported over Twitter that the England International changed his mind late last night with a deal all tied up with Palace and it seems Darren Bent is heading to Fulham this morning for a medical.

Crystal Palace boss Ian Holloway has told BBC London 94.9 Darren Bent is joining Fulham today, having expected him to sign for the Eagles. Hollyway has been quoted saying:

Fulham could wait a lot longer than we could so we've tried to force it, they've stepped in, took our deal. It's life.
Mat Kendrick of the Birmingham Mail has now had confirmation from Aston Villa boss, Paul Lambert, that the forward is indeed at Fulham having a medical ahead of a season long loan. Mat has also asked if anymore signings will arrive at Villa this summer, with Paul Lambert replying: "I've got a fortnight to decide..."



http://avillafan.com/site/7834/bent-set-for-palace-nope-its-fulham/?

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Transfer news: Fulham close on signing Aston Villa striker Darren Bent

Aston Villa forward Darren Bent will secure a loan deal to Fulham if he comes through a medical on Thursday.

Although Fulham boss Martin Jol rejected reports that a move for the unsettled striker was imminent, his Villa counterpart Paul Lambert confirmed on Thursday that Bent's transfer would go through barring any hitch with fitness checks in London.

"He's just away down to Fulham," said Lambert. "I think it's well-documented now that he's down there having a medical and that's the last I've heard."

Bent was the subject of a £4m bid from the Cottagers earlier in the summer, which was rejected by Villa, but the two clubs have reached an agreement with a view to a season-long loan.

It is also a big blow for Crystal Palace who had looked favourites to snare the 29-year-old.

Bent was a peripheral figure for Aston Villa last season, often left on the sidelines with Christian Benteke making his mark in Lambert's side.

And with new attacking options now available to Lambert, the Villa boss has opted to offload the striker they bought in January 2011 for around £24m from Sunderland.

Jol has been desperate for a goalscorer to take some of the pressure off last season's leading man, Dimitar Berbatov, and Bent's acquisition will be great news for him and the south London fans on the eve of a new Premier League season.


http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/8871283?

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Competition time!
By rich on August 15, 2013

We've teamed up with The Times to celebrate the launch of The Goals hub, the new football service that offers subscribers the first chance to see every Premier League goal this season, both online and on smartphone.

We are giving readers the chance to win one of two three-month subscriptions to The Times Digital Pack, which, in addition to The Goals hub provides award-winning sport and news coverage plus exclusive benefits.

This competition follows the innovative advertising campaign the Sports Newspaper of the Year has used to mark the beginning of the season and launch the new service. The Times has worked with each Premier League club to develop 20 unique adverts which see the iconic masthead of The Times redesigned to feature a symbolic club image.



The Times app for smartphones features The Goals hub, which will offer extensive coverage of the Premier League, giving fans access to near-live goal replays, live commentary and expert analysis, all in one place. Also online at http://www.thetimes.co.uk, highlights of each match will be available at midnight on the day of every game.*

The complete subscription offers the latest news on your phone, unlimited access to The Times and The Sunday Times websites, as well as membership to Times+ for events, offers and extras including prizes and rewards.

Visit www.thetimes.co.uk/goals for more details.

For your chance to win a three-month subscription to The Times Digital Pack including access to The Goals hub, just answer the following question:

Q          What will be the score in Fulham's opening game away at Sunderland?

To enter, simply email your answer to claude,[email protected] with CCN Competition in the subject field, together with your full name and home address.  The person who gets closest wins the subscription.  If more than two people get it right, winners will be decided in the order that their entry was received (first come, first served, etc).  If nobody gets it right then winners will be drawn at random from all entries received.  All decisions are final in this respect.  Cheers.

* Full access to Premier League highlights in The Goals hub is only available to users in the UK due to rights restrictions.


http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/competition-time/?

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Senderos 1 Neymar 0 - Switzerland get the better of Brazil



Fulham defender and former Arsenal man Philippe Senderos helped Switzerland pull off an international shock in midweek.

As international results go, Switzerland's 1-0 win over Brazil was certainly a surprise.

The same Brazil who tore World Champions Spain apart at the Confederations Cup earlier this summer, failed to breach Switzerland's defence in a firecely contested friendly in Basel.

New Barcelona striker Neymar could not get the better of Switzerland's backline, featuring Fulham's Philippe Senderos.

Neymar's frustration boiled over when he chopped down defender Stephane Lichtsteiner, sparking a mass brawl between the players of the two teams.

The goal came early into the second half, when Barcelona defender Dani Alves headed the ball in his own net, failing to control a cross from Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri.

It goes down as another major result for Switzerland manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, formerly himself of Bayern.

Hitzfeld masterminded a memorable 1-0 win over Spain at the 2010 World Cup in the opening group game.

Switzerland are currently four points clear at the top of their World Cup qualifying group, with surprise package Albania in second place.

Last night they ensured they will be one side Brazil will be keen to avoid on their quest for glory on home soil.

The result was Switzerland's first win over Brazil since a friendly victory back in 1989, and it was Brazil's first loss in seven months.

Featuring for Brazil was defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo, whose future has been the hot topic of conversation as he looks for a move away from Bayern.

image: © jitbag



http://hereisthecity.com/2013/08/14/senderos-1-neymar-0-switzerland-get-the-better-of-brazil/?

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Fulham to sign Darren Bent on loan from Aston Villa
Darren Bent is to sign for Fulham on loan to finally end his frustration at Aston Villa.

Bent is expected at Fulham for a medical after Martin Jol made a late bid to hijack the England international's move to Crystal Palace.

The £24 million forward had seemed likely to join Palace late on Wednesday but Fulham have pounced and are now poised to end their protracted pursuit by taking him to Craven Cottage.

Bent's move will be for the season and Fulham are expected to pay a substantial loan fee, and the majority of his £65,000 a week wages, if the deal goes go through.

The 29 year-old has endured a difficult 12 months at Villa Park under manager Paul Lambert and was sidelined for the majority of last season, largely due to the emergence of Christian Benteke.

He was also exiled from training with the first-team squad when he returned for pre-season and told he would not feature in Lambert's plans.

Newcastle and Fulham have both struggled to meet Villa's strict asking price - around £6 million - and Palace were confident of sealing an ambitious loan deal.

But Jol has moved swiftly for Bent and is also hopeful of beating QPR to the £3 million signing of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Scott Parker.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/10244363/Fulham-to-sign-Darren-Bent-on-loan-from-Aston-Villa.html

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2013/14 Squad Numbers

With the new season just days away, the Club can confirm the official squad numbers for the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League campaign, with notable changes for Bryan Ruiz and Alexander Kačaniklić.

Ruiz has taken the illustrious number 10 shirt following the departure of Mladen Petrić – the number that he wears internationally when he captains Costa Rica. He follows in a long line of popular Fulham faces to wear number 10, most famously our greatest player Johnny Haynes, in addition to the likes of Rodney Marsh, Ray Houghton and Gordon Davies (in his second spell at the Club).

Kačaniklić, meanwhile, will now occupy the number 11 jersey – the traditional digits for a left-winger. Having broken into the Fulham First Team midway through the 2011/12 campaign, Kača has made no secret of his desire to nail down a First Team berth, and he's seemingly on the right track having been awarded the shirt previously worn by Tosh Chamberlain, Luis Boa Morte and Zoltan Gera.

Our new midfield enforcer Derek Boateng takes 23, a number first made famous at Craven Cottage by another box-to-box workaholic, Sean Davis. Since the local boy left Fulham in 2004, the shirt was worn almost solely by Clint Dempsey and has been vacant since his departure to Tottenham Hotspur a year ago.

Adel Taarabt will take the number 19 shirt, the same jersey he wore when he made his debut in English football with Spurs, while Fernando Amorebieta adopts 35 to become the first centre-back to sport that number since Ian Pearce, who coincidentally also wore 19 during his time in SW6.

Maarten Stekelenburg has worn the same number as Edwin van der Sar at Ajax and with the Netherlands, and he follows suit at Fulham, too, as he unsurprisingly will wear the No.1 shirt throughout the season.

In the only other squad number changes, Marcello Trotta has dropped 10 digits to wear 29, while Chris David has moved from 32 to 30. Jack Grimmer, Muamer Tankovic, Buomesca Tue Na Bangna and Charles Banya have all retained the same numbers they were allocated last season.

Full list of Fulham squad numbers:
1. Maarten Stekelenburg

3. John Arne Riise

4. Philippe Senderos

5. Brede Hangeland

7. Steve Sidwell

8. Pajtim Kasami

9. Dimitar Berbatov

10. Bryan Ruiz

11. Alexander Kačaniklić

13. David Stockdale

14. Giorgos Karagounis

15. Kieran Richardson

16. Damien Duff

17. Matthew Briggs

18. Aaron Hughes

19. Adel Taarabt

20. Hugo Rodallega

21. Kerim Frei

23. Derek Boateng

24. Ashkan Dejagah

27. Sascha Riether

29. Marcello Trotta

30. Chris David

35. Fernando Amorebieta

36. Buomesca Tue Na Bangna

38. Neil Etheridge

42. Charles Banya

43. Muamer Tankovic

44. Jack Grimmer



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/august/15/squad-numbers?

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Brede Hangeland: Staying up is still Fulham's main concern

Expectation levels among Fulham fans may have been heightened by Shahid Khan's takeover but Brede Hangeland says avoiding relegation is the priority this season.

Khan has ambitions of establishing Fulham in the top half of the Premier League, giving supporters reason to be optimistic that the future is bright at Craven Cottage.

Hangeland does not want the club, who finished 12th last season, to lose their sense of ambition but is realistic about what can be achieved.

"I think the expectations for the season are much the same," said the Fulham captain. "My concern every year is to get 40 points and I am hoping that will be as early in the season as possible. It might sound like a lack of ambition but I am very happy to stay in the Premier League because I know how tough the competition is.

"I know our strength relative to all of the other clubs and you can't say that we are a big club in the Premier League. We are punching above our weight a little bit and some of that is down to the fact we stay modest and keep our feet on the ground.

"There has been a good buzz around the club following the announcement. We have a lot to thank Mohamed Fayed for but the new owner seems like a really good guy and has been successful in what he has done in the past. I hope that will continue here."

American owner Khan wants to learn from mistakes made by clubs like Queens Park Rangers and appears to have plans for steady growth rather than immediate change.

Transfer funds have been made available to Martin Jol, who has signed five players this summer and wants to strengthen his squad further before the window closes.

Maarten Stekelenburg, Sascha Riether, Derek Boateng and Fernando Amorebieta all signed before Khan's takeover, while Adel Taarabt joined on loan last week.

Fulham begin their Premier League season away at Sunderland on Saturday and Hangeland, 32, said: "We would welcome new signings but that is not my decision to make.

"We have good competition now and it is hard to pick the best starting line-up because there are so many players on the same level. That gives the manager a headache but a good one."

Hangeland signed a new contract in April that keeps him at Craven Cottage until at least 2015 and includes an option for a further year. The Norway defender, who has made 243 appearances for Fulham since joining from  FC Copenhagen in 2008, had offers to move in January but says he could now finish his career at the club.

He added: "I have loved my time here, I have had chances to leave but I found no reason to leave. I can see myself playing the rest of my career here.

"I still love playing for these fans and I am looking forward to a few more years of doing that."

Brede was speaking at the announcement of Brother as Fulham's Official Technology Partner. Brother will integrate its technologies to assist the club's performance both on and off the pitch. For more information on Brother products, visit brother.co.uk.



http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/brede-hangeland-staying-up-is-still-fulhams-main-concern-8763059.html

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Aston Villa Striker Darren Bent Undergoing Fulham Medical Ahead of £5m Transfer

Striker close to ending Villa nightmare with £5million Craven Cottage switch.

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent is close to sealing a move away from the club, as he undergoes a medical ahead of a £5million move to Fulham, Sky Sports claims.

The 29-year-old had a difficult season last year, finding himself frozen out by Villa boss Paul Lambert and spending most of his time watching from the bench.

The England international had been the club's record signing in 2011, and it was something of a surprise to see the prolific forward dropped by Lambert in favour of young duo Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann.

However, as the pair shone for Villa and helped steer the club away from relegation, Bent became an increasingly peripheral figure at the club and looked certain to leave this summer, with the likes of Crystal Palace said to be interested in taking him on loan.

But it now looks like Fulham have won the race for his signature, and he will link up again with his former manager from his days at Tottenham, Martin Jol, in a bid to revive his Premier League career.

He will also look to form a potentially dangerous strike partnership with another former Spurs player, Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov.



http://www.caughtoffside.com/2013/08/15/aston-villa-striker-darren-bent-undergoing-fulham-medical-ahead-of-5m-transfer/?

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Why Darren Bent's Proposed Loan Deal to Fulham Was His Only Way Out

A Darren Bent Loan Move to Fulham Suits All Parties

It was known from the second half of last season that Darren Bent had no part to play for Aston Villa under Paul Lambert. On end of season chat with Lambert confirmed it, while the  new squad shirt numbers advertised the fact.

Darren Bent was perhaps in the most intriguing of the so-called 'Bomb Squad' (apart from the question of 'how the hell are Villa going to get rid of Stephen Ireland?'). Villa's record signing should be the club's prized asset. Costing up to £24 million and on wages reported to be £65,000-a-week, the club must have expected to recoup at least some of his transfer fee, if the day ever came to sell the England international.

A proven goalscorer, his powers haven't exactly diminished, as he proved on the last day of the season with his swan song goal away at Wigan. The only problem it seems is he doesn't fit into Lambert's system, with the 4-4-2 giving way to 4-5-1/4-3-3, where his poacher-like instincts are of secondary value to a more complete striker.  Surely at least half the clubs in the Premier League would welcome such as striker who has one of the most consistent strike rates in the league?

Of course, what complicates matters is the figures. Bent turns 30 in February, so why many clubs would envisage the striker would have two years tops at his prime left.  With over three million pounds in wages a year to fork out, it's difficult to envisage any club wanting to take a punt on a long term contract.  After all, Villa were also keen for a transfer fee in the region of £6 million.

A solid approach from Newcastle has been dismissed as a myth, despite what Joe Kinnear said to the contrary. The very factors indicated above would have made them think twice anyway, not to mention the fact, Bent's Sunderland connection wouldn't sit well with their fans.

He would have been a perfect signing for Crystal Palace, with their manager Ian Holloway even thinking  a loan arrangement was a done deal, even this morning.  Initially, it was reported, they wanted to pay £40,000-a-week wages, then as well as a loan fee, offer Villa a bonus payment, if Bent helped keep them up.

Bent though always preferred the option of playing for a more established Premiership team and Fulham were almost the most likely with the Martin Jol connection, a manager who he played for at Spurs.

Today, was the last day a player could sign to be eligible for the start of the new season; it was a deadline that finally forced Fulham to act with intent.

The reported £2million loan fee and the fact that Fulham will cover his £65,000-a-week wages is probably as good as it gets for Villa. He also won't be able to come back and haunt us, when Villa play Fulham, as he will be exempt from playing due to the terms of his contract.

What happens after the loan is almost immaterial; if Bent has a decent season, he will no doubt get a move out on reduced wages.

It's a deal that makes Villa at least £5 million richer this season. Bent will get to ply his trade at a decent club in the Premiership. In short, it's a win-win situation for all concerned. UTV.



http://www.myoldmansaid.com/darren-bents-proposed-loan-move-fulham/

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Soccer-U.S. owners buy in to new era for Premier League finances

U.S. businessmen own six English Premier League clubs

* New Fulham owner Khan attracted by TV deals, fan base

* Relegation risk means clubs come cheaper than NFL teams

LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Illinois car parts baron Shahid Khan will find plenty of familiar faces and accents when he visits English soccer stadiums this year after spending an estimated $300 million to buy London team Fulham.

With Khan's arrival U.S. sports franchise owners now control six of the 20 clubs in the world's richest soccer league, reflecting an explosion in interest in the game in the United States and a growing trend among owners to seek global networks.

Investors like the Glazer family at Manchester United, Arsenal's Stan Kroenke and Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry at Liverpool have been drawn by the Premier League's ability to generate vast sums of TV cash and support from fans all over the world.

"The Premier League obviously has a huge global audience," says the moustachioed Khan, who was born in Pakistan and already owns Florida's Jacksonville Jaguars in American football.

"It's got a great media deal, it's got great leadership at the top and most importantly a very, very passionate fan base and it's an excellent business platform," he told Reuters.

As a new season kicks off this weekend, television deals at home and abroad have allowed the English top flight to put the dark hooligan days of the 1980s behind it.

The league's 20 clubs will share annual TV revenues of around 1.7 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) thanks to new broadcast deals starting this month.

Underlining the growing interest in the United States, NBC has bought the rights there for the next three years, paying an estimated $250 million to unseat Fox. There are now an estimated 24 million Americans playing soccer compared to 100,000 in 1967.

"Soccer is on the rise big time," Khan said, commenting on the game's growing U.S. profile. "I think Fulham can get its fair share of fans and we want to help them do that, playing friendlies in Jacksonville next year," he added.

To try to build his NFL team's international profile, Khan is bringing the Jaguars to London's Wembley Stadium to play a game in each of the next four seasons.

SOBERING UP

The U.S. influx comes at a turning point for English soccer as a business.

After a decade in which rich Russian and Arab owners have poured hundreds of millions of pounds into winning the Premier League title at Chelsea and Manchester City, the European game's governing body UEFA is striving to force clubs to run tighter and more sustainable budgets.

Stan Kroenke's Arsenal, starved of success but reliably in the upper reaches of the league, have created one model admired by the game's financial planners, generating operating profits of 20 million or more annually.

Champions Manchester United have seen around 100 million pounds in annual EBITDA profit in each of the past three years, allowing them to service the debts - controversial with many of the club's fans - that the Glazers took out when they bought the club for 790 million pounds in 2005.

At Fulham, whose stadium on the banks of the Thames sees crowds of a third to at most half of those at the bigger clubs, the sums are much tighter and dominated by the threat of relegation out of the top flight.

Fulham's revenues for 2011-12 were 79 million pounds - a quarter of what Manchester United generated in the same season.

"The key challenge for me is that it's got to be sustainable for the long haul," said Khan.

"The investments we have to make - obviously in the squad but more importantly in the stadium - are something that will generate the revenue so we will get into a virtuous circle."

THE PRICE OF FAILURE

The Financial Fair Play regime being implemented by UEFA is second nature to Americans where mechanisms like salary caps and a luxury tax levy are in place to regulate spending by sports franchises.

At Fulham, former owner Mohamed Al Fayed pumped some 200 million pounds into the club after taking it over in 1997, loans he converted into shares earlier this year before selling up.

Fulham and fellow U.S.-owned clubs Sunderland and Aston Villa are among a group of teams whose initial ambition is to garner enough points to avoid finishing in the bottom three of the Premier League and losing their place in the elite.

American sports franchises do not have to deal with that system of promotion and relegation with the big swings in income that it can bring.

Khan, who paid an estimated $770 million to buy the Jaguars less than two years ago, says that the annual threat of demotion makes it cheaper to buy a Premier League club than to acquire an equivalent NFL franchise.

"The risk of relegation prices teams less than they would be in a closed league," he said.

"I think it's a simple matter of economics."



http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/15/soccer-england-owners-idUKL6N0FV2RM20130815?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=governmentFilingsNews

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Need to know: Fulham

By JACK BEZANTS — Associated Press

LONDON — Five things to know about Fulham going into the 2013-14 English Premier League season:

PLAYERS IN

Manager Martin Jol has been busy during the offseason, signing five players to strengthen his first-team squad. Goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg arrived from Roma, replacing Mark Schwarzer, who signed for London rival Chelsea. Sascha Reither's season-long loan from Wolfsburg became a permanent transfer and defender Fernando Amorebieta signed from Athletic Bilbao. Ghana midfielder Derek Boateng joined on a free transfer from Ukrainian club Dnipro, and Adel Taarabt made the switch to Fulham from second-tier Queens Park Rangers on a one-season loan. Reports in the English media also suggest Fulham could sign striker Darren Bent from Aston Villa before its first game of the season away to Sunderland.

PLAYERS OUT

Aside from goalkeeper Schwarzer's exit after five years, Jol also decided not renew the contract of four other players who featured for the first team. Chris Baird, Simon Davies, Mahamadou Diarra and Mladen Petric all left as Jol made space for the players he had targeted to bring into the team.

NEW OWNERS, NEW ERA

Mohamed Al Fayed's 16-year ownership of Fulham ended in July when he sold the club to Shad Kahn, owner of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars in the United States. Khan has taken 100 percent ownership of the club, which is debt-free. Al Fayed's tenure as owner saw Fulham establish itself comfortably in the Premier League. It also reached the final of the Europa League under current England manager Roy Hodgson in 2010, losing to Atletico Madrid in extra time.

KEY PLAYER: DIMITAR BERBATOV

Berbatov scored 15 goals for Fulham last season and was voted its player of the season by the club's supporters. He was the focal point for Fulham's attack and scored one of the goals of the season in its 1-0 win against Stoke against Craven Cottage. A partnership with new arrival Adel Taarabt, an attacking midfielder, has potential to excite the Fulham fans. Taarabt's performances for Queens Park Rangers were inconsistent last season but at times he reached a very high level. If he and Berbatov can combine on a regular basis they could pose problems for any defense in the league.

SURPRISE STARTERS?

Fulham could surprise a few people with a fast start to its 2013-14 season. In its opening nine games, it only plays Arsenal and Chelsea out of the teams expected to compete for European places in the league. If Jol can create a winning mentality in the early stages of the season and his best players stay free from injury, Fulham might fancy its chances of competing for a top-seven finish and earning a spot in the Europa League.



Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/15/3109144/need-to-know-fulham.html#storylink=cpy

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Jol quiet on Bent link

Martin Jol has issued a cautious response to the suggestion that Fulham have signed Aston Villa striker Darren Bent.

Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway announced on Thursday morning that Bent had chosen Craven Cottage over Selhurst Park but Jol, who signed the 29-year-old when at Tottenham in 2007, denied a deal had been done.

"I don't know what's happening. Darren's probably doing his own thing. We're not sure about it," the Fulham boss said.

"We don't speculate on players and can only give an answer when a deal is finalised. We'll see in the next day or two."

Bent swapped Sunderland for Villa for £24million in 2011, but fell out of favour with manager Paul Lambert last season following the emergence of Christian Benteke.

"We need quality up front and we're trying to get someone in that position in the next week. We need some pace up front," Jol said.

Jol, who refused to comment on his interest in Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker, took a swipe at Holloway for stating that Bent had agreed to join Fulham.

"People were telling me yesterday that he was having a medical at Crystal Palace. That is changing every day," Jol said.

"I thought yesterday that he was going to Ian Holloway. It's tough in the Premier League.

"I'm not sure if other managers should say things like that, because we are not 100 per cent sure about any player and I have a few players on the list.

"Maybe some geezer told him he was coming to us. Maybe he's right, maybe not. We'll see in the next day."

Jol would be happy to keep Norway full-back John Arne Riise, who has fallen behind Kieran Richardson in the pecking order, if he fails to secures a move away from Craven Cottage.

"John is a fantastic player and deserves to play and that was the only conversation we had," Jol said.

"If he's the second choice at this club, I'm not sure he'll be a happy customer.

"But if he stays I'll be happy because if something happens to Kieran Richardson then I have another fantastic left-back."

Fulham are hoping to strengthen their squad with the addition of a forward, midfielder and defender, but Jol has ruled out the prospect of new owner Shahid Khan loosening the purse strings.

"The new owner wants us to go places and that's our intention as well," he said.

"We don't expect new owners to come in and spend a lot of money because you have to be self-sufficient. That's what we're trying to do. We won't spend 10-15-20million pounds on players.

"The new owner's not interfering with anything. The only thing he said was try to create a nice sausage.

"He knows that we like sausages here. As long as it's a nice sausage he'll be happy."



http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/324/8871751/-?

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Lydia's Premier League Preview
by LYDIA on AUGUST 15, 2013

There are just a couple of days left before all the waiting is over and the PL finally kicks off again. It has been a strange summer for Fulham fans as we made a couple of good signings right at the very beginning then we had to wait a while before the next major piece of club news came through. The sale of the club to Pakistani business man Shahid Khan was done in classic Fulham style- under the radar. We don't hear very much of Fulham's business, it's always been like that but I think fans still get frustrated at not knowing what is going on. It's interesting that among all of the rumours and being connected with every player under the sun with no actual fact involved, the club tends to officially confirm whenever they are interested in a player. It was a number of days before Taarabt signed when the club announced that they were close to a deal. I'm not sure what the point of this is but I guess it at least lets us know what deals are real and what's the work of a bored journalist.

Nevertheless, enough of the confusing transfer gossip, what about the season ahead? Fulham needed to do some business in order to match the clubs around us. Look at West Ham, Norwich and Cardiff for example. All have spent money to improve their squads. Time will tell whether it will pull off but I feel that many fans are concerned that Fulham haven't spent the money that they thought the club would after the Khan takeover. However, we have made some astute signings with Stekelenburg, Boeteng, Amorebieta and Taarabt. We also made Riether an official Fulham player and it looks like we are about to sign Darren Bent. OK, we haven't spent a lot of money as our dealings seem to yet again be free transfers or loans but, although it doesn't look like we have long term answers, they certainly aren't bad players that we have brought in.

However, I can't say that I wasn't worried for a while. I still believed that we need another goal-scorer and a play maker. It now looks like we have our goal scorer in Darren bent but we are still missing someone in CM to pull the strings and control the game. We lost Murphy, Dembele and Dempsey in the same window and I don't believe we have recovered from that yet. There has been talk about us ruining QPR's Scott Parker deal and I honestly believe this would be a good piece of business at this stage in the window. He is good player but wouldn't be a long-term fix unfortunately. For now though, it looks like some of our youngsters are going to have the chance to show their worth in the centre of the park. People are raving about Chris David and we are still waiting for Kasami to be given his shot. If these players step up then we might have some ready made replacements already in our squad. I still think we need an experienced head in there though but we shall just have to see what happens there.

In terms of a goal-scorer it looks like we have Darren Bent. This is a good signing as he is a very different player to Berbatov who likes to drop back a bit. Bent should stretch defences and he is a quality finisher! I feel he has been let down a bit at Villa so should be very keen to have a new start and show his worth. If we get the ball to his feet in the box, he should score goals for us.

I think that if Jol can get Taarabt, Ruiz and Berbatov to play together we could have a very exciting team on our hands. The other thing to sort is the defence but I think with Amorebieta there with Hangeland and with Dutch international Stekelenburg between the sticks, our problems at the back shouldn't be as bad as last year. The key is consistency. If the players can gel and play well together then a top 10 finish can be reached. However if that hole in midfield isn't filled and our fancy players can't learn how to work together then we will finish lower than that. I think we have the players to ensure that we won't be in danger by the end of the season but there certainly might be rocky moments along the way!

Anyway, I'm going to put myself out there with some predictions, feel free to agree or disagree!

Where we will finish – 10th, dead centre.

Top goal-scorer – Berbatov...with 15 goals.

Player of the season- I'm going to go with Dejagah. I think he will pick up from where he left off before his injury last season

How will Bent get on? – Solid season with the club getting 11goals

Will Taarabt rediscover his form? I think he will have a slow start but will come good around October. He needs a little bit of time to adjust to not being the most talented player in a squad! This should hopefully improve his attitude.

Cup Run?- If we use some of the talented youngsters we have then I think their desire to show their talent will get us through the first few rounds of the cups we are involved in. If the league run is going well then I think the team will really want to have a real go at the FA cup in particular. Quarter finals are possible in both cups but it really depends on how early we get a top 4 team.

Will Jol still be our manager at the end of the season? YES.

COYW



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2013/08/lydias-premier-league-preview/?