Tuesday Fulham Stuff (03/12/13)...

[the nutflush]

Who would  be a long term fan of Fulham if they thought of the money spent re the pay back in seeing success, entertaining football, happiness, contentment,  mental-health etc, etc , etc!

But we love Fulham despite ourselves - and , as Brian Ferry sang -'love is a drug, and i need to score'.

So lets stick together. 

[WhiteJC]

 
Three Key Battles: Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur

Two teams that have been struggling for form in recent weeks face up against each other in a game which could decide the fate of yet another Premier League manager after Martin Jol was sacked yesterday.

Rene Meulensteen's first game in charge of Fulham is against a Tottenham Hotspur side that are without a win in their last four games, losing two of those. One was an embarrasing 6-0 defeat against Manchester City a couple of Sundays ago.

That means that Spurs have conceded nine goals and only scored two in their past four games, which is a dismal record.

Luckily enough for Tottenham, they face a Fulham who are in even worse form than them as they have no wins or draws in their past five games, just five defeats on the bounce since their 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

This has landed Fulham in the relegation zone with no end in sight as they face a difficult run of games. Tottenham, Everton and Manchester City all in their next four games.

Fulham will have Sascha Riether back for this fixture but Matthew Briggs and Brede Hangeland will still be unavailable.

Tottenham are still without Christian Eriksen but, other than that, they have a full team.

The game will not be shown on TV but the game kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday.



http://www.touchlinetalk.com/three-key-battles-fulham-vs-tottenham-hotspur/76714/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Great United deputies don't always make good managers

'Tis the season to be sacking and, for Fulham, that means it isn't the season to be Jolly.

24 hours after a 3-0 defeat at West Ham United left them three points adrift of safety – their sixth straight loss in all competitions – manager Martin Jol lost his job at Craven Cottage and was replaced by recently-appointed number two Rene Meulensteen.

Inevitable

Jol's dismissal was inevitable. The West London club have begun this campaign as miserably they finished last term and some players who let the Dutchman down at Tottenham Hotspur – Adel Taarabt, Darren Bent and Dimitar Berbatov – haven't changed their spots.

So signing that trio wasn't the wisest move and nor was assembling a squad which looks too old to stay up; Scott Parker, Giorgos Karagounis and John Arne Riise have all seen better days while World Cup finalist Maarten Stekelenburg is also the wrong side of 30.

Where Jol might have a case for being undermined is in the appointment of countryman Meulensteen, whose "head coach" status is the same term used by some clubs here and on the continent to describe their manager.

"Who governs Fulham?" Jol was entitled to think – owner Shahid Khan provided the answer, telling Fulham's official website about his "great confidence" in Meulensteen and "high expectations for our squad to respond."

Known

The 49-year-old is best known for being first-team coach at Manchester United from 2007 until Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement – having previously worked with the academy and reserve teams – and was described by Robin van Persie as "one of the best coaches in the world".

But being a trusted lieutenant of Ferguson doesn't guarantee you'll become a successful manager.

In December 1998, Blackburn Rovers decided to dispense with Roy Hodgson – who, ironically, would go on to be a resounding hit as Cottagers boss – and put Brian Kidd in the Ewood Park dugout.

Kidd was previously assistant manager at Old Trafford when "The Class of '92" emerged as the dominant force in English football, but despite spending almost £20million, he couldn't keep Blackburn in the Premier League – just four years after they had won the title.

Mixed

Similarly, Carlos Queiroz had two stints as Sir Alex's number two and, though a cautious coach, was thought to be influential in persuading Cristiano Ronaldo to sign.

His meticulous training methods were also credited by Gary Neville in his autobiography – via The Guardian – for beating Barcelona in the 2008 Champions League semi-finals.

Away from United, however, Queiroz lasted less than a year at Real Madrid – losing his last five La Liga matches – and struggled to qualify for the 2010 World Cup as Portugal boss, with the side firing blanks in three of their four matches at the finals.

Even Steve McClaren, who helped bring the European Cup back to the Theatre of Dreams after a 30-year absence, has a mixed managerial record.

Though successful with Middlesbrough and FC Twente, plus currently making a positive start at Derby County, the 52-year-old had forgettable spells at the helm of England, Wolfsburg and Nottingham Forest.

Emulate

Meulensteen will want to emulate the McLaren of Boro and Twente, yet his brief experience as a number one suggests he'll find that extremely difficult.

Admittedly his time at Anzhi ended after just 16 days because the Russian outfit wanted to cut costs and he was wanted by the Qatar FA to become their technical director prior to linking up with Fulham.

When he took charge of Danish side Brondby in 2006, though, his record was six wins, six draws and six defeats; a devilishly mediocre record for Denmark's biggest club.

Promoting from within has served the Whites well before – Chris Coleman did well upon taking over from Jean Tigana, finishing ninth in 2003-04 and keeping them clear of relegation until losing his job in 2007 when the drop looked likely.

But if Meulensteen can't replicate Coleman or have a better impact than other United deputies, then Fulham face the possibility of local derbies with Queens Park Rangers and Brentford in next year's Championship.



http://www.touchlinetalk.com/great-united-deputies-dont-always-make-good-managers/76750/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham FC – "The Age Factor" Could See Them Going Down This Season

The date is Wednesday, 12th May 2010, and Fulham walk out to 49,000 fans at the Nordbank Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Facing their toughest game in recent history, ninety minutes, extra time and possibly a penalty shootout stood between themselves or Atletico Madrid from winning the Europa League. In the 32nd minute a low strike into the right hand corner from Diego Forlan gave Atletico a 1-0 lead. That lasted just five minutes however as a fantastic strike from Welshman Simon Davies inside the area to the top left hand corner had given Fulham a deserved equaliser.

The game failed to produce any more goals within the ninety minutes of normal time, and extra time loomed. The deadlock between the teams was then broken with a smart finish inside the area by Diego Forlan in the 116th minute – four minutes later and Fulham would have taken their chances in a penalty shootout, where the team who can hold their nerve best is victorious. The chance never arrived and Fulham and their fans were left heartbroken. Fulham finished a respectable 12thposition in the Premier League and the future looked bright. Roy Hodgson was awarded the Manager of the Year Award for his incredible accomplishment with the club and seemed destined to continue the club's success.

Fly forward to Saturday, 30th November 2013, and Fulham play West Ham away.  The game remains drawn for the first half and a very valuable point looks obtainable. Two minutes into the second half and Mohamed Diame's deflected shot from outside the box puts West Ham ahead.  In the 82nd Carlton Cole tapped in from close range to make it 2-0 before Joe Cole finishes off a deflated Fulham in the 88th minute with a curled shot from just inside the area to make it 3-0, and leaving Fulham asking how, in the space of three years, they've gone from finalists in the Europa League to a relegation dog fight?

A lot has changed in the world of football after three years. Diego Forlan, the player who gave Atletico Madrid the vital goals to lift the trophy is now playing for Brazilian club, Sport Club Internacional. Roy Hodgson, the manager to take Fulham to the brink of European glory, is now managing the England national team and only two players remain from their famous European run (Brede Hangeland and Damien Duff).

The biggest issue is that in thsse three years the team has not progressed in terms of quality. The 18 man squad which participated in the Europa League final had an average age of 31, while the team which faced Swansea in November had an average age of 28, which would suggest a club who had a great balance of experience and maturity with youthful pace and imagination.

But as that squad against Swansea included one seventeen year old, Moussa Dembele (no relation to Mousa Dembele, just an incredibly similar name), and did not have and Brede Hangeland (32 years old), the figures were slightly skewed. The average age of the full squad is the oldest in the Premier League, at 29 years and 30 days old. To put that into context, last season, the oldest team was Queens Park Rangers at 28 years old, and that didn't end fantastically for the club as they finished bottom and were relegated to the Championship.

That's not too say that age entirely dictates a club's fortunes in the league. Manchester United come 15th in the table of average age with Chelsea and Manchester City just above them at 13th and 12th, while Aston Villa are the youngest team with an average age of 24 years and 64 days old. The difference with Fulham and Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea is the quality of players at that age. Yaya Toure for example has recently turned 30 years old and is still one of the best midfielders in the world, while Steve Sidwell is also 30 years old and simply isn't.

The Premier League is regarded as a league which is based around speed and intensity, while Italy and Spain tend to play at a much slower pace which has suited numerous older players such as Andrea Pirlo and David Beckham. An older squad such as Fulham's do not top the Premier League in terms of fitness and agility, which indicates that a tough season is in store for the aging team.

Fulham have not bought in enough quality to improve the side after the departures they experienced in the summer of players such as Chris Baird, Simon Davies, Mahamadou Diarra, Mark Schwarzer and Danny Hoesen. Experienced footballers such as Maarten Stekelenburg, Scott Parker and Darren Bent were steps in the right direction but currently there are too many gaps in the squad to deal with the majority of Premier League teams.

Martin Jol succeeded Mark Hughes, with the Welshman leaving the club in sour circumstances after an 8thplace finish and Europa League qualification via the Fair Play system. It looked as if the Dutchman would continue Hughes' good work when he achieved a 9th place finish in the league before finishing in 12th at the end of the 2012/2013 season – which was in no way disappointing for the London club.

However, the current campaign has been a bleak experience for everyone at the club. After 13 games, Fulham find themselves in the relegation zone after just three wins and Jol is no more in the club. After 88 games in charge of the club he had overseen 28 victories – although his three this season came against Crystal Palace, Stoke and Sunderland back on the first day of the season. A deadly combination of a misfiring strike force and leaky defence means that the club's top goal scorer is Darren Bent with three of the club's 11 goals and the goals conceded per game ratio is up to 1.75.

In July 2013, Fulham's Chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed sold the club to Shahid Khan. Usually the new chairman wants to bring in new people to put a stamp on the club; instead the only thing he did remove was the Michael Jackson statue. After seven games, with Jol facing pressure from the media and fans, Shahid Kahn came out with this statement, quoted in the dailymail:

"Martin is a very experienced coach, he's a good guy. We've gotten off to a start nobody's happy with, whether you're a fan or you're Martin. We want to do better but I'm not the kind of person who's going to act on impulse. You go through life and learn valuable lessons. I want Fulham to be very successful. You can't go out of the frying pan and into the fire. That's the most important thing."

Kahn's Christmas good will for Jol ran out on the very first day of December, and coach Rene Meulensteen was promoted into the manager's seat within a month of joining the club (although this will not have surprised many observers). The 49-year-old will now have the unenviable task of rejuvenating a team visibly low on confidence, and Meulensteen will need to use every ounce of knowledge from a long career at Manchester United to save Fulham from a heart breaking relegation this season.



http://www.soccersouls.com/2013/12/fulham-fc-the-age-factor-could-see-them-going-down-this-season/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Was sacking Jol Fulham's only chance?

Martin Jol comes across as a very likeable man. The softly-spoken Dutchman has often been portrayed as a gentle giant of sorts, one of football's good men.

However, sad as it might be to see him departing the Premier League, the only surprising thing about his sacking is that it took so long for Fulham to bring themselves to hand the former Spurs and Ajaz manager.


The Cottagers sit perilously in 18th place, safety and the bottom spot equally distant and have suffered five consecutive league defeats, culminating in Saturday's 3-0 humbling against fellow strugglers West Ham.

It was the manner in which the defeat arrived, rather than its scoreline, that exemplified the malaise that has pervaded Fulham this season, for there wasn't an ounce of urgency or desire in their performance.

Jol's men trudged along on the pitch, seemingly resigned to lose yet another game, while West Ham showed the sort of resilience and hunger that can often prove to be the difference between relegation and safety.

Having reached a European final a couple of seasons ago, Fulham are now in real danger of forfeiting their Premier League status and the feeling is too many – whether inside the camp or not – consider the Cottagers as simply too good to be relegated.

It's hard to fathom the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Bent and Maarten Stekelenburg involved in a relegation scrap but, quite plainly, Fulham's laissez faire attitude could cost them dearly between now and May.

A failure to change his team's philosophy was perhaps Jol's biggest mistake this season, with the former Spurs manager seemingly unable to change his club's slump in form as his men displayed an incredible array of defensive frailties.

Having conceded three goals in the first 24 minutes at home against Manchester United, the Cottagers conceded three in 13 minutes the following week against Liverpool and while one could argue than Fulham might not have been expected to win either game, to suffer such defensive lapses is simply inexcusable.

Fulham's woes at the back have been amplified by a lack of goals that has seen them scoring twice in the last five Premier League games and while Darren Bent and Dimitar Berbatov are the main culprits, one wonders if Martin Jol shouldn't have invested on another striker in the summer.

Bent's arrival, in theory, should have provided Fulham with a goalscorer of proven quality but the former Villa man has struggled with injuries and has only found the net twice – which, ironically, equals his goal return over the last two seasons.

Jol can consider himself unlucky for a change of ownership in the summer didn't provide him with the chance of flexing the club's financial muscles and spent a mere £8m on players.

Free agent signings like Derek Boateng and Adel Taarabt should have added quantity and quality to the Cottagers' midfield but, at this stage, both of them have to be considered like gambles that have failed to pay off – a recurrent theme for the Moroccan – with the two players collecting just five starts between them.

Fulham's hierarchy's decision to bring in Rene Meuleensten sealed Jol's fate, for few managers would be prepared to work alongside a manager of Meuleensten without feeling threatened.

If that was a strategic move to spark Fulham back into life has failed spectacularly and for all his knowledge, the former United's number two will have his work cut out to keep his club afloat this season.

In a situation like Fulham's, a change is often not only required, but is the only option. Jol, undoubtedly, knew it.


http://blog.footballrascal.com/was-sacking-jol-fulhams-only-chance/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham join Liverpool in race for Dinamo star

New Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen is reportedly targeting Dinamo Moscow winger Balazs Dzsudzsak, as he prepares to transform his struggling squad in January.

Meulensteen was put in charge at Fulham following the departure of Martin Jol, who left after Saturday's 3-0 defeat away to West Ham United.

The Dutchman has since revealed he expects to have significant financial backing to invest in new players once the transfer window reopens.

According to Russian publication Izvestiya, Fulham are set to make a bid for Dzsudzsak, having received assurances from the player's agent that he would be open to a move.

Dzsudzsak, a Hungary international winger, was linked to with a transfer to Liverpool and Inter Milan this summer but Dinamo were at that time opposed to losing the player.

The Moscow club have since significantly strengthened their squad and are now believed to be in a position to sanction a sale.

Russian internationals Aleksandr Kokorin, Igor Denisov and Yuri Zhirkov were three of several players who arrived this summer, as Dinamo's owners sanctioned a summer spend totalling £60 million.

Meulensteen was previously manager of Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala and can be expected to draw on his knowledge of Russian football in his new role at Fulham.

Dzsudzsak, 26, became the most expensive player in Hungarian football history when he joined Dinamo from Anzhi for £15m in 2012.
Fulham are 18th-placed in the Premier League table after 13 matches played.

American billionaire Shahid Khan is understood to have told Meulensteen he will be allowed to spend so as to steer the club clear of the relegation zone.



http://www.sportsdirectnews.com/premier-league-news/36770-fulham-join-liverpool-in-race-for-dinamo-star.php#.Up4BWKUcKbA

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham - Tottenham Preview: Hosts begin life without Jol

The former manager was sacked following a run of five consecutive defeats, with head coach Rene Meulensteen taking full control of the struggling first-team squad

The 49-year-old was installed as head coach at Craven Cottage on November 13, but was handed full control of first-team affairs after Fulham parted company with fellow Dutchman Martin Jol on Sunday.

Jol - who also had a spell as Tottenham boss - paid the price for a poor start to the Premier League season, including losing their last five top-flight fixtures, with the club languishing in 18th place.

His last game in charge proved to be a 3-0 defeat at West Ham on Saturday, as second-half goals from Mohamed Diame, Carlton Cole and Joe Cole secured the points for Sam Allardyce's men.

Ahead of his debut, Meulensteen - who served as first-team coach under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United - said he would use his experience to guide Fulham to safety, with the club looking to move away from the relegation zone.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "I know what is required at the top end of the Premier League. This is a different challenge with different pressure. This is making sure you realise the need to keep three teams below you."

Striker Hugo Rodallega (groin) and Matthew Briggs (hernia) remain missing for Fulham, while Dimitar Berbatov (illness) and Brede Hangeland (leg) remain doubtful.

Tottenham have endured a frustrating start to the campaign, with a lack of goals accounting for their indifferent performances so far.

The White Hart Lane outfit have scored just 11 times in the 13 Premier League matches this campaign, with only Sunderland and Crystal Palace notching on fewer occasions.

But Andre Villas-Boas will be pleased with a spirited 2-2 performance at home to Manchester United on Sunday, a result that quickly eradicated the memory of a 6-0 hammering at the hands of Manchester City on November 24.

Tottenham occupy ninth position in the league standings, but are just three points adrift of Liverpool in fourth.

They will be looking for revenge, having lost 1-0 to Fulham at White Hart Lane the last time the sides met in the Premier League in March, with a Berbatov strike settling the game on that occasion.

Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose are both absent with ankle injuries for Tottenham, while Emmanuel Adebayor is doubtful with a groin injury.



http://www.goal.com/en-gb/match/109366/fulham-vs-tottenham/preview

[WhiteJC]

 
Exclusive - Marsh: Fulham lack the fight to beat relegation

Rodney Marsh fears Fulham players lack the commitment to beat relegation this season.

The London club have axed Martin Jol and placed Rene Meulensteen in charge, after a run of five games without a win.

But Marsh believes the change in manager will have little impact unless the players start to show more fight.

Speaking on The Sports Bar, the former Cottagers star said: "I am going to be watching over the next six weeks to see how the players react to this guy. I don't think it has got anything to do with him. I think it is to do with the players.

"I look at the Fulham players and I see their shoulders drooped and I see [Dimitar] Berbatov walking around like he is wearing an overcoat, smoking a cigar."

"On Saturday they started [Adel] Taarabt. When you look at Fulham down the bottom of the league needing grafters, needing to put the foot in, needing to whack a few, and are Taarabt and Berbatov going to be those types of players? The answer is no."


Read more at http://talksport.com/football/exclusive-marsh-fulham-lack-fight-beat-relegation-13120370393#p3sv33F2fM7RUHHS.99