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Thursday Fulham Stuff (06/02/14)...

Started by WhiteJC, February 06, 2014, 03:15:13 AM

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WhiteJC

 
New Fulham signing Kostas Mitroglou in race against time for Man Utd trip

FULHAM are battling to get £11million Kostas Mitroglou ?t for Sunday's game at Manchester United.

The Greek striker, signed on transfer deadline day from Olympiakos, has only just recovered from a knee injury and is struggling to be match ?t for his debut.

But under-pressure manager Rene Meulensteen will have his other new signings Lewis Holtby, William Kvist and Johnny Heitinga available



http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/458181/New-Fulham-signing-Kostas-Mitroglou-in-race-against-time-for-Man-Utd-trip

WhiteJC

 
All has become foggy on the Thames

The light at the end of the tunnel has virtually eluded Fulham fans of late, with a dismal run of form since the turn of the year.

Needless to say, the negative vibes have been the only consistent factor in a troubled season in South West London, which was dealt an even heavier blow at the hands of lowly Sheffield United, who dumped the Cottagers out of the FA Cup on Tuesday night.

Elation

Rare sightings of elation were seen on Transfer Deadline Day, with the movements in and out of the club a breathe of fresh air, thanks to new owner Shahid Khan.

Outsiders looking in would have thought the offloading of hot and cold players like Adel Taarabt and Dimitar Berbatov were horrendous pieces of business, but the majority of Fulham fans let out extreme sighs of relief.

A big issue has been a lack of penetration and drive from a number of players, and despite their undoubted abilities, the two were main culprits in this respect.

Positivity had been a rarity only matched by England's World Cup triumphs, but once the window slammed firmly shut, optimism was spreading like wildfire leading into the next game. However the love-in didn't last long, with a below par performance the next day, which resulted in a demoralising 3-0 home defeat to Southampton, and increasing frustration from the Fulham faithful.

Organisation

The same problems seem to have been a reoccurring theme under current boss Rene Meulensteen, which have stuck around like a bad smell since the anti-climatic end of Martin Jol's eventful tenure.

Following an encouraging start, which saw energy levels increase and the fire in the belly attitude appear, this was soon to disintegrate quicker than Joe Kinnear's transfer target list.

Ever since, performances have been riddled with a severe lack of passion and determination by a majority of squad members, and this is coupled with doing the utmost to fail to comply to the basics of their respective job descriptions.

A complete absence of organisation has been scarily apparent, with the back four guilty for being cut through easier than a hot knife through butter on several occasions. When your attacking options possess the guile and instinct of a toddler, it's hard to envisage an outcome that can be considered beneficial.

Power

There seems to be a struggle for power, with the Dutchman bringing in Alan Curbishley as 'First-Team Technical Director' and Ray Wilkins as 'Assistant Head Coach'.

For me, such a make-up in the coaching staff can be viewed as problematic, as it appears that one or the other could see themselves holding the top job at the club, particularly Curbishley, along with conflicting methods/ideas.

When you hear stories of Curbishley reportedly taking training sessions every now and again, it doesn't do a lot to convince you that the players know who is in charge of affairs.

In light of the fact Meulensteen supposedly brought both men in on his own authority, it is not impossible for such moves to severely backfire and hamper Fulham's fortunes in the long run.

Desperation

Despite an abysmal run of form since the arrival of Rene Meulensteen, I see no sense in parting company at such a crucial stage of the season.

Performances and results alike have been demoralising to say the least, but after such a huge amount of money being invested by owner Shahid Khan on new players, it would be toxic to rid Meulensteen of his duties now.

In addition, it's hard to see the benefit of going through three different managers after little more than half the season being played, as it does little to instil continuity, and shatters any foundations being laid to build upon.

Currently, proceedings look rather bleak on Stevenage Road, but there is hope that the new signings will add the desire, quality, determination and passion that is needed to help the Cottagers extend their Premier League stay.



http://www.touchlinetalk.com/become-foggy-thames/84766/?

WhiteJC

 
Manchester United have made a mistake letting this midfielder leave

The January transfer window was full of surprises, not least the signing of Juan Mata, but something which occurred on deadline day was just as surprising – the sale of Ryan Tunnicliffe from Manchester United's Under-21s on a permanent deal.

United are renowned for giving their younger squad players a chance but in this case, they have made a massive mistake in letting Tunnicliffe go.

Tunnicliffe had loan spells at Championship sides Barnsley and more recently Ipswich Town where he was highly rated by both clubs. It looked likely that the Heywood born midfielder would return to United and potentially get a chance in the first team, especially with all the midfield problems that are currently occurring at United.

But soon after returning from Ipswich, Tunnicliffe was sold to Fulham and his ex-first team coach, Rene Meulensteen. This came as a massive shock to me personally. I tipped Tunnicliffe to do big things at the club and even got his name printed on the back of last season's away shirt.

His style of play was exactly what we needed – box-to-box, not afraid to put a tackle in and very intelligent with or without the ball. His aggression was another key factor in believing that he would one day be a first team regular. That aggression is something that has gone amiss in our midfield since the retirement of Roy Keane but United's reluctance to give him a first team opportunity may just be a decision that they regret.

With the club's youth policy seemingly persisting to fail in bringing through first team players on a persistent basis since the Class of 92, there is a lot to be considered and a lot to be changed to ensure that United has a bright future on and off the pitch.



http://thepeoplesperson.com/2014/02/06/manchester-united-have-made-a-mistake-letting-ryan-tunnicliffe-leave/?


WhiteJC

 
Midfield starlet's agent explains why he had to leave Manchester United

Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Manchester United let Larnell Cole join Fulham on transfer deadline day in a permanent deal because there were high expectations of the 20-year-old from those who followed the academy sides.

However, his agent Peter Morrison has explained to the Daily Mail that the club did not want to let him leave but for the sake of his career, Cole felt he had to leave for pastures new.

He said: "Larnell was quite a unique case. He was technically way and above many of those around him but physically, he was still developing.

"Some clubs can fear sending players on loan because for all the benefits, playing in front of fans and the exposure to physicality as well as meaningful competition, the downside is they maybe don't quite continue to work on the things they need to improve on, which means they could ultimately fall short of the required standard at their parent club when they return.

"With Larnell, there were opportunities to go out on loan in this window but prior to that, he was the kind of player that would have needed to have gone to a team that suited his style of play. Both the club and the player didn't feel that there was the right Championship club available.

"It is crucial that players are placed in good hands with coaches who will continue to develop them in the right way because league position alone is not a sufficient enough reason for players to join a club, despite the perception."

His agent continued: "It was a tough decision for him to leave United. They were not pushing him out of the door, quite the opposite, but Larnell felt like there wasn't going to be too many opportunities in the near future and it had got to the stage where he wasn't going to improve anymore by playing in the Under 21 league for another 12 months." Peter Morrison

Physical development should never be a reason why a youngster isn't given a chance. If that was the case, Paul Scholes would never have been a United player and this year, the slight framed Adnan Januzaj hasn't done too bad for himself has he?

Cole's departure means he is now the latest in a string of talented players including Pogba, Morrison and Daehli who have left United before being given a chance in the first team which is a testament to how poor the Under-21s Premier League is for player development.

It's a shame that he isn't still a United player but in reality, the likes of Jesse Lingard and Wilfried Zaha were more likely to get first team appearances before Cole did.

He now has every chance of going on to be a very good player at Fulham and hopefully he does manage to fulfill the fantastic potential he showed at Carrington. Good luck, Larnell.



http://thepeoplesperson.com/2014/02/06/larnell-coles-agent-explains-why-he-had-to-leave-manchester-united/?