Monday Fulham Stuff (10/02/14)...

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D'oh! A football fan made a painful promise before the Man United v Fulham game [Tweet][/size]

Looks like @FP_346 is going have a painful circumcision on his hands.

The faceless, nameless Twitter user is currently seeing one of his throwaway tweets go viral after he made a stupid comment before the Manchester United versus Fulham game on Sunday.

@FP_346, who sounds the latest Chinese cyborg, names himself as a West Ham fan on the Twitter page, and so the Hammers fan was praying for a Fulham defeat against Man United as the Irons battle relegation this season.

Read the painful promise below.





http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/doh-a-football-fan-made-a-painful-promise-before-the-man-united-v-fulham-game-tweet/?

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Fulham comment: Dan's star is Burning brighter after stunning show at Manchester United


Dan Burn, Fulham. Picture: Nigel French/EMPICS

Statistics don't always tell the true story of the game as Fulham's 2-2 draw with Manchester United showed.

The possession stats tell their own version of events as the home side enjoyed three quarters of the match with the ball - that equates 72 minutes of the 96 in total played by referee Kevin Friend.

The Red Devils had 31 attempts on goal with nine of them on target – the Whites by contrast had six shots with three on target.

They enjoyed 904 touches of the ball and made 649 passes, compared to Fulham's 435 touches and 216 passes.

Incredibly, while Rene Meulensteen's side mustered four crosses in the entire match, Manchester United had a staggering 81.

Any Fulham fan would say all of those statistics mean nothing and they'd be right – the only one that really matters at the end of the day is the amount of goals scored; two apiece.

But the one stat that stuck with me from yesterday's game is that 21-year-old Dan Burn made 22 clearances throughout the game.

The majority of supporters would have expected the former Darlington man to make way for new signing John Heitinga yet it was Brede Hangeland who made way for the ex Everton man.

It proved to be a tactical masterstroke from Meulensteen as United constantly resorted to wing play and crosses to break Fulham down.

The Whites' game-plan was clear from the outset – sit in front of the penalty box and hit the Red Devils on the counter.

Where David Moyes and Manchester United failed was they lacked a plan B as it was clear after the first five minutes that they'd struggle to win an aerial duel with the six foot seven Burn.

The performance was not one associated with a 21-year-old, it was that of a seasoned professional – he barely put a foot wrong all game.

His marshalling of the defence was noticeable as well as he was constantly in the position he needed to be.

"Since we brought Dan back from his loan spell [at Birmingham] he's done ever so well," Meulensteen eulogised.

"This is the best learning curve. Arsenal away and Manchester United away is a big learning curve.

"In the Premier League, if you want to be successful, you need energy and quality, and that's why you choose some of the younger lads.

"It's a big pitch here and you have to work hard as a team."

Of course, the performances of his team-mates should not be overlooked.

Steve Sidwell did a sterling job in midfield and opened the scoring for Fulham but it was the cross from Lewis Holtby that led to the goal.

The Tottenham loanee was always going to be feeding off scraps at Old Trafford but showed his quality when he was given limited time on the ball.

The Whites are still bottom of the Premier League but will certainly be buoyed by a point at the home of last year's title winners.

For sides like Fulham, anything picked up in Manchester has to be seen as a bonus. It's what they do against the sides around them in the table that will really matter.



http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/fulham_comment_dan_s_star_is_burning_brighter_after_stunning_show_at_manchester_united_1_3308221

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Exclusive - Wilkins fears goal difference will cost Fulham

Ray Wilkins fears Fulham's poor goal difference could prove crucial in the fight for Premier League survival.
The Cottagers boosted their prospects of avoiding relegation by snatching a dramatic 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
However, the London club are still four points from safety and have a far worse goal difference [minus 31] than all their fellow strugglers.
And Fulham assistant boss Wilkins, speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, conceded: "We need to address the goal difference, that's very important.
"The gap between us and the rest is so significant that we need some of the big boys to give some of those other teams down there a big hiding.
"As well as us looking after our own house, we need some help from the others to start scoring some fives against the teams down the bottom. I'm afraid our goal difference is so poor we need points and not rely on goal difference."
Wilkins, however, insists there is still time for Fulham to get out of trouble.
"We have got to be positive," he added. "We have 13 games left and they are all cup finals. I know that is a cliche but that is the way it is going to be and there are going to be twists and turns all the way through. "



Read more at http://talksport.com/football/exclusive-wilkins-fears-goal-difference-will-cost-fulham-14021079184#mcUmT2OQTEd9IM4M.99

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Fulham punish Man United as Spurs go fifth


PHOTO | AFP Fulham's English striker Darren Bent (right) celebrates scoring the equalising goal during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford in Manchester on February 9, 2014. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.  AFP

MANCHESTER

Darren Bent scored a dramatic 94th-minute equaliser as the Premier League's bottom club Fulham undermined Manchester United's Champions League hopes in a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Fulham had taken a shock lead through Steve Sidwell in the 19th minute, but quick-fire goals from Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick in the final 12 minutes appeared to have set United on course for victory.

There was one final twist in the tale, however, as deep into stoppage time David de Gea could only push a Kieran Richardson shot into the air and Bent nodded in the rebound to earn Fulham a vital point.

The draw left United nine points adrift of Liverpool, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League place, while Fulham inched to within four points of safety at the foot of the table.

Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen, a former United coach, had seen his side eliminated by third-tier Sheffield United in the FA Cup in mid-week, but after weathering early pressure, his side took a shock lead.

As Fulham attacked down the left, Sidwell drifted into the box undetected and when Lewis Holtby picked him out with a lofted pass, the former Chelsea midfielder slid in to tuck a side-foot volley past De Gea.

SLOW TO REACT

United were not slow to react, Van Persie, Ashley Young and Carrick going close, but Richardson should have doubled Fulham's lead in the 37th minute when he shot over with only De Gea to beat.

United resumed control, with Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg saving from Carrick and Nemanja Vidic before producing a stunning reflex stop to thwart Wayne Rooney early in the second half.

United manager David Moyes introduced Adnan Januzaj, Antonio Valencia and Javier Hernandez as United laid siege to the visitors' goal and the pressure finally told in the 78th minute when Van Persie tucked in a volleyed cross from Juan Mata.

Less than two minutes later the turnaround was complete as Carrick beat Stekelenburg with a deflected shot from the edge of the box.

Moyes celebrated with scarcely disguised relief, but in the penultimate minute of stoppage time Bent scored to complete another day of despair for the champions.

SPURS' VICTORY

United now find themselves six points behind fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur, who stole a march on Everton with a 1-0 victory over their Champions League qualification rivals at White Hart Lane.

Emmanuel Adebayor settled the game in the 65th minute, chesting down a quick free-kick from Kyle Walker and resisting the attentions of Seamus Coleman before drilling a low shot past Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.

"Our game plan was to put pressure on high up the field and we didn't do that in the first half, but second half we adjusted and had the ascendency and they didn't open us up once," said Spurs manager Tim Sherwood.

"Emmanuel Adebayor took his goal well. We are delighted with the result. Yes, the performance can be better, but it's about character and grinding it out."

Sherwood's side now trail fourth-place Liverpool by three points, with Everton two points back in sixth place.

"In football, you want to be perfect," said Everton manager Roberto Martinez.

"We switched off on a free kick half-way inside our half and that should never end up in the back of the net."



http://www.nation.co.ke/sports/football/Fulham-punish-Manchester-United-as-Tottenham-Hotspur-go-fifth/-/1102/2199212/-/ssnlhl/-/index.html?

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Don't Throw Away Arsenal Thrashing at Fulham – Steven Gerrard

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has called on his side to avoid the errors committed in the West Brom game, ahead of their Premier League clash against Fulham on Wednesday.

The Reds went in to the West Brom clash on the back of a 4-0 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby.

Despite taking the lead at the Hawthorns, Brendan Rodgers' side conceded a second-half equaliser to return home with just a solitary point, which undid almost all the good work from the Everton game.

A similar situation dawns upon Liverpool again following their 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal at the weekend to consolidate fourth spot.

And Gerrard is keen to avoid a repeat performance of the West Brom game as the England international underlined the importance of finishing the season in a Champions League spot.

The 33-year-old further added that it is much more important to attain the full points against Fulham rather than basking in the glory of the famous victory over Arsenal.

"I think the thing after a performance like that is: can we motivate ourselves to get close to producing something similar against Fulham?" Gerrard explained to his club's official site.

"If we do, we will do the same to Fulham.

"But that is the dangerous thing. We performed fantastically against Everton and then slipped up against West Brom having taken the lead. We should have seen that game out.

"You can set markers and you can have one-off games but it means nothing if you don't continue to play well and get something from it at the end of the season.

"We aren't going to look back at the end of the season and think 'How good were we against Arsenal?' if we never got the top four.

"We can enjoy this but we have got to move on quickly and try to get three points against Fulham."



http://www.insidefutbol.com/2014/02/10/dont-throw-away-arsenal-thrashing-at-fulham-steven-gerrard/126595/?

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Mata: Gutted by Fulham draw

Juan Mata says he was gutted after failing to beat Fulham yesterday but has urged Man United fans to "stick together".

The Spanish playmaker could not believe his side dropped two points against the west London strugglers after Darren Bent popped up with an injury time equaliser to pile on more agony for United.

And with the Red Devils now nine points off a Champions League spot and their title hopes having long since evaporated, United's £40m signing from Chelsea accepts their predicament is looking increasingly forlorn.

Mata is not, though, prepared to throw the towel in just yet and has issued a rallying call - something that has become all too frequent this season under new boss David Moyes.

"Honestly, I think football is being cruel with us. We did everything to get the three points, but in the end this is about goals and Fulham scored in the last minute," Mata wrote on his Facebook page.

"It seems impossible if you look at the stats, but we couldn't win and it would have been a very important victory. It hurts even more because in the second half we managed to come back after Fulham's early goal, and the game seemed to be under control with [Michael] Carrick's goal."

Mata added: "The way to carry on is to stick together, the team and the fans, learn from mistakes and be positive, and we will show the character this team has always had."



http://www.sportsdirectnews.com/premier-league-news/40131-mata-gutted-by-fulham-draw.php#.Uvj4M_0dObA

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Fulham hero: I've never headed that many balls since the Conference

Fulham defender Dan Burn was naturally delighted after helping the Whites to a 2-2 draw at Manchester United.

The west London outfit had led for the majority of the game with Steve Sidwell giving the visitors a 19th minute lead.

With just over 10 minutes left on the clock, The Red Devils struck back with two goals in the space of 80 seconds through Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick.

But incredibly, Fulham levelled in the 94th minute as Darren Bent nodded home the rebound from close range after David De Gea could only parry Kieran Richardson's shot.

"We're chuffed," Burn said. "The lads are absolutely buzzing.

"I think we needed that. We've been on a bad run of form.

"We knew that we needed to put in a really good performance today and we've shown there is still a lot of fight in there."

The 21-year-old produced a sensational performance, making 22 clearances as the Red Devils, despite 81 crosses, struggled to breach the west Londoner's defence.

And he joked that he hadn't had to head as many balls away from the danger area since his time in the Conference with Darlington.

"I was just saying to the lads that I've never headed that many balls since the Conference," he added. "At the end of the day I'm happy for them to play like that.

"We knew that we were going to defend our box well. We were going to keep our back four quite narrow so that we were between the goal and the wingers were going to look after the wide men.

"We've been working on that in training. I thought it worked well.

"They've had plenty of crosses, loads of chances and stuff but the second goal was quite lucky. I always felt we had something left."

He added: "We knew that was going to happen. Once we were dropping further back that we were going to get more compact and make them play around us because we thought we had the strength in numbers.

"I'm six foot seven. It helps when dealing with them sort of balls."

Despite falling behind with 10 minutes to go, Burn remained confident that Fulham could get back onto level terms and stressed the need for points, given the Whites' vastly inferior goal difference compared to their relegation rivals.

He said: "We're at the stage now where if it's going to go to goal difference [we'll go down].

"We knew when we went 2-1 down we had to keep pressing them and we didn't give them time on the ball and it helped us to get chances.

"Siddy's [Sidwell] put a great ball into Kieran and he's a bit unlucky and Benty's [Bent] scored."

The fact that Burn played over the vastly experienced Brede Hangeland was a testament of head coach Rene Meulensteen's faith in him.

And the 21-year-old admitted he was surprised to be given the nod.

"It's nice that the manager has got that faith in me now," he said. "I was a bit surprised to be honest because Brede has played 100s of games.

"We're going to need a whole squad. If we can get a little run going and stay up.

"We'll need everyone in the whole squad so I don't think anyone can take their place for granted."



http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/fulham_hero_i_ve_never_headed_that_many_balls_since_the_conference_1_3308406

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Lewis Holtby Left Tottenham For 'Personal Reasons'

German had only been at the Lane for a year.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lewis Holtby has revealed that he left the north London club to join Fulham last month because of "personal reasons", according to reports in German sports daily Bild.

The Germany international moved to the west London club on a six-month loan deal on transfer deadline day after failing to win a regular starting berth at White Hart Lane under either previous head coach Andre Villas-Boas or his predecessor Tim Sherwood.

However, the 23-year-old has now come out to deny recent suggestions that he was forced to quit the north Londoners due to the poor levels of his displays for the club since he joined Spurs from Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 in last year's January transfer window.

The attacking midfielder, who was also being chased by the likes of German duo Schalke and Borussia Dortmund last month, has since gone on to appear in just the one match for the Cottagers since his switch across the capital.

Meanwhile, during his 12-month stay at White Hart Lane, Holtby managed to hit the back of the net on three occasions in total in his 39 matches in all competitions for Spurs, including only the one strike in his 24 Premier League outings for the club.



http://www.caughtoffside.com/2014/02/10/lewis-holtby-left-tottenham-for-personal-reasons/?

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Fulham's youngsters hit the road to success the Huw Jennings way
While the first team are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, the club's academy players head the under-21 table


Huw Jennings, the academy director at Fulham, used to work for the Premier League.
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

"I'm spinning plates," Huw Jennings says. "I don't trust people who say they aren't busy." We are sitting in his office at Fulham's training ground in Motspur Park and he is talking about his typical day; it does not quite last 12 hours but it is close.

Jennings, Fulham's academy director, is not complaining, though. Far from it. Not many people look out of their office window and see a football pitch. There are worse places to be. Laughter can be heard in the room next door. "Probably something I should suppress," he jokes. This does seem like a happy, welcoming place to work – and an increasingly successful one too.

While Fulham are in danger of relegation from the Premier League, at least their youth system gives cause for optimism. Fulham are top of the Under-21 Premier League, three points ahead of Chelsea, and their under-18s have won three successive titles, explaining why many supporters have been calling for their youngsters to be integrated into an ageing first team.

That never seemed possible when Martin Jol was in charge but there has been a shift since René Meulensteen took over in December and Sunday's 2-2 draw at Manchester United featured an excellent performance by Dan Burn, a 21-year-old defender. Muamer Tankovic, an 18-year-old Swedish forward, also impressed on his first league start.

Fulham do not have a great record of producing players but that is starting to change. Jennings was formerly Southampton's academy director and helped establish one of the finest production lines in the country, finding Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Adam Lallana. Jennings has been joined at Fulham by two of his colleagues from those days, Malcolm Elias and Steve Wigley, and Southampton's current success can be partially attributed to them all.

Jennings, who spent 12 years as a teacher in a comprehensive school, left Southampton in 2006 because he was unsure about their long-term future and joined the Premier League, before being tempted to Fulham by Alistair Mackintosh, the club's chief executive. Mackintosh had been praised for his emphasis on youth when he was at Manchester City.

"At Man City, with very little resources because they slumped through the divisions, they re-emerged on the back of a really vibrant youth policy," Jennings says. "He [Alistair] made it clear to me that at Fulham he'd like to give youth an opportunity because perhaps in the past that's not been the case. The excitement for me was to go into a club where there hadn't been a DNA for youth and hoping to create one.

"One of the best things is I inherited a terrific group of staff who just needed to be liberated by a vision. I found a little bit that the academy was viewed as the thing that we had to have and it better be quiet and stay in the corner, otherwise if it caused any mischief we might not have to have it.

"Now maybe that's being a bit harsh on the way the club was set up but that was the feeling amongst some of the staff, so what I tried to do was set about trying to develop our infrastructure and programme, and be a place where young players would want to come. Hopefully we're on that road."

So what's the secret? "You've got to have quality recruitment," Jennings says. "There's a saying: it's not just about the players you recruit that matter, it's also about the players you don't."

He accepts that young players may be dazzled by the glamour of Chelsea but Fulham are quietly excited about their youngsters. Moussa Dembélé, the French forward who was signed from Paris Saint-Germain, and Patrick Roberts, a tricky English winger, who are both 17, have caught the eye. Jennings is reluctant to place unnecessary pressure on these kids. Instead he mentions "pathways" a lot and stresses the importance of being patient and dealing with disappointment. Special players like Walcott whizz straight into the first team and others need time. Jennings cites the case of Burn, who was excellent at United.

"You can't force it," he says. "There's got to be the right stepping stones. If we take Dan Burn, who's played two games for the first team, his stepping stone started at Darlington, where we identified his potential. We then developed him in our way, then he plays for Yeovil in League One. Then he goes to Birmingham, a club that's a bit bigger. Now he's back at Fulham for a few games. It's fascinating to see the way he's progressed. At club level people want players in a team before they're ready for it.

"If I reflect back on the period with Kerim Frei, he got into the team a bit early as a 17-year-old and instantly the crowd took to him because he's a dribbler and he's exciting to watch. But things didn't go as well for Kerim as people hoped and, reflecting back, we forced him into the team a bit too early. As a result he missed out on some of those steps."

Jennings does not yearn for the days when youngsters cleaned the senior pros' boots. "We've got to take the best principles and use them in a modern context," he says. "On the subject of cleaning boots, I actually think an affinity with senior players helps. We invite players to come in and do Q&As with the young players. It's good education both ways actually, the senior players quite enjoy it. We have a lot of mentoring between the senior players and the youngsters. It's informal but it helps in a way that actually is about learning about football. Develop a link and an appreciation between the players. It's about football, not whether the studs look shiny."

Jennings praises Meulensteen for the way he has integrated youngsters into his training sessions. While doubts remain about Meulensteen's managerial credentials, given that Fulham have dropped to the bottom of the Premier League under him, the Dutchman has an excellent record of working with young players and has not been afraid to use them.

There have been regular games between the first team and the youth team in training. The youngsters have won a few but Jennings is more interested in how they play. "What's it like in a practice match against Brede Hangeland?" he says. "You have to demonstrate that you're not thinking it's Brede Hangeland."

Equally, Jennings recognises that a winning mentality is crucial and believes that England must learn how to handle tournament play. "We've just taken our under-18s to an indoor tournament in Germany for the fifth year in a row," he says. "It's five v five, 30 minutes a game, you're right in the industrial heartland of Germany playing against teams like Schalke, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Dortmund, Hertha Berlin, Hamburg.

"What you notice about the Germans is they know how to win at that age. Now we finished fourth out of 28 teams and we don't play indoor football on a regular basis. But you work it out and what it's done for our youngsters is it's opened their eyes on how to get the competitive nature right because we beat Mönchengladbach on penalties in the quarter-final. You certainly realise in that situation how you give young players the preparation they may need for later. England national teams need to know how to play at tournament level.

"You can't succeed at this level if you're not a winner. Losing sometimes is good. You learn a lot but if you haven't got a winning mentality, you don't come here. I take that from a very young age. Results don't matter – a winning mentality does." Perhaps Fulham will find one with Jennings around.



http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/feb/10/fulham-youngsters-huw-jennings-academy?

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Lewis Holtby: We believe we can keep Fulham up


Digging in: Lewis Holtby helped create Fulham's first goal and worked hard to launch counter-attacks

Fulham loan signing Lewis Holtby says the club can beat relegation  this season after Darren Bent's injury-time equaliser at Old Trafford earned them a precious point, although they remain bottom of the Premier League.

The Germany international was one of Rene Meulensteen's outstanding performers in his side's extraordinary 2-2 draw with Manchester United yesterday, one  in which the west London club managed just 25 per cent of the possession but conspired to equalise in the fourth minute of injury time  at the end of the game, through substitute Bent (below).

Playing his second game for Fulham after his loan deal from Tottenham at the end of the transfer window, Holtby, 23, created the  first goal for Steve Sidwell and worked hard to try to launch the counter-attacks that were key to  his side's success.

Holtby said that he wanted to repay Meulensteen's faith in him  by helping Fulham to stay in the division. He said: "We can definitely stay up. We said it to ourselves: we have 14 cup finals, we have to believe in it.

"If we give up, we are in the wrong game. We want to stay in the Premier League and if we play against teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, whoever, they are going to be hard games, especially away, and that is when you have to have a defensive shape. When you play against the other teams down at the bottom like we are then it is a different game.

"You always have to believe that you can get something, even when United scored their second. It sounds pretty awkward but you always have to believe in that. You have to have that winning mentality which we are going to have on the field. I am so delighted that Sidwell had a fantastic game and really worked hard for those two goals."

Fulham face Liverpool at Craven Cottage on Wednesday and Holtby said that the team would try to replicate their deep-lying approach at Old Trafford to tackle the side that beat Arsenal 5-1 on Saturday.

He added: "We need to keep the same focus there because otherwise a team like Liverpool, as we saw against Arsenal, have the confidence to destroy you. We have the confidence to survive against them.

"We have to do it with the defensive shape we had against United with Juan Mata, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. Against Liverpool it is the same calibre of players. We have to believe in ourselves and I think we can do it.

"It looked very scrappy but if you come to Manchester United, you have to be in a defensive shape. We got some counter-attacks, nearly scored a second one before half-time with Kieran Richardson. It was a hell of a team performance, we fought so hard to get this point. I think it will give is the confidence for the next couple of games."

United boss David Moyes admitted he had never expected that his first season would be such a difficult one. After 25 games last term, United were 21 points better off than they are now and were leading the Premier League. Today they find themselves in seventh position and nine points off Liverpool in fourth place. Asked whether he had imagined it could have been as bad as it has turned out be, Moyes said: "Probably not, no."

And asked whether his players had shown mental softness in failing to hold out to win after Van Persie and Michael Carrick had given them a 2-1 lead, Moyes said: "You could use maybe mental softness that we didn't see the job out and get the job done. I would agree with that.

"The players are hurting. I can see every day that they're hurting because the results aren't going the way they want. They're really good  professionals in the way they go about their work and what I see in  training makes me feel they'll get results."



http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/lewis-holtby-we-believe-we-can-keep-fulham-up-9119281.html

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Now or never: Bent must make his mark at Fulham or risk being forgotten altogether

Darren Bent has scored more Premier League goals than Steven Gerrard, Didier Drogba and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

His late equaliser for Fulham against Manchester United on Sunday was his fourth goal at Old Trafford - a record no visiting striker has yet bettered in the Premier League. English clubs have splashed out more than £50million in transfer fees for a player who celebrated his 30th birthday last week.

Bent should be in the prime of his career. Instead, the biggest surprise was not even that the on-loan Aston Villa striker scored against United with the 10th of 10 second-half touches on Sunday, but that he got onto the pitch at all.


Crucial: Darren Bent celebrates scoring the injury-time equaliser for Fulham at Old Trafford this weekend

Nodded in: Bent scores his fourth career Premier League goal at Old Trafford - no-one has scored more
It is indicative of Bent's meandering path that his four goals at Old Trafford have come for four different clubs.

In April 2009 he was a Tottenham player, by the following October he was wearing a Sunderland shirt. In February 2011 he played for Aston Villa and now he is temporarily wearing the black and white of Fulham.

He seems to do well initially, miss a few chances the manager's 'missus would have scored' (will he ever live that one down?) and becomes an expensive luxury before drifting on to another club impressed by his pedigree, if not his current form. And so it continues.

Bent is a drifter when he does get onto the pitch, too. He does not track back or get involved in build-up play: his job is to score goals, simple as that.


Clinical: Bent finishes off another one of his four Premier League goals this season, this time against Stoke
   
Prospects: Bent would have hoped to revive his England chances by leaving Aston Villa on loan for Fulham
Running? Pah. He would rather rely on the instinct that has been his trademark; something of which he has rightly been proud. Any accusations he was lazy could be quickly subdued by pointing at his goal-scoring record.

But the one-trick pony act has started to wear thin now. The self-belief must be fragile.

Bent would argue he does not get the service he needs from a disjointed team like Fulham, but three Premier League goals this season - even when Fulham have only scored 24 - is simply not good enough for a player of his experience.

Is there still room in the modern Premier League for a player like Bent, an expensive luxury? You have to be very, very good (or Dimitar Berbatov) to carry it off, but this season Bent has been a passenger a struggling side like Fulham cannot afford to carry.

In this case, the statistics do not lie. Bent goes the longest of any player in the top flight between seeing the ball.


The new man: Kostas Mitroglou (left) was signed by Fulham for £12.5m during the January transfer window
   
Journeyman: Bent was also bought in big-money moves by Tottenham (left) and Sunderland
He averages three minutes and 45 seconds between touches in the Premier League - significantly longer than goalkeepers such as David De Gea, Petr Cech and Joe Hart - and averages just 13 touches per game.

You can get away with being the Invisible Man if you score crucial goals like Bent did on Sunday, but not if people start forgetting you're even on the pitch.

A season-long loan at Fulham was Bent's chance to prove them all wrong - particularly Paul Lambert, who froze him out at Aston Villa, and the line of England managers who have largely overlooked this English centre forward. Instead, their judgement looks increasingly sound.


Don't look back: It's time for Bent to seize the moment and get his career back on track at Fulham
Martin Jol's dismissal did not help a striker who insisted the former Fulham boss made him feel like he 'could walk on water', while the notion that a lower-table team could have accommodated Bryan Ruiz, Berbatov and Bent in the same starting XI was folly from the start.

But Bent has a choice to make now. He either reacts to the arrival of a record club signing striker who is not fully fit, Kostas Mitroglou, by trying to add to the goal he scored at Old Trafford, or he continues in the same vein, insisting he will take chances if they are presented to him, without really doing anything to change his own luck.

Liverpool are the next visitors to Craven Cottage, after all. Where once Bent had to rely on the intervention of a beach ball to score the most unlikely of goals against the Anfield club, now is the time to prove he has still got more to offer than simply hot air.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2555838/Now-never-Darren-Bent-make-mark-Fulham-risk-forgotten-altogether.html#ixzz2sw6xQrtF
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Dan Clarifies Quotes

Following the fantastic point secured at Old Trafford, Fulham are back in Barclays Premier League action once again on Wednesday evening (8pm).

Victory over Liverpool at Craven Cottage could see the Whites move off the bottom of the table, and Dan Burn wants his teammates to take the confidence gained from the Manchester United result into the clash with Brendan Rodgers' men.

"It's going to be really tough on Wednesday night," Burn admitted. "Liverpool are flying at the moment and that victory against Arsenal on Saturday was immense for them. But the point at Old Trafford felt like a win to us.

"Having held the lead for so long under constant pressure and then to lose two goals in quick succession was a real blow. I thought we showed great character to come back and getting a point, like I said, felt like a win."

Speaking to fulhamfc.com after quotes appeared regarding United playing a Conference style football, Burn clarified: "I didn't mean that quote to sound as disrespectful as it's been reported. There were a lot of crosses, statistically more than any game since stats started, so I just joked that I hadn't headed as many balls since the Conference.

"It was a deluge of pressure, and I was just glad I could get on the end of some of them and we were all relieved to get a point. United have world-class players, and we're up against more world-class players, and arguably the best striker in the league, on Wednesday night."

Burn put in a fantastic display against the champions on Sunday, but when asked about his own performances he said: "I'm a young player with a lot to learn on the pitch still, but feel like I'm making good progress and I'm enjoying my football.

"I really want to help get Fulham out of this position but, off the pitch, I suppose one of the lessons from Sunday is not to try and have a joke with the media!"



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/february/10/dan-clarifies-quotes