Sunday Fulham Stuff (16/02/14)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham Dragging Themselves Into Further Chaos

Managers get sacked prematurely nowadays, and that's something which all of us non-football club-owners just have to accept. But there are ways of instituting change, and then there's just creating club-wide instability through a lack of communication.

Jason Burt summarises the situation at Fulham neatly in his Telegraph column today, and really paints a picture of a club knee-jerking their way through a series of decisions.

Felix Magath is now employed at Craven Cottage, but that is the only aspect of this which doesn't seem to be shrouded in ambiguity.

Last night, Rene Meulensteen was adamant that he'd been sacked, but today he's seeking further clarification of his employment status. Ray Wilkins is quoted as saying that he's "completely in the dark" in the dark over his future. Nobody has heard anything from Alan Curbishley.

How can this happen?

How can a Premier League club make such a significant decision without informing their other members of staff how they'll be impacted? It's staggering; Shahid Khan is an experienced sports-team owner, and Alistair Mackintosh is no fool – both of them know full-well that this process has not been conducted properly. So what is the justification for the complete absence of professionalism here?

...and what do the players think? What are they walking into at their next training session? Yes, this may all be happening away from the pitch, but that doesn't mean that the first-team squad are immune to the destabilising effect that this will inevitably have on the club as a whole.

We always accuse clubs of panicking at this time of year and sometimes we do them a disservice by doing so, but not in this instance – this looks every inch like an anti-relegation strategy being implemented on-the-hoof.



http://thepremierleagueowl.com/fulham-dragging-themselves-into-further-chaos/

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham left dazed and confused by René Meulensteen exit
• Rufus Brevett, former captain, believes squad will be 'shocked'
• Brevett says players will have to adapt to Felix Magath's ideas

Rufus Brevett, the former Fulham captain, believes the squad will be shocked at the decision to replace their head coach René Meulensteen with former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath.

Fulham are bottom of the Premier League and have not won a league match since a 2-1 victory over West Ham on New Year's Day.

Meulensteen was appointed as Martin Jol's successor in December but, having been unable to steer Fulham out of the relegation zone, he also lost the faith of the club's owner, Shahid Khan.

Brevett, who manages the Southern League Premier Division side Arlesey Town, reckons the players will struggle to once again adapt to new ideas. "The players will be shocked," he said. "Some are players that Meulensteen brought in and they just won't know what has happened. As players you have got to get on with it, it is your job. They have to take responsibility but you do also need continuity in what you're being told is expected of you.

"Just as they are getting used to Meulensteen's methods and the things that he wants, he is gone and another manager comes in – it will be very difficult for him with 12 games to go. It doesn't happen overnight."

Magath, who has won three Bundesliga titles during his managerial career, has signed an 18-month contract and has 12 games to turn things around at Craven Cottage after becoming Fulham's third manager of the season. The futures of the technical director, Alan Curbishley, and the assistant head coach, Ray Wilkins, are unclear.

Brevett feels a relegation battle requires a different approach and also did not rule out Khan making another change in the summer if Magath fails to keep the club in the top flight. "He owns the club and will do what he thinks is best," Brevett said. "He has brought a new manager in with 12 games to go, if Magath doesn't keep them up is he going to bring in another manager to get them out of the Championship? How much does Magath know about that division? Sometimes when a new manager comes in you get a new kick and hopefully if they do that they might have a chance.

"The confidence is low and it is going to take a completely different mindset, there are a lot of differences between fighting to win things and trying to stay in the league. We will have to see what he comes up with. Fulham have flirted with relegation a few times but nothing as serious as we see now, it is massive. Financially and for the fans as well. It means everything to stay in the Premier League. They will be doing their upmost to stay there."

Dan Crawford, a Fulham Supporters' Trust member, said fans were also surprised by the decision to sack Meulensteen, though results may have justified it. "I was very surprised," he said. "We had all read that he might have two games to save his job but you just assumed that the performances and fight they showed would have been enough.

"We haven't won a league game since 1 January, we are out of FA Cup, bottom of the league and running out of time. The defending has been abysmal for most of the season. You hope that someone who is a disciplinarian will come in and get things right, he won't take any prisoners and has virtually no margin for error.

"We are in the last chance saloon and everyone recognises that, it slaps a little bit of desperation but that is par for the course given the situation we are in."

Magath will not face the media until he hosts a press conference previewing Saturday's match against fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion. A win in the German's first game would see Fulham close the gap on their 17th-placed opponents, but a defeat could see them cast further adrift with time running out to continue their 13-year stay in the top flight.


http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/15/fulham-rene-meulensteen-rufus-brevett?

[WhiteJC]

 
Sky sources: Ray Wilkins sacked by Fulham but Alan Curbishley kept on

Ray Wilkins has been sacked by Fulham but Alan Curbishley will remain as one of new boss Felix Magath's backroom staff, according to Sky sources.

Fulham owner Shahid Khan dismissed Rene Meulensteen as first team coach on Friday night, and installed German Magath in his place.

Wilkins, hired to be Meulensteen's assistant, has now left too, but Curbishley - the club's director of football - will keep his job.

Wilkins and Curbishley joined the Cottagers before New Year to assist Meulensteen with their experience and knowledge of English football.

But the trio failed to turn things around at Craven Cottage and Fulham remain bottom of the Premier League table.

Meulensteen was in charge for just 75 days and picked up just 10 points from 13 games.

Battling performances against Manchester United - a dramatic 2-2 draw at Old Trafford - and Liverpool, a 3-2 defeat at home, failed to save him.

Fulham are yet to confirm the departure of Meulensteen, but are likely to in the next 48 hours.

Magath, who has won the Bundesliga twice with Bayern Munich, arrives with an 18-month contract and a reputation for helping clubs avoid the drop.

He was being strongly linked with Hamburg, helping out embattled coach Bert van Marwijk in their scrap at the wrong end of the table in Germany.

Magath instead chose Fulham because he wanted full control of a club and Cottagers owner Shahid Khan got his man with 24 hours to spare - van Marwijk was sacked by Hamburg on Saturday night.


http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/9168883?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham's coaching hire isn't expected to affect Clint Dempsey's loan

Fulham of the English Premier League announced Friday that it has hired Felix Magath as head coach, replacing René Meulensteen. That is relevant, of course, because Sounders FC's Clint Dempsey is currently on loan with the Cottagers until the end of the month.

So will the coaching change affect the agreement and perhaps lead to an early return?

"No, it doesn't affect it at all," coach Sigi Schmid said. "You don't know how Felix Magath is going to approach it in his period of time right now with the team. It's what was agreed to, so you sort of let it sit unless there is something that comes to the forefront that should change it."

Fulham currently sits last in the Premier League, so all points are valuable. The team has one game remaining during the span of Dempsey's loan, an away game Feb. 22 against West Brom — a big one in the relegation battle.


http://blogs.seattletimes.com/soundersfc/2014/02/15/fulhams-coaching-hire-isnt-expected-to-affect-clint-dempseys-loan/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Goodbye Rene Meulensteen – the man we barely got to know
by DAN on FEBRUARY 15, 2014

Even in the phenomenally harsh world of professional football, Rene Meulensteen's sacking as Fulham manager seems particularly brutal. After just 75 days, the man asked to halt an alarming slide once Martin Jol had reached the point of no return was also clearing his desk, having just taken a point at Manchester United and been a matter of minutes away from a creditable draw against the country's most in-form side. As Meulensteen's former boss at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson, once famously remarked: 'Football. Bloody hell.'

The suspicion even after his own whirlwind appointment was that Meulensteen might prove to be a much better coach than manager – something only enhanced by the swift addition of Alan Curbishley and Ray Wilkins to his backrom team The grim statistics suggest that his short stint in charge was remarkably similar to the start to the season which Jol presided under. Bar a spirited and frenetic hour against Tottenham, there wasn't much of a new manager's bounce: a battling win at Norwich was followed by the hapless humiliation at Hull and defensive disasters at home to Sunderland, who were then bottom of the table, and Southampton.

Meulensteen was open and honest in his dealings with the press – perhaps far too honest when it came to discussing his hopes of signing Ravel Morrison – and his sunny disposition hinted at a genuine belief that Fulham could pull another incredible feat of escapology. But it was difficult to decipher what his approach would be. He started with an extra central midfielder, supplementing the regular duo of Steve Sidwell and Scott Parker with the apparently ageless Giorgos Karagounis, which helped Fulham see more of the ball and begin to dictate the play. Then, the Greek veteran was unceremoniously jettisoned and the natural width offered by two genuine wingers also disappeared without explanation.

It was almost as though Meulensteen was an attacking coach at heart but the perilous nature of Fulham's predicament paralysed his purest instincts. The situation called for dogged discipline rather than the rampaging forward that saw his side stripped of the ball far too easily against the lesser sides. The more defensive shape, with a holding midfielder and wide players tucked in to support a struggling back four, was an apparent admission that he was too gung-ho in those games against Sunderland and Southampton, which you fear might already have settled Fulham's fate.

It is ironic then that Fulham's best displays under Meulensteen were battling, backs-to-the-wall efforts against Manchester United and Liverpool. It was here were we saw pragmatism and tactical planning married to good effect: Meulensteen's inside knowledge of United's gameplan, as well as the bravery to drop the likes of Brede Hangeland and Parker, effectively stifled the champions, even if the home side should still have penetrated far more successfully with the amount of the ball they had. Against Liverpool, Fulham were far more adventurous and probably deserved the half-time lead they didn't quite manage. Sasca Riether's tired, late lunge at Daniel Sturridge proved very, very costly indeed.

Any assessment of Meulensteen's brief tenure at Craven Cottage isn't complete without considering the lamentable performance in the FA Cup replay against Sheffield United. Fulham, admittedly much changed from the eleven Meulensteen might consider his first choice, were painfully pedestrian and barely hinted at an attacking threat throughout the 120 minutes. Indeed, Clint Dempsey's angry squaring up to Harry Maguire and company after the final whistle was about as dangerous as the home side looked all evening. That, rather than the late failure against Liverpool, might have been the night when Fulham's panicked hierarchy decided a change had to be made.

Of course, a managerial novice was always likely to make mistakes. Meulensteen has paid for those with his job – and only future results can tell us whether that was a wise decision. But the Dutchman also restored the hunger and passion that had been missing for so long to a flagging Fulham side. He gave a first-team debut to Dan Burn, a promising centre back previously on loan at Birmingham, who has taken his opportunity eagerly and barely put a foot wrong. We've also seen the emergence of promising young talents in Muamer Tankovic and Moussa Dembele and the addition of Ryan Tunnicliffe and Larnell Cole – largely drawn to London by the prospect of working with Meulensteen again – hinted at an eventual reshaping of the side with the future in the mind. A progressive playmaker finally arrived in the January transfer window in the shape of Lewis Holtby, who has immediately energised a team sorely lacking creativity.

Meulensteen might not look back favourably upon his time at Craven Cottage. It ended as surprisingly as it started – and Meulensteen has returned to the north west to regroup. Fulham's failure to mention him in the statement that spoke of his replacement was regrettable and, the real sadness is that we're saying goodbye to an amiable man who we were only just getting to know.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2014/02/goodbye-rene-meulensteen-the-man-we-barely-got-to-know/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Felix's ruthless regime should make Fulham fit for a survival fight

Fulham's players will be in for the shock of their lives when they arrive at the training ground on Sunday to meet new manager Felix Magath.

While the position of head coach Rene Meulensteen remains unclear - Meulensteen believes he has been sacked, the club say he is still employed - stories concerning the strict training regime employed by Magath abound, and former Sheffield United and Middlesbrough striker, Jan Aage Fjortoft tells them better than most.

Fjortoft played under Magath, the 60-year-old former Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg coach, at Eintracht Frankfurt, and he once famously said: 'I don't know if Felix Magath would have saved the Titanic - but the survivors would have been in top shape.'


Discipline: New Fulham manager Felix Magath is known to be strict with his players

Pedigree: Magath with the German Cup, which he won two years in a row with Bayern Munich
Now a TV commentator, Fjortoft, 47, says he enjoyed his time under Magath, who achieved the unique triumph of winning the league and cup double two years running with Bayern Munich and then won the championship with unfashionable Wolfsburg. But his training methods were unique. 

'The Fulham players have to be aware that you have never had, and you will never have, a manager like this in your career,' said Fjortoft. 'A player at Hamburg collapsed on one of his training runs and was left in the forest. And when he finally arrived at the hotel, he got a fine for being late for breakfast.

'On our first training camp on the beaches in Portugal we were running for an hour and 20 minutes. We were doing some warm-down runs and stretches and some of the players were mumbling: "There's a player missing".

'We thought he was on the bus hiding but when we got on the bus he wasn't there and nobody dared to say to the coach. The bus started driving and I went up to the coach and said, "Er, trainer, there is a player missing".

'He was like, "What?!" And I said, "We can't find him". So we turned the bus around and got out and we saw on the horizon a player, just shuffling along. I started laughing and Magath started laughing and we were both trying to hide it. And the player had actually collapsed on the beach and had bruises on his face.

'Another time, we went to a big mountain with a natural climbing wall and we had ropes for safety and the security. But even so I was a bit cowardly and saying, "I can't do it. I have two children". All of a sudden Magath starts climbing up the mountain all on his own without any safety ropes. And we were standing at the bottom saying, "Come on, trainer. Watch out! Watch out!" So we tried it as well -but with the safety ropes.'


Double trouble: Magath's spell at Bayern also resulted in them winning two Bundesliga titles

Popular: Hamburg fans campaign for Magath's return in 2007, although the appointment didn't materialise

Runner-up: Magath played in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, finishing second on both occasions
Fjortoft says that the players willing to buckle down and get on with his tough training will thrive - but they will have to accept his way of doing things

'Let's put it this way: he doesn't like player power,' said Fjortoft. 'That's a mild way of putting it. You never knew when training would be, you never knew how long it would be. When you started running, you never knew when it would stop.

'We were training unbelievably under him. And he is running in front of everyone - I wouldn't be surprised if he still does. At Frankfurt we would do an hour-and-a-half of high-tempo running, and he had his blue jacket. And I knew to survive I had to visualise this blue jacket and stay one-and-a-half yards away from him then I would be all right.

'I was dying every training session in training camp but I survived and at the end I was like Rocky in the ninth round, knocked out, and I would say, "Is there any chance we can run again?" He likes that kind of character.

'He would always have a run himself before a team meeting and would have had a shower. He was coming in like a boxer, sweating all over the place. And then he would be drinking his tea, watching 25 grown men sitting around for ages. That's his speciality.

'Next he would take the biggest cake in the world and is eating that for ages, and then he starts. And his first question will be - and he will pick out a nervous player who never likes to speak - and say, "What do you know about the opposition?"

'But he's known for getting teams out of relegation trouble. When I was at Frankfurt, we were eight points from safety and we turned around and were the third best team in the second half of the season.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2560351/Felixs-ruthless-regime-make-Fulham-fit-survival-fight.html#ixzz2tTUeIvAe
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[WhiteJC]

 
Former Fulham boss in line for Hamburg

Bundesliga strugglers Hamburg have sacked manager Bert van Marwijk after seventh straight defeat and they could look to former Fulham boss Martin Jol, [football] direct news understands.

Hamburg were well beaten by rock-bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig on Saturday to compound Bert van Marwijk to a seventh consecutive defeat in the Bundesliga that has seen them drop to second from bottom.

The club finished seventh in 2012/13, but are now facing a relegation battle. However, it is understood that they will approach former coach Martin Jol, who recently lost his job as coach of Premier League side Fulham.

Jol coached Hamburg for one season in 2008 and guided them to a semi-final place in both the Europa League and German league cup.

The German club now see it as the perfect chance for Jol to return to the club and keep them in the first division.


http://www.footballdirectnews.com/premier-league-news/40683-former-fulham-boss-in-line-for-hamburg.php#.UwCBxv0dObA

[WhiteJC]

 
A Fulham Fan Writes: Maybe Magath Is A Masterstroke?

On the back of impressive performances against Manchester United and Liverpool, albeit only gathering one point in the process, it looked like Meulensteen was shaping a side that was capable of beating the dreaded drop to the Championship.

The point gained at Old Trafford was hard fought and built on an impressive defensive base, and the narrow loss to Liverpool, on Wednesday, showed that at home Fulham were willing to go on the attack.

However, news broke yesterday that Meulensteen had been relieved of his duties, and German Felix Magath, who has earned a reputation for bailing teams out, and avoiding relegation, had been instated as Fulham's third manager of the season.

The first reaction to the sacking was shock. Meulensteen had been in charge for just 75 days, and after being backed heavily in the January transfer window it seemed Chairman Shahid Khan was fully behind his manager.

Warning signs were in place after the additions of Ray Wilkins and Alan Curbishley to the back-room staff, which posed the question as to how much power Meulensteen actually held in his role as "Head Coach".

The next reaction was confusion. Although Fulham had made a statement regarding the appointment of Magath as the new manager, there was no mention of his predecessor, and this confusion was only stopped when Meulensteen himself came out and announced the decision to remove him.

It is unlikely that Meulensteen will want to stay on at the club in any other coaching role, and therefore a severance package will be agreed between the Dutchman and Fulham.

When the shock and confusion had cleared, it became easier to see why Fulham had made the surprising decision. With a paltry 10 points from 13 games, Meulensteen had not improved upon Martin Jol's results, and if anything, was doing worse.

Although he had brought the average age of the squad down, the defensive frailties were still being exposed, and the lack of attacking prowess on show was worrying to Fulham fans.

Only time will tell how much of an impact record signing Kostas Mitroglou will have at the cottage, but with only 12 games left, and Fulham stranded 5 points from safety, the board were not willing to wait and find out.

So who is Felix Magath? The German is nicknamed the "Fireman" for his ability to keep teams up in the face of relegation, having saved both Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga.

He also has pedigree at the other end of the table, winning the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, with a squad containing Fulham players Ashkan Dejagah and Sascha Reither, and the League and Cup double with juggernauts Bayern Munich.

He is well known for having a fierce managerial style, with a less kind nickname of "Saddam", due to his emphasis on fitness and conditioning.

The move to hire Magath, who will be the first German coach to manage in the Premiership, is a very risky one. However, with a reputation for turning teams around, Shahid Khan has a firm eye on the future with the appointment.

If Fulham are unable to avoid the drop, then Magath has a better history of reinvigorating clubs, and Khan will believe that Magath has the ability to help Fulham get out of the Championship at the first attempt, something which Meulensteen would not have been trusted to do.

If the move pays off, then it will be a masterstroke, and Fulham fans will finally be able to look up the table once again, rather than fearing relegation.


http://threeandin.com/archives/35193?

[WhiteJC]

 
Kostas Mitroglou to make Fulham debut against West Brom after two-goal salvo for U21 side

The Greek, a £12million signing from Olympiacos on deadline day, will be hoping to fire the Cottagers to safety


Ian Walton
Raring to go: Mitroglou (centre) will start against the Baggies
Fulham's new record signing Kostas Mitroglou will make his first-team debut at West Brom next Saturday.

The £12million deadline-day signing from Olympiacos scored twice for the club's Under-21 side in a 5-3 win at Aston Villa on Wednesday.

Mitroglou, 25, was signed in the knowledge that he was not 100 per cent match fit but he has now been pencilled in to start the relegation clash at the Hawthorns.

The Greek striker scored with his first touch in the Under-21s match and then added a 25-yard wonder strike – which was only topped by Fulham's Czech goalkeeper Marek Rodak completing the scoring with an 80-yard punt.

The Cottagers will be hoping new manager Felix Magath can help them avoid relegation in the coming weeks.



http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/kostas-mitroglou-make-fulham-debut-3149080#ixzz2tTWBxnIy
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[WhiteJC]

 
A Statistical Look at Rene's Reign

As to be expected, there is much gnashing of teeth over Rene's sacking. The performances in the past 6 days suggested that maybe a corner had been turned, that maybe this "toilet bowl" of a season was finally getting some draino. Or, *gasp*, the bathroom was finally getting remodeled.

What's also expectedly absent from so much of the writings are any form of research or analysis of Rene's reign. But hey it sounds good to say Fulham are the next QPR or Cardiff or Leeds United. And that "madness" has taken over and we hit the "panic button" and that our "absentee owner has no idea who Felix Magath is". I rarely assume anything different from the sport's fans.

But pop open the hood and you'll find Rene's reign has been a bit of a dumpster fire to put it bluntly. Let's look at some advanced stats from when Jol got canned to the current day.

{Warning, I'm going to use some of those newfangled things known as statistics. If you're one of those "stats are bad" types, then just jump to the bottom where I discuss goals. You know, another type of statistic.}

TSR   SV%   SH%   PDO
Jol   0.316   70.5   27.9   984
Rene   0.371   65.1   25.7   908
In case you don't know, TSR means Total Shots Ratio, SV% is Save Percentage, SH% equals Shot Percentage, and PDO is Scoring % + Save %. Read full definitions here. These are important because they, especially TSR, usually have a strong correlation to goal difference and points. Also, all stats are from James Grayson's blog.

The only positive you can really deduct from the above is that Fulham are no longer getting outshot as exponentially as they were before. Each of the remaining metrics were down. It's not good enough, it's not sustainable, and the "moral victories" of the past week simply cannot paper over that fact.

For context, let's look at Tony Pulis and compare what he's accomplished, arguably with far less than what Rene has had to work with, to his predecessor.

TSR   SV%   SH%   PDO
Holloway   0.429   58.7   23.1   818
Pulis   0.461   67.9   20.2   881
His god-forsaken style aside, we see that Pulis has increased the teams TSR, SV%, and PDO. In layman's terms, he's shored up the defense despite the slight downtick in shot conversion (which is mainly due to his god-forsaken set piece/long-ball system). This is a sign of progress beyond what the current table shows, as standings can occasionally be disguised by smoke and mirrors (HI THERE WEST HAM IN 11TH!). This is why Crystal Palace have gone from regulation certainties to a steady lower/mid table finish.

If you don't want to read or acknowledge all those fancy stats, here are some more basic ones:

One tenet of Rene's reign was to go into the half tied at 0-0 or something thereabouts and have it fall apart. In fact, Fulham have been drawing at halftime a league-leading 15 times this season. Of that, 8 were under Rene.

Not bad on the surface, but only twice did Fulham get a result of any capacity in those matches: both wins, both in his first four games, both solitary goals. In total, when drawing, the club conceded 17 goals while scoring only 4 after halftime. Take those two victories away and it's 2 GF and 17 GA.

Plus plus plus only in one game, his *second*, did Fulham take a lead into halftime and see out the result. Need I remind you we're currently 20th?

Regardless of how you slice it, regardless of what disaster* of a squad you have, regardless of all the feel-good-emotions we've accrued in the past week...that's beyond terrible.

It was a bungled removal from office. But Kahn really had no choice.

{*Okay, fine, it was a disaster before he got here. Martin Jol should have been fired last spring and we're reaping that now. Also, MAF should have sold the club earlier or at least attempted to have *some* liabilities for the future owner, and we're reaping that now. Also, until Mitroglou's record fee, we're also reaping not spending more than £500,000 on a striker for nearly 5 seasons (and that was on David Elm!) UPDATE: Since Berbatov, not Mitroglou, which was officially "undisclosed". And on and on.}


https://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/a-statistical-look-at-renes-reign/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Felix Magath will provide the laughs at Fulham
JAN AAGE FJORTOFT has given Fulham fans an insight into the wacky world of Felix Magath.


QUITE A CHARACTER: Felix Magath [GETTY]
The former Middlesbrough and Sheffi eld United striker played under Magath for three years at Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.

And while he believes Magath is a brilliant manager, he revealed a string of incidents that shine a light on some of his stranger methods.

Taking to Twitter to give the Fulham fans his view, the former Norway striker wrote: "Whether Felix Magath would have saved the Titanic, I do not know. However, the survivors would have been in top shape."

And, after labelling Magath "The Fittest One", Fjortoft recalled an incident during his time at Frankfurt.

"Once, we were finished running at our training camp and a player had disappeared.

"We had to look for him. We found him – he had collapsed."

In a series of revelations, Fjortoft said the new Fulham chief "asked a player to come to his dressing room and sat with him for ten minutes with not a word said before letting him go."

And he has warned the Fulham players they could be fined for stepping out of line.

He wrote: "At Schalke, two players changed position at a corner – Magath gave both players a 10,000 euro fine.


http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/365628/Felix-Magath-will-provide-the-laughs-at-Fulham

[WhiteJC]

 
Things will never be the same at Fulham now that they have appointed Felix Magath
NEW Fulham boss Felix Magath will meet his players tomorrow – and things will never be the same again.


TOUGH GUY: New boss Magath has a reputation for ruling with an iron fi st [GETTY]
Magath, the first German to manage a Premier League club, is notorious in his homeland for hard, often controversial, training methods with a heavy emphasis on discipline, fitness and conditioning.

Something, sources claim, that has been missing at Fulham for some time.

But Magath, who has been nicknamed Saddam, after the Iraqi dictator, and Qualix, a mash of his first name and the German verbqualen, which means 'to torture', by his former players should not have any problems in that area.

The West London club have only won six league games all season and currently sit bottom of the top flight, four points from safety.

Owner Shahid Khan, after replacing Martin Jol – who he sacked in December – with Rene Meulensteen, decided another change was needed.

Dutchman Meulensteen was let go on Friday, with a statement released by Fulham sighting only one league win so far this year as the reason why he was dismissed.

Khan added: "I'm very happy to welcome Felix Magath to Fulham Football Club.

"Felix is an accomplished manager with honours in the Bundesliga and a hunger to replicate his success with in the Premier League.

"I'm especially impressed with the reputation Felix has for coming into clubs at difficult times, often late in the season, and lifting them to their potential and beyond."

Meulensteen has already spoken of the decision to let him go after just 76 days in charge at Craven Cottage,saying: "I knew the owners were freaking out a little bit that there was the possibility of the club going down.

"We talked with the club about longevity and in this case, it is clearly an act of fear.

"I couldn't care less what they put in the statement, to be honest."


PRESSING THE PANIC BUTTON: Fulham chairman Shahid Khan sacked Rene Meulensteen after just 76 days [GETTY]

It's clear, then Meulensteen thinks the Fulham hierarchy have acted far too swiftly by giving him the boot to rely on some-body with no experience of English football.

Meulensteen, of course, was part of the managerial team under Sir Alex Ferguson at Man United for six years and before that was in charge of youth and reserve teams.

It begs the question, then, why Khan has entrusted his club to Magath.

Jol, despite his vast experience in the English game, was let go five months after Khan took over with his replacement lasting just two and a half.

Its a game of intrigue that should suit Magath - once called "the last dictator of Europe" by a former player - whose other great love is chess.

In 1985, he played Russian Grandmaster Garry Kasparov.

And Magath, who has been given an 18-month deal at Craven Cottage by Khan will need all of his mental abilities if he is to save Fulham from the drop this season.

He said: "This a club steeped in tradition, and it's owner have convinced me.

"I would like to thank the club and owner for this faith."

Magath has been out of work since he left Wolfsburg in 2012 but won the double twice with Bayern, adding a third Bundesliga with Wolfsburgh in 2009.

He is likely to meet Fulham's backroom staff including Alan Curbishley and Ray Wilkins tomorrow.

Fulham said they would announce their backroom staff in the near future.


http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/365626/Things-will-never-be-the-same-at-Fulham-now-that-they-have-appointed-Felix-Magath

[WhiteJC]

 
Felix Magath: Mad or messiah? Fulham's new manager has a fierce reputation as a football dictator, but his controversial methods get results – in the short term

Out in Monaco, Dimitar Berbatov would have heard the news, given a shudder of relief that he was no longer at Craven Cottage and lit another cigarette. It is safe to assume that he and Felix Magath would not have got on.

The man who has been charged with the improbable task of rescuing Fulham from relegation following his shock appointment as manager on Friday night to replace Rene Meulensteen, has a couple of nicknames in Germany. One is "Saddam" and the other is "The Torturer". His belief in discipline and fitness is absolute.

Brian Clough was once contacted by Sammy Chung, then managing Wolves, who argued that the men who had just won Nottingham Forest the European Cup by overcoming a Hamburg side that included Kevin Keegan and Magath looked flabby and out of shape. "I can take them on a training session that will make them physically sick," said Chung. Clough replied that when the FA started awarding points for making footballers vomit, he could come over. Magath would have invited him in.

When he was manager of Bayern Munich his pre-season routine involved sending his players on sapping runs through Alpine woods in the summer heat. When they returned, Magath would have hidden their water bottles, just to see how they reacted. Lukas Podolski, for one, did not react well.

However, Podolski did not have to be taken away on a stretcher, a fate that overtook Wolfsburg's Brazilian striker, Grafite, when he collapsed in the middle of a mountain run. Yesterday's headline in Bild, Germany's biggest-selling newspaper, was unequivocal. "The English are already trembling."

Jan Aage Fjortoft, who played under Magath at Eintracht Frankfurt, tweeted: "Dear Fulham fans, never will you say again, 'the players didn't run enough, the players don't train enough, the boss is not clear enough'."

However, if that were all the first German to manage in the Premier League brought with him to London, he would not have been hired. Fulham are not bottom of the table because they not fit, they are last because they have – the 2‑2 draw at Manchester United apart – been defending like a rabble. Playing chess as relaxation, suggests amore subtle side to Felix Magath.

His opening moves are invariably good. Magath's history is of a man who makes an instant impact before eventually falling out spectacularly with the men who hired him.

Nuremberg, Werder Bremen, Frankfurt and Stuttgart are all among the clubs he has dragged clear of danger but he lingered only at the last. The Neckarstadion, where he took Stuttgart into the Champions' League, provided the platform for a move to Bayern Munich. The players may have loathed him but Magath won the Double in each of his first two seasons in Munich.

Then came a move to Wolfsburg, a nondescript town dominated by the Volkswagen works. They had no more right to expect championships than did Nottingham Forest before Clough. Within two years, they had won the Bundesliga.

Yet when the former Frankfurt centre forward Bachirou Salou described Magath as the "last dictator in Europe" he was not referring to his training methods. Magath is a man who wants control. He is arriving not as Fulham's head coach, Meulensteen's title for his 75 days at Craven Cottage, but the club's manager.

What tempted him to leave Wolfsburg at the height of his success was an offer from Schalke, where he became director of football. But whatever his title, Magath's methods do not change. When Schalke lost 5-0 to Kaiserslautern, he ordered the team to train in shorts in temperatures of minus four. Gloves were forbidden.

Jermaine Jones, Schalke's American midfielder, who like Magath is the son of a US serviceman and a German mother, criticised the policy of playing two holding midfielders. His reward was to be banished to reserve-team football.

When Magath returned to Wolfsburg, his last job before joining Fulham, there were seven games to go, Wolfsburg were second bottom of the Bundesliga, two points from safety. Curiously, he was succeeding Steve McClaren, who like Meulensteen was one of Sir Alex Ferguson's lieutenants who found management tougher without the old curmudgeon.

Magath saved Wolfsburg from the drop before leaving 20 months later. But rescuing Fulham will require the tactical acumen of a Napoleon as well as the barked orders of a Saddam Hussein.


http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/felix-magath-mad-or-messiah-fulhams-new-manager-has-a-fierce-reputation-as-a-football-dictator-but-his-controversial-methods-get-results--in-the-short-term-9131158.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham: "A weekend off – I don't think so!!"

While some teams are jet setting across the world and taking a break from the excursions of the Barclays Premier League as well as others participating in the FA Cup, for Fulham it is a totally different story.

At the start of the season many would have tipped Fulham to be lingering around  mid-table at best, and although the bottom half of the Barclays Premier League is separated by just eight points, it is fair to say that Fulham looked destined for the Championship. Beating Sunderland on the opening day or that 4-1 triumph over London rivals Crystal Palace are just a couple of highlights of what has been a disappointing season to say the least for the West London Club and the sacking of Rene Meulensteen in the last 24 hours hasn't made matters any better.

The sacking of Martin Jol at the start of December was the right choice with the team lacking in confidence and looking beleaguered every time they went onto the pitch. Relieving Meulensteen of his duties though could be seen as quite harsh but shows the predicament that Fulham are in. Meulensteen seemingly knew he had little time to save Fulham from the mire and even stated to the BBC after his exit that he knew his time was up, going on to say,  "I think everyone understands football and knows that this is going to the wire. Yes, Fulham are bottom of League but if you win some games you are back in it.' They have hit the panic button on emotion and fear. I was told by (chief executive) Alastair Mackintosh, it was clear and straightforward and that is what happens in football.'That's the problem with owners who don't understand the Premier League. They were very scared of Fulham getting relegated and I think that is what made their decision.

"Fulham are bottom of League but if you win some games you are back in it.'They have hit the panic button on emotion and fear"

It is also reported that the Dutchman had little say in the transfer of Kostas Mitroglu from Olymipakos who cost a club record fee of £12 million and also the decision for Phillipe Senderos to join Valencia for the rest of the season leaving them short if first choice defenders, in an area where they have definitely struggled all season. People might also forget that Meulensteen was Martin Jol's right hand man for much of the first half of the season and would have spent a lot of time with the first team players but defensively Fulham are still shipping goals and their attack are still not posing any kind of threat thus leaving owner Shahid Khan looking at a dilemma and seeing that the club are still not getting results also having really not changed their playing style. The defeat against Sheffield United in the FA Cup replay last week showed how lacklustre the Cottagers have been all season and although a dogged hard-fought  performance against Manchester United leaving Old Trafford with a well-earned point and a spirited performance losing 3-2 to Liverpool, it hasn't been enough in the weeks building up to these types of games.

Looking back at the transfer activity in the summer and the signing the likes of Scott Parker, Fernando Amorebieta and Adel Taarabt haven't reinvigorated the team at all. Amorebieta signed as a free transfer in the summer had rave reviews in Spain but has struggled with the pace in England and hasn't settled at the back at all. Parker certainly hasn't got the legs any more that has seen him prowess Premier League pitches over the last few years and Taarabt was always going to be a gamble signing from QPR in the summer, brought into the side to give a bit of flare and link up with Dimitar Berbatov but both have played like individuals and have departed a sinking ship in the January transfer window, which probably tells you the character of two of them. There is no doubt Berbatov still has the attributes and possesses the goals to be a top striker but he has cut a disgruntled figure throughout this season and has played more for himself than the team hence why he wont be a big miss.

The arrivals at Craven Cottage in January does offer some hope though, as well as Mitroglu, who has a sensational scoring record in Greece, Fulham have secured loan deals for Lewis Holtby, Johnny Heitinga and William Kvist and the club and fans will be hoping Darren Bent along with the Greek international striker can lead the line giving them some much-needed fire power now Berbatov has left. The question is why wasn't the money spent over the summer when Khan first entered the club and also promoting a very promising youth set up at the Cottage and things could possibly be a different story.The club also have one of the oldest playing squads in the Premier League so the need for an influx of youth or younger players determined to play football should have been more of an incentive to scour a variety of fresh faces.The futures of Ray Wilkins and Alan Curbishley have been thrown into doubt and tonight the club have confirmed that Wilkins has been sacked but Curbishley will remain in his position as technical director.

What next?

Fulham have since appointed Felix Magath on a 18 month contract to replace the outgoing Meulensteen and it will be up to the German to see if he can change the fortunes of the London club. He has got quite a job on his hand to keep a well-preserved historical club in the top flight of English football and in-store some belief into first team affairs. Magath is bringing a good reputation and record to West London with him, winning three Bundesliga titles as manger of Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg respectively but has never managed outside of his native country so a Premier League relegation scrap will be new territory for the German and remains to be seen if he will succeed.


http://www.footballrants.com/england/premier-league/fulham-a-weekend-off-i-dont-think-so/5056?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham fans back Magath change

The Fulham Supporters' Trust were surprised by the decision to replace Rene Meulensteen with Felix Magath.

Dan Crawford, of the FST, said fans were also 'surprised' by the decision to sack Meulensteen, although results may have justified the change.

"I was very surprised," he said.

"We had all read that he might have two games to save his job but you just assumed that the performances and fight they showed would have been enough.

"We haven't won a league game since January 1, we are out of FA Cup, bottom of the league and running out of time.

"The defending has been abysmal for most of the season, you hope that someone who is a disciplinarian will come in and get things right, he won't take any prisoners and has virtually no margin for error.

"We are in the last chance saloon and everyone recognises that, it slaps a little bit of desperation but that is par for the course given the situation we are in."


http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/football/a-league/news/article/-/21500768/fulham-fans-back-magath-change/?

[epsomraver]

Fulham fans back Magath change

The Fulham Supporters' Trust were surprised by the decision to replace Rene Meulensteen with Felix Magath.

Dan Crawford, of the FST, said fans were also 'surprised' by the decision to sack Meulensteen, although results may have justified the change.

"I was very surprised," he said.

"We had all read that he might have two games to save his job but you just assumed that the performances and fight they showed would have been enough.

"We haven't won a league game since January 1, we are out of FA Cup, bottom of the league and running out of time.

"The defending has been abysmal for most of the season, you hope that someone who is a disciplinarian will come in and get things right, he won't take any prisoners and has virtually no margin for error.

"We are in the last chance saloon and everyone recognises that, it slaps a little bit of desperation but that is par for the course given the situation we are in."


http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/football/a-league/news/article/-/21500768/fulham-fans-back-magath-change/?

Where does it say that the fans back Felix?

[Me-ate-Live, innit??]

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/tv-shows/9169143/chaos-at-fulham

[WhiteJC]

 
Is this still Fulham?

by Sheepskin Junior

When I fell in love with this club, we were a well organised, confident, Premier League side. We had a Chairman who's first priority was what was best for the club and, above all else, the fans. Mohammed Al-Fayed was a man of the club, through-and-through. When the time came for a manager to be moved on, through performance or otherwise, he took the decision and made it clear to everyone what was happening. I presume there weren't any bitter tastes left in the mouths of those relieved of their duties; Chris Coleman still speaks fondly of his time at the club. I was proud to be Fulham then. Even in the Great Escape season, when it looked like we would be playing Championship football, I still had faith in the club. We sacked Lawrie Sanchez, he was given a great amount of time to get the team playing his way, it didn't work out, but we were good about it, and brought in Uncle Woy.

Surviving that year was one of the best moments of Fulham I can remember. The sheer jubilation of knowing that next season, you won't be playing the likes of Doncaster Rovers or Sheffield Wednesday, but you'll be playing the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal for another year. I walked in to school the next day looking and feeling like we'd just won the league, I was that happy about finishing 17th because we had done it the Fulham way.

Now, however, things are changing.

Since Shahid Khan took over from Al-Fayed, things have changed around Fulham. While before, sinking quickly down the table was given time to change, this time around, sinking was given an age, far too long before any action was taken. Now, as a mere fan, I wouldn't know the inner workings of the club, and why it took so long for Jol to be pushed, but I think all Fulham fans would agree, it was too long. Things needed to start turning around faster, and that didn't come.

When Rene came in, he had a very difficult squad to work with. The likes of Berbatov, Ruiz, Taarabt, Kasami, Senderos, Hughes and Riise perhaps not being the players they should week-in, week-out. His first opportunity to change that was in January, allowing 5 out of the 7 aforementioned players to leave. That, immediately, lowered the average age. Bringing in Dempsey was, perhaps, the deal in January that didn't work out so well, but, bringing in Kvist, Tunnicliffe, Cole, Heitinga, Holtby and, hopefully, Mitroglou has made an amazing difference to the shape and playing style of the team. It seems strange that we would allow Meulensteen to make these transfers in January, only then to give them 3 games to play as a unit. We had a poor result against Southampton, but that was expected. Against Manchester United and Liverpool, however, we had two outstanding performances, earning 1 point (and being robbed of another, but we'll skip over that) out of two games that were almost certainly going to be annihilations.

We were turning a corner, and then it all fell apart at the hands of Khan, or whoever was actually in the country overseeing the club. At this time last season, if a similar thing had happened, for starters, Al-Fayed would have allowed more time for results to turn in our favour, but he would have made perfectly clear whether or not someone had lost their job at the club or not. The fact that even Rene doesn't know what's going on astounds me. He was the manager and suddenly a new manager (a fourth manager!) has been appointed. I understand bringing in Wilkins as assistant. I also understand bringing in someone of Curbishley's experience, not to undermine the management, but to help them. What I don't understand, and I'm struggling to keep this PG, is why we would then bring in someone with Magath's reputation, in a country he's never managed in.

One thing I have read, is that Magath doesn't like players that don't follow his instructions to the letter. That means anyone with a football brain is likely to be offloaded. I'd say that means goodbye to: Parker, Sidwell, Kvist, Burn, Riether, Heitinga, Karagounis, Richardson, Riise, Tunnicliffe, Stockdale, Stekelenburg, Kasami, Tankovic, Hangeland and Kacaniklic. Not something I would personally agree with.

The handling of the situation, the sheer lack of patience, the idiocy and the general ignorance to the football suggests that Khan knows very little about how football works. And I mean real football, not the American version. We are bottom of the Premier League. In 2007/8, we were never bottom. I'm sorry, Mr Khan, you have changed everything I love about Fulham. I'm sorry, Mr Khan, I don't believe you are the right person to be head of this club.



http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=475

[WhiteJC]

 
QPR manager Harry Redknapp wants to tempt Scott Parker away from Fulham

Redknapp sees the former England captain as crucial to the Premier League promotion charge at Loftus Road


2013 Getty Images
In demand: Redknapp wants to take Parker to Loftus Road
Harry Redknapp wants his old field marshal Scott Parker to quit Fulham and join him at QPR, writes Alan Nixon of the Sunday People.

Redknapp is desperate to have the former Tottenham star swap west London clubs and lead the Hoops' Premier League charge.

Parker is part of the squad but has slipped out of their starting XI.

Now Redknapp would like him on loan for the rest of the ­campaign to team him up with Joey Barton in ­central midfield.

Parker snubbed Rangers for Fulham in the summer when he left White Hart Lane, but playing under Redknapp again may appeal.

The 33-year-old would have to ask to leave for the move to happen, with Redknapp willing to take on his contract – and throw in a bonus.

Parker wants to play, and if he stays out of Fulham's line-up the move will get closer.



http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/fulham-transfer-news-qpr-manager-3150868#ixzz2tU4d3ALa
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

[epsomraver]

Is this still Fulham?

by Sheepskin Junior

When I fell in love with this club, we were a well organised, confident, Premier League side. We had a Chairman who's first priority was what was best for the club and, above all else, the fans. Mohammed Al-Fayed was a man of the club, through-and-through. When the time came for a manager to be moved on, through performance or otherwise, he took the decision and made it clear to everyone what was happening. I presume there weren't any bitter tastes left in the mouths of those relieved of their duties; Chris Coleman still speaks fondly of his time at the club. I was proud to be Fulham then. Even in the Great Escape season, when it looked like we would be playing Championship football, I still had faith in the club. We sacked Lawrie Sanchez, he was given a great amount of time to get the team playing his way, it didn't work out, but we were good about it, and brought in Uncle Woy.

Surviving that year was one of the best moments of Fulham I can remember. The sheer jubilation of knowing that next season, you won't be playing the likes of Doncaster Rovers or Sheffield Wednesday, but you'll be playing the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal for another year. I walked in to school the next day looking and feeling like we'd just won the league, I was that happy about finishing 17th because we had done it the Fulham way.

Now, however, things are changing.

Since Shahid Khan took over from Al-Fayed, things have changed around Fulham. While before, sinking quickly down the table was given time to change, this time around, sinking was given an age, far too long before any action was taken. Now, as a mere fan, I wouldn't know the inner workings of the club, and why it took so long for Jol to be pushed, but I think all Fulham fans would agree, it was too long. Things needed to start turning around faster, and that didn't come.

When Rene came in, he had a very difficult squad to work with. The likes of Berbatov, Ruiz, Taarabt, Kasami, Senderos, Hughes and Riise perhaps not being the players they should week-in, week-out. His first opportunity to change that was in January, allowing 5 out of the 7 aforementioned players to leave. That, immediately, lowered the average age. Bringing in Dempsey was, perhaps, the deal in January that didn't work out so well, but, bringing in Kvist, Tunnicliffe, Cole, Heitinga, Holtby and, hopefully, Mitroglou has made an amazing difference to the shape and playing style of the team. It seems strange that we would allow Meulensteen to make these transfers in January, only then to give them 3 games to play as a unit. We had a poor result against Southampton, but that was expected. Against Manchester United and Liverpool, however, we had two outstanding performances, earning 1 point (and being robbed of another, but we'll skip over that) out of two games that were almost certainly going to be annihilations.

We were turning a corner, and then it all fell apart at the hands of Khan, or whoever was actually in the country overseeing the club. At this time last season, if a similar thing had happened, for starters, Al-Fayed would have allowed more time for results to turn in our favour, but he would have made perfectly clear whether or not someone had lost their job at the club or not. The fact that even Rene doesn't know what's going on astounds me. He was the manager and suddenly a new manager (a fourth manager!) has been appointed. I understand bringing in Wilkins as assistant. I also understand bringing in someone of Curbishley's experience, not to undermine the management, but to help them. What I don't understand, and I'm struggling to keep this PG, is why we would then bring in someone with Magath's reputation, in a country he's never managed in.

One thing I have read, is that Magath doesn't like players that don't follow his instructions to the letter. That means anyone with a football brain is likely to be offloaded. I'd say that means goodbye to: Parker, Sidwell, Kvist, Burn, Riether, Heitinga, Karagounis, Richardson, Riise, Tunnicliffe, Stockdale, Stekelenburg, Kasami, Tankovic, Hangeland and Kacaniklic. Not something I would personally agree with.

The handling of the situation, the sheer lack of patience, the idiocy and the general ignorance to the football suggests that Khan knows very little about how football works. And I mean real football, not the American version. We are bottom of the Premier League. In 2007/8, we were never bottom. I'm sorry, Mr Khan, you have changed everything I love about Fulham. I'm sorry, Mr Khan, I don't believe you are the right person to be head of this club.



http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=475

Outstanding article 0001.jpeg