Tuesday Fulham Stuff (25/03/14)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Magath 'I Didn't Expect To Win'

The defeat left Fulham bottom of the table and manager Felix Magath was not happy with the way his side were overrun in the final half-hour.

But with the five teams immediately above them also failing to pick up points, the German felt the result was not too damaging.

Magath said: "Nobody expected a win here at Man City, so if we lost it is normal. Nobody will care about it.
"But I am not happy with our performance after the second goal. Sure, it was a bad moment for us and we lost a player but that is no reason to stop playing.
"I think we have to play for 90 minutes here with 10 or 11 players. It doesn't matter."

Fulham have seven games remaining to save their top-flight status, starting with next week's home clash against Everton.

Magath said: "That we lost today is not a problem. We have to win our home games and that is important for us.

"We can look forward to next week but we have to talk about this situation, that we don't fight to the end of the game.
"It is not correct, especially for our fans. They came to Manchester, like us, to win and make a good game.
"We have to fight for 90 minutes and not only 60."


http://www.manchestercity-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/magath_i_didnt_expect_to_win_828471/index.shtml?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham skipper Brede Hangeland confident Cottagers can stay up despite Manchester City mauling

Defeat at the Etihad leaves Felix Magath's side four points adrift at the foot of the Premier League table, but the Norwegian has faith they can still avoid the drop


Jan Kruger
Down but not out: Hangeland still believes Fulham can avoid relegation
Brede Hangeland is still confident his Fulham side can beat the drop despite the mauling at Manchester City.

Yaya Toure's hat-trick added to goals from Fernandinho and Martin Demichelis condemned the lowly Cottagers to a heavy defeat.

The loss leaves them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League some four points adrift of safety.

Despite clearly having work to do skipper Hangeland still believes his side can claw their way back to safety.

"Obviously you are low when you get beat 5-0. It was a difficult game for us.

"But what can you do? You have to pick yourselves up. There is no point dwelling on any game of football, and definitely not a defeat like this.

"We are going back to London to work on training and prepare for Sunday."

Asked if the squad believed they could stay up, the 32-year-old said: "Very much so. We have quite a few games we know we can win. It is still doable and there is a belief we can do it.

"Time is running out a little bit and we need to pick up results.

"But if we are honest, we didn't expect to win at Man City. We were hoping for something but I suppose in the 'budget' there weren't many points here. We will have to get them elsewhere."



http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fulham-news-brede-hangeland-confident-3274921#ixzz2wxGGBD6i
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

[WhiteJC]

 
Miserable show at City


GettyImages
Fulham's Fernando Amorebieta is sent off against Man City.

It's yet another confidence-shaking drubbing in this dreadful season for Fulham. Manchester City did not even need to be at their best to ruthlessly dispose of Felix Magath's men. Once again, when the Londoners are supposed to be straining every muscle and sinew to stay alive, the Whites served up another embarrassing performance for their followers. City won 5-0, and it could have been more. Fulham failed to register one shot on target.

For Game 5 of his tenure, Magath is still struggling to establish his best 11. This, to my mind, is the major difference from Roy Hodgson's philosophy in 2008 as he engineered the Great Escape part one. The sequel in 2014, I fear, is building to a different conclusion.

The optimists are quick to point out post-match that with all six teams above the Whites in the table also losing, Fulham are no worse off, and have the toughest game of the run-in now behind them. That is true, and nobody ever expected anything from this awayday.

However, all the underlying signs tell me this team remains in total disarray, and Magath's methods to date have made no difference to Fulham's inexorable decline. Club strategy has been muddled now for 18 months, from a time when the great benefactor Mohamed al-Fayed was quietly planning his exit strategy.

Just like the BBC, Fulham's own football institution by the Thames lost focus. There was internal doubt and decay, an erosion of purpose and confidence. Muddled thinking under pressure brings even the biggest of enterprises to meltdown.

What slim chances Fulham had on the field on Saturday of carrying off this blogger's blueprint for mounting a rearguard action and playing for a point were blown away the moment the team lineup was announced.

For all his achievements in the Bundesliga, Felix flunked it big time. How does any top-line manager envisage going to Man City and giving them a game when Fernando Amorebieta and John Arne Riise are picked in defence, your one creative player sits on the bench and the line is led by a 19-year-old rookie still looking for a goal in the Premier League?

Don't blame Sascha Riether for failing to bury that header from Kieran Richardson's inviting cross. He's a full-back, not a striker. I thought all footballers were best in their natural positions -- but what do I know, Felix? You're the expert with every honour in the game on your CV.

Amorebieta's positional play has been weak all season. His decision-making is appalling. He allows Alvaro Negredo to get goal side of him and as a consequence any hint of body contact invites the shout for a penalty. For 25 minutes Fulham were in the game, and with a touch more composure in front of goal would have been ahead. Once Amorebieta sees red for the second idiotic challenge in the box the game is over. The Spanish import should be first out the door come May.

No point in beating ourselves up over being played off the park yet again. The ethos in writing a regular column on the same topic is to look beyond the facts seeking fresh angles and insights. Otherwise Phil Mison might as well be whistling in the wind.

All three managers and their support teams have consistently failed to come up with answers since August. Are they to blame or is it simply that the players are not good enough? Results from the past 18 months will tell you that at Fulham it has to be the latter.

Pre-match we had team captain Brede Hangeland telling us the gaffer was working the players harder than ever before. There were more training sessions and less time off. Some players were fine with it, others less so. The squad had finally "woken up" to the fact they were in real trouble. Fans were urged to "still believe" and stick behind the lads.

So what does Magath make of the performance at the Etihad? "This team only seems capable of playing for 60 minutes. It is unacceptable the way we lost belief in ourselves after the second goal."

Mistake has been heaped on mistake in this season of despair. It began with the hubris of Martin Jol, sadly in denial for far too long over his ability to assemble a decent team. How to explain the methods of Rene Meulensteen, consolidating a side that then concedes six in one half at Hull, wins at Norwich, only to ship four at home to Sunderland before curling up like limp cabbage in the Cup?

As the walls come tumbling down it is the board, of course, who ultimately must answer to owner Shad Khan. Like all journalists I file my work, ever prepared to defend my position.

I noted last week my blog from our very first home game of the season against Arsenal stated this Fulham team was not good enough. Like every other supporter, we looked to the January window for the club to put things right. The club chairman did his bit by fronting up the money. Now refer to this quote from Meulensteen at the start of January, regarding a bid for Ravel Morrison: "He would add pace, power, unpredictability and a real attacking threat."

So my question to you is, while Morrison was scoring yet again for QPR on Saturday, why are Fulham still working on Kostas Mitroglou's damaged knee seven weeks after the Greek signed, for far more than the Hammers wanted for Ravel, and asking a 19-year-old to carry the fight to possibly the best side in the Premier League?

Seven games to go and Fulham need five wins. Given the goal difference, 37 points won't be enough.

twitter@fulhamphil


http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/fulham/id/2017?&cc=5739

[WhiteJC]

 
Just The Beginning

The defeat by Manchester City on Saturday may be a game that fans would rather forget but, for one member of the First Team, the Etihad Stadium clash will always evoke proud memories in the years to come.

Patrick Roberts became the youngest Fulham debutant since Matthew Briggs seven years ago when he replaced fellow Academy graduate Alexander Kačaniklić after 55 minutes, fulfilling a life-long ambition in the process.

"It was what I'd been dreaming of as a kid," Roberts told fulhamfc.com after the game. "Four years ago I was still playing Sunday League and now I've made my Premier League debut. It's crazy, it's just unbelievable.

"My Mum, Dad and brother, and some other family members, came to watch, so that was good. It's just the beginning now, though, and I know I've got to work hard, keep going, and then hopefully there'll be many more appearances to come."

Roberts – who only turned 17 in March – was sent on in a wide position by Felix Magath, and his first few touches saw him show good skill to beat Argentina international Pablo Zabaleta; universally acknowledged as one of the Barclays Premier League's best right-backs.

"It was the first thing that came into my head," Roberts explained. "I just wanted to try and get past my man so I just kept doing that throughout the game. Before I went on the Manager told me to dribble, be positive, go at the defender, and just do what I normally do.

"I thought I did alright. It wasn't one of my best games but coming on and making my Premier League debut against City when we're down to 10 men was always going to be hard. Hopefully I'll get more chances to do what I know I can do."

Roberts was ready to enter the action with the score at 1-0, but City were awarded a second penalty before the substitution could be made. By the time he did replace Kačaniklić, Fulham were two goals and a man down after Fernando Amorebieta was shown a second yellow card.

"I was ready to come on before Fernando got sent off," he stated. "The gameplan didn't really change but we had just gone down to 10 men so we had to work that bit harder.

"It was a shame. We were very much in the game up until that point. We wanted to pick our heads up and go again, but it wasn't to be.

"We've got to put this down as a blip and go again next week. We'll work hard through the week, get the team spirit up and go again against Everton on Sunday."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/march/24/just-the-beginning?

[WhiteJC]

 
Heitinga issues rallying cry

Defender John Heitinga is hoping that his experience will help Fulham avoid relegation from the Premier League this season.

The Cottagers are currently rock bottom of the standings, with just 24 points from 31 games played, and have seven fixtures left to save their top-flight status. The west London club are four points from safety after losing 5-0 to Manchester City on Saturday and next face Everton at Craven Cottage on March 30. Fulham have tried three mangers so far this season, with Felix Magath currently at the helm, but none of them have been able to turn things around and things look bleak in west London with so little of the season remaining. But Heitinga, who moved from Goodison Park to the banks of the Thames in the January transfer window, has urged his team-mates to scrap for every point and hopes to play a full part in their battle for survival. "Hopefully my experience will keep Fulham in the league," he said. "We will still need to play better. We need to fight to survive. "There are still seven games to play and most of the games are at home, so we need to keep getting the points." Punters looking to use a free bet might fancy Fulham to beat Everton and start a run of results that could see them stay in the Premier League.



Read more at: http://www.clubcall.com/fulham/heitinga-issues-rallying-cry-1718657.html?

[WhiteJC]

 
Losing 5-0 at Man City

Shrug.

On the one hand the obvious reaction is "City don't need freebie penalties to beat Fulham", on the other, there's a good chance we'd have got to half-time at 0-0 without that ridiculous decision.

There's been some criticism of the team for letting its head go down but I suspect this is mainly about City finding a groove and crushing us. They're about as expensive and good a side as there is in the league, they're untouchable at home, and as we know, Fulham have been awful all year. I can't think of too many ways that the result could have been different.

For what its worth I thought Magath got things just right. Full-back has been an achilles heel for us all year so doubling up on both flanks meant City and their dangerous wide players ought to have been funneled infield, where we had more chance of containing them.

This more or less worked out, and in fact Fulham had a moment or two on the counter where perhaps a bit more confidence or bravery might have seen us take a shock lead. That would have been asking a lot but there were positive moments, and in games like this that's what you're looking for.

When they scored it was all over. The first penalty was very disappointing and the sort of thing that clearly wouldn't have been given at the other end. The second was about City's quality and our inability to keep up: Amorebieta's lunge was pretty ordinary. You know someone's made a bad mistake when they do something you don't see very often, and you don't see people make tackles that late in the penalty area at all these days.

Toure's third was about as good as it gets. The fourth and fifth happened when the game was gone.

Positive notes were that Woodrow got another 90 minutes, Patrick Roberts showed some nice touches, and that Richardson again suggested that he's pretty much 'up there' among our most useful players now (who could have seen that coming?). On the downside losing 5-0 is losing 5-0, but really we didn't learn anything we didn't know before hand, so it's more a question of "okay, dust yourselves off and win the next points on offer".


http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/losing-5-0-at-man-city/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Premier League: Fulham's Brede Hangeland keeping calm in relegation battle


Brede Hangeland: Looking forward to Fulham's next game against Everton

Brede Hangeland has admitted Fulham were left with an 'impossible task' after going down to ten men against Manchester City, but he believes it is important not to dwell on the past and keep focused on the next game.

The Cottagers put up a good fight in the first half at the Etihad Stadium but fell 2-0 behind in the 54th minute when Fernando Amorebieta was sent off for giving away his second penalty of the afternoon and Yaya Toure tucked away another spot-kick.

Toure later completed his hat-trick and there were further goals for Fernandinho and Martin Demichelis as Fulham's resistance fell away and they lost 5-0, leaving them bottom of the table and four points from safety.

"I think away to Man City, you're not expected to get anything," Hangeland said in the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle.

"But you know on your day you can so it's still a very big disappointment, especially to lose like that. When you concede two penalties and there's a sending off, then in reality the game is over.

"We had our backs against the wall so it wasn't a nice day at the office and you can't do much about that.

"I don't mind playing against anyone but it's not easy when you find yourself 2-0 down against a side near the top of the league.

"We tried to work as hard as we could but it was an impossible task to come back into the game."

Fulham do offer their players access to sports psychologists but Hangeland feels that he has the experience to cope with the mental demands of the game.

The Norwegian defender believes the key is to move on quickly after each match, regardless of the result, and concentrate solely on the next challenge.

"I think you need to do that [clear your head] as soon as possible," Hangeland added. "For me personally, that's not a problem. When the game's over you can't do much about it so you've got to look forward to next week.

"There is someone [a sports psychologist] if you need that after the games but I've been in the game so long that whether we win, lose or draw I manage to forget it quite quickly and prepare for the next game."


http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/9230182?

[WhiteJC]

 
U18 Games Rescheduled

Fans are advised of two amendments to the Under-18 fixture list.

Steve Wigley's side will now face Middlesbrough at 11am on Tuesday 29th April (previously due to be played on Saturday 29th March).

In addition, they will travel to West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday 6th May (previously scheduled for Saturday 15th February), kick-off time to be confirmed.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/march/24/u18-games-rescheduled?

[WhiteJC]

 
Hangeland focused on Everton

Brede Hangeland has urged his Fulham team-mates to put their Manchester City mauling behind them and focus on the remaining seven games.

The 5-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday grounded Fulham following the first win of the Felix Magath era at home to Newcastle United.

Next up for the Premier League's bottom side is a Craven Cottage clash with Everton on Sunday and Hangeland knows time is running out in the battle to avoid relegation and that Fulham cannot afford to dwell on last weekend's setback at City.

"I think you need to do that (clear your head) as soon as possible," the Norwegian international defender told the Fulham Chronicle.

"For me personally, that's not a problem. When the game's over you can't do much about it so you've got to look forward to next week.

"There is someone (a sports psychologist) if you need that after the games, but I've been in the game so long that whether we win, lose or draw I manage to forget it quite quickly and prepare for the next game."


http://uk.soccerway.com/news/2014/March/24/hangeland-focused-on-everton/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Liverpool Amendment

The Club would like to inform supporters that the Under-21s' game against Liverpool on Tuesday 1st April will now be played behind closed doors and will kick-off at 2pm.

There will be no general public access for this fixture.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/march/24/liverpool-amendment?

[WhiteJC]

 
Trotta interested in permanent move

Marcello Trotta says he would be interested in a permanent move to Brentford this summer.

The 21-year-old Fulham striker, thriving in his second season on loan at Griffin Park, admits his future is uncertain and he expects to hold talks with his parent club at the end of the season.

He has a year left on his contract at Fulham, where he has made just one senior appearance.

Trotta told West London Sport: "I would be interested in a move if Brentford wanted me but I have to talk to Fulham and see what happens in the summer.

"I don't know what Fulham want to do with me. There are a lot of things to talk about.

"My future is not my priority at the moment. My priority is to do well for Brentford and to try to achieve what we didn't do last year and win promotion."

Trotta has been in devastating form recently, notching his 13th goal of the season in the win over Coventry on Saturday.

He added: "I feel really great at the moment. I've been doing work in the gym, doing something different in training and giving my best all the time.

"That's what gets you to the top level of your game – you have to improve in each session and that's what I'm trying to do."


http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/trotta-interested-permanent-move-2?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham eye Freiburg centre-back


SC Freiburg's Fallou Diagne (L) challenges Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling during their German soccer cup (DFB Pokal) third round match in Freiburg December 4, 2013.
REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Fulham are looking at the possibility of bringing in Freiburg centre-half Fallou Diagne this summer.

The Cottagers, who are now managed by German boss Felix Magath, are monitoring the 24-year-old defender with a view to a summer move, according to Setal.net.

Diagne, who was born in Senegal, signed for Freiburg in 2012 after spending four years a Metz. He has made 56 Bundesliga appearances for the German side, scoring twice.

Diagne carries a dual passport with Senegal and France, but is yet to make any international appearances.

Fulham currently sit bottom of the Premier League, four points from safety. Magath got his first win as boss two weekends ago when his team beat Newcastle United 1-0. However they came crashing back to earth on Saturday with a 5-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Fulham will look to replace some of their aging defence in the summer. Norwegian centre-back Brede Hangeland is 32 while on loan Johnny Heitinga is 30.


http://www.footballdirectnews.com/premier-league-news/44216-fulham-eye-freiburg-centre-back.php#.UzEqmFwdObA

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham put contract talks on hold until the summer

Cottagers concentrating on survival fight rather than future of players


Focused: Fulham manager Felix Magath is concentrating on beating the drop
Fulham boss Felix Magath has put all contract talks on hold until the end of the season.

John Arne Riise, Steve Sidwell and Damien Duff are among the players whose deals are up in the summer.

But Magath insists any new contracts will have to wait until the Cottagers' fate is decided one way or the other.


Uncertain future: John Arne Riise is out of contract in the summer
He said: "At the moment I don't care about the contract situation because we are fighting against relegation.

"It's different whether you play in the Premier League or the Championship. It's not the time to talk about contracts."

Fulham are bottom of the table, four points adrift of safety with just seven games remaining. They host Everton on Saturday.


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-put-contract-talks-hold-6871032?

[WhiteJC]

 
Esteemed Company

DID YOU KNOW

Yaya Toure's hat-trick on Saturday was the 3rd hat-trick conceded by Fulham this season. This stat now ties them with 1994/95 Ipswich, 1995/96 Coventry City, and 1997/98 Bolton Wanderers for conceding the most hat-tricks in one EPL season with 3. (This paragraph has a hat-trick of hat-trick mentions).

All three of said hat-tricks have come in past two months, since Adam Johnson netted his in mid-January. This is worse than Bolton and Coventry who each conceded their hat-tricks over a 3 month span, yet better than Ipswich who conceded their three hat-tricks in just a month. (Ouch. And another paragraph with three hat-trick mentions!)

Ultimately, Ipswich finished bottom (22nd at the time), Coventry 16th (survived on GD, somehow), and Bolton 18th (relegated on GD). We're probably going to finish somewhere thereabouts.

We could nuance the point away and look at who scored each of the hat-tricks:

Yaya Toure (cost City £24m–double our transfer fee record–and arguably Ivory Coast's best player)
André Schürrle (cost Chelsea £18m, wunderkind)
Adam Johnson (doesn't live up to hype/ego, but still cost Sunderland £10m)
Or look at the following chart from Sporting Intelligence (based on 12/13 and even 11/12 accounts) and somehow be surprised this hasn't happened more often against the bigger teams (blue is transfer fees/yellow is wages):

But if there's one silver lining to this turd: we're not as bad as 2007/08 Derby County. And here's how:

Fewest points in a season (11, we're at 24)
They only won once (we're at 7)
Kept just 3 clean sheets all season (we have 4!)
Had the worst GD in EPL history (-69; we're at -40)
Conceded the most in 38 game season (89; we're at 70)
Yet Derby DOES have a better TSR than us, as they posted .377 in 2007-08 and as of last week we had .3747–which may go down considering Saturday's result.


http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/esteemed-company/

[ScalleysDad]

As usual better than buying a newspaper. Phil Milsom hits the nail etc and we have a conspiracy in the making for the closed doors fixture for the 21's at the back end of April against Liverpool. The big greek getting a run out in front of potential suitors??? The big greek making it to the bench?

[AnotherVicHalomLoveChild]

As usual better than buying a newspaper. Phil Milsom hits the nail etc and we have a conspiracy in the making for the closed doors fixture for the 21's at the back end of April against Liverpool. The big greek getting a run out in front of potential suitors??? The big greek making it to the bench?

or worse Liverpool wanting to vet ALL of our yoof & also the Greek to see whether he sits slumped or with a straight back whilst on the bench
Could be a package purchase deal of our yoof to inc. the Cottage?
What with the departure of the senior pros in the summer - bye bye...
That then leaves us nicely placed for the redevelopment plans - not of the Riverside but the flats of course

On the other hand, well who really knows

An explanation from someone @ the club would have been nice but then again after this season it's "par for the course"

Ah well all will be positive after we beat Everton & start the escape & survival plan

There's only on F in Felix (but none in Maggie!)

COYW!

[Berserker]

As usual better than buying a newspaper. Phil Milsom hits the nail etc and we have a conspiracy in the making for the closed doors fixture for the 21's at the back end of April against Liverpool. The big greek getting a run out in front of potential suitors??? The big greek making it to the bench?

Yes your right about the Phil Milsom piece, and god know's what the secret under 21's match is all about. Pretty depressive reading anyhow and I've got to the stage now where I can't wait for this season to end.

[Fulham1959]

As usual better than buying a newspaper. Phil Milsom hits the nail etc and we have a conspiracy in the making for the closed doors fixture for the 21's at the back end of April against Liverpool. The big greek getting a run out in front of potential suitors??? The big greek making it to the bench?

Yes your right about the Phil Milsom piece, and god know's what the secret under 21's match is all about. Pretty depressive reading anyhow and I've got to the stage now where I can't wait for this season to end.

Oh no !

And I thought the first 31 were practice matches and that 'our season starts on Sunday' . . .

[MJG]

What secret U21 game?

Oh wait the game being played at 2PM, well most of you should know by now that afternoon games at the club are very very rarely allowed to be watched by Joe public.

Jesus some of you lot fall for some shite

[ScalleysDad]

What secret U21 game?

Oh wait the game being played at 2PM, well most of you should know by now that afternoon games at the club are very very rarely allowed to be watched by Joe public.

Jesus some of you lot fall for some shite

Okay. Thanks for the heads up. I am going to like being in 'the most of you' club but I will miss my friends in the 'lets just relax a bit' clique.