Mitroglou... Sort of what we already knew but thought I'd share anyway

[Brede Butter Pudding]

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fulham-count-cost-of-kostas-mitroglou-as-12m-striker-could-be-out-for-the-season-9232708.html

Fulham count cost of Kostas Mitroglou as £12m striker could be out for the season

Fulham's record-signing Kostas Mitroglou is seeing a specialist in Italy over his knee injury amid fears his season could be over.

There are concerns in Greece about whether the £12million striker, who has cost Fulham more than £100,000 for every minute he has played, will be fit enough to play at this summer's World Cup.

But Fulham's priority is to get him back for the relegation run-in. They are bottom of the Premier League, five points from safety with just six games remaining.

Mitroglou has made just two appearances since moving to Fulham in January and it is hoped a course of treatment in Bologna will help cure a problem that has sidelined him for a month.

Fulham boss Felix Magath said last week he hoped Mitroglou would be fit to face Aston Villa on Saturday but the player faces at least two more weeks on the sidelines.

Fulham could be relegated by the time Mitroglou is fit and the gamble of spending so much on the former Olympiakos striker appears to have backfired spectacularly.

Taking into account the transfer fee and his £40,000-a-week wages, Mitroglou has cost Fulham £103,529 for every minute he has played. Mitroglou joined Fulham with a minor knee injury but Magath claims the current problem is a separate issue. He made his debut as a 61st-minute substitute in a 1-1 draw at West Brom on February 22 but Magath then raised concerns over the player's fitness and left him out of the squad to face Chelsea the following week.

Mitroglou returned to play 90 minutes of the 3-1 defeat against Cardiff but looked some way short of full fitness and then sustained a knee problem in training.

Magath has grown concerned at his slow recovery and Fulham's medical staff have decided he should see a specialist.

[Baszab]

Who would have thought that ?

[grandad]

Heads must roll. At least Marlet, Johnson & Ruiz actually played some games.

[PokerMatt]

Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

103k a minute for a player who might have made his last appearance for us. No words.

[Riversider]

How people mocked in January when I said we should be going for Jordan Rhodes , 23 years old, Championship proven, great all round play, and scores goals, another 2 last night I see !
If Mitroglou doesn't play again this season, Fulham should ban him from joining up with the Greek squad for The World Cup, if he goes to Brazil he will undoubtedly return 6 weeks after everybody else for pre season training, there's an old saying "don't throw good money after bad" he's been an awful signing, let's get rid of him in the summer at the first opportunity !

[PokerMatt]

Actually I think we should hold on to him and force him to prove himself if he makes noises about wanting to leave.

He doesn't justify a move so let's play him for a full season and we might well come straight back up.

[Jimpav]

This signing truly smacks of desperation. I feel sorry for Khan. He's placed his trust in someone with 12 million of hard earned cash only to be made to look a fool.

On a secondary note I'm always a little disappointed when AJ gets grouped in with the likes of Ruiz a and Marlet.

I agree that he had regular injuries but he was pivotal to our 7th place finish. He would have played a much bigger role in the following season had he not been body checked by the thug from Perm- a completely needless challenge.

Not only this but he was the first Fulham player to score a premier league hattrick - tearing QPR a new one in the process.

[Brede Butter Pudding]

If he doesn't play at all this season, I too would be keen for him to be withheld from the Greece World Cup squad to ensure he's fit for the start of next season. That said, it would be difficult to persuade, or force, a player to miss a World Cup if they were deemed fit.

The strange thing about this transfer is that, unlike Remy at QPR, for instance, Mitroglou has not had a chance to prove himself at this level. I am sure it was anticipated that he would be fit, or near-fit, when we bought him, and his goals would contribute to our survival. If we were relegated anyway, he would score a sufficient number to be noticed by Premier League clubs, or clubs in Europe's other big leagues, who would see that he had done all he could to help a struggling team and would therefore offer him a way out.

The issue now is that we still have no idea how he will perform at this level when fit. I have no doubt he is a goalscorer and an excellent striker, but without proof at this level, who is going to want to spend big money on him to take him away from Fulham? Afterall, they will have to buy out a 4.5 year contract, which won't be cheap, so it'll be interesting to see what happens at the end of the season.

I don't think we will see him in a Fulham shirt again this season, but I am sure he will be fit enough for the World Cup. I would also not be surprised to see him back with us next season, part of Magath's plans to bounce us back up to the Premiership.

[gezkc]

Equating his fee to how much he has cost per minute is totally meaningless.

Yes, he's been an awful signing, given that the whole point of signing him was to score the goals to pull us out of relegation, but breaking down any player's fee to how many minutes they've played is just sensationalism - how much did Gareth Bale cost Real Madrid after his first two games? £86million / 180 minutes = £478,000 per minute.

If Mitrogolou plays for us before the end of the season and stays with us next season, his monetary value per game will improve. However, the fact is we should never have signed a player that wasn't fit to play straight away, given the situation we're in.

[TonyGilroy]

Clearly he's of no use to us this season but it may well be true that the substantive injury happened after he signed for us. That can happen. I seem to recall Roger Brown being injured in his first game for us and being out for the best part of a year. He made up for it.

We don't know what's in his contract but assuming this isn't a career ending injury he should be a real asset next season and if there's a release clause it can't be for much less than the fee we paid and there won't be too many takers anyway until he's proved his fitness.

[westcliff white]

If Mitroglou doesn't play again this season, Fulham should ban him from joining up with the Greek squad for The World Cup, if he goes to Brazil he will undoubtedly return 6 weeks after everybody else for pre season training, there's an old saying "don't throw good money after bad" he's been an awful signing, let's get rid of him in the summer at the first opportunity !
________
Your not allowed to stop players joining national teams without the national teams doctor saying he is injured / ill so to speak. Basically if he thinks he is fit and we dont we have to send him to the Greek Fa doctor and they decide if he is or isn't.

That's as I understand the rule

[Buffalo76]

Johnson troubled BUPA more than the opposition  fp.gif

[Neil D]

Let's hope he has more self-respect than Winston Bogarde and won't just sit on a lucrative contract while training with the youth team.

[TonyGilroy]

If he plays in the World Cup it'll be because he's fit. Good.

If he does well he will either attract a good fee or be ready to go for us next season. Again, good.

His future career can't be judged on the last few weeks.

[TonyGilroy]

Let's hope he has more self-respect than Winston Bogarde and won't just sit on a lucrative contract while training with the youth team.

Chelsea wouldn't use Bogarde and that was hardly his fault.

[ChesterTheTabby]

We should keep him in the squad, force him to play for the team he signed for, and have him being our driving force back into the Premier League. He will come back from injury, he will find his feet and form again in the Championship, and he will fire us back to the top. Let's not get rid of the lad unless we are offered exactly what we paid for him.

[Baszab]

Madgath wouldn't use Mitrolgou

[grandad]

If he plays in the World Cup it'll be because he's fit. Good.

If he does well he will either attract a good fee or be ready to go for us next season. Again, good.

His future career can't be judged on the last few weeks.

If he wins the Golden Boot at the WC we could sell him for double what we paid.

[Blanco]

Agree. Problem is, he might have a clause.

[alfie]

Magath said that he had a minor knee injury on joining and this was a seperate issue, and to be honest even the fitest player can easy pick up a knee injury just by getting studs caught. I would guess that the player is just as much annoyed and frustrated as we are