Sunday Fulham Stuff (04/05/14)...

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Replica Kit On Sale

Fulham fans can now take advantage of huge reductions on our Home and Third Kits.

Get your hands on 2013/14 adidas Home or Third Kit Replica Socks from £2.99, Shorts from £4.99, and Shirts from an amazing £17.49!

Our 2013/14 Away Kit goes on to become next season's Third Kit, and is still available instore and online.

Shop now direct on 0843 208 1223, at the Stadium Store, or online.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/may/03/replica-kit-on-sale?

[WhiteJC]

 
Manager Reaction

Felix Magath described Fulham's relegation from the Barclays Premier League as one of the worst days of his career.

The Whites' 4-1 defeat at Stoke City and Sunderland's shock 1-0 win at Manchester United saw Fulham's 13-year top-flight stay come to an end at the Britannia Stadium.

"This is one of the worst days I've ever had," Magath told the press after the game. "I was very confident that we could avoid relegation and I was convinced before the game that we had a great chance. I spoke with the players before and they seemed to be confident and in the dressing room they were up for the fight.

"But today, in Germany you would say it was a blackout. We had no chances from the beginning, we weren't in the game. The team felt too much pressure, we couldn't run, we couldn't pass, we couldn't play.

"Afterwards, nobody said a word. Everyone was down, there were some tears. But I have to take responsibility and I apologise, not only for today, but for the situation. I was convinced we would stay in the league but now we are relegated."

Magath had no complaints about the result at the Britannia Stadium, admitting his side hadn't been good enough.

"At the beginning of the game we saw no fighting, no spirit," he reflected. "Therefore they felt too much pressure and were not able to play as well as they can. We were a bit better in the second half than the first but after the second goal, we had no chance."

Magath, who confirmed Hugo Rodallega missed out through illness, is confident the Whites can bounce straight back, adding: "When I joined it was clear we had to change something as the Club was at the bottom of the table. Things developed in the last few weeks but it wasn't enough. I will talk about the situation with the Owner and we will start the comeback."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/may/03/manager-reaction

[WhiteJC]

 
Stoke City 4 Fulham 1: match report
Read a full match report of the Premier League game between Stoke City and Fulham at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday, May 3, 2014


Washed away: Mahamadou Diarra and his Fulham team-mates were relegated on Saturday following their thrashing at Stoke  Photo: GETTY IMAGES

It was appropriate that Fulham should be washed into Championship like this, with a performance that possessed all the resilience of a sandcastle at full-tide.

Fulham seemed accepting of their fate even though the encounter seemed like a standard case of one team having everything to play for and the other, absolutely nothing.

Mark Hughes had insisted in his programme notes that he was close to accomplishing a personal target set at the start of the season to finish inside the Premier League's top 10 for the first time in the club's history, so Stoke began like they really wanted it.

What followed was a microcosm of a Fulham campaign which has taken in a new owner, three different managers and 42 different players.

At best Felix Magath's side were disjointed. Realistically, they were disorganised to the point of embarrassment.

While six foot seven inch centre half Dan Burn was potentially as effective a right back as the old Michael Jackson statue that used to stand outside Craven Cottage, Mahamadou Diarra was wearing the number 9 shirt despite being deep in a midfield which was unable to retain possession or support the one man attack led by Darren Bent.

Bent's presence alone, indeed, was unusual given that he had not started a game in two months, appearing only once since Magath's appointment in February.

Fulham did not register a single shot on target in the first half. Stoke's lead at the break should have been reflected by more than Peter Odemwingie's goal, tucked in from a yard out after Stephen Ireland's shot had looped onto the crossbar via a block by John Heitinga that rebounded off Burn, too slow and possibly too harrowed to move out of the way following a spell where Oussama Assaidi had wriggled past him on numerous occasions.

By then, Lewis Holtby had already been substituted by Magath – a sign that things were not working. The pace at which Holtby departed suggested he was not injured. There was no offer of a handshake between the pair. Holtby simply slipped into his tracksuit and disappeared into the dugout.

The response in the second half was to get caught by the same trick on two occasions. Fulham built up enough courage to attack but committed too many men forward. The result was a succession of almost identical Stoke counter attacks involving natural wing-play, crosses and goals for Marko Arnautović then Assaidi.

Although Kieran Richardson volleyed in a consolation for the visitors, substitute Jonathan Walters restored Sto


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/10798423/Stoke-City-4-Fulham-1-match-report.html

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Fulham down after 13 years in top flight


Fulham players react to conceding a goal to Stoke City. Mandatory credit: Action Images.

Fulham's defeat at Stoke City on Saturday afternoon saw them relegated after thirteen seasons in the Premier League.

Recent wins against Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Norwich City looked to have given Felix Magath's side some hope in securing survival, but they remain their only wins in their last fifteen games.

Fulham also look likely to finish with the worst defensive record in the league, having never truly recovered from their bad start to the season under previous manager Martin Jol.

Jol's assistant Rene Meulensteen then replaced him as manager for a short period, before the vastly experienced Magath was brought in to help steady the ship, but there will be some doubts over his future at Craven Cottage now as the club contemplates life in the Championship for next season.

After winning promotion in 2000/01, Fulham then finished 13th in their first season in the top flight, and have since established themselves as a safe mid-table side, only really being threatened by relegation in 2007/08, when they survived on goal difference on the final day of the season.

They finished a record-high seventh place the following season under Roy Hodgson, who also took the club to the dizzying heights of the Europa League final in 2010, where they were narrowly beaten by Atletico Madrid in extra time.

Some big names have featured for the club during their Premier League stint, and the departure of star striker Dimitar Berbatov for Monaco this January will have no doubt damaged their fight for survival this year.

They are joined by Cardiff City in the second tier next season, with the Welsh side's defeat to Newcastle today seeing them drop back down after just one season in the Premier League.


http://www.footballdirectnews.com/premier-league-news/48324-fulham-down-after-13-years-in-top-flight.php

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Everything went wrong at Stoke as toothless Fulham dropped to the Championship with a whimper


Down and out: The Fulham players look on during their devastating defeat at Stoke

In the end, it was painful to watch. Fulham were torn apart by Stoke and went down with a whimper as they were finally relegated from the Premier League.

A 4-1 defeat at The Britannia and Sunderland's win against Manchester United at Old Trafford means the Cottagers will be playing in the Championship next year.

There was no fight, no sign they were scrapping for their lives. On a day when Fulham needed their biggest performance of the season, they gave one of their worst.

"If you're all going to Brentford, clap your hands," sung the 3,000 travelling fans, who deserved better than what their team produced. There was not enough energy from Fulham, not enough urgency, not enough quality.

This performance summed up a turbulent season at Craven Cottage and the inquest now begins into what has gone wrong at Craven Cottage. Less than 12 months after taking over, owner Shahid Khan is planning for life outside the Premier League.

Everything went wrong at Stoke. The decision to play Dan Burn, a left-footed centre back, at left-back, backfired horribly. Oussama Assaidi ran past the young defender at will. Lewis Holtby was hauled off after 34 minutes.

Peter Odemwingie gave Stoke the lead six minutes before the break and only David Stockdale kept Fulham alive in the first half. They were 2-0 down nine minutes into the second period when Marko Arnautovic was given the freedom the penalty area.

Kostas Mitroglou, a club-record £12million January signing who has featured only twice since moving to Craven Cottage, was brought on in a desperate attempt to save their season but the writing was already on the wall.

Assaidi made it three. Kieran Richardson pulled one back but Jon Walters added a fourth and Fulham were put out of their misery.


http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/everything-went-wrong-at-stoke-as-toothless-fulham-dropped-to-the-championship-with-a-whimper-9320818.html

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Fulham: In Memoriam

Fulham arrived in the Premier League thirteen years ago and today, sadly, they said their goodbyes.

When a club is relegated, the temptation is always to look at that season in isolation and draw conclusions based on that particular thirty-eight game period, but today has really been several years in the making.

When Fulham first stepped onto the Premier League stage, there was a freshness to their play and an intricacy to their football which made a breath of fresh air.  Purely on the basis of the on-field product, Mohamed Al Fayed appeared as if he understood how to climb the league pyramid, consolidate his club's position year-on-year, and then advance further up the mountain.

The signings were ambitious, the players were of a high quality, and Fulham looked very upwardly mobile.

Somewhere, though, something went wrong.  At some point over the past decade, the club stopped looking at the bigger picture and started to exist on a season-to-season basis.  Between 2007 and the present day, with Roy Hodgson's three-year reign excepted, Fulham have existed in a continuity-free world and have ad-libbed their way to survival.  Managers came and went, and teams were quickly built for purpose and then dissembled again.

At what point at Craven Cottage, was there ever the suggestion that somebody was actually building something?

That's the great danger of Premier League survival: it eclipses everything else.  Teams who are under-threat are so focused on avoiding relegation that they invariably forget to build on the progress they make when they survive.  Players are bought because of what they can do in the here and now rather than over the course of, say, five years – and over the long-term that's not a sustainable model.

Fulham plunged into this trap, and even though this season has seen the emergence of some very promising youth, there are still fifteen players of thirty or over in their squad who have played in the Premier League.  It is – and has been – a squad designed for today rather than tomorrow, and the club's fear of being relegated from the top-flight has ultimately prevented them from committing to something more organic.  There have been no twenty year-olds gradually finding their feet at Craven Cottage and neither has there been much evidence of any creative scouting – instead, the club's search criteria seems to have been confined to those players who were past their prime but who could give the side an eighteen-month boost.

Maybe that is a creative way around the problem of being a small club in the modern Premier League, but it can't be the only strategy relied upon.  Dimitar Berbatov, Giorgos Karagounis, Scott Parker, John Arne Riise, Steve Sidwell...these kinds of players are fine as stabilising influences, but an entire team can't be constructed out of them because they have no longevity.  Additionally, if a club becomes known as one of the last stops before retirement, eventually that will encourage a very corrosive attitude amongst the squad as a whole – players on their way up, irrespective of naiveties or imperfections, are almost always more valuable than those on their way down.

Fulham were smart with Clint Dempsey, for example, and they took a raw product at an early stage of his career and reaped the benefits.  Similarly, they took a gamble on a young Mousa Dembele when he was playing for AZ and gave him the opportunity to prove himself in a bigger competition.  Those kind of signings became the exception rather than the rule, though, and eventually Fulham's approach to the market seemed to be predicated on the elimination of risk rather than the discovery of potential – and the best outcome from that is stagnation and gentle decline.

The appointment of Felix Magath and the culture of promoting from within does now seem to suggest that relegation will be a speed-bump rather than crash-barrier, but it's just such a shame that these institutional failings have been allowed to fester for so long.

Fulham will be back, I'm certain of that, but they need to learn some lessons while they're away.


http://thepremierleagueowl.com/fulham-in-memoriam/

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Rampant Stoke condemn Fulham to relegation from Premier League

Fulham saw their 13-year stay in the Premier League end in abject fashion as the Stoke manager Mark Hughes saw his side torment his former club. The Welshman had criticised Fulham for a "lack of ambition" after leaving Craven Cottage in 2011 but the same cannot be said of his Stoke side who turned on the style in another impressive performance.

Fulham looked far from a side that had real desire to stay in the top flight and goals from Peter Odemwingie, Marko Arnautovic, Oussama Assaidi and Jonathan Walters handed them exactly what they deserved."You're not fit to wear the shirts," the 3,000 travelling fans sang towards the end, after supporting their team with such gusto throughout, while big earners such as Darren Bent also came in for flak.

Sadly for them their men looked disinterested as Stoke tore them apart from the start, the attacking trio of Odemwingie, Arnautovic and Assaidi causing constant problems for a side that have leaked goals all season.

Felix Magath, the alleged hard taskmaster, failed to get his team playing anywhere near his demands. He was rarely seen on the touchline as Fulham slipped towards their inevitable conclusion with barely a whimper. The German did take off the ineffectual Lewis Holtby, bringing on Ashkan Dejagah in his place, but such a change did little to turn the tide.

Magath arrived at Craven Cottage in February with the promise of keeping Fulham up but, after a season that has also seen Martin Jol and Rene Meulensteen at the helm, he has failed miserably. The only surprise on Saturday was that Stoke had to wait 39 minutes before finding the net.

This Stoke team are vastly different from the unattractive one that Tony Pulis assembled, and despite having little to play for they appeared to be the only side interested in this game. A persistent Arnautovic crossed for Stephen Ireland whose shot was blocked onto the bar by John Heitinga but Odemwingie reacted quickest to convert the loose ball on 39 minutes after Stoke had produced wave after wave of attacks.

Fulham's supporters desperately attempted to curtail their jeers at the break and lift their demoralised, some may say apathetic, side, but neither their words of encouragement or a half-time team talk from Magath appeared to have any effect whatsoever. Instead, a second for Stoke arrived nine minutes after the break as the visitors' defending was ruthlessly exposed again, Arnautovic rounding off a free-flowing break involving Assaidi and Odemwingie.

It was all over on 73 minutes as Arnautovic crossed for the Liverpool loanee Assaidi to score a simple tap-in and it now looked like Stoke would score at every given opportunity. But Fulham did pull one back on 80 minutes, Kieran Richardson half volleying home from the substitute Dejagah's cross from the right after the home defence had failed to clear their lines.

That was the cue for Stoke to go down the other end to score a fourth, as two substitutes, Charlie Adam and Walters, combined with the latter beating David Stockdale, one of the few Fulham players to come out of the game with any credit thanks to several fine saves, with ease.

It is difficult to determine the answer for Fulham, who have tried everything, certainly in a managerial sense, to turn around their fortunes in a desperate campaign and now the recriminations will start in earnest. Magath's future is far from certain. But one manager who is secure is Hughes who can now focus on next term with renewed optimism after equalling a record Premier League points tally of 47.

Hughes had sympathy with his former colleagues as he looks to the future, with signing Assaidi permanently top of his summer plans. "He is technically a very good player and we possibly surprised them with the front three," said Hughes. "We accept Assaidi is Liverpool's player but there is a hope we can keep him here." We're hopeful but it's out of our hands to a certain extent as it is based on what Liverpool value him at.

"I've seen a number of people who worked really hard for me at Fulham and they are really upset and you don't like to see that. It is an unforgiving league. There's a lot of good people there and I hope they can bounce back."


http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/03/stoke-fulham-premier-league

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Magath blasts Fulham players and reveals dressing room tears after Stoke defeat

Fulham boss Felix Magath accused his players of lacking the fight to survive after his club's 10-year stay in the Barclays Premier League came to an end with an abject 4-1 defeat at Stoke.

Goals from Peter Odemwingie, Marko Arnautovic, Oussama Assaidi and Jonathan Walters - combined with Sunderland's shock win at Old Trafford - consigned the Cottagers to the drop.

Kieran Richardson's late consolation came too late to save the 60-year-old Magath from experiencing the first relegation of his long, nine-club managerial career.

Magath said: "As you can imagine that is one of the worst days I have ever had.

"I was convinced before the game that we had a very good chance but today was what you would call in Germany a blackout.

"There was no fighting spirit there. I think they felt too much pressure - we cannot run, we cannot pass, we cannot play and we have never been in the game.

"Everybody is down on the bottom and there are some tears but I have to take the responsibility and I apologise not only for today but for not managing the situation because I was convinced we would stay in the league."

Fulham's dismal display was encapsulated by Magath's decision to haul off Lewis Holtby in the 34th minute, with the Cottagers boss reiterating a belief he first aired after the loss to Chelsea in March that the midfielder lacks the stomach for battle.

Magath added: "I think the player (Holtby) is very skilful but he doesn't get any of the ball or fight - there was nothing for him today."

However, Magath went on to insist he was ready to commit himself to trying to haul the club straight back to the top flight next season and would seek immediate talks with owner Shahid Khan.

Asked if he wanted to stay, Magath answered: "Yes, sure.

"We have to talk about the situation. It is one of the worst days I have ever had but I will go on. I will talk about the situation with the owner and we will start to come back."

Former Fulham boss Mark Hughes expressed some sympathy for his former club after consigning them to the drop.

Hughes spent less than 11 months in charge of the Cottagers before resigning in June 2011 admitting he needed a new challenge.

Hughes said: "I've seen a number of people who worked very hard for me when I was at Fulham and obviously they're very upset at the moment.

"You don't like to see people you've worked with go through that but it's an unforgiving league and you have to get the job done which we have and they haven't.

"There are a lot of good people there and a lot of good support staff who helped me so I hope they bounce back quickly."

Hughes expressed satisfaction with the way his side took an immediate stranglehold on the game and made sure to finish a healthy Britannia Stadium campaign on a high.

Hughes added: "It was a difficult game for us because it was deemed a game we didn't have anything to play for but we knew what we wanted to achieve today and that was three points.

"We made it difficult for Fulham once we scored that first goal which was really important. It might have been more difficult if they had got in front but they had to throw people forward to get on level terms and that played into our hands.

"We've built steadily in the second half of the season and finished really well. If we'd got something out of the (Tottenham) game last week we'd have been looking at a perfect end to the season."


http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/magath_blasts_fulham_players_and_reveals_dressing_room_tears_after_stoke_defeat_1_3585322

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'We cannot run, we cannot pass, we cannot play' - Felix Magath says Fulham lacked fight

Game over: Felix Magath

Fulham boss Felix Magath accused his players of lacking the fight to survive after his club's 10-year stay in the Barclays Premier League came to an end with an abject 4-1 defeat at Stoke.

Goals from Peter Odemwingie, Marko Arnautovic, Oussama Assaidi and Jonathan Walters - combined with Sunderland's shock win at Old Trafford - consigned the Cottagers to the drop.

Kieran Richardson's late consolation came too late to save the 60-year-old Magath from experiencing the first relegation of his long, nine-club managerial career.

Magath said: "As you can imagine that is one of the worst days I have ever had.

"I was convinced before the game that we had a very good chance but today was what you would call in Germany a blackout.

"There was no fighting spirit there. I think they felt too much pressure - we cannot run, we cannot pass, we cannot play and we have never been in the game.

"Everybody is down on the bottom and there are some tears but I have to take the responsibility and I apologise not only for today but for not managing the situation because I was convinced we would stay in the league."

Fulham's dismal display was encapsulated by Magath's decision to haul off Lewis Holtby in the 34th minute, with the Cottagers boss reiterating a belief he first aired after the loss to Chelsea in March that the midfielder lacks the stomach for battle.

Magath added: "I think the player (Holtby) is very skilful but he doesn't get any of the ball or fight - there was nothing for him today."

However, Magath went on to insist he was ready to commit himself to trying to haul the club straight back to the top flight next season and would seek immediate talks with owner Shahid Khan.

Asked if he wanted to stay, Magath answered: "Yes, sure.

"We have to talk about the situation. It is one of the worst days I have ever had but I will go on. I will talk about the situation with the owner and we will start to come back."

Former Fulham boss Mark Hughes expressed some sympathy for his former club after consigning them to the drop.

Hughes spent less than 11 months in charge of the Cottagers before resigning in June 2011 admitting he needed a new challenge.

Hughes said: "I've seen a number of people who worked very hard for me when I was at Fulham and obviously they're very upset at the moment.

"You don't like to see people you've worked with go through that but it's an unforgiving league and you have to get the job done which we have and they haven't.

"There are a lot of good people there and a lot of good support staff who helped me so I hope they bounce back quickly."

Hughes expressed satisfaction with the way his side took an immediate stranglehold on the game and made sure to finish a healthy Britannia Stadium campaign on a high.

Hughes added: "It was a difficult game for us because it was deemed a game we didn't have anything to play for but we knew what we wanted to achieve today and that was three points.

"We made it difficult for Fulham once we scored that first goal which was really important. It might have been more difficult if they had got in front but they had to throw people forward to get on level terms and that played into our hands.

"We've built steadily in the second half of the season and finished really well. If we'd got something out of the (Tottenham) game last week we'd have been looking at a perfect end to the season."


http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/we-cannot-run-we-cannot-pass-we-cannot-play--felix-magath-says-fulham-lacked-fight-9321084.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Felix Magath: Fulham players lacked fight to survive

Fulham boss Felix Magath accused his players of lacking the fight to survive after his club's 10-year stay in the Barclays Premier League came to an end with an abject 4-1 defeat at Stoke.

Goals from Peter Odemwingie, Marko Arnautovic, Oussama Assaidi and Jonathan Walters - combined with Sunderland's shock win at Old Trafford - consigned the Cottagers to the drop.

Kieran Richardson's late consolation came too late to save the 60-year-old Magath from experiencing the first relegation of his long, nine-club managerial career.

Magath said: "As you can imagine that is one of the worst days I have ever had.

"I was convinced before the game that we had a very good chance but today was what you would call in Germany a blackout.

"There was no fighting spirit there. I think they felt too much pressure - we cannot run, we cannot pass, we cannot play and we have never been in the game.

"Everybody is down on the bottom and there are some tears but I have to take the responsibility and I apologise not only for today but for not managing the situation because I was convinced we would stay in the league."

Fulham's dismal display was encapsulated by Magath's decision to haul off Lewis Holtby in the 34th minute, with the Cottagers boss reiterating a belief he first aired after the loss to Chelsea in March that the midfielder lacks the stomach for battle.

Magath added: "I think the player (Holtby) is very skilful but he doesn't get any of the ball or fight - there was nothing for him today."

However, Magath went on to insist he was ready to commit himself to trying to haul the club straight back to the top flight next season and would seek immediate talks with owner Shahid Khan.

Asked if he wanted to stay, Magath answered: "Yes, sure.

"We have to talk about the situation. It is one of the worst days I have ever had but I will go on. I will talk about the situation with the owner and we will start to come back."

Former Fulham boss Mark Hughes expressed some sympathy for his former club after consigning them to the drop.

Hughes spent less than 11 months in charge of the Cottagers before resigning in June 2011 admitting he needed a new challenge.

Hughes said: "I've seen a number of people who worked very hard for me when I was at Fulham and obviously they're very upset at the moment.

"You don't like to see people you've worked with go through that but it's an unforgiving league and you have to get the job done which we have and they haven't.

"There are a lot of good people there and a lot of good support staff who helped me so I hope they bounce back quickly."

Hughes expressed satisfaction with the way his side took an immediate stranglehold on the game and made sure to finish a healthy Britannia Stadium campaign on a high.

Hughes added: "It was a difficult game for us because it was deemed a game we didn't have anything to play for but we knew what we wanted to achieve today and that was three points.

"We made it difficult for Fulham once we scored that first goal which was really important. It might have been more difficult if they had got in front but they had to throw people forward to get on level terms and that played into our hands.

"We've built steadily in the second half of the season and finished really well. If we'd got something out of the (Tottenham) game last week we'd have been looking at a perfect end to the season."


http://www.independent.ie/sport/felix-magath-fulham-players-lacked-fight-to-survive-30241778.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Premier League: Sad day for Fulham says Steve Sidwell

Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell admitted the team had not performed as their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed after a 4-1 defeat at Stoke City.

The Cottagers failed to make an impact in a must-win game at the Britannia Stadium and Sidwell cited last weekend's 2-2 home draw with Hull City as a factor.

Felix Magath's side led 2-0 against the Tigers but dropped two vital points as the visitors fought back to draw 2-2.

Speaking after the defeat at Stoke, Sidwell told Sky Sports: "I think last week probably knocked the stuffing out of us - 2-0 up at home and coming away with a draw.

"We knew we had to come here to get a result and it's not worked out.

"It's probably more disappointing with how we have performed today. I think words were said in the dressing room, that if we were going to go down, let's go down with a bit of fight and courage - something that's not been there throughout the season, let alone today.

"So it's a sad day for Fulham Football Club."

Sidwell admitted it has been a tough campaign for the Craven Cottage club who have won just nine of their 37 matches.

"It's been a bit of pain every week throughout the season, even the games we've won. It's been hard at times," he said.

"We have had a spell in the last few weeks when we've got back into a bit of form and we've thought we could get out of it, but at the end of the day the table doesn't lie. It's all there for a reason and we deserve to be down there.

"No-one is too good to go down. It's a squad game and you've got to perform on a Saturday and if you are not performing as a team then you deserve to go down.

"There has been a lot of factors that you could make excuses for - different managers, different styles over the course of the season - but we are professionals and we just have to go out there on a Saturday and perform and over the season we have not done that."


http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9296192/premier-league-sad-day-for-fulham-says-steve-sidwell?

[WhiteJC]

 
Cardiff City, Fulham and Norwich City consider legal battle against relegation from the Premier League
Cardiff City and Fulham take on Premier League over Sunderland fine after distraught Felix Magath savages players over lack of fight


Eye of the storm: Ji Dong-won played four Premier League games for Sunderland - three of which were defeats
Photo: ACTION IMAGES

Relegated clubs could launch a legal challenge against their demotion from the Premier League, arguing Sunderland should not have escaped a points deduction for fielding an ineligible player in four separate matches.

Fulham and Cardiff City were relegated on Saturday following heavy defeats, while Sunderland's 1-0 win at Manchester United took them to the brink of safety. But Cardiff confirmed on Saturday night that they had joined forces with certain other clubs and written a letter challenging the Premier League's decision to issue only a fine to Sunderland for playing Ji Dong-won without international clearance.

Norwich City, who are in serious danger of being relegated, are understood to be one of Cardiff's allies, and it was claimed that Fulham were another. The letters were sent from the clubs' legal departments, although the clubs insist that at this stage they were seeking clarification from the league, rather than launching formal legal proceedings.

Nonetheless, their action raises the possibility of an unedifying battle between the league and the relegated clubs, in which they could demand financial compensation and may even argue Sunderland should be demoted retrospectively. The aggrieved clubs could cite several cases in which the fielding of an ineligible player has been punished with a points deduction, most recently when AFC Wimbledon were docked three League Two points last week. The clubs will also want to know why the league initially sought to prevent details of Sunderland's offence and subsequent punishment being made public, before they were exposed by a newspaper in April.

Of the four early season matches Ji played in illegally, Sunderland lost three and drew one, against Southampton. Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has admitted he thinks the offence should have carried a points deduction.

Fulham manager Felix Magath issued a withering condemnation of his players after the 4-1 defeat at Stoke City which ended their 13-year spell in the top flight. Magath, who had not been relegated with any of his eight previous clubs, said his players wept in the dressing room after the defeat, and insisted he wanted to stay at Fulham.

He said: "That is one of the worst days I have ever had. I was convinced before the game that we had a very good chance but today was what you would call in Germany a blackout.

"There was no fighting spirit there. I think they felt too much pressure. We cannot run, we cannot pass, we cannot play and we have never been in the game. Everybody is down on the bottom and there are some tears but I have to take the responsibility and I apologise."

Fulham fans at the game directed their anger at striker Darren Bent, chanting he was "not fit to wear the shirt", but Magath reserved special criticism for his fellow German Lewis Holtby, whom he substituted after only 34 minutes. He said: "I think the player is very skilful but he doesn't get any of the ball or fight. It is one of the worst days I have ever had but I will go on. I will talk about the situation with the owner and we will start to come back."

Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose side lost 3-0 to Newcastle United, said he also hoped to keep his job. Solskjaer said: "I will sit down with the owner sooner rather than later. Relegation has been lurking for weeks, but it is still very disappointing. I will chew on what has happened for a little while, but I'm a warrior even if I don't look it sat here at the moment."


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/10807112/Cardiff-City-Fulham-and-Norwich-City-consider-legal-battle-against-relegation-from-the-Premier-League.html

[Me-ate-Live, innit??]

http://www.uncleugs.com/blog/2014/05/20-reasons-why-fulham-got-relegated-a-timeline-of-disasters-spanning-3-seasons/

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20 reasons why Fulham got relegated: a timeline of disasters spanning 3 seasons
Posted on May 4, 2014
There are so many reasons why Fulham have been relegated. This is by no means a definitive list but here's a few in my mind right now that stick out:

1. Fayed not investing enough money into the club for transfers

I love Al Fayed. We wouldn't have had the last 13 years without him. But my theory is he had to make the club attractive to buyers which in turn meant minimising costs, and that meant sadly hardly any money for Jol to spend under Al Fayed. Jol was right when he told supporters in private the reason it was so bad was he had no money to spend. Though saying that...
alfayed

2. Signing Bryan Ruiz – 1 September 2011

Jol did get one chance to splash the cash and he brought in Bryan Ruiz. I loved Bryan. I wanted him to succeed as he came across as a nice guy. You could tell he was a talented player. But unfortunately the pace and physical nature of the Premier League was too much. His football brain just needed that extra millisecond to make the final pass and by that point he'd been bundled off the ball.  bryan

3. Last second European equaliser - 14 December 2011 vs Odense

This might be a strange one but let's go back to 2011 when Jol was first starting out at Fulham, sadly things weren't even any good back then. For those that watched the match will remember that last minute equaliser as a massive kick in the teeth for the club. We had been 2-0 up, conceded a silly goal for 2-1 but with only seconds to go we were heading into the next round of the Europa League. Instead of taking the ball into the corner Sa lost the ball and it went up the other end and suddenly it was 2-2 and we were out. This marked the beginning of the end for me.
odense

4. Jol relying on past contacts

Jol had no money most of the time so would often bring in players he knew from old clubs. Nothing wrong with that, all managers do it, but unfortunately they all seemed to be good players about 100 years ago.
jol2

5. Jol not turning to youth players

As we've seen in the case of Rene and Felix, if your senior players are no good and you don't have the money/time to sign players then why not turn to our successful youth side? To be fair maybe at this stage it was too early for our youth players, but going by some reports there was tension between Jol and the youth setup that he wasn't giving them a chance. This was denied but often there's no smoke without fire...
youth

6. Jol never knowing his best 11 players

It's incredible to think it's been so long since any of us have known our best 11, let alone the manager knowing this. Even if you think you know a few who should be in that starting 11 they are finally given a chance in the starting line-up but always seem to have the worst game of their life.
fulhamteam

7. a) Selling our best players: Dempsey and Dembele – August 2012

This one is an obvious one. I was tempted not to include it as there's not much you can really do if your best players want to leave. But would they have stayed if Jol wasn't manager? I remember Dickson Etuhu always saying that one day we will find out what happened at this point – it was clear Etuhu, Dempsey and Dembele had got fed up with Jol.
dempsey

7. b) Not replacing our best players

One big hole left in our side was when Danny Murphy left. Again, would he have stayed if Jol wasn't around? We've never been able to replace him.
murphy

8. Jols terrible 2012/2013 season

Due to the reasons above we had an awful season but somehow finished 12th. I've still no idea how. Probably due to Berbatov's goals.
jol

9. Winning at Swansea on the last day of the 2012/2013 season

Winning at Swansea on the last day of the 2012/2013 season was one of the worst things to have happened as it gave the impression Jol had got things right for once. But it was mainly due to Swansea already being in Vegas on holiday. Though even if we would have lost Jol probably would have stayed as Al Fayed wouldn't have made a drastic move before selling the club.
swansea

10. Arrival of our new owner Shahid Khan – July 2013

When Shahid Khan arrived at Fulham he spoke about "sustainability". To me this meant "I'm not going to do anything drastic and certainly not spend much money". You could tell he was trying to use this season to get a better understanding on the Premier League and how it works. Unfortunately for Fulham this was the worse possible time this could have happened. A club with a terrible manager, an aging squad and now an owner who doesn't want to change too much.
khan

11. Jols summer signings 2013/2014

Here are Jol's summer signings before the new owner:

Fernando Amorebieta
Derek Boateng
Maarten Stekelenburg
3 players who'd never played in this league, though who you would have thought should be good enough.

Here's the 3 more following the arrival of our new owner:

Scott Parker
Darren Bent
Adel Taarabt
Now admittedly I was one of the few who thought these three might be good. Couple of decent proven Premier League players I thought, though a little on the old side, and finally an attacking midfielder. I was wrong and the majority were right, all were a disaster.
bent

12. Pre-season disaster 2013/2014

Pre-season was a disaster. We won 2 games out of 6, and those were against sides only 3 people in the world have heard of. When I saw us play Parma in one friendly the signs of the terrible things to come were there. Doing OK for 60 minutes and then running out of steam and conceding awful goals. Our best player was Boatang who showed a bit of skill and attacking ability but then strangely never got a game after that.

13. Fitness problem: not being able to play for 90 minutes

Was the reason why our pre-season and then our entire season a disaster because we hadn't done enough work on fitness? We won those early two friendly games against sides no one has heard of, but when he came to some teams we'd actually heard of (Werder Bremen, Real Betis, Parma) we looked like an amateur side.


Then looking back over this season you could maybe blame each loss on fitness if you look at the number of goals conceded in the last 10-20 minutes. The fact is we have never been 90 minutes match fit at all this season.

14. Terrible league form at the start of 2013/2014 season and Jol refusing to quit

To be honest you can't really blame a guy for wanting to stay and fight on. But I do wonder whether it was about the team or waiting for the paycheck you get when your sacked...

15. Winning at Palace – 21 Oct 2013

Like the Swansea game above, winning at palace was bad. They changed their manager directly after and stayed up (though I'd honestly rather be relegated than have Tony Pulis as our manager) and Jol looked like he'd fixed things in front of our watching new owner and got a few more losses for us as a result.
palace

16. Berbatov's 2013/2014 season

Berbatov had a good 2012/2013 season along with our other best player Reither. Without his goals we would have probably been in the situation we are now in. But this season he didn't turn up and I've no idea why. Nothing much had changed, he still had the manager that treated him like a son and let him do what he wants. Come to think of it maybe that was the problem, he'd grown to comfortable and just gave up. He thought he'd maybe proven himself the season before and that was that, he could do what he wants.
berb

17. Fulham not sacking Jol early enough

I'm a patient and reasonable person, but deep down I knew we had to sack Jol after the Cardiff game on 28 September 2013, losing 2-1 at home. Many would say earlier then that. 2 of the 3 wins we did pick up under Jol this season felt like complete flukes (Sunderland away and Stoke at home)

We left it too late in the end and he was sacked 7 league games later on 1 Dec 2013.

That whole situation with bringing Rene as Jol's assistant was just weird as well. Why not just sack Jol?
jolwestham

18. Appointing an unproven manager – 1 Dec 2014

I personally liked Rene and liked what he had to say. I liked him giving youth a chance and playing more attacking football. But maybe Rene wasn't cut out for a relegation fight?

I know of one player who thought sacking Rene was the right decision as he chose his best 12 players for training and froze out the rest. Admittedly this player was one who was frozen out but I think there may be more to this sacking that we don't know. He said Rene could talk the talk but nothing good was happening in training and communication between the coaching staff and players was not good.  Apparently the new training techniques were killing the team morale. The player said he'd never seen anything like it before and it was a horrible time at Fulham. Also, he thinks what happened on the bench against Liverpool was one of the reasons why the changes were made on Valentines day to bring in a new manager and coaching staff. You could take this all with a pinch of salt obviously but hopefully one day we'll find out for certain what really went on during this time.
rene

19. January 2014 transfers: Spending 10 million on one player – Mitroglou 31 Jan 2014

Aside from Holtby, our January signings didn't work:

John Heitinga
Kostas Mitroglou
Ryan Tunnicliffe
William Kvist
Larnell Cole
Spending 10 million on one player (Mitroglou) was a gamble. It's easy for us to say it was a disaster now knowing that there's questions as to whether he can actually physically play football but let's think back: According to some reports this signing was not Rene's choice but Alistair Macintosh's. In Rene's post-transfer window interview he described Mitroglou as an "investment". Here are all the tell tale signs that this signing wasn't this season's savior that we thought he might be. Did they know he would be injured the whole season?

Watch this interview and fast-forward to 1 minute 40 seconds:



20. Not bringing Felix in sooner

I think the Fulham board all know now that had they appointed Felix on 1 Dec 2013 rather than Rene then there is a good chance we wouldn't have been in this mess as Felix would have had the January window to bring in his own players and build a better team.
magath



and thus ends my reasons for why Fulham got relegated. I'm sure there are a 100 more!

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About the writer

I'm Alex. I've been going to Fulham since the 95/96 season and like many fans will watch them in whatever league they are in. Will we be back in the Premier League soon? Who knows but at least it's never been boring!