Saturday Fulham Stuff (12.06.10)

[White Noise]

http://www.tribalfootball.com/racing-genk-expect-fulham-move-tozser-901421

Racing Genk expect Fulham move for Tozser


12.06.10 | tribalfootball.com

Racing Genk are ready to sell midfielder Daniel Tozser.

The Hungary international midfielder has confirmed Fulham's interest in the past week.

And Belgian sources say Tozser is now close to leaving Genk for Craven Cottage. Negotiations have accelerated this week with Fulham boss Roy Hodgson back at his desk.

[White Noise]

This year's bonanza (in midnight blue on the right above) is 158 pages long (in a smaller font, too!) and contains:

p2-p58 - match reports from the season spliced with David Lloyd's TOOFIF editorials to organise/enlighten/entertain

p59-p95 - essays: Nick Johnson on Tom Wilson, Jimmy Hill, and keeping the Fulham dream alive, Nick on Bobby Robson; Chopper's usuall excellent 'departing heroes' section; Tim Gelles' on our loanees

p96 - p148: a kind of biography of Roy Hodgson; I spent much of the first part of this year researching his career to-date, and here are 50+ pages exploring this in more detail than you'll find anywhere else. It's far from perfect but hopefully you'll find it interesting. Not the greatest timing, under the circumstances is it? Oh well.

p149 - p158: Colin Baker's stats looking at the season just gone (did you know that Jon Greening created 64 shots in his last season at WBA; 11 at Fulham?...)

Plus some of Orm's pictures throughout.

And so on. I always say this, but I reckon it's by far the best Review yet, and we're still going for £5 (although p&p now £2.50 as its bigger), which sounds like good value to me. If you've not bought one before, we've had really good feedback on the last three, so give it a go...

www.godsfoot.com to order! Please email me if you have any questions.

cheers

[White Noise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jun/12/world-cup-2010-usa-fans-network

World Cup 2010: USA will need speed and discipline to beat England

Expect Bob Bradley to keep things tight in the first half tonight, while he looks for weaknesses in Fabio Capello's side


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In a game that has been hyped perhaps more than any other in the history of the USA's soccer team, one word siphons through the buzz. This game is simply "important".


Important as a measuring stick of US soccer against the rest of the world and important for the role it could play in catapulting the casual American fan back to the level of attentiveness that last occurred up until a Torsten Frings handball in 2002.


Amazingly, the catalyst of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea remains the most identifiable figure on the team today. With that said, the way in which Landon Donovan plays the game – reliant on the skill and guile of others to make his own game shine – embodies the manner in which the USA play as a team ... on most days. Lacking any soccer equivalent to Michael Jordan, the USA focus on team play and cohesion. Will unity, and a resolve not to make mistakes, be enough to break down one of powerhouses of the international game?


Kick-off is set for 2.30pm Eastern Time in the States and up until the line-ups are revealed Bob Bradley's strategy will remain the same as always. Predictability was a trait closely associated with Coach Bradley through qualifying that has changed through the tune-up phase. What hasn't changed is the knukles-down approach of Bradley who can be heard during practices barking at his troops to take the intensity up.


"C'mon move!" "Be sharper!"


Bradley's teams can best described through the traits his son Michael, one of the team's central midfielders, exhibits on the pitch. "Junior" Bradley is a relentless ball-hawker in central midfield who abounds with energy from the opening whistle to the close. He tackles hard, moves the ball quickly – though sometimes off-target – and rarely gives up on a play. Skilled in possession or an offensive tactician he is not.


You could say the same about the Yanks' game. Perhaps the only advantage the Yanks' have – beyond an individual moment of brilliance from Fulham's Clint Dempsey – is speed, specifically speed on the counter.


The great conundrum facing Bradley, and every media hound attempting to predict how Bradley will deploy his team, is when to unleash Donovan with Robbie Findley – a poor man's Jermain Defoe – in front of him. Will Bradley start the game with the pacey combination of Findley-Donovan-Steve Cherundolo on the right of the pitch or will he wait to bring that grouping together until after England has tired?


However that tactical question will be moot if the Yanks are not the fitter, more steely and less mistake-prone team on the field. Only then can they contend with England.


Let's take a deeper look at Bradley's equation to competing against England.


Reduce or Eliminate Errors, Win The 50-50 Balls
Pound-for-pound, England have a better team than the Yanks. If both teams play "their" game, England will triumph. For the Yanks to be in the game, they are going to need to avoid making the sorts of mistakes that they have been prone to making.


Things like losing track of a man on a set piece. If they do that, Peter Crouch or John Terry is going to make them pay. If they let a runner go unmarked, and that runner is Wayne Rooney, well the States will be a goal down.


Finally, of course, USA must win the 50-50 balls. The Yanks get so many of their goals the ugly way. If Englandare not attentive any loose ball, especially around the 18-yard box, the Yanks will make them pay.


Defensive First Frames
Expect Bradley to attempt to "steal" the game. It is rather academic to talk about the US "going for a draw" or "seeking a win". The strategy will be dictated by by game circumstance more than anything else. If the US is up 2-0 and they were playing for the draw, well, then what?


Perhaps a better thing to focus on is the USA's style of play, and you just need to look at three pivotal recent games to see an identifiable pattern. Against the Mexicans in August, the Hondurans in October and the Dutch – in a friendly – in March, Bob's playbook was a tale of two halves.


The first halves of these games were case studies in "defend, resist, and capitalise if opportunities somehow present themselves". The game against Mexico at the Azteca was the onlyone where the USA knocked in a first-half goal and the play was both extraordinary and brilliant, but not indicative of the gameplan that half. Donovan took a pass in traffic and slipped it through perfectly to Charlie Davies, who just beat the offside flag.


That's it – the USA's only first-half goal in any of these matches. For a solid majority of the time, Bradley elected to camp back, defend his goal and only take opportunities that didn't require his team to lose their shape.


Expect more of the same against England. It's why you won't see a Jose Torres deployed in the first half. It's also why Bradley commented in his press conference last week that the front line, in essence, should have been "sharper" with its chances against Turkey – though possessions provided the only scripted offence for the half. You can be sure that Jozy Altidore was one player Coach Bradley was talking about in that statement because his theoretical ability to maintain possession. Altidore is certainly a player that Bradley didn't want to see missing pitch time this week.


Rely On the Central Midfield To Cover The Pitch and Dictate the Play
Perhaps the reason we need to back-off Michael Bradley – his poor distribution and penchant to make ill-timed tackles – is that Bradley gives up on plays a lot less than his counterparts. Combine this with Ricardo Clark – a more limited player in the same vain – and the elder Bradley is looking at two players that are, first, "disruptive defensively" in the midfield as opposed to catalysts or conveyors of the attack.


I'm not as concerned about Clark's poor positioning in the Turkey match because they are a fast team. The players England have in the middle of the field are categorically not speed merchants. Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Michael Carrick would lose a shuttle run competition against Bradley, Clark, or even Maurice Edu nearly every time. This is an advantage that Coach Bradley will prey on.


Whether it's a fit Carrick or a returned-to-fitness Gareth Barry, England need to be concerned about two things. Firstly, can either of those two move the ball effectively against the ball-hawking pair of Clark and Bradley. Secondly, will Gerrard or Lampard, neither of whom are keen on dropping back, be willing to do so to help link play.


Bradley knows this and his midfielders will be deployed somewhat high – not as high as the Turkey game though – in attempt to clog.


US wing full-backs tasked with keeping shape
Anyone remember the Chicago qualifier in June 2009? How about the qualifier against Mexico in Columbus in February of last year? Remember anything about the full-backs in these games? Whether it was Jonathan Spector (multiple occasions) or Jonathan Bornstein (a few occasions) against the Hondurans or Heath Pearce and Frankie Hejduk against El Tri (both in abundance), the States' fullbacks were involved in the attack.


Now contrast this with three games I've cited above, then add in the Turkey game and this past weekend's warm-up against Australia. Notice a difference?


There were few occasions when the States flushed their fullbacks forward. Bradley's going to continue to instruct his wing-backs – whether they are up the pitch in concert with a pressing defense or laid back – not to lose shape even if it means a lost overlap option.


The one exception? Whenever you see the US take a stab on Saturday on the "speed" side which now looks to be the right side with Donovan deployed ahead of Cherundolo and behind Findley. Thismakes Cherundolo – most expect him to start – a pivotal figure. Can he defend for a full 90 minutes against a more physically imposing side, and will he have anything left to help make that attack lethal when it's required ahead of him?


USA's Attack
The USA will have four methods of attack against England - with movement off possession by Altidore, with set-pieces from Donovan, with whatever Dempsey can think up or can muster, with speed up the Findley-Donovan-Cherundolo flank


And that may be all there is in the playbook. Sure you may see a moment when Bradley or Clark trail and shoot or Spector takes another – and hopefully better – foray through the middle, but these opportunities will be anomalies.


The rest are expected. The biggest question from the list above will be how Bradley uses the speed in his squad Will he opt for pace from the beginning to push England back and give his team room to move the ball out of defence, or will he wait on the speed deployment until the second half?


I think Bradley waits. While all of England's backline – with the exception of perhaps Glen Johnson – pay rigorous attention to their defensive duties, half-time adjustments – so long as things are still close – will likely have the biggest bearing on the final outcome.


This is why I think Bradley deploys Findley during the second half. The two players that will help him here are the aforementioned Cherundolo and Herculez Gomez. If Gomez can be relied on as a reliever, than Findley does have the potential to start.


One more note in closing here. When thinking about what Bradley plans to do, focus on a player's general attributes, not their name or specific game. For Findley, think speed. For Donovan, counter-attack. This is how Bradley views his players, as a collection of aggregated skill moving as one, not as unique individuals to fit into the master puzzle.

[White Noise]

http://www.skysports.com/football/world-cup-2010/match-preview/0,28360,12097_3222281,00.html

Serbia v Ghana Preview

Muntari boost for Ghana, Vidic fit for Serbia


Last updated: 12th June 2010    


Ghana and Serbia kick off their World Cup campaigns with their Group D opener in Pretoria on Sunday.

In a tough looking group, with Germany and Australia making up the rest of the pool, both sides will be keen to get off to a winning start at the Loftus Versefeld Stadium.

This is Ghana's second World Cup finals following their debut in Germany four years ago, while for Serbia it is the first finals as a single nation.

Ghana are coached by Serbian boss Milovan Rajevic, but he insists there will be no divided loyalties on Sunday.

Ghana lost their most influential player prior to the finals when the dark side midfielder Michael Essien was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.

Inter Milan star Sulley Muntari has handed Ghana a boost after recovering from a thigh problem which forced him to miss his side's final warm-up game.

Stephen Appiah will captain the Black Stars, while Fulham defender John Pantsil will start in defence.

Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng could start in midfield after pledging his international allegiance to the Africans ahead of Germany.

Serbia news
Serbia expect Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic to be fit after illness ruled him out of the recent friendlies against Poland and Cameroon.

Serbia coach Radomir Antic has no other injury worries to contend with as they look to get off to a flying start in South Africa.

Birmingham new boy Nikola Zigic is expected to lead the attack, while highly-rated duo Milos Krasic and Milan Jovanovic will provide the ammunition from the wings.

[White Noise]

http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/good-start-for-fulham-in-the-world-cup/?

Good start for Fulham in the World Cup

Filed under: General — weltmeisterclaude @ 2:39 pm

Our man Dikgacoi had a terrific game for South Africa yesterday, doing almost everything right and making a goal to boot.



Dickson Etuhu's playing now, Clint will play tonight.