Friday Fulham Stuff (13/06/14)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Nfl Owner: London Will Get Franchise ... Sooner Than You Think | Fox News

And maybe more than one. Londons a big city I think eventually having that many games says that we really are playing a season in London, so we probably ought to have a team here.

I'm very optimistic." Blank sees adding games in London as just the start. The owner imagines that, in the future, London could be home to at least one NFL team. "I think it will start with an increased number of games," he said. "That will be translated into a very successful series of games, and eventually, I think a franchise.



http://fulhamsfinest.com/nfl-owner-london-will-get-franchise-sooner-than-you-think-fox-news/?

[WhiteJC]

 
The Craven Corner - Recent in's and outs of the club and what's to come


Felix Magath with Scott Parker (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)

So we have seen quite a few players departing since the last edition of the Craven Corner, and whilst it is slightly worrying to look at what's left of our squad, at the same time it's exciting to know that we have so many players that will be brought into the club. But, let's start with the Brede Hangeland saga that played out last week. So it all started with Brede Hangeland and John Arne Riise claiming he had been released by e-mail which sounded incredibly odd especially with Brede being the captain and one-year remaining on his current deal. John Arne Riise later retracted his earlier Facebook post regarding Brede's departure, but my initial thoughts were that Brede should would have been present in the meeting as I assume there would be a compensation package involved with the remaining year. I think it's fair to say that Brede Hangeland hasn't been the player he was since his injury this season. He seems slower across the pitch and considering his gigantic presence, he has been bullied by a number of forwards this season and I actually agreed with Rene Meulensteen when Brede was dropped for Dan Burn & Johnny Heitinga. (Yes, I still believe we would have survived if Rene had stayed in charge). Brede's now left the club, arguably on sour terms and the truth regarding his exit will remain a mystery, but thank you for your service to the club. With his exit, it does mean that Dan Burn will most likely take his place, a player who I strongly believe should captain the side next season. Young, English, passionate and knows the championship from his time with Birmingham.

We have also lost Steve Sidwell to Stoke City, which is incredibly gutting. I was hoping that the club would have gave Steve the deal he wanted to keep him at the club. After all, he was the club's top scorer last season and probably the best player we had over the season. With Scott Parker, on a 3 year deal it was only right to give Steve who is younger a 2 year contract which he was asking for. This situation, plus losing Kvist due to his loan spell ending and Mahamadou Diarra leaving the club, we really do lack an elegant defensive midfielder who can dictate the game in that anchor-man role. But there's also one more exit I'd like to talk about before the World Cup and that's Pajtim Kasami's likely exit to Olympiacos. It seems the Greek's have raided us with some reports suggesting it's for the £6m that we still owed on the Kostas Mitroglou deal, whilst others saying the Greek club are paying anywhere in the region of £4-£8m. I hope that's it for at least £6m. I'm a massive fan of Pajtim Kasami and I really do believe that he was the heir to Moussa Dembele's throne in the centre of the park, he has that drive and creativity on the ball but was wasted out wide far too many times but nearly every manager. We are now left with 33 players in our senior and U21's squad, a scary number when you consider we used 39 players in total in the Premier League last season and we still have a few more names to leave the club. I still believe that we will lose Maarten Stekelenburg, Ashkan Dejagah, Kieran Richardson, hopefully Elsad Zverotic( Worst signing ever?) and maybe Fernando Amorebieta - who I want to keep at the club, I think he's starting to settle and actually looked decent in the last few games. Partner Amorebieta with Dan Burn and I feel we could have the strongest central partnership in the Championship.

Currently at the club (Senior Squad) according to Fulham FC(http://www.fulhamfc.com/the-teams/first-team):

This doesn't include the youngsters that got a few call-ups e.g Chris David, Patrick Roberts & George Williams.

Goalkeepers:

David Stockdale - Will be number one for next season

Maarten Stekelenburg - Will most likely leave with Jesse Joronen stepping up to be number 2.

Defenders:

Kieran Richardson - Not really a defender, but will be massively missed. I expect he'll get plenty of Premier league offers, and rumours Sevilla are keen on him.

Sascha Riether - Be surprised if he actually stays, I'm sure Schalke will return for him.

Dan Burn - Future England defender and future Fulham captain in my opinion. Massive season ahead of him.

Fernando Amorebieta - 50/50 if he stays or go. I hope he stays, I'm a big fan of his and I know he's starting to settle. Scared he will get offers to return to Spain though.

Elsad Zverotic - Awful, hopefully he'll leave! Looks far to out of his depth in this country. Sorry Elsad!

Midfielders:

Pajtim Kasami - On his way to Greek giants, Olympiacos.

Alexander Kacaniklic - One year remaining on his deal and attracting interest from Burnley according to a few sources.

Ryan Tunnicliffe - A big season ahead of him, really excited to see him in the core of midfield providing energy and being our work-horse. Soon to become a fan favourite, I know it!

Ashkan Dejagah - The magician is most likely to have a decent World Cup and attract offers from Premier League or Bundesliga clubs.

Scott Parker - Probably won't look out of his depth in the Championship, but don't be surprised if Harry Redknapp tries to sign him again.

Mesca - The talent that was talked about by Martin Jol so much, haven't really seen enough of him yet.

Larnell Cole - Was highly rated at Manchester United, hopefully he'll get a chance though. Not seen too much of him.

Forwards:

Bryan Ruiz - Captains his country at the World Cup and I'm pretty sure he'll head back to PSV on a permanent deal. I love Bryan, incredibly creative and I believe he would have flourished in Berbatov's absence if he didn't go out on loan.

Cauley Woodrow - Recent U21's call up, will play a massive part of next season. Exciting future!

Konstantinos Mitroglou - Will he stay? Will he go? Who knows? All depends on his World Cup performance, I do think he'd be a 20 goal a season striker when fit though.

Hugo Rodallega - Can't fault his work-rate, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the newly promoted clubs makes an offer or he's wanted back in the Mexican leagues.

Marcello Trotta - Handed in a transfer request and will most likely return to the Cottage in Brentford colours.

That's the current squad according to the official site and considering their future's we could have even less players.

Worrying times as we haven't really heard too many names being linked with moves to the club. With Felix Magath being heavily committed to German media channels during the World Cup, I doubt our manager will have much time to assemble a squad during the World Cup. So it looks like we'll be paying World Cup inflated fees and possibly scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill our squad for next season. There is one strange piece of news that was on Sky Sports yesterday and that's that Peter Grant is in talks with the club to become a first team coach. What that actually involves is anyone's guess, considering the titles given to some people at our club. But hopefully this won't mean that Felix is sacked or no longer in charge of training as I think the clubs needs his strict regimes to whip the squad into shape for our hardest season since we last got promoted.



http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/fulham/the_craven_corner_recent_in_s_and_outs_of_the_club_and_what_s_to_come_1_3639553

[WhiteJC]

 
Colombia's Big Chance

Hugo Rodallega is confident his compatriots can do the nation of Colombia proud when the World Cup gets under way this week.

Their excellent qualifying campaign was bettered only by Argentina in the CONMEBOL standings, and they are much fancied to emerge from Group C where they face Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan.

"Colombia have a big chance," Rodallega told fulhamfc.com. "They did very well in qualifying and finished second in the table. We have a very good team at the moment and the players are performing well."

Much has been made of the untimely injury suffered by star performer Radamel Falcao in the lead-up to the tournament, but Rodallega – who has won more than 40 caps for his country – insists there are other individuals who can make a difference.

"It is a shame that Radamel is out," he admitted. "But Juan Cuadrado is a very good player. He scores goals every weekend for Fiorentina and does a good job for the national team. Then there are also men like James Rodriguez who plays for Monaco and is a talented player."

The South Americans' first test arrives on Saturday (5pm BST) when they take on Greece in Belo Horizonte, and Rodallega is well aware of the threats posed by at least a couple of individuals in the Greek side.

"They can cause problems," he said. "We have to take care of Giorgos Karagounis – he's an experienced player and he's not scared of anything. He controls the game in the middle of the park, and he's skipper of the national team.

"And, of course, they have Kostas Mitroglou, too. He is an unbelievable striker; he's a number nine, he's left footed, with good technique."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/june/12/colombias-big-chance?

[WhiteJC]

 
Bees pull out of Trotta race

Warburton looking elsewhere to boost firepower


Loan star: but Marcello Trotta won't be returning to Griffin Park

Brentford have cooled their interest in wantaway Fulham frontman Marcello Trotta.

The Italy U21 international scored 13 goals in 40 games for the Bees last season as Mark Warburton's men clinched promotion to the Championship.

Trotta slapped in a transfer request last week in a bid to force a move, with his contract at Craven Cottage approaching the final 12 months and no extension on the table.

Brentford enquired about Trotta's availability last month, but were told by Fulham he was not for sale, with new boss Felix Magath keen to cast his eye over the youngster during pre-season.

However, the goalposts have moved with the Cottagers now willing to listen to offers after the 21-year-old told them he wanted to quit the club.

But Get West London understands the Bees have already turned their attentions elsewhere in a bid to boost their firepower, with a move for Trotta now looking dead in the water.


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/bees-pull-out-trotta-race-7259118?

[WhiteJC]

 
CONFIRMED: DIKGACOI JOINS CARDIFF CITY

Cardiff City are pleased to announce that South African International Kagisho Dikgacoi has joined the club. The powerful midfielder, a free agent having seen his contract at Crystal Palace expire, will join the club on a 3 year deal on 1 July 2014, subject to league approval.

The 29 year old, also known as KG, arrives as Ole Gunnar Solskjær's fifth signing of the summer after successfully completing his medical this week, following the arrival of Javi Guerra, Guido Burgstaller, Federico Macheda and Adam Le Fondre.

Speaking following his move to the Welsh capital, Kagisho said: "I'm delighted to join Cardiff City. The manager was persistent in wanting to bring me here, which always means a lot to a player. Growing up I was a big fan of the way he played and I can't wait to get started with my new team-mates in training.

"Having played at the stadium and against Cardiff on a number of occasions I'm really looking forward to my first game in front of the Cardiff City fans. Like Crystal Palace fans, they are extremely passionate and love football. I'll be sure to give them one hundred per cent effort in trying to get us promoted back to the Premier League."

Born in Brandfort, South Africa, KG represented local club Cardiff Spurs, Bloemfontein Young Tigers and Golden Arrows in his early career, then making the move to the Premier League with Fulham in 2009. He played a total of sixteen games for the Cottagers.

Joining Crystal Palace, initially on loan for game-time in February 2011, Kagisho made thirteen appearances with the Eagles until the end of the season. A single goal was scored by the midfielder, a Selhurst Park Championship winner against Cardiff City.

The Eagles move was made permanent in July 2011, with KG seeing far more game time in the 2011/12 Championship season. He made a total of 31 appearances that year, scoring two goals. KG was also in the Palace squad for both legs of the Carling Cup semi-final against Cardiff City.

Now a firm regular in the Eagles squad, KG was a focal part of the Crystal Palace promotion winning squad, playing a total of forty five games that season, including seventeen minutes of the Wembley play-off final against Watford before being forced off through injury. Last season Kagisho made a total of twenty seven appearances for the Eagles before his Selhurst Park contract expired.

All at Cardiff City FC welcome KG's arrival and look forward to seeing him in action. Returning to South Africa tonight, he will join up with the squad and be unveiled to press when the squad return for pre-season training.

A proud South African, KG has set up the Kagisho Dikgacoi Foundation, specialising in positive outreach work with youngsters. For more information visit: www.kagishodikgacoi.org


Read more at http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/news/article/dikgacoi-joins-cardiff-city-1641326.aspx#D8jPSI3iBj3zfDRJ.99

[WhiteJC]

 
Chelsea, Fulham and QPR stars hope to make their mark at the World Cup

Follow all of their progress with our daily round-ups of all the action from Brazil

More than 20 west Londoners will be representing at the World Cup in Brazil this summer - and you can follow their progress right here.

Stars from Chelsea, Fulham and QPR will be doing battle at the greatest tournament on the planet over the next month.

Samba boys David Luiz, Oscar, Ramires and Willian will get the ball rolling tonight when Brazil take on Croatia.

Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Gary Cahill (England), Fernando Torres and Cesar Azpilicueta (Spain) will also be in action as the Chelsea men try to make their mark on the big stage.

Several Fulham players will also be taking part, despite the Cottagers' relegation from the Premier League.

Giorgos Karagounis and Kostas Mitroglou will lead Greece's charge, while Ashkan Dejagah is in the Iran squad.

Julio Cesar (Brazil), Stephane Mbia (Cameroon), Loic Remy (France) and Yun-Suk Young (South Korea) will be representing QPR, who were promoted from the Championship.

We will be bringing you daily round-ups of all the action from Brazil, so you can keep up to date on how our stars are doing.


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chelsea-fulham-qpr-stars-hope-7260540?

[HatterDon]

Nfl Owner: London Will Get Franchise ... Sooner Than You Think | Fox News

And maybe more than one. Londons a big city I think eventually having that many games says that we really are playing a season in London, so we probably ought to have a team here.

I'm very optimistic." Blank sees adding games in London as just the start. The owner imagines that, in the future, London could be home to at least one NFL team. "I think it will start with an increased number of games," he said. "That will be translated into a very successful series of games, and eventually, I think a franchise.



http://fulhamsfinest.com/nfl-owner-london-will-get-franchise-sooner-than-you-think-fox-news/?

This is never going to happen -- EVER for many reasons that I've discussed on here before.