Saturday Fulham Stuff (26/07/14)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Only 600 Fulham away tickets remaining

Back the boys at Craven Cottage
Millwall have around 600 tickets remaining for our trip to Fulham on Saturday 16th August.

The Lions were allocated an additional 1,052 tickets for the game at Craven Cottage, bringing our full allocation up to 3,929.

Tickets are on sale to season ticket holders and members only, priced at £30 adults, £25 over 65s, £25 U21s (proof of age is required at turnstile), and £20 U16s.   
   
Restricted view tickets are priced at £28 adults, £23 over 65s, £23 U21s (proof of age is required at turnstile), and £18 U16s. 

There are three ways to buy tickets:
* Online at www.millwalltickets.com (booking fees apply) 
* By phone on 0844 826 2004- option 2 (calls to this number will cost 5p per minute from your BT landline. Calls from other networks may vary and from mobiles will be considerably more. Booking fees apply) 
* In person/by post at the Millwall Ticket Office



Read more at http://www.millwallfc.co.uk/news/article/fulham-v-millwall-ticket-update-3-1781209.aspx#XptbCzG9dHKMRqrK.99

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham want €8m for Besiktas target Bryan Ruiz

Fulham want €8 million for Besiktas target Bryan Ruiz according to Sporx.

The Black Eagles have been in talks with Fulham according to club president Fikret Orman.

"There isn't long left for our match against Feyenoord," Orman said.

"If a player joins tomorrow it's unlikely he will play anyway but we are definitely going to sign another player.

"We are in talks with Marin, we could transfer Marin or a name we haven't been linked with yet."

However, Ruiz is expected to remain at Fulham next season according to Felix Magath.

"They have three weeks holiday. Dejagah and Mitroglou are due back on Sunday and Ruiz is coming back next week," Magath said.

"I am sure they will still be with us in September."

Greek champions Olympiakos have also been closely linked with the 28-year-old.

The Costa Rican international still has a year left on his contract with Fulham but the club have been trying to reduce their wage bill following relegation to the Championship and will listen to offers for Ruiz.



http://www.turkish-football.com/news_read.php?id=6207

[WhiteJC]

 
All-American Hero

As the Whites prepare to take on MLS outfit D.C. United on Saturday, who better to discuss the current state of American soccer than Fulham and USMNT legend Brian McBride.


Brian on the current standard of the MLS...

I think there's a good amount of quality. The talent is there, and it continues to grow as far as the technical side goes, and being good at one or two things individually. The complete understanding of the all-round player is still hard to find. I say that only because I think the next step we need to take in American soccer is to be smarter – to understand what to do, when to do it, and why you're doing it. To do it quicker, and better, and having that purpose. But, all in all, it continues to get better and grow.

Brian on the number of European players crossing the Atlantic...

There are a lot of really good players over here now. A lot of people who travel here know it's a great country. The amenities that are available to you – a lot of them 24 hours a day – makes that transition pretty easy living here. Still, any time you move country there's that adjustment period. Overall, though, the appeal is there, I think, and it's good to see that players are becoming more and more interested in coming over.

Brian on the USMNT's World Cup campaign...

It was a huge boost for US soccer – not only because the team did well in such a tough group, but also after overcoming the adversity of losing Jozy Altidore, who had really been playing well with Clint Dempsey up until the time of his injury. You add in the fact that the games were played at a good time of day, even the time of year where most of the major sports are shut down, besides baseball – and even baseball doesn't really pick up until October time – so it was really a perfect storm. It would have been nice for the US to have continued on further, but they certainly garnered a lot more support than expected.

Brian on D.C. United...

I haven't seen much of them this season but I know Benny [Ben Olsen], the Head Coach, very well. He's an ex-player and a few of the guys who play there, I've played against, but I don't know loads about them this year. Last year they struggled a bit – I know Benny was trying to rebuild and add some young players. They had a few injuries and were never able to really get going. This year they've made some changes and brought in a few different players and that mixture, I think, has helped.

Brian on playing alongside Olsen for the national team...

We played together for a little bit and Benny was just a really nice guy, energetic, always was a worker for the team. If you're playing a three-man midfield he was either the number eight or six; not completely attacking but would know where to be in the midfield for his team. That knowledge will have helped him with the transition of going from playing to coaching, and I've got a lot of respect for him.

Brian on Eddie Johnson...

Eddie's always going to be dangerous, especially in this league. I think the main thing for Eddie is finding someone who can give him service, because he has pace, he's definitely strong running forward. With Eddie in the team, the quicker you get him settled, the better he's going to be. I don't think he ever really quite settled at Fulham and made that transition – it's hard for a lot of us. But he's done well, he's motivated. Put him alongside some players who can feed the ball and, in this league, he's going to do really well.

Brian on Fulham's American fanbase...

Fulham has a great support across the States because of some past signings, and also the new Owner – Shahid Khan – has also really built up the excitement regarding Fulham in the Jacksonville area. It's funny, I was down there for the last send-off game for the US and was walking around and people were asking what I was there for, and when I said I was going to the US game they'd say, "oh yeah, do you know Fulham? We're big supporters of Fulham!" So I'm like "yeah, actually I do!" It was pretty exciting to see because it's not really considered a big soccer town because there's no MLS team. But I think the conjunction of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham sort of being intertwined has created a lot of support that has transitioned from the Jaguars over to Fulham. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see how many people are interested to go out and support Fulham.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/july/25/american-hero?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham defender Stafylidis determined to prove a point

On-loan Bayer Leverkusen left-back is relishing opportunity of more game time with Whites

Frustrated Kostas Stafylidis says he has come to Fulham with a point to prove.

The Greek left-back, who is on a season-long loan from Bayer Leverkusen, impressed for the Whites and scored in Saturday's 2-0 win at Crawley.

But he only managed one appearance for the Bundesliga club last season and is relishing the opportunity of more game time with Fulham as they attempt to win promotion back to the Premier League.

He said: "It was difficult for me. The manager [at Leverkusen] didn't give me a chance and I don't know why. This year is important for me because I need to play."

Stafylidis, who hopes compatriot Kostas Mitroglou stays with the Whites, is looking forward to life in the Championship and believes his style is suited to the English game.

He added: "There's a lot of power and aggression and I like this. I am a left back and  my job is to stay behind, but if I have space then I will go forward."

Fulham this week make a double midfield signing with Arsenal youngster Thomas Eisfeld and Adil Chihi, who had been on trial with the Whites, joining the ranks.

They continue their pre-season preparations on Saturday in America when they play DC United before heading to Austria for a training camp.


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-defender-kostas-stafylidis-determined-7507148?

[WhiteJC]

 
D.C. United versus Fulham FC preview: Behind Enemy Lines w/ Fulham blog Cottagers Confidential

In which we talk to Andrew Beck to get the lowdown on all things Southwest London.

Even though its just a friendly, we decided to talk to Andrew Beck of Cottagers Confidential to get the lowdown on everything that is happening in southwest London.

Questions for Cottagers Confidential

B&RU: After 13 seasons in the Premier League, Fulham were relegated to The Championship; what are the expectations for this season and how much squad turnover has there been.

CC: The expectations are that Fulham will come right back up. Shahid Khan is one of the richest men in all of English Football, much less the Championship. Add to that the balloon payments that Fulham get, and they will be able to outspend every team except possibly Cardiff City. Some of this is already on display with the purchase of Ross McCormack from Leeds United (repeatedly for £11M).

As for turn over, there have so far been eight new signings, with about the same amount of players leaving. It's still possible for a few (and as many as seven) to be leaving. However, many of the replacements are coming from the youth system. Fulham's academy has been the U18 champions two of the last three years. The also made it all the way to the FA Youth Cup last year. The U21 team has also been quite impressive. Many of those players would have been ready to go on loan to Championship clubs this year. With Fulham in the Championship, they'll be able to contribute to the first team instead.

B&RU: Many of the players that are coming with Fulham to the United States are youth players, including young American Emerson Hyndman. What are you hoping to see out of this tour?

CC: Seeing young players is always fun. Emerson Hyndman could very well be a fixture in the future for the USA. Moussa Dembele and Patrick Roberts are two of the best attacking prospects in all of England. Seeing them in action will be fun. However, what I and most are fans are looking forward to is to see how Felix Magath is going to set up the team. Up to this point the team had mainly been focusing on fitness. It was only in the last preseason game that any work on tactics was done. Magath rolled out a 4-4-2 diamond formation. Is this something he's going to stick with? He did use it when he last managed in Germany, but it's mainly fallen out of favor in European club football. I'm very curious to see how Fulham lines up to play this weekend.

Before Everton was the darling of American Premier League fans, there was Fulhamerica. Is that something that you miss, and is it something that Fulham might be interested in getting back into?

CC: I must admit the Fulhamerica is the reason I got into Fulham in the first place (My SB Nation avatar is me wearing a Fulhamerica shirt). Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey are my two favorite players of all time and the major reason I started supporting the team. I'd love to see the team start buying more American players. Emerson Hyndman is currently the only one, but they were linked heavily with Matt Besler before he re-signed with Sporting KC. I also heavily advocated Fulham to make a run at DeAndre Yedlin before the World Cup. With Khan in charge, I think there's a good chance Fulham do look to America more and more. American players are undervalued (Luke Shaw for instance just sold for more than 7x the rumored asking price for Yedlin). For a team that wants to be sustainable, America is a good place to look for talent on the cheap.

B&RU: Projected lineup?

CC: I'm guessing that the team will roll out a diamond again. My best guess would be something like this:

Marcus Bettinelli; Konstantinos Stafylidis, Cameron Burgess, Shaun Hutchinson, Kay Voser; Tim Hoogland; Ryan Williams; Emerson Hyndman; Chris David; Hugo Rodallega, Moussa Dembele

Questions for Black and Red United

CC: Honest opinion, how much do you hate these friendlies? We just had one in Seattle and the fan base was divided among those who hated it, those who loved it, and those who didn't care. I found myself actually enjoying the experience of being able to watch 90 minutes of soccer in person with no worries about the outcome.

B&RU: I really dislike them because they don't mean anything. I understand why foreign teams in their preseason come and do it, as it is a part of their preseason and they get to try out some other players against teams that are in midseason form. But D.C. United has a packed August of games, and just the thought of one of them being moved to this weekend instead of this game makes me sad. In addition, United's younger players would probably be better served playing with their USL PRO affiliate, the Richmond Kickers, in a game that means something this weekend.

CC: As both a Fulham and Seattle Sounders supporter not mention a fan of the USMNT, I have a very long love/hate relationship with Eddie Johnson. He can be a very polarizing figure to say the least. How has he been for you this season both on and off the pitch?

B&RU: As I am sure you know, Eddie Johnson can be a very frustrating player. He can be demonstrative and get upset easily on the field, and sometimes he's not getting back onside as quickly as he could and an attack breaks down. However, he is really starting to become a key player for D.C. United by doing all of the other stuff a forward needs to do. Watch the clip of him heading the ball down back into the path of Perry Kitchen, who then scores the goal. Watch him dragging defenders out of position so that his teammates can get chances. He has scored a couple of penalties in recent games, and I still think that the goals from the run of play will come.

CC: DC made pretty big news when they sold Andy Najar. He was the first home grown player to be sold by an MLS team. With MLS looking like it might be a fertile ground for budget European clubs to shop in, are there any young players on DC that might have the talent to make a move to Europe any time soon? Any that a club like Fulham might be interested in?

B&RU: Perry Kitchen and Bill Hamid are the two brightest young stars on D.C. United right now. Kitchen is a hard-working defensive midfielder who has recently been getting a lot of buzz for the first time outside of D.C., and is being tipped as a player that Juergan Klinsmann should be considering for the men's national team soon. Bill Hamid, of course, was the first homegrown player that D.C. United signed (in 2009) and has really turned into one of the top three goalkeepers in MLS this year. Both are under 24 and it would probably be an economics decision as to how long they can stay with D.C. United.

CC: Projected lineup?

B&RU: I feel like the team will at least start with most of its regular starters before rotating people in. I will go with Bill Hamid, Sean Franklin, Bobby Boswell, Steve Birnbaum, Chris Korb, Nick DeLeon, Davy Arnaud, Perry Kitchen, Chris Rolfe, Eddie Johnson, and Luis Silva. However, expect names like Collin Martin, Michael Seaton, and Jared Jeffrey to feature heavily as well.



http://www.blackandredunited.com/dc-united-2014-season/2014/7/25/5936209/d-c-united-versus-fulham-fc-preview-behind-enemy-lines-w-fulham-blog?

[WhiteJC]

 
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Thomas Eisfeld reflects on his time at The Emirates

Fulham's new midfield signing Thomas Eisfeld has taken the time to reflect on his time at Arsenal ahead of starting his time with the Championship new boys, as reported by Fulham's official website.

The highly rated young midfielder moved to the Championship club last week, and sees the move as an opportunity to play regular first team football. He did, however, look back on the work he has done at Arsenal and think about how it would set him up for a place in the first team.

Eisfeld moved to the Gunners in January 2012, having previously spent years at German giants Borussia Dortmund. He has a notable goalscoring record at Under-21 record, but aside from this, he is also considered to have good technique, clever movement and an ability to pick out a pass, something he credits to his development in Germany and north London.

He said: "I'm very lucky to have spent time at Borussia Dortmund – seven years in fact – and then Arsenal.

"Two fantastic clubs in regards to developing young players and playing the game how it should be played.

"It was a good education for me, one of the best in fact. But now I'm at an important stage of my career and now I need to show what I can do. I'm used to life in the UK, and of course, London – I feel very settled. I love English football, I like the style. It's quick and full of energy; I think it suits me well."

Eisfeld will join his new Fulham teammates in their tour of the United States as part of their pre-season preparations.

Fulham hit 45% of their shots on target in the Premier League last season.



http://www.squawka.com/news/ex-arsenal-midfielder-thomas-eisfeld-reflects-on-his-time-at-the-emirates/147045?

[WhiteJC]

 
D.C. United set for showcase against Fulham FC

The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted their annual Back to Football luncheon on Thursday. On Saturday the team welcomes what the rest of the world calls football to its stadium EverBank Field with a friendly between D.C. United and former English Premier League side Fulham FC.

There is a connection between the Jaguars and Fulham. Shad Khan owns both teams and is using Saturday's game to unveil stadium renovations including new video boards and cabanas next to a pool for fans to take a dip. After United and Fulham play there will be a concert by country star Carrie Underwood.

In short they are planning a big bash in Jacksonville, but for the soccer teams it is serious business. For the Black and Red it is an opportunity to get playing time for players who will be needed as the schedule intensifies with not only league games, but play in the CONCACAF Champions League.

"The game actually comes at a pretty good time for us," said head coach Ben Olsen. "It would be easier if it was at home, but the game is being handled in a first class manner and it is a big deal down here."

For Fulham this trip to Florida is no vacation. The Cottagers, as the team is known because its home stadium is Craven Cottage on the banks of the river Thames, are trying to get ready for a season that begins on August 9. It is an important campaign. Fulham was relegated from the Premier League to the Championship division.

The challenge

Fulham will be motivated. It's not just because Fulham might want to impress its owner of Carrie Underwood, but the team also needs to set a tone for the season. Think about how Manchester United, who also had a disappointing run in 2013/2014, opened its American tour with a 7-0 win over the LA Galaxy. There is pressure on Fulham. The English Championship is a hard division to earn promotion out of and there is lots of money at stake. In the Premier League even with a near bottom finish Fulham earned 107 million dollars from television. In the Championship an average club only receives a little over 4 million dollars from television. With the goal of bouncing back to the Premier League Fulham spent 11 million dollars to sign Ross McCormack from Leeds United and pried Thomas Eisfeld away from Arsenal. McCormack racked up 53 goals in 144 appearances with Leeds and will be looked on to lead the attack. Eisfeld is a young German midfielder who was developed by Borussia Dortmund and had success playing for Arsenals Under-21 team. It is not clear who will play for Fulham on Saturday
United's depth will be tested. The game is an opportunity for United players who have struggled to carve out playing time. For example Jared Jeffrey clearly has the quality and has contributed in flashes, but has been limited to only five appearances as a substitute. Michael Seaton has scored seven goals in 22 appearances for the Richmond Kickers this season, but has yet to appear for United. Kyle Porter has scored four goals in five appearances for the Kickers, but has only appeared three times off the bench this season for United. Last year Porter played in 27 games including 18 as a starter. 


http://www.csnwashington.com/blog/dc-united-talk/dc-united-set-showcase-against-fulham-fc?

[WhiteJC]

 
Live Commentary

Fans can follow the Whites' pre-season friendly fixture with D.C. United by listening to live radio commentary on our Match Centre page on Saturday.

Felix Magath's side take on the MLS outfit at EverBank Field – home of the Jacksonville Jaguars – with kick-off at 11pm BST.

Coverage will be provided courtesy of Jax Sports Radio, with commentary coming from Bill McDermott, US soccer's longest-running broadcaster with 42 years behind the microphone.

Co-commentary will be provided by Derek Marinatos, the head men's soccer coach at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

The match will be the fifth game of Fulham's pre-season schedule following fixtures against East Fife, Rangers, Motherwell and Crawley Town.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/july/25/live-commentary?

[WhiteJC]

 
Wenger wrong to sell Eisfeld

There is a school of thought that believes if Wenger drops a player from his team, he just does not have the talent to succeed at Arsenal. David Bentley, Steve Sidwell and Carlos Vela are just a few examples. Of course one can argue that Vela has proved a success in La Liga with Real Sociedad and David Bentley was too impatient to bide his time.

One can also argue that Nicklas Bendtner never made the cut yet came through the youth system and did manage to get plenty of chances in the first team to prove himself. Arsene Wenger also seems to tolerate Jack Wilshere's deviant behavior due to his undeniable potential...at 22 years.

This brings me to the curious case of Thomas Eisfeld. He was a creative midfielder with a knack for being in the right place at the right time to score goals. Opinion on Eisfeld was split with some claiming that he would go missing in games and lacked something to make the cut. Others thought he was the real deal and was going to be a hit in the future.

So why sell him to Fulham, a championship club, instead of loaning him out? Obviously with the talent in the first team from Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky, and even Diaby, he was always going to find it hard to get playing time and at 21 years, he was at the age where he needed to test himself regularly and avoid his career from stagnating. But Eisfeld seemed happy to bide his time and grab his opportunities when he got the chance. He did not seem to be angling for a move.

Arsenal still have a lot of talent to call on in the youth set up from Gedion Zelalem, Serge Gnabry and Kristoffer Olsson but can you actually say with conviction that Eisfeld did not measure up to them? When Wenger sold Carlos Vela, he made sure he put a buy back clause as he knew that Vela would come good at some point. There does not seem to be a buy back clause in Eisfeld's contract.

It is worth noting Wenger is a genius at spotting talent and he has the patience to mould that raw potential in to pure talent. One only needs to look to Aaron Ramsey to see how patient Wenger can be. So when he gets rid of a player, he obviously is not convinced of the player's talent and I can't seem to think of any time he has got it wrong. However, this time I believe he was wrong to get rid of Eisfeld. Only time will tell.



http://allarsenal.com/news/wenger-wrong-to-sell-eisfeld/?