Saturday Fulham Stuff (02/08/14)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Big Season Ahead

With one fixture left to play before the Sky Bet Championship gets underway, Fulham's pre-season so far makes for favourable reading.

Our five games played have yielded four wins, with Moussa Dembélé leading the way in the scoring charts – the young Frenchman responsible for a third of his side's 12 goals.

Add to that the strike he should have been awarded at Crawley Town after his effort hit the bar before bouncing over the line and the striker can be pleased with his form in the friendlies, most recently when he smashed in a hat-trick in front of more than 52,000 spectators at EverBank Field.

"I was really happy with the three goals I scored against D.C. United in Jacksonville," Dembélé told fulhamfc.com. "As a striker it's our job to score goals. Now I look forward and I must focus on the future and a big season ahead.

"It's important to work hard, never give up and always challenge yourself. By doing this you know that you will have a good chance of reaching a high level."

Awarded a full debut under Felix Magath last season, Dembélé is currently one of six players who featured for the Under-18s in the FA Youth Cup Final just three months ago who are now in Austria with the First Team preparing for the coming campaign.

Dembélé recognises that it is a significant step-up for the band of teenagers, but he is relishing the opportunity they have been afforded.

"There is a big difference on the physical side playing in the First Team," he explained. "Players are older than me and they're more experienced. However, playing against them is the best way to learn.

"That is the main difference from the Under-18s and Under-21s; playing with and against senior established professionals. I'm young and I'm learning and I will continue to do my best to keep progressing.

"The Manager has shown me and some other young players a lot of faith which is great but, at the same time, we have to repay that trust and show him that we are worthy of the faith he is putting in us.

"The Manager and coaches provide a lot of support and they always give me advice. Even the players that have a lot more experience than me at this level help me – there's a great togetherness amongst the group and this is great for the young players."

The work being done at the training camp in Innsbruck is tailored towards ensuring the squad are in peak condition ahead of the Ipswich Town fixture, and Dembélé is embracing the approach taken.

"I feel good here in pre-season training in Austria," he stated. "It's hard work but these are the conditions required to become better players, you have to work hard.

"The Manager tells us all the time that if we want to be better players we need to work hard every day, and that's precisely what we expect."

The 18-year-old continued: "I have a good rapport with the Manager – he gives me advice on the things I need to work on and he gives praise for the things I am doing well.

"Sometimes I'm forthcoming asking for feedback from players and coaches on how I should play and in which particular style. I want to make sure that I'm carrying out the instructions given as best as I can and making the right movements."

Since joining the Club from Paris Saint-Germain, Dembélé has been a regular source of goals for both Fulham's Under-18s and Under-21s. Now he's keen to replicate that form for the senior side.

"I think in the two years I have been at the Club I've made some forward steps," he explained. "Of course there have been some highs and lows and I'm hopeful that I will be able to make a lot more progress in order to become a much better player.

"My objectives for this season are to try to play as many matches as possible and, when I play, to try to score goals. I want to help the team and try to help the Club get back into the Premier League."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/august/01/big-season-ahead?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham star set for France

According to reports, Fulham striker Konstantinos Mitroglou is set for a £6m move to French outfit Bordeaux.

The London club signed the Greece international in the January transfer window for £12m from Olympiakos, but the 26-year-old failed to live up to expectations last season scoring no goals in only three appearances and could not influence any prevention of the Cottagers relegation to the Championship.

Despite this, a number of clubs still displayed interest in the striker, with Turkish clubs Trabzonspor and Besiktas leading the race for his signature, but the Ligue 1 side are now frontrunners for his signature.

Mitroglou displayed impressive goalscoring form in the first half of the 2013-14 campaign with Olympiakos, scoring 14 goals in 12 appearances for his previous club before moving to the Premier League in January.


http://shoot.co.uk/fulham-star-set-for-france/

[WhiteJC]

 
Bodurov Signs

Fulham Football Club is delighted to announce the permanent signing of Bulgarian international defender Nikolay Bodurov.

The 28-year-old has penned a contract to play for the Whites until the summer of 2017, with an additional one-year option, and he joins up with Felix Magath's squad at their training camp in Innsbruck, Austria.

Bodurov made 125 appearances for his hometown club, Pirin Blagoevgrad, before moving to Litex Lovech in 2009, where he went on to play 258 matches and score 10 goals to help his team lift the Bulgarian Championship on two occasions.

Bodurov, primarily a centre-back who can also play on the right side of defence, experienced playing in the UEFA Champions League qualifying round and the Europa League with the Oranges.

His performances earned international acclaim in October 2010, when then manager Lothar Matthäus handed him his international debut against Wales in Cardiff, and Bodurov has since collected 24 caps for Bulgaria.

The Club would like to welcome Nikolay and wishes him a successful playing career with the Whites.

Nikolay will be wearing number 6 and his shirt is available right now at the Online Store


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/august/01/bodurov-signs?

[WhiteJC]

 
Riether and Duff, and the advantages of defending

One of the interesting things I've taken from the analysis of the last week or so is that Fulham were foolish to abandon the emphasis on defending. At the top level it's MUCH harder to be a good attacking side than a good defensive one. In effect, all Martin Jol did with his change of emphasis was to weaken the thing we were good at without improving on the weakness.

Keeping things tight when you're playing better teams makes every sense. Imagine Fulham are playing Real Madrid in a sort of training game.

If you give each team one possession of the ball, Fulham might come out of the match with a draw. Madrid would still be favourites, but in one possession each team chances are they won't have the scope to impose their superiority.

What if you gave each team 1,000 attacks? Madrid would win easily wouldn't they?

Over that amount of time their ability would eventually tell.

This is why you see Sam Allardyce teams slow everything down so much. Create stoppages. Slow it down more. The less time the ball's in play, the less time the superior team has to make a breakthrough. It makes every sense. Against better teams you try to condense opportunities. Against lesser teams you need to open up.

So in a way Fulham need to decide where they are in all this. If we feel we are better than the teams we'll be playing, then a more expansive game is presumably the way to go. If we are nervous then building from the back is surely key. Absent any real clue either way you'd hope for the latter.

On this, I've talked a bit about how attacking full-backs aren't all they might be when your team is in the process of letting in 85 goals. Well part of this is combinations. Roy used to talk about combinations all over the pitch, essentially each player and the man next to him. So Paintsil would have a combination with Aaron Hughes inside and Damien Duff ahead. Konchesky with Hangeland and Dempsey or Davies. And so on.

And so it is that I noticed something odd about Sascha Riether. I'd been criticising him on Twitter, as I do, when a fellow fan named Ewen mentioned that, while everyone liked the Riether and Dejagah combination, he felt Riether had been better with Duff.

That resonated with me. I hadn't the gumption to notice it myself, but when Ewen mentioned it something clicked. Yes, that made sense. Duff cuts inside and gives Riether proper space wide, but perhaps more importantly, Duff worked hard to defend, too. With Dejagah you didn't really get either. In a team like Fulham's that's a big deal.

I went back to the 2012/13 season to see what I could see. No sense in looking at last year – everything was awful.

Here's what I found:

With Riether and Duff we scored and allowed 1.6 goals per game.  Without Duff it was 1.8 conceded and .8 scored.

1.3 points per game with both; 0.8 without Duff*.

So you might conclude that despite all this attempted analysis, the biggest problem Fulham have had over the seasons is Damien Duff getting older.   It's not that simple but he, probably with Murphy, were I suspect a lot better than they were really given credit for (and I know everyone rated them highly).

So that'll be a big part of the new Fulham. Finding players who work well together.

*PS it doesn't seem as if Duff and Riether played together in easier games or anything

To order:
Paperback: www.godsfoot.com
Or on Amazon Kindle.

http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/riether-and-duff-and-the-advantages-of-defending/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Nikolay Bodurov: Fulham sign Bulgarian international

Fulham have signed Bulgaria international Nikolay Bodurov from Litex Lovech for an undisclosed fee.

The 28-year-old, who can play at centre-back or right-back, has signed a three-year deal with the Championship side with an option for a further year.

Bodurov began his career with hometown club Pirin Blagoevgrad before moving to Litex Lovech in 2009.

He made more than 250 appearances for Litex and has won a total of 24 international caps.

Bodurov is the ninth new arrival at Craven Cottage this summer.

Fulham's summer signings so far
Shaun Hutchinson from Motherwell (free transfer)
Kay Voser from FC Basel (undisclosed fee)
Adam Taggart from Newcastle Jets (undisclosed fee)
Tim Hoogland from Schalke (free transfer)
Ross McCormack from Leeds United (undisclosed fee)
Konstantinos Stafylidis from Bayer Leverkusen (season-long loan)
Thomas Eisfeld from Arsenal (undisclosed fee)
Adil Chihi from FC Cologne (free transfer)
Nikolay Bodurov from Litex Lovech (undisclosed fee)


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28605788

[WhiteJC]

 
A Dream Of Mine

Nikolay Bodurov was one of the most content men in Austria after completing his move to Fulham on Friday afternoon.

The Bulgarian defender penned an initial three-year deal with the Whites having trained with his new teammates throughout the week, and he was delighted to get the deal over the line.

Speaking from the team's hotel in Innsbruck, Bodurov told fulhamfc.com: "I'm very happy to have signed. It's a moment that I've wanted for a long time. It's a dream of mine.

"I see a good team here – the training camp has been good so far. Everything is very professional here and I think that we have everything we need to have a very successful season."

The 28-year-old also emphasised his desire to play under Fulham Manager Felix Magath, stating: "He's a very good coach who has had many successes in football, and for any footballer I think it would be a great pleasure to work with a coach like him.

"I'll be fighting for a starting position in the team, but everything is down to the coach. I'm here to work and train and show what I have and what I can do."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/august/01/a-dream-of-mine?

[WhiteJC]

 
Matthew Briggs: Millwall sign ex-Fulham defender

Millwall have signed former Fulham defender Matthew Briggs on a one-year deal, following a successful trial.

The 23-year-old, whose contract with the Cottagers expired at the end of last season, has featured for the Lions during pre-season.

Briggs made 29 appearances for Fulham having come through their academy, including two last term.

He has also had spells on loan with Leyton Orient, Peterborough, Bristol City and Watford.

Briggs has played twice for England Under-21s, his first appearance coming in a 6-0 win over Azerbaijan in 2011.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28615505

[WhiteJC]

 
Crystal Palace snap up free agent Hangeland

Crystal Palace have completed the signing of centre-back Brede Hangeland on a free transfer.

The Norway international was a free agent after leaving Fulham at the end of last season following the expiry of his contract.

Palace have subsequently swooped for the experienced 33-year-old and Hangeland is thrilled to have put pen to paper on a one-year contract.

"I'm delighted to be here. I look forward to helping out and doing the best I can for this club," he told the club's official website.

"I'm quite old school as a player, I just want to be part of a good group of players, working for a good manager, working really hard and driving something in the right direction.

"All the people I spoke to told me that's what's going on at Crystal Palace and I really wanted to be a part of that.

"It's a traditional club with a big following. I thought the atmosphere here was fantastic and obviously the fans had a lot to be happy about come the end of the season.

"If we can do something similar to that this season, that would be great. I'm really looking forward to playing in front of those fans as soon as possible."



Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/palace-snap-free-agent-hangeland#f4kVUtLXFSu51ST9.99

[WhiteJC]

 
Goalkeepers Union: Part One

Fulham's pre-season campaign has seen Academy products Jesse Joronen and Marcus Bettinelli featuring prominently between the sticks. In the first of a two-part feature, we find out how the young stoppers have been finding life in the First Team fold.

For each of you, this is a first full pre-season programme with the First Team – how's it been?

MB: This is what we've been training for and working towards with Martin [Brennan] over the last couple of years and with Vic [Bettinelli] in the years before that, so we're both happy to be in the situation that we find ourselves at the moment. This is what we've worked very hard for.

JJ: Absolutely – I think we are prepared for this as we've both been waiting a long time to get a chance with the First Team and to show everyone what we've got. Obviously it's a new situation but it's also a situation that we all want to be in, and that's what we've worked for over the years.

The Rangers game aside, Fulham have secured a clean sheet in each fixture so far. That must be very pleasing from your point of view?

JJ: Obviously there are always bits and pieces you can do better and there's never a perfect pre-season game – there's always something that you can do better. But yes, to this point it's gone well for both of us so I'm glad that we've both had game time and played well.

There are a lot of new faces in the camp this season – what have you made of the guys in front of you on the pitch?

MB: I think we're slowly gelling together – it's not going to happen overnight but we're ready now for the start of the season, which isn't too far away. I think there's a good mixture between Academy boys and foreign lads that the Gaffer's brought in. We're all getting to know each other, on and off the pitch, which is important. We're just taking every training session as it comes and hopefully, when the first day of the season comes, it will all gel together – and I think it will do.

Marcus, you enjoyed two successful loan spells in recent seasons – how do you look back on those?

MB: League football is very different to academy football. I got a hell of a lot of games last year and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Accrington, and Dartford prior to that as well, and I wish them well this season. It's a lot more physical to academy football and you don't really realise that until you go in. I think me and Jesse have both watched enough football to know how to handle it if we're put into the situation, and I think we've both matured as goalkeepers together, compared to how we were a few years ago. I think that while loan spells can help, they're not necessarily essential, but I enjoyed my time and I'm grateful for the experience that I had over the past couple of years from going out on loan.

Would either of you consider a spell out on loan this season?

JJ: Obviously it's an option but it's not something that's up to me or Betts at the moment. Whatever the Manager wants, that's what is the best for us, and we probably won't find that out until the start of the season. So, until we're told otherwise, we are going to fight for game time in the Championship.

MB: Our priority is here right now. At the moment we are both senior players at the Club and belong in the squad – that's what we wanted, it's what we're here for. If we didn't want it we wouldn't be here, so the priority at the moment is here, and it's going to stay here unless things change. We're both going to fight for that number one spot. Me and Jesse have worked well together since the Academy days and nothing's going to change so all the best to both of us.

Felix Magath has shown plenty of faith in you both – that must be pleasing to see?

JJ: Oh yeah, absolutely. Straight away when he came in last season he showed a lot of faith in young players. He showed that if you do well in training, if you do as he tells you and if you are willing to work hard, then you will get your chance. I think it's fair, that's how it should be. Personally for me, and I think Marcus is the same, I like working with Felix and the other staff that he has brought in, and that's brought us to the level we are at now.

Be sure to return to fulhamfc.com from 9.30am on Saturday morning to read part two of our Goalkeepers Union feature.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/august/01/gk-union-part-one?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham continue transfer drive

Fulham boss Felix Magath has made his ninth permanent signing of the summer following the arrival of Nikolay Bodurov from Litex Lovech.

The Cottagers have been very busy in the summer transfer window so far with Ross McCormack, Kay Voser, Thomas Eisfeld, Tim Hoogland, Adil Chihi, Mahamadou Diarra, Shaun Hutchinson and Adam Taggart already penning permanent deals whilst Kostas Stafylidis has signed on a loan deal. Bulgarian international defender Bodurov, who has signed a three-year deal, is the latest addition to the squad having spent the last five years at Litex Lovech in his homeland. The 28-year-old is expected to be in contention for Fulham's opening game of the season against Ipswich Town on August 9.



Read more at: https://www.clubcall.com/championship/fulham-continue-transfer-drive-1734852.html?

[WhiteJC]

 
Jurgen Klopp: A different approach

At the end of last season, Felix Magath sent his players to Nepal, where they were instructed to climb Mount Everest**, unaccompanied and unaided, and then find their way back to Fulham's training ground for bleep tests.

They're not back yet, but while we've been waiting, we've been wondering whether it's necessary to take such a severe approach to pre-season.

Take Jurgen Klopp, for instance. A quick glance across Borussia Dortmund's Facebook page demonstrates that while Kloppy's sessions are filled with vigorous exercise, there's plenty of good cheer and merriment. On top of that, he still appears capable of finding time for serious football business. Klopp's training regime includes:

Cardio in a cape.

Player discipline.

Conducting psychological experiments on his players.

Perusing the transfer market in search of up and coming players.

Personal hygiene.

It just shows you, as long as you've got a solid backroom staff to rely on, you can achieve almost anything.
Food for thought, Mr Magath? We think so.
**possibly.


http://www.thefootballramble.com/latest/entry/jurgen-klopp-a-different-approach?

[WhiteJC]

 
U21s defeat Fulham

Samuel penalty seals win

Reading's under-21s secured a 1-0 victory over Fulham in a pre-season friendly at Hogwood Park on Friday afternoon.

A converted penalty from striker Dom Samuel was enough for the Royals to seal victory against the Cottagers, who fielded a number of players who were involved in their U18s run to the FA Youth Cup final last season.

Similarly, the Royals included six players who were part of our Academy's run to the semi-final, where they were knocked out by Fulham.

mikkelsmall

It was a lively, end-to-end start to the game at a humid Hogwood Park, with both sides threatening to create dangerous chances but failing to really trouble either goalkeepers.

Martin Kuhl's men came closest when Sammi Fridjonsson skipped inside the box, but his effort cannoned agonisingly off the woodwork.

But moments later the Royals had another opportunity to take the lead. Winger Nana Owusu did well to fool the defender with a quick turn and earn a penalty. Owusu stepped up to take the spot-kick, but saw his effort well saved by the goalkeeper just before half time.

The high tempo of the game continued after the break, and the Cottagers almost took the lead early on but squandered a good opportunity.

Samfoulsmakk

Reading clinched the only goal of the game midway through the second half. Samuel (above) cut inside and was tripped by his marker, and then coolly stepped up and scored the penalty.

Fulham had a fantastic chance with the final kick of the game with an unmarked header at the back post, but shot-stopper Mikkel Andersen made himself big to preserve the clean sheet and victory.

Royals: Andersen, Dickie, Cooper, Hyam, Griffin (McLennan 65), Fridjonsson (Vastsuk 45), Shaughnessy (Husin 65), L.Kelly, Owusu, Fosu, Samuel.



Read more at http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/u21s-defeat-fulham-010814-1798412.aspx#KYpfKDjfGbF83PFl.99

[WhiteJC]

 
What to expect from Brede Hangeland - from a Fulham fan's point of view

Brede Hangeland signed for Palace on Friday, but what can Eagles fans expect from the big lad? Here's Fulham fan Dave Page with the lowdown...

Hangeland was always a very popular player at Craven Cottage. He came across like he had a lot of love for the small club and showed a lot of integrity not trying to force through a move to Arsenal or another top club during his pomp. The feeling was that Fulham would never sell him but also that Hangeland was happy with that and didn't want to rock the boat.

The fact that Fulham fans persevered trying to pen him his own Hammersmith End song in-spite of his unkindly overly syllabled name (numerous permutations of "Brede Hangeland" within Bread of Heaven before settling on "Han-Ger-Land" to the musical masterpiece that is "Eng-Ger-Land, Eng-Ger-Land") is testament to his popularity and affinity with the fans.

During the Fulham glory days, the core defensive trio of Hangeland, Aaron Hughes and Schwarzer meant there was the genuine feeling that, at home atleast, we could shut anyone out. Hangeland was absolutely the key cog to this – he was utterly dominant in the air, composed on the ball and had the ability to stride forwards into midfield alongside Murphy and start attacks; adeptly playing into Zamoras/Dempseys feet.

He made the very best domestic and European strikers look decidedly ordinary during those times. Over two legs against Wolfsburg he made Edin Dzeko look like a Sunday League player and you could argue it was his defensive dominance against this player so highly rated that emphasised Bobby Zamoras attacking performances leading to his England call up.
It was Hangelands overall composure and leadership that shone through during each game and it was contagious amongst the other players.

We believed with Hangeland, Hughes and Schwarzer at the back, the opposition would struggle to score so it was merely a matter of getting a solitary goal and we'd probably win the game. Zamora was not the only beneficiary of Hangelands performances. I don't think it's going too far to say that Hodgson would've very much considered him the "jewel in the crown" of the Fulham Europa finalist team and the defensive cornerstone that ultimately lead himself to getting the England job.

After Hodgson left, Fulham attempted to slowly shift towards a more free-flowing attacking team which, as has been proven, was a direction we were ill-equipped financially and talent-wise to really make a good go of. A negative externality of this was that it also didn't necessarily suit our best players style of conservative, but solid, play.

Hangeland probably felt more pressure to make an impact going forwards and even start to contribute goals from set-pieces – something which, despite his size and defensive heading capability were always in short-supply. In turn the Premier League started to embrace free-flowing midfields wherein numerous players popped up at 9 which mean Hangeland would start to struggle to methodically dominate a 1v1 aerial battle during a game.

His pace waned slightly and  after Aaron Hughes felt out of favour with Jol his defensive partners were consistently, and increasingly, suspect. This meant that Hangelands pace was more regularly exposed and his former confidence gave way to nerves. As his confidence had been formerly, this edginess was contagious and Fulham would too often see the dynamic of the game we were totally dominating change for the last 10 minutes to see us lose points.

It was a real shame for Fulham fans to hear he had been let go so unceremoniously. He was so loyal to the club and to this day, I think most Fulham fans would agree that our greatest achievements as a club have been with him as a rock at centre back. I think its one of those strange situations wherein Fulham fans respect the player more upon exit than the club that chose to let him go. I am not sure why we didn't look to manage his wages out of the door more gracefully upon our decent to the championship.

Perhaps the fact we are a smaller club means that we cannot happily put players out to pasture in the MLS as teams like Chelsea seemingly can, preserving the players dignity and legacy at their former club. Perhaps a romantic thought is that it was the Club, repaying his integrity, giving him a kick as they knew he was too good a player to be playing Championship football and that he wouldn't leave of his own accord. Either way, we should have done more to recognise Brede's achievements at Fulham and I think the club/fans will have to live with that for a while.

In terms of what CPFC should expect from Hangeland; he's still a rock solid, traditional centre back. In the mould of a Mertesacker he will dominate in the air but struggle for one on one pace. If teams line up against Palace and play a striker one on one against Hangeland he will, more often than not, have the better of them. If they play fluidly and have midfielders breaking from deep, he will struggle.

The benefit of working for a Pulis will be that Hangeland will not be expected to do much else other than be defensively sound. Either way, he's definitely a Premier League player and one that will improve what CPFC have at this moment in time.

It's worth remembering, he's a player that interested a lot of large clubs in the past. Fulhams goal difference may point to his abilities diminishing rapidly over last season but as far as the Fulham fans are concerned he remains a valuable and reliable player good enough for any Premier League side outside of the European places.


http://www.fiveyearplanfanzine.co.uk/features/4959-what-to-expect-from-brede-hangeland-from-a-fulham-fan-s-point-of-view.html?

[WhiteJC]

 
Stockdale could join the youth squads

Albion's new No. 1 David Stockdale has volunteered for more game time to be ready for the start of the season.

Stockdale made his debut in Thursday night's 3-1 defeat by Southampton at the Amex.

It was the final first team friendly for Sami Hyypia's Seagulls before the big kick-off at home to Sheffield Wednesday next Saturday.

Stockdale, 28, would willingly play in warm-ups for the under-21s or under-18s following a summer without match action at former club Fulham.

He told The Argus: "I am going to play, hopefully, in some reserve games. I am going to ask the manager if he'll let me play, because I need the minutes and he knows I need the minutes.

"I work hard every day on the training ground and he knows I need to do certain things to get right. If it takes every minute of every day to get ready for Sheffield Wednesday I'll do it.

"To me it's a game of football. If it's got minutes in it, a ball in it, it's all about getting ready for Sheffield Wednesday. If it's an under-18 game I'll play in it. I'm not the kind of guy that shirks away from a game."

The under-21s are in action at Worthing today (3pm) and have a game against Chelsea next week.

Stockdale said: "I have been around long enough to know what you need to be right for the season. A couple more games or 45 minute stints and a lot of hard work in the next week should see the best of me this season."


http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/albion/11383491._/?