FULHAM'S MAD DESCENT UNDER MAGATH

[jonnypittsburghffc]

As a player who has played under Jol and Rene and got really tired after 70 minutes of football. I hated Felix who shouted at me. Me a blimmin millionaire. No warm coco at the end of the game with some nice marshmallows to tip into it. Felix actually wanted us to train and there was no way we were going to put up with that. So after another awful first half display. We came in and expected out inflated egos to be massaged and flattered, But Felix only goes and shouts at us.

So Fulham fans, try as we didn't, you can blame it all a very rude German who didn't pick the players he was given and expected us to actually run when we were very tired. So don't come running to us when things don't work out. We never ran anywhere and we are not about to start now.



This was amazing..I usually enjoy Archie's work but I think he has gone a little overboard with this piece :0

[grandad]

I will forgive you as this is your 1st post. You give nothing new. It´s not clever to try to be clever.

[Forever Fulham]

A lot of purple prose.  We'll all find out soon enough if we have the players to win, and the playing style and organization to get it done.  Until then, why beat up Magath?  He wasn't my choice, but I'm getting behind until my own eyes and circumstances inform me otherwise.  I suspect the vast majority of us feel the same way.

[MikeW]

Someone with a lot of time on his hands .... bloody hell!

[win-dup]

As a player who has played under Jol and Rene and got really tired after 70 minutes of football. I hated Felix who shouted at me. Me a blimmin millionaire. No warm coco at the end of the game with some nice marshmallows to tip into it. Felix actually wanted us to train and there was no way we were going to put up with that. So after another awful first half display. We came in and expected out inflated egos to be massaged and flattered, But Felix only goes and shouts at us.

So Fulham fans, try as we didn't, you can blame it all a very rude German who didn't pick the players he was given and expected us to actually run when we were very tired. So don't come running to us when things don't work out. We never ran anywhere and we are not about to start now.

ooh! and don't forget he stared at the multi-millionaire players who couldn't give a toss about their dire performances. How hurtful.

[ToodlesMcToot]

Quite well-written. I wonder if Archie is related to Julian Rhind-Tutt the actor, or his brother Malcolm who used to work for the CEGB in Newcastle.

I find it to be a vehicle to bash a manager who had little to do with where we ended up. And, the amount of time actually spent speaking about what Magath did while actually working for Fulham reflects the level of his involvement in our demise. The article reads well, but there's really no substance that supports the assertion made in the title. There's little here that elevates Archie's work over much that's written every day.

Somehow Tutt comes to the conclusion that we were going to survive the drop with Rene at the helm. Is it the 41 goals conceded during his 11 game run that is so convincing? Our club was relegated well before Rene was hired. Mentally, they were incurable....IMHO.

I just said that it was quite well-written, not that I agreed with it!! Just wondered if anyone knew who Archie is as I used to work with Malcolm.

Sorry. Didn't mean for it to come off as an attack on you. His article and subsequent postings on Twitter just have led me to believe he has an agenda, and that ticks me off.

[jags24]

I completely agree with the article - but I still think Magath deserves the year to prove himself.

[hovewhite]

First post,two bob!

[Holders]

Quite well-written. I wonder if Archie is related to Julian Rhind-Tutt the actor, or his brother Malcolm who used to work for the CEGB in Newcastle.

I find it to be a vehicle to bash a manager who had little to do with where we ended up. And, the amount of time actually spent speaking about what Magath did while actually working for Fulham reflects the level of his involvement in our demise. The article reads well, but there's really no substance that supports the assertion made in the title. There's little here that elevates Archie's work over much that's written every day.

Somehow Tutt comes to the conclusion that we were going to survive the drop with Rene at the helm. Is it the 41 goals conceded during his 11 game run that is so convincing? Our club was relegated well before Rene was hired. Mentally, they were incurable....IMHO.

I just said that it was quite well-written, not that I agreed with it!! Just wondered if anyone knew who Archie is as I used to work with Malcolm.

Sorry. Didn't mean for it to come off as an attack on you. His article and subsequent postings on Twitter just have led me to believe he has an agenda, and that ticks me off.

You may well be right, it's just that this stood out to me as so much of the stuff that one sees written is so poorly constructed. I just wondered who he is - and how he "knows" what may or may not have gone on in the dressing room or just made it up.

Did you ever try that Ardbeg by the way?

[The Rock]

Great responses from a post that would have come from some poster about 3 months ago from a fluffy and relegated side.

A nice reminder the club has come a long long way, so far.

[Black, White and Fred]

All this nonsense about how bad it is to mentally and psychically batter players really grinds my gears. We needed steel and strength at the end of last season and giving all the players who obviously think far too much of themselves a cuddle and telling them maybe they will be better next week because they are gods gift to football would not help that. It smacks of laziness and players thinking they are the club. Rant out.

[rusty shackleford]

It really annoys me when i read journalists talking about us who clearly havent a clue. We are the ones who have been watching every kick for the past 3 years, not those jokers

[Scrumpy]

This is a really poor piece of journalism. This guy's editor has obviously asked for a piece that will make Felix look like a tyrannical nutcase and Rhind-Tut has done his best with 1 quote from Hangeland and a load of contrived rubbish.

Sorry, it really annoys me when I read some of this rubbish.  096.gig

[Me-ate-Live, innit??]

I prefer this one ..............

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/11022562/All-change-at-Fulham-as-manager-Felix-Magath-continues-to-make-his-mark-at-Craven-Cottage.html

London club Photo: REUTERS
By Matt Law, Football News Correspondent10:30PM BST 08 Aug 2014 Comments1 Comment
When Fulham kick-off for the first time outside the top flight in 13 years at Ipswich on Saturday, there will not be a single player on show who started last season's Premier League opener against Sunderland.
Felix Magath's team are rated as third favourites, with most bookies, to bounce straight back, but the scale of change at Craven Cottage means another relegation battle is just as likely.
The changes in the dugout that saw Martin Jol and René Meulensteen sacked last season may have halted, despite relegation to the Championship. But manager Magath has continued to wield an axe to the playing staff, and it is understood a total of 34 redundancies were made behind the scenes.
It is no wonder that morale around Fulham is low when people who had nothing to do with the club's relegation lost their jobs and, at the same time, £11 million was spent on striker Ross McCormack.
Magath does not want senior players who may challenge his dictatorial style – which saw summer holidays cancelled at the last minute for an early return to pre-season training. New signings will be supplemented by young talent from the club's highly-rated academy.

Brede Hangeland was told he could leave by email, Steve Sidwell was allowed to go, and one of Fulham's January signings, Johnny Heitinga, has joined Hertha Berlin. The number of players culled by Magath currently stands at 11 and will grow with the remainder of the New Year intake, Kostas Mitroglou, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Larnell Cole, all free to go.
Mitroglou remains the club's £12 million record signing. The striker has made three appearances for Fulham and failed to score. He starts the season at the club because the Cottagers have been unable to find anyone willing to pay a £2.5 million loan fee to take the Greece international off their hands.
"It's not his fault that he came in January, but it was the totally wrong decision to take a player like Mitroglou who cost a lot of money and was the most expensive for Fulham," said Magath. "I would try to work with him, but he is not used to the English way of football."
Magath clearly does not rate the decisions made by Jol and Meulensteen or current chief executive Alistair Mackintosh and owner Shahid Khan. While the 61-year-old is at Fulham, there is only one man who runs the club from top to bottom.
Breaking into extended laughter, Magath said: "Should I learn from Fulham I wonder? I'm wondering? If they go with me, they will be successful. If not, I'm happy. But, while I am here, they have to follow my way, yeah sure." Magath indicated that he is not entirely happy with those around him whose responsibility it is to make his every wish come true.
"I made up my mind early in the middle of May," said the German. "I give some players to the club to sign, but, unfortunately we were not able to sign them at the right time.
"I told Mr Khan and I told everybody here, we have to build a new team and I need the players from the beginning of the pre-season period. Because if you build up a new team, then you need time to develop and improve.
"We are now changing the team, buying players and maybe other players will leave. So we are not ready with that and we have a very tough start.
"The changes are totally necessary, but we have not changed enough. The club can be glad, the club will have a great future. Who has such a young team in the Championship or the Premier League? Which manager has taken six players from the academy? Southampton maybe three or four years ago, but not now."
When it was pointed out Southampton were relegated to League One before the club started moving in the right direction, Magath said: "Yes, because they were waiting. We are now smarter and we are now faster than Southampton."
Of the eight players who have been signed by Magath so far, only McCormack has experience of the Championship. Thomas Eisfeld is the other new boy who has played in England before, having made two League Cup appearances for Arsenal.
Magath finds the concern that he may not know how to prepare a squad for the second tier of English football absurd.
"I worked at every level as a player and a manager," he said. "I worked in Germany and if you follow the last World Cups, Germany does not so bad. So I wonder why you are so critical and thinking somebody who was very successful in Germany, is not able to work here in England in the Championship? I don't know why."
There have been reports of Magath sending his players out for runs on the morning and in the evenings of afternoon pre-season games. Ordering the squad in for evening training sessions is what the 61-year-old considers giving them a day off.
It is not inconceivable that Magath's methods could pay off and suit the physical style of the Championship, but there is a real fear that his overworked players will quickly become shattered and, even worse, injured.
"We have the fittest team, no doubt about it," said Magath. "I'm not scared about games, therefore we work hard and prepare the players very well. All the players are improved now and we cannot only play in the Championship, but in the FA Cup to the final as well.
"Ross (McCormack) was not used to working really hard and he came here with a lack of fitness. But we improved it now and I'm sure he will not only be the top scorer in the Championship last season, he will be top scorer this season."
Magath clearly has confidence in his methods. Good or bad, the results promise to be spectacular.

[rhyspabsolom]

It really annoys me when i read journalists talking about us who clearly havent a clue. We are the ones who have been watching every kick for the past 3 years, not those jokers

I think you'll find that Archie is a long-term and very involved Fulham fan. Do some research before laying into the writer.
Doesn't stop the article being nonsense though.

A blanket slagging of journalists (as seen earlier in this thread) is more embarrassing than a bad article.

[jags24]

Here is what I don't understand - why are so many people on this board pumping Magath so heavily when his new squad hasn't even played a match yet?  It is almost like you guys have been brainwashed by a strange cult.

Yes, the squad will be fit, but even in the Championship, that is not all there is to football.  We have McCormack, should help, but there is such a mass exodus of elite players that the approach is very unorthodox.

I understand the squad was pampered and lazy at the beginning of last year, but wouldn't it be better to find a balance, as opposed to a slave-driver?  I just think the quote by Hangeland speaks volumes, as well as how he was released.

All I can say is, if this doesn't work, who is going to pick up the pieces?  No one will want to play for Fulham, Magath will be gone, and while getting relegated twice is unlikely, the squad is unknown and anything is possible.

[Lighthouse]

Here is what I don't understand. Where were all these doubters for the last few seasons? The ones who told me I should trust in Jol and support my team. Now I am supporting my team and trusting Felix and feeling we are at last taking a step in the right direction. However we have well intentioned articles that are clichéd and ill informed spouting the same old tired routine of bully Felix being the reason the tired old codgers moved on.

Hate to break it to people. But the Fulham of last season was full of poor, old, lacking in pace, no set pieces, no corners type players who were tired after 70 minutes. The squad had to be replaced and it was never going to happen in one transfer window.

No we will not win the league with ease. But I don't understand why Felix is suddenly the bad guy when all he has done is try and bring in players who work and fight for him. Lots of problems but compared to this time last season when I knew the outcome before a ball was kicked. Now none of know what will happen as we don't even know what team we have. So let's wait until at least the beginning of September before we make criticisms on things we just don't know yet.

[Roberty]

I am struggling to think of anyone in last years nightmare team who deserved the title "ELITE PLAYER", especially when in the second sentence you refer to the same players as being pampered and lazy.
As for Hangeland, his efforts last season earned him a one year contract at Crystal Palace and according to a supporting friend he is expected to spend the year on the bench if there are no injuries. I think that say everything.

Basically they were a shambles and best gone.

As far as FFC is concerned they have survived worse times than this.

[Logicalman]

Whoever he is, he comes across as someone who has a lot of axes to grind.

Or a young journalist looking to make his mark. At least, unlike some of them, he can actually string a few words together.

... but who obviously makes statements he cannot sustain past the first sentence.

As for the words, or should we simply call them sound-bites, perhaps rather than cutting and pasting them together to attempt to cast a light of blame on Felix for things before he arrived, he should have backed up his original thrust that Felix caused the downwards trend. The truth is, the downwards trend was in full flight before Rene became manager, and for all the 'respect' that Rene appears to have commanded (no doubt these are the words of a very bitter scandinavian chappie who was tossed from his comfortable highly-paid perch of just getting by and doing very little), it seems that wasn't enough as - overall - we didn't exactly improve enough to look like staying up.

If by cutting staff and shoving the likes of Brede out of the door in order to purchase younger, fitter and hungrier players, and putting them through a fitness regime that would make the SF wince, then I'm all for it, because the bunch that so disgraced the Fulham shirt last season didn't deserve any more chances, and if this lot doesn't do much better, well we're not worse off, are we?

[jags24]

Here is what I don't understand. Where were all these doubters for the last few seasons? The ones who told me I should trust in Jol and support my team. Now I am supporting my team and trusting Felix and feeling we are at last taking a step in the right direction. However we have well intentioned articles that are clichéd and ill informed spouting the same old tired routine of bully Felix being the reason the tired old codgers moved on.

Hate to break it to people. But the Fulham of last season was full of poor, old, lacking in pace, no set pieces, no corners type players who were tired after 70 minutes. The squad had to be replaced and it was never going to happen in one transfer window.

No we will not win the league with ease. But I don't understand why Felix is suddenly the bad guy when all he has done is try and bring in players who work and fight for him. Lots of problems but compared to this time last season when I knew the outcome before a ball was kicked. Now none of know what will happen as we don't even know what team we have. So let's wait until at least the beginning of September before we make criticisms on things we just don't know yet.

What really created the conditions for Fulham's demise wasn't Jol - it was Al-Fayed's refusal to spend any money because he was prepping to sell the team.  No, Jol didn't help and should have been fired earlier, but the reason for the team's poor attitude wasn't fully on Jol - they were a bunch of hired mercenaries who were unwanted by other prem teams because they had flaws.

We got younger at GK but that was the only money spent in the transfer window - obviously Stek had a difficult season, highlighted by injury and a porous defense (worst in the prem).  Truth is that even when Stek played well, he still let up three goals because the back line was so bad.

Last year was basically a perfect storm - the two highest rated defensive players (Hange, Stek) both got injured simultaneously, and the team never recovered.  The offense was incoherent - but people were excited about the transfers, it is easy to forget.  Even Arsene Wenger came out and said that Jol did quite well in the transfer market prior to the season.