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Thursday Fulham Stuff (24/06/10)

Started by WhiteJC, June 24, 2010, 06:42:32 AM

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Roberty

Quote from: Tom on June 24, 2010, 07:39:56 AM
Quote from: finnster01 on June 24, 2010, 07:35:39 AM
Don't forget his wife is a scouser and we all know about who wears the real trousers in the house...
He isn't going anywhere finnster! He is not going to jump on a sinking ship, he is smarter than that. We are building something special here and he knows that.

I hate to say this but - wasn't our ship sinking when he arrived?
It could be better but it's real life and not a fantasy

JBH

Quote from: Roberty on June 24, 2010, 09:22:01 AM
Quote from: Tom on June 24, 2010, 07:39:56 AM
Quote from: finnster01 on June 24, 2010, 07:35:39 AM
Don't forget his wife is a scouser and we all know about who wears the real trousers in the house...
He isn't going anywhere finnster! He is not going to jump on a sinking ship, he is smarter than that. We are building something special here and he knows that.

I hate to say this but - wasn't our ship sinking when he arrived?

The team may have been but unlike Liverpool the club was in a stable condition with an owner that was willing to invest in the future of FFC.  :54:

WhiteJC

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1289140/LEOS-LONDON-Roy-Hodgson-avoid-fast-falling-Liverpool-stay-hes-loved-Fulham.html?ITO=1490
LEO'S LONDON: Roy Hodgson would do well to avoid fast-falling Liverpool and stay where he's loved at Fulham

Roy Hodgson now has a decision to make.

England's progression to the last 16 of the World Cup finals would seem to rule out the national manager's job as an option.

Fabio Capello has avoided the doomsday scenario of elimination at the group stage and even if his side go out on Sunday, the chances of him being sacked or quitting have receded somewhat.

So it looks like Fulham or Liverpool for our Roy and there is little question he should stay put.

Those who say that the lure of one last  big job for the 62-year-old has already proved persuasive may well be right.

But if Hodgson moves to Anfield on that basis, he is deceiving himself.

The Liverpool manager's position is not a big job in the way that Inter Milan,  one of his former clubs, or Real Madrid would have been.

And it is certainly not the coveted role it was a few years ago before George Gillett,  Tom Hicks and Rafa Benitez ultimately combined to leave them in their current  predicament.

The time to join Liverpool is probably after the next managerial regime, when the club have been sold and the issues within the squad at least partially addressed.

Taking charge now would be to walk into a series of problems without the funds to buy a quick fix yet with expectations as high as ever.

Liverpool are a top club and their fans and their history dictates they must compete at the highest level.

One season of finishing seventh in the Premier League won't change that.

As much as the supporters can see the problems, another campaign like the last one would still be hard for them to take.

Oh yes, and there are rumblings that Liverpool's best players - Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres - are not sold on the idea of Hodgson, never mind legend Kenny Dalglish.

Meanwhile, the vacancy Hodgson would create at Fulham has led to interest from  Mark Hughes and Sven Goran Eriksson.

Neither of  these managers would come cheaply and both would expect significant  funding and  ambition from owner Mohamed al-Fayed after last season's run to the  Europa League final.

That is not guaranteed. Fayed has swung from wanting to make Fulham the  Manchester United of the South to trying to turn them into the Charlton of  west London during his 13-year tenure.

They are somewhere in between now (taking Charlton when they were in the Premier League, of course) and it will not have escaped anyone's notice within the game that Fayed has just sold Harrods for around £1.5 billion.

Whether he will want to plough a large chunk  of that into Fulham remains to be seen.

He already knows that trying to take  the club, whose supporter base is moderate, up the Premier League table may not  be worth the extra investment in a business sense.

However, if he is to further loosen the purse strings Fulham should become an even more attractive prospect for Hodgson.
As the LMA manager of  the year, he will do well to keep his stock as high as it is today.

But he has a better chance of it at a club with low expectations and improving funds  than at one where the opposite is true, such as Liverpool.

*****
USELESS fact from the recently published fixture list: Tottenham play Wigan, West Bromwich, West Ham and Wolves - all the Premier  League Ws - on  consecutive weekends from the 28 August.
With no speech impediment jokes allowed, the question is simply: who said the  fixture computer  does not work randomly ?
*****
THERE IS a certain irony that Crystal Palace, plunged into administration by a hedge fund which called in a debt, are now part-owned by someone described as the 'economic sage' of another such fund.
How long Jeremy Hoskins will be content to take the back seat he now has or how easy it will be to rotate the chairmanship or co-chairmanship of  Palace between their four biggest backers also remains to be seen.
But if  ever a club needed for things to fall into place, it is Palace.
The new  owners have appointed a reasonable manager in George Burley and are  making the  right noises. I wish them all the best.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1289140/LEOS-LONDON-Roy-Hodgson-avoid-fast-falling-Liverpool-stay-hes-loved-Fulham.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0rl5FHdmH


WhiteJC

http://football-talk.co.uk/5752/arsenal-make-improved-offer-for-schwarzer/?
Arsenal make improved offer for Schwarzer
By Fab4.

Arsenal have made an improved offer of £3.5m for Fulham's goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, according to the Mirror. The report claims that Schwarzer has been made aware of Arsenal's interest and he has told manager Roy Hodgson he wants to leave Craven Cottage this summer. It's believed that Hodgson is now resigned to losing his No.1 keeper and all that's left is for the two clubs to agree a fee.

Wenger sees the 37-year-old Australian international as the experienced keeper his young squad needs to instill confidence in the back-four, but also not block the progress of Arsenal's young goalkeepers. Wojciech Szczesny is highly rated at the Emirates and Wenger is grooming the 20-year-old as a future No.1. If the Gunners do land Schwarzer its believed Manuel Almunia will be allowed to leave the club.

Arsenal scouts have watched Schwarzer on several occasions, while Wenger has watched him personally in South Africa. Fulham have already knocked back a £3m bid but it seems Arsenal are determined to get their man.

If the Mirror reports are accurate, I'm not sure how i feel about it all. Scwarzer is certainly better than what we currently have at the club and i like the idea of bringing in an experienced goalkeeper who Szczesny can learn from and eventually take over from in 2-3 years, so in that respect he fits the bill.

But is he that much better than Almunia? Is he going to be the difference next season and help Arsenal end their trophy drought? Is he the world class stopper we're looking for? I'm not convinced, but i wouldn't be too disappointed if he did sign.

Would Schwarzer be a good signing for the Gunners? Please leave your opinions below.....

WhiteJC

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/674652-fulham-transfer-news-and-speculation?
Fulham transfer news, rumours and speculation
All the latest Fulham summer transfer window 2010 news, rumours and done deals from Craven Cottage.

Alongside Spurs' Harry Redknapp, Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is the Premier League's manager of the year for the team's impressive Europa League exploits as well as a strong showing on the domestic front.
His biggest challenge yet though could be in the transfer market this year - namely trying to hold onto star performers like Bobby Zamora and Brede Hangeland in the face of interest from the big four.
Former Inter Milan, Norway, and Finland manager Hodgson is a well-respected man-manager so he is more likely than most to elicit loyalty from his players.
Still, any shrewd forays into the transfer window - and there no doubt be one or two - could be undermined if the vultures come circling at Craven Cottage.
DONE DEALS
In
Philippe Senderos - from Arsenal - free transfer
Out
None
Transfer rumours
Fulham 'resigned to losing Schwarzer to Arsenal for £3.5m' ¦ Cottagers turn down Arsenal's £3m Schwarzer bid ¦ Arsenal's Senderos and Fulham's Schwarzer set for club swap? ¦ Fulham to battle West Ham for Frederic Piquionne ¦ Nikola Zigic rejects Fulham for Birmingham ¦ Magne Hoseth 'set for Fulham or Blackburn' ¦ Arsenal keen on Brede Hangeland ¦ Hodgson rules out leaving Fulham ¦ Zamora is Fulham's key player ¦ Davies: Hodgson 'so important' for Cottagers ¦ English managers' stock rises after Fulham and Spurs heroics 

WhiteJC

http://football.fanhouse.co.uk/2010/06/24/fulham-must-act-fast-to-fill-the-vacuum-if-roy-hodgson-leaves-fo/?
Fulham Must Act Fast to Fill the Vacuum if Roy Hodgson Leaves For Liverpool

The reaction to England's victory over Slovenia will have been received with even more satisfaction at Craven Cottage than it was across the length and breadth of an anxious nation.

Apart from the obvious satisfaction at Fabio Capello's side advancing to the last 16, the result also virtually guarantees the Italian will remain in charge of the national team for the foreseeable future, drawing a line under Roy Hodgson's chances of getting the call to lead his country.

Cue a sigh of relief in west London, although the realists at Fulham know the departure of the manager has been only delayed, not cancelled.

Hodgson is in demand this summer and he is now the clear favourite to be handed the task of reviving Liverpool, finally landing the top Premier League job he has always coveted.

And when the 62-year-old does go, he will leave behind him a vacuum that will not be easily filled.

The job description at Fulham will make much easier reading than the one Hodgson was presented with when he took charge in December 2007 with the club apparently spiralling into the Championship.

Two and a half years on, the new man in charge will inherit a team that now boasts a European pedigree following last season's epic journey to the Europa League final, and one that is firmly established as a mid-table Premier League side.

By common consensus, Hodgson has worked a miracle. And while that miracle means the post of Fulham manager is now one to be coveted, it also means his successor faces the unenviable task of at least matching that over-achievement.

Hodgson's success has been to blend a team of unsung players gathered on the cheap, into a formidable and effective unit capable of taking on, and beating, some of the best teams in Europe.

He created a formula that works, and unless the new manager can at least maintain that formula, then Fulham could easily revert to being a club that spends more time looking over its shoulder at the bottom three rather than eyeing the top seven.

There are parallels with Bolton who qualified for Europe twice in three seasons under Sam Allardyce but collapsed disastrously when the manager left and was replaced by the hopelessly under-qualified Sammy Lee. Same players, very different results.

The names so far mentioned as likely replacements for Hodgson suggest Fulham will avoid a similar fate. Mark Hughes and Sven Goran Eriksson are reportedly in the frame and both men possess the qualities to build on Hodgson's success, especially if club owner Mohamed Al Fayed sanctions significant spending this summer.

Fulham enjoyed arguably the best season in the club's history last term. The next few weeks will determine whether foundations have been laid for continued success.


WhiteJC

http://www.footballfancast.com/football-blogs/does-kenny-make-a-valid-point-over-liverpool-job?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ffc_liverpool_blogs+%28FFC_Liverpool_Blogs%29
Does Kenny make a valid point over Liverpool job?

With some newspapers already reporting that Liverpool are a mere 48 hours away from appointing Roy Hodgson as the club's new manager, it appears that one of the more interesting domestic football issues of the last month may soon be resolved. Despite his good work with Fulham over the last two and a half years, Hodgson isn't the unanimous choice for the post amongst Liverpool fans. Perceived in some quarters as an unglamorous and unambitious manager, many Kopites are unenthused by the prospect of Hodgson's arrival at Anfield.

Club ambassador Kenny Dalglish, the man said to have been refused a return to the Anfield hot-seat by the club's board, is thought to have wanted the job due to the dearth of 'better qualified and available candidates'. Does King Kenny have a point?

Given the stature of Liverpool Football Club upon the world and domestic stage, is it unsurprising that the club's fans (myself included) have been somewhat underwhelmed by the names realistically linked with the vacant managerial post over the last month. Following the last managerial departure at Anfield in the summer of 2004, the club courted the likes of Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez, who were two of Europe's most coveted tacticians at the time (and still are today it seems). Today, the most likely candidate for the job is a man who recently lead to his side to a 12th-placed finish, a man who can list trophies won in Norway, Sweden and Denmark as some of the biggest managerial achievements of his career. With all due respect to Roy Hodgson, it is slightly disconcerting to see the lack of more distinguished coaches linked with the role.

Unfortunately, the pulling power of Liverpool's immense global status has been somewhat diminished by the turmoil that currently engulfs the club. The club is suffering from well-documented boardroom and ownership issues, with the knock-on effects meaning that any potential new manager will have to deal with the prospect of star players leaving and paltry financial reserves to invest in new players. To some extent, the position of Liverpool manager at this current point in time may be somewhat of a poisoned chalice; any manager considering the role may be put off by the chance that it may damage their reputation. It is safe to say that this situation has contributed to the fact that more attractive managerial names (such as Guus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard) have ruled themselves out of the running.

In addition to the fact that the current Anfield situation may be repelling candidates, there may also genuinely be a dearth of 'qualified' candidates out there at the moment. Personally I feel that the club were foolish to dismiss Rafael Benitez; the fact that he has been appointed manager of treble winners Inter Milan indicates Benitez's world-class reputation, and Liverpool look highly unlikely to be able to secure the appointment of a manager with even a remotely similar calibre. Whilst a section of Reds fans were happy to see Benitez' departure, many felt that despite his poor work last season, there were no better candidates to replace him.

Off the top of my head, there is single no outstanding (and available) manager who I would like to see at Anfield. Whilst I admire the work of Manuel Pellegrini during his time in Spain (and would prefer him to Roy Hodgson), I am still unconvinced by the lack of silverware that he has won during his managing in Europe (Benitez came to Liverpool having won La Liga twice and the UEFA Cup once within a period of three seasons) and whether or not he would be able to successfully adapt to English football.

The appointment of the club's manager is the most important decision Liverpool will make in a long time, with the decision key to the long-term health and state of the club. Whilst I will get behind whoever is appointed Liverpool manager, I can't help but feel that King Kenny has a point.