Wednesday Fulham Stuff (17/09/14)...

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Fulham striker Taggart returns to training

The road to recovery has started for Adam Taggart as he aims to break into the Fulham side and kick-start his career with the Cottagers.

The Socceroo striker returned to training on Monday, just two weeks after undergoing groin surgery.

It's the first step to what is expected to be at least a four-week rehabilitation for the 21-year-old, who is yet to make his full debut for the Championship club due to the injury.

Taggart picked up the problem early in the pre-season and while it wasn't considered too serious, both he and the club decided minor decided surgery was the best option.

Last season's A-League Golden Boot winner has made one appearance for the Cottagers in pre-season before suffering the problem.

He joined the Cottagers on a three-year deal from Newcastle Jets after making two appearances at the World Cup in Brazil, including starting against Spain.

He is desperate to get on the park as soon as possible, especially with January's Asian Cup in Australia just around the corner.

Fulham could certainly do with Taggart's services, currently sitting last in the Championship with just one point from their first six games.



Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/fulham-striker-taggart-returns-training#dl8PxRvlUAAhfJmd.99

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Fulham consider loan move for former Premier League striker

Fulham are considering a loan move for Wigan Athletic striker Grant Holt, according to FLW sources.

The 33-year-old looks set to leave the Latics on loan in this emergency loan window, and FLW understands that Sky Bet Championship outfit Fulham are keen on a 93-day loan move.

Felix Magath's Fulham have had an abysmal start to life in the second tier, and the German manager is eager to add more players with Championship experience to the club.

Holt spent last season on-loan at Premier League side Aston Villa, where he made 10 appearances, scoring one goal.


http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fulham-consider-loan-move-for-former-premier-league-striker/?

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Former Fulham loanee compared to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba

Former Fulham loanee Stefano Okaka is winning plaudits in Italy.

Former Fulham loanee Stefano Okaka is winning plaudits in Italy thanks to his early season performances with Sampdoria.

The 25-year-old striker signed with the club in January from Parma, and spent half a campaign on loan with Fuham in late 2010.

He scored in Sampdoria's 2-0 win over Torino at the weekend, and his display has even seen him compared to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.

An article penned by the editorial team at Italian website TMW reads: "The Sampdoria star scored a crazy goal. He dragged defenders behind him like they were his backpacks.

"I exaggerate, but I saw the power of Drogba in that action. Another guy who is maturing, he might be help the cause of Serie A, but also to that of the national team."

Manager Sinisa Mihaijlovic said at the weekend: "He has lost six, seven years. Now he must recover the lost ground: he can become one of the best strikers in Italy."


http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/09/16/former-fulham-loanee-compared-to-chelsea-legend-didier-drogba/?

[WhiteJC]

 
The Tony Gale Column

I've been in winning teams at the very top of the Premier League, and I've been there for losing teams, so I understand what it's like to not be able to buy a win. I won promotion with Fulham and I've been relegated with Fulham, and I won two promotions with West Ham and two relegations with West Ham. I know the contrast from a winning side to a losing side, and the way that with a winning side you can't wait for the next game, because they come thick and fast in the Championship. In this division, before you know it, within a month you could have lost seven games. And that's the story of the Championship; you can turn things around so quickly but, on the other hand, within a month you can find yourself in trouble.

I know the supporters are frustrated at the moment but it doesn't help anyone when the fans are on your back. I was at Southampton versus Newcastle on Saturday and the away fans were on their team's back and you could see the players were petrified to play. It's not going to help us. We've got a young side so players with inexperience get frightened to get on the ball, they get frightened to do things that they normally do instinctively, and, of course, defensively it makes you think about something a split second longer. When you think about something a split second longer in defence it normally results in a mistake because you're not playing with that freedom of thought. And this is what a losing run does.

It wasn't the most memorable one for Fulham fans at the weekend against Reading. Obviously the sending off didn't help matters but the fact is that we've got one point from six games. If it carries on at this alarming rate then things aren't looking good. All of a sudden you're looking at a real dogfight, and if you thought a dogfight in the Premier League was hard, you watch a dogfight in the Championship.

We've got Nottingham Forest up next and I watched their match against Derby at the weekend. It wasn't great for quality but you can see the fighting qualities that Forest have. They're in a totally different position to us whereby they can't wait for the next game to come up because they've got a good run going, they've got the crowd going, they've got the new manager in who was installed at the start of the season who's a local hero, so everything's going in their favour. It's a difficult one on Wednesday but also one that we've got to embrace, because I don't think anyone believes we're going to get anything there. It will be difficult but if we do get something, it could be the type of thing that gets our season off and running.

It's my old side Blackburn up after that at the Cottage – a club where I had great memories from when we won the Premier League in the heady days. It's a game where Fulham have got to look at it and say 'right, we've got to win this.' Even two draws are not enough now against Forest and Blackburn, we've got to win one of those games.

Tickets for Fulham's game against Blackburn on Saturday are available to buy on General Sale, priced from £25 adults and £10 juniors.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/september/16/the-tony-gale-column?

[WhiteJC]

 
Nottm Forest V Fulham

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
Venue: City Ground Date: Wednesday 17 September Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio; text commentary on the BBC Sport website

Championship leaders Nottingham Forest will be without captain Chris Cohen when they entertain bottom club Fulham.

Midfielder Cohen aggravated a knee injury in Sunday's 1-1 draw against Derby, while Andy Reid suffered a groin injury and is doubtful.

Fulham, who have yet to record a league win, are without striker Matt Smith who starts a three-match ban.

Forward Adam Taggart remains sidelined by a back problem and Bryan Ruiz is still out of favour.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
Fulham won the last meeting 4-2 at the City Ground in the League Cup in November 2004.

Fulham are unbeaten in the last five meetings in all competitions, winning the last three. Nottingham Forest's last win was 3-0 at the City Ground in the old Division Two in January 1977.

Fulham have won their last two visits to Nottingham Forest in all competitions, scoring seven goals.

Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their eight games this season in all competitions, winning six and drawing two.

Fulham
Fulham have won only one of their seven games this season in all competitions, losing five. Their only win was 1-0 at Brentford in the Capital One Cup on 26 August.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29137522

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Nottm Forest v Fulham preview

Nottingham Forest have lost captain Chris Cohen to injury ahead of the visit of lowly Fulham on Wednesday night.

Cohen suffered a knee injury during Sunday's 1-1 draw against East Midlands rivals Derby and Forest are awaiting the results of a scan amid fears he has damaged his cruciate ligament.

Fellow midfielder Andy Reid is also set to miss out after suffering a groin injury against the Rams, while striker Matty Fryatt is struggling with a pelvic problem.

But defender Kelvin Wilson is fit after a calf injury and midfielder David Vaughan is close to returning from a hamstring problem.

Winless Fulham head to the leaders without striker Matt Smith following his nightmare debut at the weekend.

The deadline-day signing from Leeds was sent off just 18 minutes into Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Reading and starts a three-match ban.

Adam Taggart remains sidelined by a back problem and Bryan Ruiz, who played for Costa Rica in Los Angeles over the weekend, is still out of favour so Patrick Roberts, Cauley Woodrow or Hugo Rodallega will partner Ross McCormack in attack.

Fulham's travelling fans were calling for manager Felix Magath to be sacked after Saturday's setback which left them rock bottom of the table with just one point from six games.


http://www.teamtalk.com/match/preview/978/9472847/-?

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Ooh-ahh Tigana! Fulham's class act too good for Forest

Rewind: September 16, 2000, Division One: Nottingham Forest 0-3 Fulham


Challenge: Luis Boa Morte (L)
Silence greeted the first few minutes of Fulham's opener of the season against Crewe Alexandra.

But open mouths soon turned vocal in appreciation of manager Jean Tigana's fluid football.

Gone was the boring tedium under Paul Bracewell, sandwiched between the charisma of Kevin Keegan and the French maestro, and in was a class act that looked as if it would win the Championship at a canter - and that was on day one.

Three second-half goals helped the Whites to a club record seven successive league victories at the City Ground and maintained the only 100 per cent record in the First Division.

Forest frustrated Fulham for long periods but were powerless once Louis Saha smacked a 56th-minute penalty - his 10th goal in seven games.

The penalty was awarded after Christian Edwards brought down Lee Clark and they never recovered as Fulham struck twice in two minutes late on to seal the victory.

A Tigana find from his own country, Fabrice Fernandes, made it 2-0 nine minutes from time as he lashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net after playing a neat one-two with Barry Hayles.

And Hayles, the part-time carpenter come good under Tigana, completed the scoring when he calmly lobbed the ball over Forest keeper Dave Beasant.

Saha had already missed a couple of sitters, and former Chelsea midfielder Bjarne Goldbaek hammered a free-kick against Beasant's right-hand upright and Lee Clark also went close.


Class act: Jean Tigana (L) and his staff
Forest's only real effort of the first half came after 21 minutes when Taylor dropped a cross and Tony Vaughan saw his shot bundled wide for a corner.

It was much the same in the second half although the home side's brightest moment was supplied by substitute Dougie Freedman but his long-range effort was saved by Maik Taylor.

Clark, Collins, Chris Coleman, sub Paul Trollope, and Freedman were to become managers in their own right, and the one Fulham survivor still a player is Barrington Edward Hayles, to give him his full name, still barrelling past defenders at the age of 42 for Truro City in the Southern Premier.

Nottm Forest: Beasant, Louis-Jean, Edwards, Vaughan, Brennan, Prutton, Bart-Williams, Johnson, Rogers, Lester, Harewood.

Subs: Roche, Freedman, Williams, John, Blake.

Fulham: Taylor, Finnan, Brevett, Melville, Coleman, Clark, Hayles, Collins, Goldbaek, Saha, Fernandes.

Subs: Hahnemann, Trollope, Neilson, Boa Morte, Lewis.

Referee: E Wolstenholme (Blackburn)


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ooh-ahh-tigana-fulhams-class-act-7773032?

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Motor Village Offer

Thanks to our sponsorship agreement with Motor Village, we are able to offer exclusive deals to Season Ticket Holders on new cars, only from Motor Village. There's a wide choice of vehicles to choose too, from fun and economical, to stylish performance vehicles, to 4x4s.

This is the first season of Motor Village sponsorship which has already helped the club with providing vehicles to the team. The very popular Fiat 500L family car, the Fiat Doblo people carrier, and the sporty Alfa Giulietta are among the cars already being used by Fulham FC as part of the arrangement. Running the Club has become that little bit easier with the arrival of the fleet.

The arrangement between Motor Village and Fulham FC perfectly complements the history and heritage surrounding London's oldest football club – formed in 1879 – and Fiat, which has produced more than 90 million vehicles since it was founded in Turin in 1899.

Motor Village is the Fiat Group's wholly owned retail dealer arm and includes the London based flagship store Motor Village Marylebone. In all, there are three showrooms; Oxford and Croydon, in addition to the central London based Marylebone. Between them, they sell and service a wide range of new cars including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Jeep, Chrysler and, of course, have a large stock of quality approved used vehicles.

The range of cars is quite spectacular and caters for all needs. Whether you're looking for a city run-around, a huge and practical space on four wheels, sporty elegance, outright performance and class leading 4x4 capability and presence, the combined ranges from Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Chrysler and Jeep cover them all.

In addition to all the services you'd expect – new and used car sales, business and fleet, Motability and servicing, the Motor Village dealers represent centres of excellence for the brands in London, Surrey and Oxfordshire offering the best quality, service and customer experience.

These offers through Motor Village represent exceptional value and are bespoke to Fulham FC Season Ticket Holders. So why not contact the team at Motor Village now and benefit from the very best motoring deals.

"We are proud to be a partner to Fulham FC for this season," says Tony Dittli, managing director, Motor Village. "At a time when Fulham is gearing up for new challenges of their own, we want to be part of that journey, and share in their success. This opportunity will allow us to showcase all Fiat Group cars to players, staff and fans. We are a perfect fit for the football club."

To find out more visit www.motorvillageuk.com/fulham


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/september/16/motor-village-offer?

[WhiteJC]

 
Matt Smith's heartfelt apology to Fulham fans for dismissal against Reading

Fulham's summer signing from Leeds United, Matt Smith, has tweeted an apology to his teammates and fans.

Fulham forward Matt Smith has publicly apologised to the club's fans for his nightmare debut on Saturday.

The 25-year-old was featuring in his first match for the Cottagers against Reading at the Madejski Stadium in the Championship.

Smith started the game, but he could not even last 20 minutes as he was shown a straight red card for a rash challenge.

The former Leeds United star went in late and high on Reading midfielder Hope Akpan in the 18th minute and was dismissed straight away (click here to read more).

Felix Magath's side were 1-0 down at that stage and conceded two goals in the remainder of the match to suffer a 3-0 defeat.

Smith has now taken to social networking site Twitter to admit his mistake against Reading and apologise to his teammates and the fans.




http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/09/16/matt-smiths-heartfelt-apology-to-fulham-fans-for-dismissal-again/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Eastick wary of Fulham threat

First-team coach Brian Eastick has warned Nottingham Forest's players that if they are not absolutely focused they will "have a problem" against Fulham tomorrow night.
The West London club will arrive in Nottingham having failed to pick up a league win so far this season, but Eastick believes it won't be long before they break that duck. 

Speaking to Forest Player, he said: "Fulham are going to win a football match sooner rather than later. They're going to be dangerous opponents in a different way to Derby. 

"They have had a high turnover of players which is inevitable when you get relegated from the Premier League, but they've got some very good young players. 

"Patrick Roberts, who I saw play for England at 16 and 17, is probably the best player in his age band." 

Sunday's East Midlands derby saw influential captain Chris Cohen come off early with an injury and Eastick says the club are waiting to learn results of a scan which took place this afternoon. 

Eastick said: "Chris is a concern. We don't want to jump to too many conclusions but we're all keeping our fingers crossed. 

"He's certainly gained the respect of the manager and all the coaching staff since we came into this football club. 

"He's an outstanding professional, a great captain and a very, very good player. We need our best players on the pitch and Chris is one of those." 

Eastick also revealed Andy Reid is likely to miss the Cottagers clash, while Jack Hobbs will need to be assessed.



Read more at http://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/article/eastick-wary-of-fulham-threat-1918833.aspx#IA6SUvLRciP0k6qS.99

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Calling All Ball Boys/Girls

We are looking to recruit Junior Members and Season Ticket Holders, aged between 10 and 16, to help the Club throughout the season as ball boys and ball girls.

As a ball boy/girl you will play a vital role on matchday and will enjoy a seat right next to the action!

Interested candidates will be included in a pool of other junior supporters and notified ahead of a given matchday to find out your availability.

To apply, please fill in the form below and all successful applicants will be notified.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/september/16/calling-all-ball-boys-girls?

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Free Shirt Printing

You can take advantage of FREE shirt printing when you purchase any Fulham Kit on fulhamdirect.fulhamfc.com.

Choose from our adult and children ranges of the 2014/15 Home Kit, the 2014/16 Away Kit, as well as the 2014/15 Away Change Kit and Goalkeeper Kit.

That means you can have your favourite Fulham player such as McCormack, Parker, Hyndman, or Roberts, or simply get your own name and number on the back absolutely FREE.

This offer is available for a limited time only so be quick to make sure you don't miss out on a saving of £12!

Simply enter the promo code 'PRINT12' at the checkout to redeem this offer.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/september/16/free-shirt-printing?

[WhiteJC]

 
Shall You Tell Him or Shall I?
   
I`ll be honest I`m not overly excited at the prospect of Fulham getting anything from our trip to the City Ground this Wednesday evening.

Why would I be when we`ve taken one point all season and we`re now about to engage in combat with the current leaders of the Championship.

But the Nottingham Forest winger, Chris Burke isn`t taking anything for granted remarking ahead of the clash,

'We have to show them respect. In the Championship anything can happen so we have to be at it.'

'But with the crowd behind us, and if we approach the game in the right manner, I'm sure we can challenge for the three points.'

Well I`d give your lot more chance of taking the three points than our lot Chris!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=370682#ixzz3DYkSm9VH

[WhiteJC]

 
Championship living up to 'tough' label - Fulham captain

Scott Parker is finally discovering how tough the Championship really is.

The Cottagers have claimed just one point from six second tier games this season, and following Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Reading, the club look in dire straits.

Captain Scott Parker has been an ever-present for Felix Magath's men, failing to prevent their dreadful start of five losses in six games.

They have yet to impose themselves upon a fixture this season, and although a 1-1 draw with Cardiff prior to the international break looked as if a change of fortunes was on the cards, the 3-0 loss at Reading was capped by the dismissal of debutant Matt Smith - and ranking as the West Londoner's worst performance of the season.

33-year old Parker failed to impose himself upon the game, and when talking to the official Fulham website, he praised the Royals domination of the 90 minutes.

The midfielder said: "Before the sending off I think we were up against it," said Parker. "Then the sending off makes life doubly hard really. We get in at half-time at 1-0 and then they wore us down. To be fair to them, I thought they were a very good side. They dominated the game from start to finish and deserved to win.

"In the first half there were a couple of chances but as the game wore on we started to get a bit leggy, which you can understand playing with 10 men for a large part of the game, but we're not making any excuses for the 10 men.

"We dropped off them a little bit. They have a lot of time on the ball and every time they were switching the play it was causing us a few problems which we tried to deal with, but it was difficult at times, so we all need to take a long hard look and see what we can do moving forward."

Having been out of the Championship since 2001, it appears as if the club are unaware of the difficulty faced with fighting for promotion, but Parker insists that the squad are starting to finally realise that the Championship is a tough division.

"We all knew at the start of the season that the Championship is a tough league.

"Maybe we're starting to realise how tough it really is now. It'll be exactly what we've seen since the start of the season really. Every game we've had has been really difficult, really tough."

Fulham travel to Nottingham on Wedneday to face Forest - one of the early pace-setters in the division. Going on current form, it looks like the Cottagers will be waiting even longer to find their first win of the season - a win that may just take them off the foot of the table.


http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/09/16/championship-living-up-to-tough-label-fulham-captain/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Olympiakos surprise Atletico

PIRAEUS: Kostas Mitroglou banished memories of his ill-fated move to English side Fulham with a fine goal yesterday to help Olympiakos to a thrilling 3-2 victory over last season's beaten Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid.

The 26-year-old, who earned a multi-million pound move to Fulham in January on the back of a steady stream of goals for the Greek champions only to return to Greece on loan this summer, rounded off an impressive showing by the hosts in their opening Group A game against the Spanish champions.

Atletico began their European campaign in defeat, having gone all the way to last season's final without losing a single match before their final defeat to city rivals Real in Lisbon.

Jan Oblak hadn't played since his 16 million-euro ($20.7m) move from Benfica in the close season and the 21-year-old Slovenian goalkeeper had a nightmare debut as he conceded two goals in the first 31 minutes.

First the Atletico defence allowed the Greek side far too much space and Ibrahim Afellay teed up 20-year-old French defender Arthur Masuaku, the former Valenciennes man sending a superb shot past Oblak in the 13th minute.

Atletico dominated for the next 20 minutes and went close on several occasions, including from two headers by Mario Mandzukic, who received a bleeding nose in an aerial challenge earlier in the half, and one from Raul Garcia.

However, it was the hosts who scored just after the half-hour mark as a wonderful dummy by Mitroglou completely confused the Atletico defence and former Barcelona winger Afellay was on hand to tuck the ball home.

The visitors, though, hit back in the 38th minute as Mandzukic beat former French international defender Eric Abidal to a cross and headed past Roberto, the hosts' former Atletico goalkeeper.

The second half was also an open affair with Roberto making a good save from Cristian Ansaldi and Mitroglou should have done better when found unmarked by the impressive 33-year-old Argentinian Chori Dominguez.

Atletico decided another striker was required to partner Mandzukic up front and took off skipper Gabi, sending on French international Antoine Griezmann with just over half an hour remaining.

However, the Greek side had the bit between their teeth and deservedly added another with 16 minutes to the final whistle with a goal created and scored by former Fulham players as Pajtim Kasami did superbly well to set up Mitroglou and he provided an equally fine finish.
Atletico kept on plugging away and Griezmann set up a frenetic final four minutes as he converted Koke's cross.-AFP


http://news.kuwaittimes.net/olympiakos-surprise-atletico/?

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Sky Sports pundit: Fulham fans must back their team

Fulham legend Tony Gale has urged the fans to support their team, no matter how bad things appear to get.

54-year old Gale started his career in West London, going on to make 277 league appearances for Fulham, before moving to West Ham and Blackburn - with whom he won the 1995 Premier League title.

He currently works as a pundit for Sky Sports, as well as writing a weekly column for the official Fulham website.

And it was in his column that he reviewed the Cottagers early start to the season, urging the fans to get behind their team, even whilst everything appears negative.

Having failed to win a single game this Championship season, Fulham sit in last place, gaining just one point from a 1-1 draw with Cardiff City. Despite spending a Championship record transfer fee on forward Ross McCormack, the Cottagers have scored just three goals this campaign - with McCormack failing to net even a single strike - whilst they have conceded 13 - including three at the weekend as Fulham fell to defeat at Reading.

A midweek trip to Nottingham Forest beckons on Wednesday, and many would think that a seventh straight game without victory is on the cards - with a defeat looking increasingly likely.

Whilst Gale understands that supporter frustration is inevitable, he has insisted that it makes it even harder for the players to perform with the added pressure.

"I know the supporters are frustrated at the moment but it doesn't help anyone when the fans are on your back. I was at Southampton versus Newcastle on Saturday and the away fans were on their team's back and you could see the players were petrified to play.

"It's not going to help us.

"We've got a young side so players with inexperience get frightened to get on the ball, they get frightened to do things that they normally do instinctively, and, of course, defensively it makes you think about something a split second longer. When you think about something a split second longer in defence it normally results in a mistake because you're not playing with that freedom of thought.

"And this is what a losing run does."

Wholesale changes at Craven Cottage have required the use of a young side this season, and 13 players under the age of 21 have been utilised so far. Their situation is remarkably different to the one at midweek visitors Forest, who boosted their already strong squad with a number of top class arrivals.

Having enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season, Gale has noticed their desire to play every game marks them out as a tough opponent.

"They're in a totally different position to us whereby they can't wait for the next game to come up because they've got a good run going, they've got the crowd going, they've got the new manager in who was installed at the start of the season and is a local hero - so everything's going in their favour.

"It's a difficult one on Wednesday but also one that we've got to embrace, because I don't think anyone believes we're going to get anything there. It will be difficult but if we do get something, it could be the type of thing that gets our season off and running."


http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/09/16/sky-sports-pundit-fulham-fans-must-back-their-team/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham will look to put things right at Nottingham Forest, says Scott Parker

FORMER England man Scott Parker says Fulham cannot dwell on their miserable start to the season – and pledges that they will be looking to put things right at Nottingham Forest tonight.

The experienced midfielder knows Fulham must improve dramatically, following their 3-0 defeat at Reading on Saturday.

Fulham finished the game with ten men, having had big striker Matt Smith red carded on his debut, following his move from Leeds United.

The result left Fulham stranded at the foot of the Championship table and Parker says the club must acclimatise to life in the second tier quickly.

"We all knew at the start of the season that the Championship is a tough league," said Parker (pictured). "Maybe we're starting to realise how tough it really is now.

"It'll be exactly what we've seen since the start of the season really. Every game we've had has been really difficult, really tough.

"Going to Forest away will be equally as tough as Reading, so it is a quick turnaround, and I suppose one positive is that we can get to work and in a few days we play again, so we can't dwell on this for too long. We've got to draw a line under it and try and move forward.

"Reading were a very good side. They dominated the game from start to finish and deserved to win.

"In the first half there were a couple of chances but as the game wore on we started to get a bit leggy, which you can understand playing with ten men."



Read more: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Fulham-look-things-right-Nottingham-Forest-says/story-22935621-detail/story.html?#ixzz3DYmAIRjS
Follow us: @Nottingham_Post on Twitter | NottinghamPostOnline on Facebook

[WhiteJC]

 
Magath - One Last Chance?
   
Is time fast running out for Felix Magath?

Although, in the last few weeks, the German has received the full backing of the board, it cannot be said that the fans are behind the beleaguered manager.

A return of one solitary point, all season, allied with the fact that we`ve already, in the few games we`ve played this season, copped a few heavy beatings which has left Felix Magath feeling the brunt of the supporters` wrath.

This morning it is intimated in some quarters that time is running out for Felix and that a heavy loss, at Nottingham Forest, tonight could very well see the axe swing.

If it were to I`d shed no tears but then I`d have to ask myself who`d be prepared to come in and sort out this sorry mess, because from where I sit the challenge doesn`t look particularly appetizing!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=370746#ixzz3DYmngRUn

[WhiteJC]

 
Next Up: Nottingham Forest

Fulham's next Sky Bet Championship fixture sees them travel to the Midlands to take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Wednesday (7.45pm).


The opposition

The appointment of club legend Stuart Pearce as manager in the summer has seen Forest make a blistering start to the new campaign, winning four and drawing two of their first six matches.

Pearce, who scored 89 goals in 524 appearances for the club from 1985-1997, is assisted by former Fulham Under-18s Manager Steve Wigley, and the pair have assembled a strong squad that appears to have all the makings of promotion challengers.

Victories over Blackpool and AFC Bournemouth sandwiched an away draw with Bolton Wanderers at the start of the season, before they secured their most impressive result of the campaign with a 4-0 success over Reading.

A narrow away win against Sheffield Wednesday soon followed, while their most recent outing saw them draw 1-1 with fierce rivals Derby County.

Their form in the Capital One Cup has also set up a Third Round tie against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, after they put Tranmere Rovers and Huddersfield Town to the sword in Rounds One and Two.

Team news

Midfielders Andy Reid and Chris Cohen are the main concerns for Wednesday's game after picking up injuries in the weekend draw against Derby.

Former Spurs man Reid is expected to miss out, while skipper Cohen awaits the results of a scan. Defender Jack Hobbs is also a doubt.


Inside the camp

Forest first-team coach Brian Eastick is not reading anything into Fulham's current league position when the Whites visit the City Ground.

Speaking to Forest Player, he said: "Fulham are going to win a football match sooner rather than later. They're going to be dangerous opponents in a different way to Derby.

"They've had a high turnover of players which is inevitable when you get relegated from the Premier League, but they've got some very good young players.

"Patrick Roberts, who I saw play for England at 16 and 17, is probably the best player in his age band."


Player to watch

Britt Assombalonga: The Zaire-born striker began his career at Watford but never saw any regular first-team action at Vicarage Road. He was shipped out to various clubs on loan and notably caught the eye at Southend United, with his form prompting Peterborough United to break their transfer budget to sign him in 2013. In his solitary season with the Posh, Assombalonga hit 33 goals in all competitions before Pearce brought him to Forest in a deal that was reportedly worth £5.5m. A powerful frontman, the 21-year-old has already scored five goals in his six Championship appearances for his new club.

Marathonbet match odds

Nottingham Forest: 71/100

Draw: 59/20

Fulham: 9/2


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/september/17/next-up-nottingham-forest?