Saturday Fulham Stuff (03/01/15)...

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Symons Up For The Cup

The FA Cup will always hold a special place in Kit Symons' heart.

As a result, he'll be drilling into the side just how important the competition is ahead of Saturday's Third Round meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"I'll make reference to it in the teamtalk," he said. "Most of the players will know, even the foreign boys will have grown up watching FA Cup ties. Everyone around the world watches the Final.

"I'll make sure they know just how important and special it can be. But for it to become special you need to put in a lot of hard work along the way. It can be a tough road, but you have to be willing to dig in, fight and scrap and do the dirty side of it to experience all the nice bits."

Symons was part of the Portsmouth side which lost to Liverpool in the 1992 Semi-Final on penalties after a Replay, while he also experienced some memorable ties in a Fulham shirt during his playing days with the Club.

"As a player, my first experience of the FA Cup was at Portsmouth," he recalled. "We got to the Semi-Final and lost to Liverpool after a Replay on penalties. That was my first experience, so I thought, next year I'll get to the Final. I never even came close after that!

"But I've got some great memories. In cup games for Fulham, we had some great experiences when we were in the third tier of English football and going to some big-name grounds. We went and beat Aston Villa 2-0 away when they were top of the Premier League.

"So I've got brilliant memories and I want my players and our fans to have some great memories this season."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/january/03/up-for-the-cup?

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Fulham v Wolves: 5 reasons for Wolves to kick off their FA Cup campaign with confidence at Craven Cottage

After a nightmare November, the boys in old gold and black are back to winning ways picking up ten points from 12 over the festive period

Wolverhampton Wanderers meet Fulham tomorrow in the third round of the FA Cup.

Here's five reasons why Wolves fans should be confident ahead of the Craven Cottage clash.

1) Wolves have already won at Fulham this season

Wolves coach Kenny Jackett is eternally pragmatic and ever the realist.

You might think then, that he would attach no or very little weight to Wolves' impressive 1-0 win at Craven Cottage in August.

Yet when the cup draw was announced in early December Jackett insisted the experience of winning there would stand them in good stead.

Speaking after the draw, he said: "It should give us confidence going there, that we've been there and we know the set-up already this year.

"I was watching it (the draw) hoping for a home draw, but it's fine," he said.

"It's two Championship clubs and a game we look forward to.

"I think it will be close.

"That game (at Craven Cottage) was a 1-0 win to us with ourselves scoring from a set-piece.

"That's a good thing and it should give us confidence going there."

2) Sako will want a winning send-off

Powerhouse winger Bakary Sako has arguably been Wolves' best player this season, helping himself to seven goals and three assists - both club highs.

But the game at Fulham could be his last until February with Sako leaving Molineux next week to join up with his Mali teammates at the African Cup of Nations.

Knowing Sako, who in November marked his 100th game for Wolves by donning diamond encrusted boots, he will want to leave on a high.

After all, it could even be his last ever game for Wolves if he takes his club form onto the international stage and impresses coaches watching the tournament.

3) Fulham blow hot and cold

Fulham were beginning to look a force to be reckoned with under former player Kit Symons when they reeled off a third straight win in October by battering Bolton 4-0.

But they have blown hot and cold since then winning six, losing six and drawing three.

More recently, they have become decidedly cool, losing 2-0 at Championship leaders Bournemouth on Boxing Day and 2-0 at home to strugglers Brighton three days later.

At a time of year when bugs and illnesses are commonplace, Wolves will be hoping to catch the Cottagers cold with an away win.

4) Wolves are back in form

After a nightmare November, in which Wolves lost four on the bounce, the boys in old gold and black are back to winning ways.

They picked up ten points from 12 over the festive period and are eyeing a third successive win for only the second time this season.

Jackett has put the upturn down to better defending.

The centre-back pairing of Richard Stearman and Danny Baath has been the platform for recent success.

But it's no surprise that better defensive displays have come on the back of continuity with Jackett naming an unchanged back line for the last four matches.

That run will not extend to five matches as left-back Kortney Hause, who only made his debut last month, is cup-tied having played in the competition while on loan at Gillingham.

Hause's absence will present an opportunity at full-back to Matt Doherty, Ethan Ebanks-Landell and Scott Golbourne.

5) Jackett wants a good cup run

The gaffer took his Milwall side all the way to Wembley and an FA Cup semi-final against Wigan two years ago.

In contrast to what most managers say, Jackett believes cup runs can boost a team's displays in the league and he wants to prove that with Wolves.

With that in mind, Jackett has openly declared that he will play his strongest available team at Fulham.

"I'm not going to make unnecessary changes or experiment - it's going to be the best side I feel to play on that particular day.

"Hopefully we can be as consistent as we possibly can in our performances and keep playing well and trying to get results whether it be the FA Cup or the league.

"One competition can flow into the other and the side can hopefully settle down and get into a really good rhythm.

"This is a terrific competition and it is one I personally would enjoy doing well in."


http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-v-wolves-5-reasons-8376874?

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Early Team News from Craven Cottage
   
As we prepare to kick-start our FA Cup campaign with a visit from our fellow Championship side Wolves, we`ve coupled together some early team news.

Firstly, for the third round clash, Kit Symons has the following concerns:-

Not available

• Lasse Vigen Christensen (hamstring injury)
• Tim Hoogland (hernia operation)
• Fernando Amorebieta (recovering from a knee injury.

Ineligible

• Ryan Tunnicliffe (returned from loan spell at Blackburn Rovers)

Awaiting a fitness test

• Bryan Ruiz

As far as Wolves are concerned:-

Suspended

• Kevin McDonald

Injured

• Rajiv van La Parra (concussion)

Cup-tied

• Kortney Hause

Last game before journey to the African cup of nations

• Bakary Sako

COYW`s


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=382583#ixzz3NlITOv6h

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Symons Insists Ruiz is Fit to Return
   
Although earlier this week, ahead of the 3rd round FA Cup clash with Wolves, Bryan Ruiz was rated as doubtful.

However, as kick-off approaches the latest news we`re getting is that the Costa Rican captain could well play a part in the tie.

Since returning to the first team at Craven Cottage, Ruiz has been instrumental in turning around our fortunes and with Kit Symons looking for a decent cup run to boost confidence, the inclusion of Ruiz today could provide the spark needed to get into the 4th round.

Speaking about the situation, Kit Symons has remarked,

"Bryan is back fully fit now."

"He had a nerve problem which made him unavailable for Monday night. We tried him just before the game but unfortunately he wasn`t quite right."

COYW`s, Wembley is calling!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=382615#ixzz3NlSoBcUB

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Fulham v Wolves – FA Cup 3rd Round Match Preview

Fulham ended 2014 with a disappointing 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Brighton, goals from Adrian Colunga and Solly March gave the away side their first win in eight games after the dismissal of manager Sami Hyppia.


Match Preview
Fulham

Fulham are slowly showing signs of promise after an appalling start to the season under Felix Magath, but in Kit Symons they have a manager who knows the club, the players and his style of play suits the Cottagers. It has still been quite an inconsistent season for Fulham with three wins and three losses in their last six encounters. A dismal 5-0 home loss to Watford before beating Leeds 1-0 and Sheffield Wednesday 4-0, then two consecutive 2-0 losses to Bournemouth and Brighton respectively. But with Ross McCormack and Hugo Rodallega upfront they pose a threat to any side in the league.

Two consecutive defeats for Fulham ended their roller coaster year of 2014. They sit in 17th place, nine points behind today's opponents in 8th, and the Cottagers are looking to take revenge on a Wolves side who came to Craven Cottage in August and won – thanks to a goal from Bakary Sako.

Wolves

Wolves are slowly on the mend back towards the top end of English football having been promoted from League 1 last season. Kenny Jackett's side are unbeaten in their last four games and have taken a total of ten points from a possible 12. Wolves narrowly defeated Brentford at Molineux on their last outing. Nouha Dicko put the home side ahead before James Tarkowski's own goal doubled the lead. Danny Batth turned into his own net late on but Wolves hung on. Wolves were dumped out by Oldham Athletic in the first round of the FA Cup last season, after a replay at Molineux, the Latics were victorious 2-1.



Match Stats

Wolves' win at Craven Cottage in August was their first away victory over Fulham since 1999

Wolves haven't won in the Cup in the capital since 1979 when they beat Crystal Palace 1-0



Team News

Lasse Vigen Christensen (hamstring), Tim Hoogland (hernia) and Fernando Amorebieta (knee) all miss out for Fulham with their respective injuries, and Ryan Tunnicliffe is ineligible having returned from his loan spell at Blackburn, but Bryan Ruiz will undergo a late fitness test.

Danny Graham has returned to Sunderland and won't feature following the end of his loan spell, and Kevin McDonald (suspension) and Kortney Hause (cup-tied) also miss out, but Scott Golbourne is close to a return but may not feature as he recovers from his foot injury.



Prediction

I think it will be a close game and Fulham will want to give their fans a positive start to 2015, although Wolves look an exciting force with Bakary Sako and Nouha Dicko so a replay could be forced.

Fulham 2-1 Wolves


http://the72.co.uk/20925/fulham-v-wolves-fa-cup-3rd-round-match-preview/?