Tuesday Fulham Stuff (06/07/10)...

[WhiteJC]

http://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premiership/seven-days-of-cottaging-conjecture?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TransferTavern+%28The+Transfer+Tavern+Home+Page%29
SEVEN DAYS OF COTTAGING CONJECTURE

The Premier League's rumour department is running on a skeleton staff for the next few weeks as any transfer talk is drowned out by the voices of English discontent emanating from South Africa. Thankfully for the sake of this article, there have been some noises coming from Craven Cottage which I can enlighten you with.

Whilst he remains on the banks of the Thames, for the time being at least, Hodgson has the unenviable task of trying to keep hold of his Europa League finalists in the face of interest from the big four. Alas money talks (even more loudly if you haven't got any) and with estimated debts of anywhere between £150m-£200m, I expect Fulham will have to sell.

Arsenal are in the market for a goalkeeper and Arsene Wenger seems to think that Mark Schwarzer will fit the bill nicely. The Cottagers have already turned down the Gunners' initial inquiry but with only a year left on his contract, I expect they will want to cash in on their ageing custodian.

Birmingham are poised to launch a double bid for Bobby Zamora and Paul Konchesky. Alex McGleish is a big fan of the left back in particular and is confident that a bid in the region on £3m will be enough to tempt Fulham to part with Konchesky if nothing else.

It's not all one way traffic though, Hodgson is reportedly on the verge of signing Burnley defender Andre Bikey. The centre back is currently with the Cameroon World Cup squad and could make an immediate return to the Premiership for as little as £1m.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.tribalfootball.com/fulham-midfielder-etuhu-asks-brother-kelvin-about-eriksson-954581?
Fulham midfielder Etuhu asks brother Kelvin about Eriksson


Fulham midfielder Dickson Etuhu has pumped his brother for information about Sven Goran Eriksson.

Eriksson is in the frame for the Fulham manager's job following Roy Hodgson's departure for Liverpool.

Etuhu said his brother, Kelvin, who played for Manchester City, had discussed Eriksson with him.

"I've heard some good things about him because my brother had him at Man City but it would be hard for anyone to take over from Roy Hodgson," Etuhu told the Guardian.

"He's been a great manager for us and I look forward to working with whoever they bring in. I can't really point at any of them, I just want us to get a manager in, get the season started and move on."

[WhiteJC]

http://www.tribalfootball.com/etuhu-urges-fulham-make-quick-manager-appointment-954541?
Etuhu urges Fulham to make quick manager appointment

Dickson Etuhu has urged Fulham to make a managerial appointment soon.

The Nigeria midfielder admits Roy Hodgson's departure for Liverpool may unsettle the squad.

"A few of the players at the club have got one year left on their contracts – Simon Davies, Bobby Zamora has got a couple of years left and he's got clubs sniffing all over him," he told the Guardian.

[JBH]

http://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premiership/seven-days-of-cottaging-conjecture?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TransferTavern+%28The+Transfer+Tavern+Home+Page%29
SEVEN DAYS OF COTTAGING CONJECTURE

The Premier League's rumour department is running on a skeleton staff for the next few weeks as any transfer talk is drowned out by the voices of English discontent emanating from South Africa. Thankfully for the sake of this article, there have been some noises coming from Craven Cottage which I can enlighten you with.

Whilst he remains on the banks of the Thames, for the time being at least, Hodgson has the unenviable task of trying to keep hold of his Europa League finalists in the face of interest from the big four. Alas money talks (even more loudly if you haven't got any) and with estimated debts of anywhere between £150m-£200m, I expect Fulham will have to sell.

Arsenal are in the market for a goalkeeper and Arsene Wenger seems to think that Mark Schwarzer will fit the bill nicely. The Cottagers have already turned down the Gunners' initial inquiry but with only a year left on his contract, I expect they will want to cash in on their ageing custodian.

Birmingham are poised to launch a double bid for Bobby Zamora and Paul Konchesky. Alex McGleish is a big fan of the left back in particular and is confident that a bid in the region on £3m will be enough to tempt Fulham to part with Konchesky if nothing else.

It's not all one way traffic though, Hodgson is reportedly on the verge of signing Burnley defender Andre Bikey. The centre back is currently with the Cameroon World Cup squad and could make an immediate return to the Premiership for as little as £1m.

How bloody old is this article!! 

[mattiesafer]

http://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premiership/seven-days-of-cottaging-conjecture?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TransferTavern+%28The+Transfer+Tavern+Home+Page%29
SEVEN DAYS OF COTTAGING CONJECTURE

The Premier League's rumour department is running on a skeleton staff for the next few weeks as any transfer talk is drowned out by the voices of English discontent emanating from South Africa. Thankfully for the sake of this article, there have been some noises coming from Craven Cottage which I can enlighten you with.

Whilst he remains on the banks of the Thames, for the time being at least, Hodgson has the unenviable task of trying to keep hold of his Europa League finalists in the face of interest from the big four. Alas money talks (even more loudly if you haven't got any) and with estimated debts of anywhere between £150m-£200m, I expect Fulham will have to sell.

Arsenal are in the market for a goalkeeper and Arsene Wenger seems to think that Mark Schwarzer will fit the bill nicely. The Cottagers have already turned down the Gunners' initial inquiry but with only a year left on his contract, I expect they will want to cash in on their ageing custodian.

Birmingham are poised to launch a double bid for Bobby Zamora and Paul Konchesky. Alex McGleish is a big fan of the left back in particular and is confident that a bid in the region on £3m will be enough to tempt Fulham to part with Konchesky if nothing else.

It's not all one way traffic though, Hodgson is reportedly on the verge of signing Burnley defender Andre Bikey. The centre back is currently with the Cameroon World Cup squad and could make an immediate return to the Premiership for as little as £1m.

How bloody old is this article!! 

Funny, I just read on the same site last week that we were thinking of buying a young prospect from the Dutch League, goes by the name of John Collins or something...  :011:

[White Noise]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/football/article-23853294-my-career-has-been-damaged-by-legal-fight-with-hammers-says-alan-curbishley.do

My career has been damaged by legal fight with Hammers, says Alan Curbishley


Mick Collins


06.07.10

Just over four years ago, Alan Curbishley was being interviewed for the England job. Now he admits he might have to start from scratch if he wants to be a manager again.

The man who turned Charlton into Premier League regulars and rescued West Ham from relegation is struggling to understand why he cannot get a job in the top half of the Premier League.

After being denied a chance to take up any offers last season because of legal action over his exit from West Ham, which is now resolved, he was linked last week with replacing Roy Hodgson at Fulham.

But he never believed he was really in the running to take over at Craven Cottage, a vacancy which now looks like being filled by Sven-Goran Eriksson, Mark Hughes or Steve Clarke.

"I was told I was on the shortlist but that there were a couple of people ahead of me, so I knew that was going nowhere," said 52-year-old Curbishley. "I've got to wait and see if the phone rings.

"If you look at my career, my average position in the Premier League is 10th, so that's where I need to be looking. No offence to anyone else but the Premier League is where everyone wants to be.

"I'll maybe have to reposition myself. Who knows? Start over again, if I have to. It's damaged me a bit, because I've been out for a while, and it's hard to come back if you're away for too long."

Curbishley has not been involved in management since September 2008, when he quit West Ham after they sold full-back George McCartney without his knowledge.

And yet, had the fates been different, he might have experienced the World Cup at closer range than that of a mere spectator.

Instead, in 2006 the Football Association appointed Steve McClaren, setting in train a personal rollercoaster ride, as Curbishley's 15-year spell as Charlton boss came to an end — "I found myself driving a different route to work, just to make it different, to change the routine" — and a turbulent period at West Ham ensued.

Having taken over at Upton Park in December 2006 with the club seeming doomed to relegation, the escape he masterminded, culminating in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford on the final day of the season, saved West Ham millions. Having both played for and supported them, he is well aware of the scale of the achievement.

"We won seven of the last nine with the same group of players who got themselves into that mess, so I got something a bit special out of them," said Curbishley. "Nobody will ever put together a run to escape relegation like that again."

The club's purchase in 2006 by an Icelandic group was loudly celebrated by many fans, who believed wrongly they were about to receive a huge financial boost.

"They didn't have the money, they'd borrowed it," said Curbishley. "That's why the club's in debt. When they left, they left it with that debt. The problems they've got now all come from that."
It was a decision made in the boardroom, as a result of that financial chaos, which changed his career.

"I had a clause in my contract, saying they couldn't sell players without my agreement, because if I'm going to get the sack, I want it to be for my decisions and not theirs," he said.

"Then they sold George McCartney on deadline day to bring in £6million and kept me out of it. The position was impossible.

"If I'd allowed it to go on, I'd have been finished. They knew what my reaction would be, and they went and did it anyway, which is why I'm where I am now.

"Although I've won the case [against West Ham], I don't know what else I've won, because I'm not working, it's not my fault and it's been 20 months.

"After I left but before the case ended, the people who were running the place were still there, walking around the boardrooms of other clubs at away games, so I don't suppose they did me any favours."