Wednesday Fulham Stuff (11/02/15)...

[WhiteJC]

 
WEST LONDON DERBY: CHELSEA V FULHAM U21S

An exciting West London derby comes to Aldershot next Thursday, 19 February, when Chelsea's Under 21 side host their Fulham counterparts in the quarter-finals of the Premier League International Cup.

Kick-off is at 7.05pm, with admission £3 for adults and £1 for concessions. The match will also be broadcast live on Chelsea TV.

Fulham finished second in Group A, behind FC Porto, and now face the winners of Group B in the knock-out stages. New for 2014-15, the 16 team tournament places eight Premier League Academy sides alongside eight of the top youth teams from across Europe in four groups, with all matches played in England between October and January.

A full list of forthcoming Chelsea Academy fixtures at Aldershot Town FC:

Thursday 19 February, 7.05pm – Premier League International Cup: Chelsea U21 v Fulham
Wednesday 25 February, 7.05pm – UEFA Youth League: Chelsea U19 v FC Zenit St Petersburg – FREE
Friday 6 March, 7pm – Barclays Under 21 Premier League: Chelsea U21 v Leicester City
Sunday 22 March, 12pm – Barclays Under 21 Premier League: Chelsea U21 v Everton
Friday 3 April, 3pm – Barclays Under 21 Premier League: Chelsea U21 v Tottenham Hotspur
Sunday 3 May, 1pm – Barclays Under 21 Premier League: Chelsea U21 v West Ham United


http://www.theshots.co.uk/west-london-derby-chelsea-v-fulham-u21s/?

[WhiteJC]

 
FIFA deny Bryan Ruiz transfer to Levante

Levante have confirmed that FIFA have denied the transfer of Fulham midfielder Bryan Ruiz to the club.

In the final hours of the January transfer window, Levante announced that they had reached an agreement with Fulham over the six-month loan of Costa Rican national team captain Bryan Ruiz, pending the approval of FIFA.

However, FIFA have informed the RFEF, who then informed Levante, that they have denied the transfer and that Ruiz would not be allowed to join the club.

Levante president Quico Catalan confirmed the news in a press conference on Tuesday evening, but the exact details as to why the transfer was denied are currently unknown, other than stating that he was not granted international clearance because the deal was finally done past the deadline.

Other reports suggest that the deal was not finalised because Fulham believed the transfer window for Spain closed on Monday and not Friday.


http://www.insidespanishfootball.com/148406/fifa-deny-bryan-ruiz-transfer-to-levante/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Fulham

Neil Lennon's unbeaten home league record in charge of Bolton continues, after Wanderers came from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 on Tuesday.

Bolton fell behind in the 21st minute at Macron Stadium, as Shaun Hutchinson bundled home from a corner, but the two sides went in level at the break after Eidur Gudjohnsen netted against his former club from Saidy Janko's cross.

For long periods of the second half the game had looked set to end all square, but Janko fired Wanderers ahead with a piledriver with 10 minutes left to play, before Adam Le Fondre's perseverance forced a mistake in the Fulham defence and allowed him to fire into an empty net inside the final minute of normal time.

There were three changes to the Bolton side that started in Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Derby County, as Janko, Neil Danns and Eidur Gudjohnsen took the places of Dean Moxey and Zach Clough, who dropped to the bench, as well as the injured Liam Trotter.

Gudjohnsen captained the side in the absence of Matt Mills, despite the inclusion of both David Wheater and Neil Danns in the starting line-up.

The first chance of the game fell the way of the hosts, as Josh Vela received the ball from Janko before seeing his shot charged down by a Fulham defender.

Ross McCormack was the first to try his luck for the visitors, with Wheater timing a block to perfection to prevent the opening goal of the evening, before Gudjohnsen also saw a shot charged down at the other end.

The game was then halted for a brief moment while Tim Ream received treatment after appearing to fall awkwardly on his shoulder, moments before Andy Lonergan was forced into his first save of the evening to keep out a near-post header after Nikolay Bodurov had stole in from a corner.

Wanderers fell behind from the corner that followed, however, as they failed to clear their lines and Hutchinson was allowed to fire home from close range.

Liam Feeney was proving to be Bolton's best attacking threat, as he played out on the left, but the majority of his crosses were just too high or long for the likes of Le Fondre to get on the end of.

Wanderers had a glorious chance to equalise just after the half hour, but Gudjohnsen shot straight at Marcus Bettinelli from the edge of the box after Le Fondre had forced a mistake out of the Fulham defence.

Fulham should have doubled their advantage with 37 minutes played, as McCormack marched into the Bolton box. His shot seemed destined to nestle in the bottom corner and would have done, but for the outstretched left arm of Lonergan.

Lennon's side saw appeals for a penalty turned down when a shot from Vela struck an arm, but Wanderers were level in the final minute of the half as Gudjohnsen controlled Janko's low cross from the right before slotting past Bettinelli to send the sides in level at the break.

There were no changes to either side at the start of the second half, which started with the home side on the attack.

Le Fondre was the first to try his luck, as he shot wide on the half volley, before Janko saw a curling strike deflect behind for a corner.

The on-loan Le Fondre thought he had scored his first Bolton goal in the 56th minute, only to see his goalbound shot cleared off the line, before a Wheater header and two more shots from Le Fondre brought good saves out of Bettinelli.

Fulham made the first change of the evening, with Scott Parker coming on to replace Seko Fofana at the midway point of the half, but Wanderers remained the better side, with Janko in particular proving to be a constant menace down the right flank.

Sensing the visitors were beginning to struggle defensively, Clough replaced Gudjohnsen for the final 15 minutes. Then, just five minutes later, Wanderers were ahead as Janko received possession from Vela before drilling an unstoppable drive into the top corner of Bettinelli's goal.

Bolton took control of the game in the final ten minutes, during which time Robert Hall came on in place of Janko, who left the field to a standing ovation.

They wrapped up the points in the final minute of normal time, as Le Fondre's determination to force a mistake paid dividends. Bettinelli gifted the former Reading forward got the ball 30 yards from goal and, with an empty net to aim for, chipped the ball over a crowd of bodies to cap a fine individual performance with his first goal in Bolton colours.

Filip Twardzik was brought on for his home debut in the dying stages, coming on in place of Bannan, as Wanderers saw out time to claim a vital three points which pushes them up to 13th in the Championship table.

Lennon's side return to action on Saturday, when they run out at Macron Stadium once again. This time, Watford will be the visitors.

Bolton Wanderers: Lonergan, Janko (Hall 88), Wheater, Dervite, Ream, Vela, Bannan (Twardzik 90), Danns, Feeney, Gudjohnsen (Clough 76), Le Fondre
Subs Not Used: Moxey, Amos, Eaves, Slavchev
Goals: Gudjohnsen 44, Janko 80, Le Fondre 89

Fulham: Bettinelli, Grimmer, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis, Tunnicliffe, Christensen, Fofana (Parker 66), Kacaniklic (Williams 81), Rodallega (Woodrow 76), McCormack
Subs Not Used: Kiraly, Roberts, Dembele, Burn
Goals: Hutchinson 21

Referee: Gary Sutton
Attendance: 12,790


http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/2015/02/10/bolton-wanderers-3-1-fulham.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Wide men key in Fulham turnaround - Neil Lennon

Manager says getting his two wingers higher up the pitch was key in home win over Fulham
Neil Lennon believes the decision to switch to a back four when a goal down against Fulham was key in turning the game on its head.

Bolton came from a goal down to defeat Fulham at Macron Stadium, with Eidur Gudjohnsen, Saidy Janko and Adam Le Fondre on the scoresheet.

And after the game the manager highlighted his belief that the decision to change tact when a goal down was the turning point in the match.

"I thought we responded superbly to going a goal down," the manager said after the game. "We conceded a sloppy goal and had to switch things around at that point. We recognised the back three didn't quite seem to be working for us.

"We were a little bit unsure of ourselves to start with and to be fair to Fulham they caused us a few problems early on. We needed Andrew Lonergan to make a few saves early on.

"But once we got going in the second half you could sense the confidence flowing through the whole team.

"We wanted our wide players to get in behind and break the lines and we did that this evening, particularly in the second half.

"Liam Feeney and Saidy Janko provided great width and provided attacking thrust all night - they were a real handful for Fulham.

"We were knocking on the door once we went to a back four and got our wingers higher up the pitch.

"Once we got up and running we were outstanding. We caused endless problems for Fulham and at one point you were there wondering if it was ever going to be our night.

"We've had a lot of new players come in - the likes of Adam Le Fondre, Barry Bannan, Saidy Janko - they've given the core of the squad a real lift.

"The fresh legs really helped our performance this evening. The newer players were outstanding tonight.

"On his debut, Saidy assists one and scores a wonder goal. We'd like to think he'd be happy with his evening's work, but you never know with Saidy. He's a really level headed lad.

"It was nice for Adam to get his goal too and that'll get him up and running. He put in a terrific shift and thoroughly deserved his goal."



Read more at http://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/article/wide-men-key-in-fulham-turnaround-neil-lennon-2262024.aspx#0DDg3YW945VAC6vd.99

[WhiteJC]

 
Manager Reaction

Kit Symons was left cursing Fulham's second half performance as they slipped to a 3-1 loss away to Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday evening.

The Whites had taken the lead on 21 minutes through Shaun Hutchinson's strike, but former Craven Cottage loanee Eidur Gudjohnsen scored a crucial equaliser just before half-time.

The Trotters then took control of the second half and scored twice in the final 10 minutes to take the three points and move above Fulham in the Sky Bet Championship table.

"First half I thought we played some really good stuff and we were by far and away the better team," Symons stated. "We should have come in leading quite comfortably but conceded a poor goal from our point of view.

"But even then if we go out and approach the second half in the same manner we're going to be fine, but we just sat off them for some reason. Everything that was said [at half-time] was more of the same, get up against them, keep running beyond and causing them problems, and we never did it.

"We suddenly looked nervous on the ball, couldn't keep possession. When we did win it in and around the edge of our box we were just sort of kicking it rather than passing it out, and we just never got going at all."

He continued: "But even then we weathered the storm a little bit. They had a lot of corners, a lot of pressure, but we were thinking we could hang onto something here.

"We changed our shape slightly, tried to shore it up a little bit, and it's just really disappointing from our point of view that we never really got going in the second half at all. As good as I felt we were in the first half and the dominant side, they were miles better than us second half."

Asked whether Gudjohnsen's goal on 44 minutes was the turning point in the game, the Fulham Manager replied: "It didn't need to be. If we'd have played in the same manner in the second half it would've been fine.

"I think the second goal was a turning point. The ball's not quite running for us at the moment – we're breaking and the ball hits the referee to come back for them and even then we've got a lot of bodies back behind the ball and the second goal shouldn't have been conceded but these little things are going against us at the moment.

"But I couldn't really see us scoring anyway – we didn't have a shot on target in the second half, whereas we'd had a lot of efforts in the first half."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/february/10/manager-reaction

[General]

Wide men key in Fulham turnaround - Neil Lennon

Manager says getting his two wingers higher up the pitch was key in home win over Fulham
Neil Lennon believes the decision to switch to a back four when a goal down against Fulham was key in turning the game on its head.

Bolton came from a goal down to defeat Fulham at Macron Stadium, with Eidur Gudjohnsen, Saidy Janko and Adam Le Fondre on the scoresheet.

And after the game the manager highlighted his belief that the decision to change tact when a goal down was the turning point in the match.

"I thought we responded superbly to going a goal down," the manager said after the game. "We conceded a sloppy goal and had to switch things around at that point. We recognised the back three didn't quite seem to be working for us.

"We were a little bit unsure of ourselves to start with and to be fair to Fulham they caused us a few problems early on. We needed Andrew Lonergan to make a few saves early on.

"But once we got going in the second half you could sense the confidence flowing through the whole team.

"We wanted our wide players to get in behind and break the lines and we did that this evening, particularly in the second half.

"Liam Feeney and Saidy Janko provided great width and provided attacking thrust all night - they were a real handful for Fulham.

"We were knocking on the door once we went to a back four and got our wingers higher up the pitch.

"Once we got up and running we were outstanding. We caused endless problems for Fulham and at one point you were there wondering if it was ever going to be our night.

"We've had a lot of new players come in - the likes of Adam Le Fondre, Barry Bannan, Saidy Janko - they've given the core of the squad a real lift.

"The fresh legs really helped our performance this evening. The newer players were outstanding tonight.

"On his debut, Saidy assists one and scores a wonder goal. We'd like to think he'd be happy with his evening's work, but you never know with Saidy. He's a really level headed lad.

"It was nice for Adam to get his goal too and that'll get him up and running. He put in a terrific shift and thoroughly deserved his goal."



Read more at http://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/article/wide-men-key-in-fulham-turnaround-neil-lennon-2262024.aspx#0DDg3YW945VAC6vd.99

Basically our weakness is playing a 4-3-3 formation constantly. It's stupid.