Tuesday Fulham Stuff (26/05/15)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Report: Medical complete, but Forest still face competition for Mills

Fulham could still make a move for Matt Mills, who is being widely tipped to complete a move to Nottingham Forest.

The Daily Mail has reported that Nottingham Forest are facing a fight against Fulham to sign free agent defender Matt Mills.

Mills plays under current Forest boss Dougie Freedman during the time the pair were at Bolton Wanderers and Forest appear to be favourites to sign him, despite Fulham's reported interest.

The Mail claims that he underwent a medical with Forest over the weekend, which doesn't appear to have produced any problems, which nudges Forest closer to completing a deal for him.

Fulham could still make a move to sign the player, but it seems the groundwork has already been laid for him to move to the City Ground.

Freedman deserves credit for being proactive as he looks to improve his squad, which hasn't been made easy by the transfer embargo hanging over the head of the team.

Forest could be one of the clubs pushing for a place in the top six of the Championship next season if the right players come and go, with the Scot looking to ensure that he's got a strong spine to his side and Mills alongside Kelvin Wilson could certainly be a strong centre back pairing.


http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2015/05/26/report-medical-complete-but-forest-still-face-competition-for-mi/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Johnny's Story

In 1962, Fulham's most famous son penned his footballing story so far. It's All In The Game sees Johnny Haynes regale readers with tales from his career, told at the height of his fame as England captain, and each week on fulhamfc.com we'll be serialising his words. This is Johnny's Story.

Chapter Ten – The World Cup, 1958

For the 1958 World Cup, England was drawn in a qualifying group with Eire and Denmark. Easy, or so everyone said at the time the draw was made. But the easy matches are often the unsatisfactory ones, and by and large I think that is how it was over these four games (we played each country twice, home and away). The first match was against Denmark at Wolverhampton in the late autumn of 1956. Haynes did not play. A gentleman name of Belin of Yugoslavia had seen to that – a week earlier in the Wembley international when he tackled me off the field after twenty-five minutes – and for the Denmark match, Duncan Edwards was moved up to inside-left in my place and promptly hit two tremendous goals in a 5-2 win, Tommy Taylor scoring the other three. But the gallantry of the Danes seemed to get more praise than what was a healthy win for the English boys. The other matches were decided at the end of that season, in the summer of 1957, and I was fit enough to play in all three. Our home match against Eire at Wembley (pictured), seen by 52,000, was virtually over before half-time. Tommy Taylor had scored three, John Atyeo one, against a very moderate defence, and the match finished 5-1 for England. The Danes in Copenhagen proved just as stubborn as they had been in Wolverhampton, and in fact they scored first, after twenty-five minutes. Although I equalised before half-time, we rather faltered along until the last fifteen minutes, when Tommy Taylor, twice, and Atyeo scored to make it 4-1.

"The crowd was singing and screaming and waving flags and banners at the thought of doing down the English and of giving Cromwell one in the eye."

I felt I had played really well in Copenhagen, but I must say that these matches are difficult. The England team knows perfectly well that it is better than the other team and can probably win no matter what happens. The other team knows this too. These factors are never discussed by either side but they exist. So the England team finds it difficult to pitch its performance to its highest level, without the spur of high-class opposition, while the other team is giving everything it has, and a bit more, to bring off the miracle. This was never more true than in the last match, on that awful Dalymount Park, in Dublin, when David Pegg of Manchester United played for England for the first time. We needed one point to be absolutely sure of qualifying, but when Alf Ringstead scrambled a goal in after only three minutes play, the Liffey was set alight as the capacity crowd of 47,000 screamed like real Irishmen for the rest of the match. The Eire defence was strengthened by Tommy Goodwin in goal and Charlie Hurley at centre-half and if the Irish team lacked skill, it had spirit in abundance, and I don't mean poteen.

So we had a desperate scrambling battle, and in the very dying seconds of the match, the crowd was singing and screaming and waving flags and banners at the thought of doing down the English and of giving Cromwell one in the eye and of all that porter they were going to sup up, and maybe a bit of the hard stuff too, down in Dublin in a matter of minutes. But just then Jeff Hall caught a ball that was running out, flashed a long one to Tom Finney. Tom checked, turned inside, and flighted the best cross he ever made in his life right on to the head of big John Atyeo (pictured), and the ball was in the net. England had got the point, had qualified for the World Cup Finals, and poor old Ireland had been robbed again by the thievin' English. You never heard such a hullabaloo. I thought they would come over the barriers and eat us alive. Instead, probably because they were too stunned to move, they said good-bye to us with booing such as you couldn't imagine, but at least a difficult job was done and we were further along the road to Gothenburg.

It's All In The Game was published by Arthur Baker Limited.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/may/24/johnnys-story

[Friendsoffulham]

Emmo's World Cup Hope



The 2014/15 season may be over for Fulham, but Emerson Hyndman still has plenty to play for as the FIFA U-20 World Cup draws near.

The United States – who will be captained by the Whites midfielder in New Zealand – qualified for the tournament, which kicks off on Saturday, with a 2-0 win over El Salvador in a CONCACAF Play-Off back in January.

"It was tough in Jamaica, as we had to go through the Play-Offs," Hyndman told fulhamfc.com. "It was nerve wracking towards the end but when we secured qualification we were really excited.

"I'd never been to New Zealand before but I'm looking forward to the competition. It's not quite as warm as I thought it would be but it will be exciting."

The Stars and Stripes have been drawn in a group with the hosts, along with Ukraine and Myanmar, and Hyndman is backing his team to do well.

"New Zealand are in our group, they are the hosts, I'm expecting a big crowd when we play them," the 19-year-old said. "We've got Ukraine as well, that should be a good game that one, and Myanmar.

"I think it's their first World Cup but we're delighted with the group and think we've got a good chance of getting through.

"We'll take it one game at a time. Our first task is to get out of the group and then once we are there, we'll just take one game at a time.

"A lot of big nations missed out this year actually, which is surprising but there will be great players all over and it's good to be part of it."

It will be a first World Cup experience for Hyndman, and the gifted playmaker is keen to end what has been a stop-start season on a high.

"I've never been to a World Cup personally, so it will be my first one and I'm sure a first for a lot of our team," he explained. "We're all excited and if we can have a good World Cup, individually and as a team, we'll be delighted.

"I had some problems with injuries over the second half of the season, mainly with my collarbone and then my ankle. But I was delighted to get back into training, and hopefully I'll have a good World Cup."

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/may/26/emmos-world-cup-hope

[Friendsoffulham]

Warbo's Word: Fulham - the inside reasons for Magath and Symons
   
Why the Whites struggled from Premier League stalwarts to Championship strugglers



Exit: Felix Magath heads down the tunnel

Felix Magath was a hired as a last-ditch attempt to keep Fulham in the Premier League - and it backfired gloriously.

The club were all too aware of his reputation as a tough nut when he took over from Rene Meulensteen in February 2014.

Indeed, the Whites board encouraged a 'hand grenade' to be thrown at the squad, as an insider put it.

The need to detonate a lack-lustre effort was thought paramount, but it dawned soon enough the loaded gun was primed to explode in their faces.

'Hand grenade' Magath

The plan to shake up the side was a desperate move, but when it failed, the club had no option but to back the manager.

Magath won few new friends when he let go the likes of Brede Hangeland and Steve Sidwell - ideal stalwarts for the fight back, when both would have stayed with a bit of encouragement.

Thoughts of hiring a fourth manager in seven months would have been pure knee-jerk from the board.


So instead, a posse of mostly players from the German's past were allowed to be fetched for a league about which Magath knew absolutely nothing.

It took all of the first 20 minutes in the season's opener at Ipswich (see gallery above) to know the immediate future. A wide open defence? The Kansas plains looked smaller.

Rumours were rife about Magath's military methods, with man management at a premium. Ask top scorer Ross McCormack what he thought about the manager's comments on the striker's weight.

The look on players' faces after the 3-0 defeat to Reading in September (see gallery below) said the coach had lost the dressing room.

Fulham went bottom with just a single point to show for their efforts after six games.

One defeat more at Nottingham Forest, and the man who had fallen off his bike days earlier was told to get back on it and make for the exit.

Magath won just four times in his 19-game stay - and one of those a Capital Cup tie at Brentford.

Fulham learned their lesson by appointing a five-man committee including legends Brian McBride and Danny Murphy to decide the next manager.

Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh was redeployed to focus on commercial matters and projects as well as the expansion of the Motspur Park training ground.

Kit Symons was in the right place at the right time, bearing in mind it would have been hard to make a bigger hash than the one Magath left.

But, and this baffles me a bit, there has been a constant stream of Symons bashing over the last three months.

We are talking about a former playing hero and a coach with proven success in the Whites academy, but on whom Fulham fans turned.

Social media, as well as in games, Whites supporters chanted: 'you don't know what you're doing.'

The man himself, ('Ive grown a thick skin') begs to differ, but billionaire owner Shahid Khan didn't make his pile by sitting around.

Recruitment is everything this summer, and if Symons flirts with the bottom half come October, no doubt the hiring five will get a second call.

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/warbos-word-fulham---inside-9328339

[WhiteJC]

Fulham: Kit Symons deserves club's backing, says Sean Davis

Kit Symons should remain as Fulham manager and be fully backed by the club's board, according to former Whites midfielder Sean Davis.

Former Wales defender Symons, 44, kept the club in the Championship after taking charge in September, when Fulham were bottom of the table.

"There is a bit of uncertainty over whether Kit will be here or not," Davis told BBC London 94.9.

"They need to be fully behind him and give him the resources that he needs."

Fulham, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, had picked up just one point from their first seven league matches this season when Symons replaced Felix Magath as manager, initially on an interim basis.

In October, he was given a deal until the summer of 2016 after the club took 13 points from a possible 21.

The Craven Cottage side eventually finished 17th in the table, 11 points above the relegation zone, but there has been speculation that Symons may be replaced  as manager this summer.

Fulham under Symons
Played: 45 Won: 15 Drawn: 12 Lost: 18

However Davis, who played alongside Symons at Fulham for three years, believes chairman Shahid Khan should retain his services.

"Some people say Kit started well but then drifted off," added the 35-year-old, who is now retired.

"This club has done well over the years by sticking to a manager and being patient with him.

"There was a period in the Premier League where they got through three or four [quickly] and just wasn't Fulham-like. It didn't seem like the same club.

"The owner should give Kit the resources he feels he needs to get Fulham in the play-offs or be promoted and take it from there."

Davis believes Fulham's summer recruitment will be key if they are to challenge for a return to the Premier League.

Davis came through Fulham's youth ranks but left Craven Cottage in 2004 to join Tottenham

The club have already extended the contract of Costa Rica international Bryan Ruiz until the summer of 2016.

"The positive is we stayed up and blooded a lot of young players," said Davis, who scored 20 goals in 198 appearances for Fulham between 1996 and 2004.

"The young players have seen what the Championship is all about, had that grounding and will be better for the experience.

"The recruitment has got to be spot on for next season. An experienced Championship side always does well - one with players who have played in the league and know it."

Davis was speaking to BBC London 94.9 ahead of the Fulham All Stars v Celebrity All Stars charity football match at Craven Cottage on Saturday, proceeds from which will go to the Fulham FC Foundation and Shooting Star Chase.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32782010