Wednesday Fulham Stuff 02.06.15

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Fulham set to make Richard Stearman bid

Wolves' Championship rivals Fulham are believed to be preparing a bid for prized defender Richard Stearman.

The Wolves Player of the Year has become one of the club's key performers but is out of contract next summer.

The Cottagers are thought to have up to £10m to splash out as Kit Symons attempts to put together a squad which can challenge for promotion.

But it will take a large bid to convince Wolves to sell Stearman, especially to a league rival.

However, if the defender indicates he isn't willing to sign a new contract then Wolves could look to cash in now with two months to find a replacement before next season.
What do you think?

Symons led Fulham to safety last season after a disastrous start under eccentric German Felix Magath, who was sacked in September.

The London club finished 17th, 12 points clear of the drop zone.
More on Richard Stearman

And Symons had plenty of opportunities to see Stearman close-up, with the defender completing all four fixtures between the clubs last season, including two FA Cup clashes.

Wolves kept three clean sheets in those games as Stearman formed an increasingly-solid centre-half partnership with Danny Batth.

Former team-mate Jody Craddock last week urged the club to sign the 27-year-old up on a new deal.

Meanwhile, Stearman has praised the impact of youngster Ethan Ebanks-Landell – a player who would be a contender to replace him.

Ebanks-Landell, 22, came in for the injured Batth for the final two games of the season against Millwall and Wigan.

Stearman heaped praise on the Smethwick-born player and said: "

Ethan got his chance and I think he did superbly well. His application's been brilliant and he's been ready, waiting very patiently."

for a chance."

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2015/06/02/fulham-set-to-make-richard-stearman-bid/

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Fulham boss braces himself for 'tricky' conversation with Stekelenburg



Fulham boss Kit Symons is prepared to handle the return of want-away stars in much the same way he dealt with Bryan Ruiz.

The Whites gaffer faces the reluctant reappearance of Kostas Mitroglou and Maarten Stekelenburg unless the club can either sell or loan the pair again.

The Dutch keeper has been returned to the club after Monaco rejected the chance to make his loan deal permanent.

Mitroglou was a record £12 million buy from Olympiakos as Fulham ran out of options to save their bacon in January last year.

The gamble failed, with the Greek international largely unavailable and shipped back to the club that sold him at the end of the season.

Painful place! Stekelenburg receives treatment

Turkish giants Besiktas are interested, but along with Stekelenburg, Symons may have no choice but to include the duo in his early preparations.

The manager was beset with the same problem when a failed loan move for Bryan Ruiz to Levante ran aground.

But Symons insists dealing with all three's problems is what he's paid to do.

The manager said: "As and when it happens I'll face it.

"They don't teach that on your coaching courses. Man management is vital, and it's a similar situation to Bryan who didn't want to be here.

"But I spoke to him several times and he put in several good performances last season.

"You need to make the best of your assets, and if they're going to be in the building with us you have to maximise the use of a good player.

"Management is about tricky conversations and you need to have them."

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/fulham-boss-braces-himself-tricky-9372866

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Emmo On Target Again



Emerson Hyndman was on target again as the United States booked their place in the last 16 of the FIFA U-20 World Cup with a 4-0 win against New Zealand on Tuesday.

It took just six minutes for the US to lead the host nation, when Hyndman's corner was headed onto the post by Tottenham Hotspur defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Rubio Rubin was on hand to turn the ball in after Bradford Jamieson had fired the rebound towards goal.

Hyndman grabbed his second goal of the tournament shortly after the half-hour mark when a long ball was pumped into the box and New Zealand goalkeeper Oliver Sail, who was under pressure from Rubin, couldn't control the loose ball which fell to the Fulham man, who made no mistake with his finish from the edge of the area.

Two became three on 58 when Paul Arriola fired in via the post, before Rubin rubber-stamped the victory with seven minutes remaining from close range.

The States sit two points clear at the top of Group A after the win, and a draw in their final match against Ukraine will guarantee they progress as group winners.

Elsewhere, pre-tournament favourites Argentina were defeated by Ghana, despite mounting a late fightback.

Tiago Casasola was an unused substitute for the match, as Benjamin Tetteh opened the scoring with an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net just before half-time.

Captain Clifford Aboagye doubled the African nation's advantage following a corner just before the hour mark, before Manchester City forward Yaw Yeboah netted his second penalty in as many matches following a foul by Facundo Monteseirin.

With 10 minutes remaining, Giovanni Simeone poked in after Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati failed to hold a cross from the right. Emiliano Buendia then made it 3-2 in the final minute of normal time, but Argentina were unable to find an equaliser.

The result leaves them sitting third in Group B, meaning they need to beat Austria in their final match to guarantee progression.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/june/02/emmo-on-target-again

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Woodrow to Miss Out!

It looks as if Cauley Woodrow`s season will not be ending with his participation in the European U21 Championships in the Czech Republic.

Although Cauley was named in Gareth Southgate`s original squad, today is the day that the nominated squad is trimmed down from twenty-seven members to the statutory twenty-three.

According to the tabloid press, young Cauley is likely to be one of the four players that miss out when Gareth Southgate trims the squad and delivers the bad news to those who will not be on the plane to the Czech Republic.

If that is the case then Cauley shouldn`t be too downhearted as it was an achievement to make the original squad of twenty-seven.

Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=401555#ixzz3bzU4l2ar

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Fulham boss prepared for Stekenlenburg talks



Fulham manager Kit Symons is prepared to handle the return of stars Martin Stekelenburg and Kostas Mitroglou in the same way he did with Bryan Ruiz.

Unless the club can sell or loan the pair, they will reluctantly return to Craven Cottage.

Monaco rejected the option to make the Dutch keeper's loan permanent, whereas £12-million signing Mitroglou was loaned back to the club that sold him–Olympiakos–just months after they sold him in January.

The situation is similar to Bryan Ruiz's failed loan move to Levante, when the Costa Rican was unhappy with the Cottagers.

Symons admits he may have no choice but to include the pair in his early preparations, but also insists that dealing with these problems is part of his job.

"As and when it happens I'll face it," said the Fulham boss.

"They don't teach that on your coaching courses. Man management is vital, and it's a similar situation to Bryan who didn't want to be here.

"But I spoke to him several times and he put in several good performances last season.

"You need to make the best of your assets, and if they're going to be in the building with us you have to maximise the use of a good player.

"Management is about tricky conversations and you need to have them."

http://the72.co.uk/28543/fulham-boss-prepared-for-stekenlenburg-talks/

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Fulham to use £10million transfer kitty to sign Stearman

After threatening to follow in the footsteps of Wolverhampton Wanderers and suffer the indignity of back-to-back relegations, Fulham are now looking to rebuild after a disappointing season.

They eventually finished 17th, but for a club that like Norwich City would have had eyes on returning to the Premier League at the first attempt that simply wasn't good enough.

The Express & Star believe that Kit Symons has been given a £10million transfer kitty and their first target is Wolves Player of the Year Richard Stearman.

The 27-year-old is out-of-contract at Molineux in 12 months time, but it is unlikely that Wolves would be open to the idea of selling him to a potential promotion rival.

But money talks and the E&S have suggested that if Stearman is unwilling to sign a new contract extension, then Wolves could be looking to cash in if Fulham meet our evaluation.

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http://www.wolves.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=401557

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Too old, too young: Fulham and player peak ages

A man named Michael Caley has used Opta data to plot the percentage minutes of Premier League games played by people of each age.  If you think football is a halfway efficient market (managers are generally picking their best players) then this should be extremely interesting.



So: just 2% of Premier League minutes were played by midfielders of 33 or over.  Why?  Presumably because the demands of the position are such that you simply can't cut it at that age.   Hmmm.

The other thing is that Fulham clearly went a bit far with the 'bring in the kids' movement last season.  You need a groundswell of players between 23 and 27 and that, for a long time actually, has been a huge blind-spot for Fulham.

Anyway, here are the players who are of 'about the right age':

24 Shaun Hutchinson
23 Dan Burn
22 Ryan Tunnicliffe
23 Alex Kacaniklic
28 Ross McCormack
25 Matt Smith
21 Sean Kavanagh
20 Lasse Vigen Christensen
23 Marcus Bettinelli

Whether these players are good enough is another story, but the point is that Fulham ought to be picking players of this kind of age profile.

For the sake of certain readers, no, I am not suggesting you pick players based on how old they are.  I am suggesting that players of a certain age are most likely to be contributing to a successful team, and that if you stray too far outside these norms you may be in danger of picking players who are on the downside of their careers, whose reputations may be greater than their abilities (you want the opposite!).

https://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/too-old-too-young-fulham-and-player-peak-ages/

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Lasse Called Up



Lasse Vigen Christensen has been named in the Denmark squad for the upcoming Under-21 European Championship in the Czech Republic.

After a superb first half of 2014/15, injuries then hindered the midfielder's impact and the 2-0 win over Derby County in February proved to be his final appearance of the season for the First Team.

But he made his comeback for the Under-21s in their last match of the campaign at Tottenham Hotspur, and he has been deemed fit to travel to the tournament.

Denmark are in Group A alongside the hosts, Germany and Serbia.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/june/02/lasse-called-up

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Betts Makes The Cut



Marcus Bettinelli has been named in Gareth Southgate's final 23-man England Under-21 squad for the European Championships.

The goalkeeper enjoyed an excellent breakthrough campaign for Fulham and came second in the voting for our Player of the Season. He also made his debut for the Three Lions in March as the U21s defeated the Czech Republic – this summer's hosts – 1-0.

England's final warm-up match sees them face Belarus on Thursday 11th June, before they head across Europe for their Group Stage matches against Portugal, Sweden and Italy.

Unfortunately, Cauley Woodrow will not be joining Bettinelli in the Czech Republic, with Southgate selecting Harry Kane, Saido Berahino and Danny Ings as his strikers.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/june/02/betts-makes-the-cut

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Six Championship players make England under-21 cut



The England Under-21 squad has been finalised for the under-21 Euro's, and six Championship players have made the cut.

Marcus Bettinelli, Ben Gibson, Michael Keane, Will Hughes, Jake Forster-Caskey and Danny Ings have all been included in Gareth Southgate's under-21 squad to take on Belarus.

Marcus Bettinelli has just finished his breakthrough season at Fulham, and is currently being watched by Chelsea as a potential suitor to back up Thibaut Courtois, with Petr Cech set to leave the club.

Ben Gibson made up the best defence in the Championship at Middlesbrough, and was unlucky not to gain promotion with them after losing to Norwich in the play off final.

Michael Keane was relegated to the Championship with Burnley, after signing for the Clarets on loan at the start of last season, and making his stay permanent in January.

Will Hughes won player of the season at Derby County and was outstanding despite a disappointing season for the club, that saw them finish outside of the top six.

Jake Forster-Caskey certainly didn't have his best season with Brighton, and the club as a whole struggled in the Championship.
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Danny Ings had a decent first season in the Premier League and his 11 goals have attracted interest from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, as he looks set to snub a new contract at Burnley.

On top of the six Championship players, loanees Nathaniel Chalobah (Reading from Chelsea), Jesse Lingard (Derby from Manchester United) and Alex Pritchard (Brentford from Tottenham) all made the 23 man cut.

http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/six-championship-players-make-england-under-21-cut/

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Poll reaction: Fulham's 2008 survival is greatest ever escape



The Cottagers pulled off the best ever escape, according to our poll

Leicester City may be feeling pretty smug after sealing Premier League survival but their great escape is nothing on Fulham's back in 2008.

That is the suggestion from the latest Ladbrokes News poll, which saw the Cottagers' 2007-08 relegation dodge voted the best escape of all time with 38 per cent.

EscapePoll
With the West Londoners 2-0 down to Manchester City Roy Hodgson's men looked doomed but a spirited fight back inspired by Diomansy Kamara earned an unlikely victory and set the Lilywhites up with the confidence to beat both West Brom and Spurs to survive.

Next in the voting was Carlisle in 1999 when on-loan 'keeper Jimmy Glass scored an injury-time winner to keep the Cumbrians in the Football League.

Glass was soon sent back to Swindon but remains a Carlisle legend and helped his side secure 31 per cent of the votes.

Completing the top three was Hamburg's epic escape this year. The Bundelsiga side's record of being the only German top flight club to have never been relegated was under serious threat with Bruno Labaddia's side trailing 2-1 on aggregate as their recent play-off against Karlsruhe entered the 90th minute.

A last gasp free kick from Marcelo Diaz and an extra time winner from Nicolai Muller completed the turnaround and Die Rothosen made off with their top flight status and 25 per cent of our vote.

Next up was Oldham's heroics in 1993, with six per cent of voters saying the Latics overturning an eight-point gap in the final week of the season is as good as it gets.

Wins against Aston Villa, Liverpool and Southampton meant joy for Oldham fans and misery for Crystal Palace and mean the Latics avoid last place in our poll.

That honour goes to the Eintracht Frankfurt side of 1998-99 who needed to beat Kaiserslautern at least 4-1, and hope rivals Nurnberg slipped up on the final day of the season.

Frankfurt pulled it off but not without the drama a late Jan Aage Fjortoft winner ensuring his side stayed up because of 'Goals Scored'.

http://news.ladbrokes.com/polls/poll-reaction-fulhams-2008-survival-greatest-escape.html

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Southampton closing in on signing of former Roma goalkeeper

Southampton are reportedly closing in on the signing of former Roma and Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

The 32-year-old is available on a free transfer following his release from Monaco this week, which has alerted Saints boss Ronald Koeman, who knows the stopper from his spell at Ajax.

Number one keeper Fraser Forster isn't expected back until October at the earliest because of injury, and with Kelvin Davis considered too old and Paulo Gazzaniga too inexperienced, the Dutchman wants a new man between the posts.

Stekelenburg has 54 caps for the Netherlands, and could be one of two new goalkeeper arrivals at St Mary's this summer.

http://www.shoot.co.uk/category/news/southampton-closing-in-on-signing-of-former-roma-goalkeeper/

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Fulham's Emerson Hyndman scores again, Arsenal's Gedion Zelalem shines as US are first into U20 World Cup knockouts



Rubio Rubin scored twice around goals by Emerson Hyndman and Paul Arriola, and the United States routed hosts New Zealand 4-0 Tuesday at Wellington to become the first team to reach the last-16 knockout round of the Fifa Under 20 World Cup.

The US, with two wins from two matches for the first time in 14 appearances at the tournament, close the group stage against Ukraine on Friday. The Americans opened with a 2-1 win over Myanmar last weekend.

On a wet and cold day, Rubin put the US ahead in the sixth minute when he tapped in a cross from Bradford Jamieson IV following Hyndman's corner kick.

Hyndman doubled the lead in the 34th when he scored through the arms of goalkeeper Oliver Sail with a right-footed shot after Rubin's initial attempt was blocked by the keeper. Hyndman, a grandson of former FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman, became the first American to score in consecutive matches at the tournament since Jozy Altidore in 2007.

Arriola made it 3-0 in the 58th when he took a pass from Arsenal midfielder Gedion Zelalem, ran into the penalty area and scored with a right-footed shot that went in off the left post.

Zelalem, who plays for English club Arsenal, became eligible last month to play for the Americans and made his first start for the US team.

Rubin scored the final goal in the 83rd when he tapped in a cross from Desevio Payne.

Zack Steffen recorded a clean sheet in goal for the Americans, who out-shot New Zealand 30-11.

US forward Maki Tall will miss the rest of the tournament after breaking the big toe of his left foot in the opener.

In the other Group A game, Ukraine defeated Myanmar 6-0 as Viktor Kovalenko had two goals and two goal assists. Ukraine had opened with a 0-0 draw against the hosts.

In Group B, Ghana upset South American champions Argentina 3-2 and Austria defeated Panama 2-1.

Ghana opened a 3-0 lead on goals by Benjamin Tetteh in the 44th and Clifford Aboagye in the 59th followed by Yaw Yebboah's penalty kick in the 69th. Argentina closed when Giovanni Simeone scored in the 80th and Emiliano Buendia in the 90th.

http://www.thenational.ae/sport/football/fulhams-emerson-hyndman-scores-again-arsenals-gedion-zelalem-shines-as-us-are-first-into-u20-world-cup-knockouts

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Genoa pursuing Fulham youngster



VOTE in the 2015 Forza Italian Football Awards... Click to choose the best player, coach and signing of the 2014/15 Serie A season.

Moussa Dembele FulhamGenoa have taken an interest to Fulham's teenage striker Moussa Dembele, as they aim to improve their squad for next season.

The 18-year-old French youth international has shown his talent in the sporadic appearances he has made for the Cottagers since joining from the Paris Saint-Germain youth system in 2012.

Sky Sport Italia report that Genoa are keen on snaring Dembele to the Marassi in the summer, and will attempt to make contact with Fulham in the coming weeks.

The Grifone have also set their sights on improving their rearguard, and will try again for AC Milan's Cristian Zapata after an unsuccessful attempt in January.

Dembele didn't manage to score in 11 Championship games this season, but hit a brace in his only League Cup match.

http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2015/06/genoa-pursuing-fulham-youngster/

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Fulham bid for Brighton star Lewis Dunk



HITC Sport understands Fulham have made a bid for Brighton & Hove Albion defender Lewis Dunk.

HITC Sport understands from sources close to the club that Fulham have made a bid for Brighton defender Lewis Dunk.

Fulham boss Kit Symons has made a new central defender one of his top targets this summer and has already made a bid for Wolverhampton Wanderers stopper Richard Stearman.

Symons is also an admirer of Dunk and is understood to have tabled a £2 million offer for the 23-year-old as he looks to bring him to Craven Cottage.

Derby County have also been credited with an interest, but Fulham are hoping to steal a march on their rivals by tabling a firm offer for the centre-half.

Brighton are keen to keep hold of one of their prize assets, with Dunk only signing a new four-year deal last summer.

SEE ALSO: Fulham make bid for Wolves star

Dunk, who has come through the ranks at Brighton, is regarded as one of the best young defenders outside the Premier League after catching the eye at the Amex Stadium.

Dunk has made more than 100 appearances for the Seagulls and was a virtual ever-present last term making 44 appearances and scoring seven goals.

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2015/06/03/fulham-bid-for-brighton-star-lewis-dunk/

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Fulham fans to walk on water after club buy a 'chunk' of the Thames

New Craven Cottage look demands extension into river



Stand to deliver: artist's impression of the new Riverside look

Fulham fans will walk on water in the future as a result of the club buying a 'chunk' of the Thames.

The board is not saying how much they paid the Port of London Authority, but were forced into the purchase after unveiling plans to extend the Riverside Stand.

The new structure is scheduled to rise in height, but also needs to extend outwards into the river to not only house more spectators, but ensure the river walk is now all but complete between Putney and Hammersmith bridges.



Fulham plan a 30,000 capacity for a ground currently holding 25,700. And the one part of the historic stadium with a bit of space to spare is the Riverside, with the Thames right behind it.

Fulham CEO Alistair Mackintosh explained the watery acquisition.

"We've had lots of progress in the last two or three weeks," he said.

"Firstly, we've concluded with the Port of London Authority the licence to work with the river and we're also through the period during which we could have a legal challenge.


Extension: Riverside Stand of the future

"We've also managed to buy a big chunk of the Thames, which isn't something we were certain we could do.

"The Riverside Stand and the development of Craven Cottage is a long-term project.

"It doesn't matter which division we're in. We're now going to move forward with discharging some of the planning conditions so that will allow us to build the Riverside Stand, hopefully starting next year.

"We've also been looking at the Hammersmith stand just to see if there's anything we can do there.

"The chairman (Shahid Khan) loves Craven Cottage. The fans love Craven Cottage. The last thing he wants to do is move out of Craven Cottage. Over the next few months we'll also be investing some money in the Cottage itself to make it look like it is looked after."

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-fans-walk-water-after-9381534