Monday Fulham Stuff 08.06.15

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Fulham's U-20 World Cup Links: Part Three



With Emerson Hyndman currently competing at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, we trawled through the archives to find out which other players with Fulham connections competed at the tournament. Next up, we look at the 14 future Whites players who were at the 2001-2005 World Cups.

In Argentina in 2001, John Pantsil and Derek Boateng helped Ghana reach the Final, where they were beaten by the hosts. Pantsil played each match bar the Semi-Final (when he was suspended), while Boateng was ever-present and scored twice. Pantsil went on to become a cult hero at Craven Cottage, helping the Whites finish seventh in his debut season before playing his part in our Europa League run the following year. Boateng arrived on a free transfer in the summer of 2013 and made a handful of appearances before departing a year later.

There were two future Fulham employees in the Netherlands squad that year, too, with Maarten Stekelenburg and John Heitinga featuring as they reached the Quarter-Finals. Stekelenburg only played in the opening defeat by Costa Rica, while Heitinga was involved in every match. The goalkeeper is still at Fulham, although he just spent the previous campaign on loan at AS Monaco, while Heitinga made 14 appearances in the second half of the 2013/14 campaign.

The final person present in Argentina that summer who would later represent Fulham was Ahmad Elrich, who played every match as Australia went out to Brazil at the last-16 stage. The winger took in a brief stint at Craven Cottage a few years later, making nine appearances.

Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey were in the United States party two years later in the UAE, but it was the former who stole the show, rather than Fulham's all-time leading Premier League goal scorer. Johnson claimed the Golden Shoe having scored four goals from the matches the States played as they were defeated in extra-time by Argentina in the Quarter-Finals, while Dempsey made just one appearance at the tournament. He enjoyed enormous success after he joined Fulham in January 2007, though – scoring 60 times in 224 outings. Johnson, however, struggled in the UK and failed to find the net in 22 Fulham appearances.

The American pair were joined in the UAE by Stephen Kelly who played every minute as the Republic of Ireland topped Group E, but he missed the last-16 extra-time defeat by Colombia having picked up two yellow cards. He arrived at Fulham just four years later and went on to become an important squad player, making 72 appearances.

At the Netherlands tournament two years later, there were five individuals who would go on to sign for Fulham later in their careers, plus one who was already on our books. Collins John had 10 Whites goal to his name by the time he pitched up to the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, but he found the net just once in his homeland, playing four matches as Holland reached the Quarter-Finals before being knocked out on penalties by eventual finalists Nigeria. He went on to be Fulham's top scorer the following campaign, and departed the club having netted 23 times. He was joined in the Netherlands squad in 2005 by Urby Emanuelson who played in all but one of their matches. He arrived at Fulham on loan from AC Milan in January 2013, scoring once in 13 outings.

Morocco impressed all at the 2005 tournament as they finished fourth, with Adil Chihi scoring once in four games. The winger joined the Whites last summer, but has just one appearance to his name. Elsewhere in Holland, Philippe Senderos was captain of Switzerland in each of their three fixtures as they failed to navigate beyond the Group Stages, Hugo Rodallega scored once in three matches as Colombia went out to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina in the last-16, and Adrian Leijer was an unused member of the Australia squad that finished bottom of Group A. He never made a First Team appearance for Fulham after signing in 2007, but Senderos represented the Club 68 times, while Rodallega has 20 Fulham goals to his name.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/june/07/fulhams-u20-links-part-three

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How Low Will Fulham Go?

One of the biggest mistakes in the transfer history of Fulham Football Club, perhaps the biggest, was the signing of Kostas Mitroglou.

Fulham, believe it or not, rashly paid out £12 million for the player, back in 2014.

Since signing for Fulham, Mitroglou has only played three times for the club.

The contract he signed upon joining Fulham, still has three-years left on it.

His wages, if he can`t be off-loaded, must be substantial.

Last season Mitroglou was loaned out to Olympiakos and the Green side are looking to keep the player.

The trouble being they want to sign the Greek international on a cut-price deal.

Which begs the question, just how much of that £12 million Fulham paid out for the player are they now willing to sacrifice to get the player off of the books?

Your thoughts please!

Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=402033#ixzz3cPNfvEx8

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Mike Rigg



A bit of googling is quite instructive here, isn't it?  I'm not saying he's going to be the answer – how can we know – but he seems to be a thoroughly modern football man.

A Mark Hughes man, too, interestingly enough.

This is interesting, for instance:

    * Built up a 30-strong worldwide scouting network, enabling the club to spot players early and establish good contacts with other clubs and associations to ease transfers.

    * Creates detailed dossiers on target players, covering everything from psychological make-up to performances at home and away against tough and weak opposition. The security of a player's background and family is important. Took advice from the Miami Dolphins NFL team.

    * Keeps an information bank to help players acclimatise in Manchester. Mark Hughes told Rigg how when he signed for Barcelona in 1986 they offered him a contract but no help on accommodation or acclimatisation. At City, it was established which area of Manchester would suit David Silva and what Mario Balotelli's favoured recreations might be.

My sense is that someone who had scaled the heights at Manchester City and landed a plum FA role wasn't going to come to Fulham just because he liked the idea of a wooden grandstand.  I think he's going to be running the show, and that Kit Symons' slightly sheepish interview reflected this.  ("Kit, you can either be our manager on these terms or you can be our ex-manager on these terms").

Gazza on TiFF, whose opinions I find suspect but whose info is usually sound, says that Rigg is rubbing some up the wrong way, but presumably that's part intentional and part a function of overhauling a sorry first team environment.

https://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/mike-rigg/

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Safe Hands



The season past may not have given many reasons for optimism for Fulham fans but amidst the gloom, if we look closely, there are in fact some rays of sunshine. I hope to write a couple of pieces over the off-seasons months to shed some light on these so if you are struggling to look forward to the season ahead then keep your eye on hammyend.com over the next few months.



Soccer - Under-21 International - Czech Republic U21 v England U21 - Generali Arena
Today's piece will focus on our young goalkeepers. It looks like Kit Symons will be staying for at least the start of next season and in a recent interview on the clubs website he stressed that he will aim to bring a solid back line to the team. He acknowledged that good teams must be strong from the back so having the right man between the sticks is vital for Fulham to move forward. Marcus Bettinelli has had a very difficult breakthrough season for Fulham but his performances brought him very close to the Player of the Season award, losing out only to Ross McCormack. The young keeper seems to have everything to suggest that he has a very bright future and has been rewarded with a couple of England call-ups already. Currently he is with the U21's as they prepare for the European Championships in a couple of weeks' time. He made his debut in a friendly earlier on in the year and impressed with a clean sheet. Jack Butland is captaining the Young Lions in the summer so I'm not sure how much pitch time Marcus will get but we all know that anything can happen with the likes of injuries. However regardless of pitch time, tournament football with the national team will be a fantastic experience for him, experience that he can bring back to Fulham. If Bettinelli can continue to improve then he could be a real source of leadership for the club in the coming years. Already we are hearing rumours of the likes of Chelsea sniffing around but I reckon it is just speculation for now at least!

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Another Fulham youngster currently with England is Magnus Norman, who got an unexpected call-up to the U18's for their double header against Russia after injury forced Sam Howes out of the squad. Norman has already represented the U18's this year but this will give him another chance to really show what he is capable of. Similarly to Bettinelli, time away with the national team will be an excellent experience for the young keeper to improve his game.

Marek Rodak is also playing for Slovakia U21's in a friendly in the coming weeks. He has been on the international scene a while so I reckon we will start to see him in the Fulham team squad soon enough.
It is very exciting when the club's investment in the youth system starts to give positive results and with Kit Symons wanting to build from the back it is encouraging to see a number of talented players in the goalkeeping department. I reckon these guys can really help Fulham be solid at the back for the foreseeable future!

http://hammyend.com/index.php/2015/06/safe-hands/

COYW

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Fulham show an interest in ex QPR player Di Carmine



SKY Italia journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, yesterday linked Fulham with a move for Lega Pro (Italian 3rd division) striker Samuel Di Carmine. Carmine's contract runs out in June so he'll be available on a free transfer & Empoli had looked close to securing the striker until their coach left, with talks stopping immediately.

Di Carmine played for QPR in the 08/09 season in the Championship scoring 3 goals across all competitions. A list of the 26 year old strikers stats can be seen below (courtesy of Transfermarkt.com):-



In addition to Fulham, Livorno and QPR have also expressed an interest in signing Di Carmine.

http://www.vivaelfulham.co.uk/news/fulham-show-interest-in-di-carmine-13-604.html#sthash.4q87r6b7.dpuf

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Fulham midfielder charged by the FA after posting bizarre tweet aimed at Patrick Bamford

The 22-year-old made the comments after Boro's defeat to Norwich in the play-off final at Wembley



Fulham midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe has been charged by the FA after posting a bizarre tweet aimed at Patrick Bamford.

The 22-year-old was accused of 'aggravated misconduct by reference to sexual orientation after comments posted on his Twitter account' in the aftermath of Boro's defeat to Norwich City in the play-off final at Wembley.

The former Manchester United Academy graduate tweeted: "Happy that Middlesbrough didn't go up, just for the main fact that @Patrick_Bamford is a sausage boy."

The tweet has since been deleted from Tunnicliffe's account.

The midfielder has until Thursday, June 11 to respond to the FA charge.

Ryan Tunnicliffe in action for Fulham last season
Tunnicliffe started for Fulham as Boro's automatic promotion hopes suffered a huge blow as they lost 4-3 at Craven Cottage at the end of April.

He also played for Blackburn in the bad-tempered affair at the Riverside in November after spending the first half of the season on loan at Rovers.

Patrick Bamford played the full 90 minutes of Boro's play-off final defeat but looked off the pace as he struggled to overcome an ankle injury sustained in the league game against Norwich at Carrow Road.

He's since returned to Chelsea on loan and pulled out of the England Under-21 squad for this summer's European Championships due to the niggling injury.

A host of Premier League clubs continue to be linked with a move for the hotly-rated striker who picked up last season's Championship Player of the Year award.

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-midfielder-charged-fa-after-9408703?

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Keller: A Great Platform



A teenage Kasey Keller started turning heads when he excelled at the FIFA World Youth Championship as the United States finished fourth in 1989.

Fast forward 26 years and Emerson Hyndman is now hoping to better that in New Zealand with the current U-20 team. So far he's captained the USA to the knock-out stages, and Keller believes the midfielder was the ideal choice to lead the group.

"It's because he's playing [first-team football], and he's playing at a level that a lot of others aren't," he told fulhamfc.com. "That's always a tricky part about an Under-20 tournament – you have guys that are pros, but are still really young pros, so they might not be getting that much playing time.


"So seeing as he's got Championship experience, I think it made perfect sense to have Emerson as captain. I'm excited for him. It's an opportunity. Being at Fulham, getting game time – those are also experiences.

"Hyndman might not be playing in that team if Fulham were in the Premier League. Let's go back several years, you're not plucking that young kid and sticking him in the team and letting him compete in the Premier League, so I love the fact that he's there, he's playing, he's getting all those experiences so young that will help build his future career.

"He's with a load of kids the same age, so if you've got that bit of extra experience that someone else doesn't have, it's a great captain to have in that environment, understanding the grind that you have to go through."

The 1989 tournament was Keller's second experience of a U-20 World Cup having provided back-up two years earlier, and it's a competition he has fond memories of as the United States showed they were more than capable of playing 'soccer'.

"It was very funny the way it all worked out," he explained. "We actually didn't qualify but Mexico got kicked out for fielding overage players, so that got us into the '89 Youth World Cup where we were so successful. It was really huge for us getting this upsurgence in US soccer moving.

"We lost in the Third Place Play-Off to Brazil but it was a big surprise that we got that far. I think not qualifying and then getting in because of another team getting kicked out maybe gave us a little bit of a 'what have we got to lose?' sort of feeling. Maybe we had a little chip on our shoulder and that did something."

The young goalkeeper was a key component in the States' success in Saudi Arabia in 1989, and was subsequently named second-best player at the tournament, narrowly losing out to Brazil's Bismarck.

Keller recalled: "For myself, after not playing in '87 and almost not making it in '89, being awarded the Silver Ball for being the second most valuable player at the tournament, and putting myself on the international stage, was great for my career.


"It was a close contest. I mistimed a cross in the Semi-Final against Nigeria and got caught in no man's land a little bit for the second goal, and some of the officials were saying that that was what got me the Silver Ball instead of the Golden Ball.

"I was laughing because I don't think they were ever going to give it to a goalkeeper. It was nice to be a part of that and be a part of the group that put us on the map.

"I think what happens so often is that team success helps personal success. If we don't make it, regardless of how well I played in the First Round, I don't get any kind of individual awards. So it was credit to the team and everybody and I was able to make a few saves and keep us in some games and the guys scored some goals."

The former Fulham goalkeeper was given a further boost when the man presenting him with his trophy happened to be one of the best footballers of all time.

"It was cool, it was a lot of fun," he said. "Pele handed me the award and I remember he said to me, 'if you close your eyes you really can't tell the difference between this World Cup and the senior World Cup.' I think I just said to him that he should know better than anyone!

"It was an experience that helped me once I got to England, as I thought 'okay, I've been on this kind of stage, I've played against this kind of player.'

"I think the Youth World Cups gave me just a great platform and great experience level to have in the memory banks, and know that I could compete, at my age group, with the best in the world."

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/june/08/keller-a-great-platform?

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International Whites



Both Marcus Bettinelli and Lasse Vigen Christensen will be travelling to the Czech Republic for the UEFA European Under-21 Championships.

Whites goalkeeper Bettinelli was selected in Gareth Southgate's 23-man England squad where they play Portugal on 18th June, Sweden on 21st June and Italy on 24th June.

Christensen has now fully recovered from the hamstring injuries that plagued him at the end of the season and has received a call up for Denmark U21s. His team will need to get past hosts Czech Republic, Serbia and Germany in order to make it through the group stages

Lasse has also received his first full call-up for Denmark in their friendly against Montenegro on Monday evening.

In other Under-21 fixtures, Marek Rodák will feature for Slovakia in a friendly against Poland and Sean Kavanagh played 90 minutes for Republic of Ireland in a 2-1 defeat to England on Friday.


Elsewhere in Europe, Nikolay Bodurov, Kostas Stafylidis, Kostas Mitroglou and goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly are playing in the UEFA European Qualifiers.

Bodurov will travel to Malta with Bulgaria to try and improve on their current position of fourth in their group. Despite the fact that Malta currently sit bottom of the group, Bulgaria could previously only manage a 1-1 draw with the island state.

Stafylydis and Mitroglou are heading to the Faroe Islands with Greece, looking for their first win of the qualifiers. Sitting at the bottom of their group with two points, they need to turn things around quickly to have any chance of qualifying for the European Championships in France in 2016.

Hungary currently sit in third place in the same group as Greece and Kiraly will join the team as they take on Finland. Hungary have not scored more than one goal in any of their qualifying matches so far.


Over in the Americas, Fernando Amorebieta and Bryan Ruiz are lining up to represent their countries in the Copa America and the Gold Cup respectively.

Amorebieta will represent Venezuela in the Copa America where they will kick-off their campaign on 14th June when they take on Colombia at Estadio El Teniente in Chile before they face Peru and Brazil in a bid to reach the Quarter-Finals.

On 8th July, Ruiz will be with Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The 2014 World Cup Quarter-Finalists will take on Jamaica in Los Angeles first before coming up against El Salvador and Canada in Group B. Ruiz played 58 minutes of Costa Rica's 1-0 defeat in Colombia over the weekend. Radamel Falcao scored the only goal of the game.


At Under-18 level, both Magnus Norman and Patrick Roberts have been selected to feature in England's squad in two friendlies against Russia, the first of which kicks off on Monday (4pm) in Dynamo Moscow's Arena Khimki.

Norman's inclusion was a late surprise for the youngster who was having his hair cut when he got the call to play after Sam Howes dropped out through injury.

"I went out to the barbers, and as I was sitting getting my haircut I got the phone call" Norman told The FA. "It was 2.10pm and I had to be at the Russian Embassy for 3pm. I literally had no time to get there.

"I got to tell my dad before I left, but I only managed to get through to my mum to tell her when I was in the Embassy. She was quite shocked but they were over the moon for me."

Meanwhile, Jonathan Buatu will represent Angola in their Africa Cup of Nations Preliminary Round match against Central African Republic on 13th June.

Over in New Zealand in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Emerson Hyndman's USA will face Colombia on Wednesday 10th June in Wellington in the Round of 16.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/june/08/international-whites?

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Brighton reject Fulham bid for Lewis Dunk



HITC Sport understands Brighton and Hove Albion have rejected Fulham's bid for defender Lewis Dunk.

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

As revealed by HITC Sport last week, Fulham had launched a bid for Dunk as they look to bolster their central defensive options for next season.

Dunk is regarded as one of the best young defenders in the Championship after catching the eye for Brighton last season with a number of stellar performances.

A host of Premier League and Championship clubs are thought to be interested in Dunk, but Fulham are the first to firm up their interest with a bid.

Fulham are understood to have bid £2.5 million for Dunk, but Brighton have rejected the offer as they are hoping to keep their prize asset.

SEE ALSO: Fulham rival Derby with defender bid

Brighton boss Chris Hughton is reluctant to lose Dunk as he aims to try and build his side around the defender who only signed a new four-year deal last summer.

It remains to be seen if Fulham come back with a new improved bid for Dunk to try and lure the 23-year-old to Craven Cottage.

Where will Lewis Dunk be playing next season?

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2015/06/08/brighton-reject-fulham-bid-for-lewis-dunk/?