Wednesday Fulham Stuff (29/07/15)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Former Fulham and Charlton stopper determined to make Walsall no.1 shirt his own

NEW Saddlers keeper Neil Etheridge says he will fight tooth and nail to make the No.1 shirt his own – beaming "my time is now".

The former Fulham stopper made his home debut against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Speaking to the media after the game, the 25-year-old said: "I had a fair few offers from other Championship clubs but the time for me to play is now and I want to do it here at Walsall.

"I spoke to the manager in the off-season and spoke to Neil Cutler as well.



Read more: http://www.walsalladvertiser.co.uk/Fulham-Charlton-stopper-determined-make-Walsall-1/story-27497674-detail/story.html#ixzz3hGJWJhTK
Follow us: @Walsalladv on Twitter | walsall.advertiser.official on Facebook

[WhiteJC]

 
Woodrow: Feeling Ready

Cauley Woodrow insists he is 'feeling sharp and ready' ahead of the of the 2015/16 season opener in Cardiff next week.

The England Under-21 striker told fulhamfc.com: "The pre-season goes pretty quick. But it's been really positive and we're all just looking forward to the season.

"It's just Crystal Palace left now and after that it's the start of the season.

"I'm feeling sharp and I'm feeling ready. We are just focusing on our final preparations, then hopefully we'll be ready to go against Cardiff.

"Last season we were going into games a little in the unknown, but this season we know the players we'll be playing against and we know what we're up against.

"We've signed some good players and they've fitted in really well. We're just focusing on winning as many games as we can and doing as well as we can."

Woodrow played a full 90 minutes against Hertha BSC on Wednesday evening in Schmadling, scoring the Whites' second goal for the equaliser. 

"It was important for all of us to get our first 90 minutes," Woodrow continued. "When you do get that, you feel a bit better and a bit fitter in yourself.

"It was tough in the heat. They were a good team as well and they worked us around but it's nice to get 90 minutes under our belt.

"In the first half, they moved the ball around really well and obviously we went two down really quite early. We were getting dragged all over the place.
"We had to work out a way of playing against them and once we did that, especially in the second half, we started moving the ball around ourselves and we were a lot, lot better, and we got our goals to reward that.

"Both teams had a lot of possession without having a great deal of chances. In the second half it was a bit more end-to-end, they had the ball, we had the ball. So [the goal] was a bit of a relief.

"It was a nice feeling, especially to win the ball off them by pressing them high up the pitch, which was what the manager wanted us to do. It was a good goal to score and it was nice to get the draw.

"Us strikers, we want to score goals, and we train hard on the training pitch to try and perfect that and when you do score it's a nice feeling and to help the team get a draw is good as well.

"When we went 2-0 down really early, we pulled ourselves together and that is obviously really positive because there are going to be times when you go behind and you have to find a way of getting back into the game and we did just that."

As much as the focus of training sessions has been about gelling on the pitch, Woodrow reveals the Whites have been making the most of their opportunities to do some team bonding off the pitch.

"It's been really good, a really positive week," he said of their time in Austria. "We would ride down to training, the facilities have been good, training's been sharp and the boys have been looking good.

"The hotel was nice, the cycle on the way back was a bit of a struggle after training, but it was good!

"We had an afternoon zip wiring, which I enjoyed when I did it, but before it I was so nervous. I think a lot of the lads were to be fair. There's been some good videos of some of the boys doing it, but I was a bit scared!

"I didn't think I could do it to be honest but it's one of those things you've got to do and now I can say I've done it!

"After training there is a little bit of table tennis and some PlayStations, so all the lads are in each other's rooms and everyone is in a good place. We're all really looking forward to the season."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/july/28/woodrow-sharp-ready?

[WhiteJC]

 
Clint Dempsey says he has kept in touch with these two Spurs players

The Seattle Sounders captain said there are a couple of individuals he still talks to at his old club, including a former Fulham teammate.

Seattle Sounders' former Spurs star Clint Dempsey has been discussing his relationship with a couple of players at the North London club, in a press conference ahead of the match between Tottenham and the MLS All-Star side on Wednesday.

Dempsey spent just one season at White Hart Lane after moving from Fulham in 2012, and though it is fair to say he would probably look back at the Cottagers as his 'English side' if he had to pick a single team, the 32-year-old did reveal that there were a couple of players he still kept in touch with at Spurs when asked, even if the first name wasn't someone he ever played with in the Premier League.

"I still stay in touch with [DeAndre] Yedlin," Dempsey joked of his national teammate in the MLS press conference, with the fullback only moving to Tottenham at the start of the year and of course joining the forward whenever Jurgen Klinsmann announces a US squad.

Dempsey went on to mention someone that he did play alongside at the Lane, and who is hoping to be a big part of Mauricio Pochettino's plans next season.

"Moussa Dembele, he's a great guy, great player," Dempsey added. "I played with him at Fulham too. Always good to see him doing well, I look forward to seeing him."

And the forward also explained how there had been a lot of changes since he was at the club two years ago, before joking that he would aid the All-Stars' coach Pablo Mastroeni if there were any questions about the Tottenham squad.

"I know some of the staff but a lot of the faces have changed since I was there," he said. "But if Pablo wants to ask me some questions I'll be sure to help him out."

Dempsey has been one of the stars of the MLS since moving to Seattle in 2013, and his first full season at the Sounders saw him score 17 goals in 31 games, his second best campaign ever.

At Tottenham, the forward netted 12 times in 43 games, before he was sold by Andre Villas-Boas the same summer as Gareth Bale.


http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/07/28/clint-dempsey-says-he-keeps-in-touch-with-two-spurs-players/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Can You Keep a Secret?
   
Well apparently not!

The club, having set a launch date for the kit the tem will wear for the 2015 / 2016 season have been dealt a hammer-blow.

Amidst stringent secrecy, nobody was supposed to know the design of the new shirt until the launch date, posters featuring it were stashed away and any glimpses of it were forbidden to the likes of you and I.

Well that was the intended idea, but as they say, best laid plans and all that.....................

Unfortunately, and we won`t name them, the television station that will be covering and providing highlights of Championship football, ran an advertisement on the television in which our new kit features!

Better luck next time is all I`ll say!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=406939#ixzz3hGKvOyo0

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham set to be trumped when ex-Brentford striker joins Middlesbrough

Could Jordan Rhodes become the Championship's most expensive signing for a second time?

Should Middlesbrough snap up Jordan Rhodes for £12m the ex-Brentford loanee will become the Championship's most expensive signing for the second time in his career.

He first broke the division's transfer record when Blackburn paid Huddersfield Town a reported £8m for his services back in 2012.

Prior to that transfer the record stood at 'just' £5m when Leicester City prised Matt Mills away from Reading in 2011.

The Championship's transfer record was smashed last season though when Fulham paid £11m for Leeds United forward Ross McCormack.


Congrats: Ross McCormack takes the plaudits

The McCormack deal was the first time that the £10m barrier had been broken by a club in England's second tier, a milestone first reached in English football 19 years ago, on 30 July 1996, when Newcastle paid £15m to Blackburn Rovers for Alan Shearer.

Unsurprisingly, Championship transfer fees are relatively low when compared to the Premier League.

There have only been eight occasions where a team from the division has paid £5m or more for a player.

The aforementioned McCormack and Rhodes deals top the pile and are followed by the £5.5m that Nottingham Forest reportedly paid Peterborough for Britt Assombalonga in 2014.


Pricey: Britt Assombalonga scores against Fulham

The recent £5m deal that brought Stewart Downing back to Boro is joined by Cardiff's 2014 signing of Bruno Ecuele Manga, Blackpool's 2013 signing of Matt Phillips, Leicester's 2011 signing of Matt Mills and Manchester City's capture of Jamie Macken as far back as 2002.

There have also only been seven occasions where £4m or more has changed hands for a player - Derby's 2015 capture of Tom Ince, Norwich's 2014 signing of Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Charlie Austin's move from Burnley to QPR in 2013, Michael Chopra's move from Sunderland to Cardiff in 2009, Sheffield United's signing of James Beattie in 2007, Gary McSheffrey's move from Coventry to Birmingham in 2006 and Fulham's 2001 signing of Alain Goma from PSG.

Name | From | To | Year | Fee (£m)

Ross McCormack | Leeds | Fulham | 2014 | 11

Jordan Rhodes | Huddersfield Town | Blackburn | 2012 | 8

Britt Assombalonga | Peterborough | Nott Forest | 2014 | 5.5

Stewart Downing | West Ham | Middlesbrough | 2015 | 5

Bruno Ecuele Manga | Lorient | Cardiff | 2014 | 5

Matt Phillips | Blackpool | QPR | 2013 | 5

Matt Mills | Reading | Leicester | 2011 | 5

John Macken | PNE | Man City | 2002 | 5

Tom Ince | Hull | Derby | 2015 | 4.75

Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe | Club Brugge | Norwich | 2014 | 4

Charlie Austin | Burnley | QPR | 2013 | 4

Michael Chopra | Sunderland | Cardiff | 2009 | 4

James Beattie | Everton | Sheff United | 2007 | 4

Gary McSheffrey | Coventry | Birmingham | 2006 | 4

Alain Goma | PSG | Fulham | 2001 | 4


Fulham splash out: Alain Goma takes on Thierry Henry


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-set-trumped-ex-brentford-9744305?

[WhiteJC]

 
Having sold Mitrovic to Newcastle, Anderlecht snap up Stefano Okaka

Stefano Okaka is one of only two Italians to score for Fulham in the Premier League and will now serve as a replacement for Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Anderlecht have completed a deal for former Fulham loanee Stefano Okaka - as announced on their official website - who has been identified as the man to replace Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The Serbian only sealed a £13 million move to Newcastle United last week, as reported by the BBC, but his former Brussels employers have wasted little time in recruiting a goalscoring replacement.

And it's a signing who will be familiar to fans of former Premier League side Fulham: Stefano Okaka.

One of only two Italians to find the net for the Cottagers in the English top-flight, the 25-year-old spent the latter half of the 2009-10 season on loan at Craven Cottage.

His one and only Premier League goal came during an April 2010 meeting with Wigan Athletic.

Since then he has enjoyed a nomadic career with spells at Bari, Spezia, Parma and most recently Sampdoria to his name.

Capped once by Italy, the forward found the net on his one and only appearance for the Azzurri in a 1-0 victory over Albania.

Okaka's next move has taken him to Belgium, with Anderlecht announcing the completion of the deal this week on their official website.

Impress there and who knows, perhaps a return to England could be on the cards. Stranger things have happened.


http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/07/28/fulhams-forgotten-italian-replaces-newcastle-signing-in-belgium/?

[bill taylors apprentice]

So, another slow news day at Fulham FC then.

[hovewhite]

boring!

[Greek]

Here is something ^^. British press been very quiet about Mitroglou, not so in Europe..

The Turks and Sporting are fighting it out for Mitroglou according to the Dutch:

https://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=pt&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abola.pt%2Fclubes%2Fver.aspx%3Ft%3D4%26id%3D562561

[ToodlesMcToot]

Here is something ^^. British press been very quiet about Mitroglou, not so in Europe..

The Turks and Sporting are fighting it out for Mitroglou according to the Dutch:

https://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=pt&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abola.pt%2Fclubes%2Fver.aspx%3Ft%3D4%26id%3D562561

Bidding battles are good.