Thursday Fulham Stuff (01/10/15)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham boss hints at loan signings after 'disappointing' Wolves display

Fulham boss Kit Symons admits he may look to add fresh meat to his squad as they failed to impress against Wolves on Tuesday night.

Despite being a close game until Tom Cairney was rightly sent off for a two-footed lunge, Fulham struggled with ten men and fell to a 3-0 defeat at Craven Cottage.

Half-time introduction Sheyi Ojo's shot squirmed through the grasp of goalkeeper Andy Lonergan after Adam Le Fondre glanced home his curling effort minutes earlier, with James Henry adding gloss to the scoreline with a fine free-kick.

Fulham were a shadow of the side that so impressively beat QPR in Friday's west London derby, but manager Symons was philosophical on the loss.

"That's sometimes how it goes in football," the Fulham boss said. "When it's not your night, it's not your night. You've got to take it on the chin.

"It is disappointing and hard to take, but it happens sometimes. "Friday was a great night for us and I could sympathise and had empathy towards what Chris (Ramsey, QPR manager) and what he went through.

"Obviously the sending off changed it massively. It was always going to be hard to play at the levels that we did on Friday night, but we were doing okay in the first half, a bit too open but we were very much in it."

In the build-up to the match, Fulham announced James Husband's loan from Middlesbrough had been extended by an unspecified length and Symons indicated they may dip into the loan market again.

"We are constantly looking," he added. "There's always that temptation."


Read more at: http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/fulham/fulham_boss_hints_at_loan_signings_after_disappointing_wolves_display_1_4252969
Copyright © LONDON24

[WhiteJC]

 
Middlesbrough defender extends loan stay at Fulham

Aitor Karanka's Middlesbrough have confirmed on their official website that James Husband has extended his loan deal at Fulham

The former Doncaster left-back signed an initial one-month loan with the Cottagers to cover for the injured Luke Garbutt but has seemingly impressed manager Kit Symons.

His loan to Fulham was part of the deal that took Fernando Amorebieta to the Riverside Stadium on a season-long loan deal.

Husband joined Boro last summer but couldn't dislodge George Friend from the left-back position and subsequently moved to Craven Cottage at the end of last season.

Fulham were defeated 3-0 by Kenny Jackett's Wolverhampton Wanderers last night at Craven Cottage, just days after they dispatched London rivals QPR 4-0 at home.


Read more at http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/middlesbrough-defender-extends-loan-stay-at-fulham/?#iSIT4gUIRUHg5ha3.99

[WhiteJC]

 
Stearman: Must Do Better

Richard Stearman was at a loss to explain how Fulham went from the euphoria of Friday night, to the dismay of Tuesday.

The Whites produced their best performance in a long time to defeat rivals Queens Park Rangers in their previous match, but failed to hit those heights when Wolverhampton Wanderers visited Craven Cottage.

After having Tom Cairney sent off for a dangerous challenge in the first half, goals from Adam Le Fondre, Sheyi Ojo and James Henry after the break condemned Fulham to a 3-0 loss.

Speaking to the official website after the game, Stearman said: "Obviously we were on a big high from the other night but we didn't get the result we were looking for.

"It's very frustrating going from playing so well to so poorly. Obviously the sending off didn't help matters for us but I don't think we acquitted ourselves as we should've done.

"I'm not sure why there was such a contrast in the performances. I can't put my finger on it, but I know we'll be trying our hardest on Sunday to put things right and pick up three points."

It was Stearman's first appearance against his former club since joining the Whites and he was afforded an excellent reception by the travelling fans after years of service for the Molineux club.

And while the centre-back was pleased with the acknowledgement, he would rather it had been on the back of a win for his new employers.

"Credit where credit's due, Wolves fully deserved the win – I thought they were excellent," he admitted. "It was nice to get a good reception, I didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to them before so it was good to get a little send-off but obviously under different circumstances would have been nicer."

The Whites are back in front of the Sky cameras at the weekend when we take on Charlton Athletic at The Valley, and when it was put to Stearman how important it was to sign off with a win before the international break, he replied: "100 per cent. We obviously want to go into that on a bit of a high and round off these block of games with a good result.

"We've just got to do better, but we'll look forward to Sunday now and try and put things right."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/september/30/stearman-reaction?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fredericks a doubt for Charlton game

Ryan Fredericks is a doubt for Fulham's visit to Charlton because of a slight groin strain.

The defender came off a quarter of an hour from the end of Tuesday night's 3-0 home defeat by Wolves, having clearly been off the pace, and will be assessed ahead of Sunday's derby.

"Fairly early on in the game he tightened up in his groin a little bit," said Whites boss Kit Symons.

"He wasn't able to go full pace. We had to take him off because of that – to stop the risk of it getting any worse. We'll have to assess him to see how he is."

Meanwhile, Symons praised Moussa Demeble for his display against Wolves.

The young striker was forced to go it alone up front for an hour after the Whites had Tom Cairney sent off.

"We've done a lot of hard work with Moussa and he's done a lot of hard work himself," Symons said.

"He's a young player and he's at a very good club for young players to develop and get an opportunity.

"He's worked his socks off and gave it his all. It's a tough role playing up front on your own when you're a man light. It's a thankless task, but he kept going.

"We'd like him to have held the ball up a little bit better at times towards the end, but it was tough for everyone out there.

"He's a really bright young player who's got a great future."


http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/fulham-man-could-miss-charlton-game-wls-football

[WhiteJC]

 
Grant: Disappointing end to September

Peter Grant reflects on a disappointing end to September after his side fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Derby County.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mr4bjgnuk0

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/september/30/under-21s-reaction?

[WhiteJC]

 
After the Lord Mayors` Ball...........
   
Football can be a strange game!

One minute it can lift you to a higher level whilst another minute it can drop you into the depths of despair.

The victory over Queens Park Rangers on Friday night definitely fell into the first category whilst the comprehensive defeat suffered at the hands of Wolves last night fell into the second category.

After the 3-0 defeat last night, Kit Symons spoke about he sending off and having to accept results like this on occasions, remarking to the media,

"When it's not your night, it's not your night. You've got to take it on the chin. It is disappointing and hard to take, but it happens sometimes.

'Friday was a great night for us and I could sympathise and had empathy towards what Chris (Ramsey, QPR manager) and what he went through.

'Obviously the sending off changed it massively. It was always going to be hard to play at the levels that we did on Friday night, but we were doing okay in the first half, a bit too open but we were very much in it.'

And adding about the red-card that changed the game, Kit commented,

"It was a sending off - both his feet were off the ground and referees have to give it these days.

"It will cost him and it will cost the team. There was no malice in it but he made a mistake."

No time to look back, it`s another London derby this weekend when we travel to South London to take on Charlton Athletic.


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=415465#ixzz3nIQBNB92

[WhiteJC]

 
Jack and Loz at the Cottage - Blog 13

Date: 29th September 2015
Opposition: Wolves
Score: 0-3 Ouch
Weather: Pleasant
Atmosphere: Flat
Overheard in H7: "Wolverhampton - that's the nice part of Birmingham isn't it?"
MOTM (football): A return to form for last season's frequent winner of this award - Errrrrrr......
MOTM (non football): Jamie O'Hara for keeping up the fight when all hope was lost
Pub: The Temperance

In the life of a Fulham fan there are many false dawns: the 4-1 victory at Crystal Palace, for example, the signing of Kostas Mitroglou, the advent of Martin Jol. And now it appears there is another to add to the list: Friday night's destruction of QPR.

In comparison, Tuesday's match was the sublime to the ridiculous, a Tempest unleashed to a Comedy of Errors - even before Tom Cairney's incomprehensible decision to make a two footed tackle in Wolves' own half there had been some near calamitous defending and some uncharacteristically wayward clearances from the usually reliable Andy Lonergan.

What happened after the sending off was as inevitable as a bad Fulham half following a good one. On a slightly positive note at least the players didn't give up even as the straits got more and more dire. As well as O'Hara, mentioned above, who is a man you simply must have on your side in any back to the wall situation whether involving wolves, other dangerous animals or anything else, credit must go to Dembele for trying to make something out of nothing as lone striker and Ross McCormack trying to do his best in the unfamiliar role of defensive midfielder (although it would have been better if he'd left trying to direct the defence to Richard Stearman who is rather better at it).

As always when a dismal result follows a sending off one wonders what might have been. But here credit has to be given to Wolves for their fast passing and attacking intent. Auditioning as they were, X Factor style, for a new owner they were the better side even before Cairney lost control of his feet. We also have to wonder about the effects of Friday's game. Did tiredness and the pressure of success outweigh the confidence boost of the resounding victory?

One way or another the team which played on Tuesday was a different side to the one which we cheered so exultantly on Friday night and this simply isn't good enough. You don't need to win 4-0 every week to do well in the Championship but you do need to be consistent and we're failing miserably at that at the moment. But we're still at the start of a very long season, one which we're better equipped to survive and prosper in than some of our rivals. Let's hope the players are training hard this week on defending set pieces, safe tackling and finding some equilibrium. Starting at Charlton on Sunday.


http://werdsmith.com/p/U9B7XvGHt