Thursday Fulham Stuff (08/10/15)...

[WhiteJC]

 
International Whites

We take a look at which Fulham players could feature for their respective teams over the international period.

Jazz Richards and Wales could book their spot at next summer's European Championship during the upcoming international period. They face Bosnia in Zenica on Saturday and group minnows Andorra back at home the following Tuesday. One point from either of those fixtures will guarantee qualification for next summer's finals.

Cauley Woodrow and England Under-21s continue their European Championship qualifiers against Kazakhstan at Coventry's Ricoh Arena on Tuesday 13th.

The Young Lions will look to continue their perfect start to the campaign following a solid win over Norway in September.

Emerson Hyndman and the USA have a CONCACAF Olympic Qualifier on Tuesday night in Colorado. They take on Panama at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver.

Sakari Mattila and Jesse Joronen's Finland also have qualifying matches to look forward to, as they travel to Bucharest on Thursday to face Romania and then head to Windsor Park on Sunday to take on table-topping Northern Ireland.

Finland are predominantly playing for pride in these two encounters as they take on the teams currently sitting in second and first respectively. Finland find themselves third from bottom in Group F but could play the spoilers for both opponents in the next two weeks.

Tim Ream could feature for the U.S. Men's National Team in the winner-take-all CONCACAF Cup match against Mexico on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. A victory grants the winner a spot in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.

Cameron Burgess and Adam Taggart are part of the Australia squad who have one friendly match to contend with. They face Jordan at the Amman International Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

Jordan Evans' Wales Under-21s look to extend their perfect start to their UEFA qualifiers as they face off against Denmark and Lasse Vigen Christensen.

Wales have won both of their first two matches and have been earmarked as the standout performers so far. However, Denmark will prove a stern test. The Aalborg Stadion will be the venue on Friday night.

Liam Donnelly may also be in competitive action, as Northern Ireland's qualifying campaign continues with a match against Macedonia at home on Thursday 15th October.

Sean Kavanagh's Republic of Ireland Under-21s look to oust Slovenia at the top of Group 2. They have a qualifier against Lithuania on Friday and follow it up with a trip to Vicenza to face Italy.

Mattias Kait and Marek Rodák could both feature for Estonia and Slovakia respectively in their Under-21 qualifiying campaigns.

Tayo Edun has been selected in the final England squad for the Under-17 World Cup in Chile. A recognisable face that he may come across in Chile is Luca de la Torre, who has been named in the United States squad.

In the Under-19 age groups, Aron Davies will be present at the Wales training camp. Finally, Dennis Adeniran could represented England Under-17s at the European Championship Qualifiers.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/october/07/international-whites?

[WhiteJC]

 
The Sean Davis Column

Sunday at Charlton was an afternoon of mixed emotions. We were leading 2-0 away from home and cruising with 10 minutes to go. But somehow we only ended up with a point.

Once we conceded the first goal, it was about holding on and seeing out the game, but we couldn't do it. It sums us up at the moment; we play ever so well for 80 minutes and then concede late on. Before the game you'd probably take a point but to be 2-0 up and only end up drawing was gutting.

As the cliché goes, hindsight is a wonderful thing and I think we should have kept Moussa on. He was bossing it, he's big and strong and the Charlton defenders were struggling to cope with him. But we still should have been mentally strong enough to see out the game. That's how you get on a winning run; by defending resolutely and doing the right thing once you get a lead.

I was in with the fans at Charlton. I was devastated with the result but it was a great away day. Me and Bazza [Barry Hayles] went along on the boat and we had a good laugh and a great singsong.

"I was in with the fans at Charlton. I was devastated with the result but it was a great away day. Me and Bazza went along on the boat and we had a good laugh and a great singsong."

The two home games prior to Charlton couldn't have been more different. The QPR match was probably the best I've seen us play in a good two or three years. Everyone was spot on, it was one of those games were everything just came together. To top it off, it was against our neighbours from down the road.

That should have set us up nicely for the Wolves game but nothing went right that evening. The red card for Cairney didn't help, then they scored two in quick succession and that killed the game off. But so what if Cairney got sent off? We should have stayed hard to beat. If we draw 0-0, then we take a point, but we made it too easy.

Tom can't have any complaints about the red card. Every player has done it; your touch gets away from you and you dive in to try and get it back. No one had any arguments; it's just disappointing as he started the season really well. He can play across the midfield and he's a goal threat so he'll be sorely missed.

The players will now be stewing on the Charlton result for a couple of weeks as we haven't got another game until later this month because of the international break. Once the players all get back together, they'll sit down and discuss what went wrong and try and turn it around. It's still early on in the season but you can't be throwing away leads like we did at The Valley.

After that, it's a very tricky test in Middlesbrough away. They're doing well and sitting in second spot. They've spent a lot of money and they've signed some experienced players who know this league well. I played with David Nugent at Portsmouth, things didn't really go that well for him there but you could tell he was a good, honest player.

Boro are a decent side but on our day we can beat anyone in this league, it just depends on what Fulham turn up. If we start the first 20 minutes on the front foot, be solid and resolute, then we can win it. The lads can do that – we saw it against QPR - but they're not doing it on a consistent basis right now. It's so easy to get on a bad run. But if you can get on a good one, it can be infectious.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/october/07/the-sean-davis-column?

[WhiteJC]

 
Loan Round Up

Three Fulham loan players appeared in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Second Round last night, with only Stephen Arthurworrey featuring for the winning team.

Arthurworrey helped Yeovil Town to a clean sheet at Huish Park as they held Coventry City to a 0-0 draw, before the Glovers progressed 4-3 in a penalty shootout.

Larnell Cole was on the losing side as Shrewsbury Town fell 2-1 at Fleetwood Town. The visitors went ahead through Junior Brown's 25th-minute effort before Ashley Hunter's 69th-minute goal cancelled out their lead.

Bobby Grant's 90th-minute effort secured the Cod Army's place in the next round and eliminated the Shrews.

Liam Donnelly and Crawley Town also crashed out, after suffering a 3-0 home defeat against Southend United.

Myles Weston and Joe Piggot put the Shrimpers ahead at half-time, when Donnelly was replaced by Lewis Young. With the Reds chasing the game, Piggot scored his second late on to clinch the win, leaving Arthurworrey as Fulham's remaining interest in the competition.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/october/07/loan-round-up?

[WhiteJC]

 
Watch out Chelsea and Fulham! Brentford and QPR are coming for you

Richard Amofa, co-founder of youth football based website OffThePostNews, was at QPR v Brentford in the U21 Premier League Cup and sees a bright future for two west London sides. He has kindly allowed GetWestLondon to host it as well.

When it comes to youth football, the young talents at Chelsea have taken all of the headlines in 2015, and rightly so, winning both the FA Youth Cup and the UEFA Youth League. And whilst all the attention has been on them, many would be led to believe that everyone else is falling by the wayside.

But in West London, there are three other big clubs taking full advantage of the wonderful talent that this catchment area has to offer, and producing some notable talent of their own. Indeed there are Fulham, who were FA Youth Cup finalists themselves in 2014 and U18 Premier League winners the year before.

And then we have Queens Park Rangers and Brentford who, after years of instability and inconsistency are now beginning to heavily invest in their academies, which is now beginning to bear fruit. Recently, the sides met in the Barclays U21 Premier League Cup, and if this tie is anything to go by, not only will they be challenging the hegemony of the likes Fulham and Chelsea, but proves emphatically that west London is a hotbed of young, footballing talent.

Played in front of a vocal crowd under the lights at Loftus Road, fans were treated to a thrilling encounter full of passion and intensity but, more importantly, illuminated by technique and moments of quality that gives the players involved every chance of making the next step up into their respective first teams.

Although there were a few first teamers in action, they were outshone by young protagonists on show. For example, the presence of Sandro was overshadowed by the likes of 19 year old midfield partner Brandon Comley, whilst attacking midfielders such as Nathan Corkery, Ryan Manning and Gianni Crichlow were providing all the ammunition for striker, Sebastian Polter.

Sandro's shadow was further cast by the excellent Brentford midfield trio of Jan Holldack, Lewis Macleod and the brilliant Zain Westbrooke, who dictated Brentford's play from deep with his vision and awareness. And whilst Sam Saunders occupied the right hand side as he continued his comeback from injury, it was the other winger, 16-year-old Josh Bohui who broke the deadlock with a superb individual goal.

Bohui, who was called up to an England U16 training camp last season is already attracting the attention of England's top clubs, and with this goal, you can see why. After receiving the ball on the inside left, he danced effortlessly past four players before finding the bottom corner.

Refreshingly, QPR remained loyal to their attacking principals and pushed for the equaliser. With Aaron Mitchell, normally an attacking midfielder, at Right Back, and the ambitious Osman Kakay at Left Back, the hosts took the game to the visitors.

But sucker-punch number two came shortly before the hour mark, as Sam Saunders picked out the well timed run of Lewis Macleod, and the Scotland U21 man made no mistake with his head from 12 yards out to put the young Bees 2-0 up.

Credit to the home side, they refused to let their heads drop, and instead continued to play with technique and vigour and got their rewards soon after. Crichlow, another 16 year old, and arguably QPR's best player in the second half, outpaced his full back and had the end product to match, finding the unmarked Polter in the middle who halved QPR's deficit. It created a fascinating ending to the game, and but for the inspired form of Brentford goalkeeper Jack Bonham, QPR would have definitely turned the game on its head.

In such a technically superb encounter, mention must be reserved for the mentality both sides exhibited. It's clear that both sets of coaches work extremely hard on this area of their sides' game and it's proving to be effective. Resilience is something that U21 boss Paul Hall drives into his Rangers side every day, and they continued to play right to the last whistle, refusing to be beaten. Likewise, the way Brentford remained firm and saw the game out was equally as impressive, especially away from home.

Furthermore, and most importantly, both QPR and Brentford are beginning to have faith in their youth systems and giving their youth a chance. Whilst Chelsea may have taken all of the honours in 2015, both QPR and Brentford are ahead of them when it comes to getting academy graduates into the first team.

In spite of the pressure that the Premier League piles on, Chris Ramsey still gave opportunities to the likes of Reece Grego-Cox, Brandon Comley and Darnell Furlong, adding weight to Hall's recent assertion that QPR are a "development club". Additionally, First Team Assistant Manager Steve Gallen has an acute knowledge of the Hoops' academy, coaching multiple age groups in his rise to the top. Therefore, he will be partial to bringing through the youngsters that he had a key role in developing.

Similarly, Brentford are also building an impressive infrastructure at Jersey Road. Spearheaded by Academy director Ose Aibangee, the young Bees are hot-stepping their way up the academy ladder with an attractive brand of football. Josh Clarke, Montell Moore and Jermaine Udumanga have all had opportunities in the first team, and with former Professional Development Manager Lee Carsley taking the First Team Hot Seat, he, like Gallen, will be sure to promote even more youngsters into the senior side.

West London is steeped in football history, but now it's time for the next generation to make a name for themselves. Whilst this is easier said than done, this process has been facilitated by Academy Managers and First Team bosses showing an increased willingness to give their talented youngsters an opportunity.

Where many would have seen this as a risk before, the hard work that clubs such as QPR and Brentford have put into their academies in recent years makes the decision to elevate their youth an informed decision that is best for the squad. To fit in an old cliché, 'If you're good enough, you're old enough', and in West London there are four clubs producing talent worthy of excelling at the highest level.


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/sport-opinion/watch-out-chelsea-fulham-brentford-10214815?

[WhiteJC]

 
Craven Corner: Why Kit Symons' tactical tweaks were at fault for Charlton collapse


Fulham manager Kit Symons (Steve Paston/PA Wire)

Despite saying I'd be happy with a point before the Charlton fixture, I can't help but feel deflated after losing a 2-0 lead at the Valley in the last ten minutes.

While it wasn't Fulham's finest performance they were comfortably in control of the game, Jamie O'Hara was once again dictating the game and the side looked comfortable in possession.

There were only a few early threats from the pace of Aherne-Grant, Conor McAleny & Tony Watt, but once that was nullified, Andy Lonergan was rarely tested.

After goals from Ryan Tunnicliffe and Ross McCormack, three points were on the cards for Fulham but then suddenly Kit Symons made a series of substitutions that were incredibly negative. The introductions of Luke Garbutt at left-midfield, Sakari Matilla for Jamie O'Hara and Cauley Woodrow for Moussa Dembele were arguably the reason why we were lucky to come away with a draw.

The problems with these substitutions were that the Fulham eleven started to invite pressure, time-waste and fail to commit men to any attack. Fulham had a corner in the last ten-minutes and only committed 3 players to the box, making it incredibly easy for Charlton to clear the ball and mount an attack. If they are going to defend the lead, then surely protecting the ball in the corner would have been a stronger option, but in all honesty when you've dominated the game, why not continue being in control for the final ten minutes to push for a third to completely kill the game off?

It really was managerial naivety and inexperience that saw Fulham only come away with a draw. Luke Garbutt looked incredibly uncomfortable playing on the left side of midfield and on numerous occasions failed to choose the correct option in the final third, something that Ben Pringle excelled at all game. Matilla failed to really make any impact and Fulham lost the option to play through Jamie O'Hara after his substitution and sadly Cauley Woodrow failed to be an aerial presence that was provided by Dembele.

If this was a cup game, I'd understand it more as it would have allowed Kit to rest some players for the upcoming league fixtures but sadly, there's no real excuse to sub key players at that time in the game.

Moussa Dembele is only 19 and has had a full pre-season so he should be able to complete a full game every week and while O'Hara may tire, his experience, leadership and talent is priceless to the side and Ryan Tunnicliffe does a lot of the box-to-box work anyway. Kit should have just reverted to a 4-4-1-1 and dropped McCormack further back for the final ten to provide midfield cover.

We now have an incredibly tough fixture upcoming against Middlesbrough and it's a fixture that'll really test Fulham and to see if they have the quality required to be a top team in the Championship. Middlesbrough have started the season strongly and with the recruitment of Stewart Downing and Christian Stuani, they are arguably the most feared side in the division.

Kit will need to ensure that if his side is in this position again that he doesn't let 3 points slip through his fingers again.



Read more at: http://www.london24.com/sport/football/clubs/fulham/craven_corner_why_kit_symons_tactical_tweaks_were_at_fault_for_charlton_collapse_1_4262673
Copyright © LONDON24

[WhiteJC]

 
Club asking for information following Fulham incident

Any information received will be treated with the strictest confidence

Charlton are asking supporters to come forward with any information that they may have concerning the identity of the man pictured below, following an incident during Sunday's draw with Fulham at The Valley.

Fans with any information should email [email protected]

Any information received will be treated in the strictest confidence.



Read more at http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/club-asking-for-information-following-fulham-incident-2733877.aspx#k6XvsBbFzFZEZQhr.99

[cmg]

Club asking for information following Fulham incident

Any information received will be treated with the strictest confidence

Charlton are asking supporters to come forward with any information that they may have concerning the identity of the man pictured below, following an incident during Sunday's draw with Fulham at The Valley.

Fans with any information should email [email protected]

Any information received will be treated in the strictest confidence.



Read more at http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/club-asking-for-information-following-fulham-incident-2733877.aspx#k6XvsBbFzFZEZQhr.99

Well, I suppose there is more to this than is outlined here...but, personally I can see nothing wrong in our old favourite, Mousa Dembele, checking out his young namesake, even if the bottle is a bit naughty.

[valdeingruo]

The top one does look like MK1 not that you mention it.