Saturday Fulham Stuff (10/10/15)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Edun's World Cup Challenge

Tayo Edun was delighted with the faith shown in him by head coach Neil Dewsnip ahead of this month's Under-17 World Cup in Chile.

The Fulham man has been selected in the final England squad for the tournament, but he admitted he was concerned about his inclusion after receiving two red cards for country – one for the U17s and one for the U18s – earlier this year.

Speaking to fulhamfc.com, Edun said: "I wasn't sure about the call-up because I had a bit of a rough time, getting sent off twice in my last two games.

"So I'm happy that the coach trusts me in such a big competition and I'm pleased that he hasn't made any drastic changes and taken me out!

"I'm happy that he's trusted me because understandably he would have had a couple of doubts, but I'm ready to go and show him that it's worth taking me. I've never been to South America before so it should be a good experience."

Edun has been a regular in the Under-17 squad since first being called up at the end of last year, and feels at home now in the group.

"I'm quite familiar with a lot of the boys," he explained. "I even come and see them when I'm away from Fulham. Outside of the Club I'll go and see some of them now and again, so they're familiar faces."

Another recognisable face that he may come across in Chile is Luca de la Torre, who has been named in the United States squad.

"We spoke about our groups and he was saying how he's drawn quite a tough one," Edun stated. "But obviously America are a strong side – I played them on my debut for England. We're quite confident that both of our teams can go far.

"As a group, England are very confident. We've found a bit more consistency since I first joined the squad about a year ago and we just seem to keep improving."

This season the 17-year-old has made four appearances for Fulham's Under-21 side, occupying a central midfield role on each occasion.

Primarily a full-back – which is where he tends to feature for the national team – Edun is happy to fill in wherever he's needed for club or country.

"I prefer left-back but wherever you play on the pitch you've got to do the job for the team," he said. "It's good for me to have that option that I can help out at left-back or centre-mid. Like I said, I prefer left-back, but I don't mind doing a job further forward if needed.

"I like playing for the 21s a lot. I think Peter Grant's got a good idea of how to improve us as a team and as individuals. He has a lot of advice for everyone in each and every position.

"As you can see, this year we've started better than we finished last season, so we're going onwards and upwards."

Edun's previous outing saw him play alongside someone else who's worn the Three Lions on their shirt before, as he and Scott Parker anchored the U21s' midfield against Derby County.

"It was a very good moment for me," he admitted. "Scott's obviously very experienced and even just training with him was very good for a lot of us because you can see how you have to behave and the type of things you have to do on the pitch just to step it up a level. Playing alongside him gave me a lot of confidence."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/october/09/eduns-world-cup-challenge?

[WhiteJC]

 
Where you can support Non-League Day this weekend

If you're a football fan who has never been to watch any of our local non-League sides, this weekend is the perfect time to do it.

With no Premier League or Championship matches scheduled because of the international break, and England playing on Friday, fans who would normally go to the likes of Chelsea, Fulham, QPR and Brentford are being urged to support other local teams.

Non-League Day was conceived in 2010 by QPR fan James Doe and has proved a huge success, receiving widespread national press coverage and increasing crowds at grounds across the country.

James, who follows the fortunes of Harrow Borough when not at Loftus Road, said the idea was came to him after he heard of Harrow's fundraising campaign for new floodlights.

This year, there are several big matches in the area, with two FA Cup ties and a local derby in the Ryman Premier Division.

Hampton & Richmond Borough host Hendon in that one, with discounted tickets on offer as part of the club's family day. Children will also get the chance to have a free photo with mascot Bertie the Beaver and some of the first-team players.

Hanwell Town, from Southern League Division One, have made it to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history and are expecting a good crowd as they host Ryman Premier high-flyers Grays Athletic.

Hanwell's league rivals Uxbridge, who stunned National League South side Dartford in the last round, host Chippenham Town from the division above them, hoping to make it beyond this stage for the first time in 110 years.

North Greenford United, who also play in Hanwell and Uxbridge's division, entertain Chalfont St. Peter in a league game, with local MP Stephen Pound among the dignitaries and money raised for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Hayes & Yeading United are away at Bishop's Stortford, where it is free to get in if wearing fancy dress, and Northwood travel to Fleet Town.

Wealdstone and Harrow Borough are without a game, but there are matches at AFC Hayes, Spelthorne Sports, CB Hounslow United and Harefield United.

For more information on Non-League Day, visit www.nonleagueday.co.uk.

FA Cup third qualifying round
Hanwell Town v Grays Athletic
Uxbridge v Chippenham Town

Ryman Premier Division
Hampton & Richmond Borough v Hendon

Southern League Division One Central
North Greenford United v Chalfont St. Peter

Combined Counties League Premier Division
AFC Hayes v Guildford City
Ashford Town (Middx) v Raynes Park Vale
Spelthorne Sports v Cove

Combined Counties League Division One
CB Hounslow United v Ash United

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
Harefield United v Bedford Town


http://www.westlondonsport.com/features-comment/football-wls-how-chelsea-brentford-fulham-and-qpr-fans-can-support-non-league-day

[WhiteJC]

 
Watford 0-2 Fulham

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVNFYjUIYUg

Fulham picked up a well-deserved 2-0 win in a behind closed doors friendly over Watford on a glorious day at Watford's training ground on Friday lunchtime.

Manager Kit Symons picked a strong team to face Watford which featured Captain Scott Parker on the comeback trail from injury. The starting eleven also featured numerous first team players looking to maintain match sharpness during the international break, including Moussa Dembélé, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Tom Cairney.

A goal in each half from Alexander Kačaniklić saw the whites come out on top in a well-contented encounter against a Watford team featuring a scattering of First Team starters.

Fulham started the game brightly but the first clear-cut chance fell to Troy Denney. Joe Lewis, starting in place of Andrew Lonergan, made a terrific save low to his left and then a heroic last-gasp block from Shaun Hutchinson prevented Alessandro Diamanti from having a simple tap in following the parry from Lewis.

In the deceptive October heat, the breakthrough for the Whites came in bizarre circumstances. On the counter following a Watford corner, the ball was worked to a lively Kačaniklić. An inch perfect in-swinging cross from the right flank eluded everybody and nestled in to the bottom left hand corner of the goal.

Parker, the Captain, was a vocal leader throughout and the heartbeat of the Fulham midfield. After a mix-up in the Hornets defence, the Whites were gifted their second chance and an opportunity to double their lead. George Williams picked up the loose ball and surged forward. A neat through ball found Kačaniklić but, at a tight angle, goalkeeper Rene Gilmartin parried the shot out for a corner.

Watford worked their way back into the game and carved out some half opportunities, however, on the stroke of half-time Fulham were unlucky not to double their lead. Dembélé was played in behind the Watford defence but his shot was well saved by the onrushing Gilmartin.

The second half kicked off as the sun slowly worked its way behind some cloud cover. The change in weather signalled no change in the positive approach from the Fulham team. A cross-field ball from second-half substitute Ben Pringle to Williams was inch perfect. Williams played in the overlapping Luke Garbutt who fizzed in a low cross, which was scrambled away. 

It was Kačaniklić again who got on the scoresheet to double the Fulham lead ten minutes into the second half. A perfectly weighted through ball in behind the Hornets back line from Parker left the Sweden international with only the keeper to beat. A cool strike with the outside of his boot slowly crept into the bottom corner past a helpless Gilmartin. There was no let-up following the goal. An unrelenting assault down the left flank saw Williams strike the post with a fierce shot.

Following substitutions from both sides, the match tempo slowly dropped off but the Fulham back line remained strong under pressure from a Watford team looking to work their way back into the game. Dan Burn and Hutchinson were solid throughout and were well complemented by Garbutt and Ryan Fredericks who pushed forward to provide an outlet, but also nullified the advances of Watford's wingers, who included Colombia international Víctor Ibarbo.

After a well-deserved victory, the Whites will be back in action in the Sky Bet Championship next weekend as they face Middlesbrough on Saturday October 17th, and then return to Craven Cottage to face Leeds United and Reading the following week.

Fulham Team: Lewis, Fredericks, Hutchinson, Burn, Garbutt, Parker, Tunnicliffe (sub Pringle), Kačaniklić, Cairney, Williams, Dembélé (sub O'Halloran).


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/october/09/watford-match-report?

[WhiteJC]

 
Ross McCormack and Jonathan Kodjia have had the most shots on target in Championship this season

The Fulham and Bristol City strikers have been in top form this season.

The Championship is once again enduring an international break. There remains a whopping 30 games left in the current campaign but the league table is beginning to take shape.

Of course getting to the top of the table is all about taking chances that come your way.

So who tops the Championship table when it comes to efforts that went on target?

There is no surprise at some of the names on this list - especially with the ex-Leeds man at the top of it.

   Position   Team   Ontarget Scoring Att   Appearances   Mins Played
Ross McCormack   FW   Fulham   16   10   892
Jonathan Kodjia   FW   Bristol C   15   10   802
Benik Afobe   FW   Wolves   14   10   897
Joe Mason   FW   Cardiff   14   10   839
Jordan Rhodes   FW   Blackburn   14   8   679

Fulham striker Ross McCormack moved from Leeds last summer in a massive deal but struggled for his best form in London from the off. However he came good at the end of the campaign and this season he has hit the target more than anyone else. That has equated to five goals this season.

Bristol City may be struggling in their new surroundings but striker Jonathan Kodija is not. The Frenchman has proved a magnificent signing and deserves his place in the top five.

Wolves striker Benik Afobe, Cardiff's Joe Mason and Blackburn star Jordan Rhodes finalise the top five.

If McCormack can turn more of those shots on target into goals then he should soon overtake Charlie Austin in the scoring ranks this season.


http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/10/09/ross-mccormack-and-jonathan-kodjia-have-had-the-most-shots-on-ta/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Former Cottager Seals Irish Place in France 2016
   
With no Fulham fixture this weekend, I`ve been sat patiently watching the international circus unfold.

Last night I chose to tune in and watch Northern Ireland take on Greece.

It turned out to be quite a night with Northern Ireland beating Greece 3-1 to qualify for the finals of a major competition for the first time since the 1986 World Cup when a goal from Gerry Armstrong shocked Spain.

Last night, as Windsor Park danced a jig of delight, two of the three Irish goals were scored by a player who used to grace our shirt, Steven Davis with another ex-Fulham player, David Healy, remarking about the captain`s performance Davis put in,

'Steven Davis put in a man-of-the-match performance that was nothing short of amazing.

'I can't speak highly enough of him. He doesn't always get the plaudits he should over in England, but I call him the 'special one maestro'. He's that good.'

I always rated Davis, just wish he was still with us, don`t you?


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=416679#ixzz3o9AQTQdY

[WhiteJC]

 
#FFCtakeover – Up Next Richard Stearman

After the success of our first #FFCtakeover on Twitter with Matt Smith last month we will now have another Fulham First Team player taking part next week.

Richard Stearman will join us for 45 minutes on Tuesday 13th October from 12:30pm for Fulham's next Twitter takeover as the FFC defender answers fans' questions directly from the official account @fulhamfc.

Fans will have the opportunity to pose questions using the Club's designated hashtag for the twitter takeover, #FFCtakeover, or by replying to the Club's tweets during the event.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/october/09/ffctakeover?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham Fans Paid £14.08 per game?

Last weekend saw protests from fans from Premier League Clubs and some Championship clubs when it came to the price paid by supporters to 'attend' the 'beautiful game'...

The Football Supporters' Federation focused mainly on the price paid by away travellers in this particular protest, calling for a cap of a maximum £20 away ticket under the banner of 'Twenty's Plenty' because in the Premier League the average ticket price paid by fans is said to be £53.76.

Of course that means our money bloated top flight is the most expensive across the world for fans, and for many hard working folk of the country it doesn't really get any easier down the football pyramid either in reality, despite the English game and the Premier League itself being the most commercial full stop.

GoEuro's Price Index look at ticket prices pointed out that fans in this country could effectively travel to Germany of a weekend and take in a game for the same price they pay to watch Premiership football, and discussions about ticket prices obviously are nothing new when you factor in the money spent for 90 minutes of action in other 'entertainment' industries.

But of course football isn't just that, it's in the blood, it's about loyalty and very few things in life can ruin your entire week even though you can do nothing about it - short of maybe the 'significant other'.

Anyway, the FSF pointed out that for the Premier League - and obviously all Football League clubs will benefit somewhat from this - the new television deal could mean that clubs in the top flight could open their doors for free next season and 'still' register greater revenue compared to this year and that's certainly worth thinking about.

For fairness I should say a Premier League spokesperson pointed out that the comparison they used looked at the most expensive tickets available so obviously it didn't give the truest of pictures or a 'fair reflection' of prices paid by fans because of how ticket prices are actually structured in terms of cheap seats and season tickets.

FSF CEO Kevin Miles explained.

'Over the past 25 years money has flowed into football enriching players, owners, executives and agents - we think it`s about time fans saw some of the benefits too. Nine out of 10 fans feel that football is too expensive but fans` loyalty and commitment to their clubs is being exploited.'

It seems the Football League grasped onto that idea given the press about the protest and for the first time ever they have released an average for each Football League division in the 2014-15 season.

With the BBC's Price of Football Study showing in 2014 that ticket prices had risen at twice the rate of cost of living since 2011, their 2015 release later this month could make interesting reading.

In the Championship they say fans paid £15.65.

League One it's £11.72.

League Two it's £11.58.

Overall that's £14.08 and I certainly can't argue - I hate maths and have no intention of trying to confirm it.

The Football League in their study also confirmed that clubs took in a combined £213million last season from 15.1million tickets and they are very quick to point out that not included in those figures are 1.3million 'free admission' tickets given out in schemes to schools and through community projects.

As a parent, whatever I pay for a ticket and a trip involves my children it still costs food, drink, programme, merchandise, and travel so in my experience I'd still probably 'feel' I should add £20 minimum per person to the averages there - but to be fair maybe we just eat and drink a lot?

The FL explain further that the averages include match day offers, match day ticket prices as well as the prices paid by season ticket holders, and those in corporate areas so it is the best 'average' they can come up with.

The cynic would say cheap seats bring the average down, but being fair including corporate hospitality and the mark up there fans should be striving to pay only the average from this point forward!

FL CEO Shaun Harvey explained that for him it showed that Football League clubs 'continue' to offer good value for money for the 90 minutes.

'Ticket pricing will always be an emotive subject and any debate about whether fans are getting a good deal clearly has to take account of what fans are paying across the board rather than purely focusing on selected prices that they could be asked to pay in certain circumstances. Clubs offer a wide variety of ticket prices with the best value being offered to those home fans that commit to purchasing a season ticket or benefitting from a ticket promotion. As a result, season ticket holders now make up a greater proportion of crowds and account for 10 million of the 16 million plus admissions to Football League matches every season.'

Harvey continued to say.

'The inevitable consequence of offering such good value to these fans at one end of the spectrum is that those fans at the other end, such as those paying on the day for a single match, will be asked to pay more.'

Of course we can look at selective prices - supply and demand and if one person is prepared to pay £500 for a ticket that somebody else is only prepared to pay £20 for, then the more flush amongst us will win that particular battle and I doubt the Premier League and the Football League will show much concern when they enjoy their annual Christmas Party.

Or, left field idea here...it's the same game, a plastic seat, you roll the dice on being dry or getting wet as you roll the dice on being happy or frustrated to a level that would leave Lucifer saying 'calm down'.

Does one view from a ground or an early booking 'really' require some fans to pay more? Or Less? Of course fans who commit to season tickets should get a benefit - let's not be daft enough to think in football all season tickets holders have that money hiding in a coffee jar - there are financial packages available and people sacrifice for that and it should be honoured and rewarded.

But to claim 'good value' means you can only reward the committed, by then - in a way - punishing the less committed is ridiculous.

When I go the cinema, I don't expect to pay more because I needed to pee and take my seat after the film has started. I don't expect to buy a takeout and then suddenly find I have to pay more than I would for delivery just because I decided to pick it up myself.

I don't expect supermarkets to suddenly start giving discounts to the people who can turn up early on in the morning, and the forcing people to pay more when the food is slightly more out of date.

So there has to be a balance and with the redistribution of the new television money to kick in, season ticket holders can remain rightly rewarded price wise for their efforts but there has to be a lot of sense in finding a 'cap' somewhere along the way for both home and away individual match day buyers.

With the Premiership especially often called the 'best league in the world' and being hugely attractive to sponsors, that only continues to exist if fans continue to create an atmosphere and if the game can't be made fairer for fans, eventually alienation will see a real drop in attendance figures and the entire bubble will eventually burst.

So greed ruining the party or sensible balance that sees 'all' fans rewarded from an ever growing pie?

If those averages are correct then a call for a maximum cap of around £20-25 surely is feasible, allows clubs to capitalise and maximise revenue levels in the way they currently do but in more of a fixed and fairer structure that benefits all.

There's been plenty of shift to added value in the game and the match day experience, now maybe is the right time to look at the baseline price rather than unwanted additional extras in the eyes of a number of fans or merchandise discounts that are naturally there to temp further spending anyway.

Balance is a beautiful word.


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=416657#ixzz3o9BBcwix

[WhiteJC]

 
Tunnicliffe: First Goal Counts For Nothing

Midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe admitted that his first goal for Fulham meant very little after Charlton converted two late chances to draw level 2-2 at the Valley on Sunday afternoon.

It took 35 appearances for Ryan Tunnicliffe to bag his first goal for the club. A simple close range shot on goal after Ross McCormack's free-kick was fumbled. Tunnicliffe then later claimed an assist as he set up McCormack to score the second.

However, Tunnicliffe admitted that his goal meant very little as Charlton scored two late goals to grasp a point at home. The midfielder acknowledged he was at fault after Charlton substitute Johnny Jackson managed to go unmarked to pull a goal back through a magnificent corner on the 81st minute. A late Jordan Cousins header in the sixth minute of added time then saw Charlton snatch a point.

"We should have had the game finished off. We had a few chances and were in control but it was my man for their first goal, for the header, and it gets them back in the game with 10 minutes to go.

"And then poor defending from the team for the last goal... it's not good enough, we should be seeing those games out and being professional. I'm pleased to get on the scoresheet but I'd rather have won. It doesn't really matter that I scored because it comes with a draw when we should have won."

The 22-year-old midfielder expressed the team's disappointment in letting the certain three points slip away, "everyone's down, it felt like a defeat," he said, "but we've got two weeks now to mull it over, look at what went wrong and then we've got another big game again following the international break."

Fulham head to second-placed Middlesbrough on Saturday 17th October and Tunnicliffe expects a tough test against a side tipped by many for promotion.

'"They're a good team, everyone knows that from last season and they've started off well this term too. But as you saw at Charlton we went away from home and played with no fear, went 2-0 up and should have won the game quite comfortably. But we didn't so we'll need to defend a bit better when we go up there."

Fulham will be hoping to bounce back with a win in two weeks time in their bid to gain some sort of clarity this season.


http://the72.co.uk/37681/tunnicliffe-first-goal-counts-nothing/?