Wednesday Fulham Stuff (11/11/15)...

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Midfielder on Radar!

One piece of transfer gossip, in the tabloid press this morning, links Fulham Football Club with Dean Windass.

Now that`s not the Dean Windass who played for Hull City, he`s a bit too long in the tooth for us, but his twenty-one year old son.

Dean Windass Junior is carving out quite a reputation at Accrington Stanley where his displays in the Stanley midfield have attracted scouts from several clubs watching him performed.

The twenty-one year old is valued at £1 million and amongst the other clubs monitoring his progress and possible availability are Arsenal, Brighton, Portsmouth and Hull.

Could Fulham get lucky and nab young Dean?


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=421292#ixzz3rAN4DbFN

[WhiteJC]

 
Rigg: Top Six Vision

Chief Football Officer Mike Rigg explains the reasons behind Kit Symons' departure, and discusses what Fulham will be looking for in a Head Coach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45MG9GNTjSs

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/november/10/mike-rigg?

[WhiteJC]

 
Moussa Dembele: The 19-year-old Tottenham should sign... who is very familiar

Could Tottenham raid Fulham again for another Dembele?

The transfer window is a matter of weeks away rather than months, and Tottenham Hotspur's priority is likely to be securing a striker to back-up Harry Kane.

The profile of the player is likely to be this: Young with a tonne of upside, ability to play up front on his own, happy to learn from the bench, able to make an impact and score goals - and importantly not cost the earth.

There may be several players who fit this criteria, but only one has a name as familiar as Fulham's Moussa Dembele.

You read that right, not Mousa Dembele the Tottenham midfielder, but Moussa Dembele the current Fulham striker, who is enjoying a breakout season at Craven Cottage.

At just 19-years-old, he has a creditable record of seven goals in 16 appearances this season, with two assists along the way, despite the presence of big money signing Ross McCormack.

Fulham's Dembele hails from France, rather than Belgium, and is a youth international, appearing at every level from under-16 to under-20s.

He signed from PSG's youth system in 2012 when Fulham were still in the Premier League, and a couple of years back was linked with a switch to Manchester United, reported The Mail. In just his second season for the under-18s he netted 23 goals, and was then given intermittent chances in the first team, and is beginning to blossom this campaign.

Fulham are currently attempting to get him to sign a new contract, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season.

Kit Symons told London24 a fortnight ago he was confident this would get done, but he has since been fired as manager, and it is unclear if Fulham's hopes of retaining the striker will have been enhanced or derailed by this development.

A chance to play for a Premier League club would undoubtedly be tempting for Dembele, especially one like Spurs who are proving under Mauricio Pochettino they are a club willing to give opportunities to young players.

His contract situation makes him particularly affordable for Tottenham, and this is not a saga which will see Fulham demanding more than £25 million as West Brom did with Saido Berahino in the summer, instead the west London club would be lucky to see half that, despite Dembele's potential.

It would be the second time in his career Dembele has followed Dembele, with Tottenham signing the Belgian midfielder two months later in late August in 2012.

Dembele at Tottenham would have a very familiar feel, and if he continues his development then it could be one of the smartest transfers the club make, and while Fulham would be loathe to lose him, if he is not going to sign a new contract, then cash in January is better than seeing him quit on a free in the summer.


http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/11/09/moussa-dembele-the-19-year-old-tottenham-should-sign-who-is-very/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham boss could be appointed this week – Rigg

Fulham hope to bring in a new head coach to replace the sacked Kit Symons in time for their trip to MK Dons on 21 November.

Speaking to the club's official website, chief football officer Mike Rigg said the appointment could be made as early as this weekend.

He also revealed Symons was dismissed as he was falling behind his target, set in the summer, of securing a place in the top six.

Rigg said: "Kit was under no illusion, from the first day of pre-season, that the expectation was to be in the top six.

"We picked up two great results against Reading and Bristol City but we couldn't afford to drop that momentum against Birmingham [the club lost 5-2 on Saturday].

"But it got to the point in that game where we just thought that was the pivotal moment. We've got 30 games left in the season, still enough to get back on track."

Former Brentford boss Uwe Rosler, ex-Leicester manager Nigel Pearson and Paul Lambert, latterly of Aston Villa, are on the club's shortlist.

Rigg added that the club want someone with a proven track record.

He said: "We're not going for a manager. We're focusing on a head coach, whose job is to focus on what's going on on the pitch.

"There's a lot of good people out there – there's some people in work, some people out of work.

"We have to make sure we bring in a successful head coach, that has a proven track record but also fits in with the direction, strategically, that we want to go as a club. And ultimately that's about getting back into the Premier League.

"The international break gives us the luxury of two weeks. The head coach could be in this weekend or it could take a little bit longer.

"Ideally we'd like to have someone in time for MK Dons."


http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/fulham-bods-could-be-appointed-this-week-rigg?

[WhiteJC]

 
Eight potential candidates for the Fulham job

Over the weekend Fulham announced that Kit Symons had been sacked after a sluggish start to the season; the seventh manager of the Championship campaign to lose his job. Incredibly it means that owner Shahid Khan is now on the look-out for his fifth manager in just over two years.

It's hard to necessarily blame Symons; he was never a manager, he made no secret of this, he was just helping out the club he loves during a difficult time.

It wouldn't be a surprise at all to see him return to the club in some capacity once the dust has settled from this. In the short-term though, Fulham need a new manager, and there are no end of top bosses being linked to the post.

We've picked out a few, depending on the strength of the reports and whether or not we think they'd do a good job. It's worth bearing in mind that Fulham is a good club with a lot of potential at the moment. There are still a number of good young players and the infrastructure is strong; there's no reason they can't get up into the Premier League, they just need the right man.

Steve Bruce

Hands up if you're happy where you are.

Most media reports have suggested that the man Fulham want to take over is Steve Bruce, a manager with a proven track-record of taking clubs into the Premier League.
The problem with this appointment is that right now Hull City are top of the Championship, and it's hard to see why he would want to jump ship. The Tigers seem a good bet to go up, so it'd be a major surprise if Bruce left them for Fulham.

Nigel Pearson

Is Nigel Pearson the man to take over at Fulham?

Still out of work after leaving Leicester City over the summer, he's also supposedly attracting interest from West London rivals Queens Park Rangers, as they look for a replacement for Chris Ramsey.
The way Pearson's Leicester side won promotion was impressive, and he also did a good job at trimming the fat of the squad. Pearson is an undeniably controversial figure, but he does get results.

David Moyes

David Moyes' Real Sociedad had won just two fixtures in La Liga this season.

Suddenly available after his sacking from Spanish club Real Sociedad, but it's as of yet unclear whether or not he would be interested in dropping down to the Championship. The only Premier League manager who Moyes could realistically replace is Garry Monk, who seems to be under increasing pressure, but even that's no guarantee.
Getting Moyes would be a massive coup for Fulham, but the fact that it would be a coup shows how tricky it would be.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is widely regarded to be one of the most promising young managers in the country.

Hasselbaink has suddenly become very popular with the bookmakers for both the Fulham and QPR jobs. Burton Albion is the former Chelsea man's second job in management, and he's gaining plenty of plaudits for what he's achieved.
He took them into League One and they're currently second in the table, which is truly remarkable. He has the team playing some good football and he's made them tough to beat as well. The challenge will be to persuade Hasselbaink to leave; after all, Burton and Fulham could both be Championship clubs next season.

Paul Lambert

Paul Lambert's Aston Villa side only scored 12 goals in 25 games during the 2014-15 season.

The former Aston Villa boss has history in the Championship, taking Norwich up the season after winning League One. Norwich didn't lost two successive matches in those two seasons, but his reputation has taken a hit thanks to some of the truly dour football on display during his time at Aston Villa.
It's worth pointing out that the season Norwich were promoted they were the top scorers in the division, and Fulham do have the current second and third top scorers in the league in Ross McCormack (eight) and Moussa Dembele (seven).

Slavisa Jokanovic

Slavisa Jokanovic took Watford back into the Premier League but wasn't offered a new contract.

Another manager whose side won promotion in impressive style, it was a major surprise when Watford and Jokanovic parted ways at the end of last season. Admittedly Quique Sanchez Flores is doing well, but Jokanovic will feel that he has unfinished business in England.
His Watford side were breathtaking to watch going forward, and he could really produce a spark at Craven Cottage. May not be willing to leave given the tight title race he's in with Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Tim Sherwood

Tim Sherwood won one of his 11 Premier League games in charge of Aston Villa this season.

It's hardly encouraging for Sherwood's managerial career that you could probably count the number of Tottenham and Villa fans who speak highly of him on one hand.
Sherwood's confidence is remarkable given his lack of success, but he does have a history of doing well with young players. He's helped the likes of Nabil Bentaleb and Jack Grealish a lot in their careers, so could do the same for Fulham's youngsters.

Bob Bradley

Bob Bradley has a good reputation but has never been given a chance in England.
This one is a bit tenuous; there's not much linking Bradley to the job, but he's available having just left Stabaek. Bradley is regarded as a very good manager, yet he's never been given a chance in England.
Given the American connection he could be asked, and it would be fascinating to see how he fared in English football. Unfortunately, this one seems a bit unlikely.


Read more at http://www.squawka.com/news/eight-potential-candidates-for-the-fulham-job/514681#0m6IY21VF6IiGEOp.99