Saturday Fulham Stuff (27/02/16)...

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A woeful Fulham record that Boro will be looking to take advantage but a lethal pair to be wary of

We look at reasons to be optimistic and cautious ahead of Boro's game at Craven Cottage on Saturday


Slavisa Jokanovic

Back to the Cottage.

Back to the venue of such wild and weird happenings at the back end of last season.

Back up against Ross McCormack.

It was on the penultimate weekend of last season when reason and reality seemed to go out of the window and Boro surprisingly shipped four goals on the way to ensuring their season would be extended into the play-offs.

Fulham, like they are now, were struggling at the wrong end of the season. Like they have this term, Fulham had under-achieved.

But a glance at their goals scored column is proof of the threat offered by the side now managed by Slavisa Jokanovic.

Jokanovic, ironically enough, was one of two bosses who benefited from Boro's slip-up at the Cottage last year, allowing Watford and Bournemouth to take advantage.

He'll hope to have a say in the promotion race once more this weekend.

We look at reasons to be optimistic and cautious ahead of the game.

Optimistic
Leaky on home turf

Any queries as to why Fulham are struggling at the wrong end of the table considering the potent threats they have leading the line are answered by their goals against column.

Fifty-four goals leaked this year. A woeful record which is only better than Rotherham and Charlton's - both sides who are marooned in the drop zone.

Indeed, Fulham have leaked as many goals this year as Bolton, who have spent the vast majority of the season paddling desperately in hope of an unlikely escape.

Almost half of those goals - 24 - have been conceded on home turf.

The Cottage has proved extremely charitable for opposing sides so far.

Fulham's record against promotion chasers this year

Put simply, it's not great.

Two defeats to Hull, a defeat to Burnley and a defeat and a draw against Derby.

Fulham have struggled to raise their game when they've come up against the league's pace-setters so far.

That said, they'll regard their point at the Riverside earlier this season as a very good one.

But Fulham have failed to beat any side currently in the top half of the Championship table, a woeful record that goes a long to explaining their lowly position.

Boro buoyed by promising midweek display

The groans were growing a little bit louder. Those groans stemmed from concern rather than anger, obviously, concern that Boro were allowing rivals back into it after putting themselves in such a fantastic position.

The result - but more importantly the performance - eased any concern on Wednesday.

Boro were excellent for long stages against Cardiff, taking the game to a side who were buoyed by a thrilling display of their own against Brighton just a few days earlier.

Boro should be the side buoyed now. They need to take that momentum forwards and prove, once more, they're the team to beat.

Cautious
Goals!

Fulham are dangerous. The fact they've hammered 51 goals so far this season is proof of that.

In Ross McCormack they have a striker who's already scored 18 goals this season. Throw the 12 from Moussa Dembele into the mix and you have a dangerous pair who've hurt many a side so far this season.

Tom Cairney is also enjoying a fine season from midfield, with seven goals to his name.

Fulham are woeful at one end of the pitch but lethal at the other.

"No pressure"

Aitor Karanka didn't have to think twice about his answer when asked whether he was surprised by Fulham's league position.

But it's that league position - 18th - which is what makes him believe Fulham will pose a threat on Saturday.

In Aitor Karanka's mind, Fulham have very little to play for from now until the end of the season.

The 18-point gap on the play-off means they have no chance whatsoever of bridging the gap to the top six.

But equally, their 10 point buffer on the drop-zone should be more than enough to ensure they don't get sucked in.

They're playing for pride and to impress the new boss. They're playing without pressure.

"They are playing for nothing because they are far from the relegation position," said Karanka.

"But those players playing without pressure is dangerous."

Keep your eyes peeled for marauding goalkeepers

It's unheard of for Dimi Konstantopoulos and this Boro side to concede four goals.

Yet that's exactly what happened in this fixture last season when Boro fell at one of the final hurdles.

Well, Dimi conceded four but wasn't between his posts for one of those goals, instead desperately attempting to cover the length of the pitch after joining the attack for a last gasp corner.

Aitor Karanka said he would do exactly the same again in the same situation.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that this season.


http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/woeful-fulham-record-boro-looking-10954565?

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Aitor Karanka has a very bright and shiny future', says Fulham boss ahead of Boro visit

Jokanovic played against Karanka in La Liga :: The former Watford manager says Boro have 'one of the most talented coaches in the league'


Slavisa Jokanovic and Aitor Karanka

Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic believes his Boro counterpart Aitor Karanka has "a bright and shiny future" in football management.

Karanka leads his troops to Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon with their Premier League dream burning bright.

Last season, Boro's automatic promotion hopes were effectively extinguished in west London after a 4-3 defeat against Fulham, but this time around Karanka's men can ignite their top two charge with a victory.

Ahead of the game, Jokanovic - who played against Karanka in La Liga - heaped praise on the Boro boss and says he will go far.

"He is one of the most talented coaches in the league, he has built a more solid team and a team headed for promotion," Jokanovic told GetWestLondon.

"Everyone in Spain knows Aitor Karanka, and he has a very bright and shiny future.

"He's built a very competitive team. I know him mostly as a professional, but there are people who know him better who have a high opinion of him."

Boro head to the capital in good spirits having ended their five-game winless run on Tuesday, but are searching for a first away victory in four.

Daniel Ayala (ankle) and Adam Clayton (suspension) are set to miss out, but Boro welcome Ben Gibson back from a one-game ban.

Meanwhile Jokanovic confirmed Richard Stearman will replace the suspended Fernando Amorebieta in the Cottagers' line-up.

"Richard is going to play in (today's) game and he can help us," the Serbian revealed.

"It wasn't an easy experience for him because he arrived to a new coach and was working with different players. But he's a professional and understands the situation."


http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aitor-karanka-very-bright-shiny-10956275?

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Fulham vs Middlesbrough FC: Dry trains back from London for Boro fans

Supporters will not be able to take alcohol on Virgin Trains East Coast services back from Kings Cross after Saturday's games

Boro fans travelling on trains back from London after the club's game with Fulham will not be allowed to have an alcoholic drink on board.

T-total (dry) trains are being implemented by British Transport Police after tomorrow's clash at Craven Cottage.

This means anybody found taking alcohol, or drinking it on board a train, will be deemed to be in breach of railway byelaws. In addition, booze will not be on sale on the train.

The move comes as both Middlesbrough and Sunderland play in the capital on the same day - Sunderland plays West Ham at Upton Park in a 12.45pm kick-off while Boro's match is at 3pm.

Saturday's ban is applied on the 5pm, 5.30pm, 6pm, 6.30pm, 7pm and 7.48pm Virgin Trains East Coast services and the 4.47pm and 7.11pm Grand Central service to Sunderland.

The restrictions apply between Kings Cross and Newcastle only.


http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-vs-middlesbrough-fc-dry-10957166?

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Jokanovic reveals McCormack plans at Fulham, believes he can do better

Ross McCormack signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal at Fulham on Thursday and manager Slavisa Jokanovic has big plans for the striker.

Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic has revealed his plans for Ross McCormack after the striker signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract on Thursday.

McCormack asked to leave the west Londoners in January, amid a £9m bid from Middlesbrough, according to the Daily Mail, but the move failed to materialise and the Teesiders signed Blackburn's Jordan Rhodes instead.

Despite Fulham's lowly position of 18th in the Championship, McCormack has again been the Cottagers' standout performer, scoring six more goals and providing two more assists in the league than any of his teammates (Moussa Dembele and Tom Cairney respectively).

   Position   Team   Goal Assist   Goals   Appearances   Mins Played
Ross McCormack   FW   Fulham   7   16   32   2,872
The former Leeds United striker, who cost the club £11m, per Sky Sports, hasn't scored in his last three, however, with Jokanovic of the belief he can be better than he is at present.

And despite McCormack having entered his 30th year, the former Watford boss hopes to build future Fulham teams around the Scotland international.

"As I say many times, he's our key player," Jokanovic told Fulham's official website. "We want to build the team around him. He's an experienced striker, he scores many goals every season.

"It's a great step for us, I believe it's a great step for him too, and all of us believe he can still be better than he actually is right now in this moment."

Fulham face Middlesbrough at Craven Cottage on Saturday, with McCormack no doubt be keen to show Aitor Karanka's men what they are missing.

Jokanovic and Karanka played against one another in Spain and went head-to-head in the dugout last season as the former steered Watford to promotion.


http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/02/26/jokanovic-reveals-mccormack-plans-at-fulham-believes-he-can-do-b/?

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Fulham v Middlesbrough – Match Preview

Fulham welcome Middlesbrough to Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon looking to build on a good run of form which has seen the West London club collect 7 points from their last 4 matches.

The Cottagers have an excellent recent record against Boro on home soil after winning 4 of their last 5 home contests against The Teessiders.

Fulham go into the clash without suspended defender Fernando Amorebieta while The Cottagers will also be without injured trio Marcus Bettinelli (knee), Lasse Christensen (hamstring) and Cauley Woodrow (metatarsal).

The visitors will again be without midfielder Adam Clayton who continues to serve a suspension while defender Daniel Ayala is also out with an ankle injury. There is some good defensive news for Boro with George Friend set to return to action after his recent shoulder injury.

The match promises to be a fascinating affair in West London as the Championship's top scorers go up against the division's best defensive unit. Fulham have scored a whopping 51 goals this season yet have a negative goal difference while Middlesbrough boast the Championship's toughest defence after conceding just 17 goals in 31 matches.

The same fixture last season ended in a 4-3 victory for Fulham with striker Ross McCormack completing a second half hat trick with the winning goal deep in stoppage time at the end of the match.


http://the72.co.uk/48750/fulham-v-middlesbrough-match-preview/?

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Cottage Industry: Boro Must Produce At Fulham

IT IS time for Boro to regain control of the promotion battle.

The win over Cardiff showed flashes of attacking intent and hunger with the new boys excelling and gelling and Boro looking like a team that realised the urgency of the situation. Now they go to "Ross McCormack's Fulham" needing to build on that.

Carpe Diem. Hull slipped up last night and while they dented Sheffield Wednesday's surge they threw away two precious points in a turgid display that would have led to the metallic rattle of pitchforks had Boro squandered such a chance to really open a gap at the top. Now Boro have two games in hand on them. And Burnley. And Brighton. They can't be wasted. And before we get to cash them in we need to turn the screw at Craven Cottage.


The Cardiff win was excellent and was vital on a night of raw emotion to rally the Boro faithful. Now, post-Marbs, post-window, post-wobble, post-state funeral and period of reflection, Boro have to seize the initiative again. No excuses. No room for error. We don't want to be dragged back into choking cut-throat scrum. We need a run of wins, preferably with morale-boosting polished performances and then we need to ruthlessly push to gain Championship escape velocity. Starting at inconsistent Fulham.

It will be tough. They all are. At Fulham have had a decent run at home. They are good going forward, we know that, but are vulnerable at the back and we have exploit that, get at them early, set the tempo on and apply some pressure. Give Ramirez and Rhodes the ball and let them do their thing. Get at their throats. I'm looking forward to it.

Usual drill: nail your colours to the mast and predict the score and how the game will pan out and then we'll regroup later for a debriefing. I think Boro can pick up where they left off against Cardiff and score goals. We only need four to catch Hull. Yes, an outrageously foam-handed notion. It is what Ali would have wanted.


https://untypicalboro.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/cottage-industry-boro-must-produce-at-fulham/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham v Middlesbrough: Boro boss Aitor Karanka well aware of Ross McCormack's threat


Ross McCormack is rated by Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka as one of the four best strikers in the Championship (Picture: Bruce Rollinson).

MIDDLESBROUGH today come face to face with the striker who, under different circumstances, could well have been leading their line in the shape of Ross McCormack.

The Scot, who this week signed a contract extension at Fulham, was heavily linked with a move to Teesside in the January transfer window, with the former Leeds United forward reportedly keen to return north.

But Fulham dug their heels in and refused to entertain the prospect of McCormack leaving, with Boro, in the event, having to concentrate all their energies on successfully pursuing Jordan Rhodes.


The ex-Blackburn striker is likely to line up for the visitors today in direct opposition to McCormack in a juicy subplot.

Boro's head coach Aitor Karanka says they along with David Nugent and Derby's Chris Martin provide the Championship's best four strikers – although the likes of Hull City's Abel Hernandez and Burnley's Andre Gray would query their omission.

On whether he rates McCormack as the most potent striker at a rival club, Karanka said: "Yes. I like McCormack and I like (Chris) Martin from Derby also.

"Apart from Jordan (Rhodes) and David (Nugent) – who are the best two – third and fourth can be Ross and Martin."

McCormack fired a hat-trick in a helter-skelter 4-3 win over Boro at Craven Cottage on the penultimate weekend of the 2014-15 season to end the Teesside club's hopes of automatic promotion.

The Spaniard added: "Ross has been scoring goals for I don't know how many years in a row. He is not alone because they have good players like (Mousa) Dembele."

On the possibility that last month's link with Boro could affect his performance on Saturday, Karanka added: "I don't know Ross (but) I have been here for two years and when I have seen him on the pitch, I don't think he will be affected by something like the talk in January."

Last six games: Fulham LDWLWD, Middlesbrough LLDDDW.

Referee: C Breakspear (Surrey).

Last time: Fulham 4 Middlesbrough 3; April 25, 2015; Championship.


Read more: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/middlesbrough-fc/fulham-v-middlesbrough-boro-boss-aitor-karanka-well-aware-of-ross-mccormack-s-threat-1-7753280#ixzz41MATNgI7

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The opposing side
by NICK on FEBRUARY 27, 2016

Boro finally returned to winning ways on Tuesday night against Cardiff City. With Hull, Burnley and Brighton all winning their games, it could have been a costly night in the race for the Premier League. However, it could prove to be the turning point Boro have been searching for after failing to win in their previous five Championship games.

Prior to the Cardiff game, thoughts were that of a fresh group of fixtures to focus on. After spending last week at a training camp in the sun, this was a great start to a busy schedule of fixtures.

For Boro fans, it would be great to see Jordan Rhodes find the back of the net at Craven Cottage, with the Scot failing to score in the previous two games. As the man brought in to score the goals, it's vital Rhodes remains confident and this will happen by scoring on the weekend.

The most important thing, however, is the 3 points. It's set to be a tough match by the River Thames with Boro looking for their first win in three away trips in the Championship. With a trip to Blackburn coming up in mid-week, now would be a great time for Middlesbrough FC get back to winning ways on the road.

Team news for Boro, ahead of the match at Craven Cottage, sees Ben Gibson return from suspension and likely to return to central defence, however his defensive partner, Daniel Ayala, is close but not ready for action. Adam Clayton is still suspended after picking up 10 yellow cards for the season.

Boro fans are hoping the attacking mentality shown in the win against Cardiff was just the start, of what will hopefully be a very successful run of fixtures in the lead up to Easter.

Score prediction – Boro 3, Fulham 1

Kick off at 3pm (GMT) at Craven Cottage today!


http://hammyend.com/index.php/2016/02/the-opposing-side/?

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3 things to look out for in the Fulham v Middlesbrough match

Just one of Saturday's ten Championship three o'clock kick-offs sees third place Middlesbrough travel to lowly Fulham, with the Cottagers wanting to capitalise on Blackburn dropping points in midweek against Derby.

'Boro, who have up to two games in hand on the sides around them, can go back to the summit tomorrow with a victory, providing other results go their way.

Currently just outside of the automatic promotion spots and three points off the top, Aitor Karanka's side will be hoping that ending their five-game winless streak on Tuesday will boost them to another victory on Saturday.

The home side, however, will be looking to put more distance between themselves and the relegation zone – currently at ten points. Their recent upturn of form, losing just one of their last four, has raised them to 18th place and they have been playing some good football, losing only to Blackburn Rovers in that time.

So, this game is important at both ends of the table.

Here are THREE things you should look out for during Saturday's match at Craven Cottage:

1) It's getting interesting at the top
At the top of the Sky Bet Championship, there are four teams separated by just four points.

Leaders Hull City have 64 points from 33 games, whilst Sean Dyche's Burnley trail by just two points after the 33 matches. Then comes 'Boro with 61 points from 31 fixtures, before we find surprise package Brighton in fourth with 60 points in their 33 games.

As we come to the business end of the season, all four will feel that their chances of playing in the Premier League are very good. But, as we know, only two can go up automatically, with one more via the play-offs.

Should Middlesbrough win on Saturday, their odds would shorten once more and they would have come out of their bad spell in a very good position, possibly first or second.

Who is going to come out on top?

2) Fulham are finally showing the potential they should have at the start of the season.
It's fair to say that if Fulham had played like they have in February throughout the whole season, then they would definitely not be looking over their shoulders now.

The recent form of Tom Cairney, with four goals and two man of the match performances in his last four games, has been spectacular, and they can finally knuckle down with business knowing the long-term future of their star man Ross McCormack is settled after the former Leeds man signed a long-term deal on Thursday.

Their young side is starting to perform now under Slavisa Jokanovic, who achieved promotion to the Premier League with Watford last season. Considering the turn around that Brighton have seen, and Leicester in the top flight, then Jokanovic has the potential to build a very good side at Craven Cottage with the core of his current Fulham XI.

But they need to solely focus on this season for now, and the game against Middlesbrough. If they play well, who knows what might happen.

Can Fulham pull of what would definitely be a massive shock?

3) Will Jordan Rhodes finally live up to his price tag?
The Scottish international has scored just once since his move to the Riverside, after starting twice and coming on from the bench twice for Karanka's men.

Yes, it isn't easy to relocate, especially in the middle of the season and be expected to fire your team to the league title straight away. But now he has been at the club for almost four weeks, will we see the Jordan Rhodes for Blackburn and Huddersfield finally show up for 'Boro?

There is no doubt that he has the potential to do so – after scoring ten goals for Rovers so far this term with questionable support from his team-mates. With the skill that Middlesbrough have the middle of the park, Rhodes should sooner or later start to fire in the goals again.

Fulham have a poor defensive record this season – despite the recent improvements – so Saturday's game could be the perfect tie for Rhodes to start breathing some confidence into his game.

Can Rhodes earn his team three points on Saturday?


http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/3-things-to-look-out-for-in-the-fulham-v-middlesbrough-match/?