Saturday Fulham Stuff (30/04/16)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Baird Targets Derby Joy

Chris Baird is well aware that Saturday's trip to Brentford is far from a dead rubber.

The Bees will be looking to cement a top-half finish, while Fulham want to put as much daylight as possible between themselves and the relegated trio of Milton Keynes Dons, Charlton Athletic and Bolton Wanderers.

But local bragging rights are also up for grabs, and Baird promises his side will be doing all they can to bounce back from the disappointment of the Nottingham Forest defeat last time out.

"That was disappointing," he admitted. "We had a few good results previous to that, but we don't want to finish 21st.

"There's a couple of games to go and if we can pick up results in those then hopefully we can pull away. It looks bad at the minute, but the most important thing is we're staying in the league, and hopefully pushing on next season.

"The pressure's off now those three teams have gone but we're not going to relax. We'll still be going out there and putting in 100 per cent and trying to get the result that we want.

"It's a derby game, and as a local derby it's always going to be feisty. It's going to be interesting; they've had a few different results themselves, winning a few and then losing on Tuesday.

"We're safe in the league but we're not going to go there and take it easy, we want to go there and get a result, especially after the Forest game.

"We'll be going there to work hard, there'll be a great effort put in by everyone involved, and hopefully we can get a win."

Baird re-joined the Club on loan in February in search of first-team football, but was ruled out for a month with injury after four appearances in the side.

And since his return to fitness, the form of Scott Parker and Rohan Ince has restricted him to a handful of substitute run-outs.

"The players have been playing well," Baird explained. "It may not look that way from the table's point of view, but individually there's been some really good performers, and it's been hard after my injury to get back in the team.

"Everyone wants to play every week, but that's not always going to happen. I'm here to work hard, and I've been doing that, and at the end of the day it's down to the manager who he picks."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/april/29/chris-baird-targets-derby-joy?

[WhiteJC]

 
Match Preview: Brentford vs Fulham

All the information ahead of Saturday's West London derby at Griffin Park

Match Details
Brentford vs Fulham
Sky Bet Championship
Griffin Park
Kick-off: 3pm

The Season So Far
Fulham Football Club travel a short way up the river to Griffin Park without a win against The Bees in their last three encounters. The reverse fixture in December was a narrow 2-2 draw after Jota's late header was ruled out for offside.

Last weekend, today's opposition secured their Championship status with Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and Milton Keynes Dons now relegated. This despite a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest, as well as a recent 5-0 thrashing at Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Cottagers went through another squad overhaul in the summer, adding a dozen players and saying goodbye to almost as many heading the other way.

Costa Rican forward Bryan Ruiz [Sporting Lisbon], Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg [Southampton], Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega [Akhisar B], young star Patrick Roberts [Manchester City] and pricey winger Kostas Mitroglou [Benfica] all left the club in July or August.

After goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli was injured, Joe Lewis [Cardiff City] was brought in as cover alongside Andy Lonergan at the start of this campaign. He was joined by Everton's Luke Garbutt, Bolton's Tim Ream and Tom Cairney of Blackburn Rovers as new faces in the dressing room.

The January window allowed The Whites to freshen up a squad in danger of slipping into trouble at the bottom of the table. Four new loan deals brought Michael Madl [Sturm Graz], Chris Baird [Derby County], Zakaria Labyad [Sporting Lisbon] and Rohan Ince [Brighton & Hove Albion] to the Club.
The Gaffer

Slaviša Jokanović became Fulham's seventh manager, including interim bosses, in three seasons when he was appointed in December. The 47-year-old gained managerial experience in Serbia, Thailand, Belgium and Spain before moving to Watford last season. Under his guidance they were promoted to the Premier League, but he left in the summer.

A defensive midfielder in his playing days, he spent the majority of his career in Spain and had two seasons with Chelsea before hanging up his boots. Slav was also capped six times for Yugoslavia before the breakup of the country, leading to 58 more caps for newly formed Serbia and Montenegro.

Match Officials
Referee: Mark Haywood
Assistant Referees: David Rock and Dean Treleaven
Fourth Official: Dean Whitestone

Ticket Information
Tickets for the match are still on sale to previous purchasers. You can hear live match commentary of the entire match on Bees Player from 2.30pm on Saturday, with commentators Mark Burridge and Natalie Sawyer.



Read more at http://www.brentfordfc.co.uk/news/article/brentford-host-fulham-in-the-sky-bet-championship-3085222.aspx#StbYvke2sKYWVPO2.99

[WhiteJC]

 
Brentford v Fulham derby: Important Pubs and Travel information

Saturday sees Fulham down at Griffin Park – having fully sold out their allocation of 1600 tickets. And with the ongoing "Bees Up Fulham Down" rhetoric flying around, it is bound to be a lively day.

Beesotted and BIAS met with the Met Police recently at Scotland Yard (cue the song "Informer" .. if you listen to the Pride Of West London podcasts you'll get the joke) to review the arrangements for the upcoming Fulham game, find out the drinking arrangements for home and away fans and report on any restriction of movement for fans.

The game will be as normal as it can be for a West London Derby – with a higher than normal level of police officers at this game than usual (a 25% increase on last season's level of policing for this match) to ensure that 'things go off smoothly'.

There is no restriction of movement planned for fans before the game – with supporters pretty much free to drink wherever they fancy before the game (bar The Globe and Inverness Social which are home fans only) and no streets being cordoned off.

After the match, there is a possibility that Brook Road South may be cordoned off to allow Fulham fans to exit down Clifton Rd towards Brentford station.

There is also a possibility that there may be a slight change in the queuing system for fans boarding trains at Brentford station. This will be put into place to ensure the safety of both supporters and ease of boarding the train.

It was noted that going onto the pitch is in principal against the rules and regulations and that remains the case for this match. However, it was also acknowledged that every season Brentford fans traditionally have a good-natured pitch invasion to celebrate the end of another exciting season. Not everyone goes on the pitch .. but a proportion of the younger fans do make their way onto the pitch regardless.

It was pointed out over the years that there had never had been any issues with the end of season pitch invasion – and police and authorities did not expect that would change would this season if it were to happen again.

With regards drinking in and around Brentford as we mentioned earlier, unlike in and around the Fulham area before the match, most pubs will be mixed – accepting both home and away fans before the match at least. The Globe and the Inverness Social are the only pubs which are enforcing a 'home fans and yer mates' policy.
Please see below for the relevant pub information.

Globe
Pre match:- Home fans only
During Match:- Home fans only
Post Match:- Home fans only

Griffin
Pre match:- Home and away with tickets
During match:- Shut one door and home fans with tickets.
Post match:- Home fans with tickets or regulars

New Inn
Pre match:- They will be home and away but only with tickets
During match:- They will clear the pub then home fans with tickets
Post match:- Home only with tickets

Princess Royal
Pre match:- Home and away fans
During match:- Home and away fans
Post match:- Home and away fans. They are going to close at 1830 as they will clear the pub for a disco at 1900

O'Riordens
Pre Match:- Accept both sets of fans
During match:- Accept both sets of fans
Post match:- Accept both sets of fans

Inverness Social
Pre match:- Home fans only that are regular members of the club
During Match:- Home fans only that are regular members of the club
Post match:- Home fans only that are regular members of the club.

Kings Arms
Pre match:- Accept both home and away fans
During match:- Accept both home and away fans
Post match:- Accept both home and away fans. They close at 1900 anyway

Beehive
Pre match:- Will accept both home and away fans
During match:- Will accept both home and away fans
Post match:- Will accept both home and away fans but will assess on the day
All other pubs will be mixed before and after the game

Please also note, the Army and Navy rugby game will be taking place at Twickenham on Saturday. This will mean that the traffic will be horrendous in that part of West London all morning and afternoon. Apparently South West Trains will NOT putting on any extra trains from Clapham/Putney down to Richmond and Twickenham (cheers!) and beyond so plan accordingly.

Should be a good Saturday out.
Enjoy


http://beesotted.co.uk/?p=18034

[WhiteJC]

 
Brentford v Fulham

BBC coverage
How to follow:
Listen on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio; text commentary on the BBC Sport website

TEAM NEWS
Brentford are unlikely to have left-back Jake Bidwell available after he injured a hamstring against Hull.

Another hamstring casualty, Lasse Vibe, is rated 50/50 and Marco Djuricin is doubtful with a bruised calf.

Even with relegation avoided, Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic says he will play the strongest team available.

Emerson Hyndman, Michael Madl and Tom Cairney returned to the starting line-up for the 3-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest and should keep their places.

MATCH FACTS
There has not been a league draw between the sides at Griffin Park since February 1987, with both sides winning four games apiece since then.
Fulham have won four of their last five games at Griffin Park in all competitions, though they lost the most recent one.
Brentford won their last game at Griffin Park (2-1 v Cardiff), but they've not won back-to-back home league games since December 2015.
The Cottagers have lost a league-high 28 points from leading positions this season.
Games involving Fulham have seen 141 goals this season (F65 A76), more than any other Championship side.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36118084

[WhiteJC]

 
Under-18s Head To Royals

Fulham's Under-18s will attempt to arrest a run of three straight defeats when they head to Reading on Saturday (11am).

Successive losses to Liverpool, Chelsea and Everton leave the Whites bottom of the Barclays U18 Premier League final phase table, but a win this weekend could lift Steve Wigley's side up to fifth.

Reading sit a point and two places above Fulham and are themselves without a victory in three games.

The two sides met twice in the initial set of South Group fixtures earlier this season. In October, a last-minute strike saw the Royals take the points with a 2-1 victory, but Fulham gained revenge in February with a 3-2 win thanks to goals from Stephen Humphrys, Dennis Adeniran and Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/april/29/under-18s-head-to-royals?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham striker reveals frustration but eyes strong end to the season at Brentford

The striker scored his first goal since August as Fulham fell to a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest last Saturday


Matt Smith of Fulham FC

Matt Smith admitted this season at Fulham has been the most frustrating time of his career as he has been forced to sit on the bench and watch Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele bag a hatful of goals.

The striker scored his first goal since August as Fulham fell to a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

The 26-year-old has been limited to a few minutes here and there over the course of the season, but he accepted that both McCormack and Dembele have been worthy starters.

He said: "They've been in terrific form. It's been the most frustrating period of my career bar none. I think I've played about 45 minutes in the past 20 games, so it's been very frustrating.

"You have to give credit to the two strikers who've been putting the goals away.

"I'd like to think that I can impact a game, so hopefully I'll get some more minutes in these last two games."


Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele celebrate

Smith is determined to end the season on a high note as Fulham travel to west London rivals Brentford on Saturday.

On paper, the contest should be high-scoring as games involving the Whites have seen the most goals, with the Bees in second.

"It's probably going to be 0-0," Smith joked when he heard the statistic. "Hopefully it'll be an exciting game and one we want to win.

"While the points mean nothing and we're safe, the points mean nothing to Brentford either. It's about personal pride and winning the west London derby.

"It's going to be a feisty encounter and one we want to come out on top of."

He added: "I'd like to say you'll see an exciting game, but players are playing for their futures out there.

"It's a case of addressing it as you would in any other game. There'll be no taking the foot off the pedal as it's about having a positive end to the season."

Smith knows the Fulham fans have been frustrated with how the season has gone, but believes the club has learned a lot over the course of the campaign.

He said: "It's been difficult for them. I'm sure they expected an easier route back into the Premier League.

"When I was growing up, Fulham were an established Premier League side. I can assure them it is equally as frustrating for the players.

"These two seasons have given us a bit more nous and understanding of what the division is about. It's very tough and requires a different kind of quality to the Premier League."


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-striker-reveals-frustration-eyes-11254973?

[WhiteJC]

 
Can Harlee come out on top in this local spat ?

This is it. Brentford v Fulham. The final Griffin Park game of the season. The final BBGiveaway from Kitman Bob (and what a giveaway it is.......). The final chance to #BeeTheDJ. The final chance to try and resist making the obligatory Richard Osman / Fulham pointless 'joke'. (Is that a piece of tumbleweed I see before me?)

We all know what this one means. It's a fixture which has provided Brentford fans with nothing but stunning memories these last few seasons.

Who could forget Harlee's absolute blockbuster to level things up at home last season where the centre back leathered a piledriver into the top corner from just inside the box?

It was a hammer blow that any player would have been proud of although we must also thank the Fulham defence who left him totally unmarked. Harlee had enough time to pick his spot, read the maker's name on the ball (Mitre, for the record) and wave to his girlfriend before leaving Bettinelli flapping at air.

How good would it be to see him do that again? Moreso after the, so called, 'twitter spat' of the last few days.

But if Harlee hit a screamer it was nothing compared to Jota. In the last minute. Naturellement.

Who needs words?

Jota – his winner against Fulham at Griffin Park was quite exciting

Life doesn't get better. Except it does.

Not one, not two, not three but four contenders for goal of the season followed in last season's encounter at Craven Cottage. 4-1 was beyond the dreams of most Brentford fans before kick off as Fulham were left on the wrong end of what the BBC have declared as a thrashing.

I still get goose bumps, even now, thinking about Stuart Dallas scoring his second goal – absolutely leathering it from about thirty yards out, straight and true to the top corner. It was a rocket of a shot that, equally, owes a huge debt to Andre Gray who held off three defenders before rolling it back out to the lurking midfielder.

I've rewatched it again this morning. And then once more use for luck. It really WAS that fantastic a goal.

This season, the trip to Craven Cottage 'only' saw two goals and a single point.

The linesman's flag denied Jota a winning goal as he was adjudged offside when given the freedom of the penalty box to make it 3-2 to the Bees. That the Spaniard had been granted more space than a professional footballer should have any right to expect his hardly his fault.

Whilst disappointing , relatively, Brentford fans were still left celebrating another game unbeaten against our near neighbours.Mores, given our goal tally had risen to 8 from 3 derby games.

For all we've had some incredible times, I'd still settle for an awkward and scrappy 1-0. The chance to consolidate our position above both Fulham and QPR, whilst making it 10 points out of 12 from game against the Cottagers since our return to the Championship would be a wonderful way to end our 'home' campaign.

Especially if we leave them, pointless.

Damn.

Can't. Resist. Crap. Joke

https://nickbruzonslastword.wordpress.com/2016/04/30/can-harlee-come-out-on-top-in-this-latest-local-spat/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Micky Mellon keen on Jack Grimmer
Micky Mellon would relish the chance to bring Jack Grimmer back next season – and says Shrewsbury Town may have to rely on the loan system again.

Fulham right-back Grimmer is one of six loans at Town with Sullay Kaikai, Larnell Cole, James Wallace, Kyle Vassell and James Hendry and has impressed in his 22 games.

Asked if he would like to bring the 22-year-old Scot back for a third stint, boss Mellon said: "Without a shadow of a doubt. Jack's a good player.

"But he's not my player. He's a Championship player and he gets Championship wages; we're Shrewsbury. So a little realism has to come into it as well."

From next season, a FIFA rule means players can only be loaned from window to window – August to January, or January to May – or for the entire campaign.

Mellon admits Town will probably have to lean on the loan market again.

"The best way Shrewsbury can win games is by getting good players and if that route has to be loans, that might be the way," he said.

"In an ideal world we'd have a squad of 18 to 20 fit 21-year-old Shrewsbury born-and-bred lads who have supported the club since they were born and only want to play for us.

"If Carlsberg built the perfect club, that's what it would look like, but that's not going to happen. That's what we're working towards."



Read more at http://www.shropshirestar.com/sport/shrewsbury-town-fc/2016/04/30/micky-mellon-keen-on-jack-grimmer/?#jU2iHU7TbSuZ5tgC.99

[WhiteJC]

 
3 things to look out for in the Brentford vs Fulham match

There's a fiesty West London derby taking place at Griffin Park on Saturday afternoon, as Fulham make the short trip to Brentford in the penultimate weekend of the Sky Bet Championship season.

Brentford go into the game sat in 10th place, and after their surprise inclusion in the play-offs last year, they will want to keep going in order to get as close to that place as they can.

They are four points behind 8th place Ipswich, and whilst it's out of their hands, two wins from here would signal a decent season for Dean Smith and his men.

Fulham, on the other hand, will be disappointed with their season, despite escaping relegation to the third tier. Owner Shahid Khan has said that boss Slavisa Jokanovic will be given funds in the summer to mastermind a charge for promotion next term, but the former Watford boss will want to start as he means to go on, and many players will be playing for their position next season.

The Cottagers are 21st in the league, on 48 points, although are just four points behind 15th place Reading.

So, here are THREE things to look out for in what should be a great West London derby.

1) Time for Moussa Dembele to shine?
With 15 goals and six assists from his 42 appearances this season, the 19-year-old has burst on the scene in what is a strange season at the Cottage.

Despite being overshadowed by the excellent Ross McCormack for the majority, Dembele has been linked with some top teams, including Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain. And he is in decent form too, with five goals and three assists in his last ten, but perhaps slightly surprisingly has only won man of the match twice all season.

Dembele himself will want to up his value amongst the bigger teams, and good performances in the final two games will certainly not harm his chances in doing that.

Will Dembele step up and make the difference come 3pm on Saturday?

2) Team News – no good news for Brentford
Smith will not be happy with the latest news coming out of the Griffin Park treatment room.

Left-back Jake Bidwell, who was injured in the recent game against Hull, is unlikely to be available for selection, striker Lasse Vibe is 50-50 and Marco Djuricin has a calf problem, and therefore is a doubt.

Fulham are in a better state, on the other hand. Following Tom Cairney, Michael Madl and Emerson Hyndman's return to the Fulham line-up against Nottingham Forest last weekend, they are all expected to be fit for the West London derby.

How important will these returns be to Fulham's chances in the match?

3) Young John Swift to be creator-in-chief for the Bees?
With Andre Gray having left for Burnley early in the season, Alan Judge out on a long-term basis and Lasse Vibe likely to miss out on Saturday, the creative workload is likely to fall to the feet of John Swift.

On loan from Chelsea since October, he has proved to be a fans' favourite at Griffin Park, but following an injury lay-off, has only made one appearances since mid-March.

His 61-minute run-out in the mid-week defeat to Hull should have got him up to speed, but his team will need him to get right back to some of the form he has shown earlier this season. Six goals and four assists shows that he can on his day.


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