Saturday Fulham Stuff (14/05/16)...

[WhiteJC]

 
How ex-Spurs and Chelsea Scott Parker was persuaded to put off retirement and stick with Fulham - the inside word

Jokanovic likes the former England international - the England international likes the head coach and still wants to have a positive influence before he retires


Staying on: Scott Parker

Scott Parker's playing influence at Fulham is much more than minutes on a pitch - but remember the above? The boy's still got it.

However, the 35-year-old's pedigree shines just as bright at training and in changing room, and was a major factor for his boss in persuading the former England international to give it one more season before embarking on a coaching career.

That, and an explicit understanding Parker will be used sparingly in a demanding 46 game Championship season.

He made 90 minutes only seven times last season in 23 appearances affected by injury.

GetWestLondon also understands the club totem has enjoyed a head coach tougher and more practical than those who went before him.

Parker recognises the good and the bad in coaches, after all, he's known at least a dozen in his 19-year career, and wanted to leave football on a high after Slavisa Jokanovic equally recognised the spirit Parker brings to a Fulham side that's struggled over the last two seasons.

An earlier interview with Parker makes this plain.

"I definitely want to carry on working for myself really, just to get out and do something, and there is that part of me which likes dealing with people," Parker said.

"I like being around people, and that side of me can try and get the best out of people.

"As a player, as a captain, I felt I did that and now I will hopefully give it a go as a coach or manager one day.

"Whether it is working with them on a training ground, or dealing with a 16-year-old who has a problem I can help him out with. I get quite a buzz from that."


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/how-ex-spurs-chelsea-scott-11325100?

[WhiteJC]

 
Young Lions Advance

England Under-17s defeated Denmark 3-1 on Thursday to advance to the European Championship Quarter-Finals, with Dennis Adeniran and Ryan Sessegnon both playing the full 80.

Adeniran went close when he headed narrowly over from a corner, while the Danes squandered a one-on-one chance in the opening stages.

But it was the Young Lions who broke the deadlock after half an hour when Arsenal's Reiss Nelson grabbed his third goal of the campaign.

Sessegnon had the ball in the net moments later with a composed finish, but the flag was up to deny the Fulham man.

Chelsea's Mason Mount doubled the lead after the restart with a drilled strike from the edge of the box, and substitute George Hirst of Sheffield Wednesday made sure of the result late on.

Denmark pulled one back at the death but it mattered little as England ended up topping the group, sealing a Quarter-Final showdown with Spain on Sunday in the process.

Photo courtesy of thefa.com.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/may/13/young-lions-advance?

[WhiteJC]

 
Report: Fulham flop Kostas Mitroglou to complete £5.5m Benfica move next week

The Greek international has never made an impact at Craven Cottage.

In January 2013 Fulham won the transfer battle to sign Greek international striker Kostas Mitroglou, in an attempt to survive relegation from the Premier League.

He had notched 17 goals in 19 appearances for Olympiakos that season so hope was high at Craven Cottage.

However, Fulham boss Felix Magath was not a fan of the player and Mitroglou played just three times for the club.

The Fulham flop is now out on loan at Benfica and it is reported today that this deal will be made permanent in the coming weeks.

A Bola in Portugal is reporting today that Benfica will sign the player in the next week for €7 million (£5.5 million).

When Fulham signed the Greek international a little over two years ago he cost them £12 million, according to ESPN, so this represents a loss of around £6.5 million – not including any wages paid to the player.

Mitroglou, who spent last season back on loan at Olympiakos, has impressed with the Portuguese club. He has scored 22 goals in 42 appearances this season, including a run of seven consecutive games.

Regardless, Fulham will be pleased to be rid of one of their worst ever flops.



http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/05/13/report-fulham-flop-kostas-mitroglou-to-complete-55m-benfica-move/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Casper Stylsvig Appointed

Fulham Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Casper Stylsvig as the Club's Chief Revenue Officer.

Casper joins Fulham after holding senior posts at Manchester United, where he held positions of Head of Sales and Global Sponsorship Director, and FC Barcelona, where he was Business Development Manager. Whilst at Manchester United and FC Barcelona, Casper was responsible for securing lucrative sponsorship deals with a significant number of the biggest brands in the world.

At Fulham, Casper has responsibility for all off-field revenue streams, including: Sponsorship, Corporate Hospitality and Events, Ticketing, Retail and Public Catering. Based at the Club's Motspur Park Training Ground, Casper's appointment is in line with the Chairman's strategic aim to drive sales and increase revenue through all of Fulham's commercial divisions.

This morning Casper Stylsvig said: "I have joined Fulham at a very exciting time as the planning and preparation is in place to ensure the Club mount a real campaign on the pitch next season. Off the pitch we have enormous opportunity to grow commercially and build successful relationships with partners who understand the significance of the Fulham brand in their portfolio.

"Fulham is a historic football club with many unique characteristics that are immensely attractive for new and varied audiences. We will return to the Premier League and I am relishing the opportunity to ensure when we get there, that London's Original football Club has an array of impressive partnerships and new revenue streams that match its status."


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/may/13/casper-stylsvig-appointed?

[WhiteJC]

 
Volksbank Cup

Fulham's Academy players will conclude their 2015/16 season with a tournament in Germany this weekend.

An Under-19 squad has travelled to Stemwede in the north of the country where they'll compete in the Volksbank Cup.

In the first of three group games, Steve Wigley's boys will take on local side Mühlenkreis on Friday evening, before a double header against Colombian outfit Atlético Nacional and Italy's Sampdoria on Saturday.

The Semi-Finals and Final will then take place on Sunday.

A round-up of the tournament will be published on fulhamfc.com on Monday.

Fulham squad: 1. Magnus Norman, 2. Ryheem Sheckleford, 3. Tayo Edun, 4. Jerome Opoku, 5. Aron Davies, 6. Josh Smile, 7. Luca de la Torre, 8. Mikolaj Kwietniewski, 9. Josh Walker, 10. Stephen Humphrys, 11. Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson, 12. Moritz Jenz, 13. Taye Ashby-Hammond, 14. Marlon Fossey, 15. Cassian Thomas, 16. Isaac Pearce, 17. Elijah Adebayo, 18. Foday Nabay, 19. Josh Lukwata


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/may/13/volksbank-cup?

[WhiteJC]

 
Lasse's Olympics Prep

Lasse Vigen Christensen has been called up for the Danish Olympic team's preparation tournament in South Korea.

There, Denmark will face three other sides who will be competing at the Olympic Games in August; Nigeria on Thursday 2nd June, Honduras on Saturday 4th June, and South Korea on Monday 6th June.

The squad travelling to Asia will not necessarily be the one that heads to Brazil for the Olympics, with their coach Niels Frederiksen stating: "It's a great opportunity for me to see the players who are under discussion for the final Olympic squad against some nations that we very rarely meet.

"It will give us a good insight into what awaits us for the Olympics. It's really positive that I will have the opportunity to test them for three difficult matches."

Christensen will also train with Denmark's first-team squad at a training camp from 23rd May.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/may/13/lasse-vigen-christensen-olympics-prep?

[WhiteJC]

 
Trio Called Up

Fulham goalkeeper Jesse Joronen has been called up by Finland for friendly games against Belgium on Wednesday 1st June in Brussels and Italy in Verona on Monday 6th June.

Elsewhere, Joronen's fellow keeper Marek Rodák has been named in the Slovakia Under-21 squad for a Challenge Trophy tournament. This comprises of matches against Ukraine in Poprada on Wednesday 1st June and against England in Sutton on Sunday 5th June.

Finally, Moussa Dembélé has been included in the France Under-20 party for this month's Toulon Tourmanent, which takes place from 18th-30th May.

France play Group A fixtures against Mexico on Wednesday 18th May, Bulgaria on Friday 20th May, Mali on Tuesday 24th May and Czech Republic on Thursday 26th May. The Final will be played on Sunday 29th May.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/may/13/trio-called-up?

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham set for €7m striker deal after intense speculation

Flop Fulham forward Konstantinos Mitroglou is closing in on making his move to Portuguese giants Benfica a permanent deal, report A Bola.

He arrived in West London amid their relegation fight in 2014, though was unable to replicate the lethal form he displayed at Olympiakos and the Cottagers soon succumbed to relegation.

In fact, the Greek international was not at all of favour to then boss Felix Magath and played just a meagre three times after a hefty investment.

He soon returned to his former charges on loan, before moving to Lisbon over the course of the summer.

The 28-year old's form in the Portuguese capital had reportedly attracted the interest of Arsenal, though it is now believed he will make his move a more permanent arrangement.

It is claimed Benfica will shell out around €7m (£6.5m), representing quite the loss on the fee Fulham brought him to England originally for.


http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fulham-set-for-e7m-striker-deal-after-intense-speculation/?

[WhiteJC]

 
The Tony Gale Column

I know we were up against the side bottom of the league in our final game, but we had to go and get a win, and we did. So it was positive that we ended with a victory as that gives you a bit of momentum going into next year, but we'll still look back at the campaign as an underachievement. When you look at the league position, although we comfortably had a big enough points total to stay up, it still isn't good that we finished where we did. We know that our placing should be a lot higher than that, and the owner does as well.

Shahid Khan has said that he's going to support Slaviša Jokanović this summer, and he, in turn, has admitted that lots of changes are needed. I'd go along with that. Nobody can say the Chairman hasn't supported the manager, whoever it's been. All you want is a chairman who's going to back you, and that's what he's done. This pre-season and transfer window we need to be prudent with our signings, and you'd imagine there'll be a number of comings and goings before the new campaign kicks off. Slaviša has got the whole pre-season to get his ideas over and pattern of play, and then we've got to hit the ground running. That will be ideal for the team, and give the crowd a boost as well, because it's been a while since we've had a good season now.

I was pleased to see that Scott Parker signed a one-year extension this week. I like Scotty, he's a nice lad. It's important to have good pros in and around the Club, that's what it's all about. So as good as he is, I don't think Scott's been signed to another year just for his play, he's also been signed to have around the place, which is very wise because you need good pros who have been there, seen it, done it, and you need pros who reacted in the way that he did towards the end of the season. I don't think it was any coincidence that he was playing in the side when we had that good run of results that pretty much made us safe. You can tell he's got the respect of the players in the changing room, and you can't underestimate the influence that good pros have on young kids coming through. Scotty's a top pro, there's no doubt about it, so it's a good signing.

As it's my final column of the season, I thought I'd look ahead to the European Championship. If I was picking the team I'd go for a 4-3-3 formation. Obviously Joe Hart would be in goal, that goes without saying. Danny Rose would be my left-back as he's had a good season, and then Kyle Walker on the right, as in my team he'd be providing a lot of the width. Chris Smalling would be my first centre-back. Fair play to him for getting where he is now – it seems like only yesterday he was a young lad breaking through at Fulham. I would have gone for John Stones alongside him, but his form hasn't been too good lately so his Everton teammate Phil Jagielka gets the nod.

In the holding roles in midfield it would be Eric Dier and Jack Wilshere. I would start Wilshere because on his day he can be our best player. We need someone who can get on the ball and dictate the game, and he's still got plenty of time to reach peak fitness. I'd want one in front of those two, and that would probably be Dele Alli.

Harry Kane would definitely start up top, his record over the last two seasons speaks for itself. Jamie Vardy would come off the right, and you can't leave Wayne Rooney out so he'd be on the left. And what would happen is that front three would rotate. Every one of them can score a goal, which is what we need. They won't play as wide players, they'll be coming into central positions looking to cause problems, with the width coming from the full-backs.

How do I rate England's chances this summer? As good as anyone. I wouldn't underestimate us at all. Nobody likes to go overboard because we've been disappointed by England in the past, but we've got as good a chance as anyone because I don't think the calibre of teams is as strong as it's been in the past. The Germans aren't at their best, the Dutch didn't even qualify, France are maybe outsiders, but I think we're as good as anyone when you look at all the sides. If we can press the ball and play like we did in the recent friendly win over Germany, then who knows how far we can go.

It would be lovely for Roy Hodgson and Ray Lewington to have some success on the international stage. You can't meet two nicer guys. Claudio Ranieri has proved this season that nice guys can win, and Roy and Ray are just that. But don't mistake nice guys for people who don't know what they're doing in the job. They know exactly what they're doing, they're top class.


http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2016/may/13/the-tony-gale-column