Wednesday Fulham Stuff (01.09.10)

[WhiteJC]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11681_6351850,00.html?
Gera focused on football
Midfielder not surprised by rumours about his future

Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera admits he was not surprised his future was a source of discussion during the final days of the transfer window.

Gera is in the last year of his contract at Craven Cottage and had been linked with a move away from Fulham before Tuesday's deadline.

Liverpool, managed by former Cottagers boss Roy Hodgson, Sunderland and Werder Bremen had all been linked with bids for the 31-year-old.

And, following the Hungarian's brace against Port Vale in the Carling Cup last week, UEFA Champions League qualifiers Auxerre were also tipped to make an offer.

However, the window closed with Gera still at Fulham and the former West Brom man never gave his future serious thought.

"I've heard about the transfer gossip about me and I wasn't surprised at all that my 'possible departure' became a topic," Gera told Pepsifoci.

"But, as usual, I don't care at all about these articles.

"There were, and there will be, rumours like this in the future too, but I just want to concentrate on football and I want to prepare for the next game."

[WhiteJC]

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2010/09/01/arsenal-conned-by-fulham/?
Arsenal and Mark Schwarzer Conned by Fulham?
Did crafty Welshman play mind games with Emirates target?

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger missed out on signing Mark Schwarzer in a £4million deal – as Fulham failed to grab two possible replacement keepers.

The Gunners were turned down by their London rivals despite frantic negotiations about the veteran Australian until the last hour of the window.

Fulham were turned down by Crystal Palace when they made a move for Argentinian Julian Speroni – with the Eagles looking for a £1.5m fee.

And then an attempt to land Brazilian keeper Alexander Doni from Roma on loan for the season could not be done in time, leaving Schwarzer frustrated by the late collapse. (Daily Mirror)

Like most Arsenal fans I am quite concerned that Arsene Wenger failed to bag a keeper before the transfer deadline passed and like most of my fellow supporters I can only hope that Manuel Almunia is a stable pair of hands for the coming months and that he manages to prove his many doubters wrong rather than pulling off blunder after blunder. I am also asking myself some other questions.

We were told that Fulham had started to look at bringing in alternative keeping options yesterday. That Mark Hughes was hoping to first to buy Palace man Peroni and then failing that attempting to get Brazilian Doni on a season long loan, both 'bids' failed.

I have to then ask. What happened to the Craven Cottage boss's stance on Mark Schwarzer. All the way through the last couple of weeks he had stated that he didn't want to sell the 37 year old Australian international, a stance I could respect. The stance that one would expect from a boss looking to keep his best performers. Obviously we made a bid because we wanted him but it failed.

So why then was the Welshman scurrying around for a new keeper on deadline day? Or more accurately, was he scurrying around at all? If Hughes really wanted to bring in another keeper then I would imagine he would have started pushing for a new capture a lot sooner. Were his attempts to bring in a new custodian merely a way to make Schwarzer feel that his boss was trying to accommodate his desire for a 'dream' move to the Emirates?

Seems awful fishy to me. Somewhere along the line we are supposed to believe that Hughes was ready to sell us the player he has specifically said he didn't want to sell? Well its clear he wanted Shay Given but that deal fell through but then all that crazed fumbling (not talking about Flapianski) came to nothing because lo and behold Fulham failed to nab another keeper and Schwarzer is still at the club. Were these simply mind games? If they were then the former United striker can thank his former boss for teaching him the tricks of the trade.

Mere conspiracy or could I have a point?

[WhiteJC]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11681_6351965,00.html?
Hercules secure Drenthe deal
Versatile Dutchman joins on loan from Real Madrid

Real Madrid have let Royston Drenthe join Hercules Alicante on a season-long loan deal.

The left-sided Dutch player was free to leave Real after being told he did not feature in Jose Mourinho's first-team plans.

The 23-year-old is thought to have rejected a move to Monaco while Fulham were also linked with the former Feyenoord man, who joined Real after being named player of the Under-21 European Championship in 2007.

But newly-promoted Primera Liga side Hercules have secured Drenthe's services until the end of the season.

Drenthe has been a bit-part player since his arrival at the Bernabeu in 2007 and made only 10 appearances last season, including just three league starts.

The Drenthe deal comes hot on the heels of the permanent signings of French star David Trezeguet and Paraguay striker Nelson Valdez this summer.

The ambitious Alicante outfit are eager to secure their Primera Liga status as they prepare for just their second top-flight campaign in 24 years and their first since being relegated in 1996/97.

[WhiteJC]

http://hammyend.com/index.php/2010/09/lets-hear-it-for-the-new-boys/?
Let's Hear It For The (New) Boys!
by GATESY on SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

So the transfer window slammed disappointingly shut last night. No major moves of note, and who would have thought Sunderland would have been the big spenders? With a total of around £250m spent by top flight clubs this transfer period this has been the quietest since 2006.

At the Cottage we bode farewell to Konch and waved a friendly hello to Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic from Liverpools reserve side. Now, the Observer claim that these signing are somewhat of a coup for us, but who exactly are they?

Dalla Velle is a young Finnish forward. He played in the Reds Youth team which reached the final in 2009. According to media reports there was some interest in the past from both Barcelona and Ajax in signing him. For a youth system which has seen both Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen pass through it in recent years, when a Liverpool Academy scout says "I would say he is the most natural finisher in the history of our academy," you should probably take note. Finnish sports magazine Urheilulehti has named him as "ultimately one of the most talented Finnish players of all time" (and we've seen Shefti Kuqi play so that's high praise!)

Kancaniklic is a Swedish left winger who also played in the Youth Cup final time in 2009. "Alex is a clever, close dribbler whose delivery of the ball into the box is very good." said Liverpool Academy Manager John Owens. Promoted from the academy to the reserve side after just two years it was thought on Merseyside that he has what it takes to make the step up to Premiership level football.

Who remembers the last hot prospect we got from Liverpool? Christopher Buchtmann. Signed by Roy he was trumpeted as being something special for the future. But as is somewhat traditional with Fulham's young players he didn't live up to what was promised. A year younger than Dalla Velle, Buchtmann signed an 18 month contract with us in January this year but left us without much noise being made in the summer for him to return home to Germany. Incidentally, where he plays at Koln alongside former Fulham fans favourite Pierre Wome.

[Chopper]

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2010/09/01/arsenal-conned-by-fulham/?
Arsenal and Mark Schwarzer Conned by Fulham?

Hilarious. My disdain for fans of the "big" clubs could not get any greater!

[WhiteJC]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/8880/spurs-pulled-plug-bentley-switch-fulham?
Spurs pulled plug on Bentley switch to Fulham

David Bentley's proposed loan move to Fulham fell through because Tottenham thought they had missed out on Rafael van der Vaart.

The Cottagers made a late move on deadline day to sign Spurs midfielder Bentley on a season-long loan

At the same time, Spurs were frantically negotiating to bring Dutch playmaker van der Vaart to White Hart Lane - first on loan and then on a permanent £8m deal.

With just half-an-hour before the transfer window closed, Spurs thought their move for Van der Vaart had failed and they pulled the plug on Fulham's attempts bring in Bentley.

Bentley, 26, who is currently on his way back from an ankle injury, was keen to re-unite with Mark Hughes, who he worked under at Blackburn before his £16m switch to London two years ago.

Harry Redknapp still doesn't know whether the Dutchman has signed - a Premier League boardroom meeting to discuss the transfer took place early on Wednesday morning and Spurs remain in limbo.

[HatterDon]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/8880/spurs-pulled-plug-bentley-switch-fulham?
Spurs pulled plug on Bentley switch to Fulham

David Bentley's proposed loan move to Fulham fell through because Tottenham thought they had missed out on Rafael van der Vaart.

The Cottagers made a late move on deadline day to sign Spurs midfielder Bentley on a season-long loan

At the same time, Spurs were frantically negotiating to bring Dutch playmaker van der Vaart to White Hart Lane - first on loan and then on a permanent £8m deal.

With just half-an-hour before the transfer window closed, Spurs thought their move for Van der Vaart had failed and they pulled the plug on Fulham's attempts bring in Bentley.

Bentley, 26, who is currently on his way back from an ankle injury, was keen to re-unite with Mark Hughes, who he worked under at Blackburn before his £16m switch to London two years ago.

Harry Redknapp still doesn't know whether the Dutchman has signed - a Premier League boardroom meeting to discuss the transfer took place early on Wednesday morning and Spurs remain in limbo.

WE WILL NEVER, REPEAT NEVER, GET A TRANSFER FROM SPURS WHILE REDKNAPP IS IN CHARGE  :019: