Monday Fulham Stuff (08/05/17)...

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Reading Finish Third To Face Fulham

Reading wrapped up the regular league season with a 4-2 away victory at Burton Albion, to secure third place in the Championship and set-up meetings with sixth placed Fulham in the play-offs. Reading's remarkable season has seen them finish in the highest possible play-off spot, which is fair reward after the Royals spent a good part of the season in third spot without ever featuring in the top two.

The win at Burton sees Reading enter the play-offs with seven wins out of their final nine games. Fulham and Reading were the only play-off placed sides to win on the final day of the season, so it's fair to say the two in-form sides have been matched together. Both sets of fans are likely to think they have a very difficult path to the final.

The first leg of the play-offs will take place at Fulham's Craven Cottage on Saturday 13 May with a 5:30pm kick-off. The crucial deciding second leg will be at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday 16 May, getting underway at 7:45pm. The winner on aggregate will go on to the play-off final at Wembley Stadium on bank holiday Monday 29 May. Three games stand between the four contenders and a place in the Premier League next season, and surely Reading now have the same chance as the other three teams of making it all the way.

The win at Burton was a suitable ending to a season that has beaten all expectations. Jaap Stam opted for a strong line-up which featured essentially a first choice starting eleven with Paul McShane back from injury. The Royals raced into an early lead with goals from Joseph Mendes and Jordan Obita. Obita's cross-shot put the Royals firmly in the driving seat with just 21 minutes on the clock.

Yann Kermorgant is in the best goal-scoring form of the season, and probably his entire career. It was no surprise when he put Reading three goals up just after the hour mark. Burton, safe from relegation already, threatened to ruin the party with a late comeback but Grabban came off the bench to add Reading's fourth and secure the 4-2 win. -




See more at: http://www.royals.org/news/668/Reading_Finish_Third_To_Face_Fulham#sthash.tOLHSvGh.dpuf

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Report: Burnley chasing Brentford star and Fulham's £15m-rated midfielder Tom Cairney

Burnley are chasing two of the brightest stars in the Championship currently, Brentford's Jota and Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney.

A report in The Sun on Sunday (print edition; 7th May; pg 63) has suggested that Burnley boss Sean Dyche has earmarked Brentford playmaker Jota and Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney as potential targets for the summer.

The Clarets have all but guaranteed that they will be playing in the Premier League again next season, with six points separating Sean Dyche's men from the bottom three with Burnley boasting a significantly better goal difference.

And in preparation for another campaign at the highest level, Dyche has pinpointed two of the most talented players in the Championship currently.

The Sun on Sunday (print edition; 7th May; pg 63) has suggested that the Bees are bracing themselves for bids for the Spaniard and plan to trigger a one-year extension clause in his contract to ensure that they recoup as much money as possible should they end up selling.

Meanwhile, The Sun on Sunday suggests that Fulham - who could still be promoted to the Premier League through the play-offs - are likely to demand around £15 million for Cairney.

It is hardly a surprise that either man is on a Premier League club's radar. Both Jota and Cairney have scored 12 goals each in the second tier, while the former has also contributed five assists in his 21 appearances for Dean Smith's men.

Meanwhile, Cairney - formerly of Blackburn Rovers - has contributed 10 assists for the Cottagers, and his form has been a key reason why they have made it into the top six.



http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/05/07/report-burnley-chasing-brentford-star-and-fulhams-15m-rated-midf/

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Ten-man Owls have no answer as Matias sees red

PERHAPS the one saving grace is that Yorkshire has now seen the back of Fulham for another campaign.

The London club have enjoyed themselves considerably in the Broad Acres in 2016-17, which has seen them go five matches unbeaten and take 13 points from a possible 15.

And results yesterday at least ensured that they will not return to the county in play-off season. Sheffield Wednesday face White Rose rivals Huddersfield Town instead in the semi-finals and you sense that, from an Owls perspective, they will be grateful. Fulham, whose record in 2017 is the best in the Championship, have dined out at Yorkshire clubs' expense this season, with stylish and emphatic victories arriving at Huddersfield Town and Barnsley, where they displayed more than a hint of swagger. A win was also recorded at Rotherham United alongside a draw at Leeds United, where the hosts only earned a point thanks to a last-gasp equaliser. Yesterday's victory at Hillsborough against 10-man Wednesday – Marco Matias dismissed on the stroke of half-time – laid a ghost to rest as it was Fulham's first in the Steel City since April 1985. But you suspect that Slavisa Jokanovic is unlikely to read too much into the triumph, given that Wednesday will be a totally different entity should these two sides reconvene at Wembley in the play-off final on May 29.

The Owls' vastly-changed line-up – it remains to be seen if a missive from the EFL arrives in the post – hinted at where the club's priorities lie and while a final-day defeat ended a six-match winning sequence after what was an exemplary April, it did not arrive at any significant cost. As with their final game of the regular season last term, head coach Carlos Carvalhal made 10 changes with Kieran Lee being the only player who started in the victory at Ipswich Town last weekend, which rubber-stamped play-off participation. Glenn Loovens, Tom Lees, Fernando Forestieri, Daniel Pudil, Ross Wallace, Steven Fletcher and Fernando Forestieri were all given the afternoon off, representing a clear indication of the strength in depth that Carvalhal has at his disposal. Carvalhal said: "We wanted to involve the players not involved in the past weeks and we needed them to play to be ready for the play-offs.

"This is our priority and another priority was to try and protect the players from injuries and red cards for the play-offs. "It is a long marathon and an emotional one and sometimes players need one weekend to refresh. "We started well. But it is normal that players who have not played for a time see their energy come a little down after 30 or 35 minutes. We understand that and after Marco's red card against a team who have good control of the ball, it was more difficult. "But I was happy with the way we fought at the end. The score was not important and it was important to give my players time to be ready for play-offs. "We were not playing to achieve anything special and we did not want (key) players to play and maybe miss the semi-finals of the play-off. It is clear to understand."

The early signs were good with Sam Winnall's third goal since joining the club in January providing an uplifting moment in the ninth minute. Lee dispossessed Tomas Kalas and slipped in the former Barnsley striker, whose pinpoint angled low shot flew past Marcus Bettinelli for a sweet opener in his first taste of action since April 4. But that was as good as it got for Wednesday, who lost momentum after their presentable opportunity on an afternoon in which the activities lacked intensity and urgency and were the equivalent of shadow-boxing. Fulham upped the tempo when they had to and bossed possession for most of the second half, which saw them play with a man advantage after Matias's exit on the cusp of the interval. On his first start at Hillsborough since August 2015, the Portuguese winger made headlines for all the wrong reasons, with his poor scything challenge from behind on Sone Aluko displaying petulance in abundance and rightfully earning a red card. Earlier, Fulham, who sporadically displayed evidence of the beguiling pace and grace on the counter-attack that had dismantled Huddersfield a few weeks earlier, had drawn level with a neat 25th-minute strike from Neeskens Kebano. The Congolese forward turned in Denis Odoi's low cross from around 10 yards out, with Chris Martin and Lucas Piazon also going close before Matias's indiscretion just before the break. Given their prowess both in possession and on the break, the smart money was on Fulham finding a way on the restart and ultimately that is what transpired. The marauding Scott Malone hit the bar from close range soon after the resumption, while the lively Kebano also spurned an opportunity before a terrific saving challenge from Daniel Fox denied a certain goal for substitute Floyd Ayiete. Wednesday's best second-half chance by a country mile arrived at the feet of Vincent Sasso, whose shot flew straight into the grateful arms of Bettinelli following Sam Hutchinson's pull-back, with the Cottagers finally taking their chance on 79 minutes. Piazon's fine free-kick was glanced towards goal by Kebano and despite David Jones managing to clear, the referee deemed that the ball had crossed the line. Kebano was denied his hat-trick late on when Wildsmith turned his shot onto the crossbar as Fulham signed off with their 13th Championship win of 2017. Sheffield Wednesday: Wildsmith; Palmer, Sasso, Semedo, Fox; Matias, Hutchinson (Emanuelson 74), Jones, Lee (Buckley 61); Winnall, Rhodes (Nuhiu 77). Unused substitutes: Dawson, Reach, Hunt, Bannan, Nuhiu. Fulham: Bettinelli; Odioi, Kalas (Fredericks 68), Ream, Malone; Piazon, McDonald; Aluko (Ayite 61), Cairney (Parker 78), Kebano; Martin. Unused substitutes: Button, Cyriac, Johansen, Sessegnon. Referee: G Scott (Oxon).



Read more at: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/ten-man-owls-have-no-answer-as-matias-sees-red-1-8531532

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Tom Cairney: I was blown away by how physically blessed youngster dealt with Leeds

Tom Cairney has revealed how he has been blown away by the development of Fulham sensation Ryan Sessegnon this season.

The left-back, 16, has emerged as one of the outstanding young players in English football in a remarkable campaign in which all the elite Premier League clubs are beating a path to his door.

Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City have been heavily linked with big-money bids for the youngster, who does not turn 17 for another 11 days.

Sessegnon may still be on scholarship terms at Fulham but he is so highly rated among his peers that he was recently week named in the PFA Championship team of the season.

He has also been an integral player in the west London's side stunning Championship run-in, which ended with a place in the play-offs..

Fulham playmaker Cairney, who is also been eyed by the big clubs after having an excellent campaign of his own, has been staggered by Sessegnon's progress after he first served notice of his potential with an outstanding performance at Leeds at the start of the season.

"He's the most level-headed boy I've ever seen," Cairney told the Sun. "At the start of the season the manager put in him in at left-back away to Leeds. I remember thinking, 'This boy is 16 and it's Leeds away, how will he deal with it mentally?'

"But ever since then he's taken everything in his stride.

"He's physically blessed and I think he's going to go from strength to strength to strength.

"He's got seven goals from left-back this season which is incredible. To get in the Team of the Year at 16 – he's just done his GCSEs!

"I don't really understand it but it's one of them that comes round every so often. He could be the next Ashley Cole."

Sessegnon, who can play at both left-back and on the left wing, has made elite clubs sit up and take notice with his precocious Championship displays this season.

He has scored seven goals from 29 first-team matches in the campaign, including two in Fulham's stunning 3-1 win at Newcastle last month, and also weighed in with four assists, remarkable tallies for a player who is not only foremost a defender but also one who is so young.



http://www.footballinsider247.com/tom-cairney-i-stunned-teenager-dealt-leeds/