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Sunday Fulham Stuff (14/05/17)...

Started by WhiteJC, May 14, 2017, 08:34:31 AM

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WhiteJC

 
Go For It Jokanovic – This 22-year Old Italian Defender Could Be A Sensible Signing For Fulham This Summer


Francesco Vicari

Why Fulham Should Sign Francesco Vicari In The Summer

With their excellent Championship campaign still going ahead, Fulham are already looking to the summer and are thinking about completing a deal for SPAL centre-back Francesco Vicari.

Fulham's attacking play has been tremendous this season and their carefree approach has led to them being the joint top scorers in the league this season.  That swashbuckling style, however, can often land them in trouble at the back, so a typically robust Italian defender could be just what the side needs.

Tim Ream's experience at the back has been important this season but they'll need more than one calming influence back there next season, whichever league they are in. Vicari could provide that with the 22-year-old former Novara man having now played 100 first team games, all in an environment where defence is king. Not surprisingly, Vicari has received a couple of red cards in his time in Serie B too but one straight red in 100 games plus a dismissal for two bookings is probably not as bad as it could have been.

Tomas Kalas has been playing regularly alongside Ream this term but is only on loan from Chelsea. With the Czech Republic defender due back at Stamford Bridge at the end of the month, Fulham will need to act quickly to replace him and preferably on a permanent basis. Slavisa Jokanovic would be all too aware that, should they manage to keep most or all of their attacking talent, the forward areas will take care of themselves. He'd know that it's the central defensive area which needs special attention.

Austrian Michael Madl may stay at the club but doesn't appear to be the long-term answer at centre-back while exactly the same can be said of Ragnar Sigurdsson. With this in mind, along with the impending departure of Thomas Kalas, Fulham may need to bring in more than one centre-back for the challenges next season and so they cannot afford to pass up a good opportunity.

Players like Vicari by their very nature are enigmas. On one hand, they may not handle the speed of English football and can turn out to be disastrous signings. On the other though, they may prove to be defensive rocks and can be bought for very small fees. If Fulham sign Vicari, they could be bagging a great value defender.




http://soccersouls.com/2017/05/14/go-for-it-jokanovic-this-22-year-old-italian-defender-could-be-a-sensible-signing-for-fulham-this-summer/

WhiteJC

 
Reading FC skipper Paul McShane was sent off in the Royals' 1-1 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage

READING FC: Danny Williams accuses referee of giving into the crowd after Paul McShane's play-off dismissal

DANNY Williams accused referee Stuart Attwell of being intimidated by Fulham FC supporters before showing Reading FC captain Paul McShane a straight red card in tonight's play-off semi-final.

Royals took a share of the spoils in the first leg after Tom Cairney responded to Jordan Obita's stellar opener at Craven Cottage.

The pressure was on however and Reading had to see out the last 11 minutes of the game with 10 men after skipper McShane lunged into a challenge and brought down Kevin McDonald.

But USA international Williams suggested Attwell had first reached for a yellow card before consulting with his assistant and sending McShane down the tunnel for an early bath.

"It was a tough and intense game," asserted Williams.

"The red card didn't help. I don't know if it was a straight red.

"Macca comes in a bit late but he's come from the front and McDonald goes down.

"He's a smart player, I would have done the same thing.

"The referee was intimidated by the crowd, he reached for a yellow first then he spoke to the linesman and gave the red.

"It was tough but the boys dug deep and that's a big compliment to them. They showed great character again and now it's down to us to make it happen on Tuesday."

Reading went into the game as outsiders – according to bookmakers – despite finishing above Fulham in the Championship table.

The Royals did not let the pre-match talk get the better of them and looked calm and composed on the ball before eventually taking the lead in the 53rd minute.

And Williams insisted the players were full of confidence throughout the match.

"I've said already that we have already overachieved this season," he continued.

"There is no pressure on us.

"If you told the fans we would finish in the top six, third actually above Aston Villa and Newcastle, then they wouldn't have believed you."

Fulham levelled the scores when Ali Al-Habsi's save rebounded straight to the unmarked Cairney, who nodded home from close range.

But Reading will take plenty of positives from the ground they were on the receiving end of a 5-0 thrashing at back in December.

And Williams wants his team-mates to give their all on Tuesday to rocket the Royals to Wembley for the play-off final.

"We have three days to rest our legs," he asserted.

"Recovery is key now.

"But that's like every other week in the Championship so it's the same routine.

"We would have taken a point, we would have taken anything but losing.

"We have to be switched on. Obviously the boys can be happy with today's result but not too happy because nothing is won yet.

"I think I prefer 1-1 to winning 1-0 because if you go into Tuesday with a lead then there is a tendency to lay back a bit.

"The boys need to stay sharp."

Reading Chronicle:

Williams wants Reading to go into Tuesday's match with confidence.

Should Tuesday's match end in a draw, the players will face extra time and possibly even penalties.

Both Reading and Fulham have a dismal record from the spot this season, missing seven each.

Fulham's Chris Martin missed a one at the Madejski Stadium back in January, squandering a golden opportunity to level the score line.

And Williams revealed Reading are yet to practice their spot-kicks.

"If it goes to penalties that makes it even more fun," he added.

"That's what the fans want to see.

"We've shown at home we can win against any team.

"It will be tough and we know that.

"(If it goes to penalties) I don't know if it comes down to luck or who is calmest.

"We haven't practiced them yet."




http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/football/15284656.READING_FC__Danny_Williams_accuses_referee_of_giving_into_the_crowd_after_Paul_McShane_s_play_off_dismissal/#articleContinue


WhiteJC

 
'It was handball, the referee made a mistake' - Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic says Reading goal should not have stood

Danny Williams handled the ball in the build-up to Jordan Obita's goal

Slavisa Jokanovic says referee Stuart Attwell made a "costly mistake" during Fulham's 1-1 draw with Reading.

An entertaining Championship play-off semi-final first leg ended all square after Tom Cairney cancelled out Jordan Obita's opener.

But the Whites boss felt the visitors' goal should not have stood.

Stefan Johansen felt he was fouled in the middle of the park, before Reading's Danny Williams was then sent tumbling to the floor.

Neither was signalled as a foul by referee Attwell, but Williams felt he should have had a foul and clearly handled the ball on the floor before Reading broke and eventually scored through a fine left-footed Obita strike.

The Fulham manager was not impressed.

He said: "It can be a free-kick. They touched the ball with a hand. It's a physical, complicated game.

"Sometimes referees make mistakes. It was a costly mistake for us."



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/it-handball-referee-made-mistake-13031981


WhiteJC

 
Cairney keeps Fulham believing
by Dan on May 14, 2017


That rarest of things – a Tom Cairney header – kept Fulham's Wembley dream alive after a tempestuous Championship play-off semi-final first leg ended with the Whites and Reading level pegging. For a while, it appeared as if the Cottagers' play-off hoodoo would strike again, especially once Jordan Obita had rocketed the Royals in front with their first shot on target of the contest, but Fulham are far from the fragile side Slavisa Jokanovic inherited back in December 2015. Their feisty response to going behind demonstrated the character that carried them into the top six and it was fitting that Cairney, who has blossomed in the league's leading creative force since being handed the Fulham captaincy, both started and finished the move that drew the home side level.

Jokanovic would have felt that his side should have gone on to establish an advantage ahead of Tuesday's return leg at the Madjeski Stadium, especially when Reading skipper Paul McShane was shown a straight red for a horrid lunge at Kevin McDonald, but parity sets the stage for an intriguing denouement in Berkshire. Jaap Stam's side have only lost two home league games all season, whereas Fulham often appear far more suited to the counter-attack and have been one of the division's strongest performers on the road.

Reading eschewed the open and expansive approach that had seen them ripped apart at Craven Cottage in December, instead appearing to opt for a combination of cynicism and physicality designed to disrupt Fulham's flow. That it worked so successfully was in part down to the laissez-faire approach of Stuart Attwell, who declined to book four Royals offenders for robust challenges inside the first fifteen minutes, including Danny Williams, who had been dismissed on his last visit. When the official did eventually caution John Swift it was for egregious time-wasting ahead of a Reading corner, something that Attwell had allowed to occur from the fifth minute.

Fulham began cagily, something encapsulated by an almost calamitous collision between Tim Ream and Tomas Kalas that almost let Lewis Grabban sprint through on goal, and there were only fleeting flashes of the fluent football that had earned a play-off spot. The recalled Floyd Ayite and Scott Malone linked up down the left to fashion a glorious chance that Sone Aluko stubbed wide and Malone then lifted his own effort over the Putney End crossbar. Cairney, who lingered on the periphery of proceedings for much of the first period, curled an early sighter wide of Ali Al-Habsi's far post.

Jokanovic opted for Chris Martin as his lone forward and the Scottish international fought a running battle with Reading's three centre halves, with his lay-offs and link-up delivering crucial territory but little penetration. Ayite scampered away down the left in first half stoppage time but snatched at his shot and Fulham's profligacy in front of goal would be punished after the interval.

The home side were incensed that Attwell ignored both a clattering challenge on Stefan Johansen and a clear handball by Williams, but Fulham's defence was still far too easily parted by McShane's determination to carry the ball deep into enemy territory and when the centre back threaded a threatening pass into the path of the overlapping Obita, the wing-back rifled an unstoppable finish across Marcus Bettinelli and into the net via the inside of the far post. Suddenly, the Royals were buoyant and Yann Kermogant, the sort of striker from whom a moment of brilliance is not far away, almost doubled the lead with an ambitious dipping volley that barely cleared the crossbar.

Fulham's riposte was rousing. Martin pounced on a Reading defensive lapse and found the marauding Stefan Johansen, whose venomous shot was fielded by Al-Habsi. Jokanovic then threw on Neeskens Kebano, whose eager running immediately unsettled the Royals defence, and Cairney began to dictate matters from a more advanced midfield position. He sprayed a sensational one-touch pass out to Malone down the left and kept on running, becoming the beneficiary when Al-Habsi couldn't hold the left back's ferocious drive – heading past the goalkeeper from close. Reading had led for less than eight minutes.

Fulham couldn't fashion a second in an absorbing finale that was sparked by McShane's senselessly high tackle on McDonald. Ayite ballooned a drive into the Hammersmith End and, in the final minute of added time, Ryan Fredericks sent the most inviting of crosses across the face of goal – and no-one in a white shirt had gambled to be able to apply the finishing touch.

FULHAM (4-1-2-3): Bettinelli; Fredericks, Malone, Kalas, Ream; McDonald; Johansen, Cairney; Aluko (Cyriac 87), Ayite, Martin (Kebano 61). Subs (not used): Button, Odoi, R. Sessegnon, Parker, Piazon.

BOOKED: Malone, McDonald.

GOAL: Cairney (65).

READING (5-3-2): Al-Habsi; Gunter, Obita, McShane, Moore, Blackett; D. Williams, Evans, Swift (van der Berg 74); Kermogant, Grabban (Mendes 68; Illori 82). Subs (not used): Jaakola, Beerens, Popa, McCleary.

BOOKED: Swift, Kermogant.

SENT OFF: McShane (82).

REFEREE: Stuart Attwell (Nuneaton).

ATTENDANCE: 23,717.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/05/cairney-keeps-fulham-believing/

WhiteJC

 
Ryan Fredericks insists Fulham are still confident going into second leg tie against Reading

Tom Cairney got the goal to peg Reading back after Jordan Obita gave the away side the lead in the second half of the tie

Ryan Fredericks says Fulham haven't written themselves off and are confident going into the second leg after their 1-1 draw in their Play-off first leg tie.

Jordan Obita gave Readng the lead before Tom Cairney capitalised on a mistake by Ali Al-Habsi to nod in the equaliser in a game where Jaap Stam's side did a job on the hosts.

They didn't allow Fulham to play their usual style of football and pressured them high up the pitch, not allowing them time nor the ability to use the wings in either half.

The one time they did, however, Scott Malone found the cross that lead to the Fulham goal and Fredericks is confident his side can still do the job, despite going up against a side who have only lost twice at home all season.

He said: "We haven't written ourselves off and we have the second best away form in the league and they're going to have to come out.

"We're good on the counter attack and the game is still widely open and we fancy ourselves going into the second leg.

"The last ten games or so we've been playing the style the gaffer wants and beaten most teams we've played so as long as we keep playing our game and doing what we work on in training we shouldn't have any problems winning it.

"They set up well and I think they slowed it down whenever they had the chance, they're probably thinking they'd take a draw from the game and take it back to their place and will be confident.

"We knew we were in for a tough game, they finished third in the league for a reason and I have full respect for Reading and how they set up and play but it's our job to go and beat them."



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ryan-fredericks-insists-fulham-still-13031812

WhiteJC

 
Jokanovic – Fulham can win on Tuesday
by Dan on May 14, 2017


Slavisa Jokanovic insisted Fulham can go to the Madjeski Stadium and win on Tuesday after ten-man escaped from Craven Cottage with their play-off semi-final level following yesterday's first leg.

The Serbian head coach believed Fulham were the better side and that Tom Cairney's close-range header, which swiftly cancelled out a stunning strike from Jordan Obita, was the least his team deserved. Jokanovic told his post-match press conference after the final whistle:

    We cannot be completely satisfied. We didn't win the game but that happens to normal teams. I was expecting a hard, tough game. We found this to be the situation on the pitch, I believe we deserved to score some more goals and win the game but the result is a draw and everything is open for the game we are going to play on Tuesday night.

The Fulham boss felt that Reading's opening goal could have been ruled out for a handball in the build up by Danny Williams.

    It could have been a free-kick, they definitely touched the ball with the hand, and it's a physical, complicated game. Sometimes referees make mistakes and this time was a costly mistake for us but we must prepare, we must be strong and be ready for what we are going to find on Tuesday night.

He was quick to praise his players' reaction to going behind, though.

    Okay, we showed direction and we were not scared after they scored the goal. To be honest they didn't give us a lot of space to play today and they pressed us so hard.

    To be honest they didn't give us a lot of space to play today and they pressed us so hard. We kicked the ball so many times, so many long balls for Chris Martin. In the second half we started to find a little bit more space and we definitely found a bit more after the sending off. We started to move the ball from one side to the other and in the game we created many chances, but we were not clinical enough.

    I believe we could have won the game but this is normal. I didn't expect for us to win 5-0 like we did in December. It's Reading's choice of what they do, without giving us space for combinations immediately they started to look to play behind our centre backs.

    There were many times where they tried to find these gaps behind our defenders and I expect them to try something similar in the away game. We have to be strong and believe in the possibility to push hard on Tuesday night.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/05/jokanovic-fulham-can-win-on-tuesday/


WhiteJC


Fredericks full of confidence for second leg
by Dan on May 14, 2017


Ryan Fredericks is full of confidence that Fulham can book a place at Wembley for the Championship play-off final by beating Reading at the Madjeski Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The Whites head into the second leg level pegging thanks to Tom Cairney's second half header and Fredericks, who was a barnstorming presence on the right wing during the second half yesterday, believes that Fulham's excellent away record during the league run-in will stand Slavisa Jokanovic's side in good stead.

Fredericks told GetWestLondon's Fulham reporter Ryan O'Donovan after the final whistle yesterday:

    We haven't written ourselves off and we have the second best away form in the league and they're going to have to come out [and play]. We're good on the counter attack and the game is still widely open and we fancy ourselves going into the second leg.

    The last ten games or so we've been playing the style the gaffer wants and beaten most teams we've played so as long as we keep playing our game and doing what we work on in training we shouldn't have any problems winning it.

    They set up well and I think they slowed it down whenever they had the chance, they're probably thinking they'd take a draw from the game and take it back to their place and will be confident. We knew we were in for a tough game, they finished third in the league for a reason and I have full respect for Reading and how they set up and play but it's our job to go and beat them.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/05/fredericks-full-of-confidence-after-second-leg/

Bill2

Who is the idiot Williams who reckons the McShane tackle was jut about worthy of a yellow. It was a straight red the whole way. While I expect these people to look at Reading's performance through rose coloured glasses a little bit of honesty would not go amiss for that sort of incident

SP

Quote from: Bill2 on May 14, 2017, 11:06:22 AM
Who is the idiot Williams who reckons the McShane tackle was jut about worthy of a yellow. It was a straight red the whole way. While I expect these people to look at Reading's performance through rose coloured glasses a little bit of honesty would not go amiss for that sort of incident

Crazy.  The report confirms my suspicion that the ref intended to show a yellow, thank goodness the Lino had a decent view.


General

Quote from: WhiteJC on May 14, 2017, 08:40:22 AM

Fulham v Reading: How did Derby County striker Chris Martin do in play-off semi-final?

Derby County striker Chris Martin started up front for Fulham in their Championship play-off semi-final against Reading on Saturday night.

Martin, on loan at Fulham from the Rams until the summer break, was largely anonymous as the Whites drew 1-1 with Reading.

The striker was replaced by Neeskens Kabano after an hour at Craven Cottage.

At that stage, Reading were leading 1-0 thanks to Jordan Obita. His low strike from the corner of the box hit the inside of the post and went in.

Within three minutes of Martin being replaced, Fulham had drawn themselves level as Reading goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi could only parry out Scott Malone's cross to Tom Cairney who headed home.

Reading's Paul McShane then saw red with just 11 minutes to go as he went in studs-up and over the top on Kevin McDonald.

Despite being a man light, Reading saw out the game to leave it all to play for at the Madjeski Stadium.



Read more at http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/8203-fulham-v-reading-how-did-derby-county-striker-chris-martin-do-in-play-off-semi-final/story-30330721-detail/story.html#MipPuMP7OEMkwLcl.99

Even the Derby Telegraph have noted he was anonymous. Come on Slav - keep him away from the first team. He's going to leave in the summer anyway and why risk losing out on promotion over playing a guy who wont be here next season.