Sunday Fulham Stuff (09/07/17)...

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West Ham to face Championship Fulham in pre-season match

West Ham have added Championship side Fulham to the list of clubs they will face during pre-season.

The two sides will meet on Thursday 20th July in Austria as part of the Hammers tour of the country.

This is now the fifth confirmed game West Ham will play in whilst visiting Germany and Austria. The other games are against Sk Sturm Graz, Werder Bremen, Altona 93 and finally fellow Premier League side Manchester City on the 4th August.

The Manchester City game will be the first opportunity Pablo Zabaleta will get to face off against his old team, where he played at the Etihad for nine years.

Fulham narrowly missed on promotion back to the Premier League last season, losing in the play-off semi-final to Reading, who went on to lose to Huddersfield.

A key man to watch for Fulham is Tom Cairney. The midfielder was brilliant for the Craven Cottage side last season, having scored 13 goals and also adding 12 assists.

The game will be another opportunity for the squad to regain their fitness against a fellow strong London side.




http://readwestham.com/2017/07/08/west-ham-face-championship-fulham-pre-season-match/

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Fulham star jokes about club's penalty problems after Neeskens Kebano scores from the spot in pre-season

Scoring from the penalty spot has been something of a problem for Fulham

Fulham were awarded 11 penalties during the 2016/17 Championship season.

Unfortunately they only converted four of them.

Scoring from the penalty spot was something of a problem for the Whites players last season. No fewer than five players stepped up to take one from 12 yards, with Tim Ream, Stefan Johansen and Sone Aluko all missing the one they took.

Chris Martin took five, scoring only two, while skipper Tom Cairney had the best record, scoring two of the three he stepped up to take responsibility for.

The Cottagers won their first pre-season friendly on Wednesday, beating Polish side Piast Gliwice 1-0.

And the only goal of the game came from the spot - Neeskens Kebano converting.


Continuing momentum: Neeskens Kebano (Image: Grahame Larter)

And Denis Odoi joked that everyone at the club should be "happy" that they managed to net from 12 yards.

He told fulhamfc.tv: "I don't think we need to take any conclusions from that game, they [Gliwice] were ten days out of their first league game and we've been training hard.

"The first game is more about getting the rhythm and an extra training session.

"The other team dominated the ball possession but we got the win. We can be happy we scored a penalty! We need to be happy about that!

"You want to get in the rhythm of playing games. We still have a lot of preparation games before that first league game.

"The Championship is a tough league, we need to train hard to be able to cope with those 46 league games."



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-star-jokes-clubs-penalty-13302338

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Fulham let two-goal lead slip as they are forced to settle for a draw against FC Zlin

Aluko and de la Torre score in Fulham's 2-2 draw with Zlin

Fulham will leave Poland unbeaten after ending their pre-season tour with a 2-2 draw against FC Zlin.

It could have been a 100 per cent record, but the Whites let slip a 2-0 lead against Zlin.

Sone Aluko opened the scoring for Fulham just before the half hour mark, slotting home after being sent clean through by a superb Tom Cairney ball.



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fulham-two-goal-lead-slip-13303384

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Fulham Sign This Versatile Belgian Midfielder: Crucial In Their Promotion Bid For Next Season?

Fulham have been looking forward to build on the success of the last season, which saw them make it to the Championship playoffs. However, they were eventually beaten in the matchup by Reading but were much appreciated for their efforts to make it that far in the last term.

The Whites are aware of the fact that they are short on good midfielders who are capable of taking control of the game in their favour and help the team to stay in advantage over their opponents, and are looking to make amends for their mistake by bringing in the young midfielder Ibrahima Cisse from the Belgian side Standard Liege for an undisclosed fee.

The Belgian midfielder, who is known for his versatility in his former club and can play as a right-back as well, made 27 appearances for Standard Liege in the last season, which was his comeback season for the Belgian outfit, after he spent two seasons prior to that at fellow Belgian League side KVV Mechelen, which he joined in June 2014.

The 23-year-old has been considered to be one of the most exuberant youngsters in the present scenario and Fulham will be hoping that he is in his best form throughout the season, thus stabilising the midfield for the Championship club and helping them to gain promotion to the top tier, which they could not manage in the last season even after coming very close to their desired destiny.

The youngster, who prefers to play as a defensive midfielder, is known for his strength and keeping hold of the ball for a significant amount of time throughout his career so far. He has played 69 matches for his former club Standard Liege so far and has scored 2 goals to show for his efforts. Prior to that, he played 52 matches for the Belgian outfit KVV Mechelen and scored 1 goal in the couple of seasons he stayed there. He has also notched up three assists each for both his clubs throughout his career so far to set up his teammates to score goals.

Fulham has been looking for a number of players to revamp their side for the next season and have been aware of the fact that they will have to face a lot more competition this season with the likes of Hull City and Sunderland coming back into the Championship after their long stay in the Premier League.



http://the4thofficial.net/2017/07/fulham-sign-versatile-belgian-midfielder-crucial-promotion-bid-next-season/

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Fulham agree deal for Rolan

HITC Sport understands Fulham have agreed a deal to sign Bordeaux's Uruguayan striker.

Fulham are poised to sign Bordeaux striker Diego Rolan, HITC Sport understands from sources close to the club.

Fulham have identified Rolan as their top target as they look to bring in a new striker to help boost their bid for promotion to the Premier League next season.

The Championship side are understood to have agreed a fee of £8.8million for the Uruguay international and are set to hold talks with the player as they look to persuade him to move to Craven Cottage.

Rolan has attracted the interest of Newcastle in the past after impressing at Bordeaux during the last three seasons.

The 24-year-old scored ten goals last season in 31 games for Bordeaux as he helped them finish sixth in Ligue 1.

Rolan has been identified by head of football operations and son of the owner Tony Khan. along with his assistant Craig Kline. to help provide goals for Fulham next season

Fulham have so far only two new players this summer in the shape of Spanish defender Marcelo Djalo and Belgian midfielder Ibrahima Cisse and they hope to make Rolan their third new addition.



http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/07/08/por-fulham-agree-deal-for-rolan/

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Friendlies Wrap: Olayinka Nets Hat-Trick; Osimhen, Ryan Sanusi, Aluko Score One

Catch up on the players of Nigerian descent that found the back of the net for their respective teams in pre-season friendlies on Saturday, July 8.

German Bundesliga side VFL Wolfsburg notched up an impressive 8-0 win over Veltins-Selection. Nigeria international Victor Osimhen scored their last goal when he headed home from close range in the 90th minute.

The former Golden Eaglets sensation came off the bench at the start of the second half, Germany U20 star Ohis Felix Uduokhai was also introduced in the 46th minute for his Wolfsburg debut.

Ex-Dream Team VI invitee Peter Olayinka continues to catch the eye in pre-season. The Gent loanee netted a hat-trick as Zulte-Waregem thrashed Roeselare 7-1. He was on target in the 11th, 23rd and 51st minutes.

The in-form striker was replaced in the 62nd minute, while Super Eagles left back Kingsley Madu started and was involved for 82 minutes.

Championship outfit Fulham were held to a 2-2 draw by Zlin at the Stadium Groklin, Grodzisk Wielkopolski.

Super Eagles winger Sone Aluko opened the scoring for the Cottagers in the 29th minute when he beat the goalkeeper with ease after he was set up by Cairney. He was replaced after 68 minutes.

Former Belgium U20 international Ryan Sanusi was on target in Sparta Rotterdam's 22-1 win versus PPSC. The defensive midfielder made it 18-0 in the 68th minute.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel



http://allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=23696