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

Started by WhiteJC, August 05, 2017, 06:19:36 AM

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WhiteJC

 
Fulham v Norwich

So, here we go....

I'm fricking nervous. I SOOOOO want us to win today. I want us to score a couple of goals, not concede, Angus Gunn to make a diving one-handed save etc.

I'm nervous, becuase as much as I have liked what I have seen over the past few weeks - I'm sure the Fulham fans are seeing and feeling exactly the same thing. Their team have made changes, brought in new faces, looked good in pre-season. Every fan up and down the country in filled with nervous anticipation.

Last night's season opening between Derby and Sunderland was a stark reminder of what we had...Just read the opening paragraph from the BBC:


Notice anything about those names?

We've sold on these players, making a tidy profit into the bargain and yet we're expecting we'll beat these teams with a squad of players most of us had never heard of before 5 weeks ago.

No matter how much searching we do on Twitter, YouTube and Google we're all a bit in the dark on the players and their relevent strengths...

So, with just a few hours to go until kick off on another season all everyone can say from Vital Norwich is good luck to everyone involved with the club, to all the fans across Norfolk and round the world.

OTBC!



Read more: http://www.norwich.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=499448#ixzz4orxAPv6M

WhiteJC

 
Partnership Agreed With GameTime Hydration

Fulham Football Club is delighted to announce a partnership with GameTime Hydration who will become the Club's Official Energy Drink Partner for the 2017/18 & 2018/19 seasons.

GameTime Hydration is a new sports drink on the market and the only sports drink which uses 7.5 alkaline water for ultimate hydration.

Making significant strides in professional sports around the world, GameTime has already established an impressive portfolio of athletes endorsing its range of drinks.

As part of the deal, the GameTime Hydration brand will appear on the back of the playing shorts of the First Team's home, away and third kits and their energy drink will be available to Fulham fans on matchdays at Craven Cottage.

The Club's First and Under23s squads will be provided with Game Time Hydration energy drinks throughout the term of the partnership, including the newly released Alkaline Water.

Casper Stylsvig, Chief Revenue Officer at Fulham FC said:

"We are delighted to partner with GameTime Hydration for the next two seasons and welcome them to our historic Craven Cottage home. GameTime Hydration has chosen Fulham FC to broaden their exposure within European football and we are looking forward to working together and building a strong relationship for many years to come as Game Time Hydration expands into new markets."

Norman Simmons, founder and Marketing Director of Game Time Hydration said:

"We are thrilled to be joining Fulham FC as the Club's Official Energy Drink Partner. As a new brand in the UK it was crucial we partnered with a well-known and respected team and Fulham FC is just that. We are hugely grateful to the Club for this opportunity to introduce our delicious and innovative range of sports drinks to Fulham fans and the wider footballing audience in the UK and beyond. We hope that with the help of our range of drinks, including the first alkaline water sports drink, we can help the team to go one step further this season and be back where the Club belongs, in the Premier League."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2017/august/05/partnership-agreed-with-gametime-hydration

WhiteJC


Jokanovic backs Button
by Dan on August 5, 2017


Slavisa Jokanovic has backed David Button ahead of this afternoon's Championship opener against Norwich City – and the Fulham head coach suggested that he is partly to blame for putting his 'keepers in some sort of trouble'.

Button, who lost his place to Marcus Bettinelli at the tail end of last season after a series of mistakes, will be between the sticks this afternoon after the Fulham academy graduate injured his hamstring in last weekend's friendly against Wolfsburg. Jokanovic admitted that his play-out-from-the-back style places extra pressure on Fulham's goalkeeper, but made it clear he has now qualms about starting with Button.

    I have a fantastic relationship with David Button. I trust him and used him 40 times. Many times, he did a very good job for us. I am fully confident in him. When Marcus Bettinelli is available, he'll fight him for the position.

    He is a professional football player. It's clear what I expect for a player who plays in this position. It's my responsibility sometimes. I put my keepers in some sort of trouble. We play a bit different and I want to start playing from the keeper.

    It's more simple to kick the ball to the strikers as it'd give him more opportunity to be comfortable in the goal. He has all my confidence. Sometimes, when he makes a mistake it's partly my responsibility as well. I used this player many times and remember many quality games that he has offered us at Craven Cottage and in away games.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/08/jokanovic-backs-button/


WhiteJC

 
2017/18 Diving Ban Panel Announced


Following on from the news that the Football Association would look at retrospective action for diving this season, the all important panel responsible for reviewing footage after each match day has now been named.

A three person panel will be chosen each week from a pool of 13 former players, managers and match officials and will review footage of a Monday to look for match effecting incidents of diving or feigning injury where the clear aim was to gain an advantage through an act of deception.

Players unanimously found guilty will be banned in future, but this will only occur in cases where the offending player's team were awarded a penalty or saw the opponent sent off.

Yellow cards or red cards will be automatically rescinded in such circumstances.

The exact wording from the FA is 'successful deception of a match official' and applies to the following cases.

...the offending player`s team has been:-
awarded a penalty; and/or
an opposing player has been sent-off where the act of simulation and/or feigning injury led to a straight red card or caused one of the two cautions that led to the dismissal.

The panel pool are:

Former Players/Managers:

Nigel Adkins
Rachel Brown-Finnis
Terry Butcher
Lee Dixon
Alex McLeish
Danny Murphy
Chris Powell
Trevor Sinclair

Former match officials:

Keren Barratt
Steve Dunn
Mike Mullarkey
Alan Wiley
Eddie Wolstenhome

They will only review footage where there is an obvious case to answer and given any conflicts of interests, clubs played for or managed will be factored into which pool member gets the call.

With a number of pundits on the panel, it'll be interesting to watch post match comments for indications.



Read more: http://www.bristolrovers.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=499391#ixzz4oryS2XR2

bobby01

Perhaps we should put our new commercial director in charge of player recruitment. He appears to have no trouble getting deals completed.
Watching the ups and downs since 1958, wouldn't have it any other way, what a roller coaster of a club.

WhiteJC

 
Jokanovic confirms Fulham man out of Norwich clash, talks up new signing

Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic has stated that the London side will be without goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli for their Championship 2017-18 opener against Norwich City on Saturday.

The Cottagers played an exhilarating brand of attacking football last season and were unlucky to be eliminated from their promotion push in the playoffs.

Returning to the Premier League will be the key objective for Fulham and Jokanovic again this term, but Saturday's opponents Norwich will also have similar lofty ambitions.

Bettinelli started eight Championship games for the Craven Cottage last season but will miss the clash with the Canaries due to a muscle strain, with David Button set to take his place in goal for the hosts.

Goalkeeper remains an area that Fulham could potentially strengthen this summer and the supporters will hope that their side can keep a clean sheet in the campaign opening fixture.

The Cottagers have been busy in the transfer window over the summer, bringing loanees Tomas Kalas and Lucas Piazon back from Chelsea for a second consecutive season.

Northern Ireland international Olivier Norwood has also been added on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion and could make his Fulham debut on Saturday.

However, it is new striker Aboubakar Kamara that Jokanovic has been praising in the lead-up to the game with Norwich.

The 22-year-old has moved to London this summer after scoring 10 Ligue 2 goals for Amiens last season in 21 starts, with the Craven Cottage supporters hoping to get a glimpse of their new centre forward this weekend.

"Kamara is a young player who's shown great ambition," Jokanovic told the club's official website.

"He's strong and fast and all of us expect he's going to be an important player for us in the future.

"All the people need time to adapt themselves to a different lifestyle, a different competition. He's really a different player, a player who can attack the space behind the defenders, and he can be a very important player for us."

Both Fulham and Norwich will be keen to record victory in the opening game of the fixture, which features two sides that are expected to be in the reckoning for the top six in 2017-18.

The corresponding fixture last season ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw, while Jokanovic's men won the game at Carrow Road 3-1.



https://ninetyminutesonline.com/jokanovic-confirms-fulham-man-norwich-clash-talks-new-signing/


WhiteJC

 
Jokanovic - Take It One Game At A Time


Slavisa Jokanovic has reiterated that although promotion to the Premier League is clearly Fulham's aim this season, it's a one game at a time approach to our ultimate aim.

With plenty of bookmakers putting Fulham in as one of the Championship favourites for promotion this season, Jokanovic knows that there will be plenty of other sides who fancy their chances this campaign and with the sides in the second tier, it's going to be a very tough season.

Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media earlier today to preview tomorrow's Championship opener against Norwich City, the gaffer explained.

'Half the Championship teams have similar intentions to us. I know this is a popular question from the press, where we`re going to finish in the Championship. Really, I don`t know where we`re going to be at the beginning of May. What is important for us is to try and be at our highest level in this moment, and try and push hard to win three points tomorrow.'

He went on to explain that opening the season with victory would of course be the best way to kick the campaign off.

'These three points could be important points for us at the end of the season. We must be positive, we must believe in our possibilities, and push hard to be successful. The final target for us, like the final target for half the Championship, is to be a promoted team. Whether we are going to do it or not will depend on us, and we are going to know at the end of the season. Pressure is part of our life. I have pressure to be successful, I have pressure for my team to play better football than they played before, I have pressure to win the game. Everything is normal, similar pressure for other coaches in the Championship or in the Premier League, or all the coaches in the world.'

With six players joining the club so far this summer, Jokanovic also spoke about his delight at how the side was coming together.

'We built an identity, we built a team. I am very happy because the Club made a great effort to sign new contracts with Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon. I am very happy because we brought back Tomas Kalas and Lucas Piazon. We signed some people, the transfer window is open until the end of August, I believe we are going to bring in some more for our squad. I am happy with my team. The players are working hard and showing ambition to try and make a good season, and we are ready for the Norwich game.'

Looking to Norwich a little bit more specifically, he went on to say.

'Norwich are one of the teams, like us, who want to be a Premier League team next season. They are a quality team with many important players. I remember the last game we played at Craven Cottage against them and the many problems that Cameron Jerome gave us. We must be careful about many players.'

Adding.

'We checked their pre-season, they used different styles, with three at the back, sometimes four at the back. We have an idea of what we can expect tomorrow in the game. It`s a new coach, extra motivation for the Norwich players too, but we are motivated to play in our stadium in front of our supporters. We showed them in the past we can play good football and we want to repeat that, or be at a better level if possible.'



Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=499311#ixzz4orzsqpCu

WhiteJC

 
Slavisa Jokanovic dismisses thoughts of a Fulham play-off hangover

The west Londoners were seen as favourites going into their game with Reading but the Royals outthought them to reach Wembley, where they were beaten by Huddersfield

Forget about Fulham suffering a play-off hangover at the start of the season; Slavisa Jokanovic has forgotten who the Whites were beaten by last term.

The west Londoners were seen as favourites going into their game with Reading but the Royals outthought them to reach Wembley, where they were beaten by Huddersfield.

It is not uncommon for teams to stutter at the start of the season, given the later finish to the campaign but Jokanovic isn't thinking about that.

"We play-off against Sheffield? I forget," the Fulham head coach joked before adding: "It's not important. It was last season. We were stressed three days after but I'm not thinking about the play-off games.

"It's only the present and future for us. On Saturday, we're going to start at 3pm. I don't have time to look behind and how we didn't do enough there.

"It's only what we can do now. Last season is over. We offered some interesting things. We've built a style and we're trying to grow up and be better this season."

Some teams, though, come out with a renewed determination and Jokanovic believes his team will be more like Brighton than Derby were last campaign.

He added: "They look like they're ready to go. You can find bad examples and good examples. Sheffield Wednesday finished in the top six the last season in the top six.

"I'm sure they're looking to be promoted. I am not thinking about the Reading game. We're going to face them in the second game and we'll fight them once more in a new season and a new situation.

"Last season is over. We have some memories and we have to be focused on the competition in front of us."

Sheffield Wednesday is clearly a side that Jokanovic believes will be fighting for promotion but he believes there are 10 others in that hunt.

He explained: "This is complicated. I explained that I believe half the Championship will start the season aiming for promotion.

"Remember last season, nobody bet on us being at the top of the table and then saw us as a surprise when we finished in the top six.

"It wasn't enough to be promoted. I expect some surprise. Every year there's a team or club that you don't believe to be ready to be at the top of the table finishing at the top.

"We saw that from Huddersfield. They are enjoying the Premier League experience and wish them all the best."



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/slavisa-jokanovic-dismisses-thoughts-fulham-13434621

WhiteJC

 
Fulham v Norwich City preview: Dream big is Daniel Farke's mantra

Daniel Farke may not have a magic wand but he wants Norwich City fans to dream big this season.

The Canaries' head coach made it clear during an unbeaten pre-season any success over the coming months will be hard-earned. Farke, however backs his squad to handle the weight of expectation that comes with wearing the green and yellow.

"It would be unrealistic to think it can happen straightaway," he said. "We lost a lot of experienced players and there was a big change and we have a situation with injuries right now, but we don't play football just to reach realistic goals. Sometimes you want to do something unrealistic and extraordinary and special. It is football, a game. We need a great togetherness to help each other. We have a pretty young team, there will be mistakes and we need that support. There will be problems and setbacks, even in the 90 minutes at Fulham, but we need that atmosphere in difficult times inside the club and especially the relationship with our fans. If we stand together and face whatever happens then we have chances to do some unrealistic things.

"It is always 11 versus 11, two goals and we try to score and not concede. For sure, away from home is more of a challenge mentally. There are many more supporters for the home team, but hopefully a lot for us. We know we have to face a Fulham opponent who is really strong and has high expectations. We know it is probably one of the most difficult games in the league but we want to bring our ideas to the pitch."

Farke gives short shrift to the perception he and his German coaching staff are in for a Championship culture shock.

"Not at all. It is always the same. You are concentrated on your team and on your league. It is the same when you work in a different league in Germany," he said. "You had to get used to different teams and players and that is no different in England. First, I had to watch many games to learn about my players and then you get used to other teams because you have watched a lot. Then we had a really long pre-season, so we get used to Fulham and all the opponents. We have guys in the analysis department and we are really well prepared. We know what to expect at Fulham, what type of team they are, their strengths and maybe weaknesses. We have some problems with injuries but when we have 11 guys on the pitch we always will fight for points and give our best."

City's head coach is delighted at the way his players have embraced his philosophy.

"It is quite normal when pre-season is over and the hard fitness work is done that the players are content. Now the real work starts you could say," he said. "They are excited. The mood is good. We have brilliant characters and a great atmosphere. We had good results and performances in pre-season and to be unbeaten helps.

"Norwich wanted me to bring my ideas, my philosophy and my working style here, and it is a little bit more difficult really for the players to get used to my ideas than it is for me."



http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/fulham-v-norwich-city-preview-dream-big-is-daniel-farke-s-mantra-1-5136408


WhiteJC

 
Why I won't be getting too excited about City – just yet

Spud's Teaser

Between 1986 and 2015, Norwich went 18 games without a win against Fulham. Which club have a longer run without losing to us?

Happy New Year to all Canary fans everywhere! We wake up this morning with the excitement of another year of the rollercoaster that is being a Norwich City fan.

At the end of the month, it will be 35 years since my first game – a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City on the opening day of the 1982/83 season. And I still get the same buzz for a new season as I did as a seven-year-old back in 1982.

The buzz starts once the fixture list is released in the middle of June – even if it reveals that the first game is Fulham (A). All the build-up with, more often not, new signings and good pre-seasons, leaves me feeling very optimistic and saying, normally over a pint before the game, "I've got a good feeling about this season" – only for us to produce a Colchester 7-1 or a Fulham 5-0 to bring me back down to earth.

Before it all begins for real I do like to try and take in some of the pre-season games. I like a balmy evening in the sun, catching up with fellow Canaries friends who you only see whilst watching us entertaining Norfolk's other fine teams such as Dereham or King's Lynn, or the best team in Suffolk, Lowestoft.

In the past I've been to couple of Scotland tours and a few tours to Belgium and Holland, and they have been great fun. A mini holiday, taking in the sights with football the excuse. I've seen grounds that I wouldn't normally. I've also seen things like Robert Green swapping his goalkeeper's gloves to play up front for Norwich in a friendly against Cambuur Leeuwarden in the summer of 2003. How I would loved to have gone to Germany last month.

In the past, I've allowed pre-season friendlies to form my opinion for the season. Back in 1988 after defeats to lower league teams Hereford, Mansfield and even Ipswich in the Hospital Cup I feared the worst, only for us to nearly win the old Division One title.

In 2009, we had an impressive unbeaten pre-season, winning six out of the seven games, including beating then Premier League Wigan 3-2 with players like Simon Whaley and Goran Maric standing out, only to lose 7-1 at home to Colchester. Whaley and Maric played a few games before heading for the Carrow Road exit a few months later.

So this year I'm not going to fall for the pre-season excitement of being unbeaten or thinking we've signed some impressive players, not just yet – even if I have been impressed by some of them, especially Marley Watkins and Harrison Reed.

I was sad to see some of the players go over the summer – from a couple of Player of the Season winners to certain players who played their part in promotion to the Premier League, with one being a part of two promotions.

But while I was sad to see some go, I suppose we must move on to new chapters at Carrow Road. I believe we will have an exciting new chapter some time soon – maybe not this year, but I think we will in the next few years.

I think our football will be the continental style similar to Jaap Stam's Reading last season – apart from the 7-1 defeat against us, I think they did very well, only to just miss out on promotion. I feel our attacking threat is far better than Reading's so I think we're in for a promising season.

So here we go for another exciting new year. I just hope by 5pm today I have not got that hangover feeling, thinking, 'we're in for another long season'.

Spud's teaser answer: Man City (22 games, 1964-1981)




http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city/why-i-won-t-be-getting-too-excited-about-city-just-yet-1-5133098

WhiteJC


Up next – Norwich City (h)
by Dan on August 5, 2017


Even as the close season gets shorter with pre-season tours, summer tournaments and the sensationalist madness of the transfer window, the two and half months between Fulham's play-off heartbreak and the start of a new campaign has seemed like an eternity. Rumour-mongers suggested, with varying degrees of certainty, that first Slavisa Jokanovic, then Ryan Sessegnon and Tom Cairney would leave the Cottage before another ball was kicked – and, thankfully, all of that proved untrue. That Fulham have kept together the nucleus of the side that surprised everyone by sneaking into the top six after a superb second half of the season means there is certainly optimism in the air to accompany the traditional early August nerves.

Much of the feelgood factor is brought by Jokanovic himself. He's a perfectionist and demonstrably a winner, who doesn't mind pushing the regular boundaries of head coach – as seen by the way his post-match comments have challenged the board to acquire the players he craved. The Serbian has also reinvented the way Fulham play – sometimes with dangerous consequences, as he admits this morning – and made them one of the most attractive sides in the country to watch. It's no surprise that the Craven Cottage faithful yearns to sing his name, although we should bin the 'He comes from Serbia' song. It implies something about Jokanovic – and, indeed all his compatriots – that coach doesn't appreciate – and anyone in any doubt as to its validity as a terrace anthem should consult Nemanja Vidic's autobiography.

There have been criticisms of Fulham's recruitment this summer: most notably over the time it has taken to bring in players and Jokanovic's lack of options at centre forward. Whilst everyone would have liked to assemble the squad at the start of July and give the head coach six weeks to drill them in his philosophy, agents and players don't want to commit to a move that early – preferring to hang on until the end of the window, when the frenzied August activity is ramped up. Just ask Diego Rolan. The point about a lack of strikers is fair – especially given that Jokanovic agrees with Jean Tigana that you probably need at least four forwards to get out of the Championship – until you remember that the sum total of his striking options last August was Matt Smith and Cauley Woodrow.

Largely down to the way Jokanovic set up his side, brimming full of adventure and creativity, Fulham still finished joint top-scorers at the end of the last campaign. Woodrow has seen his stock rise following a successful stint at Burton Albion that saw the Brewers avoid relegation, whilst the Whites have welcomed the rapid French forward Aboubakar Kamara into their ranks this week. People scoffed when it was suggested that Neeskens Kebano, Floyd Ayite and Sone Aluko could perform as false nines following the January transfer window – but Fulham's best football during the run-in came when this was tried following Chris Martin's suspension after he was sent off against Norwich City.

Jokanovic's selection dilemmas are not profound. David Button will step in for the injured Marcus Bettinelli and Ryan Sessegnon should start from left back, whilst Kevin McDonald, Tom Cairney and Stefan Johansen will reform the central midfield unit that made Fulham purr last year. The only mystery is in the combination of the front three and whether Jokanovic would be willing to throw Kamara in from the off after four days training at Motspur Park. It would be a bold move – and Fulham might prefer to use his electric pace as an impact option against tiring defenders later in the game.

The Canaries will be hoping for a far better season under new coach Daniel Farke, recruited from Dortmund in May, and what better way to lay down a marker for their promotion push than recording their first league win at Fulham since 1986. The early signs are encouraging – Norwich were unbeaten in their eight pre-season outings – and Farke has brought in three players from Germany as well as adding useful Premier League loanees in the shape of Angus Gunn and Harrison Reed. Marley Watkins is an excellent capture from Barnsley having starred at this level last year, whilst Fulham fans will need no introduction to James Husband, who enjoyed a couple of excellent loan spells at the Cottage recently.

The side that Norwich start with this afternoon will be far from Farke's first choice eleven, however. Harry Toffolo, Jamal Lewis, Alex Pritchard, Louis Thompson and Timm Klose are all ruled out through injury and Steven Naismith is suspended. Josh Murphy and Russell Martin will undergo late fitness tests on calf and leg problems respectively, but creative hub Wes Hoolahan will be back on the bench having missed much of the pre-season programme through injury. Jokanovic hinted during his press conference at the tactical flexibility that Falke, as a fellow continental coach, has used both previously in his career and during the summer.

While Scott Malone, who conceded two penalties in an entertaining draw with the Canaries in October when Alex Neil's side were setting the Championship pace, has moved on to pastures new, the referee who generously awarded those spot-kicks will take charge again this afternoon. Let's just hope we are talking about an intriguing game of football come 5.30pm rather than an even performance from James Linington. Like a little kid before Christmas, I can't wait.

MY FULHAM XI (4-3-3): Button; Fredericks, Sessegnon, Kalas, Ream; McDonald, Johansen, Cairney; Aluko, Ayite, Kamara. Subs: Norman, Odoi, Cisse, Norwood, Piazon, Kebano, Woodrow.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/08/up-next-norwich-city-h-2/

filham

We seem to be patting ourselves on the back for retaining Cairney and Aluko but of course the Window remains open for a few more weeks yet so there is nothing to stop anyone coming in with a very attractive offer for them at the last moment.
Remember how Spurs took Dembele and Dempsey from us late in the window leaving us with no time to replace them.