Sunday Fulham Stuff (27/08/17)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Kebano kickstarts Fulham's season
by Dan on August 26, 2017

Neeskens Kebano delivered the type of virtuoso performance that made his Dutch namesake so famous and kickstarted Fulham's sluggish season as the Londoners recorded their first win of the new campaign at Portman Road. Ipswich, chasing a club record fifth straight league success at the beginning of the new season, were cut down to size as the Congolese winger scored one and made another to inflict a first defeat on Mick McCarthy's high-fliers.

Slavisa Jokanovic has looked frazzled and frustrated in equal measure this month – no more so than when his youthful second string were dumped out of the League Cup by League One Bristol Rovers on Tuesday – but some of Fulham's flowing football would have made even the notoriously tough to please Serbian purr. The visitors were back to something approaching their best and should have been out of sight in the first twenty minutes as their precise passing pulled McCarthy's men apart but a lack of ruthlessness in the final third meant parity was retained until ten minutes before the break.

Sheyi Ojo, offered a first start in place of the absent Sone Aluko, had a shot deflected wide and then saw a venomous strike beaten away by Bartosz Bialkowski, who also produced a superb reflex save to deny Stefan Johansen from point blank range after the Norwegian had raced onto Kebano's clever backheel. At times, Ipswich seemed unable to cope with Fulham's pace and movement, but the hosts almost went ahead in fortuitous circumstances. Martyn Waghorn's deflected shot had David Button beaten but dropped the wrong side of the post.

Fulham still offered the greater threat going forward and finally got their deserved lead when Ryan Fredericks surged down the right flank and stood a floated cross up to the far post where Kebano soared to superbly head home his first goal of the season. Rui Fonte almost made it two four minutes later when he showed brilliant agility to direct a Ryan Sessegnon cross towards goal despite it seemingly being behind him but the Portuguese forward was denied a first goal for his new club by the near post.

Ipswich might still have gone in at the break level however only for David McGoldrick to shoot tamely at Button having seized on a sloppy back pass from Kevin McDonald when passing to two unmarked team-mates to his right seemed like a better option. Such an outcome would have hardly reflected Fulham's first half dominance but would have been entirely in keeping with how an unforgiving August had left Jokanovic's side looking badly hangover from last term's heroics.

McCarthy's men began the second half at a higher tempo as they sought a route back into the contest. Joe Garner's header from a set play was gathered by Button on his goal-line and any hopes the Tractor Boys held of a revival were swiftly extinguished five minutes into the second period. The goal saw Kebano to the fore again, superbly turning his man after being fed by Johansen and dispatching a curling shot towards the top corner that Bialkowski did brilliantly to parry, only for Fonte to follow up and fire home from the tightest of angles. It was a predatory goal that showed just why the Whites had been keen to meet Braga's £8m asking price – and gave Jokanovic's side a cushion they never looked like relinquishing.

The closest Ipswich came to scoring in the remainder of the contest was when Button held a drive from McGoldrick after the forward Ipswich had stripped Fredericks of possession but Fulham's patient passing triangles, with the returning Tom Cairney and Johansen to the fore, drew any venom out of the hosts' isolated attacks. This was the sort of disciplined away performance that should settle any nerves about the Cottagers' indifferent start ahead of the international break – and Kebano delivered a timely reminder to his head coach of his own capabilities.

IPSWICH TOWN (4-4-2): Bialkowski; Iorfa, Kenlock, Spence, Knudsen; Skuse, Ward (Nydam 90), Sears (Celina 59), Waghorn (Downes 59); McGoldrick, Garner. Subs (not used): Gerken, Rowe, Folami, Woolfenden.

BOOKED: Iorfa.

FULHAM (4-3-3): Button; Fredericks, R. Sessegnon, Kalas, Ream; McDonald, Johansen (Odoi 88), Cairney; Ojo, Kebano (Norwood 82), Fonte (Kamara 76). Subs (not used): Bettinelli, Djalo, Edun, Cisse.

GOALS: Kebano (35), Fonte (51).

REFEREE: Paul Tierney (Wigan).

ATTENDANCE: 16,844



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/08/kebano-kickstarts-fulhams-season/

[WhiteJC]

The Illusion of Going Backwards
by Lydia on August 26, 2017

After a stuttering start to the season, it's a real relief to see Fulham get their first league victory of the season over a strong Ipswich side at Craven Cottage. I don't like to talk about 'must win' games this early in the season but this was surely as close as it would come to one considering last weekend's underwhelming defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday followed up by being timidly dumped out of the Carabao Cup by League One outfit Bristol Rovers.

When I look at our squad, I genuinely believed that it was only a matter of time before we clicked. You can't go from controlling as many games as we did last season to becoming a bad team over the summer, not when you have kept the core today alongside making a number of strong additions. No, our bad start was not enough for me to make me doubt the super stars of last season and our manager.

That said, it doesn't mean that I wasn't on edge a little, particularly after the cup exit! No one likes it when their team loses, especially to lower league opposition. But what has the problem been for Fulham over the past month? Why have we been so slow out of the blocks? For me there a couple of things that have prevented us from starting as well as we would have wanted.

First of all, I think that people have been premature when pressing their panic buttons because of the number of points that we had won before today. Admittedly, 3points from four games doesn't look good but we must put this in the context of the fixtures that we have played. Amongst those four games, we had to make two of the most difficult away trips that we will have all season. Leeds and Reading away, in my opinion will be the hardest, bar Middlesbrough, while our homes games were against two teams who will be there or there abouts at the end of the season in Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich. If we look at the points gained so far in comparison to last year's tally against the same teams, we can see that we actually haven't moved backwards at all!

This season    Last season
Norwich at home- DRAW    Norwich at home- DRAW
Reading away- DRAW    Reading away- LOSS
Leeds away- DRAW    Leeds away- DRAW
Sheffield Wednesday at home- LOSS    Sheffield Wednesday at home- DRAW
Ipswich away- WIN    Ipswich away- WIN
Total points- 6    Total points- 6


OK, we didn't get promoted last season, so not moving forward is potentially as bad as going backwards, but the games that were most disappointing last season were the ones where we dropped points against teams who weren't challenging at the top, for example, Bristol City, Birmingham, Cardiff and QPR to name a few. There were plenty of games last season that we should have gotten maximum points from and didn't and those are the games that I feel that we need to see progress in if we are really to take a step forward this year. Yes, it is vitally important that we take points off our promotion rivals, but not losing the games against Norwich, Reading and Leeds will be crucial come the end of the season.

The other reason why we haven't quite started as well as we would have wanted, was because our preseason just didn't go to plan. Fulham are always quite late in announcing where the boys would be travelling to in the summer, but this preseason it seemed more down to poor organisation than just wanting to be secretive. Maybe I am wrong, but I didn't get the impression that things were planned as well as they could have been and this, alongside some slow work regarding transfers, meant that many of our players didn't get as much of a break as they really needed. It was well documented that Slav couldn't rotate as much as he wanted due to not having a good enough squad depth, while injuries to Cairney and McDonald made things worse. Cairney in particularly has only really seemed to get back to full fitness now, which is another reason why things have looked disjointed in the middle of the park before today.

All in all, it is fair to say that fans and players alike have been frustrated with the start of the season but let's take a deep breath and a step back to view the whole picture before we lose the heads and start wanting drastic changes at the club. Slav has brought in players to improve the side as well as to add some much-needed cover and I wholeheartedly believe that today was just a glimmer of what we can expect after the international break. We host league leaders Cardiff next in a match that will see us to gain points on last year's tally if we turn our 2016/17 draw into a victory.

#COYW



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/08/the-illusion-of-a-going-backwards/

[WhiteJC]

 
Fairford Town denied away win by former Fulham star

Windsor FC 1 Fairford Town 1


Barry Hayles during his days with Fulham

Fairford Town were denied an away win over Windsor FC by 45-year-old Barry Hayles.

Jody Bevan's side led thanks to Lee Smith's 68th minute goal, but Hayles' header was deflected into the net off debutant Lyndon Tomkins in the 87th minute to earn Windsor a point.

Fairford included centre-half Tomkins, the 38--year-old former Gloucester City, Cinderford Town and Bishop's Cleeve man.

Sam Ockwell has left to join Shortwood United.



http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fairford-town-denied-away-win-386959

[WhiteJC]

Jokanovic salutes Fulham's 'very good' football
by Dan on August 26, 2017

Slavisa Jokanovic was delighted with Fulham's 'very good' performance as they ended Ipswich's perfect start to the season with a professional away display at Portman Road.

The Whites wrecked Mick McCarthy's bid to register a club record five straight wins at the start of the campaign thanks to a first half header from Neeskens Kebano and Rui Fonte's first goal for Fulham. Jokanovic felt the victory was thoroughly deserved and will deliver a timely bolt of confidence to his squad after a testing August. The Fulham head coach told his post-match press conference:

    We played a very good football match. I give credit to Mick [McCarthy] for their great start of the season. We didn't start the season like Ipswich, but we believed we could play better and win the game.

    We dominated the game, played with confidence, moved the ball, created chances and we deserved to score some more goals in the first-half. During the start of the season, we couldn't find a way to win the game. Today, we can be very happy with our performance, but what's more important is the end product and that we go back to London with three points.

    Like every club, there'll be ups and downs during the season, but I expect that we'll be up more times than we are down. This result will encourage us. I expect the ambience around my team will be a little more positive. We know we're not at our best level and made some costly mistakes at the beginning of the season.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/08/jokanovic-salutes-fulhams-very-good-football/

[WhiteJC]

Fonte delighted 'to be part of unbelievable Fulham team'
by Dan on August 26, 2017

Rui Fonte was beaming with delight after scoring his first Fulham goal in the 2-0 win at Ipswich this afternoon.

The Portuguese forward, a reported £8m capture from Braga earlier this month, scored the vital second goal – displaying his predatory instincts to tuck home a rebound from an incredibly acute angle after Bartosz Bilalkowski had somehow saved Neeksens Kebano's curling strike. Fonte spoke to BBC Radio London in glowing terms after the final whistle about his joy at getting off the mark:

It's always an amazing feeling to score your first goal for your new club. Most important as well was to get the win because the boys needed it. It's amazing feeling after all because I scored, the team won and it's amazing. This is [a] good [way] to go into the international break with a win as well.

Fulham wants to get promoted, so there's no better ambition to have than that. It's an amazing project, the club has great ambitions as I said, so, to be here, it is amazing for me. It's unbelievable to part of this team because we have so much quality. It's time for me to get involved with the team, to know how they play because they are unbelievable players – so I'm just trying to fit it and show them what I can offer to the team. That's my job to adapt to the team; not them to me, because I'm new, so I just try to adapt to them.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/08/fonte-delighted-to-be-part-of-unbelievable-fulham-team/

[WhiteJC]

 
Ipswich boss admits Fulham were 'streets ahead' of his side

Despite opening with four back-to-back wins, the Tractor Boys were thoroughly outclassed by a rampant Fulham line-up

Mick McCarthy admitted Fulham were 'streets ahead' of his Ipswich side after the whites claimed a 2-0 win at Portman Road.

Despite opening with four back-to-back wins, the Tractor Boys were thoroughly outclassed by a rampant Fulham line-up.

Ryan Fredericks went surging down the right and his cross found the unmarked Kebano, who duly headed past Bartosz Bialkowski in minute 35.

Fonte hit the post in the first half, before scoring in the second.

Kebano almost had a brace as Bialkowski did well to save after the scorer turned his man to fire away his shot, but the rebound fell straight for Fonte to smash home the rebound in the 51st minute.

A dejected McCarthy quipped: "Call the police because there's just been a murder.

"Sometimes you just have to take your hat off to your opposition.

"They were streets ahead of us. They absolutely bashed us up with and without the ball.

"Sometimes you just can't get near the other team and that was the case.

"We tried putting round pegs in square holes. We had players playing out of position due to injury and I didn't think it was right to go negative.

"There's no need to panic. We've had four good results without all of our squad available.

"You've got to remember that it's just one game, one result. We've won our other four league games.

"We've got some time off now to reflect on what has been a really good start to the season for us."



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ipswich-boss-admits-fulham-were-13535417

[terryr]

Fonte delighted 'to be part of unbelievable Fulham team'
by Dan on August 26, 2017

Rui Fonte was beaming with delight after scoring his first Fulham goal in the 2-0 win at Ipswich this afternoon.

The Portuguese forward, a reported £8m capture from Braga earlier this month, scored the vital second goal – displaying his predatory instincts to tuck home a rebound from an incredibly acute angle after Bartosz Bilalkowski had somehow saved Neeksens Kebano's curling strike. Fonte spoke to BBC Radio London in glowing terms after the final whistle about his joy at getting off the mark:

It's always an amazing feeling to score your first goal for your new club. Most important as well was to get the win because the boys needed it. It's amazing feeling after all because I scored, the team won and it's amazing. This is [a] good [way] to go into the international break with a win as well.

Fulham wants to get promoted, so there's no better ambition to have than that. It's an amazing project, the club has great ambitions as I said, so, to be here, it is amazing for me. It's unbelievable to part of this team because we have so much quality. It's time for me to get involved with the team, to know how they play because they are unbelievable players – so I'm just trying to fit it and show them what I can offer to the team. That's my job to adapt to the team; not them to me, because I'm new, so I just try to adapt to them.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/08/fonte-delighted-to-be-part-of-unbelievable-fulham-team/

Class

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham linked with Forestieri move
by DAN on AUGUST 27, 2017

Fulham are lining up an audacious late August move for Sheffield Wednesday forward Fernando Forestieri, according to this morning's Sun.

The paper claims that Fulham are considering submitting a £12m bid for the Argentinian-born former Italian under-21 international, who has started just a league game for Sheffield Wednesday this season after a training ground bust-up with Sam Winnall, but that the Owls are holding out for an even bigger offer. Fulham head coach Slavisa Jokanovic had Forestieri, then on loan from Udinese, in his Watford side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2014/2015 and would keen on linking up with the mercurial talent again.

Wednesday would be more than justified in holding out for a big sum for Forestieri, considering his outstanding Championship record in the two seasons since moving to Hillsborough. He has scored 27 league goals in 73 appearances and with his artful and intelligent play has been one of the division's most consistent creators of chances over the past four years. A late sale would free up funds for Carlos Carvalhal to re-invest in his squad – but the deal would have to be attractive to the Owls' owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Fulham have already spent big on strikers in the transfer window – bringing in Rui Fonte and Aboubakar Kamara – and another arrival could be dependent on a departure with Sone Aluko being consistently linked with a move to Reading.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2017/08/fulham-linked-with-forestieri-move/