Monday Fulham Stuff (04/09/17)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Jordan Graham's last performance against Leeds should've Whites to take gamble with loan bid

Leeds United reportedly wanted Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Jordan Graham before his loan switch to Fulham.

According to a report from the Daily Mail towards the end of last month, Leeds were amongst the sides considering a loan move for Wolves winger Jordan Graham.

Though it is not clear how hard the Whites tried to land the 22-year-old - who ultimately headed to Fulham on a season-long loan - his previous display against Leeds - albeit, nearly two years ago - should have perhaps tempted the Yorkshire side to take a gamble and cement their interest with a bid if they did not do so.

Leeds' visit to Wolves in 2015 will probably be best remembered by Whites supporters for arguably Souleymane Doukara's best performance for the club as he turned the game around after coming on early on in the game when Steve Evans' men looked second best all over the pitch.

But it was also a game where Graham arguably gave a fantastic indication of his potential as he gave Leeds' full-backs a torrid time on the wing, proving to be Wolves' most exciting player on a night when his trickery and dangerous crosses were simply not backed up by the rest of the side.

The former Aston Villa trainee has struggled with long-term injury since, making just 12 subsequent first-team appearances before switching to Fulham.

It would have certainly been a gamble to pursue a permanent deal for Graham during the summer, especially with so many wide options within Thomas Christiansen's squad, but the talent he clearly has meant that whichever club landed him on loan would have felt that there was a chance that that gamble could prove to look inspired.

Therefore, if Leeds did not follow up on their interest, perhaps it would be fair to suggest that they should have taken a risk and rivalled Fulham as adding him to their wide options had the potential to be a great piece of business.

Or at least, his previous performance against the Whites would suggest that that could have been the case.



http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/09/03/jordan-grahams-last-performance-against-leeds-shouldve-whites-to/

[WhiteJC]

 
Former Premier League striker Barry Hayles, 45, plays against Brimscombe in 4-4 thriller

Hellenic Premier

Brimscombe & Thrupp 4

Windsor 4

FROM the Premier League to the Hellenic Premier Division, veteran striker Barry Hayles is still strutting his stuff at the age of 45.

The former Fulham, QPR, Leicester City, Bristol Rovers and Cheltenham hot-shot is now player/coach at Windsor and played his part in a thrilling 4-4 draw against Brimscombe on Saturday.

However, Hayles was upstaged by Ollie Pitt, who helped himself to a hat-trick - his second of the season.

Earlier, Windsor took the lead through a Jack Denton penalty after Christien Turner was judged to have handled the ball. Pitt netted parity from the spot, but Ramel Sutherland restored Windsor's lead.

Pitt bagged his second for Brimscombe, curling a free-kick in off the post.The goal tide continued. Andy Ingam and Denton giving Windsor a 4-2 lead.

With ten minutes left on the clock, the Lilywhites needed something special and they got it. Sam Blackie ran onto a cross from the left and finished it perfectly. Pitt salavaged the point to claim his hat-trick with a sumptuous free-kick.



http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/sport/15511826.Former_Premier_League_striker_Barry_Hayles__45__plays_against_Brimscombe_in_4_4_thriller/

[WhiteJC]

 
Former Fulham, Leicester City and Millwall striker turns back the clock as he struts his stuff at the age of 45

The striker lined up for current club Windsor in their Hellenic Premier Division clash against Brimscombe & Thrupp; a match which ended in a thrilling 4-4 draw.

Former Fulham star Barry Hayles turned back the clock as he strutted his stuff for his new club at the age of 45.

The striker lined up for current club Windsor in their Hellenic Premier Division clash against Brimscombe & Thrupp; a match which ended in a thrilling 4-4 draw.

Hayles showed his quality as he played a key role for his side, showing the quality which made him a real hit during his time at Craven Cottage.

During his time at the club, Hayles made over 200 appearances for the Whites, scoring 57 goals in the process.

He also enjoyed spells at Bristol Rovers, Millwall, Plymouth Argyle and Leicester City in his career, which also saw him win 10 caps for Jamaica.



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-fulham-leicester-city-millwall-13566765

[WhiteJC]

 
Transfer talk: Former Fulham and Newcastle target strikes agreement to join Deportivo La Caruna at end of Malaga loan deal

The striker was infamously on the verge of completing a move to Craven Cottage over the summer, but the deal stalled and eventually broke down leading to the Whites focusing their efforts elsewhere.

Former Fulham target has agreed a deal to join Deportivo La Coruna at the end of the season, according to L'Equipe.

The striker was infamously on the verge of completing a move to Craven Cottage over the summer, but the deal stalled and eventually broke down leading to the Whites focusing their efforts elsewhere.

It was thought that the 24-year-old was holding out for a move to the Premier League, with Newcastle thought to be keen, but no move materialised.

This resulted in the front man securing a season-long loan move to Malaga from parent club Bordeaux last Monday.

Rolan scored nine goals last season, only has one more year on his current deal at Bordeaux and will join up with the Spanish side for free next summer.



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/transfer-talk-former-fulham-newcastle-13567055

[WhiteJC]

 
Why Newcastle United Will Regret Not Signing This Fulham Midfield Sensation

Premier League outfit Newcastle United carved a productive summer transfer window for themselves. Under the tutelage of Rafael Benitez, the Geordies carved an immediate return back to the English top flight and have further bolstered their chances of staying inside the rendezvous zone at the end of this season with the recruitments they successfully manoeuvred.

Benitez has roped some quality names in the form of Joselu, Christian Atsu, Jacob Murphy and Florian Lejeune to St. James' Park over the course of the summer transfer window. However, one of the prospective deals which failed to cross the line was that involving Fulham's sensation Tom Cairney. Cairney was a revelation last season and impressed with the Cottagers week in and week out.

His stellar outings made him carve a name for himself in the good books of the football fraternity and the Toon emerged as one of the frontrunners to make him sign on the dotted line. The Scot smashed 12 goals, registered 10 assists and created as many as 115 chances last term in the Championship in 44 appearances (excluding the playoffs, wherein he scored 1 goal in 2 outings) he was handed and also cultivated a staggering average pass completion rate of 92%.

Benitez was desperate to rope him into his ranks and considering that the deal failed to come to a conclusion, the former Napoli boss is seemingly likely to see it as an opportunity lost. Besides, it is now implied that without the entry of a fantastic playmaker, Ayoze Perez would find himself under a lot of pressure this season as there was indeed a lack of creativity at the top of the midfield for Newcastle United last season.

Cairney is a player of fine calibre who can ply his trade as a central midfielder as well as a central attacking midfielder. He knits the game meticulously with his crisp and accurate passes, reads the game exceptionally well and possesses an undeniable knack to score goals. Perez and Mohamed Diame have been inconsistent time and again and thus, Cairney could have been a welcome addition.

The 26-year-old has proved himself in the English second division and it was about time for him to play in the Premier League. He could have really blossomed in the tactical nous of the Magpies as he would have had the license to drop deep and create chances and then get forward and thus, Benitez is seemingly likely to regret upon the failed transfer deal of Cairney.



http://the4thofficial.net/2017/09/newcastle-united-will-regret-not-signing-fulham-midfield-sensation/

[WhiteJC]

 
Craven Corner: The Future is Bright

With a new season beginning, Fulhamish are delighted to welcome a Fulham media staple, Ad Brons-Smith's Craven Corner, into the Fulhamish family

As the summer draws to a close, Fulham can finally focus on matters on the pitch, rather than the rumour mill that forever spins during the summer months.

Upon reflection, it's been a successful summer for the club and despite the Twitter rumours climaxing this year, I think the business by the board has been top class.

Following the successes of last season, it was paramount to keep the foundation in place, and to build upon it this year. Therefore, signing Ryan Sessegnon, Tom Cairney and Marcus Bettinelli to new deals and bringing Tomas Kalas and Lucas Piazon back to the club, the spine of the side remained intact. Pricing the likes of Brighton and Nottingham Forest out of the market for Kevin McDonald also lowered any threat of losing the key trio in the centre of the park – the engine to our success last season.

By doing this, the club have managed to keep the star players together ahead of the upcoming campaign, despite losing Scott Malone & Sone Aluko in this window. Even though, Malone and Aluko departed this summer, the club have achieved a tremendous amount of money for the players – especially the £7.5m for Aluko.  Although I was a big fan of Sone, £7.5m is crazy money for his services, and while he may be a gent off the pitch, and a fairly decent Championship player, he wasn't clinical enough in the final third for that sort of money. Not to mention, that both players were signed on a free transfer last year, so over £10m in sales from them two alone, nearly funded our entire summer spend. Not bad at all!

In fact, if you take the fees for Lasse, Burgess, Jozabed, Adeniran and Stearman too, Fulham probably broke even or marginally made a profit on this summer's dealings, which is outstanding considering our squad looks stronger in depth this year. Being able to demand the fees that we did for the departures, has been a relief as a Fulham fan, as time after time again I've felt we've rarely let a player go for an acceptable fee in the past, so seeing the board standing firm other valuations is a relief, and steers us away from another FFP embargo.

Even though, our best signings this summer were contracts for TC and Sess, it must also be noted that the board cancelled a deal to allow Denis Odoi leave the club in the early days of the window, and that's proved to be a master-stroke. Despite, a return to Belgium on the cards for Odoi, Fulham quickly pulled out of a deal with Genk, and Odoi has since gone from strength to strength, and now providing Jokanovic with another option in the heart of defence.

While some fans may have wanted another centre back to sign this summer, the emergence of Odoi as cover for right-back and centre back, fills any void we may be missing, and with Ream and Kalas forming a strong partnership, I'm not as worried as some others about our options. Lastly, Marcelo Djalo was arguably Man of the Match for his appearance in the cup game against Wycombe, so once he settles I'm sure he will be able to step up when called upon.

There were calls for the board to make a 'marquee signing' in the last few days of the window, but I don't necessarily think we needed much more in the final few days of the window. While there was talk of £15m move for Dwight Gayle, I couldn't have faith in that rumour especially as he is approaching 28 years of age. Although, Sky Sports ran the story, many other outlets reported that the club had denied any bid or interest – and with Matt Smith denying the rumours on the radio about a TC and Gayle swap deal, I doubt there was much to it anyway.
Although Gayle would have provided us with another option upfront, I don't think we needed him in all honesty.

Fifteen million would have been a risk as he would have to have another twenty goal season for the club to get any profit the following summer should he be sold if we got promoted and I can't see anyone offering close to £20m for him, now or in 18 months time. Plus, we had already spent £15m on two strikers this summer in Rui Fonte, and Aboubakar Kamara. While, Fonte and Kamara provide two different options up front, signing Yohan Mollo and Jordan Graham gives us further options out wide, allowing Ayite and Kebano to play more centrally when required without weakening our wide options, so maybe a striker wasn't needed after all.

There were Twitter rumours of a move for Fernando Forestieri and Jota, but both of those were quickly crushed and proved to be non-starters – and would we have really needed them for rumoured fees? It would have been close to 20m to sign both, and considering our squad depth this season, I think it's best to save any left-over funds for January to reinvest should we need to spend mid-season to cover any injuries we may pick up.

As for Deadline Day signings, Graham and Mollo, I'm quietly excited about their arrivals if I'm honest. Graham is incredibly highly rated by Wolves fans, and stats-wise, is an impressive performer at Championship level. While, Mollo is a bizarre character to say the least. Arguably tipped for big things during his time at Nancy and early days at Saint-Etienne, but has struggled to settle at any club since. Only 28, and on a deal which could see him here for the next two years, his versatility to play on either side of midfield, will provide Jokanovic with more options for the upcoming season. A player with a lot to prove and a chance to rejuvenate his career, and I hope he makes the most of his time at the club.

Finally, Fulham picked up a massive three points against Ipswich who had started the season strongly last weekend, and with Tom Cairney returning back to full fitness, I don't see why Fulham can't push for maximum points from their next five games. Yes, that's optimistic and very ambitious considering our slow start, but when we're at full strength, we are arguably the best team in this division; we proved that last season by beating Huddersfield 9-1 over the course of two games, and beating Newcastle home and away.

Also, in the next 5-6 weeks, we should see Rafa Soares make his debut for the club, which will allow Ryan Sessegnon to play further forward, like he did last season with Malone. This will prove to be vital for Jokanovic and the club this season, as it will provide Sessegnon with the platform to play in his preferred position, and should he notch up a few goals this term, don't be surprised if a few Premier League clubs look to spend £40m or more on his talent in January or next summer. By signing Rafa Soares to play left-back, and potentially allowing Sess more time further forward to shine, Sess' development could bankroll our transfer window next summer, and that's incredibly important – regardless of where we finish next season.

To conclude, I'm really pleased with the business this summer and it's another successful summer under this stat-dependent system, and while it's had its critics, the standard of player that has been signed under its implementation has been much higher than any one signed by Felix Magath or Kit Symons since we've been in this division – so onwards and upwards!

Let's get behind the club, and give it everything this season – COME ON YOU WHITES! 😀



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2017-09-03-craven-corner-after-a-successful-summer-transfer-window-the-future-is-bright-for-fulham/

[WhiteJC]

 
Round-Up: A Transfer Window Review

The silly season is over and never has that term seemed more fitting. This summer we saw the record transfer fee rise to an astonishing £200 million, with Neymar leaving the Fulham Barcelona style of football behind for a new chapter in Paris.

It never ceases to amaze me quite how much money clubs are willing to spend in order to fix the problems they experienced in the previous season, such as Manchester City splashing £26.5 million on Danilo, a Real Madrid reject, or Fulham spending over £5 million on Aboubakar Kamara!

But despite the chaos in the rest of the footballing world, Fulham have emerged with some excellent acquisitions whilst maintaining the core of the team that brought them close to a return to the top flight last time round. Without further ado, then, let's take a look at the areas of the new squad that have changed.

Defence
Although Slavisa employs a heavily attacking style of play that warrants the occasional defensive error, at times last season Fulham's defense was inexcusably poor. Whilst early days, an average of  0.85 goals a game conceded last season has been reduced to 0.6 so far this season, suggesting a slight improvement. The deal to secure Kalas on loan for a second season in succession was one of the clubs major successes this summer – his partnership with Ream flourished at points last year, particularly in the final five games of the regular season – and that partnership is only likely to improve with more minutes under their belts together.

A further impressive coup, one which we are yet to see in action on the hallowed turf of Craven Cottage, was the signing of Portuguese left back Rafa Soares from Porto. Statistically, Soares is a left back who appears to be a significant upgrade on Scott Malone, recording 28 more key passes than Fulham's departed No3 last season, as well as creating 56 chances in comparison to Malone's 27 and amazingly, appearing to be able to cross a football, with a crossing accuracy rate of more than 50%.

Despite this, Malone will be missed – his wonder strikes, fleeting moments of brilliance, and the worst cross that became one of the most memorable assists in Fulham's recent history will always have a place in our hearts. Credit must also go to Huddersfield for paying a whopping £5 million mostly for a backup left back and a song!

The sales of Stearman and Cameron Burgess cleared out some of the deadwood, whilst loaning out Sigurdsson saves the club extra cash, as somewhat surprisingly he was the highest paid player at the club.

The signing of professional contracts by Ryan and Steven Sessegnon respectively show promise for the future and, in particular for our current No3, the season ahead, as Ryan's development is likely to accelerate with further experience in a competitive football environment – his growth this season has the potential to be stratospheric. The contracts for the twins highlight our intent on becoming the best team in the league, and to build further on last seasons success – as well as a continued vision for the future of the club.

The successes in terms of defensive recruitment, however, are potentially overshadowed by the elephant in the room; the elephant we signed on the 3rd of July from CD Lugo. Marcelo Djalo remains somewhat of an unknown quanitity, but what is crystal clear is that the game in which he looked most comfortable in was against League Two opposition. Only time will tell if he can up that level.

In terms of covering the potential failings at centre back, a deadline day signing of Bjorn Engels would have been particularly satisfying, but as we now know, Dennis Odoi is waiting in the wings should he be needed as defensive cover anywhere across the back line.

Overall I score our business in defensive areas at 7.5/10.

Midfield
The best midfield in the league from last season remains whole! In fact, during the window this midfield was added to, improving the strength in depth, with the signings of Ibrahima Cisse and Oliver Norwood coming in to provide some much-needed cover in case of injuries or fatigue to the starting trio.

Cairney's new contract was undoubtedly Tony Khan and co's finest achievement of this window. The new club captain is by a distance the best number 10 in the Championship, with his 92% pass accuracy putting him on a par with many of Europe's elite, and the fact that the club were ready and able to resist bids such as the reputed £20 million highlights their ambition for this season.

Similarly, despite substantial interest from Nottingham Forest Kevin Macdonald remains a Fulham player, and as our most undersung and crucial player last season, he is vital to our promotion push.

Aside from player retention, the signings of  Cisse and Norwood add real quality to the midfield in terms of bench strength and rotation. The latter's experience with Brighton last season will only benefit Fulham's  young squad, while his 34 chances created in 31 appearances (mostly coming off the bench) would be handy if he could replicate (or get anywhere near) that this season. Cisse's strength makes him the ideal replacement should Slav wish to employ a slightly more defensive approach, perhaps in the final ten minutes of a tight game.

Sadly the club parted ways with Christensen, a long term servant of the club ever since his move in January 2012. To be honest, there was no real space for him in Slavisa's system, and his form has never quite reached the heights that it did in 2014/15 when he was voted 3rd place in the Player of the Year Award.

A further departure saw Jozabed (Sanchez Ruiz) leave for Celta Vigo. There is little to comment on considering that he only made six league appearances, with all but one coming off the bench, however it is evident his full potential was never realised during his spell in London and Fulham fans should be saddened that we never saw the Spaniard in full flight, as he clearly possesses considerable talent.

Lastly, despite Piazon's leg break, his loan will hopefully give us added fire power when he returns in the second half of the season and everyone associated with the club is praying that he will be able to build on his really positive start. As he himself puts it, he'll be back!

Overall I would score our business regarding the midfield as a 9/10.

Attack
A consistent committed, quality striker was something that Fulham fans had been craving since last season. In fact, many would argue that should we have held such an asset last year then we may have achieved promotion last time out.  If we can assess a player on one performance, that against Ipswich, then it appears that we might have found that player in Rui Fonte. At Portman Road, Fonte scored his first goal for the club, linked up excellently with the wingers and midfield, and displayed a touch and footballing intelligence which appears to slot perfectly into Slavisa's system.

Furthermore, Fonte's statistcs from last season, particularly a 50+% shot accuracy and one in four conversion rate makes for pleasant reading for Fulham fans, in a footballing sense. Added to this, there is the praise that Fonte received from Braga fans for his link up play and work ethic(averaging 2.4 tackles per game). Fulham were able to secure a deal around the £8 million mark, and this will seem a small price to pay if Fonte is the man to lead the club back to the promised land of the Premier League.

The signing of Kamara, as it stands today, appears a poor bit of business in contrast. When you consider the board paid less for Tom Cairney then they did for a man who has so far displayed little footballing ability, the fee seems extortionate. There is plenty of hope, howerer. Last seasons record of 11 goals from 29 appearances provides some comfort, and Kamara is currently adjusting to a new city, league and team.

If Rui Fonte can help him hone his attributes and fellow French speakers Neeskens Kebano and Floyd Ayite can help Kamara to settle in, then the attributes of a top championship striker that he clearly possesses will potentially become more prominent as the season goes on, adding a different dynamic and a player who could come into his own towards the end of the season.

In Ojo, the club have gained an extremely talented youngster who again looked excellent against Ipswich and more than capable of performing at this level. As an Under-20 World Cup winner, it's very possible that Ojo is the man who will be the one filling the shoes of the departed Sone Aluko. Aluko's departure was disappointing to see from a fan's perspective, due to the huge part he played in Fulham's promotion push last season, but admittedly £7.5 million for a forward who lacks the ability to finish (only converting 7 out of 124 shots during last season) and  who arrived on a free last summer, seems like a shrewd bit of business by Khan Jr.

For the overall score, I award an 8.5/10.

Deadline Day
Dreams of Gayle, Forestieri and Jota never materialised, but the club did manage to secure two deadline day deals both of whom undoubtedly add further quality to Fulham's already talented outfit. Yohan Mollo is a winger who can play on either side, who achieved 15 goals and 27 assists in 117 appearances during spells at Nancy and St Etienne. As he is also known for his excellent crossing ability and set piece taking, someone of Mollo's calibre should be a natural fit into this skilful, ball-playing Fulham unit.

The second signing of the day, and the final of Fulham's window, was Jordan Graham from Wolves. Graham is a pacey, skilful left winger with known dribbling ability and someone who Wolves fans were sad to let depart Molineux, which is a good sign. Neither of these were marquee signings but appear to be sensible and exciting acquisitions nevertheless.

Summary
All the evidence above suggests that Fulham have had a very successful transfer window and when taking a step back and looking at the window as a whole, that fact becomes ever more clear. The side have strengthened in the crucial positions we were lacking, such as at the top of the pitch; and gained strength in depth in areas which would have been weak given injuries or suspensions, such as in centre midfield.

Mostly, however, Fulham have maintained the core of the side that came so close to immortality previously, Malone and Aluko aside. It is my belief that not only do we have one of the strongest starting XIs in the league, but we now have an incredibly talented bench to boot, and this squad, if they play to their potential, is capable of winning promotion from this tough league! COYW.



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2017-09-03-round-up-a-transfer-window-review/

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham FC desktop wallpapers
I've designed a couple of new 'FREE' Fulham desktop wallpapers for your PC...

Fulham FC desktop wallpaper

Fulham FC desktop wallpaper[/size][/i]

these are available in various sizes:

• 800×600
• 1024×768
• 1152×864
• 1280×1024

you can find these and others on the Friends of Fulham wallpapers page...

http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wall_club_badge.php



http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=32

[Southcoastffc]

Good work on the wallpapers - thanks!

[Woolly Mammoth]

That reminds me, over the weekend I paid a visit to another Fulham supporter I know, who happens to be a Scotsman.
When I got there, he was in the process of stripping this same Fulham wallpaper off his walls.
I remarked to him " are you redecorating " ? 
He replied " no I am moving house ".

[Cottage Industry]

I always look forward to reading your daily posts, and thoroughly digest the contents.I think the Friends of Fulham website is one of the most important ways of keeping in touch, especially for the likes of me who live in the far north of England, only 8 miles from the Scottish Border. I have contributed to the website for sometime and if only everybody did the same
it would help the administrators no end with the costs.I cannot get to the matches these days but rely on TV and Videos, but more importantly this website and its contributors.I cannot comment too often as you do not always get a full pitch view, and that is so necessary when you see a player without the ball making a vast contribution by taking the defence away and occupying space away from the action.Jimmy Hill comes to mind in that respect as do many others.

I did reply to Westcliff White column and gave an 8 with various comments on the transfer window. In case that did not reach this board I will only repeat that I thought the Fulham Board conducted a very good window. The loan players that were brought in appear to have a real quality. If that quality is translated into reality then we have obtained some positive gems,  and has been mentioned it does not affect the FFP rules. The permanent transfers offer real scope for SJ to mix and match with the loans as he feels fit. With regard to AB Kamara I hope this board gives the lad a chance because if SJ can work his magic and he has with Tim Ream I believe there is a raw talent that needs exposing and coaching.