Monday Fulham Stuff (13/09/10)...

[WhiteJC]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/DembeleWolvesReaction.aspx?
Saturday's Hero

Following Saturday's bruising encounter against Wolves, Mousa Dembele spoke of his satisfaction at securing all three points and maintaining the Club's unbeaten start to the season.

Dembele's 90th minute free-kick earned Fulham victory on what was a bitter-sweet afternoon but the Belgium international was delighted his Team played their way to victory.

"We had to win the game on Saturday and I'm very pleased we did," Dembele told fulhamfc.com. "If we didn't win it was really no good for us. Games like that are the ones we really have to win.

"It was not an easy game against Wolves but you could see we were the better team. We just had to finish it and thankfully we did. It's normal in football to have a battle and our match against Blackpool was a similar game – they were both very physical matches.

"It was a good game on Saturday and it was important for us to keep playing our own game. We have the players to play nice football. All the big teams play their football and the other teams have to adapt – we should also do that."

Fulham's win on Saturday was soured by Bobby Zamora's first-half injury and Dembele was clearly saddened to see his fellow striker suffer such a cruel blow.

"In the dressing room, for me personally, I was in shock," said Dembele. "Bobby is one of the most important players in the Team and to lose him to injury is very hard for us. It's not going to be easy for us now."

Zamora underwent a successful operation on Sunday and as Dembele explained to fulhamfc.com, his team mates will now share the striking duties until Fulham's star man returns from injury.

"I'll play wherever the Manager wants me to play. We have a lot of players that can play up front and behind the attack. On Saturday Clint and I split the work."



Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/DembeleWolvesReaction.aspx?#ixzz0zPbyd1AW

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http://www.ealinggazette.co.uk/sport/football-ealing/fulham-fc-ealing/2010/09/13/wolves-boss-bites-back-at-fulham-fans-82029-27258430/?
Wolves boss bites back at Fulham fans

WOLVES boss Mick McCarthy admits he was "hurt" by the "disgrace to the Premiership" slur levelled at his team by Fulham fans.

Sections of the Craven Cottage crowd made their feelings plain after seeing Bobby Zamora stretchered off with a broken leg in a game which saw five visiting players booked as well as a red card for Christophe Berra.

"That does hurt me. I think it's grossly unfair," he said.

"I've seen it all develop from the Newcastle game which was highlighted on TV. That was a tough old game and suddenly we're this devil-incarnate of the Premier League and we're far from it. We compete and we do it fairly.

"We've had one game which was a really tough one and ended up being highlighted on Match of the Day. All our challenges were highlighted but we watched the game back on the Monday and there were similar challenges on our players - it was a tough game.

"It then becomes media-driven and I'm not blaming the media, that's just the way it is. But all of a sudden we've become a disgrace to the Premier League which is completely untrue.

"Maybe we'll have to go to Tottenham and play nice free-flowing football and not tackle anyone - not lay a finger on them - and just let them tackle us and not complain! And maybe we'll play them off the park and win 3-0!"

[WhiteJC]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/DutchInternationalMembersgroup.aspx?
Welcome Dutch Members

We are pleased to announce that along with the three initial Official International Fulham Members' Clubs there is now a fourth in the form of the Dutch International Members' Club run by Michiel Hagmen.  All four supporters' clubs have reached the first level of membership by registering at least 10 paid members.

In addition to each member receiving the great benefits such as ticketing priority, ticket discounts and an exclusive members' pack, all members in FFC Sweden, FulhamUSA, Dutch Members' Club, and the Fulham Exiles share the following rewards for becoming official:

Official status awarded
Certification of Affiliation
Details on official club website (contact name, email address, URL and logo)
Signed Kit (to raffle off)
One secretary to run scheme on behalf of club and liaise with Fulham FC
Monthly Prize Draw
FulhamUSA, a group started by several American fans back in 2004, the Fulham Exiles, a website and supporter group made up mainly of English expats in the USA and FFC Sweden, the only official Members Club in Sweden are now available to join for free.

To find out more or to join any of the Official International Members' Clubs feel free to visit the FulhamUSA group on Cottage Corner, the Fulham Exiles website or the FFC Sweden website.

Now all Members in the Netherlands can also sign up to new the Dutch Members' Club.

Start your own Official International Fulham Members' Club

Fans from across the globe can now get closer to the Club they love by setting up their very own Official International Members' Club. There are some fantastic benefits on offer once all paid members have signed up with the Club through the official registration channel.

There are four levels of International group membership and just 10 paid Fulham Members are required to meet the Club's official entry level status and receive the first level of Fulham FC benefits.

Every International Members' Club will receive benefits whilst every individual paid member will receive exclusive ticketing access, ticketing discounts, a members' pack and more.

Find out more about the Official International Fulham Members' Club scheme and buy your membership today!



Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/DutchInternationalMembersgroup.aspx?#ixzz0zQ7lvmeL

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http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/football/article-23877430-henry-apology-for-bobby-zamora.do?
Henry apology for Bobby Zamora

WOLVES midfielder Karl Henry insisted today there was no malice in the challenge which broke Bobby Zamora's leg and has sent his sympathy to the Fulham striker, who faces at least four months out.

Zamora's team-mate Clint Dempsey reacted angrily towards Henry at the time and the home fans berated Wolves with a chant of "you're a disgrace to the Premiership" in the second half of Saturday's game.

But Henry said: "There was certainly nothing from me, that I tried to 'do' him, which a few of their players were suggesting. I don't want to hear it from another player, that I've gone out to try to 'do' someone. I didn't do anything deliberate and I would never try to do anything deliberate to hurt anyone. I'm sorry the damage was done to him because it's the last thing I would have wanted."

[WhiteJC]

http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/43581/McCarthy_defends_Wolves_approach.aspx?
McCarthy defends Wolves' approach

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy reacted angrily to suggestions that his side have become overly physical this season, following his team's 2-1 reverse at Fulham.

Some Cottagers fans chanted 'you're a disgrace to the Premiership' during Saturday afternoon's action, with the home side having Bobby Zamora stretchered off with a serious leg injury following a tackle by Karl Henry.

However, a defiant McCarthy railed: "We're not overly physical. The worst two tackles were by Fulham players on Karl Henry and Steven Fletcher.

"I just don't want us to be labelled in a certain way so that officials are persuaded by that kind of attention. It cost us yesterday.

"Suddenly we've become the devil incarnate. We had one game against Newcastle that was really tough and Match of the Day highlighted all the challenges.

"But we watched the game on the following Monday and there were similar challenges being made on our lads.

"It was a tough game but that brought it to everyone's attention. The tag given to us after that match is unfair.

"It's media-led, but now we've had the crowd singing we're 'a disgrace to the Premiership', which is completely untrue."

[WhiteJC]

http://fulham.theoffside.com/team-news/wolves-are-not-a-dirty-team.html?
Wolves are not a dirty team
By: timmyg | September 13th, 2010

The aftermath of Saturday's Wolves game has drawn battle lines between Fulham fans claiming Wolves are the dirtiest team yet and Wolves fans denying such accusations.

But there is a distinct difference between playing dirty and being a dirty team. One is a strategy and the other is a mindset. And what we're seeing in Wolves is a team that is, for better or worse, playing dirty. But because it is still early in the season, we cannot label them a dirty team just yet.

Wolves are currently bottom of the disciplinary table with 15 yellow cards and one red. Yet, amazingly, Wolves have 12 different players carrying yellow cards but none have received a straight red.

They out-fouled their opponents in only two of the first four games, but only slightly. At the opener at Stoke they out-fouled the Potters 19 to 16. But the next week against Everton they were out-fouled 17 to 16, and again a week later at Newcastle 21 to 20. On Saturday the tally was 19 to 9 in favor of Wolves.

Another telling anecdote about Wolves is when their opponents were booked. Both of Stoke's cards came after the 75th minute (Huth at 76 and Whitehead at 78). Everton's only card came at the 77th minute. Three out of the five cards by Newcastle came at the very end of the match: Ameobi at 89, Perch and 90 and Barton at 90. And then on Saturday both of Fulham's cards came at the 90th minute through Murphy and Hangeland.

I don't have any stats on it, but I'm pretty positive most bookings occur in the second half. Referees have a pretty simple and straightforward system so that one innocuous tackle in the 10th minute will get a warning but that same tackle in the 60th minute will get a card.

But to have so many bookings so late in the game shows that the cards are retaliatory offenses. Remember the World Cup final? Nearly half of Spain's cards (and I'm sure fouls, although there's no easy way to track that stat) were in retaliation to the thuggish play by Holland. At a certain point players get fed up and go vigilante, but only because of the original offenses.

Yet Daniel Poultney, the Wolves correspondent for Soccernet, brings up a lucid point about Wolves' fouls: they were incredibly awkward.

What the record doesn't show though is what the players are doing to get themselves booked.

This detail would show that Wolves are not a team of cheats. You will not find two-footed tackles, elbows or scuffles on our list of crimes. Neither will you find diving, dissent or play acting.

What you will find is a catalogue of clumsy errors just like those that saw Christophe Berra sent off at Fulham. There will be plenty of obstructions and mistimed tackles.

Our fouls are due to our limitations though and nothing to do with our tactics.

Don Hymel, an erstwhile podcast guest, also brings some perspective to this point on the Friends of Fulham board:
[Wolves] fouled plenty and should have received more cards than they did, but they weren't out to injure anybody. They wanted to intimidate and that didn't much work. Why we were all so frustrated at them [and at the ref by a direct result], is that the majority of their fouls were cynical. Players pulled down and hip checked not to hurt them but to stop an attack. If you're going to deal in quick — and I must say VERY EFFECTIVE — lightning counter attacks, you must be prepared to deal with the consequences when you lose possession. Wolves did by hacking down the Fulham player leading the attack. This is the very essence of professional fouling. If a player makes this foul, he should expect a yellow. I know I would have. If the ref had any guts, he would have started the yellows early on. Wolves would have either adjusted their tactics or wound up with four guys on the pitch.

I'm going to cut Wolves some slack here and agree that they are not a dirty team. Henry's tackle on Zamora was clean, but unnecessary. Their tactics aren't negative as much as they are sophomoric.

Well, not yet anyway.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/PlayerOfTheMonthReaction.aspx?
Stockdale's Delight

David Stockdale won the Club's official Player of the Month Award for August by a landslide and the young goalkeeper was delighted to receive the news as he discussed his return to fitness with fulhamfc.com.

"I'm definitely surprised I won the Player of the Month Award and hopefully now I can get fit and push Mark [Schwarzer] for his First Team place," said Stockdale on Monday afternoon. "He's a great goalkeeper so I can't push my luck and I'll cover him until my opportunity comes around again.

"I waited two years for my chance to come so it was really disappointing to get injured but the fans know they've got someone behind Mark now.

"I got injured after 60 minutes against Blackpool but I didn't want to come off. It was mentally tough out there with the injury but I just wanted to carry on and show determination.

"The injury is a lot better and we're hoping I'll be back in full training in ten days time. I'm aiming to be back on the bench for the Everton game.

"Unfortunately it's meant I've had to sit out a few games but they said it would have been about the same time if I'd come off anyway."

Stockdale played in all four of the Club's fixtures in August and when it comes to deciding his personal favourite, there is one match at the Cottage which stands out above the rest.

"My favourite game was the Manchester United match," Stockdale told fulhamfc.com. "I've got links to Leeds with my family so there's a bit of added rivalry for me. The fans were behind me in the first half and they were really encouraging me - I was delighted I came through those matches in August."



Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/PlayerOfTheMonthReaction.aspx?#ixzz0zQRN1FHr