Tuesday Fulham Stuff (07/11/17)...

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Tomas Kalas reveals Chelsea's Andreas Christensen's rise gives him hope to one day make the first team

The 24-year-old has spent the majority of his time at Chelsea out on loan, but believes Andreas Christensen's rise to the first team can give other loanees hope

Tomas Kalas believes Andreas Christensen's rise to regular first teamer at Chelsea gives both him and other loaness hope that they will still make it at Stamford Bridge.

The 24-year-old has spent most of his Blues career out on loan, spending last season and this with Slavisa Jokanovic's Fulham where he has established himself as one the better defenders in the Championship.

Christensen was much the same, spending the past two seasons on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach before coming back to the Blue side of west London, making 13 appearances so far in all competitions for Antonio Conte's side and gaining the plaudits for his performance against Manchester United on Sunday.

Seeing the 21-year-old breakthrough into the first team gives Kalas hope that next season he may do the same, but points to the amount of games the Dane played for Mönchengladbach as part of the reason he's now playing and hopes that after having done the same with Fulham he may also breakthrough.

He said: "Yeah, he's one of two who have made it so it's still not a big number but at least it gives us players on loan hope that we can make it through at Chelsea.



"But obviously, it comes with games and he's had a lot of games in Germany so I still need to get to that point where I'll have loads of games at one team, because he stayed a few seasons at Mönchengladbach and he played literally every game and playing in that team, they finished high in the Bundesliga.

"That's some kind of achievement already, so after that he could claim himself as a player that is ready to replace one of the three, I still didn't have that many games in one team so after this season it might be my time but I don't know.

"Chelsea have been in touch a few times and sometimes Paulo Ferreira comes and talks to me and show me some video clips of what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right and asks me how it's going on and off the pitch.

"They can just help me or ask if I need help."



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tomas-kalas-reveals-chelseas-andreas-13863207

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham keen on Ostersunds centre-back

Fulham are interested in Ostersunds defender Sotiris Papagiannopoulos.

The Whites have been scouting the centre-back (pictured on the right above) extensively ahead of the January transfer window and are so far impressed with what they have seen.

The Stockholm-born 27-year-old, who has made 67 appearances for the Swedish club, is one of a number of players Fulham are showing an interest in.

Boss Slavisa Jokanovic is keen to strengthen his squad following an uninspiring start to the season.

Fulham go into the international break in 17th place in the Championship table after 16 matches.



http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/fulham-keen-swedish-centre-back

[WhiteJC]

 
Mistakes have been made at Fulham and now is the time to admit them and put things right

Mistakes have been made at Fulham over Kline-gate, but now is the opportunity to admit them and put things right

It's been a tough October for Fulham - no wins on the pitch from four games as well as off-the-pitch issues have seen the club go from the envy of everyone last season to a club in crisis.

Since Craig Kline's departure, a number of stories have come out in the national press regarding his behavior at the club, from wanting to sumo wrestle Slavisa Jokanovic in a press conference, to saying no to top quality players that could've made the difference to the club last season.

At the moment, it seems to be one thing after another at the Cottage.

The whole Kline episode will be one that fans will look back on in time and think 'just what on Earth was going on there?' much like they do with the Felix Magath era.

The ownership at the club got this one wrong, but things can still be fixed if people admit to mistakes and start putting the club back on the right track.

Stats in football is always a controversial topic - some people think there's no place for them whilst others will swear by them.

The whole Kline debacle will further fuel that debate - not divulging details of his model internally should've raised massive red flags in the first place, how can a club that use stats in transfer dealings know exactly what they're getting if they can't see how the model suggested that player in the first place?

There also seemed to be a problem with Kline's data model - any model that doesn't rank Aaron Mooy, Tammy Abraham, Andreas Perreira and the like doesn't seem like a particularly good one, and the fact that the model wouldn't be divulged to anyone at the club raises further questions about it.

Should one man have so much say and influence over transfer dealings at a club?

I don't think so.

I'm all for stats in football, I think recruiting with them is far better than recruiting without and this whole situation reminds me of when Brentford first adopted their Moneyball approach.

They got it massively wrong, there was an air of arrogance around Rasmus Ankersen, the co-director of football and too many players they bought in weren't up to it.

But they held their hands up, admitted they'd got things wrong and they went again, and now their recruitment is one of, if not the best, in the Championship.

That's what needs to happen at Fulham, now.

Tony Khan , who most certainly has the best interests of the club at heart, has made a mistake with Kline, as everyone does, but now is an opportunity to correct it.

He shouldn't be 'sacked' or removed from his post as some people are suggesting, nor should Fulham move away from stats based recruitment.

They should, however, move to a model that actually works and puts players like Abraham and Perreira at the top of the list of players to sign, like I'm sure they were with many other stats models.

There is still time to fix the mess that has been left in the wake of Kline-gate, the January transfer window is around the corner, and with James Lovell in place the club have someone who will take on board the opinions of Slavisa Jokanovic instead of dismissing them outright.

What decisions are made in the coming week will determine where Fulham go for the next few seasons, and after the mistakes made recently, they can't afford to get it wrong.



http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mistakes-been-made-fulham-now-13864075

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham's Premier League plans unravelling in a haze of stats, sumo and police sirens

Things are not going as planned at Craven Cottage this season

In an odd way, Slavisa Jokanovic might actually be a little grateful for the circus of adverse publicity surrounding Fulham at the moment.

An underachieving Championship club doesn't usually make for national news, but when police are called to the training ground after the dismissal of that club's sporting director, who goes on to suggest racism was involved in his departure, it will attract a bit of attention. Attention that takes the focus away from a team drifting further and further away from the promise of last season.


Slavisa Jokanovic is under pressure at Fulham (Image: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Craig Kline's time at Fulham certainly sounds eventful. A friend of owner Shahid Khan's son Tony, Kline was brought in to offer a different perspective to player recruitment.

Kline was an analytics man, relying on a database of assorted statistics to help assess any potential signing. Any recruit reportedly had to pass the double test of Kline's statistical rigours and the more traditional eye test from Jokanovic and his scouts.

In theory, it sounds like a sensible arrangement. Football analytics are still really in their infancy but undoubtedly can have a value, particularly when combined with the more intangible expertise that comes from experience in the game.

The problem comes when these statistical models are patently flawed, but also when they're introduced and explained by inflexible people unwilling to accept any questioning of their numbers meaning that the two approaches, supposed to be working in harmony, never mesh. This certainly appears to have been the case in this situation.

Kline's behaviour was described by the Telegraph's Sam Wallace, who has been following this story for a while, as "obnoxious", steadfastly refusing to OK any signing that didn't tick both boxes, which understandably led to some conflict.

Back in August 2016 Jokanovic wanted to sign Manchester United youngster Andreas Pereira on loan, but due to there not being enough data available, the move was nixed by Kline.

"It is better to ask questions to this man as he can explain what we are going to do in recruitment," was Jokanovic's slightly salty response when asked about the deal at the time.

It has emerged that similar deals were in the pipeline for Aaron Mooy and Tammy Abraham, turned down for the same reason. This exposed the glaring flaw in the whole system: Kline's model reportedly only had data for the top two divisions in English football, making assessment of youngsters yet to play at that level tricky.

But it's the inflexibility of Kline that ultimately proved the problem. He was supposedly sent away from his duties twice after arguments with Jokanovic and the rest of the staff, before finally being dispensed with this week.


Tammy Abraham has scored five goals on loan at Swansea this season (Image: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Then came the surreal business of Kline calling the police to Motspur Park, the club's training ground, for reasons unclear, after which someone claiming to be him posted from a now-deleted Twitter account that his "grievances" centred on racism and the threat of violence.

In summary, it seems as if this was all a frightful mess. But it does rather obscure Fulham's problems on the pitch. After reaching the playoffs last season with a vibrant young side, they find themselves in 17th place without a win in their last five games. Friday's defeat at Wolves could be filed under "no disgrace to lose to...", but the dispiriting part was that it barely looked like a contest.

Then came the surreal business of Kline calling the police to Motspur Park, the club's training ground, for reasons unclear, after which someone claiming to be him posted from a now-deleted Twitter account that his "grievances" centred on racism and the threat of violence.

In summary, it seems as if this was all a frightful mess. But it does rather obscure Fulham's problems on the pitch. After reaching the playoffs last season with a vibrant young side, they find themselves in 17th place without a win in their last five games. Friday's defeat at Wolves could be filed under "no disgrace to lose to...", but the dispiriting part was that it barely looked like a contest.


Aboubakar Kamara has just two goals this season

"Today there aren't so many positives for us," said Jokanovic after the Wolves game: an honest assessment, perhaps, but one indicative of his mood. "This isn't a new situation, we made similar mistakes, they scored two easy goals. We played around but we didn't create serious chances and we didn't show enough quality. Not too many things are working for us. Some people still haven't adapted themselves for this competition."

That last point might be a dig aimed at Kline, but to place the blame for Fulham's struggles on behind the scenes shenanigans feels unfair. After all, things seemingly haven't been rosy in that respect for some time, and it didn't stop them last season.

Maybe Jokanovic should have taken up Kline's suggestion, as reported by Danny Taylor in the Observer, to have a sumo wrestling match to prove they were actually great pals.

It will be a shame if this latest episode of statistical and traditional football methods mixing like water and oil dissuades others from using analytics. More often than not it's the people that are the problem, rather than necessarily the numbers, and plenty of clubs use such things in a more considered and less dogmatic manner.

But for the moment, the furthering of a new way of approaching the game is the least of Fulham's concerns.



http://www.football.london/championship/fulham-slavisa-jokanovic-craig-kline-13864846

[WhiteJC]

 
Ream: Get It Right

Tim Ream wants Fulham to get their heads straight for when the Sky Bet Championship recommences after the international break.

A disappointing three week spell saw the Whites take just two points from a possible 15, and Ream says his team need to pull themselves together.

"There's plenty in this changing room to get results and be in a much better position than we're in, and it comes down to mentality," he explained.

"It's pretty simple, pretty self-explanatory. It doesn't matter who's playing, we all have to bring a different mentality to the pitch and to training."

Defeat at Molineux was the latest disappointment, when a pair of headed goals resulted in a 2-0 loss against league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"That's kind of been our M.O. lately," Ream admitted. "We haven't been defending set-pieces, we've given away some cheap goals.

"Other than those two first half set-pieces, they had a few chances in the second half, some crazy bounces, some missed passes kind of led to half chances for them, but for the most part we've let ourselves down.

"We knew it was going to be difficult. They're top of the table for a reason and they showed it with two set-piece goals.

"Similar to the last couple of games for us, we just didn't do enough to win or get anything from the match."

Things may have been different had Kevin McDonald converted when John Ruddy spilled Ryan Sessegnon's free-kick into his path, but the midfielder could only lift his effort over the bar.

"At this point we're not getting it right in both boxes," Ream stated. "We had our own chance on a set-piece that I know Kev's really gutted about.

"We had a few half chances in the second half, we got into some good positions but we haven't done anything with it.

"We need to tighten up at the back and really tighten up on set-pieces, and do a lot better with the ball in attack."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2017/november/06/tim-ream-get-it-right

[WhiteJC]

 
Brentford Tickets

Tickets for Fulham's match against Brentford are now on sale to Season Ticket Holders with 700 Loyalty Points or more.

Owing to limited availability, tickets for the fixture at Griffin Park on Saturday 2nd December (3pm) are on sale to supporters via a Loyalty Points basis, with fans able to purchase one ticket each.

On sale dates are staggered, culminating with all Season Ticket Holders and Members able to purchase from Thursday 16th November. Supporters are advised to check the full on-sale schedule with Loyalty Points information here to establish when they qualify to purchase tickets.

Tickets for the west London derby are priced from £25 adults and just £8 for junior fans aged 17 and under.

Fans eligible to purchase can do so online, by phone on 0203 871 0810 (opt. 1) or in person from the Fulham Ticket Office.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2017/november/06/brentford-tickets-on-sale

[WhiteJC]

 
Go For It Jokanovic: This £1.54m Wolves Ace Could Become One Of The Best In The League At Fulham



Wolves Midfielder Ben Marshall Would Be A Good Signing For Fulham – Here's Why

Fulham, much like Reading down the road and to the surprise of many, are simply not the force that they were last season and something is definitely missing from their side.

Despite managing to keep Tom Cairney following the overtures of Newcastle United, manager Salvisa Jokanovic knew his midfield may need reinforcement and so Ibrahima Cisse and Oliver Norwood were both brought in. Despite these signings, the boss completely rebuffed Nottingham Forest's advances when it came to Kevin McDonald too and it appeared his midfield would be as solid as ever.

That midfield though, extends into a three behind the central striker most of the time and it's in this area they have been severely weakened this term. For whatever reason, Sone Aluko was allowed to join Reading and the manager has seen it fit to deem Ryan Sessegnon only as an attacking left-back, with the youngster having covered the loss of Scott Malone so far.

Fulham's best work last season by far and away was done at the tail end of the campaign, a time when Aluko was on the right of the attacking midfield three and Sessegnon on the left. Coincidence? Their form this season would suggest not.

The manager has tinkered this season with playing a 4-3-3 instead of the 4-2-3-1, with misfiring striker Rui Fonte playing out wide instead of playing down the middle. Jokanovic has also tried a number of other players on the left. If they aren't working, there's probably a reason. They aren't good enough!

Surely it's blatantly obvious that having Cairney in the middle of the three and Sessegnon on the left of it is the best attacking solution here, and the selection headaches can be saved for the right-wing and left-back. But sadly, this seems to be yet another case where a manager becomes very stubborn and refuses to believe anyone other than himself. Jokanovic can't see what is needed and so I don't think Sessegnon will be invited forward any time soon.

With that in mind, Fulham could do a lot worse than give the £1.54m rated Ben Marshall a whirl in this position. He precisely played there for a manger who knows him so well, Paul Lambert, in an underwhelming Wolves team last season. In the left of the three behind the striker, Marshall managed to do well, which, at a club struggling while going forward was a good effort.

Ben Marshall would help Jokanovic solve a problem or two and Fulham should go for his signature when the January window opens.



http://soccersouls.com/2017/11/07/go-for-it-jokanovic-this-1-58m-wolves-ace-could-become-one-of-the-best-in-the-league-at-fulham/