Friday Fulham Stuff (05.02.10)

[White Noise]

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/sport/Orient-wake-spark-action-says-Bristol-Rovers-striker-Kuffour/article-1806146-detail/article.html

Rovers did blood one new face at Orient in midfielder Wayne Brown, a loan signing from Fulham, who had something of a baptism of fire on his Pirates debut.

"He looks good and looks sharp. You can tell he plays at a higher club because he had good movement and wanted to get on the ball all the time," said Kuffour.

"Tuesday will have been a learning experience for him and I'm sure he'll bounce back from it because he's a good player."

[White Noise]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/bolton/7163522/Bolton-Wanderers-v-Fulham-match-preview.html

Bolton Wanderers v Fulham: match preview

Read a full match preview of the Premier League game between Bolton Wanderers and Fulham at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday Feb 06 2010, kick-off 15.00 GMT.

By John Ley


Published: 7:58AM GMT 05 Feb 2010

Saturday, February 6

Bolton Wanderers v Fulham
Reebok Stadium
Kick-off: 15.00 GMT
TV: Highlights, BBC1 MotD.


Fulham are unbeaten in their last five Premier League meetings with Bolton and ended their poor run of five defeats with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday. Nicky Shorey and Stefano Okaka made their Fulham debuts and continue but John Pantsil, Paul Konchesky, Clint Dempsey and Andrew Johnson are all sidelined.

Bolton could involve Jack Wilshere, signed on loan from Arsenal, while another newcomer Stuart Holden is recovering from a thigh strain. Striker Ivan Klasnic, who missed the 2-0 defeat at Liverpool last Saturday, scored the opening goal at Fulham in November and could return.

Bolton (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Ricketts; Lee, Muamba, M Davies, Cohen, Taylor; K Davies.
Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Hughes, Smalling, Hangeland, Shorey; Davies, Murphy, Baird, Duff; Okako, Zamora.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg. Matches: 19. R4 Y56.

This season: Fulham 1 Bolton 1.

Last season: Fulham 2 Bolton 1, Bolton 1 Fulham 3.

Stat of the game: Only two of Fulham's eight wins have come away.

Betting tip: Try a repeat of the Cottage draw: 1-1 comes at 9-2.

[White Noise]

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/4909732.Sam_Ricketts__happy_bonus/

Sam Ricketts' happy bonus


8:30am Friday 5th February 2010



SAM Ricketts reckons his grandad is to thank for his current run in the Wanderers team.

The Wales international is due to get the nod ahead of Jlloyd Samuel and Paul Robinson to line up on the left side of defence against Fulham tomorrow, after starting the season ahead of Gretar Steinsson on the right.

And the defender revealed how his grandad's advice as a child has been responsible for the versatility that has made him a valuable asset for the Whites this season.

"Even if I flicked the ball up with my right foot, my grandad would say 'right, now do it on your left'," he said.

"When I was with him playing football, he'd tell me just to play with my left foot, and wouldn't let me touch the ball with my right, which is probably what I would have done naturally.

"I made my debut for Wales at left-back and that was proof he was right. I gave him my shirt and put a little plaque on it, which says: 'Thanks for always making me use my left foot.' "If any young player ever asks me for advice, I ask them what foot they use – which is usually the right – and say 'but how good are you on your left?'."

Ricketts has figured in Wanderers' last three games but has twice found himself out of the side this season for extended spells.

His first stint co-incided with the Whites' last game at Fulham, and the 28-year-old admitted it came as a shock to the system.

"It's tough sitting on the bench, you want to be playing. You train all week, build-up to the game and if you don't play, you don't have that same gut feeling on Saturday night," he said.

"I played nearly constantly for five years, so to miss out on a couple of games was hard. It will probably do my career good – maybe give me another year – because at times I was playing 65-70 games a season, but I still can't get used to it."

[White Noise]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/football/teams/p/port_vale/8498966.stm

Adams buoyed by Vale's potential

Port Vale boss Micky Adams insists the club has the potential to be successful but warned they are not the finished article yet.

Vale have gone six games unbeaten in League Two - a run which has seen them climb to within five points of the play-off places.

"We're generating something here," Adams told BBC Radio Stoke.

"We're not there yet, but there's plenty of potential at the club. That's why I came here in the first place."

Adams, who won promotion as manager of Fulham, Brighton and Hove Albion and Leicester City, added: "The more success you get, the more people come out of their shell.

"To be successful at any club, you've got to have everyone pulling in the right direction. That's why managers come and go at football clubs.

"When they're losing games because they're not giving the manager the support that he needs and deserves.

"I've done nothing yet. If I've given a little bit of belief to some of the supporters, then I'm doing my job.

"The most important thing, from my point of view, is that the players have that belief. It's not about managers, it's all about players."

[White Noise]

http://www.eatsleepsport.com/bolton-wanderers/coyle-keeps-his-focus-1017933.html

Coyle keeps his focus

Last Updated: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:28

Bolton boss Owen Coyle says he does not pay too much attention to the table and just concentrates on taking one game at a time.


Bolton moved out of the drop zone following the 1-0 win over Burnley last week but the 2-0 defeat at Liverpool was a setback and the Trotters go into tomorrow's game against Fulham still in the thick of a relegation scrap.

However Coyle says he does not look at the table too much and just focuses on making sure the players are properly prepared and ready to go for the next game.

"I don't scrutinise the table, I scrutinise what we have at the football club," he said. "I look at what we can do to win the next game, knowing that will put us in a good position and if you don't, you'll stay where you are at best.

"If you'd asked me if I had any points targets at the start of the season at Burnley, my answer would have been the same. I don't set points targets. I just want to make sure at the end of this season that there are three teams below us.

"We took over the club in the bottom three for whatever reason and it's up to us to make sure we preserve its Premier League status, and then take it on."

[WhiteJC]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8493719.stm
Bolton    v    Fulham

Saturday, 6 February 2010

Premier League

TEAM NEWS
Bolton look set to recall striker Johan Elmander as Ivan Klasnic remains sidelined with an ankle injury.

New signings Vladimir Weiss and Jack Wilshere are likely to be involved, but Stuart Holden remains doubtful with a thigh problem.

Fulham revealed this week Andrew Johnson could miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Zoltan Gera is suffering with a knee injury, but Simon Davies is hoping to shake off an ankle complaint.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bolton

Doubtful: Holden (thigh), McCann (thigh)

Injured: Davis (knee), Klasnic (calf), J O'Brien (knee)

Fulham

Doubtful: Davies (ankle), Gera (knee)

Injured: Dempsey, Johnson & Pantsil (all knee), Konchesky (ankle)


MATCH PREVIEW
Bolton's attempts to free themselves from the relegation mire continue with the visit of injury-ravaged Fulham on Saturday.

We are a team that can create chances and what we have to do is make sure we are stopping goals at one end and scoring them at the other

Bolton boss Owen Coyle
The Trotters hover perilously close to the bottom three, with only goal difference keeping them afloat.

Owen Coyle has so far been unable to inspire an upturn in fortunes in Wanderers' league form, with three defeats in four. But his side's performances against Arsenal and Liverpool, plus some astute additions in the January transfer window, suggest a revival may not be far away.

Fulham's season has been hampered by a lengthy injury-list, with manager Roy Hodgson describing it as the worst he has experienced in 34 years of management.

That didn't prevent the Craven Cottage outfit from overcoming bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth in midweek, ending a run of five successive league defeats.

The next target for Hodgson is to improve his side's away form, with their only win on the road coming all the way back in August.


MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

• This is the 72nd meeting between these sides. Bolton have won 27, Fulham 25 with 19 draws.

• Bolton have only won three out of 17 Premier League meetings with Fulham.

• Bolton have managed just one clean sheet in their last 24 league games.

• They have won just two of their last 13 in the league.

• If selected, Kevin Davies will be making his 500th league appearance.

Fulham

• Fulham have won none of their last 11 Premier League away matches and have lost the last four in a row.

• Their 1-0 defeat of Portsmouth on Wednesday ended a run of five consecutive league defeats.

• They have not won back-to-back Premier League matches since May 2009.


LEADING GOALSCORERS
Bolton

Cahill: 7 goals (5 league); Klasnic: 6 goals (6 league)

Fulham

Zamora: 11 goals (6 league); Dempsey: 7 goals (6 league)


MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Assistant referees: Robert Madley & Jeremy Simpson

Fourth official: Tony Bates


LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS
Bolton (L0-2 v Liverpool, a): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Ricketts, Lee, Muamba (Elmander 78), Mark Davies, Cohen (Gardner 60), Taylor (Weiss 65), Kevin Davies. Subs Not Used: Al Habsi, Robinson, Andrew O'Brien, Wilshere.

Fulham (W1-0 v Portsmouth, h): Schwarzer, Kelly (Dikgacoi 55), Hughes, Hangeland, Shorey, Duff, Murphy, Baird, Greening, Okaka Chuka (Nevland 70), Zamora (Elm 77). Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Riise, Stoor, Smalling.


MOST RECENT MEETING

Fulham 1-1 Bolton (28 November 2009)

Fulham scorer: Duff 75

Bolton scorer: Klasnic 35

[WhiteJC]

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/10/02/05/SOCCER_Fulham_Nightlead.html&TEAMHD=soccer

Hodgson - disappointed by form in January.


HODGSON SHELVES THOUGHTS OF EUROPE

By Paul Hirst, Press Association Sport

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson is happy to put a disastrous January behind him - a month which he believes has cost his side the chance to fight for a place in Europe next year.

Last season Hodgson brought European football to Craven Cottage after he guided his side to an unlikely seventh-place finish.

The Cottagers made a slow start to this season before going on a good run which culminated in a 3-0 victory over Premier League champions Manchester United the week before Christmas.

That shock win raised expectations that Hodgson's men could make Europe again this year, but a recent run of five straight defeats was only halted by Wednesday's 1-0 win over rock bottom Portsmouth at Craven Cottage.

Hodgson's efforts have been blighted by a series of long-term injuries to key players like Andy Johnson, Clint Dempsey and Paul Konchesky.

The former Inter Milan manager is hoping for an improvement in form and luck in February.

"I don't think we're looking at Europe this year. I think we dropped too many points in January," said the 62 year old.

"The teams that are going to be European this year, which is only the top six, they're already 10-12 points ahead of us.

"And furthermore, I think it's unrealistic. Had there been no injuries, had Johnson, Dempsey, (John) Pantsil, Konchesky, (Simon) Davies, (Zoltan) Gera, had all these players been fit all the time, then maybe we wouldn't have lost many games in January, and maybe would have had a few more points.

"But we didn't, we had to battle through January as we did with a really wounded team, and as a result, I think we've slipped too far away from the top six.

"Our chance of getting into Europe will be to win a cup competition."

In fairness to Hodgson, the teams to whom Fulham lost in January - Spurs, Chelsea and Aston Villa - are among the toughest in the league.

Nevertheless, the Cottagers still looked below par against Avram Grant's side in midweek, and will have to up their game against a Bolton outfit who are fighting for their lives just above the relegation zone.

A home fixture against Burnley follows Saturday's clash before the Cottagers host League Two side Notts County in the FA Cup.

Hodgson is now hoping for a good run so his side can regain their confidence and edge away from the relegation zone.

"The Portsmouth result will buoy us up and will give us momentum," Hodgson added.

"If we can get something from the game and then something from the game against Burnley, we'll have started February well and, once again, we'll be nosing towards the top end of the table, and leaving the bottom half of the table behind us."

Stefano Okaka could start up front with Bobby Zamora despite a glaring miss on his debut on Wednesday.

Hodgson is hopeful that Davies (foot) and Gera (knee) will recover from knocks to face Owen Coyle's side, who are looking for only the second league win since the Scot took charge.

The Cottagers have not won an away league game since the opening day of the season and Hodgson is braced for a tough match.

He said: "It's another away game, always a difficult game, and even the top three or four teams in the country, with no injury problems, don't find it easy going to places like Hull and Bolton.

"They're desperate for points, they're going to be fighting for their lives.

"But, if we show the type of character and courage we showed against Portsmouth, we'll give them a very good game."

[WhiteJC]

http://fulham.theoffside.com/player-news/collins-john-speaks.html
Collins John speaks
Former Fulham starlet Collins John recently sat down with American soccer columnist Ives Galarcep and gave a fairly decent interview. As you may recall he is currently on trial with the Chicago Fire, hoping to link up with former team-mate Brian McBride.

"You can't really say 'from now for the next five years I'm going to be playing well or scoring goals'," John said. "The first three years at Fulham I was playing every game. I played in the biggest league in the world, I was scoring goals and was having fun, and for a few reasons it went another way..

And as Ives points out, one often forgets he is just 24