Saturday Fulham Stuff (08/12/18)...

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Whites boss backs Seri ahead of Man Utd clash

Claudio Ranieri is focused on building the confidence of the "very, very important" Jean Michael Seri in his attempts to inspire Fulham to safety.

Seri, the club's marquee summer signing, finally impressed throughout Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Leicester when in a holding midfield role alongside Calum Chambers he excelled in spreading possession and dictating their tempo.

It was an inability to get the best out of Seri that contributed to the sacking of former manager Slavisa Jokanovic, but Ranieri on Wednesday even dropped the influential Tom Cairney and would have been encouraged by Fulham's display.

On Saturday at Manchester United, Seri's abilities could again be crucial against a team struggling for balance and Ranieri said: "It's important he continues to play, because I believe he can improve more.

"In Nice he played so well two years ago; he was fantastic. In the newspapers it was that Barcelona wanted him. Maybe he stayed there in Nice and his confidence went down a little; maybe he wanted to go, but he stayed in Nice, and the second year was so-so.

"The Italian papers and the French said Barcelona were interested in Seri. I always believe them.

"For this reason Fulham had the chance to buy him, and for me he's a very, very important central midfielder. He's a key player, because a lot of the play goes through him, and the other midfielders.

"This is very, very important, because he always shows for the ball, plays with the ball, and is important for his team-mates.

"I give him a lot of confidence, and him to his teammates. It's very important to have the confidence of the manager. He is very, very important. If you (climb) off the bottom, confidence gets higher and we can do something more."

While the lawyer behind the Bosman ruling has written to the Football Association to request they investigate Seri's transfer, Wednesday's performance suggests Seri remains focused, and he could be joined at Old Trafford by a further midfield option as Kevin McDonald is expected to be fit.

United are again under pressure following a run of four Premier League matches without victory, but even with the growing optimism surrounding his team and the fact that they are bottom of the table, Ranieri considers their fixture against his friend Jose Mourinho a free hit.

"For us it's a free match," the Italian said. "But you know, when the bottom team plays with the biggest teams, everything you can achieve is good.

"I hope to make a very good performance and of course I hope to make the first clean sheet but we have to do the perfect match."



https://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/whites-boss-backs-seri-ahead-of-man-utd-clash

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A Piece of Good News For Fulham Fans This Fine Saturday Morning

Since Claudio Ranieri was appointed as the manager of Fulham Football Club, replacing the axed Slavisa Jokanovic, it is fair to say that we've looked a better side.

However, in saying that and three games into the tenure of the Italian we're still bottom of the Premier League table, not the most comfortable of places to occupy.

Among the noticeable improvement so the side sine Ranieri took over has been the form of Callum Chambers.

The 23-year-old, on loan from Arsenal, looks a natural fit for the midfield holding role, in front of the back-four.

However, with his parent club suffering a spate of injuries there were fears that Unai Emery, the Gunners boss, might be forced to recall the player.

Thankfully, those fears have been allayed by the good folk of the Standard, who have pointed out that the terms of the loan agreement mean that no such option exists and Callum will remain at Craven Cottage until the end of the season.

Let's hope we can celebrate that news by getting a result at Old Trafford this afternoon.

COYW's



https://fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/a-piece-of-good-news-for-fulham-fans-this-fine-saturday-morning/

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Calum Chambers speaks out on Scott Parker's influence and his Fulham transformation

The Arsenal loanee found form in recent weeks

Much has changed for Calum Chambers since arriving in west London in the summer.

A loan signing from Arsenal, the 23-year-old was expected to forge a partnership with Alfie Mawson in central defence and help Fulham remain solid on their return to the Premier League.

It hasn't quite worked out that way. The Cottagers have the worst defence record in the top flight of English football and go into this afternoon's clash with Manchester United rooted to the bottom of the table.

Chambers found himself in and out of the side under Slavisa Jokanovic and that was down to some pretty mediocre performances - like the one in the 4-2 defeat by Cardiff City on October 20.

But he excelled in a defensive midfield role against Liverpool - Jokanovic's final game as manager - and is beginning to make that position his own following the appointment of Claudio Ranieri.

Chambers was Fulham's best player in the derby loss away at Chelsea last weekend and he's put his strong showings as a defensive midfielder down to Scott Parker.

"He has played that position in his career, he was a world-class player," Chambers said. "Any little thing I want to ask him, I can go straight to him.

"He gives me advice, we work on things in training and after training. After training we do footwork, little one-two drills and positional play. Before games I ask him positionally what he and the coaching staff want from me.

"He has been a big influence. I am just learning game-by-game, enjoying it and doing what I can for the team. He was a player I watched growing up. He has been great."



https://www.football.london/fulham-fc/latest-fulham-news-calum-chambers-15521472

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Cairney and Schurrle return as Vietto and Kamara drop out - Predicted Fulham team vs Man United

Here's how we think Fulham will start at Old Trafford

Claudio Ranieri may well decide to shuffle his pack as Fulham face their second Premier League game in the space of four days.

Having registered a point following a 1-1 draw with Leicester City at Craven Cottage on Wednesday evening, the team travel to Manchester United as they look to lift themselves off the foot of the Premier League table.

Currently level on points with Southampton and Burnley in the bottom three, Ranieri's side will need to pick up all three points at Old Trafford if they want to be out of the drop zone come Saturday evening.

However, that's easier said than done as they haven't registered a win at the Theatre of Dreams since the famous 3-1 victory back in October 2003.

The Red Devils themselves also need a win as they look to get back into contention for the top four after falling eight points behind Chelsea.

Although they have only lost once at home this season in their seven league games, they have only registered three narrow wins over Leicester, Newcastle United and Everton.

One of Ranieri's main decisions on Saturday will be whether or not he decides to return Tom Cairney to his starting XI.

Named on the bench for the draw against the Foxes, the 27-year-old was brought on at the break following a poor performance from Luciano Vietto.

Andre Schurrle is also another player who could come back into the starting XI having been an unused sub in midweek.

Although Aboubakar Kamara did net in the draw, he may well be the man to make way to get the German back into the team.

Sergio Rico will once again start in net for the Cottagers, with Cyrus Christie, Denis Odoi, Alfie Mawson and Maxime Le Marchand continuing in defence.

Calum Chambers will then continue in midfield alongside Jean Micheal Seri, while Cairney and Schurrle join Ryan Sessegnon in providing support to Aleksandar Mitrovic in attack.

Predicted Fulham XI vs Manchester United: Rico; Christie, Odoi, Mawson, Le Marchand; Chambers, Seri; Schurrle, Cairney, Sessegnon; Mitrovic



https://www.football.london/fulham-fc/fulham-manchester-united-teams-cairney-15523080

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Man Utd squad vs Fulham revealed ahead of Premier League game

Man Utd face Fulham in the Premier League fixture at Old Trafford on Saturday and two key players could miss out.

Two key Manchester United players were missing as the team arrived at the Lowry Hotel ahead of their fixture against Fulham.

Eric Bailly and Anthony Martial did not arrive with the provisional squad members at the team hotel on Friday night, and are both doubts for the clash on Saturday afternoon.

French forward Martial was forced off in the second-half of the Wednesday night draw with Arsenal and Mourinho revealed after the game Bailly had started his first game in almost two months with an injury.

Chris Smalling and Phil Jones were billed as doubts by Mourinho at his pre-match press conference but have both been passed fit after they came through Friday's training session.

"I don't know," Mourinho said. "Training session, 11 o'clock will give us some answers. Smalling, Jones, Martial, Bailly, of course Lindelof and Alexis we don't even speak about them, but we need answers.

Manchester United squad vs Fulham:
"And for sure we are going to play with players not with the maximum of their [fitness] potential, but players who will put themselves available for the team like Smalling did last match, Jones at Southampton, players in difficulty who go one step forward to try and help the team."

Mourinho added to MUTV: "Still waiting for conclusions, still waiting for people like Martial, Smalling, Jones - people with these kind of doubts."

The Portuguese sounded optimistic about Martial in midweek when he suggested: "He [Martial] doesn't think it is an injury, he thinks it's a pre-injury, he was feeling tight."

Matteo Darmian, Antonio Valencia, Marouane Fellaini and Andreas Pereira were also unaccounted for as players arrived at The Lowry but trained earlier in the day. One is expected to be selected in the matchday squad.

Fred has been included in the provisional squad after he was excluded from the matchday 18 against Arsenal. The £52million signing has started just six league games and not figured in the last four but Mourinho clarified Fred is a victim of the team's defensive instability.

"Step by step," Mourinho said of Fred's situation. "You have also other players in other clubs that needed their time and you have some of them that played even less than what Fred is playing.

"I think Fred, when the team is defensively stronger and doesn't need in midfield people that is more worried in giving balance to the team than being involved in creation and attacking dynamic, the day we are stronger defensively, I think the horizons for Fred change completely."

United were more intense and aggressive in attack during the draw with Arsenal as Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford lined up in a front three. United have been outrun in all 15 of their league matches and Mourinho acknowledged that statistic as he noted the team's improvement.

"Even the numbers, the stats that for me are not fundamental, but sometimes they give us, they support our feelings, our ideas," Mourinho added. "Or sometimes a contradiction to it, but is just a confirmation with the numbers was the match where my team, the globality of my players, run more and run more with higher intensity, too.

"We press the ball more, put difficulties to the opponent, we were fast in our transitions. So we had that spirit, we had that mentality that brought our game to a good level, to a better level. There are special players with special characteristics and just to give you a couple of examples, [Ander] Herrera, [Marcus] Rashford are the kind of players that, even if their game is not phenomenal, that intensity, that desire, that sacrifice is always present. But I prefer to say the team as a team had that mentality.

"I know only two days is not easy [to recover], Fulham in the same situation as us but probably the way they are coming to play or try to play will not demand as much from them as us, but no excuses.

"I sat here a few weeks ago speaking about the December month and no defeats that's a reality. Good fights, good spirit, but just one victory against Young Boys and three draws and we need points. But Fulham is the same, they need points."

The United manager also paid tribute to Ranieri after his sacking by Fulham nearly two years ago by having the Italian's initials stitched onto his training top. Ranieri returned to management with Fulham last month and Mourinho declared him one of the two most important managers in the Premier League, presumably along with Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I want to be positive and think we are going to win," Mourinho added. "But if we don't, give credit to the people that deserve credit and the game is not going to be 11 against 0 it's going to be 11 against 11, good players in each side.

"I repeat the position: The points sometimes don't say much about the real potential of the team. So one of the two most important managers in the history of the Premier League, so they have the potential to come here tomorrow and to give us a very difficult match."

Confirmed United squad members
David de Gea, Sergio Romero, Lee Grant, Ashley Young, Diogo Dalot, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Fred, Ander Herrera, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku



https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/manchester-united-fulham-squad-team-15523432

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