Friday Fulham Stuff (21/12/18)...

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Slavisa Jokanovic eager for return to management just 5 weeks after Fulham sack

EXCLUSIVE: Jokanovic on what went wrong at Fulham, having a rare Christmas off with his family and more

Slavisa Jokanovic was the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season - and wants to be the first to get back on the merry-go-round.

Jokanovic was sacked by Fulham last month and already looks refreshed and recharged and is looking forward to his first Christmas with his family in years.

"I am open, I am looking around and I am one of the first coaches to lose my job but I can be one of the first to get a new job," said the 50-year-old, in his first interview since leaving Craven Cottage. "It will be a strange situation for me because I can enjoy Christmas with my family, spend some time with my children and it will be a little bit different to so many past Christmases!

"I've had four years with no rest, I'm not tired but I also try to find something that is interesting and a plan to be successful. I live a good life, it's not about money, I want to find a way for success.

"I am rested, I am ready and hope to find something interesting for myself. I want to carry on working, it's my profession and I hope I will find work for the next 20 years. Where? This world is so big that I cannot give you answers."

Jokanovic has regrets from his three years at Fulham but very little bitterness with his biggest disappointment that in his mind he only got two months to work in the Premier League.

Fulham spent more than £100m last summer, brought in 12 new players in trying to buy a new expensively assembled squad of top flight players and yet they still have not gelled under new manager Claudio Ranieri.

But transfers and Fulham is always a sticking point.

Jokanovic did not have the final say on transfers - not even that of his fellow Serb Aleksandar Mitrovic - with the club's complex transfer set-up identifying and signing players.

While Fulham needed better defenders or even a holding midfielder, they broke their transfer record to spend £30m on mercurial midfielder Jean Michael Seri.

"I could complain about many things in my three years at Fulham but not in in my last three months and maybe that was my biggest mistake!" said Jokanovic.

"If you ask me if I participate (in transfers), then my participation was minimal in this process. Different managers complain about this situation, it's not just in Fulham, Jose Mourinho said something similar and modern football is going in a different direction.

"In the end, it's about the final say. People say, 'You signed Mitrovic in June.' No, it's not true. Mitrovic signed himself because he scored the goals, the supporters wanted him and he signed himself at a different price.

"But I understand modern football, how the club is working, and I can agree or disagree on movement from the club's side. But many clubs do it like that. Some teams give you the players and say, 'Come on! Make the team!'

"But it's also part of modern football that I only had 12 games, no proper pre-season, two international breaks without ten important players. In total, I worked just two months in the Premier League, which is not enough time.

"It's difficult to work with so many different players. They need to feel each other, build a spirit and they need to trust each other. You are then looking for the best XI, that's why you have to change the team and it's difficult to find the best team.

"I understand that everything depends on the result and if the results are not good enough then many clubs would take this decision and find a solution in this way.

"It's not about being disappointed, it's about being realistic."

Jokanovic led Fulham back into the Premier League, also got Watford promoted before being replaced and yet is philosophical and clearly has enough good memories of the Cottage to believe they can stay up under Ranieri if they buy well next month.

"It was not in my hands but I think they can do it (stay up)," he said. "They can find a solution in January, they can turn this situation and find a solution. Definitely, they can. Everything is possible.

"But you need to find unity, you need to trust and many things depend on the mental situation of the group because if they believe they can do it then they can do it.

"You need to find an improvement and if they get support in the January transfer window then I hope they will find a great solution because the team definitely needs some kind of help.

"I must accept the decision. I wish the club and the supporters all of the best. The supporters were fantastic. I'm outside now, I follow the club and wish them all of the best."



https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/slavisa-jokanovic-eager-return-management-13761147

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FA probe Jean Michael Seri transfer to Fulham as lawyer behind Bosman ruling claims club have manipulated deal to save on bonuses

    Fulham are under investigation by the FA over their signing of Jean Michael Seri 
    Lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont claims club played active role in manipulating deal
    Dupont claims the fee was shaped to save on a bonus due to the midfielder

The FA are investigating Fulham's signing of Jean Michael Seri from Nice amid claims the transfer was manipulated to save on bonus payments.

Jean-Louis Dupont — the lawyer behind the Bosman ruling — claimed earlier this month that Fulham played an active role in what he claims is a manipulation of the deal.

Dupont wrote to the FA's senior investigator David Matthews demanding an inquiry into a transfer that also involved left back Maxime Le Marchand.


The Football Association are investigating Fulham's signing of Jean Michael Seri from Nice

The players moved to Fulham for a combined fee understood to be £21.5million. However, French reports claimed the fee for Seri was £10m, despite the fact that Le Marchand's valuation was said to be about £2m.

On top of that, the highly-rated Ivory Coast midfielder Seri has a release clause of £35.5m. Dupont claims the fee was shaped to save on a bonus due to Seri and payments due to his former clubs.

Since arriving at Craven Cottage, midfielder Seri and Le Marchand have played regularly — an indication that the pair are valuable members of the squad.

Punishments for a breach of regulations range from warnings to transfer bans.

Sportsmail also revealed this month that Fulham were accused of breaching FA agent rules over the transfer, but the probe will focus mainly on Dupont's accusations.   


Maxime Le Marchand was also part of a deal that saw the pair move to Fulham for £21.5million



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6517915/The-FA-probe-Jean-Michael-Seri-transfer-Fulham.html