Tuesday Fulham Stuff - 14/07/20...

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'A little bit of blood' - Pundit makes telling West Brom vs Fulham prediction

West Bromwich Albion news: David Prutton is predicting a 2-1 win for Scott Parker's side when they head to The Hawthorns for a crunch Championship battle tonight

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton is predicting a surprise victory for Fulham at West Bromwich Albion when the two sides meet tonight.

The former Nottingham Forest and Leeds United midfielder thinks Slaven Bilic 's side will slip up against the Cottagers.

Prutton is predicting a 2-1 win for Fulham, whose form has improved dramatically with four wins on the spin putting them back in the automatic promotion picture.

Second-placed Albion need a positive result from tonight's game to take another step toward a return to the Premier League.

Brentford host Preston North End tomorrow night and if Thomas Frank's side capitalise on a slip-up from the Baggies then they could nudge them off the top of the table.

Prutton, who has predicted Brentford to win, thinks Fulham will take advantage of Albion's draw at Blackburn Rovers.

"West Brom's slip at the weekend has opened the door right up for the sides below them, and Fulham may sense a little bit of blood at the weekend," he told Sky Sports.

"Scott Parker's side trail the Baggies by five points, and only a win will do with three games to go.



https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-vs-fulham-prediction-18593828

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'Turn on the style' – These West Brom fans look ahead to Fulham clash

West Brom face a huge game in the battle for automatic promotion to the Premier League this evening, as they host Fulham at The Hawthorns.

Following their 1-1 draw away at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, the Baggies are just three points clear of the play-off places, and Fulham could move to within two points of Slaven Bilic's side if they claim victory in the Midlands.

Defeat for West Brom this evening would also give Brentford the opportunity to leapfrog them into second if they can win at home to Preston on Wednesday night.

This therefore, is clearly a vital game for West Brom in the context of this season, and taking to Twitter pre-match, the club's social media admin have been looking to build the anticipation amongst the supporters, with a simple but emotive post, declaring the side's focus on this particular outing.

That post has certainly provoked a response amongst the Baggies' fanbase, with a number responding to the tweet to send their messages of support to their side ahead of a crucial few days in the quest for a return to the Premier League.




https://wba.vitalfootball.co.uk/turn-on-the-style-these-west-brom-fans-look-ahead-to-fulham-clash/

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SUPREMOS: Jimmy McIntyre



Mark Robins is the latest in a long line of Sky Blue Supremos, the men who have tried to bring success to City. In this series first published in matchday programme PUSB, writer Rob Mason reflects on the highs and lows on those who have occupied the hot-seat.

Jimmy McIntyre managed three clubs and became the first man to win the old Division Three South with two different clubs. Unfortunately, City were the team with which he won nothing but McIntyre remains a fascinating figure in the Coventry story. While he passed away over 60 years ago characters such as him all played their part in the club's history and this series seeks to ensure their stories are not forgotten.

McIntyre's contribution to Coventry commenced long before he became manager in 1928.  A crowd of around 2,000 all went home talking about him after his home debut on 9 September 1905. The front page of that evening's Coventry based Midland Evening Telegraph advertised a production of 'Three of a Kind' at the Coventry Hippodrome but McIntyre had already hit his own three of a kind with a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Burslem Port Vale Reserves in the Birmingham and District League.

Having started so well, McIntyre proved he was no flash in the pan, going on to score 19 goals in only 24 games in a season when no-one else managed double figures. City finished 11th in the 18 team table.  He saved his best performance for his home town team, scoring four in a 5-1 win over Walsall in November.

The Saddlers were one of his old teams. McIntyre had played for them in 1901, when he was 20. He had begun with Witton, continued with Darlaston Town and moved on to Wednesbury Old Athletic before his spell with Walsall.  He didn't appear the kind of man who as a manager could ask for loyalty from his players as he tended to move on an annual basis himself.

Having spent 1901 with Walsall and 1902 with Notts County, 1903 found him at Northampton where he was a team-mate of Herbert Chapman. Chapman would create the great Huddersfield and Arsenal teams of the twenties and thirties who each won the league title in three successive seasons. Never short of self-confidence in his own later managerial career, McIntyre was fond of comparing himself with his former colleague.

Following his spell alongside Chapman, McIntyre moved to Reading in 1904 before his season with Coventry, after which he was released by cash-strapped City and signed for fellow Birmingham League members Dudley. The following season he finished his playing days with Bournbrook in the Birmingham Junior League.

Having given up playing McIntyre continued on the training staff at Coventry in 1907, a year in which he is known to have purchased shares in the club. Apparently he was registered as a player with City from 1909 to 1912 but this appears to have been so he could be called upon in emergencies, a policy not unusual for club trainers at the time. Later he was similarly registered at Southampton from 1912-14, again without actually playing.

As Coventry trainer McIntyre finally seemed to be finding a home in football after his frequent moves and after a year on the backroom staff became the chief trainer at the club, a position he held until 1912, working alongside Joe Beaman, Walter Harris, Harry Buckle and Robert Wallace as the managerial door revolved, always remembering that at this time the manager's role was predominantly secretarial, meaning that as chief trainer McIntyre would have had a considerable influence on the team leading up to the First World War, albeit mostly this would involve ensuring levels of fitness.

His first season as chief trainer corresponded with Coventry's move into the Southern League.  Under Harris they propped up the table in the first year but climbed to 8th, 10th and ultimately 6th under McIntyre's training regime.

In April 1912 as the Titanic set sail from Southampton, McIntyre headed there as trainer. It was a position he held until the league was suspended three years later as World War One brought The Southern League and Football League to an end until peace was restored. In McIntyre's final season as trainer The Saints finished sixth, level on points with fourth placed West Ham. Coventry that season were in the second division of the Southern League having gone down the season before, but The Bantams would be elected to the Football League upon the resumption of peace-time football.

As what would be Coventry's first Football League season got going, Jim McIntyre enjoyed his first season as Southampton manager. Still in the Southern League, Saints finished eighth. The following season was their first in the newly formed third division and under McIntyre Southampton finished runners up. They did not go up though as only the champions were promoted. It was just as well, as if two teams were promoted and relegated Coventry would have gone down having finished second bottom of division two.

Saints did rise the following season however in the first year of a regionalised third division, as they pipped Plymouth Argyle to the title on goal average. McIntyre's magic continued on the south coast as they not only consolidated at the higher level in mid-table but enjoyed a cup run to the quarter-final stage. There they only lost in a second replay to West Ham who went on to win the first ever Wembley final.

McIntyre would have one more full season in charge of the south coast club whose rise continued as he lifted them to fifth in the table. 1924-25 saw Southampton in mid-table when McIntyre's time came to an end on December 1st, signing off with a point in The Saints derby away to Portsmouth.

By now in his mid-forties McIntyre's next move was out of football as he moved to Scotland to run an Edinburgh hotel!  After three and a half years north of the border, he was tempted back to his native midlands when Coventry City asked their former player to take over from James Kerr, who had left four months before McIntyre's appointment on June 1st 1928.

A disciplinarian who produced a strict set of rules for players to adhere to, modern day players might be flabbergasted to learn he banned players' attendance at Whist Drives but more likely modern players won't know what Whist Drives are. Despite being denied the social occasion that the card games of Whist could provide, City started brightly under their new supremo, losing just two of their opening 15 games, a run that culminated in a sequence of four successive victories. However, while there were 10 wins before Christmas there were fewer than half that number after it with City becalmed in mid-table, especially after cashing in on top scorer Ernie Toseland who went to Manchester City as a club record sale.

McIntyre's second season saw City draw upon 10 fewer players and the more settled side corresponded with a climb to sixth place. The rise came despite conceding 16 more goals. There were though 26 more scored with Jimmy Loughlin the man mainly responsible.

Loughlin had been brought in by McIntyre from West Ham mid-way though his first season in charge and after close to a goal every two games in the second half of the manager's first season, marked his own first full campaign with 24 goals in 31 appearances, topping his total up to 30 with another six in only four cup games.

Loughlin wasn't alone in being a regular scorer. Two other men McIntyre had introduced mid-way through his initial campaign came to the party with 17 and 15 goals respectably: left winger Billy Pick and Billy Lake from Walsall - who would become a City legend - while Alf Widdowson also reached double figures.

It wasn't just the attack that McIntyre focussed on however as having brought in left back Ted Watson from Wolves reserves late in his first season he raided the Molineux second string again in the summer for right half Frank Higham. He was an instant success in a strong half-back line with Norman Dinsdale and Billy Bell.

Goals were in shorter supply at both ends in the following 1930-31 campaign as the high scoring of the era started to calm down. Having been a gun for hire himself as a player McIntyre had no problem in finding goal-scorers, in this campaign Bristol Rovers import John Phillips notching 17 in 25 league games in what would be his solitary season with City. However other than Lake, who top scored with 23, no-one else notched more than half a dozen.

The goals largely dried up after McIntyre left on 13th February after a final fixture which brought victory over his home-town Walsall. Whereas City had failed to score in only eight of the 30 league and cup games played prior to his departure the team failed to score in half of their remaining 14 games after he was sacked. The writing had been on the wall for McIntyre since before Christmas when following an FA Cup defeat at home to Exeter, who had been beaten in the league a fortnight earlier, his boardroom opponent Walter Brandish assumed control of team selection.

Two months after leaving Coventry, McIntyre was back in football as manager at Fulham where he became The Cottagers most successful boss in a quarter of a century. By now 50, McIntyre continued to demonstrate his talent for signing goal-scorers, this time bringing in Frank 'Bonzo' Newton from Stockport. 'Bonzo' though would also lead to McIntyre's departure from the job and the game.

McIntyre was back at Highfield Road for the final game of the 1930-31 season he had begun as manager of Coventry, but he would be disappointed as goals from John Philips and George Reay gave his former side victory. The former boss gained the upper hand on the opening day of the following season as Newton netted twice as Coventry were beaten 5-3 at Craven Cottage.

Newton would do even better in the return on New Year's Day as he smashed a hat-trick with Fulham again going nap. Thankfully Coventry also scored five in an astonishing five all draw that featured seven second half goals, City's Billy Lake matching Newton with his own hat-trick.

That 10 goal thriller typified the two teams who were the only two sides to score over 100 goals. Fulham's tally of 111 was only three more than Coventry but while City languished in 12th place, their former manager's side took the title.  Only three of the bottom four let in more than the 97 Coventry conceded, while Fulham's defence were pierced 62 times, a figure bettered by only three teams.

Newton top scored with 43 goals from 39 league games with another four strikes in the cup.  With Jim Hammond also notching 31, free scoring Fulham were worthy champions, right winger Billy Richards and full back Joe Birch also being brought in as McIntyre maximised his resources.

There were some great wins. After beating Coventry 5-3 in their opening match, Fulham doubled that tally in their next home fixture, hitting Torquay for ten. There would also be a late season double header where an aggregate of 13-0 was recorded in back to back home games.

Promotion held no fears for Fulham who finished third with Newton still the main man with almost a goal a game (27 in 31) at the higher level. Newton would score twice on the opening day of the next (1933-34) season but they would be his final goals for the club. Never afraid to back his own judgement, McIntyre sold him to Reading in September for £650, investing £2,500 in his replacement, the Arsenal veteran Jack Lambert.

Lambert got off to a decent start with goals in his second and third matches but would only score twice more in his 14 further games for McIntyre, including the Gaffer's last as strugglers Millwall were beaten. Three days later McIntyre was sacked with the sale of Newton cited as Fulham installed their former player Jimmy Hogan who had excelled on the continent, most recently as manager of Austria.

For McIntyre it was the end of the road in terms of football. He returned to the Southampton area but not to the football club. Instead he swapped Fulham for a factory called Follands until retirement, passing away in Surrey in 1954, aged 72.



https://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/2020/july/supremos-james-mcintyre/

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Barcelona interested in Tottenham's Ryan Sessegnon

Barcelona have inquired into the availability of Tottenham's Ryan Sessegnon, having been big admirers of him since his days at Fulham.

Their intrigue in the 20-year-old extends back more than two years, since Barca scouts were in the stands at Wembley to watch him in the 2018 Championship play-off final.

Those same scouts had been to watch him at least three times at Craven Cottage during what was his best season to date - having become aware of his emergence as one of Europe's best prospects at youth level.

Barca have now let that admiration be known in discussions, via intermediaries, over potential swap deals between the clubs this summer, despite Sessegnon's slow start to life at Spurs.

Sky Sports News reported last month that Barca had offered the likes of Nelson Semedo and Samuel Umtiti to Spurs, while expressing an interest in their beleaguered record-signing Tanguy Ndombele.

However, Sky Sports News can now reveal that Barca's interest in Ndombele has cooled after they signed Miralem Pjanic from Juventus.

Although Barca do see Ndombele as another attractive prospect, they still have other midfield options in Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets and are prioritising signings in other areas; notably up-front with the desired signing of Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez.

Barca are also interested in bringing in another left-back, however, which has led them to looking into Sessesgnon despite his struggles to get into Tottenham's team under both Mauricio Pochettino and now Jose Mourinho this season.

He has made only four Premier League starts and 12 appearances in all competitions, after Spurs finally signed him for £25m last summer following a long-term pursuit of their own.

They first made Fulham an offer around the time he made his debut as a 16-year-old in 2016 and explored that interest in every subsequent transfer window - and he remains the only left-back they have signed in six years, since Ben Davies joined from Swansea in 2014.

Sessegnon is said to be concentrating on finishing the season with Spurs before assessing his future. The player feels he has done all he can to earn more game time than he has so far.

The Spurs hierarchy would also like to have seen both Sessegnon and Ndombele play more after making significant investment in the pair last summer, but they have been peripheral to Mourinho's first-team plans so far since the restart.



https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/12028408/barcelona-interested-in-tottenhams-ryan-sessegnon

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Stefan Johansen Still Hopeful for Fulham's Automatic Promotion Chances

Fulham midfielder Stefan Johansen has not given up hope of the club returning to the Premier League through automatic promotion.

The promotion-chasing Cottagers face a trip to The Hawthorns on Tuesday afternoon, where they will have the opportunity to take points off of their promotion rivals West Bromwich Albion.

West Brom sit second in the table, five points clear of Fulham, who will see this game as a 'six-pointer'.

Stefan Johansen Still Hopeful for Fulham's Automatic Promotion Chances
Winning Run

If they want to gain promotion, then Fulham are certainly going the right way about it, right now. They have won four of their six games since the Championship returned, including all of their last four.

Johansen is hoping the club can take that run up to seven wins.

"The only thing we are focused on is winning the remaining three games and seeing where it takes us in the end," Johansen told the club website. "We were a bit unlucky in the first two games against Brentford and Leeds, they could have ended up differently if we were a bit more clinical, but that's the way football is."

"We're on four wins in a row now, and we want to make it to seven and see where that takes us. We want to go there tomorrow (on Tuesday) to win the game and put pressure on them for the last two games, because then obviously they will feel us (breathing down their necks).

"You never know in football, I think there are still some exciting moments left in the season."

After the trip to West Brom, Fulham will host Sheffield Wednesday at Craven Cottage and their final game of the season will see them visit Wigan Athletic's DW Stadium.

Pressure on West Brom

"We've been there before in the last few seasons in the Champ where we're chasing during the season and you can see different teams finding good form. You see Brentford now in really good form, so (West Brom) will definitely be feeling the pressure," Johansen added.

"We need to go there tomorrow and win, then it's only two points between us with still two more games to play, and you never know what could happen from there.

"We just need to go there with the same mindset that we've had the last four games, and take the confidence from those matches as we go there to try and win the game."

Johansen will be hoping to extend his own good form too. He came off the bench to assist Josh Onomah for Fulham's second goal in the 2-0 win over Cardiff City last Friday.

Respect for Former Club

The Norwegian midfielder spent some time out on loan at West Brom in 2019.

"I think West Brom is a great club. I had a good six months there, although unfortunately, we didn't get to the Premier League."

"There are good guys there, and they've got a very good manager now as well, so I'm not surprised to see them up there.

"But that's part of the past now. Since coming back to Fulham, I've always had my mind on Fulham. I really enjoyed being at West Brom, but Fulham is everything now.

"I always have an eye on West Brom, but Fulham is the team for me. I've had a few seasons here now and it feels like my home."



https://lastwordonfootball.com/2020/07/14/stefan-johansen-hopeful-for-fulham-automatic-promotion/

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'He's gone for it!!' – These West Brom fans react as team news for Fulham clash is confirmed

West Brom face a potentially season-deciding game this evening, as they host Fulham at The Hawthorns with the battle for automatic promotion to the Premier League this season approaching its conclusion.

Victory for West Brom would put them six points clear of the play-off places in the race for a return to the top-flight, but defeat would put a significantly different complexion on things.

If Fulham are able to beat the Baggies this evening, they would move to within two points of Slaven Bilic's side, while that would also give Brentford the opportunity to climb above West Brom into second in the table on goal difference, if they can win at home to Preston on Wednesday night.

As a result, there is almost no margin for error for West Brom here, and perhaps with that in mind, manager Slaven Bilic has named a side that shows two changes from the one the drew 1-1 at Blackburn on Saturday, with Ahmed Hegazi replacing Kyle Bartley in defence, and Grady Diangana replacing Saturday's goalscorer Filip Krovinovic, with those players both dropping to the bench.

Taking to Twitter to react to that team news, plenty of West Brom fans were keen to voice their opinion on their side's starting lineup for such a vital game.



https://wba.vitalfootball.co.uk/hes-gone-for-it-these-west-brom-fans-react-as-team-news-for-fulham-clash-is-confirmed/

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'What a team', 'Brave' – Plenty of West Brom fans react to Slaven Bilic's latest selection call v Fulham

West Brom will be hoping they can keep their hopes of catching league-leaders Leeds United alive with a positive result against Fulham on Tuesday evening.

The Baggies are currently sat second in the Championship table, and are three points clear of third-placed Brentford with three matches remaining in this year's campaign.

They take on a Fulham side that are will be keen to put together a positive run of form themselves starting this evening, as they look to build some form ahead of potential play-off matches.

Slaven Bilic has named his starting XI ahead of the game, as they go in search of a crucial three points at The Hawthorns. Ahmed Hegazi and Grady Diangana come into the side to replace Filip Krovinovic and Kyle Bartley.

Plenty of West Brom supporters took to social media to issue their thoughts on Bilic's latest team selection ahead of the game. against the Cottagers.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/what-a-team-brave-plenty-of-west-brom-fans-react-to-slaven-bilics-latest-selection-call-v-fulham/

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'Justice for Johansen' – Plenty of Fulham fans fume as midfielder is left out v West Brom

Fulham will be hoping they can pick up a much-needed three points when they return to competitive action against West Brom on Tuesday evening.

The Cottagers head into the game off the back of an impressive 2-0 win over play-off chasing Cardiff City at Craven Cottage, and they'll be keen to build on that important win.

Scott Parker's side are currently sat fourth in the Championship table, and will be well-aware of the threat that Slaven Bilic's men are going to pose to them on the day at The Hawthorns.

Parker has named his starting XI for this one, with Harry Arter surprisingly dropping to the substitutes bench despite some improved displays recently.

Plenty of the Craven Cottage faithful took to social media to issue their thoughts on Parker's latest team selection ahead of the game, with plenty being frustrated by Stefan Johansen being on the substitutes bench again.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/justice-for-johansen-plenty-of-fulham-fans-fume-as-midfielder-is-left-out-v-west-brom/