Thursday Fulham Stuff - 16/07/20...

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Results

Wednesday
Brentford	1-0	Preston NE
Bristol City	1-1	Stoke
Birmingham	1-1	Charlton
Forest	2-2	Swansea

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Leeds United fans react on Twitter to Harrison Reed's display vs West Brom

A number of Leeds United fans took to Twitter following West Brom's draw with Fulham on Tuesday to suggest that they would love to see Marcelo Bielsa target Harrison Reed this summer following the midfielder's display for the visitors in the stalemate.

While the result at the Hawthorns may not have had the biggest implications for the Whites, the game was certainly one that the Elland Road faithful would have wanted to follow closely.

The Baggies had the chance to draw level with Leeds at the top of the table, and apply some further pressure to third place Brentford. Meanwhile, Fulham realistically needed a victory to keep their automatic-promotion hopes alive.

Scott Parker's side were unable to get the three points. But one of their players clearly made a big impression on the Leeds fans on social media.

Reed was, once again, excellent in the middle of the park. Whoscored.com shows that the 25-year-old made 35 successful passes during the game, while no player on the pitch made more interceptions.

Leeds supporters would have already been well aware of Reed's quality. While Fulham were beaten 3-0 at Elland Road last month, the Southampton loanee looked superb.

And plenty of fans have now insisted that they would like to see Reed targeted this summer. His composure on the ball coupled with his combative streak when trying to win it back has left many believing that he could be an ideal addition to Bielsa's ranks in the coming weeks.

Here is what some of the Leeds fans were saying about Reed following Tuesday's draw...

    Would take Harrison Reed all day

    — LUFC 72 (@armitn_armit) July 15, 2020

    Big fan of Harrison reed

    — jordan kennedy (@LUFC__23) July 14, 2020



    Wouldn't mind Harrison Reed as back up to KP next season, proper player him

    — 🇪🇸🇪🇸 (@george_lufc10) July 14, 2020

    I like the boy Harrison reed at Fulham think he'd be a good addition fr us #lufc

    — Kev Cressey (@kevincressey) July 14, 2020

    I would love for us to go in for Harrison Reed. He fits our system perfectly! #lufc

    — Sam (@Snadd23) July 14, 2020

    Harrison Reed been a shining light tonight not a bad little player

    — Pablo 1919 (@pal_lufc) July 14, 2020

    Would love Harrison Reed if we go up. Be quality as back up to Phillips or as an alternative to Klich. Very, very tidy. #lufc

    — Brandon Yates (@Brandon7Yates) July 14, 2020

    Some player is Harrison Reed

    — LUFC💙💛 (@LeedsUnited97) July 14, 2020

    Harrison Reed would be a good signing if we go up. #lufc

    — Adam James (@AdamJames2207) July 14, 2020



https://tbrfootball.com/leeds-united-fans-react-on-twitter-to-harrison-reeds-display-vs-west-brom/

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Michael Hector aims dig at Matheus Pereira amid West Brom v Fulham flashpoint

West Bromwich Albion were unable to return to winning ways as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Fulham on Tuesday night.

The pressure is building on the Baggies as Brentford continue to impress, with the Bees winning each of their six games since the season's restart and closing the gap on the top-two to just three points before Tuesday night.

A victory over Preston North End will see them move to within one point of Albion ahead of the final two games of the season, after the Baggies were held to a 0-0 draw on Tuesday.

It was a frustrating evening for Slaven Bilic's side, who struggled to break down a Fulham side that have already secured their place in the top-six and had a slight chance of breaking into the top-two before the game.

One talking point from the game came in the second-half, where Matheus Pereira's theatrics left plenty of people talking on social media.

Pereira went down injured after finding himself on the end of a challenge, which provoked Michael Hector into going over and tapping the Brazilian's head in a rather patronising way.

Pereira then seemed to roll around on the floor after Hector's cheeky tap on the head, with Slaven Bilic and his assistant coaches seemingly outraged by Hector's actions.

Hector has since took to Twitter and sent a sarcastic message after seeing the footage back. The defender simply said: "Hope he is ok".



There can be no denying that Pereira is a huge talent who finds himself on the end of a lot of tackles, but he embarrassed himself yesterday.

For him to roll around like that after a gentle tap on the head is ridiculous to be frank, and he may feel slightly ashamed after it.

He is a silky, skilful player, though, and it shows just how good he is when he is targeted by the opposition.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/michael-hector-aims-dig-at-matheus-pereira-amid-west-brom-v-fulham-flashpoint/

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Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers and Fulham have all initiated contact for signing

Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers and Fulham have joined German clubs in chasing 1. FC Köln's Simon Terodde, according to reports from Germany.

The striker has made 23 appearances in the league, but it includes only seven starts and only 64 minutes of action in this calendar year. He has three goals and an assist to his name.

This week's edition of SportBild claims the 32-year-old's chances of featuring regularly for the club look slim, which is why he 'definitely wants to leave' the Bundesliga side this summer.

It's claimed the player earns around €2.5m per season with his current employer and has a contract with them until 2021.

According to the report, there has been 'enquires' from the Championship clubs, who could miss out a place in the next season's Premier League and would be eager to make another attempt next season.

That's when Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers and Fulham get a mention, and apart from the three English clubs, SportBild add Terodde is also attracting interest from 1. FC Nürnberg.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/nottingham-forest-blackburn-rovers-and-fulham-have-all-initiated-contact-for-signing/

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World Cup winner Andre Schurrle becomes a free agent after Borussia Dortmund terminate his contract after 51 appearances and two loan spells in four years at the club... but ex-Chelsea man hasn't played since December

    World Cup winner Andre Schurrle has left Borussia Dortmund after four years
    The 29-year-old has become a free agent after agreement to terminate contract
    Schurrle had one year left on his deal at the club but departed on Wednesday

World Cup winner Andre Schurrle has left Borussia Dortmund after four years at the club after an agreement was reached to terminate his contract.

The 29-year-old, who lifted the World Cup with Germany back in 2014, has become a free agent after making 51 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit since 2016.


World Cup winner Andre Schurrle has left Borussia Dortmund after four years at the club


The 29-year-old, who lifted World Cup with Germany back in 2014, has become a free agent

'I'd like to thank the club's bosses and wish the club and its special fans all the best for the future.'

Schurrle made the move from Wolfsburg to Dortmund on a five-year deal in July 2016 and he scored eight goals and supplied 10 assists during his period at the club.


Ex-Chelsea winger reached agreement with German side Dortmund to terminate his contract

The winger spent his last two seasons at Dortmund on loan at Fulham and Spartak Moscow but he has not played since December after picking up an injury during his time in Russia.

Schurrle has played more than 50 matches in the Premier League following his campaign at Craven Cottage and with Chelsea prior to that.

The German enjoyed two years at Stamford Bridge where he won the Premier League and League Cup in 2015.


Schurrle has played more than 50 matches in Premier League after spells at Blues and Fulham



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8525319/World-Cup-winner-Andre-Schurrle-free-agent-Borussia-Dortmund-end-contract.html

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Summer Transfer Window

The EFL has today confirmed the opening and closing dates for the 2020 summer transfer window.

Subject to formal ratification, the transfer window will open fully on Monday 27 July, although any player registered before the completion of the 2019/20 season will not be eligible to play for their new club until season 2020/21 commences. This is applicable to clubs involved in the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs.

The window for international registrations closes at 11pm on Monday 5 October, with an agreement in place with the Premier League for an extended two-week domestic only window which will close at 5pm on Friday 16 October.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/july/15/summer-transfer-window

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Sheffield Wednesday set for uplifting player news ahead of Fulham

Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk is hoping to have the likes of Connor Wickham, Kieran Lee and Liam Palmer back in the fold on Saturday when his side travel to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham.

Wickham, who is on loan from Crystal Palace, hasn't featured in Wednesday's last three fixtures due to a hamstring problem, whilst Lee has been out of action for the same period of time with a calf injury.

Palmer is struggling with his ankle and has sat out the last two.

Monk watched on last night as a patched up squad drew 0-0 with Huddersfield Town at Hillsborough, with the intensity of the Championship beginning to pinch.

However, despite the absence of Wickham, Lee and Palmer, Monk is hoping to welcome them back ahead of a trip to Fulham on Saturday.

"Hopefully they will be fit for the weekend," Monk said, as quoted in Yorkshire Live.

"It is day-by-day with them.

"Everyone is on that red line with knocks, kicks bruises and slight strains."

Wednesday's goalless draw with Huddersfield means they are drifting along comfortably towards a mid-table finish in the Championship this season, sitting 15th in the table with only two games to play.

A meeting with Fulham on Saturday is quickly followed by a return to Hillsborough to face Middlesbrough next Wednesday.

The Verdict

This is good news for Wednesday, but they've done well without the trio.

Back-to-back clean sheets have been a plus without Palmer, whilst Wednesday scored goals without Wickham at QPR on Saturday.

With Wickham, Lee and Palmer all back, there's a stronger chance of finishing the season well, which is going to be Monk's ultimate goal here.

He's got to get some positive results heading into the 'pre-season' and give Wednesday fans something to be positive about.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/sheffield-wednesday-set-for-uplifting-player-news-ahead-of-fulham/

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Talking Points: West Brom

The fact that Fulham have now gone 483 minutes without conceding a goal is just one of the Talking Points to come from our trip to the Hawthorns.

1. Play-Offs probable

Fulham can still mathematically win automatic promotion, but it would require victories against both Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan Athletic, whilst also relying on West Brom and Brentford dropping some serious points. Either way, Scott Parker will demand nothing less than 100 per cent commitment in the final two matches of the regular season, as he looks to maintain the momentum that currently sees Fulham sit on the back of a five game unbeaten run.

2. Clean sheets on the regular

Tuesday's shut out of West Brom means we have now kept a clean sheet in each of our previous four matches. Add in the fact that the last goal we shipped came within the opening 48 seconds of our meeting with Queens Park Rangers, and it means Marek Rodák has now gone an incredible 483 minutes without conceding.

3. Knock the bar

Things could have been very different if Anthony Knockaert's stunning volley was an inch or two lower. In the 73rd minute, Aleksandar Mitrović flicked on a long ball that Knockaert brought down well, before unleashing a brilliant, dipping volley that just hit the wrong side of the crossbar. Ever so slightly lower and it would have hit the underside of the woodwork and in all likelihood crossed the line.

4. Reed for Player of the Season?

Harrison Reed's form has been so strong since his return to the side, that he must surely now be in contention for Fulham's Player of the Season. His most recent Man of the Match win is his fourth from six games and, if he were to claim the trophy, it would be a real statement of his quality considering he has only featured in 24 matches at the time of writing.

5. Pray for Pereira

West Brom forward Matheus Pereira has been a joy to watch this season, and we hope he is not too badly injured. While he was writhing on the floor in the second half, Michael Hector playfully brushed his hair, but Big Hec must be even stronger than we initially knew, as this caused the Brazilian's flails to become all the more severe.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/july/15/talking-points-west-bromwich-albion

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Report: Nottingham Forest and Fulham want 32-year-old, despite his £45k-a-week contract

Nottingham Forest and Fulham have expressed an interest in signing Simon Terodde with the striker's £45,000-a-week contract at FC Koln due to expire in 2021, according to BILD.

Cast your mind back to the summer of 2016.

At the time, Derby County were desperate to tie up a bargain £1.5 million deal for a prolific number nine who had spent the previous season racking up the goals (28 to be exact) at VFL Bochum, according to The Sun.

But four years after the Rams were pipped to the post by Stuttgart, Terodde could finally be on his way to the East Midlands – albeit to join the club on the other side of Brian Clough Way.

BILD claims that the 32-year-old German is expected to leave Koln after playing just an hour of football in the second half of the Bundesliga campaign.

And, despite his advancing years and a hefty £2 million-a-year contract, Terodde is not short of offers from both England and Germany.

Terodde is a target for not only Nottingham Forest but also Fulham, Blackburn Rovers and a Nurnburg side who only avoided relegation into the third tier thanks to a 96th minute decider in a play-off with Ingolstadt.

Terodde scored just four times for Koln in 2019/20 but his record in the 2.Bundesliga is something to behold. The 6ft 3ins frontman found the net on 33 occasions in 2018/19 – even more than during that brilliant campaign at Bochum.

Perhaps he could be the man to ease the crushing burden of responsibility on Forest's overworked top scorer Lewis Grabban.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/07/15/report-nottingham-forest-and-fulham-want-32-year-old-despite-his-45k-a-week-contract/

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Knockaert: Keep Pushing

Anthony Knockaert knows an opportunity slipped Fulham by at the Hawthorns on Tuesday.

Victory would have made things very interesting in the race for automatic promotion, but it would now take a dramatic chain of events for the Whites to finish second.

Things could have been different had Knockaert's stunning 25 yard volley not crashed off the bar late on, though.

"As soon as I hit the ball, I thought that it was going to go in, to be honest," he told fulhamfc.com. "But it wasn't to be, it was just unlucky.

"On another day it might have gone in, but it's one of those things. It's one of those where if that goes in then we probably come back with three points and then you can dream about something else in the last two games.

"But now it's up to us to finish the season strong, and if we can't make the top-two then make sure we're ready for the Play-Offs.

"We felt like we could've taken all three points. I didn't think West Brom caused us a lot of problems.

"In terms of the result, it's disappointing because obviously we wanted to win to keep more pressure on them. Now it's clearly going to be very difficult to make the top-two."

If it is to be a third Play-Off campaign in as many Championship seasons for Fulham, then we're at least taking some momentum into them.

As we approach the final two fixtures of the regular season, our form reads WWWWD, with just one goal shipped in the process.

"I think the last few weeks we've shown that we're tough to beat," Knockaert stated. "Now we're looking pretty strong, and I think that's probably the first time this season we've kept four clean sheets in a row, which is really good.

"We need to keep it up, because if we go into the Play-Offs and we are tough to beat and keeping clean sheets, then that would be amazing.

"The other teams will then be looking at us and seeing we're in really good form and know that it would be a tough battle for them to beat us.

"We need to keep pushing, we're moving in the right direction. I think the Play-Offs are going to be in our hands.

"We are a strong team, and Fulham have got experience of the Play-Offs as well as they were in them two and three years ago.

"Every match will be a cup final, and we will do everything we can to make sure we get this Club back where it belongs."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/july/15/anthony-knockaert-keep-pushing

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Fulham Are Quality Side – Sheffield Wednesday Star Steeled For Clash

Sheffield Wednesday skipper Tom Lees has dubbed Fulham a quality side and admits he expects a tough task for the Owls against the Cottagers on Saturday.

The Owls' skipper did not feature in his side's first five games after the resumption of the Championship, owing to a hamstring injury. 

Lees' return to action coincided with back-to-back clean sheets against Queens Park Rangers and Huddersfield Town for Garry Monk's outfit.

Sheffield Wednesday are next set to make a trip to promotion-chasing Fulham on Saturday and the 29-year-old has admitted that he expects a tough challenge from the Cottagers.

Lees, like all in the Sheffield Wednesday camp, is striving for consistency and admits that he expects Fulham to come out with guns blazing.

The centre-back also added that if push comes to shove, his team's primary concern will be to not lose the game against what he rates as a quality side.

"It'll be really tough", Lees was quoted as saying by Examiner Live.

"They're a quality side who keep the ball well.

"They can turn it on when they want to show up. They won't be taking their foot off the gas.

"But we've shown over these five or six games what we can do.

"Then we go on a bit of a run where we're totally unrecognisable to those games.

"So it's about getting that consistency.

"If it's not as fluid as it was at QPR, then we need to make sure we don't lose the game."

Sheffield Wednesday are 15th in the Championship table with a tally of 56 points, with Monk's men looking to end the campaign with a flourish.



http://www.insidefutbol.com/2020/07/15/fulham-are-quality-side-sheffield-wednesday-star-steeled-for-clash/462002/

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Cottage Talk Post Match Show: West Brom vs. Fulham

Take a listen to a podcast that focuses on Fulham Football Club.

In this episode, Russ and Yannis looked back at the 0-0 draw for Fulham against West Brom.


You can also listen to the show by following this link...
https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2020/7/15/21326048/cottage-talk-post-match-show-west-brom-vs-fulham

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Reed: Build The Momentum

Harrison Reed knows there is no room for complacency when we entertain a Sheffield Wednesday side with little to play for on Saturday.



Harrison, a point at the Hawthorns is usually not a bad result, but was there a bit of frustration amongst the squad considering the circumstances?

Yeah, I think you could say that. There was a bit of frustration in the changing room after the game. The Gaffer spoke and obviously he was disappointed, too. We were definitely going there for the win and it was unfortunate that we couldn't get that, but we realise now the position we're in. We've probably got five – hopefully five – games of our season left, and now they're the five biggest games of the season. We'll look to build momentum into the Play-Offs, but in the same sentence I'll be saying that football's crazy and that anything can happen in the two games left.

If it is to be Play-Offs, then these final two matches are still not dead rubbers are they, as we want to be building that momentum?

Exactly that. We'll definitely be going into those two games looking to keep our momentum. We're in good form at the moment. Like you said, normally if you go to West Brom and get a 0-0 draw then you'd probably be happy with that. We've got four clean sheets on the bounce and we'll be looking to take that momentum into Saturday, and then into Wigan as well. It's important to maintain that confidence going into the Play-Offs.

As someone whose job it is to help protect the back-four, you must be delighted with these recent clean sheets?

It's something that we pride ourselves on. We speak a lot before the game, and it's the foundation we need to build our game on. If we keep a clean sheet, then we back ourselves to create chances and score, and that will obviously help us in getting three points in a lot of games. It's something that we speak about as a unit all the time, in training we try and build those relationships, and it's showing on the pitch at the moment. That's a credit to us for the work we're putting in, the work the coaching staff and Manager does with us on a daily basis, and it's given us a good foundation to go on and win games.



Sheffield Wednesday don't really have much to play for, but there's no room for complacency is there?

You certainly can't get complacent. They'll be playing with a lot of freedom and no pressure, and that can sometimes bring the best out of you. We're fully aware that they're not going to roll over, they'll be wanting to get three points. Any footballer will tell you how competitive this sport is. You never play not to win, you're always playing to get the three points. We'll have to be at it, and we will be at it. We'll prepare like we would for any other game. We need to keep up the form and build confidence going into the last games.



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/july/16/harrison-reed-build-the-momentum