Friday Fulham Stuff - 04/09/20...

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Mitro Wins Player of the Season

Aleksandar Mitrović has won Fulham's 2019/20 Player of the Season vote.

Having finished as runner-up a year earlier, Mitro went one better to secure the trophy this time around.

Given the high calibre of performances all over the pitch, it looked set to be a close-run thing, but Mitro's 26-goal haul saw him claim the title by a good 500 votes.

Overall, just under a third (32.4 per cent) of the fans voted for Mitrović, who is currently away on international duty with Serbia. His closest challenger was Marek Rodák, who marked a fantastic first season with the gloves by claiming more than a quarter (25.6 per cent) of the vote.

The race for third kept changing throughout the process, but come the deadline it was Harrison Reed who had nabbed the bronze place with 12.6 per cent, placing him just ahead of the ever dependable Michael Hector, whose 12.5 per cent is all the more impressive considering he wasn't able to play until January.

Rounding out the top-five is our Wembley hero Joe Bryan, whose exploits saw him secure 7 per cent of the vote.



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/september/Mitro-Wins-Player-of-the-Season/

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Snapped : Young Nigerian Left-back Trains With Arsenal First Team Pre-Fulham

Arsenal have stepped up their preparations for their first English Premier League game of the 2020-2021 season against Fulham at Craven Cottage with another training session held at London Colney, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

With nine first teamers namely Bernd Leno, Kieran Tierney, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sead Kolasinac, Granit Xhaka, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Matteo Guendouzi away on international duty, manager Mikel Arteta decided to invite some promising youth team players to make up the numbers.

Promising Nigeria-eligible left-back Tolaji Bola was pictured training with the first team in Thursday's workout.

A product of Arsenal's Hale End Academy, Bola is behind Tierney, Kolasinac and Saka in the pecking order of left-backs and his pathway to the first team has been blocked as a result of that.

The 21-year-old was involved in the Gunners 4-1 win against MK Dons nine days ago, replacing Maitland-Niles at half-time, but was not in the matchday squad against Liverpool in the Community Shield.

He was an unused substitute when Arsenal faced Nottingham Forest in the third round of the League Cup in September 2019.

Bola wore the number 39 kit in today's training session.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel



https://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=37264

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West Brom Set To Seal Grady Diangana Signing, Resist Competition From Aston Villa And Fulham

West Brom look set to beat off competition from Aston Villa and Fulham to push a deal for Grady Diangana over the line.

The Baggies have agreed a fee with West Ham United for Diangana, who was on loan at the Hawthorns last season, and have been working to sign the player permanently.

However, Aston Villa and Fulham have attempted to insert themselves into the mix for Diangana, threatening to hijack West Brom's swoop.

West Brom though look set to seal the signing of Diangana as, according to the Sun, the swoop now looks like a done deal.

Slaven Bilic's side look to have beaten off competition to land the highly rated midfielder.

It has been claimed that the Premier League new boys are paying an initial £12m for the 22-year-old, with add-ons potentially taking the final fee higher.

Diangana helped West Brom to clinch promotion to the Premier League last season.

And Baggies boss Bilic is set to be able to count on the midfielder to help his side make an impact in the top flight.



https://insidefutbol.com/2020/09/03/west-brom-set-to-seal-grady-diangana-signing-resist-competition-from-aston-villa-and-fulham/470716/

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Leicester City receive huge boost as search for new signings continues

Your latest Foxes headlines are right here

Foxes cool on Traore

Leicester City have reportedly dropped their interest in Lyon striker Betrand Traore who could be off to Premier League rivals Fulham.

The Foxes were believed to be one of a string of clubs interested in the forward who has attracted interest from Crystal Palace, Everton and Newcastle.

Fulham look to be in pole position to land Traore having submitted an offer as they look to beef up their attack ahead of their return to the top flight.

But Foot Mercato claim the Foxes are no longer interested in rivalling the Cottagers for his signature with the striker set to leave Lyon for around £25m.

While  Fulham are in the driving seat, their offer has fallen well short of the Traore's valuation.

But the forward, who cost Lyon nine million Euros three years ago,  is said to be relaxed about his situation despite conceding his future lay elsewhere.



https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-city-receive-huge-boost-4483835

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An ode to Scott Parker's trademark 360 degree turns at West Ham

Last season's Championship promotion race had a distinctly West Ham flavour to it. However, while the Hammers know all about Slaven Bilic as a manager, Scott Parker can hit some new nostalgia buttons for their fanbase.

Parker's appointment as Fulham manager came too late for a narrative-driven return to east London in 2018-19, with a 3-1 win at the London Stadium prompting the visitors to dismiss Claudio Ranieri and hand the former midfielder the reins.

It's been a very quick about-turn for a team which looked hopeless when dropping down from the Premier League, and the idea of a dramatic turnaround is something West Ham fans will be very familiar with having watched Parker in their midfield for several years.

There's a common commentator's cliche about a footballer being able to 'turn on a sixpence', but Parker, by contrast, was able to turn on a bank vault and still leave opponents no closer to dispossessing him.

There was no deception here. When Parker received the ball on the deck, you knew what was coming. The only question mark was whether he would make a 360 degree turn quickly or slowly. Johan Cruyff had nothing on this.

You'd think this would make it easy for opponents to dispossess the midfielder, and we're struggling to think of any logical reason why that wouldn't be the case.

And yet, time after time, we'd be treated to the incremental loop until he was back facing the way he was to begin with, only with slightly more space to manoeuvre.

It's the closest thing football has ever had to Truman Burbank going once around the block to ensure the extras providing a traffic jam had disappeared. And, as with Truman, it worked just the way he planned.

In a way, management has always suited Parker, a man who permanently looked like he was wearing a crisp suit underneath his claret and blue kit.

His best attacking moments for West Ham came not when he was bustling through the middle but rather when – with space to pick his spot – he found the narrowest of gaps without making the kind of contact which would require anything approaching sweat.

It was often the ball rather than Parker himself who did most of the travelling. This was a man who could bust a gut for 90 minutes, covering more ground than anyone else, yet ensure all the sweat from his endeavours was able to concentrate around his face in case he had to dash straight off to a gala dinner or awards presentation upon the final whistle.

His consolation goal in a defeat against Chelsea is the best example: a lofted finish over the retreating Petr Cech.

No need for an extra touch, or even an extra step. Gotta save those for all the occasions when he receives the ball in the centre circle with an opponent slowly approaching.

The approach was reflected in his nickname: throughout Parker's time at West Ham, there was an apparent unspoken agreement to refer to him as 'Scotty' rather than Scott, to the point that it became a running joke to refer to him in print as 'Scott E. Parker'.

It's a fitting add-on for a man who felt prepared to do extra where required but knew the limit of how much extra was actually needed. An extra letter? Fine, but anything more was just an unnecessary flourish.

Parker was the kind of player who would rescue your cat from a tree but gently lob it towards you from a couple of yards away so he could get on with his day.

He could walk for a soon-to-depart train while everyone around him sprinted, knowing exactly how long he had before things ticked from 'in time' to 'just too late'.

If his management is anything like his playing style, Fulham will get the exact number of points needed to meet their target; no more, no less. After leaving it until extra-time in the play-off final to earn promotion, it seems he already knows exactly how much to do.



https://www.planetfootball.com/nostalgia/an-ode-to-scott-parkers-trademark-360-degree-turns-at-west-ham/