Thursday fulham Stuff - 03/12/20...

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Ex-Huddersfield Town man Emile Smith-Rowe could make January return – Crystal Palace, Fulham also keen

Arsenal and ex-Huddersfield Town midfielder Emile Smith-Rowe could be in line for a Yorkshire return after Mikel Arteta stated his loan plans for the 20-year-old.

Smith-Rowe spent the second-half of last season on loan at Huddersfield Town – it proved to be his best first-team experience to date after featuring 19 times in the Championship, scoring twice.

He was a favourite under Danny Cowley before his untimely sacking and now, having returned to Arsenal, Smith-Rowe looks to be heading for a January exit.

Given his previous experience at Huddersfield and the success he saw there, Arsenal may consider the John Smith's Stadium as a viable destination for another Smith-Rowe loan spell in January.

But the Englishman faced a contested summer – both Crystal Palace and Fulham were touted with an interest, whilst French Ligue 1 side Monaco were involved.

Whether the Premier League or the Championship will be the preferred destination for Smith-Rowe is unknown.

A Championship return though – more so a Huddersfield Town return – seems plausible.

Smith-Rowe blossomed at the club last year and now under the watchful eye of Carlos Corberan, an attacking-minded player like Smith-Rowe would surely prevail once more in this new-look Huddersfield side.

It'll be interesting to see his movements in January – he's a quality player and someone who could well become an England star in the future, but he's some progression to make yet.



https://the72.co.uk/204060/ex-huddersfield-town-man-emile-smith-rowe-could-make-january-return-crystal-palace-fulham-also-keen/

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Lookman and Mahrez in Premier League Team of the Week

The Nigerian forward and the Algeria international have been included among the best performing players in the week under review

Fulham forward Ademola Lookman and Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez have been named in the Premier League Team of the Week.

Lookman delivered an eye-catching performance for the Craven Cottage outfit in their 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Monday.

The 23-year-old returned to England in the summer, teaming up with the Cottagers from German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig on a season-long loan.

The forward scored his second goal for Scott Parker's men in the encounter which helped his side move off the Premier League bottom three.

The Nigerian forward opened the scoring after a fine combination with Cameroon international Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Mahrez, meanwhile, bagged his first hat-trick for Manchester City since joining the club in the summer of 2018 from Leicester City.

The Algeria international's efforts helped the Citizens demolish Burnley 5-0 at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The winger also joined the likes of Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Adebayor, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane who have been involved in more than 100 goals in the Premier League.

Following their fine displays for their respective clubs, the presenter of the Premier League Team of the Week Alan Shearer has included the African stars among the best performing players.

Lookman has now scored two goals and provided one assist in eight appearances since teaming up with Fulham.

Mahrez has four goals and one assist in 13 appearances to his credit across all competitions for Manchester City this season.

The forward will be expected to continue their impressive performances for their respective clubs in their next league outings.



https://www.goal.com/en/news/lookman-and-mahrez-in-premier-league-team-of-the-week/1tbs4bh0wgkx61fepknddscns9

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NEW FOF'cast 🎙🎧 Foxes Outfoxed

In this episode of FOF'cast, we are joined by regular co-hosts Owen Smith and Gerry Pimm, as we discuss the following Fulham FC topics:

⚽️  The 2-1 win away to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium

⚽️  The Friends of Fulham Man of the Match

⚽️  The absence of Tom Cairney and Aleksandar Mitrović

⚽️  A fitting tribute to the ex-Fulham midfielder Papa Bouba Diop

⚽️  FA Cup 3rd round draw v QPR

⚽️  The up and coming game v Manchester City

⚽️  Manchester City predictions



http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=1544

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Football stadiums will be packed again by the end of the season - whether or not fans are vaccinated

The government will green-light fans' return to football stadiums even before they're vaccinated, according to reports

That's right, football fans are to be allowed back into Premier League stadiums before the end of the current season. Not in small groups, but capacity crowds, meaning packed-out grounds across the country.

The Sun are reporting that the government are poised to give the green-light to even non-vaccinated football fans once the most vulnerable and elderly have been vaccinated, and as long as hospital admissions and deaths fall to acceptable levels.

According to the newspaper's "Whitehall Source", the return of fans would be staggered initially, as the number of vaccinations increases across Britain, before full stadiums by the final few months of the season.

The Sun's insider said the government "would hope to have a few more fans back in stadiums in the new year, so that people see fans back in the stands and that it is safe. But when the figures show hospitalisations and deaths are down, fans will be back in pretty quick, even if not everyone has been vaccinated."

The Sun also reports that the Premier League is preparing to hold pilot events in the New Year, which will see around 10,000 fans allowed back into some grounds in order to test the safety of the new measures.

Meanwhile, this weekend will see some fans return to Premier League stadia for the first time since the beginning of 2020, with West Ham's clash against Manchester United at the London Stadium set to allow a few thousand fans inside to watch.

The current government guidelines would allow 4,000 fans to attend a stadium in Tier One areas and 2,000 in Tier Two areas, meaning West Ham could allow 4,000 fans in to watch the match.

The Premier League last week welcomed the new initiatives. In a statement they said fans have been "greatly missed at Premier League matches and therefore we welcome the Prime Minister's announcement regarding the return of supporters for the first time since March, albeit at small numbers.

"Our ambition remains to work with the Government to increase attendance to more substantial levels."



https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/premier-league-stadiums-will-be-packed-again-by-the-end-of-the-season-whether-or-not-fans-are-vaccinated

[WhiteJC]

The Tony Gale Column

What a fantastic win over Leicester City that was on Monday! I think it was the most disciplined and professional performance of the season. Lessons were definitely learnt from the Everton game where we gave too much away in the first half. It was a great, great performance. I'm really pleased for everyone, especially Ademola Lookman and Ivan Cavaleiro who showed great character to bounce back from their penalty misses.

My old mate Tony Cottee had been doing some bits for Leicester's media channels, so of course I spoke to him straight after just to rub it in. Fulham deserved the win. Leicester had more possession, but that's not everything in the game. It also shows how we're adapting as a team. Last season we were having up to 70 per cent possession in most games. Now we're turning it round the other way and showing that we can win games on just 30 per cent possession. That's a perfect example of how disciplined the performance was.

When Harvey Barnes scored, I was so nervous that I couldn't watch the last five minutes so I turned it off! I switched back on for last few moments and was so pleased to see us get over the line. It would have been a travesty if we had conceded again as it was pretty much the perfect away performance. Everyone was talking about the standout performances of Lookman and Cavaleiro, myself included, but I thought Harrison Reed was exceptional. He's come back into the team and I think he's been absolutely brilliant. He epitomises the attitude that we've got to have.

It was a daunting run of Leicester, Manchester City and Liverpool, so it's great that we've already got three points in the bank. Obviously it goes without saying that the next two fixtures will still be two of our most difficult games this season. But Leicester away was too, so if we put in the same disciplined performance in these next two matches then who knows what could happen.

That said, it could be a good time to play these teams as it's Champions League this week, and they've both got another one next midweek. In my opinion, pre- and post-Champions League is when you want to be coming up against the top teams. Brighton was a good example of that as they played Liverpool in between two European fixtures, and ended up getting a very well deserved point.

We can go into Saturday without fear. The boys will take confidence from Leicester and just need to replicate that the best they can. Frustrate City when we're not in possession, and be brave when we do have the ball, try and play our football. That's what we did at the King Power Stadium and it was very effective. We have to settle for the fact that we'll probably only have 30 per cent of the ball again, but when we get it we have to try and be brave. If you break the press of Manchester City, you can get through them quite quickly, especially with players like Lookman, Cavaleiro and Bobby De Cordova-Reid, who has played very well and worked very hard recently.

It will be brilliant to have some fans back at the Cottage for the Liverpool game. Hopefully the ones lucky enough to be there will be nice and loud. It will be such a nice novelty for those fans so I would just say try and enjoy it. And also enjoy seeing the new structure going up. I was up on the scaffolding that's been put up for the commentators at the Everton game, and I was marvelling at what was behind me. It's going to look absolutely brilliant. I think we're going to have probably the best stand in the Premier League, allied to the fact that it's in the best location.

Like everyone, I was shocked to hear about Papa Bouba Diop at the weekend. He was excellent for us, wasn't he? In those years he had at Fulham, he was top drawer for the Club. We probably had him at his peak, although he did of course go on to win the FA Cup with Portsmouth. Whenever I saw him he always had a smile on his face. He was a big, six foot five geezer, very physical, very athletic, but he always played football with a smile on his face. And that's the way it should be. I'd describe Papa as a proper Fulham player, someone who loved the game and played with a smile on his face. 42 is no age to go, absolutely no age whatsoever. As a Club we've lost plenty of great players early – Bobby Moore, Georgie Best – but this is even earlier. It's a tragedy and you can only sympathise with all his family and friends.



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/december/The-Tony-Gale-Column/

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Cookie's Bouba Tribute

Anyone associated with Fulham Football Club would have been shaken on Sunday evening, when news began to filter through of Papa Bouba Diop's untimely passing.

Social media was awash with tributes from his former teammates, and a picture was quickly painted of a ferocious warrior on the pitch, but a gentle giant off it.

It's a sentiment which is completely echoed by Chris Coleman, the man responsible for bringing Bouba Diop to England in the summer of 2004.

"I was gutted on Sunday night when I got the news, I was absolutely shocked, the same as everybody else," Cookie said when we caught up with him this week.

"What a great guy. As a player, coach and manager I shared changing rooms with many different personalities, and I can't remember anybody being nicer than Bouba.

"He was such a lovely, lovely guy, great person. There was no side to him, he had respect for everybody, treated everybody the same, he'd speak to everybody, had time for everybody.

"He was a real, real good guy. He was an absolute six foot five monster, but he just had such a lovely aura about him.

"He wasn't to be messed about with on the pitch, though. But he wasn't nasty. Some players 15 years ago were nasty and had a real menace, but he wasn't that.

"He was just 100 per cent full blooded, never shied away from a challenge. He always went in fairly, but anybody who played against him will tell you that he was an absolute beast on the pitch."

Fans who can remember as far back as 16 years ago will recall the buzz that accompanied Bouba Diop's transfer.

Having announced himself on the biggest stage of all two years earlier at the World Cup, it was something of a coup for Fulham when Coleman brought him to SW6.

"I couldn't believe when we got him," Cookie admitted. "I'd been tracking him. Obviously everybody watched him in the World Cup, but I'd heard about him before then, and one or two of the other Senegalese players.

"Then I saw them and I really liked Bouba, and after that we kept tabs on him. When it got to the time that he was going to move, he was almost signing for another club.

"He was in somebody's office about to sign, then we got a call from the agent saying he's heard that Fulham were interested, and he'd prefer Fulham.

"So I said, 'just get him here, I'll deal with all the figures when you arrive, but we'd love to have him with us.'

"I was in my office and told my PA, Jaki – who's still the PA now for Scott – that somebody's going to be arriving in about an hour-and-a-half, but don't be afraid when he walks through the door because he's going to fill the room!

"I remember when he walked into my office. Someone like that is even bigger when they're right next to you. I mean, I'm six foot three myself, but he was towering over me.

"He was so grateful as well. 'Thanks boss, thanks boss, I'll do my best.' He had his interpreter with him because he didn't speak a word of English at this time.

"I remember in training he used to make noises like a bark or scream, he'd woof when he wanted the ball, because he couldn't speak English.

"Of course, we had a lot of French players at the time and they used to laugh their heads off. Everybody just absolutely loved him because he was just such an honest guy.

"He was a great signing for us, he was super, everything about him was first class. He's a huge, huge loss. It's so sad."

Bouba Diop wasted no time in endearing himself to the Fulham faithful, with a goal in his debut season standing out in particular when one thinks of the Wardrobe.

"He scored one against Manchester United," Coleman recalled. "Craven Cottage is unique, I've always said it.

"I was there 10 years and it's unique, but the best games are the night games at the Cottage, especially those matches against Chelsea or United, it's absolutely jumping.

"We were 1-0 down against United and Bouba hit a screamer from outside the box. It was an absolutely fantastic goal to get us a 1-1 draw. He scored a few spectacular goals to be fair to him, but that's the one that stands out."

Bouba Diop spoke to fulhamfc.com six years ago ahead of a scheduled appearance in a charity game.

In the interview he revealed how he never wanted to leave the Club, but things changed for him following Coleman's departure.

And from talking to Cookie, it's clear that it's a respect that went both ways.

"I just absolutely loved him I did, and I couldn't hide that from him or anybody else," he explained. "I didn't treat anybody any differently from one another, but I just loved him.

"He was one of those players where you couldn't give him too many instructions because you had to let him off the reins a little bit, as he was so instinctive.

"There'd be games where we'd have a role for him, like if we played Bolton who had Kevin Davies up top, because we knew Bolton would hit the ball forward quickly into Davies.

"We'd tell Bouba just to sit in front of Kevin Davies to stop him getting the ball. He'd do that, and he'd be great. But we'd also say to him to just do what he wanted when he got the ball; play it forward, join in, no problem. But when you don't have it, just think about Kevin Davies.

"You could give him that information and he'd take it on board and do the job really well. You just had to, when he's going onto the pitch, make sure he's in a good mood, happy, and he wasn't confused by too many instructions.

"He was so well respected in the dressing room, not just because he was a good player, because there was no doubt that he was an excellent player, but he's just one of those people that everyone respected because he was a good guy.

"All my memories of Papa, they're all first class."



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/december/Cookie-s-Bouba-Tribute/

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We're Playing Manchester City And Liverpool At Best Time – Fulham Legend

Fulham legend Tony Gale is of the view that it is a good time for the Cottagers to square off against Manchester City and Liverpool, with both Champions League clubs having to play extra games in midweek in addition to domestic duties.

Scott Parker's men are set to travel to Manchester at the weekend to take on Pep Guardiola's team, who will have a quick return to the pitch having been in action away at FC Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Fulham will host Liverpool after the Citizens clash on 13th December and will again face a side who have played an additional game to the home team, with the Reds set to play Midtjylland next Wednesday in Europe.

Gale is of the view that pre and post Champions League games are the best time to play top teams, with Fulham's next two Premier League opponents Manchester City and Liverpool, having a tighter fixture schedule than Parker's side.

The ex-Fulham star believes that the Cottagers can reap positive results from their upcoming top flight clashes, provided the London outfit are able to put up the same type of disciplined display that won them the game 2-1 against Leicester City on Monday.

"Obviously it goes without saying that the next two fixtures will still be two of our most difficult games this season", Gale wrote in his column on Fulham's official site.

"But Leicester away was too, so if we put in the same disciplined performance in these next two matches then who knows what could happen.

"That said, it could be a good time to play these teams as it's Champions League this week, and they've both got another one next midweek.

"In my opinion, pre- and post-Champions League is when you want to be coming up against the top teams."

Liverpool are currently second in the league standings with 21 points form their ten games, while the Citizens are in 11th, six points adrift of the Merseyside giants.



https://insidefutbol.com/2020/12/02/were-playing-manchester-city-and-liverpool-at-best-time-fulham-legend/484049/

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Welcoming Fans Back To Craven Cottage

Important information regarding the return of supporters to Craven Cottage.

In light of recent Government and Premier League announcements, the Club is looking forward to welcoming fans back to Craven Cottage this December, beginning with our home fixture against Liverpool on Sunday 13th December.

Following almost nine months of supporters being away from the Cottage, we can't wait to have fans back with us at home games.

However, in order to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all attendees and staff, the experience of purchasing a ticket and attending a game at Craven Cottage will be different:

    Less than 2,000 tickets will be available at each fixture, with tickets issued via a ballot
    The first ballot cycle will open to 2019/20 Season Ticket Holders to enter from Friday 4th December and include our December home fixtures against Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton
    Fans require a OneFulham Account to enter the ballot, which includes having a valid email address and opted-in to recieve email communications from the Club
    Supporters will need to agree to a Code of Conduct, which will be present at the point of ticket purchase
    A medical questionnaire - distributed via email - will be required for all successful applicants to complete in advance of matchday
    Digital tickets (sent to supporters' smartphones) and print at home tickets will be in use
    In order to maintain social distancing and the safety of staff and supporters, entry to Craven Cottage will be staggered and supporters will be provided with an arrival time window
    Supporters will receive a non-invasive temperature check when entering the ground
    Fans must wear a face covering, except when eating or drinking, and respect social distancing inside Craven Cottage at all times
    Supporters should not apply for the ballot if at the date of the match you will be required to self-isolate following travel to the UK from a foreign country, or you are prevented from travelling to London as a result of being in Tier 3 of the UK Government's Covid-19 restrictions.

Further information outlining the steps for returning to Craven Cottage including specific details and FAQs around the balloting process can be found on the dedicated Welcoming Fans Back to Craven Cottage pages.

These pages will be updated regularly as more information becomes available to share with supporters.

Click here to read more



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/december/Welcoming-Fans-Back-To-Craven-Cottage/