Telegraph Article about our recruitment

[Lambo]

Very interesting, gives an insight into the complexities of transfers and explains why Andersen was bought so late in the transfer window.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/02/17/new-look-fulhams-shrewd-recruitment-powering-premier-league/

[colossus]

Thanks for sharing, can you post the article text please? It's behind a paywall

[Southcoastffc]

The champagne on the Wembley pitch had not yet gone flat by the time Fulham's recruitment team swung into action this summer. While the players and coaching staff were still celebrating their play-off victory over Brentford, and their immediate return to the top flight, the club's executives were already plotting a way to keep them there.

It was a joyful moment for the club, but it was also a delicate time for its leaders. Fulham had less than six weeks to prepare for the Premier League season, finances were tight and the coronavirus-affected transfer market was moving slowly. They were also acutely aware, from the top of the club all the way down to the players, that they could not oversee a repeat of the gruelling 2018/19 season, when they invested heavily but finished 19th.

In his post-match press conference that night, head coach Scott Parker spoke of avoiding the mistakes of their previous season in the top flight. "We need to learn from that," he said. That did not mean that Fulham were not planning to spend, though. They had to strengthen the side, especially the defence, and they had to do it more shrewdly than before.

Six months down the line, Fulham once again look like an entirely different team to the one which secured promotion. This time, however, they are unquestionably a better side for it. If their recruitment process was blamed for the relegation of 2019, at times unfairly, then it is only right that it now receives credit for the obvious improvements that Fulham have made this season.

In the last three months, Fulham have been a far stronger team than the league table suggests. Since the end of November they have lost only four league matches, all against the current top four. And in the last 14 games they have conceded just 13 goals, a defensive record bettered by only Burnley and Manchester City.

Their issue has been scoring goals, but the signs are encouraging on that front too. On his full debut last weekend, striker Josh Maja struck twice in a fully deserved victory at Everton.

If Parker's side win at Burnley on Wednesday, they will move to within four points of safety. Survival is now a genuine possibility, which in itself is an achievement given their start to the campaign, when they shipped 10 goals in the opening three matches.

The scale of the transformation can be seen in the fact that only one player who started the first match of the season against Arsenal also started at Everton. That was Harrison Reed, who signed on a permanent basis in the summer.


Across the rest of the team there are new faces, from Maja in attack to the superb Joachim Andersen at the back. The crucial difference is that, unlike two seasons ago, almost all of the summer arrivals have had a significant impact on the side, making Fulham a better and more competitive outfit once they had settled.

The recruitment process itself has not changed since Fulham's previous Premier League adventure. It is still led by vice-chairman Tony Khan, who has the final say on incomings and outgoings, and is still based on a "both boxes ticked" policy, where one box refers to traditional scouting and the other refers to data analysis.

This season, though, there is a hunger within the new recruits that was not always present before. Andersen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Ademola Lookman, Antonee Robinson, Ola Aina, Kenny Tete and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all under the age of 25, and they are all driving the team forward.

Parker worked closely with Khan and chief executive Alistair Mackintosh on the club's recruitment in the summer, and he was insistent throughout that they needed players with a genuine desire to improve. Khan, meanwhile, pushed until the final moments of deadline day to find the best value for money in a financial climate where every penny counted.

The signings of Andersen, on loan from Lyon, and Adarabioyo, plucked from Manchester City for just £2 million, represent perhaps two of the most impressive deals across the division. Andersen was made stand-in captain after just four games, with Parker describing his impact as "incredible". Adarabioyo, meanwhile, must already be worth at least five times what Fulham paid for him.

The only complaint from Fulham's supporters was that the two centre-backs were not signed sooner. They both arrived on deadline day in October, after Fulham had lost their opening four matches. But the Andersen deal was simply not possible earlier in the window — it is understood that, until 36 hours from the deadline, the only way Fulham could sign him was by paying €30m. They ultimately loaned him for just €1m, with another €1m due if they stay up. Sometimes, it can pay to be patient.

Adarabioyo was more of a data-driven signing, while Robinson (who cost £2m from Wigan) is understood to have been enticed by the prospect of working with Parker. Mario Lemina came in as part of a package with Reed from Southampton, while goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has been dependable since joining on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

The resurgence of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, a £25m arrival in 2018, has been particularly satisfactory. Anguissa was barely used in his first campaign in England, when he did not feel the love he might have expected, and was loaned to Villarreal last season.

Such was Anguissa's success in La Liga that the Spanish side lodged a considerable offer for him this summer, believed to be close to £25m. The approach was rejected because Fulham still believed he would ultimately come good. He has since started all but four league games, becoming one of Parker's most dynamic players.

Naturally, none of these signings will be considered true success stories if Fulham do not survive. But the fact remains that Parker's side are on an unmistakably upward trajectory. They are improving and they are fighting, and those new faces have played an enormous part in their development as a team. Rather than being undermined by their recruitment, they are now being powered by it.

[Somerset Fulham]

People will twist the words to suit their agenda of course, but that does show just how up against it we have been since we beat Brentford.

I am a little concerend that its the second article I've read that mentions Andersen though, we need to keep it quiet that he's so good!

[Statto]

Nothing new in here but very interesting nonetheless insofar as it was the Telegraph's Sam Wallace who broke the various stories about the cluster-f*** that was TK's (and CK's) initial involvement in our recruitment process. Clearly the club have now sacked or otherwise silenced Wallace's source and are now briefing the Telegraph with more TK-friendly material.

Nothing wrong with that IMO, i assume many big organisations will have their own spin doctors, and it will have been part of TK's ongoing process of learning how the game works. If he could just learn to delete his Twitter account and dial down the tone of his video updates on the official site, he might eventually become popular. PR isn't rocket science.

[Baszab]

Statto - you're right - there's plenty of PR on this board !!!

[deadcowboys]

And even more BS.