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Monday Fulham Stuff - 26/04/21...

Started by WhiteJC, April 26, 2021, 08:51:25 AM

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WhiteJC

Results



Sunday
Wolves
0-4
Burnley
Leeds
0-0
Man Utd
Villa
2-2
West Brom

WhiteJC

Sources: Newcastle and Fulham race Rangers for Doekhi

Newcastle United and Fulham have joined Rangers in the race for Dutch centre-back Danilho Doekhi, Football Insider understands.

He has been one of the standout performers for Vitesse Arnhem this season who have the best defensive record in the Eredivisie.

A recruitment source has told Football Insider the Premier League duo are keeping tabs on the 22-year-old ahead of the summer.

Football Insider revealed on Friday (23rd April) that Rangers had shortlisted Doekhi as a centre-back target amid uncertainty over Filip Helander.

This site understands the Ibrox giants have slapped a £6million price tag on the Sweden international amid reported interest from the Premier League.

Doekhi has missed just two games across all competitions this season and was in the Netherlands squad for the recent Under-21 European Championships.

He played the full 90 minutes in Vitesse's 2-1 defeat to his former side Ajax in the Dutch Cup final last weekend.

The Rotterdam-born ace did not feature for the Ajax first team in his two-season spell before joining Vitesse in 2018.

At Vitesse, he has amassed 89 appearances across all competitions, including 73 in the Dutch top-flight.

Both Newcastle and Fulham are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Premier League.

Fulham will be in the market for a new dominant centre-back in the summer to replace Joachim Andersen.

The 24-year-old, on loan from Lyon, has been their outstanding performer at the back and has captained the side on occasion.

Newcastle have conceded 53 goals in 32 Premier League games this term and have kept just five clean sheets.



https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-newcastle-and-fulham-race-rangers-for-doekhi/

WhiteJC

Newcastle United fans need to keep grip on reality rather than this media spin – Fine margins

Newcastle United fans have experienced a bit of light relief these last few weeks.

A shoddy season of uninspiring football and Steve Bruce dragging us down into a relegation battle and feeble cup exits, with a desperate run of only two wins in twenty one matches.

Then April coming along and along with a bit of sunshine and pub beer gardens reopening, we have seen Newcastle United finally picking up the couple of wins needed to all but make them safe from relegation.

However, some of the media coverage has been absolute mad, if not predictable.

Talking about Steve Bruce performing miracles, brilliant recent form and football, all good in the world again if you are Newcastle United fans.

Yes, we all like it when results go our way, BUT the over the top reporting and goading from the usual suspects (Keys, Sutton, Savage...) is vomit inducing.

Their message is that this proves that they (Steve Bruce's media fan club) have been proved to have been right all along, with the recent NUFC matches and results proof of that.

NEWCASTLE UNITED (Last nine Premier League matches)

Man Utd 3 Newcastle United 1 (21 February 2021)

Newcastle 1 Wolves 1

West Brom 0 Newcastle 0

Newcastle 1 Aston Villa 1

Brighton 3 Newcastle 0

Newcastle 2 Tottenham 2

Burnley 1 Newcastle 2

Newcastle 3 West Ham 2

Liverpool 1 Newcastle 1 (24 April 2021)

That is nine weeks of Newcastle matches and you could spin it as either only two wins in nine games or only two defeats in nine matches.

The reality is that it has been eleven points from nine games, not brilliant but ok (and better than what had gone before!) and looking to be enough to have seen Newcastle crawl towards survival.

Of course Keys and Savage will say, yes, but look at the last four Newcastle matches.

Eight points from four games has been a very good return BUT anybody trying to make out that there has been some massive explosion of excellent football and totally convincing performances, is very much kidding themselves.

Against Tottenham we played ok early on but going 2-1 down after just half an hour looked to have killed off the game, only an 85th goal from sub Joe Willock saved the game.

Woeful against Burnley, they should have had the game win and not just being one ahead, sub ASM comes on and singlehandedly turns it around in seven minutes, creating a goal and scoring one.

Played decent in first half against West Ham, the Hammers on top of that gifting two goals and a man advantage. Steve Bruce and his team then going ultra defensive against ten men for entire second half, they score two to equalise and only an 82nd minute goal from sub Joe Willock getting the win.

On Saturday, much the same story, Newcastle playing ok up to a point, creating a few chances, but reality is that Liverpool dominated and had around five times as many clear chances which they wasted one after another, despite Salah showing how it is done after only three minutes. A goal from sub Joe Willock in the 95th minute winning an unlikely point.

These games showed there was nothing wrong with the spirit of the team and we saw at times brief periods of better play BUT talk about fine margins. In reality Newcastle could have ended up losing all four matches very easily, yes even the West Ham one against ten men, due to Bruce handing them all the control and momentum. The other three matches we were losing them all until help came off the bench, substitutes scoring in all four of these games summing up just how on the edge all the matches were.

After looking at Newcastle's last four matches, what about one of our relegation rival's last quartet of games.

FULHAM (Last four Premier League matches)

Fulham 1 Leeds 2

Aston Villa 3 Fulham 1

Fulham 0 Wolves 1

Arsenal 1 Fulham 1

Fulham were leading against Arsenal until conceding in the 97th minute, leading against Villa until conceding three goals in the final 12 minutes.

They lost a point against Wolves when conceding on 92 minutes, whilst even the Leeds match they were drawing until conceding the winner on 58 minutes.

It is pretty much a case of the luck and fine margins that have gone Newcastle's way in their last four games, going exactly the other way for Fulham.

This is how the Premier League table looked on Sunday morning:


As you can see, the eight points in four games making all the difference to Newcastle, without them they would be only one point ahead of Fulham.

However, even despite Newcastle picking up these points, IF at the same time Fulham hadn't thrown away the six points late on against Villa, Arsenal and Wolves, they would be on 33 points and only three points behind Newcastle – with that final day clash at Craven Cottage still to come.

So basically, Steve Bruce needed to get the luck flowing these last four games AND Fulham finding ways to not pick up points, to have reached relative safety now.

A bit better football but in reality massive luck on top of that has made the difference.

We might not be so lucky again if Steve Bruce is allowed to blunder on, wasting what isn't that bad a squad.

We have been warned.



https://www.themag.co.uk/2021/04/newcastle-united-fans-need-to-keep-grip-on-reality-rather-than-this-media-spin-fine-margins/


WhiteJC

Why Fulham need to stick with Parker next season

The big debate is now not whether Fulham will survive the drop – it's whether Scott Parker should lead another bid to return from the Championship.

Parker and co need the kind of miracle that demands four wins from their last four matches to give them a fighting chance of staying up.

Those games include Chelsea, next, and then Manchester United.

They also have to depend on major slip-ups from Newcastle, who play the Whites last, or Brighton and Burnley.

Even those with double-strength rose-tinted specs don't see it happening.

Should he stay or should he go?
So, what is the case for keeping or ditching Parker?

He thinks very much like the defensive midfielder he was all his playing career both in the top flight and for England.

Consider the 12 clean sheets Fulham have collected in all competitions, as well as conceding just the one in 11 others.

It isn't the defence that's a worry, it's the paucity of goals.

Parker has set Fulham up with just one main striker all season.

It's no surprise that with just 25 goals all campaign, they are the second lowest scorers behind woeful Sheffield United – already condemned to the second tier.

Parker depended on Aleksandar Mitrovic to replicate the Golden Boot form from last season's Championship. He hasn't.

Parker thought Ivan Cavaleiro could "stretch" defences on a consistent basis. He doesn't, and has never looked remotely like he could.

Loan striker Josh Maja looks more the business since he joined from Bordeaux on loan in the summer.

But even he was a little too late.

Parker thought Ruben Loftus-Cheek would slowly rekindle the form that saw him added to England's 2018 World Cup squad. He hasn't.

In fact, as every game passes the Chelsea loanee looks less likely to have the impact Parker expected.

And there was no Fulham move for Ollie Watkins last summer. A mistake.

Yes, the former Brentford striker, who would only have had to move down the road, would have cost £27m, but that's small beer alongside the £110m Fulham shelled out last time in the Premier League two seasons back.

Instead, Watkins has shone for Aston Villa as well as debuting for England.

The Fulham mindset has always been about keeping it tight and nicking one on the break.

Parker admitted: "If we play basketball in this division, we'll lose every time."

But not if you've got one more basket than the opposition, Scott, and you only do that by attacking.

But here's why Fulham should keep Parker.

He knows the Championship inside out, having played there and masterminded an instant return from the division last term.

He's adept at the type of domestic politics that keeps him onside with Tony Khan, son of the owner, and essentially the man who runs the club.

All bosses have to understand when to bow and when to stand tall; Parker has demonstrated that in spades.

He has ticked off Khan over ill-thought Tweets and praised the club policy (Khan's) of bringing in very good loan players

The head coach understands horses for courses, and tends to pick a side for the game in hand.

He also 'feels' the dressing room.

Before he was appointed full-time following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri in February 2019, everyone; players, backroom staff, managers commented on how he lifted or spoke home truths around the Fulham camp.

He was a valued leader in every sense from the day he arrived as a player in 2013.

At 40, Parker's best managerial years are ahead of him.

But before that, he had 20 years to learn from a host of managers, so he was able to lay out very plainly from his squad this term.

Fourth bottom would do, and they would have to get used to losing more than they won.

Not so much defeatist, as pragmatic, and based on all the cool-headed Parker has learnt from relegation campaigns experienced first-hand.

Limited options
But if you were to bin the current boss, who would be his replacement?

Who, currently in football management, knows the club better?

You might want to scout around Europe, or go for an up-and-coming from the lower divisions, or try for one of the out-of-work coaches on a never-ending carousel.

That said, how many more clubs has Tony Pulis, Chris Wilder or Alex McLeish, got in them for example?

Others like Frank Lampard would be a very controversial appointment.

Better to stick with the man who, given the resources available, has done a decent job, and has the desire to do an even better one.



https://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/football-fulham-need-to-stick-with-parker-next-season-260421

WhiteJC

Arsenal to compete with West Ham for Joachim Andersen - report
Arsenal are ready to rival West Ham to sign Fulham loan star Joachim Andersen, according to a report

Arsenal are interested in a swoop to sign Fulham loan star Joachim Andersen, according to a report in England.

The Daily Mirror is reporting that Arsenal are looking at signing a new centre-half in the 2021 summer transfer window given uncertainty surrounding David Luiz's future at the club.

The same article states that the Gunners want to improve their defensive options after a difficult first full season in charge of Arsenal for Mikel Arteta.

According to the same story, Arsenal are facing competition from their London rivals West Ham for the 24-year-old ahead of the 2021 summer transfer window.

The Daily Mirror reveals that Hammers boss David Moyes wants to strengthen his squad following their top-four challenge under the Scottish coach this term.

The media outlet go on to reveal that Andersen's parent club Lyon are under pressure to balance their books so the Ligue 1 side could be open to the Danish centre-half's sale.

The article adds that Andersen is eager to remain in the Premier League when his loan stint at Fulham comes to an end.

Andersen has scored one goal and has made one assist in 27 games in the Premier League this season for Scott Parker's Fulham team.

Arsenal are nine points adrift of fifth-placed West Ham in the Premier League table.



https://www.thesportreview.com/2021/04/arsenal-transfer-news-joachim-anderson/

WhiteJC

U23s Preview: Fulham vs Leeds United

Champions travel to West London.

Mark Jackson's Under 23s side will travel to face Fulham on Monday afternoon, in their final Premier League 2 Division 2 away match of the season.

Last time out, a 2-1 win over Aston Villa secured the title for the Whites, who have a nine-point advantage over second placed Stoke City, with just two matches remaining.

With 17 wins from their 22 games, Jackson's side have been exceptional at this level and winning the title comes with the added bonus of promotion, to Premier League 2 Division 1 for next season.

Monday's opponents Fulham are 10th in the table as things stand, but in such a tight and congested middle order, a couple of wins in the final two matches could see them shoot right up the standings.

The hosts have two players that are regularly finding the back of the net in Fabio Carvalho and Jean-Pierre Tiehi. Both are in double figures for the campaign and will need to be watched closely if they are involved.

Joe Gelhardt is leading the scoring charts with 11 for Leeds, but Sam Greenwood will be looking to continue his strong finish to the campaign and get into double figures himself, as he is currently on nine.

When the two teams met at Thorp Arch in December, it was a resounding and thumping victory for Leeds, who ran out 7-1 winners on the day. Back on home turf, a stronger Fulham showing is expected in the return fixture.

League Position

Fulham: 10th

Leeds: 1st

Form

Fulham: LLDWL

Leeds: LWWWW

Last time out

Middlesbrough 1-0 Fulham

Aston Villa 1-2 Leeds United

Top scorer(s)

Fulham: Fabio Carvalho (11)

Leeds: Joe Gelhardt (11)

How to watch

Kick-off is at 13:00. The match will be streamed on LUTV and there will be live updates right here on our blog, throughout.



https://www.leedsunited.com/news/team-news/28023/u23s-preview-fulham-vs-leeds-united


filham

A decision on Parker needs to be made without delay and then planning and procurement for the Championship needs to start before this season ends.