Thursday fulham Stuff - 03/06/21...

[WhiteJC]

Rodak named in Slovakia Euro 2020 squad

Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak has been named in Slovakia's final squad for the forthcoming European Championships, which was confirmed this morning.

The 24 year-old was included in Stefan Tarkovic's initial 24-man party and won his sixth senior international cap in last night's friendly draw with Bulgaria in Austria. Rodak will compete with Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and the Lechia Gdansk keeper Dusan Kuciak for the number one jersey during the tournament, which gets underway on June 11th. He played a key role in Slovakia's qualification for Euro 2020, saving a penalty from Alan Browne in the play-off shootout victory over the Republic of Ireland.

Rodak has been a spectactor at club level for much of the past season after Fulham signed Alphonse Areola on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. He started the first league game of the season, a 3-0 defeat by Arsenal, but had to wait until the final match of the campaign – when the Whites were beaten by Newcastle – for another appearance in the Premier League. He made two FA Cup appearances and featured in two League Cup fixtures.

Slovakia face Austria in their final warm-up match in Vienna on Sunday before opening their Group E campaign against Poland in St. Petersburg on June 14. They face Sweden at the same venue four days later before travelling to Sevilla to take on Spain in their final group game on June 23.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/06/rodak-named-in-slovakia-euro-2020-squad/

[WhiteJC]

Marek Off To The Euros

Marek Rodák has been named in the final Slovakia squad for the upcoming European Championship.

The 26-man group features three goalkeepers, with Rodák competing with Newcastle United's Martin Dubravka and Dušan Kuciak of Lechia Gdansk for a starting berth.

Rodák played a key part in his nation's successful qualifying campaign, saving a spot-kick in their penalty shoot-out Play-Off triumph against the Republic of Ireland.

Slovakia are in Group E, where they will face Poland on Monday 14th, Sweden on Friday 18th, and Spain on Wednesday 23rd June.

Rodák won his sixth cap for his country on Tuesday evening in their 1-1 friendly draw with Bulgaria.

The Fulham stopper kept a clean sheet in the second half after replacing Kuciak at the break.

Joachim Andersen, who spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Fulham, is in the Denmark party after a fine season.

The Danes are up against Belgium, Finland and Russia in Group B.

Kenny Tete was named in the provisional Netherlands squad, but was not selected in the final cut.




https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2021/june/Marek-Off-To-The-Euros/

[WhiteJC]

Report: Sheffield United fear they'll miss out on Jokanovic favourite, £10m man out of reach

Sheffield United are pessimistic about the potential arrival of Tom Cairney with the Blades fully aware Fulham are unlikely to sell their captain to a direct Championship rival, according to The Star.

When Slavisa Jokanovic was handed the keys to Bramall Lane last week, it didn't take long before reports tipped Chris Wilder's replacement to bring one of his former players to the Steel City.

According to TEAMtalk, Jokanovic would relish the prospect of working with Tom Cairney again.

The silky playmaker skippered his Fulham side to play-off final glory at Wembley three years ago and arguably produced the finest football of his career under the 52-year-old Serb at Craven Cottage.

Jokanovic seeks Cairney reunion at Sheffield United

But with the Cottagers and Blades potentially going head to head in the promotion race next season, reports coming out of Yorkshire today suggest a Cairney-Jokanovic reunion appears distinctly unlikely.

There's a realisation at Bramall Lane that Fulham won't sell a key player to a prospective title rival.

The Star adds Cairney's £10 million price tag is intended to scare off suitors.

Fulham could demand more than £10m for Cairney

Fulham could demand even more than that if Sheffield United come calling for a player Jokanovic described as a "fantastic" talent during their time together in west London.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/06/02/report-sheffield-united-fear-theyll-miss-out-on-jokanovic-favourite-10m-man-out-of-reach/

[WhiteJC]

QPR confirm signing of Austin on two-year deal

QPR have confirmed the signing of Charlie Austin.

The striker, who turns 32 next month, has agreed a two-year contract.

Austin returned for a second spell at the club when he was brought in on loan from West Brom in January.

He has since been released by the Baggies at the end of his contract after they opted not to take up an option to extend his deal by a year.

A hugely popular figure among fans from his first stint at Loftus Road, Austin scored eight goals during his recent loan spell.

Along with Stefan Johansen, he was instrumental in Rangers enjoying an excellent second half of the season.

QPR are looking to agree the permanent signing of Johansen from Fulham, where the Norwegian has a year remaining on his contract.

Signing him would mean Rangers agreeing deals for all four of the loanees who helped transform the team's fortunes after arriving, with Jordy de Wijs and Sam Field having already completed permanent moves.



https://www.westlondonsport.com/qpr/qpr-confirm-austin-signing-and-look-to-tie-up-johansen-deal

[WhiteJC]

QPR targeting permanent deal for Johansen

Queens Park Rangers have made securing the services of Fulham midfielder Stefan Johansen on a permanent basis one of their highest summer transfer priorities.

Rangers, who have today confirmed the capture of experienced striker Charlie Austin from West Brom, are eager to turn Johansen's successful loan from Craven Cottage into a transfer. The Norwegian midfielder was hugely impressive after moving to Shepherd's Bush in January, scoring three goals and making two more in 21 appearances for the R's.

The 30 year-old, who retired from international football in March in the hope of prolonging his playing career, has spoken publicly of becoming disheartened at a lack of first-team opportunities at Fulham. He was not included in Scott Parker's 25-man Premier League squad last season and has just a year to run on his current contract. The only significant stumbling block could be Rangers' matching Johansen's wage demands.

Johansen was a key figure in Fulham's two promotion-winning sides from the Championship, but has twice been jettisoned once the Whites returned to the top flight. He previously spent time on loan with West Brom when Fulham were relegated in 2019 – helping the Baggies reach the Championship play-offs. The former Celtic midfielder has made 136 appearances for Fulham – scoring 21 goals – since making the move south of the border in August 2016. He formed a classical partnership with Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald in Slavisa Jokanovic's iconic Championship midfield as the Whites reached the play-off semi finals in 2017 and then went one better against Aston Villa at Wembley the following year.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/06/qpr-targeting-permanent-deal-for-johansen/

[WhiteJC]

Jennings and Ashworth receive Eamonn Dolan award

Fulham Academy director and Brighton technical director are recognised for their youth development work

Fulham's Academy director Huw Jennings and Brighton & Hove Albion's technical director Dan Ashworth have been recognised for their outstanding work in youth development with the Eamonn Dolan award.

The award is in honour of former Reading Academy manager Dolan, a pioneer for Academy football and a mentor for hundreds of young players, who passed away after losing a battle with cancer in 2016.

Ryan Sessegnon, who came through Fulham's Academy and made more than 100 first-team appearances before joining Tottenham Hotspur, has led the tributes to Jennings.

Jennings has been at Craven Cottage since 2006 after moving from Southampton, where he helped nurture Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott.

"You can see in the work that he's done with the young players that went through at Fulham and into the first team," said Sessegnon. "[They] went on to play many games.

"I think that couldn't have happened under anyone else. Huw's had a big part to play in that and I'm very thankful to him for what he did for my development."

Moussa Dembele, another Fulham Academy graduate who has just won LaLiga with Atletico Madrid while on loan from Lyon, said in a video message to Jennings: "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me from my first day at Fulham.

"As a young French guy, being in England wasn't easy in the beginning but you made it so easy and so simple for me. I would like to thank you for that, and thank you for all the advice you gave me. I keep on using them at the highest level."

'Huge honour'

Ashworth has been at Brighton since 2019, following seven successful years at the Football Association as technical director. Prior to that he had spent eight years at West Bromwich Albion's Academy.

Brighton's head coach Graham Potter praised the impact Ashworth has made in a video message, saying: "I'm sure it's a huge honour for you. It's fully deserved and I'm so pleased for you."

Brighton's Academy manager John Morling added: "I know you knew Eamonn really well, and I know this award will mean a lot to you.

"You've had a really positive effect on a lot of players' lives and a lot of staff's lives, so it's well deserved."

John McDermott, who has stepped into Ashworth's role as technical director at The FA, added: "I've always admired your energy, your capacity to be seemingly everywhere at once and to always be incredibly engaging. You've been top class in all the roles that you've done.

"I know even more now how you made the job I'm in now so easy. My admiration has gone up even more for you, and I'm not surprised at all by your ongoing success at Brighton."



https://www.premierleague.com/news/2163921

[WhiteJC]

Jennings wins Premier League academy award

Fulham academy director Huw Jennings has today been named as one of the winners of the Premier League Eamonn Dolan Award for his outstanding achievements in youth development.

Jennings, who has previously worked at the Oxford United and Southampton academies as well as the Premier League, shares this year's award with the Brighton and Hove Albion technical director Dan Ashworth. The award is named in honour of the former Reading academy supremo Dolan, who sadly passed away from cancer in 2016.

Jennings has overseen the progression of 44 academy graduates to first-team debuts in more than a decade at Craven Cottage, with talented midfielder Fabio Carvalho the latest to make the step up to senior football in the final weeks of the last season. Fulham's under 18 side successfully defended their Premier League U18 south title and Jennings' key role at the helm of one of the country's leading academies has won him respect and admiration throughout the national game.

He told the Fulham official website:

"It's fantastic. Eamonn was a terrific ambassador for youth and dedicated his career to the development of young players. To win an award that's in his name makes me feel very privileged.

You can never replace the enjoyment of seeing a young player progress to the first team for Fulham. We've had a number of those during my time here, most recently Fabio Carvalho. It was great to see Fabio start the last three Premier League games, and hopefully he can go on to achieve great things. That's certainly always a starting point for my personal highlights.

We're probably witnessing the most successful period of youth development in England, and in my career. Hopefully, that can transfer into international success and lots of club related success with talented young players. I'm really proud to be working with a really strong team of staff who are so hard-working and dedicated to their roles. In terms of on the pitch, we've had successes with the Under-18s, who won the Southern Premier League for a second year in a row. There's also been good progress from a number of individuals right across the programme.

This is a great club to work for and it's the longest I've worked anywhere and I've done that for two reasons. One is that I've really enjoyed it and the other is that the club has continued to put up with me!"



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/06/jennings-wins-premier-league-academy-award/

[WhiteJC]

Cottage Talk Special Episode: The Gordon Davies Interview

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


hoto by S&G/PA Images via Getty Images

This episode was an interivew with Fulham legend Gordon Davies, and we discussed his career as a footballer. We also asked him several questions from the Fulham supporters.


You can also listen to the show by following this link...
https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2021/6/2/22465785/cottage-talk-special-episode-the-gordon-davies-interview

[filham]

If QPR make early signings of Stefjo and Austin I fear they start with two better players than we have for those particular roles.

[grandad]

If QPR make early signings of Stefjo and Austin I fear they start with two better players than we have for those particular roles.

Harrison Reed & Mitro are far better.

[alfie]

If QPR make early signings of Stefjo and Austin I fear they start with two better players than we have for those particular roles.

Harrison Reed & Mitro are far better.

:plus one: