Saturday Fulham Stuff - 20/11/21...

[WhiteJC]

Wigley delighted with 'good win'

Steve Wigley saluted Fulham's patience after the under 23s saw off Stoke with a flurry of late goals to move ten points clear at the top of the PL2 Second Division table.

The young Whites had to wait for the breakthrough against a stubborn Stoke side, who battled hard despite being reduced to ten men in the first half. But, after Idris Odutayo broke the deadlock with an excellent far post header, further strikes from Terry Ablade and Luke Harris allowed the hosts to record a seventh successive victory at Motspur Park.

Wigley told FFCTV:

"We had to be patient. They were a bit unfortunate, obviously, they went down to ten men before half time and it was just a case of keep moving the ball quickly and eventually I felt we'd wear them down. To be fair to them, they competed well but we scored some goals.

Wigley was worried that his side could have been set for a second straight stalemate after being held to a draw at Colchester in the PL Cup in midweek, but praised the quality of the team's finishing in the final twenty minutes.

"It was very similar to the other night, where we should have scored, we had a plethora of chances and didn't take them. You start to think, we missed a couple of a good chances and think, 'Oh no, it's not going to be another one of them nights'. But to be fair, we scored good goals, put some good balls into the box and it was a good win in the end."

The under 23 head coach revealed that Fulham might look to allow three or four of his side to go out on loan in January – giving some of the club's under 18 stars an opportunity to move up a level.

"It's my job to keep reminding them that all you do is play the next game. You don't look into the future, you move on from the past and you just play the present. That's what we'll do. We've got quite a bit of interest in some of the boys to go out on loan in January. We'll look to take that opportunity – if we could get three or four of them out on loan, because when you're playing well, people seem to like your players a bit more and then it will be up to other people to step up like Charlie Robinson has done tonight. That's the plan if I'm honest – and then we've still got to try and win games."

He has been delighted with the continual improvement amongst his group of players, which remains the academy's mantra.

"I mean the most important thing is that players are getting better. I keep saying to them, 'As long as you're improving and developing your talent, the game takes care of itself'. I believe that strongly, that's what we'll work towards. If I felt anybody wasn't improving, I'd be really worried but as a collective, they're improving as players."



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/11/wigley-delighted-with-good-win/

[WhiteJC]

He could have gone to Fulham but now its a three year extension for Grimes

Had the summer panned out a little differently then Matt Grimes could have been playing for Fulham now.   The interest was there, the money was on the table but Russell Martin knew he wanted to hang onto the midfielder and the club backed him all the way.

And they have extended that backing now by rewarding the Swansea captain with a three year extension to his contract that will take him to the summer of 2025. There were those in the summer that believed that Swansea wanted to sell but the moment Russell Martin came in it became clear that the Swans boss wanted his captain to stay and on deadline day he got that wish when there was no agreement for him to go to Fulham.

Fast forward a couple of months Grimes has played every minute of our championship season to date and is a pivotal part of a midfield that is enjoying the new style of play that Martin has bought to Swansea.

The Swans boss clearly wants to build his team around his captain and that is something that is working brilliantly and will be a clear reason how we were able to not just hold onto our star man but tie him into a long term contract which could take him up to 10 years at Swansea City.

"It's an incredible signing for the football club. It would have cost a lot of money to replace him," said Martin via the club's official website.

"Most importantly we would have had to spend a lot of time with whoever was going to replace him.

"We know there had been so much interest in him, but he's a cultural architect here. He drives so much of what we're doing.

"He has no ego when it comes to learning, he helps team-mates on and off the pitch whether it was about the abuse some of the players have received and speaking to the PFA to get more done.

"He's been fantastic with us – he's open and honest when the players need something.

"I've quickly established a very strong relationship with him, while he's got an existing relationship with Matt Gill as they played together at Exeter.

"I want to make it clear he could have got a lot more money elsewhere."

It is clear that Martin wants it to be known that Grimes is here because he wants to be and not because of a shortage of offers from elsewhere together with of course a lucrative new contract which is well deserved and even if there was more money on offer elsewhere back in the summer.

"I am really happy, and I am so pleased to get it over the line," he said.

"The way in which we are playing has been massive. From the moment the new manager came in I knew I would take to his style straight away and I am enjoying my football now, probably more so than I have any other year.

"It is such a big part of a footballer's life to be enjoying your football and the football you play.

"I know it sounds silly, but it has been a huge factor in me staying and I couldn't be happier. The club have appointed a fantastic manager in Russell Martin, and we are on the way to doing something really special here, I believe.

"I love the club with all my heart, my partner loves it here and my daughter was born here, so it is the perfect place for me.

"I have loved living in Swansea, my girlfriend moved in with me three or four years ago and she loves it here."



https://planetswans.co.uk/2021/11/20/he-could-have-gone-to-fulham-but-now-its-a-three-year-extension-for-grimes/

[WhiteJC]

Matchday in feature: Fulham v Barnsley

Second from top and second from bottom meet this weekend in the Sky Bet Championship, as Fulham host Barnsley. But, in spite of their League standings, will their fortunes be reversed in our featured kick-off?

The clash, branded 'The Tyke Down' by the high-flying Cottagers, could go either way...

📅 Match details

Kick-off between the two teams at Craven Cottage is pencilled for 15:00 as the Reds make the 180-mile trip to West London.

Joshua Smith has been named as the man in the middle, with Jonathan Hunt and Sam Lewis joining him as assistant referees. Meanwhile, David Rock will serve as the fourth official.

👔 At the helm

Following spells with Hull City, Watford and Everton in the Premier League, Marco Silva was appointed as the new Fulham head coach in the summer and has enjoyed a flying start to life in West London.

The former defender made his first move into coaching in 2011, managing in his native Portugal before making the move to England to take up a position with the Tigers and then the Toffees.

Meanwhile, former Sweden Under-21 coach Poya Asbaghi will take charge of his first Tykes game this weekend when Barnsley travel to Fulham.

The 36-year-old was named as the Club's new head coach earlier this week, replacing Markus Schopp who departed Oakwell at the beginning of the month.

🔑 Key man

Who else? Around a third of the way through the 2021/22 Championship season and Aleksandar Mitrović has already hit double figures, chalking up 20 goals in 17 League appearances. Not to mention he already has two match balls in his possession, following trebles against Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion...

The Serbian, who netted for his country in a 2-1 win against Portugal during the international break, also leads the way in the Championship scoring charts; seven goals clear of Blackburn Rovers' Ben Brereton Diaz and Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke who each tally 13 strikes.

🔥A goal average of 1.2 per game for Aleksandar Mitrović so far this season.🤯#EFL | @FulhamFC pic.twitter.com/yMqreyEvAa

— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) November 1, 2021

Barnsley and Poland defender Michał Helik has been a mainstay in the Reds' back-line this season, chalking up 17 League appearances to date, building on an impressive start to life at Oakwell, after signing for the Club in the summer of 2020.

The South Yorkshire side's 2020/21 Player of the Season played his part in helping the Reds reach the Play-Off Semi-Final, before jetting off on international duty.

📈 Form guide

Fulham embarked on an impressive streak mid-way through October that has seen the Cottagers record six straight wins, scoring 21 goals and conceding just the one to Queens Park Rangers. However, a 7-0 display over Blackburn Rovers at the beginning of November was undoubtedly the highlight.

Now hot on the heels of table toppers Bournemouth, Fulham will be looking to put pressure on the Cherries, whom they trail by two points.

One win in 15 has left Barnsley, on the other hand, in 23rd place and four points short of 21st-placed Peterborough United, sitting just outside of the bottom three.

The Tykes started their campaign on the front foot, taking a point from Cardiff City and securing their first win a week later against Coventry City. However, the South Yorkshire side have found wins hard to come by since and will be hoping to right those wrongs this weekend.
     The last five
Fulham    
✅✅✅✅✅
Barnsley    
❌❌❌✅❌

Keep up to date with live match updates from this weekend's featured game by following @SkyBetChamp on Twitter.



https://www.efl.com/news/2021/november/matchday-in-feature-fulham-v-barnsley/

[WhiteJC]

2 Fulham dilemmas facing Marco Silva ahead of Barnsley match today

Fulham will be looking to extend their current unbeaten run in the Championship this afternoon to seven games when they host Barnsley at Craven Cottage.

After suffering a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Coventry City last month, Marco Silva's side have managed to take their game to new heights as they have recently produced several fantastic attacking displays.

The Cottagers managed to put four past Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest before sealing a remarkable 7-0 triumph over Blackburn Rovers.

With AFC Bournemouth not set to play until Sunday, Fulham will climb to the top of the Championship standings if they beat the Tykes.

Ahead of this clash, we have decided to take a look at TWO selection dilemmas that Silva is facing...

Who will replace Denis Odoi at full-back?
With Denis Odoi set to miss today's clash with Barnsley due to suspension, it will be intriguing to see who Silva decides to draft in as his replacement at right-back.

After being brought on as a substitute during Fulham's clash with Peterborough United earlier this month, Kenny Tete could be in line to make his fifth start of the 2021/22 campaign at Craven Cottage.

Cyrus Christie could also be included in the club's match-day squad for the second time this season.

Tete will be determined to deliver an eye-catching performance against Barnsley if he is given the opportunity to showcase his talent in this fixture.

Will Tom Cairney return to the club's starting eleven?
Since making his long-awaited return from injury in Fulham's meeting with Cardiff City last month, Tom Cairney has been used predominantly as a substitute by Silva.

The midfielder's only league start of the current campaign came during the club's 4-0 victory over Forest.

Although it is fair to say that the likes of Harrison Reed and Jean Michael Seri have both been relatively impressive for Fulham this season, Cairney may be given the chance to impress today if Silva opts to rotate his team ahead of the busy Christmas period.

Having made 305 appearances at this level during his career to date, the 30-year-old knows exactly what it takes to thrive in this division and thus will be confident in his ability to deliver the goods for Fulham this afternoon.

[Fulham1959]

Fulham vs Barnsley Preview: xT creation zones, positional attacks and more – what do the stats say?



Fulham head into Saturday's fixture with Barnsley looking to extend their winning streak in the Championship to seven matches. The Tykes will not have new boss Poya Asbaghi in charge until next week but will be eager to reduce the deficit to safety with an unlikely result at Craven Cottage.

Fulham are currently second in the league, with a win potentially taking them to the top of the table. Marco Silva's side have been in incredible form of late, having won their last six league games. They will look to continue their form with a win against Barnsley this weekend.



Aleksander Mitrovic has been their most impressive player this season. Only 17 games into the season, the Serbian international has already scored 20 goals and provided five assists. With his current form, he's on course to break the record for the most Championship goals scored in a season. He doesn't look like slowing down either. Mitrovic has scored in each of the last six games, with a total goal tally of 11 goals in that period.



The Fulham team was creative from the wider side and especially from the left. They had more threat creation zones on the left side and were more effective in attacking from this side of the pitch. Neeskens Kebano created the highest threat from passes and his passing accuracy was 85%. They also scored their goal from the left side of the penalty area.

Barnsley, on the other hand, have not been able to get into their stride this season. They have only won one of their last 15 league games and are currently 23rd in the table. It will be a huge ask for them to take anything away from the game against Fulham on Saturday.



Despite being second last on the table, Barnsley have a high number of positional attacks in the league. They have attempted 28.39 positional attacks, which indicates they have not been completely reliant on set pieces for their attacks in the game. A positional attack is when the team attacks the opposition goal from open play, which means building-up play and not a counterattack.



Barnsley did lose their last game to Hull, but the attacks they constructed were from the right flank, and Callum Brittain had the highest xT from his passes. Barnsley have failed to create enough chances and be effective in front of the goal. They have scored only 12 goals this season which is the second-lowest tally in the league.

It's hard to see Barnsley picking up any points from this game, given the form that the two sides are in. Marco Silva's side should have enough firepower to easily get past their opponents on Saturday.

Fulham predicted starting lineup:
Rodak, Tete, Hector, Ream, Robinson, Seri, Reed; Wilson, Decordova-Reid, Kebano, Mitrovic.

Barnsley predicted starting lineup:
Collins, Andersen, Helik, Kitching, Brittain, Styles, Benson, Williams, Adeboyejo, Woodrow, Iseka.



https://eflanalysis.com/analysis/efl-championship-preview-fulham-vs-barnsley

These charts convey absolutely nothing to me and, as a retired accountant, I am not a stranger to charts and graphs.

[WhiteJC]

Fulham vs Barnsley Preview: xT creation zones, positional attacks and more – what do the stats say?



Fulham head into Saturday's fixture with Barnsley looking to extend their winning streak in the Championship to seven matches. The Tykes will not have new boss Poya Asbaghi in charge until next week but will be eager to reduce the deficit to safety with an unlikely result at Craven Cottage.

Fulham are currently second in the league, with a win potentially taking them to the top of the table. Marco Silva's side have been in incredible form of late, having won their last six league games. They will look to continue their form with a win against Barnsley this weekend.



Aleksander Mitrovic has been their most impressive player this season. Only 17 games into the season, the Serbian international has already scored 20 goals and provided five assists. With his current form, he's on course to break the record for the most Championship goals scored in a season. He doesn't look like slowing down either. Mitrovic has scored in each of the last six games, with a total goal tally of 11 goals in that period.



The Fulham team was creative from the wider side and especially from the left. They had more threat creation zones on the left side and were more effective in attacking from this side of the pitch. Neeskens Kebano created the highest threat from passes and his passing accuracy was 85%. They also scored their goal from the left side of the penalty area.

Barnsley, on the other hand, have not been able to get into their stride this season. They have only won one of their last 15 league games and are currently 23rd in the table. It will be a huge ask for them to take anything away from the game against Fulham on Saturday.



Despite being second last on the table, Barnsley have a high number of positional attacks in the league. They have attempted 28.39 positional attacks, which indicates they have not been completely reliant on set pieces for their attacks in the game. A positional attack is when the team attacks the opposition goal from open play, which means building-up play and not a counterattack.



Barnsley did lose their last game to Hull, but the attacks they constructed were from the right flank, and Callum Brittain had the highest xT from his passes. Barnsley have failed to create enough chances and be effective in front of the goal. They have scored only 12 goals this season which is the second-lowest tally in the league.

It's hard to see Barnsley picking up any points from this game, given the form that the two sides are in. Marco Silva's side should have enough firepower to easily get past their opponents on Saturday.

Fulham predicted starting lineup:
Rodak, Tete, Hector, Ream, Robinson, Seri, Reed; Wilson, Decordova-Reid, Kebano, Mitrovic.

Barnsley predicted starting lineup:
Collins, Andersen, Helik, Kitching, Brittain, Styles, Benson, Williams, Adeboyejo, Woodrow, Iseka.



https://eflanalysis.com/analysis/efl-championship-preview-fulham-vs-barnsley

These charts convey absolutely nothing to me and, as a retired accountant, I am not a stranger to charts and graphs.

but look at the pretty colours

[WhiteJC]

Late Palace leveller denies Fulham U18s

A last gasp Victor Akinwale equaliser denied Fulham's under 18s a local derby victory as battling Crystal Palace forced a draw at Motspur Park this afternoon.

In a tight and fiercely competitive encounter, Fulham had to wait until twenty minutes from time to take the lead when Ollie Sanderson volleyed home after a fine move. After a period of patient passing, Luc de Fougerolles floated in a fine cross from the left flank and Sanderson fired in his seventh goal of the season. But Ali Melloul's side were not able to withstand a spirited spell of late pressure from Palace who forced an equaliser with lively striker Akinwale stabbing home from close range after Alfie McNally had made a fine save to keep out Joe Sheridan's header.

Xavier Benjamin made a long-awaited return to action at the heart of the Fulham defence after a prolonged injury absence and the hosts began brightly with Sanderson shooting wide after winning possession off the Palace defence. Sheridan came closest for Palace when his smart header was well gathered by McNally as the visitors began to gain a foothold in the contest. Some more excellent approach play saw Sanderson feed Imani Lanquedoc and Palace goalkeeper Owen Goodman did well to gather the midfielder's snapshot, which bounced awkwardly in front of him.

McNally dashed from his line to deny Kalani Barton a sight of goal and then pulled off an excellent save to prevent Cadogan from scoring a fine individual effort after darting infield from the left flank. Fulham almost went ahead just before the break but Sanderson was denied by a good save at his near post by Goodman after Michael Olakigbe had surged along the right wing.

Palace created the better openings at the start of the second half with Jadan Raymond seeing a shot blocked and Akinwale heading over from an excellent Barton cross. Fulham were furious not to be awarded a penalty when Olakigbe appeared to have been brought down in the box, but Sanderson quickly rendered that refereeing decision academic with his fabulous volley. The home side couldn't hang on to their slender lead – and the point means the young Whites are four points behind leaders Chelsea in fourth place.

FULHAM UNDER 18s (4-3-3): McNally; Tanton, de Fougerolles, Benjamin (Antonsson 52), Araujo; McCoy-Splatt, Dibley-Dias, Lanquedoc; Wildbore (Gordon 67), Olakigbe, Sanderson. Subs (not used): Okkas, Parker, Works, Gordon.

GOAL: Sanderson (70).

CRYSTAL PALACE UNDER 18s (5-3-2): Goodman; Barton (Nascimento 86), Williams (Ola-Adembomi 77), Sheridan, Rodney, Ozah; Bartley, Raymond (Vigor 90+4), Cadogan; Mooney, Akinwale. Subs (not used): Ling, Izquierdo.

GOAL: Akinwale (90).

BOOKED: Rodney, Cadogan.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2021/11/late-palace-leveller-denies-fulham-u18s/