Tuesday Fulham Stuff - 09/08/22...

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Happy birthday, Roy Hodgson

No Fulham fan will ever join in a chorus of criticism when it comes to Roy Hodgson, who celebrates his 77th birthday today. What he did for our special club will never be forgotten. Hodgson, close to taking a job at his old club Inter Milan as director of football, was a surprise appointment to succeed Lawrie Sanchez at Craven Cottage in 2007. He had unfinished business in England, having been sacked by Blackburn Rovers, but was seen as something of an oddity by the domestic press pack, who had largely encountered him in European cities not known for their football sides, despite twice coming close to getting the England job.

The common consensus amongst the commentariat was that Fulham were down – something which only hardened when it took more than two months for the Whites, low on confidence after Sanchez's shocking stint in charge and humbled in the FA Cup by Bristol Rovers, to record their first win under the new management team of Hodgson and another Fulham hero, Ray Lewington. Even after a flurry of fine victories, it looked bleak following defeats at home to Liverpool and Sunderland. But we all know what happened next. Brian McBride, that crossbar and Erik Nevland sealing the rarest of away wins at Reading. The still scarcely creditable comeback from the dead at Manchester City, beating Birmingham at the Cottage and Danny Murphy's header at Fratton Park to secure survival. Talk about a Great Escape.

Of course, Hodgson wasn't down there. He reshaped his squad with a series of shrewd summer signings, including Mark Schwarzer and Zoltan Gera on Bosmans and a double deal for West Ham duo, Bobby Zamora and John Pantsil, that had the red tops sniggering. There was a big money purchase in the shape of Andy Johnson and the arrival, just before the transfer deadline, of Dickson Etuhu. All of those men would play a huge part in what was to come. Fulham finished seventh in 2008/09, playing some lovely football and qualified for Europe, which set in train probably the most memorable season in the club's history.

Hodgson freely admits that his initial target was merely to qualify for the group stages of the inaugural Europa League – which Fulham did, despite a few nervy moments in Perm. They were handed a tough group, but were close to beating Roma twice and secured safe passage to the knockout phase following an unforgettable night in snowy Basel. I don't need to recount in detail what followed: safe to say that the nights against Shakhtar, Juventus and Wolfsburg and Hamburg were magical. Hodgson's team of heroes were so close to winning it all – but his transformation of the club from relegation certainties to European finalists was remarkable. That it did it all with intelligence, dignity, passion and an unquenchable thirst for the game made the fit between a classical manager and London's oldest professional football club all the more perfect.

Happy birthday, Roy, and thanks for the memories.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2022/08/happy-birthday-roy-hodgson-2/

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How Mike Conroy kickstarted the Al-Fayed era

It is 25 years ago today that the Mohamed Al-Fayed era at Fulham got underway as the Whites took on Wrexham in the Second Division at Craven Cottage. The purchase of a likeable but sleepy London club by the eccentric Egyptian owner of Harrods had come as a complete surprise in the aftermath of Fulham's promotion from the professional pyramid's bottom tier on a shoestring under first-time manager Micky Adams. As the cult hero himself drily observed, he had to adjust from 'shopping at Woolworths to shopping at Harrods'.

There was a sense of both optimism and curiosity swirling around the Cottage before the first fixture of the new campaign. More than 8,000 fans sweltered in the sunshine to watch, with national newspaper correspondents slumming it in the Second Division, and thousands of snappers crowding around the Cottage as Al-Fayed emerged from the tunnel to greet the Fulham faithful – in what became a traditional pre-match walk across the hallowed turf. Adams had been used to operating on a tight budget, so he spent shrewdly identifying players like Steve Hayward, Neil Smith and Paul Moody who could make his newly-promoted side competitive at this level.

The hosts had the better of proceedings but struggled to make the breakthrough. It arrived courtesy of Scottish striker Micky Conroy, who once suffered the ignominy of being both booed by his own fans and hearing the Hammersmith End chant 'off, off, off' when the referee was ready to book him during a spell of wretched form. But a conversation with Adams about how he should concentrate on becoming a penalty box predator and 23 goals as the Whites went up, transformed him into a cult hero. How fickle are football fans?

Conroy sniffed out the winner here, deftly diverting a shot from Hayward home after Wrexham had failed to deal with Paul Watson's long throw.

Adams and Al-Fayed both spoke excitedly about the future in the aftermath of a victory that looked more inevitable once Wrexham substitute Steve Watkin was sent off six minutes for the end. By mid-September, the honeymoon was over. Adams, four months after signing a new contract and being assured by the board that he would be Fulham's Sir Alex Ferguson, was out. He was replaced by the high-profile duo of Ray Wilkins (as manager) and Kevin Keegan, acting as 'chief operating officer'. The appointments delivered the headlines Al-Fayed craved, if not the results. Fulham reached the play-offs but by May, Al-Fayed had realised Wilkins, who was sacked, and Keegan were the wrong way round. Keegan's side were beaten by Grimsby in a bad-tempered set of semi-finals and had to spent another year in the third tier.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2022/08/how-mike-conroy-kickstarted-the-al-fayed-era/

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Fulham: Silva can form scary duo by signing Jannik Vestergaard

Fulham came away with a point in their first Premier League game of the season as a result of a 2-2 draw against Champions League finalists Liverpool.

The Cottagers took the lead on two occasions only to be pegged back by Jurgen Klopp's side, ultimately ending with both teams sharing the points.

Using this match as an example, it's easy to see why the west London club have looked to strengthen their defence by not only signing Shane Duffy on a season-long loan deal, but also with a reported deal for Issa Diop now looking likely.

Should Marco Silva feel the need to add even more strength and depth to that area of his squad, one figure they were said to have made an offer for last week is Leicester City centre-back Jannik Vestergaard.

If Fulham are able to bring the Foxes figure to the club, this could give Silva the chance to form what could be a formidable defensive duo at the back between Vestergaard and Duffy.

Having only played in ten league games last season, the 30-year-old still managed to show off his defensive talent by racking up more clearances (41) than the majority of other players in Leicester's squad.

Similarly with Duffy, in the 18 league games he play for Brighton last season, he made 91 clearances in total, leaving only two other Seagulls players with more.

This shows how dominant the duo are in the air as they both adopt a classic no-nonsense approach to the defensive side of the game. It also suggests that a partnership between them could cause problems for any side trying to score or defend a corner, for example.

Hailed for his "outstanding" performances in the past by Alan Shearer, Vestergaard was not included in the squad for Leicester's recent league game against Brentford.

Having fumbled a 2-0 lead to eventually draw 2-2 with the Bees, it seems as though the Midlands club could have done with having him in the team.

If the 6 foot 5 centre-back isn't likely to be a regular starter for Brendan Rodgers' side this season, Fulham should do all they can to bring him to Craven Cottage and partner him alongside Duffy at the back.

Should the club end up signing the giant defender, he and Duffy certainly have the defensive credentials to give the Cottagers a good chance of avoiding getting relegated back to the Championship.



https://www.footballfancast.com/fulham-fc-transfer-rumours/fulham-marco-silva-jannik-vestergaard-ffc-transfer-news-premier-league-update-gossip-rumour