Thursday Fulham Stuff - 26/10/23...

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Kieran Dewsbury-Hall hint suggests a Leicester City exit won't happen as Liverpool and Fulham circle
The midfielder remained with the Foxes over the summer

    Leicester City saw a number of big-name players leave during the summer transfer window after their relegation from the Premier League.
    Despite the departures, Leicester City has been boosted by the retention of midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who has been impressive this season.
    While Dewsbury-Hall has been linked with a move to Premier League clubs like Liverpool and Fulham, recent comments suggest he intends to stay and help Leicester City regain promotion.

It was not overly surprising to see something of an exodus from Leicester City during this summer's transfer window.

With the club having suffered a relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season, that few had expected at the start of that campaign, a number of the Foxes big name, top-flight level players departed the King Power Stadium during the period in which the market was open.

Indeed, a total of 13 members of the Foxes first-team squad would depart over the course of the summer, including the likes of James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes.

However, the club were nonetheless boosted by some of those they were able to retain for their quest for a swift return to the Premier League this season.

One of those who has remained at The King Power Stadium to play a key role for the club during what has been a hugely encouraging start to the campaign, is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

The exciting midfielder was one of the brighter points for Leicester during their relegation last season, and has carried that on into the current campaign.

But with that leading to some inevitable speculation ahead of the January transfer window, there may be some concern among those of a Leicester persuasion, about the future of Dewsbury-Hall.

Who has been linked with a move for Dewsbury-Hall?
Having shown plenty of promise in the Premier League last season, Dewsbury-Hall has become a key man in Leicester's push for promotion this time around, with five goals and five assists in 13 league games since the start of the campaign.

Meanwhile, at 25-years-old, the midfielder has plenty of time left in his career to become a major asset at the very top level.

Consequently, it is perhaps no surprise that Premier League sides such as Liverpool and Fulham have recently been credited with an interest in Dewsbury-Hall.

Given both of those clubs would be able to immediately offer top-flight football to Dewsbury-Hall, and potentially the chance to challenge for trophies as well, those links could therefore be a concern for those of a Leicester City persuasion.

However, judging by the latest comments from Dewsbury-Hall, it seems as though the Leicester man has no intention of going anywhere, anytime soon.

What could Dewsbury-Hall's latest claims mean for Leicester?
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports after his corner set-up Justin James to score the only goal of the game Leicester's 1-0 win over Sunderland - their 12th in 13 league games this season - Dewsbury-Hall did seem to make his plans clear for this season.

The midfielder admitted that he feels as though he has a point to prove this season, following the Foxes' relegation in the previous campaign.

As well as that, the 25-year-old was also keen to point out that as a Leicester fan, he is desperate to get the club back to where he feels they belong, in the Premier League, insisting he wants to do all he can to help the club back to that level.

Consequently, it seems the best way for Dewsbury-Hall to do that is to see out this campaign with Leicester at the very least, and help them back into the top-flight of English football.

Indeed, his affection for the club, and the fact that he was also quick to admit he is loving life at the club under manager Enzo Maresca, also means that is something he ought to be more than happy to do over the coming months.

So with that in mind, it seems that regardless of whatever links might emerge in the next few weeks, there appears to be little for Leicester City fans to worry about with regards to the future of Dewsbury-Hall, as the January transfer window moves ever closer.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/opinion-kieran-dewsbury-hall-hint-suggests-a-leicester-city-exit-wont-happen-as-liverpool-and-fulham-circle/

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How Chris Coleman conjured up a win at Old Trafford
Twenty years ago today, Fulham produced one of the finest performances in the club's history. Chris Coleman, written off as an inexperienced manager who would be unable to keep the Whites in the top flight, masterminded a magnificent win over Premier League champions Manchester United on their own patch. It wasn't a fluky victory or a narrow win that relied on parking the bus, either. Coleman's side, who had already surprised several of the stellar names in the first three months of the season, went to Old Trafford and played Sir Alex Ferguson's men off the park. This was a glorious success that has to rank highly in the pantheon of great Fulham victories.
He didn't take us down

Coleman, of course, had overcome a horrendous injury that cruelly cut short his illustrious playing career as he was on the cusp of leading the Cottagers back to the promised land. With the benefit of hindsight, it was remarkable that the classy centre back managed to recover from that devastating Surrey car crash to once again represent his beloved Wales. It is a testament to his considerable character that Coleman quickly threw himself into a coaching career having barely come to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be able to play top-level football again. Even more astonishingly, he was then thrown into the deep end, replacing Jean Tigana – his mentor in management – in a desperate attempt to keep a struggling side in the top flight.

The caretaker period couldn't have gone better. Coleman insisted he wasn't a candidate for the permanent job, but the thrill of management got under his skin. After guiding Fulham to safety with three wins in five games – and a brilliant draw at Stamford Bridge secured by a moment of magic from Luis Boa Morte – the cult hero was handed the reigns ahead of the likes of the likes of Klaus Topmoller and George Burley. But like another young manager, Micky Adams, he wasn't happy with resting on his laurels and vowed to prove the pundits, who universally predicted relegation at the start of the season, wrong.

The talking heads said that Fulham's French foreign legion would follow Tigana out of the door. Nothing was further from the truth. Several produced their finest football under their former captain, who navigated the transition from one of the lads to the gaffer, magnificently. His switch to a fluid 4-3-3 proved a tactical masterstroke that helped Louis Saha rediscover the scoring touch that made the fabulous forward so devastating in his first season at Craven Cottage. Crucially, the creativity of Boa Morte and Malbranque out wide meant that Saha wasn't isolated as a lone striker and three central midfielders both protected Fulham's back four and ensured they could keep the ball effectively.

By the time Fulham pitched up at Old Trafford towards the end of October, United should have been well primed for what they were due to face. The Whites had ended Glenn Hoddle's tenure at Tottenham with a wonderful win at White Hart Lane, beat Blackburn at Ewood Park and, four days before the trip to Manchester, surged into a two-goal lead against Newcastle United, then flying high under Sir Bobby Robson's stewardship, before falling victim to an Alan Shearer inspired comeback. Lee Clark tells a story about Coleman demanding that the players put in a performance at Old Trafford – and how they delivered for him.

Fulham's first win at Old Trafford since 1963 owed a lot to Clark, a wholehearted captain in the Coleman mould, poaching the opening goal after only three minutes. The midfielder made a late run in the penalty area to beat Tim Howard at his near post after Mikael Silvestre had presented possession to Malbranque and stun the home crowd into complete silence. The television cameras cut to a disbelieving Coleman on the Fulham bench, whose grin could easily have belonged to a Cheshire cat. The visitors had began with purpose and might have moved further ahead when Mark Pembridge pinged a speculative shot against the crossbar from 20 yards and Saha, who led United a merry dance all afternoon, was only thwarted by a smothering save from Howard.

The Whites took the shock of conceding Diego Forlan's first goal for Manchester United in their stride. It felt as if the misfiring striker's ferocious finish could have been a turning point but the Uruguayan fluffed a simpler chance after the interval and Coleman's charges quickly reprised the pattern of patient possession from the first period. Saha wriggled clear to reach a fine ball from Junichi Inamoto, but was denied a shooting chance by a brilliant recovery tackle from John O'Shea.

Within three miniutes, though, the away side were back in front. Boa Morte did brilliantly down the left and, when Rio Ferdinand's clearance of the winger's cross fell to Malbranque, the Frenchman found the net with an unerring low strike. That sparked bedlam in the away end, which turned to disbelief when the magnificent Malbranque produced a peach of a pass that sent Inamoto scurrying in goal. The Japanese midfielder deftly dinked a finish over the advancing Howard to put the seal on a superb Fulham away day.

Victories like that and Fulham's overall performances in finishing ninth with such an unfancied squad showed that Coleman, whilst a still a managerial novice, had potential in his new career. You still wonder quite where he could have taken the Whites had Ferguson not poached Saha the following January and then subsequently signed Edwin van der Sar. It was certainly no surprise that Coleman guided Wales all the way to the Euro 2016 semi-finals. Maybe he used some of the lessons learned during that win at Old Trafford to take his country into uncharted territory on the big stage.

Coleman was so loved at Craven Cottage for wearing his heart on his sleeve and giving everything for the cause. It hurt the Fulham faithful not to see him play in the Premiership for the Whites having dropped two divisions to join the club at the start of the Mohamed Al-Fayed era, but seeing him write a new chapter by taking the club back to the Cottage as a manager after a sensational season was special. The twentieth anniversary of this extraordinary triumph is well worth celebrating.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2023/10/how-chris-coleman-conjured-up-a-win-at-old-trafford/

he didn't take us down he lost his job to that clown Sanchez who was shocking.