The rumour mill
Posted on July 23, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
The Sun continues to lead with our bid for Andy Johnson. Apparently, we’ve managed to outbid Wigan and have had a £10.5m bid accepted.
Everton left him out of their friendly with Preston last night. Make of that what you will.
The prospect of Jimmy Bullard returning to Wigan has got everyone worried. Some people reckon that £6m for Bullard would fund our unexpected outlay this season - it would, of course, continue our entirely regrettable policy of selling our best players.
Fulham have insisted that Bullard is not for sale, the Daily Mail reckon his spell at Fulham has been a disappointment, Sky seem to have backtracked on the story, while the Football Editor of the Times - in a sarcastic response to an irate email from a TIFF poster - says Bullard was offered to Boro.
Meanwhile, Bullard’s cousin and his sister say he’s going nowhere. Yes, the silly season’s in full swing.
If you didn’t know, our Far East tour kicks off today - although, nobody’s sure what time. Remember Ian Pearce? He’s on trial at Brentford. Sounds like he might a useful addition at that level. I’ll personally never forget that one-legged goal against Portsmouth.
Fulham to investigate Healy gesture
Posted on July 21, 2008
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A Fulham spokesman has confirmed that the club will investigate David Healy’s flute-playing gesture during Saturday’s pre-season victory over Celtic.
Healy’s gesture was a response to chants from the Celtic fans after he came on as a substitute in the game at Craven Cottage. His agent claimed it was a ‘good-natured’ response to some stick heading his way from the estimated 11,000 Celtic fans in the crowd, but Fulham and the Irish Football Association have decided to investigate the matter.
A club spokesman said: “The team is in Korea for pre-season. The club is looking into the alleged incident.”
The IFA chief executive Howard Wells said: “I put a call into David to speak to him. I’ll speak to Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, to see his take on it and I shan’t be jumping to any conclusions.”
Meanwhile, the BBC is reporting that Healy has apologised. “I am supposed to be a role model and I can only apologise. It was one of those incidents that someone said something and I made a silly gesture, which I regret. I can guarantee from my point of view it will never happen again.”
The silly season
Posted on July 21, 2008
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That used to the headline when we wrote about the ridiculous transfer stories that grabbed our attention during summers gone by so I thought I’d use to sit above this look at this lunchtime’s tittle-tattle.
The Sun (a reliable source if ever there was one) reckons we’re close to finalising a deal with Everton to bring Andy Johnson to Craven Cottage. Believable? Maybe. I’d be very surprised if MAF would shell out £10.5m however.
Now the Sky Sports News ticker tells us that they expect Fulham to bid for Johnson sometime today. Does this mean we might be fielding Johnson & Johnson up front?
The Manchester Evening News reckons Louis Saha could be on his way back. They say he was left out of United’s tour of South Africa but Lou Macari thought he was injured (again) on Saturday. Now, Saha was excellent at his best for Fulham - both in Division 1 and then in that golden season under Coleman - but his comments about leaving for ‘zero euros’ still grate. His sky-high wages might be a problem, however.
The main news north of the border concerns the on-off transfer of Steven Davis to Rangers. He was left out against Celtic on Saturday and Roy’s holding firm in asking last season’s UEFA Cup finalists to match Fulham’s valuation.
“The lad’s a good player and worth the sum we’re asking,” says Hodgson (quoted in the Sunday Mail). He enjoyed his spell at Ibrox and fears he won’t break into our midfield. I’ll be happy to work with Steve this season but he won’t join us on our tour of Korea this week. With this uncertainty about his future it’s better he stays at home.” The paper also has Hodgson scorching rumours of a swap deal for Daniel Cousin.
David Healy’s agent has had to defend the striker after he was accused of inciting Celtic fans by imitating an Orange marcher whilst warming up on Saturday. The Daily Mail quotes Stephen Hughes claiming that Healy’s flute-playing antics were not malicious. The anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth has called on both clubs to condemn the gesture. Interestingly, Leo Spall’s former publication, the Evening Standard, were banned from Craven Cottage last season after they continued their fine tradition of objective reporting.
‘He’s got issues’
Posted on July 21, 2008
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There are some people I know who can’t hear the word Sanchez without breaking out into uncontrollable rage. Strange, I know.
I hope for their sake they didn’t chance across this interview with the likeable Theo Walcott in The Observer yesterday:
Outside the window, one of Walcott’s dogs - they have four - starts barking. ‘That’s Sanchez,’ he says. ‘He’s a pug crossed with a shih-tzu and he’s always dominating the other dogs. We’ve had the dog whisperer round and he says Sanchez has got height issues, that’s why he has to bark at everyone. One of the other dogs had his bollocks cut off the other day. Bless him, he’s got one of those lampshades on his head.’
Sounds about right.
Optimism abounds
Posted on July 21, 2008
Filed Under Craven Cottage, Fans, Fulham, Match, Players | Leave a Comment
This is a guest post by Jack Turner
About a decade ago the idea that we would be playing Celtic in a pre-season friendly would have been laughable. Nowadays, the temptation to give it a miss is considerable as we meet so regularly. But being a football junkie, I had to get my Fulham fix – especially after the exhilarating end to last season.
Last season. Writing that now seems so final. The last whistle at Portsmouth sounded barely two and a half months ago. With a welcome sense of timing, Fulham played all their football in the final two months of the season as well. Perhaps it was the memory of those crazy afternoons at Reading and Manchester City that inspired the optimist in me as I walked along Stevenage Road for the first home friendly of the summer.
Or maybe it was Roy Hodgson. The man whose appointment met with many a raised eyebrow or a nonplussed shrug as the Whites looked marooned in the relegation zone last Christmas. The very same man whose quiet assurance, astute signings and laudable dignity were responsible for pulling us by our bootstraps. Even after Danny Murphy’s crucial header at Fratton Park, he seemed unflappable – the perfect balance of joy and concentration.
Roy’s been active already in the transfer market without making too many headlines. Perhaps the cheapest buys have looked the most impressive. Zoltan Gera, who had caught the eye at West Brom for many years, took less than two minutes to measure a perfect cross for Erik (The Great) Nevland to open the scoring. The Hungarian was full of neat touches without being too fancy and looks to have fitted perfectly on the right, the very place where Simon Davies was so outstanding last season.
Just as striking for me was the home debut of Adranik Teymourian, an Iranian who arrived from Bolton. Describing him as a holding midfielder doesn’t quite do him justice for he’s got the attributes of a tough defensive midfielder but can play a pass as well. Pencil him in to be the replacement for Sean Davis that we never signed. We didn’t see our other Bosman signing, Mark Schwarzer, but there was a glimpse of his understudy. David Stockdale, who featured in Darlington’s promotion push last term, might have been disappointed to have let a free-kick from Barry Robson beat him but he showed enough to suggest he might be a step up from the likes of Lastuvka, Batista and Drobny. Mind you, that’s not saying a lot, is it?
Perhaps the most intriguing part of this game was to see how Bobby Zamora would do. Nobody’s quite sure how much we paid West Ham for him, as he came as part of a package deal with John Pantsil, and he certainly won’t be the first Fulham forward who has to prove he’s worth his transfer fee. Barry Hayles had his fair share of detractors – who were very vocal at the start of his Fulham career – and he answered every question asked, even finishing as top scorer in our first season back in the top flight. Zamora’s thunderous volley was the perfect first impression, but there was more to marvel at that his poacher’s instinct, with his strength and skill on the ball suggesting that the likes of Collins John and Eddie Johnson, who again made little impact as a substitute, might be best served preparing for a long season on the bench.
Leon Andreasen’s rasping drive capped a lovely afternoon by the Thames (there was even a neat little cameo for Lee Cook – remember him?), but pre-season games are hardly the litmus test for a successful season. It was a pleasant surprise to play some silky football and beat the Scottish champions, who should be further along the road in their preparation, but there’s no indication how we’ll go on the opening day at Hull. The early signs are encouraging, though.
FULHAM: Stockdale; Pantsil, Konchesky, Hangeland, Hughes; Adranik, Bullard, Gera, Davies; Zamora, Nevland. Subs: Etheridge, Volz, Seol, Healy, Murphy, Johnson, Cook, Dempsey, Kallio.
GOALS: Nevland 2, Zamora 30, Andreasen 86.
ATTENDANCE:
Back in business
Posted on July 21, 2008
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After a long break, we hope to be back with you at HammyEnd.com to look ahead to forthcoming season. We’re also looking at redesigning the site, offering new angles on the mighty Whites from a few different contributors and trying to reach the high standards we set ourselves when we first hit the internet back in 2003-04.
If you’ve got any ideas on how we can improve our coverage or would like to pen some articles for us, then please let us know via the trusty comment box.
Until next time,
COYW
Hodgson; Roy of the Fulham
Posted on December 30, 2007
Filed Under Coaching, Hodgson, Tactics | 3 Comments
A few days ago Fulham Football club revealed their new appointment for the position as manager of the clubs first team. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Roy Hodgson!
Obviously there has been a lot about Hodgson in the media for the past few days, but I have the impression that quite a few Fulham fans doesn’t know much about our new coach, despite him being English, might even say local since he grew up in Croydon just south of London.
Background:
In 1976 he was a shock appointment as head coach for the Swedish side Halmstad BK. Nobody in
Bob Houghton and Roy Hodgson introduced what’s known in Swedish football as the”English Style”. And both managers are very well respected over here.
In 1980
After having been forced to leave Bristol City Roy returned to
In 1990 it was time to leave
He managed the Inter side to the UEFA Cup final in 1996/97 before leaving
His first season with
In 1998 he was very close to get the job as the German head coach, but in the end the German FA decided to go with a domestic coach. Having lost out on this job
In the year 2000
A few months later
We now know that all the speculations were wrong, we got him!
Style of management:
Roy Houghton has most of his career thought his teams to play a direct passing game. Mainly favours the
-“It is not always easy to describe oneself, but I would like to think that my style could be considered as studied, player-orientated, and with an emphasis on preparation and tactics. Because you take on leadership responsibilities, inevitably you have to be somewhat authoritarian. The game of football doesn’t lend itself to true democracy. Certainly as I get older, I have become more aware that you can delegate certain things. For example, the players’ opinion can be useful when discussing training
times or deciding travel schedules, etc. Indeed, most things to do with the players’ preparation can be open for discussion. When it comes down to the major issues, for example, team selection, how you are going to conduct your training sessions, what you will emphasise, and how you will deal with any conflict situation which might arise, I don’t think there is any room for a democratic approach when dealing with these matters. Players expect you to take the lead, because that is what you are paid for. But I think it is good to involve them in things which make a big difference to their life but don’t compromise your position.”
Quotes about Roy Hodgson:
To say that Roy Hodgson has been around the block and has some experience would be a massive understatement. You can’t be in management for 30 years without knowing what your doing.
He has never enjoyed steady success, and perhaps worrying for Fulham fans due to his recent successful role with
However, Hodgson is known for building teams that are hard to break down with a solid foundation and players playing at their maximum potential.
If anything is certain, Fulham could have done a lot, lot worse, and it will be certainly interesting to see how Hodgson performs in his 16th different managerial post. – Andy Glover, Liquid football.
Brilliant first 6 months at the club when he took a squad of players still smarting at the departure of Shearer and made them believe in themselves again, and we became one of the fittest teams in the prem. The demands of the Premiership took its toll and the last few months of the 97-98 season we were terrible and only a last minute free kick from Sutton got us scraping into
I liked the guy, and thought at the time he was harshly treated but when it comes to managing a club you have to stand up tall and take account of your mistakes. He lost the dressing room and didn’t spend the big money well at all.
I still think he’ll do OK at Fulham though. Without any big egos or expectations I think he’ll have them playing well as a unit and as he’s used to managing a team of underdogs (so to speak) it will suit his style. – DP,
Hopefully
It was actually quite nice to receive lots of phone calls from friends supporting other teams here in
Welcome to Fulham Football Club
Come on YOU WHITES!
// Nick
Update
Posted on December 13, 2007
Filed Under Fans, Fulham, Match, Players, Sanchez | 1 Comment
First, an apology and a warning. Sorry for the lack of updates and a word on what’s coming in the immediate future. From my end at least, the updates will be spasmodic. I’ve got a shocking internet connection at home - and with essays, dissertations, birthdays and the Christmas period - it is also proving a hectic time of year. I’ll try and get on here as much as I can to give a regular point of year, but I hope you’ll understand if I can’t.
So, as somebody asked on TFI the other day, where are we? Well, I thought a few people got a little carried away after the Everton defeat. It’s not like we expected to win - having now gone on our worst away run for the best part of seventeen years (according to someone on the Voy board). It’s also true to say that we started that game particularly well. We adjusted to the conditions first of the two sides, had a decent early chance - which probably only served to raise everyone’s expectations - and were undoubtedly the better team in the first half.
Anyone watching the game would probably have agreed with the general commentariat consensus that the subsequent defeat was another example of the dreaded second half syndrome. Whilst to a degree that’s true, it is also worth pointing out (as Sanchez did) that we were the victims of another shocking refereeing decision. As a qualified ref myself, I hate slating my fellow officials but how Yakubu’s first was allowed to stand with Tim Cahill clearly in an offside position and obviously interfering with the play in the build up is beyond me.
What worries is the lack of matchwinners in our squad. Nick posted a link the other day to those joyous last few moments up at Ewood Park back in 2001. Then, we had the likes of Saha, Boa Morte, Sean Davis, Lee Clark and Hayles ready to pop up and deliver something special. Soon they were to be joined by Steed Malbranque, certainly the best player I’ve seen don a Fulham shirt in my time of travelling to the Cottage. Now, we’ve lost them and don’t seem to have replaced them with anyone who possesses the same mecurial talent. It might be a sad reflection of the club we’ve become, but relying on the likes of Kuqi (not good enough), Dempsey (a good trier and promising, but not the finished article) and Murphy (who seems more likely to offer flickers of his former brilliance) won’t get the job done. Even more disappointingly, we’ve also lost some of the defensive quality we did possess - van der Sar saved 10-15 points as season, as, in his own understated way did the European Cup winner, Stevie Finnan.
That means that Sanchez has to go into the market again in January, as he’s already noted. But this isn’t Football Manager. He can’t sign a superstar on loan and our profile is simply too low to attract one of the game’s bigger names. We know seem to be in the position of shopping for one of the up and coming stars or a youngster with potential. Either way, thrusting a new signing into the top-flight line-up will be a big gamble. It certainly will be interesting to see which areas Lawrie opts to strengthen. I’m of the opinion that we still need another central defender - we’re just too porous at the back - and maybe another left-back, as surprised as I have been with the performances of young Nathan Ashton. We could do with a creative player in the midfield - of the kind that I’ve already suggested we miss - and a striker, especially if the rumours about the true extent of Brian McBride’s injury, are true. In fact, if the legendary American won’t kick another ball, we’ll need two.
The Christmas period is absolutely massive this year. Either, we record some morale boosting wins and put some distance between us and the rest at the bottom of the table or we’ll be sucked into another relegation battle. First up are Newcastle at home. Another manager under pressure and another side who are underachieving, even if last week’s last-gasp win over Birmingham, has eased the strain a little bit. As difficult as it is to envisage, it’d be lovely to grab a win. Hopefully, I’ll be back on Saturday/Sunday to preview the game and discuss why it did or didn’t happen.
Pretty predictable
Posted on December 4, 2007
Filed Under Feelings, Fulham, Match | 1 Comment
Going to Old Trafford and beating the reigning champions was always going to be something of a pipedream. Often times, we’ve produced impressive performances in a losing cause (most notably in our first game in the Premiership, that Cup game where Zat Knight hit the bar from almost inside in his own half and last season when we scored two fine headed goals), but last night was pretty predictable. Predictable because faced with United’s quickness of feet, speed on the break and clinical finishing we fought manfully and went down bravely.
The keyboard warriors have been hammering Steven Davis since the final whistle sounded last night and, for once, they seemed to have a point. He has seldom produced the kind of performance that would justify the £4m we paid to Aston Villa in the summer - too often dallying on the ball, being in caught in possession or simply handing golden chances to the opposition. He made a critical error in the build up to the first goal after it looked like we’d cleared the danger, deciding that instead of heading the ball away from the danger area he’d nod it to that pesky little Portuguese winger. After all, it’s not as if he can finish.
Other than a Dejan Stefanovic mistake that allowed Ronaldo to power in a second, there was little to fault in the performance. Certain players weren’t exactly impressive - for example, Paul Konchesky looks rusty after his lay-off, although he won’t be facing wingers of the quality of Giggs and Ronaldo every week - but the team’s overall application was good. Given that the vast majority of the commentators and pundits expected us to be cannon fodder, we actually contributed a lot to what was a fairly entertaining game. Granted we showed up ten minutes late - and were indebted to a couple of fine saves from Antti Niemi - but had Kuqi stuck away that chance towards the end of the first half (as I felt sure he was going to) then the game could have had a different outcome.
In all honesty, as we fight against the relegation battle - the pundits on Radio 5 Live kept reminding me that we were only two points above the relegation zone - it will not be defeats against the likes of United that will relegate us. Losses to the likes of Sunderland, Birmingham, Derby and Bolton will hurt us more. What I do appreciate is that we seem a little more robust on our travels and that Sanchez now seems to recognise some of the faults in his side. Who can tell if the Chris Baird experiment is over but young Elliot Omozusi certainly let nobody down at right-back, showed a couple of neat touches and didn’t look overrawed at right back.
And whilst we still protest against the absence of Alexei Smertin (who was missing again in central midfield), somebody should offer a few kind words about Danny Murphy. I was uncertain of his value when he signed, believing that we didn’t really have the strength in midfield to carry another luxury player, but he’s beginning to turn me round. Last night, he showed some fine distribution and an eye for goal that very nearly brought us an equaliser, but the underrated side of his game is the way in which he helps out his defence. Perhaps at Liverpool and Spurs - stronger Premiership sides - there wasn’t the need for him to suport his back four, but last night found him not only linking the ball but working hard to win the ball back. We’ll need such tenacity if we are to succeed where so many Fulham sides have failed at Goodison Park on Saturday.
And that’s where the focus must be now. The games against Liverpool and Manchester United, although thrilling for the players and the fans who don’t usually gourge themselves on a diet of top-flight football, were always likely to be exercises in damage limitation. We came close to nicking a point at Anfield and on another night we could have got something against United. But we need to win on our travels - sooner rather than later - or we’ll get sucked deep into the relegation mire. Christmas is going to be crucial this year and I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping we have a good one.
This was a quick skate through my main thoughts before a lecture in about twenty minutes. Hopefully, I’ll be back later to offer a few more observations. Meanwhile, have a read through my player ratings and remember that the comments box is open if you want to leave your own thoughts.
Antti Niemi: Excellent once again. Made a couple of blinding saves from Tevez before our defence woke up and still has to be considered our number goalkeeper. 7
Elliot Omozusi: Once again, I was impressed with the young right-back. He looked comfortable on the ball and his neat touches certainly helped settle a few nerves. Didn’t look out of place facing Giggs and Ronaldo and reminded me of a young Liam Rosenior when he made his debut against United. 7
Dejan Stefanovic: Looked a little suspect. Fluffed a couple of clearances and lacked the mobility to be able to effectively marshal the United forwards. He’s not one for the future, but certainly more dependable than Knight before him. 6
Aaron Hughes: Much of the credit for shackling Rooney and Tevez should go to Hughes. He looked solid all night, often in the right position to make crucial clearances or tackles and it happened too often for it just to be a coincidence. Looks a snip at around a million. 7
Paul Konchesky: Probably his poorest game for us. Whilst he did what he had to do defensively, the most disappointing thing for me was that he got into four or five good crossing positions and failed to deliver. 5
Steven Davis: Woeful. His careless header conceded the early goal we couldn’t afford to give away and his performance didn’t really pick up from that moment on. His distribution was poor and tackling almost non-existent. It seems remarkable that Smertin can continue to be overlooked. 4
Danny Murphy: Did well. As I mentioned in the main piece, he helped out our overworked defence (displaying a side of his game I simply hadn’t seen or noticed before) and offered plenty going forward. A little unfortunate that his long-range shots didn’t bring greater reward. 7
Clint Dempsey: Showed glimpses of what he could do down the right, but wasn’t persistent enough against Evra. Worked hard but I wasn’t surprised to see him pulled off once United double their lead. 6
Simon Davies: Worked hard and was responsible for a few of our good things going forward, but also frustratingly gave the ball away at crucial times. Not as good as his performances earlier in the season but he was far from the worst offender. 6
Hameur Bouazza: Simply anonymous. Offered very little and if it wasn’t for our paucity of resources on the left he’d be looking a long spell in the reserves. 4
Sheffqi Kuqi: Worked hard up front but lacked the killer instinct to put away the chances when they came. How he missed that header I’ll never know. It was his John Salako moment. 5
Subs:
David Healy: Didn’t have an awful lot of service to feed on and missed the one chance that came his way. 6
Seol Ki-Hyeon: Replaced Bouazza and was hardly noticed. 6
FA Cup draw
Posted on December 2, 2007
Filed Under Fulham | Leave a Comment
I’ve just watched the draw for the FA Cup Third Round. There are some real corkers in the draw, but Fulham have been drawn at home against Bristol Rovers. The full draw is below.
Full draw
Preston North End v Scunthorpe United
Port Vale or Chasetown v Cardiff City
Colchester United v Peterborough United
Bolton Wanderers v Sheffield United
Blackburn Rovers v Coventry City
Brighton & Hove Albion v Mansfield Town
Northampton Town or Walsall v Millwall
Charlton Athletic v West Brom
Watford v Crystal Palace
Luton Town or Nottm Forest v Liverpool
Plymouth v Hull City
Aston Villa v Manchester Utd
Tranmere v Hereford
Tottenham v Reading
Burnley v Arsenal
Bristol City v Middlesbrough
Fulham v Bristol Rovers
Huddersfield v Birmingham
Horsham or Swansea v Havant & Waterlooville
Sunderland v Wigan Athletic
Oxford Utd or Southend United v Dag & Red
Everton v Oldham Athletic
Derby v Sheffield Wednesday
Southampton v Leicester City
West Ham v Manchester City
Ipswich v Portsmouth
Wolverhampton v Cambridge Utd
Barnsley v Blackpool
Chelsea v QPR
Stoke v Newcastle
Swindon v Burton Albion or Barnet
Norwich v Bury
keep looking »
