No One Wants to Be Defeated - Fulham FC 2011-12

No wins. A million draws. The only team to take points off Man City in the league. FULHAM FC.

Is Ruiz gonna be good? Is Kasami?

Senderos seems good. If Riis can focus for more than a few seconds at a time he seems good. I like the back line but we're thin, oh so thin. As soon as Zamora and/or Johnson pull something there's nobody to put it away.

Ruiz really needs to be good. Johnson is a busted flush, Dembele is crap, Zamora was never as good as that one season made him look.

Senderos and Riise are old Premiership hands from the early to mid-00s but you may swiftly find out that Senderos is a liabilty. Riise's getting on a bit.

Dembele really is crap. He was touted as a diamond in the rough, somebody with "class" in front of the goal, but once the ball finds his feet he always, always finds a way to lose or shank it. He just gets in these terrible muddles.

Zamora may not be as good as everyone thought but he still seems like a good big man, good in the air and a long-range threat as well. Dempsey, Duff, Danny Murphy - all those guys are good at working the ball around into a good position. I guess it kinda does come to to Ruiz :( (And maybe somebody else to partner with Murphy)

Kasami's looking good I think, he's a tough tackler and has some skills (box to box midfielder?). I hope Ruiz comes good, he missed a sitter against WBA. I like Dembele, he just can't shoot. Anyone see the chelsea match? Kerim Frei was great apparently. Maybe Jol should play him more.

I like Dembele, he just can't shoot.

Haha I have a soft spot for him too; he scored twice when I went to the Cottage last year, but he certainly has lost that form, and, well, shooting is kinda why he's in the team isn't it?

Yeah. He doesn't like going in the penalty area either, another fatal flaw for a striker.

He just DIDDLES ABOUT.

He presumably wasn't bought as an outright goalscorer. His record in Holland wasn't really any better than it is here. He apparently did enough for Spurs to bid for him though.

now that's what i'm talkin about

andy johnson looking distinctly unready for the pasture today

agree with you about zamora, he was exceptional yesterday.

Don't like johnson one bit but he'll tuck those chances away when fit.

Zamora is the guy Heskey was always supposed to be, right?

he's actually closer to the guy the english think wayne rooney is, tbh. But yeah.

Re Johnson I have seen him in person and my impression of him is the same as on telly, that he has exactly one tactic: running with the ball down the flank as fast as he fucking can, and then attempting to pull it back for someone. If that person misses, he then tries to put back the rebound. God help him if any of his opponents figure this out.

Actually wait a minute, they did, all of them except QPR that is

what
everrrrr

he's a decent finisher, calmer than most, and he's quick.

He will also, ahem, 'win you penalties'

Also LOL at Dembele repeatedly flashing his magisterial fannydangle somewhere around 40 yards away from goal

yeah he looks good in highlights, maddening over 90 mins. Newcastle player imo.

WOOO. Has AJ ever played this well for Fulham?

he hasn't really played at all since signing for everton, tbh

ugh. sickening.

lovely chip from ruiz

what a miss from zamora. it was like he was trying to curl it into the top corner of an empty net.

there was a man on the line tbf

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

starting to really dislike football in general. i'm sure this has NOTHING to do with fulham's fortunes this season..

i didn't realise just how low you were in the table til now, thought you'd been ok

What a strange man Mark Hughes is. Sacked by Manchester City, he was becoming a forgotten man when I rescued him to become manager of Fulham Football Club.

Even when results were bad, I did not put pressure on him. I gave him every support -- financial, moral and personal.

He fully negotiated a two-year extension to his contract. On the day he was due to sign, he walked out without the courtesy of a proper explanation.

And now he insults the club, saying it lacks ambition, and the players who delivered an 8th. position finish last season and a place in the Europa League.

He is not just disrespectful but entirely wrong. Fulham has just announced plans for a splendid new riverside stand that will substantially increase the capacity of Craven Cottage.

In every aspect of its work, Fulham is a progressive club with a top manager in Martin Jol, the man we had really wanted when Hughes was appointed.

We shall endeavour to prosper without him simply because, when the challenge came, it was not the Club but Mark Hughes who lacked the courage and ambition to take on the task of leadership. If people are looking for a flop, they only have to look no further than the man who has lost his spark.

Yours faithfully,

Mohamed Al Fayed,
Chairman,
FFC

Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/October/FFCStatement.aspx#ixzz1bi64GxgX

crosspost to the zing thread. damn.
can fully believe hughes is a weirdo, he's got that look

damnnnnnnnm

chairman mo giving sparky "moral support". yep.

oh shit son

suuup

great game too

oh shit son indeed, I'm loving the midfield at the moment.

not sure dembele is best places atm but then it;s not like you could really rely on him in any one position tbh

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/10/12/40/2140215/3/628x471.jpg

I loved Dempsey's 2nd and 3rd goals. Its interesting that it was the old guard (Zamora, Johnson, Murphy and Dempsey) doing the business today.

Yeah - they were both kind of like the platonic PES idea of a goal: a long diagonal run that draws the keeper, then put the ball back across him into the corner - FLUMPH

Apparently the only other team to take as many points off the top 7 clubs is Man City

anti-jol stat, is that

wow, zamora to QPR

massive sadface over here

Pogrebnyak 1
Zamora 0

frankly that was all about Dembele though

he looks like a decent buy for fulham. i also enjoy saying his name. pogrebnnnnneyyak

I think I called Pogrebniyak 'rubbish' on the Prem thread. 2 in 2 since then. I'll get my coat.

He didn't really fit in to Stuttgart's style of play but i guess Fulham's speed and passing is closer to Zenit's.

good away win today. although it sounded like they were hanging on in the 2nd half.

Wow Mark Hughes has some issues, huh? What is his deal with shaking hands? Last year he pulled the same shit with Mancini IIRC. He went for the handshake and then at the last moment had some kind of spasm of assholishness.

Yeah Jol was getting a bit rapey, trying to hug him or sumthin'

apparently jol 'slapped him' ie jol patted his cheek in a friendly way, which tbh is not uncommon and not an aggressive/wind-up gesture

Jol out (of order)

Looked like Jol was trying to put his hand round the back of his neck and, I don't know, pull him towards him for a quick manly peck on the cheek (he is Dutch after all)? Obv. triggered flashbacks/bad memories for Hughes. Hughes is an arse tho, agreed.

papa bear hug hughes obv with some issues there, pity

jol enough like alf stewart to make the obvious joke?

there's a very very angry man somewhere inside there.

fulham just signed Mahamadou Diarra for free. any good?

I get my Diarra's mixed up to be perfectly honest. I guess the fact that this is outside the transfer window means he must have been out of contract?

yeah he hasn't been at a club since the summer

iirc he's big and fairly athletic, but i'm not up to speed on all my diarras tbh

fulham just signed Mahamadou Diarra for free. any good?

― kid steel (cajunsunday), Monday, 27 February 2012 12:16 (4 minutes ago)

IF and that is a BIG IF he can be got 'playing' again and Fulham's medical staff is earning their money, this could be a fucking huge coup. Diarra at Lyon and in his first two seasons at Real was the fucking bomb. But he's had so much injury shit and then bad form because of it and been treated like shit by Jose etc. etc. that... he became a once £22million midfielder who could only get a club 7 months after leaving his contract at Monaco.

Damn you for raising my hopes.

Here's the Mancini vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p20yKtI8bFc

I guess its a risk becuz he hasn't had a full season since 08/09. but fulham don't have much quality in defensive midfield so worth a try.

He's very particular isn't he? Not enough intimacy and there's a beef, now too much intimacy and the toys are out the pram again.

Right??!?!

pavel pogrebnyak: what a player. there's been a little touch of genius in every goal he's scored so far. 1) the way he controlled the shot then instantly blasted it top corner. 2) 1-on-1 with the keeper, waits til the last second to put it round the back of him. 3) diving header! 4) top corner i think. 5) the way he's falling over but still manages to dink it in with the outside of his left foot.

no. 4 was a classy finish. he just tucked away with supreme confidence.

tucked IT away grr

offering Dempsey a new 3 year contract on the day he turns 29

Worth every pence.

5) the way he's falling over but still manages to dink it in with the outside of his left foot.

Yeah this was when I was finally like OK OK guy, you win, you're pretty good

Felt like we dropped two points today

I'm pleased with 4 points from chelsea and bolton. Thought we did ok and didn't miss any sitters and was expecting 0 points. Felt Dembele played much better against Chelsea than against Bolton. I thought he and Ruiz looked clueless at times against Bolton (which is maddening considering how good they could be). And Frei is class. Dribblers can be the most frustrating players to watch, but he was really good. I'm genuinely excited to see how good he can get.

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Pogrebnyak-baboon-SLAL-500x255.jpg

so is Dempsey staying or going?

15m for a 29 year old would probably dissuade most, though perhaps not liverpool

if arsenal can get it down to 10m wenger might be emboldened post-arteta, especially if podolski ends up having to replace rvp up front

10m to spurs would be a waste of everyone's time

he's stated he wants to play in the CL so that rules liverpool out

Newcastle it is then.

United. Seriously.

Hope not, he'd score too many goals at Utd.

I'd love Dempsey at Utd but he doesn't fit current transfer policy

Hey Number None do you know whether Utd have even a passing interest in Kagawa or is it just idle speculation I heard during commentary on ESPN the other night?

Actually sorry to ask that in the Fulham thread. V disrespectful.
On topic Mr Dempsey is in one of my 2 Fantasy teams and v welcome he is too.

I've seen those rumours but i dunno how much credence i put in them. A few months ago we had a deal for Gaitan sewn up etc. If you want to get cynical about it, you could say with Park more than likely on his way there's a chance he could come in

"silky passing football"

About 3,570 results (0.24 seconds)

lol

wrong thread

yeah, wrong thread

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Images/MainNews/HeadlineImages-big/Retail/oranje/FFC_Web_Banner_607x287_FA.JPG

i've read a few thoughts now that the fulham fans have no cause for unhappiness with the current state of affairs because jol is nice.

familiar territory.

they did get rid of the michael jackson statue

they're putting it back in apparently tho

Not yet buying into the current pitch of this Fulham team as some kind of art installation piece with yer Berbatovs, Taraabts, Ruizzes (Ruii?) and so on, three goals in four (Arsenal, but then Sunderland, Newcastle, Baggies too) not exactly bearing out that idea. But none of my mates will shut up about this shit

(secretly butthurt that Villa will suffer for not having just such a mercurial creative talent in the side season, gtf n'zogbia does not fcking count)

This fulham team will be relegated under jol, last match watch a microcosm of his management

"I'll always be calm, but I hate it when people are getting worried and nervous, especially when they ask a manager to quit," said Jol.

"That is awful, because you never know what will happen with a new manager."