Posts Tagged ‘Europa League’

Fulham 2-2 Arsenal: What a Difference 10 Minutes Makes

Posted: May 22, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

Steve Sidwell puts home the first goal of the match (courtesy Guardian.co.uk)

70th minute: Fulham are leading Arsenal 2-1, Tottenham are beating Birmingham City 1-0, and Everton had Seamus Coleman sent off, giving them a man disadvantage against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

80th minute: Zoltan Gera had been sent off for a stupid tackle, possibly taking a Europa League spot away from Fulham. Tottenham had let up an equalizer. And 7th place Everton had scored a man-down goal and was up 1 on Chelsea.

What a difference 10 minutes makes.

Spurs ended up beating Birmingham City, sending them down. But Arsenal ended up equalizing later, and Everton beat Chelsea, securing 8th place for Fulham instead of tying their best ever finish, and Zoltan Gera may have destroyed the Cottagers’ chances at a Fair Play bid into Europe.

In his last acton in White, Gera slid hard with both spikes up into Thomas Vermaelen, and totally deserved a red card for his actions. Something I mentioned on Twitter is the thought of him doing it on purpose. I don’t believe it at all, but I did want to bring it up as a possibility. Some players as well as Mark Hughes in the past have expressed their displeasure in the thought of a Fair Play bid, and I’m sure it’s somewhat possible that Mark Hughes told Gera to get a red card. Do I believe it? Absolutely not. But a lot of the pieces fit. It happened just 4 minutes after coming on, it wasn’t anywhere close to the ball (Vermaelen had kicked it away a second or so earlier), and coming around all the questions of if people wanted Europe or not, it seems to be plausible. But Gera and Hughes are just not the types of people to do that at all to me, so I don’t believe it.

We’ll find out in a few days if we’re playing in the Europa League or not. Reports are that Blackpool have taken the Fair Play spot from us, but I find it hard to believe since we have better scores than them in all but one category in the table released April 30th. Red and yellow cards are just one of 5 categories. We’ll have to wait and see what UEFA decides. Let’s break today down.

The good:

-Andy Johnson: He was really fun to watch, especially in the first 20 minutes or so when everyone else was lollygagging around the pitch.  He was lively, and played with a creativity that I frankly haven’t really seen from him before.  Loved it.

-The midfield: They played with a lot of action, instead of sitting back, they often attacked the opposition, both when they had the ball and when the Gunners had it.  Sidwell got the first goal in a beautiful flash through Szczeney’s legs, Danny Murphy was all over the place even after tweaking his ankle, and Greening didn’t have his Birmingham City magic but still put a few really good balls in the box.  Dempsey was a bit invisible the first half but in the 2nd he had a few buildups that could have been better if the through balls were more accurate.

-Bobby Zamora: I think it’s obvious at this point that Fulham are at their best when Zamora is in the lineup.  He seemed to get quite stiff towards the middle of the 2nd half, but especially in the 1st hafl and even in the 2nd when he got his goal, he continues to make things happen.  He’s a chance creator (assisted Sidwell’s goal) and a chance finisher (headed in the 2nd one).  Heck of an asset to have for sure.  Just gonna have to get a good attack mate for him in the summer.

I would have included Schwarzer in here, because he played great, and had an incredible save in the first half when it was still 0-0, but the final goal should have been stopped, I believe.  He got a hand on it, and tapped it wide, but not wide enough.  I think he had enough time that he should have gotten it farther wide.  I know some won’t agree with me on that, but I do think he could have gotten it.  Otherwise though, he played great.

The bad:

-Zoltan Gera: 4 minutes, 1 tackle, 1 red card, 1 Europa League bid in danger. What an awful way to end a great run at Craven Cottage.

-Matthew Briggs: The kid actually played well, but at the end he got incredibly tired and was having trouble keeping up with the Gunners attack.  This led to the equalizing goal.  I’m not going to totally throw him under the bus because another defender played worse, and he was solid for most of the match, but missed a few assignments and in the end had athleticism troubles.  I still think he’s going to be solid in the back in a year or two.

-Philippe Senderos: In the match against his old team, Senderos missed a lot of assignments and was most to blame for Arsenal’s first goal.  Nobody played horrifically bad, but I would say Senderos played the worst of any of the Fulham members.

Man of the Match: Gonna have to go with Zamora here. He really energizes the club.

So where do we go from here? We’ll just have to wait and see if UEFA gives the Fair Play bid to Blackpool or Fulham.  If Blackpool get it, there will be 2 teams in the Championship next year playing in the Europa League.

As far as this season goes, 8th place is certainly an acceptable finish.  Fulham finish with 49 points and a +6 goal differential.  They finish with 8 wins, 7 draws, and 4 losses at home, and 3 wins, 9 draws, and 7 losses away for a total record of 11-16-11.  Given the injuries Mark Hughes had to deal with, he did an excellent job bringing this club up the table from the relegation zone. Here’s what I think we learned about the club:

1) Mark Hughes is the right man for the job. End of story.

2) Bobby Zamora is essential to this club’s success.

3) The club needs a good strike partner for Zamora in the summer and they can really go places.

4) Fulham are based on solid defense and creating lots of chances.  They’re not the best finishers (albeit not the worst either), but if you create enough chances one or two are bound to go in.

5) If this summer goes well, I think the club has a legitimate shot to contend for a regular Europa League bid next season.

6) This summer is incredibly important.

Any other things you think that are important that I left out, feel free to leave it in a comment.  We’ll go through some more rumors throughout the summer here on the blog, and I’ll be giving you breaking news on Twitter as well as it comes in so make sure to click that follow button!

A little bit of news that I’ll get more into later is John Pantsil is not going to be returning to Craven Cottage as expected.  The two sides were clearly at odds but for a bit were thought to be making progress.  But Mark Hughes confirmed today Pantsil will be leaving.

To Europe or Not to Europe? That is the Question

Posted: May 17, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Player/Manager
Tags: , , , ,
1

It looks like Spurs are about to wrap up the #5 spot in the table. I don’t want to count Liverpool out yet, but it seems that Tottenham are in a much better position, one point up and hosting Birmingham City while Liverpool are traveling to Villa Park.

So, that means chances are Fulham are to go to Europe via UEFA Respect Fair Play and all is happy at Craven Cottage….or is it?

Mark Hughes in the past had expressed not displeasure but caution when it comes to a Fair Play bid in European soccer. It’s been heavily documented that you must play many more matches than a normal bid into the Europa League, and the possible draining of your starters that it brings with it. Hughes, however, recently said he’s ready for the challenge.

“If we get into the competition, we will be delighted and we will try and progress as far as we can. I think we are very close, but a lot of things have to fall into place before we can say we are playing in Europe next season, but if we are, we will give it a go. We should embrace it, and if we are in it, we will try our best to be successful. It is a difficult competition to negotiate because of the time frame and the amount of games you have to play. If you want to progress you have to come back very early and start playing football almost immediately when you come back.”

Defender Aaron Hughes had even less worries about Europa League play, and is rearing to get back into the competition:

“To play in Europe again would be a massive thing – the whole European experience was fantastic. Last time pre-season was basically competitive Europa League games and we came back very early. We approached every game like a Premier League game and the further we went in the competition the more the belief grew, and then we found ourselves in the final.”

However, Hughes’ center-back partner Brede Hangeland is way less excited for the prospect of extra matches of European play.

“It is bad if you get that Europa League spot because you have to start playing games too early. If it’s to be regarded as a prize, then you need to get into the first round proper or the group stages. For Premiership teams, we play 11 and a half months a year. You can’t ask teams to play in the middle of the summer, or at the time when the players should really be on the beach resting. The people running football need to look at the demands on the players sooner rather than later. It’s all very good playing games week in, week out but, especially at the end of the season, you need to recover and we’re stretching it a little bit too far. The people running football need to look at the demands on the players sooner rather than later. It’s all very good playing games week in, week out but, especially at the end of the season, you need to recover and we’re stretching it a little bit too far.”

So while Mark and Aaron Hughes are both ready to go, Hangeland is worried about less time on the beach. Does this bother you at all? It sure tells me where his head is right now, and its certainly not on the pitch. If a player here in the US either in the NFL or the MLB were to say something like this, he would be slammed by the media and probably even get at least a talking to by the coach. I hope that he hasn’t already mentally checked out onto the beach before the Arsenal match. Maybe Mark Hughes will cover the pitch at the Cottage with sand just for Brede.

You can make your thoughts heard. I am expecting 100% of fans to want Europa League play, simply because it’s exciting for the club and we as fans don’t feel the effects of more matches. But maybe you think it could affect the team’s Premier League play later in the season. Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has come out and said the extra play it took to win the Carling Cup has cost them a lot in the PL and could cost them relegation. Whatever your opinion may be, take a vote on the left side of the page here on whether you think a Fair Play bid into the Europa League would be good for Fulham.

Correction: Well this is embarassing

Posted: May 14, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

Ok so I stand corrected from my previous post. After having a Twitter conversation with a few followers today, I have found out my analysis of the Fair Play situation had one fatal flaw that blew the whole thing.

Apparently, because the FA is retarded and has issues, the result of the FA Cup final had no bearing on the Europa qualifying. In the Carling Cup, if the winner has already qualified based on table position, the extra spot goes to the first position left out on the table (6th position). This year that was not the case because Birmingham City won, so that means they steal a spot from the table position. However, in the FA Cup (which I was not aware of), if the winner has already qualified by table position, which Manchester City has, the spot goes to the runner-up. If they have already qualified as well, the spot then is added to table position. However because Stoke was the runners-up they take the spot. A stupid rule.

So this year, the Europa spots will be Stoke City, Birmingham City, Manchester City, the top 5 in the table not already mentioned, and the top Fair Play table position not already qualified.

In simpler terms: if Tottenham win out and grabs the 5th spot, Fulham have no competition for the Fair Play slot. If they do not, we fight it out for the spot based on Fair Play ranking at the end of the season.

So we root for Spurs!! They will play Liverpool tomorrow and Birmingham City in the finale.

Birmingham City vs. Fulham: One Match at a Time

Posted: May 13, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Previews
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Chris Baird

The hardest part about getting blown out is putting the game behind you.  This will be the test for Fulham as they look to put the 5-2 careful demolition of Craven Cottage by Liverpool behind them and hit the road.  Unfortunately, that’s going to be a tall task, especially for those such as Mark Schwarzer that had a disaster of a game.  Not only is the mental aspect not easy, but there are a few personnel changes that are going to be made, headlined by Chris Baird most likely grabbing a 2-match ban for telling the ref to……well, it’s not G rated.  But never a good idea.  It’s kind of comical to me that he is getting suspended for it, because here in America there’s no meaning behind the V-sign he made to referee Lee Mason, so I was at first confused why it was such a big deal.  But after discovering it’s equivalent to the finger, it makes more sense.  We’ll get into more personnel changes here in a bit.  First, a look at the opposition.

State of Birmingham City:

Birmingham manager Peter Grant has come out and said he is wary of a Fulham side with something to prove after their loss to Liverpool.  Basically Grant is complimenting the Whites for being mentally tough and that they will come out with a vendetta rather than with a mental hangover from the loss, which is a pretty high compliment.  He also paid Fulham some pretty nice words, here they are:

“Up to the Liverpool game, I would probably say, if you’re talking over the  past month to five weeks, they’ve been the most exciting team in the respect to  the way they have played. The way they have passed and moved the ball, the quality of the players they  have. I think if you look at Fulham now, with Johnson, Zamora, Dembele,  Gudjohnsen, I think most teams in the division would take those guys. I was  looking at their bench on Monday and most of them would probably be playing in  other teams. So they’re a strong side and will be hurting after the disappointment of  Monday. I know Mark Hughes will be demanding a result and they will have guys  playing for contracts and that as well.”

Some nice words from Grant. Hopefully we can make him look smart.  Grant knows a thing or two about getting murdered by Liverpool, having lost 5-0 to them less than a month ago.  The Blues haven’t won a match since beating Sunderland 2-0 back on April 16.  They currently sit 2 spots ahead of the drop zone in the table, with only a 3 point cushion seperating them from the Championship.  With their final 2 matches against Fulham and Tottenham, they have legitimate concerns about where they sit.

Personnel-wise, Birmingham will be without leading scorer Craig Gardner as well as Liam Ridgewell.  Gardner is serving a 2-match ban of his own after receiving a straight red card against Wigan, and Ridgewell got 1 game for his handball-on-the-line red card vs. Newcastle last week.  Nikola Zigic will most likely miss the match with a groin injury.

State of Fulham:

There’s a lot to get into here.  First things, reports were flowing in that Mark Hughes was expecting to make a few changes from the Liverpool side, the most obvious being Philippe Senderos replacing the suspended Chris Baird, being inserted into the center with Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes moving to the right.  Then, some sources were saying Zamora and Andy Johnson would be replacing the relatively ineffective Moussa Dembele and Eidur Gudjohnsen to try and get a few new faces in the lineup.  Now however, Bobby Zamora pulled up lame in practice and is battling a slight groin injury, so his lineup status is in doubt.  We all know with Mark Hughes that he hates to risk Zamora, and with him getting hit with this knock in training, Hughes I would guess will turn to Gael Kakuta, who has been begging for playing time.  It’s going to be interesting to see his lineup.  I’ve stopped trying to guess what’s going to happen because every time I do Hughes tricks everyone.  The other thing to keep in mind that I wouldn’t put past Mark Hughes is giving David Stockdale a chance or two in goal for Mark Schwarzer, who is probably still mentally hungover from his awful Liverpool game. Those kinds of things can have a big effect on goalkeepers unfortunately. Finally, Simon Davies won’t be playing as he got injured during the Liverpool match (internal bleeding in his calf, which sounds somewhat serious) and hasn’t kicked a ball since. Could Zoltan Gera see his first action in a long time?

After the beating by Liverpool last Monday, Fulham now sit in 10th place with 45 points, one behind Bolton and Stoke and one ahead of Newcastle and Sunderland.  This is Fulham’s best chance to pick up points before the end of the season and secure a top-10 finish, with the 3rd place Gunners visiting the Cottage for the season finale.

A few other bits of news out of the Cottage, Mark Hughes admitted if Gera wants guaranteed playing time he may want to go elsewhere, and according to reports, QPR is very interested.  Gera wouldn’t net Hughes much more than a million or two, but he would probably be a big asset for the Premier League newcomers.  Hughes still holds that he wants Gera to stick around and he will talk with Zoltan over the next few weeks, but I think he’s a sure goner.

Also from Mark Hughes, he put out a statement saying he’s extremely happy at Fulham and wants to be here in the long term.  Here’s his statement:

“I get asked invariably every press conference in fairness. I just thought it was important that people understood and that I needed to clarify my feelings towards the position I hold. As I have said many, many times before, I really enjoy being here. We have great potential and we’re looking to build on what we’ve achieved this year. We want to finish in that top ten if we can and then we will be able to look back on the season and ahead to next season with real confidence. We’ve got the basis of a good team. I am very clear in how far we can go as a club – it’s fair to say there is a glass ceiling for clubs in a similar position – but that does not mean it’s not challenging.”

Some very promising words from the manager.

Europa League may very well be on the minds of the Whites during this match as well.  As if Fulham needed another card-happy referee after their performance against Liverpool saw them fall to a tie with Tottenham in the Fair Play table, they draw Peter Walton, who has given just one less card point (1 for a yellow 2 for a red) than last week’s referee Lee Mason, and 3rd overall for the Premier League referees. In 27 matches, Walton has given out 99 yellows and 1 red.  If Manchester City wins the FA cup, they will leave one more Europa spot in the PL, which means Tottenham most likely will get that spot.  If that’s the case, it doesn’t matter where Spurs finish in the Fair Play table since they’ve already qualified, and Fulham will most likely get the spot.
HOWEVER
IF Stoke City pulls out the upset in the FA Cup final, that means there will be only 5 Europa League spots given out to the top finishers in the table, which means Spurs may NOT end up with a EL spot.  THEN we have a Fair Play table battle, and anything could happen.  So let’s PLEASE not pick up too many cards? That would be great.  Thank you.

Fulham will win if…they put the Liverpool match behind them and remember they’re actually a top-10 team.  This match to me is going to be very dependant on the mental aspect of the game.  Fulham are a good team.  Probably deserving of a 9th place finish or so.  And it’s possible if they play like they are capable of.

Prediction: I think this team is mentally capable of getting past last week’s disaster.  They will.  It’s on the road, but I think we’ve put our road woes behind us, and Fulham should and will take this match 1-0 to the Whites.

News and Notes: Playing Nice Will Get Fulham Far

Posted: April 12, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Club
Tags: , , , ,
0

Well folks, Fulham currently sit at 11th in the table with 6 matches to go, and yet they still could be going to European play next year, because they are 2nd in another table that matters, the Premier League Fair Play Table.

Current Premier League Fair Play Table (as of March 20, 2011)

Chelsea is in 1st, but because they, and the 2 clubs below Fulham (Tottenham and Manchester United) will most likely all qualify for the Europa League by League Table position, Fulham looks in great position to pick up the Premier League’s extra qualifying spot this year.  The PL has an extra Fair Play spot because England currently resides in 2nd place (below Norway and above Sweden) in UEFA’s Respect Fair play rankings, and the top 3 countries get an extra spot.

So, could Fulham make another miracle run like they did last season? Who knows.  No one would have even given it the thought then so I’ll never count anybody out.  It would be a lot of fun to make it to Europa League play next season.
Let’s just hope for no more red cards to ruin our score.
OTHER NEWS:
 
Fulham set to nab budding Darlington star:
 
Fulham are considered the frontrunners to complete a transfer for Darlington’s Dan Burn.  The 6 foot 7 18-year old defender had been heavily scouted.  Another club that made a bid is Everton, and Darlington boss Mark Cooper said there are “loads of clubs” interested.  He took a medical on Saturday at Craven Cottage and talked at length with Mark Hughes and his staff.
However, it’s being reported that Fulham and Darlington have agreed on a transfer around £2 million. This would give Fulham a pair of promising young defenders in  Burn and Matthew Briggs, which is a breath of fresh youth for a club in need of youngsters.
Hughes worried by club’s past failures:
 
Mark Hughes:

“At times this season we have gone to places where the scars of previous visits have come back to haunt us. That was the case again (at Old Trafford).”

Completely agree with this statement.  It was the case there, and against Everton, among others.  It is an issue that needs to be fixed.

Newer Entries