Posts Tagged ‘Fair Play’

Fulham Transfer Roundup 5/26: Gera a Goner, Dempsey, and Oh Yea, That Europa Thingy

Posted: May 26, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Transfer
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Fulham will once again be vying for the UEFA Cup once again after coming one extra-time goal short 2 seasons ago

Incase you haven’t heard (which would only be because you’re living under a rock or had a gargantuan amount of meetings all day, both of which I feel bad for you), Fulham officially qualified for the Europa League through Fair Play.

Zoltan Gera, you may commence breathing again.

Fulham will learn who their first opponent will be June 20th, and will play that first qualifying match on June 30th, giving them a total offseason this summer of 39 days.  And in actuality, Mark Hughes said he will begin training June 23rd, so chop 7 more days off that.  That’s incredibly short, but enough that most of the knocks will probably heal by the start of the tournament (Damien Duff with his Achillies surgery I would assume would be the only one who might come close to pushing that).  So, you can expect Mark Hughes to speed up his aquisitions in the transfer window to have them as ready as possible for the start of this qualifier.

We won’t be playing any ridiculously slouch teams either, and Fulham fans know all too well that in Cup soccer, anything can happen (see: Dempsey, Clint vs Juventus).  And while I don’t think too many Cottager fans expect their beloved to make the final again (making the group stage is probably a good preliminary goal for now), nobody’s counting it out either.

We will have to wait until the official list to know if Fulham are seeded or not. You can refer to the Wikipedia page if you’d like, but seeing as it changes every 10 minutes, it’s not reliable at this point in time.  Wikipedia is great for a lot of things, but breaking news is not one of them.

UPDATE: According to Jason Gatties, Fulham WILL be seeded. This is based on England’s UEFA coefficient (which is #1) along with Fulham’s club coefficient.

If Fulham are seeded, these are the unseeded clubs they could face:

Glentora, Milsami Orhei, Banga Gargzdai, Daugava Daugavpils, Olimpija Ljubljana, Cliftonville, Flamurtari Vlorë, Vllaznia Shkodër, Narva Trans, AZAL Baku, Irtysh Pavlodar, Shakhter Karagandy, Zeta, Banants, Nõmme Kalju, ÍBV Vestmannaeyar, NSÍ Runavík, Ulisses, 2nd placed team of 2010-11 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Neath, Käerjéng 97, Lusitanos, UE Santa Coloma, ÍF Fuglafjørður & Fola Esch.

If Fulham are unseeded, these are the seeded clubs they could face:

Elfsborg, Tromsø, St. Patrick’s Athletic, Quarabağ, Rabotnički, Aalesund, Spartak Trnava, Dinamo Tbilisi, Honka, Varaždin, Minsk, Olimpi Rustavi, Rad, Häcken, Široki Brijeg, KR Reykjavík, The New Saints, Renova, Koper, Birkirkara, Paks, Ferencváros, the 3rd placed team of the Polish Premier League, and the 2nd place team of the Montenegrin First League.

Having covered that pretty thoroughly, it’s time to get into today’s transfer roundup:

-Zoltan Gera didn’t rule out a return to Craven Cottage earlier in the week, but now it looks like he will rejoin both his former club and former manager.  Roy Hodgeson looks keen to bringing the winger to West Brom, and Gera also looks ready to leave Mark Hughes, despite what he said earlier in the week.  I wish the guy the best and hope he will get more playing time under Hodgeson, who is sure to remember Gera’s contributions in Roy’s magical Europa League run 2 seasons ago.

-Rumors of Clint Dempsey moving to PSG have settled down a bit, but it’s still been in the back of many Fulham fans’ minds.  However, now that the Cottagers have qualified for the Europa League, he may be more keen to staying, so long as he gets his requested break time.  Hopefully he will stay.  Some fans seem to think he’s a bit overrated, citing most of his goals came against lesser clubs, but I still think the new career Premier League goalscorer for Fulham remains a valuable asset, and so does Mark Hughes.

PS: Incase you were wondering, that “living under a rock” link is a screenshot of newsnow in my browser.  Yeah, if you haven’t heard, I feel for you.

To Europe or Not to Europe? That is the Question

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

Birmingham City 0-2 Fulham: Towards The Finish Line Strong

Posted: May 15, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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Brede Hangeland capitalized twice on Jonathan Greening's stellar performance to give Fulham a 2-0 win (courtesy guardian.co.uk)

Fulham thrust themselves into 8th position with the win, and although in the big scheme of things it doesn’t mean too too much, there are a few key things to take from this match.  Some key guys played very well, and although it wasn’t a dominating defensive performance, Fulham came out with the clean sheet.  Also, some key things happened today outside the match that I will get to a bit later.

Also, before I get into the match, Mark Hughes after the match said some things that made me really happy.  He’s clearly got a goal and just because the club is safe doesn’t mean they are letting off the throttle:

“We’ve got targets that we’ve set ourselves and we intend to reach them. We were fully focused and I think you could see that from the way we approached the game and thankfully we were able to get another away win which have been hard to come by. I think that’s our third and back-to-back away wins as well, so we have made a marked improvement in terms of what we can produce on the road.”

It’s great to know the team is really keeping on the pressure.  If we can beat Arsenal at home (who are playing like a League 1 team right now) and Chelsea beats Everton, Fulham could finish in 7th position.  If you had told me at the beginning of the season that we’d lose Bobby Zamora for 2/3 of the season and we’d be playing for 7th at the end of the season, I’d probably still be laughing.  This team has done the things it needs to to win the important games, and we are reaping the rewards at the end.

The good:

Brede Hangeland – He scored 2 goals. Has to be on the list.  It’s kind of hard to defend someone of his size, for sure, but he still does a great job of going up and over guys without fouling them.  I hold that he’d be a very, very good rebounder in basketball.

Jonathan Greening – Wow.  Bench player for the whole season, the guy comes on for an injured Simon Davies, plays out of position (he’s really a center mid) and has the match of his life.  Every single cross and corner he put in the box was spot on and someone had a header opportunity, or it went to someone streaking in who had a chance to finish past a few defenders.  I mean, the guy played out of his mind.  It was great to watch.  You know what’s awesome? When you’re enjoying most of the season watching a guy (Damien Duff) play great, and he goes down with an Achillies injury, and his backup comes in and plays great for a few matches (Simon Davies), and then he gets injured and HIS backup comes in (Jonathan Greening) and even he plays great.  I love it.  The midfield depth on this club is stellar, and the only guy it hurts is Zoltan Gera.  Everyone is able to do their job and it’s a huge asset to the team.  Someone I’m not mentioning on this good list but deserves an honorable mention is Steve Sidwell.  He played great defense and when he had an offensive touch he made each one count.  Loved the midfield play today.

-Bobby Zamora – I didn’t think he’d play after his injury, but Hughes thought he’d be ok to go and he was.  He didn’t score but he played brightly.  It was good to see him back in action.  Unfortunately, he limped off injured.  Hopefully he’s not too badly injured, and he has a week to recover.  But I wouldn’t be surprised if Sparky doesn’t risk him in the last match of the season, especially with a possible Fair Play bid maybe a few weeks on the horizon.

The bad:

-The first half defense – Ok, this is kind of stupid.  I’m putting the defense in the bad section of a clean sheet.  By no means whatsoever was the defense “bad.” They were definitely mediocre in the first half and the innacurate Birmingham City attack couldn’t capitalize on the few openings they got.  I can’t really think of anyone to put here individual wise, because nobody really had a bad game.  But there were a few chances, especially in the 2nd half of the first half, that Birmingham had a few big chances and I was a little scared.  On occasion guys like Aaron Hughes, or Dempsey, or Murphy, or Salcido let their man slip by but the rest of the team did an excellent job rotating and helping each other out, and it kept everyone out for the most part. And after those spells, once it got into the second half, it was lockdown from there.  I’m stretching here, no doubt.

-The yellow cards – 5 yellows today and 10 in the last two matches is not what the club was looking for in the midst of a Fair Play battle, but with Lee Mason last week and Peter Walton officiating today, it was unfortunately to be expected.  Mostly just a bad draw for the Cottagers in this department, but it could all be moot thanks to Spurs today. More on that later.

Man of the match: Jonathan Greening.  The big man had 2 goals, but with the way Greening was crossing and sending corners in, Fulham could have had a lot more goals.  He has to get the honor.

I had 1-0 as my prediction, pretty darn close to 2-0 if you ask me.

Next that deserves note, Tottenham beat Liverpool 2-0, putting them in the drivers seat for the last Europa League spot in the table.  Good job Fulham fans, we did great job supporting them, and it paid off! Now, we have to repeat that cheering performance so they beat Birmingham City next week.  If they do, they take the 5th position and the last Europa League spot, and a very deserving Liverpool side will miss out.  But they had their shot today.  And that all has to do with Fulham because if Tottenham gets their spot, their Fair Play table spot becomes meaningless, and Fulham have no competition for the Fair Play spot.

Do you want a Fair Play spot? Fulham will have to really earn a spot in the later rounds with a flurry of first few round matches, giving them only about 2 weeks off in June before it would start.  It’d be fun as a fan but would be incredibly taxing on the players, and Mark Hughes has in the past expressed his doubts about if that would be a good long term thing for the club.  What do you think? Vote on the new poll on the left.

As far as the final match of the season, Fulham will come home and face me, my dad, my brother, and a few of my frien….I mean Arsenal.  Sorry, kind of hard to tell the difference right now.  They just lost to Aston Villa at home today, putting their 3rd place position in peril after being in 1st a few months ago.  Their freefall has been well documented, and although I have a soft spot for Arsene Wegner’s team, I would like to see nothing more than for Mark Hughes’ side put the icing on the cake for a horrible 2nd half Gunners collapse.  The match will be next Sunday with all the rest.  COME ON YOU WHITES! Finish strong!

For your viewing pleasure, a Twitter follower of mine @ffc2004 was at the match today, and caught Hangeland’s 2nd goal on film.  It’s a bit shakey, but he caught the big guy’s volley perfectly, and then the reaction by the Fulham crowd is something else.  Take a gander:

Correction: Well this is embarassing

Posted: May 14, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Uncategorized
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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.

News and Notes: Playing Nice Will Get Fulham Far

Posted: April 12, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Club
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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.