Posts Tagged ‘Lauri Dalla Valle’

Three Fulham Youngsters Who Could Break Out This Year

Posted: July 18, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Player/Manager, Previews
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I would like to start by proposing a toast to a man who played for Fulham and gave three great seasons to the club.  But it may be in his departure that Paul Konchesky gives his most valuable contribution to Fulham.

In leaving for Liverpool, Konchesky netted the Cottagers two relatively unknown kids who, along with another youngster, could make serious contributions to the club this season.

When Konchesky was sold to Merseyside, attacking midfielder Alex Kacaniklic and striker Lauri Dalla-Valle were sent in the opposite direction.  Those two, plus Italian striker Marcello Trotta could be candidates to fill some serious needs in the first team this season after spending the last few years out on loan getting valuable playing time.

Don’t be surprised to see these names, and a few other less familiar ones, making more appearances like this on your television this season.

Credit the front office for handling these kids well, giving them as much time as possible with loan spells at clubs such at Dundee United, Watford, Wycombe, Bournemouth, and Exeter.  They found places where these kids could thrive.  Some went very well, including both Kacaniklic and Trotta spending time at Watford, with the former openly expressing his thanks for the positive experience.

We’ll start with the strikers.  I’m beating a dead horse by saying Fulham are in dire need of striking ability, even with the addition of Mladen Petric and Hugo Rodallega on frees this transfer window.  Many are expecting Jol to make a relatively high-profile move for someone like Jordan Rhodes, for example.  However, if our fearless leader believes that LDV (not to be confused with Lyle Della-Verde) and Trotta are indeed ready for first-team action this season, he may not even need to make such a move.

Both men have indeed gotten in the action already this season, netting three of the first four goals of Fulham’s friendly trip around Germany between the two of them.  Trotta’s brace started out the match against German 5th division opponents Lokomotiv Leipzig, and Dalla-Valle (or the “Flying Finn” as one of my Twitter followers called him) finished it off.

The main question surrounding these two budding talents is: are they ready? I don’t think any of us are privy to enough information/have watched enough of them play recently to answer that question adequately, but Martin Jol certainly can, and if he deems them ready, get your popcorn ready because it’s going to be a fun year.

The other man we already know fairly well.  Fulham fans got to preview the deadly crossing ability and solid possession of Alex Kacaniklic in the latter stages of last season.  In addition, many fans were almost left speechless after Kacaniklic came on as a substitute against Norwich for his debut.  The Swede blasted a screamer that just clipped the crossbar after being parried by John Ruddy.

Kacaniklic’s best attribute no doubt is his crosses, something Fulham are desperate to find.  Their wingers are more goalscorers than crossers, and despite Ruiz, Dempsey, Duff, and even Riise all capable of putting a dangerous ball across the face of goal, I don’t think it’s their forte (except maybe Duff).

With Danny Murphy leaving, a hole is created in the midfield, and although they’re not the same type of player by any means, the midfield is still a position of need.  Alex may be a great first-team player, someone Jol can rely on at the very least as a substitute.

Again, with the players at the ages of 20 (Kacaniklic), 19 (Trotta), and 20 (Dalla-Valle), there remain many if’s about how this season will shape up. Don’t be surprised, if Jol decides they aren’t ready, to see more loan deals for this trio.  But if they are deemed worthy, they could be a massive bonus to a squad still needing many things.

Add someone like Kerim Frei to this mix, who’s also already featured many times in the Fulham first team, and there could be some exciting days ahead in the home-grown department.

Europa League Squad Announced

Posted: June 29, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Breaking News, Previews
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So the roster has been announced by Martin Jol for the first match of 2011 tomorrow, and it includes some surprises to say the least.  According to my wonderful counterpart Jason Gatties, I have been informed this squad roster is just for the first leg of the first qualifier against NSÍ Runavik, and changes can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time.  So we’ll see what happens after tomorrow.

I figured I’d run through the roster and then give you who I think will start tomorrow against NSÍ.

GOALKEEPERS:

Predicted starter – David Stockdale
Also on the squad – Mark Schwarzer, Neil Etheridge, Marcus Bettinelli
Left off - Pascal Zuberbühler

Thoughts: Very surprised to see 4 goalkeepers on the list, considering the small amount of forwards (we’ll get there in a bit).  Think Jol will get his first shot to see Stockdale tomorrow.  Would be intrigued to see Etheridge as well but I think the benefits of starting Stockdale are much higher.  Jol will want to see what he has in David, especially since Fulham have been rumored to be in talks for a few keepers in the transfer market.

DEFENDERS:

Predicted starters – Brede Hangeland, Philippe Senderos, Chris Baird, Matthew Briggs
Also on the squad – Aaron Hughes, Stephen Kelly, Rafik Halliche
Left off - Carlos Salcido (extended leave)

Thoughts: Every defender is there besides Salcido who is on extended leave after the Gold Cup (plus I think he’s a bit knocked anyways).  So nothing really to point out other than Jol is keeping lots of defenders at the ready.  Halliche is a possibility to start as well.

MIDFIELDERS:

Predicted starters – Dickson Etuhu, Simon Davies, Danny Murphy, Jonathan Greening
Also on the squad – Damien Duff, Bjørn Helge Riise, Steve Sidwell, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Kerim Frei, Courtney Harris
Left off - Alex Kacaniklic, Keanu Marsh-Brown, Clint Dempsey (extended leave)

Thoughts: Actually really surprised to see Kac left off considering the promise he’s shown in the past.  Don’t be surprised if any of Riise, Sidders, or Dikgacoi get a start, it’s really a matter of who Jol wants to see play the most.  Dempsey is in the same boat as Salcido, extended leave after the Gold Cup.  There’s a lot of midfielders on the roster, which is fine, until you get to the next part…

FORWARDS:

Predicted starters – Andy Johnson, Lauri Dalla Valle
Also on the squad – Bobby Zamora, Moussa Dembele
Left off – Danny Hoesen

Thoughts: Was a little upset Hoesen wasn’t on the roster considering our lack of forwards, but I was over it…until news has come out that Dembele is out for 2 weeks with an ankle injury. So now we go into the competition with a total of 3 strikers.  I think this is a warning flag to Jol to get going in the transfer window.  We can’t go into the Premier League season with 5 total strikers (one of which is over the hill, two are fledgling youngsters with no PL experience, and another is coming off a 3-goal season and is more of a winger).  Let this be what opens the manager’s eyes…please…

Otherwise, I’m really, really excited to see Dalla Valle play, and that’s almost a certainnty now with Dembele injured. Don’t expect to see Zamora play much, if at all, given his importance to the team and his injury history. Looks like we’ll have to go with 2 strikers (and no subs) unless Jol wants to get him a little match time at the end to keep him fit.  Don’t really see him risking it though.

Other Fulham news of worth:

-Incase you decided to scroll down here instead of reading my post on the roster, Moussa Dembele is officially unavailable for the first leg of the match with NSÍ and is most likely out for 2 weeks with an ankle injury.

-There are rumors that Fulham are on the verge of completing a £3.5 million transfer for Sheffield United striker Jordan Slew (there’s nothing concrete yet, just a bunch of message board rumors).  That’s a hefty price to pay but I would welcome the deal.  Word is the kid is talented.  He’s been on the Fulham radar since the winter when Mark Hughes was in charge (Hughes had a £500,000 bid rejected).  We’ll see if Jol is interested as well.

On The Team’s Age

Posted: March 21, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Opinion
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We all know that youth in soccer is a tree that bears incredible fruit, if invested in, developed, and carefully managed properly.

Unfortunately, the current Fulham squad isn’t very deep on age.  And an excellent post by ESPN Soccernet Fulham blogger Phil Mison got me thinking.  After this season, no matter what happens, where do we go from here? Who stays, who goes, and who do we say our tearful goodbyes to?  Disecting the whole roster, many of the players are on the wrong side of 30, but each position has one bright young player that gives the club at least some hope.

The attack, which has been our weakness, is aging as follows: Andy Johnson is 30.  Gudjohnsen is 33.  Zamora is 30.  Johnson is showing it much more than Zamora, but both must be taken into consideration.  Hopefully our only sign of youth on the first team at the moment, Moussa Dembele at 24 years young, continues to show improvement.  Gael Kakuta isn’t ours, so he doesn’t count (but boy does Chelsea have a gem in him).  Kamara is 31 but I don’t count him because he’s not really going to be a long term option.

Lauri Dalla Valle has been superb in his stay with Bournemouth, scoring 2 goals in his first 4 matches (courtesy fulhamfc.com)

That leaves our one diamond in the rough.  Our replacement for Andy Johnson when his time has come (which is looking sooner and sooner in the more recent weeks).  Lauri Dalla Valle.  He is one of two promising 20-year olds we received for Paul Konchesky from Liverpool (I will get to the other later), and one can only hope management is smart enough to keep him around for a long time to come.

Dalla Valle has been tabbed as a Fernando Torres – esque player (one can only dream) and the Finnish prospect brought the Liverpool Youth team to the FA Youth Cup Final in 2009 in one of his many highlights in the last few years.  In fact, he scored 8 goals in that FA Cup run.

But, I digress.  The real reason I’m writing here is to talk about the more bleak side of things.  Back to the team’s age.  We’ll leave the midfield for last, for logistical reasons.  Moving on to the defense.  Here, 3 of the current starting 4 are over the magical number 30.  Hughes (32), Hangeland (31), and Salcido (30) aren’t getting any younger.  And the only starter on the other side of 30, Chris Baird, is creeping ever closer at 29.  The reserves at the moment consist of John Pantsil, who’s 30, Philippe Senderos who provides a bit of a bright spot at 25, and other inconsiquential players.

The real gem of the defense, however, is Matthew Briggs.  The 20-year old is the youngest player to ever appear in a Premier League match at the ripe young age of 16 years and change.  He’s been mostly getting valuable experience on the reserve team, but there have been rumblings of a call-up with the 4th defensive spot (currently belonging to Salcido) occasionally in question.  The team is very high on Briggs, and being very versatile, he should have no problem replacing whichever of the aging current starters is to leave first.

The goalkeeper situation is obvious, and for the most part taken care of, so I won’t spend a lot of time on it.  For now, Mark Schwarzer, at a ripe young age of 39, will most likely be replaced by David Stockdale whenever he chooses to leave (which could be this summer if Arsenal comes calling again) unless Stockdale is swooped away from someone like Manchester United, who’s shown interest.  But Schwarzer is an exception because he’s clearly able to play on top form even at his age, which is not so atypical for goalkeepers.

On to the midfield.  The situation looks a little better, but not by much.  There is a little bit of youth in Clint Dempsey and Steve Sidwell, both at 28.  But that’s about it. Etuhu is 29, but we all know he’s (hopefully at least) not more than an injury replacement at this point.  The rest are cashing in at 31 for Simon Davies, 32 for Damien Duff, and the squad’s highest number, 34 for Captain Danny Murphy.  This is another bigtime question mark after this year.  A lot of people are calling (with some merit) for Fulham to say its goodbyes to the skipper after this season, as his ship has certainly sailed at least to within sight of the Port of Retirement.  So the question is, does the club force him to retire, push him out in what could get ugly, allow him to continue to start, or put him on the bench as a sub?  Obviously if the final choice is any other than keep him in the starting XI, his captainship most certainly would be stripped.  I’m incredibly thankful for what Danny has given this club, no doubt.  But I know I have also at least had the thought cross my mind about replacing him.

Alexander Kacaniklic is a wonderful young midfielder/winger option (courtesy live4liverpool.com)

But with who?  The most obvious choice would be through the summer transfer window.  But, there is an in-house option.  At the ripe young age of 20, the other half of the Paul Konchesky deal could also bear some pretty wonderful fruit.  Alex Kacaniklic (pronounced kah-kuh-NIK-lich) came with Lauri Dalla Valle, and has been described as having a pretty sweet left foot, and is strongest at either center mid or left wing, both of which sound like perfect replacements for either aging Murphy or Duff.

The bottom line of this post is this: we have some impressive young talent on its way up, and it provides a bright spot for sure.  But right now, this starting XI has some serious age issues, and many of them will have to be sorted out before the talent is ready for a call-up.  This summer, Mark Hughes will have some heavy decisions to make as far as the fates of many of the older players on the club, most notably Andy Johnson and Danny Murphy.  And I’m not so sure they will end in everyone being happy.

But, because I like to stay optomistic, here’s a video I’m sure you will enjoy.  Check out the finishing ability of Kacaniklic, from when he played with Dalla Valle on Liverpool’s youth squad.  It’s certainly promising. (Depending on the video’s status on YouTube you may have to watch it in a new window)