Posts Tagged ‘Newcastle’

Newcastle v. Fulham: Down the Home Stretch

Posted: April 5, 2013 by Kyle Bonn in Previews
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Hugo Rodallega’s header secured 3 points for Fulham at Craven Cottage in December. Can they do the double over the Magpies?

With the nail-biting victory over their rivals last weekend, Fulham have all but put the relegation zone in their rear view mirror and will be looking to bolster their finishing position with some difficult fixtures on the horizon. April is busy for Fulham, who at one point were 2 games in hand on the Premier League table after just 5 matches in the last 2 months. They have some catching up to do in that department, and are on the road for the next two.

State of Fulham:

The Whites have gone on a tear in the recent weeks which has seen them only jump a few positions in the table, but they’ve narrowed the gap between 10th and 9th from 9 points all the way down to 1 and still have a game in hand. They are unbeaten in 5 matches, and are 5th in the form table. In fact, only Fulham and Manchester Untied are unbeaten in their last 5 matches. Even away matches haven’t given Fulham as much trouble as they usually do, having won 2 and drawn 2 in their last 5 matches on the road.

Fulham will be a little less than full strength this week with Steve Sidwell seeing red last week in the closing minutes of the QPR match. He lost his midweek appeal, so his 3-match ban begins this weekend. Injury-wise, the club has a few new additions to the list as well. Ashkan Dejagah’s sprained ankle needs another week according to Martin Jol. The Iranian suffered his knock in the first half of the win over Rangers. Candidates for his replacement include Urby Emanuelson or Kieran Richardson. You may see Damien Duff switch over to the right, as Richardson is typically a left winger. Emanuelson was horrid in his substitute appearance against QPR, being himself subbed off after Sidwell’s red card. Alex Kacaniklic would normally have seen a chance, but he’s been sent out on loan to Burnley. Mladen Petric has also picked up a hamstring injury and Jol said he’ll be out for a few weeks. Mahamadou Diarra and Neil Etheridge are out, both long-term absentees who’s names we’ve seen on the injury list for a while.

Jol said in his match preview this week that something Fulham need to really improve on is holding a lead, particularly the issue of not being able to exit their own half when under pressure. If they can pick up an early goal or two against Newcastle, expect this to be a point of concern for the club – keeping possession while being pressed.

State of Newcastle:

Much like the days leading up to the bigtime win at White Hart Lane, Fulham will head to St. James Park with their upcoming opponents having been pushed to the brink midweek in the Europa League. Spurs were brought to extra time by Inter in the Europa League just 2 days before our match, and here Newcastle were picked apart by Benfica. A 3-1 defeat on the road at the hands of high European competition just 3 days before could certainly have an impact on the club’s performance.

Their Premier League form hasn’t been much better. Newcastle found themselves 4-0 losers at the Etihad against Manchester City in their last League fixture, and have lost 3 of their last 4 overall. Not only that, but the club is just 3 points ahead of the drop zone – this being weeks after Alan Pardew declared Newcastle safe from relegation. One bright spot for Newcastle in this match is that they’ve been significantly better at home. The Magpies have won their last 3 home matches, and have secured 12 points in their last 6 home matches. Meanwhile, they’ve just won 1 of their last 6 road matches and only have 4 points in that stretch, losing their last 4 straight.

Injury news is mixed for the Magpies in this match. They will receive a boost at goalkeeper, as Tim Krul will stay in goal after returning in Lisbon against Benfica, and Davide Santon returned in the match from an injury absence as well. However, Frenchman Moussa Sissoko, who has burst onto the scene since moving to Newcastle in the winter, may have picked up an injury and is questionable for this weekend. James Perch is in the same boat as Sissoko, and Mathieu Debuchy and Cheick Tiote are both battling hamstring injuries, and are question marks as well. Hatem Ben Arfa, Fabricio Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, and Massadio Haidara are all long-term injury victims.

EA Sports Stats of the Match:

-25 of Newcastle’s 33 points this season have been secured at St. James Park.

-Yohan Cabaye is the only player on the Newcastle roster to register triple digits for both offensive and defensive contributions, according to the EA Sports Player Performance Index.

-Fulham have won 5 of the last 7 meetings between these clubs, with Newcastle registering just 1 win in that time. One draw was recorded as well.

-In addition, Fulham have won 3 and drawn 2 in their last 7 visits to St. James Park.

-Newcastle are second in the Premier League in two dubious categories. They’ve kept just 4 clean sheets in the league this year (2nd to Reading) and have conceeded 37 second-half goals (Aston Villa have 39).

-Fulham would be 5th in the Premier League table if matches ended at halftime.

888sport.com Lines of the Week:

-Dimitar Berbatov first goalscorer – 5/1
Why not? Berbatov has scored in his last 4 matches (5 goals in that span), and 4 of those 5 goals came in the first half. In fact, 10 of his 13 goals this year were scored in the first half of matches. One last nugget, Berba’s scored in 10 matches this year; Fulham have not lost any of those matches.

-Over 2.5 goals – 4/5
Not great odds, but considering Newcastle’s defensive issues recently, their injuries, and Fulham’s inability to hold leads late in games, you have to expect goals to come flying in at St. James Park. There are definitely goals to be scored in this match between Berbatov and Cisse, and I think asking 3 or more goals out of this match isn’t too much really.

-1st Half with more goals – 2/1
Fantastic odds, given Newcastle and Fulham have both been great starters and poor finishers. Especially since the second half is even, this is a way better purchase.

Prediction: Given the two clubs’ form, it’s hard not to expect Fulham to come out of this one with 3 points. They seem to have (temporarily, at least) put their dreadful away form in the trash can, and once again their opponent played outside of England just 3 days ago. Besides their good home form recently, Newcastle don’t have much going for them in this match, and they’ll have to be at their best to put the injuries and such behind them. Going for a hard-fought, physical 2-1 victory for Fulham, which finally allows Martin Jol to admit they’re safe to look ahead of them in the table rather than over their shoulder.

Fulham 2-1 Newcastle: First Win Since October Provides Hope

Posted: December 10, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Postgame
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Steve Sidwell gets appreciation from his teammates after netting his first-half goal to put Fulham up 1-0.

A much-needed win at the fortress of Craven Cottage provides 3 points for Fulham to take on the “road” across town to QPR.  Meanwhile, Newcastle’s form continues to dip, with 1 win in their last 10 matches, including staying winless on the road this year.

A very exciting end-to-end match featured tons of chances, and while many went wasted by both sides, two moments of brilliance were enough to put Martin Jol’s side through for the win.

You have to look back to October 20th to find Fulham’s last win, and their 2 scores snapped a goalless streak that hit 317 minutes (3 matches plus some) before Steve Sidwell banged in his 4th goal of the season.

The midfield was strong, the attack was bright and creative despite the absence of Bryan Ruiz (which is promising given he’ll be out until January), and the defense was its usual porous but didn’t break save but once on a stunner from Hatem Ben Arfa that probably took a slight deflection as well.

Man of the Match:

Hugo Rodallega – I tweeted before the match that, while I recognized the fact that Rodallega has played more recently, I felt Mladen Petric up front would give us the best chance to win today.  I was obviously wrong.  It can’t be understated how important the relationship he has developed with Dimitar Berbatov is to the end product.  While I still think Petric is still a better ballhawk and finisher (what a blast from him today, missed the top corner by millimeters), Rodallega’s ability to cut and find space and strength in the air gave Newcastle all kinds of problems today.  Berbatov had a down day (more on that in a bit) and Hugo picked up the slack and more. Rodallega’s one mistake was somewhat obvious, he embarassingly dove after getting caught from behind in a 1-on-1 chance, but it doesn’t diminish how cutting he was today.

The good:

Sascha Riether – Riether continues to impress down the right-hand side, which is where the attack seemed to develop for the most part, especially early in the game.  Riether works incredibly hard, with the best example on a huge chance at the end of the first half when he streaked down the pitch untouched and took a touch from Duff before crossing to Berbatov in the box. He’s solid in defense as well, masterfully clearing off the line to deny Coloccini a powerful header in the top left corner.

Damien Duff – Duff’s been down the last few matches, being relegated to the bench at times, and often disappearing at others, with his usual pinpoint accuracy turning to limp, unstinging balls across the box.  Today, however, he was on point, picking up 2 assists and providing both long, dangerous crosses and short, cutting touches.  His free kick in the 2nd half found Rodallega’s head perfectly; it put Hugo in perfect position to redirect it into the back of the net.  Duffer’s going to need to continue this great form, as Fulham are quite thin both in the middle and on the edges.

Steve Sidwell – Ginger Iniesta’s reinvention of his game has given Fulham a MASSIVE boost, and given all the injuries and departures in the transfer window, an argument could certainly be made for midseason MVP of the club.  He’s turned from a conventional midfielder to something of a Danny Murphy clone.  He can score, but more importantly he provides power and strength in the midfield.  What a long way Sidwell has come from his dark days at Aston Villa.  While he’s not without his faults, it seems every time he gives the ball away he works his darndest to get it back, and his stamina is second to none.

The bad:

Alex Kacaniklic – The young Swede has shown so much promise so far at Craven Cottage, but recently he’s been very poor on the ball, and it’s starting to become a little troubling.  Martin Jol obviously has faith he’ll turn it around, as shown by the amount of runouts he’s getting, but his first touch especially hasn’t been anything to praise, and often results in giving the ball away.  He hasn’t found as much space recently either. I think he’ll turn it around, but it remains to be seen how much leeway he’ll get from Jol with Dejagah playing pretty well off the bench.

John Arne Riise – His defense was solid, but he was nonexistent in the attack with most of the cutting edge happening down the right edge.  That’s not entirely his fault and probably more a product of the gameplan, but I still think his goalless streak with Fulham is starting to get to his head.  He had one shot today, and it was clear over the bar from a long way out, and just the way his demeanor was before, during, and after, he seemed frustrated by his lack of scoring.  I hope it doesn’t continue to bother him.  He’s gotta just get back to doing what he does well, rather than trying to be something he’s not anymore.  Goals are nice from defenders, but as Sascha is proving, that’s not their top priority. Riether recently has outplayed Riise by a long ways recently.

Mark Schwarzer – Today was the day we’ve been waiting for for a long time.  Had it not been for the fantastic play of the defense (all 3 of Riether, Hughes, and Hangeland performed spectacularly at the back), this could have been a very bad finish.  Schwarzer has seemed to be losing a touch of his decision-making with every game, and today it was really bad. He also, for the first time, seems to be finally losing a bit of reaction time.  His range is still all there, but I think it’s getting very close to the time to make the permanent switch to David Stockdale.  Schwarzer has been a workhorse, and has given a ton of his career and life to Fulham, and it’s incredibly appreciated. But I think the best interest of the club is to move to the young English talent sooner rather than later.

Dimitar Berbatov – His ball movement and first touch was second to none as always, and a joy to watch.  But his finishing left a lot to be desired, and going forward Fulham are going to need him to finish chances.  Had Newcastle equalized, it would have been even more painful to see a replay of that 1-on-1 chance he blasted straight at Tim Krul (to be fair it was also a great save but he should have done better).  Putting him here was tough since even on an off day he’s one of the best players on the pitch, but he needs to convert those chances if Fulham are going to consistently get points in the future.

888sport.com Lines of the Week Recap:

This week I debuted the sponsored segment 888sport.com Lines of the Week.  So how’d I do if I was a betting man? (For the record I’m not, it’s a touch illegal here in the States).

Dimitar Berbatov to score anytime: 5/4
I lost here, but not for a lack of trying.  That 1v1 chance he blew would have made me furious had I put money on this.

Hatem Ben Arfa to score anytime: 4/1
Bang. Off the deflection.

Half with the most goals – 2nd: evens
2-for-3, I’ll take it to the bank. Thanks for playing!

What now?: This can’t end. The club can’t take its 1 win, put it in the bank, and start over.  There were some issues today, but overall a lot of positives to build on and bring to Loftus Road.  Anything but a win there is a bit of a disappointment, and it would certainly be painful to be QPR’s first win of the season. Good win today! Time to beat the ambitious ones.

Fulham vs. Newcastle: 2012′s Roller Coaster Continues

Posted: December 8, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Previews
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A very intriguing matchup in the Premiership will be taking place in primetime on Monday.  One club mired in a horrible run of bad form faces another club which was mired in terrible form until a quality win last week.  A result in either direction could drastically alter each one’s season.  A win for Newcastle would signal their return to where they belong; consequently, a win for Fulham would provide a massively-needed boost to their goal of reaching the next transfer window unscathed.

Without further ado, I present to you a very exciting match preview here on Fulham’s Finest:

State of Fulham:

One word best describes the current situation the Cottagers find themselves in: yuck. They’ve lost 3 of 4, and haven’t won since a boring 1-0 home victory over Aston Villa on October 20, a run of 7 matches without a win.  While that stretch does include relatively impressive draws against Everton, Arsenal, and Chelsea, those don’t do enough to cancel out horrible losses to Sunderland and Stoke at home, as well as their most recent result, an incredibly uninspiring loss against Dempsey- and Dembele-led Spurs.  This slide has seen the club drop from 6th to 13th, and almost more troubling, seen a club near the top of the league in scoring net just 2 goals in their last 4 matches.

Injuries have struck Fulham, although this season that’s nothing new.  Bryan Ruiz has had a major setback to his hamstring injury, something that will keep him out until January, an unfortunate turn of events given he was so close to returning.  Sascha Riether is also dealing with a knee injury he picked up last in the last match, and is a doubt. Thankfully, the club will be applauding the return of both Brede Hangeland from suspension and Alex Kacaniklic from his hamstring injury.

State of Newcastle:

The Magpies have also had a disasterous run of form both in the Premier League and the Europa League prior to last week’s 3-0 victory against a quality Wigan side.  They had been winless in 5 matches before that, and had just 1 win in their prior 9 matches.  Even with the win against Wigan, in all competitions, their previous 16 matches have seen just 4 wins (2 PL, 2 Europa League) as opposed to 7 losses and 5 draws. This isn’t the Newcastle we had imagined at the start of the season when Alan Pardew was signed to a silly long contract extension.

Newcastle are also dealing with injury shuffles of their own, although most of them are returning players.  Hatem Ben Arfa looks set to return, a big gain for the club, along with Jonas Gutierrez, Demba Ba, and Chiek Tiote, 3 other key figures.

888sport.com Lines of the Match:

I’m unveiling some very exciting new segments for Fulham’s Finest. From now on, I will be presenting you with prices from 888sport.com involving Fulham matches to help guide us through a match preview, and so it gives me another angle to discuss talking points.  They’ll be sending me their favorite lines, and I’ll pick 2-3 each match.  For more prices than what I have here, feel free to visit 888sport.com.  Let’s begin with Fulham/Newcastle!

Dimitar Berbatov to score anytime – 5/4
This line was a lot bigger (9/4) when it was sent to me, but has shrunk recently, and rightly so.  If Fulham can get Dimitar the ball (which is a big “if” without Ruiz) he’s shown plenty of times what he’s capable of doing.  It’s not much reward here, but there’s no safer bet than Berbatov to score.

Hatem Ben Arfa to score anytime – 4/1
A great price for a guy coming off injury, Ben Arfa has 7 goals in 38 matches for Newcastle and sill certainly be at the center or at least up front of the attack if he’s indeed able to come back. The only down side to this bet is Demba Ba is returning as well, and he’s been a Newcastle goal machine, so it may cause Alan Pardew to play Ben Arfa on the wing feeding Ba the ball.  Still, a decent risk/reward with how poorly the Fulham defense has looked recently.

Half with most goals: 2nd half – evens
This is going to tie into a statistic I have in my section below, so without further ado, I present to you…

EA Sports Stats of the Match

EA Sports was also kind enough to offer up a sponsorship for this section, and are kind enough to send me in-depth statistics.  The reason I like the 2nd half to have more goals, even at even money, is…

There have been 11 goals in the final 10 minutes of games involving Fulham this season.  They’ve all provided drama right until the end, and I don’t see this match as being anything out of the ordinary.

Steve Sidwell has completed the most successful tackles in the Premier League with 47.  Sidwell has been incredibly busy in the midfield, with the central midfielders teaming up in a Danny Murphy-esque role.  He’s transformed his career with the switch to a more traditional enforcing defensive midfielder, and it’s shown with quality matches in the recent going.  Look for him to continue this role alongside Mahamadou Diarra.

Dimitar Berbatov has contributed more defensive work than any other striker in the EA Sports Player Performance Index, including 12 clearances and 34 interceptions. Who says he’s lazy? Think again. Berbatov has meant even more to this club than people give him credit for, which is a lot!

Prediction: This match seems to me to have draw written all over it.  I think the goalscoring will continue in Fulham matches, with a 1-1 or 2-2 scoreline a fair assessment, but I’ll go with 2-2.  The key for Fulham will be finding creativity in the slot behind Berbatov or Petric without Bryan Ruiz.

Who Next to Fill the Fulham Right Back Position?

Posted: July 4, 2012 by nikitangoffc in Transfer
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Editor’s note: The following is guest poster @themetaknight‘s solution to the major hole at right back currently facing Martin Jol. The hole at the striker spot has been much chronicled over the past few weeks as the transfer window opened, but the right back position is a much less talked about – and a much more difficult to monitor – situation.  We’ve seen how right back is a very fickle position and they are often at the mercy of a manager’s preference, and with Fulham going through so many managers in the recent times, it’s been a position of little consistency. I would like to thank Nick a ton for putting in the hard work this post required.

The Fulham right back position has gone through many changes over the past couple of years. Under Roy Hodgson, John Pantsil was the man to run down the flanks and assist usually Damien Duff. Pantsil worked well until Hodgson left for new pastures and Mark Hughes stepped in, often suffering the calamities of own goals many times, resulting in Hughes dropping him and a contract not renewed. Chris Baird managed to step in and perform to a high standard for Hughes, getting himself two goals and a place on ‘The Times’ unsung first XI along with a certain Clint Dempsey. But another managerial change occurred with Martin Jol replacing Hughes, citing ‘ambition’ as his reason for his departure. In came Jol and out came, curiously, Chris Baird. Baird has disappeared since, only making a couple of cameo appearances, with rumours about that he’s having problems with personal life, etc. Jol brought in Zdenek Grygera, who quickly established himself in the team with the same role as Baird had done. But Grygera would soon suffer an awful ACL injury, ruling him out for the Euros and the season. Stephen Kelly, surprisingly, was the man sent in to step in for him and it remained this way as the season went on. Although Kelly improved as the season went on, it was still clear to us that new right back was needed. One who was younger, could develop more and would be there for a long time. So, without a doubt, I present you @themetaknight’s guide to the right back position for this summer

Danny Simpson

Simpson had a solid season at Newcastle.

Danny Simpson has been an interesting option. Out of contract next summer, Simpson has refused to sign a new contract with Newcastle. Simpson has put in some good performances over the course of the season, including a crucial one for them against Manchester United at Old Trafford. However, despite these good performances, Simpson is likely to be offered out to other clubs, with Mathieu Debuchy likely to be his replacement. Simpson would cost around £3-5 million because of the time left on his contract.

Nathaniel Clyne

Clyne is a big youth prospect for the future.

Nathaniel Clyne. Heralded as the right back for the future and held in awe by Palace fans. Offensively and defensively good, Clyne’s talent is there to see and it is clear that he will become a star in the future. There just lies another problem though. Other clubs. Manchester United and Newcastle are all rumoured to be interested in him, with the latter said to have bid for the 18 year old, which Crystal Palace have fervently denied. It could be a big summer for the 18 year old either way, with premier league clubs sure to be looking at him and his talent.

Lorenzo De Silvestri

De Silvestri was linked with Fulham earlier in the season.

Lorenzo De Silvestri of Fiorentina was linked with us back in January at the same time that the Maxi Lopez rumours were abound, with lots of Italian reports claiming that a deal had been struck with the Italian side. De Silvestri has been touted as the next big thing for Italy’s right back position and has huge potential. However, at Fiorentina, De Silvestri has still not realized this potential and is stuck behind in the Fiorentina line-up. Is this man with potential worth the investment? I’d price him around £3-4 million.

Albin Ebondo

Ebondo now plays for Saint-Etienne.

Albin Ebondo, 28 years of age, plays for ASSE in ligue 1 after a transfer from Toulouse. Ebondo made 22 appearances last year for Saint-Etienne, getting two assists for the club. The French and Congolese dual citizen was linked with a move to Newcastle a couple of seasons ago, which collapsed. He’s now out of contract and available for a free. Is he worth a transfer? I think so.

So these are my suggestions for the right back position. But are they the ones who you would take? Or would you take someone else? Thanks all for reading and I will hopefully see you next time.

Breaking Down Fulham’s 2012/13 Fixtures

Posted: June 18, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Club, Previews
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If you haven’t seen the fixture list yet, which was released today, do yourself a favor and check out the path Fulham will look to traverse next season as they take on their Premier League foes in the 2012/13 season.  Martin Jol is setting out on another full campaign that is sure to be littered with peaks and valleys, euphroia and heartbreak, celebration and controversy.  This year is the first in many that Fulham will be starting the season with the same manager they ended the previous one (knock on wood, hopefully Martin Jol doesn’t pull another Mark Hughes that no one saw coming. Not saying he will, just saying no one saw the last one coming).  So with the road paved, now all Fulham have to do is perambulate the meandering path of the Premier League.  To me, there are three sections of the fixtures that Fulham must conquer to have a successful season.  The definition of “successful season” for the upcoming year is also up for debate (another post? I think so!) but whatever that goal is, these two portions of the season must end in Fulham’s favor.  Let me explain:

Section 1: The first 2 months

Fulham have been notorious in the past 2 seasons at least of getting off to some pretty crummy starts, having fans question the manager, then beasting in the second half and finishing strong.  Now, imagine last year that the club hadn’t needed the break-in time with a new manager in the beginning of the year. Imagine they started how they finished.  9th doesn’t seem so good anymore does it? They could have finished 7th, or even better, and all the fans know it.  Well, this year, there’s no break-in time.  Sure the club will have new signings to get settled in, but who doesn’t?  That’s why this year the stretch of the first 8 games is ESSENTIAL to this season’s success.  If progress is to be made, they need to perform where they didn’t last year, and that’s in the beginning.

The first 8 matches are as follows:

(H) Norwich City
(A) Manchester United
(A) West Ham
(H) West Brom
(A) Wigan
(H) Manchester City
(A) Southampton
(H) Aston Villa

The way I see it, best case scenario we finish with 18 points from that stretch.  That’s best best case scenario obviously, so it’s slimly realistic.  But it’s attainable.  There are 5 winnable matches in that stretch.  You know what we need to do to maximize points from this stretch? WIN AWAY.  It’s time, folks.  This club showed at the end of last season that the monkeys may be off our back.  But to do this they need to start early.  Fulham won 3 of their final 7 away matches last year.  While that’s not great, it’s better than it has been. We’ve gone SEASONS with 3 away wins.  If you look at that stretch, there are 6 winnable matches of the 8.  3 of those 6 are away.  If Fulham is to separate themselves from the middle of the pack and step into an upper echelon of clubs such as the Evertons and the Newcastles, this is where it’s going to get done.

Section 2: December

If Fulham finishes off the first half of the season on a good note, the wins will come in the second half, bottom line.  Also, there are some huge matches against teams that Fulham are looking to emulate the success of, and these matches will be vital tests to see if the club has indeed reached that level.  This month will be the busiest for the staff at Craven Cottage, as there are four, yes that’s FOUR, home games in the month of December, and 6 matches overall.  That includes an exhausting stretch at the end of the month where there are 3 matches in 8 days.  Here’s the month of December fixtures:

Dec 1: (H) Spurs
Dec 8: (H) Newcastle
Dec 15: (A) QPR
Dec 22: (A) Liverpool
Dec 26: (H) Southampton
Dec 29: (H) Swansea

Yikes.  The first 4 are the roughest, although the stretch of Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday matches to end the month will be brutal for the players.  Think about this though.  Last year, Spurs finished 4th, Newcastle finished 5th, and Liverpool finished 8th.  If Fulham are to progress into the top 7 consistently in the table and challenge for a Europa League spot on a yearly basis, they need to prove they can challenge these clubs.  Last year, Fulham lost to Spurs at home 3-1, destroyed Newcastle at home 5-2, and beat Liverpool away 1-0.  To me, that’s competing.  However, this is a new year.  If Fulham are to once again have those kind of results, they need this stretch badly.  It’s going to be tough.

Section 3: April

Just like they need to start strong, this club is going to have to finish strong to have a shot at the top 7.  I don’t need to tell you any more about Fulham’s away form for you to get where I and just about every other fan stands on the subject. With that in mind, take a look at April:

(A) Newcastle
(A) Aston Villa
(H) Arsenal
(A) Everton

Yikes.  That’s a tough way to bring the season to a close.  May isn’t as difficult, but this has the potential to bring the club to a screeching halt.  They need to perform well here to not ruin any good form they had leading up to it.  If they can navigate this month with 6 points, I’d consider it successful.

So what are everyone’s thoughts?  Are there other areas of concern or stretches where the Cottagers should excel? What are your expectations for this season?

Deadline Day Mayhem: A Summary of the Deals That Were and Weren’t

Posted: August 31, 2011 by Kyle Bonn in Transfer
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Deadline day.  Wow. What a headache.  But it’s finally over, and Fulham are one of the big winners in the Premier League along with Liverpool, QPR, and Arsenal.  Everton and Tottenham are the big losers today, with Everton the unfortunate victim of highway robbery, and unable to find the money to replace them.  Here are a summary of the deals that happened, and the ones rumored to be in the mix but failed to materialize:

FULHAM’S COMPLETED DEALS:

Bryan Ruiz with his new manager after signing his transfer to Fulham

Bryan Ruiz, FC Twente: £10.6 million, 4 year deal.
The club hasn’t confirmed it just yet, but it’s done.  In fact, FC Twente’s site has confirmed the deal but does not give a length of deal or amount of transfer fee.  I’m sure it will be up on Fulham’s site in just a bit.   For now, we can revel in the fact that we beat out Newcastle in a down-to-the-wire transfer that gave everyone here basically a heart attack.  Yesterday it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Ruiz was going to play at Craven Cottage, but when Alan Pardew made a last ditch effort, it gave everyone a scare.  However, Martin Jol was able to claim victory in the end, as the helicopter Pardew deployed to Motspur Park was unsuccessful.  If you’d like to follow Ruiz on Twitter, it’s pretty certain that his Twitter page is here, and in his own words:

“Hello, greetings… I want to share with those who have supported me that I have just signed for Fulham in England and I’m very satisfied, it’s a triumph”

From the FC Twente website:

“His playing has led to much interest from foreign clubs.  Bryan has always had the ambition of a major European league to play and now is the time he makes the transition to the Premier League. Bryan was not for us to maintain.  We wish Bryan good luck and happiness in his future football career.”

Update: Fulham have officially confirmed the signing of Bryan Ruiz! It’s a 4 year deal with the option for a 5th.

Update 2: Here’s the official story on the Fulham website that just came out. In it, he says:

“I’m really happy to be joining Fulham Football Club and playing under Martin Jol who is a manager I admire from his time managing in Holland for Ajax. I chose to come to Fulham because it feels more personal than other clubs I have visited. I’m looking forward to meeting up with the whole squad when most of the players return from the international break and getting to work straight away with the team in preparation for some important fixtures.”

Orlando Sa, Porto: Undisclosed fee, 3 year deal.
This one was a very last minute deal, however the story on Orlando Sa’s official website says the two sides have been quietly talking about this one for a few weeks.  Props to them for keeping it under wraps.  I don’t know this for sure, but from the sound of things it seems like a relatively low risk deal.  That’s good, because Sa is very untested.  Overall, he has played just 54 professional club matches (Only 12 for his 2 parent clubs Braga and Porto, the rest for loan clubs Maria Fonte and Nacional), and has 11 professional goals.  He also has 1 senior national cap for the Portugese national team, and 7 caps for the U-21 Portugese team (in which he’s netted 7 goals, including a hat trick against Spain).  The 23 year old striker will most likely come off the bench in the beginning for Fulham, however you may see him in a few starts in the Europa League.  The important thing here is depth and youth, and he brings both.  I’m actually very excited to see what Sa can bring to the table.

Zdenek Grygera, Juventus: Free transfer, 1 year deal.
Grygera was the first signing to be confirmed today.  He was released by Juventus yesterday, with all signs pointing towards him coming to Fulham.  That didn’t change today, and he gives the Cottagers depth at the back.  Fulham also kept Chris Baird around, so the right back position is pretty set.  I have heard iffy things from Juventus fans about Grygera, but he’s a solid backup at this point, and has the versatility to play any back position.  Good signing, especially on a free transfer.  The contract has an option for a second year.

Given that our first match isn’t for another 11 days, I’m excited to see how a week and a half of international break/training will get these guys ready for their new role on this club.

DEALS THAT WERE CAST ASTRAY:

Alan Hutton, Newcastle: £4 million bid.
Most reports had Hutton going to Aston Villa, with Sky Sports reporting he was having a medical there, when all of a sudden a few things started popping up on Twitter about how Fulham had made an offer and he was strongly considering it.  However, in the end, Hutton did go to Aston Villa.  I heard a lot of Fulham fans saying he would be an absolute upgrade from Chris Baird at right back.  That’s saying a lot considering how much Fulham fans love Baird.  It’s a shame we missed out, but we’re fine at the back for now.

André-Pierre Gignac, Marseille: Loan deal.
This one also was something that seemed like a certainty yesterday.  However, mainly due to the fact that Marseille were a complete fail in the transfer market, he was pulled back and didn’t end up going anywhere.  A lot of reports said he had baggage with him, but I didn’t care so long as he brought goalscoring ability to Craven Cottage.  It’s a non-factor, however, since Fulham got Sa instead.  Good luck to Gignac in France, and who knows what can happen in the future.

Derek Boateng, Dnipro: Loan deal.
Boateng had just gone to Dnipro in the beginning of the summer, so only a loan deal would be allowed, but the deal was thought to have an option to buy later that would almost certainly be activated.  However, the two sides failed to come to an agreement, and the deal was cast aside.  This was thought to be a backup plan incase Ruiz didn’t pan out, since Boateng is naturally an attacking midfielder, not a true striker.

FULHAM PLAYERS SOLD:

Rafik Halliche, Swansea: Loan deal.
Halliche was on his way out for sure, as Jol had named him about a week ago as one player he was hoping to send on his way.  No news yet on the details of the loan and if there is an option to buy, but if I’m a betting man I say there is, and he won’t be back in a Fulham shirt.

FULHAM PLAYERS RUMORED TO LEAVE BUT STAYED:

Clint Dempsey:
Some have told me via Twitter that the biggest move by Fulham on Deadline Day was not a move at all, rather it was a holding.  Clint Dempsey was rumored to be sought after by Sevilla, PSG, and most recently Arsenal.  But all clubs denied having made a bid, and nothing came of it on the final day of the window.  This is great news for Fulham fans and a great job by the front office to realize Dempsey’s most valuable location was on the pitch in white.  The combination of Ruiz, Zamora, AJ, Duff, and Dempsey all in the attacking half, possibly even supported by Sa, gives me goose bumps.  So excited to see what this combination of guys can do.

Chris Baird:
Many thought after the signing of Grygera and then the rumors about Hutton meant Baird was on his way out.  He’s found himself on the outside of most of Martin Jol’s lineups, although recently he’s gotten a chance to showcase his talents.  This is more good news for Fulham fans, as Baird is a valuable asset not just on the pitch but on the depth chart as well.

Bobby Zamora:
It’s silly to even have to include him in this section.  He wasn’t going anywhere.

So, anyone care to take a gander on where Fulham goes from here? Where do Ruiz and Sa fit in? How about Grygera? Does Baird go back to the bench? My thoughts are that Ruiz will start at winger (his natural position) opposite Duff and supporting AJ and Zamora for a few matches and we’ll go from there, see how it goes.  If the offense is still stagnant, Jol may try putting Ruiz up front with Bobby.  It will be a lot of fun to watch these new guys, that’s for sure.

One more signing note, Hammy End is reporting Fulham have signed 16 year old Swedish striker Muamer Tankovic to the developmental squad.  Good luck to the kid!

Russ and I will be trying to figure out when our next Cottage Talk episode will be, but it’s going to be soon, so stay tuned.  I’m going to try and drum up a guest or two.

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