Posts Tagged ‘Pavel Pogrebnyak’

Fulham Exodus: Is It Too Much Too Fast?

Posted: June 24, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Opinion
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Martin Jol has told Danny Murphy and others that Fulham won’t pony up the money or years other teams are willing to, allowing them to walk and sign elsewhere

Martin Jol is certainly looking to make his mark on the Fulham squad patrolling Craven Cottage next year during his first full summer transfer window with the club.  His first step is to allow three players, Andy Johnson, Pavel Pogrebnyak, and the captain Danny Murphy to leave.

You could make valid arguments for letting go all three of those players.  AJ was old and injured often, and hadn’t contributed much compared to what was expected of him after making a highly-touted move to Fulham.  Pogrebnyak was a force upon entering Craven Cottage, but faded down the stretch as teams figured out how to remove him from a game.  Danny Murphy is 35 years old, and was becoming less and less capable of making it a full 90 minutes.

However, put these three moves together, couple them with the fact that Fulham are still not out of the hot water when it comes to Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele, and this roster needs some serious overhaul this summer.  While there are some very capable youth ranks who could step in and make an impact (most notably I would expect Alex Kacaniklic to see serious playing time in place of Danny Murphy, although he’s more of an attacking mid), they’re young and untested, and entrusting a youth squad with filling this many holes is very unwise.

I don’t doubt that Martin Jol has a plan, but whatever it is, all we the fans have been privy to watch is the exodus that could quite easily become even worse if the Dempsey and Dembele situations worsen.

In addition, the men he’s allowing to leave are significant contributors from last year.  Between those three men, Jol is allowing 68 appearances, 12 goals, and 10 assists from just this past season go.  And that doesn’t count the possible departure of more production: the 73 appearances, 19 goals, and 10 assists courtesy of Dempsey and Dembele.

And it’s not just what he’s letting go. It’s when they’re coming out.  The news broke that these three men were leaving just five days apart. It’s a bit of a shock to Fulham fans, who now see their club completely barren at the striker position (Ruiz/Dempsey/Dembele their best goal threats now, none of which are true strikers; best true strikers at the moment are Orlando Sa and Marcello Trotta) as well as without their constant at midfield.

So how are you feeling after the shock? Were these the right decisions? Are you glad they’re all gone at once? If anything, it sure does open up some great wage room.

Is Reading Overpaying For Pogrebnyak?

Posted: June 19, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Player/Manager, Transfer
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Despite having bought a house in London expecting to stay at Craven Cottage, it seems Pogrebnyak may be on his way out.

It’s being reported that Pavel Pogrebnyak has rejected a new deal with Martin Jol at Fulham and has instead accepted a deal reportedly worth £65,000/week for 4 years.  That works out to £3.38 mil a year for 4 years.  Sure he scored 6 goals in 12 matches during his loan spell at Craven Cottage. But, not only is that a small sample size, 5 of those came in his first 3 matches.  He scored one goal in his last 9 matches for Fulham, often when he was the main strike option and teammates tried to get him the ball in front of the net.  In fact, after being subbed for just twice in his first 6 matches with Fulham, he was swapped out 4 times in his final half-dozen.  Here’s another interesting fact: in the final 9 games Pog played for Fulham (in which he started all 9 and scored 1 goal), the Cottagers were 1-4 when Pog played the full 90 and scored a total of 2 goals, and 3-1 with 5 goals in matches he was subbed out of.  Not sure if that means anything, but it’s something to think about.

It’s all too small of a sample size for me, like I said before.  Basically what happened is his work rate and strength caught the Premier League completely off guard, and he forged an early partnership with Clint Dempsey to give him many early chances and overpower opposing defenders.  However, once teams figured out how to shut him down, they did just that, cutting off the front of the net and forcing the Fulham wingers to get the ball to Pog in other ways, frustrating the big Russian.

Those 6 goals served the man well, earning him a big contract with Reading, at least the journos are reporting so.  His agent, Oleg Artimov, said

“We are not just talking with Reading. There are other English clubs. I think that a final decision will be in a week’s time.”

We’ll have to see whether the Pog officially signs for Reading or if it’s all a falsely reported contract, but with so many outlets saying the same thing, it seems like a classic case of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”  He very well could find himself with teams battling for his services now that this has hit the press, but word on the street is he’s having a medical at Reading later this week and they are clearly in the driver’s seat for his signature.

I asked my Twitter followers (follow me @FulhamsFinest to get in on the banter next time) the following question: if you were Fulham, would you sign Pogrebnyak to the deal he reportedly signed with Reading? Not a single person replied with “yes.”  I got many saying absolutely not.  The best response came from a great follower of mine who said, “if a 28 year old striker with 6 Premier League goals in half a season is worth £65,000 a week, then how much is a 29 year old midfielder with 17 Premier League goals worth?”  Obviously referring to Dempsey, it’s a great point.  What will teams offer Clint once they catch on to how valuable he is?

The bottom line is this: Pogrebnyak will be 32 1/2 at the end of his contract, and despite having 6 goals in 12 matches in the Premier League and looks to have needed zero time adjusting to the playing style of English football, he looked a bit lost once teams figured out who he was and how to guard him effectively.  Did Reading potentially pay too much for the big Russian? Leave a comment and let me know what you think about this possible contract. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he’s bad.  He burst onto the scene with great poise and was really enjoyable to watch.  This is more about worth than rating someone or not.

I bought his jersey since I was in London for his 3-goal performance against Wolves and that will forever be engrained in my memory as my first visit to Craven Cottage.  It will be sad for me to see him leave for that personal reason, but as a football move, Fulham may just be priced out.

Edit 6-20-2012: The Daily Mail and The Daily Star are both reporting Pogrebnyak’s deal with Reading is more in the £30,000/week range.  That’s more reasonable, but remember, Fulham were only willing to offer Pog a maximum of £20,000/week for 2 years.  Still begs the question, are they overpaying?

#FulhamRetirementHome: Andy Johnson Joins Bobby Zamora at QPR

Posted: June 18, 2012 by Kyle Bonn in Player/Manager, Transfer
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That was quick: AJ’s already taken to promoting his move across London

As many of us have predicted over the course of the last few months, the first move Martin Jol has made this offseason has been to not make a move, thus allowing Andy Johnson to sign with QPR on a free transfer thanks to the expiration of his contract.  The club has confirmed his departure, making it official, and thus he will join up with Bobby Zamora, his former Cottage strike partner, once again.  It’s a move that makes me think about a few things a bit, but also a move that’s not in the least bit surprising.

We knew he was leaving.  He’s 31, and just flat out doesn’t fit Martin Jol’s vision for the club.  That, and the fact that he was hurt for not just much of last season, but much of his entire Fulham career, and that kind of liability just isn’t worth it for a team that is looking for higher things.  So it was smart for Jol to let him walk.

Here’s the interesting part of it that really makes me think: for all the grief we give Mark Hughes (rightly so) for basically giving our club the middle finger, the players seemed to like him when he was in SW6 and obviously still have a liking for him now.  Bobby Zamora certainly did, as he made it clear he wanted to join Hughes at QPR, and now Andy Johnson has said the same thing.

“I have worked closely with Mark Hughes before and there are also players here that I have played with previously, including Bobby Zamora and Shaun Derry. Those were factors in me joining, but this is a big, big club. I have spoken to the chairman and Mark, who both have great ambition for QPR, and it is something that I wanted to be a part of. Mark told me about the plans for a new training ground and how the club wants to go forward. That really excited me.”

It’s clear Mark Hughes, as a manager, is a likeable guy. That doesn’t mean I hate him less for giving us the bird, but it’s something to keep in mind.  Whatever he did at Fulham was obviously well-liked.  I know that before he went all Benedict Arnold on the Cottage, I was a fan of his as well.

AJ enjoyed a good career with Fulham, and I’m glad he was here.  Overall, he scored 13 goals in 86 total appearances.  He just didn’t really excel the way people had hoped when he moved to Craven Cottage for £10.5 million, mainly due to a struggle to keep his body healthy on a regular basis.  Also, I would probably say that, given his scoring record, Fulham overpaid for him a bit at the time as well.  It would have been nice to have sold him in January, but it’s not the fault of the Fulham brass, as Johnson rejected a deal to send him to West Ham.  Fulham also offered him a one-year deal this season, most likely to sign him then deal him, but he wanted 2 years, and Martin Jol very smartly refused to give that to him.  QPR did though, and they get what they need: their short-term stopgap, as well as insurance to Zamora, to help them avoid relegation for another year.

The mission now for Jol is to replace Johnson and, if necessary, the Pog and Dempsey as well.  We’ll see how things sort themselves out, but those contracts expire at the end of June, so things are going to have to happen sooner rather than later.  It helps that Pogrebnyak is back from the Euros now with Russia’s embarrassing collapse, and Danny Murphy is back from his holiday as well.  So we may see some movement in the next week or two.  I sure hope so.

Euro 2012: Fulham Watch Update 2

Posted: June 16, 2012 by Austin in Uncategorized
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Spain romped to a 4-0 win over Kelly and Duff’s Ireland, eliminating any chance of them advancing in the tournament

Again, not much to discuss in this Fulham Watch Update. Pogrebnyak again failed to see the field as Russia drew 1-1 with co-host Poland – a result that they’ll probably take against a nation that always play tough against them. Russia struggled to create as easily as in the Czech Republic game, but then again, the Czechs left themselves more open than Blackpool at the back, so that’s to be expected. It’s looking increasingly likely that the draw will be kind to the Russians in the quarterfinals, with the Netherlands continuing to struggle, and one of either Portugal or Denmark waiting if the Dutch fail to win by more than a goal against Portugal. Group B is looking incredibly exciting heading into the last round of matches, which it should, being the group of death.

Ireland’s dream, sadly, has ended. Their support has been fantastic throughout the tournament, and the singing towards the end of the Spain game, while losing 4-0, was simply goosebump-inducing. It’s a shame to see them go, but hopefully they’ll be able to bring their brand of jovial self-effacement to the World Cup in Brazil. It’s hard to even say anything about Duff in this match, because Ireland simply had so little of the ball. I remember him making one good run and pass in the first five minutes, but that’s honestly about before he was subbed in the 75th. The Republic of Ireland was simply overwhelmed by a Spanish side that look like continuing to improve in this tournament.Spain is still the team to beat in my opinion, although Germany look mighty impressive themselves. Final Duff note: that was his 99th cap, meaning Italy will likely be his 100th. What an accomplishment for the man, and hopefully he’ll play well to mark the occasion.

So, that’ll about do it for the Fulhamish Euro stuff. Brief word about the Lassan Diarra rumors I’ve seen on Twitter. This would be an incredible steal for Fulham if it’s actually pulled off, but I’d be shocked to see it happen, unless he just really really wants a starting place almost guaranteed. I haven’t seen much of him in his limited playing time in La Liga, but based on the Clasicos and against Valencia, he has an incredible knack for not getting carded despite near-constant fouling. Given how strict Iberian refereeing is, that’s some accomplishment. I’d love to see him at Fulham, but I’m certainly not getting my hopes up. Also, it would give us the chance to play two Diarras at once, and that would be awesome. Just sayin’.

Lastly, I feel a few words about England-Sweden are appropriate here. It was a fantastic game, with England seeming to abandon the soul-sucking defensiveness of its match with France in favor of aiming for Andy Carroll’s head as much as possible (at least early on). Kidding aside, it was a good performance and it showed great character to claw back from that 2-1 deficit. There was a bit of fortune in the two fight-back goals but sometimes a team needs that. England should take confidence from that game moving into the match against Ukraine, but the co-hosts are going to be motivated and raring to go for that one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see England behind again; we’ll see how they deal with the pressure of facing an inspired side with rabid fans behind it. Then again, Ukraine could put in a meek performance and wilt under pressure; that’s the beauty of this tournament so far – it’s unpredictable!

Thanks for reading and please comment with your opinions about anything Euro, Fulham, or football/soccer related!

Euro 2012: Fulham Watch Update (and other thoughts)

Posted: June 12, 2012 by Austin in Uncategorized
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Damien Duff and Ireland endured a disappointing opening to Euro 2012, a 3-1 loss to Croatia

So, the first round of matches for our mighty Cottagers came and went, and all in all there wasn’t too much to talk about. Pogrebnyak sat on the bench and watched Aleksandr Kerzakhov miss chance after chance, before the man picked ahead of the Pog to replace him, Roman Pavlyuchenko, scored a fine goal of his own. For the record, I thought Kerzakhov’s play other than shooting was brilliant; he played the role of dropping back to combine with Dzagoev and Arshavin brilliantly. However, even if he is benched next game for his wastefulness in front of goal (Opta provided the hilarious statistic that he is the first player to ever have seven shots off target at the Euros), it looks like Pavlyuchenko will be the one to step up, so don’t expect much time for Pavel unless injury or suspension hits.

As a side note, I was quite pleased with Russia, having decided to adopt them as my team to support during this tournament – due to Andrey Arshavin being one of the strangest people I’ve ever watched, the Pog, and Russia being an interesting place in general to me. They looked confident and fluid, but we’ll see how they do against a big side (assuming they make it out of the group, which they should).

On to our Irish representatives. Damien Duff played the whole ninety minutes against Croatia, and generally put in a pretty disappointing display, considering he is one of Ireland’s main attacking outlets. His crosses were decent, but he wasn’t consistently involved. That said, he worked hard on defense and made a couple of well-timed tackles and clearances. At Fulham, unfortunately, that isn’t what he’ll be judged on, so it wasn’t the best outing. He won a few free kicks, but his one shot I can remember was well wide (which should sound familiar). I’ve never quite understood managers playing him on the right when he’s clearly more comfortable and better at getting to the by-line and crossing with his much stronger left foot, rather than cutting in and shooting. There’s probably something I don’t know, but that’s my opinion based on what I’ve seen.

Stephen Kelly, the final Fulham player, didn’t make the field in Ireland’s loss, with John O’Shea appearing a lock in his position. Given Kelly’s unimpressive one-on-one defending most of the time this season and Trapattoni’s defensive tactics, I can’t say I blame the manager. Unfortunately for Ireland, their plan went awry early on with that strange headed goal, and they never quite looked like getting anything from the game – apart from a few minutes after their equalizer. Croatia’s cross-heavy tactic and two-forward system seemed to take Ireland by surprise. They pushed hard, but I honestly see them leaving pointless from this tournament. Their fans have still been fantastic, as was expected, and it’s a shame to see them likely leaving early.

Well, that’s about that for the Fulham update. Hopefully next time will have some more to talk about. Here’s some other random thoughts about the tournament so far:

First a little about the coverage from ESPN, so skip this if it doesn’t apply to you. Overall it’s been fantastic (presentation-wise), but I have several gripes.
Alexi Lalas is a pompous, egotistical know-it-all whose predictions thus far have consistently made me laugh out loud. Seriously, he’s said already that this tournament will see the “withering of Spain” and that the Dutch “have peaked”. Let the ball be kicked before you start throwing stuff like that around. He could end up being right (I sincerely hope not), but he seemed to be doom-saying just to doom-say.
Michael Ballack is a great addition. His insight and experience with a large portion of the tournament field give him a unique perspective, he’s got a nice sense of humor, and he looks sort of like Matt Damon. He’s struggled a bit with the English, but I think he’ll get better and better as the tournament progresses.
Kasey Keller cannot pronounce names. This was infuriating. His overall commentary was okay, but his absolute butchering of pronunciations was frankly embarrassing. Dzagoev: jay-go-ev (most annoying one in my opinion). Varela: Villa (with an “l” sound, naturally). Akinfeev: ah-ken-feh-nov (seriously!? Where did that come from?!). I’m sure there were more, especially from the Russia-Czech Republic game. I really don’t understand why he doesn’t just listen to Derek Rae and say things the way he does.

About the games themselves:
I thought the commentators were way too critical of Spain in the Italy match. It was always going to be a tight game, and their main issue seemed to be that the striker-less formation wasn’t creating chances, which is just plain wrong. That had at least six legitimate chances in the first half, and actually worked the goalkeeper on almost all of them. On comes Torres, who – credit where it’s due – created chances, but his finishing was even worse. Spain won’t be panicking, and none of their supporters should either; it was a decent performance, and I predict they’ll only get better from here.
The Czechs look weak at the back. They can pass well and create chances, but looked extremely vulnerable. I don’t see them getting out of Group A.
The Netherlands just seemed off. Their passing wasn’t crisp, and no one seemed on their game apart from Wesley Sneijder – to the point that the deadliest striker in the Premier League failed to even make contact with the ball on a great chance. They’d better shape up fast; if Germany and Denmark both win their next matches (which is entirely possible), they’re out.

So, hope you enjoyed this entry, please comment with any thoughts, criticisms, comments, corrections, knock-knock jokes, etc.

Fulham Watch: Euro 2012 Preview

Posted: May 29, 2012 by Austin in Player/Manager, Previews
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Throughout this summer’s tournament, I’ll be keeping track of the Fulham players involved in the action. Expect a quick recap after each game involving a Fulham player, detailing the squad member’s performance (and any other impressions I got thrown in, most likely). So, to begin with, here’s a quick run-down of each and – hopefully – every Fulham player involved in play. If you spot an omission, please comment and I’ll add them to the list; it seems to be a pretty thin list, though.

Group A

Russia - Pavel Pogrebnyak

The Pog’s squad will be favorites to escape this relatively weak group, but they’ll have to work harder than some may think. A slightly-aging and domestic based squad could be the surprise of the tournament (again), or could crash and burn. Pogrebnyak’s generally been a non-starter for his nation, but he started their most recent friendly against Uruguay, so take that for what you will. It should be noted, however, that he was substituted and his replacement scored. Playing time is likely, but not guaranteed, for the big man.

Group B

No representatives from Group B, unfortunately, but Jol will, according to reports, be watching Luciano Narsingh of the Netherlands (if he makes the pitch), so you may want to do the same.

Group C

Republic of Ireland - Stephen Kelly and Damien Duff

Ireland’s Euro dream may only last three games, but Fulham boasts two players in this squad that will look to bring some pride to their nation, if not a knock-out round appearance. Kelly doesn’t seem to be a regular for the team, based on their past few matches, but depending on the game and any unforseen injuries, he could get some time. At the very least, he should be a bit-part player at least, but he may have played himself into a starting role towards the end of the season.

Damien Duff, on the other hand, will look to be one of the team’s star men. He’s been in pretty good form internationally lately from what I’ve seen, and he’ll want to do his absolute best as this could be his international swansong (at least in matches of any huge significance). Look to him to work the wing in a similar manner as at Fulham, but most likely with much more defensive responsibility due to Ireland’s tactics and the strength of their opponents. Ireland probably won’t go far, but at least they’re here at all. That’s an accomplishment in and of itself.

Group D

No one in Group D either, with David Stockdale unlucky to not make the England team over a teenager that’s only ever played in League Two, but I suppose Woy wanted to give the youngster an experience since he doesn’t forsee game time for him anyway. There were also rumblings about Kacaniklic sneaking into Sweden’s squad to add some depth at wing, but alas that didn’t happen either.

So, only three players to watch by my count, but I’ll also be watching and reporting on Dempsey’s performances for the USA once World Cup qualification starts later in June. I’m very excited for this tournament and the summer as a whole for Fulham. Hopefully it will provide good soccer and good transfers!

Till next time, and as I said, feel free to comment with corrections, omissions, or opinions.

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