Blogger Fail: Moved the site

That's right folks.  Blogger refused to fix a serious Javascript issue, so I moved the site to WordPress and got my own domain.

You can now find me here: www.FulhamsFinest.com

Come on down!

Blah Blah Blah: Your Weekly Fulham Transfer Chatter

Sometimes all this talk when clubs can't even take action and the summer is so far away just kind of goes over my head, but I figured with not much else to talk about, I'd sum up a few rumors here since there seem to be more than the normal amount at the moment:

Player: Benoit Pedretti
Position: Midfielder
Current team: Auxerre
Estimated price: 6 mil
Others rumored involved: Newcastle

Auxerre is having a difficult season, and they are looking to make a few changes.  Pedretti could be one of those changes, and both Fulham and Newcastle have shown some interest.  Like most rumors around this time, there isn't much to make of them other than we'll have to see where the club is in the summer when the window opens, but it seems like Pedretti would lbe a nice addition.  He's played for Lyon, Marseille, and he's been at Auxeirre since '06.  He plays more of a "quarterback" midfielder instead of a strong attacking middie.  Like all rumors now, the conclusion is: "we'll see."

Player: Kalu Uche
Position: Striker
Current team: Almeira
Estimated price: 3 mil
Others rumored involved: West Ham, Birmingham City

Not much discussion here, and it seems West Ham is the much larger favorite to land Uche should he be sold, but he helped Almeira get promoted to La Liga so the experience is certainly there.  He's 29 so he's right around peaking, but he's never scored more than 9 goals in a season.

Player: Artjoms Rudnevs
Position: Striker
Current team: Lech Poznans
Estimated price: 5 mil
Others rumored involved: None

Rudnevs has certainly had his ups and downs, playing for 3 clubs the last 5 years.  This past fall he scored a hat trick including a late equalizer in stoppage time to draw Juventus in the Europa League, but then followed it up with 8 matches of nothing.  He certainly has goal-scoring ability, and not just from easy chances, but he's a very streaky player.


If you have any more rumors feel free to post them here or in the FanPosts page along with your thoughts

Relegation: Are We Still Worried?

It's been 49 days since Fulham was lifted from the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory at the Cottage against West Brom.  4 wins, 3 draws, 2 great showings vs Tottenham and Chelsea, and 1 Bobby Zamora later, the Whites are sitting in a somewhat comfortable 13th place, at the moment.

BUT. (There's always a but).  A mere 4 points seperate Fulham from the relegation zone, in a year that's seen incredible parity across the league table, and among their 11 remaining season opponents are Manchester City this Sunday, Manchester United, Bolton who just beat Fulham in the FA Cup, Liverpool, and Arsenal.

So, here's my question to you: Is anyone out there still worried about relegation? The consensus during the time the team was actually in the zone seemed to be that there was no question they'd climb out.  Well, they've climbed out, but it still is the 19328475014 pound elephant in the room.  I know as far as I go, it's certainly still in the back of my head.

Your thoughts? Post 'em here, vote in the poll, or be really special and do both!

Zamora's Back! Now What?

What a great moment it was for Bobby Zamora to be back.  Not the ideal ending to the game for him I'm sure but it's sure nice to have our best striker back and able to shake the rust off in a cup match.

However, we have a bit of a problem now.  Mark Hughes has made it clear Zamora has to earn his spot back.  But what spot is that exactly? AJ, while not exactly my favorite player on the team, has been at least doing enough to earn his spot, and Dembele has been proving he's one of Hughes' best signings with his superior ball control and passing skills.  Dempsey is a lock at midfielder, Duff and Sidwell have been playing real well, and you don't just sit Danny Murphy, so what to do? Well, here's the only two real options I could think of that would be viable:

Option 1: Replace Andy Johnson with Zamora

I realize that AJ has been playing a lot better recently, however he will stray offsides a lot, and isn't the best finisher in the world.  This is going to be a tough decision for Hughes to make because he likes AJ (more than I do at least) and he's on a run of pretty good form at the moment.  But this is the best option to keep Hughes' current formation (foreshadow).

Option 2: Change the formation to a 3 striker formation

This, as much as I'm for benching AJ, seems to be the best option for me.  You take out a midfielder, say, Sidwell or Duff (alternate them maybe?) and go with some type of a 3-3-4.  Don't take out a defender since that's been the team's real strength all season and when they win matches it's because they are at their best.  Also, when Senderos comes back, it will be a pretty darn good defense.  Finally, taking out a midfielder isn't too terrible since, while Dembele is technically a striker, he plays more like an attacking midfielder, at least in my mind.

This is a good problem we're talking about, when you have an overflow of pretty good players, most in good form.  It means most likely one of AJ, Zamora, Sidwell, or Duff will be on the bench, unless Hughes makes a switch I don't anticipate.

Do any of you have any other options for putting Bobby back into the lineup?

Mark Hughes Disappointed With Refereeing

Mark Hughes criticized referee Stuart Atwell's decision making in the 1-0 loss to Bolton earlier today.
Hughes:

"There were a couple of situations where you think the referee needs to make a positive decision and just waving your arms for an advantage can be a cop-out. In and around the box you don't particularly want advantage. You want free-kicks and set-plays, which we didn't seem to get. In the second half, there were a few decisions we found difficult to understand."

I completely agree with him, although not just with the advantage decisions.  I think the refereeing was very inconsistent the entire match, and that was frustrating.  In soccer, there are often a lot of decisions that could go either way.  And the most important thing in refereeing, to me, is that you not get everything spot on right, especially when it takes multiple replays to confirm something, but that you're consistent in your calling.  The refereeing was the opposite of that in this match, and that's what frustrated me the most.

Also, quick side note from an American: I really hate how in American sports, the players and coaches aren't allowed to criticize refereeing.  Sometimes, it's very warranted.  And it is frustrating when coaches and players dance questions about the refereeing because they'll get fined if they speak their mind.  So seeing someone able to say something like this is very refreshing for me.

Any thoughts?

Fulham 0-1 Bolton: Did FoxSoccer Show Me A Replay?

I feel like I've seen it so many times before.  Fulham downed by a lack of finishing ability and one disaster of a clear attempt.  That's been the story of the season, and it's been the play that at one point put them into the relegation zone.  They hang and hang and try and try and pound and pound but to no avail.  The tale of the game was the same throughout: Fulham got 4502938 chances at goal and couldn't finish, and Bolton got about 5 chances and made the most of them.  Let's break this disappointing one down.

The good:

-Bobby Zamora: If there's anything to take away from this match, it's the fact that Bobby Zamora came back about 10 days ahead of schedule, and did exactly what everyone should have expected: be a factor, but ultimately be rusty.  I don't think anyone can blame him for a few offside calls or the foul or two he had.  It's excellent to have him back and I'm excited for the future of the season with him.  I think he's earned his spot on the front line back, and if he hasn't, he should very soon.  I'm going to be posting in a bit about where to put him, because at the moment it's going to be tough to figure out who to bench.

-Mark Schwarzer: There was nothing he could do on the lone Bolton goal, as the defense failed him miserably.  Otherwise, he made some pretty impressive saves to keep his side in this.  I think it's safe to say that Fulham, with Schwarzer in goal and Stockdale on the bench, their goalie depth and ability is first class.

-Chris Baird: I thought he played well.  He was a factor in the back of the attack for much of the game.  He should have been sent off for shoving Petrov to the ground, but the ref missed it, and both players received yellows instead.  The defense was spotty, but I don't think it was Baird's doing.

The bad:

-The defense other than Baird: We'll start with Hangeland's assist of Bolton's only goal. 

Yuck to say the least.  Headed it right to Klasnic for the goal.  The defense as a whole was very spotty, and Bolton had a very good chance on almost every attack they had, as few as those were.

-The attack's finishing: They couldn't get a good shot in. At all.  But the ones they took were very poor. Dembele and Dempsey each had one good strike but Bogdan saved them both.

-The refereeing: Missed a key tug on Dempsey's shirt, missed a push that should have sent Baird off, and made a ton of other odd calls/no-calls.  Overall a very bad job.  Hughes was not happy afterwards

MVP: Bolton's defense.  They kept Fulham from getting anything good whatsoever.  Fulham was on the attack most of the match, but Bolton's defense kept them from getting closer than just inside the box.  It was an impressive performance by them.

This was a very physical match and Bolton managed it well.  The next match doesn't get any easier.  Time to travel to Manchester City in a week.

The Gudjohnsen Arrival: Why His Story Means A Lot More Than You May Think

We all know it.  We just don’t like to think about it.  It’s ok.  I’m going to say it anyways, but only because I have to to make the point I want to in this post: Fulham is a middle of the pack club.  Sure, they qualified for the Europa league last year and only lost in the final in extra time.  Sure, they may have their moments, their Cinderella story seasons.  But think about that.  They’re only Cinderella stories because they are few and far between.  Chelsea or Arsenal or Manchester United don’t have Cinderella story seasons because those are the expectations every year.

That’s why, as much as I love Clint Dempsey, not only as a fellow American but because of what he’s done for this club, I fully expect him to leave if not this summer, then next.  Hell, if I were him, I’d want out too.  Of course it’d be a tough decision, but he’s given just about all he can to this club, and if a Liverpool were to come calling, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.  He wants to experience Champions League play before he retires, and who can blame him? He’s good enough to be a role player and maybe even start on a Champions League team.  And Fulham unfortunately isn’t that unless something crazy happens.

Relax, I know I put Gudjohnsen’s name in the title, I’m getting there.

Enter Eidur Gudjohnsen.  He is a borderline starting striker for a middle of the pack club who is definitely past his prime but still has a lot left in the tank.  He comes to Fulham, and starts off riding the bench.  But then something happens.  He loves it here.  The fans, the teammates, the front office, and he wants to stay.  Cool.  But why does Clint Dempsey care?

Because maybe, just maybe, this rings a bell in Clint Dempsey.  Maybe Dempsey sees this and thinks to himself, “You know Clint, maybe you’re still at Fulham for a reason.  Maybe you haven’t left Fulham yet because you flat out love it here.  And maybe Clint (and here’s the important part), maybe playing your career at a place you love and becoming an icon at that one club is more important than playing Champions League football.”  Sure, it’s a longshot.  But you never know.

Obviously this is complete speculation, and most likely it would take a lot more than just this to keep Dempsey in the long run.  But who knows, it could be a spark, that’s all I’m saying.  A spark that maybe, with a few more instances of the like with a few bigger name players could cause Clint Dempsey to stay.

I certainly wouldn’t complain.