A for instance was the Bayern manager was asked about Drogba, and he said in German that 'Drogba was a great performer', but the English press translated it (Probably by Babel Fish translator), as he had said 'Drogba was a great actor', implying that he dived a lot. I guess the online Babel Fish Translator has an inbuilt Drogba detector.
* Rumoured increased offer of £5m for Rhodes (getting to be as prolonged as the Hazzard saga) * Rumoured that QPR are again in for AJ (this one has legs - the story that is) * Two young Portuguese, both under 17, have signed http://www.westlondonsport.com/paper-talk/fulham-to-increase-offer-for-huddersfield-striker-rhodes/
Chadli says he would like to join us, but only as a stepping stone to greater things. http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/international_winger_issues_come_and_get_me_plea_to_fulham_1_1391584 Is that worth £8m ?? I suppose you might say with that 'ambition' he'll be motivated and if we give him a 4 year deal we could make something on it if he goes after two. Doubt it though.
I wasn't particularly miffed at Dembele joining and blunting saying he's only joining us as a stepping stone, but we can't keep signing players who don't really want to play for us. I mean, sure, the reality of the situation is that we will always be a feeder club until we start finish in the top four, but surely signing players who don't start courting their move away from CC before they've even signed for us has to be a priority?
It doesn't look good to be honest, and I can't remember many players who have said something along those lines from the past few seasons. It's just bad manners and says quite a lot about the players personality. Of course of Chadli comes and is the new Juan Mata then feel free to join another club and pocket us a sizeable profit, but to make this sort of statement before you've even seen a contract offered is a bit OTT.
One down one to go ? Rodriguez of Burnley has gone to Southampton for £6.5m - certainly sets the bar http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/southampton/9297208/Burnley-striker-Jay-Rodriguez-set-for-6.5m-move-to-newly-promoted-Southampton.html
Being a feeder club for the time being isn't a bad thing- it's a good way of increasing our resources ala Spurs. I can't remember many previous seasons where top 4 clubs were eyeing up our players. If Dembele is successful in using us as a stepping stone then our chances of attracting similarly talented young players at a low cost/high sale increases. Over time we can build on this.
That's a very good point, Silkship. What we do need to be better at is not selling those players at reduced fees because they have gone into the last year of their contracts. If we get £20mil or so for DemPele, that's fine. If we get £7-10mil for him because of his contract running down, then being a 'feeder club' isn't going to work for us.
There's talk in the papers today that Andy Johnson's agent has found interest in the player from in the Unite Arab Emirates. I think that's good news for Fulham. He's been a good (though not great) player for us. I think if he'd have been healthy his entire Fulham career, we'd be looking at his departure with some sadness. Unfortunately for us and him, I think he was only healthy about 1/2 the time for us. Also in the gossip column, Martin Jol's minions will be checking up on his players, ensuring they're staying in shape. Assuming Schwartzer heads home to Australia, that's going to be a 36 hour flight for some poor schmuck. I think the next furthest player will be in Texas - about 9 hours by plane.
Good luck to AJ if he goes. And to think he turned down Wigan because he didn't want to uproot his family from the South-East!
Schwartz is busy tweeting from Copenhagen at the moment. Interesting to note that the squad are due back for training on 9th July. Still no news of a pre-season tour/games !! http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/no_rest_for_fulham_players_over_the_off_season_1_1393336
The mob up the road have been added to the list of clubs circling around Dembele: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2152573/Moussa-Dembele-Chelsea-radar.html If he has to go, then the more clubs who come in for him the more money we're likely to get.
The following has been posted on the Club's official website today: "Fulham fans can catch an exclusive interview with Mousa Dembele on fulhamfc.com this Saturday ahead of England's match against Belgium at Wembley." Strange timing but will be intersting to see what he has to say.
Combination of lazy journalism and the fact that he's only got 1 year left on his contract? Our best hope of getting serious money for him is for a bidding war to break out. For what it's worth, I think £12m is the least we should accept. If his shooting had been as good all season as it was against Spurs on the final day he'd be worth at least double that.
Jay Rodriguez - 22 years old - no Premiership experience - uncapped - contract expires July 2013 - £7m Moussa Dembele - 24 years old - Establish Premiership player - 38 caps - contract expires July 2013 - £10m Something doesn't add up there.
Surly, JayRod is a very good young ENGLISH striker who has buckets of potential, but I see your point. We rejected 10m for Dembele in January from Spurs so it is unlikely we would accept a bid of the same amount six months later. If we don't get at least 15m for him I would be disappointed. He is the exact type of player the top four clubs need, bar City. Utd need to replace Scholes, Chelsea need to replace Lampard and Arsene hasn't replaced Fabregas since he left.
Liam Trotter (23), MF Millwall (Sun on Sunday) Southampton, Sunderland and Fulham have been linked with the £2m rated midfielder. Seen him play well, but a Premier player ? I'm not sure.
Probably as expected, only thing of note was his holiday plans - http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2012/May/DembeleWembleyChallenge.aspx Thought he had a decent game last night without having any 'cutting edge' - lot of square passing and a reluctance to move forward into space having passed (particularly when on the edge of the box).
I was glad he didn't have a great game. If it helps to persuade the big clubs that someone else will better serve their respective grand designs, putting them off from actually making a bid, so much the better.
