What nonsense. The is the kind of **** I expected Zamora to come out with when he left, but surprisingly he kept his mouth shut, good for him. AJ did NOTHING to merit being given a contract extension, high earner and minimal goals. If players who play in the wing don't score many goals, how did Dempsey get 23 last season playing on the left wing? Jog on Andy, jog right on.
Danny Simpson He's turned down a move to Reading who in turn have now signed Chris Grunter from Notts Forest for £2.3m. At a guess wages were involved in Simpson's decision so I can't see him coming to us - if we (still) wanted him that is.
Peter Odemwingie Sounds as though Lee Clark has put his foot down (unlike Roy) over Odemwingie's regular shenanigans. As you'll remember we were interested in January but I think life has moved on since then. http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/120717/exclusive-west-brom-star-set-exit-after-clarke-bust-176796 PS I hadn't realised that Simon Cox had gone to Blackburn. It was only a month or so ago that he was being bandied about (in the press) at the £6m mark, so that was probably way off beam.
Erm. . . . but before Jol arrived he was banging them in on a regular basis was he? I was always one of AJ's supporters at Fulham but he's sounding a bit deluded to me. Reports suggest that we're close to signing Lukaku on loan from Chelsea. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896...m-in-talks-to-loan-lukaku-from-rivals-chelsea
Er, (another) bad day in the office. Can't even blame Bandit and his name association. Thanks Captain
Yannick Sagbo French papers say we're closing in on a deal for the 24yr old Evian striker - http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.footmercato.net%2Fpremier-league%2Ftransferts%2Finfo-fm-sagbo-en-route-vers-fulham_88460
As a one in the minority on AJ supporters a year ago when loads of people were on his case, I'm very disppointed that he has come out with this rubbish. Clearly there is a planet problem - i.e. not on the same one as the rest of us.
I think AJ has to be weaned from his physio bench more frequently,before he can even be considered as a premiership regular,let alone an England prospect. Very suspicious of the paper talk regarding unrest between Jol and several Fulham players when it appeared some months ago,but it could have been a blessing in disguise when he got shot of AJ & BZ.it obviously ended the dog wagging the tail syndrome.
According to Sky, our initial bid has been rejected - http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11681/7908692/Fulham-fail-in-Whittingham-bid I understand we are considering a further offer.
I'm not big on this. Surely his is a position we're more than sorted for? Unless Big Mart wants more cover on the flanks? EDIT: The BBC says he could be a replacement for Murph... I can't comment as I don't know what his game is.
Clint Dempsey The mail are reporting that Liverpool have upped the ante and made a straight cash offer of £10m - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2175089/Liverpool-Clint-Dempsey-10m.html?ITO=1490 If true, the immediate pressure is obviously to get Demps as a launch to their USA tour (the Liverpool squad arrived there yesterday). I don't know how they will work the logistics and whether they may cool off if there are delays. However for us, the truth in all the speculation may be more transparent when we know the line up for tomorrow's game against Leipzig.
Sad to say, but I'm with you here Bandit. Every player has his price, and £10m for one who's 30 next year and out of contract in 12 months is too good to turn down. I am puzzled how the press keep going on about Dempsey being a replacement for Carroll. Hasn't anyone noticed that one's a centre forward and the other's an attacking midfielder? Here's hoping Liverpool have a disastrous few months, Brendan Rogers is out by Christmas, and Dempsey gets loaned back to us in January!
Football is about that mix of hopes/dreams and reality - The Heart vs Head (A bit philosphical this early). With one year left on his contract £10m is a good deal for The Club, irrespective of how much we'd like Clint to stay. Although he'll have to wait a whole season for the possibility of CL football which, given Liverpool over the past 2-3 years, is less than certain.
Agreed. £10mil is a fair price given his age and contract situation. Even though Liverpool aren't a Champions League club any more, they are a step up from us and they have more chance of breaking into the top 4 than we do. I'm more relaxed about the prospect of Dempsey leaving than I was, as Petric sounds like he might just be a like-for-like replacement. I'm still not sure whether he was signed to replace Clint or to replace Pog, but he could play as a goalscoring midfielder behind either Rodallega or another striker who we haven't yet signed. With Ruiz and Duff/Frei/Kacaniklic on either side of him, with Diarra and Dembele behind, that could be a nice little attacking unit. Sidwell could yet claim Murphy's spot, giving us the option of moving Dembele up as one of the three behind the main striker, and Baird and Etuhu (if they don't move) are both capable of doing a job when needed. And I've not even mentioned Trotta or Kasami, who must both be hoping that this is their year to establish themselves. In a nutshell, the club have prepared well for Dempsey's likely departure. Even with the major upheaval of losing Danny Murphy, we still look like we've got a decent starting line up.
I'm with you guys; I think we need to take the Dempsey money, though I hoped this day would never come. Ten mil can buy one good player, or a couple of decent players. And with Rodallega on board and (as the Captain said) all our other quality in midfield, I think we're in a competitive position for next season. I'd rather like to see Frei on the left now. His and Rodallega's pace will give us something we haven't (IMO) had since I started following Fulham 7 years ago: dangerous pace up front. Diarra and Dembele in the middle, Duff or Kasami on the right, it should be an exciting year. Play Ruiz as a withdrawn foward, and I think we've got some real quality. And apparently we're looking at a loan deal with Chelsea - some striker named Romelu Lukaku.
I agree that we should take the Dempsey money, if it comes. If it doesn't it will be interesting to see how his form reacts. I hope we play Frei on the right, because he is so heavily right footed. I see him more as an Aaron Lennon or Walcott style winger, rather than a Pires or Dempsey. My seat overlooks the left wing in the second half and, although Frei has been impressive, he has a tendency to cut in. Because of the narrow way we play he is turning into a crowd. I'd like to see us go with Frei on the right and Ruiz on the left. Ruiz needs that extra bit of space and on the left he can shift the ball away from the crowd in the middle.
