Summer 2013 Transfer Rumors

I think this was summed up by Hangeland coming out after the Newcastle game saying our aim this season is to stay in the league. After 11 years in the PL our ambitions for the season have still not changed. I struggle to see how we can progress when teams around us are passing us by both on and off the pitch.

 

It's not necessarily all over yet. The Turkish transfer window is open until the 6th, and


Beşiktaş board member Deniz Atalay - "We are in advanced talks with Kerim Frei"


They are siad to have bid £3m.

 

Blimey, if you believe everything you read, Frei has joined 3 or 4 Turkish clubs this summer!

 

To be honest I think there's only two that could afford £3m...

 

It worries me particularly considering last season where we didn't win in 8 games (and drew once) after getting to 39 points- almost like the pressure was off. I think Jol being quite smart about it all, fully aware that his job is to avoid relegation and minimise expenditure with little pressure (in comparison to other clubs) to achieve much else. I don't get the sense that he is driving to get beyond that- he knows he could get another job easily and providing relegation doesn't happen, given his apparent budget, anything else can be considered a success.

He's alluded to this in interviews saying things like 'we are not Real Madrid' and 'needing to camoflauge weaknesses'. Why he would suggest to other teams that we have areas even he thinks are weak and we're going to try hide them I don't know. It might be an in-house interview but it goes public.

It all sounds like Jol over-egging his managerial value to Fulham- if he thinks the team are weak in areas why isn't he addressing them. Left back is obviously a problem area and I'm not convinced Amo is going to offer a serious option.

We might be alright this season but the chopping of our team with loan players and older players filling gaps without a clear system or style of play isn't going to work indefinately.

 

Amorebietta is a competent left back as well as central defender so we have cover for that spot or even a new first choice.

I am sure all of the loan players have options to buy and I think Bent is an exciting signing. Altogether I am not disheartened by our transfer window activity. It would be nice to have seen a statement of intent from the chairman toward his taking us to the next level as he mentioned when he took over, but we are never going to be pulling £20 million plus players through our doors.

 

Not sure that's correct, as I thought all UEFA countries had to be in unison with closing dates, except for those who's season closed for winter.
Think a Turkish mate told me they closed theirs on 1st Sept.

But I'm sure we've had all this speculation go on with Frei before in transfer windows, either agents or the player being mischievous.
He's only 19, the way I'd deal with it is to loan him to a Turkish or German team to continue his football education.

 

I think we've had a decent window. I can't understand all the gloom about our signings (though I can understand the gloom about our current form).

We wanted a new, experienced keeper, and we got one.
We wanted creativity, and we got Taarabt
We wanted a proven goalscorer, and we got Bent
We wanted bodies in midfield, and we got Parker and Boateng, plus retaining Karagounis
We wanted Sacha Reither to sign permanently, and we got Sacha Reither to sign permanently
We wanted more defensive cover, and we got Amorebieta and Zverotic
We wanted to not lose any key players, and we didn't. The only possible exception is Schwarzer, but most of us felt that the time was right to replace him anyway.

A left back would have been nice, and someone who combined creativity and an ability to play in the deeper midfield role would have been better, but overall we've had a good window. The problem isn't that the team can't play together, the problem is that we've signed so many players that they need time to get used to each other. All the stuff that Danny Murphy and others were saying about Spurs needing time to bed in a new team applies just as much (although with cheaper price tags) to us. When they get used to each others' runs, when the combinations start to understand each other, we'll be a lot better than we look now and we'll be a team that frightens most opposition.

 

Hear hear Captain.
Our last 2 premiership games were disappointing but its a long season. Lets not forget that Fulham aren't a top 6 club. We don't have the spending power. It's the same at every start to a new season, expectations are higher than the reality. As a club we are financially secure, we ahve a reasonable squad, possible extension to the stand plus a few other things too. Yes, a creative midfielder would have been nice but hey ho. Lets all get behind the boys it could still be a decent season.
COYW

 

I don't know what the rest of you have been smoking, but I certainly want some.

Yes, we have made improvements in regards to the squad, but there are still far too many gaps that need plugging. The trouble with being in the PL is that even if 10 out of your 11 players are fantastic, that one who isn't up to the task will always let the team down, as we saw against Arsenal and Newcastle, with Theo and Ben Arfa making a fool out of Riise. What good is having three decent defenders if the opposition are just going to target the weak one? Also, we NEEDED someone creative alongside Parker or we will be forced to play Sidwell for the rest of the season, two defensive minded central midfielder's leaves a HUGE gap between attack and defence, which will again leave the likes of Berbatov and Ruiz isolated as ever.

A left back and a central midfielder who likes to pass the ball forwards, that was all that was required Martin.

 

Well, Taarabt is a midfielder and he is creative. Perhaps the plan is to modify his game so he can play alongside Parker. It's not beyond the bounds of possibility.

 

I am with Bandit on this.

The left side was being exploited by Arsenal and Newcastle. Riise is the weak link in our defense giving too much space.

Parker has an eye for the pass forward and might be an answer. Sidwell can focus on his defensive tasks.

Overall I am positive as long as we field a team of 11 and not 10 or even 9. Also the players need to understand their positions. Dempsey used to drift in the middle but would score goals and run in the box... Dempsey? Not Dempsey again...

Come on Fulham... Our season starts on the 14th September...

 

The thing with Riise is that not even Jol thought he was good enough to start, that why we played pre-season and started the Sunderland game without him. In hindsight it was silly to pin any hopes on Richardson staying fit (him going off injured so quickly was almost poetic) but we still have Amore to come in.

I can guarantee if we'd only signed a LB and a CM there'd be even more of an outrage!

 

The two positions we had a serious problem last year (LB and CM) still remain a problem unless Amo for LB and Adel or Kasami for CM can provide cover.

We are stronger up front with Bent in place of Petric and Taarabt in midfield. Kara and Duff are only impact subs or can start selected games. Parker and Boateng came in for a number of midfielders (Diarra, Baird, Enoh, Frimpong, etc.) who left this summer.

Are we stronger? Potentially. Have our weaknesses been addressed? Not yet as proven from the first 3 games. The win against Sunderland was a well deserved fluke from last year... Can we do better? Yes and it's up to Jol to find the right formation(s) per game and available squad.

 

The fact is, Amorebieta was brought in to partner Hangeland as a CB, not to replace Riise as LB. As Bidley says, Jol should have had a contingency plan incase Richardson were to break down again. We are wasting a quality CB at LB if that is indeed what Jol is planning on doing. This also creates a gap in CB that Amore should be filling. The fact that QPR players used to be fined any time they passed the ball to Adel on the half way line suggests he isn't cut out to be a CM, and Parker doesn't have the athleticism of Dembele or creativity of Murphy, it's wrong to ask him to fill a void that should have been plugged by a player more capable in that position.

 

And I thought I was a Glass-Half-Full supporter!!! Actually, you make sense Captain, but I'd like to see us playing better as a team and have not done so yet.

C O Y W

 

I think the reason everyone is pissy is because we haven't followed the current trend and bought 15 attacking midfielders. I mean, between Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal there must be at least 30.

 

No question LB remains a weakness. That said, potentially, we have as good a squad as we've had for many a time. However Madness hits the nail - it's down to Jol to get it right per game.

He needs to start making selections recognising whether we are home or away and the strengths/weaknesses of the opposition. Too often if a particular XI has a good result he has he simply re-named them for the next game regardless of these considerations. And we've seen this already this season against Sunderland away (a good team selection in my view where we knew we'd have to play a tight game and not as much of a fluke as is suggested) immediately followed by Arsenal home (completely the wrong selection against a completely different style of opposition where we had no width or pace).

 

Don't know SuperBri - tried googling the date and get conflicting answers. What I do know is that Turkish papers are still reporting the transfer today.


" Beşiktaş have signed Fulham winger Kerim Frei for €3 million on a five-year deal according to Doğan Haber Ajansı (DHA).

The latest developments follow Beşiktaş president Fikret Orman confirming talks with Fulham over Kerim Frei in an interview with Lig Tv. "We are in the process of trying to sign Kerim Frei, we have been in contact with him for a long time," Orman said. "I approached Kerim following the Champions League final and we have been in talks since."

The Eagles introduced a new policy under recently appointed club president Fikret Orman to play young players in the first team. Former Arsenal youth Oğuzhan Özyakup played regularly last season and the Eagles recently signed ex-Chelsea academy player Gökhan Töre on loan.

The Turkish international winger spent much of the 2012-13 season out with injury however, Frei represented Turkey in the FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 and has been called up for the national team squad to face Andorra and Romania."