Saving The Cottage - A Fulham F.C. Story

Kerguelen

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Fulham Football Club
About The Club
Fulham are a professional football club playing in the premier league (well, they were at the start of the 2013-14 season). The club play their home games at 'Craven Cottage' which has a capacity of 25,700. Fulham have never won a major trophy before (that has to change). Their fierce rivals are Chelsea & Queens Park Rangers.

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About Me (The Manager)
Not much to say, except for the fact I'm much better than Martin Jol was (or Martin LOL) as some of us Fulham fans have referred to him by.

Expectations
This season's minimum expectations were a mid-table finish, which is what I wen't for. As a result I was given a transfer budget of ?2mil and a wage budget of ?900K. I could have gone for a higher expectation (top half finish or Europa League qualification) but it wasn't worth it due the transfer & wage budgets not being much higher.

Squad
The squad is pretty disappointing in all honesty. We have probably the oldest squad in the Premier League. Also there is a distinct lack of creative players in the squad. When Steve Sidwell is your most creative central midfielder you know you have problems.

Key Players


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Dimitar Berbatov (ST), Brede Hangeland (DF) & Scott Parker (MF) will all be key players players for me and hopefully they will stay fit throughout the season. The trio are actually very good players, but the issue is all 3 of them are 32 years old, and probably only have 2 good seasons left in them.

Star Youth Players

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We have a very good youth squad, and have many youngsters who have the potential to become first team players in the future and even star players in the future. Our best prospect is 16 year old Patrick Roberts.

What To Expect In The Next Update
Our pre-season fixtures.
The tactics I will be using.
New signings, and outgoing players.
 
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I shall follow this, I was thinking of a Fulham save myself! :p
 
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Pre-Season
We were fairly busy during the pre-season.
We went on a tour of Greece & Cyprus for our friendly games.
A few incoming players as well a a few outgoing players.

Pre-Season Fixtures

Skoda Xanthi 0-2 Fulham

OFI Crete 3-6 Fulham

Iraklis 0-5 Fulham

Panionios 3-3 Fulham

AEK Larnakas 0-1 Fulham

AEL Limassol 1-4 Fulham

Paralimni 0-4 Fulham

Apollon Limassol 0-3 Fulham

I'm pleased with how our pre-season fixtures went. We played a fair amount of fixtures as I felt it was important for my team to get familiar with my ideas, tactics and ways of playing.

Tactics

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These are the tactics I will be using. They seemed to have worked fairly well in pre-season, so lets hope they work just as well, or even better in the competitive games.

Players In

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Giacomo Bonaventura (?9.25mil) - We were lacking in creativity and I needed a player who can really run a midfield and make chances for our strikers. I'm hoping that the Italian can do that for me. He was a fairly expensive signing so I really need this one to work out. Giacomo will take the attacking midfield spot.

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Albin Ekdal (?2.4Mil) - We go back to the Siere A for out 2nd signing. The Swedish international is good player who is also fairly balanced. Albin also has the ability to really run a midfield, but from a more deep-lying position. He will partner Scott Parker in the center of midfield.

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Simone Missiroli (?4.0mil) - We again raid the Serie A for our 3rd and final signing. I needed another striker as a back-up to Dimitar Berbatov, and I feel we have found a solid player in the former Sassuolo man. Simone is a very versatile player and can play on the right wing, left wing & in attacking midfield.

Transfer Center / Players Out


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The notable outgoing players are 'Bryan Ruiz' to Everton & 'Hugo Rodallega' to Rubin Kazan.
I wasn't too keen on selling Ruiz but I needed the money to bring in Bonaventura who is 4 years younger and potentially better.
Hugo Rodallega had to go. He's not a great player and his wages were fairly high so it definitely made sense to ship him off.
The other 3 outgoing players are youngsters going on loan for first-team football.
The loan's of Darren Bent & Adel Tarrabt were also terminated as they don't fit into my plans and we were paying their fairly high wages.

What To Expect In The Next Update
The start of the Premier League campaign.
Hopefully we can get of to a good start.
We will unfortunately be missing 'Dimitar Berbatov' for the first few matches as he picked up an ankle injury in pre-season.
 
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August
Not a bad start for us.
We cope with the absence of Dimitar Berbatov.
4 points from our first 2 Premier League Fixtures.
We progress in the Capital One Cup.

August Fixtures

Norwich 2-3 Fulham (Premier League)
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A win on the first day of the season is always good. Norwich started of the stronger, but we took the lead with 'Simone Missiroli' scoring on his debut. Norwich generally had more of the ball and created more chances, but Simone Missiroli was on fine from and after 72 minutes the striker had completed a debut hat-trick and we were 3-0 up. However our defense switched off & we conceded 2 goals in the final 15 minutes to ensure it was a nervy ending. Still I can't complain and i'm satisfied with a 3-2 win here.

Fulham 1-1 Cardiff (Premier League)
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I am disappointed to only draw with Cardiff as we were at home. We took the lead in the 2nd minute via 'Simone Missiroli' who is having an outstanding start to his Fulham career. We conceded not long after the half-time break, and although we were the better side over the 90 minutes, we couldn't take all 3 points.

Yeovil 0-3 Fulham (Capital One Cup 2nd Round)
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We were drawn away to Championship side Yeovil, and I decided it would be a good opportunity to rest some of my first-team players. Attacking midfielder 'Pajtim Kasami' got us off to a good start scoring 2 goals in the first 20 minutes. We got a 3rd goal mid-way through the 2nd half via an own goal which completed an impressive 3-0 win.

Premier League Table

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We sit in 9th place after 2 games. Most teams have played 3 games so far so we have a chance to move further up the table once we play our game in hand.

Player Of The Month

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Striker 'Simone Missiroli' was our best player this month, scoring 4 goals in 2 games. The new signing had a debut to remember, scoring a hat-trick away to Norwich as well as scoring a goal against Cardiff.

What To Expect In The Next Month
Can we build on what has been a fairly good start to our Premier League campaign?
Key striker 'Dimitar Berbatov' will be back from injury, which can only be a good thing.
Will we enter the transfer market for any last minute deals? Will anyone leave?
 
Like the story already mate, easy to read and enjoyable....some good signings made by you...look forward to future updates :)
 
love this story, I am a Chelsea fan myself and have always had a soft spot for Fulham, love the little teaser of what to expect in the next update.
 
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September
Again not a bad month for us.
A couple of good results in the league.
Unfortunately we are kicked out of the Capital One Cup.

September Fixtures

Swansea 2-1 Fulham (Premier League)
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Disappointed to lose this game. It was a bad start for us, with 'Jonjo Shelvey' giving Swansea the lead in the 2nd minute of the game. We fought back and deservedly equalized midway through the 2nd half via 'Philippe Senderos'. With it looking likely we would get a deserved point, we were left very frustrated as 'Wilfried Bony' scored a late winner for Swansea.

Fulham 2-1 Hull (Premier League)
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We bounce back with a win over Hull. The first half was fairly dull, with a lack of decent chances for either team. Minutes after half-time Hull took the lead. We hit back 3 minutes later with a goal from winger 'Ashkan Dejagah'. 10 minutes later we were given a penalty, and 'Ashkan Dejagah' stepped up and put it away scoring his 2nd goal of the match. The game ended 2-1 and while i'm happy with the win, the performance still could have been better.

Newcastle 1-2 Fulham (Premier League)
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I'm still not too sure how we managed to win this game. Newcastle were dominant through out most of the 1st half, but we managed to take the lead 10 minutes before the break via 'Ashkan Dejagah'. Minutes into the 2nd half we made it 2-0 with a rare goal from 'Scott Parker'. Newcastle deservedly got a goal back 5 minutes later, and continued to press for an equalizer but we managed to hold out for the win.

Fulham 0-1 Hull (Capital One Cup 3rd Round)
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I decided to rest a few players for this game, but that decision clearly backfired. Hull put out their first team & even though it was a fairly dull game Hull did look the more dangerous. It looked like we were heading into extra time, until 'Tom Huddlestone' scored a stunning long range strike in what was virtually the last kick of the game to give Hull the win. Very annoyed to be out of the Capital One Cup.

Fulham 2-0 Arsenal (Premier League)
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Definitely our best performance so far. 15 minutes into the game we were given a penalty. 'Dimitar Berbatov' stepped up confidently and gave us the lead. Just before half-time 'Philippe Senderos' the ex-Arsenal defender doubled our lead with a header from a corner. Overall we were probably the better team and deserved the win. Delighted with this performance & result.

Premier League Table

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After winning 3 of our 4 Premier League fixtures this month we are up to 4th in the table. Only 6 league games played so far, so we won't be getting ahead of ourselves.

Player Of The Month

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Winger 'Ashkan Dejagah' was our best player this month, scoring 3 goals for us in the Premier League.

Transfer Center

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We didn't sign any more players, but 1 player did leave. 17 year old 'Emerson Hyndman' joins French giants 'PSG' for a fee of ?3.2mil. I honestly didn't see what they saw in him & i'm happy to pick up over ?3mil for a player who I couldn't see making it for us.

What To Expect In The Next Update
A few difficult fixtures in October.
How will we fare in games against Liverpool & Man City?
 
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October
Mixed fortunes this month.
It was a short month, with only 3 fixtures.

October Fixtures

Liverpool 0-1 Fulham (Premier League)
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A brilliant result. I wasn't expecting anything at Anfield. 'Dimitar Berbatov' gave us the lead just after 15 minutes with a close ranged finish. I'm very happy with the way my defense frustrated Liverpool's star striker 'Luis Suarez'. It was a fairly even game overall & both sides had a couple of decent chances.

Fulham 1-1 Stoke (Premier League)
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Slightly disappointed with a draw here as we were at home. We took the lead fairly early into the game via 'Dimitar Berbatov'. Stoke managed to get an equalizer 15 minutes from the end with 'Ryan Shawcross' scoring a header from a set-piece. The game overall was very even & the draw was a fair result.

Fulham 0-5 Man City (Premier League)
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I had expected to lose this game, but not like this. It was very painful to watch. As soon as Man city got their first goal, after a very stupid mistake from our keeper it was all over. Man City showed why they were favorites to win the title this year, and we showed that we are not as good as the league table suggests.

Premier League Table

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We remain in 4th place this month, despite the battering we received from Man City. We are currently 3 points ahead of 5th placed Arsenal, which obviously is a great position to be in, but I just can't see us staying so high up the table.

Player Of The Month


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Key striker 'Dimitar Berbatov' was our best player this month. He scored 2 goals in our 3 fixtures this month.

What To Expect In The Next Update

Can we recover from the thrashing Man City gave us?
Will we still remain in 4th place by the end of November?
 
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November
Overall a fairly good month.
I get a new contract already
:).
The first 2 sackings take place.
Liverpool sack Brendan Rogers & Newcastle sack Alan Pardew.

November Fixtures


Aston Villa 0-3 Fulham (Premier League)
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We needed to bounce back from our last game against Man City & we done it in style. 'Dimitar Berbatov' gave us the lead inside 15 minutes. For a while Aston Villa had large spells of possession but we didn't allow them to do much with the ball. 'Dimitar Berbatov' doubled our lead midway through the 2nd half, and midfielder 'Albin Ekdal' scored his first goal for the club 10 minutes from time to complete a very impressive victory.

Fulham 0-3 Southampton (Premier League)
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We are back to square one with another heavy home defeat, this time at the hands of Southampton :mad:. Easily our worst performance of the season. We were dominated from start to finish and Southampton deserved their 3-0 victory. We need to bounce back again in our next fixture.

Crystal Palace 0-3 Fulham (Premier League)
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We managed to bounce back again with dominant performance over Crystal Palace. 'Gabriel Tamas' was sent off for Crystal Palace within 5 minutes which obviously helped us. 'Dimitar Berbatov' opened the scoring for us 10 minutes before half time. Our lead was doubled with an amazing goal from 'Giacomo Bonaventura' mid-way through the 2nd half & 2 minutes later 'Dimitar Berbatov' scored from the penalty spot to make it 3-0. Very happy with this performance.

Sunderland 1-1 Fulham (Premier League)
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I'm satisfied with a draw in this game. We took the lead in the 9th minute with a goal from central defender 'Fernando Amorebieta'. Neither side created many chances, but we edged the 1st half. Sunderland equalized just 2 minutes into the 2nd half via 'Steven Fletcher'. Still neither side were creating many chances, but he black cats were probably the better side in the 2nd half. A draw was a fair result.

Premier League Table

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Another month goes by, and we still remain in 4th place. I really didn't expect to be this high up the table. There are a few shocks in the table right now, with Newcastle in the relegation zone & Liverpool hovering just above the relegation zone in 17th place.

Player Of The Month


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'Dimitar Berbatov' was our best player for the 2nd month running. The striker scored 4 goals this month, helping us record away victories over Aston Villa & Crystal Palace.

New Contract For Me

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Yeah.. I got a new contract after the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace. I was surprised to be offered a new one so soon, but I guess Fulham don't want to lose me :). Not that I was thinking of going anywhere lol.

What To Expect In The Next Update
How will we cope with a fairly busy December schedule?
Our away form has been brilliant, but our home form not so good. Will our home performances improve?
 
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December
A really good month.
We had some very difficult fixtures.
Our home form improved dramatically.

December Fixtures

Fulham 3-0 West Ham (Premier League)
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A great performance here. 'Giacomo Bonaventura' opened up the scoring with a good finish just over 25 minutes into the game. 10 minutes later defender 'Fernando Amorebieta' doubled our lead. West Ham improved in the 2nd half but we didn't let them get any clear chances, and we got a 3rd goal via an own goal from one of their defenders.

Fulham 1-0 Tottenham (Premier League)
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A very good win for us. Tottenham got off to a strong start creating a few early chances, but we managed to break and take the lead with a goal from 'Ashkan Dejagah' just after 15 minutes. From then until half-time the game turned fairly quiet. In the 2nd half Tottenham were strong again and caused my defense a few nervy moments, but we managed to hold on and take all 3 points.

Fulham 1-0 Man Utd (Premier League)
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A shock win for us. I though we could be in for a long game when Man Utd started of very strong with some decent chances which they didn't take. As the 1st half wen't on we were able to stop Man Utd from creating so many chances, but we weren't creating much of our own. The 2nd half started the same way the 1st half finished, but the game chanced when 'Rafael' was sent off for Man Utd. We started to create a few chances & 'Dimitar Berbatov' came back to haunt his old club & scored the winner in the 75th minute.

Everton 4-1 Fulham (Premier League)
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A strong Everton side were too much for us today. After a pretty dull start Everton started to take control of the game, and took the lead via 'Gerard Deulofeu'. Not long later Everton got lucky and wen't 2-0 up via an own goal. I wen't on the attack in the 2nd half to try and get back into the game, but 'Romelu Lukaku' decided to go into beast mode and score twice making it 4-0. We got a goal back via 'Simone Missiroli' but it meant nothing. A poor day for us.

Chelsea 3-0 Fulham (Premier League)
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I had expected to lose this game so I rested a lot of my first team players as we had a winnable game 2 days later. Chelsea completely dominated the 1st half, yet just couldn't find the back of the net. Early into the 2nd half 'Oscar' gave Chelsea the lead. Chelsea had a 'Ryan Bertrand' sent off in the 60th minute, but almost straight away 'Demba Ba' doubled Chelsea's lead. 'Fernando Torres' scored a 3rd not long later. I had expected this kind of loss so I can't really be disappointed.

Fulham 4-1 West Brom (Premier League)
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My rested first-tram players came back for a very winnable game against West Brom & we took the lead in the 7th minute via captain 'Brede Hangeland'. Not long later, we doubled our lead with winger 'Alex Kacaniklic' scoring his first of the season. It was 3-0 not long later with 'Ashkan Dejagah' scoring. West Brom did get a goal back with their first decent attack, but 'Dimitar Berbatov' made it 4-1. All this before half-time. In the 2nd half we just controlled the game and saw it out. This was a performance I was very happy with.

Premier League Table

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We are still 4th in the table at the half-way point. I can't believe how high we still are. At the start of the season I had expected to be closer to 14th than 4th. It's still pretty tight from 3rd-7th with only 4 points separating 5 teams. If we do manage Europa League football this year it would be such a great achievement. I don't feel Champions League football is anywhere near realistic for us yet.

Player Of The Month

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Attacking midfielder 'Giacomo Bonaventura' has been brilliant this month. He's probably been our best player overall for the first half of the season. The ?9.25mil spent on him in the summer doesn't look expensive at all now.

What To Expect In The Next Update
Can we keep up this level of performance as we enter the 2nd half of the season?
With the January window open will I be able to bring in anyone despite not having much money left?
Will any of my fringe players be leaving the club?
 
Nice way to tell the story! I think I might adapt it if starting a new story after my RB Leipzig adventure. Keep it up!
 
FOR **** SAKE!!!!!!!!!! IF I DIDN'T HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SELF CONTROL MY LAPTOP WOULD HAVE FLOWN OUT OF THE WINDOW!!

The game has unfortunately crashed :'(. I was enjoying playing with my beloved Fulham :'(.

Seem's like everything to do with Fulham this year is cursed :(.
 
FOR **** SAKE!!!!!!!!!! IF I DIDN'T HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SELF CONTROL MY LAPTOP WOULD HAVE FLOWN OUT OF THE WINDOW!!

The game has unfortunately crashed :'(. I was enjoying playing with my beloved Fulham :'(.

Seem's like everything to do with Fulham this year is cursed :(.

NOOOOOOOO
 
I am a fulham fan and I always play my first save with fulham, I must say the signings you made are awful, Shocking, terrible apart from Ekdal... he is a leg end! But to spend all that money on bonaventura and that striker with 11 finishing is a absolute crime!
The reason why your doing so well is coz you r using a exploit.
 
I am a fulham fan and I always play my first save with fulham, I must say the signings you made are awful, Shocking, terrible apart from Ekdal... he is a leg end! But to spend all that money on bonaventura and that striker with 11 finishing is a absolute crime!
The reason why your doing so well is coz you r using a exploit.

What was with the harsh message? If you haven't read the above post's you would know that this short-lived story ended weeks ago when my save crashed.
Also if you feel Bonaventura & Missiroli were not great signings, that's your opinion. Some people have success with different players.
Finally to say I was only doing well because of an exploit is just plain stupid. I've never used exploits or other peoples tacrics. I create my own tactics which I use on my save.
To be honest you sound pretty jealous that someone was doing well with your beloved Fulham. Maybe you should look at yourself before you start going around accusing others of things.
 
No not jealous, it shows you are a good tactician to be doing so well with the squad. I still cant believe you spunked the transfer budget on them players. here are the players you could of had. (Ekdal is a ledge i completely agree with that signing)

Bertolacci- CM- 2-5mil
Florenzi- CM/AM 5-9mil
Belhanda- AM 7-9mil
Insigne-RW/LW 7-9mil
Goretzka- CM 4-6mil
 
No not jealous, it shows you are a good tactician to be doing so well with the squad. I still cant believe you spunked the transfer budget on them players. here are the players you could of had. (Ekdal is a ledge i completely agree with that signing)

Bertolacci- CM- 2-5mil
Florenzi- CM/AM 5-9mil
Belhanda- AM 7-9mil
Insigne-RW/LW 7-9mil
Goretzka- CM 4-6mil


Those are all quality players you have listed. I wouldn't have expected them to be interested in Fulham, not in the first season anyway. I thought Younes Belhanda had just moved to Dynamo Kiev, so he shouldn't be interested in moving just yet.
Did you sign them all in the first window on your Fulham save?
 
Yea got him even though he had just moved. In various saves i have signed all of them. Usually go for Bertolacci and Insigne and Florenzi. And Bellusci the CB for 2mil, I sell a good part of the squad to increase the budget and spread some fee's over 48months.

My previous message wasnt supposed to be so offensive, I would have liked to see how your save progressed its a shame it got corrupted.
 
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