The rise of Fulham

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Fulham news

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Youngster Steven McLean signed a contract, which is great news for the club. He is an extremely talented youngster and he has potential to be a big star.
 
September 28th 2019
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This was a fantastic victory. Everton are a tough team to beat, especially at home. In the 4th minute, we were on the receiving end of a third straight incorrect penalty decision. And we were 1-0 down very early into the game.
But we had a plan to disrupt Everton's game. We had specific ways to deal with Lukaku and Everton midfielders and it worked like a charm. Kranevitter and Balanta did a terrific job in removing the Lukaku threat. Without Everton threatening, we played brilliantly.
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We had over 60% possession in an away game, which is very pleasing. We finally got the lead in the 58th minute through a Kacaniklic header. Jiminez came on as a substitute in the 77th minute for Woodrow, who was ineffective. And he made an immediate impact. Kacaniklic beat his man and put in a lovely through ball for Raul Jiminez, who converted the one-on-one opportunity against Tom Heaton. A late goal, but definitely something we deserved.

A convincing victory against The Toffees, despite going down to an early penalty.
 
ECC 2019/20: Group Stage

October 1st 2019
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Preview: This was a reunion of sorts. Lasse Vigen Christensen, who left us for Liverpool 3 seasons ago is now at Palermo. We shook hands before the game and exchanged a couple of pleasantries. He parted on very good terms with me unlike a couple of others and it was nice to see him develop as a player.

Another hard fought win. We have made quite a decent start to this season, despite a lot of narrow scorelines. This was really tough. Palermo, the Serie A runners-up last season gave us a very good contest. Baselli's 23 yard thunderbolt was the only goal of the game. The game was so close that it could have gone either way.

Christensen very nearly came back to haunt us as he hit the woodwork from just inside the box. He has a powerful long shot and I told my players to close him down more after that point. Towards the end, we were really solid defensively and held onto the lead. Another tough win, but a deserved one, nonetheless.
Group G:
It was another reunion in the other group game. Cristiano Ronaldo faced his former club Sporting Lisbon at Bernabau. The game ended 3-3, which meant that we went to the top of the group.
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October 2nd 2019

Winning the Palermo game yesterday was a huge positive but there were a couple of negatives as well. Balanta and Roberts took minor knocks during the game. I took Roberts off, but Balanta played on during that game.

I was eagerly waiting for the full report from our head physio Mark Taylor. Both of them are huge players in the team and I don't want them sidelined. I was pacing to and fro in my room while Taylor was treating the duo. After a while, my mobile buzzed and I went to meet Taylor.

Two broken sentences. That's all he said. "Pat, 5 days. Eder, 2 weeks," said Taylor.

I let out a huge sigh of relief. No major issues with either players. They'll miss our next game against West Brom (home) and may be the Spurs game (away) after that. "That's great news, Mark. So, tell me - do you think Balanta's situation would've been better if I substituted him against Palermo?"

Taylor just shrugged his shoulder, with a grin on his face. That revealed the whole story.

A tough decision for me to take as a manager during that game, but Balanta is the main man in our defense.
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We go up against Spurs in the next game, and it'd give me another chance to face Pep Guardiola. I studied Spurs' tactics and had a good plan and tactic to win. The players were training, with Baresi, Scholes, Bellamy and Vieira training the players on the tactics.

After an hour of intense training, the entire field went silent. Everyone were gathered near the touchline. I was talking with the chief scout regarding the performance of our players out on loan. When I saw the players huddled up, I ran towards them to find out what happened.

I could see Woodrow lying down holding his hip through the gap between a couple of players. And it was as I feared. Woodrow suffered a hip injury during the training. He tried to win an aerial battle against Balanta and collided nastily with him. Both players were injured but Woodrow ended up on the receiving end of the worse. Taylor and a couple of other physios were examining the injury and they looked up and gave a nod that screamed fear.

Woodrow's hip injury turned out to be very bad, and Taylor told me that Woodrow would be out for 2 months, at the very least.

He suggested me to send him to a specialist for a speedy recovery, and I agreed. "Please follow up the best you can. Do anything, absolutely anything to speed up the process. Send him to the best doctor available - I don't mind spending a lot, not in this case," I told Taylor.
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Late, late defeat

October 19th 2019
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We literally lost the game in the last meaningful kick of the game. A really hard one to digest. The clock said 92:39 when Lucas Pratto received a Schurrle through ball and put it past Bettinelli, into our net. What a heart-wrenching way to lose.

The game started with intensity and Pat Roberts scored just 7 mins in. We kept hold of possession quite well and dictated the tempo for most of the first half. Spurs were restricted to half chances.

It all changed at half time, though. Andre Schurrle came on as a half-time sub (as a false-nine) and turned the game. He netted two goals - a long range shot and a tap-in from a cross, that gave Tottenham the lead. I've noticed that my team really struggles when the opposition plays a false nine in a 2 striker formation. I'll have to do something about it.

Jiminez won and converted the penalty just a minute after Schurrle gave Spurs the lead. With the score at 2-2, the game was destined for a draw until Schurrle killed us off with a defense splitting pass to play Pratto through on goal. The striker wasn't going to miss that, and he sent the stadium into a frenzy. Really disappointed about the loss. I think we merited atleast a draw.
 
ECC 2019/20: Group Stage - Mourinho-esque!

October 22nd 2019
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As close to a Mourinho-esque performance as it can get. I have huge admiration for Jose Mourinho in RL and think he is a genius of a manager, despite all the criticism he gets. I tried to emulate his big-away game tactic.

We were ahead of Madrid in the group stage points tally, so I set up defensivelyView attachment 272906 trying to kill the game. Two holding midfielders, a 'defensive - structured' mentality and I gave the front three all the creativity and license to ignore instructions to capitalize on any half-chances.

Real started dominantly, as expected. Ronaldo and Bale tried their best but our deep and structured defensive line proved extremely hard to break down. We had a good 5 mins of dominance towards the end of first half which saw many long shots attempted by my players. More than I'd have liked, but atleast it pushed Madrid back a little.

Second half produced more of the same but we took the very first chance we got as Pat Roberts latched onto a Jiminez pass to beat Navas at his near post. Ramos got a yellow card for his unsuccessful protests for an offside. Real were frustrated after conceding and a slurry of yellow cards followed.

I went even more defensive towards the end (it was a 5330 formation!) and killed the game completely. It was a HUGE victory. I have won against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabau! It might not be attractive football, and many may criticize the approach, but what a result! One of my best moments of this entire save! :)

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Hip injuries a trend...

With Woodrow out for 2 months due to a hip injury, Mikael Lustig decided to injure his hip as well during training. I was pulling out my hair when Mark Taylor informed me of this. He said it was a similar case to Cauley Woodrow's and sending him to a specialist would be the best course of action. I obliged.

Lustig will be out for 2 months as well. Despite his declining attributes and age, Lustig is very dependable in the right back role. Amorebieta, another experienced player will have to step up.

I really hope we don't suffer more injuries at this stage.
 
It's derby time!

Out next 3 League games are against Brentford, Chelsea and QPR respectively. Three London derbies in a row. What a month for the fans. We start with Brentford (home) today.

October 26th 2019​
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We made easy work of our newly promoted, local rivals. We had too much quality for Brentford to handle, and we played the game in their half for the most part. Pat Roberts scored just before halftime with a poacher's finish after Stafylidis put in a lovely cross from the left flank. The goal made my half time talk a whole lot different.
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Kranevitter was pulling all strings from the midfield and he assisted Kacaniklic for our second goal. The left winger made a clever run to catch Brentford defense unaware and scored.

Ever since I started playing Kranevitter as a box to box midfielder in my 4231 tactic, he has been making some wonderful runs into the opposition box. Our third goal was a result of one such movement. With no one picking him up, he scored an absolute screamer from just inside the box that went into the net before their keeper could react. What a strike!

An excellent win for us. And the fans have a good reason to hit the bars in the town tonight!
 
Silencing the Bridge!

November 2nd 2019View attachment 272792​
Chelsea beat us at home 4-1 last season, and it was a key point in killing our title challenge. This time, we got the revenge! We beat them at Stamford Bridge.

Like every big away game, I set-up a bit defensively trying not to concede a goal until half time, and then change things around as needed. With the score 0-0 at half time and Chelsea restricted to half-chances, I decided to push for the win. Not an attacking mentality but a more balanced one.

Chelsea hit the bar twice in the last half hour but out hold of the game kept getting tighter with every passing second half minute. We weren't really dominating but we looked in control. And it finally paid off when Baselli scored a lovely goal from outside the box. A sidefooted shot that was precisely placed. Brilliant goal from the vice captain.

I was delighted and didn't hide my emotions. I gave Baselli a hug on the touchline and then proceeded to shore up the defense to keep hold of the lead. The lads defended valiantly towards the end and came out with a precious win!

Here's Baselli's goal:
[video=dailymotion;x2pk8bi]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pk8bi_fm-15-baselli-goal-vs-chelsea-fulham-1-0-chelsea_videogames[/video]

Celebrations at the final whistle:
There is nothing like beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Especially for the Fulham fans.View attachment 272791
 
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Nov 4th 2019: Looking forward to the Madrid game

Our next game is against Real Madrid at The Fulham Stadium. We beat them 1-0 at the Bernabau thanks to a brilliant defensive display. If we can get atleast a point from this game, then we will be in a great position to finish at the top of the group in the Champions League.

Once again, the focus was on the defensive side of things. Home game or away, we must be solid defensively against an attack that boasts of Isco, Ronaldo and Bale.

We were doing attack vs. defense training and focusing on ways to stop the Real attack. In doing so, Baselli went down to ground after being outmuscled by Kranevitter in a challenge. Baselli's feet got tangled and he landed awkwardly on his back and started screaming in pain.

The physios, Baresi and I rushed to tend to him. He was in severe discomfort. The physios took him away from the field and gave him some medication to counter the pain. After a thorough assessment, Taylor (head physio) told me that Baselli would be out for 45 days or so.

Ouch! It was terrible news. I was in my office when I received the news and I banged my table in frustration. Woodrow and Lustig are already out for extended periods and now, Baselli joins the list. Very frustrating ahead of the big game vs. Real Madrid.

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ECC 2019/20: Group Stage

A hard fought draw against a Real Madrid side that wasn't at its full strength. Ronaldo and Bale were both injured which was good news for us.

Yet again, we were at the wrong end of a harsh penalty call. This is really getting old. I was furious at the touchline, asking the referee why he thought it was a penalty. As expected, I didn't get an answer. Ridiculous!

But Balanta equalized for us from a corner with a thumping header. The rest of the first half was quite even and neither team really threatened.

I was a bit harsh with our attackers as they squandered a few chances.View attachment 272772 They replied brilliantly in the second half, with really good dominance. We put a lot of good moves together and took several shots but in vain. Things changed when Roberts scored a wonderful goal for us. It was a really good counter attacking goal, and Roberts did brilliantly to beat Navas.

With the game headed towards a 2-1 win for us, Jonas Hector spoiled it for us. He cut inside from the right flank and produced a magical goal. It was a fantastic goal, one fitting of a late equalizer.

Here are the two very good goals - Roberts' and Hector's goals.
[video=dailymotion;x2pkiwr]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pkiwr_fm-15-fulham-2-2-real-madrid-roberts-goal_videogames[/video] [video=dailymotion;x2pkj0c]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pkj0c_fm-15-fulham-2-2-real-madrid-hector-goal_videogames[/video]​



I am happy with the point as we sit atop the group!
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Board meeting

The club owner Shahid Khan flew in all the way from America for businessView attachment 272770 matters. He wanted to have a lunch meeting with me and discuss the club's performances and other stuff.

For the first 20 minutes or so, we talked about the club's recent form and he expressed his delight at our performances. He congratulated me on the Real Madrid win, and told me to ignore all the criticisms regarding my tactics and keep doing the best for the club.

Towards the end of the meeting, he asked me if there were any requests I wanted to make.

I did have something in mind. I laid some ground work. I spoke highly about the young players coming through our academy, like Steven McLean, Mike Roper, John Simpson, etc. I hinted towards the club needing better youth training facilities.

Given that we made an upgrade 2 yrs ago, he was reluctant at first. Then, I assured him that I had the club's interests at heart and that the young players have potential to be key players for the club & need the best facilities. I reasoned with him and he finally agreed.

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​Novemeber 9th 2019
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Third straight derby game in the league and third straight victory with the cleansheet. Amorebieta started the scoring with a long range effort. When we won the free kick at the edge of the box, Roberts let Amorebieta take the freekick in the absence of Baselli and Amorebieta smashed it home after the original shot rebounded off the wall.

Kranevitter scored our second 6 mins before half time with a close range effort after another clever run into the box. 2-0 up at halftime, we were looking good.

Artur added our third and his first league goal of the season with a long range curler after cutting in from the left flank. The only concern during the game was Pat Roberts' injury but the physios say he'll be fine.
 
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