Craven Cottage Newsround

We at CCN have had a terrific year. Fulham less so, but that might change. Here’s to a great new year to you all. Ooof!

[Right, it's 10am.  I'm up.  Time to get to the ground!  Here we go!]

Roy Hodgson has received glowing endorsements from two Finland internationals, Mikael Forssell and our own Antti Niemi.

I know this is all over the news this morning but it seems important to note. I see these endorsements as being very uplifting. Read what Forssell had to say:

Roy is capable of getting Fulham out of the trouble they are in. Roy is a great organizer of a team. He is the person who will actually keep them up. It won’t be easy, but he is the person that can sort everything out tactically.

He is a very defensive type of coach and I don’t think Fulham will be letting in as many goals as they have been. He did well with Finland and we conceded only a few goals in the Euro 2008 campaign. That is the type of person he is.

He sorts the teams out, he knows what he wants and he demands of all the players hard work all the time and organises them tactically.

Well now, sounds exactly what the doctor had ordered. Organization, defensive first, demands hard work. That all sounds good to me.

Niemi had pretty much the same thing to say:

When I was with the Finland team, it was always the defence first and, for me, that is absolutely brilliant.
He is very good at organising teams. Obviously when you are in the relegation zone, as a goalkeeper you think you are probably leaking too many goals. That is what he is really good at - organising the defence. That is what I am really looking forward to!

There is nothing wrong with us (Fulham) playing football - we can pass the ball pretty well at times - we just need that bit of steel back in the team, a bit of backbone. It looks a bit shaky at times so that is probably the first thing he will try and fix.

The keeper revealed that the board asked him his opinion before securing Hodgson. He had nothing but praise for the former Finland manager:

They asked me about him and I gave my thoughts. It is not difficult to guess that they were very positive. I know he is a wonderful manager with great experience. So personally I am pleased he is with us now.

It has to help to have a player on the team who has so much confidence in the new manager. I’m sure his faith in Hodgson will go quite a distance with the other Fulham players in the dressing room. These are really encouraging things to hear just before the New Year.

UPDATED

(Brian)
Back some time ago, Rich and I discussed doing a sort of give and take on the season when we neared the halfway mark. Here is that discussion. We’re also asking you to join in and give us your take on things.

(Rich)
Last year I did grades for the whole squad but that seems somehow… wrong. So I’ve taken a different approach this time:

Three good things:

(Rich)
This is hard. Let’s see:

1) We’ve seen some fantastic goals this year. Last year’s goal of the season was Clint’s Liverpool goal, which was aesthetically negligible but very important. There were no thunderbolts, no great passing moves, nothing really.

This year we saw Simon Davies’ header against Man City, a near post glance that followed a wonderful move from corner flag to corner flag. It didn’t even get onto Match of the Day’s goal of the month shortlist, but I suggest that it was right up there with the best of this year’s strikes. We also saw Joe Kamara score an improbable bicycle kick to equalise against Spurs. What he was doing attempting such a thing at a time like that is anyone’s guess, but there you go. Against Man City Hameur Bouazza almost broke the net with a free-kick. Against Blackburn we put together a lovely, scissoring passing move that ended with Kamara tapping into the net. Great, great stuff.

2) The squad is younger, and probably better. It just lacks a couple of key players, and has perhaps been playing a brand of football that doesn’t suit its personnel (small team trying to play like Bolton?). But it’s something to build on. Right? Ah, my glass is always half full.

3) Erm… we have a pretty impressive manager now. He has a hole to climb out of, no doubt, but once a few basic things are fixed I don’t think we’ll have that much trouble getting a few wins. The issue will be that other teams will be doing the same.

(Brian)
1) Well, I guess I too would have to classify some of the goals themselves as good things. A fantastic goal can take you a long way as far as memories of a particular season. How often have we said, remember the year when Bouazza smoked the keeper with that thunderous free-kick. So yes, some of the goals as you said. Bouzza’s free kick, Dempsey’s going high to meet the ball and thumping in a header from 15 meters out. Kamara’s bicycle. Three of the more memorable for me.

2) Dempsey’s transition from a somewhat lazy player as he was known at times in MLS to arguably the most hustling player on the team. His desire to win has never been questioned, but by playing in the premiership, he’s taken his game to another level and has become Fulham’s number one scorer and expected starter for every game. This has forced him into being a much more complete player.

3) Moments of brilliance. They’ve been far and few between, but there have been moments when Fulham have shown that not only can they pass, they can do so creatively and with great efficiency and pace. I expect we’ll see even more of this in the coming year with Hodgson and no more Sanchez telling the boys that square and back-passing is a waste of time.

(Rich)

Yeah, interesting point on Dempsey’s evolution.  I remember when he came over and wasn’t being used.  Coleman had said “I’m not buying him to sit on the bench, he’s going to be an impact player” and promptly didn’t play him.  Now, fitness would’ve been an issue here, but there must have been more.   I was sitting on the right flank when Clint made his debut and he went up for a couple of headers very gingerly, like it wasn’t really his thing.   Then he hardly got a look in, and since then has said that he found it strange that Fulham had spent all that money on him and didn’t want to use him.

Something happened, probably just that he got used to the league and had the talent to adapt.  Sanchez deserves some credit here for giving him a chance in advanced positions (Coleman had only ever used Clint on the right wing).  Now Dempsey’s more confident the wing doesn’t prohibit him from getting forward too, so it’s less of a problem, but at first he seemed to be a bit outside.  So yeah, interesting to see this development.  Is there more growth in him?

(Brian)
I’m not sure about growth…well, of course we hope every footballer continues to grow throughout their career. But from what I’ve seen of him on the U.S. National Team he can certainly be a very effective passer in the final third, but he’s got to have the players around him to do so. Time will tell I guess.

Three bad things:

(Rich)
Obviously this is easier, but I’ll try to be brief. Everything’s been over discussed already and I don’t have the energy to go into it all again. But:

1) Selling too many players too quickly. I believe that if we’d had Michael Brown around in midfield we could be doing a lot better. I appreciate that Brown was a limited footballer, but his skills are exactly what we have needed all year, someone to run around in there, tackle, annoy, and bruise where required. Stefanovic can play dirty, so can Konchesky, but otherwise we’re a very ‘nice’ team. Michael Brown was the engine rooom we have since lacked. Volzy could’ve had a go, but that hasn’t worked out.

2) The transfers coming in were perhaps… not the best use of the club’s money. It is, I think, accepted that if you buy domestically you must pay extra for the privilege. A familiarity tax, perhaps. So many managers bring in players, better players, from abroad, and at good prices. Sanchez’s plan was that the first spend would focus on players who knew the British game, which in itself seemed sensible. But what it meant was that he paid too much for average players while not entirely addressing the team’s needs, and left himself open to the sort of abuse we’re seeing now. He didn’t get enough points to carry out Part 2 of his plan, which might have involved some exciting South Americans, or might have involved Kyle Lafferty and Steve Howard. We will never know.

But rightly or wrongly people focused on the spend (£24million) and less on the recouped amount (£12million), and expected a lot. Lost in this was that he’d effectively built a new team on that money, not added to the core of an existing one. So in that sense he didn’t spend much. More than Chris Coleman ever got, sure, but that’s another story. But nobody held a gun to his head and said “BUY DIOMANSY KAMARA, WHATEVER IT COSTS” and for a club like Fulham such mistakes (and surely it was a mistake) are simply not acceptable. We can’t afford it.

3) Everything else, really.

(Brian)
1) I would have to say the disappointment of Lawrie Sanchez. He did seem to come into the club with some arrogance as some called it. But show me a top class manager who isn’t completely confident in his own abilities. If he’s not, he’ll never make it. Lawrie talked the talk and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s an intelligent man. But one thing I’m finding out more and more, managing a national team is a very different job than managing a club side. Lawrie was unproven on the club side, though successful on the international side. His lack of success was only a piece of the disappointment for me. Perhaps the biggest disappointment for me personally, was how he lost the dressing room at the end. He seemed to lack the abilities to use players to their fullest and at the end even alienated his players blaming them for trying to get him sacked. Very pathetic if that story is true.

2) The defense of Fulham. That doesn’t mean just the defensive players but the team’s collective defense has been miserable. I don’t have to go through the misery of mapping it all out again. But some changes must be made, both in personal and in tactics. We can’t keep allowing stupid goals as we’ve been doing far to often.

3) Brian Mc Bride’s dislocated knee cap. Need I say more?

(Rich)

Absolutely.  As you know, I’m gutted that Sanchez didn’t work out.  I saw a bright, confident and potentially successful coach, and yes, it all went wrong.

The defending has been awful, and I think a lot of this is, as you say, a team issue.  The individuals involved are, for the most part, quite able, but we have, again, let in a lot of goals.     One thing that I wonder about:  the Times evaluate all these things objectively and really questioned Niemi last season.   Do you think this is one where he looks great but possibly is letting in things he should be saving?   I don’t think so - he’s made too many amazing saves - but it’s something to consider because last year’s team let in a lot of goals too.

McBride might not play for us again.   That’s a thought isn’t it?   He was going to retire at the end of the year anyway, at least from Fulham,  so I guess depending on his recovery (and there were rumours of setbacks) we may have seen the last of him in a white shirt.  Which would obviously be very sad.

Best player:

(Rich)
Clint Dempsey has played almost every game, usually up front but sometimes on the left wing and sometimes on the right wing. He has often played in more than one position in a single game. He has scored goals, worked hard, and improved considerably. He is not nearly the finished article but the man has more than done his bit.

(Brian)
I have to agree with you. There’s no question that Dempsey takes this with Anti Niemi running a close 2nd. Niemi’s been important for us most of the season but he did have his injury and then a few games of sub-par performances in which Keller came to the rescue. But Clint has been the man. As I previously said, his desire to win is surpassed by no one and he was asked, rather ridiculously to play out of position most of the season. He’s done so without complaint and still become Fulham’s leading scorer. The first game against Spurs, well he was a monster, involved with every goal in the game. Definitely, he takes the torch from Mc Bride for this honor. Well, at least for the first half of the season.

(Rich)

Oh, I’d forgotten the Spurs game, but yeah, that was his best game.   That header!

Most disappointing player:

(Rich)
Could go to a number of players, but I’ll go for Steve Davis. Now, it’s important to state here that I think he’s done quite well, and certainly not nearly as badly as some people like to suggest. My problem here is that I was expecting a real play-maker, a schemer, a first-rate technician running the midfield. Davis has occasionally shone, but all too often he has found himself outnumbered and outmuscled in the midfield: Porstmouth bullied him horribly; George Boateng at Boro did the same, and other teams have managed to stifle him easily enough too. Davis can thrive but he badly needs a minder. I like what he can bring to the team, and he’s only 22, but we need more from our number 10. He can do it, I really believe that. C’mon, Steve!

(Brian)
Though I do agree with you Rich, that Steven Davis has been a disappointment, I can’t think of a bigger disappointment then the Senegalese striker, Diomansy Kamara. A 6 million pound transfer fee and 2 goals is not something Fulham can afford. Game after game he holds the ball to long only to lose it. He often choses not to pass when he has passing options, including wide open players in front of net. He’s started 10 games, subbed in 7 and only has 2 goals to show for it. He does have 3 assists, but we know one of those was a wild swing at the ball which could have gone anywhere but instead went to Dempsey who made sure from 15 meters out. I’m reminded of Kamara’s scoring celebration where he twisted his hand back and forth by his head to let West Brom management know that they were crazy for letting him go. Funny, I’ve been making that same hand gesture towards Fulham board for allowing Sanchez to pay such big dollars for a Championship quality player.

(Rich)

I know what you mean, but Kamara hasn’t disappointed me as much as Davis because I thought Davis would be great, whereas I really wasn’t sure about Kamara.  The worst thing about Kamara is that I thought he’d be a big help away from home, where his pace would help us on the counter.  Well that hasn’t happened at all, and I’m wondering if he’s as quick as people said he would be.   And yes, his football intelligence is very poor.   Hopefully he can be coached somewhat, but at this point he’s been a big letdown.

Expectations:

(Rich)
Roy Hodgson will make a difference. He can organise the team into a cohesive unit and prevent us from conceding so many goals. He will need to identify some good players, good players who are available and willing to play for Fulham, but that need not be impossible. Some have suggested that loan signings will be required, which would make sense as an interim measure, but it means that we’re almost certainly looking for older players who have fallen out of favour and younger players who have not yet made their mark. The return of Montella might make more sense now that we’re using the grass to pass…

Or not. Marlon King is said to be coming to Fulham soon, a deal made by Sanchez but agreed by MAF after the dismissal. He’s far from the answer, but should make a good alternative to dear old Shefki. We need that hard man in the middle, a longer-term answer at centre-back, and an out and out goalscorer, but where do you find such players? If they’re as good as we need them to be they’ll go to other clubs. We might see one or more American player - these players are generally good value - but what else? I’d like someone like Jean II Makoun of Cameroon and Lille (a leggy defensive midfielder), and Cristiano Lucarelli on loan from Shahktar Donetsk (he has said he’d like to play in London, I think, and where else would he go… West Ham?), but both would need serious money thrown at them and neither will change things on their own. I’m sure we all have some names we’d like to see, and of course speculation like this is futile and often boring, but there we are.

From there? Luckily for us there are other bad teams in the league. Derby are all but down, Bolton seem to be stuttering after Megson’s initial kick up the arse wore off, and I don’t see much quality in Birmingham, Wigan, Boro or Sunderland. Reading know how to be terrible. Even Newcastle could get sucked downwards. Whatever the situation now, things can change quickly.

We just need to remember how to win games. I’d prefer us to take a Reading-like approach to the game. They are a team with similarly talented players, but who tend not to draw home games. They go all out and make a game of things, and they win some and lose some. We keep it tight, draw a lot, and get fewer points as a result.

(Brian)
I’ll keep this short since you did a good job of covering it. Ya, Roy Hodgson keeps us up. We have some good games and we’ll have some not so good games. But I would expect that you will see us starting to perform much better against teams that are in the bottom half. Hopefully, that will be enough to pull us up and out of the bottom three.

Specifically:

(Rich)
We’ll finish 17th.

(Brian)
Well, I’ll got out on a limb, be brave and try to believe that Fulham will finish 15th. It’s actually very possible looking at the points that separate the bottom 6 or so.

Over to you…

Sky Sports interview.

Usual stuff: couldn’t score the second goal, but that we made a special effort to close the opposition down this time.   Lewington comes across as an extremely nice fellow, and we know that the players like him.   Hodgson said to Lewington that he is to be retained in the new year, which is nice.

Lewington also suggests that Hodgson will find that the mixture of players at the club is wrong, which is something we’ve said here a few times (which is no great insight on our part; it is fairly obvious), but that with the window coming up this can be remedied.

Fingers crossed for the big game.

A good point earned on the basis of a decent first half and some second half resilience.

The teams exchanged early chances: first Healy latched onto a loose ball from 25 yards and whipped a first time curler inches wide of the far corner. It was the sort of vision and eye for an opportunity that he demonstrates for Northern Ireland. Then Gary McSheffery got behind the Fulham defence but shot high under pressure from a desperate Konchesky.

Fulham took the lead after 8 minutes. A Simon Davies corner was met by Bocanegra, leaping high and between two defenders. His header from 3 yards flew uninterrupted into the net.

Further half-chances came but there was no second goal. Birmingham made us pay for this in the second half. A Fulham attack broke down on the left flank and Birmingham countered at speed.  Laursen reached the area, cut inside and took aim, his shot flicking off Omozusi and past Niemi. The goal had been coming, Birmingham were playing more attacking football and Fulham looked ragged at the back.

We were living on the edge. McSheffery skinned Konchesky (not for the first time), only to have his run terminated by a deliberate trip. Konchesky, chewing gum, showed no reaction to the yellow card that followed. From the free-kick Niemi punched poorly and Franck Queuedrue volleyed back at goal. Niemi, whose reflexes have never been questioned, twisted in the air and flipped the ball over the bar. Great save.

Fulham had nothing now, and the situation went from bad to worse when Hameur Bouazza slid late into Queudrue. It was a stupid tackle from a player who had already been booked. The red put us in trouble on the day and causes selection issues for the future.

The game petered out somewhat from here, with Birmingham pressing and Fulham countering where they could. Davies was constantly busy on the break, running hard and finding space. He had a number of good crossing chances, but never quite found his man. Dempsey fired wired from 25 yards, and Kuqi, chasing lost causes as he does, was just unable to capitalise on some occasionally shoddy Birmingham defending.

Roy Hodgson takes over from here.

I like this. It’s not an appointment that will excite the masses, but what this club needs now is a solid, knowledgeable man who can improve the good players we have and work on other areas of need. Hodgson can do this. Furthermore, his knowledge of European football should be extensive; where Sanchez surrounded himself with what he knew - Northern Ireland’s best - Hodgson should have more and better players on his radar. (This is a good thing because there aren’t many heavy duty defensive midfielders available in the UK; there might be in Europe.)

Hodgson knows his onions: some time ago Brian linked us to the UEFA website, and to footage of several tactical discussions led by Hodgson. It was impressive to see an English manager able to talk tactics, rather than rely on the usual platitudes about being ‘up for it’ and what have you. The game has moved on and you need to bring more to the table than motivational powers. Hodgson can do that. His CV is interesting. Here are the sides he has managed:

Halmstads BK
Bristol City
Örebro SK
Malmö FF
Neuchâtel Xamax
Switzerland
Internazionale
Blackburn Rovers
Internazionale
Grasshoppers
F.C. Copenhagen
Udinese
United Arab Emirates
Viking FK
Finland
Fulham

If nothing else he will have seen football from a number of perspectives and will have an open mind about how he wants to play. Too often under Sanchez we got the feeling that it was plan A or the highway. Here we have a manager who, by necessity, has had to learn different leagues, different styles, and that word again, perspectives. Fulham will benefit from this. I’m particularly interested in his spells at Inter Milan. If he can manage a top Italian club he can stop us conceding silly goals. I hope.

The other good thing is that there may be surprisingly little pressure on him. The club can afford to commit to Hodgson long-term: if he retrieves the season, he’s a hero; if he doesn’t, it’s Lawrie Sanchez’s fault. Hodgson will merely pick up the pieces and plot our progression from there. It’s a nice position to be in in a way, and something that Sanchez couldn’t have enjoyed. If we’d gone down under Sanchez he’d have gone. Now Hodgson can build with the medium term in mind too.

And if we cut through the misery we can conclude that he has inherited a reasonable squad. I don’t think many of us would have too many objections about the likes of Niemi, Omozusi, Hughes, Konchesky, Bouazza, Davies and Dempsey being Fulham players in a year. There are others with ability, and now, with a fresh start, they have to show us that they have what it takes to produce consistently useful football. We’ve seen glimpses of talent in most of the squad, but the suspicion remains that we have too many Championship standard players. The time for these players to prove themselves is now. Hodgson can help. It’s a new start, a new manager, and a chance to forget 2007, a dire year for the club.

With a new manager and a new year we must be optimistic. Let’s see what happens.

(Hodgson’s games in charge of Blackburn under the line) (more…)

At 11:30 a.m. CST, 5:30 London, the club announced Roy Hodgson as the new manager of Fulham Football Club.

Hodgson will take over the team on Sunday with a training session. Ray Lewington will remain at the helm for the Birmingham match tomorrow. Hodgson will also be at the game tomorrow, but as an observer. No doubt to start his assessment process.

I am delighted to have been offered this opportunity with Fulham. After long talks with the Chairman and the board I am convinced that we can take the Club to a new level. I am determined that we will overcome the current position, which I understand will be a challenge, but one that I will relish. I am very much looking forward to training with the team on Sunday, and will of course be at St Andrews tomorrow to watch the vital clash against Birmingham City.

-Roy Hodgson-

Roy has immense experience in all areas of football and can drive this club forward for the long term. My commitment to this club has never dwindled and I am more than ever determined that we have the right man to turn round our current predicament and build for a successful future.

-Mohammed Al Fayed-

Al Fayed was also quoted as saying that Hodgson would “return Fulham to its tradition of playing attractive passing football”.  A comment on what Sanchez had done to handcuff the creativity in the players at Fulham, perhaps.

Here are some links.

First from the official web site.

Sports Illustrated

The Times

Here

Or read on…

(more…)

And so ends Ray Lewington’s interest in the manager’s job. His side were demolished by decent Spurs side today, a defeat that emphasises what an awful mess we find ourselves in.

Lewington went with a sensible 4-5-1, Kamara leading the line and Murphy sitting in front of the back four. Smertin was restored and Davis removed, with Seol replacing Bouazza on the left wing. None of these players had good games. The formation felt right, but Murphy, while constantly involved, had an uncharacteristically poor game as chief string puller. Smertin really struggled with the pace of things, and, as has been the case before, faded as time went on. Seol had an indifferent half and was replaced by Bouazza, who should never have lost his place in the first place. His introduction in the second half gave us some valuable spark. It made no difference, but with Bouazza you always feel that something could happen.

Also introduced at half time was Moritz Volz, on for the dizzied Chris Baird. Baird had been troubled by Malbranque and picked up an early yellow. A second seemed almost certain, so his substitution at the break made every sense. In a mean irony, Volz then was twice booked and saw red himself. Typical.

What a day then. It had started quite well with Lewington’s passing philosophy giving supporters plenty to enjoy early on. Dempsey hit an early piledriver that whistled over the bar, and the team passed the ball around quickly and accurately. Paul Konchesky seemed back to his best, and Davies in the midfield was having a good game. But amid this good spell Spurs took a lead; Malbranque’s drive flew past Niemi but thudded straight back off the post. Robbie Keane, alert as ever, passed the rebound into the empty net.

A second followed near to half-time: Huddlestone - who is not what you would call elusive - found himself in acres of space 25 yards out, and pinged a left-footed shot inside Niemi’s near post. The Finn appeared wrong-footed and did not dive.

This seemed to kill the game off, but hope was restored when Bouazza fired over a cross and Dempsey bundled home at the second attempt. Momentum was instantly lost though, as Keane knocked home from close range following a corner. 3-1.

Huddlestone fired another beyond Niemi’s stretch for four. We were falling apart.

Through all this we had seen the 4-5-1 become a 4-4-2, and then a sort of 3-5-2 as Healy joined the woeful Kamara up front and Dempsey dropped into midfield. Dempsey had another good game, but the weighting of his passes was dreadful today. He remains, however, our most threatening player by some distance, even when off form.

Volz’s second yellow, an uneccessary award following a clumsy challenge, saw the team having to reshuffle again. A fifth was tabled, but by then I had walked halfway up White Hart Lane to beat the traffic.

We’re in trouble.

As I wrote in the preview, I had to work today and wasn’t able to watch the game. The best I could do was follow it on Gamecast. As Jason wrote in the comments in the preview, “Ouch!”

Soccernet game report here.

So go ahead and leave your comments and thoughts on the game here until Rich gives us a report.

It’s funny how many of us Americans haven’t a clue what Boxing Day is all about. Here in the states it’s back to work unless you’ve taken a vacation day.

For the last four years I’ve taken the week between Christmas and New Years off for a number of reasons. Brenda works in the school system and is off during the holiday break and my youngest son’s birthday falls during that period of time. But one of the biggest treats is that some of mates and I along with my son hang out at The Local on Boxing Day and watch the fixtures for as long as we can stomach them. Meaning, from 6 or so in the morning until 1 or so in the afternoon. A breakfast Guinness is usually in order followed by a breakfast shepherds pie. It’s a fun day which I will be missing this year because I stupidly forgot to request my time off and use my seniority during the block of time that I could do so. So instead I’ll be working away trying to follow everything on the internet.

And what about Fulham v Tottenham? Well, the odds are very much against us according to the odds makers. Both teams have sacked their managers. Ramos is a top class but it may take some time for him to right the ship. He has started to get things going in a better direction. Fulham of course is in flux with their managerial situation with Ray Lewington in charge. But the players seem to be happy with him so far as any relief from the Sanchez long ball is welcomed by the players.

Elliot Omozusi is still out so expect to see Baird get the nod.

Tottenham were a bit unlucky not to draw with Arsenal away. Fulham looked much more lively and dangerous the first half hosting Wigan. We will see if they can bring that newly found freedom and energy in midfield with them as they travel across town to White Heart Lane.

COYW

Beside all the normal hurriedness of the Christmas holiday season, we’ve also had so much going on at FFC this week. Which means that there’s been much going on at Craven Cottage Newsround as well. In fact this past week, we had the most trafficked day in the history of our blog thanks to all our readers. But with all the turmoil and unrest at FFC, we don’t want to forget what the season is all about for many of us. It can be a stressful time but it can also be a reflective time. And hopefully a time we spend with family and friends.

I think I can speak for Rich as well and say that we’ve been so fortunate this year to have gained so many wonderful new friends through Craven Cottage Newsround. I’m thankful that Rich asked me to write with him last June and I took the opportunity to do so. It’s been a fantastic ride so far.

So thank you all so much for making my holiday season all the brighter. You guys and gals are the best!

Now, for my Christmas wish list. I’ll leave this out for Santa tonight along with the cookies and milk.

√ - Fulham not only stave off relegation but finish the year in fine form.

√ - A good holding midfielder with good defensive qualities picked up in the January transfer.

√ - Jimmy Bullard regains fitness and has a cracking second half of the season.

√ - Brian Mc Bride’s speedy recovery and a very positive impact on the team.

√ - A new manager who keeps the cohesiveness of the club house and instills a wining attitude in his players.

√ - To continue to make fantastic connections and friendships with all the great readers at Craven Cottage Newsround.

Please leave me your wish list on the comments and we’ll see what Santa actually brings us this year.

Merry Christmas everyone. Have a safe and blessed holiday.

The Mirror:

Ray Lewington will stay in caretaker charge for Fulham’s Boxing Day visit to Totten ham as the Craven Cottage board draw up a shortlist of potential new managers.

Cookie won’t be back:

 ”It gave me no pleasure to see Lawrie Sanchez sacked from my old job at Fulham last week.

“As managers, we all get the sack sooner or later. But it’s never nice and I remember it hurt to be shown the door at Craven Cottage.

“I joined as a player when they were in the Second Division and it was a totally different club.

“Everybody put in so much hard work to get them where they are now. It would be a real shame to see them slide through the trapdoor.

“When I look back, the time had come for me to leave Fulham. I’d been there for the best part of 10 years, Steve Keane had been there eight and we couldn’t go much further doing things the way we were, not investing much money in the squad.

“I didn’t want to leave at such a critical point in the season. But we ran into our first really bad patch of form in four years and we were out of the door.

“I don’t know who they will appoint but it won’t be me.”

Billy Davies might be interested:

The Scottish tactician has been linked with a number of managerial vacancies, with the Scotland and Fulham posts thought to be on his radar.

The Times has a more chilling take on things.  They use the word ‘Souness’:

The front-runners for the job are Martin Jol, John Collins and Graeme Souness.

If the players didn’t like Sanchez….

Danny Murphy suggests that all wasn’t well:

“We did kind of go in to each game thinking ‘here we go again’,” conceded Danny Murphy

Clint Dempsey on the same issue:

“We had a bit more freedom. We were able to play a bit more and pass it through the middle,” explained Dempsey in the Daily Star.

“It was a like a weight lifted off our shoulders. We were able to express ourselves a bit more and the guys enjoyed that.

“We weren’t able to get the win, but I think we were the better side. We weren’t surprised to see Lawrie go.

“We weren’t getting the best results and if that happens there has to be some sort of change.

“Managers are under the microscope and it seem like they are all in and out like substitutions. It is kind of crazy.”

Here’s what Lewington had suggested:

“We all play in a different way and I tried to put my stamp on it,” Lewington said. “I said, ‘Let’s have one pass in between the ones we usually have. Instead of knocking it forward with one pass, let’s see if we can maybe play it into midfield and knock it on after that.’ It was only a slight adjustment, but they tried to do it well. We played some good football in patches.”

Chopper found this article in the Indy, which has more good info on our club (excerpts below):

Sanchez’s position has been reviewed throughout the season by the club’s hierarchy who have been concerned by everything from his spending to his man-management and tactics and, of course, by the results he has achieved with only two wins in 17 league matches and Fulham in the bottom three. Sanchez has come close on at least one occasion before yesterday to losing his job.

Sanchez, who left his post as Northern Ireland coach to take over at Craven Cottage, was appointed only in May after five matches in charge as caretaker manager following the dismissal of Chris Coleman. It was a surprise appointment and, indeed, it is understood that Fulham had initially contacted the agent Athole Still to inquire about the availability of Sven Goran Eriksson – but were persuaded to take Sanchez, another of his clients. The 48-year-old’s immediate brief was to avoid relegation, which was achieved courtesy of the one victory he gained in the run-in – against a severely depleted Liverpool side.

By then, however, there were already serious questions being asked by some at Fulham about his suitability for the job, not least after he quickly alienated much of the dressing room. But Sanchez was given a permanent deal and an astonishing £26m to spend in the summer transfer market, bringing in 12 players mainly from the Championship or from his Northern Ireland squad.

There is a background to the dismissal, which is that Fayed has received three approaches this autumn to sell the club with one offer, believed to be of around £130m, having received serious consideration. No deal has been struck but investors are still monitoring developments while the owner knows that his bargaining position is weakened by the team’s league position. If Fulham were relegated he would also receive nothing like the figures that have been offered.

This is all very interesting.

When I was at university I had a number of part-time jobs to earn a bit of money.  The main one was at Tesco, where I worked for three years in dry grocery.  I met Hady there one Christmas (about 12 years ago) and asked her out down the cereal aisle a few weeks later.  We went to see Trainspotting together.

Other jobs included being a campus tour-guide, and also stuffing envelopes.  In the latter my friend Dan and I discovered that good money could be made at limited inconvenience.  We spent most of our spare time doing little of consequence anyway, so why not be paid too?    The envelopes were generally filled with information about the university to be sent to prospective candidates, or to schools, or to whoever else might have asked for something.   It was great.  We played Animal Vegetable or Mineral, or listened to music, or just chatted, all the time stuffing envelopes with paper, occasionally adding our own messages too.

There were some interesting people doing the stuffing with us.  I remember a pair of music students, Nils and Rich.  Nils looked like Martin Clunes and was very confident in himself, but was quite overt about his sex life, and did not spare details.  Rich reminded me of a chicken, very thin and with a beaky nose and spikey hair.   He wore a leather jacket all the time and appalled all women with his sense of humour and line in dirty stories.  So did Nils for that matter.  It’s why they were such good friends, no doubt.

One thing they also shared was a passion for Led Zeppelin.  Back in the 90s we had plenty of fresh new music to listen to.  We thought we were part of something amazing, and really had no use for Led Zep.  Rich insisted though, and played us some pretty good stuff.  But it didn’t really stick, and I haven’t really listened to the band since.

Then the other day the band had a reunion concert.  It was impossible to get tickets, they said.  Super-hype everywhere, madness.  Big big deal.  On the night of the show a number of celebrities were interviewed from inside the venue, saying how excited they were.  Richard Hammond from Top Gear was there.  It made me think, if someone like Richard Hammond can beat the system and get a free ticket, how many other ‘celebrities’ could do the same?  How many unfamous people would’ve killed Richard Hammond for that ticket?   How many people had gone through the lottery, and how many ‘VIP’ customers had not?

Messed up isn’t it?

Anyway, I carried on, oblivious.  But tonight I’ve driven a long way to visit my folks for Christmas, so decided to pick up Mothership, Led Zeppelin’s greatest hits, for the journey.  I’m not usually one for Greatest Hits albums, but for my purposes it seemed to fit the bill.  So I listened to it all the way down, expecting to be blown away.  I love good ol’ rock music - I have Planet Rock on my radio all the time - I thought I’d love it.

My first thought after listening to both sides?  Great, fine, but I prefer Pink Floyd (a band whose career was approximately contemporaneous I think).  Sorry if that’s offensive to proper music fans, but the sounds just didn’t grab me like some bands’ do.  Oh, I loved Kashmir, and eventually put that on top volume repeat for about half an hour, but the rest wasn’t really for me.   About Kashmir actually - what an amazing piece of music.   It had to be good for them to use it in the Godzilla film, of course (joke!), but still, that’s super-good stuff and might be the greatest musical composition I’ve ever heard (and presumably is even better live).

But the rest?  Not really.  I didn’t even find the guitar parts moving me particularly, and I love guitar wizardry.  Maybe I’m more of a Purple Rain/Comfortably Numb type when it comes to guitar wigouts.  But as I say, I expected a bit more.

Which, as I said, surprised me.  I expected more.   Any Led Zep fans out there?  What am I missing?