EPL Talk » Bobby Zamora

Fabulous Fulham Send The Old Lady Crashing Out Of Europe

Paul Bestall — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:29:17 +0000

European football occasionally throws up the odd freak result, but sometimes you witness a display of football brilliance so sharp it takes your breath away. Tonight, Fulham dazzled and displayed such panache against the tottering giants of Italian football, Juventus, that you had to check that things had really happened.

For a side who are enjoying only their second season of European football, tonight will be remembered as one of the sides greatest achievements. 3-1 down from a first leg that threatened to run away from them and incredibly 4-1 down when Trezeguet shot the Old Lady ahead after just two minutes, Fulham rose to the challenge and surpassed all expectations.

There is no doubt that Roy Hodgson is certainly writing a rather large chapter in Fulham’s history books and his continued success is testament to his ability, so often overlooked in England. After this latest success, there is no hiding from the fact that he has transformed Fulham from also rans to a dynamic football side. In just under two and half years, Hodgson has turned the Cottagers from relegation fodder to a fast improving side challenging for regular Europa League football.

Tonight, the watching Fabio Capello couldn’t have helped to be impressed by Bobby Zamora. He made Cannavaro look like he’d never played the game before tonight, despite his age. It was only a matter of time before Cannavaro, constantly struggling to cope with Zamora’s strength and power, would see red and when it happened, Juventus capitulated.

The cries for Zamora’s inclusion in the England squad will surely grow louder after this display. He’s clearly enjoying his best ever season in top flight football .With Crouch and Heskey struggling for form and goals and Carlton Cole finding fitness hard to come by, he could be a late inclusion for South Africa.

Three months ago, such a proclamation would be greeted with jeers, now it seems like common sense. His only problem would seem to be the lack of international football before now and the announcement of the squad. The newly announced friendly on May 26th would seem to be his only chance, but Capello likes players in form and Zamora is bang in the middle of a never ending purple patch.

The icing on the cake for Fulham tonight was supplied by Clint Dempsey with a wonderful goal to take them 5-4 ahead on aggregate. A sublime chip of real quality, it was a breath taking strike that deserved to win a World Cup final, never mind a last sixteen match in the Europa League. Another red card followed for the shell-shocked I Bianconeri as Duff was spitefully kicked by Zebina. Fulham fans couldn’t believe what they were witnessing, it was a footballing masterclass.

The re-emergence of Damien Duff too, who struggled for so long as Newcastle United slowly died a lingering death shouldn’t be overlooked. Having seemingly lost his way after leaving Chelsea, Duff has rediscovered the form that caused Chelsea to pay £18 million for the left winger back in 2004. It shouldn’t be understated that Hodgson was Duff’s first manager, the relationship now coming full circle. It seems to be a situation that has paid dividends for both of them.

Nights like tonight don’t come around too much for fans who support any other club outside England’s big four and there will be plenty of sore heads tomorrow morning in West London. For a club renowned for its friendliness, it’s a marvelous result that will be etched on every single fans collective consciousness forever. A fabulous advert for football and a complete anti-thesis to the performance seen at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday from the neighbours and rivals.

I truly wish the draw for the Quarter-Finals is kind to them, but after dispatching Juventus and defending champions, Shaktar Donetsk prior to that, I think teams will be wanting to avoid Fulham rather than the other way round. Congratulations to Fulham and I hope their fans soak in every minute of tonight, where can this European adventure take them? It was probably the best game I’ve seen all season and one of the best performances by an English club in Europe I’ve ever seen.

Hodgson and Fulham Set To Continue The Good Work

Paul Bestall — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:38:53 +0000

Over the years since he bought an ailing and abject club, Mohamed Al Fayed has certainly made some “interesting” decisions over the years. Whilst Mickey Adams was rewarded for taking the team up to Division One by being sacked in September 1997, after Al Fayed deemed him “not high profile enough”, Fulham were making major progress under Adams. Eventually Al-Fayed returned them to the top tier of English football after an absence of 32 years which was certainly some achievement. Yet, for me, his best achievement by some way was the decision to appoint Roy Hodgson to attempt and keep Fulham in the Premiership.

As he looks set to extend his stay with a new contract, the sky is the limit for Fulham under Hodgson.Christmas 2007 saw Fulham rooted in the relegation zone, after Lawrie Sanche’z disastrous tenure as manager. A reliance on Championship players and a high defensive line with no pace saw them caught out time and again and it was no surprise that Sanchez was given his marching orders. Hodgson came in to try and keep a side up and it seemed a tough ask, even for someone of his talents.

Of course, Fulham’s heriocs under Hodgson that season are well documented, but they pushed on again last season to finish 7th, their highest ever league finish in the top flight of English football, bringing with it a chance to compete in Europe for only the second time in the club’s history. Currently sitting in 10th, nicely placed behind the pack chasing 4th place, Fulham are in their best shape for years. There is no doubting the effect that Hodgson has had on the side and Fulham have gone from strength to strength under his stewardship.

The capture of Brede Hangeland, coupled with the renaissance of Danny Murphy along with several other canny signings, notably Damien Duff, has continued to build on the confidence that avoiding relegation created. Sometimes when a side avoids relegation, it can simply be a case of denying the inevitable, but Fulham have used it as a springboard to bigger and better things. Utilising his skills gained in international and continental football has given them a more expansive and clever brand of football, that makes them hard to beat.

Playing a brand of pacey, strong and fast flowing football has always been Hodgson’s calling card, wherever he’s been and Fulham are in the best shape they’ve been in for years now. With the oft mooted expansion of Craven Cottage looking to be finally sorted, a top quality manager and probably the best side they’ve ever had at the Cottage, Fulham fans can look forward with renewed optimism.

Of course, if there is one thing that Fulham currently lack, it’s strength upfront. Whilst Zamora and Johnson have tons of Premiership experience, they’ve lacked goals. Zamora especially receives plenty of stick for his goal return, but his undoubted strength is his ability to bring other players in to the game.

Johnson has been struggling with injuries the last couple of years and has now been ruled out for a while. Since his amazing season with Crystal Palace in 2004-2005 when he hit 21 league goals, he’s never scored more than 10 in a Premiership campaign.

The reserve options don’t fill me with confidence but I’m sure Hodgson will now make a move in the market come January 1st. With only Nevland, Kamara and Ki-Hyeon to come in for Johnson, getting an established goalscorer is crucial to Fulham to continue to improve on the great work that they’ve achieved over the last two years. With Hodgson in charge, anything is possible but he’ll know goals win games and at the moment, Fulham’s forward line don’t have enough in them.

Fulham Continue To Progress Under Hodgson

Paul Bestall — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:45:46 +0000

Why doesn’t Roy Hodgson get the credit he deserves in the United Kingdom? As I’ve mentioned before, In Scandinavia and Italy, he’s held in high regard, in Britain people point to his sacking at Blackburn Rovers back in1997. With 33 points gained so far this season, Fulham are one win away from emulating their points total for last season already.Hodgson is a class act, he knows his football, his list of contacts stretches world wide.

Fulham, under Hodgson, have begun to repair the damage that Lawrie Sanchez’s reign presided over, as Hodgson has looked to ship out some of the deadwood that arrived during the former Northern Ireland managers spell. Sanchez’s problem seemed to be his obsession with signing players he’d worked with at Northern Ireland, tallied with a depressing addiction to long ball football and a high defensive line, whilst using defenders not blessed with pace.

This season, after keeping them up by the skin or their teeth last year, has seen Hodgson add to the canny signings he made in the transfer window of 2008. Capturing the new strike force of Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora in the summer has been key to allowing Hodgson to implement his footballing philosophy on the Cottagers. Johnson with his pace and eye for key combined with Zamora’s strength and ability to hold the ball up has given them a new dimension, it allows Fulham to break and bring more players in to attacking positions. With Danny Murphy and Simon Davies resurgent this year, their seems to be no worrying about a relegation scrap, simply looking to finish as high as possible in the Premiership. They could even possible match or surpass their best Premiership finish of 9th, which was earned under Chris Coleman in 2004.

With the tightness of the Premierships bottom 14 sides, 7th is not beyond Hodgson and his Fulham side, they showed just how much better they are than the bottom side West Bromich on Sunday with an impressive footballing display. 2-0 frankly flattered West Brom, they were never in the game, Danny Murphy imperious in a midfield display that harked back to his days for Liverpool and England. An F.A. Cup Quarter Final against Manchester United awaits in March. The transfer of Jimmy Bullard now looks a masterstroke.

Yet there is still room for improvement. Whilst their home record is currently the 2nd best in the Premiership, they share an unenviable record with Stoke City in not achieving an away win this season with only 6 draws and 3 goals scored in 13 matches away from Craven Cottage. A decent away record could have seen them challenging Everton and Arsenal for a UEFA cup spot. That said though, they’ve earned impressive draws at Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa, if Hodgson can nick a couple of away wins towards the back end of the season at say Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City and Newcastle who knows where they could end up.

Hodgson knows his team need strengthening in the summer, a striker to compliment Zamora and Johnson is paramount, when fit and available, they’ve started every single game and more midfield depth to cover his first choice combination of Murphy, Davies, Dempsey and Gera. The return to form of Ethuhu and the loan signing of Olivier Dacourt shows where Hodgson needs to add options. The back four could also do with more depth, as the back four seems to pick itself currently.

Allied with another expansion of the stadium, it seems 4000 seats are to be added, a top ten finish can give them something to build on. The board of Fulham keep increasing the capacity where they can as they try to push it up to 30,000. The Hammersmith End is ripe for increased capacity and will add vital revenue to the clubs coffers.

Fulham can be pleased with their progression this season, but Hodgson and the fans know they need to start winning games away from Craven Cottage for real progress to be made.

Five Facts to Explain Fulham’s Premier League Resurgence

tyduffy — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:57:53 +0000

One year ago, Fulham was arguably the worst team in the Premier League not named Derby. The club showed little holiday spirit, sacking Lawrie Sanchez just four days before Christmas. New manager Roy Hodgson needed a great escape, scraping to 36 points and safety on the season’s final day.

This season, however, Hodgson has revolutionized Fulham, currently sitting comfortably mid-table on 26 points with a game in hand. Here are five facts to explain Fulham’s resurgence this season.

Ferocity at the Back: Americans have a saying, “Offense wins games. Defense wins championships.” Fulham are nowhere near title contention, but a vastly improved defense has proved pivotal. Halfway through the current season, Fulham have allowed just 14 goals in the 19 matches. That’s fourth best in the Premier League, behind only Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United. If Fulham maintain that pace, they would allow 28 goals. They shipped 60 the previous year. Fulham are far more competitive and have their backline to thank.

Fortress Craven Cottage: Fulham’s 2008-09 model has the requisite fragility away from home. They’ve failed to win in nine attempts, although they have drawn five. However, Fulham have been spectacular at home this season, winning six and drawing three of their ten matches. Only Manchester United and Liverpool have fared better at home this season than Fulham.

Overcoming Squandered Investments: Fulham spent serious moolah over the summer, nearly £20m, to revamp their striking with Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora. Despite their success, the duo have been largely ineffective, combining for only five goals in 33 combined appearances. American forward Clint Dempsey has four times as many goals as Bobby Zamora, with barely more than half as many pitch minutes. Fulham’s success has been despite not because of this substantial investment.

A Steely Run: Fulham, though only winning three, are undefeated in their past nine matches, last losing to 1-0 to Everton on Nov. 1. This run of matches saw Fulham play top tier sides, such as Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa. They also played more talented teams, such as Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham twice. Fulham may fade a bit, but those fifteen difficult points could stave off relegation.

Backbone Against the Big Five: These fixtures are often overrated. For a team out of the title race six-pointers, they matter not more than any other match. However, Fulham, with a victory against Arsenal and draws with Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa, are undefeated in these matches. They conceded just two goals in the four matches, both against Chelsea. Tangibly, Fulham gain six points, but the value of the confidence earned is considerable.

Hodgson Looks To Build On The Great Escape

Paul Bestall — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:19:52 +0000

Roy Hodgson is one of the great unsung English managers of the last 30 years and I’m a big fan of England’s most underrated manager.

A polite, erudite professor of the game and an intelligent, well spoken man, he’s simply never received the recognition his career and achievements deserve in England due to the majority of his success being on foreign shores. When he was installed as Lawrie Sanchez’s successor at Fulham, it would be fair to say that more than a few eyebrows were raised toward Craven Cottage and the consensus was that Fulham were doomed for the drop. It’s now one of the great defining moments of the 2007-2008 season when Fulham were away at Manchester City and went 2-0, the results were such at the time they were actually relegated until they scored 3 goals in the last 20 minutes and went on to survive on goal difference as their form picked up dramatically.

The European perception of Hodgson though is poles apart from his homelands opinion of him. A legend in Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, highly rated in Italy and Germany, he is every inch the renaissance man. With 7 titles under his belt in Sweden between 1976 and 1990, his move to Neuchatel Xamax in Switzerland was the defining period in his career, his success at domestic level convincing the Swiss FA to make him the national teams manager, taking them to USA 94 and getting through the qualification to Euro 1996, held in England. Since that period, Hodgson has been in demand by clubs and countries the world over with the exception of England due to his last period of employment in the Premiership.

All too much is made of his brief stint at Blackburn Rovers, more so his final 6 months at Blackburn, his critics point to the signing of Kevin Davies for £7.5 million as his main offence of a man out of touch with the game and abilities of players. The fact that often gets over looked about the Davies transfer is that Davies became seriously ill just weeks after joining Rovers and never recovered at Ewood Park. The self same critics also manage to forget that Davies was runner up in the Premiership Young Player of the Year award behind Michael Owen in 1997-1998 season. Suffice to say, 10 years later, Davies is still playing in the Premiership and has been one of the most consistent performers in the top league for the last few seasons. Yet people forget that Hodgson had guided Rovers back into European football in the 1997-1998 season and the Rovers board panicked when the team seemed to struggle until November when he was released from his position as manager. If they’d kept faith with him, I’ve no doubt they would have stayed up, rather than the terrible run they endured under Brian Kidd(£4.5 million for Ashley Ward anyone).

It’s this spell that has always gone against him in England, his critics never look to his success with Switzerland, the fact he almost got Finland to Euro 2008 only to fall at the final fence, his consideration to become the German manager in 1999, Massimo Moratti at Inters utmost respect for him and his reputation in Scandinavian football. When the FA failed to lure Big Phil to take over the England managers job in 2006, they should have gone to Hodgson. Instead they appointed a man that makes me angry just thinking about those wasted two years under the tactical buffoon, Perma-smile Mclaren.

There is no doubting that Hodgson is a fine manager, tactically astute and a lover of the beautiful game. He knows he’ll be under pressure this season, but I have full faith in his ability to get Fulham well away from the drop zone. He’s been the busiest manager in the transfer market so far over the summer, bringing in 10 players, including Bobby Zamora, John Pantsil, Mark Schwarzer, Andy Teymourian, Zoltan Gera and smashing Fulhams transfer record with the purchase of Andy Johnson from Everton for £10.5 million.

Fulhams biggest problem last season was creating goals and finishing teams off and he has gone about trying to rectify that fact with some shrewd signings. Adding to the bones of the team that he inherited and getting them back to playing football rather than the outdated kick and rush mess that Lawrie Sanchez had woefully tried to install will reap dividends for him and the Fulham faithful. With Johnson and Zamora up front, Bullard, Murphy and Gera pulling the strings in midfield and a steady defence, a comfortable mid-table season is on the cards at Craven Cottage. Good luck to Roy Hodgson, one of only two English managers in the modern era who should have been the England manager but never will. I’m sure Mr Clough doesn’t mind the company, they’ll both agree that Cloughie was the best.

Sanchez v Hodgson — Comparing Fulham Transfer Signings

Lonnie — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:12:11 +0000

Everton are on the verge of selling striker Andy Johnson to Fulham for a tidy profit. Johnson joined Everton from Palace for £8.6m in May of 2006 and after scoring 22 goals in 74 appearances, his value has gone up significantly. Fulham will reportedly pay a fee that could eventually rise to £13m for the 27-year-old, who is thought to be keen on a move back to London for family reasons.

For their part, Everton are expected to use the money obtained from the transfer to make an improved bid for 21-year-old Sporting Lisbon and Portugal midfielder Joao Moutinho. Everton had an £11.8m bid rejected over the weekend, with Sporting demanding £20m.

If Fulham complete the deal for Johnson, he will become Roy Hodgson’s ninth signing since the end of the season. Johnson would join Mark Schwarzer, Zoltan Gera, David Stockdale, Andranik Teymourian, Toni Kallio, former West Ham duo Bobby Zamora and John Pantsil and defender Fredrik Stoor who signed on from Rosenborg.

I can’t help but recall Fulham’s busy summer last year and the resulting struggles as the team did not seem to settle. You’ll recall that last summer, Lawrie Sanchez went on a £25m spending spree and brought in a boat-load of new faces. Hodgson is also bringing in many new faces so I thought it would be interesting to compare the two manager’s performances in the transfer market. Obviously it is much too early to know how Hodgson’s signings will turn out but that’s what speculation is for !

Let’s start with Sanchez’s deals from last summer.

A couple of the players had a positive impact on the team such as Paul Konchesky, Hamuer Bouazza and Aaron Hughes. Most of the others never found their stride at the club and you wonder if they’ll remain after the summer. I’m choosing to abstain from judging David Healy as I don’t feel he’s yet to get a proper run of games at the club in order to show his worth.

In particular, I could see Seol Ki-Hyeon and Chris Baird moving along and Fulham have been trying to sell Steven Davis to Rangers. Ki-Hyeon was essentially traded for Liam Rosenoir and I think that was a bad deal for Fulham. Rosenoir is only 24 and still growing as a defender while Ki-Hyeon struggled to break into the first team and did not produce much when given a chance. Baird seems better suited to the Championship level at this point though that might be a bit harsh of a judgment.

Diomansy Kamara, a £6 million signing from Championship outfit West Brom, would have to be looked upon as a flop. 5 goals in 28 appearances is simply not what Sanchez was hoping for with that signing.

Shefki Kuqi, Dejan Stefanovich did not bolster the team much, if at all. I like Danny Murphy as a player but he had a rough start for Fulham but did come good towards the end of the season. All in all, a so-so record for Sanchez.

With that in mind, let’s examine some of Hodgson’s signings a little closer. Replacing Kasey Keller was vital and in Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, Fulham have a decent starting goalkeeper. When you consider they picked up the 35-year-old on a free, I’d put that down as a solid signing.

Fredrik Stoor is a 24-year-old who played for Sweden at Euro 2008 and made 29 appearances for Rosenborg’s first team, including 7 appearances in European club competition. He looks to have a good shot at grabbing the starting right-back berth as Moritz Volz seems to be out of favour and loan signing Paul Stalteri does not appear to be making a permanent move to Fulham from Spurs. Whether Stoor can adapt to the Premier League remains to be seen.

Toni Kallio did not make a single first-team appearance during his loan period with Fulham and must be viewed simply as a depth signing as he is versatile enough to play either centre or left-back positions. He is also well known to Roy Hodgson from his time as Finland’s coach.

Andranik Teymourian came over from Bolton on a free after struggling to get first team action under both Sammy Lee and Gary Megson. He had shown flashes of brilliance and could be a very good bargain pickup. Cracking the first-team might also been an issue at Fulham considering how many senior players are currently at the club.

Bobby Zamora is a streaky player and is likely a depth signing though he might get some starts if he starts the season on one of his hot streaks. He was not a costly investment so consider this one a roll of the dice.

John Pantsil spent two years with the Hammers but made just seven league starts and is hoping to use his move across London to prove he is good enough for the Premier League. Pantsil will compete with Stoor for the starting right-back slot. Another relatively low cost gamble.

Zoltan Gera turned down a contract extension with West Brom to sign on a free with Fulham and wages have to be the reason. He’s likely to be a depth player as I don’t see Gera supplanting Dempsey or Bouazza as an attacking midfield player. Coming over on a free looks to be an OK deal for the club.

That brings us to the Johnson signing. Is he going to offer something that Healy does not? They both seem to be pacey, predatory players and I don’t see much to choose between the two. I think Fulham could have used a strong centre forward ala Brian McBride and I’m not sure that Zamora or Collins John, if he remains with the club, are the answer.

Overall, beyond the big splash signing of Johnson, I would say that Hodgson has been pretty shrewd in his transfer dealings and has taken calculated chances on “unknowns” ala Sam Allardyce. He has spent a good amount of cash but Fulham are backed by a relatively rich chairman that does not mind investing in the club from time to time.

Fulham’s Premier League consolidation (they’ve stayed up since 2001) is quite an achievement in view of their low ebb during the 1990s. The club was relegated to the Third Division in 1994 and two years later finished 17th out of 24 teams. Mohammed Al-Fayed (owner of Harrod’s department store) bought the club in 1997 and has to be praised for reviving their fortunes.

They have yet to find their feet in the Premier League but I think this could be the season they finally move toward being a top 10 club possibly at the expense of a club like Blackburn. I am not predicting a UEFA Cup berth or anything that high but I certainly feel they will do better than 17th. Hodgson is an underrated manager and I look for the club to move forward this season under his experienced tutelage.