With the Barclays Premier League season already in full swing, and the ever so "Fulhamish" deadline day behind us, I thought a look at our business in the summer transfer window, would be a good place to kick things off. I will also take a quick glance at the Club's percieved, (in)activity on deadline day.
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| Image courtesy of premierleague.com; no copyright intended. |
Maarten Stekelenburg - Goalkeeper - signed from AS Roma for an undisclosed fee (rumoured just under £5m):
When everyone's favourite Aussie, Mark Schwarzer left the Cottage and made the short move to Chelsea (trust me, eyebrows were raised) on a free transfer, there was a sense that the incoming No1 would have big boots to fill. There were games where Schwarzer seemed to be an immovable object, (in particular, the final day victory at Swansea last season) and the total number of points the man saved us over his five-season tenure must be remarkable.
So bringing in the Oranje's former number one, Maarten Stekelenburg for a snip at under £5m seems like a coup. A player who Martin Jol knows well and seems to get the best out of, likenesses to former Fulham favourite Edwin Van Der Sar have already been drawn, due to the Dutchman's size and stature - but it's in his career path to date where the two are remarkably in sync:
Learning their trade in Amsterdam with Ajax brought great success; a then ill-fated move to Italy (VDS, Juventus. MS, AS Roma); happily now, the line continues for Stekelenburg at Fulham, and if the goalkeeper's move turns out to be half-as-good as Big Ed's was to SW6, then us fans are in for a treat.
Apart from a few shaky moments, (an appaling first-touch against C.S. Celustka's half-volley at Sunderland on the opening day, was top-draw), we could have well pulled off one of the signings of the summer.
Injury to his right shoulder on the opening day, has somewhat curtailed his progress in the White of Fulham (at the time of writing he is due back for the visit of West Brom). However it has also highlighted that the keeper will have to work hard to tie down that No1 jersey, with David Stockdale putting in some man-of-the-match performances in his absence.
A veteran of Spanish football, where he made 254 appearances over a eight-season period for Athletic Bilbao*, as soon as I saw him play in pre-season, he instantly reminded me of a former terrace hero. The hero in question was former captain and defensive rock, Chris Coleman.
Like "Cookie", Amorebieta is left-footed, hard-as-nails and deceptively cultured on the ball; indeed the official website's profile says the player "has been known to frequent the referee’s notebook more than he would have liked during his time in La Liga" - this well-publicised fact about the player, may well have put bigger clubs off in the past, put there is no doubting the 28 year-olds talent.
Yet to make his debut for the club because of injury, Amorebieta adds steel to a defence that conceded far too many soft goals last season; with the ever-consistent, Aaron Hughes, there to challenge him for a starting spot, I can only see Fernando "loving" miserable, December nights away at Stoke City.
The only potential downside to this deal, could may well lie in the number, in which Amorebeita has chosen to wear - 35; the last defender to wear that number was well... Ian Pearce.
(An interesting side note - when/if Amorebieta plays, Brede Hangeland will shift to the right-side of central defence; somewhere our Captain has rarely, albeit never, played in his career).
An absolute bargain at £1.3m, the German was, in my opinion, the best right-back in the league last season (if he'd been at City, shoe-in for the team of the year) and, as you'd expect, everything the man did last season, was done with a real sense of "efficiency". Solid in the tackle, and adventurous going forward with a demon of a cross, he got even better when former team-mate Askhan Dejagah got into the starting eleven.
The partnership, at its best, was demonstrated in the winning goal at White Hart Lane last season - Riether sprinting from his own half to cross for Berbatov, after Dejagah had twisted to find him on the overlap.
No spring-chicken at 30 years of age, if Riether can show the same level of consistency this season, it'll be like the secong coming of Steve Finnan.
Ever since the injury to Mali international, Mahamadou Diarra, we had been lacking that real midfield enforcer; yes, Steve Sidwell probably had his best season to date in a White shirt, last season - but he's more of a "terrier" than an enforcer. So entering pre-season, I had a modest sense of anticipation to see Boateng in action.
So when the Ghanaian came on, for the start of the second-half of the
Before the pessimists start, I would have loved us to sign a twenty-something creative midfielder to step up to the throne of the departed Mousa Dembele - however, Karagounis is a veteran of the European and International game (over a 100 apps in Europe; over 120 caps internationally*), and having him in and around the first team, giving advice to the youth players, can only stand us in good stead.
Suprisingly at 36, his swashbuckling style doesn't look to be dwindling, and he seems to give the most energy (going forward at least) of the, prefered "two" holding midfielders. Always one for the cliche's, he reminds of a mix of former favourites, Paul Peschisolido and Lee Clark.
Personally, my preferred partner (along with Boateng, dependant on opposition) to fellow summer recruit, Scott Parker, the wily old warrior may still have some suprises in store for us yet.
A player of unquestionable talent, whose temperament has often left previous managers puzzled as to what to do with him, a move to Fulham, may well see both parties coming out smelling of roses...
You see, players like Taarabt need to be "cuddled" once in a while, and Martin Jol has shown, throughout his managerial career, that he can cope with this type of "luxury" player. Examples being Dimitar Berbatov, (Spurs and now, Fulham) and Luis Suarez (Ajax).
With Taarabt in the team, he can give us that added dimension going forward, that we were all crying out for last season. After all, the previous campaign showed Fulham to have, an all-to-heavy reliance on Dimitar Berbatov (and to a lesser extent, Bryan Ruiz).
The mercurial Moroccan has already shown flashes of his brilliance, the quite sumptous strike against Burton Albion in the Capital One Cup, a prime example. If he can keep his focus on the pitch and work for the team more, Adel Taarabt could well have one of the seasons of his career; lets hope anyway.
Similar to a certain Danny Murphy, Parker comes to the club after being brushed aside from a Tottenham midfield that contains near enough, all, of the "most-wanted" holding players in Europe. At 32, Parker's arrival at Fulham is also not far off Murphy (who signed in 2007 at 30), and we all know what "Dan the Man" went on to achieve during his time at the club.
It was as recent as February 2012 when Scott Parker was captaining his country (in a friendly versus the Netherlands), and that leadership, coupled with his commitment to the cause, will come as a welcome bonus to Fulham's midfield. A midfield which at times last season, sorely missed that calm authority, in front of the back four, that left with Danny Murphy's depature last season.
Settling into a new team is never easy, but in the games that Parker has already played in, it feels like he has been at the club for years. Martin Jol has already come out and said that the player is his "number four", but it's also easy to forget how neat and tidy on the ball Parker is; in the recent defeat to Newcastle, he also demonstrated that he can surge past players and should have won his side a penalty, after a blatent foul from Mathieu Debuchy.
If he can steer clear of injuries that have blighted his career in recent seasons, there's no reason the former Chelsea man, can make the right side of SW6 his home for years to come; I'm just glad to see we got another over 'Arry Redknapp, to be honest.
Now signing a player, on loan, that a couple of seasons ago was worth a reported 24m, is a masterstroke by any clubs' standards. After nails had been bitten, in quite a few corners, following the "is he here, is he there" chase with Crystal Palace and Newcastle, a deal was signed on the 16th August 2013.
In not too dissimilar fashion to the deal which bought Adel Taarabt to the club, if all goes well, it could be very beneficial for both parties. Bent has made it no secret of his desire to force his way back into the England set-up, and if he can score the goals that both Manager and fans alike believe he can, there's no reason that can't happen.
The only thing now is for Martin Jol to find a system which encompasses Bent in; with a plethora of attacking talent now at his disposal, it will inevitably take time and fans just have to be patient with that.
The sooner said system is found the better, and when it is, there is no reason that Bent, can't fire the club to the position that it wants, and deserves, to be in; with a little help from a certain Mr. Berbatov, of course.
WHAT WE GOT - Elsad Zverotic??:
Now if not one Fulham fan went "Who?!" with an extremely puzzled face, when the club announced the signing of Elsad Zverotic from BSC Young Boys, then I will eat my replica Billy the Badger.
All I know is he's a Montenegrin international, sounds a lot like a personal hero of mine, former favourite Chris "Bairdinho" Baird, and apparently scored a cracker at Anfield... sounds like a quality player then!
Thanks for reading (all this way down)!
*Stats taken from fulhamfc.com.
**Stats taken from soccerbase.com. (Goals scored in the League).
Defence:
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| Image courtesy of theguardian.com/uk; no copyright intended. |
Fernando Amorebieta - CB/LB - signed from Athletic Bilbao on a free transfer:
As free transfers go, I doubt many a club could have pulled off a better one, this window. After reported interest from Arsenal and Zenit St. Petersburg, the Basque-born Venezuelan chose to join Fulham, and a long-overdue crack at the Premier League, on a four-year deal - the length of said deal, makes the signing look on the surface, even better.A veteran of Spanish football, where he made 254 appearances over a eight-season period for Athletic Bilbao*, as soon as I saw him play in pre-season, he instantly reminded me of a former terrace hero. The hero in question was former captain and defensive rock, Chris Coleman.
Like "Cookie", Amorebieta is left-footed, hard-as-nails and deceptively cultured on the ball; indeed the official website's profile says the player "has been known to frequent the referee’s notebook more than he would have liked during his time in La Liga" - this well-publicised fact about the player, may well have put bigger clubs off in the past, put there is no doubting the 28 year-olds talent.
Yet to make his debut for the club because of injury, Amorebieta adds steel to a defence that conceded far too many soft goals last season; with the ever-consistent, Aaron Hughes, there to challenge him for a starting spot, I can only see Fernando "loving" miserable, December nights away at Stoke City.
The only potential downside to this deal, could may well lie in the number, in which Amorebeita has chosen to wear - 35; the last defender to wear that number was well... Ian Pearce.
(An interesting side note - when/if Amorebieta plays, Brede Hangeland will shift to the right-side of central defence; somewhere our Captain has rarely, albeit never, played in his career).
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| Image courtesy of squawka.com; no copyright intended. |
Sascha Riether - Right-Back - signed from FC Cologne for an undisclosed fee (rumoured £1.3m):
Did anyone really expect his loan spell to go so well last season? An unkown quantity, when it came to English football, after spending the entirety of his career in the Bundesliga, "Volzy Mark II" was sensational.An absolute bargain at £1.3m, the German was, in my opinion, the best right-back in the league last season (if he'd been at City, shoe-in for the team of the year) and, as you'd expect, everything the man did last season, was done with a real sense of "efficiency". Solid in the tackle, and adventurous going forward with a demon of a cross, he got even better when former team-mate Askhan Dejagah got into the starting eleven.
The partnership, at its best, was demonstrated in the winning goal at White Hart Lane last season - Riether sprinting from his own half to cross for Berbatov, after Dejagah had twisted to find him on the overlap.
No spring-chicken at 30 years of age, if Riether can show the same level of consistency this season, it'll be like the secong coming of Steve Finnan.
Midfield:
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| Image courtesy of zimbio.com; no copyright intended. |
Derek Boateng - CDM - signed from Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on a free transfer:
I have to admit, I wasn't very familiar with the work of Derek Boateng; the amount of times we were being linked to the player was getting ridicoulous, and it must have come with a great sense of relief to both player and club, when pen was was put to paper on a one-year deal, with the option of a further 12 months.Ever since the injury to Mali international, Mahamadou Diarra, we had been lacking that real midfield enforcer; yes, Steve Sidwell probably had his best season to date in a White shirt, last season - but he's more of a "terrier" than an enforcer. So entering pre-season, I had a modest sense of anticipation to see Boateng in action.
So when the Ghanaian came on, for the start of the second-half of the
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| Image courtesy of premierleague.com; no copyright intended. |
Giorgos Karagounis - CDM/CAM - Free Agent:
I couldn't have been the only one that had a tear in their eye when glancing at our released list and seeing Karagounis's name on it; like many a Fulham fan, I'd grown to love the busy little Greek, thanks to his tireless energy and eye for the spectular goal. So when it was announced that the club had taken up the option to extend the players' contract for a further year, I was more than pleased.Before the pessimists start, I would have loved us to sign a twenty-something creative midfielder to step up to the throne of the departed Mousa Dembele - however, Karagounis is a veteran of the European and International game (over a 100 apps in Europe; over 120 caps internationally*), and having him in and around the first team, giving advice to the youth players, can only stand us in good stead.
Suprisingly at 36, his swashbuckling style doesn't look to be dwindling, and he seems to give the most energy (going forward at least) of the, prefered "two" holding midfielders. Always one for the cliche's, he reminds of a mix of former favourites, Paul Peschisolido and Lee Clark.
Personally, my preferred partner (along with Boateng, dependant on opposition) to fellow summer recruit, Scott Parker, the wily old warrior may still have some suprises in store for us yet.
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| Image courtesy of fulhamfc.com; no copyright intended. |
Adel Taarabt - CAM/LM/CF - signed from QPR on a season-long loan:
Now before I start anything, let me outline my "history" with Adel Taarabt - loved him at Tottenham Hotspur, hated him at QPR, so thankfully, I can now "love" him again now he's at Fulham.A player of unquestionable talent, whose temperament has often left previous managers puzzled as to what to do with him, a move to Fulham, may well see both parties coming out smelling of roses...
You see, players like Taarabt need to be "cuddled" once in a while, and Martin Jol has shown, throughout his managerial career, that he can cope with this type of "luxury" player. Examples being Dimitar Berbatov, (Spurs and now, Fulham) and Luis Suarez (Ajax).
With Taarabt in the team, he can give us that added dimension going forward, that we were all crying out for last season. After all, the previous campaign showed Fulham to have, an all-to-heavy reliance on Dimitar Berbatov (and to a lesser extent, Bryan Ruiz).
The mercurial Moroccan has already shown flashes of his brilliance, the quite sumptous strike against Burton Albion in the Capital One Cup, a prime example. If he can keep his focus on the pitch and work for the team more, Adel Taarabt could well have one of the seasons of his career; lets hope anyway.
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| Image courtesy of metro.co.uk; no copyright intended. |
Scott Parker - CDM - signed from Tottenham Hotspur for an undisclosed fee (rumoured £3m):
Long regarded by many an England fan, as the personification of English football - gritty, determined and with guile a plenty, Scott Parker arrives at Craven Cottage on a three-year deal. The hope is, that a stay on the banks of the Thames can, like it has for so many before him, rejuvinate an ailing career.Similar to a certain Danny Murphy, Parker comes to the club after being brushed aside from a Tottenham midfield that contains near enough, all, of the "most-wanted" holding players in Europe. At 32, Parker's arrival at Fulham is also not far off Murphy (who signed in 2007 at 30), and we all know what "Dan the Man" went on to achieve during his time at the club.
It was as recent as February 2012 when Scott Parker was captaining his country (in a friendly versus the Netherlands), and that leadership, coupled with his commitment to the cause, will come as a welcome bonus to Fulham's midfield. A midfield which at times last season, sorely missed that calm authority, in front of the back four, that left with Danny Murphy's depature last season.
Settling into a new team is never easy, but in the games that Parker has already played in, it feels like he has been at the club for years. Martin Jol has already come out and said that the player is his "number four", but it's also easy to forget how neat and tidy on the ball Parker is; in the recent defeat to Newcastle, he also demonstrated that he can surge past players and should have won his side a penalty, after a blatent foul from Mathieu Debuchy.
If he can steer clear of injuries that have blighted his career in recent seasons, there's no reason the former Chelsea man, can make the right side of SW6 his home for years to come; I'm just glad to see we got another over 'Arry Redknapp, to be honest.
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| Image courtesy of uk.eurosport.yahoo.com; no copyright intended. |
Darrent Bent - Forward - signed from Aston Villa on a season-long loan:
Darren Bent is a player who, if there was a category, would fall into the one labelled with "Ronseal"; he does exactly what it says on the tin. A forward who has bagged goals for fun, wherever he has played, (31 in 68 at Charlton, 32 in 58 at Sunderland etc.**). He brings to Fulham, the pace, coupled with a lethal eye for goal, that sadly Hugo Rodallega just can't give; the latter anyway.Now signing a player, on loan, that a couple of seasons ago was worth a reported 24m, is a masterstroke by any clubs' standards. After nails had been bitten, in quite a few corners, following the "is he here, is he there" chase with Crystal Palace and Newcastle, a deal was signed on the 16th August 2013.
In not too dissimilar fashion to the deal which bought Adel Taarabt to the club, if all goes well, it could be very beneficial for both parties. Bent has made it no secret of his desire to force his way back into the England set-up, and if he can score the goals that both Manager and fans alike believe he can, there's no reason that can't happen.
The only thing now is for Martin Jol to find a system which encompasses Bent in; with a plethora of attacking talent now at his disposal, it will inevitably take time and fans just have to be patient with that.
The sooner said system is found the better, and when it is, there is no reason that Bent, can't fire the club to the position that it wants, and deserves, to be in; with a little help from a certain Mr. Berbatov, of course.
And finally... Deadline Day:
WHAT I WISHED FOR - Shane Long (WBA), Elderson Echiéjilé (S.C. Braga), Morgan Amalfitano (formerly Marseille, now WBA on loan).WHAT WE GOT - Elsad Zverotic??:
Now if not one Fulham fan went "Who?!" with an extremely puzzled face, when the club announced the signing of Elsad Zverotic from BSC Young Boys, then I will eat my replica Billy the Badger.
All I know is he's a Montenegrin international, sounds a lot like a personal hero of mine, former favourite Chris "Bairdinho" Baird, and apparently scored a cracker at Anfield... sounds like a quality player then!
Thanks for reading (all this way down)!
*Stats taken from fulhamfc.com.
**Stats taken from soccerbase.com. (Goals scored in the League).
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