Another Duff signing

Duff man has entered the Cottage. I used to really like Damien Duff (pictured with Billy The Badgers shirt it seems), despite him playing for Chelsea. He was creative, he was fast and a catalyst for goals, especially with Arjen Robben playing on the other flank. However over past three years he doesn't appear to have done much, apart from scoring the own goal that ultimately sent Newcastle United down last season, because of his injuries.
In fact it's his injuries that are the main concern. As long as he can be kept out of the treatment room, Duff is someone who has competed at the highest level and now has a chance to prove himself again after a time in the wilderness, similar to Danny Murphy really.
Plus he's a winger, and Fulham haven't really been playing with out and out wingers under Hodgson so he definitely brings something different to the side, although I think he will be playing ahead of Simon Davies (and Zoltan Gera obviously) in more of a left midfield role.
Plus his temperament is clearly right. Hodgson knows Duff from their time at Blackburn, so he knows he can rely on him to do what he is told - always useful in a Hodgson team (just look at the ire he had for Bullard when here). However he is not a prolific scorer from midfield, so hopefully he can provide the service for the front two to fulfill their potential.
It appears that Hodgson is working on strengthening the midfield positions even more with the signing of South African Kagiso Dikgacoi (work permit permitting) and a further move for Jonathan Greening, who will presumably be back up to Danny Murphy's central midfield creator role while also offering options on the wing. All in all a far stronger and deeper Fulham side than has been seen in recent years.

The Undiscovered Country

It seems a bit strange to be doing a season preview when Fulham have already played two competitive matches, but It's not as if I can do it any earlier now. Last year I wrote this spot after the opening day defeat to Hull, so it could be even later.
An extremely odd close season (for everyone not just Fulham) has made my thoughts on the upcoming season mixed at best. I do think that there will be an awful lot of transfer activity for teams who aren't Manchesters City & United, Liverpool and Tottenham before the end of August and that could turn all expectations on their heads.
Still I have a strange feeling in my waters that Fulham may actually win something this year. My first season at Craven Cottage had them avoiding relegation by a single goal, my second had them finishing higher than they have ever done before. Surely a cup beckons in my third?
I stand by my prediction that the easier cup to win will be the newly entitled Europa League. It is the only competition that England's big four (five now) are not also in. Of course cup runs depend on who you draw and Fulham may still trip up on the plastic pitch in Perm (say that while drunken), but it seems the bookies agree as you can generally find longer odds on them winning the Carling Cup (50/1 with Totesport) or FA Cup (50/1 with Totesport/Paddy Power) than Europa League (40/1 available generally).
In the league Fulham are generally 12/1 to be relegated, which puts them mid-table. This seems about right, as long as the team aren't horribly fatigued from the cup. Last year's home defeats against Blackburn and especially Hull were badged as symptoms of tiredness, although they were followed up by the first away win of the season and then the 2-0 dismantling of Man United. Unfortunately the 750/1-1,000/1 available on them being champions also seems quite accurate.
The general apprehension of the transfer market appears to have spread into the wider area of the sport. Whether it is down to the economic climate or not, I don't know, but I'm very surprised to see tickets for what is now Craven Cottage's first league match of the season available on general sale. Especially as it is an SW6 derby. If Fulham aren't going to sell out for a game against Chelsea, will they manage it for any other game?

The categories used in the past few seasons have never seen so anachronistic, but I will use them anyway.

Most Anticipated Player: I guess I'm most looking forward to see Clint Dempsey play this season, after his heroics in the Confederation Cup. I'm also interested to see if Johnsons Eddie and Andy can combine as well in competitive matches as they do in friendlies.

Least Favourite Player: This should be a shoo-in for Bobby Zamora. But it's not. He's shown he wants to stay at Fulham and I believe that desire will propel him into double figures this year, especially with European games. He needs to sort out his relationship with the fans though.

Season Prediction: I want to say 15th, which is lower than most people have them. I'm really concerned about the strain of Europe. But a few more signings will temper that conservatism. The league again appears to have an awful lot of poor sides in it though, so it would be disappointing to finish below the likes of Hull, Bolton, Birmingham and Blackburn. Normally I would have lumped Wigan in there too, but Roberto Martinez's Swansea side were very attractive and almost dumped Fulham out of the FA Cup last year. As for the cups... I anticipate a cup final. Hamburg would be the best chance of actually winning one, but a trip to Wembley wouldn't go astray.

Continental shift

Today sees Fulham embark upon their second ever European campaign against FK Vetra in Lithuania. This being Fulham, the game is not being televised anywhere in Europe it seems. However you can keep up to date via an online commentary from the Fulham website. We should be grateful for small mercies I guess.
It makes me wonder how it used to be in the old days before the explosion of the communications industry. When I was growing up there were only three English teams in Europe (when they weren't banned) so they tended to be thoroughly covered. Before that though, I guess you had to wait for the next day's papers to find out how your team performed away from home in Europe. Why does it feel like that today.
Frustratingly I'm outside London for the return leg, so it would be nice for Fulham to smoothly brush past Vetra and allow me to see at least one Euro Vase match. However Vetra's comeback against HJK shows they are not to be taken for granted and I think it will be a tough old game for the Effers.
Still it seems that Bobby Z will be spearheading the attack for this game and the rest of the season after turning down a move to Hull. I'm thinking this was mostly a geographical decision as old Bobby doesn't exactly have a great rapport with the fans. Either that or maybe he wants to prove something to them and more power to his elbow for that.
In other news Bjorn Helge Riise, younger brother of comedy own goal scorer John Arne, has joined the club on a three year contract in another example of a relatively underwhelming signing. Still I quite liked his big bro and hopefully he can add some steel and depth to midfield. It's been a relatively quiet close season for everyone in England (Man City aside) and I just wonder if one more transfer is going to trigger a whole host of rushed deals before the season starts.

How do you solve a problem like Zamora?

You flog him it seems. This morning Fulham agreed a fee with Hull for Bobby Zamora.

This prompted a small email debate amongst us.

Andy:

I don't know what it is about Hull, but they keep giving Fulham money. £5m for Bobby Z?

Colin:

Stupid, stupid bastards. They couldn't get Owen on a free, so they spent £5m on Bobby four goals!

Jarrod:

£5 million ?? My god, have Hull lost their mind ????

Ish:

Arent fulham a bit stuffed? For the following reasons i think its a bit of bad business:
a) They are supposed to increase the size of their squad so they can cope with the Europa league, and
b) Booby came good (unexpectedly) on a few occasions

Colin:

And so the door is opened for Drogba! Who that boy Dempsey made look shite.

Andy:

Bobby needs to go and £5m is a ridiculous amount for someone who scored twice in the Premiership. Eddie Johnson and Seol (!) have come back from loan deals and Kamara returned well after injury. Fulham have been linked with a couple of strikers, but mainly midfielders for some reason.
There's talk about the money being put towards the £11m needed for Crouch. I'm not sure if the squad will get boosted unless Fulham make it into the group stages.

So as you can see, a mixed reaction, but only because Ish knows nothing about football. That's harsh, but as I've recounted on here several times over the last few months, Bobby Z doesn't seem to have a strong enough psyche to play himself out of poor form.

Fantasy Transfer XI

With the transfer window wide open, I thought I'd put forward a feasible squad of acquisitions for a Fulham team getting ready to improve their squad to push on through Europe for debate. The emphasis has been on value for money though, so it's more 'budget' than 'fantasy'.

GK - Joe Hart
Seemingly surplus to requirements at Man City, Hart is a good young keeper with plenty of character. England's U21 keeper may be available on a loan and would put some real pressure on the majestic, but 37-year-old, Mark Schwarzer.

EDIT - Just found out Hart has already gone on loan to Birmingham! How about Scott Carson from WBA then?


RB - Gary Neville
A controversial choice. He's not got many fans as a person - Comrade Neville is reaching the end of his career - but he is a proven winner. He's only played a handful of games in the past two seasons, but he will add some passion to a side that seems remarkably lacking in heart at times. He shouldn't cost too much either.

LB - Gareth Bale
A tidy player who scored against Fulham a few seasons ago, Bale isn't fancied by Harry Redknapp and would probably be available for £3m, which isn't bad for a 19 year old with 20 international caps. Famously he has played a record 24 Premier League games for Spurs without being on the winning side, but that's hardly the fault of the left back.

CB - David Wheater
An imposing force in the Boro back line last season, who went down because of a lack of firepower rather than a porous defence. He's not averse to scoring the odd important goal either. If he's not interested in a move, perhaps his partner Robert Huth fancies moving back to South West London.

CB - Sean St Ledger
The PNE centre half also has a gob on him, as shown in the Big Ron Manager programme, but he has matured a great deal in the past couple of seasons and also has the eye for a goal. He has won player of the season awards while at Deepdale and forced himself into the Republic of Ireland squad. Could be worth a tickle at £1.5m.

CM - Gary O'Neil
Can play on the right as well as in the centre, O'Neil has a Premier League pedigree and is keen to move back down south. He won't improve on what's there, but could be a good price squad player.

CM - Kevin Nolan
Yes, he's only just signed for Newcastle, but they need to clear their decks a bit. An eye for goal and a tidy passer, he could be a good foil for fellow scouser Danny Murphy in the middle of the park. I nearly went for Alan Smith, but I only rated him as a striker rather than a midfielder.

RW - Ross Wallace
Another Preston player, Ross Wallace was one of the best players in the Championship last season in my opinion. Tricky on the ball and a great dead ball taker, the only problem with his game is the suspensions he racks up after taking his shirt off celebrating goals. He's still got 4 years on his contract though, so could cost £4m.

LW - Chris Brunt
The annual shopping trip to the Hawthorns could do worse than come back with this winger who hits the ball so sweetly. A Northern Ireland international, Brunt will be another good addition to the squad.

FW - Eidur Gudjohnsen
With Barcelona looking to offload the Icelandic striker, it actually seems Fulham have a chance to sign a truly world class striker. Would transform the team, even if he was the only player to sign and give Fulham a genuine goal threat, although his goal tally in recent years, largely coming off the bench, are in the Zamora region.

FW - David Nugent
I was going to suggest Ruud van Nistelrooy, but I think his wages might be too expensive. Plus he's injury prone. So what about Nuge - the man with a 100% goalscoring record for England? I've always been a fan of Nugent. He's fast. He works hard and he can finish. It's not worked out for him at Pompey and he could probably do with a new challenge to kick start his career.