Summer '08: Ins and Outs

Zoltan Gera is out of contract at West Brom. He'd certainly bring a creative flair to Fulham. I've been impressed by the times I've seen him in action. Apparently, he's a good team player who exerts a positive influence in practice and off-the-pitch as well.


http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3532555,00.html

 

They paid Rangers in the ballpark of 9 million pounds for Alan Hutton in the January window. That deal was finalized on 1/30. Then they loaned out Stalteri on 1/31. You don't pay that much money for a right back unless you're going to play him every match, which is exactly what they did with Hutton. Plus they've got Chimbonda, whose best position is also right back; he started there ahead of Stalteri just about every match this past season, until he got moved to left back when they signed Hutton (and HE probably would've lost his spot in the starting lineup if Gareth Bale weren't out with torn ligaments). Stalteri only played 3 Premier League games for Spurs (plus one in the FA Cup and three in the UEFA Cup) this season before he was loaned out. This table sums it up. Pretty clear that Stalteri would be #3 in the right back pecking order if he were to go back to Spurs, and would be fighting for time on the subs' bench. That being the case, I'm not surprised he'd prefer to stay and start.

As for why Spurs leaks goals with all the talent they've got, I think it's because there seems to be no stability at all in who's playing defense from match to match.

 

Just a step back to 'The Big Picture', folks.

If RH blows up the team, as some have predicted, and by 'team' I mean the usual starters and bench players from the End of Season, then we can expect flirting with the bottom three again NEXT year at this time.

How do I know that? I'm a Crew fan... but you dont even need THAT to realize it. Just look at the budget and figure it out for yourself.

 

I think a couple of very good players in, and some dead weight (Christanval, Pearce, Smertin, etc) out would be fine by me. Roy's short time here has given me a ton of confidence in his abilities as a coach...as Fulham fans, we're not used to seeing players improve during their time with the club. I think that's about to change. Dempsey, Hughes, Murphy and Kamara in particular have improved considerably in the short time Roy has been here. I think we'll see that trend continue, and the "toolsy" guys like Bouazza, Johnson, and Volz, who haven't quite put it all together, will really benefit. Overhaul the players, not the team, I say.

 

I don't want anybody to blow up the team, but lets be honest, if we expect to get anywhere other than bottom 6 with the current squad, then we're fooling ourselves. We defenitely need 4-5 really good players to go anywhere other than our current position. I want to see shitty deadweight tossed out and good players in their place. I also want to see some of the starters of this years team where they belong, The bench. Hughes is a squad players,Dempsey is most effective off of the bench,Davies needs to play on the right side,Mcbride would be most effective off the bench etc. These players should be on the bench while others come in their place. If this happens and we bring in 4-5 good players, we're be top 10 as our manager is quality.



As for Gera, I'm not too fond of him. He had one really good season and has went downhill ever since. On a free though, he might be worth a look.

 

I think Top 10 is unrealistic. Nothing wrong with a mid-table finish out of the top 10 for the first season after a huge relegation struggle, which I think should be the goal. Survive first, thrive second. We could improve over the long term simply by smartly adding quality to the squad at a steady pace.

 

We've been doing that for 8 years now. When are we gonna finally try and challenge for top 10? Every year we hear this kinda talk. It's time to breakthrough.

 

FFC24,

I think it is unfair to judge Gera on an injury-plagued year (17 appearances in his second Premiership season). He was a key factor in keeping a bad Albion team up. Without him for most of the next season, Albion couldn't avoid the drop.

The thing that impresses me the most about him is his commitment to his club. It didn't matter whether the Baggies were spending Saturdays in Manchester or Colchester, Gera committed himself to the cause. He didn't sit back and whine about the level of play when he came back to a relegated squad. He got on about his business and worked to put them back into the Premier League.

If you can find that combination of style and work ethic, then it is something we should consider.

I'd love to see him in a white shirt. But I think he may well end up taking a short trip to Villa Park working for Randy Lerner.

 

Fulham can't afford to "breakthrough". When are you going to understand this? There are at least 12 clubs who have a higher wage bill than Fulham. That means they will always and forever out compete Fulham for players.

Fulham's only finished in the top ten once for good reason. Remember that and take it to heart. You won't be so pissed off when Fulham doesn't "breakthrough" next year, or the year after that... or the year after that.

If you don't like reading what I say, read what Don or Fog says.

 

For me, I'm just going to dream and hope for something better and that we do breakthrough. Regardless of how silly of an idea it may be.

Does any one think the Oakland Athletic fans think their team don't have at least a shot at making it to the World Series each year or at least the challenging for a playoff spot? They do believe, they see their team turnover every couple of years, and year in and year out they are challenging for the playoffs, some years they are better than others but with one of the smallest salaries in the game while being one of the smallest clubs in MLB.

They win by developing their own talent and making good 'value' talent decisions. I don't know enough about FIFA or the inner workings of the EPL, but I can't imagine a franchise of Fulham's size can't compete with management excellence, a solid player development program, 'value' talent acquisitions, and now more than ever, a commitment to marketing the team in the US to generate more revenues.

I prefer to remain a big dreamer, despite the fact I may be disappointed.

 

You have a lot to learn man. I am too tired to obliterate your youthful idealism, but I'll start by telling you.... DO NOT EVER PROJECT WHAT HAPPENS IN AMERICAN SPORTS ON TO EUROPEAN FOOTBALL!!!

 

That's pretty much how Arsenal does it. Unfortunately for us, only they get to have Arsene Wenger.

 

Sounds like someone needs to go take their meds. You're such a sour puss Lyle. You really need to smile sometime.

 

Per the BBC, it will be Cousin coming to the Cottage in return for Davis, should he remain at Rangers. I liked him in the January transfer window, given our depth issues up front. Not sure about for the full season. But then I don't know that much about him.

They're also saying Saha will be looking for a team. Would we want him back? His last run at Fulham predates my following the EPL, but I've seen a number of you mention his name before.

 

Holy Crap, Lyle... that's a bit HARSH. Especially considering he put in plenty of caveat.

And the fact there are TONS of similarities that may be applied. It's not ALL about Relegation, ya know!

 

From the '05-'06 season, salaries paid per team:
1. Chelsea 114.0M
2. Man U 85.4M
3. Arsenal 83.0M
4. Liverpool 68.9M
5. Newcastle 52.2M
6. Tottenham 40.7M
7. Villa 38.3M
8. Everton 37.0M
9. Man City 34.3M
10. Charlton 34.2M
11. Blackburn 33.4M
12. WestHam 31.2M
13. Fulham 30.1M
14. Bolton 28.5M
15. Birmingham 27.0M
16. Portsmouth 24.8M
17. Wigan 20.6M
18. WestBrom 20.3M
19. Sunderland 17.4M
20. Boro refused to disclose

This is the most recent data I could find on EPL salaries per team and I realize that with the influx of foreign owners, some of these numbers have gone up. But from this table, $10M is all that seperated Fulham from #6, so cracking the top 10 could simply be a matter of how wisely Roy spends his money.

Financial info is so easy to come by for US sports that I'm surprised how difficult it is to get for the EPL. That said, if someone has a link to more recent salary info, would love to see it.

 

The problem with dreamers is not the dreaming, but when the dream fails and they are angry at the club... which is what you see from some people here and many over at the Offal.

Fulham cannot fully replicate what Billy Bean has done. There is no draft and there is no trading. Should Fulham develop English/British youth? Yes. Should they buy smart and from abroad? Yes. However, you can't measure footballers like you can baseball players. Baseball is much more mathematical and therefore it is much easier to measure value. Football teams in the Premier League, ipso facto, have to overpay because valuing a player is so difficult.

The perfect storm at Fulham would be all of what he said... but it will be with a lot of luck. You can just make it happen.

Youth players are also bought in England, which makes it much harder to develop a Premier League quality player when they are all going to end up in the youth teams of the Big Four.

There's nothing wrong with hoping, praying, and dreaming for something better... but you better not get angry or start hating on Fulham's management if they don't make it happen.