Before I talk about Claudio Ranieri taking over as manager at Fulham, let me say that my alarm at the deterioration of Fulham under manager Slavisa Jokanovic (some fans called him Joke-anovic!) was extremely worrying and the club are bottom of the Premier League table. When I looked further into why this has happened, I was dismayed to find a club in chaos and the players full of uncertainty.
Fulham have conceded more goals than any other Premier League club in their opening ten games! Fulham’s defending has been atrocious and even Jokanovic admitted he was at a loss to explain why.
That is not very encouraging from a man supposed to be leading the team. Owner Shahid Khan is a decent man, loyal and supportive of his managers. Following Ranieri’s appointment, I visited Fulham on Wednesday afternoon and I can assure you that Khan sacked Jokanovic with a heavy heart. He did not want to do it but was left with no choice.
Fulham are widely tipped to be relegated with the Premier League’s worst defensive record in history. That alone is enough to keep an owner awake at night. To give you an example of how chaotic the club had become, you only have to look at their goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli. He has spent his career at Fulham and was the number one goalkeeper all last season.
The new season arrived and two new goalkeepers were signed, Fabri and Sergio Rico, both part of the £100 million spent on incoming players during the summer break. Bettinelli was demoted to third choice keeper. Then, after only two games he was back in the team, given a new contract but then dropped again.
This type of inconsistency was seen throughout the team and Joke-anovic, sorry I mean Jokanovic, did not play the same defensive lineup in any of Fulham’s Premier League matches totalling 14 changes! Good players who joined Fulham include Calum Chambers and Maxime Le Marchand but they struggled to play under Jokanovic and even Fulham’s established players were uncomfortable and finding it difficult. It is an interesting fact that in the past five seasons, three of the newly promoted teams who spent the most money after reaching the Premier League, have been relegated. Fulham looked like making it four. In the dressing room, I found uncertainty and unrest. Now, following Ranieri’s appointment there is hope and a feeling of optimism at Fulham. Ranieri is one of football’s nice guys and a very talented manager. There is no need for any Fulham player to fear him because he looks after his players and he is a proven manager. Winning the Premier League title with Leicester was one of the great achievements in football, against all the odds and when I spoke with fans outside Fulham’s riverside ground, all of them, without exception, think this is a positive move by the club. Having met Claudio on several occasions, I can honestly say that I wish this excellent and likeable manager the very best of luck.
Players in awe of
Pochettino
When signing a new six-year contract with Tottenham last week, Dele Alli said the main reason he had committed to the club was because of manager Mauricio Pochettino. Myself and some fellow journalists mentioned Alli’s decision to Mauricio who, in his usual modest way, laughed and said that he had Real Madrid to thank for his new high profile status amongst his players. Madrid have been keeping close tabs on the Spurs’ manager and was known to have been very keen for him to replace outgoing manager Zinedine Zidane. Mauricio said his players hold him in high esteem because of the constant interest from Real. In a very amusing interview, he said: “It is like with a girlfriend or wife. You are so handsome and you are walking down the street while holding hands. And she is so proud of you because another woman is looking at you. Your wife is even more happier to be with you because of this attention. In the opposite way, she would be disappointed if no one ever looked at you.”
He quickly added: “The players are more confident in me because of this attention from Real Madrid; they are attached to me and therefore the club, so we keep our best players. It is very nice of the players to say they want to stay here because of me.”
Ozil rejected fortune to stay a Gunner
I was astonished to learn from Arsenal this week that star forward Mesut Ozil rejected £1million-a-week to stay as a Gunner. During his long drawn out contract negotiations with Arsenal, Mesut’s agent Dr. Erkut Sogut rejected, on the instruction of Mesut, some staggering offers from Asia. Eventually, Mesut signed a new contract with Arsenal worth £350,000-a-week. However, Dr. Sogut claims that the salary was not the German play-maker’s prime objective. To understand what he means, you have to look at the commercial value of a famous player in his prime. Mesut has the biggest social media following of any player in the Premier League. His shirt sales are the largest in the club and sales worldwide are worth a fortune both to Ozil and Arsenal. Arsenal is a top brand club and the German knows it. Ozil previously earned around £140,000-a-week and the increase in salary ties him to the club until 2021 when he will be nearly 34 years of age. Many have criticised the German recently for lacking focus and commitment but Dr. Sogut says that the rejection of the huge foreign financial offers were because he loves Arsenal and did not want to leave. With the international break taking place this week, Mesut is enjoying a break from football as he has retired from international matches.
Not a statistic to be proud of at United
A fellow journalist pointed out to me this week that the 3-1 defeat at Manchester City last weekend means that this is the first season since 1966 that Manchester United have conceded more than 20 goals in their first 12 matches! United have let in 21 goals and last season they let in 28 goals in total.
Lerma looking good for Bournemouth
Bournemouth’s excellent start to the season has made all football supporters sit up and take notice of this small south coast club. Manager Eddie Howe says his record £25 million signing Jefferson Lerma has played an instrumental part in the Cherries unexpected rise to the top ranks of the Premier League. The Columbian World Cup star left Spanish club Levante in the summer and has played a leading role in the team’s successes this season. Howe said: “I cannot sit here and say “only” £25 million - maybe other clubs think it is not a great deal of money, but when you compare his price to some of the transfer fees currently being spent, it is looking like a good deal for us. He has done very well and I am hugely impressed with him. It is difficult to come to a new league and overcome potential language barriers, a new playing style and not knowing any of your teammates. He had a lot of challenges to deal with and at the moment he is doing very well. Supporters are dreaming of Europe but I agree with Eddie and that is a long way off and the season has a long way to go. For the moment, losing only a couple of games so far has promoted the club up the table but as Eddie is well aware, they have to press on with their improvement to keep up with the big boys.
Keita very happy with his Liverpool experience
Liverpool’s box-to-box midfielder Naby Keita is showing the right attitude to make it big time in the Premier League. He was a star in the German Bundesliga but recognised straight away that the Premier League was going to be a much bigger challenge. Fighting to recover from a thigh injury picked up on international duty earlier this month, Naby thinks coming to Liverpool will make him a better player due to all the competition he has in midfield. Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Adam Lallana are all strong contenders to start in midfield and Naby recognises that. Instead of showing frustration he said: “I’m really happy to be able to play with them and I’m learning from my experience.”
The 23-year-old said: “I’m training with them and trying to get better. Whatever the club wants to achieve I will be with them.”
Arriving from Leipzig, he has expressed his admiration for manager Jurgen Klopp. He said: “He is a top manager and it is really special to have him coaching me. He does not focus on one player, he focuses on all of us. He cares for us and he looks after us all. It is a real pleasure playing for him.”