Steve

The Rock from FriendsOfFulham.com kindly answered some questions on Tonight's Premier League clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage! - Firstly, thank you very much for taking the time to answer the questions. We will start the interview with an easy question, how long have you supported Fulham for? 10 years + since I was interested in football, only team I ever supported. - Fulham have been on a good run of form, winning your last two games. It is always pleasing to see, do you think your season has been successful and where do you think you could of improved? Top 10 is a success. We lack consistency. Been rebuilding under Jol so trying to be patient, though pleased. - The last time we met at Stamford Bridge, Fulham came away with a 1-1 draw. Would you be happy with a similar result? I'd take a draw but gun to head I'd fancy our chances vs. you. Chelsea is a Europa league team now and slipped a bit. We win and we are side by side in the table, which puts us at full value tbh. - Chelsea's defense has been a bit up and down as of late, we have let in some very sloppy goals. Do you think you will pressure us into making the same mistake or will you sit back and wait for the right times to attack? We will cause you some problems IF we show up. - What are your thoughts on Fernando Torres, he has been playing some great football for Chelsea in recent weeks and in slowly finding form again, do you think he will start finding the net on a more regular basis? Torres is one of the best. It's too bad he went missing for you as he is much more than we could afford. - Clint Dempsey scored against us in our last game, and has been on a great run of form scoring twice on the weekend and was so close to getting a hatrick. Do you think he will be a big contributor to you again this time round and do you think he will still be a Fulham player next season? Yes. 75% chance he's still at Fulhman next year. - Damian Duff was an outstanding contributor to Chelsea's successful run between 2003-06, how has our old boy been playing for Fulham? Duff was great in our Europa League run to the final, and has recently put in some great performances when called upon. A little confidence does him a world of wonder, and Newcastle was not right for him. - If you had to pick one Chelsea player to join Fulham, who would it be and for what reason? Sturridge. We are rebuilding and bringing in young talent. He's really quite good. - Looking at your current squad, which player has been your stand out player this season and if you had to choose one player that you would think would make an impact at Chelsea who would it be and why? Dempsey of course. Because he's probably better right now than any of your midfielders. - Finally, what do you think the final score will be in our very important Premier League encounter? 2-1 to Fulham. I'm not quite sure how important this is - at this point both of us are playing for league position (unless you really care about the Europa league). Sidenote: Hope I don't sound harsh - I don't mind Chelsea at all. There are some teams and supporters who I find disrespectful and Chelsea isn't one of them. Good luck after our match of course.

- Firstly, thank you very much for taking the time to answer the questions. We will start the interview with an easy question, how long have you supported Fulham for? Erm, 5-6 years. - Fulham have been on a good run of form, winning your last two games. It is always pleasing to see, do you think your season has been successful and where do you think you could of improved? Overall, yes. We've looked very good at times but also had our dreadful times. We could do with improving our away form, it's like 5 wins in 52 in the League and just 3 this season. - The last time we met at Stamford Bridge, Fulham came away with a 1-1 draw. Would you be happy with a similar result? I would be happy, but this is our best opportunity to steal all three points. We've never looked this good and it arguably, hand ith the worst season for Chelsea since Roman took over. - Chelsea's defense has been a bit up and down as of late, we have let in some very sloppy goals. Do you think you will pressure us into making the same mistake or will you sit back and wait for the right times to attack? It's not like Martin Jol to sit back. We'll try to control possession and get players forward, I infact feel it will be you doing the counter attacking rather than us. - What are your thoughts on Fernando Torres, he has been playing some great football for Chelsea in recent weeks and in slowly finding form again, do you think he will start finding the net on a more regular basis? My dads a Chelsea fan, so I do actually end up watching a lot of them. He's been your best player this past month and is so unlucky with his goalscoring form. He will turn up again, but when? It could be a year, it could be from tonight. - Clint Dempsey scored against us in our last game, and has been on a great run of form scoring twice on the weekend and was so close to getting a hatrick. Do you think he will be a big contributor to you again this time round and do you think he will still be a Fulham player next season? Roberto di Matteo has been speaking of Dempsey's class and trying to defend against him. The problem would be, if you tell Ivanovic to follow him inside, John Arne Riise will find the space down the left. He's turned into a poacher, but can also pick up quality goals like his Drogba esque free kick at the weekend. I think he will stay, due to his age and price tag, would you pay £10m for 29 year old? - Damian Duff was an outstanding contributor to Chelsea's successful run between 2003-06, how has our old boy been playing for Fulham? He's been our best player in our last two games, and when he's up for it, he does look world class. Will probably have a confirmed spot in the 11 from here with Ruiz being out for the rest of the season. - If you had to pick one Chelsea player to join Fulham, who would it be and for what reason? This is actually really tough. There are a few for a lot of reasons. Ivanovic because we lack a top class right back. Luiz, because he would be immense next to Hangeland. Finally Mata due to his pure class. I'd have to say Mata, though I must mention his one footedness... - Looking at your current squad, which player has been your stand out player this season and if you had to choose one player that you would think would make an impact at Chelsea who would would it be and why? Moussa Dembele. Yes Clint Dempsey has been our stand out player, but striker, who's been turned into a midfielder by Jol, Moussa Dembele can walk through midfield's for fun. He can get players sent off, not by diving, but with just immense dribbling skills that force people into tackling him. - Finally, what do you think the final score will be in our very important Premier League encounter? I think we can win, I'm confident. But I would put my money on a 2-2 draw.

os5889 from FriendsOfFulham.com has kindly answered some questions on tonight's Premier League encounter! - Firstly, thank you very much for taking the time to answer the questions. We will start the interview with an easy question, how long have you supported Fulham for? Almost 20 years, not really allowed any other thoughts to the contrary by the old man. - Fulham have been on a good run of form, winning your last two games. It is always pleasing to see, do you think your season has been successful and where do you think you could of improved? Overall I'd say yes, secure in the league and a few realy good results. I'd say we've been a lot better away from home this year, bought through some good players and got rid of a lot of deadwood. For a transition season 10th (at the moment) isn't a bad result. Disappointed with our cup runs, one of which you put to bed despite being second best. Europa league exit was depressing as hell but I think if we'd stayed in it we would have really struggled in the league. - The last time we met at Stamford Bridge, Fulham came away with a 1-1 draw. Would you be happy with a similar result? I'd take a point today, I think with your rub of the green in this fixture in the past we are surely due a win soon. - Chelsea's defense has been a bit up and down as of late, we have let in some very sloppy goals. Do you think you will pressure us into making the same mistake or will you sit back and wait for the right times to attack? Depends on the atmosphere today if its flat I don't expect you to have any problems... - What are your thoughts on Fernando Torres, he has been playing some great football for Chelsea in recent weeks and in slowly finding form again, do you think he will start finding the net on a more regular basis? Personally I loved him at Liverpool, was disappointed he joined you. Now after the horror run he's been on and how well he's started to play recently I just want to see the lad do well. Cue a hattrick today! - Clint Dempsey scored against us in our last game, and has been on a great run of form scoring twice on the weekend and was so close to getting a hatrick. Do you think he will be a big contributor to you again this time round and do you think he will still be a Fulham player next season? He does like playing against Chelsea so I expect him to keep up his good run of form. I hope he stays with us as opposed to moving on to richer pastures to sit on a bench, it would be a waste of a great talent. - Damian Duff was an outstanding contributor to Chelsea's successful run between 2003-06, how has our old boy been playing for Fulham? MOTM against Norwich and Bolton for me. 'Nuff said, he's still class. - If you had to pick one Chelsea player to join Fulham, who would it be and for what reason? Ivanovic, he looks like he'd eat your children, is a man mountain of a defender and scores a hell of a lot of goals. - Looking at your current squad, which player has been your stand out player this season and if you had to choose one player that you would think would make an impact at Chelsea who would it be and why? Dempsey, someone to play in support of the strikers and get involved more in the physical battle than Lampard is a must buy for you going forward. - Finally, what do you think the final score will be in our very important Premier League encounter? Head says 0-2, Heart says 2-1.

Was just about to post that. what is going on with this lad... He's got some serious problems by the looks of things.

Welcome to the forum, stick around.

I think he could even get more then 3 games if Wigan get involved...

Mikel has been quality since Roberto took over. There is 3 other players in that photo and to put the blame completely on him is ridiculous.

Give it a go mate!

Maybe you can edit Sloths articles after we see what they are like!

Sounds good mate!

Maybe just go over the last round for each team, and some past stats would be good. Maybe talk about how tight our schedule is as well.

Sloth give it a go mate. See how you go and private message it to one of us if you like. We would like to get as many writers as possible!

“The early bird gets the worm” – That’s precisely Chelsea’s policy in this transfer window as the club have already confirmed 2 high-profile signings so early in the transfer window. For once, it is heartening to see the club finally decide to create a new team. All these years, Chelsea fans went into the transfer window expecting the squad to be strengthened considerably but were left disappointed. Last season, an AVB-inspired Chelsea went on a summer-long pursuit of Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric only to settle for Raul Meireles on deadline day. Juan Mata, Romelu Lukaku, Oriol Romeu and Thibaut Courtois were also signed in the window as the board looked to infuse youth into an ageing team but unfortunately, with the exception of Juan Mata, none of the others established themselves at the club. This summer though, things look promising as Chelsea have already dipped their toes in the transfer market by snapping up German winger Marko Marin for a mere 7 million and Belgian sensation Eden Hazard for 32 million. With reported interest in a whole host of players across Europe, next season may finally be the start of the post-Mourinho era at Chelsea. 1. Marko Marin Marko Marin signed for Chelsea at the end of April (rejecting Tottenham) in what was seen as a ‘coup’ at £6 million by most Chelsea fans Position – Marko Marin will almost certainly be used in the Left Wing position at Chelsea. He plays his best football on the wings and has struggled lately when Werder Bremen used him in the Attacking Midfielder role after Mesut Ozil’s departure. Strengths -.Comparisons to Lionel Messi may be far-fetched but Marin has built a solid reputation in Germany as an “assist-maker”. His dribbling and acceleration are extremely good and he doesn’t hesitate to take defenders on and get past them. For once, it will be refreshing to see a true winger play on our flanks (Kalou) Weaknesses - As much as I hate to agree with goal.com, Marin seems to be inept in his decision making on the field. Far from being a Messi, Marin’s style of play is more similar to Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria. Also, there is a big question mark over his fitness. Tactical Implications One of the reasons Marko Marin was brought in was to increase the overall strength of the squad. No more of playing Kalou and Malouda in the Champions League final. Plus, Marin is an out and out winger, something Chelsea have been lacking in the last few seasons. We have relied on overlapping full-backs to spread the game wide for a long while now, so Marko Marin will give us a different dimension in attack (something like Jesus Navas for Spain) Stat – Marko Marin has made 40 assists in under 150 appearances for Borussia Monchengladbach and Werder Bremen. Verdict – Can’t do worse than Kalouda and at 7 million it’s a very good deal – 7/10 2. Eden Hazard After a transfer saga that threatened to spread out over the summer, Chelsea signed Eden Hazard from Lille 2 weeks after winning the Champions League. The fact that a manager-less Chelsea beat the Manchester clubs to his signature is particularly satisfying. Position – Eden Hazard is a player who can play anywhere in attack mainly due to his vast array of skills. Rudi Garcia used him in the attacking midfield role occasionally switching to the flanks but with Juan Mata already occupying the CAM position, I think Eden Hazard will start his Chelsea career out on the wings. Strengths - Just like Marin, Hazard will add pace and creativity to the side and gives Juan Mata a genuine wing option to pick out. He has brilliant agility, acceleration and is also known for his quick thinking and pin point passing evidenced by consecutive Ligue 1 Player of the Year awards. Weaknesses – Eden Hazard should take up defensive responsibilities especially in the big games. For example, If Manchester United play Nani at RM and Valencia at RB, Eden Hazard should help out Cole in case he gets double teamed. Of course, his primary intent should be to run at defenders rather than track back to cover Cole but he has shown negligence in his defensive responsibilities. Also, he doesn’t seem to be a good header of the ball and that means both Hazard and Mata won’t go up for headers in attack. Tactical Implications di Matteo has a welcome headache in his team selection. With Eden Hazard on one wing and Ramires/Marin/Sturridge on the other, Chelsea’s attacks will be less of “stick it up to Drogba” next season. This falls right into the hands of Fernando Torres who likes to receive through balls rather than crosses. Also, Hazard adds a dynamic edge to the attack with his dribbling skills. He maybe Chelsea’s answer to Ronaldo and Messi Stat – With his International debut, Hazard became the youngest player to represent Belgium at 17 years and 316 days Verdict – Unnecessarily raised expectations with the transfer saga but he has the time and ability to live up to it – 9/10 Future Activity Hulk With a rumored pricetag of 38 million, the big man from Porto comes at a price but he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast and you can’t go wrong with that. Hulk is seen as a replacement for Didier Drogba although he primarily plays on the wing. Signing Hulk will give Chelsea depth in the attack and his obvious strengths – strength and speed works well in the Premier League. He has got a bullet of a left foot as well as an astonishing goal-scoring record of 150 goals in 278 appearances overall. Verdict – Make it happen, Gourlay - 8.5/10 Victor Moses Is he in the same league as Hulk? No. But Victor Moses looks like the board’s fall back if their primary targets fail. Essentially costing peanuts, Victor Moses is pacy and has a great future ahead of him. He offers depth on the wings and in the centre-forward role Verdict – Should be considered only if primary targets fail – 6/10 Mathieu Debuchy Star of the Euros for the French National team, Mathieu Debuchy is a solid right back who plays for Lille. Frankly, he is far better than any of the other fullbacks we have been linked to (Selassie, van der wiel) evidenced by his solid performance against England in the Euros. He seems capable of running up and down the right flank all day long and would be a genuine option to challenge or rotate with Ivanovic for a right back slot. Verdict – Solid full back. Bench-strength for defence – 7.5/10 The Old Guard is broken up, Mourinho’s shadow is lifted and a new team is being built. The future looks bright for the European Champions as di Matteo heads the dawn of a new era at the club. Click here to view the article

I will post an article submission thread here in the announcement section and you can post it there mate! Thanks heaps!

Fulham are in some quality form and this is going to be so much tougher after some of there current results. Might of only been the last two games but they look so confident going forward.

Crazy day in the Serie A. Cannot believe they lost at home after being so dominant.

You are a quality writer mate. You can basically post about anything to be honest. What ever you feel at the time, there is never a specific topic really. But if you want to start with a FA Cup semi preview maybe?

Top of the table again and we deserve it! No one can say any differently!

Ok so basically we need writers for the main site. It's come to the point where if we don't start posting more articles on the main site we are never going to bring in the amount of readers that will get us to become a well known Chelsea site. Jim and the rest of us staff work on this site for hours a day, maintaining it and keeping it going. It all becomes to much at times to find the spare time to write such detailed articles to get our site attention. Alex does a great job with his Match Reports and I try my hardest to find quality football fans to interview game in game out but it all takes up time when most of us are still studying or working full time. This is where we need the help from our members. We have some quality writers amongst our community and several times we have people say they are willing to help write articles but then it just never happens. I would like to put the invitation out for members who are keen writers to start doing so. It would mean a hell of a lot to all of us guys if you could pay back a bit to the community. If you are interested please let us know here. Come on guys, get involved and help us out!! Please post the articles here if you have wrote one!

Downloads http://forum.talkche...chelsea-v-wigan

I will back this lad when he has done nothing wrong. At times he reminds me of players that frustrate me by running into defenders without putting his head up. But his slips today are not his fault. The grass was clearly over waters, Mata slipped there and so did Essien. He came on and completely changed the game again. He basically opened up Wigans defense on his own and we made so many chances as soon as he was up forward.

Forza Juve, come on!

3 points is 3 points and ill take it anyway it comes.

Post Match Discussion Here -