' MATCH THREAD ' FULHAM V CARDIFF CITY ' MATCH THREAD

FULHAM V CARDIFF CITY
Saturday 30 August 2014, 3:00pm

FULHAM LIVE STREAM HERE
http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?mat ... art=sports

' UPDATED ' SATURDAY 30th AUGUST 2014.

Team today :

Marshall
Fabio
Connolly
Morrison
Brayford
Dikgacoi
Whittingham
Daehli
Pilkington
Jones
Le Fondre

Subs :

Moore
Cala
Ralls
Adeyemi
Macheda
Guerra
Eikrem


Cardiff striker Federico Macheda is set to make his league debut after his two-goal show in the Capital One Cup victory at Port Vale.
The Italian joined Cardiff on a free transfer earlier this summer after his contract with Manchester United came to an end, but until Tuesday's 3-2 win the former Birmingham loanee had been sidelined for a month with a back injury.
"Kiko will definitely be involved at Fulham, it is possible he will start," Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.
Aron Gunnarsson is battling to be fit for Saturday after picking up an ankle injury against Wolves last weekend and summer signing Kagisho Dikgacoi stands by for his first league start if the Icelandic midfielder does not make it.


Fulham have doubts over Scott Parker and Mark Fotheringham ahead of the visit of Cardiff.
Whites skipper Parker twisted his ankle during Tuesday night's Capital One Cup victory at neighbours Brentford while fellow midfielder Fotheringham suffered a hip injury and needs a scan.
Boss Felix Magath rotated his squad for the trip to Griffin Park but might be tempted to keep changes to a minimum this time after Fulham won their first game of the season at the fifth attempt.
Striker Adam Taggart is expected to miss out again with a back injury.



Over 2,000 tickets have now been sold to Cardiff Fans

Tickets still on sale

" UPDATED DAILY "

FRIDAY 29th AUG 2014

Good news for Ole, hardly any injuries


Solskjaer on the injuries...

"Nooney is training and he looks good but won’t be in contention, he’ll be fine when we come back from internationals.

"Mats is back and big Ben will be six to eight weeks from now."


"Noone looks strong, all the scans and tests have been positive and mentally he is strong as well. Getting him back would be like signing a new £7m or £8m player.

"Mats had minor problem but he’s okay now."

Solskjaer also said that Gunnarsson is a doubt for the Fulham game.




The likely line-ups
Fulham: J Joronen; K Vosser, S Hutchinson, D Burn, C Burgess; T Hoogland, P Roberts, S Parker. M Dembele; R McCormack, C Woodrow.

Cardiff City: D Marshall (capt); J Brayford, M Connolly, S Morrison, Fabio; A Pilkington, K Dikgacoi, P Whittingham, M Daehli; K Jones, A Le Fondre.

Ones to watch
Fulham: Scott Parker directs operations from Fulham’s central midfield. His legs may not take him around the pitch as much as they used to, but at 33 years-old the former Spurs and England man is still a quality player. Everything goes through Parker and he dictates the tempo of Fulham’s play.

Cardiff City: Mats Daehli was rested at Wolves as he recovered from a muscle strain, but is ready to return. The Norwegian ace loves playing and will be keen to take his place in City’s midfield again. He has the ability to cause Fulham major problems.


Craig Noone has now been back in full training for over a week

Gunnar is nursing a slight knock

Thursday 28th August 2014

Kenwyne Jones and either Le Fondre or Maynard look favourites to start at Fulham on Saturday, but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made it clear Macheda will be in the matchday squad.
Solskjaer has taken note – and says: “He will be involved at Fulham – either from the start or off the bench.”



Former Cardiff City striker Ross McCormack has labelled Saturday's clash between the Bluebirds and his stuttering Fulham team “The big one.”



Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set to name a strong team for Fulham away and has very few injuries

Solskjaer is also set to change his teams that played away to Wolves and Port Vale and start with Kenwyne Jones upfront

fulhamvcardiffcity.png

Cardiff will be looking for a repeat of last year when they managed to double over Fulham in the Premier League.
Fulham are currently bottom of the Championship, having lost all 4 of their opening matches.

Team news
Coming Soon

Form
Of Cardiff's last 4 league games they have managed 2 wins, 1 draw and one defeat.
Fulham have lost all 4 in the league so far.

Last 5 meetings
2013/2014 Sat 08 Mar Cardiff City 3 - 1 Fulham Premier League
2013/2014 Sat 28 Sep Fulham 1 - 2 Cardiff City Premier League
1998/1999 Tue 18 Aug Cardiff City 1 - 2 Fulham League Cup
1998/1999 Tue 11 Aug Fulham 2 - 1 Cardiff City League Cup
1996/1997 Fri 31 Jan Fulham 1 - 4 Cardiff City League Division Three

Match Odds
Click here for full odds
Fulham 6/4
Draw 11/5
Cardiff 7/5

The ground

Club: Fulham FC
Opening: 1896
Capacity: 25,700 seats

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Now this is the best Match thread yet, Cheers Owain

Monday 25th August 2014.

Cardiff City: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says squad rotation is essential

Cardiff City manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says the high frequency of games makes squad rotation essential.
The Norwegian defended his decision to start with top scorer Kenwyne Jones on the bench in the 1-0 defeat at Wolves.
With a Capital One Cup trip to Port Vale on Tuesday and an away fixture at Fulham four days later, Solskjaer says he will continue to rotate.

"I'll always look to freshen things up at times and I'll make more right [decisions] than wrong," he said.

“It's going to be a long, hard season and we need everyone firing”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Cardiff City manager

"Of course you think it's very simple; you can play the same 11 in 46 league games and you'll be happy.
"It doesn't happen like that, it doesn't happen in today's football with the intensity, fitness, short space of time in between games, that's just how it is."
The former Manchester United striker said resting Jones on Saturday was "part and parcel of what we're going to do throughout the whole season".

Eight new players have been brought into the club over the summer, giving Solskjaer plenty of depth in his squad.
"There's going to be games he [Jones] won't play, there's going to be games other players don't play because it's going to be a long, hard season and we need everyone firing," Solskjaer said.
Saturday's loss at Molineux was the Bluebirds' first defeat of the season but Solskjaer says there has been no knock-on effect to Mark Hudson, who scored a last-minute own goal.
"Mark is a top pro. He's been as a captain should be - just get on with it. You've got to brush it off, we all make mistakes in the game of football."

Ole sarcastically on first 11 and little rotation:

"Of course you think it's very simple; you can play the same 11 in 46 league games and you'll be happy."

Better hope he manages to get the results.

City to beat Fulham 3-1

Really hope we win.. hopefully Brayford back in and Macheda/Jones starting.

Haven't been to many away games for a while.

How can I get a ticket and transport for Saturday ? Would love to go to Craven Cottage.

Many thanks

Haven't been to many away games for a while.

How can I get a ticket and transport for Saturday ? Would love to go to Craven Cottage.

Many thanks

If you got a season ticket or an away membership you can get a ticket easy and I am sure there are plenty of buses about that will have a space, all depends where you are from which would suit you to find a bus that has a pick up point near you.

https://www.eticketing.co.uk/cardiffcity/default.aspx If you have an account you can get a ticket online.

If not ring 0845 345 1400.

Guess it will be six wins in a row now...

----------------Marshall----------------

Brayford--Connolly--Morrison--Fabio

Pilkington--Dikgacoi--Ralls--Daehli

---------Macheda-----Jones-----------


A bit brave perhaps to start Ralls (and very unlikely to happen), but he is impressing every time he´s, so why not give him a chance. Whitts and Gunnars out. Lack of possession so far is not only their fault, of course, but I have a feeling they´re a big part of it.

Bench:

Moore, John, Cala, Burgstaller, Adeyemi, Le Fondre, Guerra

----------------Marshall----------------

Brayford--Connolly--Morrison--Fabio

Pilkington--Dikgacoi--Ralls--Daehli

---------Macheda-----Jones-----------


A bit brave perhaps to start Ralls (and very unlikely to happen), but he is impressing every time he´s, so why not give him a chance. Whitts and Gunnars out. Lack of possession so far is not only their fault, of course, but I have a feeling they´re a big part of it.

Bench:

Moore, John, Cala, Burgstaller, Adeyemi, Le Fondre, Guerra

Gunnar and Adeyemi big part of lack of possession. Start Dikgacoi, Ralls got to at least be on the bench.

Last 5 meetings
2013/2014 Sat 08 Mar Cardiff City 3 - 1 Fulham Premier League
2013/2014 Sat 28 Sep Fulham 1 - 2 Cardiff City Premier League
1998/1999 Tue 18 Aug Cardiff City 1 - 2 Fulham League Cup
1998/1999 Tue 11 Aug Fulham 2 - 1 Cardiff City League Cup
1996/1997 Fri 31 Jan Fulham 1 - 4 Cardiff City League Division Three

Guess it will be six wins in a row now...

Sure.
If you want to count their 2 league cup wins as our own wins

Kenwyne Jones and either Le Fondre or Maynard look favourites to start at Fulham on Saturday, but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made it clear Macheda will be in the matchday squad.

Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has no doubt Federico Macheda will prove to be a big hit after he crowned his debut for the Bluebirds with two goals.

Solskjaer has known the Italian since he was a 16-year-old at Manchester United and revealed he will now play some part in Saturday's trip to Fulham.
Macheda was one of several players to take the eye as Cardiff's second string played some terrific football to claim a 3-2 win and knock a hard-working Port Vale outfit out of the Capital One Cup.
Solskjaer said: "They have given me food for thought and I was very pleased with what I saw. The passing and movement the boys showed is the way I like to play football. Some of the youngsters were fantastic.

"I've always known Federico is a natural goalscorer since I was with him at Manchester United. He practises his finishing every day in training and I have no doubts about him.
"His first goal was a poacher's goal and I would have put my mortgage on him scoring the second when he was one-on-one with the keeper.
"He's right in my thoughts now for Saturday. He will certainly play some part, whether that be starting or from the bench.
"A lot of the other lads out there are also knocking on the door, maybe not for Saturday but certainly after the international break.

"I've got a lot of players but it's not a case of trying to keep all of them happy. It's not a social club, we are a professional football club. If they play well enough they get noticed and get picked."
Not one of Solskjaer's starting line-up from Saturday's defeat at Wolves featured in his 18-man squad.
But it didn't take long for his inexperienced side to settle before taking a 26th minute lead with a terrific strike from Joe Ralls.

Until they put back the Micheal Jackson statue back then We should win no matter what side Ole puts out

Will be really disappointed if we don't win this one, Fulham have been very poor and we have the fire power to punish them

£11m man Ross McCormack ready for the 'big one' between Fulham and former club Cardiff City


Former Cardiff City striker Ross McCormack has labelled Saturday's clash between the Bluebirds and his stuttering Fulham team “The big one.”

The Scotland striker, who scored 29 goals in 74 games for Cardiff, before leaving for Leeds for £400,000 in 2010, was always a fan's favourite in South Wales.

But, four years on, McCormack is the £11m man tasked with leading Fulham back to the Premier League after last year's relegation along with Bluebirds.

But after a shocking start, featuring defeats against Ipswich, Millwall, Wolves and Derby, McCormack needs to start paying back his transfer fee – quickly.

After hitting the decisive goal in last night's League Cup derby win at Brentford, the 28-year-old said: “Cup wins are nice but your bread and butter is the league.

“We’ve had a bad start so it’s important we put it right, starting Saturday.

“We’re four games in, we’ve got a completely new squad, we’re trying to gel, we’re trying every day in training to gel.

“Maybe a result away from home in a local derby will give us the belief we’ve been needing to go on.”

But with former players like John Arne Riise queuing up to criticise the Cottagers team and their boss Felix Magath, McCormack has little time to start justifying his huge fee.

I really don't want to take this game for granted and then see us lose it in a poor game, quite nervous to be honest. Three points will be mega important right now to keep us up and challenging but it's all too easy to let it slip, as seen in the wolves game.

Cardiff City's famous five
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has an abundance of goalscoring talent to select from ... and his biggest problem may be having too many options.

There are five front-line forwards who want to start for Cardiff City against Fulham this weekend, with Federico Macheda having put his name firmly in the mix with a two-goal show on his debut at Port Vale.

Macheda may have to wait, though.

Kenwyne Jones has been excellent this season and is likely to start as first choice at Craven Cottage, with either Adam Le Fondre or Nicky Maynard next to him.

Macheda and new Spanish capture Javi Guerra are likely to be amongst the substitutes.

It’s clear Solskjaer rates his Famous Five highly and he has real Championship riches at his disposal.

I wonder if old MJ will be looking down at the game? Shamone.

MJ - The Craven Cottager.jpg

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Draw all over it.

Hasn't it been removed?

Hasn't it been removed?

Hasn't it been removed?

Hasn't it been removed?

Sadly it was removed exactly one week before we played them there last season, which was a great shame as I was looking forward to saddling a plastic chimpanzee on MJ's face along with a plaque that said 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles'.

Let Macheda loose at them - they won't be able to handle him! We need to build his confidence and he'll continue to get better and better !

Macheda played 90 minutes or less on Tuesday, don't see why he shouldn't start if he is going to drop Jones again?

The boy already got 2, and like Jones, why drop a player when he's in form. Don't be so naive this weekend Ole, Jones and Brayford back in and get Ralls on the bench.

FULHAM FC

Next Up: Cardiff City
Thursday 28 August 2014 16:00
Fulham meet a fellow relegated side for the first time this season when Cardiff City visit Craven Cottage on Saturday (3pm).


The opposition

With six games played in all competitions, Cardiff fans probably would have settled for four wins and a draw heading into their trip to SW6.

They kicked off the 2014/15 Sky Bet Championship campaign with a Friday night draw at Blackburn Rovers, but secured their first win of the season five days later when they narrowly saw off the threat of Coventry City in the First Round of the Capital One Cup.

Back-to-back home wins over Huddersfield Town (3-1) and Wigan Athletic (1-0) in the league then propelled the Bluebirds to second, with just goals scored keeping them behind leaders Nottingham Forest.

A 90th-minute own goal by former Fulham man Mark Hudson led to their only defeat of the season in their previous league outing, a 1-0 loss at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

They joined the Whites in the hat for the Third Round of the League Cup, though, with a 3-2 win at Port Vale on Tuesday.

Tickets for Saturday's meeting with Cardiff City are available to buy on General Sale, priced from just £25 for adults and £10 for juniors.


Inside the camp

Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watched on gleefully as Federico Macheda nabbed a brace on his debut in midweek, and confirmed he will be letting him loose again against Fulham.

“I've always known Federico is a natural goalscorer since I was with him at Manchester United,” he said. “He practises his finishing every day in training and I have no doubts about him. His first goal was a poacher goal and I would have put my mortgage on him scoring the second when he was one-on-one with the keeper.

“He’s right in my thoughts now for Saturday. He will certainly play some part, whether that be starting or from the bench. A lot of the other lads out there are also knocking on the door; maybe not for Saturday, but certainly after the international break.”

Player to watch

Kenwyne Jones: Signed from Stoke City as part of a swap deal with Peter Odemwingie in January, there are high expectations for Kenwyne Jones this season. After scoring on his debut for the club, he then failed to find the net throughout the remainder of the 2013/14 campaign, but he certainly hit the ground running this term, with three goals in his first two matches. A powerful centre-forward, Jones has a good leap but can also cause problems with the ball at his feet. The 29-year-old is closing in on 100 goals in English football.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=146605

The likely line-ups
Fulham: J Joronen; K Vosser, S Hutchinson, D Burn, C Burgess; T Hoogland, P Roberts, S Parker. M Dembele; R McCormack, C Woodrow.

Cardiff City: D Marshall (capt); J Brayford, M Connolly, S Morrison, Fabio; A Pilkington, K Dikgacoi, P Whittingham, M Daehli; K Jones, A Le Fondre.

Ones to watch
Fulham: Scott Parker directs operations from Fulham’s central midfield. His legs may not take him around the pitch as much as they used to, but at 33 years-old the former Spurs and England man is still a quality player. Everything goes through Parker and he dictates the tempo of Fulham’s play.

Cardiff City: Mats Daehli was rested at Wolves as he recovered from a muscle strain, but is ready to return. The Norwegian ace loves playing and will be keen to take his place in City’s midfield again. He has the ability to cause Fulham major problems.