Category Archives: Fulham

Fulham, Huddersfield Town, Leeds United, News, Norwich, Reading

Charted: The Championship Average Attendances

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Eddie Howe led Bournemouth to the Premier League by finishing first in the Championship.

The Championship season has finished, with Bournemouth and Watford the two sides confirmed to have earned promotion to the Premier League.

Middlesbrough and Norwich City are going to face off at the national stadium, Wembley, on Monday, in the play-off final, with the winner being promoted to the top flight. Middlesbrough had their names misspelled on the tickets for the final.

However, how do the top sides rank when compared to other teams in the division in terms of attendance? The chart below shows which the best attended grounds in the second tier are.

The Chart

Average attendances in the Championship

A chart of The Championship’s average attendances

Surprisingly, Bournemouth, one of the two teams to have gained automatic promotion, actually had the second lowest average attendance this season, at 10,265. They were above only Rotherham United in the overall table.

Brentford, another of the division’s high fliers, who have been rejigging the structure of their club, were third from bottom, with an average attendance of 10,265.

The best attended team in the Championship, on average, were Derby County, who dropped out of the play-offs on the last day of the season in dramatic circumstances.

Leeds United, who finished 15th and recently replaced head coach Neil Redfearn with Uwe Rosler, were fourth in the average attendances table.

Photo credit: Stuart Bramley (creative commons)

Arsenal, Fulham, News, Tottenham

No Fears Over Spurs And Arsenal Interest In Wonderkid

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Fulham manager Kit Symons has revealed that he has no fears over George Williams’ future with the Championship club going forward.

The talented young winger broke into the first team earlier in the campaign.

He earned a place in the starting eleven after his excellent performances for the Cottagers during their FA Youth Cup run last season, which ended in a loss in the final to London rivals Chelsea.

However, Fulham might struggle to hold on to him.

The likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have both been credited with an interest in the 19 year old, and could carry out a raid on their London rivals.

Premier League sides Everton and West Ham both have an interest in signing him too, which means that there is clearly a queue of clubs who would like to capture him if the opportunity arises.

This could come as a blow to Fulham fans, but Symons believes there is no reason to be concerned about Williams’ future.

He said: “I’m not surprised about there being rumours regarding our players because we’ve got some really good players.

“It’s quite flattering to hear but rumours are exactly what they are, so we’re certainly not getting too concerned about them.

“George is a great player, a bright young talent who will just get better and better in my opinion.

“I’ve know him for a long time from his academy days and my time working with him with Wales.

“Like all our young players we’re looking at them to mature and improve as we go on.”

Our verdict

Prodigious talents like Williams are always a target for Premier League sides, but top clubs like Arsenal and Spurs would probably want him to prove himself further before making a big bid. Fulham are under no obligation to sell, and are in a relatively good financial position after receiving parachute payments this season.

Photo Credit: Jon Candy
Articles, Fulham, Leeds United, News

3 Reasons Leeds Should Fear £11m Ex-Skipper Against Fulham

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Saturday sees the first game between Leeds United and Fulham since 2004, when the Whites were relegated from the Premier League.

The tie at Elland Road may be Fulham’s return to the ground after a ten year absence, but it also features the return of former Leeds skipper Ross McCormack.

Fulham did a considerable amount of business with Leeds in the summer, signing a 40 goal strike partnership for a combined total of around £12 million, with McCormack moving for £11 million.

While Matt Smith floundered after joining the London side, ultimately moving back to League One on loan, McCormack is slowly asserting himself since the departure of Felix Magath.

However, things are still not hunky dory for Kit Symons’ side.

While they sit only a point behind Leeds in the table, in 18th, they suffered a humiliating 5-0 loss against Watford last week at Craven Cottage.

Leeds showed their defensive problems last week, losing 4-1 to Ipswich Town.

McCormack has not yet hit his true heights, but Leeds fans know there are reasons to fear him against their questionable defence.

Here are some of the reasons why:

1. He’s still an exceptional goalscorer, when given a chance – he scored 29 goals last season for the Elland Road side.

2. McCormack is at his most dangerous when he feels he has been wronged. Huddersfield felt his ire last year when their fans claimed he didn’t want to play – the outcome was a hat trick in a 5-1 win. He consistently scored in high pressure, high tempered derby matches last season too.

 

Leeds fans will do well not to give him a reason to play at his peak.

3. He’s provided seven assists this season. A striker like Hugo Rodallega, with eight goals this campaign, could benefit from his service against the Whites.


Errr…or not.