Because there are times when commentators can't jsut focus on Rooney, Torres, Drogba and Fabregas! It is one of those questions that tends to take place in a pub, watching a game in which one of the ‘less-fashionable' players has just scored a worldy. "I've always rated him. No honestly I have. Come on then, who [.

Clint Dempsey is not as badly injured as perhaps first feared.

Whilst obviously disappointed, Clint is focused on his rehabilitation and will work hard, in line with medical advice, to return at the soonest opportunity.

Strikes me as a strange thing to say.

Brentford 0-5 Fulham

Griffin Park became the site of Fulham's destruction of League 1 side Brentford. The Cottagers didn't take long to put the tie out of the hands of their hosts. A three-nil score-line at half-time was enough to set the pace for an emphatic five-nil stomping of The Bees.

Like the Two Ronnies' policemen whose toilet had been stolen, at this point we still have nothing to go on.

I wonder if part of this is candidates taking a realistic look at what Fulham are, what Fulham can be, and backing off. Yes, we're a Premier League side, and yes we've recently made it to Europe, but is it that simple?

They hadn't so much as conceded at home before today, so really we had no business expecting anything. But you always hope for more don't you? It wasn't to be.

Chelsea had all the ball in the first half and made all the danger. They scored when Michael Essien headed home a left wing cross, and it looked at that point if there might be many more.

Andy Carroll, born and bred on Tyneside, has made it clear to anybody who is willing to listen to him, that Newcastle United is the only club he wants to play for. Aaron Hughes and Andy Carroll race for the ball on Saturday But that hasn't stopped some of the big clubs thinking they will [...]

With most of Europe on their Winter break, the English and Scottish Premier Leagues played their regular schedule on Sunday. In the English Premier League, Jonathan Spector's West Ham United got the better of a battle of National Teamer Abroad clubs, beating Fulham 3-1. Aaron Hughes had Fulham up a goal 11 minutes in, but West Ham equalized in the 37th and took the lead for good in the 45th.

While we get excited about the game tomorrow, here's an interesting thing. Total UEFA games played by our squad members:

No. Name P Gls
19 Pascal Zuberbühler 90 0
13 Danny Murphy 55 7
18 Aaron Hughes 52 2
16 Damien Duff 45 4
5 Brede Hangeland 44 2
1 Mark Schwarzer 29 0
11 Zoltán Gera 21 4
10 Erik Nevland 20 4
4 John Pantsil 19 1
17 Bjørn Helge Riise 15 1
27 Jonathan Greening 10 0
25 Bobby Zamora 10 4
3 Paul Konchesky 8 0
6 Christopher Baird 8 0
2 Stephen Kelly 7 0
23 Clint Dempsey 7 1
20 Dickson Etuhu 5 1
29 Simon Davies 5 0
35 David Elm 5 0
26 Christopher Smalling 4 0

Clint has not been wasting his time off. He seems to have grown a beard.

Only he and Aaron Hughes have a really dark beard 'in them', don't they? We have a very fair squad.

At the Fulham fans' forum a couple of years back, Roy Hodgson was asked about backups for Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland. At the time we didn't know about Chris Smalling, so the cover essentially came down to an as yet unreformed Chris Baird.

People were concerned about this, but Roy had a good answer.

This one had a county cricket feel to it, lots of gentle ambling around under a cloudless sky with occasional bursts of excitement, but nothing that would keep you from having a nap should the urge have arisen. Both teams were in damage limitation mode, and it showed.

Fulham played with a fullish strength side, Baird the right back du jour, Chris Smalling filling in for Brede Hangeland, everyone else in their usual roles.

Hace dos temporadas protagonizaron una de las remontadas mas espectaculares que se recuerdan para salir del hoyo y evitar el descenso a la durísima Championship, y ahora están en toda una final de la Europa League, es admirable como un equipo pequeño y humilde, de la mano del maestro Roy Hodgson ha conseguido ir creciendo poco a poco hasta hacer historia y dejar sin "su" final a todo un Hamburgo con figuras de talla mundial como Van Nistelrooy, Berg o el prometedor Elia.

>> Click Here To Watch Fulham Vs Atletico Madrid Live Now <<

Fulham Vs Atletico Madrid Live Streaming & Match Preview
Europa League – Fulham Vs Atletico Madrid Live Online Click Here
Wednesday, 12th May 2010
Kick Off : 19:45 BST
Venue : HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg Germany

The much anticipated Europa League final match between Fulham and Atletico Madrid will be played at the HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg on Wednesday 12th May 2010, kick-off set for 7:45 PM.

We always liked Aaron Hughes, when he played for Newcastle from 1997 until Graeme Sourness sold him in 2005 to Aston Villa. Aaron Hughes one great professional While Aaron was never top class, he was a guy who married a Geordie girl and you could count on him to always give 100%, and he could play [.

Finally, some news of Phillipe Senderos whose Arsenal future has been in limbo for years. He has departed for Fulham on a free transfer.

He was at Milan for the 2008-2009 season and then went to Everton on loan for the second half of the 2009-2010 season. In these two years he managed only a handful of appearances but still made Ottmar Hitzfeld's World Cup squad for Switzerland.

Forlan shows why he wants to score goals

That was the question vexing Roy Hodgson last month when Fulham went up against Atletico Madrid.

It was thought that Forlan ever so deadly in front of goal should be starved of supply but as it turned out despite the best efforts of Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes they were not able to stop the Atletico Madrid striker.

As the second weekend of Premier League football draws to a close the stories of the season start to take shape. Wigan are off to the worst start to a Premier League season ever with 2 home losses and 10 goals conceded without reply and Chelsea are off to one of the best, already 2 points clear of the competition but they don't play relegation candidates every week.

On the pitch:

1) Was there any better way to break Matthew Briggs into the team than last night? Home game (but small crowd), weak opposition, surrounded by first team players all 'looking out' for you. Really well done by Hughes, and Briggs will have gained a lot from that, not least because he's no longer just the answer to a trivia question and is (finally) getting the chance he's wanted for a while;

2) Bobby Zamora would probably feel he could do a job for Barcelona at this point.

Fulham

• 1 Mark Schwarzer
• 3 Carlos Salcido
• 18 Aaron Hughes
• 6 Chris Baird
• 5 Brede Hangeland
• 13 Danny Murphy
• 23 Clint Dempsey
• 27 Jonathan Greening
• 29 Simon Davies
• 30 Moussa Dembele
• 11 Zoltan Gera

Subs

• 12 David Stockdale
• 2 Stephen Kelly
• 4 John Pantsil
• 8 Andrew Johnson
• 16 Damien Duff
• 20 Dickson Etuhu
• 21 Eddie Johnson

Aston Villa

• 1 Brad Friedel
• 2 Luke Young
• 3 Stephen Warnock
• 29 James Collins
• 5 Richard Dunne
• 6 Stewart Downing
• 12 Marc Albrighton
• 20 Nigel Reo-Coker
• 25 Barry Bannan
• 7 Ashley Young
• 14 Nathan Delfouneso

Subs

• 22 Brad Guzan
• 4 Steve Sidwell
• 9 Stephen Ireland
• 21 Ciaran Clark
• 24 Carlos Cuellar
• 30 Eric Lichaj
• 50 Jonathan Hogg

Great to see both Nathan Delfouneso and Barry Bannan getting starts.

Fulham

• 1 Mark Schwarzer
• 3 Carlos Salcido
• 18 Aaron Hughes
• 6 Chris Baird
• 5 Brede Hangeland
• 13 Danny Murphy
• 23 Clint Dempsey
• 27 Jonathan Greening
• 29 Simon Davies
• 30 Moussa Dembele
• 11 Zoltan Gera

Subs

• 12 David Stockdale
• 2 Stephen Kelly
• 4 John Pantsil
• 8 Andrew Johnson
• 16 Damien Duff
• 20 Dickson Etuhu
• 21 Eddie Johnson

Aston Villa

• 1 Brad Friedel
• 2 Luke Young
• 3 Stephen Warnock
• 29 James Collins
• 5 Richard Dunne
• 6 Stewart Downing
• 12 Marc Albrighton
• 20 Nigel Reo-Coker
• 25 Barry Bannan
• 7 Ashley Young
• 14 Nathan Delfouneso

Subs

• 22 Brad Guzan
• 4 Steve Sidwell
• 9 Stephen Ireland
• 21 Ciaran Clark
• 24 Carlos Cuellar
• 30 Eric Lichaj
• 50 Jonathan Hogg

Great to see both Nathan Delfouneso and Barry Bannan getting starts.

Former Newcastle United player Aaron Hughes will return to Newcastle tomorrow with Fulham. Aaron Hughes - loyal player for Newcastle The 31 year-old Aaron Hughes will likely be welcomed back fondly because this lad joined Newcastle when he was a youngster and always played his heart out for Newcastle.

Remember Erik Nevland at Reading? Slipped through, drilled finish into the far corner like it was the easiest thing on earth to do, game over. Birmingham at home a week later: through again, bang, game over. Nevland was presented with chances and had the skill, fortune and balls to take both. Classic sport: cometh the hour, cometh the Scandinavian.

Fulham

Position: 17th, 2-9-4 (15 points, -3 goal differential)

Away Form: 0-5-2 (-2 goal differential)

Recent Form: DLDLD

Last Meeting: Arsenal 4 Fulham 0 (May 9, 2010)

Back in league action tomorrow against Fulham, and this is a match we could very easily lose points from.

Angles are not a problem for Nasri

The Premier League table looks just about right to me. Arsenal once again move top for the second time in a week. This will last for quite some time, at least until Manchester United plays their match in hand. As I mentioned in the preview, this traditionally is a tight game.

Samir Nasri is unmistakably transforming into the most influential French footballer since Zinedine Zidane. This is his second goal, even more sublime than the first. And dare say, after Russia was awarded the 2018 World Cup, Andrey Arshavin seems to have perked up. He had a hand in both goals.

Two Sami Nasri goals were enough to send Arsenal top of the Premier League as Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1. That win combined with Chelsea‘s draw with Everton and the Manchester United v Blackpool postponement meant that Arsenal now have a one point lead at the top of the table.

After two home loses in November, it was imperative that Arsenal grabbled all three points from this game and the Gunners got a perfect start when Nasri scored after 14 minutes.

Two Sami Nasri goals were enough to send Arsenal top of the Premier League as Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1. That win combined with Chelsea‘s draw with Everton and the Manchester United v Blackpool postponement meant that Arsenal now have a one point lead at the top of the table.

After two home loses in November, it was imperative that Arsenal grabbled all three points from this game and the Gunners got a perfect start when Nasri scored after 14 minutes.

Collective "awww" as Roy Hodgson and Fulham are reunited at long last.

What, you're not feeling all gooey and gushy inside? Heartless bastards, the lot of you.

I've actually been a bit surprised at the lack of the aforementioned gushing in the build-up a few mentions here and there, but for the most part, the aim has been on the need for Liverpool to start to play with some sort of consistent quality.

According to the ever-awesome Taiwanese animators, yes; Fulham will be playing at the World Cup in Qatar 2022. And Chris Baird will be making out, erm, snogging, with Aaron Hughes on the field.

(Spotted at TheBigLead.)

Fulham 1-3 West Ham United ( Aaron Hughes/ Carlton Cole*2, Frederic Piquionne) December 26, 2010- Boxing Day- Craven Cottage, London. West Ham grabbed a welcome win on Boxing Day over Fulham thanks to two goals from Carlton Cole. Fulham took the lead through Aaron Hughes and dominated the first half, but West Ham managed to [.

Christmas magic is surely being felt by West Ham United as the bottom table club successfully lifted themselves out of the last position temporarily after picking up a win in Boxing day despite playing away against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Making things more magical for West Ham, the away team picked up their first away victory this season after trailing one goal first in the 10th minuted when Aaron Hughes nodded home Simon Davies cross and set the Cottagers' fans on their feet.

My first game since Stanley's birth, and while I'd been warned that all was not as it should be at Craven Cottage, this still came as a nasty surprise. If you can't beat the worst team in the league on your own turf, well, what then? Miserable.

A game featuring two struggling sides almost had to be cagey, so an early goal would really be useful.