Field #3 by Field Matchday

Theo Walcott

Norwich v Southampton

Interview with the Arsenal and England forward

who will prevail in the battle of the leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s big spenders?

Example

Liverpool

Interview with Fulham fan Elliot John Gleave

Is Philippe Coutinho the latest hero of the Kop?

theo Walcott

Norwich

Southampton

Sam Goff

Juliet Jacques

Chris Mann

19 Liverpool Nick Miller

Newcastle

WBA

Example

Graham Ruthven

Matthew Stanger

Paul Gleeson

Online: www.fieldmatchday.com @field_matchday

Contributors: Sam Goff @The_GULag Juliet Jacques @julietjacques Chris Mann @equaliserblog Nick Miller @NickMillerF365 Graham Ruthven @grahamruthven Matthew Stanger @MatthewStanger

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Welcome Last weekend was by no means a stellar one for goals with just 16 being scored across the ten games. But with two fiercely contested derbies this Sunday and an enthralling clash in Norfolk on Saturday, this one is already shaping up to deliver more.

With Champions League qualification secure for another season, Arsenal’s and Theo Walcott’s attention can now turn to the weekend and their old foes: Tottenham Hotspur. This Sunday’s North London Derby has taken on a new significance over the summer; Spurs will, no doubt, swagger down the High Road flexing their muscles and flaunting their summer signings. But make no mistake, this game still holds the same importance it always has for Arsenal who will not easily relinquish the long-held dominance they’ve had over their North London neighbours.

During his time at Everton, there was one club Moyes consistently struggled to beat; no matter what the form table read before the game, he just couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t figure out how to beat Liverpool. Rodgers, too, will be aware that last year, despite both games ending in draws, Moyes struggled against his Liverpool team and after an excellent start to the season will be confident he can lead Liverpool to victory. Key to this will be Philippe Coutinho. Nine months into his stay on Merseyside the Brazilian has done plenty to endear himself to fans. Playing a key role in beating United would all but secure his place in Liverpool fans affections.

The similarities between Norwich and Southampton are numerous this season, chief amongst them is the ambition both have shown in the transfer market. Both Mauricio Pochettino and Chris Hughton have been given considerable funds by their owners to strengthen and will be expected to achieve results that reflect this. With Fer available after completing a ban from last season and Ricky van Wolfswinkel looking dangerous upfront, Southampton will be hoping their own trio of signings (Osvaldo, Wanyama and Lovren) can make an impact and ensure they continue their excellent start to the season.

As has become customary with England squad announcements, there were one or two surprises alongside the regular call-ups. Chief amongst them were Ross Barkley and Andros Townsend; Raheem Sterling, too, was an unexpected inclusion. While it remains to be seen whether Sterling or Barkley will feature in the upcoming qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine, it is clear that Hodgson is looking to integrate young players into the squad. Too soon? Perhaps, but these players are doing well for their clubs and for the moment it is refreshing to see young players given a chance. Although some players are still picked on reputation, Hodgson’s determination to select players in-form is clear. Rickie Lambert has retained his place after a fine start to the season and debut for England last month, whilst Barkley in particular has shone for Everton.

It’s remarkable how quickly things can change in football. Only last week Arsenal were destined for mid-table obscurity; Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea were dead certs for the top three; and Cardiff and Hull were already being talked about in a past tense. Fast forward a week and things look quite different. Arsenal are now back in contention following a week where they qualified for the Champions League and beat Fulham 3-1; Cardiff recorded an impressive 3-2 win over title hopefuls Manchester City; and United and Chelsea flattered to deceive at Old Trafford. It all goes to show that there’s a reason why we shouldn’t read too much into early league tables.

Theo Walcott After weighing in with 14 goals last campaign, the Arsenal forward talks about his optimism for the season and his belief that he and the squad can push on to greater things.

This Sunday’s North London Derby has taken on a greater significance as it turns from local grudge match to a clash of two genuine title contenders. Spurs will, no doubt, have swaggered down High Road flexing their muscles and flaunting their summer signings. But, for all of Tottenham’s close season ambition it is Arsenal with the proven ability to consistently challenge and, in a week that has seen them comfortably beat Fenerbahce to earn Champions League qualification and record a solid win against Fulham, they have proved they are a team more than capable of putting themselves in contention.

“This year we don’t want to be thinking about finishing fourth, we want to be thinking about winning the league. That’s our main aim. We all think we can do it, so that’s what’s important for us and for the club.”

One of the players who will play a key part of any plans for Arsenal’s success is Theo Walcott. The forward contributed 14 league goals last season and as we spoke to him he was confident about his side’s chances of improving this year.

Arsenal’s lengthy dominance over their neighbours has been reinforced by their consistent Champions League qualification; 15 years in the competition has earned them security and prestige that is the envy of most clubs. Whilst a Champions League

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Walcott

place is the prize most pundits see the North London rivals competing for at the end of the season, for Walcott Champion’s league involvement seems to be a minimum requirement. “Winning it is what matters. But when you hear the music for the first time, when you’re walking out the tunnel, it’s completely different from the Premier League, completely different from anything I’ve ever experienced. At every stadium, the fans are just brilliant. You’re playing against the best players in the world in the best competition in the world. Being part of that is why it’s so important for us to get there every year.”

Walcott’s belief in his manager’s passion will be welcome news to Arsenal fans as the Manager’s nous may prove decisive as Wenger readies his squad for one of the season’s big games. Wenger will know that if his Arsenal side can prove their mettle and face down a challenge from their local rivals, the high profile success will spur his team on towards further achievement.

Walcott sees the Champions League as having the potential to have a galvanising effect on the squad as they search for league consistency. “Last season, that run we went on of 11 games, we don’t want that to go out the window, all our hard work and the fans’ hard work getting behind us… It needs to happen this year. And if we can beat Bayern Munich at their place I believe we can beat anyone. That’s a good statement right there.” The long unbeaten run at the end of last season was a good statement too. Whether they can repeat that kind of form will be crucial to the club achieving their ambitions this year. Walcott’s feeling seems to be that this sort of run should be par for the course when at Arsenal. Though his manager has come in for criticism over the close season, Walcott pinpoints Arsene Wenger as a force driving the club towards consistent success. “[Wenger] knows, and we all know, what should be happening in this club. He always has so much belief in us all. To see the amount of passion in his face, when he talks about it, it shows us that we need to do it for him as well.”

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Intervew by Sam Goff Words by Field Photography by Nike Theo Walcott wears Nike Tech Fleece throughout - available soon from Nike.com

Walcott

Norwich This summer has been less about bigspending by big clubs and rather bigspending by the Premier League’s smaller clubs. Norwich have assuredly gone about constructing a squad that could well challenge for Europe, as Juliet Jacques explains.

After a year in charge, this summer has felt like the point at which Norwich City have become Chris Hughton’s side. For the fans, one of the best things about City’s swift rise from the bottom of League One to Premier League safety under Paul Lambert was that his always felt like the same team, despite changing radically each season. This relied on his consistent use of 4-3-1-2, with Wes Hoolahan as the playmaker and Grant Holt as the attacking talisman, and a policy of recruiting primarily younger British players, in particular those who had impressed against City in the third tier. Lambert’s approach was very attacking, with his bold substitutions when scores were level being crucial to City’s promotion from the Championship, securing a number of confidence-boosting late victories. Lambert never sorted his central defensive pairing, which did not quite become an issue in the top flight despite keeping just two clean sheets in 2011-12: for Hughton, a more conservative tactician, this became a big problem from his first match – a 5-0 hammering at Fulham, which could easily have been far worse.

Realising that City’s style would have to change, and that his attacking options were limited, with only Holt proving a genuine threat to Premier League defences, Hughton tightened up, vastly improving at the back by signing Sébastien Bassong. Besides

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Norwich

On their last ascent to the Premier League in 2004, Norwich’s motto was ‘prudence with ambition’, and they are finally becoming more ambitious than prudent.

a ten-game unbeaten run in late 2012, however, City looked like relegation candidates, porous and ineffectual before mid-October and extremely timid after January, especially at home – wins in their last two games secured an implausible 11th place, but Hughton knows that the supporters, spoilt by Lambert, will not accept another year of such caution.

On their last ascent to the Premier League in 2004, Norwich’s motto was ‘prudence with ambition’, and they are finally becoming more ambitious than prudent. Two years in the top division finally cleared debts accumulated on relegation in 1995,

For the fans, one of the best things about City’s swift rise from the bottom of League One to Premier League safety under Paul Lambert was that his always felt like the same team, despite changing radically each season.

financial risk. At left-back, fellow Swedish international Martin Olsson, impressive over six years at Blackburn, will compete with Javi Garrido, kept after a solid season on loan, but most exciting may be Nathan Redmond, who feels most like the kind of player Lambert would have bought, despite playing his first games under Hughton at Birmingham: young, fast and adventurous, keen to test himself in the Premier League. On paper, it’s been a brilliant summer for Hughton, building a squad capable of challenging for the top ten but unlikely to saddle the club if things don’t work out: prudence with ambition indeed.

and allowed City to smash their transfer record by signing Dutch international striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel, for a fee thought to be around £8.5m. He is joined by midfielder Leroy Fer, who has two caps for the Netherlands, but these are not QPRstyle big names on huge wages with their best years behind them – both Fer and van Wolfswinkel are under 25, capable of improving the side, and attracting a healthy profit if they stand out. After two mid-table finishes, there is still the question of whether to try to push for European places or continue aiming to avoid relegation – the eternal dilemma for any club of City’s size on Premier League survival – and the other signings appear more modest, but retain the integrity of the squad. More than any other League One veteran who left this summer, Grant Holt’s departure undoubtedly changes the club’s character, but Gary Hooper – who, like Holt, played non-League football before rising through the divisions to England contention – can replace him without drastically altering the ethos. Otherwise, 39-year-old Carlo Nash will provide goalkeeping cover, allowing England Under-21 prospect Declan Rudd to spend a valuable year at Preston, and Johan Elmander’s arrival on loan bolsters City’s attacking options without any great

Words by Juliet Jacques

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Norwich

Southampton As well as Norwich, Southampton have set about improving their squad with a series of impressive signings this summer. Chris Mann analyses what has been a period of evolution rather than revolution on the South Coast.

It’s been a dizzying summer down on the shores of the Solent. Just four years on from Southampton Football Club’s darkest hour, the combined £36m it has spent on Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama and

Daniel Osvaldo in recent weeks has seen the club’s stock rise to unprecedented levels and provided it with what is surely one of the Premier League’s most exciting squads.

Recalibrating Expectations

In the wake of every transition, every sea-change, comes a recalibration of expectations. Giddy from a summer of unprecedented transfer activity, Saints fans are still adjusting to the new strength and potential of their team. For decades Southampton has been a club associated with little more than plucky mediocrity, a provincial team with strictly provincial horizons. However, since the late Markus Liebherr’s intervention rescued the club from financial oblivion in July 2009, Saints – through a combination of intelligent investment and ruthless ambition – have reinvented themselves as a stronger, altogether more astute organisation. It was that ruthlessness that brought about the dismissal of Nigel Adkins in January this year. Many Southampton supporters at the time, myself included, felt that Adkins’ removal was exception-

ally harsh. After all, he was the man who had guided the club to phenomenal back-to-back promotions. Building on the foundations put in place by Alan Pardew, Adkins had led the club away from an uncertain past towards a Premier League future burgeoning with possibility. Despite being met with negativity, with hindsight the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino by chairman Nicola Cortese was a watershed moment. Bullish and highly professional, Pochettino has appeared to imbue the players with greater levels of self-belief and tactical intelligence. Adkins did a wonderful job during his 28 months with the club, but Pochettino has since brought Southampton a cache and a confidence that the former manager simply could not have provided.

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Southampton

A Fine Balance

The face of Southampton’s squad may have changed, but it has been an evolutionary process rather than a brutal overhaul. The likes of Wanyama and Osvaldo may attract the headlines, but Pochettino’s opening day starting line-up featured no less than four academy graduates (Calum Chambers, Luke Shaw, James Ward-Prowse and Adam Lallana) and a quartet of players that featured for the club in League One (Lallana, Jose Fonte, Morgan Schneiderlin and Rickie Lambert). This may be a refreshed, more cosmopolitan Southampton squad, but this is a team that knows exactly where it has come from. Of course, while the summer has yielded plenty of positivity, there are still questions to be resolved at St Mary’s. Lovren may have added a calm authority to the back four, but the team struggled

for defensive coherence at times last season. The Croatian looks to be an excellent signing, but major improvements to defensive consistency will take time to be fully realised. Similarly, the arrival of Osvaldo will need to be managed with care. Lambert has established himself as a club icon over the last four years, but the capricious Italian is unlikely to be happy to defer to the England striker. Balancing the morale of the two, or finding a system that accommodates them both, will be key to the club’s progress this season. Osvaldo has the talent to take the team to another level, but his integration may also provide the sternest test of Pochettino’s man management skills.

Long-Term Ambition

The gathering expectation on the south coast is that Southampton will improve upon last season’s showing and become a top-half side in 2013/14. After one of the most enthralling summers in the club’s history, this well-balanced squad – with its combination of imported stars and local talent – undoubtedly has the potential to achieve such a feat. Raw ambition, however, must always be qualified with a dose of realism. The club has come a very long way in a short space of time and would do

well to take stock to ensure that it doesn’t run ahead of itself in a league that punishes complacency. These are exciting times for the club’s fans, but the organisational diligence that has brought the club this far must be maintained if lofty aspirations are to be realised. This season may well be a very successful one for Southampton, but we should be mindful that this is a club building a long-term project, not scrambling for short-term success.

Words by Chris Mann

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Southampton

Liverpool Over the years, Liverpool fans have witnessed some of the game’s great players at Anfield. With Suarez having made public his desire to leave, is it about time the Kop considered a new hero? Matthew Stanger certainly thinks so.

For better or worse, Liverpool are a team defined by emotions. Whether that’s passion with a prematch song that could make a grown man cry or the frustration of a 23 year league title drought that has seen the lot up the road win everything in sight. Woe betide anyone who gets on the wrong side of Liverpool fans, but the reverse of that particular coin is how fiercely loyal to their own they are. There are few other sets of supporters that seem to build such a personal relationship with their players. They latch on to a hero and hold on, forming a rare bond – they don’t just love their stars, they make them part of the club. Roger Hunt, Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez. Down the years each generation of Liverpool fans have bonded with at least one member of their side, claiming them as

their own – it’s a sense of personal attachment that fits very much with the idea of Liverpool as a club

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Liverpool

“He’s miles better than I ever was and I really mean that. If he stays here for a long time he’s got a chance of being as big as Kenny – that kind of stature. I look at his ability and I think he could be the new Kenny Dalglish.”

guided by the heart, rather than the head. Cult heroes are often those who, in the words of the old cliché, would run through brick walls for the club. Think Roy Keane at Manchester United, or Stuart Pearce at Nottingham Forest, or Tony

Adams at Arsenal. With Liverpool however, these heroes tend to be more creative, more flamboyant. It’s as if their fans adhere more to Danny Blanchflower’s famous maxim about football not being about winning or goals or saves but about watching something that thrills you, rather than Bill Shankly’s assessment of where the game lies in the life/death hierarchy. That’s partly why Suarez retains such loyalty – his capacity to make crowds gasp, in an era when not many players can do that anymore. Such fierce loyalty has its downsides, the most obvious example being the almost blanket backing for the Uruguayan during the Patrice Evra affair; backing that, while many of course felt was justified, most seem to have now recognised was misguided. But when you’ve taken in a man as your own, it’s easy to look the other way when flaws become evident. Now, with Suarez departure in mind and soul if not yet in body, Jamie Carragher’s retirement and Steven Gerrard’s around the corner, focus is shifting. Liverpool need a new hero – someone else to cling onto. Philippe Coutinho seems to be that someone, this boy with tight curls and a silken touch, capable of drifting past defenders before they’re really aware he was there. The Brazilian is a remarkable player, so much so that Peter Beardsley was moved to comment last week: “He’s miles better than I ever was and I really

be the new Kenny Dalglish.” High praise. Too high, one could say, and for a player who has not even been at the club for nine months, to compare him to the greatest hero Liverpool have ever had seems absurd. But while Coutinho is unlikely to achieve half of what Dalglish did at Anfield, perhaps Beardsley has spotted the connection that Liverpool fans already seem to have made with this creative marvel. He’s already one of their own. And at a club as emotional as Liverpool, maybe that’s what’s most important.

Roger Hunt, Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez. Down the years each generation of Liverpool fans have bonded with at least one member of their side.

mean that. If he stays here for a long time he’s got a chance of being as big as Kenny – that kind of stature. I look at his ability and I think he could

Words by Nick Miller

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Liverpool

Newcastle United and Joe Kinnear The second coming of Joe Kinnear has, as many expected, been as controversial as the first. Graham Ruthven looks at why his appointment should concern Newcastle fans in more ways that one.

Amid reports of his appointment as director of football at Newcastle United Joe Kinnear took to the airwaves. After confirming the validity of the rumours he attempted to reassure the club’s fans of his credentials, ahead of taking up such a role. Indeed listeners to TalkSport’s interview with Kinnear were left in no doubt over his qualifications for the job. Quite simply, he had none. Kinnear spent 15 minutes justifying his new position on false pretenses, praising himself and mispronouncing the name of almost every Newcastle player. Imagine an Alan Partridge radio appearance, but with an added degree of vitriol. By his own estimation Kinnear resides “head and shoulders above every other director of football.” He has claimed his stature in the game can “open the door to any manager in the world.” Kinnear also claims to “have won every award there is in football,” despite never winning the league title during his most successful spell, at Spurs in the 1970s. Don’t believe everything you hear in

football, particularly if Joe Kinnear said it. But it isn’t just the incoherence and sheer incompetence of the club’s new director of football that should worry supporters. Kinnear’s return

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Newcastle

Kinnear also claims to “have won every award there is in football,” despite never winning the league title during his most successful spell, at Spurs in the 1970s. Don’t believe everything you hear in football, particularly if Joe Kinnear said it.

could have deeper implications. The North East can be a volatile environment for football and Mike Ashley’s stewardship of Newcastle United as owner has stoked that. His hiring of Kinnear is just the latest indignation in a

list of previous offences as long as the Tyne. Ashley’s decision to appoint Kinnear could be traced back to a throwaway comment uttered by Pardew towards the end of last season. “We’ve both underachieved,” the Newcastle manager sighed at the time. “Him as an owner and me as a manger.” The words had barely left his mouth before Pardew began regretting them. Regardless of tone or true intent Pardew had publicly called out his employer – a risky strategy in any line of work, but especially within the Northeast football spectrum. By the time Newcastle’s squad has reported back for pre-season training Ashley had introduced the quality control, re-asserting his authority by introducing another level of order above Pardew. Perhaps there’s something to be correlated between the award of an eight-year contract to Pardew and the appointment of Kinnear. Having committed to such a long-term deal was Ashley backed into a corner? Did he draft in backup – his close friend Kinnear being the backup? If Ashley has indeed made such a high-level appointment on the basis of spite and paying a favour to a pub pal then the precedent set by the Newcastle owner is a concerning one. Is his professional judgment tempered by factors outside of football? Of course, Kinnear boasts a colourful and somewhat flamboyant career – starting his coaching career in the United Arab Emirates and leading the Nepal national team in the 1980s – but none of his experiences will prepare him for what will be demanded of him at Newcastle. Admittedly Kinnear was once a fine full-back for an exceptional Spurs side, and led Wimbledon as a manager to moderate success, but the sport has changed beyond all recognition since then. Kinnear is a relic of a bygone era. He is of no use or real purpose to Newcastle United. For Newcastle supporters Kinnear is the man who took the club to the second tier of English football for the first time in nearly two decades, despite relegation from the Premier League technically happening on Alan Shearer’s watch.

While the club might now be on a more secure footing the return of Kinnear comes at a pivotal time for Newcastle, especially for Pardew. Pardew could have been dismissed at the end of last season. Having finished within five points of Champions League qualification in 2012, last terms skirmish with the relegation places left the Newcastle manager in a precarious position. As the season ended Pardew was the bookies’ favourite for the chop. He needs a successful campaign. Yet despite their alleged strained relationship, the appointment of Kinnear could actually strengthen Pardew’s standing at the club. The fear that Kinnear could appoint himself manager should Pardew be fired has subsequently increased the latter’s stock at St James’ Park. Essentially, if Newcastle supporters were ever to choose one or the other Pardew would receive the unanimous vote. Kinnear has failed to deliver on his one objective this summer; player recruitment. Only Loic Remy has arrived at the club, on loan from QPR. Kevin Keegan resigned as manager on such grounds five years ago. Within a few days Kinnear was named as his replacement and Newcastle went down. Things might be bad just now but the alternative could be much worse.

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NEWCASTLE

Words by Graham Ruthven

West Bromwich Albion Last season, almost everything went to plan for Steve Clarke. Now in his second season in charge, Clarke is looking to continue the Baggies ascent up the table. As Matthew Stanger points out, he’s in an excellent position to do so.

A 3-0 opening day victory over Liverpool set the tone for West Brom’s impressive campaign last season – one in which the Baggies didn’t spend a single week outside the top half. But despite eventually securing eighth place - their highest Premier League finish - this has been a summer of managing expectations at the Hawthorns. The departure of top scorer Romelu Lukaku has caused many to take a pessimistic view towards West Brom’s ambitions. A 1-0 home defeat to Southampton in the first game and a second match without scoring against Everton, in which Ben Foster suffered a foot injury that has ruled him out for 12 weeks, further strengthened the belief that this could be a difficult year for Steve Clarke and his players. Although it may be a formidable challenge to break through the glass ceiling and achieve a higher finish than last season, the suggestion that

the Baggies could struggle has been greatly exaggerated. Now in their fourth consecutive year in the top flight, West Brom are an established Premier League club with a strong playing squad to match that status.

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West Bromwich Albion

While West Brom face a daunting task to improve on the previous campaign, they can hope to become a less functional team and adopt a more creative style of play.

Success in football is perceived in different ways and while West Brom face a daunting task to improve on the previous campaign, they can hope to become a less functional team and adopt a more creative

style of play which may aid a promising run in one of the domestic cup competitions. Clarke, who has taken like a duck to water in his first managerial role, welcomes the test that lies ahead. “For me, this is about trying to emulate what we did last season - to be a team that is positive and tries to win football matches. I have learned some lessons from last year and hopefully I can put them into practice this year and you’ll see a better and stronger West Bromwich Albion,” he said.

to fire West Brom to their first win of the new campaign. It’s a burden that leaves Clarke unfazed. “The goals will come. That doesn’t concern me,” he said. Perhaps it should be a worry to those predicting a tough season at the Hawthorns.

“For me, this is about trying to emulate what we did last season - to be a team that is positive and tries to win football matches. I have learned some lessons from last year and hopefully I can put them into practice this year and you’ll see a better and stronger West Bromwich Albion,”

The biggest challenge the manager faced this summer was replacing Lukaku’s goal threat and Clarke has recognised that need with some shrewd acquisitions. Nicolas Anelka and loan duo Matej Vydra and Scott Sinclair provide exciting options in the Baggies attack. Vydra in particular is an excellent signing, with West Brom fighting off fierce competition for the striker following his 22 goals for Watford in the Championship last season. “He had a really good year with Watford and we believe he’s got the qualities to score goals at a higher level. Hopefully, he’ll show that this year with us,” said Clarke. With Uruguay captain Diego Lugano also joining the club on a two-year deal from Paris StGermain, the spine of the team, which continues to boast influential duo Youssouf Mulumbu and Claudio Yacob, remains solid. It is now just a question of choosing the right combinations in attack

Words by Matthew Stanger

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West Bromwich Albion

Example It may be three years now since Roy Hodgson’s Fulham side scaled the lofty heights of the Europa League but after a summer of shrewd purchases, Elliott (Example) is hopeful that European football can return to Craven Cottage once more.

It is perhaps fitting that Example’s breakthrough album Won’t Go Quietly coincided with Fulham’s unexpected Europa League run during the 2009/10 season; the albums title perfectly describing the mentality that saw them defeat Juventus, Hamburg and Shakhtar Donetsk en route to the final. Three years on from the release of his second album and ascendency into the mainstream consciousness, Example is readying to enter the charts once more with his new single All The Wrong Places. As well as the new single, there is a new album on the horizon which is due for release next year but before then there is one more thing that will occupy Elliott’s mind: Fulham Football Club.

“I think maybe if we could finish in a position that get’s us into Europe that’d be nice. I really enjoyed our European run...it was quite unexpected. You know, Fulham fans don’t expect to finish top four or top five; we don’t really expect to win the FA Cup but that run really surprised us. So, if we can have another go at the Europa League that’d be quite exciting and might attract some exciting players.”

Ahead of the new season, expectations are high at Craven Cottage. Although last season ended with a limp rather than a sprint over the finish line, Elliott is hopeful that Martin Jol’s side can improve on last year’s 12th place finish.

In a summer where Manchester City, Norwich and Southampton have caught the imagination with a series of marquee signings, Fulham’s own progress has been largely overlooked. That is not to say that they haven’t been busy, though, as Jol has shrewdly bought in several good players. Dutch international Maarten Stekelenburg from Roma; Fernando Amorebieta from Athletic Bilbao; Aston Villa’s exiled frontman Darren Bent; and most recently Scott Parker from Tottenham Hotspur.

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Example

“I’m excited about the signings we’ve made already...The problem is that we’re not really buying players at their peak. For a team like Fulham we’ve got good players but whilst we’ve invested well and got in some new players we haven’t really got anyone at their peak in great physical shape.” One of the major changes at Fulham this summer wasn’t the arrival of a new player or departure of a current one; it was instead the change in ownership as Shahid Khan replaced Mohammed Al Fayed as chairman, after 16 years at the club. It may be early days for Khan but as Elliott explained: so long as he supports the manager, the fans will be happy. “I think the fans just like to see someone who is willing to spend or support the manager and he seems to have supported Martin Jol so far. Whether he turns up to any games or not, I don’t know if he will. Al Fayed turned up to quite a lot of games, he used to walk around and wave and that immediately made us warm towards him, even though he was a bit mad.” Amongst all of Al Fayed’s eccentricities, one stands out in particular at Fulham and will ensure he’s not quickly forgotten at Craven Cottage. “Hopefully he gets rid of it. If they had one of Michael Jackson at his prime, when everyone liked him, then it wouldn’t be so bad but it’s a really scary statue of Michael Jackson. It’s horrible; it looks like a clown statue. It looks like a melting Michael Jackson statue.”

best chance of removing it would be to displace it with a statue of himself. The reaction to his latest single has certainly set him in the right direction, with album number five shaping up to be his biggest release yet. It will also see Elliott return to the house-sound that was the hallmark of his early releases. “Yeah, it’s been a really good reaction [to All The Wrong Places]. I think people like club bangers, so to speak. People want to hear big drops and big symphs and lyrics that you can chant at a festival or in an arena. My last record was a bit more of an experiment and this new album is back to what I do best. “The thing is, when I made Changed The Way You Kiss Me and Kickstarts they were quite housey with elements of trance, I suppose, and techno and electro. So I have done electronic albums in the past but this is going to be the first one that is fully electronic and fully focused on the club and the festivals; there’s not going to be any slow moments or any ballads, there’s not going to be any dubstep or anything like that.”

Example is back with a brand new single, ‘All The Wrong Places’, a high octane, unabashed musical onslaught which drops on 8th September 2013 through Epic UK. For more information, head to Shoot Matchday now http://www.shootmatchday.com Words by Paul Gleeson

With the new owner showing no inclination, at least not yet anyway, to remove Michael Jackson from his plinth beside the Thames perhaps Elliott’s

Interview by Paul Gleeson arranged by Shoot Music Promotion

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Example