Hello! It's that time of year again, and we're here for the next 12 Hours of uncertainty, angst and eventual disappointment. If you hadn't already guessed I'll be updating this between the start of this at 6am all the way through to the last update being just after 6pm, so let's hope we're busier than the last Deadline Day. We've got a lot of stuff to be resolved today. I'm getting quite paranoid about the Richard Stearman stuff heading into today- so hopefully we can resolve that early. Then we get onto the mess that is the Bakary Kone stuff, there seemingly being a chance we'll sign a Striker with the most likely option seemingly being Gary Hooper and more. Failing anything materialising I'll be talking about things like the Kone stuff and thoughts on the signings we've made and especially in the case of Ryan Fredericks how I think they'll impact the team.
Deadline Day of course isn't a one-way street, and on the outgoing front there's been a few links- but none I'll be in mourning over should they happen. The most recent one I've seen is Dan Burn to Sheff. Utd. I'll be perfectly happy with it as I said in my Rotherham Review provided we do sign Stearman and another Centre-Back whether that's Kone being forced on us, Mancienne, Sviatchenko or another.
I think my ideal Deadline Day would be signing Stearman, Another Centre-Back and Matej Vydra on the incoming front. With Watford getting Ibarbo I can't imagine Vydra not being available and just in my opinion he's more so what we need than Hooper. I tweeted it at the time without even really thinking about it, when Hooper came on during the Norwich game on Sunday I thought he looked massively overweight. I don't doubt he'd score goals, but I've had enough of out of shape Strikers. Whether we could get Vydra is another matter, but at this stage of the day I can dream!
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18:00: Right then this was a fun 12 Hours, just the one signing- but that one signing is a massive one in-terms of what we needed with Stearman. As said in the last update, signing a Striker would have been good- but it's not a make or break signing in that it's not like we don't have good options available. If anything long-term it may be good that we didn't get Hooper because Dembele will be getting more game-time.
As I've already said this Window has definitely been a good one regardless of whether we signed a Striker, We've got quality in every area of the pitch now- and crucially we've at least got the players that in theory should make our Defence a pretty solid unit which has been our problem for god knows how long.
Thanks for reading as always, these Fulham posts are on the International Break now- back with the Blackburn Preview. Thanks again for reading, and to all of you who stopped by throughout the day- At least this Deadline Day was more exciting than the last one.
17:53: Our business is done for the day so says Sarah Brookes. It's not the end of the world that we didn't get Hooper to be honest. The Loan Window opens in a week, and even then it's not a make or break that we signed a Striker.
17:37: Already had my say on Taggart earlier on in the day (10:42), it's quite funny that the one deal that could afford to "go long" in the Taggart deal is one of the one's we've gotten done before the English Deadline.
17:36: CONFIRMED DEAL! ADAM TAGGART'S BEEN LOANED TO DUNDEE UTD
17:30: We're on the home stretch. The Gary Hooper stuff is still ongoing, as I've already said- if we've submitted a Deal Sheet for Hooper we've got until 8 to sign him. It's seemingly all hinging on Dwight Gayle going to Norwich, so the player who we've been linked with for large parts of the Summer is the one who'll determine whether we sign a Striker right at the death basically.
17:00: Right then, Last Hour and all that stuff. It should be pointed out that if we have the paperwork sorted out on deals then we can sign people up until 8. This Gary Hooper stuff is seemingly dependant on Norwich getting other Strikers in with Walters, Naismith and Gayle being the options for them. Either way I hope we get it done quickly, it's been a good window for us either way- but getting in Hooper would take our window to the "next level".
16:50: Well, it's something. We've loaned Larnell Cole out to Shrewsbury. It's a good move for everyone to be honest, with Cole's injuries he needs football at senior level which we simply can't offer him. So overall I'm in happy with this one.
16:50: CONFIRMED DEAL! LARNELL COLE'S BEEN LOANED TO SHREWSBURY
16:00: Right then, We're right down to the business end of the window now. The Taggart stuff isn't in a massive rush, but when it comes to Burn, Bodurov etc. there seemingly hasn't been much movement on those fronts. Then on the incomings front it's seemingly all eyes on Hooper. It's definitely going to be an interesting two hours for us, the one thing you have to say- even without Hooper we've had a pretty good window all in all.
15:27: Apparently Gary Hooper's having his medical now. I hope he doesn't have to do anything treadmill related, our Medicals are hard enough as it is. Jokes aside, it is a good move for us and it's looking likely to happen now. I do wonder if there'll be much else assuming Hooper is happening, the Kone stuff for instance still hasn't been resolved.
15:00: It's seemingly all about Gary Hooper now. Sky Sources are reporting it now, so there's definitely something to it- and that's presumably the main story between now and 6 O'Clock. I've seen some people saying the Hooper stuff is somehow related to us selling McCormack to Sheffield Wednesday- which while I'm not saying it's impossible- it's a MASSIVE reach on the part of the people making that connection. I had my say on Hooper and him being overweight earlier in the day, but an in-shape Hooper is without a doubt a good signing for us- and with him on Loan as it's been widely reported it's a low-risk move by us in my opinion. There's still the outgoings to be talked about with Burn, Taggart, Bodurov etc. but especially on the Taggart front there won't be a big rush from Dundee Utd because they've got until midnight. It's definitely going to be an interesting three hours.
14:18: Right then, Stearman's in the bag- now the attention turns to other matters. I'm not going to be complaining if Stearman's our only incoming today- but I'd still really want a Striker to feel comfortable although the Gary Hooper stuff is seemingly dependant on if Norwich can get Striker(s) in and possibly another Centre-Back. I haven't seen much on the Kone front today- so I'll be interested to see where that one goes.
14:06: I'm over the moon that we've got this over the line. It's such an improvement on the options we've currently got available it's stupid. We all like to make jokes about Fulham and how we're run, but this is a quality buy for us.
14:02: CONFIRMED DEAL! RICHARD STEARMAN'S SIGNED.
14:01: It's pretty much dead at this stage. I'm hoping this is "Calm before the Storm" scenario and it'll all kick off soon. These next 4 Hours are definitely going to be interesting. Oh Yeah, I forgot to mention earlier- I'm going up this year and not down during this Live Blog thing so I'll appreciate thoughts on that.
13:00: It's gone a bit quiet in the last hour, I've seen some reports saying that a bid for Dan Burn's been accepted- but I'm writing that off as speculation for now. It's probably all going to kick-off when I inevitable crash out in an Hour or Two.
12:00: Right then, we're halfway through. The Stearman stuff is ongoing, as I've said- I just want that to be over the line ASAP, Possibly Gary Hooper and then we've got Taggart, Bodurov and Burn on the outgoing front at the moment. It's definitely going to an interesting 6 Hours, which hopefully I'll be happy with come the end.
11:32: Apparently we've rejected a bid for Dan Burn. I'm not sure what our valuation of Dan Burn is- so I can't comment on that sort of stuff. I think the Burn stuff all depends on who else we get in at Centre-Back. If we "just" sign Stearman, then Burn might end up staying as back-up- but if we sign another Centre-Back whether it's Kone, Mancienne or another then I can see him going.
11:00: Things are picking up now as predicted. The Stearman stuff I just want done, I know we've got time- but the sooner we announce him the better. Especially with our damn medicals I've got a feeling it'll be closer to the Deadline than we'd all like. On the outgoing front it looks like Taggart's off on Loan, we're apparently loaning out Bodurov with Championship clubs interested. So basically, it's all getting good now. Stearman and Hooper and I'm happy now.
10:42: It's all kicking off now, with Adam Taggart supposedly going out on Loan to Dundee Utd. I'm all in favour of this move, especially with the injury problems Taggart's had he really needs proper game-time which to be put simply he wasn't going to get here. If he goes out and bangs in a load of goals- happy days!
10:39: We've got our first big story from today. Richard Stearman is being reported as having his medical at the minute. I won't be 100% not worried about this one until it get's over the line, but things are definitely looking up now!
10:00: Well, still nothing. It's like I said though- I'm expecting, or rather hoping it's from around now that things pick up. The Gary Hooper stuff seems to have some weight what with Norwich saying they're looking to offload some players. It's not that I don't want Hooper, and he would score goals for us- I'd just prefer not to have another Striker out of shape. Anyway, stay tuned for more updates as the day goes on, we're already busier than the January Window Deadline because we've actually had rumours.
09:00: The Kevin McDonald stuff is interesting, as far as positions go another Midfielder is pretty low down on the list in terms of priorities. That said I suppose you can't rule it out at this stage- and I don't think anyone would say no should it comes off. As this stage I'll put a pin in it as "one to watch" for today.
Right then, Ryan Fredericks. I sort of called it in my Rotherham Review before the link properly came out that we were signing him and it's a pretty good get in my book. The only time I've seen Fredericks play was the Boro 4-3 game at the back end of last season and I can't say he stood out to me. But overall I am happy with the signing because it means we've "doubled down" on pretty much every position if we sign Stearman and another Centre-Back. It will be interesting to see if Fredericks or Richards is starting against Blackburn, and the Defensive Selection in general could be quite an interesting one with (hopefully) players like Stearman as options. Speaking of Stearman we haven't had anything on that front yet. I probably have no reason to worry, but it's Fulham so until I see him posing with a Fulham scarf and/or shirt I'll be in panic mode. ROLE ON 10! As I said earlier I'm expecting business to pick up in the next few hours.
08:45: I'm still here! I haven't crashed out yet, I had to sort a few things out- and I thought I may as well sort out said things while nothing was really going to (officially) happen. I have seen the Kevin McDonald stuff, but at this stage there's nothing to it in my book.
07:00: We haven't had anything yet, but I wasn't expecting anything yet. I reckon we'll start to see some stuff pop up from about 9/10 onwards. So then. This Bakary Kone situation eh? If there isn't anyone aware, we're basically being threatened by Lyon that they'll go to FIFA if we don't sign Kone. Only at Fulham, right? You can make the argument that people pull out of Deals all the time "in the real world", but that doesn't wash with me. While the Lyon President by all accounts is- let's say a piece of work, if he's willing to take it to FIFA then we're clearly in the wrong. If we'd signed the Paperwork for Kone and then reneged because of Mancienne or whatever then we're just stupid. It's definitely one to watch today, the problem now being if he does sign for us he's going to be sulking before he even gets through the door because we've basically said we don't want him.
06:00: So Yeah, That's all that needs to be said about Deadline Day for now. Let's get this show on the road.
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