Hodgson to ask Al Fayed for funds to rebuild Fulham squad
Published 23:00 08/02/10 By Nick Ive
Roy Hodgson will ask Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed for some-much needed funds to boost his ageing squad in the summer.
The Cottagers boss has worked miracles on a shoestring budget since being appointed in December 2007, turning the Londoners from near relegation certainties into Euro League contenders.
But with the burden of a crippling injury list, Hodgson will appeal to Al Fayed to splash the cash.
Hodgson said: “The chairman has been very supportive throughout and I have no reason to think he won’t be.
“We’re fully aware that if we are to stay and do as well as we have done in the last year-and-a-half then we will need some help in the summer and that will probably mean we will be seeking some quality additions to the squad.”
The Premier League are set to introduce new rules to the size of squads next season with a limit of 25-man squads, of which only 17 can be over the age of 21 and must have been trained in the English and Welsh professional systems.
Hodgson will try to bring the average age of his squad down and try yo pick up some more unpolished gems like Chris Smalling, who was signed from non-league Maidstone in June 2008 and will join Manchester United for £10million in the summer.
Hodgson is due to meet with Fulham chief executive Alistair Mackintosh in the next couple of weeks to discuss transfer policy and available funds.
He added: “We have until the summer to identify those people we want and persuade the chairman that all the support he has given in the past isn’t yet finished and he has to keep going.
“He's backed all the managers to be fair. My record on transfer selling and spending is actually very good.
“Before that a lot more money was spent that wasn't recouped. A lot of the money that I have spent in my couple of years has actually been recouped.
“But I'm still asking him to put money onto money. Maybe not money that I have cost him, but money that the club has cost him - and I'm aware of that.”
Fulham welcome back leading scorer Bobby Zamora (sickness) and Simon Davies (ankle) for tonight’s home clash with Burnley, but Andy Johnson won’t play again this season after undergoing surgery on his troublesome knee. Kagisho Dikgacoi is also sidelined.
