Fulham goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar has warned Robbie Fowler not to expect to score on his
widely-anticipated debut for Leeds at Craven Cottage this weekend.
Fowler has now completed his £11million move to Elland Road from Liverpool
and is set to be included in the Leeds squad for Sunday's game. The striker
scored on his Liverpool debut at Craven Cottage in a League Cup game, while
also hitting the net five times in the return encounter at Anfield.
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Fulham Goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar |
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And although van der Sar recognises Fowler's talents, he warned that the
new Leeds recruit would not have it all his own way if he was looking to
do the same again on Sunday.
The Holland international keeper, who himself moved from Juventus to
Fulham this summer to revive his career, declared: "If you are not
getting enough starting appearances then maybe you start looking for something
else.
"I think that is what Robbie Fowler has done. We will have to see if
it works for him. "I have been watching his move from Liverpool to
Leeds with interest, but not only because of our game on Sunday. I love
football and I try to watch as many games and get as much information as
possible.
"He is a good striker and if you look at the statistics, he scored
a lot of goals for Liverpool. Of course, it will be difficult to face him
on Sunday. "But there is no reason why this Fulham defence cannot stop
him and the other Leeds strikers from scoring. "It will be a difficult
game as they are a top team and they have quality players but we also have
quality players. We have proved that in the past 13 league games."
Indeed, Fulham have conceded just 13 goals in those 13 games, a record
which is only bettered by four other Premiership clubs - Leeds, Chelsea,
Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Van der Sar, like several of his team-mates, will be rested for Sunday's
game after being left out of the starting line-up for the Worthington
Cup defeat by Tottenham on Thursday night.
However, van der Sar recognises that Fulham will need to show mental strength
to recover from their fourth defeat of the season, having previously been
beaten only by Manchester United, Arsenal and Villa.