Fulham boss Roy Hodgson, who was yesterday rebuffed in his attempts to buy Marlon King from Watford, insists size has been a key factor in identifying signings for the transfer window.
Hodgson fears his side’s lack of height is proving costly and hopes to rectify the situation by beefing up the squad during the January sales, with powerful Hornets front man King already a confirmed target.’The imbalance in the team comes from the lack of size,’ the 60-year-old said ahead of tomorrow’s clash with West Ham.’A lot of our players are of a similar height and not very tall, so stature will be a factor for us when we look at new players.’But if we are to buy new players they must also be quality who will make us a better team, not just make us bigger.’
King, who was denied the chance to prove himself in the top flight last year as he spent the majority of the season in Watford’s treatment room, was the subject of a £4million offer but the Coca-Cola Championship side are not inclined to do business.Chief executive Mark Ashton told the club’s official website: ‘Fulham have made a bid for Marlon King. We have stated our position on Marlon; he is our leading goalscorer and one of the spearheads of our team.’We have no need to sell him and neither do we want to.’
Hodgson insists chairman Mohamed Al Fayed is ready to dip into his personal fortune to sign the players needed to keep Fulham in the Premier league. And the 60-year-old revealed money is no object for the Harrods owner. ‘The chairman is very supportive. He wants the club to stay in the Premiership,’ he said. ‘We’re trying to be reasonably realistic in setting our targets for the transfer window. ‘I’m sure that if we succeed in being able to attract those targets, the chairman won’t stand in the way of getting them. ‘He’ll not be saying ‘it’s a good idea to sign that player, but I’m not making the funds available’.’ We don’t have a limitation in that we can only spend a certain amount off money or sign a certain number of players. It’s up to our judgement.’
