Source: Daily_Mail
The Victory and the Glory! Fulham heading Down Under for pre-season
Fulham have announced plans for pre-season friendlies with A-League duo Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory in July.
Australian champions Melbourne will entertain Fulham at the newly-named Etihad Stadium, formerly the Telstra Dome, on Saturday, July 11 before the Cottagers face the Glory four days later.
The Glory will also play newly-promoted Wolves on July 10 at Members Equity Stadium, while Mick McCarthy's men will face Robbie Fowler and new expansion side North Queensland Fury on July 15.
Fulham are set to begin their tour of Australia against another expansion side, Gold Coast United, on July 9 at Skilled Park.
'I am very pleased that we can announce our early pre-season plans and, although this season is yet to end, I am looking forward to our trip to Australia,' said Fulham manager Roy Hodgson.
'We have an opportunity to play three teams of quality who I am sure will want to put on good performances against us, which of course is what one hopes will assist the team in both their personal preparations, but also of course collectively.'
The Glory were rumoured to be playing Everton but owner Tony Sage said negotiations fell through as the Toffees could not commit until after the current Premier League season.
But, as Perth coach Dave Mitchell previously played under Wolves boss Mick McCarthy and also visited Fulham during a trip to Europe last month, the Glory were able to convince the club that Perth would be an excellent base for a pre-season camp.
'Wolves, they're going to be here for 10 days,' Mitchell said, who confirmed Wolves would arrive in Australia on July 4.
'I know Mick (McCarthy) personally and I said, "look it's a great place to come, you don't want to be flying all over the place, just base yourself here".
'It's a wonderful city, we've got wonderful facilities that what we still can improve in the future, but it's great for the city and great for the tourism of Perth.'
