Elliott wades in to deny Fulham spoils
Burnley 1 Fulham 1
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Your support makes all the difference.Roy Hodgson says he will not be pressing the case for any of his players to feature at next summer's World Cup in South Africa.
A three-times former international coach with Switzerland, the UAE and Finland, Hodgson was explaining how some of his comments regarding Bobby Zamora and other England fringe players had been misinterpreted last week. The Fulham manager had just seen Zamora score his second goal in consecutive matches to earn a valuable point away at Burnley, although the Cottagers were denied all three points by Wade Elliott's stunning volley.
"I was asked by a very respected journalist whether there could be a place in the squad for someone who comes in from left-field, a different player who has played before," said Hodgson.
"I was asked whether Fabio Capello could choose a player such as a Ledley King at Tottenham or a Bobby Zamora. I said that it was a valid point, but how anybody could interpret that as 'Roy Hodgson says Bobby Zamora should play for England' is just laughable. The one thing I hated most as a national coach was a club manager saying that I think you should pick my player.
"If Fabio Capello wants an opinion on a player, he knows me very well, he knows I will give him an honest assessment, and he's very welcome to call me. But never, never will I go out and say that a player of mine should play for England."
Hodgson did laud Zamora's display, which included his 50th minute crisp opener from the right side of the box, saying: "Bobby is playing well," he said. "He had a slight knock at half-time but he managed to carry on and scored a good goal. He's leading the line very well." Fulham fans were singing 'Bobby for England'.
Fulham could have gone ahead twice in the opening three minutes through Damien Duff and Eric Nevland, and it was partly because of this that Hodgson felt his side could have come away with a win had they been blessed with a little more luck.
"Before the game, knowing this is a difficult place to come, if you'd have offered me a point without playing I'd have been tempted to take it," he continued.
"But after the 90 minutes, especially with the way we played at the end of the first half and at the start of the second, I think I can be a little disappointed we didn't claim all three."
Elliott's leveller on the hour, a right footed volley after Stephen Jordan's free-kick had been inadvertently flicked on by Aaron Hughes to the right corner of the box, deserved to gain something out of the match.
From then on the Clarets, who have now claimed 17 points out of a possible 20 at fortress Turf Moor this season, had more of the possession. But they failed to create a clear-cut chance to win it. Their manager Owen Coyle, said: "Any point gained in the Premier League is a handy one, and we had to do it the hard way by coming from a goal down. On the balance of play, I think a point is probably a fair result."
Attendance: 18,397
Referee: Mike Jones
Man of the match: Duff
Match rating: 6/10
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