We pay a visit to the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday evening and I thought I'd help Martin Jol a little by getting the inside line on Mancini's side. I spoke with Danny Pugsley, editor of Bitter and Blue, to get his thoughts on all things City, including their title challenge with Manchester United and their relatively poor form at home against Fulham.

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It appears that, after the persisting rumours that linked Andy Johnson with a move to Wigan Athletic in exchange for Hugo Rodallega, the striker will be offered a new deal at Craven Cottage, and on the terms he has expressed as acceptable.

Manager Martin Jol was speaking ahead of Fulham's visit to Manchester City on Saturday and admitted that, while there was interest in the former Crystal Palace forward, he was never going to let him go.

"I said to Andy you will stay here whatever happens and that probably wasn't ideal for him," Jol stated.

"But it was good for me because we can now get on with the job and hopefully he can play for us and score goals.

"It is more to do with his situation. His contract is up at the end of the season and he is a bit insecure about his future."

Jol then went on to confirm just why there has been difficulties in the tying down Johnson, and also stated a new offer has been put on the table, despite the fact that age is getting the better of him.

"I don't think there is any problem with him so we will find a solution. And I think he wants to stay as well."

"We have made him an offer a couple of times and in the latest stage we even offered him what he wanted and that was two and a half years.

"So we are close. The sticking point was a year difference."

We always seem to have a pretty lovely time of it at the City of Manchester Stadium, but something tells me that, this time around, the tide is somewhat against us. Manchester City are in the midst of a slight recession - certainly not financially, but their form has been dipping - and, as Manchester United damningly proved earlier in the season, a wounded animal should always be feared. They beat us 5-0 and we had never been so humiliated since our introduction to the Premier League.

Not only that, but we have a crisis of our own, following the delirious happenings of transfer deadline day and Bobby Zamora's subsequent departure. Our 1-1 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion proved as much, with the Baggies pegging us back while we pushed up without a recognised striker on the field of play. We all had an inkling in the Summer that, without a new striker, there'd be trouble ahead, but nobody believed it would reach such a harsh pinnacle.

Perhaps, then, we're a wounded animal too. But, unfortunately, with our lacking front line, we have the arsenal of a mouse while City will come at us, claws and everything.

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The agent of Ajax forward Mounir El Hamdaoui has revealed that his client turned down the opportunity to move to Fulham on a 5 month loan deal in the dying moments of Tuesday's January transfer deadline day.

El Hamdaoui, a Moroccan international, has worked with Martin Jol at his Dutch club and is thought to have a good relationship with the current Fulham boss. Signing the striker would have taken some the strain off of Bobby Zamora's departure to Queens Park Rangers, but after a move fell down for El Hamdaoui to transfer to Fiorentina, the 27 year old striker denied the opportunity of playing at Craven Cottage.

Jol signed the striker at both Tottenham and Ajax, and, if he didn't enjoy the best of it in North London, the Moroccan enjoyed a good spell in Holland. The striker is known to want out of the Amsterdam ArenA, but will now have to wait until the Summer for any move to go through - presumably not with Fulham.

"At 8:44pm, Jeroen Slop [Ajax's finance director] sent me a text message proposing to send the player on a five month loan deal to Fulham," said agent, Sigi Lens. "But we were still in Florence and anyway, Mounir said no."

Fulham manager Martin Jol has openly admitted that Bobby Zamora had to leave the club, stating that accepting an offer from Queens Park Rangers, of around £4 million, "was not a difficult decision".

The pair were rumoured to have fallen out earlier in the season, supposedly over tactics and Jol's suspicious decision to leave Zamora at home for some of our away European ties. The England international forward expressed his disappointment at such choices and the rift only widened.

Zamora was reported to have substantial offers from abroad, although nothing has been confirmed, but insisted on staying in England in an attempt to sustain well being for his family.

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The post Bobby Zamora era of Fulham promised so little and offered just as much. Clint Dempsey was almost, yet again, the saviour here, but his solitary goal was not enough to defeat West Bromwich Albion as Roy Hodgson's men lumbered back into the game and embezzled a draw from our less-than-firm grasp.

Fulham played decently throughout, their insistence to play neat, passing football straight from the back line being an irritable but still somewhat pleasant representation of the fact. Martin Jol's men pressed well but West Brom always had a foot in the door and the back four of Kelly, Hangeland, Senderos and Riise didn't look as composed as they arguably should be. That proved to be our downfall too, and Hodgson will leave SW6, not for the first time, with a positive experience behind him. Jol, meanwhile, left to a chorus of boos.

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It's all well and good to curse at him when he turns and walks through the door, but perhaps the ramifications of losing Bobby Zamora to Queens Park Rangers are more serious than we could at all pre-empt last night. And maybe, just maybe, we should be grateful to Zamora for the truly prodigious shift he put in at Craven Cottage over the years.

Of course, none of this hides the betrayal of his act. He can paint over the departure all he likes, with talks of disputes and disagreements, but choosing QPR, in much the same fashion as Mark Hughes did earlier in the year, is a blow of great sentimental value to Fulham fans.

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