EFL

ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC will soon be able to open an art gallery if he keeps dominating the Championship.The Fulham striker has been voted the PFA Vertu Motors fans’ player of the month in English football’s second tier for a THIRD month in a row.
Artist David Roman did this painting of Aleksandar Mitrovic after he won the PFA fans’ award for October
Mitrovic with one of Roman’s paintings
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And – as part of the special awards – the winners each pick up a beautiful painting of themselves, depicting one of their month’s highlights
Birmingham-based Romanian artist David Roman, 30, was commissioned to get his acrylics out at the start of this season.
He said: “The PFA and the sponsors Vertu Motors were looking for a sports artist to do custom-made artwork that would be presented with a trophy each month.
“A researcher got in touch and we talked about the idea and it was aligned with what I wanted to do.
“It’s about working with pro athletes and champions as well as creating exciting art.”
It is hoped the memorabilia will help raise awareness of the PFA awards beyond its traditional audience.
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Roman invited us to his studio to see him at work on this month’s winners.
Liverpool’s Diogo Jota won the Premier League gong for November while Burton’s Daniel Jebbison won in League One and Jamille Matt of Forest Green was victorious in League Two.
Arsenal’s Beth Mead lifted the monthly award in the Women’s Super League.
David said: “I do a portrait of each player, usually with the athlete moving rather than just the face.
“What I look for is whether they’re in a flow or one of those winning moments where you can feel the energy at that time. 
“It must be either at that moment or just after when they’ve very happy. The art must be driven by emotion.”
Roman and the PFA select the moments they feel work best for a painting from shortlisted photos provided by picture agency Getty Images. 
Roman invited SunSport into his studio
He said: “The paintings are done in my personal way, which is with acrylics and I’ve developed a textured multi-layered style which is a result of me chasing how to capture best the movement and energy. 
“It’s all done with newer materials, is experimental and heavily textured. I paint them on wood panels which are all A3 size.
“I work on all five at the same time at different stages – and am so relentless. I only have one week to turn it around – so it’s intense.
“Obviously I’d prefer to work a little slower. It sometimes takes a week to do one of my own paintings – but I don’t have that luxury.
“But I’ve been pleased with the results.”
Roman’s favourite painting so far was of Liverpool’s Mo Salah – a personal labour of love because he is a huge Reds fan.
Roman’s work on the winners of the latest awards this monthCredit: Dave Pinegar
But he revealed his most challenging was when Mitrovic won the October gong.
He said: “Aleksandar was shouting with joy. You could see his smile but it was from a lower angle so his teeth were showing. They were difficult to get accurate.
“I spent a whole day working just on his face.”
Roman hopes that his own hero Salah and other players enjoy the paintings and even find somewhere at home to hang them.
He said: “I’ve had good feedback from players, who have shared the art on their social media. 
“It’s great to get a trophy but getting a piece of art recording an emotional moment just makes it extra special.”
For more information about David Roman’s art, visit www.davidromanart.com
HE’S JUST THE JOB
JOHNNIE JACKSON’S appointment as Charlton boss could be proof that if something isn’t broke, don’t fix it.
The Addicks legend had been doing an excellent job as assistant to Lee Bowyer and probably should have got the nod in the first place.
Johnnie Jackson’s superb work as Charlton caretaker landed him the manager’s jobCredit: PA
Nigel Adkins could not fire up Charlton this season but, with the same set of players, Jackson has won nine of his 14 games in charge.
Now they just need to make their ultimate legend Alan Curbishley director of football and they will have the perfect combination.
IT’S JUST THE JAB
EFL footballers need to come to their senses and get vaccinated.
It is staggering that a quarter of players across the Championship, League One and League Two have no intention of getting jabbed
EFL VACCINATED PLAYERSIN THE EFL..
59% of players are double jabbed
10% of players single jabbed
6% of players intending to get a jab
25% of players not intending to get vaccinated
(Figures correct of December 17, 2021)

Of course, there will be players who have genuine concerns about their health. But, seriously, one in four footballers should not have any serious worries at all.
Maybe if these footballers actually spoke to families of those who have lost loved ones to Covid, they might understand the real impact of this wretched virus.
Getting jabbed is the sensible thing to do – so every footballer who has stated they don’t want to get jabbed should delve into their conscience and do the right thing. More

JEAN MICHAEL SERI used to suffer from cold feet.But now the Ivory Coast star is really letting them do the talking at Fulham.
Jean Michael Seri used to suffer from cold feet but now they have been in form for Fulham
Seri, 30, arrived at Craven Cottage three years ago to a huge fanfare after the club paid Nice £25million.
It was seen as a transfer coup as Barcelona had tried to sign him just one year before.
Yet he had an awful first season at the club under first Slavisa Jokanovic and then Scott Parker, which ended in relegation from the Premier League.
Seri – who has spent most of the past two seasons on loan at Galatasaray and Bordeaux – suffered from ingrowing toenails in cold weather.
He said: “My toenails on my left foot were very painful when the weather was cold.
“I had to cut them every time because they grew into the flesh.

“It was something that had never happened to me before because I was playing in Portugal and the south of France where the weather was warm.
“Yet in England it was the first time I had played in cold weather and it was difficult. I had to wear a bigger size left boot.”
But Seri has since fixed the problem and no longer suffers from the issue.
He added: “This time is different. I put cream on my feet and the problem has gone.”
Championship leaders Fulham take on Bournemouth on Friday night in a top-of-the-table clash.
And Seri is now finally showing the Craven Cottage faithful why the club invested so much money in signing him.
The midfielder is right up near the top of the league’s assists standings with six so far.
Seri arrived at Fulham with a bang, scoring a sensational goal against Burnley
He has also started 17 of the club’s 20 league matches and been a commanding and calming presence in the middle of the park.
It is all a far cry from his first season at Fulham – which started superbly with a stunning goal-of-the-month winning strike against Burnley but quickly fizzled out in a campaign that saw the West Londoners crash back into the Championship.
But the Ivorian believes he has unfinished business at the Cottage and accepts his previous performances were not good enough.
Seri said: “I felt a lot of expectation when I joined. The Fulham fans had heard about me almost joining Barcelona so thought I would help them stay in the Premier League.
‘HE’S BETTER THAN ZIDANE…’SERI revealed he had to be told by a friend that Fulham fans had made up a song in homage to him.
The words go like this:
“We’ve got SeriJean Michael SeriI just don’t think you understandHe’s Marco Silva’s manHe’s better than ZidaneWe’ve got Jean Michael Seri”
And the midfielder said: “They sang it against Millwall and my friend told me the fans were singing my name.
“And I thought, ‘No, they’re not.’
“But I watched the game back on TV and heard it good, I heard my name.
“It gives you a lot of positive energy to go again and fight for them.”

“Unfortunately things didn’t go as we all wanted.
“The club spent a lot of money for me and expected better from me.
“I didn’t give back something.. I must give the club something back for that investment so I’m glad to be doing so now.
“When you first come to England, it can be difficult. We can see this with a lot of players who come from different countries because it’s very different here to other leagues.
“What I learned, reflecting on that season, is that you must have a winning mentality every day, not just on matchdays.
“If you have this mentality, you’ll be ready for every game and that’s the key as a professional player when you come to England. At first I didn’t have that.
“What I mean by this mentality is winning every day, winning in every training session. You must not lose the ball easily and must try to win every challenge.
“If you have a game on Saturday, you can’t start preparing on Thursday. You must be preparing from Monday to the matchday.
The midfielder spoke to SunSport ahead of the top-of-the-table clash with Bournemouth
Seri has been in top form for Fulham this season in the middle of the park
“Do that, and you’ll arrive at the game winning every challenge, you won’t be giving away possession and when you’re winning 1-0 you’ll want to defend well to make sure you don’t concede a goal. That is a winning mentality.
“And then you move on to the next game and go again. You must have this routine
“If you don’t do this, it’s impossible to be successful.
“I have told players in France that in England you must be perfect. If you’re good, you’ll be average or inconsistent. No, you must be perfect to succeed.”
Seri had a good season on loan at Galatasaray, playing Champions League football, and when he returned to Fulham last summer with the club back in the Premier League, he was desperate to make amends.
But he did not feature in a single top-flight game and only managed 118 minutes of football in the Carabao Cup, coming on as a sub against Sheffield Wednesday before playing the full 90 against Brentford.
Seri was not even involved in a Premier League matchday squad so he decided to go on loan to Bordeaux during the January transfer window.
He said: “I had a positive season in Turkey so it was frustrating to not play.
I was thinking, ‘Why does the manager not realise that I can help the team?’ because I was in very good form and very confident.JEAN MICHAEL SERI
“I was thinking, ‘Why does the manager not realise that I can help the team?’ because I was in very good form and very confident.
“I had learned from my past experience in the Premier League. If he gave me one chance, I could’ve helped the team.
“It was a big frustration and not what I expected when I returned.
“I spoke to Scott Parker before we started the season and that conversation must remain private. But he decided what he had to decide and it was a difficult situation for me.”
However, when he returned from Bordeaux this year, new boss Marco Silva told the midfielder he was part of his plans.
And since then Seri has not looked back and has promised fans there is no chance of him leaving during the January transfer window.
He said: “When the gaffer arrived, he said, ‘I want you to help us go up together into the Premier League.’
“I knew Marco from when he was in Portugal and I thought, ‘Why not?’ I wanted to stay here and my family like London too.
“The Championship is actually better than a lot of the leagues in Europe.
Jean Seri hopes to pay back Fulham by helping them to promotion to the Premier League
“I’m here for the whole season. I want to celebrate when we get promoted. I want to enjoy this moment with the club.
“Fulham deserves it because they’ve spent a lot of money on me. They deserve to be in the Premier League for many years and I believe Marco is building something good.
“And I want to pay the club back.”
JEAN MICHAEL SERI ON ….
ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC: Everyone speaks about the goals he is scoring – but it’s not just about that anymore with him.
Before, I knew Mitrovic as a striker, a No9 who would get into the box on the end of the long ball.
But, no, not now.
Mitro is coming back to participate in the game and that is very different and important for the team.
BOURNEMOUTH CLASH: There will be no surprises for us. We’ve planned everything. The manager has put something on the table – a plan and we’ve done everything he has told us.
What is being demanded of us is very easy. We don’t need to complicate it.
We don’t have to add anything. He is telling us exactly what he wants and in this way we can be successful together.
THE FANS: The way they’re coming and pushing us, we must keep going.
Some months ago, we were without them so we’re very happy they’re back and we want them to push us until the end. More