What On Earth Is Going On At Fulham?
It has been a remarkable strange season for Fulham. With the change of ownership over the summer and the distinct lack of change regarding their first team squad. The majority of their summer signings appear to have been squad players and bench warmers with the exceptions of Scott Parker and Maarten Stekelenburg. Fulham are one of those clubs, who have been in the top flight long enough to be considered part of the tapestry of the Premier League. They rarely ever fly that high, with the exception being their incredible seasons under Roy Hodgson. They never fall too low, except for their doomed season under Lawrie Sanchez. They are always there or there abouts, but this season something has changed. Fulham have long been renowned for their home form and the virtual fortress that is Craven Cottage. Their abysmal away form has often been the key factor in holding them back.
In recent months something seems to have changed at the club. I don’t believe this is down to the influence of new owner Shahid Khan because this started long before he arrived at the club. For me Fulham’s form has been on a steady decline since their defeat at home to Sunderland last season in which Brede Hangeland was sent off. They have had very small upswings since then but have not been able to string together a series of performances worthy of a climb back up the table, and if it wasn’t for their early form last season they may well have found themselves relegated. Fulham fans were given hope with their win at Sunderland on the opening day this year, but lets face it at the time Sunderland were in a complete mess as a club. Some more very poor performances against the likes of Cardiff City and West Brom at home had Fulham fans worried and calling for Martin Jol’s head. This pressure was slightly alleviated with their albeit lucky win at home to Stoke, followed by their only decent performance of the season thrashing struggling Crystal Palace 4-1`at Selhurst Park. Fulham have actually won more points on the road this season than at home, and all of their wins have come against sides below them or just slightly above. Many fans figured they had finally found their form this year with the win at Palace, but it was quickly wiped out by a lackluster and care free display against Southampton in which they were lucky to get away with just the 2-0 defeat. This has now been followed by conceding another 7 goals in games against Manchester United and Liverpool, which granted they were not expected to win, but on the day they played as if they had already lost before the kickoff was even taken. Shipping a bag load of goals in the first halves of both games.
So what is wrong with Fulham? For me it comes down to their aging squad and their inability to cope when they go behind. Jol has made a habit of signing many maverick players in the last couple of years. Players that 3-4 years ago would have been world beaters but now are in the twilights of their careers and see Fulham more as a quick and easy payday rather than a stepping stone at which to prove they still have it. Fulham’s average player age is hovering around 27-28 years old. The only young players to have even had a whiff of first team football this year are Pajtim Kasami and Alex Kacaniklic who have been very impressive at times. Jol seems to have rely upon the journeyman type players such as Berbatov and Ruiz and Bent for goals, rather than risking the hungry youngsters that Fulham possess in their youth setup.
It was recently made public that Jol had fallen out with the head of the academy over the lack of young players being allowed to break through into the first team. Promising youngster Kerim Frei was offloaded to Turkey in the summer in a decision which baffled the Fulham faithful. The likes of Mesca, Moussa Dembele (yes that’s right there’s only two Moussa Dembele) and Patrick Roberts are simply not being given a chance. If they don’t change this attitude soon then Fulham may find themselves losing these players to other clubs before they’ve even touched the first team.
Today it seems Fulham have turned a corner with the appointment of Rene Meulensteen as head coach to work with Martin Jol. Fulham fans will be hoping this will turn the tide in a league that is fast becoming the league of the haves, and the have not played Fulham yets. For me this is a very shrewd piece of business from Shahid Khan. Instead of sacking Jol and risking another manager coming in and requiring huge funds for a squad overhaul. He has instead brought in a man whose track record is undeniably brilliant but has little experience in the manager’s role. This will give him time to learn the ways of the club and get some of his ideas across. This will no doubt include the use of far more young talent which will be beneficial for the club and potentially for England. It does however seem that the long term goal is for Meulensteen to take over as Fulham manager in the future, but i think this is the best way it can be done. It would be nice to see more clubs taking approaches like this instead of simply hiring and firing managers at will if short term success does not arise. With this move Khan has taken the stability approach and it is for this reason that i believe very soon Fulham will see an upturn in form and will begin to climb back to where they feel they should be.
About the Author
SYC Matt A football fan just like the rest of us. Battling with the usual ups and downs that come with supporting one of the less glamorous teams. Crusader for footballing justice.
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