1.) 13 Apr 2019
13 Apr 2019 21:19:21
Fulham turning up a bit late it seems. Must say I agree about the cairney part, I think they had a decent squad and ruined the fight and attitude by buying too many players. You take an actually half decent squad, who just got promoted and remove the core, two wingers, two centre mids a new goaly, it’s just too much! I believe if they stuck with the same squad and added 2/ 3 quality players, they would be better off.

Also most will probably leave now anyway, I know schurle is. would you want to play for a team that you helped promote, who then ditched you when in the prem, and now want you back?

2.) 13 Apr 2019
13 Apr 2019 22:01:52
Glad you agree on Cairney, Firmane. I think it’s a huge mistake Fulham made, completely tearing apart the core of what was a good squad with so many acquisitions.

And that’s the problem they have left themselves with now they’re down. How many of those players will feel loyal to the cause after being moved down the pecking order when they were promoted? It’ll be interesting to see how they get along.

The likes of Norwich and Leeds who look like they’ll be getting promoted this season need to learn lessons from that. There’s no need to go on huge summer spending sprees. They should build around what they already have with a few extra top-flight quality additions.

Certainly can’t see Bielsa feeling too much of a need to go and splash the cash. He isn’t that sort of manager. Assuming Leeds get promoted that is, still a bit to go for them!

3.) 14 Apr 2019
14 Apr 2019 03:42:00
Fulham f****d up in the transfer market. They were signing players left, right and centre without any plan. THey had 2 GKs and they went out and bought two more from La liga and Turkey. The smart thing to do would have been to sign Foster or Fabianski to stabilise their defense.
Not to mention the numerous luxury overrated players like Vietto and Schurrle that added nothing to the squad. They could have given Sessegnong more time on the pitch to develop, signed players like Ryan Fraser to boost their chances of staying in the league.
Absolute shambles. Their performance in the transfer market is even worse than Man uTd at the minute, and that's saying something.

{Ed001's Note - they were never getting Ryan Fraser.}

4.) 14 Apr 2019
14 Apr 2019 06:39:07
Too many signings yes. but also the fact of playing with pressure was too much for them.

Easy to go out and play every week when nothing rides on the match.

5.) 14 Apr 2019
14 Apr 2019 07:01:31
I meant someone like Fraser who can work his socks off and has that little bit of brilliance to make a difference from time to time. I am sure there are a lot of British players with better attitudes and consistency than Schurrle and Vietto who have disappointed throughout their careers wherever they have gone.
Fulham went for flashy players, not the ones with grit and consistency that is vital for a newly promoted side to stay up in the league.

{Ed001's Note - I don't think the issue was how many or who they bought, it was simply that the team was not good enough. There was nothing they could have done in the transfer windows to stay in the Prem under Jokanovic. He simply is not that good and the players were not that good. Then they made an even more major mistake by choosing to turn to a manager that was completely wrong for the players at the club. They are badly led at the top by a man who clearly does not know the game and it will always be a problem until he gets the right advice.}

6.) 14 Apr 2019
14 Apr 2019 12:12:11
Too many signings. Shurrle IS a good player. Is it mitrovic? Another good player.

They must have had a decent team to get promoted. I think more of those players who won promotion should have been given a chance.

7.) 15 Apr 2019
15 Apr 2019 18:55:12
Fulham approached the PL very badly, tried too hard to push progress quickly without getting the basics right first. The first objective a promoted team should look at is making sure you can stay in the league before the next step. You need players with fight and character as well as the talented matchwinners. You can't fill a team with 'luxury' players who've never played in England and expect them to battle to survive.

I love when teams trust the players that have helped the club progress. Wolves for example are looking to make that quick jump in status and spending big money but the likes of Conor coady, bennett, Doherty still play a huge part because they've proven their worth

I loved the Southampton team a few years back that climbed a few divisions under Adkins. So many players were trusted to show they were capable of premier league football 2 years after being a league one team. Many of those players have remained premier league regulars since and the club has drastically improved stature.

I also like how Bournemouth have gone about trying to establish themselves as top tier regulars.

Fulhams approach was laughably naive and i called it straight before the season that they would completely flop. You need players with hunger. Vietto, Seri, Babel, shurlle. None of these players ever saw their future at Fulham and know relegation won't damage their career, they'll just move on.