It’s clearly now up to Arbeloa. But, come on, Fulham September 2026 is better than Fulham 2025 almost everywhere. Certainly at RD where 4 of 5 goals so far have been created. I’ve been a big fan of Diop in the past but not for his defense. Cuenca can now help cover Jedi and free up Sess. At this point I’d rather have a younger Sess than Wilson. Neither are classic RW; both are goal scorers. Clearly stronger in Midfield. Have to figure Kevin this year over Kevin last year. Which leaves striker; and Garcia/Muniz ‘26 seems preferable to Raul/Muniz ‘25.
Not terrible business, but the fact is we remain massively light on proven PL players. Combine this with an inexperienced, Amorim style 'principle over pragmatism' manager, and I think there is genuine 50% chance we get relegated. Tony Khan seems to enjoy the deadline day dealings as some sort of game rather than a serious DoF. The lack of planning is criminal really, and I think we will all really start to appreciate how well Silva combatted TKs incompetence. Arbeloa will be gone by Christmas, and it will be a harum-scarum 2nd half of the season.
Good article! Thanks … My take , The incomers all seem to fit into in Arbeloa’s play plan . . So the key to success is not just the players themselves but will his style of Spartan Attacking Football work. The youth focus is also part of a Khan business plan - keep wages down , get good sell on value etc. This is sensible football business management ( though Madrid gets a lot of the sell on value) Clearly missing part of the sumner transfers is youthful high pressing right back . But that was not for trying. Tete does give strong defensive experience though gope the manager can use him . Fig Rolls why not keep we may indeed need more in the squad for cup runs . Chukwueze? Thought everyone agreed he failed the test despite great start . Overall very active summer but we go into the unknown . This could be the best of times this could be the worst of times
Car crash Khan summer in my book and a throw back to the pre Silva days of the Khan's ineptitude. Signing mostly light weight players with very little experience on the word of a manager with little experience(none in premiership) is nuts. On top of that the manager is insistent on playing a high line. It's a complete recipe for relegation. It all started the moment Tony Khan thought Silva was staying even though we all knew he was off. How can a proffesional club be that unprepared! Incredible but not a suprise under the Khan ownership.
There's an element of "he doesn't know the territory" to the criticism of Arbeloa and the club's signings this summer. I think experience matters some, but it isn't everything and this line of criticism starts to feel like a writer who is stretching to have something/anything to say about 20 diff teams or a pundit who's playing career was before my time.
I think a much bigger factor is the quality and "fit" of the players currently on the roster or just signed. To my mind, the fact that our three most recent big signings (ESR, Kevin & Bobb) have provided very little on field production has been *killing* FFC. There's been promise, but not the kind of impact that their club record signings might lead us to expect. ESR, Bobb and Kevin COMBINED had 5 total goal contributions in 2025/26. A Fulham fan wondering why we fell short of Europe might be looking their way (and at Silva for how he used them).
To me, the question is can/will that change? Will any of these new MadridKid signings generate actual goals on the field for us? Maybe their 'lack of PL experience' will hold them back but under Silva we stocked up on PL experience and it seems clear the club front office wanted/needed to make the roster both younger and cheaper. Assuming that shifting away from battle scarred veterans genuinely was required - what else was there to do but try a guy like Arbeloa and implement a transfer strategy like the one we have seen this summer?
Obviously we didn't have to sign AA specifically but another youngish manager who'd overperformed in the Cship, Germany or France would've also had the dreaded 'lack of PL experience.' Would Eddie Howe (or a manager similarly experienced) have been better for Fulham? It certainly would've generated more approving nods from podcasts and TV studios. Is that the goal?
Maybe this season WILL be a disaster that ends in relegation. I doubt it, but it's clearly possible. No one likes change, and (I'm guessing) about 12 months ago, Marco decided it was his last year at the Cottage and all of this became inevitable. We can't go back - only forward.
I’m not impressed why do we keep leaving our important signings to the last minute, we should have decided on the players and positions we wanted and made an offer and moved on if it wasn’t going to happen, we didn’t get a right back or right side central defender because we left it too late and then we had to get whoever was available instead of who we wanted. I think we will struggle to stay up now and we all know who’s fault this is,
Tete was held back against Sunderland as we expected to sell him but we couldn’t get in a replacement . It’s a glaring error not to have signed another wide attacking player , given how sub average both Kevin and Bobb have been .
The root cause of our restrained spending is our notable failure to find hidden gems in the market and then re sell them at a vast profit or breed a regular flow of stars from our Academy ; so we’d cannot spend on our squad amounts that the vast majority of the Premiership can .
So we are now paying the price of buying older experienced players whose value amortises quickly and waiting too long to offer new contracts to established players who would be expensive to replace .
We operate on a world of Moneyball and not Football nowadays
Mmmmm - probably sums up my thoughts on reflection. I like the youth in these signings. But agree there is a lack of proven PL experience about this squad. Because of this the proof will be in the making and we will need to see how it goes. Looks like a classic high-variance campaign: the squad is good enough to push for European places if things click, but also vulnerable enough to slip into a relegation scrap if they don’t.
However I will remain positive. This is very exciting. Arbeloa has a job ahead to settle this lot down and get some chemistry into our play. Not telling him how to do this but will state that I expect more shots on target and better results from set plays.
Kevin and Bobb need to demonstrate a future at this level. If they don't we are in trouble. A breakout season from Bobb would indicate life under Álvaro Arbeloa is working. Muniz and García need to stay fit.
Angel played in both Champions League matches against Man City, so he has played in some pretty important matches. Everyone who rips in Palacios completely ignores how much attention he draws on the pitch from the opposition. That speaks volumes about what the opposition thinks. It makes a lot of senses keeping Luc. The reason is that in Arbeloa’s style, the center backs are going to be getting winded and picking up cards, so Fulham needs to be deep at that position and we are now.
It’s clearly now up to Arbeloa. But, come on, Fulham September 2026 is better than Fulham 2025 almost everywhere. Certainly at RD where 4 of 5 goals so far have been created. I’ve been a big fan of Diop in the past but not for his defense. Cuenca can now help cover Jedi and free up Sess. At this point I’d rather have a younger Sess than Wilson. Neither are classic RW; both are goal scorers. Clearly stronger in Midfield. Have to figure Kevin this year over Kevin last year. Which leaves striker; and Garcia/Muniz ‘26 seems preferable to Raul/Muniz ‘25.
Not terrible business, but the fact is we remain massively light on proven PL players. Combine this with an inexperienced, Amorim style 'principle over pragmatism' manager, and I think there is genuine 50% chance we get relegated. Tony Khan seems to enjoy the deadline day dealings as some sort of game rather than a serious DoF. The lack of planning is criminal really, and I think we will all really start to appreciate how well Silva combatted TKs incompetence. Arbeloa will be gone by Christmas, and it will be a harum-scarum 2nd half of the season.
Good article! Thanks … My take , The incomers all seem to fit into in Arbeloa’s play plan . . So the key to success is not just the players themselves but will his style of Spartan Attacking Football work. The youth focus is also part of a Khan business plan - keep wages down , get good sell on value etc. This is sensible football business management ( though Madrid gets a lot of the sell on value) Clearly missing part of the sumner transfers is youthful high pressing right back . But that was not for trying. Tete does give strong defensive experience though gope the manager can use him . Fig Rolls why not keep we may indeed need more in the squad for cup runs . Chukwueze? Thought everyone agreed he failed the test despite great start . Overall very active summer but we go into the unknown . This could be the best of times this could be the worst of times
Car crash Khan summer in my book and a throw back to the pre Silva days of the Khan's ineptitude. Signing mostly light weight players with very little experience on the word of a manager with little experience(none in premiership) is nuts. On top of that the manager is insistent on playing a high line. It's a complete recipe for relegation. It all started the moment Tony Khan thought Silva was staying even though we all knew he was off. How can a proffesional club be that unprepared! Incredible but not a suprise under the Khan ownership.
There's an element of "he doesn't know the territory" to the criticism of Arbeloa and the club's signings this summer. I think experience matters some, but it isn't everything and this line of criticism starts to feel like a writer who is stretching to have something/anything to say about 20 diff teams or a pundit who's playing career was before my time.
I think a much bigger factor is the quality and "fit" of the players currently on the roster or just signed. To my mind, the fact that our three most recent big signings (ESR, Kevin & Bobb) have provided very little on field production has been *killing* FFC. There's been promise, but not the kind of impact that their club record signings might lead us to expect. ESR, Bobb and Kevin COMBINED had 5 total goal contributions in 2025/26. A Fulham fan wondering why we fell short of Europe might be looking their way (and at Silva for how he used them).
To me, the question is can/will that change? Will any of these new MadridKid signings generate actual goals on the field for us? Maybe their 'lack of PL experience' will hold them back but under Silva we stocked up on PL experience and it seems clear the club front office wanted/needed to make the roster both younger and cheaper. Assuming that shifting away from battle scarred veterans genuinely was required - what else was there to do but try a guy like Arbeloa and implement a transfer strategy like the one we have seen this summer?
Obviously we didn't have to sign AA specifically but another youngish manager who'd overperformed in the Cship, Germany or France would've also had the dreaded 'lack of PL experience.' Would Eddie Howe (or a manager similarly experienced) have been better for Fulham? It certainly would've generated more approving nods from podcasts and TV studios. Is that the goal?
Maybe this season WILL be a disaster that ends in relegation. I doubt it, but it's clearly possible. No one likes change, and (I'm guessing) about 12 months ago, Marco decided it was his last year at the Cottage and all of this became inevitable. We can't go back - only forward.
I’m not impressed why do we keep leaving our important signings to the last minute, we should have decided on the players and positions we wanted and made an offer and moved on if it wasn’t going to happen, we didn’t get a right back or right side central defender because we left it too late and then we had to get whoever was available instead of who we wanted. I think we will struggle to stay up now and we all know who’s fault this is,
Tete was held back against Sunderland as we expected to sell him but we couldn’t get in a replacement . It’s a glaring error not to have signed another wide attacking player , given how sub average both Kevin and Bobb have been .
The root cause of our restrained spending is our notable failure to find hidden gems in the market and then re sell them at a vast profit or breed a regular flow of stars from our Academy ; so we’d cannot spend on our squad amounts that the vast majority of the Premiership can .
So we are now paying the price of buying older experienced players whose value amortises quickly and waiting too long to offer new contracts to established players who would be expensive to replace .
We operate on a world of Moneyball and not Football nowadays
Mmmmm - probably sums up my thoughts on reflection. I like the youth in these signings. But agree there is a lack of proven PL experience about this squad. Because of this the proof will be in the making and we will need to see how it goes. Looks like a classic high-variance campaign: the squad is good enough to push for European places if things click, but also vulnerable enough to slip into a relegation scrap if they don’t.
However I will remain positive. This is very exciting. Arbeloa has a job ahead to settle this lot down and get some chemistry into our play. Not telling him how to do this but will state that I expect more shots on target and better results from set plays.
Kevin and Bobb need to demonstrate a future at this level. If they don't we are in trouble. A breakout season from Bobb would indicate life under Álvaro Arbeloa is working. Muniz and García need to stay fit.
#COYW
Angel played in both Champions League matches against Man City, so he has played in some pretty important matches. Everyone who rips in Palacios completely ignores how much attention he draws on the pitch from the opposition. That speaks volumes about what the opposition thinks. It makes a lot of senses keeping Luc. The reason is that in Arbeloa’s style, the center backs are going to be getting winded and picking up cards, so Fulham needs to be deep at that position and we are now.
But if you want support for negativity on Fulham prospects read Anthony Gordon’s on playing in La Liga vs. EPL