It’s time for Fulham to trust the process

The signs of promise shouldn’t go unnoticed despite what has proven to be a tough start.

As the final goal went in at Craven Cottage yesterday, my view of the penalty box could not have been more perfect. Right below me I witnessed the slide rule pass coming along the inside of a tiring Antonee Robinson, I gasped as Bernd Leno came rushing out recklessly, and then winced as Joachim Anderson wildly challenged from the wrong angle before the ball ballooned delightfully for Palace’s Chilwell.

I thought to myself, this reminds me of Wolves’ 4-1 victory at the Cottage under Marco Silva. That was a day to forget for Fulham too. It was “sixes and sevens”. But this was only one action in the Palace defeat, and it didn’t show the full picture.

For 65 minutes or so, Fulham had Palace’s number. At half-time Fulham could, and probably should, have been out of sight. Josh King was excellent; he made Adam Wharton look distinctly average in midfield in front of Thomas Tuchel, who was watching on. Shea Charles picked up the pockets inside our half and had Daichi Kamada looking at Pierre Sage in exasperation for assistance.

Fulham were by far the better team with possession and outclassed their opponents. For their first goal, Palace got lucky that Timo Castagne was overly enthusiastic in trying to win the ball back. With Fulham pushing for the win as the game went on, it was clear to see they needed to stay calm and let Palace’s poor form to the talking. Sadly they pushed too hard and high. Palace snatched victory without having to break into a gallop. The stats back this up. Don’t be fooled by lazy punditry and the unimaginative media narrative. Fulham had seven corners, Palace had one. Fulham played 602 successful passes and Palace played 297. Fulham had 25 shots, Palace had 10. More than twice the output, but no reward…yet.

Arbeloa has imprinted his footballing philosophy on the team in such a small space of time. It is astounding how well the players have responded to instructions. Fulham are far more exciting than they were last season, whereby on large, Fulham unconvincingly managed to scrape through games with a one goal margin.

What I’ve witnessed as a Fulham fan so far this season is remarkable. The fluidity and the tempo is another level. The way Fulham beat the Palace press, time after time, was breathtaking. Performance wise, I have no doubt that there will be games where Fulham completely dominate the occasion if the defending significantly improves.

Arbeloa is still at the beginning of his journey with the team. He’ll be learning that there will be times in games where Fulham need to a) keep it tight for 15 minutes without possession, b) play more direct to stop the opposition getting into a rhythm, or c) keep the ball for long periods to nullify the game. He’ll also be learning that a team can have more than one gear called ‘go’, and that players can preserve energy during a game to see out the latter stages.

There is a relatively new footballing cliche that needs to be rolled out in the halls of the Cottage. It is our turn to “trust the process”. Unai Emery, Mikel Arteta, even Pep Guardiola and now Adoni Iraola (who got his first win after 10 Premier League games) all struggled initially when stepping into this division. They were all backed and trusted through difficult patches nonetheless. They all learned quickly, they all adapted and began to understand the requirements. We have to trust that this manager, who shares his nationality with all these big names, can string a set of results together.

Additionally, Arbeloa’s press conferences and interviews seem to be a masterclass in composure. He doesn’t seem to relish smashing up the microphone unless absolutely necessary. Comparing Arbeloa’s calmness to the rage of discarded Premier League managers Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou is for the birds.

At the beginning of the season I implored Fulham fans to be patient, and warned that there will be tactical tweaks that may not deliver immediately. It is time to echo that sentiment. The whole squad will be feeling the impact of this reset. Short-term thinking, snap judgements and quick impulsive decisions should be limited to very occasional involuntary defensive lapses taking place on the pitch.

As fans, we have to back the new plan and give it a chance. After all, Silva left us high and dry. Almost all of his specifically requested recruits played yesterday. Fulham can make him look foolish if we meet Benfica in Europe next year as swashbuckling jugadors complete with defensive solidity. In my humble opinion, that defensively-solidity is the next points-winning piece required to see the full picture in the Arbeloa puzzle.