Owen, good job as usual. But in your Guardian comment you mentioned that Thomas Frank was in the stands and that he could be our future manager. Maybe he could develop some of our young players like he did at Brentford. Marco seems to want to move on--that's sad, he was so good in the past. BTW I aways wonder about playing in Europe : unless you have really deep teams like City and Arsenal, you can hit the rocks and compound your injuries. Spurs have not benefitted this season from Europe, nor have Newcastle. It can be a Mug's Game.
I don't think I mentioned Frank on the Guardian BTL, but I'm not sure if enough people would warm to him given his Brentford connections (and clear affinity for the club, not many managers show up in the stands less than a season on from leaving!)
Great manager and in another timeline we'd definitely benefit from someone like him coaching us! I just don't see him quite fitting with us ATM. In all honesty I've not given up on Silva yet!
Owen, You are correct. The Guardian article had a mention and a photo of Frank in the stands. But I just checked your comment and you did not mention him. I'm hoping that Marco stays and he is given a big budget for the summer market but I doubt the latter and suspect that the former is an unrealistic hope.
I just don't get it. After muttering through a week in the wake of the no-show v. Liverpool, I'd hoped to see some energy and spirit on display v. Brentford, and it was there from the start. Very happy to see Bassey play with the intensity he displayed today and can only wish it could be contagious. Cairney running the middle was assuring and Iwobi was warming up nicely (with some errant passes) until his hamstring tweak. Indeed, Leno was hands-down man of the match, a further indictment of on-field organization and any display of attack. Silva has to come up with a different approach to the attack but he is saddled with too many one-way players who leave chasms in their wake going forward.
The numbers must lie! Fulham had 88% passing accuracy? No way! Today was another example of kicking the ball for kicking's sake, without planning, positioning or execution. There is something mechanical about the positioning, sans a sense of the flow of play, just being where a player's supposed to be, too often disconnected from the ball. Zonal play across the pitch.
Absolutely correct in your description of Fulham play as "disjointed and lethargic," but I would opt for "languid," an intentional absence of energy to play a "too cool for school" style. What was sought today was pride, in one's abilities and in the team's performance. Throughout this past week, my mind slapped the badge above my heart only to find the club adorn ugly road-cone kits with that gawd-awful old badge - get rid of that thing once and for all! That Leno's badge did not match the other players raised a question about rules on matching kits, the conclusion inconclusive.
From this point forward, now with the absence of Iwobi, we'll have to take a deep breath and hope for one glimmer of quality from the likes of Bobb and Chukwueze, distant hopes, I know. That pair only begins to crack the questions about Fulham's scouting and recruitment.
Silva should stay but changes are needed in his staff. #1 - a new set-play coach is desperately needed, on both ends.
Really interesting thoughts. I too thought the passing was atrocious at times and failed far too frequently when it went beyond the half-way line (and before that, because what was Andersen doing with the ball half the time?)
They are far too passive in far too many games of late, and it makes them predictable and manageable. As you say, the "mechanics" of the team leave us committed to moves no decent PL side is going to be seriously troubled by, let alone one as physically talented as Brentford - which is a large part of why we didn't have a shot on target all game, and spent most of the second half in our own box. No Iwobi makes that even harder, too - a player versatile enough to fill in around the pitch sidelined makes the task fall on players already struggling for form!
Perhaps it's just my age, but i also find Fulham's current logo much nicer than the old one, and don't feel it quite fits the green away kit. The club did a good job when they modernised the badge (just look at the state of some of the other rebrands - Juventus will always be the worst for me and there are some really poor ones floating around Italian football).
A new striker, a new winger, at least two central midfielders, a new centre-back, a deputy right back, probably another LB if we want Sess to actually play in his preferred position... a lot of this feels like catch-up for the lack of spending over previous windows, too! Not a great situation and there's a danger the end of the season is going to be a slog if we don't start scoring soon...
Don't now what this means for the fanbase because if we lost I think fans would have given up, however going to 96 mins of a 0-0 match (that did not present a single shot on target) is not much better.
Yeah it's not fun viewing is it? I think that's one of the problems at the moment, despite how close we are on paper to where we've hoped the side can reach, there's clearly a disconnect between the vision of a team with European ambitions and what we're actually seeing.
On that thought, it’s starting to feel like a pattern with Fulham. Every time we edge into a genuine push for Europe, we stall. Not through bad luck—through performances that just don’t match the moment.
It raises a bigger question about mentality. Are we actually ready for that next step, or more comfortable sitting just outside it? Because when the pressure ramps up, we seem to shrink rather than step forward.
You even have to wonder whether getting into Europe right now would expose us. Based on this kind of run-in form, it’s not hard to imagine it going the other way entirely if the squad can’t handle the expectation.
Chikuweze will not help us, do not get him. Cairney's playing days are over, at least at this level. Not a single through ball, just a series of back passes that kill any tempo. Wilson is back to his old self, if he doesn't want to sign a nre contract let him go. What we need is more pace and aggression, give Silva a deadline, either he commits or start planning for next season.
I do agree that we need more pace and aggression, and definitely should be making a decision on Silva, one way or another, rather than let the situation play out whilst other teams sort themselves out for 2026-27. Unfortunately dithering isn't exactly out of the question for Fulham Football Club...
To offer some defence of the players though, Chukwueze has been in and out of injury, Cairney was one of the better players in the game and might have seen a few of his through balls pay off if there'd been better composure in the final third from Sess, and Wilson has played every game for months and has just had the heartbreak of missing out on the World Cup via penalties (though, as with Silva, the drawn out contract saga doesn't help things)
Owen, good job as usual. But in your Guardian comment you mentioned that Thomas Frank was in the stands and that he could be our future manager. Maybe he could develop some of our young players like he did at Brentford. Marco seems to want to move on--that's sad, he was so good in the past. BTW I aways wonder about playing in Europe : unless you have really deep teams like City and Arsenal, you can hit the rocks and compound your injuries. Spurs have not benefitted this season from Europe, nor have Newcastle. It can be a Mug's Game.
Thanks!
I don't think I mentioned Frank on the Guardian BTL, but I'm not sure if enough people would warm to him given his Brentford connections (and clear affinity for the club, not many managers show up in the stands less than a season on from leaving!)
Great manager and in another timeline we'd definitely benefit from someone like him coaching us! I just don't see him quite fitting with us ATM. In all honesty I've not given up on Silva yet!
Owen, You are correct. The Guardian article had a mention and a photo of Frank in the stands. But I just checked your comment and you did not mention him. I'm hoping that Marco stays and he is given a big budget for the summer market but I doubt the latter and suspect that the former is an unrealistic hope.
I just don't get it. After muttering through a week in the wake of the no-show v. Liverpool, I'd hoped to see some energy and spirit on display v. Brentford, and it was there from the start. Very happy to see Bassey play with the intensity he displayed today and can only wish it could be contagious. Cairney running the middle was assuring and Iwobi was warming up nicely (with some errant passes) until his hamstring tweak. Indeed, Leno was hands-down man of the match, a further indictment of on-field organization and any display of attack. Silva has to come up with a different approach to the attack but he is saddled with too many one-way players who leave chasms in their wake going forward.
The numbers must lie! Fulham had 88% passing accuracy? No way! Today was another example of kicking the ball for kicking's sake, without planning, positioning or execution. There is something mechanical about the positioning, sans a sense of the flow of play, just being where a player's supposed to be, too often disconnected from the ball. Zonal play across the pitch.
Absolutely correct in your description of Fulham play as "disjointed and lethargic," but I would opt for "languid," an intentional absence of energy to play a "too cool for school" style. What was sought today was pride, in one's abilities and in the team's performance. Throughout this past week, my mind slapped the badge above my heart only to find the club adorn ugly road-cone kits with that gawd-awful old badge - get rid of that thing once and for all! That Leno's badge did not match the other players raised a question about rules on matching kits, the conclusion inconclusive.
From this point forward, now with the absence of Iwobi, we'll have to take a deep breath and hope for one glimmer of quality from the likes of Bobb and Chukwueze, distant hopes, I know. That pair only begins to crack the questions about Fulham's scouting and recruitment.
Silva should stay but changes are needed in his staff. #1 - a new set-play coach is desperately needed, on both ends.
Really interesting thoughts. I too thought the passing was atrocious at times and failed far too frequently when it went beyond the half-way line (and before that, because what was Andersen doing with the ball half the time?)
They are far too passive in far too many games of late, and it makes them predictable and manageable. As you say, the "mechanics" of the team leave us committed to moves no decent PL side is going to be seriously troubled by, let alone one as physically talented as Brentford - which is a large part of why we didn't have a shot on target all game, and spent most of the second half in our own box. No Iwobi makes that even harder, too - a player versatile enough to fill in around the pitch sidelined makes the task fall on players already struggling for form!
Perhaps it's just my age, but i also find Fulham's current logo much nicer than the old one, and don't feel it quite fits the green away kit. The club did a good job when they modernised the badge (just look at the state of some of the other rebrands - Juventus will always be the worst for me and there are some really poor ones floating around Italian football).
Only scored a goal in one of the last SIX matches. Unbelievable. Never really look like scoring. Big reset in the summer needed.
A new striker, a new winger, at least two central midfielders, a new centre-back, a deputy right back, probably another LB if we want Sess to actually play in his preferred position... a lot of this feels like catch-up for the lack of spending over previous windows, too! Not a great situation and there's a danger the end of the season is going to be a slog if we don't start scoring soon...
Don't now what this means for the fanbase because if we lost I think fans would have given up, however going to 96 mins of a 0-0 match (that did not present a single shot on target) is not much better.
Yeah it's not fun viewing is it? I think that's one of the problems at the moment, despite how close we are on paper to where we've hoped the side can reach, there's clearly a disconnect between the vision of a team with European ambitions and what we're actually seeing.
On that thought, it’s starting to feel like a pattern with Fulham. Every time we edge into a genuine push for Europe, we stall. Not through bad luck—through performances that just don’t match the moment.
It raises a bigger question about mentality. Are we actually ready for that next step, or more comfortable sitting just outside it? Because when the pressure ramps up, we seem to shrink rather than step forward.
You even have to wonder whether getting into Europe right now would expose us. Based on this kind of run-in form, it’s not hard to imagine it going the other way entirely if the squad can’t handle the expectation.
Chikuweze will not help us, do not get him. Cairney's playing days are over, at least at this level. Not a single through ball, just a series of back passes that kill any tempo. Wilson is back to his old self, if he doesn't want to sign a nre contract let him go. What we need is more pace and aggression, give Silva a deadline, either he commits or start planning for next season.
I do agree that we need more pace and aggression, and definitely should be making a decision on Silva, one way or another, rather than let the situation play out whilst other teams sort themselves out for 2026-27. Unfortunately dithering isn't exactly out of the question for Fulham Football Club...
To offer some defence of the players though, Chukwueze has been in and out of injury, Cairney was one of the better players in the game and might have seen a few of his through balls pay off if there'd been better composure in the final third from Sess, and Wilson has played every game for months and has just had the heartbreak of missing out on the World Cup via penalties (though, as with Silva, the drawn out contract saga doesn't help things)