Only Marco Silva's players can convince him to stay

We could be entering the last five games of the Marco Silva era.

My first-ever article on Fulhamish cut through to the Fulham core. It concerned the transfer of our then best and most important player - Aleksander Mitrovic - to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. The message I adopted then was: “Don’t panic; we will have success without him”. I take that same tack with Marco Silva.

Marco is a top-class manager; he has established Fulham back in the top flight, delivered record-breaking points totals and results against rivals that will live long in the memory. He has delivered some of the best football Fulham have ever produced. He’s achieved on-the-pitch stability, something that evaded the club for the best part of a decade.

But I want to remind everyone of what Fulham has given him too. Back in 2021, Marco Silva was in the doldrums of management. Everton sacked him after an embarrassing defeat to rivals Liverpool. After that, he did not work for almost two years. He was looking for work, but because of his merry-go-round club swapping record and inconsistent results, he was not trusted. At the time, Fulham had been yo-yo-ing around a bit themselves. The appointment suited both parties because both club and manager wanted to achieve the same goal: an established top-level status.

Both parties have now achieved that goal.

To highlight their shift in stature as a re-established Premier League club, Fulham are now unlikely to replace Marco with a relatively unproven manager who has spent two years out of the game. They’re unlikely to turn to a Marco Silva before his Fulham renaissance.

So, Fulham have offered Marco a deal; Marco hasn’t signed it. According to the latest reports, he has not yet decided his future. Presumably because Fulham aren’t elevating him to manage at a higher level yet. So, that leaves us with a very likely conclusion. Without European football next term, Marco will be saying goodbye.

If Fulham a) don’t make Europe and b) haven’t moved heaven and earth to keep Marco, it begs the question: will the hierarchy decide that it would be better to move heaven and earth for someone new? A manager with new ideas, confidence in the system and positive energy. Cast your mind back to Marco’s beginnings at Craven Cottage. Harry Wilson was signed 24 days after Marco was appointed. Mitrovic was given a new lease of life. Fulham smashed the Championship.

Marco is not Carlo Ancelotti, who permanently replaced the Portuguese manager at Everton. Without that elite-level prestige, has Silva now hit a ceiling with Fulham? To progress from mid-table to European qualifiers, you need a run of consecutive wins. Under Silva, Fulham only managed to win more than four Premier League games in a row once. He has not yet proved he can consistently manage momentum. There is, of course, still some time for him to prove he can.

Over five years, Marco managed to shake the club into transfer action. The club responded to his injection of urgency. Under Silva, Fulham have spent £294m (23 loans and 17 permanent deals). He has been equipped with one of the best Fulham squads in modern times, which he has had a say in building. If Marco were to depart, he’d be a victim of his own transfer success. His inheritor would have some squad.

Lastly, Marco has taken Fulham from D to B+ (and sometimes to A). If Fulham don’t make Europe, all in Fulham colours may conclude that he cannot take us any higher. After three Premier League seasons, even Marco may not deny that. When I examine the person - not the manager - sometimes I see exhaustion. I worry another year of inconsistency and unfathomable refereeing decisions would potentially drain his footballing will power.

When I started to write about Marco’s contract renewal in late 2025, I expressed serious doubts that an agreement would be reached for numerous reasons. Namely, the release clause in his contract, inconsistent form, his frustration with the boardroom, and the opportunities with other clubs.

But now I realise that if Marco goes at the end of 2025/26, it may be for reasons that I have not written about at all. It is just two parties looking across the table. Looking each other in the eye. “Help me, help you” - maybe it’s that simple. They’ve achieved together. They’ve helped each other. They could each take their next upwards step - independently. Without achieving European football, the end would still be an amicable and beloved no fault separation.

So as this season draws to a close, and if Fulham’s European chances have significantly dwindled, I hope Fulham announce any departure in time for a celebratory last game (speeches and all).

I also hope Fulham have at least started to line up a high-calibre replacement.

I implore the fanbase to remind themselves of where Marco started, what was promised, and what has been delivered. Fulham could go again with a new face if necessary. We will have further success without him. We just need to keep calm and carry on if and when the time comes.

In the meantime, Fulham’s European chances seem to be the only instrument capable of persuading Marco to stay. So ultimately, only his players possess the necessary powers to convince him. It is still to play for. But we will find out how persuasive they’re being sooner rather than later.