The coming months pose vital questions Marco Silva must find answers to
The next 12 weeks could prove crucial for our manager's FFC legacy.
Marco Silva’s desire to be in control has been well-documented on this website in recent weeks. Much of that analysis has centred on relinquishing some of that desire in order to control games when we’re in the ascendancy, or trying something new when plan A isn’t working. As we return from the international break, Marco has a number of issues to address - and he has plenty of opportunities to.
The immediate issue
Fulham come out of the international break with a number of key injuries to contend with. The chief worry being the number nine position. Both Adama Traore and Josh King have been utilised as the most advanced central player in recent weeks, despite young loanee Jonah Kusi-Asare being bought in as a supposed “third choice”.
If Silva continues to refuse to utilise the one fit striker we have in the squad, he hopefully will have used the break to work on something new if we’re to cause league leaders Arsenal any real issues.
Away at Villa Park, Adama looked effective at times. The way he ran the channels and dragged the Villa center-halves with him created space for the likes of Wilson and King around him. However, his lack of pressing intensity or natural finisher’s instinct proved problematic.
At the Vitality, Josh King played a number of decent touches, but failed to provide any type of threat up front with a lack of physical presence and with how poorly Fulham were getting the ball into the final third, especially in the first half an hour. Finding a solution, Kusi-Asare or otherwise, is crucial for Marco this week.
Further problems
Our system in general may need altering. The lack of striker is one thing, the injuries to Sasa Lukic and Kenny Tete is another. Tete’s injury leaves Timothy Castagne in the XI. The Belgian is more than capable, but he leaves us so weak from an attacking sense down the right-hand side, especially if utilised as a wing-back in a back three, something that’s very possible against Arsenal and Newcastle over the next fortnight.
Fulham haven’t really got another option in that position, so will almost certainly persist with Castagne, leaving Silva with the task of getting more out of him at both ends of the pitch.
Lukic’s injury might bring a new dimension to the debate over how conservative he and Berge have been in the middle. When Tom Cairney came on for Sasa at the Vitality we had so much more drive from midfield and got away four shots.
There’s no guarantee that TC starts against Arsenal, but this feels like the opportunity for someone to step into midfield, make their mark, and prove to the manager that playing two holding midfielders isn’t the best way to approach things.
The January window
While that quartet’s injuries aren’t expected to last for too long, the questions regarding the system and it’s failings persist, and they may have to be addressed in the January window - especially with fan frustration still lingering following the summer.
Quality on the ball in central midfield seems the biggest question, but the lack of full-back depth with fitness issues regarding Jedi and Tete, plus the lack of faith in Kusi-Asare as a number nine so far, suggests potential further work.
Finding another striker poses huge challenges considering we’ve got an aging Mexican who continues to contribute, a Brazilian superstar on a new contract who will likely be the main man in the years to come, and a random young loanee getting no minutes from Bayern Munich. How you convince someone to join that mix is beyond me.
Finding full-back depth should be easier, especially if Fulham delve into the loan market just to protect ourselves against any further injuries to Tete or Robinson in the coming months. The thing that would truly satisfy fans though is a creative number eight; someone that adds genuine threat from a slightly deeper position and doesn’t just cover yards and make the odd tackle or take the odd corner.
The AFCON conundrum
The January window could also be crucial to how Fulham cope without our African contingent. When Nigeria take their place in this winter’s tournament, Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze are all fairly certain to fly over to compete. Would Fulham look to go even further into the loan market to find cover on the wings, or in the hunt for a versatile defender who could cover Bassey and full-back? If Iwobi evolves into the dynamic eight we’re looking for that could pose another problem, with Fulham losing another midfield option.
But the fact is, while we worry about adapting to life without our Nigerian trio, we aren’t the only ones. A number of mid-table teams we’re competing with will lose a number of players too: Amine Adli of Bournemouth, Christantus Uche and Ismailia Sarr of Crystal Palace, Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye of Everton, Carlos Baleba of Brighton and a whole host of Sunderland summer signings.
In a crucial stage of the season, it’s going to be a big moment, among others, for Silva to find solutions and make this a season to remember in what may be his last for the club.
The winter that will make Marco a stronger manager and we will need the team spirit and togetherness of the squad.on the arsenal game we needed Wilson who had 3 chances to hit the target as that was the difference to winning and losing the game and 3 points.
Very good, at last a realistic glance at where we are.
Cuenca is a great replacement for Bassey, wish he got more playing time the second after we take the lead.
As far as Silva’s legacy it certainly feels like he’s on his way out to a club that will back him and act a bit more normally.
When one looks back at his work here there’s more than a tinge of what might have been given a Khanless club.
There’s another pivotal moment though…the loss of Mitrovic and Palhinha were inevitable but the signing of ESR as a real talent to move past that marked the downturn.