Joachim Anderson and Emile Smith Rowe have failed to live up to their price tags

Fulham fans are among the most patient in football. We put up with a lot and usually do so without much fuss. This season has tested that patience again.

The new Riverside Stand? Still unfinished. It’s been “nearly done” for what feels like a decade. We’ve seen CGI renders, marketing blurbs, and endless delays.

Andreas Pereira has been openly flirting with moves abroad. Marco Silva, the manager we all admire, has made eyes at other clubs too. Yet both retain support from most of the fanbase. That’s not a sign of indifference. That’s loyalty.

But some of that goodwill is running thin – especially when it comes to the players who are meant to be central to our progress.

Five-year deal, five steps behind

Take Joachim Andersen. Fulham handed him a five-year deal, banking on his reputation as a composed ball-playing centre-back. At Crystal Palace last season he helped keep nine clean sheets. This year with Fulham? Just four. He has two defensive midfielders shielding him, so let’s not pretend the midfield is the issue. Maybe Bernd Leno has dipped a bit – but that doesn’t excuse Andersen’s sluggishness. If he loses another yard of pace, he’ll start going backwards.

The highlight of his season? A clip that did the rounds online; Eberechi Eze stalled on the ball and Andersen responded by pointing to his wrist, as if to say, “hurry up.” Eze did just that. Palace beat us at the Cottage in the league, and again a few weeks later in the FA Cup. Telling, really. All posturing, no pay-off.

Andersen has already admitted in an interview that he joined Fulham for the “security and safety” of a five year contract. Fair enough – we appreciate the honesty. But now it’s time to justify the pay cheque.

Big club hype, small club output

Then there’s Emile Smith Rowe. In a Telegraph interview, he claimed he “turns into a monster” on the pitch. Monster? He’s been more ghost-like – vanishing in games, offering very little, and contributing even less. This is the reality with young players from big clubs. Hype inflates their value before they’ve done anything to deserve it. Rhian Brewster was the same. Big fee, big promise, nothing delivered.

This season was one of the easiest Premier League campaigns in recent memory. Several clubs in crisis, relegation battles decided early. Fulham had a chance to push forward – and didn’t. We spent nearly £60m on Andersen and Smith Rowe alone. For that kind of money, we expect more. Our patience shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of ambition or expectation. Fulham may be on the Thames but there is no coasting at the Cottage. Here’s to vast improvements next term.