Six Things We Learnt From Fulham 1-0 Frankfurt

Well, ladies and gents, that’s it — a memorable pre-season that has taken myself, and the fellas on the pitch, from West London to Western Europe comes to a close. A positive end to what was, in terms of on the pitch, a successful pre-season. So, Fulham 1-0 — what did we learn?

Harry Wilson — He Oozes Class

What a pre-season for Harry Wilson. After a standout week in the Algarve, Wilson follows it up, continuing where he left off back on English shores.

In terms of overall performance, the impact Harry has on this Fulham team can’t be overstated. When present, Fulham look the fluid, creative, ingenuitive side that we know the Whites to be. The Welshman oozes class, beating his man at will, and showing throughout today’s showing that he can turn play on its head with a clever flick or zinging crossfield swipe of the left boot.

This is Harry’s season to break out into a standout Premier League footballer he has shown glimpses of for years. It’s your time, Harry – become a wizard.

God Save Josh King

I said Harry Wilson completely transforms how Fulham play — he’s not the only one. Josh King made it three out of three outstanding public pre-season performances today. Like Wilson mentioned before him, King is a creative game-changer for Marco Silva’s men.

King was at the centre of many a tight, intricate move from FFC, playing daring through balls nobody else in Silva’s squad seemed willing to try.

Josh whipped out his Iniesta-like foot-to-foot flick we have become accustomed to seeing in recent weeks, making a fool of many a Frankfurt defender. JK should be given the chance to turn that defender into a Brighton one this time next week. If you didn’t know before, you definitely do now — his creative prowess will set Fulham free. Long may he reign over us. God Save Josh King.

Too Light in the Middle?

I’ve highlighted my concerns for a lack of central steel in the Whites’ midfield all summer long. Midfield metronomes like Sasa Lukic and the like are all well and good, but we saw in the opening periods of today’s game — where Fulham struggled to stop any breaking move from Frankfurt — that Marco Silva needs to partner central intelligence with defensive crunch.

Forget a number eight — partner Sander with a defensively monstrous six. Let’s physically dominate teams.

Have Fulham Solved Their Set-Piece Issues?

I lambasted Fulham last campaign for being the worst side from set pieces in the Premier League, scoring three goals from dead-ball situations all season. Three consecutive games with a set-piece goal suggest London’s Originals’ summer work to fix our set-piece woes may have worked out.

Whilst we still wait in the wings for our allotted set-piece coach to come to the forefront, it turns out finally paying attention to logic — and allowing our two dead-ball specialists to take set pieces — will result in success.

Harry Wilson’s free kick against was superb. His corner against Al Ittihad was sublime, but Raul Jiminez’s Frankfurt free kick may have been the best dead ball I’ve ever seen scored at the Cottage.

Reminiscent of his Gold Cup semi-final strike, there should be no doubt that Andreas Pereira should never take a set piece for Fulham again. Raul and Wilson alternating set-piece duties all season, please, Marco!

Rodrigo and Robinson Not Included: Should We Worry?

Robinson? I don’t think so. Jedi played in the Whites’ reverse behind-closed-doors fixture against Eintracht earlier today. I imagine Marco just wanted to relieve Jedi of the pressure of a public performance in his first game back to fitness in three months.

In terms of Rodrigo, I’d be slightly more concerned. The entire squad that featured today were situated in and around the bench — not officially, but in the Riverside. Muniz wasn’t. Does that mean that he’s off? No. He did play earlier today, but it’s not a good look. I imagine there will be more to follow in coming weeks — let’s see…

Sessegnon — A Lucky Escape, Amissah Deputised Well

I’ll keep this one short and sweet, but Sam Amish did very well on his Fulham senior debut, especially when you consider he was a right-footed centre-back deputising at left-back. Despite that, I can’t see him featuring next week. Robinson will likely feature in some capacity, and Sessegnon seems to be fine, with some videos on Twitter post-match after a slight injury scare. Thank God!