Normally you don’t hear Fulham and ‘potential Top-4’ in the same line. But over the past few weeks I been pleasently surprized to have heard in said by Harry Rednapp and some of the MOTD presenters. We are described as a balenced side who could potentially end up there.
Personally, I don’t think that this will happen in the next few years, and I’d be surprized if any of you disagreed with me. However, I can see why some people are being so optimistic. Fulham are a solid team and even the best teams have found us hard it hard to break us down. They have a system that works for them and I don’t think anyone now says, ” Fulham on Saturday, thats 3-points in the bag,” the way they used to.
However, before we get ahead of ourselves we need to bear some things in mind. Although Roy has made some super signings and has made sure that we have options in most areas in case of injuries, the squad I do not think has quite enough top-class players yet to make a solid bid for the top-4. Take Spurs for example. They have been building for years and only this year do I feel that it could be possible for them to do so. Aston Villa are another good example of this as again, after years of building this could be their year.
So Fulham still have some work to do and this is what I think the targets should be-
1. Cement a top half finish- We need to keep up the hard work and keep getting points. We are already in good shape to finish there as Even with a game in hand, Sunderland are 5 points below us. However, the next team above us is 5 points clear of us. I don’t think that Birminghams run will last so if we keep going solidly I think that it wuld be very possible for us the finish 8th.
2.Win something- I’m not necesserily talking about this year but I think next year we should definatly push for something. I think being in the last 32 of the Europa legue will mean that the FA cup won’t be on Roy’s high priority list. However, can we really go much further in it?
In the next couple of years I would be hoping that Roy will make somemore good signing and just generally make us a better team so that in the future maybe we could end up somewhere that several years ago, most Fulham fans might not have ever thought possible!
I feel we could be Top 6. However, its climbing up those other two spots which seems a life time away. Consistent Top 10 finishes each year would make me very happy.
Also if I were Roy, I would target the FA Cup over Europa League. The draw is not in our favor. Do what you can to compete but focus on making an FA Cup run.
This was a great breakdown of the future. I don’t see a top 4 finish. I do see a top 6 finish consistently starting possibly this year.
The keys for the future begin with Roy Hogdson. If he is at Fulham for the next 5 years we could be knocking on the door of the top 4 after that timeframe. In the meantime being in the Europa League and contending in the league is attainable.
Again this was a great analysis.
All good stuff, but we could still finish anywhere between 5th and 15th most seasons. Unless income changes dramatically we’ll never be a ‘big side’ – it doesn’t work that way. Clubs like us have ups and downs over the seasons, this is an up; soon enough there’ll be a down. We just need to enjoy it while it lasts.
Yes that is one thing that we do not have which is needed- alot of money!