Fulham vice-chairman Tony Khan has said he holds himself accountable for the club’s unsuccessful £100million player recruitment last summer.
The Cottagers invested heavily on 12 new players ahead of their return to the Premier League, but many of their expensive signings have struggled.
Fulham are facing relegation and Khan has received criticism for his role in the recruitment.
The club have a ‘both boxes ticked’ policy, in which any signing must be approved by data analysis and more traditional scouting methods.
Then manager Slavisa Jokanovic was unhappy with the strategy and wanted greater control.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa was signed for around £30m, while Jean Michael Seri arrived for around £25m and they are among the new signings who have failed to make an impact.
In a meeting with the Fulham Supporters’ Trust, Khan admitted he can understand some of the criticism aimed at him but said his record should be balanced by the success achieved by the club in the previous two seasons.
Notes from the meeting read: “TK (Khan) said no one has done more analysis of the struggle of this season, and holds himself accountable for recruitment this season, but also feels his record should be balanced by the success achieved by the club in the previous two years.
“He also felt that there had always been the chance that Fulham could get relegated this year, particularly given that 15 of the last 26 play-off final winners went straight back down.
“On criticism of the amount spent on incoming players last summer, TK responded that he could understand criticism given how events have transpired, particularly after two good years previously.
“Injuries to experienced players (Alfie Mawson) had an impact and signings, including Seri and Anguissa, were important players for the future.
Some of the criticism of these players he felt had been unfair”.
