The countdown is on. Scott Parker now has less than a week to put his final plans in place ahead of our Premier League opener with Arsenal at the Cottage. I’m excited about football being back, but I reckon it doesn’t compare to how I’d feel if I knew that I’d be walking through the turnstiles next Saturday morning. I pretty much miss everything about it. The smell of the burger vans, the busyness in the pubs and streets pre-game , the sounds of the fans milling around the stadium. And then there’s the actual football. It’s funny how it can be the worst bit sometimes! But the overall match day experience is something that I miss greatly.
Football just isn’t the same. On a slightly happier note, it looks as though we will have a decision on whether or not every game will be televised in some way. The relevant authorities at first said that it wouldn’t happen but after consultation with the FSA and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport there’s a chance that we will have a U-turn on that decision. It definitely makes a difference getting to at least watch the games on TV as football in the Premier League is running the risk of creating even more of a gap between clubs and their fans.
But anyway, less of my musings and on to the football.
We’ve been given a very tough opening fixture in Arsenal. They are undergoing a bit of a revival under Mikel Arteta and, unless something dramatic happens in the next 7 days, we will be facing one of the best strikers in the league in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Arsenal also have a wealth of young talent in the likes of Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah. Our back line, which is still looking far too weak for my liking, could be in for a tough afternoon. On the flip side, Arsenal have their own defensive frailties, and if I had David Luiz in my team I think I’d be in heart attack territory every week.
For Fulham, I’m hoping that our transfer business isn’t done. With Mawson and Sessegnon possibly heading out on loan, we are now even thinner at the back than we were. I really worry about Tim Ream being one of our centre backs against Premier League opposition. It didn’t work two years ago, so I doubt it will work now! Michael Hector is an upgrade on what we had before but the truth of the matter is that we don’t actually know how he will cope in the Premier League. His career has been spent on loan at clubs in the Championship so there will be question marks over whether he can step up. While he didn’t show his best football post-lockdown, he did make a massive difference to our defence so I’m hopeful that he can build on that against some of the worlds best. Our full-back positions are also questionable. I think I’d be happier if we played Joe Bryan further forward as, while his link up with Mitrovic was brilliant last season, defensively he can be hit or miss – something that we just can’t afford in the Premier League. Obviously we have brought in Antonee Robinson from Wigan and he comes with bags of potential. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod at left back next week.
To be honest, I’m not really worried about our standard of midfield or up front players. I do feel that we could do with another proven Premier League striker to cover Mitrovic and to ease the burden for goals, but I think that we have plenty of talent at that side of the pitch. Our midfield is pretty strong with Cairney, Onomah, Reed, Lemina and Anguissa all battling for spots so the big question really is over Parker and how he copes with the decisions.
Parker has been rewarded for getting us back to the Premier League with a new three year deal, but this will be a new challenge all together. There was zero expectation on him when he took the job on as caretaker boss in 2019, but it’s a different world for him now. I reckon those few months in the Premier League last time around will stand him in good stead. Whatever happens though, I hope that we stick with him. The changes made last time around were the final nail in the coffin for our survival hopes, so let’s do it differently this time around.
#COYW
Ideally with more conservative tactics and with the addition of Harrison Reed to help out the back four, Ream may not get as much pressure as last time. Also worth noting the entire back four to start the prem last time did not start the championship final from the year before. Consistency in the back could make it a little easier on all of them.
Great summary. We’re still short of a CB, RB and Striker. Would love us to get Watkins. Will be tough competition but a young, quick striker would be great. Totally agree re Bryan. The assists and Playoff final performance shouldn’t disguise that defensively last season he was at times caught napping. I think Khan etc look like they’re doing ok this time around: we’re upping the quality without destroying the team. Anguissa could be our player of the season. Last time out he was starting to find his feet before the injuries. Excited to see how he goes
Don’t think Cairney is going to be good enough again. He was barely good enough at Championship level last season – a real shadow of the player he used to be. I don’t think Bobby Reid, Cav, or Knockaert are either. And I completely agree on Ream, his time is up I think. Same for Odoi.
We’re really getting stung in the transfer market. Everyone thinks all of their players are worth at least £20m for some reason, and all the rejections of offers are leaving us basically nowhere. We need at least 4 or 5 more players that are either upgrades on what we’ve got, or proven back-ups, like at centre forward.
As much as I love the club and Tim Ream especially for how he has turned his Fulham career around, it is insane to go into the Premier League campaign with almost the same back four as last time.
Ream looks shot to me. He never had a great deal of pace to begin with and I think he’ll be caught out too often in the top flight. Hector is a bit of an unknown quantity (he’s never even played a Premier League match) so I think we have to be careful expecting too much from him. It looks like Mawson is being sent out on loan and I don’t think Le Marchand is anything like the kind of defender we expected him to be when we bought him.
The full back situation is extremely worrying. We’ve never properly replaced Fredericks and I don’t think Odoi or Christie are up to it. That means we badly need a replacement right back. I have my concerns about Joe Bryan and would probably start Robinson at left back, but even that comes with some real risks. Hoping for some signings and quickly or it could be a very long season.
See Zambo back in training at MP heard first team 2-0 up v Southampton don’t know line up . Official site not doing much since revamp here more from hammy end
I would expect the team for the first two to three games to be picked from the current group of players. Any arrivals are unlikely to walk straight into the team without some integration period. That suggests our back line needs protection so I’d like us to play conservatively with a 4-2-3-1 line up. I’d see two draws in the first two games as very positive. We can beat or draw with enough other teams to stay up but only by being more humble and sensible than last time certainly through the first 2-3 months
Good analysis.
I think we all have our concerns with out back four and rightfully so, given our experience of two seasons back. I expect at least two more signings, CB and RB. Three would be ideal (another CB). Market is still open for another month so it looks like it’s gonna be a slow one and Parker and management will try to figure out during the first games what we really half these days. Not to say some positions should not have been addressed already but hey… Also, this year’s midfield should provide more protection than last time around. Any news on Seri by the way?
Fulham ought to go for Axel Tuanzebe