There wasn’t much final day cheer at Craven Cottage. Only a few weeks ago, Fulham fans would have been contemplating the prospect of a fraught last day showdown against relegation rivals Newcastle United – but Scott Parker’s side crumbled well before a nervy climax became a possibility. The home faithful had to console themselves with a return to Fulham’s historic old home for the first time since before Christmas, but an insipid display only emphasised just how far Fulham have fallen short of staying afloat in the top flight this term.
Parker and the Fulham hierarchy have plenty of questions to ponder in the close season as the club prepares to try and return to English football’s top table at the first time of asking yet again. Chief among them well be whether Parker, whose tactical naivety proved costly in the final weeks of a chastening campaign, will be in charge of another Championship tilt come August. There will be question marks about the composition of Fulham’s squad, especially after the head coach admitted that all of the current loanees will return to their parent clubs in the coming week, whilst the need for significant summer recruitment will focus attention on director of football Tony Khan.
On the field, Fulham have been far too easy to play through in the key moments. This was encapsulated by Newcastle’s opening goal, scored predictably by the in-form Joe Willock, who grabbed his seventh goal in seven Premier League games to match a record held by legendary striker Alan Shearer. The on-loan Arsenal midfielder, whose scoring exploits lifted the Magpies to safety with surprising comfort, carried the ball the best part of seventy yards unchallenged. Only Tim Ream offered the slightest hint of a challenge – from which the ball sat up kindly for Willock to rifle home – but the tracking back of Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa was shambolic.
If that generous defending summed up Fulham’s failings, there was yet more manifestation of their chronic failure to finish in front of goal. The lack of a regular goalscorer has made Parker’s decision to ignore Aleksandar Mitrovic baffling and suggests that the Serbian striker will be looking for pastures new in a matter of weeks. For much of the campaign, Ivan Cavaleiro has operated as a makeshift number nine but if the Portuguese winger had added pace and pressing up front, his finishing fell short of the mark far too often. He spurned Fulham’s best chances here – bending a couple of efforts over the crossbar from presentable positions – and then unforgivably failing to find the target from close range after a brilliant lay-off from Fabio Carvalho.
The talented teenager continued his impressive cameos of recent weeks and looked the most likely source of a Fulham equaliser. Carvalho looked most at home when operating just behind the striker – and provided an injection of both pace and sharpness in the final third. Predictably, the home side dominated the second period but struggled to carve out clear cut chances. There was a league debut for tidy Australian midfielder Tyrese Francois as a late substitute, but the Whites were largely restricted to hopeful potshots from range. Kenny Tete’s speculative effort bounced around in the penalty area but Carvalho couldn’t profit when it dropped towards him – and, in keeping with Fulham’s frustrating season, Newcastle profited from a smash and grab in the dying embers of the contest to double their lead.
It came from the penalty spot, after Tete was penalised for felling Matt Ritchie in the box. The award felt soft but Fabian Schar by effortlessly beating Marek Rodak from twelve yards. That goal lifted Newcastle above Wolves and into twelve on goal difference and a smattering of boos from the home crowd on the final whistle offered a stark reminder of Fulham’s own underwhelming finish. On this evidence, an immediate return to the Premier League next May appears a tall order.
FULHAM (3-4-2-1): Rodak; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream; Decordova-Reid, Bryan (Francois 76), Anguissa (Loftus-Cheek 45), Onomah; Carvalho, Lookman (Maja 64); Cavaleiro. Subs (not used): Areola, Hector, Aina, Lemina, Jasper.
BOOKED: Tete.
NEWCASTLE UNITED (5-3-2): Dubravka; J. Murphy, Ritchie, Krafth (Schar 73), Fernandez, Dummett; S. Longstaff, Shelvey, Willock; Almiron (Hendrick 80), Saint-Maximin (Gayle 65). Subs (not used): Gillespie, Clark, Lewis, Manquillo, M. Longstaff, Carroll.
GOALS: Willock (23), Schar (pen 88).
REFEREE: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire).
VIDEO ASSISTANT REFEREE: Robert Jones (Cheshire).
ATTENDANCE: 2,000.
So can anyone explain why Cavaleiro is still picked by Parker? There is no sane explanation. He is utter utter utter rubbish. He is a bang average winger and an awful striker. Another absolute sitter smashed over the bar at a key moment today. I’m literally at a loss as to what Parker is doing with him. He is crap. It isn’t my opinion…which I started banging on about about 30 games ago…it is a fact! Truly awful.
I’m sick of watching him. I’m also sick of listening to Parker saying things like “we lack a bit of quality up front”…”we make the wrong decisions in the final third” blah blah blah. You’re the one making the wrong attacking decisions Parker you muppet! You alienated the only striker we had at the club for Cav. Mitro isn’t a top class striker at Prem level. We all know that. Would a confident Mitro have kept us up? Probably not but Parker alienated him for the utter rubbish of Cav. Yes, TK gave us poor options but Parker made it worse then he lectures the team about ‘decision making’. If Parker goes I couldn’t care a less. If I were Mitro and I’d been dropped for Cav I’d refuse to play for Parker too. Parker can think Mitro is unprofessional. My view is Mitro is right…Parker is the unprofessional idiot.
Personally I’m happy to go back to the Championship…but…if we go back to Parkerball with Cav up front then I’m done. I desperately wanted Parker to work out but for me it may be worth looking at other options now.
Not good enough, and that has been the case all season. Parker has failed to energise Loftus Cheek ( hopeless), Mitrovic ( injured and out of condition), Decovah-Reed ( not good enough), Reem ( too old) Cavaleiro (hopeless) Anguissa ( no consistency). So, give the captaincy to Reed and build a side to compete for automatic promotion from the Championship within two seasons.
Totally agree that when you see Carvalhio and Loftus Cheek in the line up you can guarantee a no goal outcome.
I would keep Scott Parker as manager for another season. The problem at the club is Tony Khan. Why Mitro has not been included when fit is a complete puzzle. Caveleiro is not and never will be a main striker.Loftus Cheek wae the biggest waste of space and money for years. I love Tim Ream but playing him ad a first choice central defender is in my view a non starter. Maybe play Joe Bryan in the left of mid field, he does looks a source for goals. It was nice to see Fabio and Francis given some game time. Add Jay Stansfield to that and we have 3 promising players for next season. As for the players we have loaned out I do not think even if they return we will want any of them in the first team. Buy some younger players at not exhobitant prices from the lower divisions is a good gamble as they will be keen. Toney at Brentford is se is a classic example. Let’s try and look and some positives remember the old guard at the beginning of the season looked way out of their depth. Shame that Tom Cairney consistently has injury problems he is a class player.
Dave, stop soft soaping and beating around the bush and say what you REALLY think!!!
Seriously, you are SPOT ON!
Final game of the season, nothing to play for except pride and, yet again, Parker tortures us with the selection of Cavaleiro as our main striker. WTF!
This guy is so bad that any decent manager would have outed him after a couple of games in the striker’s role. Not Parker. He has persecuted us by picking this twat game after game. To compound the issue, our sole striker is then given the role of taking all corners and free kicks so, in fact, we don’t have a striker on the receiving end. You couldn’t make this stuff up. Not that it matters because, in the main, Cavaleiro’s set balls are so bloody awful!
To further compound the issue and despite a period of about 12-15 games or so (when we honestly looked like a team too good to go down) we have somehow reverted to playing Parker’s preferred system of pointless, possession based, going nowhere in a hurry, football.
Tim Ream comes charging out of defence, passes to Onomah-Onomah gives it straight BACK to him.
Tosin hits Tete wide on right, he advances a couple of yards then turns and passes it BACK to Tosin.
As Tony Gale adroitly stated in the first half: Newcastle move from one end of the pitch to the other with 2 or 3 passes but Fulham get nowhere with 7 0r 8 passes.
For one brief, shining moment, Parker had abandoned this nonsense but, now, it is back on full display.
Second half, we had so much possession but their keeper still didn’t have a single shot to save. Pathetic!
Newcastle’s second half performance was awful and summed up their general play this season but they still managed to finish in 12th position. Unbelievable!
I was pleased to see Rodak back in goal as he will be our main guy next season but why weren’t players like Areola and Andersen afforded a decent send off for all of their efforts this season?
There is so much wrong with Parker’s way of managing this club-not least his preference for players who are just not good enough: Decordova Reid (anonymous yet again), Cavaleiro, Onomah-to name just a few. If Parker stays, we will be forced to endure these same sub-par performers proving that not only are they not Premiership quality but that they are not Championship quality either. Not that we need them to prove it as they have done that already the last time we scraped through the playoffs.
Cavaleiro’s glaring miss really was the perfect summation of what has gone wrong for us this season. There it was in a nutshell!
Parker has to account for this. He has to answer as to why we only managed 2 points from our last 30! Why we set a home record of scoring only 9 goals all season!
The stats go on and on and they don’t lie. This season has been a total disaster under his management and he has to pay the price!
Thanks Charles. I’ve enjoyed reading your summaries this season.
Just in case Tony Khan is reading this and wondering what to do about Parker then me and Charles are available. We will be a really cheap option and not a total and utter, over dressed, waste of space.
If you want to put my stats through your algorithm, I once coached an u11 boys team and I have a GCSE grade C in French.
Like Dave, I have thoroughly enjoyed all our bitching and ranting this season.
If Parker stays, we can look forward to much more in the Championship next season and then in League 1 the season after that!