BY JAMIE WOOLLEN

Fulham fans came into the season with a quiet optimism, following the destruction of the Championship the previous year, lifting the trophy in style scoring a record breaking 106 goals. The recent memories of two top-flight relegations in three tempered some of that confident, especially among the pundits – most of whom refused to offer the Whites much chance of survival. 

Transfer business, in typical Fulham fashion, came later than was ideal, with many fans joining Marco Silva in questioning the club’s recruitment strategy, which left the first team squad exceptionally light at the start of the season. Summer transfer sagas surrounding Manor Solomon and Bernd Leno engulfed our entire summer, but shrewd deals were eventually struck. A mixture of quality players of a European standard as well as some experienced heads were added to bolster the squad.

The opener at Craven Cottage was against Liverpool, intriguing for Fulham to see how signings such as Andreas Pereira and Joao Palhinha went after being named in the starting line-up. The latter particularly proved instrumental in a well earned point against the Champions’ League finalists, as well as Aleksandar Mitrovic who silenced his doubters with a well taken brace against one of the best defences in the league, who haven’t really looked the same since. A good start. 

Wolves at Molineux followed, and another point on the board, though it certainly felt like two dropped after Mitrovic’s miss from twelve yards late on. But there were plenty of positives to take from the trip to the Black Country, particularly another excellent display from Tim Ream, who has totally vindicated the head coach’s trust in him, in a outstanding start to the campaign after being ridiculed for being both too slow and too old.

Brentford at the Cottage loomed next, with Bees buzzing following their four-goal thrashing of Manchester United. The bus stop boys expected their regular three points at the Cottage and their confidence was well-founded because Fulham in recent years have failed to impress in this derby, outside of Joe Bryan inspired play-off finals. It was sure to be a real test and the Whites eventually came through with flying colours. Palhinha produced another peerless performance, which included a bullet header. In the end, Toney tried to take the headlines but it was Mitrovic’s day again: our sensational Serbian sealing all three points with a splendid back post header past David Raya in front of the Hammersmith End. It felt like a massive win – especially after allowing Brentford back into the contest having been 2-0 up, and the relief of a first Premier League victory, as well as some local bragging rights was tangible.

Two agonising away defeats to Spurs and Arsenal were sandwiched another home victory, this time against in-form Brighton, with Mitrovic scoring his fifth goal in as many matches, to show he was right up there amongst the in-form strikers in Europe. Seeing off the Seagulls showed an encouraging change from previous Premier League campaigns, with Fulham possessing the fortitude to hold onto a slender lead in the last half a hour minutes against a team as potent as Brighton, a solidity and ability to see out games fans have probably become unfamiliar. The keep ball in both corners between Tom Cairney and Bobby Decordova-Reid that used up a good couple of minutes of stoppage time was both efficient and highly entertaining.

An extended break in fixtures was perhaps welcomed, allowing for new signings to fully bed themselves into the side, as well as systems being identified in how to get the best out of them. This seemed the case in the most recent fixture against Nottingham Forest, where Issa Diop and Willian were both handed their first league starts for Fulham. There were questions over some selections, like Diop’s, after his disappointing display at Crawley, and Ream at left back. But these were put to bed by an assured outing from the Frenchman, underlining Fulham’s new found strength in depth at the heart of the defence, something that hasn’t been addressed for years. Ream did brilliantly, too, with the highlight being his own Cryuff turn in the corner as time ticked away.

Mitrovic couldn’t make it six in six but he was certainly influential, producing a superb pass down the line for the crucial third goal. You might have worried that most of Fulham’s goals had come from our number nine, but new scorers made their mark in the space of six second-half minutes at the City Ground. Tosin, Palhinha and Harrison Reed popped up with brilliant goals, with the latter finding the net for the first time in Fulham colours. Those watching at home probably winced as I did as Palhinha jumped into the crowd after putting us 2-1 up, picking up a fifth booking and, therefore, a suspension for Saturday’s game against Newcastle. The passion was commendable and the finish probably deserved it, but it does leave Silva with a selection dilemma because the Portuguese enforcer has been brilliant in central midfield. That minor concern can’t detract from the quality of brilliant night in Nottingham, three more valuable points to leave Fulham in sixth spot: a brilliant start to the season. 

Marco Silva seems to have invigorated this set of players, the majority of which tried and failed in the previous campaign, the likes of Ream, Antonee Robinson and Tosin have proved colossal so far, despite their doubters in pre-season. I’m not sure much more can be asked of this side, except to maintain their magnificent levels of performance to date. It is tempting to say that we might be able to aim higher than merely avoiding relegation, but Silva was right to caution his squad not to get carried away after Forest. Let’s see how else this very watchable team can entertain us, starting with Newcastle this weekend.