There will never be another season like this. FIFA’s ridiculous – and shameful – experiment with holding the World Cup in Qatar is almost over. The political consequences of that decision are massive, but the implications for football, with an enforced winter break interrupting the European domestic season, are equally striking. The pause in the Premier League might have given Marco Silva some time to reflect on the frustration of two last-gasp defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Manchester United, but it also interrupts any momentum that Fulham might have generated during a stronger than expected start to life back in the big time. Nobody quite knows how things will resume on Boxing Day: it is almost like starting a new season all over again.
Form and fitness will be entirely different. The big worry going into the World Cup was that Fulham’s record compliment of participants could come back injured. Mercifully, all of the Fulham representatives appear to have returned to these shores showing no after-effects from their international exertions. The American duo of Tim Ream, making his first appearance at World Cup at 35, and Antonee Robinson seem to have enhanced their reputations. Harry Wilson and Dan James both flickered briefly in what was ultimately a disappointing finals for Wales. After all the consternation about Aleksandar Mitrovic carrying injuries, the Serbian striker finished his tournament looking the fittest he has done for months. And, perhaps most pertinently of all, Joao Palhinha barely played for Portugal. Fernando Santos should have been sacked for that misjudgement alone.
All of this why a friendly became so necessary before Fulham return to competitive action at Crystal Palace on Boxing Day. So, this afternoon at a still snow-coated Craven Cottage, West Ham will provide the opposition as Silva’s squad tune up for another frenetic run of fixtures and the chance to take on the top flight once again. Fulham’s non World Cup participants had a warm weather tune-up on the Algarve and a friendly against Portimonense that took on Sunday League vibes when the referee failed to show – and the game had to be officiated by the opposition’s manager. Silva played a very young side in that fixture, with under 21 striker Callum McFarlane scoring twice in the second half, and although he has always had a penchant for picking some of the stars of the future, you’d expect a little less experimentation in this fixture.
It is difficult to know who to prioritise for game time today, though. Dan James made the point in an interview with FFCTV last week that he feels playing at the World Cup will give him a fitness advantage over those who not played for more than a month. Those players who represented their nations recently might have only had a week or so, whilst some fringe members of the squad will have been very short on match action. Would it be interesting for instance to see how Layvin Kurzawa, who scored in Portugal, gets on against Premier League opposition? Or should Silva stick closely to what is likely to be his starting line-up at Selhurst Park?
The one wild card is the man who is now back in full training at Motspur Park. Israeli winger Manor Solomon, the subject of a typically elongated transfer tussle over the summer, made just a single appearance in a Fulham shirt before being badly injured in an under-21s game. Solomon’s knee injury was serious enough to require surgery and was a devastating blow for a man who had the tiniest of tastes of playing in the Premier League after months of waiting for his opportunity. There was enough about his cameo against Liverpool, where he set up Aleksandar Mitrovic for a second half penalty with a brilliant through ball, to suggest he could add something different to Fulham’s attack, which is why his immediate injury proved so deflating. We’d love to see more of what Solomon can bring to a squad that still needs invention out wide with the unfortunate Neeskens Kebano out for the season.
Silva isn’t the only manager with a few things to ponder today. It is safe to say that the campaign hasn’t played out as David Moyes would have wanted. The Hammers have the toughest restart possible at league leaders Arsenal and Moyes is set to be without the services of Declan Rice, Nayef Aguerd, Kurt Zouma and Maxwel Cornet this afternoon. West Ham have already beaten Cambridge United and Udinese in recent friendlies and former Fulham coach Billy McKinlay, now Moyes’ number two, has indicated that there is more fluency in their forward line than the pair had predicted. We might even be able to welcome back Alphonse Areola, who starred in Fulham’s last doomed Premier League campaign, back to the Cottage as well this afternoon.
Tickets are still available – including the chance to sample the new Riverside Stand for £20 for adults and £10 for concessions – so if you have missed your Fulham fix, or simply want to get out of another round of Christmas shopping, head along to the Cottage for a 1pm kick off this afternoon.
MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Rodak; Tete, Kurzawa, Adarabioyo, Diop; Reed, Cairney; Willian, Solomon, Harris; Mitrovic. Subs: Leno, Mbabu, A. Robinson, Duffy, Palhinha, Pereira, Decordova-Reid, Wilson, Vinicius.
