A week on from the minute of madness that cost Fulham a place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the dust hasn’t settled. It’s still blowing every which way. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the weekend papers. The Mail on Sunday has a ridiculous piece suggesting that Marco Silva thinks he’s the new Jose Mourinho, the Sun describes Aleksandar Mitrovic as ‘a Serbian brickhouse’ whilst praising Harry Kane as a role model (oblivious to the fact that England’s new record goalscorer placed his hands on a referee as Luke Shaw was sent off on Thursday) and the incident has apparently cost him a move to Old Trafford. Every cloud carries a silver lining and all that.
The absurd over reaction to Mitrovic’s altercation with a match official continues. It was nice to see him smiling as he led the line for Serbia in their opening European Championship qualifier the other night. Both Silva and Mitrovic were in the wrong and will be punished. The precise nature of that punishment is what it is at issue. The drumbeat of demands for a ban that would see Fulham’s number nine miss the remainder of the season was only briefly interrupted by striking outpouring of common sense in the Sheffield Star, adding the crucial context that Paolo di Canio’s 11-match suspension was not merely a result of his pushing Paul Alcock, but a consequence of the Italian having been red carded before he attacked the referee.
The neutrals will believe that these instances of ill-discipline will come to define Fulham’s season. The ugly scenes will, however long the punishment, deny the Whites the services of their head coach and their most potent goalscorer for some considerable time. What rankles, as I wrote in an earlier piece, is the fact that the book will be thrown at little old Fulham for their transgressions because they aren’t too big to punish. But it shouldn’t doom our first campaign back in the big time. Yes, Silva, a strong contender for manager of the season by the way, should reflect on his touchline demanour – where he is too quick to question a debatable decision – but we have coped without him before and Luis Boa Morte, one of the first people onto the pitch to calm things down last Sunday, can continue his development as an underrated coach by taking over from his compatriot.
Boa Morte, rather like Mitrovic, has nothing to prove to the Fulham faithful. Not only was he one of the key figures in the stylish Jean Tigana side that stormed to the Division One title, but the wily winger became one of the Whites’ most consistent performers as London’s oldest professional football club established themselves in the top flight. His winner against Chelsea, just like the one Carlos Vincius headed home in January, became a moment in Fulham folklore but Boa Morte had already starred in the SW6 derby – sending Marcel Desailly for a hotdog at Stamford Bridge to secure a valuable point for Chris Coleman with the Whites battling relegation in 2003. Boa Morte turned down various chances to leave Craven Cottage for bigger clubs – and didn’t even want to exit when Fulham accepted a £5m offer from West Ham in 2007.
If the more mellow 45 year-old now feels like he is making up for lost time at Motspur Park, it might be because Fulham failed to take him on permanently after the cult hero began his coaching career by assisting the club’s academy coaches. He gained experience at Sporting Lisbon, worked as a scout with his old club Arsenal and enjoyed spells with Portimonense, Sintrese and Maccabi Haifa before linking up with Silva at Everton. Boa Morte has made such an impact on Fulham, especially on wingers like Neeskens Kebano, that several Championship clubs considered him as a potential manager last season and there is a feeling within the English game that could potentially progress to the very top now that the scowl with which he played has almost permanently been replaced by a disarming smile.
Boa Morte stepped into the manager’s role when Silva suffered through an FA Cup replay on a press gantry at Sunderland and is likely to do so again. He will have no shortage of support from Silva’s experienced coaching staff, which also includes Stuart Gray, a man who has literally been there and seen everything during a lifetime in football. A prolonged suspension for Silva, alongside a big ban for Mitrovic, will be damaging to Fulham’s immediate fortunes but should foster a further sense of togetherness in what remains a tight-knit dressing room. Judging by the reaction of the Fulham faithful at the end of our Cup run and since on social media, a siege mentality could follow from the fans.
The biggest problem is probably what to do in Mitrovic’s absence. Fulham’s talisman is much more than a goalscorer, although his relief at ending almost three months without a goal at Old Trafford was obvious. He is the focal point of the attack, able to drop deep and start moves as well as finish them and every centre back is scared of Mitrovic’s movement and aerial prowess. You’ll never get another striker like the Serbian number nine, which is why his sending off was so maddening. The impending ban will give Vinicius, who finished impressively against two of our near neighbours for his two Fulham goals to date, the sort of run in the side that the Brazilian hasn’t had since signing back in September. Carlos can’t be considered a like-for-like replacement; he’s an entirely different forward, but I don’t believe he’s as dreadful as some of the social media critics claim.
Fulham don’t like to make things easy for their long-suffering followers. We know that – and being a follower of a team that has never won a major honour is character-building within itself. You learn to lose gracefully, even when you don’t feel like accepting defeat. It might feel like doom and gloom at present, but there is an opportunity around the corner. Plenty of people have written off the remainder of the season with Silva and Mitrovic set to be missing for a while. I take a different view. Fulham’s run in is kinder than most of the teams in and around the top half. The Whites have made the pundits eat their pre-season words already; why can’t this terrific team do it again?
Marco needs to get himself in order he is setting a very bad example with his constant touchline meltdowns. Mitro was totally out of order, you can’t follow the ref around the pitch pointing and shouting in his face, you just can’t, there’s no excuse. Comparing incidents that happened 25 years ago is just ridiculous and rather desperate. Mitro deserves a 10 match ban minimum. Let’s stop making excuses and stop talking about other clubs. Fulham need to own this problem and fix it! FULHAM FAN here with the black and white blinkers off.
The ban on mitrovic should be 5 games at most providing everything is taken into consideration,you can’t ban him for 10+ games when Fernando’s gets away scott free for pushing the assistant referee when all said and done mitrovic just nudged him.Lets get a a result at Bournemouth and move on and quietly accumulate some points and see where we end up and prepare for next season
Footballers get paid too much money to have hissy fits. Mitro no doubt is a Fulham legend. However, his theatrics has prevented him from maximising his potentials. Especially being a role model for the upcoming generation, he’s not setting that example.
I hope he can grow up and focus on his football and not let things wind him up.
A great commentary and analysis, Chloe, amidst all the posturing and hyperbole we have been subjected too. Regarding the Mitro ban, we all know he behaved like an idiot and indulged himself to the detriment of everyone else at the club, as sadly did Marco, but to compare the event with the Di Canio debacle is definitely blinkers on. Everything that Mitro did was inappropriate and deserving of hefty punishment, but he grabbed the referee to get his attention not to strike him. We can argue the semantics of this till the cows come home but I feel his intention was clear. I think it deserves at most a 5 or 6 game ban, 10 being a capitulation to attention seeking pundits and their ilk. There also needs to be a demonstrable consistency in this whole area which is sadly lacking at the moment.
I had the same reaction to the Mail article re the comparison with Mourinho. It was an opinion piece dressed up as journalism. I’m not dismissing it out of hand, but huge assumptions were made to make a cheap point. I too am quite excited with the opportunity this will give Vinicius as I have never dismissed him in the way others have. It may not work out, but perhaps having his first run of games may elevate him to being not just an understudy but also an alternative, assuming, of course, that he gets selected…
I shall not even try to add anything to your inciteful appreciation of the wonderful Boa Morte.
I wish to endorse Andrew’s comment. So, I have. COYW
Great article and thoughts. Agree with Andrew. Dave NZ
I now live in Spain, and I saw Mitro’s incident quite a while after reading the hysterics coming from all angles in the press, from pundits (Chris Sutton… please!) and had been under the impression from what I was reading that Fulham had invaded the North of England, taken hostages and was declaring it another “State of SW6”. I then saw the footage, and totally agree that both Nitro and Silva deserve punishment, but NOT Draconian, under the circumstances 5 games would be more than sufficient, and the same for Silva. Personally I think the FA should re visit the “assault” on the lino by Fernándes during their 7-0 humiliation at Liverpool and ban him for the same amount of time. Get the elephant out of the room…smaller clubs get punished and the Big ones don’t, ManUre’s punishment for “failing to control their players” will be a token punishment. punishment…guaranteed. As Ian Wright said after the game…the authorities are closer to getting the ManUre v Man City final they want. We support our team through thick and thin…being a Fulham supporter defines part of your character, and even though I don’t get to see them, living in Spain, it still hurts when they lose, and the one thing I miss about not being in England, and there aren’t many, is visiting Craven Cottage…my first visit in 1967 ironically a ManUre!! COYW
As always Chloe, a super article. I would repeat that Vinicius deserves our patience (where can we put his statue for that goal against Walham Green?) and how about recalling Muniz, who responds well to Marco – just a thought.
recall Muniz !
Championship at best.
Just watched the England game last night. Sad to see Henderson, Liverpool’s captain and one of the senior players, looking at the linesman and swearing obscenities at him. There was definitely F’ing and maybe worse directed at him…..and will the FA charge him with using foul and abusive language?…absolutely not…too embarrassing. They seem to have missed Fernandes and Maguire’s F’ing at the officials last week too. They do however seem to have noticed Silva and Mitro’s swearing.
The FA is a joke. We all know Marco leaving his area and Mitro’s threatening behaviour deserve to be punished…but….the foul and abusive language charges thrown on top are clearly bias. How can they seriously charge Silva and Mitro with those when they allow clear and direct evidence of higher profile players doing it to officials every single week go unpunished? I don’t understand what’s going on,
The witch hunt regarding the Mitrovic incident is crazy.
When reading Haans comment, I have no idea what he means when saying “his theatrics have prevented him reaching his potential”. Mitrovic has broken championship scoring records, top scorer for his country and this season finally shaked off the “he cant do it in the premier league” tag. As for setting an example, yeah he has made a mistake and will get a ban, but he has also set an example of being a player who knows that the grass isnt always greener when he had the chance to leave after 2 relegations, and is now reaping the rewards.
The DiCanio comparison cant be made to the Mitrovic, Mitrovic got sent off for touching the referee, not for his reaction. Di Canio got sent off and then pushed the referee. So anything more than a 6 game ban is the FA trying to make an example of him, something i think fulham will appeal on.
The FA have the chance to set some standards here such as “if you touch a match official, its an immediate 3 game ban regardless of whether its a touch on the shoulder”. This way the match officials get more protection and less harassment from all players. This should also apply to things like Toney’s betting charges where “if you get caught, its an immediate x match ban” and drugs testing like Ferdinand in the 00’s. But as per, this would be too difficult for the FA to work out.
I’ve been saying for years that Mitro (despite the obvious talent) was always going to be a liability at some point because it’s who he is. As fans, we have to accept that he’s going to behave like an idiot periodically. This won’t be the last time. Marco loses the high ground as a manager when dealing with Mitro because he is too emotional himself and, while I love the passion for the game & the club, that too is always going to be a liability for us at some point.
I think, as fans, we accept that there should be bans but the bans have to be proportionate (& applied consistently, but that’s a different argument).
I believe a straight red is an automatic 3 match ban (someone will correct me if that’s wrong!) so I was originally thinking Marco would get 3 and Mitro would get 6 until I saw today that the FA are also coming after Marco for the post-match comments (which I actually thought were fairly reasonable / respectful given the circumstances).
The problem with football players crowding the refs & shouting abuse at them etc has been going on for years and the solution to all of that seems simple to me – adopt the system they have successfully operated in Rugby Union in which ONLY the captains are permitted to talk directly with the ref. Make it a rule of the game that you get an instant yellow card for breaching that rule. It would only take a handful of instances where someone gets a red card (second yellow) for breaching that rule before the behaviour changed.
Great article and comments.
The FA are throwing the book at Fulham as a smaller club, but wouldn’t do so it it was ManUre or one of the other so-called “big” clubs. I hope Fulham appeal against any excessive bans.
That said, Messrs. Silva & Mitrovic’s behaviour was clearly unacceptable. As a fan for nearly 60 years I found it embarrassing.
Surely the Club should have promptly published a statement apologising for what happened? It might have helped to pacify the FA.