Marco Silva’s surprise signing of a three-year contract at Craven Cottage meant the flat feeling that followed a miserable night at Tottenham lasted less than 24 hours. The head coach, who had been tipped to take a job in Saudi Arabia and courted by several other leading sides in England and the continent, committed his future to the club who gave him another opportunity to prove his English detractors wrong – even after losing his most potent goal threat and coming close to saying goodbye to Fulham’s most important player in the same summer transfer window. When people say there isn’t any loyalty in elite sport these days, they could consider Silva remaining in SW6 to continue to revive Fulham’s fortunes.
During his press conference ahead of this afternoon’s trip to Brighton and Hove Albion, the head coach confirmed that he had been given assurances that the financial backing to meet his ambitions would follow. The most pressing concern will be making the Whites more of a goal threat given that they only scored eight times in nine league fixtures this season and look power puff without Aleksandar Mitrovic. The most galling element of the defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was not that the league leaders were gifted their goals by Calvin Bassey, but the fact that Fulham missed a whole host of presentable chances to get back into the contest. That one of the best of them fell to Raul Jimenez only served to underline why the Mexican, who is struggling in front of goal, isn’t in the starting line-up now.
Getting Fulham’s form back on track at the AMEX won’t be easier. Brighton’s high-pressing, possession heavy and inventive approach under Roberto de Zerbi hasn’t shone as brightly as in the Italian’s first few months after replacing Graham Potter but Albion did record a first clean sheet of the season in registering their first European win over Ajax and only West Ham have beaten them on their own patch this season. The Seagulls have not failed to score in a league game since Manor Solomon’s late strike secured something of a smash and grab win last October and, although the loss of Solly March is a serious blow, Fulham will have to shackle the irrepressible talents of Kaoru Mitoma, João Pedro, Evan Ferguson and now even Ansu Fati to emerge with anything at all.
It was intriguing to hear de Zerbi, whose achievements at Sassuolo seem to have slipped under the radar somewhat in this country since Serie A is now only on pay-TV, insist during his own press conference that Fati and João Pedro are only performing at around 60 per cent of their potential at present. When they get up to speed, Albion – already an exciting side – would be a formidable proposition. The Whites will also have to find a way to quieten the influential Pascal Gross, who is poised to play his 200th Premier League for Brighton – becoming just the second Seagull after skipper Lewis Dunk to reach that milestone. Albion are a well-oiled, technically proficient side who marry consistency with creativity and will represent a serious test of whether Silva’s side are able to match the stellar achievements of last season.
Given how well Albion finished the campaign, one of the highlights was completing the double over the south-coast side. Brighton have yet to beat Fulham in six Premier League outings, but completing a third consecutive league win over the Seagulls for the first time since 1986 will require a serious improvement. I felt Silva got his selection wrong at Spurs, with that game calling out for the dynamism of Alex Iwobi in midfield to match the intensity demanded by Ange Postecoglou. Fulham carried far more threat when Tom Cairney joined proceedings in the second half and there has to be a case for dropping Andreas Pereira, who was utterly anonymous in the 45 minutes he was given at N17.
The vexed issue of playing two left-footers at the heart of the back four will rear its head again this afternoon as Silva remains without the services of Tosin Adarabioyo and Issa Diop. Both Bassey and Ream’s distribution is vital to implementing the head coach’s playing philosophy, but each of them will need to recognise when those passes out from the back are on. Too often this season Fulham have played themselves into trouble (think of Brighton and Chelsea at home as well as the most recent examples) and that’s why Dimitar Berbatov’s words on Friday resonated so strongly. Whilst the Whites don’t have a focal point up front like Mitrovic any more, balls out to the flanks unlikely to put the defence in such a vulnerable position immediately. Football, however, is an easy game when you are typing on your laptop.
If this preview appears gloomy, it is because the task ahead is particularly challenging, especially with Kenny Tete and Adama Traore, two important assets at either end of the pitch, also sidelined. Glimmers of hope come from the fact that Fulham have matched their results from last season (with three victories, two draws and four defeats from their first nine games) and that they shown they can cope on their travels against sides who keep the ball in adversity: think Arsenal away where they were in control for an hour and came away with a point even after being reduced to ten men thanks to João Palhinha’s late leveller. Here’s hoping for another astonishing afternoon on the south coast.
MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, A. Robinson, Ream, Bassey; Palhinha, Lukic; De Cordova-Reid, Willian, Iwobi; Vincius. Subs: Rodak, Ballo-Toure, de Fougerolles, Reed, Cairney, Wilson, Harris, Muniz, Jimenez.
