Marco Silva admitted that his introduction of captain Tom Cairney in the second half of the SW6 derby ‘didn’t work’ after Fulham were stunned by a stirring Chelsea comeback at Craven Cottage.
The Portuguese boss revealed that he summoned for his skipper because the home side were struggling to keep possession midway through the second period. The Whites were under the cosh as they sought to protect the lead given to them by Alex Iwobi’s stunning strike. Cairney’s 350th appearance for Fulham won’t be the Scottish international will look back on fondly after teenager Tyrique George levelled with seven minutes go and Petro Neto snatched all three points in the third minute of added time.
Silva told his post-match press conference:
“The message at half time was to be on top and we weren’t. When you don’t have the ball, we are going to struggle. The build up was not at the same level [in the second half] … Tom Cairney came on because we weren’t able to keep the ball. It didn’t work out. Every time you lose, it’s a missed opportunity. We are playing finals every week. We have to be balanced in the way we analyse [this game]. We [still] have points to fight for.”
Fulham have now lost 25 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season – comfortably the highest in the top flight.
How on Earth does Silva think that TC is the answer to stop an energised Chelsea team buzzing around the pitch, he’s deluded. Cairney is slow and deliberate, ambles around and offers nothing. His days playing Premier League football are up and to think he’s been given a contract extension is mind blowing.
This team resembles the Martin Jol sides and can only play 70/80 minutes and it’s fitness must be questioned.
Our squad is very thin and options are limited(Vinicius come to mind), however that does not excuse Silva for for making the wrong calls at the wrong time.