Game week one is done and dusted. Rodrigo Muniz smashed a stunning stoppage-time leveller, held the scarf aloft, and set the Amex’s away end into raptures. Agent Carvalho, Keith Andrews and Brentford began the Premier League season as they should mean to go on. Chelsea bored us to death at the Bridge, and QPR lost in something called the Football League? Never heard of it myself… A great weekend for everyone associated with Fulham!
So, combining results across the Premier League with the Whites’ South Coast showing, what has game week one told us about Fulham’s season?
The Process of Elimination: How Many Teams Are Worse Than Fulham?
The club meltdown of the week? That goes to West Ham. The Hammers’ emphatic defeat to newly promoted Sunderland confirms what many theorised pre-season. West Ham’s sole ambition this year is to scrap to stay in the division. Having Graham Potter, a man I rank as the most overrated boss in the Premier League, won’t help their case, but it will help Fulham’s. I see no way how a Graham Potter-led, disjointed West Ham side finishes above Fulham.
Scott Parker set Burnley’s Premier League foundations on his steadfast defensive record. An opening day 3–0 defeat to what I see as a mediocre Thomas Frank’s Spurs is a great start for Super Scotty Parker. If a Scott Parker side ever finishes above Marco Silva, I’ll eat my hat.
Marcelo Trotta, Joe Bryan, Harry Wilson, and Keith Andrews. What do they have in common? They’re doing God’s work. Keith Andrews cruising into the worst tactical performance of the week (I’m sure there are plenty more of those to come). Isolating Igor Thiago away from any attacking support, bar Fabio Carvalho, a player who likes to turn and run at defenders, not chase loose balls, and Keane Lewis-Potter, a man deployed primarily at left back last campaign. Great work, Keith. It’s as simple as this: Brentford’s survival chances depend on how quickly Keith Andrews receives his P45. You can see why rumours of Brentford players wanting out of Jersey Road due to Andrews’ mere appointment came to fruition. The Irishman looks like a fish out of water. Long may it continue!
Add Burnley, Brentford, and West Ham to a Wolves side who put in a performance illustrative of their stagnation, without the luxury of a top-class like Marco Silva, Molineux’s men may fail at the third attempt of escaping a relegation battle. Just like that, you have four teams I’d almost label as certs to finish below Fulham this campaign. That’s without even mentioning the intriguing cases of Leeds, Sunderland, and European-juggling, Eze-losing, Crystal Palace.
Marco Silva guarantees stability. Game week one proves that it’s when Silva leaves, likely next season, that Fulham fans should worry about the cups. This is a season for focusing on the cups, marinating mid table mediocrity in the league.
Midfield Mediocrity: What’s The Solution?
Despite an inspired Josh King performance, there’s no questioning the fact that Fulham’s base of midfield lost the midfield battle. Silva’s side were overran in the middle of the park. Facing a Fabian Huerzler side who loves to overload numbers centrally, a sitting six is a prerequisite of gaining a foothold in a midfield battle in fixtures like Brighton away. Fulham don’t have that luxury. Not only do Fulham not have the luxury of a screening six, they don’t have the luxury of deep-lying midfield creativity either. When Josh King tired late on, the Whites were creatively vapid, looking nothing like scoring until Mr Clutch, Mr Muniz, entered the fray.
Lukic and Berge are individually talented midfielders, but Brighton away just confirms they can’t work in tandem as FFC’s pivot. There isn’t enough creative impetus or defensive steel between Sander and Sasa. I’ve said it summer long, the recruitment team has to provide Marco the added tactical flexibility of an out-and-out defensive midfielder. In fact, it should now be Fulham’s summer priority.
Does a Point at Brighton Compound Fulham’s Tough Start?
Is a last-minute point away at Brighton a good point? Absolutely. Forget the point we take back to West London – moments like Muniz’s last-gasp leveller are what football is all about. Looking ahead to Fulham’s upcoming fixtures, could we have done with all three points going back to SW6?
Perhaps. Manchester United purred in a full-flow display last Sunday, a performance that will no doubt leave the Red Devils’ confidence flowing coming into the Cottage. Would another late United heartbreak surprise you? It shouldn’t. Put it this way: I’m a lot more worried about the proposition of Man Utd coming to town post-game week one than I was after United’s loss to Arsenal.
In spite of Fulham’s second-class side’s underwhelming goalless draw at home to Palace, Fulham may well be crossing the SW6 divide at the wrong time. Walham Green will likely start the season fast, before a late-season fall courtesy of their early summer Club World Cup triumph. It’s easy to see a path where FFC have one point from the opening three matchdays, likely leaving Marco Silva in the bottom three for the first time after a fully completed game week in his Fulham tenure.
You don’t want to go into Leeds at home in desperate need of three points, never mind Brentford away! Fulham have to find a positive result from one of either Manchester United or Chelsea, or face the risk of back-to-back must-wins against two sides likely scrambling for points come May. Don’t forget, Opta labelled London’s Original opening 10 games as the second hardest in the top flight. This will be a test of Marco’s men’s mettle. If we want the cup run enabling stability, it’s one Silva’s side have to overcome.
Rodrigo Muniz: Does an Opening Week Goal Transform Muniz’s Future?
Short answer: Yes. I’ve maintained for a while that this is the season Rodrigo Muniz puts it all together. Rodrigo is a confidence striker. In previous seasons Rodri has had to wait months for an opening goal of the campaign – not this season. Muniz starts the season with a bang. The confidence Rodrigo needs to tear up the division is Johnny on the spot by game week one. That is paramount to Fulham’s success. In a mid-table pack not separated by very little, a long-term guaranteed source of goals is the difference between 15th and 8th, or a League Cup semi-final and a League Cup win.
We’ve never seen Muniz with confidence under him from the starting pistol of a season. Now he has that, the sky is the limit. In full flow there aren’t many strikers better than Muniz in world football. A physical presence who has learnt how to become a handful for English defences since his disastrous Middlesbrough loan, RM9 now has an element of technical skill and composure in front of goal (i.e. Brighton’s heroic leveller) that completely juxtaposes his once clumsy nature.
Game week one showed that across the Premier League there is a real shortage of top-quality strikers. Just look at Viktor Gyokeres’ disjointed display – if that’s the most in-demand striker in Europe, what will the player FFC bring in to replace Rodri look like? Am I being slightly facetious with that comparison? Sure, but no matter the fee Shahid Khan receives for Rodrigo, as the days of this window go by, Muniz becomes more and more irreplaceable. There is no other option. Muniz must stay. How you do that Tony? None of my business. Just get it done.
Josh King: The Short and Long Term Answer
I know, I know, I can’t stop talking about Josh King. Can you blame me, though? King is the closest thing Marco Silva and co have to an outfield signing! Josh is the most exciting thing about Fulham Football Club right now. JK’s the answer to Fulham’s short-term number ten monotony and long-term heir to Tom Cairney’s throne. Match week one announced King to the footballing world. Man of the match – deservedly so. King’s want to break lines, drive at Brighton’s back four, battle back from physical tactics designed to limit his effectiveness, and link defence and attack in transition leave me in no doubt: Josh King’s 2025 contract may well be the best piece of business Fulham do this decade.
Set Piece Solution Found?
It’s almost as if taking the worst set piece taker in the Premier League off set pieces would reap positive results… Fulham scored three goals season-long in 24/25 last season. With Harry Wilson on corners, the Whites already have a third of that tally! That’s without talking about the pre-season set piece clinic Wilson put on in the Algarve too!
Football can often be a complicated game, sometimes it isn’t. The eye test tells you all you need to know about Andreas Pereira’s corners. Frankly, they are absolute pony. Harry Wilson’s in swingers however? Well, he takes set pieces for Wales for a reason. He’s got an absolute wand of a left foot. A wand that can do truly magical things, like beating the first man from a corner. Remarkable. Set piece solution? Sorted. Cheers, Harry.
This piece first appeared on London’s Original, where you can Charlie Shaw’s unfiltered Fulham thoughts. Do follow him on X and check out the London’s Original Youtube channel
