Fulham - fan's 2008/09 Premier League preview
Wednesday, 06 Aug 2008 15:43
Fulham - fan's 2008/09 Premier League preview and predictions
A supporter's views and expectations for the 2008/09 season.
Last season
Premier League: 17th - P 38 W 8 D 12 L 18 GF 38 GA 60 GD -22 PTS 36
FA Cup: Third round - lost 5-3 on penalties to Bristol Rovers (0-0 AET)
League Cup: Third round - lost 1-2 to Bolton (AET)
The manager
Possibly the nicest man to ply his trade in the Premier League since Bobby Robson, Roy Hodgson took over the reins at Craven Cottage after the demise of Lawrie Sanchez who, by way of contrast, was about as popular as the Duke of Edinburgh is with a certain Premier League chairman.
If his appointment was a surprise, he had won the fans over by the end of the season by not only keeping Fulham up but by doing so having dramatically changed the team's style of play. Gone are the long punts of the brief Sanchez era, replaced with a shorter passing game more suited to the likes of Danny Murphy.
Chances of managerial change?
The Cottagers will need to start well if Roy wants to keep his job, as while he is well-liked among the fans and appears to have the backing of the chairman at this stage (if his budget is anything to go by), Mohammad Al Fayed is not prone to sentimentality. A string of poor results could therefore prompt yet another managerial change in south-west London.
The players
Exits
Presumably, one of Hodgson's hardest jobs over the summer was sorting the wheat from the chaff - because last year there was a lot of chaff and not a great deal of wheat.
Of the players to have left, Brian McBride will be missed the most - the club captain last year, he proved crucial in the run-in after returning from injury - while promising youngster Elliot Omozusi will hopefully return a better player after a spell on loan at Norwich City. With the likes of Philippe Christanval and Jari Litmanen gone, though, there should be more room in the squad for players with a genuine chance of making it into the first team.
New arrivals
It's hard to know, given that Fulham had one of the worst attacks and worst defences in the league last year, which area needed strengthening the most and so Hodgson has understandably attempted to improve all facets of the team.
Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has been signed on a free as a replacement for the out-of-favour Anti Niemi and the released Kasey Keller; John Pantsil, Tony Kallio and Fredrik Stoor will provide competition in defence; Andranik Teymourian will beef up midfield and Bobby Zamora will go some way towards replacing McBride in attack. Add Jimmy Bullard to the mix, who was unavailable for large parts of last year, and the squad looks to have greater strength in depth than the one assembled by Sanchez 12 months ago.
Needs
An experienced combative midfielder wouldn't go amiss to protect the back four and enable Bullard and Murphy to express themselves fully, along with a speedy central defender.
Perhaps the biggest deficiency, though, is a striker guaranteed to hit the back of the net at least 15 times a season as it is perhaps asking too much to pin all of a team's goalscoring hopes on Bobby Zamora.
Andy Johnson looks to be on his way, and although he might cost more than he's worth he is at least guaranteed to earn a few penalties.
The fanbase
Things were looking bleak early last season - a seemingly disgruntled chairman, an unpopular manager, a low grade of football and demoralised players.
Hodgson may have worked his magic in the spring but there is a general feeling that this season will also be something of a struggle, so the fans aren't dreaming of Europe just yet.
But at least, with the likes of Gera and Bullard in the team, there should be a bit more excitement, and hopefully relegation will be avoided before the last round of fixtures.
Prediction for 2008/09
Relegation battlers.
As long as Johnson is added up front and perhaps one or two others, Fulham should have enough about them to beat the league's whipping boys and might even surprise one or two of the so-called bigger teams.
But the chance of making the leap into mid-table obscurity looks remote, and another season near the bottom is on the cards.
Tim Lesnik