In the 17th of a series of pre-season reports, HarryfromBath assesses the mood around the Championship clubs by delving into their forums, focusing here on how things have progressed for the Cottagers this summer. A report on Brentford will follow later today with the all of the teams in the division covered by the start of the season.
"With just a week to go, we still seem to be scuttling around like headless chickens again”, "We are far from a team that will be competing for promotion this season, while others around us have been strengthening”, "People aren’t moaning for the sake of it. The cracks are there and need covering.”
It has been a neurotic pre-season for Cottagers. After finishing last season in the top six, hopes were high that they might push on and be ready now for an assault on an automatic spot this year, but a glut of injuries, poor pre-season results and a lack of progress with transfers has dimmed optimism.
"If there were any plans for a consistent top six and a strong finish, we should have been hitting the ground running today, with key positions filled and bedded in”, "Our pre-season has been pretty poor and morale is as upbeat as it should be”, "Let’s see where we get to at the start of September.”
Some fans are urging patience. "I am firmly on the fence with our dealings in this window. It’s very hard to assess until it closes. We seem to have adequate cover but the squad hasn’t seen one player who would improve our starting XI”, "I’m cautiously optimistic and happy that football is returning.”
"In an ideal world, we would have seen all our business concluded by now, with a week to spare so that Slav could work with our players and bed them into the team”, "I worry that he will leave if he perceives that the club lacks ambition”, "I would not blame him if he walked away from the club.”
Cottagers’ eyebrows were raised when the 48-year-old ex-Watford boss reportedly revealed worry about transfer speculation over striker Sone Aluko after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at home to Wolfsburg. "He sounded frustrated and left out of the transfer process, a bad place for an ambitious manager.”
"Slav fired a similar shot across the board’s bow last season and it worked to an extent. It’s a decent tactic.” A number of fans are sanguine about the situation. "Without doubt we have the best coach in the division. We could walk it with a few decent signings and even without spending excessively.”
The club have severed ties with a number of peripheral players over the summer. Two former Town loan players have departed Craven Cottage, midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe switching across London to Millwall and defender Richard Stearman joining promoted Sheffield United on a three-year deal.
Elsewhere midfielder Lars Vigen Christensen has moved on to Danish side Brondby, midfielder Jozabed has moved permanently to Celta Vigo in Spain having been on loan with the Spanish side since January, right-back Jack Grimmer is now at Coventry and centre-half Cameron Burgess has joined Scunthorpe.
Veteran midfielder Scott Parker announced his retirement and striker Chris Martin has returned to parent club Derby having been on loan at Craven Cottage last season. The one player who fans feel will need replacing is left-back Scott Malone, who moved to Huddersfield at the start of July.
"Despite reaching the play-offs, we have decided not to improve the team to reach promotion. With injuries and what have you, this is poor compared to where we should be looking with a week to go”, "We are one week off the season with an even more lightweight group than we had last year.”
Fans have welcomed the contract extensions given to midfielder Tom Cairney and highly-rated 17-year-old left-back Ryan Sessegnon. Striker Lucas Piazon and defender Tomas Kalas will also return to Fulham on season-long loans, both players having been on loan from parent club Chelsea last season.
The three new faces at the club this season are 23-year-old midfielder or right-back Ibrahima Cisse, signed from Standard Liege, central midfielder Oliver Norwood, the 26-year-old on a season-long loan from Brighton and striker Aboubakar Kamara, 22, from French Ligue 2 runners-up SC Amiens.
"Cisse is a useful defensive midfield player who won’t excite too much but will add grit. We could do with that kind of muscle at times”, "He has a good engine and is more mobile than Kevin McDonald. I’m not sure he will impose himself as well but he will add quality, a great impact sub, methinks.”
"Norwood looks classy and needs a few weeks to find his feet”, "It has not come off so far but he is always looking to make an incisive pass when perhaps there are easier options on. When it comes off it looks great but it’s more direct than our usual possession based style of football.”
"Finally, a striker, just when I was giving up hope that we would ever sign anybody.” Although they have little to go on, Cottagers have welcomed this week’s newest addition to the squad. "Kamara’s physical attributes are exactly what we need”, "Looking at the videos, he reminds me of Louis Saha.”
"We are not the finished article by a long way.” Fulham’s pre-season work kicked off in eastern Europe where they beat Polish side Piast Gliwice 1-0 and drew 2-2 with Czech outfit FC Zlin. Back in England, they were routed 8-2 by Chelsea in a behind-closed-doors game at Chelsea’s Cobham Training Centre.
Returning to Europe, they lost 2-1 to West Ham in the Austrian city of Graz and followed this with a 2-2 draw at 2.Bundesliga side SV Darmstadt and Saturday’s 3-0 loss at home to German top flight side VfL Wolfsburg.
The side (above) which started on Saturday was set up in Jokanovic’s favourite 4-3-3 shape but was without five first-team players in the form of centre-backs Michael Madl and Ragnar Sigurdsson, midfielders Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald as well as winger-cum-striker Neeskens Kebano.
"Button’s lack of confidence is worrying.” The final XI (above) included keeper David Button who had replaced the injured Marcus Bettinelli. Many Cottagers have little faith in Button, and criticised him for "being caught sleeping with everyone warning him” for one of the visitors’ goals on Saturday.
"Sone Aluko was by our best player with Floyd Ayite just behind”, "With Cairney missing, the full-backs didn’t run down the wing that much and our play in the final third was missing. It’s worth bearing in mind that Wolfsburg will be competing for Champions League places this season.”
"I think everyone is getting irate over a friendly. Mario Gomez scored twice for them”, "I’m not irate at losing to Wolfsburg, but at the team we cobbled together one week before the season”, "Yes, it’s a friendly but we were terrible. We looked miles off the pace and looked all over the place.”
"We were in trouble last season if any of our midfield two were injured. Now we have Norwood and Cisse as back-up so Cairney and McDonald don’t have to play every game and we won’t be in trouble if they get injured.” Some Cottagers are confident they will weather what they see as a brief storm.
"We have yet to make a signing that has excited me but I suspect that will be different come September 1st”, "Last season’s opening match will be remembered for our win over Newcastle. I expect us to pick up where we left off last season and with a far less disjointed team than visiting Norwich.”
The busiest Cottagers message board is the polite and knowledgeable Friends of Fulham