Fulham's Start to 2016/17

I think every one of us has thoroughly enjoyed the start of the season that was filled with good things:

• One of only two undefeated teams in the league (Huddersfield)
• One of only two teams to not allow a goal in the the first half of any league match (Aston Villa)
• One of only three teams to score in every league match (Huddersfield, Barnsley)
• One of only two teams with two away wins (QPR)

Fulham has balanced a good defense with just enough goals for a start that hasn't been seen in many, many years.

The only gray cloud is that we've played lower caliber teams:

• One of four teams who have played just one team currently in the top half of the table (Wednesday, QPR, Forest)
• One of only two teams who have played four teams currently in the bottom third of the table (QPR)
• Despite playing lower teams we haven't won by more than one goal
• Average current ranking for past opponents Huddersfield 9.2, Fulham 17.8, Barnsley 11.4, Newcastle 6.4, QPR 16.8, Bristol City 13.8, Nottingham Forest 15.2

In September things will get a little more challenging when the average current opponent ranking is 11.2. It will likely be even tougher in October when our opponent's average ranking is 7.4 including current #1 Huddersfield.

On the bright side of this dark cloud, we are still better than what we were last year. Looking at the equivalent matchups from last year (based on end of year rankings and the Home/Away matches) we got 8 points with 10 goals for and 7 goals against.

It seems that at a minimum we are a mid-table caliber team, but we could be a promotion contender. The expectations for this season after the first month are entirely different than either of the prior two in the Championship. September should give us a better sense of our playing level. We'll have a complete squad, more time for them to have worked together, and a more typical level of difficulty from our opponents. August has been great, but there is a long way to go, but also a lot to be excited about.

 

Micah, great analysis for the beginning of the year. I'd still like to hold on to my romanticized view of them getting promotion this year!