FulView for October 2023

While waiting for Fulham to return after the international break, let's do a look at where things stand. But first, a big thank you to October's (and November's) site sponsor - @sacffc ! Thanks for keeping the servers running for FulhamUSA!

After 8 matches Fulham has the same record as last season - 3 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses. Yet somehow, things don't seem as good at this point as last season. I think some of it has to do with expectations. After the prior three Premier League seasons ended in relegation, no one expected much from Fulham last season. But a confident opening day draw against Liverpool made a statement that was followed by big wins against Brentford and Brighton along with some tight losses to Arsenal and Tottenham. At this point last season it was clear things would be different.

While the records are the same, the results have not been as convincing this season. A fortunate win against Everton, beatings at the hands of Manchester City and Brentford, and an overall lack of scoring have provided the same points total but with a lot less sparkle. Fulham has been on the losing end of multiple officiating mistakes that have made some results worse than they should have been, but the root issue is that Fulham can't find a way to get goals. It is clear at this point that the striker options currently available cannot come close to replacing the goals provided by Mitrovic. Silva's only option is to find another way to score. My hope is that we started to see that change against Sheffield when Iwobi was brought in and Palhinha was set further back.

Fulham will close out October with two tough road matches against Tottenham and Brighton. If Silva is trying out a new look for Fulham those matches will provide a better test than Sheffield. The next two games could determine if things are on the right track or if other options need to be explored.

One positive I think we should recognize for Fulham is that many of the summer signings have done very well so far. Iwobi, Castagne, and Bassey have all looked good. The summer window generally felt traumatic, so it might be easy to miss that those have worked out. If only Fulham could have landed a better striker the season would likely fee a lot different.