Football Season Review

№19: Fulham

Despite spending more than £100 million in the summer after their promotion, Fulham didn’t shop wisely, and the many new faces struggled to fit in the squad. Pressure on Jokanovic’s squad built quickly, 9 defeats in the opening 12 rounds, with the manager struggling to find his best formation or personnel, and constantly rotating without much success. The main issue that none of the 3 managers that changed during the campaign was able to sort was the poor defending, with Fulham having by far the worst defensive record in the league and not keeping a clean sheet until round 18 just before Christmas. Jokoanovic’s sacking in mid-November was an unexpected move, but the arrival of Claudio Ranieri gave slim hope that things might improve. However, after just 3 wins in the 16 rounds he took charge of, the Italian was also sacked. By that point survival was already impossible and for the rest of the season inexperienced Parker was allowed to lead the team. Unable to rely on a sold defence, Fulham needed to score goals, and the one player that worked hard and contributed well was main striker Mitrovic. He also got some decent support from Babel after he joined in January, but everyone else from the forward players disappointed. Rebuilding the squad to challenge for promotion straight away will be hard, and Fulham might find themselves stuck in the Second Tier for some time yet again.


Player of the Season: Aleksandar Mitrovic