The Premier League season is 11 games old and Fulham’s top goalscorer this season is… own goals.
Harry Wilson and Ryan Sessegnon have scored two apiece, but a combination of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Yerson Mosquera, Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock and, most spectacularly, Leeds United’s Gabriel Gudmundsson have registered more goals for Marco Silva’s side.
It is a curious statistic. But behind the banter, there is a genuine concern about Fulham.
The result at Everton on Saturday, a 2-0 defeat, was a disappointment. But the performance was worse. Fulham defended their penalty box poorly and were uninspired in possession. Substitute striker Rodrigo Muniz offered some bright moments when he replaced Raul Jimenez, but then hobbled off with a hamstring injury, and Fulham ended up without a recognised striker as they forlornly chased the game. “We got what we deserved,” Silva said after the game.
Fulham now appear to be in a relegation fight, in a rare season when the promoted trio are all competitive. They have only collected one point on their travels, thanks to a last-minute Muniz equaliser away to Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day. Their three victories have all come at Craven Cottage, in those three games when own goals chipped in.
In truth, Fulham haven’t produced a convincing performance and find themselves a point above the relegation zone. Last weekend’s 3-0 win over Wolves, aided by the opposition going down to 10 men, and their manager being on the verge of being sacked, has not proven to be a turning point.
For that victory, Silva trialled something of a new system. Alex Iwobi, generally tasked with drifting inside from the flank and releasing a full-back on the overlap, started as a central midfielder. Always a curious type of winger, more about getting the ball to feet and dictating play rather than taking on opponents, the role seemed to suit Iwobi perfectly. He promoted good passing moves and took up clever positions. It seemed the way to go.
It was disappointing, then, that Silva decided to restore the combination of Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic for the trip to Everton. Granted, Fulham were facing a team with dangerous wide players, Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye, who can move inside into positions between the lines. Maybe Fulham needed extra bodies in that zone, and maybe extra physical presence for set pieces too.
But Berge and Lukic were pedestrian in possession, and didn’t help Fulham defend the box either. Iwobi was pushed forward into a No 10 role, where he struggled to receive forward passes on the turn, and did not offer natural forward running in advance of Jimenez, who looks badly short of fitness.
Things got better when young Josh King replaced Lukic at half-time, meaning Fulham essentially returned to the system from last weekend. Then Muniz added the goal threat. Fulham, for a brief period, looked good.
Alex Iwobi, normally a wide player, has been used centrally this season (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
And it is worth remembering that Fulham were genuinely excellent last season. Jimenez and Muniz had good spells of form, and Iwobi was outstanding. USMNT left-back Antonee Robinson provided a steady stream of great crosses and Silva was able to alter the balance of his side effectively when needed. If anything, Fulham probably underachieved based on the quality of their performances.
For them to be struggling to this extent is perplexing. Fulham lost one player who started regularly last season, Andreas Pereira, and while his invention from deep is missed, the addition of fellow Brazilian Kevin, an electric winger, combined with Iwobi’s move inside, means they are more or less the same outfit.
Robinson has yet to start a game because of knee problems, but Sessegnon has done well at left-back, albeit playing the role in a more direct manner than Robinson, making runs in behind the opposition rather than crossing. Even then, though, his run to the byline and low ball into the box created the Mosquera own goal last weekend, so it is not like Fulham have been without crossing from that flank.
Fulham are not short of attacking quality either. In addition to the attacking quartet of Jimenez, Kevin, Iwobi and Wilson, they were able to introduce Muniz, King, Samuel Chukwueze, Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore from the bench. Tom Cairney was an unused substitute.
Perhaps Fulham, more than most, have been the victims of the Premier League’s shift towards a more direct, physical style of play. Fulham tend to look better in what could broadly be considered good football matches, when things are about passing quality, and overloads down the flanks, and moving the ball through the lines; in August, they were unfortunate to be defeated by a Chelsea side who, of all their opponents thus far, want to play with a passing style.
But now the Premier League is about territory and set pieces, and they do not look well-suited. If that leads Silva to play Berge and Lukic together in an attempt to protect the defence and offer physical presence, it might well be at the expense of things Fulham used to do well: progressing the ball and playing combinations to penetrate the opposition.
That their next two matches are against Sunderland, who earned a point against Arsenal through direct play, and Tottenham, who seem about set pieces above all else, does not bode well. The Premier League has gone all 1990s; an era when Fulham weren’t in it.
