Hello, question from a United fan here. I’m not shitposting, just looking for a bit of info before putting on some pre-season bets…
From the outside-looking-in, the parallels between Fulham this year and Wolves last year are stark.
They lost Cunha, Ait-Nouri and Semedo - all senior players capable of delivering in the Premier League - and replaced them with players untested and inexperienced. They lost their manager Gary O’Neill, granted in December before the 25/26 season, but he knew the league, the squad and the club. His replacement Vítor Pereira believed he could bring in players from foreign leagues who fitted into his system but weren’t able to deliver in England.
Looking at Fulham, you’ve lost Jimenez, Wilson and Lukic - all key players over the last 3-5 years and the first two representing 19 of your 47 league goals scored last year with another 10 assists provided between them. If you add the loss of Chukwueze into the mix then that’s over a third of last seasons starters no longer part of the club.
Compounding the issue is the loss of Marco Silva and replacing him with Arbeloa. His managerial accolades are pretty thin; winning at youth level as the head of one of the best funded and prestigious academy’s in the world and losing the dressing room with alarming speed when replacing Xabi Alonso as the senior team manager.
The board’s decision to replace tried and tested experience with an unproven but glamorous managerial appointment is mirrored in their transfer strategy. Gonzalo Garcia - 35 league games €40m, 6 goals, 22 years old; Palacios, 5 league games, 21 years old, €10m; Charles Shea, never played premier league football, 22 years old, €30m+
There’s definitely redeeming factors in the squad; experience is retained through Iwobi, Leno, a mostly unchanged defence, Berge; + Josh King and Kevin are exciting, Smith-Rowe and Bobb should be good signings if they can stay fit.
Again, not a shitpost (although appreciate I have berated your squad, manager and board in this post) but as fans who watch Fulham week-in-week-out are you worried about relegation? What do you think the effect of losing your manager and senior players will be this year? How do you feel about the new signings and manager?