Guardian writers’ predicted position: 11th (NB: this is not necessarily John Brewin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 11th
Prospects
There is much talk of the growth of the Premier League’s middle class, and yet Fulham, who finished 11th last season, have received nothing like the same garlands as Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford, the clubs immediately above them in the table. That may be a legacy of the 13 consecutive seasons Fulham spent in the division until 2014, and this being Marco Silva’s fifth season at Craven Cottage. The club are a known quantity, receiving rather less than the respect due to Silva and his players. Since promotion in 2022, only Brentford and Nottingham Forest have emulated Fulham in beating the drop to create a continuing Premier League legacy.
Fulham don’t give off the same ultra-modern ”model club” vibes as those others despite often playing highly attractive football. There was disappointment last season that European football has not returned to the Cottage. Silva’s team had an unhappy habit of squandering promising positions, amid some wild inconsistency. Beating Liverpool 3-2 on 6 April was a keynote performance for Silva’s style of play, taking the game to the eventual champions, playing muscular, high-risk football. On 10 May, despite taking the lead, a 3-1 loss to an inferior Everton team ended dreams of even the Conference League.
That Everton loss coincided with a launch day for the Riverside Stand, a £350m project designed to future-proof the club by bringing non-matchday revenue into the coffers as a haute cuisine membership establishment serving up the luxury lounge life on the banks of the Thames. For less-well-heeled fans who wonder why the club have been thus far inactive in the summer transfer market and rail against some eye-watering prices being charged for Craven Cottage tickets, the Riverside development’s architectural focus facing away from the pitch may become symbolic. The hope among fans is that the owners don’t try to tread water. So many have taken that gamble and lost.
The manager
Silva has been a prime asset to Fulham, proven in regenerating fallen talent, Alex Iwobi a prime example. Cottagers fans are treated to some fine, attacking football but, entering the final year of his contract, how committed should Silva remain? Beyond a reserve goalkeeper, he welcomed nobody fresh to summer training in Portugal. “Unfortunately, we don’t have players to adapt for our group … we usually use this time for new signings to adapt,” said Silva. He was also quoted thus: “In the short term, I’m looking at Fulham and then we’ll see what happens next season.” That suggests ambitions will need to be matched to retain him.
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We 5guruayurveda.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on. For any glitch kindly connect at 5guruayurveda.com
