Guardian writers’ predicted position: 15th (NB: this is not necessarily Barry Glendenning’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: N/A
Odds to win the league (via Oddschecker): 1,000-1
Promotion to the Premier League could scarcely have been further from the minds of the Fulham fans who made the journey to Bramall Lane on a dreary Tuesday towards the end of November last year. Fulham, winless in five matches, were in the bottom third of the table.
Yet that night Fulham beat Sheffield United by the odd goal of nine in an epic encounter that got their Championship campaign on track. Two wins and two defeats later they embarked on a remarkable 23-match unbeaten run that ended on the last day of the season at struggling Birmingham, leaving their supporters on tenterhooks and fearing the worst. The surprise defeat consigned them to the play-offs which they went on to navigate, beating Aston Villa at Wembley far more comfortably than the 1-0 scoreline suggests.
Only 17 years old but already making his 50th appearance for Fulham that night in Sheffield, Ryan Sessegnon scored a hat-trick and his run of form prompted many observers to identify him as a potential wild card for England’s World Cup squad in Russia. He did not make the cut but, now old enough to drink in a bar, vote and get a tattoo, the coveted left-back turned winger from Roehampton is just one of many reasons Fulham fans have to be extremely cheerful before their return to the Premier League after a four-year absence.
Sessegnon was not the only player with obvious star quality to help them secure promotion. At Wembley against Villa he provided a defence-splitting assist for Tom Cairney to score the only goal of the game with a cool finish. The 27-year-old Cairney, by his own amusing admission “a poor man’s David Silva”, had acknowledged the debt he owes the manager, Slavisa Jokanovic, for entrusting him with the role of midfield heartbeat following years in which he was underused by a series of managers at various clubs who might now be cursing themselves for failing to spot his obvious qualities.
While Cairney and Sessegnon both made the Championship team of the season, alongside the since departed Ryan Fredericks, it was another player, the ball-playing American centre-back Tim Ream, who was voted player of the season by the Fulham fans.
While most promoted teams are generally content with survival in their first season back in the Premier League, there is a feeling that, like Wolves, Fulham have loftier ambitions. Reported to be worth over £5bn, their American owner Shahid Khan made all the right noises before the play-off final, stating his team “want to get to the Premier League and then our goal is not to skate by, our goal is to win”. Such talk is notoriously cheap but money, he said, would not be a limitation. However, it would have to be spent “wisely and the right way”.
The responsibility for this prudence lies largely with his son, Tony, the head of player recruitment who works with the data analyst James Lovell, chief scout Brian Talbot, chief executive Alistair Mackintosh and Jokanovic to identify players whose jibs they consider to be particularly well tailored in the Fulham style. Potential signings must fit the club’s strict recruitment model and be available for – at least by the increasingly ludicrous standards of Premier League commerce – a fair price. The disastrous panic purchase of their one-time record signing, Kostas Mitroglou, early in the Khan regime (but extremely late in the 2014 January transfer window) is a mistake Fulham seem commendably determined not to repeat.
Social media-fuelled obsession with their team’s forays into the market mean it is no longer entirely facetious to suggest that for many fans, the summer window has now eclipsed both domestic cup competitions in terms of competitiveness and prestige.
Only time will tell – and Wolves supporters may beg to differ – but there is already a strong argument to be made that Fulham are “winning” the current window, having bolstered the side that came up with what look to be a series of extremely shrewd acquisitions.
Their first was Jean Michaël Seri, a classy midfield creator from Nice who had also attracted interest from Chelsea and Barcelona and was purchased for a club record £30m. As comfortable playing as a midfield anchor as he is further up the pitch, Seri seems likely to play in an advanced role alongside Cairney but further back against the stronger sides. A statement of intent if ever there was one, his arrival may well have convinced subsequent marquee summer signings that Fulham mean business.
The arrival of André Schürrle, a World Cup-winner in 2014 who had plummeted down the pecking order at Borussia Dortmund, on a two-year loan deal looks to be a free swing for the club. Having spent 18 months at Chelsea, the German left-wing is likely to find himself in comparatively alien territory on the right flank.
With Sessegnon having established tenure of the left-wing following his move forward from full-back, Schürrle will probably have to rebuild his reputation on the right, a position from where he once scored seven goals in 10 matches during his last spell in England.
In defence Fulham have brought in the Spanish goalkeeper Fabri on the cheap from Besiktas and his superior distribution may earn him the nod over Marcus Bettinelli in a side whose neat passing game is often reliant on getting the ball forward quickly through the full-backs. The purchase of the central defender Alfie Mawson from Swansea represents another coup, while Maxime Le Merchand, also in from Nice, can play in the heart of defence or at left-back.
Up front, Jokanovic has finally secured the services of his compatriot Aleksandar Mitrovic, bringing him in on a five-year deal from Newcastle. A firm fan favourite after only four months at the club, the steely Serb striker’s 12 goals during a loan spell went a long way towards helping Fulham secure promotion. More than just a goalscorer, Mitrovic is a tireless runner, holds the ball up well and is a strong and aggressive presence who will slot into the intense front-line press Fulham have been employing in pre-season. He seems genuinely delighted to have made his loan move permanent.
On paper, at least, Fulham look well-equipped enough not only to survive but to thrive in a division where at least half of the teams, for all Sky’s bluster about the Premier League’s astonishing quality, are not very good.
As they chased automatic promotion with Cardiff last season, many of the Welsh club’s fans were understandably piqued by the media’s apparent preference to see Fulham go up because they have a picturesque riverside stadium in London that reporters enjoy visiting. The team who call Craven Cottage home promise to be equally pleasant on the eye.
