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.
Off-field picture
To complete the Riverside Stand, the owner Shahid Khan’s vision overran significantly in timing and finances. It will take time to feel the benefit. The Khan family’s ownership has so far come at their significant loss, an estimated £417m since 2013, averaging £38m a year. Relegation would be disastrous, as Khan has admitted when twice suffering that fate. Described by Forbes as the “face of the American dream”, Shahid has an extensive portfolio of sports and business interests, as does his son Tony; the director of football operations is also supremo of All Elite Wrestling. How focused on Fulham they remain is being queried.
Star signing
Benjamin Lecomte, to date the only signing, is nobody’s idea of a transformative, elite addition to the squad. The 34-year-old Parisian is best known as a former Monaco goalkeeper and for the season he spent on loan at Atlético Madrid, where he did not play a minute as Jan Oblak retained the gloves. “His arrival will further strengthen the team and add depth to Marco’s squad,” said Tony Khan on Lecomte’s unveiling, words that drip with deep irony as fans wait – increasingly impatiently – for someone, anyone, else to arrive.
Stepping up
Joshua King, not to be confused with the Norwegian forward of the same name, is a teenage, playmaking midfielder who featured eight times last season in the Premier League. A four-year contract in July confirmed Fulham’s faith, and fans hope he does not follow the path of other graduates from a highly regarded academy. Jay Stansfield, Fábio Carvalho, Patrick Roberts and Ryan Sessegnon, the last of them now returned, were lost talents who never got to flower. Silva usually prefers his senior pros hard-bitten but said last season of King: “A top talent we have on our hands that we have to keep giving these experiences to.”
A big season for …
Last season’s club-record addition, Emile Smith Rowe, has plenty to prove after an unconvincing first campaign. Silva’s reign has been notable for its lack of transfer duds but the former “Croydon De Bruyne”, as he was hailed at Arsenal, failed to impose himself. That came as Iwobi and Andreas Pereira were Silva’s most favoured attacking midfielders. Behind them, Sasa Lukic and Sander Berge offered height and muscle to central areas. Six goals and three assists was not a disastrous return for Smith Rowe but a player of undoubted talent was too often on the periphery. At 25, he remains ripe for the restorative powers with which Silva has revived a number of the squad.
