Frustration was the overriding emotion at Craven Cottage not so long ago. Although Fulham have always been easy on the eye under Marco Silva, they were throwing away too many games with wasteful finishing and it seemed inevitable that their campaign would be defined by the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic last summer.
Mitrovic’s departure was a heavy blow for Silva. It was difficult to recover from the team’s focal point and main source of goals forcing through a move to the Saudi Pro League. There was an apparent void in attack, a weakness never more evident than when Fulham outplayed Manchester United last month but lost after missing several chances in the second half.
At that stage the discussion inevitably focused on problems with Fulham’s recruitment. They had plenty of neat attacking midfielders but what about a finisher? Carlos Vinícius has never been a regular starter and Rodrigo Muniz is a 22-year-old prospect. As for Raúl Jiménez, signed on the cheap from Wolves in the summer, it seemed the Mexican’shis best was behind him after failing to score in his first 12 games.
Against all expectations, though, the mood has transformed since Jiménez grabbed a consolation goal in Fulham’s 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa on 12 November. After scoring 10 times in their first 12 league games, Fulham scored 16 in their next four, a run that began with a VAR-inspired 3-2 win over Wolves a fortnight ago and an unfortunate 4-3 defeat at Liverpool before successive 5-0 thrashings of Nottingham Forest and West Ham at Craven Cottage.
It has been a staggering turnaround from a team who were in danger of slipping into relegation trouble before the Wolves game. Fulham were drifting. Silva, having led them to the Championship title in 2022 and kept them up last season, looked glum. He has always been a restless type, a reputation earned during brief spells at Hull and Everton, and a fretful transfer window raised concerns. There were overtures from Saudi Arabia and, after the Mitrovic saga, Silva’s mind could have wandered had his influential midfielder João Palhinha not seen a move to Bayern Munich collapse on deadline day.
Yet Silva, whose side visit Newcastle on Saturday, is one of the most underrated managers in the top flight. He has fashioned a diligent, organised, intelligent side without access to large funds and Fulham, who scored 106 goals when they won the Championship, are flying again. They were unlucky against Liverpool, who denied them with four stunners and a late fightback, and made Forest and West Ham look pathetic.
Silva says little has changed in his approach. A tad modest? Well, he has made some interesting tactical tweaks. A notable move was dropping the 36-year-old Tim Ream, who has been vulnerable this season, and starting Tosin Adarabioyo and Calvin Bassey in central defence against Forest and West Ham, and another has been giving Tom Cairney a bigger role.
It cannot be a coincidence that Fulham have been more fluent with them in the team. There is excitement about Adarabioyo, who was missed while out with a groin injury, developing a partnership with Bassey, who has taken a while to settle since joining from Ajax. The duo were physically dominant against Forest and West Ham but are also capable of bringing the ball out. Cairney may not be the quickest central midfielder but is capable of unbalancing any defence with one swish of his cultured left foot.
Behind the Scot stands the commanding Palhinha. Keeping the Portugal midfielder has been crucialas Fulham’s win ratio is far higher with him on the pitch. His presence has given Silva confidence to omit the snappy Harrison Reed and use the creativity of Cairney alongside the attacking midfielder Andreas Pereira.
Equally, Silva is entitled to point out that some individuals have simply upped their game. Pereira has stirred after a quiet spell and Harry Wilson, a versatile winger, has been excellent when called upon. They lead the way with four assists, and the outstanding Antonee Robinson has flown forward from left-back to create three goals.
Connections are building. Robinson may have defensive flaws but he has linked well with the evergreen Willian on the left. Alex Iwobi, who joined from Everton in the summer, has been superb on the right and has three goals in four appearances.
But the biggest difference has come from Jiménez. He has not been the same since a horrible head injury in 2020. Yet his natural ability has never been in doubt and his clever link-up play has given Fulham a fresh dimension. While everything centred on playing off Mitrovic’s strength and looking for him in the box, there is more variation with Jiménez. That said, it is easier to feel positive now he is scoring. He produced two fine finishes against Forest, including an impudent backheel, and got the ball rolling against West Ham with an emphatic header.
It is too soon to suggest Fulham should not look to sign another striker in January. However, the need is reduced now. Substitutes have made telling contributions and there have been nine different scorers in the past four games. Sharing the load means Fulham are finally ready to move on from Mitrovic.
