By Chris Harris
Fulham were seven minutes from a famous triumph at Emirates Stadium on the opening day of the season. Then Robin van Persie netted a penalty, Alex Hleb fired home a winner and the Cottagers left north London empty-handed.
It set the tone for their season. Leads have been earned and lost with alarming regularity, Lawrie Sanchez's reign ended after just eight months and now Roy Hodgson is charged with the task of leading Fulham out of the relegation zone by the end of the campaign. It won't be easy.
The former Switzerland manager has been busy since the transfer window opened and snapped up Marlon King from Watford on Friday afternoon. The chances are more faces will come and go as Hodgson shapes a side for the scrap which lies ahead.
We asked Paul Warburton of the Kensington and Chelsea News for a Fulham perspective ahead of Saturday's London derby against Arsenal. Read on for his views on Sanchez's departure, Hodgson's arrival, the player Fulham have really missed and the areas they desperately need to strengthen.
THE STORY SO FAR
"I think that very first game at Emirates Stadium was the
reason why Fulham are in the state they are in now. I reckon if
they had held out for the last 10 minutes it would have been a very
different story. As for Sanchez, well, he went 16 games without a
win. Admittedly there were a number of draws in amongst that and
some fighting performances but not enough points. I suppose the
powers that be thought they'd made a mistake, hence the
dismissal. They keep surrendering leads as well. It mounts up to 23
points lost when Fulham have scored first and conceded the lead. If
they had hung on every time they would be sitting in seventh
place."
MAN OF THE MOMENT
"Roy Hodgson is very philosophical. A man who uses words like
'idiosyncrasy' and 'mendacious' in press
conferences tends to be a bit out of the norm! Obviously they
brought in somebody with experience, somebody who they believe has
the philosophy to take the club forward. He's only been here a
couple of minutes of course and he has already said that this team
isn't good enough. I don't think he needs to change too
much off the pitch, the infrastructure is sound at Fulham, but
confidence is at an all-time low."
NEW FACES
"Of Sanchez's new signings, no one has really stood out. I
would say Paul Konchesky was the best of them up until mid-December
because his performances at left back were everything that Fulham
had lacked in the previous seasons in that position. He was
consistent, solid and pretty dependable. Then he got sent off and
has had a slight blip in form. Playing particularly well in a team
in the bottom three, Simon Davies and Antti Niemi have been
good."
SADLY MISSED
"For me, Brian McBride has been a huge miss. There are lots of
limitations about Brian - at his age he's not the quickest, he
will probably accept that he doesn't have that 'European
technique' - but when it comes to strength, fearlessness and an
ability to head the ball, you probably won't get much better in
the Premier League. As for Jimmy Bullard, it's been so long
since I saw him that I can't remember what he brought to the
team! In all fairness to Fulham, there are not short of
midfielders."
CAUSE FOR CONCERN
"Frankly they need a bit of height in the team. Once you
assess the Fulham players they are a really small team. In the
Bristol Rovers Cup game a week ago Fulham used 14 players and only
three of them were above six foot. Hodgson will be looking for
players with a bit of height."
TALKING TACTICS
"This is one of their toughest games of the season and they
know it. When you're at home you need a certain amount of
fearlessness to try and get the goal you want and ask questions of
Arsenal. In terms of tactics I expect Hodgson to stick with the
4-4-2 regime that he inherited, he can't do much else.
Essentially, what Hodgson has got to say is 'let's have a
go at Arsenal' and see what happens because if they sit back
then sooner or later Arsenal have enough talent to unlock the door.
Konchesky is suspended on Saturday, so straight away Fulham have
taken a backwards step. McBride is some way away from fitness and
Kasey Keller is nursing a broken arm still."
IMPRESSIONS OF ARSENAL
"Anybody who likes passing football played with a bit of style
and panache figures that Arsenal can do it. The player who always
stands out for me is Emmanuel Adebayor, I'm a big fan of his. I
love his rangy motion and the fact he's so calm, cool and
collected in front of goal."
