Fulham's glorious start to the 2009-2010 season came to a halt on Sunday when neighbors Chelsea dominated the Cottagers en route to a 2-0 win. While the loss did come to the team many people are picking to win the Premier League title, the manner in which Fulham played leads us all to clearly see that the level of play between the top four clubs and the rest of the league is vastly different.

While Chelsea is a solid team and a tough one to breakdown, Fulham did very little to cause any problems for the Blues and in fact, the Cottagers looked like boys among men from the first to last whistle.

Sunday's match had Fulham playing on the back heel the whole day. Chelsea did whatever they wanted. From the Chelsea defensive back four thwarting the few efforts the Cottagers had in advancing past midfield, to the Blues midfield controlling huge chunks of possession and the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka having their way with the Fulham defense, the score could have been much worse than the 2-0 scoreline the match finished at.

What is tough to take is the fact that since Roy Hodgson's appointment in late December 2007, this team has become one of the more enjoyable sides to watch by controlling possession and stringing passes together in the midfield. However, on Sunday, this looked like a Fulham team of old. There seemed to be no plan of attack as to what they wanted to do. Instead of trying to control possession and play through the midfield, it seemed like each team someone in the back four would get the ball, that person would just hoof it down the field and hope a Fulham player would be on the end of it, which seldom, if ever, happened.

I understand we were playing against a great team in Chelsea and while I do not like the Blues, it was clear to see that this team will have a major say in who claims the title come May 2010. However, regardless of Chelsea's merits, I was wondering over the last day whether Sunday's performance had more to do with Chelsea's power or because of a problem in Fulham's team?

I tend to think it is combination of both. The Cottagers clearly missed Andy Johnson up front but the biggest problem I saw on Sunday was the poor midfield play. Nobody seemed to be able to get the ball and create any scoring chances of note all afternoon long. While Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu have formed a solid pairing at the heart of the midfield, it begs the question, is this the pair we really want to go with for the entire 2009-2010 season?

There is still a week to go in the transfer window and while the midfield will get some help in the form of Jonathan Greening, I have to wonder if this is an area in which Roy Hodgson is looking to improve at the Cottagers continue in the Europa League and in the Premier League. If I were the manager, I would think about adding not just a squad player in this area, but a real difference maker that can change the tone of the match for Fulham. Is this possible? Probably not, but Danny Murphy is not getting any younger and Jonathan Greening is 30 years old too. So, there is not much youth, or better yet, players under the age of 30 in the center midfield role that we can look to with much confidence if Murphy, who did limp off late in the match, does sustain a long term injury. This is concerning to me.

Overall, perhaps I am overreacting and reading too much into a loss that quite a number of people expected to happen at the hands of Chelsea. However, as I wrote last week, I expect this team to win. And Sunday's performance was not good, regardless of the opponent. The Cottagers will get a chance to redeem themselves on Thursday in the Europa League when they travel to eastern Russia to take on Amkar Perm in the return leg of this tie. Hopefully the Cottagers do not have any kind of Chelsea hangover going to Russia or else Fulham's 3-1 advantage could dissipate rather quickly on Russian soil, or in Amkar's case, artifical surface.

My question for today is this.....do you look at Sunday's match as a flash in the pan, one off situation, or do you see it as a precursor to what potentially lies ahead for Fulham this season? Also, if you were Roy Hodgson, would you try to add help in the midfield before the transfer window closes in a week's time?