Three poor results on the spin has caused me to ponder long and hard as to what direction we're headed. There's not many more weeks for Martin to present that bluff response to results at the final whistle and get away with it. Privately, is he worried? I'm damn sure he is. Maybe less so at the lack of points, we are not yet into November and two wins would see us quickly back into mid-table territory.
The problem that Jol has inherited is of a fine Fulham side now coming to the end of its natural cycle. It's time to rebuild. This transitional period is going to be uncomfortable, and dictate how Jol's time at FFC is to be judged. We have all seen or heard talk of great talent on the fringes of our first team. But who is ready to take the big step up and perform week in and week out in the toughest league in the world?
Yes, I tire of the self-interest suits telling us we are lucky to watch the best league in the world - it's not. But I would suggest with our crowded programme and atavistic approach to the game that 38 game stretch can be pretty demanding. Especially when you have madmen like Alan Hutton looking to boot you up in the air! In these precarious financial times the stakes are so high. Fulham fans are glum just at the thought of having to settle for a place in the bottom half. Maybe we need to lower our expectations for a season.
What must Arsenal followers feel when their revered manager tells the AGM the limit of their ambition is to finish 4th. Considering Arsene was sitting alongside the massive personal wealth of Usmanov and Kroenke, I trust both tycoons squirmed when reminded from the floor the four clubs alongside the Gunners in the elite list - Man U, Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool have all signed a player for £30 million, while Arsenal have never gone beyond 15. Hicks and Gillett also found buying your way to the title took more than they were willing to spend.
It's all coming right for Man City. Their demolition of the Reds sounds a profound changing of the guard in football's heirarchy. But it's taken three seasons of oil money to get them to the pinnacle. From now until January I fear Fulham results will be as unpredictable as my golf swing. Let's be honest, there are certainly three worse sides than us in this league. The new boys are punching above their weight, and all credit to them for their approach, but I reckon we'll claw our way above all three by next spring.
But who knows what the starting eleven will look like by then? We are going to have to bite the bullet and shift some of the stalwarts aside. Jol cannot be blind to that with his long experience. In the short term I see Riise and Duff relegated to the bench. Both seem to be struggling to keep up with the pace. In Krakow we had a rare 2nd half corner on the right. Duff pinged it in too low. The first defender played it straight out of the box and we were short at the back as Wisla broke at speed. Hangeland got back in time to hustle the ball, which went safe into touch near our own corner on the left. As play broke down Duff was only just puffing up to the edge of our 'D.'
As for Riise, most fans now sense why Roma were happy to offload the Norwegian. If he no longer has the legs to get to the by-line it's time for Matty to claim the left-back slot as first choice. Even if he makes mistakes, he can only get better. And he at present looks the more aggressive coming forward.
Midfield of course is where games are won and lost - and must be Jol's biggest headache. Those boots of Murphy's are going to take some filling, and I genuinely can't see who is presently up to the job. This position should have been addressed in the summer. Now we have two months to soldier on with what we have before the next window. In the meantime, Jol must pray for some big performances around our skipper that allows Danny's survival for a short while longer. Getting caught in possession deep in his own half as he was for Everton's opener is a clarion call Jol will surely have heeded.
Looking back to Sunday's game, as both managers admitted, it was Fulham who fully deserved to win. Only Bobby knows what went through his mind when blazing into the crowd, what happened after that, with two pieces of very slack defending, just left me numb. The hugh plus was finally seeing a glimpse of the real talent Bryan has at his disposal. For a comparison, from the same position in the box it would never enter Dembele's head to try something so sublime. He is another heading to the bench anytime soon. I don't get anything like the bigger picture our gaffer sees of the players around training, but I desperately want to see Frei given a chance to come good.
As to our front two. People seem to forget that Bobby and AJ have never gelled for Fulham. Why should it start now? Bobby needs a clever player close to him. Gera used to be that man, the returning Simon Davies might be the figure he needs now? As for AJ's future, Jol is right not to offer him more than a year extension. I wouldn't offer him that. He will be gone in January.
The history books tell us Fulham don't win at Wigan, even though we always think we should. We could well be bottom three by Monday, and then come Spurs. November and December could easily be as bleak as last year, so what to do in the meantime? Whoever pulls on the shirt, we need to raise the level of urgency. We need to work the keepers more. Shot quotas from forward players should be logged and analyzed. We badly need some free-kick routines that work and Brede has to run from deep on set plays and not meet the ball from a standing position being mercilessly jostled by bodies. I've been suggesting this forever.
What the team need from us is a reality check and a bit of patience. We've been through worse together. A generous rub of the green must come our way soon. If this is to be a season of transition that sees us retain our status and emerge the stronger so be it.
Which brings me to our ex-manager Mr. Hughes and his press comments. Now Mark has taken a few broadsides for his attitude, but I sense the truth lies somewhere between Hughes' comments and the club's position. Examine Mark's career as a player, where he played with real ferocity at the highest level - England, Spain and Germany. He felt, rightly, he'd done a fine job with a 'small' club in Blackburn, and although he couldn't dilute the right formula quickly enough at Citeh, there were plenty of factors working against him at the time, not least the attitude of the players. He didn't set out to make friends at Fulham, and for a club enamoured of fatherly Roy's wise ways, was perhaps too abrasive for his own good.
But I'm sure he wasn't just down in SW6 to mark time. Money has long since meant nothing to him. Life's winners take a positive approach to anything they tackle. Muhammed Ali used to voice a life-affirming commerical on American TV. So what if you drive a dumpster and haul trash it ran, 'do that job the best you can, and then you can aspire to something better.'
If Mark demanded some serious dosh to transform Fulham into a genuine force, instead of a side still unable to get past the likes of Everton, Wolves and Blackburn, who are we casting as the villain?
Come on boys, surprise us all and let's have that win off Wigan to make up for Sunday. COYW!
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