We have plenty of time before any worthwhile signings are made so lets debate the positions one by one, staring with who plays in goal?
Assuming Fabri's on his way soon, we have 2 young, hopefully up and coming keepers with Championship experience in the squad.
Do we stick or twist?
Being reasonable and realistic on who we may be able to sign that will be better, do we look for an upgrade or are Bettinelli & Rodak the real deal for a top 6 team?
IMO if Bettinelli & Button were good enough in the promotion season then Rodak's an improvement.
Stick for me. 2 class keepers at this level, plus means we don't have to spend money and can make some getting rid of Fabri
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I'd be happy with those 2 as our first choices, but feel we need to sign an experienced keeper (maybe 35+?) who would be happy to be 3rd choice in case of injury.
I think they are ok for the championship, but other than that for me we need to upgrade.
Think it's one area we need an upgrade personally. Have not seen enough of Rodak hopefully his one for the future. Bettenelli has at least a couple of chinks in his armour for me to ever be a quality keeper.
Good goalie will get you added points especially on the road and would settle a shaky defence? Would like to see someone like Ruddy - Begovic or McCarthy come in as new No1.
I'd be tempted to give Rodak starts in these friendlies to see how he goes. With Marcus as backup, we know we have someone who can step in and peform - if we never give Rodak the chance with Fulham, we will never know just how good he can be. He showed last year he is very capable, and that was in a poor team.
I've been doing some hypothetical shortlist pieces for each position for Fulham (started with goalkeeper). Below is what I had to say on the current state of the position:
The first piece here will be based on the goalkeeping position. I actually don't think we'll see one come in at all, I'm very comfortable with Marcus Bettinelli and Marek Rodak battling for the number one jersey letting Magnus Norman have another spell out on loan. This is also under the assumption that both Sergio Rico and Fabri will exit the club (Rico, of course, with the completion of his loan deal and the Fabri experiment, has been a bizarre experience).
To me, it's important that the goalkeeper position is settled and comfortable. I don't think it's outrageous to suggest that Fulham have not been either of those things since Mark Schwarzer was at the football club. I honestly believe that Marek Rodak has elite potential and is coming off an excellent season on loan at Rotherham at the other end of the division. A fan of his since arriving at the football club, I really don't believe that I've seen a better goalkeeper at youth level – his shot stopping is really high level and his area control is something that's getting better with age and bulk. Not nearly polished at 22, Fulham are in a good position between the sticks but let's evaluate some other options:
The other options I evaluated by the way were Asmir Begovic, Nick Pope (this was before he signed a new contract) and Kieran Westwood.
I always thought Westwood was a good solid all round goalie.
Very comfortable with Betts, I think he is more than good enough for the Championship. I also feel that behind a more settled defence he has the potential to hold down a place at Prem level. With Rodak and Norman we are well covered.
Give the gloves to Betts from the very beginning and ensure that come the first match he has a good understanding with the defenders. Betts now has sufficient experience to do a good job in the Championship, the manager has bigger problems and we don't need to divert his attention when the keeper presents no problem.
The general feeling so far seems to be, this is an area we can get by with what we have and best concentrate on improving other positions.
I agree and with good leadership from SP he can get the best out of them.
Quote from: Twig on July 02, 2019, 05:01:34 PM
Very comfortable with Betts, I think he is more than good enough for the Championship. I also feel that behind a more settled defence he has the potential to hold down a place at Prem level. With Rodak and Norman we are well covered.
+1
yh keepers we got good enough ... money better spent elsewhere