I know this happens every season, us fans are pretty knee jerk when it comes to transfers, but as always, there is limited time until our first competitive game, and again, we seem to be lacking players, or dragging our heels over potential targets.
I know we never truly know who the Club is targeting, but with less than a month to go until our opening game against Newcastle, our current squad isn't looking very good is it, and far from the words of "I'll do what ever it takes" to push for promotion. If anything, it looks like another relegation struggle.
Even if we do manage to get potential targets on board, less than 30 days is pushing it, to fuse a team of players ready for the start of the season, and as things stand, we'll still be trying to bringing players in deep August, after the season has kicked off.
Normally, I'll defend the situation and say that it takes time to get potential targets, but as this summer goes, we've known about doing a re-build since Jokanovic joined, so our homework / groundwork should have already been done.
Completely different ball game when it comes to finances, but when you look at Newcastle, they're not messing around when it comes to adding quality. Something we wouldn't get away with due to FFP, but when I look at the type of player we're targeting, I have a feeling its going to be another season of freebies, with the odd couple of million pound players thrown in.
As it stands, I'm not to optimistic about our intentions again, and I was slightly sceptical when Kahn said he'd back Jokanoic financially. Not saying that I want us to throw money around stupidly, but I'd have liked to have seen us be a bit more ambitious.
The words "Amorebieta" , "Lifeline" and Jokanovic's statement on Twitter yesterday say to me there is a reason for concern.
Hope I'm wrong.
This sums up my feelings almost exactly, The concerned amongst us have every reason to feel that way. We seem to be investing the way we have for the last few windows, bargain bin shopping and not adding any actual quality. Cairney and McCormack were both good signings, its no suprise that they both demanded solid transfer fees, especially McCormack, who has been worth every penny to be fair.
The promise from Khan of fighting for a top 6 spot comes at exactly the same time each season, the week season tickets go on sale. Apart from this he hides until we sack another flop of a manager.
This season will be no different and we're in for a tough ride. Looking at the league table we may be fortunate enough to have 3 teams who are significantly smaller than the others in this league and will struggle to recruit to keep themselves up so we may stay up on that basis. Aside from this I have lost any faith in the clubs recruitment or supposed ambition.
If you've been around Fulham for the last 5 seasons or so, and seen the same club behaviors repeated over and over again......concern has become habitual at this point.
It flat out sucks that I sit around, year after year, waiting for little moments to occur to make me forget that concern for even just a short while. For me, that's the reality of being a Fulham supporter, basically, since the transition from Hughes to Jol.
Right now, it's going to take a Thomas Delaney type signing, or two even, to alleviate my concerns for the coming season. So far, that's the only tidbit I've read/heard that alluded to the ambition that Sparky left us for and that would be fitting of Khan's stated ambition of making a go at promotion....sometime.
I do like that SJ has us linked with players who supply the speed that we were lacking last season and that those players lead me to believe that we'll be a more balanced squad.
None of it though, leaves me without concern.
Without doubt. We've got a month until our first game and we've made one signing ( I don't count Madl). At first I was pleased that the club were clearing all the deadwood, but players like Hutchinson, Burn and Mitroglou are long gone now and we havent really done anything.
Realistically we need another 7-8 players IMO to compete at a decent level this season, and we could sign them all tomorrow and it would still leave jokanovic in a rush to gel the players together before Newcastle.
Am I Suprised?
Of course not
We have this every season about now. Problem is we are right to have this concern every season about now. The signs are not great but I still can't blame the owner alone. Clearly there is something wrong with the whole set up. It is even harder when you see our first opponents doing so much business of quality players. They can afford it I guess.
But I stated at the end of last season that for the first time I have no great eagerness for the next season coming. This far down the line that hasn't changed. How we would all welcome a chance for the to change.
The concern is that other than Burton and Barnsley there will not be another club worse than us.
Having said that, Burton & Barnsley are joining this division with a settled squad with a winning mentality.
Quote from: Two Ton Ted on July 08, 2016, 03:14:07 PM
The concern is that other than Burton and Barnsley there will not be another club worse than us.
Having said that, Burton & Barnsley are joining this division with a settled squad with a winning mentality.
You are very misguided if you think that Barnsley are coming up just to be cannon fodder, I personally think that Barnsley and Wigan are both decent clubs and both decent teams, apart from Burton I can't currently see a worse side than us, people on here that even dare to mention promotion or the play offs are living in dream land, we are in a massive battle to survive and could quite easily lose our first three games of the season,
People need to accept, and fast, that our first priority right now is to assemble a side good enough to stay up, and as I type this we are a million miles from achieving that.
