Sunday Fulham Stuff - 16/08/26...

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Saturday 15/08
Fulham	1-0	VfB Stuttgart
Castange

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Has Marco Silva made a terrible mistake? – Manager lives new reality after Fulham
Marco Silva left Fulham for Benfica this summer and, on the face of it, the attraction was obvious. He swapped stability in the Premier League for the chance to manage arguably Portugal's biggest club, compete for trophies and potentially return to the Champions League.

A few months later, the scale of that decision is becoming clearer. Silva hasn't simply walked into a bigger football club. He's walked into an institution under huge pressure, with problems on several fronts.

Some of those problems were already waiting for him. Others have developed since his arrival.

Either way, Sport Witness sources understand Silva doesn't currently have the full backing of the Benfica squad. There was initial excitement among players about working under a new manager, but we're told that faded surprisingly quickly.

Indeed, some distrust towards Silva's methods and approach had already developed during the final weeks of pre-season. That was before Benfica had even played a competitive match.

It's far too strong to suggest he's lost the dressing room. Yet the honeymoon period ending before the season had properly started is hardly ideal.

And it adds another problem to a job which may be considerably more difficult than it appeared from England.

Benfica pressure is a different beast
A few months later, the scale of that decision is becoming clearer. Silva hasn't simply walked into a bigger football club. He's walked into an institution under huge pressure, with problems on several fronts.

Some of those problems were already waiting for him. Others have developed since his arrival.

Either way, Sport Witness sources understand Silva doesn't currently have the full backing of the Benfica squad. There was initial excitement among players about working under a new manager, but we're told that faded surprisingly quickly.

Indeed, some distrust towards Silva's methods and approach had already developed during the final weeks of pre-season. That was before Benfica had even played a competitive match.

It's far too strong to suggest he's lost the dressing room. Yet the honeymoon period ending before the season had properly started is hardly ideal.

And it adds another problem to a job which may be considerably more difficult than it appeared from England.

Benfica pressure is a different beast
Most Benfica fans are asking how a club with the biggest support, huge European income and a record of major player sales can continue struggling to plan its squad properly.

Nowadays, Benfica's operating revenue is around 40% higher than Sporting's. Yet he sees Porto and Sporting as better prepared.

There's also frustration over recruitment, as they are repeatedly seeing their two rivals beating them to their transfer targets.

The financial picture brings another concern. As per various Portuguese sources, Benfica have become dependent on selling players to balance their finances.

Insider outlet Glorioso 1904 recently claimed that "when they need money, they sell. When they sell well, they breathe. When they don't sell, things tighten".

Their argument is that Champions League income, player sales and future revenue have become too important to Benfica's current model.

For all the club's size and ability to generate revenue, their actual spending power is currently limited. Porto and Sporting have greater room to operate in the transfer market.

Benfica can sell a player for a significant fee without suddenly having the same amount available for replacements. Money coming into the club also has to service debts, cover existing commitments and help reorganise expenses. So a big sale doesn't necessarily produce a big transfer budget.

On top of that, there has been only one league title in the past six seasons. All those numbers create pressure very quickly.

Silva is the man expected to change the sporting trajectory while dealing with the consequences of everything else.

Caught between sporting and financial needs
The transfer market has demonstrated what that means in practice. Silva identified targets he believed were attainable, yet Benfica have been unable to secure a few of them.

Some of those targets were considered realistic and affordable, yet Benfica still couldn't get the deals done. That reportedly left the manager quite unsatisfied.

At the same time, Silva gave his approval for the sale of young captain António Silva. The 22-year-old defender was being developed to become a dressing room leader. Fans loved him and his €30m (£25.9m) exit to Bournemouth was not liked by most of the fan base.

Then there's Andreas Schjelderup. Selling the highly rated youngster would provide Benfica with useful income at a time when they badly need it. Silva has blocked that route because he considers Schjelderup absolutely necessary to his sporting project.

So the players Benfica can make serious money from may also be the players Silva can least afford to lose. And even when Benfica do sell, Silva can't simply expect the proceeds to come back to him as a transfer budget. There are debts and other financial commitments competing for the same money.

He needs reinforcements to catch Porto and Sporting. Benfica need sales to improve their financial position.

Questions inside and outside the dressing room
Marco Silva has also had an issue of trust with Anatoliy Trubin. That's quite big because the Ukranian goalkeeper had become one of Benfica's stars and leaders.

Against the backdrop of what Sport Witness has been told about the dressing room, it's another situation worth watching.

Again, there's no suggestion of some dressing-room revolt. What we've heard is more nuanced.

The initial enthusiasm around a new manager didn't last particularly long. By the latter stages of pre-season, questions were already being asked internally about his methods and approach.

A questionable league debut
The concern for Silva is that the football hasn't done much to silence doubts elsewhere. The Portuguese media are already looking critically at the style he's trying to implement.

Then came Benfica's opening league match. At home, against newly-promoted Académico de Viseu. And it finished 2-2.

One result in August shouldn't define a manager's tenure, obviously. Yet at Benfica, results like that rarely exist in isolation.

They immediately become part of a much bigger conversation about recruitment, tactics, players, directors and the club's position relative to Porto and Sporting.

There was also an unfortunate bit of timing. Before the league campaign started, Glorioso 1904 had a column written pessimistically about Benfica beginning another season with optimism before "two or three draws against teams well below our level" brought everyone back to reality.

The first league match then delivered exactly the sort of result he feared.

Of course it's far too early to say Silva made a mistake by leaving Fulham. The reasons for taking the Benfica job remain easy to understand. But the security, authority and trust he'd built in London have gone.

He's now responsible for delivering immediate success at a club whose problems stretch well beyond the dugout.

Silva left Fulham because Benfica offered him a bigger job. He may now be discovering just how much bigger it really is.



https://sportwitness.co.uk/has-marco-silva-made-a-terrible-mistake-manager-lives-new-reality-after-fulham/

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Match Preview: Fulham v Pompey Women
Pompey Women travel to Motspur Park this weekend for their first FA Women's National League Southern Premier fixture of the season against Fulham, on August 16 (2pm kick-off).

Fulham are newly promoted having finished top of the South East table at the end of the 2025/26 season, seven points above second-placed Norwich.

They also went the entire season unbeaten, with 20 wins and two draws.

Their league success was coupled with a cup trophy as they beat AFC Wimbledon to win the Capital Cup.

Players and staff were recognised at the FAWNL Awards too, with Manager Steve Jaye winning Manager of the Year and goalkeeper Frankie Gibbs picking up the Golden Glove.

It will also be Pompey's first season in the league since they won promotion to the WSL2 in 2024.

A difficult year ended in relegation back to Tier 3, however Jay Sadler has recruited eleven new signings over pre-season upon the announcement that the team and staff will be remaining full-time professional.

Centre-back Arabella Suttie said: "Fulham this weekend will be a great test.

"We know that they're going to be a good team, and we've got to prove that we are."

Team News
Lucy Johnson and Annie Hutchings are continuing their rehab and making significant progress following their knee injuries that were picked up last season.

Ticket News
Tickets are available online from Fulham's eTicketing site.

Officials
Referee: Katie Allen
Assistant referees: Andrew Marsh, Aneta Gellen

Match Coverage
Unable to make it?

Follow @PompeyWomen on X, Instagram and Facebook for live matchday coverage of the game.

A match report will be published to the club website shortly after the full-time whistle.



https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2026/august/15/match-preview--fulham-v-pompey-women/

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Fulham wrap up pre-season with win against Stuttgart
Timothy Castagne's goal gave Fulham a 1-0 win against Stuttgart in new boss Alvaro Arbeloa's first game at Craven Cottage.

Castagne scored early in the second half with a near-post header from Alex Iwobi's left-wing corner.

Earlier, Sander Berge went close for the Whites when his effort was cleared off the line.

Fulham's new signing Shea Charles came on as a half-time substitute.

Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Bassey, Cuenca, Robinson, Berge, Iwobi, King (Charles 78), Bobb, Gonzalo (Nwoko 88), Palacios.

Subs not used: Lecomte, Borto, Amissah, Slade, Casey, Evans.



https://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/fulham-wrap-up-pre-season-with-win-against-stuttgart

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Fulham 1-0 VfB Stuttgart: Castagne goal enough for victory
Fulham ended pre-season with a victory over tough opposition at Craven Cottage, with a single Timothy Castagne goal enough to win the game.

Fulham finished their pre-season campaign with a win over Stuttgart in Alvaro Arbeloa's first game at Craven Cottage thanks to a Timothy Castagne goal.

The game lacked clear-cut chances, with the biggest opportunities coming from corners for both sides. After several close calls from corners, it was only a matter of time before one went in.

Castagne was the one to finally take advantage from a corner, as his flicked header went over the head of everyone in the box and found the side netting.

Overall, it was a solid performance from Fulham, who looked defensively stable and were able to knock the ball about well in the middle of the park; the only thing missing was the final product.

A home game against Chelsea is Fulham's season opener as they look to start the season positively against their West London rivals.

Story of the match
Fulham had the first chance of the game after an Alex Iwobi corner found Sander Berge in the box, but the midfielder was unable to get more than a flick onto the ball, which gave the goalkeeper an easy save.

Josh King made a brilliant run in behind that was picked out by Iwobi, but Maxamillian Mittelstadt got back and made an impressive challenge in the box to stop the Fulham man.

Stuttgart had their first chance of the game after Ermedin Demirovic was found with space in behind, but Bernd Leno closed him down well and stopped the attempted dink over his head.

It was Stuttgart's turn to have a chance from a corner, with Grischa Promel's header on target saved well by Leno.

Cesar Palacios used his skill to get himself away from his man in the middle of the park; the ball found its way to Oscar Bobb, whose shot was saved well by Fabian Bredlow.

Calvin Bassey went down after his head collided with another player making a challenge from a corner; he came back on after a short time on the sideline.

Fulham thought they had taken the lead from a corner, after Berge got on the end of a flick-on by Castagne, but Bredlow somehow managed to keep the ball from crossing the line.

Jorge Cuenca blocked Stuttgart forward Tiago Tomas on the halfway line, with the Fulham player coming off worse from the challenge. The defender managed to carry on after the heavy challenge, a major boost for Fulham, as Joachim Andersen is suspended for the opening game of the season against Chelsea.

Palacios produced some more magic, as he played Antonee Robinson clean through on goal, but Bredlow closed the angle down well and made a good save from the defender.

Bobb was found in the box by Palacios, but the winger's effort was easily saved by the goalkeeper.

King found himself behind the Stuttgart defence and flashed a ball across the box, but nobody could get on the end of it.

Castagne put the ball in the net from a corner, something Fulham had been threatening all game, with his looping header flying over the keeper into the far corner.

Stuttgart threatened to equalise, but Badredine Bouanani's header was saved at full stretch by Leno.

The game went flat towards the end, with both sides happy to see it out.

Shea Charles came on for his home debut and was able to get some minutes under his belt ahead of the start of the season.

Player of the Match: Cesar Palacios
The young midfielder is starting to show why Arbeloa wanted to bring him to the club.

He is playing in the wide left position but has the freedom to roam wherever he wants to get on the ball, with the rotation between him and King working wonders.

The Spaniard tried and pulled off some lovely flicks, and with some better finishing from his teammates, could have picked himself up a couple of assists.



https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2026/08/15/fulham/1268074-fulham-1-0-vfb-stuttgart-castagne-goal-enough-for-victory.html#google_vignette

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Fulham 1-0 Stuttgart
Fulham's final game of pre-season saw us deservedly defeat VfB Stuttgart at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.

The theme of goal scoring full-backs continued when Timothy Castagne's Denis Odoi-esque header found the net in the second half, which proved to be the only goal of the game.

The victory might have been by a greater margin had Sander Berge's first half header been given after appearing to cross the line, though we did also rely on a world class Bernd Leno save to preserve our lead.

An eighth minute corner yielded the game's first chance of note when Berge used his strength to bring Alex Iwobi's delivery under his spell, but he could only stab straight into the arms of Fabian Bredlow.

Stuttgart responded when Badredine Bouanani scooped a clever ball over the Fulham backline for Ermedin Demirovic to run onto, but Leno sensed the danger and was out promptly to smother.

His next stop was much more complex, readjusting sharply to push a deflected header from a corner round the post.

At the other end, Oscar Bobb had a wicked effort beaten away by Bredlow, before César Palacios saw his shot blocked.

Berge thought he'd scored from another corner 10 minutes before the break when he headed on goal. A Bredlow leg booted it away, though seemingly not before it had comfortably crossed the line, but the officials – without goalline technology in place for this friendly – either disagreed or did not have a good enough view, with no goal given.

A defence-splitting Palacios ball sent Antonee Robinson in on goal before the half was up, but with a recovering defender in close proximity, he wasn't able to direct his shot beyond Bredlow who saved well.

The second half began with another delightful, disguised Palacios pass, this time slipping Bobb in, but again Bredlow was equal to the shot.

Gonzalo García had been lively in his first Cottage outing, and was unfortunate to see his 20 yarder deflect wide of the near post midway through the half.

It had been all Fulham, and we got the deserved breakthrough soon after, through Castagne's delightful flicked, looping header at the near post after he'd darted to meet Iwobi's corner.

Stuttgart responded with a rare attack that ended with Bouanani cushioning a volley back across goal, but Leno showed phenomenal reflexes to tip it behind.

The visitors had huffed and puffed since going behind, but Leno wasn't troubled again, as Fulham rounded off our pre-season campaign with victory over Champions League opposition.

Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Bassey, Cuenca, Robinson; Berge, Iwobi, King (Charles 78'); Bobb, Gonzalo (Nwoko 88'), Palacios

Subs: Lecomte, Borto, Amissah, Slade, Nwoko, Charles, Casey, Evans

Stuttgart: Bredlow, Stiller, Mittelstädt, Tomás, Demirovic, Führich, Prömel, Chabot, Bouanani, Nartey, Jeltsch

Subs: Funk, Herwerth, Yigit, Malanga, Spalt, Tsigkas, Rölke, Zezelj



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2026/august/15/fulham-1-0-stuttgart/

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Four things learned from Fulham's 1-0 win over Stuttgart
Fulham fans saw Álvaro Arbeloa's new look side in action for the first time at Craven Cottage. It was a very encouraging win despite some defensive issues

Fulham's pre-season preparations ended with a 1-0 win over Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart.

Having lost 2-0 to the German side in a behind-closed-doors friendly earlier in the day, Timothy Castagne's looping second-half header secured a win in Álvaro Arbeloa's first game at Craven Cottage.

For the majority of the game, Fulham were the better side but they lacked consistent ruthlessness in front of goal.

Sander Berge had a header seemingly cleared off the line in first-half stoppage time, while Oscar Bobb should have opened the scoring early in the second half. The Norwegian cut inside, gliding past a tackle before arrowing his shot straight at the goalkeeper.

The travelling Champions League side only mustered two meaningful attempts on goal, but both required superb saves from Bernd Leno. Playing against his first club, the German pushed away a deflected, point-blank header in the first half, while he brilliantly clawed away another pinpoint, crisp shot in the second half after Fulham had been caught on the break.

This was the first opportunity for fans to get a look at Arbeloa's new-look side. In a deserved victory, new signings Gonzalo García, César Palacios and Shea Charles all made their Craven Cottage bows, with the two Spaniards impressing from the off.

High Line
Under Marco Silva, the Cottagers became synonymous with playing high-tempo, possession-based football.

While the full-backs would naturally engage in attacking phases of play, the defensive core of Sander Berge, Calvin Bassey and Joachim Andersen would stay back and maintain Fulham's defensive shape.

Transitioning from Silva's playing style to Arbeloa's is perhaps more of an evolution than a revolution. Bernd Leno spoke during the week of his need to "take more responsibility" due to the new "high line."

This was evident during today's match. Under Silva, Bassey would occasionally charge forward, while Berge would contribute to attacking sequences from a distance.

Against Stuttgart, Jorge Cuenca roamed forward on a couple of occasions while Sander Berge was a lot further forward than fans have been accustomed to. This meant Leno had to leave his penalty area to clean up potential danger on a few occasions.

While this approach is more attacking-minded, it does inevitably leave Fulham more defensively vulnerable. This was evident in the second half when Stuttgart launched a quick counterattack. Badredine Bouanani was completely unmarked, and his cushioned volley back across goal was only denied by a world-class Leno save.

Interchanging Positions
Another noticeable element to Fulham's display against last season's 4th-best Bundesliga side was the interchangeability of certain players.

Rather than rigidly sticking to their wide positions, Oscar Bobb and new man César Palacios would frequently drift into midfield to offer additional dynamism, fluidity, and tenacity in an attempt to break down Stuttgart's structure.

While this did offer more space on the wings for Stuttgart to try and exploit, it also beefed up Fulham's midfield and forced opposition players to drift out of their positions, creating space for the West Londoners' full-backs.

These extra bodies in midfield also relieved some pressure on Alex Iwobi and Berge's shoulders.

While these shifts into midfield were only temporary, they provided extra support and allowed Fulham to retain possession quicker and more efficiently.

Risk of getting caught on the break
Fulham's new, higher line during attacking assaults may be point of concern ahead of the new season, as it is likely to leave them vulnerable on transitions against teams with rapid wingers.

Stuttgart are an impressive team who deserve to have been playing Champions League football for only the second time in 16 seasons. But while they failed to capitalise on those openings, Premier League opposition will be far less forgiving.

Arbeloa's side need to find the right balance between committing bodies forward and maintaining enough defensive cover to prevent their attacking ambition from becoming a vulnerability.

Josh King and César Palacios impress
Both players looked incredibly lively and were heavily involved in the majority of Fulham's attacking moves.

King and Palacios constantly interchanged with each other, floating into space across both wings, and were central to Fulham's attacking penetration.

While Palacios may have looked like a rival to King's starting spot at Fulham, Arbeloa may have uncovered an exciting new system in which both of these impressive youngsters can complement each other's abilities and unlock opposition defences.



https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2026/08/15/fulham/1268095-four-things-learned-from-fulham-s-1-0-win-over-stuttgart.html

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The King and the Palace.

Josh King and César Palacios impress
Both players looked incredibly lively and were heavily involved in the majority of Fulham's attacking moves.

King and Palacios constantly interchanged with each other, floating into space across both wings, and were central to Fulham's attacking penetration.

While Palacios may have looked like a rival to King's starting spot at Fulham, Arbeloa may have uncovered an exciting new system in which both of these impressive youngsters can complement each other's abilities and unlock opposition defences.



https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2026/08/15/fulham/1268095-four-things-learned-from-fulham-s-1-0-win-over-stuttgart.html