It's time to accept it's not working, fair enough , let's move on.

[Riversider]

They said before kick off that it's the biggest gap between second and third place at this stage of the season in 14 years, in other words 22 teams have handed promotion to WBA and Leeds on a silver platter, so clearly something is wrong,
On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall !
So things need to change, my first gripe is that front three of Knockaert,  Mitrovic and Cavaleiro,  it's clearly not working, when on paper it should be the best forward line in the division, it's certainly the highest paid forward line in the division,
So one of two things needs to happen now, we either send Knockaert and Cavaleiro back in January (that's if we can) to free up two loan places, I'm quite happy giving Kamara and Kebano a go in their place , they certainly couldn't do any worse,
Or option two, we get rid of Parker after Leeds and bring in a manager that can get the best out of them, for example would Chris Hughton get a better tune out of Knockaert than Parker currently is ? I would say he could,
When everybody is fit we have more than enough options in midfield,  we've almost certainly got better options than we showed last night, but as Onomah is 100% the signing of Scott Parker and has nothing to do with either analytics or Tony Khan, Parker is going to continue to pick him in the desperate hope that he suddenly comes good, which we all know won't happen,
I don't even know where to begin on that defence, it's a complete dogs dinner,  but this is where those two loan signings come in to play if we can send Knockaert back along with Cavaleiro,
Michael Hector alone is not going to rescue the situation, we need an accomplished centre half to play alongside him , we then need a left back and a right back better than what we've already got,
I've posted on here on more than one occasion that we must build from the back,  and make ourselves hard to beat, and yet every time a transfer window comes around we seem to do the opposite,
Catch 22 for Khan now, because doing nothing is NOT an option, if he wants 8,000 punters to pay exorbitant prices to sit in The Fulham Pier stand (or whatever it's going to be called) then quite clearly Scott Parker and this current set up is not the way forward,
Those four wins in a row blinded a lot of Fulham supporters on here to how bad the performances were during those games , it will take a miracle for two defeats in a row not to turn in to four in a row, if that does happen then Khan MUST fire Parker ,
I've not witnessed anything yet from Parker to indicate he has the nous tactically to manage at this club , as I said the other day we have the weakest manager in the Top 6 , and I stand by that.

[colinwhite]

Decent post with some fair points. Your posts dont usually cheer me up too much,and even if I dont agree with most of it ,credit where it is due.

[Buffalo76]

We gave Parker a chance. Not worked out. Time to empty his desk, take all his training notes he's supposedly kept over the years and let's get someone else in whose far more experienced. This squad of players shouldn't be so far adrift of the top 2. The players are good enough, the manager isn't.

[Logicalman]

They said before kick off that it's the biggest gap between second and third place at this stage of the season in 14 years, in other words 22 teams have handed promotion to WBA and Leeds on a silver platter, so clearly something is wrong,
On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall !
So things need to change, my first gripe is that front three of Knockaert,  Mitrovic and Cavaleiro,  it's clearly not working, when on paper it should be the best forward line in the division, it's certainly the highest paid forward line in the division,
So one of two things needs to happen now, we either send Knockaert and Cavaleiro back in January (that's if we can) to free up two loan places, I'm quite happy giving Kamara and Kebano a go in their place , they certainly couldn't do any worse,
Or option two, we get rid of Parker after Leeds and bring in a manager that can get the best out of them.....

A well-reasoned argument there.

I do wonder, from your opening remarks on the inconsistency of the teams from 3rd and below (and this has appeared over the past couple of months as opposed to days across the board), whether your proposals should be the game plan for all those remaining 22 teams?

Automatic promotion is no longer in the hands of any of the 22 teams, it's solely as to whether the top 2 falter going forwards.

As for the playoffs, with the inconsistencies you highlight, quite correctly I might add, then currently we are the best of the rotten bunch, it would seem, and so there might be an argument to ask should we change at all? I'm not certain that targeted or even wholesale changes will provide us with that formula to get where West Brom and Leeds currently are and unless that is the ultimate goal here, then we aren't doing as bad as the other 21 at present.

[Spirit of 2000]

They said before kick off that it's the biggest gap between second and third place at this stage of the season in 14 years, in other words 22 teams have handed promotion to WBA and Leeds on a silver platter, so clearly something is wrong,
On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall !
So things need to change, my first gripe is that front three of Knockaert,  Mitrovic and Cavaleiro,  it's clearly not working, when on paper it should be the best forward line in the division, it's certainly the highest paid forward line in the division,
So one of two things needs to happen now, we either send Knockaert and Cavaleiro back in January (that's if we can) to free up two loan places, I'm quite happy giving Kamara and Kebano a go in their place , they certainly couldn't do any worse,
Or option two, we get rid of Parker after Leeds and bring in a manager that can get the best out of them.....

A well-reasoned argument there.

I do wonder, from your opening remarks on the inconsistency of the teams from 3rd and below (and this has appeared over the past couple of months as opposed to days across the board), whether your proposals should be the game plan for all those remaining 22 teams?

Automatic promotion is no longer in the hands of any of the 22 teams, it's solely as to whether the top 2 falter going forwards.

As for the playoffs, with the inconsistencies you highlight, quite correctly I might add, then currently we are the best of the rotten bunch, it would seem, and so there might be an argument to ask should we change at all? I'm not certain that targeted or even wholesale changes will provide us with that formula to get where West Brom and Leeds currently are and unless that is the ultimate goal here, then we aren't doing as bad as the other 21 at present.

Do you reckon that Man City fans are saying don't worry, Liverpool are obviously way too good, and relax there's 17 teams less good than us, so all is good?

[Chutney]

Name a manager that would be able to get a squad with our current defence higher than third.

[Logicalman]

They said before kick off that it's the biggest gap between second and third place at this stage of the season in 14 years, in other words 22 teams have handed promotion to WBA and Leeds on a silver platter, so clearly something is wrong,
On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall !
So things need to change, my first gripe is that front three of Knockaert,  Mitrovic and Cavaleiro,  it's clearly not working, when on paper it should be the best forward line in the division, it's certainly the highest paid forward line in the division,
So one of two things needs to happen now, we either send Knockaert and Cavaleiro back in January (that's if we can) to free up two loan places, I'm quite happy giving Kamara and Kebano a go in their place , they certainly couldn't do any worse,
Or option two, we get rid of Parker after Leeds and bring in a manager that can get the best out of them.....

A well-reasoned argument there.

I do wonder, from your opening remarks on the inconsistency of the teams from 3rd and below (and this has appeared over the past couple of months as opposed to days across the board), whether your proposals should be the game plan for all those remaining 22 teams?

Automatic promotion is no longer in the hands of any of the 22 teams, it's solely as to whether the top 2 falter going forwards.

As for the playoffs, with the inconsistencies you highlight, quite correctly I might add, then currently we are the best of the rotten bunch, it would seem, and so there might be an argument to ask should we change at all? I'm not certain that targeted or even wholesale changes will provide us with that formula to get where West Brom and Leeds currently are and unless that is the ultimate goal here, then we aren't doing as bad as the other 21 at present.

Do you reckon that Man City fans are saying don't worry, Liverpool are obviously way too good, and relax there's 17 teams less good than us, so all is good?

I don't think comparing us to Citeh is any comparison at all, even taking into account our respective leagues.
Perhaps pick United as a fairer comparison. What are their fans saying? "Well, Liverpool are too far ahead of us so we cannot win the Prem, so sack the manager?", I don't think so, neither are the fans of that bunch down the road or Wolves I wouldn't expect.

There is nothing wrong in having opinions, we each are entitled.

[MJG]

They said before kick off that it's the biggest gap between second and third place at this stage of the season in 14 years, in other words 22 teams have handed promotion to WBA and Leeds on a silver platter, so clearly something is wrong,
On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall !
So things need to change, my first gripe is that front three of Knockaert,  Mitrovic and Cavaleiro,  it's clearly not working, when on paper it should be the best forward line in the division, it's certainly the highest paid forward line in the division,
So one of two things needs to happen now, we either send Knockaert and Cavaleiro back in January (that's if we can) to free up two loan places, I'm quite happy giving Kamara and Kebano a go in their place , they certainly couldn't do any worse,
Or option two, we get rid of Parker after Leeds and bring in a manager that can get the best out of them.....

A well-reasoned argument there.

I do wonder, from your opening remarks on the inconsistency of the teams from 3rd and below (and this has appeared over the past couple of months as opposed to days across the board), whether your proposals should be the game plan for all those remaining 22 teams?

Automatic promotion is no longer in the hands of any of the 22 teams, it's solely as to whether the top 2 falter going forwards.

As for the playoffs, with the inconsistencies you highlight, quite correctly I might add, then currently we are the best of the rotten bunch, it would seem, and so there might be an argument to ask should we change at all? I'm not certain that targeted or even wholesale changes will provide us with that formula to get where West Brom and Leeds currently are and unless that is the ultimate goal here, then we aren't doing as bad as the other 21 at present.

There are no inconsistanceis on show within this league. Teams are doing pretty much as expected for their positions. A team in 6th has pretty much the exact number of points a team in 6th would usally have, as does a team in 10th.

[Statto]

There are no inconsistanceis on show within this league. Teams are doing pretty much as expected for their positions. A team in 6th has pretty much the exact number of points a team in 6th would usally have, as does a team in 10th.

Hmmm, as I said the other day, highest points total for a 2nd placed team in the last 10 yrs is 93 pts, with an average IIRC of 89 pts. As it stands the 2nd placed team this season is on course for 101 pts. So they have a lot more points than expected at this point.

[MJG]

There are no inconsistanceis on show within this league. Teams are doing pretty much as expected for their positions. A team in 6th has pretty much the exact number of points a team in 6th would usally have, as does a team in 10th.

Hmmm, as I said the other day, highest points total for a 2nd placed team in the last 10 yrs is 93 pts, with an average IIRC of 89 pts. As it stands the 2nd placed team this season is on course for 101 pts. So they have a lot more points than expected at this point.

But that's only if you go PPG, which I try not to use now when looking for a final season figure. That's based on past form, as many things are, but overall a season it reduces out and majority of teams in top half do traditionally worse second half of the season.
Its why I use a predicted final pts total now rather than a PPG projection in most of the stuff I do.

For example looking at the table a year ago and the season before 8 out of 12 positions did worse than PPG projections.....

[Facts Not Fiction]

They said before kick off that it's the biggest gap between second and third place at this stage of the season in 14 years, in other words 22 teams have handed promotion to WBA and Leeds on a silver platter, so clearly something is wrong,
On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall !
So things need to change, my first gripe is that front three of Knockaert,  Mitrovic and Cavaleiro,  it's clearly not working, when on paper it should be the best forward line in the division, it's certainly the highest paid forward line in the division,
So one of two things needs to happen now, we either send Knockaert and Cavaleiro back in January (that's if we can) to free up two loan places, I'm quite happy giving Kamara and Kebano a go in their place , they certainly couldn't do any worse,
Or option two, we get rid of Parker after Leeds and bring in a manager that can get the best out of them, for example would Chris Hughton get a better tune out of Knockaert than Parker currently is ? I would say he could,
When everybody is fit we have more than enough options in midfield,  we've almost certainly got better options than we showed last night, but as Onomah is 100% the signing of Scott Parker and has nothing to do with either analytics or Tony Khan, Parker is going to continue to pick him in the desperate hope that he suddenly comes good, which we all know won't happen,
I don't even know where to begin on that defence, it's a complete dogs dinner,  but this is where those two loan signings come in to play if we can send Knockaert back along with Cavaleiro,
Michael Hector alone is not going to rescue the situation, we need an accomplished centre half to play alongside him , we then need a left back and a right back better than what we've already got,
I've posted on here on more than one occasion that we must build from the back,  and make ourselves hard to beat, and yet every time a transfer window comes around we seem to do the opposite,
Catch 22 for Khan now, because doing nothing is NOT an option, if he wants 8,000 punters to pay exorbitant prices to sit in The Fulham Pier stand (or whatever it's going to be called) then quite clearly Scott Parker and this current set up is not the way forward,
Those four wins in a row blinded a lot of Fulham supporters on here to how bad the performances were during those games , it will take a miracle for two defeats in a row not to turn in to four in a row, if that does happen then Khan MUST fire Parker ,
I've not witnessed anything yet from Parker to indicate he has the nous tactically to manage at this club , as I said the other day we have the weakest manager in the Top 6 , and I stand by that.

Agree with that.

[Statto]

@MJG, agreed that mitigates it to some extent, but is the OP not correct when he says this is the biggest gap between 1st and 2nd in 14 seasons? Will admit I didn't check the veracity of that but if true, you couldn't say those teams "are doing pretty much as expected for their positions."

[MJG]

@MJG, agreed that mitigates it to some extent, but is the OP not correct when he says this is the biggest gap between 1st and 2nd in 14 seasons? Will admit I didn't check the veracity of that but if true, you couldn't say those teams "are doing pretty much as expected for their positions."

Id not be surprised, its a larger gap than usual but the rest of league is on par give or take the usual seasonal +/- as I have shown recently anyway.

16th place last 10 years at 21 games:

24
27
26
25
25
24
28
25
27
25

Average: 25.6

and this season....26

[toshes mate]

I sympathise with all who are frustrated with our efforts thus far but are the solutions I read here going to change anything for the better.

There's a hint that neither Leeds nor WBA can make a hash of it from here on, but stranger things have happened with healthy points leads at any stage of the season.  There's a suggestion that tailoring the head coach to suit the problem flair player may help things but that is like saying there is a person out there who can cope with just about anything short of a catastrophic asteroid hit on England. 

There's the depressive outlook flooding through that the new stand is looking something less than what is needed for FFC because promotion isn't going to happen this term, and if it doesn't happen we are doomed.  The players who are not living up to expectations are being battered simply because the whole show is not what people anticipated.  And yet there are still 75 points to play for, and football has a habit of favouring the brave.  It's a repetition of what always happens when things get tough and people search for answers to detail rather than looking at the bigger picture and reminding ourselves that it is always darkest before the dawn.  A losing streak can end just as easily as a winning streak and given our inconsistency this season it could happen in forty eight hours or so and an unbeaten run starts over.

[Logicalman]

They said before kick off that it's the biggest gap between second and third place at this stage of the season in 14 years, in other words 22 teams have handed promotion to WBA and Leeds on a silver platter, so clearly something is wrong,
On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall !
So things need to change, my first gripe is that front three of Knockaert,  Mitrovic and Cavaleiro,  it's clearly not working, when on paper it should be the best forward line in the division, it's certainly the highest paid forward line in the division,
So one of two things needs to happen now, we either send Knockaert and Cavaleiro back in January (that's if we can) to free up two loan places, I'm quite happy giving Kamara and Kebano a go in their place , they certainly couldn't do any worse,
Or option two, we get rid of Parker after Leeds and bring in a manager that can get the best out of them.....

A well-reasoned argument there.

I do wonder, from your opening remarks on the inconsistency of the teams from 3rd and below (and this has appeared over the past couple of months as opposed to days across the board), whether your proposals should be the game plan for all those remaining 22 teams?

Automatic promotion is no longer in the hands of any of the 22 teams, it's solely as to whether the top 2 falter going forwards.

As for the playoffs, with the inconsistencies you highlight, quite correctly I might add, then currently we are the best of the rotten bunch, it would seem, and so there might be an argument to ask should we change at all? I'm not certain that targeted or even wholesale changes will provide us with that formula to get where West Brom and Leeds currently are and unless that is the ultimate goal here, then we aren't doing as bad as the other 21 at present.

There are no inconsistanceis on show within this league. Teams are doing pretty much as expected for their positions. A team in 6th has pretty much the exact number of points a team in 6th would usally have, as does a team in 10th.

The inconsistencies referred to were related to the inconsistent results, e.g. "On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall" not the relative difference in points between positions.

[ALG01]

regardless of whatever has been said on here, we can all see the team is misfiring.

Even with the four wins in a row we never really looked the part except when the midfield three were stefjo, TC and Reid. And for me that is the issue, we need all those three to remain fit and on top form from now until season end, and that is unlikely. we simply do not have a squad that is constructed properly to cope.

two season ago it was kmac stefjo and Tc that ran the show and they stayed fit, but reid and TC have both now  been ruled out and it shows how thin we are.

IMO wba and leeds will both wobble and could be caught, if our team remains fit we could be the ones to catch them but it will need some early investment in January and the clubs record of early investment is poor!

[MJG]

They said before kick off that it's the biggest gap between second and third place at this stage of the season in 14 years, in other words 22 teams have handed promotion to WBA and Leeds on a silver platter, so clearly something is wrong,
On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall !
So things need to change, my first gripe is that front three of Knockaert,  Mitrovic and Cavaleiro,  it's clearly not working, when on paper it should be the best forward line in the division, it's certainly the highest paid forward line in the division,
So one of two things needs to happen now, we either send Knockaert and Cavaleiro back in January (that's if we can) to free up two loan places, I'm quite happy giving Kamara and Kebano a go in their place , they certainly couldn't do any worse,
Or option two, we get rid of Parker after Leeds and bring in a manager that can get the best out of them.....

A well-reasoned argument there.

I do wonder, from your opening remarks on the inconsistency of the teams from 3rd and below (and this has appeared over the past couple of months as opposed to days across the board), whether your proposals should be the game plan for all those remaining 22 teams?

Automatic promotion is no longer in the hands of any of the 22 teams, it's solely as to whether the top 2 falter going forwards.

As for the playoffs, with the inconsistencies you highlight, quite correctly I might add, then currently we are the best of the rotten bunch, it would seem, and so there might be an argument to ask should we change at all? I'm not certain that targeted or even wholesale changes will provide us with that formula to get where West Brom and Leeds currently are and unless that is the ultimate goal here, then we aren't doing as bad as the other 21 at present.

There are no inconsistanceis on show within this league. Teams are doing pretty much as expected for their positions. A team in 6th has pretty much the exact number of points a team in 6th would usally have, as does a team in 10th.

The inconsistencies referred to were related to the inconsistent results, e.g. "On Saturday Preston weren't good enough to beat QPR and yet they were too good for us, on Saturday Bristol City were too good for us and yet last night they weren't good enough to beat Millwall" not the relative difference in points between positions.

I got that, but in the end it all comes out in the wash, those same inconsitant results mentioned would have happened last year , and the year before and so on.