Are we playing mid table Premiership football

[Lordedmundo]

No - if ourselves and Bournemouth were put in this seasons Premier League we would probably be battling it out for 17th place.  I would put us above Norwich and Newcastle as it stands.  Leeds and Villa are definitely poorer than last season, but I think we would still need players of the calibre of Areola, Andersen and one or two more to finish above them....

[ALG01]

The squad is OK for this division but way off the quality needed for the prem. we would need major surgery to guarantee success.
The problems that faced slav remain in that our defence is not good enough (eg look how many chances WBA and notts forrest squandered against us that would have been put away in the prem) our central midfield not physical enough and our only goalscorer is mitro and we have no back up (muniz looks way to raw ffor the championship at the moment IMO let alone the prem) and cav (original) BDR, kebano and a host of others that are just not good enough.
Rodak is the right standard but we need to have top class centre backs.. I hope Tosin matures but he needs a reliable and fit partner.

I certainly hope we get to see us go up and try to get ir right this time. As parker said,m we cannot just go on making the same miustakes over and over, and letting silva lead transfwes seems to be a step in the right direction.

[Somerset Fulham]

No.

[filham]

Bring back Areola and Andersen and then one top attacking player and the I think we could avoid premier league relegation.
Those three of course would cost a lot of millions and would need to be here for a full pre season.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Our current defence is far too lightweight to even consider that we would survive in the Premier League let alone flourish.
The positives are that going forward we can play some quality stuff which is qualified by the punters on TV who to a man and woman confirms that we are a footballing team that embraces the ethos of the beautiful game and how football should be played in a perfect world.
But it's when we have not got the ball that worries me. That is when it sinks in that we need the Cavalry.
So on that basis, build on what we have achieved so far this season and keep it ticking over by ensuring we are promoted in style, that in itself will be a visual display of intent to many quality players who fancy playing for a Premier League club in the Capital of England and all the advantages that go with that.

[perry geyton]

Brentford weren't but are doing well

There's no way I wanna go up then replace half the team again, bring in a few additions and make them earn their place

Also there's no way Bongo I wanna see Angusssa in a Fulham shirt again,

[Rupert]

Those three of course would cost a lot of millions and would need to be here for a full pre season.

This, I think, is one of the most overlooked aspects of last season. The pre-season, or in our case the complete lack of it. We had a month to prepare for life back in the top flight. We must be in the record books for the shortest time in the top flight between promotion (4th August 2020) and the end of the following season (23rd May 2021). Give us a full pre-season, and a chance to prepare properly for the step up from the Championship, and we could be on to a decent chance of surviving, with just a few reinforcements to the current squad. I can not see us pulling up trees like Brentford have done (so far, anyway), but a 16th or 17th place finish should not be impossible.

Of course, we still have the minor detail of actually having to get there first.

[LC]

We would get regulated with our current team in the PL no question.

If we go up we'll need our current players to step up and add 4/5 starters to our 11, plus another 2 capable of breaking into the 11.

If we go up we need, GK, CB, CM, LWF, and CF. You could argue against GK and CM but I've added them there based on what I saw last season (I want AA back).

[WindyCity]

I would agree with those that suggest FFC would be bottom three with club as it is presently situated.  Would also need to bring in some impact players to help all around....up front, mid, and backline.  Mitrovic, Rodak, Tosin likely considered Prem ready.  Wilson and Carvalho are close?  To be solid Prem side would need to add some significant help......

[Craven_Chris]

I think we have the following players in our squad who are at a level where they could play a role in or around a first XI which is capable of survival.

Tosin: Looked mostly comfortable alongside Andersen (although obviously had a bit of a form wobble towards the back end of the season with some high profile mistakes), and will have a bit more age, wisdom and experience next time around. Probably the junior partner in a back two, so a big marquee CB signing needed.

Seri: Under Slav we tried to use him as a creative / attacking player, and it didnt really work, he has been largely absent since. Now reborn as a ball controlling CDM / '6' I think he might be able to cut it in the premier league. Maybe.

Anguissa: Splits opinions clearly, but I do think he is premier league quality, and given we lack that, we will need him. I also suspect we have to sell him for FFP reasons (and I doubt he wants to play for us) so probably not really an option.

Tete: Bit injury prone, two serious muscle tears with us so far. But seems to be a top-tier level full back.

Mitro: An enigma, is he mobile enough to play in a team which will struggle for possession and rely on counter-attacks. I look at it this way, in the right system he can be effective, and for Fulham to survive in the prem, we need a system that plays to this mans strengths. It is not good enough to say he does not fit the team's system, the system must be built around him, then I think he can succeed as a lower level premier league striker! We cant survive without a striker, and Mitro needs to play a certain way. So lets do that

Wilson: Has looked ok, I think, in the prem before. I think he is just about a level where he is not out of place in the premier league. With maybe some room to improve and be 'decent'.

Carvalho: Completely unproven, but its more a case that for us to survive, we need him to step up and thrive in the premier league, so Im going to assume he can!

Reed: I think looked fine to good in the CDM role in the premier league.

As for others: Cairney can do a job if fit, Rodak is probably fine (but we have been spoiled by some excellent keepers in our recent premier league attempts and still failed). I think Robinson & Bryan are decent back ups, ditto Mawson. BDR probably has a general squad role / utility man. I still dont really know if Muniz is good.

So I guess I think we have 5-7 starters ready for the prem (who are could enough to avoid relegation if surrounded by players of similar quality), another 5-7 players who are decent squad/depth players.

I would think that to survive we would need a premier league level: centre back, left back, winger (or two), goalkeeper (maybe), right back (as cover) and a central midfielder. So another 6-8 really good players (probably some loans).

[Fulham 442]

A bit of realism is needed here. The current squad would almost certainly finish in the bottom three of the Premier League.

Absolutely agree sadly.  As I keep saying we need to strengthen in the January transfer window to have any hope of survival if we get promoted.

[blingo]

We will need three or four players, but if brentford can do it, I'm darned well sure we can. And no Piri I don't want anguissa back either.

[Denver Fulham]

We're way below mid-table Prem standard.

On the current roster, how many players would start for a team that survives relegation next season? Being generous, I would have Tete, Tosin, Wilson, maybe Reed. Others (Robinson, Mitrovic, Seri?, BDR??, Carvalho????) could play a role, but would you feel great about our chances if they started 30+ matches?

The good news is the mistakes of 2018-19 shouldn't hinder us nearly as much next season if we go up, but we're going to need like 5-6 new starters between some smart loans and some good purchases.

[Craven Mad]

As good as we've been in the championship, this defence would be destroyed in the premiership and our attack is too reliant on one player to succeed at the top level.

I'm all for positivity, and I'm delighted with how things are going, but a does of realism is needed methinks...

3 out of the 4 defenders starting regularly for us also played regularly last season and they didn't get "destroyed" at any point? That's without considering they're all now more experienced and we'd get a least one CB in to partner Tosin to make the team stronger

Oh yes, thank you for reminding me of the resounding success that was last season! As others have said, we've lost Areola, Andersen and Aina since then.

Also, it's not just about the personnel, it's about how we're lined up. Silva has us playing in a more exciting way, but that's putting more pressure on defenders and, as we've seen many times already this season, Tosin/Ream are pivoting too much, with one pushing high to press, and that's leaving huge gaps, which teams are already able to expose (and Prem teams will be far more adept at punishing us for this).

We're getting away with it this season, in part because we have probably the best striker that this league has ever seen, but we'll need to be much better next season (presuming we get promoted).

[Deeping_white]

As good as we've been in the championship, this defence would be destroyed in the premiership and our attack is too reliant on one player to succeed at the top level.

I'm all for positivity, and I'm delighted with how things are going, but a does of realism is needed methinks...

3 out of the 4 defenders starting regularly for us also played regularly last season and they didn't get "destroyed" at any point? That's without considering they're all now more experienced and we'd get a least one CB in to partner Tosin to make the team stronger

Also, it's not just about the personnel, it's about how we're lined up. Silva has us playing in a more exciting way, but that's putting more pressure on defenders and, as we've seen many times already this season, Tosin/Ream are pivoting too much, with one pushing high to press, and that's leaving huge gaps, which teams are already able to expose (and Prem teams will be far more adept at punishing us for this).

We've literally had the third lowest amount of shots on target against, that's hardly putting more pressure on our defenders is it? I'm all for balanced arguments but you're just coming out with hyperbole.

[Jules]

We are playing well no doubt. However, we are in the Championship. The Premier League is a huge step up in terms of quality. I really hope we can go up and survive next season but let's concentrate on getting promotion first!

[Craven Mad]

As good as we've been in the championship, this defence would be destroyed in the premiership and our attack is too reliant on one player to succeed at the top level.

I'm all for positivity, and I'm delighted with how things are going, but a does of realism is needed methinks...

3 out of the 4 defenders starting regularly for us also played regularly last season and they didn't get "destroyed" at any point? That's without considering they're all now more experienced and we'd get a least one CB in to partner Tosin to make the team stronger

Also, it's not just about the personnel, it's about how we're lined up. Silva has us playing in a more exciting way, but that's putting more pressure on defenders and, as we've seen many times already this season, Tosin/Ream are pivoting too much, with one pushing high to press, and that's leaving huge gaps, which teams are already able to expose (and Prem teams will be far more adept at punishing us for this).

We've literally had the third lowest amount of shots on target against, that's hardly putting more pressure on our defenders is it? I'm all for balanced arguments but you're just coming out with hyperbole.

It's a forward looking statement - I never said we are currently getting destroyed.

My post started in acknowledgment of the current success of the team; the reality, however, is there's a big step up to the next level and things that work in this league are necessarily suited to the league above.

[Ruislip White]

I don't think so.  That's more to do with the gulf between the prem and championship rather than a reflection on us.
We just couldn't get away with the mistakes we make in possession at this level in the prem, for example losing possession a few times in each game in our own third.  We'd also need more pace up front to be able to play on the counter when are backs are against the wall against decent teams.

I do think we have a solid foundation though, with a number of players that have PL experience and have played together for some time.  We also have a manager with experience at that level (assuming he  stays, given his previous length of tenures).   A few well considered additions and it feels like we'll have a better chance than in the last 2 campaigns.

[paulbrookersmazydribbles]

A bit of realism is needed here. The current squad would almost certainly finish in the bottom three of the Premier League.

Absolutely agree sadly.  As I keep saying we need to strengthen in the January transfer window to have any hope of survival if we get promoted.

The problem being that we won't be able to strengthen in January without player sales due to the FFP position.

[Fulham 442]

A bit of realism is needed here. The current squad would almost certainly finish in the bottom three of the Premier League.

Absolutely agree sadly.  As I keep saying we need to strengthen in the January transfer window to have any hope of survival if we get promoted.

The problem being that we won't be able to strengthen in January without player sales due to the FFP position.

Surely there will be some outgoings? Anguissa for one?