Years ago

[Andy S]

Years ago I remember QPR and Watford getting promoted and with very little outlay they finished in the top six. Could that ever happen again to any club or is the gap now too big? Certainly our team last year surely doesn't need to be broken up yet

[hovewhite]

Years ago I remember QPR and Watford getting promoted and with very little outlay they finished in the top six. Could that ever happen again to any club or is the gap now too big? Certainly our team last year surely doesn't need to be broken up yet

I can see a debate there,I'm not sure ,young carvelio going ,he needs replacing.where it wouldn't work is no real strength in depth.can see tosun and ream having problems dealing with man city,Liverpool,spurs,and the like.
So we have to trust in Marco ,Tk and hope we get necessary players in.

[toshes mate]

I think a great deal of football thinking centres around how the big guys behave and, like most 'religions', behaviours that appear to lead to success are mentally attractive and infectious.  But when you are of limited budget then there is a completely different meaning to belief, and much more effort required at the thinking level. 

If we look at one of Fulham's best strikers in the modern era then we can tell that a good coaching team has an immense influence on that striker's success rate and can either help or hinder that rate to taste. Another factor can be injuries and fitness and it is noteworthy to me that the better 'professionals' tend to take care of themselves.  Football really is a team sport and it needs everyone concerned pulling in the same direction.  It also, of necessity, is harder to do well than just carrying an unlimited bank balance around and playing pot luck with players and agents.  I think Brentford did really well last season and proved that having a good off field team is just as important as the onfield team.   

Yes, our team can be strenghthened, but it needs a craftspersons touch to get it just right for the next level.   We've tried buying success big time and it failed because there was no team.  We've tried off field stability and that failed because the stability was just an illusion.  This time we may be a whisker away from getting it right and I don't think we need to spend big to get there.   

[colinwhite]

The problem for me is when integral parts of the present team are individually not up to the huge step up in terms of level, the team simply has to strengthen . Of course eleven players can who are a team can  equal considerably more than the sum of their parts ,but then in my view the players involved need to be young and with lots of room for development. Our current problem is that a number of our main players are both getting on in years and not obviously up to premier league level either.

[RaySmith]

The disparity in wealth between the top 6 Prem clubs, and the rest has increased massively in recent years.
Fulham are fortunate enough to have a  very rich owner, but even he  surely can't match the wealth of the Saudi - for Newcastle, or Abu Dhabi, and now also Chinese,  government investment, of Man City.

And even if  Mr. Khan could match that,  the likes of City, Newcastle and the other top 6 clubs, are far bigger clubs, with  much bigger crowds, and global  support, desperate to watch them , even if on -screen, and buy their merchandise, which now extends to the ubiquitous Non Fungible Tokens -
and thus Fulham are subject to FFP constraints in their transfer spending, even though their owner can afford it, and is likely prepared to pay, because of the success it will bring,  which those bigger, richer clubs are not subject to.

So it seems impossible that a club like Fulham could do what Watford or QPR did, or further back to the old pre-Prem days, Ipswich, Derby, Leeds, Forest.

[Cumbrian White]

Smaller clubs need to work differently, so much talent out there, cheap talent at that. Invest in scouting and development to play the long game and not focus on short term .

Accept this could lead to being a yo yo club for a few years but ultimately, would lead to success and being able to challenge for silverware without breaking the bank. Oh, and play the bloidy younger players!

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk

[MartyFFC]

Wolves came 7th as recently as 2019, so I think maybe 6th isn't beyond the realms of plausibility. Incredibly difficult though.

[filham]

The answer to the OP is no it will not happen this coming season for sure. We can predict with near certainty who the top six will be, the same as this last season and it is becoming a bore.
The Premier League needs a degree of control to stop the dominance of the big six and to introduce a real competitive element throughout the table, a wage cap may be a good start.

[ffcthereligion]

It isn't possible whatsoever. The best thing that could happen is the super league happens with no promotion or relegation. Let the big club plastics gather round the water dispenser at work on Monday and discuss how great it was to see Neymar falling over during the match in Beijing over the weekend and we can enjoy a genuinely competitive league with no financial doping