Monday Fulham Stuff - 17/11/25...

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Stadium or state of mind? Psychologist on home advantage
"Home advantage gives you an advantage."

It is a quote - among many - attributed to the famous former England manager Sir Bobby Robson - a simple, yet fair reflection of a historical format of football.

For as long as teams have played in leagues, games taking place home and away has been the norm, with the idea that playing at home will be to the benefit of that team.

But what is the impact of playing at your own ground in front of your own fans?

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "Home impact can be viewed in two ways. Sometimes it does have a positive impact, and what happens is there is an elevated motivation.

"What that means is the crowd energy increases adrenaline and that creates a momentum in effort and intensity in the players. It is also a familiar environment for the players, so that means it reduces the cognitive load. They don't have to think as much about anything else other than their play because they know the pitch, they know the routines, they feel settled.

"However, there are a couple of potential negative impacts as well, with the potential intensification in pressure in the home fans, most times, expecting dominance from the home team. That can lead to mistakes from players feeling bigger to them.

"There can then be what we call a threat state. The players might perceive consequences as high, so they feel they might be facing more criticism when they are at home."

While those who watch football know there are more factors than just where the match is being to take into consideration, the statistics do suggest the influence is there.

Since the Premier League started, the home win percentage has outweighed the away win percentage in all bar one season - the Covid-hit 2020-21 campaign in which fans were largely not allowed admission saw a 38% home win rate compared to 40% away win rate.

So how a team handles this additional crowd pressure seems to be a key factor.

"In psychology, there is something called the challenge and threat theory," Cartwright said.

"In reality what that means is a 'challenge state' can push the player into thinking, 'I've got this, I've got the resources to cope with this'. That leads to better decision making and quicker reactions.

"The threat state, on the other hand, players might think the consequences outweigh their ability to cope. In any match context, that can mean they have a narrow sense of focus, the focus is not quite the same, so the play becomes slower because of overthinking."

"It can also be called 'red brain or blue brain' - with red brain being the one with fear-based dialogue and internal negative self-talk, while blue brain is the cool, calm and collected one that can handle its emotions.

"What sits in the middle of these is distraction. How a player responds to distraction and filters out the noise, like the crowd, can impact which of these mindsets they move into and ultimately how the team performs."



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham

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Marco Silva sack latest: Fulham to act now 'to end any speculation'
Marco Silva is facing growing questions about his position as Fulham manager as a result of what has been a disastrous season so far.

Football Insider revealed on 14 October that Fulham currently have no plans to sack Silva and are in ongoing talks about renewing deal at Craven Cottage.

However, as I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, if results don't improve quickly, the club will be forced to re-think their plans about offering an extended deal and instead could be tempted to pull the trigger.

Silva's side lost 2-0 to Everton last time out, meaning they have now lost five of their last six league games and have dropped to 15th in the table.

With just one point separating them from the relegation zone, and the likes of West Ham and Nottingham Forest improving, they could be forced into a decision.

Fulham could be forced into Marco Silva sack decision
Football Insider revealed on 24 October that Fulham are doing everything to keep Silva at Craven Cottage and do not plan to let him leave.

However, given their dismal start to the league season, Silva could be sacked by Fulham if they fall into the relegation zone as they are on course to do given their recent form.

Speaking on the Inside Track podcast, I explained: "He's out of contract in the summer and I think talks are ongoing over a new contract for Silva.

"But the problem for Fulham is that Marco Silva doesn't normally rush into anything. He likes to take his time over contract offers as well.

"If they drop any further in the upcoming weeks, it might force follow them into rethinking what they want to do with Silva and maybe looking for a new manager.

"I don't think that's the plan right now, they want to offer him a new deal to end any speculation.

"But if results don't improve, there might have to be a rethink on that one.

"We all know it's a results business and their results will dictate what happens with the manager's future at Fulham as well."

West Ham, Forest and Wolves have already pulled the trigger this season, with Leeds considering sacking Daniel Farke, as the clubs at risk scramble for changes.

Update on Silva's contract talks at Fulham
Football Insider revealed on 10 October that Saudi Pro League clubs are interested in Silva and could make a move to lure him away from Fulham.

Meanwhile, Silva was linked with the Nottingham Forest job and Man United were interested in the Fulham boss, leading to growing uncertainty in West London.

As a result, Fulham are fearing the worst over Silva's future and the possibility that he could be tempted away given the level of interest in his signature.

Former Man United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider on 21 October that Silva is likely to leave Fulham next summer given his contract situation.

However, they remain locked in contract talks and are determined to reach an agreement despite some frustrations about how this season has gone so far.



https://www.footballinsider247.com/marco-silva-sack-latest-fulham-to-act-now-to-end-any-speculation/

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Fulham must regret Celtic transfer after shattering Rodrigo Muniz update
Fulham's start to the season has gone from bad to worse with the news of star striker Rodrigo Muniz's fresh injury concerns.

Marco Silva's side have begun the 2025-26 campaign very slowly, with just three wins from their first 11 games to currently sit 15th in the Premier League.

Their main issue off the pitch right now centres around the manager's future, with Football Insider recently revealing that Fulham bosses want Silva to sign a new contract despite rumours of a possible sacking soon.

Rodrigo Muniz has also not been at his best so far this term, with just one goal and one assist in nine appearances, and their hopes of a successful campaign hinge on him finding form once more.

A new reveal during the international break has confirmed that he faces a spell on the sidelines, however, and the Cottagers will surely be rueing a surprising transfer call made during the summer window.

Callum Osmand could have been a back-up option for Fulham before Celtic move
Fulham confirmed on X on Friday (14 November) that Muniz is facing a spell on the sidelines with a statement saying: "Rodrigo Muniz underwent scans and the club sought specialist opinion following our game at Everton last weekend.

"He will have surgery to his hamstring over the coming days, and is expected to return to action early in the new year."

Fulham are already struggling for goals, with just nine in the league scored by their own players so far this term, and news of the Brazilian's injury comes as a huge blow to their chances of moving up the table despite his lack of form.

That is mainly down to the real lack of other out-and-out striker options, with 34-year-old Raul Jimenez the only other senior centre-forward at Silva's disposal.

Fulham had a young striker emerging through their youth ranks prior to this season, Callum Osmand, who joined them at age 13 and signed professional terms at 17 in 2023.

He scored 18 goals across all competitions for their under-21 side last season but was never given a first-team opportunity by Silva given the decent form of both Muniz and Jimenez.

Scottish giants Celtic moved to sign Osmand in June after he had rejected the offer of a new Fulham contract due to the lack of clear pathway to the senior side.

The 20-year-old could certainly not be begrudged at wanting to try to break through elsewhere, and the move north of the border has been a pretty successful one so far after a slow start.

Osmand scored against Rangers in the League Cup semi-final on 2 November after he had failed to make a matchday squad under Brendan Rodgers following his arrival, and he earned rave reviews from Hoops fans after a stellar showing.

Martin O'Neill added Osmand to Celtic's Europa League squad as a result of that performance, but he suffered a bad injury against Midtjylland and is now out for a while like Muniz.

Fulham, though, must regret letting Osmand go right now, as he could have been a genuine option to Silva and clearly has the talent to compete in senior football right now.

Silva has already helped one of their own in Josh King break through this season to great effect, and Osmand could have done similar, yet he was forced to leave for a lack of previous chances.

Shaun Maloney has praised Osmand's hunger and quality
Fulham's mistake has allowed Celtic to capitalise on Osmand's talent, and he is surely set to grow into a key player for the Parkhead club after he has recovered from his current injury.

O'Neill's assistant, Shaun Maloney, was full of praise for the youngster after his goal against Rangers in an interview with Celtic TV, saying: "He's definitely ready for this opportunity. I knew (O'Neill) would love Callum.

"He's the exact type of striker that the manager would like. And yeah, you can sense that sort of bond between the manager and Callum already, that he feels his trust.

"I think to actually then go and produce a massive moment like that in the semi-final against your biggest rivals, not many people are able to do that.

"That one moment of Callum to do that was one of my favourites from the game on Sunday, to make a mistake and just show aggression to win it back."

To have such glowing praise after one performance is telling, and an experienced boss like O'Neill certainly knows what he is talking about when it comes to identifying talent, which is where Fulham have clearly failed.



https://www.footballinsider247.com/fulham-must-regret-celtic-transfer-after-shattering-rodrigo-muniz-update/