We get to travel up to Anfield to take on Liverpool for a 3 o’clock kick off
The game against Palace didn’t turn out as hoped for. We’re really exciting when attacking, but defensively we’ve got to improve. Taking the lead twice and still loosing the game was really disappointing, if we have to score four goals every time I don’t think we’ll get enough points this season.
Tom is still injured, and with the new boys having a week or so extra training my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest…
Sauturday 12th Villa v Forest Palace v Ipswich Spurs v Everton
Sunday 13th Coventry v Brighton
Monday 14th Leeds v Newcastle
come on over to the forum and join in the conversation… https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=3
This weekend we welcome Crystal Palace to the Cottage for a 3 o’clock Saturday kick off.
Shall we put the Sunderland game down as a bad day at the office? We signed three players on deadline day, Hugo Larsson, Manuel Ángel and David Affengruber, two midfielders and a defender. Larsson (22) is an initial loan with a permanent option Ángel (22), another from Real Madrid, has signed a three year deal with a club option of a further year. Affengruber (25) is on a four year deal with a club option of a further year. Surprisingly(?) we didn’t loose anyone, Kenny Tete having been heavily tipped to join Everton. It has been reported, no confirmation at time of writing, that Luc de Fougerolles will be going to Real Salt Lake on a season lone.
Palace also have zero points, I’m sure they think they’ll come away with some this weekend, and are a couple of places below us on goal difference, -5 to our -2, we both need to improve. Like ourselves Palace also have a new manager and have lost two of their best players, Lacroix and Munoz so it will be interesting to see which team adjusts to their circumstance soonest.
Our record against Palace in the 56 games we’ve played is quite even with 19 wins, 17 losses and 20 draws.
My team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest
Friday 4th Ipswich v Liverpool
Saturday 5th Brentford v Sunderland Forest v Spurs Hull v Villa
Sunday 6th Arsenal v Chelsea
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For our first away trip of the season we travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland
The Chelsea game didn’t turn out as we hoped, they very rarely do, but we showed some encouraging signs and, if poor old Antonee could shoot, we’re unlucky to not get a third goal, if we had they’d probably scored again? Josh King was electric, for me the best player on the pitch, and deservedly scored his first Premier League goal, and let’s not forget, last season’s goal should never have been disallowed! Gonzalo Garcia looks to be the “Real” deal, scoring on his Premier League debut he joins a select group including, Saha, Boa Morte, Brian McBride, David Healy, Mladen Petric, Daren Bent and Chris David. If he turns out to be anywhere near to Saha, Boa or McBride we’ve made the signing of the season.
Last season we did “the double” over Sunderland, in the 22 Premier League games we’ve won 10, drawn 7, and lost 5, we’ve won 4 times at the Stadium of Light, for some reason I thought we’d hardly ever won there, probably true when we were in the lower divisions?
My team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest
Friday 28/08 Palace v Man City
Saturday 29/08 Liverpool v Forest Coventry v Hull
Sunday 30/08 Leeds v Brentford Sunderland v Fulham
Monday 31/08 Villa v Arsenal
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For Álvaro’s first cup games in charge we welcome AFC Wimbledon to the Cottage for a 8 o’clock kick off
Under Marco we’ve enjoyed the League Cup reaching the latter stages on a regular basis, perhaps Álvaro can take us a step further?
It will be interesting to see how many “first-team” players Álvaro selects. With the cup game coming so early in the season, it offers an opportunity to give some players extra minutes, but it’s also the perfect chance for the “second string” to stake their claim for a place in the first team.
my team would be…
COYW’s
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For our opening game of the 26/27 season we welcome Chelsea to the Cottage
So, we’re off again for a new season of Premier League football, and we welcome our nearest neighbours to the Cottage for an 8 o’clock kick-off.
Having to wait until Monday for the first game is always a bit frustrating, especially when it’s the opening game of the season. Still, a result against Chelsea will make it all worthwhile, King’s goal should never have been ruled out last season!
The loss of Marco Silva has inevitably led to questions about Fulham’s prospects, with some pundits already predicting a relegation battle, and even suggesting that a bottom-three finish is a realistic possibility.
There is no denying that Álvaro Arbeloa represents a risk. His first-team managerial experience is limited, having progressed from Real Madrid’s youth and reserve sides before taking charge of the senior team. But it is equally important not to dismiss what he actually achieved in that relatively short spell. He guided Real Madrid to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they were narrowly beaten by Bayern Munich, 6–4 on aggregate, and finished second in La Liga, just six points behind champions Barcelona.
That’s hardly the record of a manager who has demonstrated that he cannot cope with senior football. Of course, managing Real Madrid and managing Fulham are entirely different challenges, and the Premier League will test Arbeloa in ways his previous role did not. But there is a significant difference between saying that his appointment is a gamble and saying that Fulham are now favourites for relegation.
Fulham’s recruitment suggests that this is not simply a club hoping Arbeloa can keep them afloat, the arrivals of Gonzalo García and César Palacios from Real Madrid and Shea Charles from Southampton underline the youth-focused direction of the new project, while the club has also invested heavily in strengthening the squad.
Marco deserves enormous credit for what he achieved at Fulham, replacing him was never going to be straightforward. Perhaps a more reasonable expectation is that Arbeloa needs time to prove himself rather than being written off before he has managed a competitive Premier League game. Of course a relegation battle is possible, as it is for any club undergoing significant change, but calling Fulham a certain bottom-three side seems way to premature.
It’ll be interesting to see how Álvaro Arbeloa matches up against Xabi Alonso, with both being former Real Madrid managers. Álvaro replaced Xabi for the second half of last season, so it’ll be fascinating to see how the two approach this game.
This season we’ll also be without Raúl, Harry Wilson and Issa Diop, but we do, so far, have three exciting prospects in García, Palacios and Shea Charles. Hopefully, there’ll be a few more to come before the window closes?
It’s a new season, a new chapter, and hopefully plenty more to get excited about.
with Anderson suspended and Cairney recovering from a knee operation, Tom won’t be available until October, my squad would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest
Friday 21/08 Arsenal v Coventry
Saturday 22/08 Hull v Man Utd Everton v Palace Ipswich v Sunderlane Brentford v Spurs
Sunday 23/08 Brighton v Villa Newcastle v Liverpool
Monday 24/08 Fulham v Chelsea
come on over to the forum and join in the conversation… https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=3
This weekend we welcome Everton to the Cottage for a 3 o’clock Saturday kick off
That last minute goal for United really took the wind out of our sails it what could have been a famous fight back. Raúl now has the “perfect penalties” record, 12 out of 12, long may that run continue, hopefully Fulham will be awarded penalties on a more regular basis? Kevin getting his first Premier League goal is massive too. Those are the ones that often unlock a player mentally—suddenly the pace feels manageable, the chances look clearer. If that gives him confidence to take shots a fraction earlier or make those late runs again, we’ll take it all day.
The Everton comparison is spot on. Same points, same goal difference, very similar vibes: organised, physical, not a lot given away. Historically they’ve had the edge on us, but recent years feel far more balanced—even when we lose, it’s rarely comfortable for them, especially at the Cottage. The “previous 8 games” 2 wins, 2 draws, 4 losses, shows how close Everton and Fulham are?
All in all, it doesn’t feel like there’s much between us and a solid mid-table season again. If Kevin kicks on, Raúl keeps doing Raúl things, and we turn these nearly moments into points… there’s plenty to be positive about.
I’m assuming that both Lukic and Muniz won’t be available and that our new signing Bobb will be on the bench so my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest
Friday 06/02 Leeds v Forest
Saturday 07/02 Burnley v West Ham Fulham v Everton Wolves v Chelsea Newcastle v Brentford
Sunday 08/02 Brighton v Palace
come on over to the forum and join in the conversation… https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0
We get to travel to Old Trafford for a 2 o’clock Sunday kick off
Haha yeah, that definitely felt like a smash-and-grab with a bit of VAR seasoning on top Harry F’in Wilson though… wow, that free kick was pure Harry, pace, dip, precision — the lot. Verbruggen might feel he should’ve done better, but when it’s hit that cleanly, keepers are basically reacting on instinct. If there was ever a moment to shove a contract across the table, that was it. Get. It. Done. Anderson’s through ball for Chukwueze was absolute class — weight, timing, vision, that pass made the goal. Chukwueze still had work to do, and that single touch to set himself before finishing was top-level composure, that’s the difference between “half-chance” and “goal”. Brighton responding almost immediately really did suck the air out of the Cottage, you could feel it. Honestly, if I were a Brighton fan I’d be fuming, for once VAR absolutely bailed us out there. One of those where you’re celebrating while quietly admitting: yeah… we’d be raging if that was given against us.
As for United… our record makes for grim reading, going back to 1905, is very poor with only 16 wins, 58 losses and 21 draws, however football has a funny way of ignoring history when momentum kicks in and the form that we’ve showed recently we’ve got every chance of taking a point, or points, from Old Trafford. Carrick has had them playing with belief again, back-to-back wins over City and Arsenal is no small achievement, especially doing it with structure and discipline rather than the previous chaos, fourth place rewards their bounce.
That said, those “new manager bounce” teams can also be fragile if you get at them early. If we can disrupt their rhythm and avoid gifting them anything, the game really is there to be taken. It promises to be an interesting game, nervy, emotional, and probably not good for the blood pressure. What’s your gut saying — cagey chess match, or full-on end-to-end chaos? I’m hoping for the latter.
At the time of writing there’s still no “official” signing of Oscar Bobb, plenty of reports that its happened but still no word from the club so he won’t feature for this game. Unfortunately Chukwueze’s mother died so I don’t think he’ll play also assuming that Muniz, Tete and Lukic are not fully fit my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest
Saturday 31/01 Leeds v Arsenal Wolves v Bournemouth Chelsea v West Ham
Sunday 01/02 Villa v Brentford Man Utd v Fulham
come on over to the forum and join in the conversation… https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0
We get to welcome Brighton to the Cottage for a 3 o’clock kick off
Losing an unbeaten run the way it happened always stings, but it didn’t really feel like a game where we did quite enough to earn the three points. Whilst it was a frustrating result, it doesn’t feel like a turning point in a negative sense — more like a reminder of how fine the margins are at this level. If the response is right, there’s still plenty to be excited about.
The positives are definitely there though. Getting both Sessegnon and King back is huge in itself; match sharpness will come, and both add things we’ve clearly missed. Sess in particular just needs minutes — the quality is obvious when he’s fully fit.
Having the AFCON lads back makes a big difference also. The squad suddenly looks deeper and more balanced, especially in midfield and defensively, and Muniz returning to training gives us another genuine option up front rather than running poor old Raúl into the ground.
If we can:
keep key players fit
add even one or two ready-made reinforcements
and cut out those lapses late in games
then top half is absolutely realistic, and Europe isn’t fantasy either — especially with how inconsistent the teams around us have been.
Our record against Brighton is interesting as well, we first played them in 1928 division three(south), with 27 wins, 23 losses and 9 draws. The last, Premier League, 11 games 5 wins, 1 loss and 5 draws. Slightly in our favour “overall”, and that recent PL run (only 1 loss in 11) shows we generally match up well with them, even if it’s often tight and cagey.
I don’t think that Lukic, Muniz or Tete will be available and I think Marco will have the 3 AFCON lads on the bench so team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest
Saturday 24/01 West Ham v Sunderland Burnley v Spurs Fulham v Brighton
Sunday 25/01 Brentford v Forest Palace v Chelsea
come on over to the forum and join in the conversation… https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0
We welcome the current champions to the Cottage for a 3 o’clock Sunday kick off
Tom’s brilliant goal against Palace earned us a draw, had either of Castagne or Anderson’s shots been better we would have walked away from Selhust with a dissevered 3 points, still a point away from home is a good result.
The first game against Liverpool was a FA Cup 3-0 in 1912, we didn’t face them again until another FA Cup game in 1926 which we won 3-1. To date we’ve played them 79 times, winning 14, loosing 45 and drawing 20. Our record for the previous 8 games against Liverpool, another team we tend to give a “good game” to however we don’t tend to get the results we deserve, including cup games is so so with only 1 win, 4 losses and 2 draws.
Hopefully Tete was only taken off as a precaution, Josh King will be available for this game and also Ryan will make a welcome return? if theres anything in the “rumour” about Adama leaving is true I don’t think he’ll get any game time.
My team to face Liverpool would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest
Saturday 03/01 Brighton v Burnley Wolves v West Ham
Sunday 04/01 Leeds v Man Utd Fulham v Liverpool
come on over to the forum and join in the conversation… https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36
We make the short trip to South London to take on Palace at Selhurst Park for an 5:30 kick off
The win at West Ham was our 3rd in a row, the last time we won three “top-flight” matches on the bounce was January 2023. It is worth noting that we have now won six of the last nine and the win against West Ham took us up to 10th in the league. Also its worth noting is that Raúl has scored in the last two games, both 1-0, incidentally Harry Wilson had a couple of assitsts.
Over the years we’ve not played Palace that often, going back to 1907 we’ve only played them 55 times, 19 wins, 19 losses and 17 draws. Our record, for the previous 8 games, is so so with 2 wins, 3 losses, including 2 cup games, and 3 draws.
Palace are one place above us, on goal difference, however they’ve lost 4 of the last six games, including the previous 3, Spurs, Leeds, Man City, Man Utd, 3 home games, and won 2 games, against us and Burnley both away games.
My team would be the same as West Ham away…
COYW’s
Games of Interest
Tuesday 30/12 Burnley v Newcastle Forest v Everton West Ham v Brighton
Wednesday 01/01 Liverpool v Leeds Brentford v Spurs Sunderland v Man City
come on over to the forum and join in the conversation… https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0
