Marco Silva’s Fulham side has finally broken the ‘yo-yo’ narrative the Cottagers set themselves in recent seasons. Before Silva took the reins in South-West London, Fulham had partaken in a seemingly endless rise and fall between the first and second tier of English football.

Success seemed to stick to Silva like glue once he joined Fulham; winning the Championship in his first season, recording Fulham’s highest Premier League points tally in his second, and reaching the Carabao Cup semi-final. So when Fulham crashed out of the League Cup last night in English professional football’s longest ever penalty shootout, now feels a more appropriate time than ever to review the issues I’ve seen with Fulham this season.

​​

Preston v Fulham set a new record for the longest penalty shootout in League Cup history.

Here’s all 34 PENALTIES… 🤣🤣
pic.twitter.com/0yl0aa9iof

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) September 18, 2024

You might think: “B… b… But Fulham are 12th in the Premier League!!!, what could they being doing better??” Nope. As a Fulham fan myself, I expect better, and I’m going to explain what is and isn’t the problem on the banks of the Thames.

Is It Marco Silva?

It’s easy to point fingers at the manager when a team seems to be on a downward slope, and while Silva is not completely flawless in this situation, he’s clearly not the issue at hand and we are lucky we still have him.

Whilst Silva is very much guilty of stubbornness and incorrect substitutions, as he persists with introducing Tom Cairney week in week out. Of course I love Cairney, he’s a modern Fulham legend and warrants a statue for that left foot alone, but I just feel he’s finally past it. The Championship icon proved he’s off the pace with his decision making against West Ham United.

Not only that, but Silva refuses to ever hook Andreas Pereira, who quite frankly is nowhere near good enough for what is now a high quality Fulham side. Despite proving a threat for set pieces, there is nothing that could explain Silva’s decision to sub out Sasa Lukic and Emile Smith Rowe before the Brazilian.

Is there a human other than Marco Silva that would've kept Pereira on ahead of Lukic or ESR in that match? I genuinely do not understand how you can have eyes and make a decision like that.

— Hill. (@TedHilI) September 14, 2024

Despite this, I still have faith in Marco Silva’s project long term, he’s clearly a quality manager. He was wanted by clubs like Sporting in the summer window, and for good reason.

Is it the Loss of Joao Palhinha?

Surprisingly, no.

Joao Palhinha was far and away Fulham’s best player in the previous two campaigns, and his £50 million move to Bayern Munich was one we had to accept with a heavy heart, but to be honest I’ve hardly noticed that he’s gone.

Sasa Lukic is not quite cut from the same cloth as the Portuguese destroyer, but the Serbian has really stepped up to the plate this season.

Definitely deserved more, but we'll keep fighting. Thank you for your great support! #FFC pic.twitter.com/j57rjK7MDT

— Saša Lukić (@SasaLukic28) September 15, 2024

Signed from Torino in January 2022, Lukic didn’t show too much promise until the back end of last season, when he managed to grasp a run of games following a great performance at Old Trafford. He might be primarily an eight, but he’s certainly made the six position his own at Craven Cottage so far this season.

Lukic has almost bottled Palhinha’s aggression and bite, and it feels like he chugs a pint of it before every game.

So nope, it’s not the loss of Joao Palhinha that has plagued Fulham this season.

Is it the Loss of Aleksandr Mitrovic?

This feels like a weird question, since it’s been over a year since Mitrovic made his switch to Saudi Arabia. Funnily enough, I still think it’s the issue Fulham are facing.

Yes, Rodrigo Muniz had an unbelievable goalscoring run last season. He picked up a goal of the month and a player of the month award in the Premier League, but he’s looked off the pace this season.

Rodrigo Muniz wins the Premier League Player of the month for March.

It was never in doubt. 🏆🇧🇷 https://t.co/UfPYBrEyb3 pic.twitter.com/hvNGWYw4rR

— H/F (@hfworld_) April 13, 2024

Then there is Raul Jiminez who, despite having a goal in his only Premier League start this season, is not the same player he was before his devastating head injury which almost ended his career.

The once lethal Mexican just seems off the pace, and makes some interesting decisions across the pitch, most notably a ridiculous red card at Newcastle last season.

I feel that Fulham could once again be a feared side in the Premier League if they signed another talisman like Mitrovic. The Cottagers have missed the leadership, clinicality and impact in build-up that the Serbian provided.

It’s something that can’t be easily fixed either, with an inflated January market and the already sparse market for elite strikers, convincing someone close to Mitrovic’s ability to come to Craven Cottage will prove tough for Fulham.