Fulham are a team on many FPL player’s radars right now due to the upcoming double game week, and as this Premiership form table over the past six league games shows, they are currently the fifth most consistent team in the league.
Following an indifferent start to the campaign, Roy Hodgson’s men are starting to show the form that brought about a seventh-placed finish last season, and a five match unbeaten run (which includes a 3-1 home victory over Liverpool and a 2-2 fight-back away to Man City) has led to the Cottager’s boss being named October’s Manager of the Month.
Here’s a look at some of the contributing factors to a successful last month down Craven Cottage way, with examples from each of the four October games:
Work Ethic
A couple of seasons back, Hodgson miraculously saved Fulham from the jaws of relegation through instilling an ethic of sheer hard work to the side and the team have maintained that approach under the 62 yr old. Adhering to a 4-4-2 formation, Fulham make themselves difficult to break down and build from a solid base from the back.
More often than not, the opposition have the majority of possession, but Hodgson has the team so finely disciplined and well-drilled that it rarely seems to matter. This chalkboard, away to West Ham on 4th October, illustrates the point perfectly; the Hammers made almost double the amount of passes, but it took a 92nd minute equaliser to earn them a share of the spoils.
Another good example of Fulham’s hard work is this chalkboard, which shows the number of times they blocked shots from the Hammers. Of the nine blocks, four were from midfielders.
Patient and Adaptable at the Back, Whenever Possible
Fulham’s pattern of passing against Hull on the 19th October is shown in this chalkboard. Even on the few occasions they enjoy the greater possession, they take little chances, and are adept at keeping hold of the ball in their own half; practically half the passes made against Hull were by their back four, as they comfortably took charge of the game from defence.
When faced with technically superior opposition, the back four simply defend and hold their positions, but when Fulham are in control of a game, they look to the full backs to forage far into the opposition half, providing width time and again as illustrated by this chalkboard, comparing John Pantsil’s passing versus Hull and in the following game, against Man City.
Midfield Strength in Depth
With Fulham qualifying for Europe this season, Hodgson added Premiership experience to his squad in the summer by acquiring the likes of Damien Duff and Jonathan Greening from the Championship, and both played an integral part in last month’s unbeaten run.
An in-form Duff (5.5m FPL) took part in three of the four October games, and contributed to the cause with two assists and a goal, whilst Greening (5.0m FPL) has proved an able deputy whilst standing in for Danny Murphy in centre midfield, as this chalkboard comparison of both players shows. Greening’s performance here earned him 3 bonus FPL points away to Man City on 25th October.
Throughout this season, in fact, Fulham’s midfield are really catching the eye, so much so that of the 11 league games so far, only twice has the player with most goal attempts been a forward. Clint Dempsey, in particular, has been exceptional, and of Fulham’s 141 attempts on goal this season, he has had an incredible 41, which equates to 29% of all his team’s attempts.
But that is not the only string to his bow; as this chalkboard shows, Dempsey made 12 tackles/one-on-ones in the Man City game, the most by any player on the park. Considering Fulham made 54 in total, it’s a great illustration of how his work-rate is as impressive as his goal threat; Dempsey’s ability to put a shift in means he is almost always guaranteed 90mins under Hodgson, more often than not making him the exception out of the midfielders and attackers.
Hodgson’s Tactical Tinkering
As this line-up shows, Fulham started the home game against Liverpool on 31st October with Duff in midfield and Kamara up front with Zamora, but Liverpool’s 4-2-3-1 allowed them too much of the ball for Hodgson’s liking.
The wily Cottager’s manager showed his tactical acumen when half-time came, as he altered the personnel and subsequently changed the game; Nevland came on for Kamara and Duff was replaced by Gera, who saw more of the ball, linking up more with the full back behind him, as the team kept the ball better and got more and more into the game… this chalkboard shows each player’s contribution, half by half..
More significantly, the change in tactics seemed to free their main man Clint Dempsey up, as this chalkboard shows. He hardly had a touch in the first half, but his manager’s changes made sure the American saw much more of the ball after the break. All three of Dempsey’s goal attempts came after the break, too, as Fulham took control and ran out deserved winners, ending the month victoriously and heaping more pressure on poor old Rafa Benitez.
And A Final Word on Zamora
Despite Dempsey hogging most of the headlines, the much-maligned striker has also had a fairly successful start to the season. Zamora is joint top scorer with the American international, has the most assists, and strangely, each time Fulham have had a clean sheet this season, Zamora, and not the defenders, has walked away with the 3 FPL Bonus Points.
At 5.5m FPL he’s certainly decent value for money, and would be an absolute steal if on penalties, too. Inconsistency blights him though, and as his recent miss at Man City shows, even with an open goal and from two yards away, Bobby Z is perhaps not a man you’d want to bet your house on.