The signings that Fulham have made do not show massive ambition, but I believe that we need to slowly build up the entire squad again after two poor seasons. On the other hand, the players that he has brought in are undoubtedly Premiership quality and are better than the players leaving in my opinion.
Roy Hodgson is a very clever manager, and the way I see it, he is looking to get two players in every position, rather than spending big money on one player in each position. It’s a very good thing to do at the top level - players get injured, lose form, get suspended and so on, so it’s important to have adequate cover all over the pitch. No longer will we have to rely on subs like Ahmed Elrich and Bobby Petta when our first choice players are out. Even new signing Bobby Zamora is aware that Hodgson is interested in a better squad saying: “He is trying to build a squad now and I don’t think it is going to be anything like last season.”
Strength in depth is not something we have seen at Fulham for a long time. It’ll be good to know that if someone gets injured we will have not only have some cover, but a player who is fully capable and up to premiership standard. Not to mention that a bigger and more competent squad of players will maintain a healthy atmosphere within the club, as players will be competing with each other for a place in the starting line-up. Those in the side will not be able to become complacent knowing that there is a quality player trying to take there spot in the starting XI.
Fulham's new recruits
For this to be fully achieved, more players are still needed and Hodgson himself has admitted that. He has been quoted saying that he still wants 2 or 3 new recruits. One will almost certainly be Fredrik Stoor. The 24 year old Sweedish right-back is close to completing a switch to Fulham if reports in Norway are correct.
That leaves two more signings. One of which will be a centre-back. We have been linked with Simunic of Herta Berlin and more recently, in the last couple of days, with Alexander Madlung of Wolfsburg. It’s vital that we get a decent centre back in. Hughes isn’t the worst player in the world, but he’s very average and he has cost us goals on a number of occasions. With another decent centre back alongside Hangeland, the defence should be a lot more secure than it was last season when we conceded 60 goals - the 4th highest in the League.
We’re still short on the left hand side of midfield as Bouazza doesn’t cut the mustard and it appears he might be on his way out of the club anyway. Lee Cook, who signed for the club last summer and has still not played a single Premiership game for the club, might be the player we are looking for on the left side, but I’m not sure we can really trust in his ability having not seen or heard anything spectacular about him. Some would argue that we should save the money for another striker and play a right-footed player on the left, but I feel as though Davies and Gera would be wasted there and Clint Dempsey, as hard as he works, is not a left winger. We need a natural left-footed player with some pace to provide the width on the opposite flank to Davies. Just look at this post on the Craven Cottage Newsround to see how unproductive our left-side of midfield was last season. A proper left winger will create a balance in the side.
Anyway, It will be interesting to see where we go from here. It seems Hodgson already knows the players that he wants, so we’ll just have to be patient and have trust in the manager. There’s still a long time before the start of the Premiership campaign and I’m sure Hodgson will build a squad that is capable of pushing on from a miraculous escape last season.
Can we have Chris back please?
Love the new look for the site, Zac.