Premier League Preview – What Can We Expect From Fulham?

The impression that outsiders have of Fulham is that they are always happy to finish mid table, without ambitions of furthering their position in the Premier League. That may be about to change, however, as Shahid Khan, owner of NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars has bought the club and will almost certainly inject cash into a team that is in need of a spark.

None of Martin Jol’s new signings are attackers, bar Adel Taarabt (loan), and that may worry Fulham fans considering that aside from Dimitar Berbatov’s 15 league goals last season, the Cottagers struggled to score goals and are still lacking in firepower. They also need a few creative midfielders to spice up their play, something Jol will have to do in order to compete with his team’s rivals.

The signings of goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, centre back Fernando Amorebieta and midfielder Derek Boateng will bolster the squad defensively and add to the team’s spine, which never fully recovered since Clint Dempsey and Mousa Dembélé moved to Tottenham.

The Cottagers will have to rely heavily on tall centre back Brede Hangelaand to keep the goal difference low as well as starting the occasional attack.

There may be a few scares along the way for Fulham, but the players will push themselves when they need to, therefore securing a low mid table finish.

Prediction: 15^th.

Thomas Baxter