Yo, and indeed, yo — Interview

Just the 90 goals in 37 league games for Fulham this season as they pop their head round the Championship door before heading back upstairs for another race to seventeenth place — here comes Konk and Cam Ramsey from the Fulhamish podcast to tell us all about it.

Are you surprised it's gone this well? What have been the keys to success other than the monster up front?

Konk: I thought we’d do well, but we’re all a bit stunned by the goals we’ve scored. To be 14 points clear of third place with a GD of +58, with nine games left is unbelievable. It’s obviously easier in the Championship than the Premier League, but largely the same group of players scored nine goals at home all last season. This year has been an absolute dream. We’ve got the second-best defensive record in the division — we’ve conceded one more than Bournemouth — but the team’s greatest strength is the ability to move the ball through the opposition at pace and create goal scoring opportunities. If you take out Mitro’s 35 goals, we’ve only scored four fewer goals than Bournemouth. Mitro is an absolute machine at this level, but Wilson has ten, Kebano has nine, and Carvalho has seven of the 90 goals we’ve scored in the league, and some of the inter-play between those four has been fantastic.

Cam: Pleasantly surprised, yes. Marco Silva had 18-months out of the game to refine his approach and it’s worked a treat. He’s joined forces with Luis Boa Morte again - a cult hero in SW6, of course - and there’s an infectious feel-good factor around the club, a solidarity. Aleksandar Mitrovic has been unplayable but this team has genuine threats across the pitch and Silva’s harnessed operations astutely. It really shows.

Fulham league results so far…
Fulham 1-1 Middlesbrough Wilson 29 — Bola 77
Huddersfield 1-5 Fulham Pearson 41 — Mitrovic 9, Onomah 37, Carvalho 42, Cavaleiro 77, 90
Millwall 1-2 Fulham Afobe 87 — Mitrovic 3, Carvalho 8
Fulham 2-0 Hull Mitrovic 22, Carvalho 34
Fulham 3-0 Stoke Wilson 5, Reid 53, Mitrovic 72
Blackpool 1-0 Fulham Bowler 49
Birmingham 1-4 Fulham Deeney pen 87 — Odoi 10, Mitrovic pen 44, 83, Wilson 54
Fulham 1-2 Reading Muniz 86 — Ejaria 19, 53
Bristol City 1-1 Fulham Palmer 79 — Mitrovic 50
Fulham 3-1 Swansea Mitrovic 12, 32, 44 — Paterson 38
Coventry 4-1 Fulham Gyokeres 47, 70, Godden pen 51, Maatsen 61 — McFadzean og 18
Fulham 4-1 QPR Mitrovic 10, 67, Reid 71, Robinson 90 — Dykes 55
Fulham 2-0 Cardiff Cairney 57, Mitrovic 63
Forest 0-4 Fulham Spence og 7, Mitrovic 58, pen 67, Kebano 61
Fulham 3-0 West Brom Mitrovic pen 20, 40, 82
Blackburn 0-7 Fulham Kebano 6, 79, Mitrovic 19, Wilson 54, 58, Muniz 81, 90
Peterborough 0-1 Fulham Mitrovic 74
Fulham 4-1 Barnsley Mitrovic 24, Carvalho 34, Kebano 72, Wilson 81 — Adeboyejo 78
Fulham 0-0 Derby
Preston 1-1 Fulham Evans 72 — Ream 15
Fulham 1-1 Bournemouth Adarabioyo 84 — Solanke 46
Luton 1-1 Fulham Adebayo 62 — Mitrovic 19
Fulham 0-1 Sheff Utd Ndiaye 3
Reading 0-7 Fulham Wilson 13, 60, Mitrovic pen 45, 89, tete 68, Kebano 70, Adarabioyo 75
Fulham 6-2 Bristol City Mitrovic 21, 41, 45, Kebano 31, 57, Carvalho 36 — Semenyo 7, 29
Fulham 6-2 Birmingham Roberts og 10, Kebano 35, Carvalho 38, 75, Cairney 43, Robinson 90 — Sunjic 45, Gardner 74
Stoke 2-3 Fulham Wright-Phillips 1, Baker 58 — Muniz 2, 33, Reid 72
Fulham 1-1 Blackpool Mitrovic 6 — Bowler 57
Fulham 3-0 Millwall Mitrovic 29, 40, Reid 87
Hull 0-1 Fulham Mitrovic 57
Fulham 1-2 Huddersfield Reid 82 — Ward 31, Holmes pen 43
Fulham 2-1 Peterborough Mitrovic pen 28, 61 — Marriott 89
Cardiff 0-1 Fulham Mitrovic 41
Fulham 2-0 Blackburn Kebano 25, Wilson 35
Swansea 1-5 Fulham Piroe 75 — Mitrovic 46, Cabango og 52, Reid 73, Williams 77, 85
Barnsley 1-1 Fulham Morris pen 44 — Wilson 86
West Brom 1-0 Fulham Robinson 64

Will Mitrovic make the step up to the Prem this time? Much like the team he's often smashed this level and then struggled at the one above...

Konk: Mitrovic shines in a team with pace — he’s obviously not quick himself, but if you can get cutbacks and crosses into the box for him, he’s in his element. Every area of his game seems to have improved this season. He’s become really good at dropping deep and playing others in behind the defence, and he’s even scoring penalties. He’s looked fitter than he did in recent seasons and he’s obviously enjoying himself. He’s scored 44 goals for Serbia, he scored 11/37 in his first Premier League season with Fulham, and 9/34 in his first Premier League season with Newcastle, neither of which are terrible returns. It’s common knowledge that he didn’t get on with Parker, who insisted on playing Ivan Cavaleiro (3/36) up front rather than Mitrovic last season. I reckon he’s good for 10-12 goals if he stays fit all season and we play with some pace and attacking intent.

Cam: A false statement in itself. Mitro was cast aside entirely by Scott Parker during the 2020/21 season and even in a poor 2018/19 side, he still bagged 11 goals. The Serbia hitman is more than equipped to ruffle Premier League feathers, and at 27-years-old, we may not have even seen the best of him yet.

Assuming you are up, unlikely Fulham will be able to blitz Premier League defences like they do Championship, what needs to be done to survive next season?

Konk: Some new signings. There’s more pace than when we were last in the Premier League, and I think there are more goals in the side too. We need to shore up the defence, and although Reed did well last time round, I’d like us to sign an additional defensive midfielder. If we can get off to a steady start, don’t sign Ruben Loftus-Cheek on loan, and try and get at teams, then I think we’ll avoid embarrassing ourselves.

Cam: Integrally, Fulham simply have to remain true to what will inevitably get them back to the top-flight in the first place. In campaigns gone by, we’ve tried to alter our game plan to accommodate damage limitation, however Silva’s Whites are capable of running amok, and we have to trust our ability. Teams with self-belief already have the upper hand. Panic buying on Deadline Day is also not ideal, so where business is concerned, get it done early and make sure our purchases are the correct fit to what we want to achieve which, ultimately, is safety above all else.

One or two teams have been able to stop you recently - Huddersfield, Barnsley, West Brom. What did they do? What's the key?

Konk: As good as we’ve been this season, we’re certainly beatable. We’ve looked a bit tired recently. At Barnsley we didn't play great, went 1-0 down after an absolute joke of a penalty, but would have won if Wilson hadn’t missed an open goal in stoppage time. Against Huddersfield we were arguably on the wrong end of two penalty decisions and probably deserved a point. West Brom were well worth the win as they played with a lot of energy, unsettled us, and we never got going. Three away games at Swansea, Barnsley, and WBA in eight days may have been a factor too. With the team/budget we have, the best approach is to come at us with a disciplined, high intensity game and stop us finding our rhythm. It's obviously helpful not to switch-off around Mitro too, and maybe engage him in a bit of aggro. He often makes the most of challenges, but usually gets nothing from refs however much he’s fouled. The more frustrated he gets, the less effective he becomes. We seem to find things a bit tougher against niggly sides.

Cam: Fulham are not impenetrable and Huddersfield, in particular, played an exceedingly low block with intensity as they pressed offensively. The Terriers were relentless, and they overloaded the middle of the park to counteract our rhythm and composure. It’s tough to break down two banks of four, and when a side breaks with purpose, as Carlos Corberán’s boys did, trouble is never too far behind and we found out the hard way. Dodgy officiating is also a factor, but every side’s fallen foul of that this season, I suppose. West Brom was abysmal, but I’d purely put the loss down to fatigue. They wanted it, we were knackered.

What January business was done? What needs to be done this summer if you're promoted?

Konk: Neco Williams came in on loan at RB, and he’s settled in very well. He plays behind Wilson with Wales, so they already had a good understanding. I think most fans would love for us to find a way to keep him on loan next season — possibly as part of any Carvalho deal. Kenny Tete is an excellent RB, but has been injury-prone, so with Denis Odoi leaving, it was an important bit of business.

We could do with strengthening all over, but I think our priorities for the summer are at least one CB, RB, and a defensive MF. Other than Mitro, we only have Muniz up front. He doesn’t look ready for the Premier League, but we play with one up top, so assuming Mitro is first choice, the difficulty is signing someone good enough for the Premier League who probably won’t be starting. Not sure we’re in a position to do that. Fairly certain after last season that most of our non-starting squad aren’t up to Premier League quality.

Cam: January saw the arrival of Liverpool’s Neco Williams on a temporary basis and the 20-year-old’s been a revelation. His understanding of his duties has developed profoundly and he’s now a constant, proficient outlet at both ends of the turf. Buttoning him down permanently would be great, and if Fabio Carvalho makes his anticipated jump to Merseyside, the likelihood of sharing a friendly transfer relationship with the Reds is realistic. In the summer, I’d like us to bring in two centre-halves with previous/current PL experience to partner Tosin Adarabioyo, and left-back which is actually recognised as a footballer, as daft as that sounds. We also need a dominant holding midfielder like Abdoulaye Doucouré, for example, as well as a right winger and a tried-and-tested understudy to Mitrovic, as Rodrigo Muniz would definitely benefit from a season away from the club, in order to gain more minutes. Oh, and a decent replacement for Carvalho, too. Not a lot then, eh?

Summer Ins >>> Harry Wilson, 24, RW, Liverpool, £12.6m >>> Rodrigo Muniz, 20, CF, Flamengo, £7.2m >>> Paulo Gazzaniga, 29, GK, Spurs, Free >>> Nathaniel Chalobah, 26, CM, Watford, Free >>> Domingos Quina, 21, CM, Watford, Loan

Winter Outs >>> Denis Odoi, 33, RB, Club Brugge, £630k >>> Steven Sessegnon, 21, RB, Plymouth, Loan >>> Cyrus Christie, 29, RB, Swansea, Loan

Marco Silva has been a mixed bag in this country previously, what have you made of him and do you think he’ll succeed upstairs where his Fulham predecessors failed?

Konk: He’s been superb. Last season was a real slog — the promotion season before that was hard work too, so for Silva to completely transform the way we approach games has been a breath of fresh air. Parker was all about possession-based, one-paced, risk-averse football. Silva is the complete opposite of that — we play with pace and always look to score another goal. Whether we should or will maintain that approach in the Premier League is another question, but we’ve scored 7 and 5 away from home twice, 6 at home twice, and 4 three times. Under Parker we’d have almost shut-up shop in those games the moment we took the lead. I’m not under any illusions, but assuming we go up, I’m quietly optimistic we won’t be the disaster we’ve been on our three most recent seasons in the Premier League.

Cam: Silva typically started well at the likes of Hull City and Everton, to an extent, but his tactical naivety, especially at set pieces, was exploited to a detrimental degree. Now, at Fulham, his side boasts the best offensive and defensive set-piece record in the Championship, and in the ascendency, the Whites rarely shift down the gears. Marco has alternatives, he knows the rigours of Premier League football and I’m sure he, the squad and his back room staff will compete convincingly.

Player of the season candidates and weak links in the side?

Konk: Impossible to look beyond Mitro for player of the season. Players like Ream are fine at this level, so the only players that I’ve been frustrated by at times are Chalobah, who I haven’t warmed to, and sometimes Bobby Decordova-Reid, although this might be a square peg/round hole issue.

Cam: Mitrovic has been the Player of the Season, undoubtedly. 35 goals, with seven assists, is a disgusting return for any striker who still has nine outings left to bolster the numbers even more. Harry Wilson is a magician and Tim Ream has also turned back the years to silence his critics, too. The weak link, for me, is Antonee Robinson. Many are split, but I think he’s a terrible excuse of a professional left-back, and I won’t let deranged flurries up his respective flank every so often tell me otherwise. Oddly, he switches it on for the USMT, however I’m yet to be wooed at club level and now, I’m ranting for the sake of it.

Where are you guys on your owners? I noticed the swish new stand came with £1000 season ticket prices...

Konk: I think most appreciate the huge investment Shahid Khan has made in the club. The new stand is going to be amazing and hopefully cements our future at the Cottage. Only the bottom tier will be open next season, and £1000 to sit out in the rain down by the corner flag with no concessions for over-65’s seems way too much — especially given how much of the Riverside is usually taken up by older fans. We were charging £50+ for Category A games in the Hammersmith and Putney Ends to watch us play even West Ham and Newcastle, a few seasons ago, so I dread to think what we’ll be charging walk-ups in the new stand.

Once it’s fully open, I expect there will be shedloads of tourists or away fans in there as they’ll be the only ones prepared/able to pay the prices. Season tickets are generally decent value at Fulham, but match-by-match ticket prices have been too high for years. The club seem more interested in selling tickets to one-off day trippers, rather than making games affordable to existing fans or locals who can’t commit to season-tickets. I’m not sure that charging Chelsea/Arsenal/Tottenham prices in a new 8,500+ seater stand in a ground that we already often struggled to fill, is the way to build our long-term support. Especially as we’re likely to be charging top prices to watch a side at the wrong end of the table.

On the football front, Marco Silva has been an excellent appointment, and the owners continue to invest in the team, so that’s very much to their credit. Tony Khan thankfully seems a lot quieter on the DOF front and there are suggestions that he’s no longer the main driver behind recruitment, so that’s welcome if true.

Cam: The Khans aren’t necessarily worshipped by any means, but they do have the club’s best interests at heart and the new Riverside Stand is testament to that. They want to see the club progress, to forge stability in the top-flight and what better way to map out their vision than by erecting a gargantuan, state-of-the-art hotel, equipped with a bloody swimming pool on the roof? It’s madness, and the supposed season ticket pricing is also ludicrous. Obviously our owners want to recoup a hefty sum, they’ve invested a fortune into drastically uplifting the face of the Cottage, but a grand to watch potential relegation scraps season in, season out in the PL is less than tantalising. It’s pricing the common man out of the game, not every Fulham supporter owns prized race horses and 42-bed mansions, despite popular presumptions, so the proposed figure is wildly out of touch and you won’t catch me in my budgie smugglers anytime soon, for that matter.

Another yo-yo? Or will you be better equipped this time?

Konk: I’m going to be bold and say that there will be at least 3 teams worse than us if we go up. 16th spot. Living the dream. Our last two promotions have been via the play-offs - if we go up automatically this time, we'll have more time to prepare properly for the new season. Everyone seems to forget that we did 13 consecutive seasons in the Premier League before our recent yo-yo spell, so as much as I love the Championship, it would be nice to stay put for at least a couple of seasons.

Cam: Third time’s a charm, right? After two previous failed attempts to sustain our Premier League status, I can only hope the sorry optimist in me is right this time, so I think we’ll survive with our fair share of scares along the way. Those that steer the club should be wary of what’s gone before, and Silva’s seems to have matchday matters under control. Perhaps the Hoops would like to join us come May, hey? Party in west London, Chelsea ain’t buying because, well, they can’t!

Links >>> Fulham official website >>> West London Sport Fulham — Local Press >>> Fulham Focus - Fan Blog >>> Friends of Fulham — Message Board >>> Fulham Web — Blog and Forum >>> Fulhamish — Podcast

The Twitter @loftforwords, @FulhamishPod, @94CAMRAM

Pictures — Action Images

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