Fulham team for this coming year

[JackCaz]

Given the state of our roster, and knowing we still have the window coming, how is everyone feeling about next season and where we'll end up in the table?

[SCFulhamFan]

With who we still have right now I am still confident. Bit more of some time to gain/lose players though.

[DCHeather]

I have to admit I'm not feeling confident we can finish in the top 10 again next year, especially if Dempsey leaves and we can't find a replacement for him or any of the forwards that have just left.

[DCHeather]

From the Murphy thread.

[VegasJustin]

I am pretty confident of us finishing in the top ten. I wanted us to keep one of the forwards as insurance, in case we can't sign two replacements. But, we still have one of the most talented teams in England. We have two great keepers, the best goal scoring midfielder in England and one of the most creative players in Europe. Not only that, but we have some great talents like Kerim Frei and Alex K coming through the ranks. I think Frei is going to be a breakout player this year.

We need to sign some forwards and fill some holes elsewhere in the squad, but I have confidence that Jol will do that. We are challenging for the top six next year. That's all there is to it.

[AggieMatt]

We're putting a lot of faith in Jol's ability to deliver in the transfer market, but due to age, we don't really have a lot of choice. If we keep Dempsey, I think top 10 is certainly possible but will still depend on what we get at striker. Lose Dempsey, I'm nervous.

[JackCaz]

I'm pretty nervous about this upcoming year. Excited, but nervous.

Justin - Top six?? Are you serious?!?

[CarolinaTim]

We're putting a lot of faith in Jol's ability to deliver in the transfer market, but due to age, we don't really have a lot of choice. If we keep Dempsey, I think top 10 is certainly possible but will still depend on what we get at striker. Lose Dempsey, I'm nervous.

[VegasJustin]

Yes, I'm serious. I don't think we will get off to the same bad start as recent years. Jol has now had a year to get everybody playing his kind of football and we looked amazing at times. I look at our early schedule and we can jump out to an early top six position. That's never happened. We're always late starters, the reverse Charlton. If we could have a full season of playing well, then challenging for Europe is possible.


Let's take a step back and look at who we lost. AJ and Pogrebnyak are not good enough to lead the line and Murphy was always going to be a bench player. If we lose Dempsey, then it's time to worry, but that hasn't happened. We still have a talented squad and there's no need to start panicking yet. I would have liked us to keep these players, but I believe we can replace them with even better players.

[JackCaz]

I'm assuming Dempsey and Dembele are both gone. Regardless, last years team meshed by the end. Now the team is much different. I'd take a top 10 right now in a heartbeat because I don't see us there next season.

[HatterDon]

There's going to be a BIG turnover this summer. With this many new faces, it's going to be hard to develop a cohesive squad. Remember the fact that Jol had very few changes to the squad and STILL couldn't get his mojo working until February.

I think our ONLY goal next season will be 17th, and we'll consider ourselves very fortunate if we get there.

[VegasJustin]

The only way that should be our goal is if we lose Dempsey and Dembele and don't replace them. Jol turned Spurs into a top five club and he can do the same here, or at least a top 7 club. Lots of teams have big turnovers and they do just fine.

[AggieMatt]

Not to be confrontational but, like who? You say Spurs, but that's a big difference in wage bills and transfer budgets there. Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent aren't walking through the Cottage door like they did for Jol at Spurs. And that was in addition to Keane and Defoe who were already there and putting up 10+ goals/season apiece in the Prem.

I appreciate the optimism but Dempsey's last 2 seasons eclipse anything anyone has done at the Cottage in a long time. We've brought in too many players who haven't come close to that for me to believe it'll happen. Hope, sure. Believe, not so much.

[VegasJustin]

There's always a team that comes up and changes their team and does well. Malaga did the same in Spain as well. It's not like we're going to be the only team to ever have a big turnover in a season.

We don't need to spend £40m to have a top 7 team. We are nearly there already and we have spent next to nothing, by today's standards, to get there. People are getting far too concerned over the loss of Murphy, AJ and Pogrebnyak. We're talking about two decent forwards and a 35 year old who was clearly declining. When we lose Dempsey and Dembele then lets talk about this, but until then it's not worth concerning ourselves over this.


And Newcastle lost a few players last year and replaced them and nearly qualified for the Champions League. Again, it can be done.

[JackCaz]

There's always a team that comes up and changes their team and does well. Malaga did the same in Spain as well. It's not like we're going to be the only team to ever have a big turnover in a season.

We don't need to spend £40m to have a top 7 team. We are nearly there already and we have spent next to nothing, by today's standards, to get there. People are getting far too concerned over the loss of Murphy, AJ and Pogrebnyak. We're talking about two decent forwards and a 35 year old who was clearly declining. When we lose Dempsey and Dembele then lets talk about this, but until then it's not worth concerning ourselves over this.


And Newcastle lost a few players last year and replaced them and nearly qualified for the Champions League. Again, it can be done.

If you're not counting Dempsey and Dembele as out then I guess I see what you're saying, but I think you're just setting yourself up for disappointment. They're gone. And I think that's the assumption that others are making as well. I'm not overly concerned about the three players you mentioned above being gone as individuals, but when add them up and put them on top of Dempsey and Dembele leaving is when their losses start to hurt.

Murphy was tied for third in appearances last season, second in assists, fourth in goals (which is a joke considering he found the back of the net three times), and fifth in minutes played. Is Murphy a world-beater? No, but he was a key player. I don't think you can discount his contributions. In the 2010/11 season, Murphy was first in assists, second in appearances, and third in minutes played.

Those are key minutes to lose when you add on the minutes of Dempsey and Dembele. The Spurs had a core that was added to by Jol. We're losing our core. That's the difference.