Fulham team for this coming year

[VegasJustin]

He might have done all of that, but we started to play our best when Murphy wasn't as big a player for us. When he went to the bench, it wasn't a big loss and AJ didn't play much at all in the second half of the season while Pogrebnyak was the only player to really do something. Those three losses aren't that big.

Even if we lose Dempsey and Dembele, it's not a time to panic until we know who will replace them. If we replace Dempsey with Narsingh, then I don't mind that at all. If we replace Dembele with a player like Schaars, then that's good as well. We might replace them with utter rubbish or they could both stay, I don't know what is going to happen though because the British media are almost the worst in the world when it comes to rumors. If we replace them with quality or we keep them, then there's no need to panic.


This was always going to happen. We have a new manager who actually seems happy to be here and he wants his own team. Remember, when Roy got his own team and started signing players that were good, we survived and finished in a European place the following year. I think Jol is as good a manager as he is and will guide even farther if he stays here.

[AggieMatt]

Narsingh replaces Dempsey? C'mon man. Mark better put up 30 clean sheets and we'll still likely fall short of your expectations.

Way too early to have this argument. Let's see who comes in and then we can sort where we think we'll finish. As it stands, it seems we have a fundamental difference of opinion in how football games are won and more importantly, what it takes to earn points in the table. I've said before, and I maintain, we don't have enough goals in the side, even with Dempsey. Without him, we're in trouble. We'll see who comes in, but players like Narsingh don't address that issue. 3-4 years down the road, maybe. But not in 2012-13.

If we get Yildaz and Petric, I'll be a bit more optimistic. If we can get them and keep Clint, I might even back your prediction that we can threaten for a Europa spot.

[VegasJustin]

It's just a name that's been thrown out there. Ultimately I think Ruiz replaces Dempsey. He has the talent to do so and has had the year to adjust to this league. We agree that goals win games, that much is obvious since I have been advocating for us to sign a top quality forward for the last year now.

And this is too early to have this discussion. That's partly my point. We have no clue what will happen to this club in the offseason.

[SteveFakeBlood]

I think it makes a difference whether we lose both Dempsey and Dembele or we manage to keep one of them (which I think is possible). Petric should be a good signing, I think there were signs last year that Diarra could take Murphy's place and while I'm not quite as optimistic as Justin- I think Ruiz will be better and be able to satisfactorily compensate for losing one of the Dems. Still, I'd be very surprised if we legitimately contend for a Europa place- I'd say Top 10 and a deep Cup run should be our goals (since I became a Fulham fan in fall 2004, we've never gotten past the quarters of either domestic cup and last year's lackluster performances are more typical than the quarterfinal years). If we lose both Dems- it's going to be much more difficult to achieve those goals- at the same time, I think the possibility of us getting relegated is about as likely as us getting a European place by finishing in the Top 6. But as Justin and Aggie both said, it's still early...

~ Steve

[JackCaz]

Well put, Steve.