This might come as a shock to numerous people but Fulham have officially sacked Slavisa Jokanovic as their manager (h/t The Telegraph). In a swift move, the Cottagers then appointed Claudio Ranieri as their new boss.
Ranieri, well-known for creating Premier League history by winning the title with Leicester City in the 2015/16 season, is a seasoned manager. He is more than capable of stabilizing the fortunes of distressed clubs and this certainly is a power move from club owner Shahid Khan.
Despite securing promotion to the top-flight in an emphatic manner under Jokanovic the last term, Fulham have struggled miserably this season. They spent big in the summer and brought in some impress players by landing deals for Andre Schurrle, Jean Michael Seri and Aleksandar Mitrovic (loan move made permanent). Furthermore, they also have some brilliant players in Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon.
However, the team just failed to gel well together and seemed to be in real danger of getting relegated back to the Championship. But Khan certainly pulled off a much-needed move at the right time by sacking Jokanovic.
Now, Ranieri has quite a task at hand. He must unite and extract the best out of a team filled with some big-name stars while also ensuring they avoid the drop at the end of the season.
Currently gracing the bottom of the table, Fulham have managed to win merely 1 out of the first 12 games. Having scored just 11 goals so far, it is astounding to note that the Londoners have conceded a whopping 31. The situation certainly does not look good for the club and if Ranieri can help them stay afloat in the Premier League, that itself would be quite an achievement.
But knowing Ranieri, he can do a lot better than that. He is adept at repairing leaky defences and setting a strong foundation at the back and that is exactly what Fulham need right now.
It won’t be easy for Ranieri but if anyone can bring the Cottagers out of their misery, it has to be the brilliant Frenchman. It remains to be seen how he sets up his new team when they face Southampton on 24th November but suffice to say, Fulham have pulled off a masterstroke by making him their new manager.
