Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic
London rivals West Ham United and Fulham are yet to meet in the Premier League this season but their respective campaigns appear to have gotten off to similar starts.
Both clubs spent a good amount of money in the recently concluded transfer window as they were scurrying about to bolster their teams. Manuel Pellegrini and Slavisa Jokanovic made some important new signings and to be fair, both clubs looked immensely strong ahead of the new season.
West Ham had to prove their naysayers wrong after enduring a dismal season last time out. Fulham, on the other hand, had to put up a strong show to announce their return to the English top-flight in style. Unfortunately for both clubs, they faltered in their opening day matches and crumbled like a pack of cards.
Fulham lost 0-2 to Crystal Palace at home whereas West Ham were thrashed 4-0 at Anfield. When one takes a look at the quantity and quality of players they signed over the summer, something just does not add up.
One might argue that the Cottagers are a newly-promoted side and hence, failed to keep pace with the gruelling nature of the Premier League. If that’s the case, their loss to Crystal Palace should serve as a major lesson for them. Given the amount of promise and potential they have displayed to get to where they are, Fulham are capable of doing a lot better.
Furthermore, after signing players like Andre Schurrle and Jean Michael Seri, it goes without saying that expectations were sky-high from Jokanovic and his men. And maybe that is what led to their undoing against Roy Hodgson’s Palace.
As far as West Ham are concerned, it will certainly take time for them to gel together and function as a unit. A few individual players performed well for them against Liverpool but ultimately, none of that mattered because they failed to play together as a unit.
Perhaps that’s what happens when a club signs too many new players at once. It takes time for relationships to form and bonds to develop between the players. And only once that happens, the team can perform as a unit. While signing numerous players at one go has its set of perks, this is a massive disadvantage that comes along with it.
Read More: How Fulham could fit in Mitrovic and Schurrle in the starting XI? Predicting Jokanovic’s team
And as far as the present scenario is concerned, it looks like both Fulham and West Ham are struggling. Nevertheless, the new season has just started and let’s hope the Londoners are able to perform better in their next few games and live up to their potential.
