The Club:
Fulham have gotten off to an early start, with matches being played in Europe for the qualifying stages of the Europa League. They are looking pretty sharp too and it is a great start for Martin Jol to see his side in action before they get to the Premier League. It could be valuable matches. Fulham are a popular side, and play some attractive and effective football. The question is now, can they build even further upon the strengths of the past couple of season. They have grown into a side which is very tough to beat, they had the best defensive record outside of the top three and they seem to bristling with energy. Will the experience of Martin Jol be able to take them another step forward and challenge closer to the fourth spot in the Premier League? Fulham Premier League betting will be dependant on Jol building on all the positives he has inherited.
Players/Manager:
Well, Fulham will be back with a new manager, as Martin Jol sees what he can bring to Craven Cottage. Fulham have let goalkeeper David Stockdale move out on loan to Ipswich, largely for experience really as Stockdale said he wasn’t getting enough opportunities at Craven Cottage. There have been moves by Fulham in the market, with defender Pantsil heading out to Leicester and bringing in a couple of exciting young midfielders. Slovan Liberec, a very promising young Czech star and Pajtim Kasami, who was part of the successful Switzerland under 21 side. They have also gone for experience in getting former Liverpool favourite John Arne Riise in, along with goal keeper Csaba Somogyi. So while they are not major signings, they look to be very good ones from Fulham’s point of view. The two young midfielders in particular, should give a nice fresh injection into the side, causing immediate competition for places. So manager Marin Jol seems to be looking to take the club forward. He has been quite lucky in that he takes over a pretty solid side and there really is not too much to improve upon. One of the big bonuses is that striker Bobby Zamora will be back fit and raring to go, and his goal scoring instinct will be a big part of Fulham’s success.
Last Season: 8th
There was a modicum of success for Fulham last season, as they clawed their way up to eighth in the Premier League. They still drew far too many matches, which hindered them from finishing even better than they did. There was a lot of justification for Mark Hughes though, who had his critics at the start of the season after so many drawn games, with many suggesting that he didn’t have enough to take Fulham upwards again. Hughes and Fulham did ok in the end, and will at least be looking for a finish around the same mark.
2011/12 Fulham Premier League Betting Projection:
Fulham are a very neat and tidy side, who look as if they have been a slow work in progress but have been getting better and better. Go back to Roy Hodgson, who did a wonderful job with the side with limited resources. Then in came Mark Hughes, who built upon the foundations which Hodgson had laid (it took some time because of injuries) making Fulham better defensively, and even better going forward. You always expect to see some nice football being played at Craven Cottage, and Martin Jol will probably add just that extra bit of European control and flair to Fulham. They are pretty much the sum of their parts, all of which blend together very well. They have a great back line, which stays sharp and very organised, so nothing to mess with there, and with a superb blend of experience and youth throughout the midfield and up front, Fulham should be pretty strong again. There are good options through the squad, but they do need their main characters like Zamora and Danny Murphy to stay fit all season. They are not going to be an easy side to beat, because of their very admirable back line, and if they continue to play with a bit of a swagger and control going forward without leaving themselves exposed, then they will be well worthy of a top ten finish.
Finishing Position: Top Half of Table
Premier League Top Ten Finish Odds:
6/4 at 888Sport
First Three Fixtures
August 13th: Fulham v Aston Villa
August 20th: Wolves v Fulham
August 27th: Newcastle v Fulham
