A Rising Phoenix

A team in London continues to shock the Premier League. Not a powerhouse, Fulham play some of the best football in the league while punching above their weight.

A team full of rejects combined together to form the best team to watch.

With his Watford side, Marco Silva seemed on the verge of catapulting himself into contention for the biggest jobs in the Prem. A rocky Everton tenure killed off most of these chances, but with Fulham, he is starting to rebuild his image.

PHOTO: Wallpapers.com

As Fulham prepare to face Arsenal this weekend, the team finds itself right outside the top five. Outperforming the likes of Tottenham and United, Silva’s rejects find ways to just not lose. Not only is the manager getting the most out of this squad, but the front office deserves credit for these shrewd moves.

Looking at Fulham’s record, most would expect this side to be a defensive stalwart or an offensive juggernaut. In reality, they just know how to manage games. Keeping possession while beating down their opponents with passing is their game plan.

While the race for the top five is a bloodbath, Fulham finishing around that range doesn’t feel impossible.

If they do finish in that range, expect Silva to return to contention for larger clubs.

After a positive 13th-place finish last season, Fulham’s liking of their chances at climbing the table made sense. Fulham’s approach to this transfer window feels very much like a team ready to make that next leap. 

Be it oft-injured players or underperformers, Fulham’s front office gambled on imperfect players who fit their budget and profile. The idea was to essentially hedge their bets with smaller fees on players with issues and see what they had left.

Raul Jimenez’s horrific injury derailed what was looking like a truly promising career. The Mexican international never recovered and joined Fulham with few other options. While he joined last season, he fits the build of the player Fulham wants.

Only 13 games into this season, Jimenez already scored four times with an impressive set of attacking stats. Truly embodying Silva’s system, the striker is now one of the better passing strikers in the league while offering some defensive cover. Jimenez will never be the player he looked like he could become, but he’s still a serviceable Prem forward.

Emile Smith Rowe’s move to Fulham came out of nowhere. Yes, his development stalled, but it was due to Arsenal’s move away from him and injuries. However, a larger role at some other club still awaited him, but it felt Fulham couldn’t offer him what he needed.

For the first time since the 2021/22 season, Smith Rowe finally scored in the Prem and has shown flashes of his potential. In his performances thus far, he has shown playmaking ability, which he flashed with Saka. Still only 24, there exists a path where Smith Rowe can at least somewhat reach the heights many Arsenal fans dreamed up.

Other players, such as Alex Iwobi and Andreas Pereira, fit Fulham’s strategy for catching the top five.

No real stars, but a squad built up of good role players who fit Silva to a T.

When these “smaller” clubs take the league by storm, most assume it’s because they tilt to one extreme. Either they are an offensive powerhouse, like Brighton in previous seasons, or a lockdown defense, like Nottingham this year.

Silva’s Fulham doesn’t really fall on either extreme. They still play great attacking football, but it’s not truly elite. They do still struggle defensively, only keeping two clean sheets this season, but they aren’t a train wreck like Villa has been so far. 

Fulham revolves its game plan around maintaining possession and pulling teams apart with passing. One of the teams dominating possession the most this season, Silva sets his side up with the intent to exploit all space. This means that Smith Rowe becomes a pivot point through which the offense flows.

PHOTO: Fulham

Using that 4-2-3-1 makes perfect sense for Silva’s style of football. It’s a formation built on the idea of using that forward line to punish opponents in space. 

Defensively, they still struggle to keep opponents out and are susceptible to bleeding goals. Weaker opponents are able to break down their structure, especially in transition. Wolves showed that they can really cause Silva’s side problems this way.

The hope with this setup is that you can control enough possession to whittle your opponent’s chances. Sander Berge operates as the defensive pivot for the team without possession. He plays this role as a way to transition the team between stages.

After a season back in the Prem, Silva finally found his footing with this team.

Fulham plays a fun brand of fast-paced football that brings risk.

Out of all the exciting teams in the Prem, Fulham remains a great watch. Silva’s squad of Premier League rejects form a squad willing to challenge the top five and create chaos.

While they are far from a perfect team, they pose a threat to any team on any given night.

PHOTO: Wallpapers.com