Fulham need to dig deep again – starting with Newcastle

The last two outings for Fulham haven’t been pretty. It’s been a challenging few days, but we know these spells come along fairly regularly over the course of the season.

To drop two points with virtually the last kick of the game at Home to an average West Ham side and then to lose a penalty shootout with a record 34 penalties is peak Fulham. That is what Fulham fans go through in a nutshell. There’s no doubt that this isn’t the last time existentialism and defeatism filter around the fanbase. When Emile Smith Rowe manfully ran over to console Timothy Castangne after he blazed the 33rd penalty over the bar, you could see Timothy was visibly frustrated with himself. It was almost as if Emile’s presence was almost grating on him as much as his penalty miss. Timothy will be embarrassed, as will the rest of the team.

The brilliant thing about Fulham though, is the fact that there is a depth to this team’s togetherness that knows no bounds. Fulham have had an incredible time under the Khan ownership. They’ve gone up, down and all around with a semi-final in the League Cup under their belt too. With the new faces and somewhat new style, they are actually looking like a team with great potential, particularly against next weekend’s opponents.

Getting the better of the Magpies

Looking ahead to Newcastle, Fulham should analyse Newcastle’s style and pick it apart. The Magpies have not exactly played well this campaign but find themselves having their best start in 29 years. As we know this doesn’t guarantee a good finish to the season, but they have figured out how to grind out a win. Newcastle aren’t a physical team, and predominantly operate without the ball (14% possession percentile in the Premier League). So, to conclude, they are a counter attacking and pressing unit.

Fulham have, so far, adopted the polar opposite style to Newcastle and find themselves nine places below them in the table (but only 5 points). I guess this Saturday will be a true test to see which team has set themselves up to play to their strengths this season. However, this overall ‘team’ comparison isn’t the best indicator of the season so far. Examining each team’s goalkeeper gives the neutral a better and more detailed understanding of each team’s performance, both in terms of attacking style and defensive rigidity.

As you can see, Nick Pope has been the busier of the two keepers. He’s faced more shots and contributes to many more defensive actions. Furthermore, Newcastle do not play out from the back; Nick Pope is one of the goalkeepers with the fewest passes. Not only does this show that Newcastle have been under significant pressure in each of their games, but it also shows that Fulham should try to press Pope when he’s in possession. Pope may just elect to play the long ball, but if Fulham play with a deeper line that allows Newcastle the ball, they can push up against Newcastle in a defensive action, Newcastle will be forced to keep possession in their own half. Which based on these numbers, is not something they’d want to do or would be good at doing. Fulham can then aim to win the ball higher up the pitch and create.

This could all be futile, and Fulham may end up building slowly from the back and keeping the ball with a high line. This tactic against this Newcastle team will have to result in clinical finishing. Raul Jimenez might be the man for that job. Wolves hit the post several times before Newcastle eventually grabbed a goal back and went on to win last weekend. If those chances were converted for Wolves, it could have been much more comfortable for Gary O’Neils team. Tottenham also had the opportunity to put the game out of sight before Newcastle grabbed goals on the counter.

Fulham should also try and benefit from transitional play, as counter attacks have led to good opportunities for Fulham. Newcastle are not blessed with a pacy backline, which includes Dan Burn and Fabian Schar. Additionally, Fulham should look at Lewis Hall, who has a 1.1% defensive duel success rate, as a weakness to exploit both in transition and in possession. Although Trippier is another player available as a left back.

Resilience and belief

The stats here show an underlying success in Fulham’s league performance so far, which let’s face it, is where Fulham have pulled most of their resources this season. Fulham did well to reach the semi-final in the League Cup last year, and that was because they respected the competition. Marco making 11 changes showed us that perhaps this competition is one he feels less inclined to respect after the success of last term. Fulham will have to look to the FA Cup for their run this time around. Which may suit them timing-wise, given the new faces through the door this summer and the initial teething problems that can come with that.

Fulham know that there are low points. But they have a history of navigating them quite well. There are a few players in that dressing room that know how to rally. The new recruits will have to rally too, they will learn the true wiley grit that lies beneath Fulham’s soft and gooey exterior.

As the season endures, Fulham need to keep believing that despite the results on the pitch they are still fully capable of going on a winning run. The metadata numbers are very solid for Fulham, I for one can see this team having a successful run over a seven-to-ten game period this season. The encouraging element is that Fulham haven’t yet hit their goalscoring stride this season, and as shown last year, each player in practically every position can bag a goal over 90 minutes. When things start to work and results come, we’ll hopefully see this team kick on with the confidence that a few win’s brings. Digging deep when it matters will be the first step to doing that. Fulham have been low before, time to step up again.