What do Fulham need to do to break into the top 10?

Fulham have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions over the past few seasons, bouncing between promotion and relegation before finally consolidating their place in the Premier League. Under Marco Silva, the club has seen significant progress. But while we may have shed the perennial fear of relegation, breaking into the Premier League’s top 10 remains a challenge.

It requires more than just ambition; it’s a mix of smart tactics, solid management, and an unwavering belief in the project. Fulham have the foundations in place but must now push further to truly compete among England’s elite. Off the pitch, strong recruitment strategies and fostering player retention will be paramount to ensuring consistency.

Stop being wasteful

Our attack remains our biggest weakness, and it must improve. Despite Rodrigo Muniz’s electrifying form from the back end of last season and veteran forward Raul Jimenez showing his nous for a goal here and there, this Fulham side are wasteful in front of goal.

Both strikers can have their moments of magic. Last season, Jimenez’s backheeled finish past Vlachodimos in a 5-0 drubbing against Forest and Muniz’s bicycle-kick against Sheffield United in 3-3 draw provided reminders of both men’s ability. But the consistency is never there.

To break into the top 10 and fight for a place in Europe, Fulham need a 20-goal-a-season striker, which is hard to find in a European market not blessed with many elite centre-forwards – certainly not ones in our realistic price range. Despite having boasted clinical strikers such as Dimitar Berbatov, Louis Saha and Aleksander Mitrovic, we’ve actually never had a striker score 20 goals in a season in our Premier League history. Clint Dempsey’s 17 goals in the 2011/12 season came closest.

The match against Manchester City was a stark reminder of our lack of profligacy in front of goal. Adama Traore spurned three one-on-ones and in the second half, despite a great block from Ruben Dias, Jimenez should have finished after lovely cut-back by Antonee Robinson. If this side had a clinical, consistent finisher, no doubt we could finish in the top 10. Perhaps even UEFA’s Conference League could beckon.

Keep Marco Silva

Marco is without doubt the most important person at Fulham FC. His influence has been transformative, and his continued presence is key to the club’s aspirations in the Premier League. His tactical acumen, man-management, and ability to get the best out of players have elevated Fulham from a yo-yo club to a stable top-flight competitor. Silva’s philosophy is built around a solid defensive structure, fluid attacking play, and high pressing, which has made us a difficult team to break down.

Last season Silva masterminded a series of stunning triumphs. Fulham dealt a hammer blow to Arsenal’s title aspirations in a 2-1 victory at home, following it up with 3-0 annihilation of Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs 3-0 and then a subsequent historic 2-1 victory at Old Trafford with Iwobi’s injury-time winner, the first since 1963.

A few days prior, United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe had promised to “knock Liverpool and Manchester City off their perch”. Fulham brought them right back down to reality.

This season? Silva cleared a major obstacle with flying colours, beating top six hopefuls Newcastle 3-1 at home in the Premier League – a team we hadn’t defeated in the top flight since 2011.

We must keep hold of Marco Silva at all costs. He rebuffed an eye-watering £40m a year to manage Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia. It’s obvious he feels he still has unfinished business in SW6.

Continue our consistent recruitment

During our yo-yo period, our recruitment was – frankly – a dog’s dinner. We went from signing players for exorbitant fees and contracts to signing loan players under Scott Parker, so their future careers wouldn’t be jeopardised by our relegation.

Of course, who can forget when Fulham spurned the chance to sign a young Antoine Griezmann in 2014 for a measly £12m from Real Sociedad in favour of Kostas Mitroglou from Olympiakos for £14m. Mitroglou never scored for the club, six months later we were relegated and Griezmann went on to become a world champion.

Nowadays it seems that Tony Khan has finally got it right. Bringing back the ever-reliable Joachim Anderson to play alongside Calvin Bassey has been a masterstroke. Sander Berge brings a sturdy balance alongside the enigmatic Sasa Lukic but the signing of Emile Smith Rowe is the real pick of the bunch.

A player wasting away under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, eager to prove a point and play regular first team football has already got three goal contributions in just seven games. Jamie Carragher famously said three years ago that, “he’s the best player in the league dribbling with the ball at pace”. Smith-Rowe is a statement signing and one that epitomises forward-thinking recruitment. Other clubs dithered and Fulham profited.

Protect our Academy

We have to keep hold of our academy talents. Losing prodigies for pennies is an issue, even though it is difficult for a club of our size to hang onto talent when bigger clubs approach. Seeing both Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott head to Liverpool for less than £15m combined still leaves a sour taste. These are the kinds of talents who can elevate us, but the club has been lacklustre in extending their contracts at crucial times in their development.

So, is it possible?

Of course. As of now we sit seventh ahead of the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United, and in our first season back in the top flight, we comfortably finished seven points clear of Crystal Palace in 10th.

With Marco Silva at the helm and a squad strengthened by astute strategic signings, we are well-positioned to consistently break into the Premier League top 10. The club’s long-term stability, tactical versatility, and growing squad depth make us a competitive force in the league.

Silva’s leadership has instilled a winning mentality and tactical cohesion, while key players continue to evolve under his guidance. If Fulham can maintain this upward trajectory, balance performance in cup competitions, and avoid major injuries, there’s no reason why we can’t cement ourselves as regular top 10 contenders in the seasons to come.