How does Marco Silva get the best out of Emile Smith Rowe?
Written by Charlie Shaw on 3rd February 2025
Emile Smith Rowe’s arrival at Motspur Park this summer was seen as a major coup for Marco Silva’s men, but it’s fair to say a lot more was expected from the 24-year-old in his opening six months in South West London. So, what is Emile not bringing to this Fulham side, and how does Marco Silva get the most out of the former Hale End prodigy’s undeniable talent?
Despite a bright start to life in black and white, notching up three goal involvements in his first five Premier League appearances, the former Huddersfield loanee has put up the same number of goal involvements in his following 16 top-flight appearances, and while goals and assists certainly don’t consign a player to mediocrity, the 24-year-old’s consistent creative anonymity, lack of directness, or hunger to receive the ball in the final thirds does.
Why did we buy Emile?
ESR was brought in to be the creative force that can grab a game by the scruff of the neck and beat a man, play that ball, score the goal. His addition was seen to be the addition of attacking flair to the bank of the Thames that would be the difference in tight, cagey affairs, where Fulham can’t play in transition, where Silva’s side are at their best.
Games against sides setting up with a low block were supposed to be the games that ESR would make the difference in. Frankly, he hasn’t been; Emile has ghosted in and out of games, with his previously mentioned lack of attacking dynamism a key factor in why deploying a low block against this Fulham side almost guarantees a positive result. A deficiency in Fulham’s attacking system that, come May, will be the difference between a mid-table finish and a European tour.
Why Isn’t he reaching his potential?
Although the ex Arsenal man has certainly struggled, moments of brilliance earlier in the season, and more recently with a terrific trivela into Raul Jimenez at home to Ipswich, and goal away at Leicester, show that the 24 year old still has moments of magic in his locker, so why aren’t we seeing this more often?
Emile has stepped into the role Andreas Pereira has kept under lock and key since Fulham’s promotion to the Premier League. Number 10 by name, but not number 10 by nature, the role Andreas has played in Silva’s system has perhaps been more crucial off the ball than on it, with our Brazilian the figurehead to Fulham’s press, cutting off passing lanes and hassling opposing defenders to allow his teammates to get in position to press as a unit.
It goes without saying that a prerequisite of this role is top-of-the-line fitness, something that Smith Rowe simply doesn’t possess. The correlation between the want for Smith Rowe to emulate the leading role Pereira holds in Fulham’s press, despite the difference in engine between the two players, and Emile’s dearth of directness in possession isn’t a coincidence. Smith Rowe simply doesn’t have the fitness required to be effective in and out of possession.
What does Marco do?
Frustration around Smith Rowe is building. A fully fit and confident Emile Smith Rowe has the ability to take Fulham to the next level by unlocking deep-lying defences and, in turn, unlocking Fulham’s next stab at a European adventure. With Marco Silva at the helm, Smith Rowe is in the ideal environment to regain his mental mojo and full match fitness to show fans by the banks of the Thames what the former Arsenal man showed in N7 earlier in his career.
Look across the league at other teams in contention for European spots; the one thing all five to six teams chasing continental football have in common is a star creative asset, players that have the ability to produce a moment of magic that will win you a game. There is no question Emile Smith Rowe can be that player for Fulham, but to unleash that player long term, there needs to be a wider change to this Silva side.
There’s no doubt that the system that Fulham currently deploys is geared towards the wide talent Marco Silva has at his disposal, especially Antonee Robinson. Both senior strikers at the club, Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz, are some variant of the target man variety, with mobility not being either of the two’s strong suit. Fulham’s number nine’s lack of mobility leads the Cottagers to concentrate their attacking output out wide, with Fulham having the most crosses in the top flight this season, with 519, and while Fulham making use of the talents of Robinson and the aerial prowess of Raul and Rodrigo has proved to be far from fruitless to Marco’s men this campaign, could a more nimble nine help Emile Smith Rowe break through his Fulham ceiling?
The current state of Silva’s attacking system has seen London’s original sit dead last in the Premier League in percentage of chances created centrally, something unsurprising when you factor in the aforementioned stat of Fulham crossing the ball the most out of any side in the top flight, and the fact that the predominant force of Fulham’s attack comes from well-trodden patterns of play, many of which revolve around Alex Iwobi and Antonee Robinson. Hardly a system built around your record signing, a creative attacking midfielder.
A centre forward with pace, partnered with an aerial threat, would be a recipe for success for Smith Rowe, with the onrushing runs of a central star opening up ESR to spearhead ball carrying in the transition, while also being able to form patterns of play with a striker that Emile could play off when facing a low block. Added speed through the middle also helps free Emile up off the ball, receiving help in leading Fulham’s press. This all sees Smith Rowe transform back into the direct number ten we saw at the Emirates, instead of a robotic piece of an unstuck Fulham attack, as Fulham could look to provide a more fluid outlook going forwards.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that Emile Smith Rowe has been blameless in being underwhelming in his opening half season at Craven Cottage; I’m not ripping into Marco Silva here either; he’s a hero, but the fact is that his side has suffered from a chronic clear-cut chance creation problem in recent weeks, with Fulham against Manchester United being the lowest xG game of the season so far being illustrative of that. The wing-heavy system Fulham operates has worked throughout much of this campaign, but teams adapt, and Silva needs to as well.
Implementing a system that stifles a player as talented as Emile Smith Rowe is negligible, and Marco’s undoubtable tactical acumen will, I’m sure, lead him to no doubt reach a compromise between utilising the talents of Robinson and Emile Smith Rowe, and I’d suggest that should begin with the addition of speed to the attributes Tony Khan and his recruitment team should look for in a striker this summer. It is really simple as this: give Smith Rowe a prolonged spell to get fully fit and play to his strengths, and the England international could be the man to help Fulham right the wrongs of 2010.
