Fulham are bottom of the Premier League after six games, still waiting for their first win and carrying only two points into a difficult early autumn. Yet Álvaro Arbeloa’s side have shown enough in long spells to make their position feel harsher than the football alone suggests. The trouble is that matches do not finish after 75 minutes, and Fulham have made a habit of discovering that the hard way.
Why it landed this week
- Fulham
- Álvaro Arbeloa
- Bournemouth
- Tottenham
- Sunderland
- Crystal Palace
- Manchester United
- Ipswich
- Hull City
- Coventry
Only Bournemouth and Tottenham join Fulham in having failed to win so far. But the Cottagers’ predicament is especially frustrating because their record would look decidedly healthier if the final quarter-hour were removed from the equation.
At the 75-minute mark across their six league matches, Fulham would sit 10th. Their notional return would be eight points, built from two wins, two draws and two defeats, with six scored and six conceded. Instead, late concessions have left them six points adrift of that tally and rooted to the foot of the table.
The latest setback came against Ipswich, when Fulham were ahead with two minutes remaining before conceding twice. Arbeloa said the manner of the defeat hurt, but insisted his players must take it on board and ready themselves for the next match.
“We did plenty well for the first 60 or 70 minutes, but then we let in two late goals,” the manager said. “We have to keep improving.”
The closing minutes have undone them
Fulham have conceded after the 75th minute in four of their six fixtures, and each occasion has changed the result. They lost 1-0 to Sunderland, surrendered a 2-1 lead to Crystal Palace in a 3-2 defeat, were held 1-1 by Manchester United and then lost 2-1 to Ipswich after leading late on.
| Opponent | Late effect | Final score |
|---|---|---|
| Sunderland | Late goal turned the game into a defeat | 1-0 |
| Crystal Palace | Fulham’s lead became a loss | 2-3 |
| Manchester United | Late concession cost a victory | 1-1 |
| Ipswich | Two late goals reversed Fulham’s advantage | 2-1 |
Across those games, a possible eight additional points have effectively become one. It is a start worseed only by Scott Parker’s opening to the 2020-21 campaign, the season in which Fulham were last relegated to the Championship.
Arbeloa has asked for patience with younger members of the group, including Shea Charles, Manuel Ángel, Josh King, César Palacios, Gonzalo García and Kusi-Asare. “We need to be patient with the young players and help them develop,” he said.
There is an obvious wrinkle, though. Fulham are not a particularly youthful squad overall: their average age of 26.8 makes them the fourth-oldest group in the division. The shortage at the end of matches has looked less like raw inexperience than a failure to manage the game when it matters.
Good football, insufficient punishment
There is plenty in Fulham’s approach that should encourage Arbeloa. They rank third in the league for passing sequences of more than 10 passes, with 91. They are second for passes per attacking move at 4.36, and lead the division for constructed attacks with 32.
They are also seventh for shots, having taken 85, but their finishing has not matched the build-up. Their conversion rate of 7.06 per cent is the third lowest in the Premier League. Better use of earlier chances might have spared them some of those anxious final passages.
“When you do not take your opportunities, the other team will,” Arbeloa said. “We are making plenty during games, but to win we have to start finishing them.”
The manager does not want the solution to be a retreat. “We must get better when we are ahead, while continuing to play the same way,” he said. “We should not drop deeper and simply start defending.”
Exposure without the ball
The more worrying numbers come once Fulham lose possession. They are seventh in the league for possession at 54 per cent, yet no side above them in that ranking has allowed more touches in its own penalty area or more shots against it. Opponents have recorded 162 touches in the Fulham box and 94 attempts.
For a side that wants the ball, Fulham have offered too little resistance when it goes the other way. They are second-bottom for high presses, with 27, and fourth-bottom for fouls, with 57. Arbeloa’s team have too often been open after losing the ball, lacking the necessary edge to halt the next attack before it gathers pace.
Questions over the manager’s future have followed naturally from the table, but Arbeloa has not sounded like a man unsettled by them. “I never worry about my position,” he said. “I do not feel fear; you cannot be a coach if you do. I played for the best team in the world and coached the best team in the world. Pressure has been part of my life since childhood, and I like it.”
The next fixture
Fulham’s next two matches are against the newly promoted pair Hull City and Coventry. For Arbeloa, they offer a chance to turn attractive passages into points before another late collapse becomes the familiar feature of the season.
