Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Ranieri should rely on promotion-winning players to create more harmony at Fulham
Many of the problems Fulham have encountered this season and led to the sacking of Slavisa Jokanovic have been down to a lack of harmony.
An influx of expensively assembled players was an understandable decision. Fulham needed a host of defensive reinforcements and it was tempting to conclude that their midfield and attack was in need of an upgrade if they were to persist with the stylish approach that earned them promotion from the Championship in the Premier League.
But that glut of new players has created more problems than it has solved. When the defence has leaked goals, Jokanovic had too many expensive options knocking on his door to resist the temptation to tinker; which in turn led to a lack of defensive cohesion and the problem was exacerbated.
Fulham’s forward play was given a boost of physicality, speed and quality but suffered as the new arrivals were not as in tune with the intricacies of their attacking play as the players who had pulled them into the decision.
Now Claudio Ranieri has been brought in and the key for any manager appointed mid-season is to create harmony quickly and settle on a winning formula.
The quickest way to do that is to go back to what was so successful in the Championship last season, and drip feed the new arrivals into that as and when.