Efter veckans starka insats i München väntar på söndagen ännu en bortamatch för Liverpool, man ska bege sig till Craven Cottage för att försöka plocka tre nya, viktiga poäng. Motståndare är Fulham, så verkligen haft en turbulent säsong, med två sparkade tränare och många motiga resultat. Russ Goldman(@Russ_Goldman) berättar i dagens inlägg om hur det varit att följa laget under comebacksäsongen i Premier League.
- It´s been a tough season for Fulham, you are currently 19th in the league, why do you think you are in that position? It is a complicated answer as there are several factors, but I will try to simplify it. For me it starts with the Summer Recruitment as the ambition was right, but they did not bring in enough of the right players especially defensively to play in the Premier League. To add to that I would say having Claudio Ranieri take over with a completely different style was a recipe for disaster as the majority of the players did not fit his style so it turned into square pegs in round holes. There is much more to it, but I think that will give you the idea.
- You changed manager from Jokanovic to Ranieri a few months ago, now Ranieri has been sacked and Scott Parker is the new manager. What are your thoughts on the way the club has handled the manager position during this season? I was against the sacking of Jokanovic as I feared doing that and replacing him with Ranieri could make things worse because of a style problem and I have proven right. Sacking Ranieri was the right move so Fulham could try to get their identity back and build for next season in the Championship.
- If you go down, which players do you think will leave and which players do you want the club to build the team around? Do you think you will have a good chance of getting back to the Premier League quickly? First I think Fulham have a very good chance to come right back up as I believe the sale of key assets should give them a good amount of money to use. I expect Mitrovic, Sessegnon and potentially Seri to leave but I have read that the club will try to hold on to him.
- Ryan Sessegnon is rated as one of the biggest talents in british football, what do you think of his first season in Premier League? Where do you think he will play next season? Sessegnon will be a great player but he is still developing. Expectations of him being the next Bsle are unfair as he is a different type of player who reads the game very well which is his strength. He still is that player but his confidence is shot, and just needs more time to develop. I think he will be sold but I hope he is loaned back to Fulham so he can continue to develop as a player.
- You signed Lazar Markovic from us in during the last transfer window, how has his start at your club been? Honestly he has barely played but in one half against West Ham he showed promise, but I expect to see very little of him moving forward. Fulham need to build for the future now and he is not going to be a part of it.
- What kind of game do you expect against Liverpool?
I expect a similar game that Fulham played against Chelsea as Fulham really hung in there the majority of the match.
The Fulham players will know they can play with Liverpool because the first time they played they were robbed by the wrong decision by the ref against Mitrovic. On top of that the pitch is smaller so that could play in the hands of Fulham. The players have no pressure on them as the club is getting relegated so they can play and potentially affect who wins the league. With that said I am predicting 2-1 to Liverpool but I would not be shocked for Fulham to get a draw.