Fulham relegated from the Premier League: Reasons why it all went wrong at Craven Cottage this season
£100m, three managers, not enough points and far too many goals conceded, Fulham showed exactly what not to do when getting promoted to the Premier League in a calamitous season at Craven Cottage.
If you wanted to show teams of the future exactly what not to do when you get promoted to the Premier League then just show them how things have panned out for Fulham this season.
While the investment from Shahid Khan must be applauded, the way those finances where deployed showed a distinct lack of planning, as they simply could not all be forged into a team unit.
Splitting up a team that had performed so well in the Sky Bet Championship is always a risk, and Fulham went that way as opposed to just trying to add quality in certain areas, and that recipe fell about as flat as it could have.
Here's why Fulham will be playing their football back in the Championship again next season.
Can't stop conceding
There are several ways to try and stay in the Premier League, but it's always going to be a struggle if you can't stop the opposition from putting the ball in the net - and the way Fulham defended throughout the season was naive at best.
Like a mullet hairstyle, they looked tidy up top but a mess at the back. They have conceded 76 goals in 33 matches, comfortably the worst record in the top flight, with neither Slavisa Jokanovic, Claudio Ranieri or caretaker boss Scott Parker able to arrest the flow of goals which has ultimately cost them.
What a waste of money
Ambition is fine, spending £100m and breaking your transfer record three times is a bold statement from the owners, but this money needs to be used in the right way - and only Aleksandar Mitrovic can be regarded as anything nearing a successful purchase.
Jean Michael Seri and Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa who cost £55m between them, and that was indicative of a transfer policy that seemingly had no structure or clear thinking behind it. It's like they bought the best available and then tried to mold them into a team instead of buying players to fit a certain style or formation.
Stubborn Slavisa won't change style
Manager Slavisa Jokanovic stuck with the style of play which got Fulham promoted, but the players could not implement it in the top flight. The Serbian remained popular with the fans but was sacked in November with Fulham bottom of the table after conceding 31 goals in 12 games. However, at the time Fulham were just three points from safety.
They may have well got the hang of things eventually, but in your first season in the Premier League a more cautious approach, even for just a few weeks, to try and stem the tide was surely a more suitable way to go. Managers need to be stubborn to a degree, but not to the detriment of the team.
Calling for Claudio didn't work
Would a firefighter of Sam Allardyce or similar been the better call? Fulham opted to bring in Claudio Ranieri to replace Jokanovic and attempt to shore up the defence, but the Italian hardly seemed to have any impact at all.
The Premier League title winner with Leicester failed to get any kind of improvement as their rearguard remained comfortably the worst in the top flight despite his defensive mindset. Ranieri's unwillingness to use previously key men such as captain Tom Cairney and full-back Ryan Sessegnon also frustrated supporters and he was sacked in February.
Kamara trouble
The one thing you need if you're battling relegation is unity within the team, everyone working together, no ego in the players who must go above and beyond putting the team first. However...
Ranieri said he wanted "kill" Aboubakar Kamara after he snatched the ball from Mitrovic to take a penalty, and then missed, against Huddersfield. Off the pitch the malaise continued with the forward rowing with Mitrovic in a yoga session and getting arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm and criminal damage after reports of a fight at Fulham's training ground. He was farmed out to Yeni Malatyaspor in January.
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