Fulham’s next three Premier League games could define the direction of their season, with Gary Neville warning Alvaro Arbeloa’s side that they are approaching a crucial “moment of reckoning”.
Fulham were held to a 1-1 draw by Manchester United, a result that left them only above the Premier League’s bottom spot on goal difference.
Their next challenge could hardly be more important.
After the international break, Fulham face newly-promoted Ipswich, Hull and Coventry in three consecutive league fixtures.
Neville believes those matches could provide a clearer picture of whether Fulham have enough to pull themselves away from danger.
“It’s the moment of reckoning for them,” Neville said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
“They’ve had a start of the season where they’ve played Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, they had a bad defeat here against Crystal Palace.
“I’m worried about Fulham. I never will be described as ‘nicely and nice’, but it’s the last thing I would want to be described as a football player or a football team. They play nice football.
“I just feel like that will cause them a problem. If I was Hull, I know they’re called the Tigers but I would be literally like tigers, I’d be like aggressive, I’d be like animals waiting for them.”
Neville’s concern centres on whether Fulham’s attractive approach can produce enough goals and defensive resilience when they face teams fighting for similar points.
He highlighted the attacking talent available to Arbeloa, including Oscar Bobb, Josh King, Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios, while also praising Alex Iwobi’s contribution.
But the former Manchester United defender questioned whether that group can consistently deliver in front of goal.
“The young players up front are talented – Oscar Bobb, Josh King, Gonzalo Garcia, and Cesar Palacios. Alex Iwobi does a good job. But is that going to get them the goals?
“I’m not sure, and are they going to have enough at the back and are they going to concede goals, are they going to have teams that press against them better than Manchester United? 100%.”
That makes the upcoming fixtures against Hull, Coventry and Ipswich particularly significant.
Fulham will need to turn possession and promising football into points, especially against opponents who could match them for intensity and aggression.
“So I think that Hull, Coventry, Ipswich, they’re big games for them, and I’m hoping that they’re competitive in those games,” Neville added.
The draw against Manchester United was also a missed opportunity for Fulham, particularly after Coventry, Hull and Ipswich all picked up victories.
Neville pointed to Arbeloa’s reaction at the final whistle as evidence of how much the result mattered.
“You see Arbeloa’s face at the end, it was a big moment for them to go to four points wasn’t it, particularly after Coventry winning, Hull and Ipswich have won games, so that was a bad one for him at the end and he’ll be devastated.”
Fulham now have a clear target.
Neville believes they need at least five points from the next three matches, with six potentially giving them the platform to move away from trouble.
“But they’ve got a big chance, if they can get six points, five points minimum out of those games, then you say, OK they’ve got a chance.
“But they need to win definitely one or two of them or else we’ll be saying that Fulham will be in big big trouble, and I think they are in trouble.”
The pressure will therefore be firmly on Fulham when Premier League football resumes.
Three games against newly-promoted opposition could offer them the opportunity to change their early-season trajectory, but Neville believes they must become more ruthless before their position becomes even more difficult.
For Arbeloa, the message is clear: Fulham need points, and they need them quickly.
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