I don’t see a world where Arbeloa lasts at Fulham until Christmas
In the space of five minutes on Saturday, Fulham went from looking like securing a first Premier League win of the season, to utter disaster, losing 2-1 to Ipswich, subsequently leaving them bottom of the Premier League.
It was an incredible collapse.
Now, after his questionable substitutions and even more questionable post-match comments, Alvaro Arbeloa is losing a large portion of the fanbase, with some fans calling for an immediate change at the helm.
With the Khans in town, there are whispers of crunch talks, as Arbeloa hangs on by a thread.
Some say he’s got two games to save his job – Hull at home followed by Coventry away. But many think that is just delaying the inevitable.
With Ryan Sessegnon questioning the mentality, combined with Arbeloa’s ‘I coached the biggest club in the world’ quote, the post-match reaction made no Fulham fan feel any better about the situation.
I think Arbeloa should be given one more game. But I could equally understand it if he was let go this week.
Behind the scenes, if a change were to be made, a replacement would have to be ready to step in immediately. Vitor Pereira, Thomas Frank and Eddie Howe are the names that have been floated.
The worry is that if Arbeloa does go – and at this point, I don’t see a world where he’s here at Christmas – where does that leave Gonzalo Garcia, Manuel Angel and Cesar Palacios?
All three joined the club to work with Arbeloa and there is a scenario in which, after six league games, the Spaniard is clearing out his desk. Footballers are professionals, but surely a sacking would leave those three feeling isolated.
Which also begs the question: will the Khans pull the trigger this early? They invested a lot of money into giving Arbeloa the tools and players he wanted, after making the appointment which in itself raised some eyebrows. A change now would not only point to the failure of Arbeloa, but of the Khans too.
It’s a messy and unsavoury situation, but a situation Fulham fans have experienced before. But, after five years of stability and success under Marco Silva, these feel like rocky waters, and the real threat of relegation is suddenly in view.
Fulham owners might have no choice
Fulham are still one of three Premier League sides without a win so far this season, but because of the ongoing farcical situation surrounding Manchester City, the relegation battle might be different this season.
If City are given a points deduction, enough to relegate them, then just two more teams will go down. Fulham must not be one of those two teams, which is why to give them the best chance to stay in the league, a change will have to be made sooner rather than later.
Arbeloa’s comments after the Ipswich loss suggested he didn’t encourage his side to sit on the lead and defend until the final whistle. He insinuated that he tried to push the team on to score again.
The instructions versus what the team are actually doing don’t match, giving the impression the players aren’t listening to the manager.
Ultimately, the defeat at Portman Road was down to the baffling substitutions. If Arbeloa is in charge on Saturday and it doesn’t go well, Craven Cottage will turn toxic, which might leave the Khans with no choice.
