Sky Bet Championship outfit Fulham have raced out of the blocks in the 2016/17 campaign and are without defeat from their opening five games, winning three and drawing two.
Slavisa Jokanovic has set about replacing some of the deadwood from last season with good, quality Championship players and after years of relative turmoil the Cottagers can now look optimistically towards the future.
Given the nature of their struggles over recent years Fulham will probably only need to finish in the top half of the division this season to appease their supporters, although the club’s ambitious owner will probably suggest otherwise.
The West London-based club will be hoping to leave behind their controversies of old and start competing at the right end of the Championship this season.
Football League World writer Lee Clarke takes a look at Fulham’s three biggest mistakes of the last five years.
Managerial appointment of Felix Magath
The German boss will go down as arguably the most catastrophic appointment in the history of Fulham Football Club, after a wretched spell as the club’s manager in 2014.
The manager had a reputation for being an assassin with his training methods and after managing some of Germany’s biggest clubs there was hope that he could transform Fulham, who were near the foot of the Premier League upon his arrival.
In 20 games in charge of the Cottagers, Fulham won just four games and his 20% win ratio was the worst since the dreadful tenure of Lawrie Sanchez in 2007.
In hindsight with Fulham staring the drop in the face they should have appointed a manager capable of an instant return to the top flight, instead the club are still picking up the pieces from the Magath era.
Not offering Moussa Dembele a new deal sooner
Celtic signed Fulham sensation Dembele in the summer and left the Cottagers feeling somewhat short changed, with the 19-year-old just getting into his stride at Craven Cottage.
The France Under-20 striker left on a free to join the Scottish giants, leaving Fulham with the insulting value of a development fee as compensation for one of their prized assets.
Fulham did try to tempt Dembele into staying at the club for longer but by the time negotiations had come round, his heart was already set on letting his contract run down.
The Cottagers should have sorted out a long term deal with the man who netted 15 Championship goals last season a lot sooner and they now wonder what might have been had they managed to keep such a top, young talent.
Making just £1 million profit on Ross McCormack
The former Leeds United striker signed for Fulham at the start of the 2014/15 for a staggering £11 million and his form in two seasons for the club was fantastic.
Two seasons and 42 goals later Fulham opted to sell their talisman to Aston Villa for £12 million – making a profit of just £1 million.
A striker like McCormack will always get you goals in the Championship and Fulham fans must have been disappointed to see a player who had been so influential for them sold with very little in the way of a profit made.
Okay so McCormack is two years older now but Fulham would have been better off holding Villa at ransom and trying to recoup a more worthy valuation for one of the their better players.
Fulham fans, do you agree that these instances are the three biggest mistakes in the last five years? What else should be included? Let us know in the comments below!!!