Alvaro Arbeloa looks on during a Real Madrid match
Alvaro Arbeloa
Fulham are set to give Alvaro Arbeloa until the next international break to prove himself amid a sluggish start to life at Craven Cottage. Fulham lost to newly-promoted Ipswich Town over the weekend to continue their winless start to the season, which has left them rock bottom of the Premier League.
The Cottagers have lost four of their six games, and they look no closer to turning a corner under their new boss, who had a tough gig in ensuring a smooth transition from Marco Silva, who enjoyed a successful run in charge of the club.
Arbeloa has a rather inexperienced squad to work with. Of their seven summer signings, five of them were aged 22 or under, so those new players have a tough transition to make to the Premier League, both inexperienced in terms of age and in the league, with none of them joining from Premier League clubs.
That has been paired with a head coach who has never coached in the Premier League in Arbeloa, and with many having already tipped Fulham to struggle, their start to the season has many surrounding the club worried.
According to GIVEMESPORT's Ben Jacobs, Fulham are already showing some concern, but they are not ready to hit the panic button, likely giving Arbeloa until the next international break to turn things around.
Alvaro Arbeloa
Alvaro Arbeloa
Jacobs said on the latest Market Madness podcast: "For Arbeloa Fulham are trying to build something with his style. and quite a lot of young players and many without proven Premier League experience. But the games between now and the international break are going to be important for Arbeloa. We know that prior to his appointment, Kieran McKenna was really the preferred choice, but chose to take a break from football.
"Thomas Frank is a free agent, so is Vitor Pereira, who’s been looked at by Fulham before in the past.
"Fulham want to make it work with Arbeloa, but there’s no guarantee he’s going to be given an entire season to bed in unless results improve.
"Fulham’s hierarchy would like it to work with Arbeloa, so they’re not yet pressing the panic button, but these next two games in particular are seen as relatively important to try and build some momentum.
Fulham's Premier League results so far
Fulham 2-3 Chelsea
Sunderland 1-0 Fulham
Fulham 2-3 Crystal Palace
Liverpool 0-0 Fulham
Fulham 1-1 Man Utd
Ipswich Town 2-1 Fulham
“Once you get sucked into a dog fight, there’ll be other names out there. Pereira is obviously one example with a track record of coming in and firefighting and keeping teams up. McKenna also young with Premier League experience that would obviously just come down to whether he wanted to end his break from management. And then you have Thomas Frank who would also be a coup probably quite an expensive one for Fulham.
“If you get rid of Arbeloa, then you’re also getting rid potentially of the style and the relationships he’s got with some of the players that have come in and that’s why Fulham are going to have to think long and hard as to whether they do genuinely want to make a change.”
Manchester City fans with a banner in support of Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak following Premier League charges
Manchester City fans with a banner in support of Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak following Premier League charges