Fulham are on course to concede 106 goals this season – here’s how they can fix their defence Slavisa Jokanovic has taken ‘we’ll score one more than you’ to the Premier League – and struggled badly as a result

Fulham have found the transition from the Championship to the Premier League difficult, even with a £100m transfer outlay in the summer designed to ease the way.

While the purchases of Aleksandr Mitrovic, who has continued his exceptional form from his loan season last year, André Schurrle and Jean-Michaël Seri in particular have strengthened their attacking options, the defence is an issue for the west London side.

Sitting in 18th in the table, Fulham have scored 11 goals this season. The only other side to match this feat in the bottom half of the table is Leicester City, in 11th (14 goals).

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However, at their current rate, Fulham are on course to concede 106 goals in the Premier League this season. It is true that they have already played Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal who account for 11 of their 25 goals conceded so far. However, with recent 3-0 and 4-2 losses to Everton and Cardiff, Fulham have found themselves questioning whether the issues run deeper than strong competition in the Premier League.

Indeed, reports this week suggested manager Slaviša Jokanović has only two league games to turn the ship around after their big summer investment. After a loss to Cardiff, it’s hard to argue with the notion that upcoming matches against Bournemouth and Huddersfield are must-win fixtures.

Critics who argue Fulham didn’t invest in defenders in the summer are misguided. Fulham bought Alfie Mawson (£15m), Joey Bryan (£6m), Fabri (£6m), Maxime Le Marchand (£4m) and defensive midfielder André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (£23m) while bringing in Calum Chambers, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, and Sergio Rico on loan. Nearly all performed well for their clubs last season and had strong reputations.

So what are the defensive issues at Fulham? And how can they be fixed?

Shipping goals

Fulham’s defensive vulnerabilities are compounded by their attacking tactics. Jokanovic often encourages his wingbacks to press far forward and contribute to phases in the final third in an attacking 4-3-3. Combine this with centre-backs who are not the quickest and Fulham are exceptionally vulnerable on the counter. Many of the goals they have conceded this season have come from their opponents playing past the high press and running at a disorganised scramble defence.

In addition, they are vulnerable to balls played into the channels and through balls past their centre-backs. They have conceded six goals in this manner. Most importantly, Fulham do not react well to danger in the box, particularly in terms of clearing low crosses (see the highlights reel of their 5-1 loss to Arsenal). Of their 25 goals conceded in the Premier League thus far, 22 have come from inside the area.

Constant tinkering

The tactical decision to focus on attacking play, to the detriment of defensive stability, is compounded by the tinkering Jokanovic has taken with the back four. He is yet to field any defensive line twice this season, fielding nine defenders in a variety of roles. Ryan Sessegnon has played in attack and defence. Le Marchand has played left-back and centre-back. Denis Odoi has played centre-back and right-back. The most frequent starting centre-back pairings are Le Marchand and Chambers, and Mawson and Odoi – both pairings have only started twice.

Put simply, most Premier League clubs should know their strongest centre-back pairing at nine matches in and be giving them consistent gametime to develop familiarity, especially if they are new signings. Jokanovic has ignored the importance of this entirely. It shows in the goals Fulham have conceded.

Lack of bite

In addition, Fulham are far too nice. While the club may have made their recent reputation playing silky football in the Championship, the manager needs to wake up to the harsh realities of the Premier League. If your defence has conceded 25 goals in nine matches, and has only received six yellow cards, they are too timid. Bar two penalties conceded against Brighton, one for an innocuous Mitrovic handball, the other for a gentle stab at the ball through a leg, Fulham have not risked much at all in the box. In fact they have been actively polite to attackers.

The lack of urgency is also reflected in the statistics. Fulham’s defenders generally lose more aerial battles than they win, and their tackle success rate can drift into mediocrity, especially for a defence that only averages 1.76 tackles per player per 90 mins.

Said simply, they stand off attackers too much, invite shots, and concede goals. At present, Fulham concede 17 shots per game in the Premier League – second only to Burnley and Brighton – and they concede them in much closer, more dangerous areas.

The steps to fix these issues take time. Defensive organisation is bred on the training ground by drilling situational awareness, but picking a centre-back pairing and sticking with it would be a good start.

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While attacking play for Fulham is also crucial (you cannot stay in the Premier League without scoring goals), they cannot keep committing men so far forward. This season has already shown the current crop of centre-backs cannot handle counterattacking situations effectively at this level, so wing-backs like Joe Bryan and Cyrus Christie need to be withheld a little to cover their defensive partners – no matter how effective their crosses are.

This comes down to tactical restraint, something Jokanovic has never shown particular interest in, preferring an all-out attack mentality.

If Fulham lose crucial upcoming league matches to Bournemouth and Huddersfield the club may choose to address its problems with a change in manager..

@LouisAlexDore