Has Marco Silva's work at Fulham gone under the radar in the Premier League?
When you look at conversations over the Premier League’s manager of the season, Marco Silva’s name has certainly gone under the radar. With Eddie Howe working wonders at Newcastle United, and Mikel Arteta transforming his Arsenal side to title contenders after capitulating in last season’s Champions League pursuit, it’s easy to forget just how impressive the job Silva has done in West London so far.
Still on the periphery of European football at the time of writing, many of the Craven Cottage faithful must be pinching themselves to check if they are still dreaming. Indeed, Fulham’s reputation heading into the season was that of a yo-yo club — an old adage used in the football lexicon to describe a team that is perhaps too good for second tier football but lacks the consistency and quality to remain a stalwart in the Premier League. Fulham’s survival was imperative at the start of the campaign after three previous failed attempts, but not many could have envisaged some of the results they have garnered so far.
When Silva took over in 2021, he had both the club’s and his own personal reputation to try and restore. The Portuguese manager had struggled in the final months of his Everton tenure, and previous roles at Hull City and Watford had seen his sides flirt with and end with relegation. Fulham had the financial backbone to mount a promotion charge, but after restoring their Premier League status it was their recruitment over the summer that turned plenty of heads in the football betting their side of the River Thames.
Given the freedom to splash the cash, Silva recruited compatriot Joao Palhinha from Sporting and some experienced defenders in Kenny Tete and Issa Diop as well as a new man between the sticks in Arsenal’s Bernd Leno. But perhaps the most influential piece of management Silva has had at Fulham is getting the best out of star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The Serbian arrived when the club were initially relegated in 2018 after a lukewarm run at Newcastle United. However, spells in the second tier allowed the rash forward to mature into the finished article, and despite many doubting his ability to cut it in the top tier, the record-breaking 44 goals he scored in the Championship last season has been added to with a variety of finishes this season, putting Mitrovic up there with the likes of Harry Kane and Erling Haaland as some of the league’s top scorers.
Silva has already racked up big results against the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea, but with a few months left of the season he knows his side will have to work hard if they want to bring European football to Craven Cottage. Despite many believing they have what it takes, the Portugal man has insisted his side will take one game at a time and played down his own expectations.
“I am not the guy that dreams too much, I am ambitious – of course I am – but I think we are showing that on the pitch, our ambition and our desire,” he said. “To dream is for our fans. For us it’s game by game and you have to go each game to prepare our players as best we can with full ambition to win the football match.”
When the end of season awards come round, it will be interesting to see if Silva’s name is thrown in the hat for Manager of the Season, or whether he needs to consolidate a top six finish to prove Fulham aren’t just a flash in the pan.
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