The opening 45 minutes against Newcastle United – or what Fulham fans will recall as an uninterrupted sequence of sheer calamity – proved the Cottagers are not the finished article this season by any means.
Joao Palhinha has been influential so far in his fledgling Fulham career as Marco Silva’s side have made an impressive start on their return to the Premier League.
However, with suspension ruling him out of the game against the Magpies, it was never going to be easy to replace the midfield revelation.
And his stand-in Nathaniel Chalobah barely managed to tie his laces before diving into a reckless tackle and getting himself a straight red card after eight minutes.
It was a juvenile mistake for the 27-year-old former England international which has not helped Chalobah’s chances of securing more game time, having failed to make a strong impression since arriving at Craven Cottage in 2021.
It would be reductive to blame one individual for a team losing 4-1 at home, but his moment of madness threw the game off kilter before Fulham had any chance to settle, highlighting a weakness of depth in Fulham’s midfield.
What should have been a calming presence for a changed side quickly became an expensive absence, and whether his late lunge came from an eagerness to impress, it could have cost him any future starting position under Silva.
Moving onto the Fulham manager, his decision to start Chalobah over club captain Tom Cairney did seem a strange one. Chalobah is the more defensive option but Cairney has played deeper before and has a habit of relieving pressure by picking up the ball deep and driving up the pitch.
Fulham looked better with his attacking impetus on the pitch after he was sent on just before half-time to help quell the tide of Newcastle goals.
There was at least the aggression in the midfield that has been the catalyst for Fulham’s best performances this season.
Silva made some attempts post-match to protest referee Darren England and video assistant referee Mike Dean’s decision to give Chalobah the straight red, saying: “I have a strange feeling after seeing it many times on TV. It’s difficult to accept – if it was always like that, I would accept.
“But I am 100% sure that we will come here in derbies and tough games with lots of challenges, and moments like that one will be a yellow card and that’s it.
“This is a difficult situation for us to understand because it’s either consistent with these types of situations, or we have to give a yellow card.”
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The Fulham boss will have his opinions about officiating decisions, but the red card was just one of several turning points that gave Fulham their worst defeat of the season so far.
Another occurred in the 37th minute when talismanic number nine Aleksandar Mitrovic limped off nursing an injury he sustained on international duty with Serbia.
With Palhinha and Mitrovic both missing, Fulham’s ball retention in the opposing half became virtually non-existent – the doggedness and hostility from the Brighton and Nottingham Forest games had vanished and Newcastle were able to easily zip the ball around for the remainder of the game.
This will be an area of concern for Silva as the midfield is where Fulham have won games this season.
A strong, organised press led by Palhinha and Mitrovic has usually been followed up by Andreas Pereira and Harrison Reed, but without the two instigators, the latter was chasing his tail while Pereira drifted in and out without making any real impact.
The bad luck kept coming for Fulham as new signing Layvin Kurzawa went off injured, Miguel Almiron produced a contender for goal of the season, and Bernd Leno’s brilliant save bounced off the post into the path of Sean Longstaff.
Silva continued post-match: “We know we are in a good place, but we are humble enough to understand that even if you work harder and harder, some bad days will come for us as well – it’s part of the marathon that is the Premier League.
“We understand that – it is up to me to work with them and to show them what we have not done right. Some things we did were not enough, and we have to keep working.”
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Some positives for Fulham are that Mitrovic’s injury doesn’t look to be too serious and may only keep him out for one more game.
Meanwhile, Harry Wilson is rumoured for a return to action before the end of October, which will be a big plus for the Whites with Willian now injured too.
Palhinha will return from his one-match-ban against West Ham, adding that much-needed physical presence and stability in the middle of the park and Silva will be keen to show the rest of the league the capitulation against Newcastle was little more than a blip.