SLAV'S PROJECT, OR NECESSITY?

Two games into the season and the FFC faithful are buzzing. But what can we all make of this start to the season? Friday's excellent win over the Geordies, saw a solid and composed performance from the team. There are so many positives to take from that performance against what is essentially a team full of Premier league players. And last night a totally different team beating Orient, to take us into the next round of the League Cup. This writer was not at last night's game and had to listen to the radio commentary. But, by all accounts it was a good first 65 minutes from the youngsters, helped by 3 or 4 senior players. If you look on social media there are still some moaners,  saying things like "same old Fulham, letting in goals near the end" etc. I, for one, can't agree with that, as we should remember that these days this competition is not important for teams from the top two divisions. The money on offer in the Prem. is too big a carrot, for clubs with the ambition of FFC, and risking first team players in this cup, is a risk not worth taking. We should also remember that in pre season Slavisa used many of these youngsters to blood them. Slav, clearly, has a system that he wants to instil right throughout the club, and watching these youngsters in a competitive match, will not only help him, but it will help the youngsters to learn the system. Some of these youngsters will break through at some stage, so for Sessegnon, Edun, Adeniran, and even Woodrow, it is good to give them much needed game time. They were bound to tire near the end, and the experience of having to hold out for a win, should be a good lesson to be learned. Strolling, impressively, into a 3-0 lead, against one of the favourites for the 2nd division title, should be the positive to take from this game.
Back to social media, and we see fans bemoaning the lack of signings, despite Slavisa's assurances that players are lined up, and signings are very close. I very much doubt that such a meticulous coach as Slavisa, is going to sign players for the sake of it. He will place strict criteria on the type of player he wants, and that takes time. We should also realize that just because we think a certain player should be at FFC, that player may choose another option. The perfectionist Serbian says he needs 4 or 5 players to make his side competitive in the marathon of the Championship, and we should be in no doubt that come the end of August he will get what he wants. At the moment we have 15 or 16 players who have the experience, plus some very promising youngsters, so we can probably afford to be a little patient until the season really kicks in. Slavisa has his project and I have total faith in this man to take us forward. Don't be surprised to see some signings in the next couple of weeks, don't be surprised if we haven't heard of them, and don't be surprised if they are very shrewd acquisitions who will become our favourites. After all, many of us were saying "Ayite, who?", "Odoi, who?". 
In Slavisa we trust.

© Nic Smith