The state of Fulham heading into the new year

September 20th 2014 might be remembered in the future as the start of a special time. Even though Kit's whites suffered a 1-0 defeat, it was the beginning of a fairly impressive run. Over the last fifteen games Fulham have scored 29 goals while conceding 21. They've taken 27 points over those 15 games. If Fulham had played at that same pace over the entire season, they'd be on 40 points with 43 goals scored and a +12 GD. That would put them in 3rd place and only two points off the top of the table. They're goal differential would be 6th in the entire table.

It's safe to say Fulham have been one of the top teams in the division since Kit took over, and I feel like 15 games is a large enough sample to project things going forward. Assuming Fulham continue the current pace Fulham will end up scoring 81 goals with a +20 GD and accumulating 71 points. That's quite impressive considering they were at a -12 GD with a single point after 7 games.

When we last explored the playoff chances we determined that 75 points was always good enough and as little as 68 had been enough in the past. It also should be noted that only one time in the last decade (Stoke City in 2006/07) has a team with a GD of +21 or better not made the playoffs.

So Fulham have a shot at the playoffs by just continuing to do what they do. However, a case could be made that Fulham could easily improve going forward. Fulham gets to play more of their more difficult opponents at home in the second half. Only Watford and Norwich appear to be extremely difficult away fixtures. With the Norwich match on the final looking like it could be important for both clubs.

So there is still a lot to be hopeful for. A win against Bournemouth on Boxing Day would be a huge step towards a playoff run. But even if Fulham come up a little short this season, I'm fairly confident they'll have good odds of making the run next year.