Kit Symons' Departure Imminent? Fulham Boss Hanging By A Thread

Fulham boss Kit Symons had a fairy tale start to life as Fulham manager, achieving a 50% win ratio after his first 10 games in charge. Since then, the form table was flipped on its head with Fulham going from a stunning 5th to 20th. He has been unable to even drag the Whites into the top half of the table, a position considered a certainty after his magnificent start. The question for Symons and Fulham is where next...

The straight-forward option is to sack the Welshman immediately, which would mean owner, Shahid Khan, has employed 6 managers in his mere 2 seasons as owner of the Cottagers. This would result in probable chaos, something which internally destroyed Fulham 12 months ago when Magath drowned Fulham's survival hopes. Though the form guides and statistics don't lie, 1 win in 13 is not good enough, and when a team struggles to put the ball in the back of the net more than once in 12 of those 13 performances, questions will undoubtedly be asked. Yes, you did read that fact correctly, we haven't scored more than once in 92% of the last 13 matches. When Symons says there is 'fragility in the group', it's not hard to blame that fragility on the boss himself. With Symons job hanging by a thread as it is, he could be gone unless Fulham begin to get on the scoresheet.

The more sensible, patient but laid-back option would be to wait until the end of the season, and reach a mutual agreement with Symons to leave the club. Khan needs to assert himself as a knowledgeable man with an ambition to return Fulham to the Premier League. The easiest way for him to do this would be to begin a search now for the next Fulham boss, a coach who works well with a poor squad but who will spend money to build the Whites into a Championship power. If this is successful, we will no doubt see Fulham returning to the Premier League in the next couple of seasons. But who will be the right man for the job? Gus Poyet, Martin Jol, Harry Redknapp all head the odds list according to BetVictor, but we all know a certain man waiting in the wings who could take the reigns.

Alan Curbishley won 4 promotions with Charlton Athletic and West Ham, pulling the two clubs up the table when they needed it most. He also saved West Ham from Premier League relegation, as Curbishley led the Hammers to seven wins out of their last nine games, beating Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic, Arsenal, Middlesbrough with a 1–0 win at Manchester United on the last day of the season, to keep West Ham in the Premier League. He knows his stuff, and he has the ability to twist a losing team around. He is a possibility, who has more experience than any Fulham boss over the last 4 years.

Ultimately, Symons still heading the Whites by this August looks virtually impossible. Surely there is no way he can still be in charge by the time the 15/16 season starts? The presence of many good managers currently unemployed makes Symons the odd one out, why would you pick him to stay above the other potential leaders? That is a question which will surely be answered in the coming months, with the departure of Kit Symons looking almost 100% by the start of the 15/16 season.