Fulham depth chart, pre-season edition

Fulham have done some smart business in this window so far. They've brought in some players that should be able to help and support the hold overs that performed well last year. The pre-season friendlies have given us a glimpse at what kind of formation Kit Symons wants to play this year.

Only once has Symons lined up the squad in a traditional 4-4-2, and the diamond has been absent. It appears that he much prefers the 4-4-1-1 or a 4-2-3-1 with McCormack just behind the striker. If the season started tomorrow, I'd expect the starting lineup to look something like this.

There are still some flaws with this setup. Both Pringle and Kacaniklic are better on the left than the right. However, they are by far the best two wide players on the squad, so one of them is probably going to have to be slightly out of position. Neither Jamie O'Hara or Lasse Vigen Christensen are traditional defensive midfielders. I'm not sure Scott Parker is ready to go, and I'm not sure he will be all year. Tunnicliffe and Hyndman are options there as well, but I think I like this pairing best.

In the defense, the full backs are probably set. Garbutt might not play right away, but going forward I expect left back to be his spot. The team doesn't appear to be sure if Kavanagh is a full back or a midfielder, so giving him the left back job probably isn't realistic. On the right, Jazz Richards and Jack Grimmer will probably split time. But I think Grimmer might have a long term future at center back, so I'd give Richards the nod.

Speaking of center backs, this is where Fulham are thin. Assuming Amorebieta is gone, Fulham are only five deep there (and that's if you count Grimmer). The top four players are all holdovers from last year who hardly covered themselves in glory. I still expect one more player to come into this spot before the window closes.

Finally, while Lonergan was brought in, I can't believe that anyone but Bettinelli will be between the sticks when the season starts.

That leaves Fulham with a depth chart that looks something like this

Is this squad good enough to challenge for promotion? For a playoff spot? How many players does it need before the window closes? How do you feel about the squad so far?