Fulham lost 2-1 to Swansea at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon, and beleaguered manager Martin Jol was treated to a chorus of boos as his side left the pitch. The loss leaves Fulham in the relegation zone but, perhaps more worryingly, the Cottagers have just 11 goals from 12 matches.
Jol perhaps summed up his side’s season best when he said, after the loss to Swansea, “If you don’t score, you can’t win games.” The Cottagers did score two on Saturday -- however, one was an own goal by Aaron Hughes, bouncing off his leg and past Maarten Stekelenburg. The other goal, from Scott Parker, seemed almost unintentional, as it looked as though Parker was simply trying to chip the ball into the area.
The Fulham manager again touched on Fulham’s lack of goals when he stated, “Darren Bent could have scored a hat-trick and we should have been up but it didn’t happen.” Bent did, indeed, have a last minute shot saved by Michel Vorm. He also hit the post and went close with a header. So yes, he could have had a hat trick. But the forward isn’t converting his chances -- he’s got just two on the season. That’s as many as Steve Sidwell. Dimitar Berbatov has but one, despite having scored 15 last season.
Eleven total goals. Three wins on the season -- against Sunderland, Stoke City and Crystal Palace. Yes, scoring goals is the way to win games. But at some point, you have to think Fulham will lose patience with Jol. They’ve appointed Rene Meulensteen as head coach in hopes that their combined forces will lift the side. Still, Jol’s job hardly seems secure. If the two can’t find a way to get proven goalscorers to land the ball in the back of the net, you have to think it’s Jol that will be on his way out.