Football news - Is Claudio Ranieri really a ‘risk-free’ appointment at Fulham?
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Updated 14/11/2018 at 12:20 GMT
“Dilly-ding, dilly-dong,” Claudio Ranieri is back in the Premier League! London is calling for Claudio once more, with Fulham the destination this time after his four-year spell up the road at Chelsea.
Claudio Ranieri, Fulham
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The charismatic coach was known as ‘The Tinkerman’ at Stamford Bridge during his four years in charge, but he dispensed with the moniker during his time with Leicester.
Ranieri first came to the Premier League 18 years ago, and (would you believe) Slavisa Jokanovic was his first signing as Chelsea boss back in 2000.
But it is now the end of the road for Jokanovic at Fulham after six successive league defeats left the club bottom of the Premier League table.
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Deafeat at Anfield proved the end of the road for Slavisa Jokanovic
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There’s no doubting that the highs of May, when the Serbian masterminded the club’s route back to the top flight for the first time in four seasons, have been punctured by the lack of consistency in the side’s starting line-up.
Ranieri will need time to assess a bloated squad by deciding on his first-choice starting XI. No fewer than seven permanent signings were made by Jokanovic in the close season, with Fulham also being affected by the curtailed preparation time that comes from winning the Championship play-offs.
In total, there were 12 new faces at Craven Cottage when the summer transfer window closed, and the £105.3million spent was the most by any promoted club in the Premier League era.
Fulham chairman Shahid Khan describes Ranieri as a "risk-free appointment" given his "legendary" status off the back of his success with Leicester, but there’s no guarantee he will hit the minimum requirement of securing the club’s top-flight status.
Why did Jokanovic have to go?
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Fulham's season has unravelled with Jokanovic failing to find the right defensive combination
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Jokanovic became the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season, 12 games into the campaign, but the Serbian has a track record to rival Ranieri having won three league titles and two domestic doubles.
Ranieri’s predecessor has also managed in the Champions League, Europa League and won two promotions in just 139 top-flight games, but that has only led to him having the unwanted record of being responsible for one of the Premier League’s worst ever defences.
After 10 matches, Fulham had equalled the record for the most number of goals conceded (28) in the competition’s history.
They have the worst defensive record in England’s top five leagues and Ranieri has now been tasked with cleaning up the mess.
Three goalkeepers and no few than 21 changes to the defence were made by Jokanovic during the club’s 12 league games, and creating a solid platform will be one of the priorities in the new manager’s in-tray...
Where’s the firepower coming from?
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Aleksandar Mitrovic is currently experiencing a goal drought
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Ranieri – who was named LMA and Premier League Manager of the Year in 2016 – will be determined to get Aleksandar Mitrovic back firing again. The striker scored five goals in his first six league games this season, but he has gone five games in all competitions without finding the net.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed Mitrovic’s “outstanding” hold-up play during the 2-0 defeat at Anfield last Sunday, and Ranieri knows he has the best striker of any of his side’s relegation rivals.
On his day, the 24-year-old can be unstoppable, as witnessed by his 14 goals during his loan spell with Cottagers which propelled the side to promotion last term. The Serbian was signed for £27m in July, but he grew up idolising Jokanovic, who got the best out of him. Will the club's talisman respond positively to the news? Time will tell, but he is not alone in offering real quality in the attacking third.
Andre Schurrle has Champions League pedigree and is too good to be scrapping at the foot of the table, while Luciano Vietto has shown glimpses of the quality he possesses.
All three recently started during the defeat at Huddersfield – a loss which represented the death knell for Jokanovic – but the trio were clearly short of any confidence. With a new voice and desire to impress, Fulham have enough goals in their squad to secure a mid-table finish.
Pick where to play Sessegnon
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Ryan Sessegnon has the ability to strike fear into defences
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Ryan Sessegnon was tipped to take the Premier League by storm, but while the likes of Jadon Sancho, Reiss Nelson and Phil Foden have been receiving plenty of plaudits, the most experienced 18-year-old of the English quartet has been floundering along the River Thames this term.
Sessegnon has almost become a victim of his versatility, playing at both left-back and left winger.
Some would suggest playing regularly for a struggling side is a steep learning curve for the enterprising youngster that will benefit him in the long term, but others will suggest his growth is now being stunted.
Ranieri has previously excelled working with youngsters. In guiding Monaco to second in Ligue 1 during the 2013/14 season, one year after promotion back to the French top tier, he helped develop the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Layvin Kurzawa and Fabinho.
Sessegnon scored 16 goals last season – but like Fulham, he struggled in the early months of the campaign, scoring just once in his opening 19 matches.
A hat-trick in the remarkable 5-4 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on November 21 sparked a rich vein of form – and Fulham could do with another late-autumn revival if he is played higher up the pitch.
Utilise the French connection
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Ranieri has worked in France and can get the best out of two expensive signigns
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Ranieri will by now have familiarised himself with the squad he will get to grips with over the next fortnight ahead of his opening game in charge against Southampton on November 24 at Craven Cottage.
Who makes up the midfield engine is an intriguing topic. Tom Cairney was instrumental in helping Fulham gain promotion, but he has endured a difficult start to the season due to an ankle injury.
The team’s fortunes dipped dramatically in his absence, but Ranieri will be familiar with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Jean Michael Seri from his time in France.
Both are Jokanovic signings, and he has been unable to get a tune out of the duo, but after Ranieri successfully coached N'Golo Kante into the World Cup winner he now is with France, he will look to produce a similarly combative protective shield for Fulham's vulnerable defence.
Is Khan therefore right in his assessment of Ranieri?
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Fulham chairman Shahid Khan has acted in a bid to stop the rot
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While Khan is adamant that Fulham are on to a winner with this appointment, there was a good reason why Gary Linker tweeted, “Claudio Ranieri, really?” when the affable Italian was something of a left-field choice for Leicester back in 2015 by the late chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Did Greece think it was risk-free when they appointed him as the new national team head coach back in July 2014? Most certainly not, and his record of no victories from four matches, including a disastrous defeat at home to the Faroe Islands, highlighted how the right fit is needed.
In Khan implying that Ranieri’s arrival is a no-brainer, he simultaneously concedes that Fulham would have been relegated had Jokanovic remained in charge.
Contrary to what Khan suggests, there is so much at stake. The current Premier League TV deal means the bottom club take home a minimum of £100million, significantly more than the £7.5m each Championship club earns from the current EFL TV arrangement.
Khan is right about one thing: Fulham do have an “extraordinary football man” and given how bad Fulham have performed so far, it is a positive that they don't find themselves cut adrift.
With just three points separating them and 17th-placed Southampton with two-thirds of the season still to go, this would not be a second miracle, provided he doesn't revert back to being The Tinkerman.
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