Seb Stafford-Bloor has claimed that Fulham face a major issue when it comes to their attacking prowess as they look to continue their fight to stay up.
Scott Parker’s men have been in incredible form, picking up 11 points over the past six games, giving them a real chance of staying in the division. However, one consistent problem across those games has been a constant struggle to find the back of the net, as they’ve only scored five times.
Scoring goals has been a problem for them all season, having only scored 22 in the league, and part of that has come down to the issues with main forward Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has gone from scoring 26 league goals last campaign to just two this time around.
And speaking on the Football Writers Podcast, Stafford-Bloor feels that unless he can suddenly pick up that touch from his Championship days, then the goals are going to have to be shared amongst the rest of the team.
He said: “Without question, the Mitrovic issue is really interesting. Mitrovic, at no point, has really looked fit, he doesn’t look like the presence he can be. Because at his worst – or best, I guess – he’s an absolute pain. He’s that kind of old-fashioned, thrusting number-nine type, and that just isn’t him this season.
“His touch is off, his instincts in the box are off, obviously, his goalscoring is a long way from what it can be. It’s very much a risk to their survival because they’re going to have to survive by committee. They’re going to have to share around the goals.”
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TIF Thoughts on Seb Stafford-Bloor’s comments on Aleksandar Mitrovic…
Stafford-Bloor is right to say Fulham need Mitrovic to be fit and firing soon, because as recent games have shown, like the one against Crystal Palace, the firepower just isn’t there amongst the rest of the team to give you confidence they’ll be able to survive, even if their defence has improved over the past couple of months.
So whilst the gap to safety has closed from where it once was, they do need that little something extra if they are to keep up with the rest of the teams in the scrap, and maybe Mitrovic will be the man to provide it.