Jan Kruger/Getty ImagesCraven Cottage has not been a happy place in recent weeks

Hi there, sports fans! Feeling good after the latest set of results in the Premier League? Have I been in denial over the past few weeks? In gearing up for the Monday night football show at the Cottage, I checked out the standings, and if that does not present a wake-up call to Martin Jol and the team, then something is wrong.

Even a desperately needed win cannot alleviate our position in the league, as we are now five points adrift of 13^th-place Norwich City and the mid-table pack. Whereas, if you care to look over your shoulder, we are but two more poor results away from being among the real basket cases in the basement. Don’t think it will happen? Team confidence is being eroded week by week.

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We have no idea what constitutes our best eleven, key personnel are missing, and the side are now very predictable in style and easy for opponents to read.

Seeing Norwich sitting five points clear of us encapsulates the direction our fortunes have taken since day one of the season. After recent home wins over United and Arsenal, the Canaries are now scoring goals for fun at Swansea.

Yet this is a team with no star names apart from one – and now goalkeeper John Ruddy has picked up a long-term injury - and a side Fulham hammered 5-0 back in August. Having snapped their own winless streak with three points off ten-man Wigan last week, Newcastle come to the Cottage buoyed up in the hope they have turned the corner. My, what Fulham would give for the blessing of a soft fixture like that to get the feel-good factor back.

The worrying this is I can’t see one on the horizon. I think the Magpies will be good for at least a point, although history says they rarely do well in London. Their injury list is mainly at the back, but it’s up front where they can hurt us, especially if the best of our back four, Sasha Riether, fails to recover from injury. Alan Pardew is no mug and has served his time in Premiership management. Fulham will have Brede Hangeland back from suspension and Alexander Kacaniklic is available again, but frustrating the Whites is not hard at present.

Dimitar Berbatov can’t hurt you running away from goal. Let him pick the ball up from deep but keep him playing in front of you and Fulham have nowhere to go. We have no obvious target man in the box to compare with Demba Ba or Papa Cisse. Our current midfield lacks a leader and has nobody with the quality to make things happen as in our 5-2 demolition of the Magpies last January.

Critically, Fulham have no maverick figure - apart from the injured Bryan Ruiz - prone to the unorthodox, able to conjure up a goal for you out of nothing (as Clint Dempsey did this weekend at Everton). Push up on our wingers and deny them space (I fancy Damien Duff to start), play aerial balls in quickly behind our slow defence, and there’s your game plan. Demba Ba to score from a corner, anyone?

Should Fulham go down to a third consecutive home defeat – and when was the last time that happened? – the writing will really be on the wall ahead of that trip to QPR Dec. 15. A lifetime of following Fulham tells me the footballing gods have determined ‘Arry’s also-rans and misfits must pick up their first win of the season next week against us. It is written in the stars.

Should Monday provide another dark chapter in our season decline, the transformation into genuine relegation candidates will be confirmed.

At this point I can’t help recalling it was a miserable home loss to Newcastle in December 2007 that sounded the death knell for Lawrie Sanchez. Am I being overly pessimistic? Let’s try to find a balance. Steve Sidwell is working his socks off in the engine room and benefiting from a settled run in the side after injuries sidelined him for so much of last season. Brede should restore some equilibrium to the back four. And maybe this could be the night one of the supporting cast to Count Berbatov finally clicks.

Should Fulham however start sluggishly, as they have far too often for months now, should the quota of shots on goal fail to rise after nine days preparation from the backroom staff, should we revert to conceding cheap goals from set plays, then serious questions must be asked about the direction of the club.

Twitter@fulhamphil

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