Marco Silva blasted for bizarre decision in Aston Villa vs Fulham
Marco Silva has been blasted by a former Premier League striker for a questionable decision during Fulham’s clash with Aston Villa.
The Cottagers had made a decent start to the season, picking up eight points from their first five top-flight games.
Silva’s side came into the contest against Villa off the back of two league wins on the bounce.
Last weekend (20 September), Fulham beat London rivals Brentford 3-1, and they had secured a 1-0 victory over Leeds United seven days earlier.
However, despite taking the lead in the Midlands, Fulham were beaten 3-1 by Aston Villa after goals from Ollie Watkins, John McGinn, and Emi Buendia.
Marco Silva makes bizarre striker decision
In the third minute, Raul Jimenez gave the Cottagers the lead against Aston Villa, flicking a Sasa Lukic corner over the head of Emiliano Martinez and into the far corner.
However, he injured himself in the process of scoring the goal and was forced off less than ten minutes later.
Jimenez was replaced by Adama Traore, who was tasked with leading the line for the Cottagers, despite being a natural winger.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison questioned Silva’s decision to play Traore at centre forward.
He said: “Adama Traore is not a striker. He is always outside the box. Come on, this is basic stuff!”
Fulham pay the price for no striker signing
Silva expressed his unhappiness at Fulham’s transfer business over the summer, with the West London side failing to address their lack of depth at centre forward.
Rodrigo Muniz was left out of the squad for the Cottagers’ game against Aston Villa after sustaining a muscle injury in their Carabao Cup win over Cambridge.
When Jimenez was then forced off in the early stages at Villa Park, it left Silva without a recognised striker to call upon, highlighting their deficiencies in the transfer market.
If Fulham want to push on from mid-table mediocrity and begin challenging for the European places, then having sufficient squad depth is a must.
Silva has been linked with an exit from Fulham on multiple occasions over the last year, and if he is consistently fighting with one hand behind his back due to recruitment failures, then he will surely move on sooner rather than later.