It’s no secret that Tom Cairney’s performances caught the eye of Rafa Benitez in the Championship last season, however his uninspiring start to the season with Fulham suggests we were fortunate to have missed out on the midfielder over the summer.
Last term, there was little doubt that the Scottish international was one of the top players in the second tier. He was the only player to reach double figures in both goals (13) and assists (11) in the Championship and helped high-flying Fulham reach the play-offs.
Since then, he’s committed to Fulham and insisted he always wanted to stay with the London based club, however he might be regretting ‘turning down’ a potential move to Tyneside a few months on.
He has managed just 1 goal, has failed to register a single assist so far this season, has had several injury issues and has not been called up to recent Scotland squads.
Not only has he failed to recapture his superb form of last season, his Fulham side are struggling far more than they anticipated too, sitting in a lowly 15th place in the Championship and without a win since September.
Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic stated over the summer that we had a £20m bid turned down for midfielder, insisting he had no intention of selling one of their prize assets this summer.
Admirable ambition and commitment from Cairney and co. at Fulham over the summer, but for a player who turns 27 in January, he may live to regret his refusal to leave London over the summer.
Here’s some interesting reactions following their poor start to the season and last night’s 0-2 defeat at home to Bristol City:
Cairney good player but not a leader. His head is down straight away. #ffc #FulhamFC
— Kurt Edwards (@Edwards_Kurt) October 31, 2017
Wonder if Tom Cairney wishes he pushed for a move to us now? #NUFC
— Alex Mitchell ⚫⚪ (@alex_mitchell92) October 31, 2017
@FulhamFC that was awful, club & players should be ashamed. fans deserve a refund. It was a total embarrassment. @ThomasCairney @Jokanovic
— Ollie Nicholls (@ollienixs) October 31, 2017
Is Tom Cairney playing for Fulham this season? Haven’t seen his name mentioned at all.
— Matt Lewendon (@matty_leww) October 21, 2017
Even at his worst this season, he would be too good for Newcastle. Hopefully he will get fit and stay fit, although if he does, he is likely to go on to a decent Prem team …
Horace(Quote)