It is fair to say that most Fulham fans believe Roy Hodgson to be “the answer”, at least for the moment. Perennially tipped for relegation, both Hodgson and the Fulham faithful will have been delighted to see their club in ninth place at the turn of the year. The first half of the season was particularly pleasing; not only did “the whites” secure a 1-0 home victory against Arsenal and a 2-2 draw with Chelsea, but they also went on a nine game unbeaten streak.

Hodgson has built a much stronger squad than the one that he inherited from Sanchez, adding the likes of Andy Johnson, Bobby Zamora and John Paintsil to the line-up. The loss of midfield talisman Jimmy Bullard must be contended with, after Hull coughed up their highest ever transfer fee (£5 million) to bring him to the KC. Hodgson, however, remained diplomatic, “I congratulate Hull and Jimmy on getting the contract he wanted. It wasn’t just wage demands prompting Jimmy to go, but the length of contract too. He’s 31 this year and we didn’t feel able to provide him with the contract he wanted. The transfer fee that has been negotiated is suitable for a player of his age. I don’t think Jimmy owed us anything. I thank him for the year of work he did under me.” Taking into account the nature of last season’s “great escape”, it does not seem likely that the man who masterminded it would let one of his better players leave without suitable replacement.

At the time of writing, Fulham are in tenth position (despite a disappointing 1-0 loss away to Sunderland), with a game in hand and the potential to move up to eighth. It is a credit to the depth of the premier league this season that there are a mere five pints between twentieth and tenth. It is for this reason that many of those clubs normally headed for “mid-table obscurity” will be taking a precautionary glance over their shoulders; everyone knows how tight the competition is (and how many more hundreds of thousands each place is worth). There is, however, hope. While Fulham haven’t exactly set the critics raving, on a number of times now MOTD commentators have remarked on the marked increase in strength of Hodgson’s squad and the “passing football” that he employs. As long as they stay in this league, I am not sure that Fulham fans will be too disappointed to slip under the radar yet again.

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