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Welcome to another of our Fulham webchat!

This week marks the start of an extremely tough month for the Whites as they face six sides who are also vying for promotion, starting with the league's form side Aston Villa coming to visit the Cottage on Saturday.

Fulham made it nine unbeaten with a draw against Bolton last Saturday, while Tom Cairney made a return to the squad having missed the past two games with injury amidst speculation over his future.

We'll be starting at 12pm, but you can get your questions in using the form below ahead of kick off.

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Key Events

Thanks for joining us!

That’s all for today - thanks for joining us, you can read a full recap here

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Bettinelli vs Button round two

Michael says: You said Bettinelli is a better “communicator”. This I just can’t agree with. He is less error prone, and that is the only department where he excels Button. The reason were are so shaky from set pieces with Betts in goal is because he doesn’t control his box.

I feel Bettinelli communicates with players better, in terms of going forward. The side are shaky from set pieces, and have been all season, even with Button in goal, because they aren’t able to deal with balls into the box, and that drops down to keeper, defence and coach.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve personally always preferred Button in goal and thinks his ability to play from the back is an asset to the side.

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Chances of keeping Kalas and Piazon?

Dave has asked: Chelsea have a very specific attitude to keeping players, what do you think the chances are of Fulham keeping hold of the likes of Piazon and Kalas if a) they get promoted and b) if they stay in the Championship?

I think they have a good chance if they get promoted, but they won’t come cheap. Jokanovic wanted to sign each of them permanently last summer, and if I’m honest I don’t think either will play for Chelsea. Getting promoted means they’re both still Pemier League players which will appeal to them.

If they stay in the Championship, they might keep hold of Kalas but I don’t think they will with Piazon - he’s a Premier League player and will be playing in the top flight next season.

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Final call for questions

This is your last chance to get a question in for us today

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Will the Khans provide Slav with a transfer budget?

Jay says: If we get promoted, do you expect Khan to provide Slav with a big transfer budget?

Most definitely, Tony and Shahid Khan can’t be accused of not spending money on the side.

They’ll be backed with Premier League money and will want to stay in the top flight, so I think there will be a large transfer budget available

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What does McDonald have to do for a call-up?

Ed has asked: What does Kevin Mcdonald have to do to get a Scotland call up

My thoughts exactly! He’s played well in the Championship for years and has never got the nod - whether it’s down to the way managers have Scotland playing football and they just overlook him, it is strange.

I spoke to him about this and will publish what he said soon.

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Thoughts on the Fulham badge?

Andrew has asked: Do you like the current FFC badge, or do you think it’s time for a change?

I don’t think I’m the right person to ask about the badge - that’s down to the fans what they think on. If fans do feel that it’s time for a change, which I’ve seen mentioned around the place a bit, then it’s something for the Fulham Supporters’ Trust to move along.

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Pleasing to see large portion being British?

No name with this one but here goes: Is it pleasing to see a large portion of our starting players XI being British?

I think this is more of a question for the Premier League than the Championship to be honest, it’s rare that Championship sides aren’t made up of mostly British players

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Do Fulham have the bottle?

Charles has asked Do Fulham have the required bottle to get through the play-offs?

Having never won a play-off game, it looks like that’s a no... but you can’t tar a new squad with the woes of a previous one. You can only really tell that when it comes to the Play-offs, so I’d have to wait until then to be able to answer properly but I think they might do.

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Keep the questions coming in!

Don’t be shy, use the form above to get your question in now before we finish this afternoon

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Coincidence with Bettinelli returning to goal?

Barry has asked: Is it a coincidence that our two best spells over the last two seasons have come when Bettinelli has returned in goal. What does he offer that Button doesn’t?

I think it is coincidence - there’s no way a keeper can have that much of an affect on the other ten members of the team.

I don’t think there’s really much between the two, Bettinelli is a better communicated but Button is the better shot stopper and is better at coming for crosses.

For whatever reason there seems to be something against Button at Fulham, and no matter how well he does he won’t ever get the praise he deserves.

That’s not to say Bettinelli isn’t playing extremely well, but fans just seem to like him more.

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Minimum number of points?

Redmond has asked: What’s the minimum number of points Fulham will see as acceptable from the next six games?

I think the aim has to be double figures at least - anything less than that will be a disaster.

They only got five from the reverse fixtures (including Preston) so they need to do a lot better than that.

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Any development on Riverside Stand?

Nick has asked: Any development on the new Riverside stand plans?

Not yet - the club is awaiting planning permission for the stand which could be in the next few months.

They’ve published a handy FAQ guide on the official website for any questions people have on the finer details of it.

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Which loan player misses out?

Sam has asked: Which loan player misses out when all of them are fit?

I suppose it depends on what kind of game Jokanovic is expecting - I can’t see Kalas or Targett missing out, and the same with Mitrovic, so it boils down to the midfield players for me, so that’s either Piazon, Norwood or Ojo.

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Why didn't Fulham sign Gayle?

Paul has asked: Why didn’t FFC purchase Dwight Gayle in the January window

There’s a few reasons, one is that he was playing regularly in the Newcastle team and Benitez couldn’t afford to lose both him and Mitrovic, who was always the least favoured.

Secondly, Gayle was under the Kline recruitment data - James Lovell came into that role after the American’s sacking and went down his own route with his own model - there was no point signing a player Kline recommended after he was sacked.

There’s also the cost, £15m in the summer goes up a lot in January where there is no value, so a loan was always going to make more sense business wise.

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Finding form without Cairney?

Adam asked: Do you think one of the reasons Fulham suddenly found form was finding a solution to being effective without Cairney?

You could certainly say so, last season Fulham looked lost without their talisman but this time around they’ve played really well without him, and played well even when he’s not been in form.

I think there’s various factors as to why the side are in form at the moment, but finding solutions and work arounds when key members are injured is certainly one of them.

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Keep your questions coming in

We’re nearly half way through and have had a good selection so far, but keep getting your questions in for me

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Who starts up front?

David has asked: Hi, Who do you see starting up top Saturday? As much as I want Fonte to come good, he hasn’t so far unfortunately, and maybe t0o lightweight for Villa’s backline. Kamara’s pace and power or Mitro?

We haven’t seen as many goals as everyone would like from Fonte, but I don’t agree that he hasn’t ‘come good’ - his intelligence on and off the ball is clear for everyone to see, and his play with Piazon is a joy to behold at times.

I don’t think Kamara is experienced enough to lead the line against Chester or Terry, and Mitrovic doesn’t seem fit enough yet, although a Terry vs Mitro battle would be an enjoyable spectacle.

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Is Ojo fit for selection?

Jack has asked: Is Ojo fit for selection? His directness might be an asset against Villa.

He is fit and available having returned to training last week, but missed the trip to Bolton as the loan man that has to miss out as a result of Fulham having six loanees.

I like Ojo and think Fulham are a better side when he’s in the team, but I can’t see Jokanovic dropping Piazon with the way he’s been since coming back from injury.

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Will Fredericks leave?

Nick has asked: Will Fredericks go at end of season whatever the outcome?

It’s looking that way, but the club have covered themselves well with the signing of Cyrus Christie.

The new contract for Fredericks has been on the table for a while now and nothing has happened, so it does look very likely this may be his last season at the club.

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Will Fulham have to strengthen?

Liam has asked: Will Fulham have to strengthen if they make the Premier League? If so, in what positions?

Hey Liam,

Yeah, if they do get promoted they will certainly need to strengthen.

Goalkeeper and centre back springs to mind straight away, as does the striker position - don’t forget Fulham will lose six players when their loan deals end so it will be a rebuilding job whatever happens this season.

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Can Fulham hack the pressure?

Trevor has asked: Can Fulham hack the play-off pressure?

They didn’t last season, but having that experience under their belt I think they may fare differently this time around.

McDonald told me a few weeks ago that they have to deal with that pressure now and consolidate themselves in the top six, and I think that the fact they still have the chance of second means they’re focusing on that target, rather than staying in the top six, meaning they won’t feel that pressure as such.

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Are Derby feeling the pressure?

Mark has asked: Do you think Derby’s result last night is a sign that they are feeling the pressure?

I think Wednesday is a hard place to go, but I wasn’t that impressed with Derby when they came to the Cottage and felt Fulham should’ve got the win over them.

I think Villa will catch them and finish second, and they could well be feeling the pressure of being in second and being chased by two form sides in Villa and Fulham.

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Can Fulham make it into the top two?

Ian has asked Do you think Fulham can make it in to the top two? Or is that pushing it a bit?

Personally, I don’t, I think it’s a step too far and Fulham have left too much to do after that horrid start.

They’ll push it though, but ultimately I don’t think they’ll be able to do it and it will be Play-offs for me.

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What difference does Cairney make?

Ben has asked: How big a difference does Tom Cairney really make to the team?

We can all see what kind of difference Cairney makes to the side, while Norwood has done well coming into the team he isn’t quite the same player that Cairney is.

His ability to grab a tie by the scruff of its neck and get Fulham playing cannot be understated - we saw just how good a fully fit Cairney was last season.

If he gets back to the level, it’ll be like a new signing.

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Will there be changes for Villa?

Bob has asked: Will Slav spring any tactical surprises against Aston Villa?

Will he make a lot of changes after the Bolton draw?

Hi Bob,

He may do, but I think it’s more likely that we’ll see a similar Fulham team to the one we have in recent weeks, why change a winning formula?

The side did well for the first 45 against Bolton, and looked okay until that strange double sub that saw Mitrovic and Kamara come on, so I don’t think he’ll make many changes.

If they feel Cairney is fit, he may come in but apart from that I would expect to see near enough the same XI.

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Likeliness of signing Targett?

Dave has asked: How likely are we to sign Matt Targett on a permanent deal this summer?

Hey Dave,

I think it’s very unlikely. Southampton highly rate Targett and I think it’s doubtful that they will sell to Fulham.

He’s clearly a Premier League player and for Fulham to have any chance of signing him they’d need to get promoted.

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First question in is about Mitrovic

And we’re off! The first question comes from Twitter:

In short, no, I don’t think he is.

He’s not played that much football over the course of the season and I don’t think he’s ready to be thrust into the business end of the season just yet.

I’m expecting him to be starting for the Wolves game - four games in two weeks is a lot and Jokanovic will need to use his entire squad over the course of those games.

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Championship predictor

While you’re here, we’ve been having great fun with our Championship prediction pieces - if you haven’t had a go try it now before we get started!

 
The race for the title
Tell us how you think the remaining fixtures will go to see who will make the top six.
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Welcome to Fulham live

Welcome to Fulham live!

We’re getting started at midday but you can get your questions in now using the form above

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