Alex    After an ill-fated loan spell on Teeside, Rodrigo Muniz’s Fulham career seemed to be drawing to a close. However, after a dazzling dink up at Turf Moor, the Brazilian hit a purple patch only seen in black and white by the likes of Pavel Pogrebnyak at the Cottage. With eight goals in eight games, the former Flamengo man looked reborn, scoring goals for fun, linking up play, and being a constant nuisance from searching balls courtesy of the back four and a betting favourite for balls going into the box.

It looked as if Fulham had found an unlikely replacement for our departed Serbian king, but after no goals in the opening three games of this season, we look like a side disoriented without a free-scoring target man. Uncertainty lingers around our ability to succeed without a target man, as many ponder if Rodrigo is more of a Mitrovic, or a Pogrebnya k.Since Marco Silva arrived on the banks of the Thames, a target man has been an essential cog to his system. Marco’s lauded 4-2-3-1 system is designed to be built around an old school number nine. With three players sat narrow behind the striker, a direct attacking outlet is required to provide a focal point for attacks to create space for the players behind him, by occupying opposing centre-backs, while maintaining a presence in the box for the marauding Antonee Robinson to aim crosses at.

Alex

Without a centrepiece to attacks, Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe often look lost due to a lack of cutting edge in the final third with nobody to play off or build attacks towards. This reliance on a target man gives further credence to the theory that Rodrigo Muniz will be the difference between a top half finish and a relegation dog fight for this Fulham sid e.