EFL

MARCO SILVA has hit gold with Fulham – but is he the man to stop them being the ultimate yo-yo club?His Championship leaders will surely be playing Premier League football next season.
Marco SIlva has made an instant impact at Craven Cottage since replacing Scott Parker (right)
Friday’s top-of-the-table clash against Bournemouth was a great advert for English football’s second tier.
And it is most likely the Cherries will be there too – despite now not having won in four matches.
Fulham are the best team in the division by a mile.
Although they needed a late goal from Tosin Adarabioyo, the Cottagers were the better team against their nearest rivals.
But if they are plying their trade in the Premier League next season, it will be the sixth season in a row they will have been to-ing and fro-ing between the two divisions.
It has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride – two play-off wins, two miserable relegations.
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This season I expect them to win the Championship but will next season be a better Prem campaign than the previous two?
Yet the consensus on the north side of Putney Bridge is that Silva has been building something different since he took charge in the summer.
It is fascinating Neeskens Kebano, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Jean Michael Seri – all snubbed by Scott Parker last season in the Premier League – are their star players this time round.
Mitrovic has been accused of being a flat-track bully who is too good for the Championship but not good enough for the Premier League.
His goals tally comparison in both divisions back up that argument.
But what has been striking under Silva is the other side of Mitrovic’s game now.
Gone are the days where he just hung around up top as a classic No9 waiting to be fed by long balls or crosses.
Now the Serb is chasing down every ball and drops back to do some of the dirty work – the unglamorous defending.
Aleksandar MItrovic continues to ‘own’ Championship defences but can he do it in the Prem?
His 21 goals so far this season is nothing short of remarkable.
You get the feeling if he can continue evolving with his defensive work, Mitrovic will become a far more effective player in the top flight.
Kebano is a living hell for defenders, especially full-backs. His rampaging runs wreak havoc and open up spaces for Fulham.
The only thing missing from his game is goals.
He missed some big chances on Friday, which has summed up his luck in front of goal this season.
Bournemouth keeper Mark Travers did make some great saves from him as well.
If he adds goals, he will be sensational.
Jean Michael Seri is finally living up to his reputation after his £25m move from NIce
Seri has been a standout player.
The Ivory Coast midfielder was a flop after his £25million arrival from Nice in 2018 – having an underwhelming season in the Premier League.
He regained his confidence with a good season in Turkey on loan with Galatasaray so it was almost criminal that Parker last season did not give him a chance again in the Premier League when he returned to West London.
But Silva made clear he wanted him to play a big part in his promotion push this season – and he has already made a huge contribution with his assured and powerful performances in the middle of the park.
He is among the Championship’s best in the assists charts – with six goals created.
Seri’s deal runs out next summer but the club do have a one-year option to extend it.
GOALKEEPERS
MAREK RODAK helped Fulham win promotion last time round, only to be bombed out in the Premier League in favour of Alphonse Areola.
Back in favour again, his performances have been impressive enough to keep out summer arrival Paulo Gazzaniga.
VERDICT: The Slovakian, if he maintains his form, deserves a crack at the top-flight – but club will surely strengthen with another keeper coming in during the summer.
Marek Rodak deserves a chance in the Premier League after being left out last season
DEFENCE
ADARABIOYO is a class act in the centre of defence and has a good understanding with American Tim Ream.
Joe Bryan and Denis Odoi are decent full-backs.
Along with Bournemouth, they have the best defensive record, conceding just 17 goals so far.
VERDICT: Silva will need to bring in a top-quality relatively experienced centre-back. As good as Ream is this season, he will be 35 and the Cottagers need some younger legs.
Probably should look to sign another full-back too.
MIDFIELD
SERI has been owning the centre of the park this season and is probably the best in the Championship.
Harry Wilson has also been quality along with the likes of 19-year-old Fabio Carvalho, who is just getting better and better.
And Kebano wreaks havoc.
VERDICT: Club should go out and get another midfield enforcer to add a bit more depth. If Kebano is unable to add goals to his game, they should perhaps look for a goalscoring winger too.
Fabio Carvalho has been superb and at 19 is only going to get better
STRIKERS
MITROVIC has once again been scintillating up front in the Championship and is also certainly a lot more defensive-minded now.
But his previous Premier League numbers have not been great – although to be fair to him he did not get much of a look-in last season under Parker.
VERDICT: Mitrovic should be shown some loyalty and get a chance – but I would say getting in another prolific striker with a proven track record should be their No1 transfer target next summer to give the Serb worthy competition.
TWENTY SHOULD BE PLENTY
THE Premier League is one of the best sports model in the world.
So isn’t it about time the EFL followed its lead and reduced each division from 24 club to 20?
The relentless Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday slog without doubt has a detrimental effect on quality and player well-being.
Managers like Mark Warburton have been highly critical of the heavy schedule.
It can’t be right that a team like QPR for example had to play six games in 17 days in September.
Why don’t the EFL expand to 80 clubs by promoting the top eight teams from the National League and go with four divisions of 20 by creating a new League Three?
It makes perfect sense at the bottom of the food chain too as the top half of the National League is most definitely nowadays on a par with League Two.
English football’s second tier has improved a lot over the years as it attracts more international footballers to these shores.
And it is a shame that this quality gets diluted sometimes by the sheer volume of games.
Footballers themselves love playing games every few days but managers are left frustrated.
I’m with Warburton – let’s have fewer games and more quality. More

IDRIS EL MIZOUNI finally feels at home at Ipswich thanks to Kieron Dyer’s mentorship – and a cheeky Nando’s!The extra-hot Tractor Boys midfielder, 21, has enjoyed a meteoric rise since growing up in a gritty suburb on the outskirts of Paris.
Idris El Mizouni fired Ipswich Town into the FA Cup second round with a wonder goalCredit: Focus Images
The Tunisia star recently penned a new deal with the club until 2024Credit: Getty
As a kid he lived in a flat with his dad, who emigrated from Tunisia at the age of eight, mum, brother and sister in a bustling, high-rise apartment block.
El Mizouni was scouted for Ipswich at 16 and arrived in Suffolk not speaking a word of English. But now he has become part of the furniture.
In his first interview since recently penning a new deal with the club until 2024, he told SunSport: “Don’t even get me started on the food. To this day, I’m still not used to it.
“France is known for great food and so when I came to England in my first year I was struggling a lot.
“I was living in digs and they made food which was all right but Nando’s was the only thing I really liked. I’d get chicken with peri-tamer sauce and rice. I don’t mind the carbs!
“I missed my mum’s food but thankfully I can cook now and, of course, my signature is chicken and rice!”
The suburbs of Paris have produced a number of star players, including Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe.
El Mizouni added: “When you watch the French national team, most of them come from the suburbs, they didn’t have a lot.

“A lot of them had money struggles and were crammed into a flat with many siblings with a single mother.
“Football is often the only thing that makes kids from the suburbs happy and I think that turns them into incredible players.”
El Mizouni was just one of eight players who were kept on by Ipswich’s new owners, Gamechanger 20, following their £40million takeover in April earlier this year.
Boss Paul Cook told the vast majority of his squad they were not in his plans and were free to leave in the summer amid a transfer bloodbath.
But it has not always been smoothsailing in Suffolk for El Mizouni.
At first, the Tunisia international was played out of position, plagued by injuries and was eventually shipped out on loan.
And he credits Ipswich’s Under-23s boss Dyer for keeping him on the straight and narrow.
He said: “Dyer’s been unbelievable on and off the pitch. He coached me in my second year with Adam Atay, who was great as well.
“Straight away he put me in my position at No 8 as a central midfielder. He is a great coach and tactically I learned a lot with him.
“I speak to him often and even when I was on loan, he still texted me asking how I was. He helped me a lot and I appreciate that.”
El Mizouni hailed Under 23s boss Kieron Dyer for helping him break into the first teamCredit: Getty

El Mizouni made his Ipswich debut in March 2019 but has often struggled for regular first-team action.
The schemer was sent out on loan to Cambridge United in the 2019-20 campaign, before suffering a serious knee injury just before the first coronavirus lockdown.
He was holed up with his family in a flat in Paris, doing his rehab on his knee using books for weights.
El Mizouni was then shipped back to the U’s in September 2020, followed by a stint at Grimsby early this year.
He continued: “The second time I went to Cambridge, I was so angry and frustrated because when you go somewhere you want to play but I was on the bench.
“Dyer called me saying, ‘What’s wrong with you? You’re not fit. You don’t look sharp’.
“He was basically getting on to me to make me better.
“He said, ‘Even if you’re not playing, you need to do extra work, extra running, you need to be careful of your diet’.
“That helped me because, after that, I came back to Ipswich and I was training with him at the Under-23s and I felt much fitter.”
El Mizouni has used the struggles of his past at Ipswich as fuel to fire himself into more regular action.
He has made six first-team appearances this season.
And Cook was left licking his lips when the midfielder sent the club into the second round of the FA Cup with a wonder goal in the 2-1 win over Oldham earlier this month.
Ahead of tomorrow’s home game against rock-bottom Crewe, El Mizouni said: “It was so great to sign my new deal because I’m a Paris boy who has grown up in Ipswich.
“We know how big the club is. I’m comfortable with everyone, the players, the staff and even the chef now! Everyone is great.
“It’s such a good feeling to sign again because the club wants promotion and to get bigger, and I’m going to be a part of that.”
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OXFORD’S clash against Wigan has been postponed after a Covid outbreak in the hosts’ team.The League One clash was scheduled to kick off at 3pm today.
Oxford’s clash against Wigan has been postponed after a Covid outbreak in the hosts’ teamCredit: Getty
But a new date will now be arranged after SEVEN Oxford players tested positive for coronavirus.
The U’s said in a statement: “Oxford’s League 1 game at Wigan Athletic this afternoon has been postponed after seven of United’s players felt unwell overnight and received positive lateral flow tests this morning.
“Following consultation between the club, the EFL and Wigan Athletic, the game was called off and a new date will be arranged.
“The players involved will return to Oxford away from the main group of players.”
Wigan have assured fans that tickets bought for the match will be eligible for the rearranged clash, and are also offering refunds.
The Latics are second in League One and two points behind Plymouth with a game in hand.
Oxford are sixth after three wins in their last four games.

The match is not the only one affected by Covid this weekend.
Newcastle will be without manager Eddie Howe for his first game in charge after he tested positive.
The former Bournemouth boss will keep an eye on things from a HOTEL room and needs to self-isolate for ten days.
However, Howe will FaceTime every player individually before the Brentford clash and will be in ‘constant communication’ with assistants Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones at St James’ Park. More