Silva's legacy 'one of stability and missed expectations'

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Expectation is a funny thing.

Five years ago, we were relegated from the Premier League in 18th place, with the then-lowest points total from a side in that position during the 21st Century.

Fast-forward to 2026 and a loss at home to Bournemouth saw us effectively miss out on European football. Yet the feeling among the fanbase is as low as it was in 2021.

We feel like this side, led by arguably our second-greatest manager of this century, is more than capable of qualifying for Europe, but zooming out, perhaps that expectation was misguided.

In reality, nothing has changed during these five years. Fulham's recruitment strategy remains the same; play a game of chicken with other clubs in the hope of saving a million or two come deadline day. The fees we pay for players have largely stayed flat – even the style of football we play is not a million miles away to the pre-Marco Silva era.

So, why the heightened expectations?

The truth is, we rarely – if ever – looked likely to qualify for any of the European competitions up for grabs. Our season has lacked any forward thrust.

An unbeaten run of six games, during which we won four, was our best of the season and took us from 15th to 10th, when really, we have done little to show we do not belong in the bottom half, winning just five more games since that run ended in January.

With the season effectively over, I would not be surprised if Silva finally announces his future this week – and I expect him to depart.

His legacy will be one of stability and consequently missed expectations. Five years ago, the former would have been more than enough. But as we watch our contemporaries like Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford evolve and progress, rightly or wrongly we expect more.

It remains to be seen whether it will take a new manager or a change in club strategy to satiate us.

Find more from Drew Heatley at Fulhamish