Fulham’s early-season collapse matches two previous top-flight relegation campaigns

Fulham have begun the new English league season with three defeats in a row, a sequence the club has recorded only twice before in its top-flight history.

The Cottagers’ poor start began with a loss to Chelsea. They were then beaten by Sunderland before Crystal Palace completed Fulham’s run of defeats in the opening three matches.

The result against Crystal Palace means Fulham have failed to take a point from any of their first three league fixtures. It is the third time the club have lost all three opening matches of a top-flight campaign.

The previous occasions came in the 1951-52 season and, more recently, in 2020-21. On both of those occasions, Fulham were relegated at the end of the season.

That record gives the current run added significance, although the three defeats alone do not determine how the campaign will develop. Fulham’s immediate concern is that they have started the season without a win or a draw, leaving them with no points from the first stage of their league schedule.

The pattern has unfolded against three different opponents. Chelsea inflicted the first defeat, Sunderland followed with a second, and Crystal Palace delivered the third. Fulham’s failure to halt the sequence in the latest match brought the club alongside the two previous teams that began a top-flight season in the same way.

In 1951-52, Fulham lost each of their first three league games before ultimately dropping out of the top flight. The same outcome followed after the identical start in 2020-21.

The latest run is therefore an unwanted piece of club history for Fulham, who have now matched a sequence associated with the two earlier relegation seasons. Their opening results have created an early challenge, with the side needing to end the losing run after defeats by Chelsea, Sunderland and Crystal Palace.

Fulham’s three-match record is the central fact of their start to the campaign: three fixtures played, three lost. It is also only the third time in the club’s history in the English top flight that every one of the first three league matches has ended in defeat.

The comparison with 1951-52 and 2020-21 will inevitably remain part of the discussion around Fulham while the season continues. In both historical examples, the club were relegated, but the current campaign has only reached its opening three matches.