Well The Inevitable has finally came to pass.

The announcement we feared has come to pass. Our promotion winning hero and advocate of attractive, slick passing football and all-out attack has been put out of his misery by the owner. This is, sadly… hardly surprising in this commercial world, failure is punished and let’s be honest, to sit rock bottom after 12 games with 9 losses is hardly attractive on the CV of any ambitious football manager.

There’s little point in debating the wrongs or rights of this event, suffice it to say we at TOOFIF carry an enormous respect for Slaviša Jokanovic and wish him every success in whatever job he finds himself after this. He stuck to his principals although that ultimately was used as a tool for his undoing.

I felt that he knew better than I and the turn around would come as the players became more accustomed to each other, however I still feel that a different approach with regards to certain aspects of the team selection and method of play may have improved results, the gung-ho all out ttack of last season obviously wasn't working in the Premier League.

Let’s hope it's not at a rival Premier League club with the right resources. I'm not entirely sure if Crystal Palace, Southampton, Huddersfield or Cardiff comply with that description, that would be too ironic to contemplate.

I, too can't say that I'm pleased to see Slav go, and there's no way anyone can say it's the right thing to do after 12 games, having said that Micky only got eight games after winning promotion, I didn't agree with that one either.

Moving on, the choice of Claudio Ranieri was something of a surprise. I’d been anticipating an obscure name from the lower reaches of one of the European Leagues and I never seriously reasoned that we’d go down the usual Moyes, Allardyce route for reasons more based on my prejudices that anything else. The choice of Claudio Ranieri is something of a PR Masterstroke though, he’s universally liked by the public, players and those in the game although his experience at Leicester was quite obviously the ugly spectre of player power rearing it’s unwanted head. Ask a pro if it’s important to like the manager and you’ll be answered with an affirmative. This is not always a good sign, some players take advantage of such relationships and this can lead to rocky situations, a lack of respect bad discipline and dressing room divisions. We’ve all seen that.

Ranieri’s record at that secondary club in Fulham was not bad and there, he too, was a victim of an even more aggressive culture of the “I own it, so it must win at all costs” ethos that inhabits all levels of sport, commerce and social life nowadays. That he won the league the season after he got Leicester promoted, then, the following season, received the reward of the boot because things weren’t working out like a fairy tale, is also a testament to the precariousness of life in professional football.

As the song says: Time will show the Wiser, we’ll have to wait and see where all this takes us, we’d better settle down and buckle up, it will most likelybe an uneven ride for a while.

One would imagine that the timing of this change was not just a coincidental convenience but targeted so that the International Break would allow some time for Ranieri to acclimatise and familiarise himself with the squad, the club and so on and likewise, those players and staff with him. There can be no doubt that the change had been discussed some weeks earlier and that arrangements would have had to be in place well before the actual event, there are stories circulating around the various contenders for the role and of offers having to made elsewhere so Claudio was not the only avenue to be explored I imagine.

The King is Dead, Long Live the King, he’s here now and what he can do to stabilise the defence is something we’ll all be following with interest. The choices of formation will probably be just as bewildering for him as they were for Slaviša. The solution to that dichotemy looks to be the toughest on the table and quite obviously the one that needs the quickest remedy. On the overall reflection of the first 12 games, this is the most urgent and critical jigsaw puzzle to solve. On the bright side, he’s ultra-experienced and he’s Italian and extensively worked in that part of the world where that subject comes naturally.

As for the defence, the changes are so massive and there has been no fixed line-up so it’s impossible to know what the best line-up is. Chambers and Mawson looked slightly more settled at Liverpool, Le Marchand average and Fosu-Mensah nervous as he could be (I would be too). Denis Odoi remains somewhat reckless at times and doesn’t always hold the ball but at least he gives everything to the cause and , we could do with that attitude being contagious across the board. We need Ream at his best and McD too.

Old stagers and long-time first team stalwarts like Stefan Johansen, (I fail to see why he has largely been by-passed this season, surely he could have had more pitch time?) Floyd Ayité and Aboubakar Kamara have hardly had a look in, perhaps they might have been included after the first games proved to be disastrous if only to test the water.

Although the latter two played a only minimal role and certainly didn’t set the world on fire in the Championship, let’s face it nearly all the rest have had a bash. Ok I know that with the exception of our number 8, they were largely bit players last season but a brief look at the squad names would confuse a Fulham fan just returned from Mars, they’re amongst the few that would be recognised. At the moment even Cissé and De la Torre feel like familiar names and where are they?

I’m probably in the minority here but, in my view, even from his very first introduction to the first team, Ryan Sessegnon has looked less of a defensive wing back (a contradiction in terms if ever there was, though there have been excellent exceptions in the past) than an attacking player, this assertion was borne out in spades in the second half of last season when Matt Targett played at left back. Le Marchand shows promise but as in the case of the other defenders, he hasn’t exactly excelled to date I it’s understandable considering how little any of them have played together coupled with the lack of Premier League experience with the overseas newcomers. The initial absence of Tim Ream and Kevin McDonald hasn’t helped though, they too have looked somewhat unfamiliar with their workmates when they have turned out, suspensions and injury again rubbing salt in the wounds.

Defence first, then midfield, here again we’ve got similar problems, exacerbated by the long term injury problems that our skipper has suffered and the unfamiliarity of those around him.

The much muted and highly rated Jean Michaël Seri has shown snippets and looks to be a class act but has shown something of a sulky side and has already been guilty of going through the motions, hardly enough to justify his reputation yet. The same has to be said of André-Franke Zambo Anguissa, though, again, we are told that he’s a real steal. Let’s hope Claudio can get a handle on this brand new team before it becomes too late

David Lloyd, the TOOFIF editor has tracked the whole 30-year rollercoaster journey of the Fall and Rise and Fall and Rise of Fulham Football Club since the devasting deterioration of the 1980s, the gradual resurgence, decline and the wonderful last two seasons.

This fan’s-eye view covers the most dramatic 30 years in Fulham FC’s history, during which London’s oldest professional football club plumbed the depths before embarking on a remarkable renaissance.

What a superb way to launch the eagerly anticipated TOOFIF book covering 30 years of angst, misery, joy, celebration, commiseration, more misery, a little hope, dashed hopes, tragedy, even more angst then rays of sunshine, celebration, joy, revival, promotion, success, consolidation, angst, relegation, disappointment, enlightenment, hope, more joy, more celebration, exhilaration and so on!

Held in what used to be the Putney Rowing Club's Boathouse under the famous Duke's Head Public House overlooking Old Father Thames on the Lower Richmond Road, this was a superb reminder of what it is to be a follower of the oldest football club in London.

Old faces, legends from the playing and management side of yesterday, Fulham Fans from the Media and the rest of us with no claim to anything other than an affliction to the Black and White aspect of SW6 football.

No name dropping but Alan Smith, Simon Morgan, Les Strong from playing and management connections with the Whites were there to support David Lloyd and celebrate his remarkable achievements, not merely for bringing this marvellous publication to the Fulham supporting public but for 30 years of giving us the longest running and most respected fanzine. in British football.

Dave Kidd, Dean Jones, the Fulhamish guys were amongst others there from the media and although a Non-Executive Director of FFC, David Daly came as a fan. football.

The Fulham Supporters' Trust ran the event, including Chairman Tom Greatrex who opened proceedings with an entertaining Q&A with David Lloyd, which frankly could have carried on until the early hours were it not for the other talks that were to follow.

Naturally, the club attempted to overshadow events with the morning announcement of the goodbyes to our beloved manager. This, quite naturally, was a hot topic and those present wasted no time in grilling our speakers. Tom Greatrex of the FST, David Lloyd, Alan Smith, Les Strong, Simon Morgan, Dave Kidd and Dean Jones gave their spin and the result was rather enlightening. It seems that the views expressed were universally held amongst speakers and attendees alike, sorrow, regret, sympathy but a gritted teeth acceptance that it was preventable but inevitable, or was I just imagining that?

As for those following chats involving other Fulham people, Alan Smith was an engaging and humorous chairman, much of what passed is probably covered by Libel Laws so hard luck, if you weren't there you can't hear it here, ring me and if you take the oath, I might just spill a few of the beans!

And then, there were loads of the rest of us, just lovers of Fulham FC.

This is not the place to go into too many details as the proper vehicle will be the next edition of the Magazine, which now all of the effort involved with getting the book finished, will follow as soon as our exhausted Editor recovers from the superhuman commitment of the past months in bringing this three hundred and sixty page masterpiece to us.

Suffice to say a good time was had by all but the main message is, buy this superb tome before the first edition runs out. Also, I’d like to add that if you are not a member of the Fulham Supporters' Trust, please consider joining now. We have not had a Supporters' Club since we returned form Loftus Road.

The FST is our focal point now and their affiliation with Supporters Direct, Football Supporters' Federation & Football Supporters Europe. The Trust’s members regular meet at Board level with Fulham Football Club to point our views across and to hear the Club’s plans relating to the Team, the players, Craven Cottage, the Training Ground, in fact as much as it is humanly possible about FFC.

This makes them our essential connection to the heartbeat of our beloved Fulham FC.