I fear this mess at Fulham will get even worse

THERE is a new game being played at Fulham this season and it’s called ‘Felix bingo’.

The concept is simple, guess the starting XI before boss Felix Magath names his side for the game.

And with 25 players used already this season it’s easy to see why it’s a game with no winners, which includes the German manager. He has made multiple changes in every game this season — but is yet to find a winning formula. Players have started matches one week and not made the bench the next.

And after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Cardiff, Magath admitted he is waiting for tonight’s transfer deadline to pass before he can know for sure which players he will have to work with and from there he can figure out his best XI.

So it is easy to see why Fulham remain second bottom of the SkyBet Championship after five games.

The former Bayern Munich boss (right) is quick to point to the major overhaul of his squad this summer, with 13 new arrivals and 17 players departing, leaving Scott Parker as the only survivor who played regularly last season.

And the changes do not stop there, with Magath targeting three additions to his squad in the final hours of the transfer window, after failed £12million experiment Kostas Mitroglou went back to Olympiacos on loan.

Despite Magath believing promotion is still possible, their slow start to the season could cost Fulham a quick return to the top flight.

Changes to the squad were long overdue and the promotion of six players from last season’s FA Youth Cup final side has to be applauded.

But at the moment whichever 11 players are handed a starting place, the team does not seem to be gelling.

There were glimpses in the first 45 minutes on Saturday that things were coming together and a lot of the football was easy on the eye as Tim Hoogland gave Fulham the lead. But they remain vul- nerable to being outmuscled and they lacked the strength and experience to see the game through as Kenwyne Jones scored his fourth goal of the campaign to earn Cardiff a point.

Only Parker and big-money signing Ross McCormack have experience of playing in the Championship and that lack of knowhow in a demanding division is costing Fulham.

Magath remains defiant and insists he is not just the right man for Fulham — but also the only man.

But poor results inevitably lead to unrest in the stands and the fans are not happy with the way things are going. Magath was met with a chorus of boos — not for the first time this season — from pockets of the Craven Cottage faithful at the final whistle. As a Fulham fan myself, the decline in the last 18 months has been very difficult to watch. In the end relegation was almost a relief as we were put out of our misery.

Four years is a very long time in football, and the days when European heavyweights such as Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk and Hamburg were put to the sword by Roy Hodgson’s side as Fulham reached the 2010 Europa League final are now just a memory.

Reality for Fulham is a side that is struggling to adapt to life outside the top tier and the only joy this season has come from beating Brentford in the Capital One Cup.

The feeling is things could get worse before they get better at Craven Cottage.

Magath cannot be blamed for relegation last season, but now this is his squad and he cannot hide from the position Fulham are in.

Whether he is the right man to lead Fulham into this new era remains to be seen. But his first job must be to settle on his best side or the slide down the divisions will continue quicker than their rapid assent 17 years ago.