Mark Hughes backs striking trio to step up in place of stricken stars
Fulham boss Mark Hughes has backed the club’s less-favored strikers to step up to the plate in the absence of first choice pair Bobby Zamora and Moussa Dembele. With Zamora out for most
of the season with a broken leg, and Dembele suffering a nasty leg injury during the Carling Cup loss at Stoke, the likes of Andy Johnson, Eddie Johnson and Diomansy Kamara are set to come in to fill the void.
“We’ve lost key personnel with Bobby and Moussa out, so these guys are going to have to get the job done,” Hughes told the club's official website. All three of the aforementioned players,
have failed to really set Craven Cottage alight during their time at the club, but they will be given another chance to prove themselves under new boss Hughes due to the unfortunate spat of injuries.
Kamara failed to really ignite his career in west London, largely due to his inconsistent and unpredictable nature, but he also suffered a lengthy injury back in 2008. He was farmed out
to Celtic on loan last term, but he’s set to get another crack of the whip under his new boss. “I’m still getting to know them as a group of players. I have seen Diomansy from afar when I brought teams here [to Fulham] in the past and played against him. He’s
had something like four or five training sessions and half a game, so I haven’t really seen his qualities first hand yet,” Hughes stated.
Andy Johnson has also seen his time at the Cottagers disrupted by injury. But even when fit, he struggled to find the net. He was originally signed for a hefty £10.5m, and he is seen largely
as a big-money flop. But Hughes is hopeful of getting him back to fitness. “Andy [Johnson] is joining in with the senior squad and we’ve got matches, behind closed doors, organized for his benefit in the coming weeks. Hopefully he’ll get through them okay
and he’ll be an option, albeit initially on the bench,” Hughes explained.
Namesake Eddie is also still an option for Hughes, although he is largely out of favor and has been loaned out for the past few seasons. But Hughes is happy to give the American the chance
to prove his worth. “Eddie [Johnson] has got a lot of ability, but maybe at times he needs a little bit more self-confidence, but that will come. He made an impact last Saturday, so that will help him,” the Welshman claimed.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the side copes without their star strikers. Zamora has been something of a talisman for the club over the past year and Dembele has impressed
substantially since his summer move. One thing’s for sure, someone will have to step up in their place, otherwise it may be a poor season for the west London club.
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