Alvaro Arbeloa on the Brink at Fulham, Recalls Real Madrid Experiences

In the summer, former Real Madrid player, Castilla manager and first team boss, Alvaro Arbeloa, was appointed the new manager of Premier League side Fulham.

It helped complete a managerial merry go round. He went from Real Madrid to Fulham, Marco Silva went from Fulham to Benfica, and Jose Mourinho went from Benfica to Real Madrid.

However, things are not going to plan for the 43-year old so far. In the Premier League, Fulham are still yet to win a game, losing four and drawing two of their opening six games to date.

There have been some positives in the performances, and all four defeats were by one goal, so they have been competitive in their games. They were a late deflected equaliser from a deserved win against Manchester United before the international break too.

Arbeloa’s side also managed an impressive point at Anfield, and are two wins from two in the Carabao Cup, albeit against League One side AFC Wimbledon and Championship outfit West Ham United.

However, ultimately, the team need wins in the Premier League, and are facing a serious relegation dogfight. On Saturday, they were leading 1-0 at newly promoted Ipswich Town after 87 minutes, yet left empty handed with a 2-1 defeat.

As a result of this defeat, and the general lack of form, the former Los Blancos man is now seriously fighting for his job, according to Sam Tabuteau, who says the upcoming games vs the other two promoted sides in Hull City and Coventry City will determine whether or not he remains in charge.

You would worry what this means for former La Fabrica youngsters such as Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios, who were no doubt heavily influenced by their former Castilla and first team manager in their decision to move to Fulham.

In the aftermath of the defeat at Ipswich, Arbeloa was asked if he is feeling the pressure, to which he responded: “Maybe you don’t know me, but I played for the best team in the world. I have coached the best team in the world. 

Maybe you don't know, but just to let you know, pressure is part of my life, (ever) since I was (a) kid. So, it's normal in football, it's normal for players, it's normal for coaches, it's normal for everybody that is around a team, and yes - I think pressure is something that is important for me, and I like it." 

Fighting talk there, and he may have a point , though Fulham fans probably don’t appreciate him talking about how great Real Madrid are when they have just two points midway through October.

Still, let's wait and see what happens. Managers have had similarly difficult starts to life at new clubs and managed to turn it around, such as Andoni Iraola at AFC Bournemouth, who did not get his first win there until the 28th of October, and ended up doing well enough to get the Liverpool job.