Oscar Bobb's moment of magic breathes life into Alvaro Arbeloa's return from the dead... but Coventry lack cutting edge required for big time, writes JAMES SHARPE

2026-10-24 · DailyMail

JAMES SHARPE AT CBS ARENA: For a man recently described as a 'dead man strutting', Alvaro Arbeloa now has an extra spring in his step. even for Fulham boss, this resuscitation is something.

For a man recently described as a ‘dead man strutting’, Alvaro Arbeloa now has an extra spring in his step. Few fortunes in life lurch quite so violently as a football manager’s but, even for the Fulham boss, this resuscitation is quite something.

Fulham started the day second from bottom in the Premier League table, even after their first victory of the season against Hull, but now have back-to-back wins thanks to Oscar Bobb’s late winner, sit 12th in the table ahead of Tottenham ’s game tonight, and just three points off the top six.

That strutting dead man, as one dressing room source called Arbeloa to Daily Mail Sport recently, is very much alive.

And the Oscar goes to…

For a game so sorely lacking in quality, you always got the sense that it would only need one sliver of it to decide this wet, cold, turgid contest in the West Midlands. For all the mountains of possession Fulham had, for all the little openings they created, they rarely looked like scoring after Josh King hit the woodwork early on and Shea Charles forced a save in the 13th minute.

There was one passage of play when Fulham kept the ball for what seemed like an eternity, passed it around, only for Timothy Castagne to lump it out of play.

But if there was anyone ever likely to provide it, it was going to be Bobb. The former Manchester City winger created the most chances all game and, for his late winner, did it all himself. He dribbled into the box, pulled out all the tricks and stepovers before waltzing past Jack Rudoni and curling it into the far corner for his first league goal for Fulham since joining in January.

> 'When you are losing it's difficult to say you are doing so many things well but always we have believed we are on the right track,’ said Arbeloa.

> 'Sometimes you need to win games because of the quality of your players, it was a good game as a team but the quality of Oscar in one moment decides the game and it's important for us because we have players who can make the difference.'

Cov missing cutting edge

Boos rang out from the home supporters as the final whistle blew at the CBS Arena. They knew how big this game was, the first of two back-to-back home games against Fulham and Sunderland, the only two sides below them before a ball was kicked.

Once again, though, they discovered the gap between the Championship and the Premier League. They simply cannot dominate matches as they did on their way to promotion last season.

And when they did have their moments, they just couldn’t make it count. Of their 13 shots, only two were on target.

> ‘We didn’t have the zip at the top end of the pitch like we would want,’ said Coventry boss Frank Lampard.

> ‘If you want to find a bit more, it’s not always there for you.’

The lack of cutting edge in the final third made it even more strange to see Lampard leave striker Ellis Simms, who scored in the win against Newcastle, out of the squad.

Grimes struggles again

Of all the players who perhaps looked most likely to bridge that gap to the top flight for Coventry, it was captain Matt Grimes. The skipper was so frequently the talisman and tempo-setter in the Championship but is struggling to stop games passing him by.

Bobb breezed past him early on to set up Shea Charles for a shot. He overhit a routine pass to Jay Dasilva that went straight out of play. Coventry don’t have enough of the ball to allow him to dictate play and, when they do get hold of it, he often finds himself with it in between the centre-backs, and without the ball struggles to have the physicality to wrench the game back into his side’s favour.

Frank sweating on Thomas

One man who has proven that he can make that step up is central defender Bobby Thomas. The man mountain boasts some of the best defensive stats in the Premier League and has been a rock for Lampard’s men so far this season. He even had a chance in the first half when he put that massive head on to a Jack Rudoni cross only to head wide.

Thomas, though, picked up a problem early in the first half, tried to continue, but soon sat down on the pitch and limped off before the hour was up. Lampard said he was waiting to find out how bad it was. His replacement Stephen Mfuni went close with a header from a corner but, with a massive home match against Sunderland coming up, his absence will be a hammer blow for Lampard.

Arbeloa needs more from his man

If Fulham’s form is to continue, they need more from striker Gonzalo Garcia, who must have wondered what on earth his career has come to as he trudged around the sodden grass, wet to the bone. He used to play for Real Madrid, for heaven’s sake.

Not that you’d know it from his recent performances. He didn’t muster a single shot on target, had the fewest touches of any of Fulham’s starters, including his goalkeeper before being dragged off with 15 minutes to go with the game still level.

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