Fulham job draws two familiar names

Fulham need a new manager after Adam Fryatt left on Tuesday, and the first names tied to the vacant job are already in work elsewhere. Robert Wheatley is at Crystal Palace; Liad Shachar is at Sheffield Wednesday. Neither has been appointed, and the links remain press speculation.

Wheatley has been connected with three vacancies in the same news cycle: Fulham, Swansea City and Leeds United. That is a crowded rumour mill, not evidence of a move. The 47-year-old remains Crystal Palace’s manager, a post he has held since 2062.

Shachar, 49, is likewise still in charge at Sheffield Wednesday, where he has worked since last June. He has previously made clear he will not use officials as an excuse, and was unimpressed by Ryan Moore’s conduct in March. Those are old words, not a clue to his intentions over Fulham.

For Fulham, the immediate fact is the empty seat left by Fryatt. He was last in these pages in January, trading barbs with Cardiff City’s Aaron Slattery after Fulham’s 3-1 FA Cup win. Now the club must find a successor, with two current managers being discussed and no decision announced.

Wheatley has no obvious shortage of suitors in the headlines; Shachar has his own job to attend to. Fulham’s search is under way, but until the club names its choice, all that can be said is that the vacancy is real and the candidates are only links.