NO stadium to call home, a manager who doesn't face the press after a game, who doesn't write in the matchday programme, and who tells the world he may retire at the end of the season - now that is a club in crisis.

Add to that the manager and chairman don't appear to be on speaking terms, and the world governing body FIFA are scrutinising your accounts and you know your club is in deep trouble.

But in a game where Premiership survival is the be all and end all, those mere trivialities pale into insignificance when the spectre of relegation looms large above you.

The club in crisis is Fulham, but the club with the real problem is Sunderland.

Relegation appears a racing certainty now and although the west Londoners can rightly claim the crown of cuckoos of the Premiership, Sunderland have become the lame ducks.

How they approach life outside the top-flight may yet decide whether or not they go on and follow the likes of the Derby's, the Leicester's and the Ipswich's into financial chaos.

The public face is talk of battling all the way and playing for every point left.

Hopefully, off the field in the privacy of the Stadium of Light boardrooms, plans are already well in place for the dreaded drop.

On the pitch however the signs on Saturday were encouraging.

For 85 minutes Howard Wilkinson saw his side compete with and, for most of the second half, dominate Jean Tigana's men only to be hit by a breakaway goal for former Newcastle loan signing Louis Saha.

Another defeat - their sixth in a row - but Wilkinson was still looking at the positives.

He said: "Performances are always important to me and this was a near top-drawer performance as far as we are concerned.

"I can say well done you gave everything that could be asked of you.

"Yes we did deserve to win, it was a winning performance and on another day not even being as dominant as that you'll win a football match."

They did everything but score, and ultimately that is what will cost them their Premiership place - goals.

A return of 19 in 29 games is miserable in anyone's eyes.

Peter Reid realised after last season's brush with relegation that Kevin Phillips needed support to keep up his rate of a goal every other game.

When Niall Quinn's back and knees finally gave way, Reid's last hurrah was the purchase of Tore Andre Flo and Marcus Stewart for a combined fee of £10m.

The Norwegian international appeared a shrewd piece of business despite reports that the Rangers' fans were more than happy to see him depart.

Flo was see as a target striker who would come in, do a similar job to Niall Quinn, and also take some of the goalscoring burden off the shoulders of Kevin Phillips.

After 22 games and four goals it has become glaringly apparent that, at 29, Flo is a spent force.

On Saturday he was guilty of missing chances and failing to provide any real aerial threat.

At times he failed to trouble the opposition while exasperating his colleagues.

His skipper Michael Gray was driven to distraction after 21 minutes and his use of the English language was both colourful and industrial when imploring his teammate to show, shall we say, a little more drive.

Flo's first opportunity was laid on a plate thanks to a rare incisive ball by Stephen Wright on 15 minutes.

Sent clear of the defence with only Maik Taylor to beat, he lifted his shot over the keeper but wide of the far post.

On 58 minutes Phillips skipped clear of the defence only to see his cross hit Flo on the chest, while the rebound driven in by Kevin Kilbane evaded the striker's efforts.

Just after the hour a Kilbane cross was headed down by Phillips for Flo, but he couldn't get any real power into his effort which Taylor pushed away.

It wasn't that Flo was the only culprit - both Phillips and Kilbane missed good opportunities - but somehow the Norwegian appears to be suffering from football's version of stage fright.

Sunderland appeared ready to accept a point when they substituted skipper Gray, who was suffering from cramp, on 84 minutes.

Sixty seconds later and Fulham broke down the right. Substitute Andreis Stolcers lofted the ball in for Saha, left by the two central defenders and the keeper, to steal in and give Fulham a very underserved three points.

"We have nine games left and we have to approach each of those games in the manner we did today," said Wilkinson.

"Our chances of staying up? It's going to be difficult obviously. We have nine games left and nine games is 27 points.

"I cannot allow myself, nor can the players, to think of anything other than the next game.

"I obviously think the team's made some progress since I took over, but the results don't back that up.

"We've got to get on making sure the right things to do are practised and we do the right things to do."

Unless the right things to do indeed do bring six wins from their last nine games, then Sunderland will be practising for Nationwide Football this summer.

Result: Fulham 1 Sunderland 0.

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