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Fulham returned to the Premier League this season having spent four years in the Championship before winning the play-off final over Aston Villa in May and manager Slavisa Jokanovic was handed a war chest with which to improve his squad.

However, after spending upwards of £100m on fresh faces and signing the likes of Jean-Michael Seri and Aleksandr Mitrovic, the Craven Cottage outfit are languishing at the bottom of the table with just five points from 12 games.

This didn't sit well with the high-ups and Jokanovic was promptly sacked with Ranieri brought in as his replacement. Many were surely pleased to see the smiley Italian back in the Premier League after he won hearts in the 15/16 season by winning the title with Leicester, but the appointment is a strange one.

Fulham's scattergun approach to the summer transfer window gave Jokanovic too many players to be able to choose his best eleven, and the Serb's rotation proved costly as none of his combinations were given time on the pitch to gel. Ultimately, the London side conceded a ridiculous 31 goals in their first 12 games and are on course to leak around 100 by the end of the season if they continue in this vein.

Therefore, it does seem odd that a manager nicknamed 'the tinker-man' is whom Shahid Khan and co are pinning their survival hopes upon.

Among other honchos tipped for the job were Arsene Wenger and Leonardo Jardim - huge names in management. It feels as though the hierarchy just wanted someone to grab headlines without thinking too much about what they actually need - similar to their 'quantity over quality' spending policy in the summer - and going for commercial appeal over pragmatism.

Ranieri's success with the Foxes was accomplished by creating a feeling of togetherness and an 'all for one, one for all' attitude that is perhaps unrivalled in the league's history and for that he deserves credit.

However, how easy will it be to replicate this kind of mentality in games when no fewer than 12 new players were brought in in the summer?

If he is to achieve success of any kind, the 67-year-old must do his best to take a polarised approach to that which his moniker suggests by picking, in particular, a backline - Jokanovic didn't name a single unchanged back four in his 12 games - as soon as possible and keeping faith in it, no matter if they concede four or five in his first match in charge.

Regardless, with Ranieri at the helm the Cottagers will likely be further adrift than they are now by Christmas and it could be a real struggle by then. While there is no doubt that he is a quality manager and a great character, it is a bad appointment in this case.

If you haven't seen Patrice Evra's bizarre new Instagram post then you need to check out the video below....