Seems very early in the season to be having a cup game?, still we’re off to the People’s Pension Stadium to take on Crawley Town who are. managed by a Fulham old boy Kevin Betsy. Kevin played 15 games for us between 1998-2002 and scores 1 goal.
We’ve only played Crawley a couple of times that I could find, winning both games, both games were “friendlies”.
Team selection for this game is tricky, we don’t really want to risk “key” players however I’m sure that Marco will want to keep the good results going?
I’ve selected players from the under 21’s and “fringe” players who Marco has made clear have no part in the first team this season, perhaps this could be used a shop window?, my team would be…
COYW’s
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For our second derby game of the season we visit Arsenal for a 17:30 kick-off
Arsenal have had an impressive start with 3 wins and this will be the toughest test for us so far however, after the Brentford game I think that we’re in a good place to take on the “in form” team. I sure that Leno will start and that he’ll have something to prove against his old team, Mitro will want to keep his goal tally on the up, to score against the league leaders would silence even more of his doubters? Mbabu’s couple of substitute appearances has lead to some excellent crosses for Mitro, I think he deserves a start.
Our record against Arsenal, 2 wins, 10 losses and 5 draws, if we get anything out of this game then the team confidence will be sky high.
My team, assuming no injuries…
COYW’s
Games of Interest…
Saturday 27th Brentford v Everton Chelsea v Leicester Liverpool v Bournemouth Man City v Palace Arsenal v Fulham
Sunday 28th Villa v West Ham Forest v Spurs
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This weekend we welcome Brentford to the Cottage for the first “top flight” encounter between our clubs.
It was a shame Mitro couldn’t score the penalty against Wolves, I’m sure he’ll get the next one, but in truth I think a draw was a fair outcome for that game. One highlight of the game was Jay Stansfield getting his Premier League debut, he didn’t look out of place did he.
Brentford are going to be full of confidence after their 4-0 win against Man Utd and the fact that they always do well at the Cottage, this would be a nice game for us to start to redress the balance.
Our record against the bees 3 wins, 7 losses and 3 draws.
I’m surprised that neither Leno, Diop, Mbabu or Duffy have started so far, having said that why change an unbeaten team? however I would make a couple of changes mainly to add a little extra “steel” to the squad, my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest…
Saturday 20th Spurs v Wolves Palace v Villa Everton v Forest Fulham v Brentford Bournemouth v Arsenal
Sunday 21st Leeds v Chelsea West Ham v Brighton
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Well I think we took everyone by surprise against Liverpool, I think we were unlucky not to take all three points and I don’t think many would have had too much of an argument, if we can play like that for the majority of the season then we’re in for a good time! Mitro has started as we all hoped?, he’s still on fire!, and probably had he best ever game for Fulham, after last season that is quite an achievement! It’s a shame that Harry Wilson will be out for 5-6 weeks, he was so important last season, and I’m sure he would have loved to have played against his previous team. News has also come out that Manor Solomon and that he will also be unavailable for the same sort of time?, both were injured in behind closed doors “friendlies”.
Our record against Wolves is much the same as against Liverpool with 4 wins, 11 losses and 5 draws.
I was surprised that Leno didn’t start against Liverpool, and because of that I don’t think that either Diop will start however I think it would be difficult to change any of the starting line-up, therefore my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest…
Saturday 13th Arsenal v Leicester Man City v Bournemouth Wolves v Fulham Brentford v Man Utd
Sunday 14th Forest v West Ham Chelsea v Spurs
Monday 15th Liverpool v Palace
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Fulham are back in the Premier League and welcome Liverpool to Craven Cottage for the fist game of the season.
A difficult game to kick the season off however we had to play them at some point so perhaps we can spring a surprise? It’ll be interesting to see how many of the “new” players get a start? if we sign anyone toward the end of the week before Saturday will they even get on the bench or have to wait for the Wolves game?
Liverpool have stated that they want to “start the season with a flyer”, after their win over Man City last weekend they’ll be full of confidence. I would imagine that both Harvey Elliot and Fabio Carvalho will make an appearance, it’s just a shame that Harry Wilson is out with a knee injury, I’m sure he’d love to have faced his former team.
Our record against Liverpool isn’t too good, not surprisingly?, however we have won 4 games, lost 10 and drawn 3, so we’ve done well in 7.
I’m reasonably sure that Leno will start, and Mbabu’s brief appearance against Villarreal, if that pass to Mitro was a sign of things to come then he and Tete will an interesting tussle for that slot. My team would be…
COYW’s
Games of Interest…
Friday 5th Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Saturday 6th Fulham v Liverpool Bournemouth v Aston Villa Newcastle v Nottm Forest Spurs v Southampton Everton v Chelsea
Sunday 7th Leicester v Brentford West Ham v Man City
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After a wonderful season here are some interesting points about the season we finished as Champions
Over on the form “Ludlow Richard” has provided some really interesting stats…
This is a summary of the key stats, split into new FFC records/milestones and notable achievements, focussed solely on the team rather than individuals.
NEW FFC RECORDS 1) Most away goals scored in a season (50), beating the 44 scored in 1957/58 2) Highest ever average Goals per Game (away) at 2.17, beating the 2.09 from 1957/58 3) Highest aggregate score to nil against one club in a season (9-0 v Blackburn) 4) Our best ever Goal Difference (+63, beating the 2000/01 team’s +58) 5) First time we have ever scored 50 league goals both home and away in a season 6) First time we have won 7-0 three times in a season 7) First time we have won 7-0 away twice in a season 8) A new landmark for FFC of 23 unanswered league goals (3 v QPR, followed by 2 v Cardiff, 4 v Forest, 3 v WBA, 7 v Blackburn, 1 v Peterborough and 3 v Barnsley) 9) First time we have scored 6 or more in three consecutive league games 10) Highest number of 3-0 wins in a season (4), beating our previous record of 3
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS 1) First team since Spurs in 1960/61 to score 50 league goals both home and away in a season 2) First team since Liverpool in 1895/96 to score 7 goals twice away in a season 3) First team since Chester in 1933/34 to score 6 or more in three consecutive league games 4) Most goals at home since 1958/59 5) Highest average Goals per Game (home) since 1957/58 6) Second highest FFC goals scored in a season (106) after the 111 scored in 1931/32 7) With 13 away wins, just fell short of matching our previous best ever number of away wins in a season (14 in 2000/01) 8) The third time we have scored 100+ league goals in a season, with the last time being in 1931/32 9) Beaten both Cardiff and Swansea home and away in the same season for the first time 10) We have been top of the league for 171 out of the 275 days in the 2021/22 season (62% of the season) and have been top from 15 January. While very notable, it doesn’t come close to the Tigana season when we were top for 243 of the 268 days in the 2000/01 season (just over 90% of the season). The only other teams to be top of the Championship this season have been Bournemouth, WBA and Hull 11) Goals have been scored this season by 16 different scorers. That has only been bettered twice in our history: in 1997/98 when we had 18 different scorers; and in 1998/99 when we had an incredible 22 different scorers 12) FFC’s total of 106 goals in the 2nd tier of English football ranks as the 9th highest total since the 2nd tier started in 1892/93. But it’s only the second time 100 goals have been scored by any 2nd tier team since 1964/65 (Man City’s 108 goals in 2001/02). It is, however the first time 100+ goals have been scored by any team in the League Championship since it was introduced in the 2004/05 season.
LEAGUE GAME RESULTS
Date
Match
Scorer(s)
GD+/-
Pts
Position
8 Aug
1-1 M’borough
Wilson
0
1
14
14 Aug
Huddersfield 1-5
Mirto Onomah Carvalho Cavalerio(2)
+4
4
1
17 Aug
Millwall 1-2
Mitro Carvalho
+5
7
1
21 Aug
2-0 Hull
Mitro Carvalho
+7
10
1
28 Aug
3-0 Stoke
Wilson DeCordovia-Reid Mitro
+10
13
1
11 Sep
Blackpool 1-0
+9
13
2
15 Sep
Birmingham 1-4
Mitro(2) Odoi Wilson
+12
16
1
18 Sep
1-2 Reading
Miniz
+11
16
2
25 Sep
Bristol City 1-1
Mitro
+11
17
4
29 Sep
3-1 Swansea
Mitro(3)
+13
20
3
2 Oct
Coventry 4-1
McFadzean(OG)
+10
20
5
16 Oct
4-1 QPR
Mitro(2) DeCordovia-Reid Robinson
+13
23
3
20 Oct
2-0 Cardiff
Cairney Mitro
+15
26
2
24 Oct
Forest 0-4
Spence(OG) Mitro(2) Kebano
+19
29
2
30 Oct
3-0 West Brom
Mitro(3)
+22
32
2
3 Nov
Blackburn 0-7
Kebano(2) Mitro Wilson(2) Muniz(2)
+29
35
2
6 Nov
P’borough 0-1
Mitro
+30
38
2
20 Nov
4-1 Barnsley
Mitro Carvalho Kebano Wilson
+33
41
1
24 Nov
0-0 Derby
+33
42
1
27 Nov
Preston NE 1-1
Ream
+33
43
1
3 Dec
1-1 Bournemouth
Tosin
+33
44
1
11 Dec
Luton 1-1
Mitro
+33
45
1
20 Dec
0-1 Sheff Utd
+32
45
1
11 Jan
Reading 0-7
Wilson(2) Mitro(2) Tete Kebano Tosin
+39
48
2
15 Jan
6-2 Bristol City
Mitro Kebano Carbalho
+43
51
1
18 Jan
6-2 Birmingham
Roberts(OG) Kebano Carvalho(2) Cairney Robinson
+47
54
1
22 Jan
Stoke 2-3
Muniz(2) DeCordovia-Reid
+48
57
1
29 Jan
1-1 Blackpool
Mitro
+48
58
1
8 Feb
3-0 Millwall
Mitro(2) DeCordovia-Reid
+51
61
1
12 Feb
Hull 0-1
Mitro
+52
64
1
19 Feb
1-2 Huddersfield
DeCordovia-Reid
+51
64
1
23 Feb
2-1 P’borough*
Mitro(2)
+52
67
1
26 Feb
Cardiff 0-1
Mitro
+53
70
1
5 Mar
2-0 Blackburn
Kebano Wilson
+55
73
1
8 Mar
Swansea 1-5
Mitro Cubango(OG) DeCordovia-Reid Williams(2)
+59
76
1
12 Mar
Barnsley 1-1
Wilson
+59
77
1
15 Mar
West Brom 1-0
+58
77
1
2 Apr
QPR 0-2
Mitro(2)
+60
80
1
6 Apr
M’borough 0-1
Mitro
+61
83
1
10 Apr
1-3 Coventry
DeCordovia-Reid
+59
83
1
15 Apr
Derby 2-1
Carvalho
+58
83
1
19 Apr
3-0 Preston NE**
Mitro(2) Carvalho
+61
86
1
23 Apr
Bournemouth 1-1
Mitro
+61
87
1
26 Apr
0-1 Forest
+60
87
1
2 May
7-0 Luton***
Cairney Tete Carvalho DeCordovia-Reid Seri Mitro
+67
90
1
7 May
Sheff Utd 4-0
+63
90
1
*Mitro surpasses Ivan Toney **Promoted ***Champions, over 100 goals scored, Mitro surpasses Guy Whittingham
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Our last game of the season we travel to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield Utd
Well the game against Luton was more like it! what a team performance, the 3rd time we’ve scored 7 this season, thats 106, ONE HUNDRED AND SIX goals in a season, we’re the first team in 20 years to hit 100. We’re also the first team in 60 years to score 50 goals both home and away. It was fitting that Tom scored the 100th, and quite astounding that 6 players, Cairney, Tete, Carvalho, Mitro (2), DeCordova-Reid and Seri got on the the score sheet. Mitro’s couple takes him past Guy Whittingham’s 42, what was Parker thinking last season?
Oh and by the way we’re Champions.
This should have been a game between my two favourite Fulham managers of recent years, unfortunately Slaviša’s term at Sheffield was cut short, didn’t they know his teams take a while to get started? I guess as they’ve a reasonable chance of staying in the play-offs they’d argue they made the correct decision.
Curent form: Sheffield Utd – DLDWW Fulham – LWDLW
Our recent record against the Blades is a quite good with 4 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws.
Assuming no injuries my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of interest…
Saturday 7th Bournemouth v Millwall Huddersfield v Bristol City Hull v Forest Luton v Reading Preston NE v M’borough Sheff Utd v Fulham Swansea v QPR
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We welcome Luton Town to the Cottage for our last home game of the season
Fulham do like doing things the hard way don’t they? we’re only 1 point from being crowned Champions, 1 goal away from 100 in the season and Mitro still needs a couple to top Guy Whittingham’s record, everything is so painfully close but we still have to wait, welcome to FFC.
It’s a shame that the Luton game has been moved to a Monday evening, wouldn’t it have been better to have the last home game at 3 o’clock on Saturday to give the fans and players a more appropriate time to celebrate the season? I guess we’ll have to get used not having Saturday kick-offs next season in the Premier League.
Luton are still fighting for a play-off spot, haven’t they had a tremendous, if unexpected season, so this will be, yet again, another tough game, we all know that theres no easy games in the Championship.
Curent form: Fulham – LLWDL Luton – DLWWD
Our recent record against Luton is a win and 2 draws.
Assuming no injuries my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of interest…
Friday 29th QPR v Sheff Utd
Saturday 23rd Blackburn v Bournemouth Coventry v Huddersfield M’borough v Stoke Millwall v P’borough Forest v Swansea
Monday 2nd Fulham v Luton
Tuesday 3rd Bournemouth v Forest
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Time for the rearranged home fixture against Nottingham Forest
I had hoped to see another Mitro hat-trick and 3 points that would have confirmed us as Champions, oh well, I should have known that wouldn’t happen as I’ve followed Fulham for far too long? Over on the forum bobby01 pointed out that, before yesterday, Fulham had the least yellow cards, Fulham 65, Reading & Blackpool 68, Hull 70 and Huddersfield 71, most cards Blackburn 99, Cardiff 94, M’boro 94, Stoke 88 and Bournemouth 87, yet somehow Fulham got 7 yellows, Bournemouth got 3, and Marco sent off, how could we have gone from 1.6 a game to 7? somebody needs to have a close look at the referee, wasn’t he the same ref’ who sent off Joachim Andersen and award a penalty last season? Andersen’s red card was later rescinded. Anyhow, a least Mitro’s goal takes him closer, definitely over the line, to breaking another record and Fulham closer to 100 goals for the season.
Forest are on a really good run and will be looking for automatic promotion, they’ll be full of confidence and hoping to overtake Bournemouth for the second slot. If Bournemouth loose their remaining games (4) and Forest win 2 or theirs (4), then they’ll overtake them and join us in the Premier League next season. However we’ll still need the points to secure/confirm Champion status, one more win and Bournemouth can only catch not overtake us, and as our goal difference is 31 more than them, then we’d be Champions.
Curent form: Fulham – WLLWD Forest – WWLWW
Our record against Forest is reasonably even with 6 wins, 4 losses and a draw, we won the away fixture 0-4.
Assuming no injuries, I’d give Tete another run out, my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of interest…
Tuesday 26th Fulham v Forest Swansea v Bournemouth
Wednesday 27th M’borough v Cardiff
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We visit the Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth in this “top of the table” Championship title decider? clash
Over on the FoF forum Ludlow Richard, our stats Maestro, pointed out that the 3-0 home win was the fourth win by that score, Stoke, West Brom, Millwall and now Preston NE, beats our previous record of 3 such wins in a season. The win also means that our home and away records are identical P21 W13 D4 L4. If we score one more goal at home and one more goal away it will be our first season where we have scored 50 goals at home and 50 goals away.
The win against Preston saw our guaranteed promotion, a win against Bournemouth will secure the Championship title!
Hopefully this will be a more exciting game than the home fixture earlier in the season, ParkerBus anyone? Wouldn’t it be fitting if Mitro scored a hat-trick, if only to prove a point to Mr Parker? but also to beat Guy Wittingham’s 42 goal record from the 1992-93 season.
Curent form: Bournemouth – WLDDW Fulham – WWLLW
Our recent record against Bournemouth isn’t too good with only 1 win, 3 losses and 1 draw.
Assuming no injuries my team would be…
COYW’s
Games of interest…
Friday 22nd Huddersfield v Barnsley
Saturday 23rd Luton v Blackpool Birmingham v Millwall Bournemouth v Fulham P’borough v Forest Sheff Utd v Cardiff Stoke v QPR Swansea v M’borough
Monday 25th Preston NE v Blackburn
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