[FM24] Fulham FC

[JoeyBaldwin]

Clint Dempsey's chip over Gianluigi Buffon is a distant memory to fans at Craven Cottage these days. Rather than Premier League solidity and the occasional European odyssey, Fulham fans have spent the bulk of the last decade watching Championship football - indeed, they only just staved off relegation to League One in 2016. However, a recent resurgence under Marco Silva saw the club win the Championship at the first time of asking in 2022, which was followed by a very solid first season back in the Premier League, in which the Whites finished 10th.

Inheriting a decent squad on paper, our aim would be to take the club on more European adventures and try to lift some major silverware. The club have never won the Premier League, FA Cup or League Cup in their history - having spent much of it in the lower leagues - and despite their famous UEFA Cup run in 2010, they have just one solitary Intertoto Cup triumph from 2002 in their trophy cabinet to pair with their recent Championship title.

As I mentioned, the squad is strong, with a core of the team that can be trusted. Bernd Leno is a very capable goalkeeper, and in front of him Calvin Bassey, Kenny Tete and Anthony Robinson are reliable defenders. The star quality comes from Joao Palhinha in midfield, with Andreas Pereira, Alex Iwobi and Harrison Reed also likely to feature prominently. In attack, Willian and Harry Wilson look likely to flank Armando Broja, on loan from Chelsea for the season.

Th likes of Tosin Adarabioyo, Issa Diop, Sasa Lukic, Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez will also be regular options throughout the season. There's no budget for any teams in the first transfer window, so no scope for any immediate signings - we're stuck with what we have until January.

[JoeyBaldwin]

August 2023

An eclectic mix of pre-season friendlies included a 7-1 victory at semi-professional Austrian side SV Leobendorf and a selection of straightforward victories over the likes of MK Dons and Oostende. However, the Premier League fixture list had thrown us straight into a home clash with fierce rivals Brentford.

Calvin Bassey scored the first goal of our tenure, converting from one yard after a goalmouth scramble, but despite our half-time lead, a powerful drive from Mathias Jensen and a clinical low drive from Bryan Mbeumo turned the game on its head and gave Brentford the lead. We equalised courtesy of Anthony Robinson, who nodded home Andreas Pereira's corner - an early win for our influx of set piece coaches - and we completed a stunning turnaround when Pereira turned provider for Armando Broja to make it 3-2. The scoring wasn't finished as Pereira himself found the net from 20 yards to pull us further away, before Ethan Pinnock pulled one back from close range deep in extra time. They won't all be 4-3 victories but the Fulham fans undoubtedly left the Cottage excited for the season!

Our first away game saw us travel to Nottingham Forest. Broja converted Adama Traore's low cross in the first half to score his second goal in as many games, but in the final minute of normal time, Anthony Elanga struck an equaliser for Forest. Certainly a case of two points dropped as we had dominated the game, racking up an xG of 3.76 compared to Forest's 0.92 - we'd had 16 shots to their 6. 

Our final league game of August was a drab 0-0 draw at home to Burnley - again, two points dropped. I wasn't quite sure how we'd stack up in our first season compared to the other sides but Burnley are a team we definitely should be beating. At least we kept a clean sheet.

Before the month was out, however, we did have to make a short trip to Brentford in the Carabao Cup 2nd Round. The match finished 1-1 - Sergio Reguilon's opener cancelled out by Willian five minutes from time - and we emerged victorious on penalties, winning the shootout 5-4 with Bassey scoring the winning kick.

It's early days, but Fulham are sitting 9th in the Premier League at the end of August.

 

PL - Fulham 4-3 Brentford (Bassey 30, Robinson 78, Broja 81, Pereira 89; Jensen 48, Mbeumo 58, Pinnock 90+1)

PL - Nottingham Forest 1-1 Fulham (Elanga 90; Broja 22)

PL - Fulham 0-0 Burnley

CC - Brentford 1-1p Fulham (Reguilon 71; Willian 85)

Edited September 20 by JoeyBaldwin

[JoeyBaldwin]

September 2023

The days are getting noticeably shorter already, the autumn is closing in, and for the second time already we contrived to concede a 90th minute equaliser away at Molineux. Alex Iwobi had given us the lead on the half-hour mark with a deflected shot and we kept the lead for an hour, but Wolves levelled the score in controversial fashion. A long ball forward was headed on by Owen Farmer towards Pedro Neto, who was clearly offside, however Bernd Leno chose to rush out and tackle Neto, with the ball falling kindly for Mario Lemina to fire into an empty net. No offside given, and that's six points dropped already in my opinion - although Wolves had had the better of a dull game (xG 0.87 vs 0.46).

This was followed by a trip to Old Trafford, with United looking in great early season form. Alejandro Garnacho scored inside the first minute and added a second in the first half, before two goals from Bruno Fernandes and one for Rasmus Hojlund completed a 5-0 demolition. We didn't manage a shot on target. 

We needed a response at home to West Ham, and thankfully we got it. After the first three quarters of the game were scoreless, Willian took the game by the scruff of the neck, firstly by dancing through two challenges to fire home across former Fulham keeper Alphonse Areola, before repeating the trick from a narrow angle after Fode Ballo-Toure played him in. Three very welcome points.

September concluded with the 3rd Round of the Carabao Cup, which for us meant a visit to the Vitality Stadium to take on AFC Bournemouth. In what seems to be becoming our trademark, we edged the game on the balance of play but fell victim to a late goal. Phillip Billing powered home to give the hosts the lead just before half-time, before Raul Jimenez equalised, reacting first to a loose ball after Iwobi hit the post. However, Dominic Solanke won it for Bournemouth in the 89th minute and dumped us out of the cup.

It wasn't the end of the world, although the board did want me to be competitive. In the league, four points in three matches in September kept us sitting in 9th.

 

PL - Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Fulham (Lemina 90; Iwobi 30)

PL - Manchester United 5-0 Fulham (Garnacho 1, 27, Fernandes 52, pen 89, Hojlund 68)

PL - Fulham 2-0 West Ham United (Willian 67, 84)

CC - AFC Bournemouth 2-1 Fulham (Billing 44, Solanke 89; Jimenez 67)

Edited September 20 by JoeyBaldwin

[JoeyBaldwin]

October 2023

A game of few chances and no goals saw us emerge from the Amex stadium with a hard-earned point - Brighton is never an easy place to go. 

But while that may have been satisfactory as results go, a draw at home to Luton wasn't going to cut it. We took the lead on 5 minutes when Reece Burke comically headed into the roof of his own net when responding to a ball that bounced down off the underside of the crossbar, but Luton pegged us back in the second half courtesy of Carlton Morris. Luton's xG of 1.11 was more than double ours, highlighting how underwhelming our performance was, and suddenly we're looking at a very tough run of games coming up.

Another trip to Bournemouth followed, but we couldn't avenge our Carabao Cup defeat. Solanke scored again and Ryan Christie made the game safe as we lost 2-0. 

Facing five of the traditional 'top six' in our next six fixtures is a daunting run at the best of times, but even more so when that run starts on the back of a string of poor performances and results. Chelsea came to the Cottage to kick off our difficult schedule, and competitive as we were, their class was too much for us. Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez struck in the second half and sent us home empty handed, having scored just one goal in the entire month. 

Rather surprisingly, our league standing only dropped to 11th at month-end, but in a tightly congested league that could easily fall further if our form doesn't improve quickly.

 

PL - Brighton & Hove Albion 0-0 Fulham

PL - Fulham 1-1 Luton Town (Burke o.g. 5; Morris 73)

PL - AFC Bournemouth 2-0 Fulham (Solanke 13, Christie 69)

PL - Fulham 0-2 Chelsea (Palmer 66, Fernandez 87)

Edited September 20 by JoeyBaldwin

[JoeyBaldwin]

November 2023

With three hugely challenging fixtures in the Premier League in November, expectations were low and it looked like we'd be dragged into a relegation battle come Christmas. A trip to the Etihad Stadium beckoned, and as you'd expect, Manchester City dominated the game in every aspect, with 67% of the ball and 13 shots to our 3... and when Kevin de Bruyne's corner found Bernardo Silva in acres of space on the edge of the box, there was only one outcome. 

But despite our bad form, we have been competitive in the games that we've drawn and lost (Old Trafford excepted), and we hung on in there. Eventually we received our just reward. With five minutes left, Ederson underhit a pass out of defence and Harry Wilson latched on to the ball, drove forwards and fired home past the hapless Brazilian. Incredibly, we'd rescued a point.

Liverpool would give us no such favours on their visit to the Cottage. Darwin Nunez had already had a goal ruled out by the time Trent Alexander-Arnold gave the visitors the lead with a looping header. Cody Gakpo doubled their advantage, lifting the ball over Leno's ill-judged advance to make it 2-0. The game was more even than the draw at City - we had 8 shots to Liverpool's 11 and xG of 0.65 to their 0.71 - but they were simply more clinical.

A trip to Tottenham followed and for a fleeting moment, it looked like an upset was on the cards when a clever free-kick allowed Tom Cairney to steal in and rifle a shot into the net across Vicario. But unlike Liverpool, Spurs were very dominant against us and it wasn't long before the game had fallen Spurs' way. Son equalised with aplomb and Brennan Johnson sealed the win - in reality the scoreline could have been bigger.

With just one point in the month, we had slipped to 14th in the table, fortunate as we were that Everton and Wolves hadn't yet caught up after their points deductions.

 

PL - Manchester City 1-1 Fulham (Silva 28; Wilson 85)

PL - Fulham 0-2 Liverpool (Alexander-Arnold 17, Gakpo 77)

PL - Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Fulham (Son 32, Johnson 60; Cairney 19)

[JoeyBaldwin]

December 2023

Having not won a game since victory over West Ham in September, things were beginning to look desperate - and with seven fixtures in December, most of them against teams around us, it looked like being a crucial month for the outlook of our season.

A home game against Everton was a fantastic opportunity to shake off our malaise and turn a corner in our season - or so I told the media. But despite dominating the game, racking up 11 shots to their 3, a penalty converted by Dominic Calvert-Lewin early in the game was the difference. It was a hugely dispiriting defeat and the media were beginning to get on my back.

In such circumstances, a hole in the head becomes more preferable than a trip to the Emirates Stadium - and when Martin Odegaard gave Arsenal a first-half lead from the spot, our situation was becoming dire. We mustered a corner in the 90th minute, taken by Harry Wilson... and somehow, out of nowhere, Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot! Sasa Lukic duly equalised and we'd somehow rescued a point with our first shot on target!

The result spurred us on to an improved performance at home to Aston Villa, but we couldn't snatch a win. We were the better side yet again - 13 shots to 6, xG of 1.31 to 0.40 - but our profligacy in front of goal cost us dearly again. Broja, Jimenez and Muniz were all on long goalscoring droughts and we couldn't buy a goal. But at least we didn't lose.

Ten Premier League games without a win it was now, and despite struggling themselves, Sheffield United took full advantage. I sound like a broken record but again we edged the game in terms of possession, shots and xG, but goals from Ben Brereton-Diaz and Oliver Norwood gave the Blades a priceless victory. Andreas Pereira did score from distance to bring us back into contention but we couldn't avoid defeat.

Ten had become eleven, and the visit of Newcastle to a snowy Craven Cottage didn't fill me with hope - a feeling exacerbated by Sean Longstaff's early goal. I was at the stage where I was trying Willian as a false nine, throwing all three of Broja, Jimenez and Muniz up top together and playing direct, just in the hope something would happen. Mercifully, we equalised courtesy of Issa Diop, and then finally the moment came! A short corner led to Calvin Bassey floating the ball to the back post, where Adama Traore rose highest to nod home. We hung on and won 2-1 - just in time for Christmas!

Boxing Day had given us a short trip to Selhurst Park, and full of confidence from ending our winless run, we took the lead through Willian. But any thoughts of a second successive victory were short-lived - first Joachim Andersen pounced on a handling error by Leno, and then a brace for Michael Olise put Crystal Palace in a commanding position. We fought back gallantly however, with Pereira providing an instant riposte to Olise's second goal, and with fifteen minutes to go, Adama Traore broke free down the left, cut inside and poked home to level the scores.

The point suddenly meant we'd only lost one of our last five Premier League games - you really can twist statistics any which way. We rounded off 2023 with a home clash with Nottingham Forest - a game that given our upturn in goalscoring form, I was very hopeful of another victory. Unfortunately, we chose this fixture to have a day off. Callum Hudson-Odoi opened the scoring in the first half, but Alex Iwobi equalised in the second with a deflected strike - yes, our strikers still haven't ended their goal droughts! It looked like we might go on and win the game, but a set-piece goal for Nicolas Dominguez and a very late clincher from Divock Origi ended any hopes we had.

The reality is we'd lost two games I'd have hoped to win, and only won once in seven December fixtures. It could have been much better, but we had stopped the rot and at the turn of the year, we were still sitting in 14th in the Premier League table, despite having only won three league matches up to this point.

 

PL - Fulham 0-1 Everton (Calvert-Lewin pen 11)

PL - Arsenal 1-1 Fulham (Odegaard pen 24; Lukic pen 90)

PL - Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa

PL - Sheffield United 2-1 Fulham (Brereton Diaz 40, Norwood 62; Pereira 77)

PL - Fulham 2-1 Newcastle United (Diop 49, Traore 84; Longstaff 8)

PL - Crystal Palace 3-3 Fulham (Andersen 42, Olise 45+2, 53; Willian 14, Pereira 60, Traore 76)

PL - Fulham 1-3 Nottingham Forest (Iwobi 76; Hudson-Odoi 23, Dominguez 83, Origi 90+6)

[JoeyBaldwin]

January 2024

The first transfer window in which we can spend some money has finally opened - and goodness me do we need some attackers that can find the net! The board have given us £19m to spend but some of our players are generating some interest so we might be able to raise a little more. 

Before we could worry about improving the squad, however, there was the small matter of a fierce London derby with rivals Brentford on New Years Day. And if our season could be summed up in a microcosm of bad luck, this was it. Harrison Reed fired us into the lead with a low 25-yard strike, before Armando Broja finally ended a 17-game goalless streak with a header from a corner! With fifteen minutes to go, we conceded a penalty, which was converted by Neal Maupay to give the hosts a route back into the game. Five minutes later, we'd contrived to give away another penalty, again scored by Maupay, and we'd thrown another two points into the bin.

The first weekend of January is traditionally FA Cup 3rd Round weekend. What do you need when you can't buy a win in the league? That's right, a trip to Old Trafford in the 3rd Round. When Alejandro Garnacho scored after three minutes, there was a very strong sense of deja vu and impending doom. What followed was unthinkable.

Firstly, Armando Broja capitalised on a mistake from Altay Bayindir in the United goal to equalise. Aaron Wan-Bissaka restored the Red Devils' lead with a thunderbolt, but Pereira teed up Reed to draw us level again at half-time. With an hour on the clock, the key moment arrived, as Pereira robbed Christian Eriksen in the midfield, found Harry Wilson who played a sublime reverse ball into the run of Broja. The Albanian made no mistake and we claimed a remarkable 3-2 win!

The barren spell in the autumn had become a beautiful fountain of glorious attacking play in the winter - but as we found our goalscoring touch, so we became equally generous with some haphazard defensive performances. Our Old Trafford triumph was followed by a trip to Turf Moor, or as we renamed it, Harry Wilson's playground - he opened the scoring and set up Broja for number two as we took a commanding lead into half-time. David Datro Fofana pulled one back with a tap-in just after the break, but Broja restored our two-goal lead soon after. However, terrible defensive errors from Lukic and Tete allowed Fofana to not only score a second but a third as well, and we had to settle for another hugely disappointing point.

That game was notable for Tom Cairney having to fill in at centre-back. Tosin Adarabioyo and Calvin Bassey had gone with Alex Iwobi and Fode Ballo-Toure to the African Cup of Nations, and this was the week that we sold Tim Ream to Monza for £1.2m. With a week off, we'd rectified the problem by the time our next game came around by completing the £8m signing of Mario Gila from Lazio.

He slotted straight into the back four for the FA Cup 4th Round trip to Cardiff. He played well against the Championship strugglers too, although we drew 0-0 and would have to settle for a replay.

Our only home fixture in the whole of January came right at the end. We'd sold Andreas Pereira to Al-Nassr for £40m so we had money to burn - they're paying him £700K per week! - and transfer rumours were swirling, however nobody had come in in time for the visit of Wolves. Gila made his Premier League debut in the match, and wouldn't you just know it - Jose Sa dropped one at Gila's feet after a goalmouth scramble for the Spaniard to score his first goal for the club. 

You wouldn't know this was a team struggling for results. Traore doubled our lead soon after and it was three by the half, Traore turning provided for Broja to put the game out of reach. As if that wasn't bad enough for Wolves, a bad mix-up between Toti and Sa resulted in an own goal credited to the latter, and only a consolation goal by Matheus Cunha spoiled the day for us. 

It was an emphatic victory and although it only lifted us from 15th up one place to 14th, the boost it gave us going into the second half of the season was immeasurable.

 

PL - Brentford 2-2 Fulham (Maupay pen 75, pen 80; Reed 19, Broja 56)

FA - Manchester United 2-3 Fulham (Garnacho 3, Wan-Bissaka 23; Broja 10, 59, Reed 32)

PL - Burnley 3-3 Fulham (Datro Fofana 50, 70, 84; Wilson 18, Broja 34, 52)

FA - Cardiff City 0-0 Fulham

PL - Fulham 4-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Gila 12, Traore 29, Broja 40, Sa o.g. 56; Cunha 70)

[JoeyBaldwin]

February 2024

Transfer deadline day was a very exciting day if you were a Fulham fan. As previously noted, the sale of Pereira had given the club cash to burn, and exciting Argentinian winger Brian Aguirre was the first through the door in a deal worth £7.5m. Aguirre has spent his entire career up to now playing for Newell's Old Boys but having just turned 21, he's made the move to Europe. Joining him would be Albert Gronbaek, a midfielder with attacking instincts signed for £5m from Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt - again, at 22 he's one with potential.

However, the most eye-catching signing involved a £28m plus Rodrigo Muniz offer to Leeds United to secure the signing of Wilfried Gnonto. The prodigiously talented Italian has just turned 20 and can feature anywhere across the front line - he's going to be a hugely valuable addition to the team.

February began with the visit of Manchester United to the Cottage. Aguirre was away on international duty with Argentina U23s - despite five goals in seven games, they'd miss out on Olympic qualification for the Games in 2024 - however, Gnonto would make his debut playing on the left, while Gronbaek came off the bench. Despite the difference in league position, we dominated the game and when Traore skipped past Harry Maguire to fire home after 5 minutes, we'd given ourselves the best possible start. Traore added a second in the latter stages, and although United briefly launched a comeback courtesy of Kobbie Mainoo, we saw the game out comfortably. Incredibly it was just our fifth league win of the season but every bit as convincing as Wolves.

Two wins in a row for the first time as manager was a great feeling, and we made it three in all competitions by edging past Cardiff in the FA Cup 4th Round replay. The Championship strugglers took the lead when Callum O'Dowda nodded home at the back post, but a raft of half-time changes helped swing the game back our way. The red hot Traore continued his terrific form with the equaliser and Albert Gronbaek, on his full debut, scored the winner with a beautiful left-foot strike across Horvath in the Cardiff goal.

Brian Aguirre was back for the trip to West Ham, but unfortunately we were outclassed as a Lucas Paqueta double saw us lose our unbeaten streak. Willian did get on the scoresheet for us but Michail Antonio sealed the deal late on as it ended 3-1. 

We'd actually gone seven games unbeaten in all competitions before defeat at the London Stadium, and the visit of Brighton gave us an opportunity to ensure it was just a blip. Harrison Reed has developed a penchant for the spectacular and drove a low shot home from the edge of the box, a strike which is fast becoming his trademark, and Mario Gila - who's arrival has coincided with our upturn in league form - doubled our lead, drilling home from close range after Tosin Adarabioyo nodded a free kick down to him. But as we've done so many times already this season, we threw it all away, and Joao Pedro was responsible, assisting Ansu Fati for the first and scoring himself in extra time to equalise. Another gut punch and we're not safe from relegation by any means.

Not many would have expected Luton to stay up and to the surprise of not many, were sitting bottom of the league. Our trip to Kenilworth Road saw us put in a very complete performance, with two goals from Armando Broja and a rare clean sheet. We had 15 shots to 2 for the hosts and 67% possession, not giving Luton a sniff, and at the end of month we were up to 13th and breathing a little easier.

The FA Cup was also throwing up some incredible drama. We'd been drawn away at Derby County, sitting top of League One, and all the ingredients of a 'cupset' were in place. It was very obviously going to be a difficult game, and when Tyreece John-Jules opened the scoring for Derby in the 68th minute, suddenly our backs were really against the wall. Step forward Brian Aguirre, who scored his first goal for the club by converting Castagne's low cross at the back post. There are no replays in the 5th Round now, so into extra time we went - and in extra time of extra time, with penalties looming large, Calvin Bassey found a deflected shot which wrong-footed the Derby keeper and into the net!

Into the FA Cup Quarter-Finals we go!

 

PL - Fulham 2-1 Manchester United (Traore 5, 84; Mainoo 87)

FA - Fulham 2-1 Cardiff City (Traore 50, Gronbaek 77; O'Dowda 7)

PL - West Ham United 3-1 Fulham (Paqueta 28, pen 43, Antonio 70; Willian 31)

PL - Fulham 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion (Reed 55, Gila 66; Fati 80, Pedro 90+3)

PL - Luton Town 0-2 Fulham (Broja 24, 78)

FA - Derby County 1-2e Fulham (John-Jules 68; Aguirre 80, Bassey 120+2)

[JoeyBaldwin]

March 2024

With the schedule beginning to thin out again, rotating the squad would become slightly less of an issue, but with trips to Chelsea and Liverpool in the pipeline, the visit of Bournemouth to Craven Cottage was the clearest opportunity for three valuable points. But what a frustrating afternoon it proved to be. Armando Broja fired home late in the first half to give us the lead, but Enes Unal equalised with a towering header and it looked like Lloyd Kelly had won it for the visitors when he squeezed a shot past Bernd Leno in extra time. With the whistle practically in the referees mouth, Adama Traore headed Tom Cairney's corner into the net to salvage a point, but even with the dramatic equaliser it was still a missed opportunity.

We were duly brushed aside by Chelsea at the Bridge. Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku fired the Blues into a two-goal lead and although Willian pulled one back on his former stomping ground, it wasn't enough to avoid defeat.

The FA Cup Quarter-Final draw had given us another trip to Kenilworth Road, and after our convincing victory in the league there in February, I was feeling very confident of a trip to Wembley. Our strength from set pieces has been a real asset this season and Calvin Bassey powered a corner into the net to give us the lead, before Broja added a second. A wicked deflection from Tahith Chong's long-range shot set up a grandstand finish as Luton pushed for an equaliser, but we held firm and secured our Semi-Final berth.

However, we saved our best until last. We finished March with a trip to table-topping Liverpool, who had broken away at the top in a straight fight with Manchester City. They took the lead through Ibrahima Konate who got across the near post and glanced Dominik Szoboszlai's corner into the net, but Broja found an equaliser when he converted Anthony Robinson's low cross. With the game locked at 1-1 and time ticking away, Luis Diaz latched on to Alexis Mac Allister's through ball and scored the winner, only for VAR to disallow the goal for offside... and with seconds left on the watch, Harry Wilson's corner was met by the beautiful forehead of Calvin Bassey to win the game.

It was a stunning victory and it propelled us up to 11th in the table as relegation fears seemed to be easing. Despite a challenging fixture list in April, there was a little bit of a gap between us and the drop zone - we're on 34 points from 30 games.

 

PL - Fulham 2-2 AFC Bournemouth (Broja 43, Traore 90+6; Unal 76, Kelly 90+2)

PL - Chelsea 2-1 Fulham (Jackson 35, Nkunku 47; Willian 60)

FA - Luton Town 1-2 Fulham (Chong 68; Bassey 22, Broja 64)

PL - Liverpool 1-2 Fulham (Konate 7; Broja 27, Bassey 90+3)

[JoeyBaldwin]

April 2024

April was only ever going to be a hugely challenging month, with Man City, Spurs, Arsenal, Villa and Everton away all in the pipeline, along with an exciting trip to Wembley for an FA Cup Semi-Final against Liverpool.

And so it proved with the visit of Man City to the Cottage. Having already done them a favour in their title bid, Erling Haaland was the difference in a very cagey game. We had 2 shots, they had 5, but the Norwegian cheat code scored twice and secured all three points for the irrepressible Cityzens. 

Spurs were afforded no such generosity. Traore's cut-back was stabbed home by Broja to give us the lead on 20 minutes, and Traore turned provided again in the second half, teeing up Sasa Lukic to rifle a shot across Vicario into the net. The scoring was completed late on when Broja turned Anthony Robinson's cross past the hapless Italian keeper, securing a thoroughly convincing victory.

We needed just three points to reach the magic 40-point safety mark, but Everton held firm to deny us on our trip to Goodison Park. Despite having 66% of the ball, we mustered just two shots on target and the Toffees emerged with all three points courtesy of Arnaut Danjuma.

If an FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley isn't already important enough, both ourselves and Liverpool would take the field knowing that Hull City had just secured a famous win over Arsenal and the Championship side were awaiting the winners. What an opportunity, and having just beaten the Reds at Anfield a few games ago, I was feeling very optimistic. However, spirits were quickly dampened when Dominik Szoboszlai burst through and fired Liverpool into a 4th-minute lead.

Alex Iwobi's opportunities have been reduced since the arrival of Aguirre, Gnonto and Gronbaek, however he was given the nod for the big occasion and proved the selection correct with the equaliser. Again, Adama Traore was the architect - what an incredible second half of the season he's had - and it was his low cross that found Iwobi in the six-yard box. But just as in the league game, Ibrahima Konate found the net from a corner mid-way through the second half, and it proved to be the winner. We'd fallen agonisingly short of FA Cup glory, but what an amazing run it had been, starting back with victory at Old Trafford.

There was no time to dwell on it, as three days later Arsenal would visit the Cottage. In truth, though we held on until the second half, the Gunners were much better than us on the day and goals from Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith-Rowe were enough to seal the victory for the visitors.

Not many would have given us a sniff at Villa Park against high-flying Aston Villa, who were pushing for Champions League qualification. However, for once in this challenging season, lady luck was on our side. Villa racked up 17 shots to our 9, and indeed Bernd Leno was the official Man of the Match, but when Sasa Lukic robbed Douglas Luiz in the midfield and set up Broja to score, we'd taken a lead we wouldn't surrender. It was just our 7th clean sheet of the season but it took us to the magic 40 points!

 

PL - Fulham 0-2 Manchester City (Haaland 58, 76)

PL - Fulham 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Broja 21, 79, Lukic 73)

PL - Everton 1-0 Fulham (Danjuma 37)

FA - Liverpool 2-1 Fulham (Szoboszlai 4, Konate 66; Iwobi 12)

PL - Fulham 0-2 Arsenal (Nketiah 65, Smith-Rowe 84)

PL - Aston Villa 0-1 Fulham (Broja 43)

[JoeyBaldwin]

May 2024

We had mathematically secured survival and reached 40 points - indeed, we began the month in 12th - but Sheffield United would be relegated with anything less than a win at the Cottage and we showed them no mercy at all. Joao Palhinha lunged in on Ben Brereton-Diaz and was duly sent off after just six minutes, but despite playing the whole game with 10 men, we were the better side. Albert Gronbaek opened the scoring with his first league goal for the club after a mazy run from midfield, and we doubled our lead with a fantastic team move which was finished by Adama Traore. Alex Iwobi squeezed in a third late on to seal a comfortable victory.

With nothing really on the line except squabbling over league table positions in the bottom half, our trip to St. James' Park was uninspired. We mustered just 3 shots and the game was settled by Dan Burn in the second half.

And just like that, the season would finish with the visit of Crystal Palace. Fresh-faced 16 year-olds Dylan McCarthy and Jordan O'Regan, the highlights of this year's youth intake - and wanted by all of the top English clubs - would come off the bench for their debuts in the second half, but all of the goals were scored in the first. Jeffrey Schlupp found the net in a matter of seconds, but another superb run from Gronbaek set up Willy Gnonto for his first goal for the club. The mercurial Italian had struggled for form since signing.

Lukic gave us the lead from the spot, only for Matheus Franca to beat Leno and equalise. It was an even game and the draw was a fair result, and the Fulham fans got a little glimpse of the future in McCarthy and O'Regan - one left winger, one right - and these are names that we might be hearing much more of in the coming seasons.

 

PL - Fulham 3-0 Sheffield United (Gronbaek 16, Traore 24, Iwobi 86)

PL - Newcastle United 1-0 Fulham (Burn 66)

PL - Fulham 2-2 Crystal Palace (Gnonto 5, Lukic pen 25; Schlupp 1, Franca 37)

[JoeyBaldwin]

2023/2024 Season Review

We finished the campaign in 12th with a record of P38 W10 D14 L14 GF49 GA56 PTS44. The board were satisfied as we'd avoided the threat of relegation, had a really good FA Cup run and now the challenge is to build on this in the transfer market.

Almost all of our players have generated some interest with plenty of Saudi Arabian interest to get the bank manager tingling, and it looks almost certain that Kenny Tete, Tom Cairney, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Sasa Lukic might be on their way out the door. Albert Gronbaek is also unhappy as he wanted to play as a Mezzala on Attack whereas I would play him as a Mezzala on Support. Woke nonsense it may be, but it would be a tidy profit.

Armando Broja will return to Chelsea and we're unlikely to sign him permanently. He was our top scorer with 16 goals in all competitions. It doesn't say much that Traore was second with 8, Willian third with 6 and Calvin Bassey joint fourth with Iwobi on 4.

The Premier League title itself was decided in thrilling fashion on the final day. Manchester City hosted Liverpool in a straight shoot-out for glory, and City's 3-1 victory lifted them above the Reds to win the league by a single point.

There were some fascinating managerial changes throughout the season. West Ham were struggling and replaced David Moyes with Sam Allardyce, while Arsenal fired Mikel Arteta after a disappointing season, hiring Zinedine Zidane in his place. Manchester United have finally sacked Erik Ten Haag at season's end - they finished 7th - but haven't yet hired a replacement.

[Deisler26]

Youuuuuuuuuuu Whites!

Good luck with this!

[JoeyBaldwin]

On 21/09/2024 at 12:06, Deisler26 said:

Youuuuuuuuuuu Whites!

Good luck with this!

Thanks! The missus and her old man have season tickets in the Johnny Haynes Stand so have been to a few, inspiring the save

[Deisler26]

53 minutes ago, JoeyBaldwin said:

Thanks! The missus and her old man have season tickets in the Johnny Haynes Stand so have been to a few, inspiring the save

I'm in the Hammersmith End

[Carambau]

Great read! Good luck for the new season  

[Javier]

It's refreshing to see a thread with no screenshots and just text (not that I don't like screenshots, but I do like reading). Good luck in the new season!

[danmcconnell1]

As a Birmingham fan it'll be interesting to see what you do with Stansfield, what're your plans?

[JoeyBaldwin]

Summer 2024

We had a promising transfer window, strengthening pretty much all over the pitch and avoiding any really key departures. The flagship signing is Arda Guler on loan from Real Madrid, we paid just £3.3m for the playmaker's services on a season-long loan. We spent £12m on Assan Ouedraogo from Schalke, but loaned him back as he plays in the same position as Arda Guler - the plan is to promote Ouedraogo to the squad in a year's time. 

With Kenny Tete expected to leave, we got ahead of the game and signed Pedro Malheiro from Boavista, and we bolstered our depth on the right-wing with Anan Khalaily. We also raided the relegated Bournemouth for Milos Kerkez and Sheffield United for Anel Ahmedhodzic, spending £35m on the pair in total. Midfielder Alex Kral came in to provide backup to Joao Palhinha, and finally, goalkeeper Stefano Turati joined from Sassuolo for £6.75m.

In terms of departures, newly-promoted Leeds spent their Gnonto money on Kenny Tete, taking the right-back for £26.5m. Al-Ittihad doubled our money by taking Tosin Adarabioyo (and paying him £575K p/w!) and Tom Cairney also left, heading to Sheffield United for £4.3m. We sent Harry Wilson out on loan to West Ham and Bobby Decordova-Reid was released - he'd end up in Saudi as well with Al-Khaleej, who didn't quite get Tosin's wage - he's on £28K.

I loaned Jay Stansfield to Huddersfield as somehow Carlos Vinicius is apparently good enough to compete with Raul Jimenez as Gnonto's backup.

Leicester City and Leeds United were promoted automatically while Southampton beat Hull 3-0 in the richest game of football outside of the kingdom. And keeping true to life, England lost the European Championship final, albeit 3-0 to France. 

Our squad is pretty much this:

GK - Leno / Turati / Benda

RB - Castagne / Malheiro (and technically Mbabu who I couldn't shift)

CB - Gila / Bassey / Ahmedhodzic / Diop / Bowat

LB - Robinson / Kerkez

BWM - Palhinha / Kral

BBM - Reed / Lukic (and I guess Iwobi and Gronbaek as well)

RAM - Traore / Khalaily

CAM - Arda Guler / Gronbaek

LAM - Aguirre / Willian / Iwobi

ST - Gnonto / Jimenez / Carlos Vinicius

[JoeyBaldwin]

August 2024

The 2024/2025 season gave us a relatively favourable start on this occasion, and although Newcastle would be tricky opening day opponents, we had home advantage and made it count. Adama Traore was the match-winner, scoring both goals in a 2-0 win - the second a header from debutant Khalaily's cross.

We began last season with a home win as well but it had taken five months to win two more. This time, we made it two out of two at Elland Road as Leeds failed to muster any shots at all. Georginio Rutter's first-half red card made things easier but Leeds provided stubborn resistance, and it took until the 88th minute before Harrison Reed fired home from the edge of the box.

Our unbeaten start continued, albeit in a draw at home to Wolves. Rayan Ait-Nouri opened the scoring from long range via a wicked deflection, but Gronbaek equalised five minutes later and despite having 64% of the ball, we couldn't find a way through to win the game.

A very productive August concluded with a home win over Millwall in the Carabao Cup, with Willian and Gnonto on the scoresheet, and a goalless draw away at Aston Villa to maintain our unbeaten start to the campaign. We're sitting in 6th in the league at this early stage.

 

PL - Fulham 2-0 Newcastle United (Traore 34, 83)

PL - Leeds United 0-1 Fulham (Reed 88)

PL - Fulham 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Gronbaek 44; Ait-Nouri 39)

CC - Fulham 2-1 Millwall (Willian 37, Gnonto 57; Flemming 26)

PL - Aston Villa 0-0 Fulham