Cottage POV

Sadly, I’d already used the “one that got away” line following the opening evening loss at Manchester United after a solid performance saw a point dropped but Danny Ings’ last second equaliser for Fulham’s 3 to turn into 1 feels much more apt.

The joy of avoiding social media is not having to deal with the meltdown of events like a 94th minute equaliser. Situation wasn’t dealt with well by Fulham, it’s something I’m sure they’d handle with more reps this season but the very weird schedule of the Premier League’s first quarter is more a challenge of these moments than anything else. It was, on the whole, an excellent Fulham performance who displayed confident control of the fixture despite early season challenges in a slightly new tactical shape, new arrivals in key positions and the awkward early international break I’m sure nobody wants (especially after a tournament summer).

Joachim Andersen slotted in beautifully for his second debut displaying some of the stunning diagonal passes, positive distribution otherwise and strong box defending, a solid performance that had a clean sheet stolen at the death with some sloppy play on the left hand side. Not to say Antonee Robinson wasn’t terrific, similarly Calvin Bassey had a fairly comfortable afternoon but one sloppy moment was all it took for a horrific hairline duo of Jarrod Bowen and Danny Ings to punish and send Fulham from top half 7 points to bottom half 5.

Sadly, the Hale End x Fulham talk is destined to never stop with Emile Smith Rowe having his best run out in a Fulham shirt yet, assisting Raul Jimenez’s opener for Fulham and generally looking brighter and fitter and he gets more and more gametime at Fulham whilst his fellow Arsenal academy graduate, Reiss Nelson, looked exceptional in his substitute cameo which left you salivating for what else could be coming and wondering when the last debut was an impressive as that one? A bit of direct running, a couple of pops on goal and a couple ball recoveries all in about 20 minutes was encouraging for the rest of the season and has you wondering if we’re going to be throwing more cash into the Arsenal coffers in the summer.

Back to the game, I genuinely don’t really know how the referee, linesman or VAR didn’t see Max Kilman’s contact on Adama Traore as penalty worthy, it looked a pen live, it felt like a pen live and I’m still sure its a pen on replays. Perhaps even worse though, Carlos Soler not picking up a red card? It was a day to forget for Tim Robinson at Craven Cottage, one of the poorer refereeing performances I’ve seen for a while. There was even a few instances where I felt Sasa Lukic maybe could have been carded before he was and Antonee Robinson was fortunate to not get a card. Just one of those days where I don’t have a clue what the referee was seeing.

As for the aforementioned Adama Traore, in full flow, what an absolute monster and he’s a much better footballer than people give him credit for. He’s not purely an athletic speedster who hits it past you and runs around, he’s got some touch and skill to his dribbling and movement. Down that right hand side, he’s been joined by Kenny Tete who has been okay so far this season but I am missing Timothy Castagne’s presence, I think he’s a little better on the ball, more assured in possession whilst you probably lose a little defensive presence 1v1 and defending set pieces, I just have to say I’m missing Timmy and leaving it at that. I’ll get my Castagne run out on Tuesday at Preston I’m sure.

Talking of players on the fringes, Preston will be a big game for a number of players but namely Tom Cairney and Harrison Reed. Cairney has been asked to come off the bench in each game so far this season but importantly in two of the four Fulham had 4 points as it stood and they finished with 1. A hero of the terraces, Cairney needs to show he’s not finished because sadly, when he doesn’t have possession of the ball he’s looking like a liability on the field whilst his one start of the season at Birmingham he was part of a Fulham team that struggled to control possession against a League One side (albeit, might as well be a Championship side). Harrison Reed on the other hand, already lost minutes in his position to the aforementioned Cairney, whilst Sasa Lukic has come on leaps and bounds, Andreas has dropped into that right sided 8 role and Sander Berge is also waiting in the wings. Both players have been great servants to the football club and a display of our quick progress that we can even think beyond them. Those two and Harry Wilson are a small group of the Championship winning side who are on the outside looking in and have recent form that worries for their position within the club. Preston North End is a bigger game than many may realise.

The first 45 minutes on Saturday was so very encouraging, the complete display of a lead, dominant ball possession, control of the opposition and buzz about the ground showed the potential of what could be of this slightly new look Fulham group. The interchanges down both flanks and touches in the middle were a joy and we looked worlds away from West Ham who have continued to invest serious cash into their first team squad. Fulham under Marco Silva continue to have a bright future, the Riverside Stand is nearly fully open and operational, the investment in the squad is displaying its worth and whilst we’ve still got some progress to make as a current team and further investment, things are bright on the Thames.