Moments like Monday prove that following Fulham’s worth all the aggro

Sometimes you have those moments where you wonder if following Fulham home and away is worth all the aggro.

I certainly felt like that after the opening night of the season when trekking it to Manchester to witness our 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford. Our horrendous car journey on the M6 meant we barrelled into the away end at 7.59pm, and while sitting in a McDonalds at Sandbach services on the way home, stewing in the knowledge that I’d only get an hour’s sleep before going to work, I genuinely had a “why do I do this to myself” moment.

Now of course, there are many fans who follow Fulham even more ardently and no doubt they’ve had those moments too. A penny for the thoughts of the brave few that went to Preston North End in the cup.

I’m hearing more and more season ticket holders say that they just don’t have the energy to go to as many games as they used to. There are various reasons for this, for some it’s financial, for some it’s the sanitisation of the modern game, but whatever it is, it feels like for some following Fulham takes its toll.

For most of us though, we keep coming back. The familiarity, routine and friends are a big reason for that, but also, it’s the fear of missing out. The opportunity to say “I was there” when those famous nights happen. Juventus, Hamburg, Derby – I’m proud to tell people I was at those ones.

Of course, you don’t exactly know when the good ones will fall. Sure, ok, you can make a reasonable guess when it’s a big cup game like the ones above, but for every famous night, there’s also a close miss. Liverpool in the Carabao Cup last year was a great example of one that had all the ingredients for a special night, but it just never fell our way.

So, to last night against the Bees at the Cottage. One of the most frustrating games of football I’ve ever witnessed. At times it felt like we were playing a League Two team in the FA Cup who had stolen a lead and were just doing anything and everything they could to weather an almighty barrage.

I can’t remember seeing many games in the Premier League like that, where the other team didn’t have even a hint of an out-ball. Time after time in the second half, the ball would be aimlessly cleared for Bassey and Andersen to mop up, allowing Fulham to restart the attacking motion. If Brentford are struggling for a competent right-back, there are worse ideas than sticking Bryan Mbuemo there because he did a decent job.

However, for large swathes, Fulham’s build-up was akin to turning the keys of a car that just wouldn’t ignite. We tried over and over and over again to find the spark, yet the key chance just wouldn’t materialise. The 60th, 70th, 80th and 90th minutes all came and went, yet that scoreboard still just said 0-1. Flekken had barely had to make a proper save.

Part of me got the feeling that Thomas Frank was loving this; it was an epic chess match where the queen was surrounded with pawns, knights and bishops that just wouldn’t budge. I hate it when footballers like Rodri complain about teams playing ‘anti-football’ just because they lost, there’s no one way to play the game, but my word, this was about as ugly as it’s possible to play while maintaining a lead.

Marco was criticised, rightly in my view, for his substitutions at Everton. And he’s been criticised many a time too for not knowing how to overturn a deficit. Last night though, one of his calls worked spectacularly. Myself and Jack on the Thursday Club have sounded like a broken record for years now wondering if Harry Wilson would ever get a chance in the central ’10’ role. He offers something unique to this team, he’s direct, he has great vision and of course incredible technique. It sometimes feels a little bit wasted out wide.

Last night Harry finally got the chance in the middle and what he produced was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced in that rickety old Hammersmith End.

The flick and equaliser was pure relief, but the winner was pure ecstasy. Fulham fans get unfairly tagged with having no passion by dumb people on X who base the characters of 20,000 people on a Victoria Sponge meme that they once saw. I would do anything to turn back time and freeze frame those seconds after Harry scored that winner. Join me in H4 for that exact moment and tell me that Fulham fans are plastic and don’t care.

Moments like Monday night are why it’s all worth it. To be put through the ringer by your football team and for it all to turn out perfect at the very, very last second.

It’s why nothing would ever adequately replace Fulham in my life. We can happily dabble in other sports, non-league football and other pastimes, but we always keep coming back to Fulham, even if it’s against our better judgement.