Why we shouldn’t let the Wolves result kill our dreams of Europe

Well, Saturday was certainly a buzzkill: the sort of afternoon, as you’re walking back through Bishop’s Park soaked to the bone, you question why we put ourselves through it all.

It seemed like only yesterday we were planning Dinamo-Minsk (A) in our minds. And while we try to keep level-headed on Fulhamish, sometimes it’s impossible not to get wrapped up in the excitement of a decent run of form (especially when Jack Kelly is on the panel). You have four mates united by their shared love of Fulham Football Club together on a Zoom call, still riding on the high of an emphatic weekend-making win – it’s a recipe for hyperbole. With all this in mind, I’d like to think we can be forgiven for some statements in our post-Crystal Palace podcast Prince Harry’s Palace, which would lead some people to believe that Marco Silva’s side are the living embodiment of Rinus Michels’ famous Total Football philosophy, and destined for Premier League glory.

The Wolves result was certainly a crash down to earth, and a stark reminder that no matter what position your opposition are in the table, you simply cannot afford to have an off-day in this league. However, I do firmly believe that Saturday’s result was an anomaly, and not one we should dwell on too much.

Put simply, too many of our players didn’t show up on Saturday, and that can happen. The testing weather conditions also played into Gary O’Neil’s perfectly-manicured hands, given Wolves were all too-happy to stifle our fluidity and play a fragmented and frustratingly well game-managed match. On top of this Matheus Cunha decided to do his best R9 (c. 2002) impression, and we effectively red-carded ourselves through a ballsy throw of the dice that unfortunately backfired. I feel that the poor performance can be filed well and truly in the “not our day” draw, rather than the “we’re in trouble” section.

This statement may age like milk, but I still firmly believe that with a bit of good fortune (and perhaps the addition of a striker in January) we can make Europe this season – especially if the league position gets extended due to cup wins going our way. Ahead of the Wolves game, bookies had Fulham at 8/1 to finish within the top six, which has certainly (bar maybe the 2008/09 season) never happened within my lifetime at this stage of the season.

A bad result against a struggling side containing obvious quality, during a weird match, is not a reason to give up the dream. So for the time being at least, I’ll still look forward to seeing you this time next year, midweek, in the old town of some far-flung corner of the former Soviet Union.