The blissful magic of the FA Cup. It's been a long time. Last season, Fulham were outplayed by a struggling Oldham Athletic without a manager but this year against a teetering Aston Villa, directed by former Brentford boss Dean Smith (double points), the Whites progressed to the 4th round of the planet's oldest club competition. Is, is that Wembley in the distance?
Another avoidable bump in the road, smashed head on by Scott Parker's incompatible Fulham banter bus. Nursing a ranging hangover from the wholehearted celebrations the night before, trust it to be Fulham that bring you back down to earth with a bucket of cold water and a hefty slap in the gob. Also, Mark Bowen is a top notch prat, just saying.
As 2019 comes to an end with a new dawn in 2020 on the horizon, Scott Parker's Fulham bid farewell to a tremendous decade of success and heartache with 3 hard-earned points against Michael O'Neill's Stoke City. Entranced by Sunday evening's stunning sunset, all within Craven Cottage reminisced of what was and what could have been over an eventful 10-year span which has quite literally had it all in abundance.
Must admit that when I set off on a chilly, wet morning with a half Christmas hangover and the glory of winning the traditional family Monopoly, I thought Kenilworth Road on Boxing Day would be a nice jaunt. Little did I know that the weather would be dreadful, Fulham would be arguably worse and the 90 minutes of scintillating festive feast of football that I had imagined would actually turn in a topsy-turvy game of elation and excruciating pain.
March on together. Think we'll adopt that as our own now. Coming off the back of three dismal defeats, another dreary loss was the only plausible outcome for Fulham, who had the ordeal of stunting a high-flying Leeds United at home, with Christmas just 4 days away. Stuff it all, and the Turkey while you're at it.
Griffin Park is a dive, but it's a jumble sale of a stadium that we just love to lose at. West London isn't ours anymore, I'm afraid. Scott Parker's Fulham fell to their third straight defeat and the wheels have well and truly fallen off. We were diabolical, that's my quick take and it'll only lead to a longer explanation and inquest.
Banter club level restored. Fulham slumped to a second consecutive 2-1 defeat against another of the Championship's top 9 outfits. Farcical from back to front, Scott Parker's bereft, depleted contingent were atrocious and yet, miraculously, we're still 3rd in the standings, 11 points behind Leeds United. Drop us out, lads, we're slyly taking the piss.
Fulham have lost 5 games so far this term with 3 of them coming at home. That's Nottingham Forest, Hull City and now Bristol City returning home from Craven Cottage with victories tucked away in their back pockets and that's simply unacceptable. We're still 3rd, just, but that was far from a satisfactory performance.
Go on, which one of you started belting out God Save The Queen in South Wales? Fulham made a westerly trip to the Liberty Stadium and ruffled Swansea City's feathers with a sensational first-half raid, a ruthless invasion that left the hosts belly up in the water.
Three goals, three victories on the bounce and a 100% midweek winning record. Forget Saturdays, Tuesday and Wednesday nights by the river are the in thing and we're wholeheartedly here for that. The last time Derby County came to town, Fulham were heart breakers. This time, with the Rams wanting to exact revenge, the Whites stamped the visitors' dignity into pitiful pulp.
West London is black and white and we'll never get bored of tagging that in various gloating tweets, at least for a couple more days. Derbies, you've gotta embrace them. Queens Park Rangers are irrelevant, we know this, but they raised gloves for a good ol' fashioned dust up down by the river and boy, what a humdinger we were treated to under the lights.
St. Andrew's has long since been a happy hunting ground for Fulham, although now it's dubbed as the 'Trillion Trophy Stadium', which is hilarious, triumph graced our Saturday in the Midlands. We'll explore the reaction shown by the Whites a little further in just a minute or two but blimey, claiming 3 points was very much imperative and essential.
Miserable, gloomy Middlesbrough. To those that ventured t'north to witness Fulham's 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough, I salute you. With very little to shout about, the Whites somehow cancelled out Boro's 1-man advantage to scurry back down south with a hard-earned point.
Three points in the bag, but that was frantic, nail biting stuff. Luton Town travelled south, kind of, and gave Scott Parker's lads a fright and it's not even Halloween yet. Straining to save the ghoulish cliches for a later date, our visitors were armed with a spirit (not the poltergeist kind), an ambition and a dozen rancid eggs for lobbing.
Ah, disappointment, you weren't gone for long. Sammy James called it before the international break, Fulham's deflating 2-0 loss against Stoke City was written on the walls, right from the moment the season's schedule was released. That has to be the most Championship result you could ever get. Bottom of the league, bereft of confidence, smash and grab another victory from a promotion hopeful.
Better late than never. To those that ventured to the Old Suffolk Punch after Fulham's dramatic 2-2 draw against Charlton Athletic, thank you for making it a momentous afternoon that we at Fulhamish will never forget. Here's to another 200 episodes and, perhaps, another live recording with familiar faces, legendary guests and plenty of beer - or Aperol Spritz, if you're Collins and Betts.
That wasn't a result 4 every1, but if you were a Fulham fan that witnessed the brutal Berkshire bloodbath, I guarantee it was an occasion that stimulated the mind, body and soul. After the unjust Play-Off semi-final heartache of 2017, that was heartily refreshing to say the least.
Friday evenings under the lights by the Thames are beautiful anyway, but a night in the radiance of SW6 with 3 hard-earned points in pocket? That's the stuff of dreams, and I mean risque ones, too. Curbing the smut, Fulham thankfully atoned for their previous insufficient performances by downing an animated Wigan Athletic 2-0, an outing that exposed emotions we'd forget we even had.
Gutless. A consecutive weekend blighted by a complacent, abject final ten minutes from Fulham. Three points, scuppered. Accumulators, sabotaged. A victory away from home against Garry Monk's Sheffield Wednesday, face down in the water after taking our foot off the gas once more.