As the games run out, and Fulham stare at the possibility of relegation, every game is vital. When looking at the Brentford’s game score line, a heavy 4-1 defeat, in case you have forgotten or gone into denial, Fulham sound hopeless. However, it was a different feeling that I was left with having attended the game. There was a real sense of hope around the ground and in the crowd when Ross McCormack scored a penalty to make it 2-1. The comeback looked on. Fulham did not play like a team deserving of a 4-1 defeat, there were many positives to be seen. It is baffling, to think that Fulham were very much on the back foot against Huddersfield yet came out with the three points. Then in a more balanced game against Brentford, where the Cottagers had their fair share of chances, they came away with a heavy defeat to show for their efforts. Fulham could rightly be proud of the performance against Brentford, but not the result, but it was vice versa for the Huddersfield game.
The main positives that fans mentioned coming out of the Huddersfield game, was that it was a win and that the team kept a clean sheet. Though, watching the game it would be easy to argue that the clean sheet was gained through a whole lot of luck. That is not to say the team did not make great efforts to stop goals from being conceded, but quite a few of Huddersfield missed chances weren’t goals even though the defence and Bettinelli were beaten. Nakhi Wells’s penalty hitting the post springs to mind.
It poses the question, would fans be happy getting the three points and sitting through a performance of the lowest quality. Perhaps the answer all comes down to the situation the club finds themselves in. If Fulham were safe from relegation, would performance quality become the focus and issue? As a fan, are you just happy to leave the ground having seen a win, whether it was a scrappy bore fest performance or not?
As it does seem to be the ‘Fulham’ way this season that a bad performance can equal a win and that a good performance can leave the club with no points.