Since the international break Fulham have secured three important victories to place them second in the Championship, five points behind Bournemouth. (We've actually scored nine goals more than the leaders – I wonder whom they have got for a manager.) The Whites' most recent triumph occurred at Nottingham Forest last Sunday, when the home side, themselves enjoying a good run of results, easily succumbed to their visitors.
In the 7th minute Jean-Michael Seri sent over a low and rather soft corner kick, which Aleksandar Mitrovic flicked towards Brice Samba's goal. It rebounded off Djed Spence and crossed the line, giving Fulham an early advantage. The Bournemouth manager Steve Cooper argued that referee Matt Donohue failed to spot Denis Odoi deliberately obstructing the defenders:
'Fulham, they work the fouls and the blocks really well but the referee has to be at a level to see that.'
Cooper has a case even though the players blocked by Odoi were not well placed to prevent the goal. The Whites do seem to be continuing a strategy begun by Scott Parker which may have worked in the Championship but achieved little in the Premier.
The Whites held their lead comfortably but did not score again until the hour mark. There was no controversy this time; two Forest defenders Tobias Figureido and Scott McKenna obstructed each other, allowing Mitrovic a simple opportunity. Then Neeskens Kebano ran through, exchanged passes with Harry Wilson and was able to celebrate his first goal of the campaign.
The industrious Denis Odoi plagued Forest once more, drawing a foul in the area. Samba nearly saved Mitro's kick but the Serb still added to his remarkable tally. That gave him a virtual hat-trick though of course the first goal was attributed to the unlucky Spence.
Listening to the match commentary on Fulham's website I encountered some technical issues probably local ones. The connection died a couple of times and once it went into repeat mode so that a Forest player received the same yellow card twice. Perhaps my PC was confused because Mr Donohue issued so many cautions (9) in this mild encounter.
Commentators Jim and Jamie were of course unaware of my predicament. The victory was so straightforward that at half-time they felt able to indulge in a bit of philosophising, adding their voices to the many now calling for a kinder and more empathetic society. It is a sign of progress that their words did not sound out of place in a commentary on professional football, that most tribal of events.
Courageous Pat Nevin
If you need to understand how things used to be, you could read one particular chapter in Jim Murphy's book 'Ten Football Matches that Changed the World', which I have mentioned in previous blogs. Murphy devotes that chapter to a fellow Scot who was a fine footballer and has always been a great ambassador for the game, namely Pat Nevin. I know from others that when Pat was at Chelsea many of his admirers, knowing his fondness for art, would send him their paintings and drawings and he would return them promptly and safely with appreciative comments. Quite a guy.
The Blues were then in the second tier but players like Nevin and Clive Walker provided a real incentive to stroll across the borough to watch. A good reason for not going there was the casual racism that for some people had become part of the matchday experience. Chelsea can scarcely have welcomed this infection but presumably chose to ignore it or treat it as a joke. As a Tottenham substitute was warming up, a section of the crowd chorused a single offensive word at him. Finally a humourist' called out, 'Now he knows what he is'.
Bizarrely this demented cohort were just as likely to defame their own players. When Pat Nevin heard the abuse directed at Paul Canoville, he was so appalled that he used his post-match interview to declare:
'I'm disgusted by the fans. How dare they boo any Chelsea player? And to do it because he is black is sickening.'
Thanks to Pat Nevin and other decent and courageous individuals the fight-back had begun. And I am not defaming our neighbours. When Fulham and Chelsea were both in the second tier our crowds were much smaller and the pockets of racism much less apparent except occasionally away from home. Now at the Cottage and at the Bridge there is almost universal applause when the players take the knee to show that there is no room for racism.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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