Fulham News: Opinion – ‘Late, low moments make it so difficult to judge this season’

I’ve got my Halloween costume ready – I’m going to dress up as Fulham in the last five minutes of a Premier League match.

There was another late horror show on Saturday and more points were scored. It was a fitting farewell to Goodison Park, a site that until recently was one of our least happy hunting grounds.

The statistic doing the rounds is that Fulham have dropped 10 points from winning positions this season. Those points would put us hot on the heels of second-place Manchester City. But football is a 90-minute game – and modern football is even longer than that.

These late, low moments are what make it so difficult to judge this season – and to gauge how good this version of Marco Silva’s Fulham really is.

One thing is clear; we look up and not nervously down. That’s still a new feeling. And although we finished tenth in our first season in the Premier League a few seasons ago, this team is capable of finishing higher.

A lot of attention is paid to our “Hale End trio” – Alex Iwobi, Reiss Nelson and record contract signing Emile Smith Rowe – and rightly so. Iwobi is adding goals to his game as he demonstrated on Saturday, Smith Rowe is showing glimpses of his class as he continues to gain pace, and the calls for Nelson to start games are growing louder.

And aside from the late goal, our defense is as solid a unit as it has been in years. Issa Diop came on as a substitute for the colossal Joachim Andersen on Saturday and impressed. It’s that kind of team depth that will help us if we want to go through the next 29 games.

So there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful. Our next three games offer a real chance to form a firmer opinion on this Fulham team. It’s Brentford in the West London derby, followed by lowly duo Crystal Palace and Wolves.

Suffice it to say, we’re hoping for no tricks and lots of goodies.

Find more from Drew Heatley at Fulhamian, external