Time to take a look at the past season and how it all turned out. To start off, there were a few stats that caught my eye:
- Fulham is the only team with 15 wins or more to NOT qualify for the Champions League.
- No team had fewer draws than Fulham's 7 (Arsenal and Newcastle also had 7)
- The only team to score fewer away goals than Fulham was Wolverhampton. Yes, even Scott Parker's Burnley scored more away goals.
- Fulham earned the 6th most home points.
- Fulham only got the double against Burnley, Tottenham, and Sunderland.
- But, Fulham was the ONLY team in the league to get the double over Sunderland.
- Fulham's 47 goals was the fewest scored by a Fulham team that DIDN'T get relegated since the 2009/10 season.
On a whole, I think this season was probably the most forgettable of the Silva era despite having a fair amount of success. There weren't a lot of stunning wins against big teams and only a single period over December and January of sustained results (oddly over AFCON when we expected the worst at the start of the season). The result was another 11th place finish and another season with 15 wins. This nearly duplicate form wasn't entirely surprising since the roster this season was very similar to last season. Kevin and Chukwueze were the only significant additions at then end of the summer window and then Bobb came in mid-season. There were flashes of greatness from all three, but nothing sustained like when Mitrovic or Palhinha first arrived. So that too meant there wasn't quite as much drama this season.
Unfortunately the two most memorable moments for me are bizarre VAR decisions - and I hate that! First was King's disallowed goal against Chelsea. The second was Wirtz's clearly offside goal for Liverpool that was given after VAR. I wish those weren't the first moments that came to my mind this season, but that's the way it is.
There were a fair number of terrific goals that earned Fulham multiple Premier League Goal of the Month nominations and a few winners. My favorite was Reed's injury time leveler against Liverpool. That may be the best singular moment from the season. What a shocking turn of events!
My favorite game was Fulham's win against Chelsea. I finally got to watch Fulham beat Chelsea after missing previous victories.
Player of the Season was a tough one for me. No one had a consistent season. Everyone had streaks. Wilson scored the most goals, but faded toward the end of the season. Sessegnon made a strong case that he is now the best LB on the squad until injury ended his season. But I think the Player of the Season was Raul. Raul did a great job of being Fulham's only striker during a long stretch despite being 35. But what pushes him to the top is his penalty record. It is such a relief to have someone who can consistently put them away rather than the clown show we used to see from Fulham on PKs. His record will likely never be matched by another Fulham player.
So that's another season in the record books. What are your thoughts looking back?
You can vote for Reed or Wilson to win the PL goal of the season. Incredibly, Fulham is the only team with two nominees! The poll closes 7am EDT Wednesday, so hurry!
That was an excellent summary, @micahman. Agreed with everything.
Silva said in an interview he would decide about the Fulham contract by next week.
Reed wins PL goal of the season! I did not think either Wilson or Reed had a chance with the other big teams in contention. Harrison Reed! Of all people to win THAT award! I never ever could have imagined that, but I'm thrilled for him.
I’m a little late to the thread, but I was going to say Reed’s goal was probably the highlight of the season for me. I voted for it, but am shocked it won. For me, the goal meant so much more based on the context. As a Fulham supporter, watching the team work tirelessly towards a well deserved draw against Liverpool only to have it fall apart in the 94th minute was gut wrenching. Thankfully that feeling had barely set in before Reed blasted the shot that no one knew he had in him. I wasn’t sure if that situational context translated to other voters, but I’m glad he won.