Reliving Promotion 2018

I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier, but Fulham is reliving three matches from promotion in 2018. The first was this past Thursday when they showed the Millwall vs. Fulham match from the closing weeks of the 2017-18 season. As of this writing, that match is still available here: https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/may/08/millwall-v-fulham-watch-live I don't think you need an FFCTV subscription to watch these.

The other matches will be the second leg of Fulham vs. Derby on May 14 and then the final vs. Aston Villa on May 26.

https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/may/05/millwall-relived

 

The three plays that stand out the most to me from these matches are McDonald's move and goal at the Den, Odoi's header on a weak corner at home against Derby that sent us to Wembley and the buildup to the goal at Wembley, started by an audacious pass from Johansen that looked like it might have been intended for Targett, but was intercepted by Sess, who evaded a speculative tackle and put it on a plate for Cairney, who played it perfectly for all that we would need.

 

I watched the final over the span of two days and was reminded of a few things I had lost down the memory hole:

• Frederick's red-card worth stamp on Grealish that went unnoticed by the 4th official standing right in front of the action
• Ollie Norwood's spectacular shot-blocking tackle in the box. Funny to think that Norwood is probably the player who's seen the most success from that team since the final.
• McDonald willing his body to levitate to head away the ball coming into the box on the very last Villa attack

A bit of a sad footnote were the last words said in the day's coverage by one of the commentators responding to the question "How will Fulham do in the Premier League?". His answer was "If they try to keep playing like that, they are in big trouble." He went on to explain how the defense would be too susceptible to quick counter attacks in the Premier League. That was the last word and although I didn't want to admit it at the time, he was spot on.

 

It's still fun to watch. Have that many Fulham fans ever been in one place at the same time to watch them play? I'm sure it's possible, but that white wall was bloody impressive. Seeing that many fellow Whites supporters in one place at one time was as much a part of the experience as the happy result. Even though it didn't last long, I certainly wish I had been in a position to go there that day. Hopefully we'll earn our way back there soon (and NOT against the interloping Spuds). Four decades plus is TOO DAMN LONG!

 

Fulham did a zoom interview with a bunch of players from the 17/18 team reflecting on the final vs. Villa. After seeing this, I think Kevin McDonald needs his own show. I don't think you need an FFCTV subscription to see this, so you should check it out:
https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/may/26/the-boys-of-2017-18

 

I flew over for that match, the longest 90 minutes of my life! Especially the last 10. Incredible experience tho. I was behind the goal, way up but would not have changed it for anything. Fulham fans went bezerk at the final whistle. I think I posted some pics here way back when, it was a sea of white. I have to say the Villa fans were respectable after the match walking back to the train.

 

I just watched the zoom meeting. It was rather amusing and was fun watching the guys interact with one another. It also really made me want to re-watch the match. Maybe I can carve out a couple of hours this weekend....