IN the first weekend of March, Fulham’s Premier League survival efforts were dealt a cruel blow. In their 1-0 loss to Tottenham, striker Josh Maja saw a goal ruled out due to a handball by team-mate Mario Lemina in the build-up. It has since been announced that he law under which the goal was scratched off – stipulating any contact, deliberate or accidental, between ball and arm in a move that leads to a goal will be adjudged handball – will be revised for the 2021-22 campaign. If the incident were repeated next season, the goal would stand.
Fulham manager Scott Parker, understandably, was furious post-match. “I'm complaining at the rule,” he said. “We want it to be the most entertaining league in the world, with goals. I don't know what [Lemina] can do. We just need some common sense. We are trying to make football so pure and sterile it becomes unrealistic."
This unfortunate officiating quirk could hurt Fulham, currently 18th in the table, in their drive to stave of relegation, but it will not draw their focus away from their fight against the drop, a battle that had looked all but lost until a recent revival.
The reverse at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s Spurs is Fulham’s only defeat in their last seven fixtures, with three wins in that time. Clawing away at the gap to safety, Parker’s side are threatening to climb above Newcastle, whom they play at Craven Cottage on the last day of the season, and Brighton. And their latest win is their most impressive yet.
Fittingly, it was Lemina, who’s harsh handball charge was so costly against Tottenham, who scored the only goal of the game as Fulham overcame Liverpool at Anfield last weekend. The result further mired the struggling champions, condemning them to a sixth straight home loss, but that makes it no less impressive on the away side’s part. For Parker, the victory represented yet more evidence of his burgeoning managerial acumen, having pre-match insisted his team would aim to “hurt” Liverpool with an ambitious set-up.
“I picked a team today that I felt would best suit Liverpool’s style and how I thought we could hurt Liverpool, and that was the sole reason behind it,” he said.
“The attacking players were nothing short of fantastic and everything we worked on went to plan. We stretched the game and were always a goal threat.
“The players have taken on every ounce of information they were given in the days leading up to this game.”
Man United & Liverpool will get the headlines, but people should be talking about Scott Parker’s Fulham:
– Written off by everyone in 2020-21
– Lost one in 10 PL games games
– Unbeaten in seven PL away games
– Won away at Leicester, Everton & Liverpool pic.twitter.com/XJfqbZKiLg— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) March 7, 2021
Even up against a wounded Liverpool, most managers in Parker’s shoes, in charge of a side clinging to the hope of a relegation escape, would have opted for a conservative, damage-control tactical arrangement. Instead, Fulham chose the front foot, going 4-4-2.
Parker stacked his side with attacking talent. With Maja, Ivan Cavaleiro, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Ademola Lookman as Fulham’s starting forward quartet, the away side had speed and creativity as they targeted the space behind Liverpool’s makeshift backline. When possession was lost, the same four men pressed tirelessly and midfield duo Lemina and Harrison Reed snapped at the heels of their title-winning counterparts. Fulham were aggressive and adventurous as they took a first-half lead, then dogged, disciplined and determined as then strove to protect it after the break.
The approach Parker adopted was bold, and one which demanded a herculean effort on both ends from his players. Its success was a reflection of how the 40-year-old Fulham manager has earned total buy-in from his players. Added to recent wins over Everton and Sheffield United, alongside creditable draws with Crystal Palace, Burnley and high-flying West Ham, Fulham are compiling a formidable résumé of results in the last couple of months, a run founded on a self-belief instilled by Parker.
“Scott Parker knows how to make the players feel good, to feel confident,” Fulham midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa told The Guardian. “He always finds the words to get through to us. If he tells you it’s possible, you believe it’s possible.”
With league leaders Manchester City the next visitors to Craven Cottage, every ounce of that confidence will be tested. Parker will see the bigger picture, though. Fulham have 10 games remaining in which to complete the turnaround that gathered steam at Anfield.
