A blog of two halves

Conor Washington should have made it ‘four goals’ in four games on Saturday as Lady Luck continues to scowl at QPR.

After the excitement of the FA Cup Fulham resumed the more prosaic business of visiting Burton Albion and then Birmingham City in search of Championship points to secure a place in the playoffs.

While football writers salivate over Eden Hazard’s goal-scoring wizardry, the distillation process that determines who should eventually be dubbed Chelsea’s player of the year is already underway.

While Chelsea´s hopes of regaining the league title and, with it, the fun of floodlit European nights at the Bridge do not entirely hinge on the weekend´s match against Arsenal, it will still be a key pointer to the destination of the trophy.

After two setbacks in the Championship, Fulham supporters needed a tonic and the 4-1 FA Cup victory was just that.

Fortunately for Ravel Morrison there will be no need to pack tins of baked beans into his luggage while at QPR.

“How is Ryan Fredericks not playing in the Premier League?” demanded the Radio Berkshire commentator. This is not a question that Fulham fans wish to hear during the transfer window.

As a kid Alex Smithies idolised David Seaman and he is now making a name all for himself with his penalty heroics.

The games come thick and fast for the Blues, with the weekend’s west London FA Cup derby against Brentford immediately followed by two matches with a massive influence on who wins the league title.

Darnell Furlong is back in W12 and looks more like the finished product than when he made his QPR debut back in 2015.