The victory over Preston not only guaranteed Fulham’s promotion but also brought Aleksandar Mitrovic’s tally of League goals in one season to over 40.
Four matches remained giving him plenty of scope to overtake the club’s record of 43, which Frank ‘Bonzo’ Newton achieved in 1931-32.
Newton’s Fulham were playing in the third tier (one wonders how many goals Mitro would score in today’s Division One) and finished champions.
When I started researching FFC history in the 1960s the club’s annals were in a chaotic state. Received wisdom was that Newton had broken the record by scoring 41 goals. I soon discovered the cause of this error. At the end of the season Fulham had published a commemorative programme, which celebrated the club’s promotion and praised Frank for netting 41 times. However, it also served as a matchday magazine for the final League match against Exeter when the centre-forward added two further goals to his season’s tally.
In case you are wondering, Newton was just as prolific in the early months of the 1932-33 season when the club moved to the second tier. In 12 consecutive matches he scored 16 goals and he finished the season with 27 to his credit from 31 appearances. In the course of my research, I found many supporters with fond memories of Frank’s two marvellous years.
Mr AC Taylor recalled a visit that he and his brother made to watch Fulham at Charlton (3 December 1932): “We were standing behind the Charlton goal. The ball was pushed through to Newton and everyone shouted “Offside”.
“The goalie picked the ball up and rolled it out to where Newton was standing. I shouted with all my might “Shoot, Bonzo!”. He turned and put the ball in the net. It was a goal – the referee hadn’t given offside – and I wasn’t very popular amongst the Charlton supporters.”
Mr EJ Littleboy attended the next match at home to Spurs (10 December): “We were awarded a penalty at the Putney End. Frank Newton took the kick, which he always said was the worst in his career. He hit the ball with tremendous power and pole-axed (Joe) Nicholls the goalkeeper, straight as a wooden soldier. The ball finally ended in the Fulham half. No goal but some kick!”
I’m sure there will be some great Mitrovic stories still being recounted in 2065 or thereabouts.
Rightly or wrongly our fans blame Scott Parker for the Serb’s disappointing performance in the Premier last season. Fulham’s visit to Bournemouth gave Mitrovic the chance to prove a point and after a scrappy first-half he opened his account in the 53rd minute.
This was his 41st goal, and a most unusual one. He met Harry Wilson’s cross with a downward header that bounced towards the net. It looked as though Mark Travers had pulled off an acrobatic save but the referee’s watch signalled that the ball had crossed the line. Travers lost out by barely a millimetre. (In 2065, it may be necessary to explain what a watch was.)
The match had kicked off (unusually for Fulham) at 3pm on a Saturday and the overall quality of the football seemed to justify the TV companies’ lack of interest.
Mitrovic’s goal did stimulate the home side though they failed to embarrass an increasingly confident defence until well into additional time. As Adam Smith bore down on goal Harry Wilson dispossessed him and the Bournemouth player fell seemingly in pain. The TV cameras showed no infringement, but the referee pointed to the spot. An enraged Marco Silva received a red card for his reaction while Dominic Solanke calmly found the net, delaying Fulham’s right to claim the championship at their rivals’ expense.
One advantage of the result (the only one that I can drag up) was that Fulham could now win the prize on their own ground.
They just needed to beat Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night. However, Forest have ambitions of their own and someone seems to have informed them that the Whites can lack focus at the start of the match.
The visitors’ early but relatively mild attack prompted an absurd muddle between Tim Ream and Marek Rodak, giving Philip Zinckernagel an opportunist goal. Thereafter, Forest frustrated the championship hopefuls, who had some 20 shots at goal but only one (from Fabio Carvalho) with any real prospect of scoring. Brice Samba made a spectacular save.
There were of course moments of controversy, but supporters were expecting a much better performance. Enough. Fulham have two games left and need to wrap this up with at least one classy victory.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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