A blog of two halves

After the Whites’ 2-0 victory over Aston Villa the Mail on Sunday’s Oliver Holt averred: “There are many who feel that Slavisa Jokanovic’s Fulham are the best footballing team in the division. Momentum, certainly, is on their side.”

The last five weeks have confirmed Fulham’s right to be considered one of the top teams in the Championship.

Slavisa Jokanovic’s sucker-punch gambit, which left Fulham so short against Southampton, seems to have finally paid-off up at Middlesbrough.

In last Friday’s Evening Standard, former Fulham captain Danny Murphy contemplated the chances of Southampton suffering an FA Cup upset at Craven Cottage.

Fulham gave their fans marvellous Christmas and New Year’s presents.

In December 2015, Fulham approached Christmas without a manager while having secured just four points from their last eight matches.

After Fulham’s poor showing at Griffin Park, their next opponents were Birmingham City, a team with a melancholy away record.

Ever since the 1895-96 season, matches between Fulham and Brentford have been keenly contested. Sometimes excessively so.

No one really expected the Fulham-Millwall match to reproduce the frantic excitement of Tuesday night’s 5-4 win at Sheffield.

On a cold winter’s night some years ago I sat watching a spectacularly poor League Cup match at Craven Cottage.