The Tanner Report: Fulham 1 Middlesbrough 1

• Two problems have prevented Fulham from challenging higher up the table:

1) the absence of skipper and heartbeat Tom Cairney

2) the failure to defend a lead.

No one seems to know what exactly is the injury of Cairney hence the difficulty of treating it other than by rest. He will certainly not be back till after the international break missing the games this week against Nottingham Forest and QPR away.

Yesterday was now the third time we have conceded a late goal to deprive us of 3 points. Aboubakar Kamara opened up his account by heading home at the far post after blazing an attempt miles wide when he had the only the keeper to beat. The messy and inevitable equaliser followed 2 minutes later when a ball was not properly cleared from  the penalty area.

There are other areas, less significant in my opinion, for the lack of points: a much longer injury list which Floyd Ayite joined, with Aluko and Malone gone, we are deprived of the former’s runs to the bye line and cut back which caused many goals and the surging runs of Malone at full  back. However those that say that we are much better last season have not looked at the 2016-17 table. If they did, they would see that we have  only one more point and our defence was considerably leakier, conceding 4 against Bristol City a year ago whilst this season only one side, Burton, have managed more than one goal against us. We made the play offs because of a late run into them and are fully capable of doing the same  this season. Most revealingly Newcastle United who won the Championship comfortably had only 13 points at this stage, sustaining defeats to us nd Huddersfield and Wolves at home.

Nor is it fair to say the football was appreciably better last season. This was a fluid open game with chances falling to both sides. Middlesbrough under Garry Monk look at least a play off side to me. Ipswich are gradually falling away but Cardiff continue to achieve results. Wolves look like being a force whilst the decline of Sunderland has not been  arrested.  Sheffield United have got off to a great start and have the steel derby today. One of the joys of the Championship as  compared to the Premier is that every season new teams challenge making predictability difficult if not impossible.