The Tanner Report- Fulham 2 Barnsley O

Inevitably the prodigal son Chris Martin was the headline maker. Before the match over lunch there was discussion as to whether he should play. After all said Nick had he played against Brighton we would have had at least a point, what sort of message does it send to his more loyal teammates? I took a more pragmatic line namely that Fulham must field their best team and are desperately short in the striking department. Another suggested that if Martin does want away his interests are best suited by playing and playing well. In the first 45 minutes Barnsley inspired by Adam Hammill caused Fulham problems, hitting the bar and creating clear chances. Fulham’s final ball from the wing was poor. Then the referee gave a foul when Martin fell in the box – looking at the incident on the video highlights it did not seem a stone wall penalty. Fulham have missed four of these at home this season. Cometh the moment, cometh the man as Martin struck it hard into the right hand corner. In the second half Fulham played some delightful stuff. Call me biased if you will but I believe us to be the best footballing team in the Championship with the duet of Cairney and Aloko so exciting on the ball, ably supported by the energy of Johansen and MacDonald and the surges down the wing of fullbacks Ryan Fredericks and Scott Malone. Fulham might have had a hat-full.

I took Bob Tickler’s godson Jamie. So far his Fulham record is not that enticing: a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Ipswich; a 4-0 thrashing by Bristol City; and a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday. For the first time he was seeing Fulham in the lead. His favourite player is Scott Malone for scoring his ( Jamie’s) first and only Fulham goal. And it was Scott Malone who popped up in the box to score with a searing volley from a Martin cross.  With Tomas Kalas at its helm and heart, the Fulham defence looked doughty and saw off whatever threat Barnsley could offer.

This was an important victory for a number of reasons. Barnsley are a form team. Under local lad Paul Heckingbottom they have revived and went into the game in sixth place. It was vital to beat them to remain in touch with the 4 teams (Reading, Huddersfield, Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday) in the play-off berths. After the initial 30 minutes Fulham responded to the challenge. Only Brighton of the top six clubs have beaten Fulham and their supporters will admit how lucky they were and before the end of the season we play the rest of them either in home or away. Hopefully we will strengthen the group with a striker and central defender and we have Ayite to return from African Cup duty.

For me the future of Martin at Fulham is secondary to that of head coach Savisia Jokatovic. His contract is up at the end of the season and his success at Fulham and Maccabi Tel Aviv has not gone unnoticed. He has reversed 6 seasons of consecutive decline, built a side that has produced the most attractive football seen at Fulham since the days of Jean Tigana and the owner and board must do their utmost to secure him for the future.