Fulham FC — Fulham v Southampton — 6 January 2018

60 The Official Fulham FC Matchday Programme

I

t’s a good time to be a

Fulham fan. The impressive

performances are back. It’s

now four home wins on the spin

and the charge for promotion

is on.

At the heart of the recent good

run of results has been an unlikely

hero. I was pleased for Abou

Kamara when he scored two goals

at Hull, and even happier when he

backed it up with another brace

at home to Ipswich in midweek.

Much has been said about our

young French striker, but nobody

can doubt the impact he’s made in

our last two outings.

I’m not a fan of singling out

individuals but it’s now four goals

in two games for Abou and you

get the feeling that his confidence

levels are at an all-time high. It’s

easy to forget he’s still a young

man. Moving to a foreign country

and learning a new language

is enough to challenge anyone

• imagine how difficult it must

be for a 22-year-old. Neeskens

Kebano and Floyd Ayité, amongst

others, have clearly helped in the

dressing room and in matches, but

I’m delighted that such a talented

player has started to let his feet do

the talking by scoring goals and

helping to influence matches.

With an ever-improving

performance level and a cheery

persona, he’s destined to have a

bright future in the game and I

very much hope that we’ll be able

to benefit and take full advantage of

his undoubted talent.

Away from the match action,

Gentleman Jim and me have

had some long recent away trips.

You have to really like someone

to spend time travelling to

Sunderland, Cardiff and Hull in

such quick succession - fortunately

we get on! Jim has been on top

form during the recent journeys

but the dreadful smell on the trip

back from Cardiff will live long

in the memory. Delighted by

the performance and win, Jim

decided, for reasons best known

to himself, not to watch his step.

He duly landed in a deep, muddy

puddle and the smell for the rest

of the journey was more than

tough on the nostrils! In fact, it

was so bad that Jim’s boots were

promptly thrown in the bin and his

jeans quickly followed. After that

expensive mishap, I think it’s fair to

say that he’ll watch where he walks

a bit more closely in future!

Social media plays a key role

in our life today and the positive

feedback on the commentaries is

pleasing to read. It was a delight

for both of us to commentate on

Tuesday’s fine victory. Abou and

Ryan Sessegnon both scored two

goals apiece, and were rightly

rewarded with standing ovations,

but some sublime skill from Tom

Cairney will stay with me for a long

time. How he managed to dance his

way past several Ipswich players

and produce a telling cross shows

that he’s now back to his best and

that can only bode well for the rest

of the season. If you haven’t seen it

yet, check out fulhamfctv because

it’s well worth a watch.

There’s still plenty of hard work

required if we’re to reach the

Premier League but last season’s

heroics in the second half of the

campaign prove it is possible and

an enjoyable run to the finish line

now awaits.

Listen to Gentleman Jim and Jamie’s commentary on every Fulham game, home and away,

by signing up to fulhamfctv. Follow Jamie on Twitter @jamiedreid

On The Gantry With

fulhamfctv

co-commentator

Jamie Reid praises

our in-form striker...

FFC-060-Jamie.indd 60 04/01/2018 12:22