The draw was Wolves' third 0-0 in four games!
Yes it was another dull 0-0 draw but what a great day Fulham away turned out to be in the glorious sunshine that covered London.
I was a bit sceptical going to Craven Cottage for the first time. Previous trips to the capital this season had left me leaving with mixed feelings.
A 4-0 thumping at Chelsea, a fantastic win at Spurs and a heartbreaking defeat at the Emirates. All this added to the strange fact that Fulham’s away end had no segregation (it just goes to show it can be done at some clubs and I saw no trouble).
It was a beautiful day in West London and I loved the traditional yet modern feel to Fulham’s stadium.
It’s obvious from the fact that Craven Cottage is packed into a crowded area of houses that probably cost around £500,000 each that they have no hope of expanding the ground. Instead, Mohammed Al Fayed (who paraded himself pre-match much to the displeasure of the travelling support) has made the best of what he has at his disposal.
Wolves’ fans packed out their side of the Putney end and there were numerous pockets of gold and black throughout the rest of the stand. Everyone was in such a joyous mood.
Fulham fans were dormant throughout but Wolves fans were happy to have their own party. Maybe it was the bottles of wine you could buy from down in the concourse. Maybe it was the bags of roasted vegetables, or maybe the lamb, mint and rosemary pies? I stuck to a rollover hotdog anyway!
The early arrival of the official club coaches again meant that Wolves fans had time on their hands so many headed into the ground upon the opening of the turnstiles. Large plasma screens aided Wolves fans to watch the equally boring Manchester derby before heading up into the ‘temporary stand’. I say temporary because it didn’t feel particularly sturdy when everyone was bouncing to the ‘SEB is Wanderers’ #9′ chant.
Due to the ground’s location parallel to the Thames, you could even walk to one end of the concourse to buy a gourmet pie and enjoy the views across the river once inside.
I think most of the male population amongst you will have also appreciated some of the female contingent of the Fulham faithful. Oi oi!!! 
I’m not sure if my experience would have been the same if it had been a cold Tuesday night in December but yesterday was perfect. All apart from the fact every train leaving Wolverhampton station once back in the Black Country last night was severely delayed meaning my Chinese takeaway was getting cold back in Shelton!
I started out from the Potteries at 8am and finally arrived back at 10pm. All part of the away day experience I guess. Next and final stop this season – Portsmouth.
Here’s to a staying-up party at Molineux next Saturday. Up the Wolves!!
*A special mention to the members of Punjabi Wolves who played their own version of ‘we shall not be moved’ during the walk back to the coaches after the game.
What has been your favourite away day this season? Leave your comments below.
A letter from Wolves fans to the Premier League – Please read
26 04 2010I’ve just received this email from a fellow Wolves fan and feel it only right to pass it on to my loyal blog followers.
“In light of the FA’s inconsistency with punishing Wolves over the Man United team selection, We feel it is necessary to make the FA aware of our attitudes to this, giving them a right headache in the process.
If you don’t support this campaign feel free to ignore this, however, those that do could you copy the following letter and email it to info@premierleague.com or any other you can think of that need to be made aware of our opinions!
To whom it may concern,
Once again I feel that it is necessary as a Wolves fan to contact you to express my concerns about the inconsistent treatment of clubs in the Premiership.
A number of us contacted you when Wolverhampton Wanderers were fined for fielding a weakened team against Manchester United in December and received a fairly bland reply from yourselves, that many of us felt was a copy of the press release. It was noted how the situation was different from other occurrences of this situation. For example, Manchester United fielded a vastly changed side against Hull at the end of last season that ultimately may have decided the fate of several teams in the lower half of the Premiership table. As it happens, Manchester United won and nothing more was said.
The concentration being on the result and not the team. I do find it difficult to understand the logic of this because the rule is about the team being fielded not about the result, which to me suggests that this should not have been brushed under the carpet. This is especially as the FA took it upon themselves to declare the team sent out by Mick McCarthy against Manchester United as ‘weakened’ less than 7 months later.
This itself appears to be a shocking display of inconsistency on the FA’s part and has inevitably led fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers to suspect that bias against the so-called ‘smaller’ clubs exists. We now have the situation where other teams have fielded considerably weakened sides and nothing more has been said. For example, Fulham fielded a considerably weakened team against Hull (and lost) and Arsenal, despite some injuries, still changed several other players against Wolves recently. I would be interested in your comments on this and how the situations differ from when Wolves made their changes.
I would also like to highlight the rather insulting decision made by the FA that the team Wolverhampton Wanderers fielded against Manchester United was a ‘weakened’ side. I don’t believe that is the Premier League’s place to decide when a team is ‘weaker’, surely that is the job of the managers. This decision has been made somewhat more absurd when you consider that the majority of the team that was named that night have now helped Wolves to survival. If you are in any doubt that the team has started to adapt to the Premiership since that Manchester United game then you only need to watch the recent West Ham fixture to confirm that the ‘weaker’ label placed on these players has been cruelly misapplied.
Of course, the point of this email is not to contest the FA’s decision to fine Wolverhampton Wanderers, I am aware that the fine was suspended and will probably never have to be paid. The point in bringing it up is purely to further the belief that the FA are inconsistent in their handling of clubs depending on how ‘big’ they are.
Unfortunately, a recent controversial team selection came to the fore on the 25th of April in the Everton Vs Fulham game which Fulham lost 2-1. Fulham made 9 changes, with their focus clearly on the impending Europa League semi-final. As you are probably already aware, Fulham’s team selection has been questioned before by West Ham United, a complaint was sent and nothing has been heard since. I am quite interested to know exactly where you stand on this now. Especially as it has happened twice. It would appear to me that Fulham have decided they can get away with this and decided to bend the rules again with the inconsistency of your sanctions and punishment protocol in mind.
All in all, we continue to have the feeling that the “new” lower clubs aren’t allowed to compete with the established clubs on an equal basis. How can you demonstrate that everyone is treated fairly and satisfy the numerous people who believe otherwise?”
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