SAD FULHAM MAKE IT TWO DOWN AND ONE TO GO
FULHAM were finally put out of their misery as Watford hammered the final nail in the Cottagers’ Premier League coffin.
Goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure, Will Hughes, Troy Deeney and Kiko Femenia for the FA Cup semi-finalists pushed Fulham back into the Championship.
And a ninth successive league defeat confirmed the inevitable, and that one of the costliest experiments in Premier League history will go down as a disastrous and failed one.
Fulham’s record spend for a promoted club of over £100million last summer was supposed to have them competing at the other end of the table.
Instead, all owner Shahid Khan has got for his money was relegation and an awful season, in which three managers have failed to construct anything resembling a team out of this expensivelyassembled squad. They have also shipped 76 league goals.
The west Londoners’ short-lived top-flight return was ended fittingly, with a defensive horror show, as they gifted Watford their opener and then collapsed late on.
Even the signs of fight and tiny improvement they have shown under caretaker Scott Parker, especially in spells last night, were rendered irrelevant by full-time.
Despite Watford’s big Wembley date against Wolves on Sunday, boss Javi Gracia fielded his strongest side, reverting to his first-choice defence.
Fulham were boosted by the return of top-scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.
But a season of regular beatings – they have lost 12 of 13 games this year – had clearly taken their toll on Fulham’s fans.
Their fight and hope disappeared a long time WATFORD: FULHAM: REF: ago and they arrived at Vicarage Road for a relegation party.
The game had barely kicked off before the first chants mocking their own side, about being on their way to the Championship, began.
When Andre-Frank Anguissa played a pass straight out of play not long after, it sparked cries of “That’s why we’re going down” from the away end.
Watching Fulham vicechairman Tony Khan won’t have found Fulham’s situation quite so funny.
Especially not when they ruined their encouraging start by shooting themselves in the foot, Doucoure drilling a 20-yarder into the net after Tom Cairney lost possession.
Fulham levelled 10 minutes later when Ryan Babel burst onto Ryan Sessegnon’s through-ball and rounded Ben Foster to score. But they fell to pieces after the break.
Hughes smashed in a stunning 64th-minute volley, from a halfcleared corner to make it 2-1. Deeney tapped in a third after great work down the left from sub Andre Gray, who also set up Femenia to make it 4-1, and send Watford up to eighth.
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