Fulham’s top five moments of 2025
As the year draws to a close, here are the highest highs of the calendar year.
It’s the something-of-December, I’m stuffed, I’m hungover, and I’m nostalgic. It’s been a strange year for Fulham - no huge, etched-in-your-memory-forever highs, and - thankfully - no discernable lows. I guess that’s our new reality as a stable Premier League club. But despite this, there were plenty of moments to savour and enjoy. Here are what I believe are the top five.
1. Dumping the holders out of the FA Cup
It was our year. That’s how it felt after we vanquished the demons of Old Trafford and sent Manchester United out of the FA Cup. It was meant to be our year.
Calvin Bassey put us ahead in the dying embers of the first half, only for Bruno Fernandes (who else?) to equalise. But we never felt like we’d leave Manchester empty-handed.
The penalty shoot-out was the Bernd Leno show. Our number one rightly came in for this game, displacing early round ‘keeper Steven Benda, and promptly saved two spot-kicks to have us all dreaming of a first domestic cup final in 50 years.
Sadly, we threw it all away in the meekest fashion at home to eventual winners Crystal Palace. It still hurts.
2. Beating the champions elect
Arne Slot’s Liverpool were sauntering to their second Premier League title in five years, arriving at the Cottage unbeaten in 26 games. This one was a foregone conclusion for most listeners of The Overlap.
But three goals in less than 15 minutes put the willies up the Reds, after Alexis Mac Allister had put them one up early on. Ryan Sessegnon - who had provided another wonderful moment three weeks earlier as we vanquished Spurs at home - along with Alex Iwobi, and Rodrigo Muniz sent the Cottage into raptures and Liverpool couldn’t recover, despite pulling one back through Luis Diaz late on.
It did nothing to hurt Liverpool’s title charge, but it was a lovely springtime afternoon at our place.
3. Doing the Brentford derby double
Who put the ball in the Brentford net?
This was prime derby day delight. Beating Brentford on their own patch to do the double over them for the first time in more than 75 years, and more quick-fire goals turning the game on its head.
Brentford thought they were in the driving seat at the break after Mbeumo and Wissa had cancelled out Raul Jimenez’s opener. But two goals in two minutes, first from Tom Cairney and then from the Beekeeper himself, Harry Wilson, gave us all slim hopes that we might be able to gatecrash the top eight.
It was Wilson’s third goal of his four against the Bees for Fulham (so far), having bagged the match-winning double at the Cottage in November, and of course he’d score again in our 3-1 in September. TC scoring in what we thought was his final derby was also poignant at the time, with the skipper being held aloft at full-time. Ain’t nobody.
4. The Kenny Tete UNO reverse
It was a done deal - or so they said.
King Kenny was set to call time on his five-year relationship with FFC to join Everton’s new era at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. A verbal agreement was made on a three-year deal, according to the king of engagement farming, Fabrizio Romano.
Kenny was out of contract, and a move to David Moyes’s men would earn him a bumper payday in the form of a signing-on bonus, as well as the chance to play for the Toffees’ ambitious new ownership at an exciting time. It felt like a move that pleased everyone but us.
However, in what would kickstart our “summer of retention”, the club finally offered Kenny terms he was happy with and our Dutch right-back decided to stay at Craven Cottage, sending the Everton fanbase into meltdown on X.
Josh King, Tom Cairney, and Rodrigo Muniz would join Tete in pledging their futures to the Whites during the summer.
5. Three in a row to ignite our season
We tailed off at the end of 2024/25, losing six of our last nine games to look at the European places and wonder what might have been. That sluggish finish looked to continue into this campaign, when we flirted a bit too close to the bottom three for anyone’s liking.
But three wins in a row - away to Burnley at Turf Moor, at home to Nottingham Forest, and then on the road again against West Ham at the London Stadium, has kick-started our campaign in a way few of us expected.
Now, we are (just) back in the top half of the table, and looking ahead to a second half of the season in the middle of a congested pack where any side could mount a challenge for Europe.
We have two fewer points than at the same stage last year, but we’ve won a game more. It’s typical of how hard it is to maintain perspective when comparing the two.
It’s rarely dull with Marco Silva’s Fulham. We have drawn just three games this calendar year, winning 16 and losing 18.
With Marco Silva reportedly close to inking a new deal, I hope 2026 includes one or two of those etched-in-your-memory-forever highs. I’ve had a few personally, with my eldest starting to take the Whites into his heart. Moments like Raul’s winner on Saturday will certainly stay with me forever.
That’s what it’s all about. You Whites.
Did I drop a clanger or two by missing some moments out? Let me know in the comments!