In the early stages of his Fulham career, Bobby Decordova-Reid was a bit marmite. You either liked his work ethic and appreciated his energy, or you felt the Whites would be better served by playing someone else. It didn’t help that nobody was quite sure where his best position was: he scored 21 goals in 2017/2018 when deployed as a centre-forward by Lee Johnson at Bristol City as the Robins reached the League Cup semi-finals, but was never likely to displace Aleksandar Mitrovic as the focal point of the Fulham attack. He fared better as a number ten but couldn’t dictate Championship games with the class of Tom Cairney (who could?) and had to make do with an understudy role whilst filling one of the spots out wide when selected.

There were, of course, glimpses of his undoubted quality. Decordova-Reid’s intelligent running and ability to terrorise opposition defenders were in evidence when he opened the scoring with a sensational individual goal against Huddersfield Town, which still rates as one of the best goals I’ve seen at the Hammersmith End. He was also one of the few Fulham players to enhance his reputation post-promotion during the dismal relegation season under Scott Parker. Never a first choice, Decordova-Reid was a dependable member of the first team squad, slotting in at right wing-back, when the former Fulham boss switched to a back five in an attempt to stem the flood of goals conceded in those concerning early weeks of the campaign.

Decordova-Reid also did his bit at the other end of the field. Fulham fans knew he could score. He denied Slavisa Jokanovic’s promotion chasers the points at Bristol City with a fine finish that cancelled out Mitrovic’s first Fulham goal at Ashton Gate in 2018 and scored his first goal for Cardiff against the Whites when the Serbian’s side imploded the following season at the Cardiff City Stadium after taking the lead through Andre Schurrle’s stupendous strike. He scored seven goals, all while spending half the season at right wing-back, including a lovely strike that rocked Liverpool in December 2020 when fans returned to Craven Cottage for the first time, as well as adding three assists.

Decordova-Reid went one better in the Championship last term, quickly becoming a player that Marco Silva could rely on to do whatever job was required. But as well as hitting the target regularly, the Jamaican international’s clever feet and eye for a pass created eight goals for his team-mates: and his endeavour off the ball was just as important in leading the press that prompted errors from opponents. One Championship coach described Decordova-Reid to me as ‘a manager’s dream’ and you can see exactly why.

Sunday’s superb showing against Leeds, where his glorious glancing header put Fulham in front for the first, encapsulated his effort. Decordova-Reid will never be a flawless right back as his talents lie in creating and finishing chances at the other end of the field, but he was close to perfect against Leon Bailey on Thursday night. He will always be a target for high diagonal balls on account of his 5ft 6in stature, but he was working diligently both on his header and defensive positioning. Luis Sinisterra got inside him a little too easily on a couple of occasions in the first half, but by the time the Colombian was substituted midway through the second period, Decordova-Reid was winning their individual battle.

He underlined his importance to a side that is battling for each other with a display full of grit and seemingly ceaseless running. When Leeds failed to clear a corner, it was Decordova-Reid who darted to the near post to encourage Andreas Pereira to put the ball back in and directed the deftest of headers across Illan Meslier and into the far corner. That it was already his third Premier League goal of an excellent season shows how valuable our makeshift right-back can be in the opposition’s box. He admitted in a post-match interview with FFCTV that was just happy to help anywhere on the pitch – but that sort of attitude, as well as his enduring effectiveness, has cemented Decordova-Reid’s standing as one of my own Fulham favourites.