One of the more pleasing things about Saturday – I’ve highlighted a few more below – was Lawrie Sanchez’s programme notes, he reaffirmed his commitment to the Cup competitions after fielding a strong side against Shrewsbury.
The practice of fielding second-string sides in the Cup was one aspect of the Coleman reign that I just couldn’t fathom. For a club like Fulham, the League Cup and the FA Cup represent our best chance of some glory. And yet we continually treated our matches in the competitions as reserve games. Whilst giving the kids a runout is admirable, it speaks volumes if the talent is able to be trusted when the chips are down.
The third round of the League Cup has drawn us against Bolton, whom we beat on a horrid night at the Cottage back in August. Wanderers might be struggling under new management, but Sammy Lee’s side should come right and in a one-off game they’ll prove very difficult to beat. My memories of the League Cup have only been heartbreak, to be honest: that depressing defeat quarter-final on penalties at Leicester have had the Foxes all but beaten towards the end of the ninety minutes, a frustrating late loss at the same stage against Chelsea a couple of years ago and, more recently, embarassing early exits to the likes of Wycombe. Surely, it’s about time we put that right.
