Danny Murphy’s blog is improving. Not so much about Liverpool this week – as you’d expect given Fulham’s fine display at the weekend.
He echoes his manager’s thoughts about reaching the vital 40-point mark but perhaps the most revealing insight comes when he talks about facing Edwin van der Sar from twelve yards to give Fulham the lead.
Taking the penalty was such a rush, as I always enjoy the tension of taking them. I’m generally really together before I take a penalty and tend to feel very calm and concentrated. I always try to make the best decision on a side and just stick to it.
Obviously if the goalkeeper moves early then it can all change and I’ll have to make a spontaneous move, but I think that picking a side and making sure that I get a really good connection works. So far so good! In my whole career I have only missed one, and luckily that one came back to me on a rebound which I then scored!
Interestingly, he reckons the win against United might have been Fulham’s best performance since he joined us – although, as you might expect, that victory at Portsmouth gets a mention too.
The game on Saturday just goes to show how far we have come since last season and it is probably the best result we’ve had since I joined Fulham.
The 1-0 win at Portsmouth on the last day of last season, which kept us in the Premier League, was the only other result which could come close to the feeling we got at the end of this game. The performance at Portsmouth was maybe not the most impressive but, under the intense pressure of last season, it was a fantastic result which kept us in with the big boys.
There’s no doubt about where Danny’s loyalties lie for our next game either.
Loyalty to my old team and respect for my former colleagues and current friends is one thing, but as a team Fulham are growing stronger, and we get as much satisfaction out of winning as anyone ever could.
Judging by the comments box over at Eurosport, Danny’s already got a rather loyal following.
