Fulham’s season came to an end, not with a Premier League defeat at Arsenal, but the heartbreak of an extra-time loss to Atletico Madrid in the balmy atmosphere of Hamburg’s HSH Nordbank Arena and the inaugural Europa League final.

Fulham’s transformation from a club who Roy Hodgson guided to safety from relegation in the last 15 minutes of the season a couple of years back to European finalists and seasoned Premier League campaigners has been quite remarkable. The recognition of the role played by Hodgson was recognised by the award of Manager of the Year, won by a record margin of votes from the League Managers Association.

 

Fulham’s exploits in Europe somewhat overshadowed their steady progress in the domestic competition. A comfortable mid-table 12^th place was fair reward for a campaign which was undoubtedly taken over by thoughts of Europa Cup glory. Indeed, their season actually started in July when they beat FK Vetra 3-0 away from home in the Europa League qualifying.

An away win at Portsmouth started the Premier League season well enough but they failed to match their domestic form of the previous year. Bobby Zamora had a fine season with 17 goals forcing him into international reckoning. Yet only 8 of those strikes were in the Premier League and the victory at Fratton Park remained the single three-point gain on the road all season.

The FA Cup was also a decent playground for the Cottagers as they marched through to the 6^th round before falling to Spurs in a replay. However, an early exit in the Carling Cup to Manchester City perhaps paced the way for their later exploits.  The Europa League final was a fantastic way to end a season. Unfortunately, it was possibly a game too far.