'Ain’t nobody like Tom Cairney'published at 18:39 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December
Fulham v Brighton (19:30 GMT)
Image source, BBC Sport
Image source, Getty ImagesDrew Heatley, Fulhamish, externalI’ve tipped my cap to Marco Silva before for turning Tom Cairney into an impact player, managing his minutes and transforming a player who, though universally loved, was starting to spend more time on the treatment table than in the matchday squad.
On Saturday he came off the bench and promptly rolled back the years, finishing with aplomb after picking up a ball from Alex Iwobi.
That should have been that - Captain Fantastic helping us to a hard-fought point and putting the Wolves defeat firmly in the rear view. But 16 minutes later he saw red. It was clumsy make no mistake, but not malicious - Cairney’s the epitome of “not that kind of player”.
Luckily for Tom, the outcome was the same. The boys held on for the remaining seven minutes of the game plus seven more of added time. Given our penchant for late capitulations, that feels like a win. And with Arsenal then Liverpool in our next two games, getting any points on the board this weekend was vital.
All things considered, an easy misdemeanour to forgive, then, and another opportunity to give flowers to a man who really is Mr Fulham.
Drink it in, for we are not going to be treated to many more of his magic moments. As the song goes, there really “Ain’t nobody like Tom Cairney”.
