Fulham

Wolves are in the news this week for their pursuit of a vote on the scrapping of VAR.

Their wishes drew further scrutiny on Wednesday when Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon found himself in the middle of a contentious call before offering a strong view on the technology after his side went down at Manchester United.

"Modified" is the word when we are talking about VAR going to a vote.

We are still getting to grips with it, but we have seen some good come from it. There have been some instances of indifferent decisions because calls are getting too many looks at them from so many angles.

They still do not know what is a good tackle and what is not. I think they need help from some former players, who have been in that situation and understand what the differences are in those challenges.

We keep talking about different angles and that is not going to go away because with VAR or without it, on certain challenges we would still disagree. You could have two current players in a room and they still would not agree.

It is Wolves' opinion on VAR and if they feel it is not working for them, then you can understand why they are saying to have a go without it again.

Molineux boss Gary O'Neil has been very frustrated, but he has also been balanced and tried to stay quiet. Now he does not want to stay quiet because he feels it does not benefit them and decisions are not going their way.

Overall, we have seen good things from VAR, even if it does bring with it a delay and a wait.

It would be a shame now for it to all go away when we have all the technology in place.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Here are the key facts and figures before Sunday's game between Luton Town and Fulham in the Premier League.

• Luton are winless in their past six league games against Fulham, but both draws in that run have been in their most recent two home meetings with the Cottagers.

• Following their 1-0 win in the reverse fixture, Fulham are looking to complete their first league double over Luton since the 1953-54 campaign.

• Since their return to the Football League in 2014, Luton have only lost their final league game in one of their nine seasons (W6 D2), a 3-1 loss at QPR in 2020-21.

• Fulham have not won their final league game in any of the past six seasons (D1 L5), since beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in 2016-17.

Image source, PA Media

Tom Cairney believes Fulham are "in a good place" and this summer is a "big moment" to "push on to the next level".

The Fulham captain reflected on his club's season on the latest episode of the Footballer's Football Podcast on BBC Sounds.

With one Premier League game remaining, Marco Silva's side are 14th in the table with 44 points - eight fewer than they managed in 2022-23 - while only three of their 12 league wins this season have come on the road.

"I'd say consistency has let us down, especially away from home," said midfielder Cairney. "We've been so good at Craven Cottage this season, which has been a big highlight and a big plus for us, but I feel like the away form has let us down on bettering last season's points total.

"I feel like the club is in a good place, the squad is in a better place than last season, but that consistency part has let us down on league position.

"We had back-to-back 5-0 wins in the Premier League, which was a nice moment. It's hard to win 5-0 as it is, but to do it back-to-back was special. We beat Manchester United away, Tottenham at home, Arsenal at home - they were big results.

"Most of it has been a big plus but I feel that next season is a time for Fulham to really kick on. This summer and next season is a big moment for Fulham, like Brighton for example, to push on to the next level. Hopefully that's what we do."

Fulham also reached the Carabao Cup semi-final this season, losing to eventual winners Liverpool 3-2 on aggregate.

Cairney added: "You've got to look at that as a big positive. Losing to Liverpool over two legs by one goal was not the end of the world, but it felt like it at the time."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Dan Crawford
Fan writer

We asked our Fulham fan contributor for their four player of the season choices and you can now vote for your top one.

Image source, Getty Images

Calvin Bassey

It is a measure of how well Bassey recovered from a tough start to his Fulham career that he features in this conversation. With his pace and power, he has stepped seamlessly into a spot so ably filled by Tim Ream and looks like a Premier League player.

Rodrigo Muniz

The former Flamengo forward's renaissance was the feel-good story of the season. Written off by most, Muniz delivered a glut of goals when it was least expected – and his all-round game has markedly improved as well. On this form, a senior Brazil call-up cannot be far away.

Antonee Robinson

It seems incredible that Fulham signed the American left back from Wigan Athletic for less than £2m. Robinson is the archetypal modern full back - full of adventure, bravery and blistering pace. Very few wingers have got the better of him and he has been enduringly excellent this season.

Willian

What is there to say about the Brazil veteran? Willian's touch, vision and reading of a situation are remarkable and it has been a joy to watch him strut his stuff at Craven Cottage. The Fulham hierarchy simply must extend his contract this summer - it should be their first priority.

Pick your 2023-24 Fulham player of the season from our shortlist here

Dan Crawford can be found at Hammy End, external

Manchester United are trying to hijack Newcastle United's move for Fulham's English defender Tosin Adarabioyo, 26. (Talksport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Sammy James
Fan writer

Despite a decent start to Saturday's game against Manchester City, a defeat by Pep Guardiola's men always felt on the cards. An unstoppable force in City very much found itself up against a moveable object in Fulham.

Our final game of the season is at Luton Town, and although the Hatters can mathematically stay up, it would need a miracle of epic proportions. Even if they did manage to score 11 goals against us, they would need Nottingham Forest to lose at Burnley, which feels unlikely.

Therefore, it feels like an opportunity for Fulham to save some face after what has been a pretty torrid end to the season. Six points from eight games since the international break is relegation form, and I really hope that does not continue into next season.

Also, every place in the division is worth millions of pounds, and a win on Sunday could see us go from 14th to 12th. It is hardly a season-defining jump, but that extra bit of revenue could be a little boost in the summer transfer kitty.

Fingers crossed we can end the campaign on a positive note.

Sammy James can be found at Fulhamish, external

We asked for your comments after Saturday's match between Fulham and Manchester City.

Here are some of your answers:

Fulham fans

David: A good start from us but conceding a soft goal early on did not bode well. Always felt City could turn it on as needed. In the end we were just outclassed. City are that good I'm surprised they didn't win Eurovision song contest later that day.

Alex: I thought Fulham got off to a decent start, then five passes later we were a goal down. A good season for us but work needed in the summer to rebuild.

Eric: Garbage from the get-go. They never lifted their heads to have a good game. They were blitzed by a exceptional side for sure but Man City were made to look better due to a lacklustre Fulham.

Sew: Well, this result clearly shows Fulham did not take it seriously. They haven't taken this game seriously all week after opting to fly kites instead of working on their gameplan.

Manchester City fans

Usama: That is what you call a complete performance. Controlled the game from start to finish and didn’t give Fulham any breathing space. Outstanding from every individual on the pitch. Hopefully Ake’s injury doesn’t keep him out. Only negative from the game was that Haaland chance. He’s got to bury that but he will get plenty more in the games to come.

Ian: A polished performance, Bernardo was exceptional in every respect, especially his one-touch passes and Josko Gvardiol finished like Haaland (usually does) - what greater compliment could I pay him?

Bob: We tired yet another side out and punished them in the second half. Still need to work on dealing with long balls behind the defence - fortunately Fulham were ultimately toothless in attack.

Major: They know how to win important matches. For the past three years, they have controlled their destiny.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

And you can watch highlights of Sunday's games on Match of the Day 2 here.

Also, listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:

• West Ham United v Luton Town

• Nottingham Forest v Chelsea

Newcastle United are favourites to sign 26-year-old English defender Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer, when his Fulham contract expires this summer. (Mail), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column