Fulham - Optimistic - Too Much To Ask?

Well the season is almost upon us and I thought I'd sit down and pen a little piece about my expectations for 2008-2009 purely from a Fulham perspective.

Now I'm not going to shoot from the hip and suggest that we've every possibility of qualifying for Europe, not even via the Intertoto Cup, but I would be extremely pleased if the coming season had none of the anxiety of last season, mid-table mediocrity would do me nicely with any relegation pressures dispersed with, due to the accumulation of the forty-point milestone, by January time.

Is that too much to ask?

As for the Carling Cup, how about a nice little run! We've already been paired with Leicester City in round two and if our aptitude is right, we should be in round three when the bigger boys join in. With European competition becoming all alluring, for them, there may be a chance that this'll be the cup in which we could launch a campaign to reach Wembley.

Is that too much to ask?

As for the FA Cup, is it really more than thirty years since we graced the final? A generation having never seen us reach the ultimate final although hopes were high until our near neighbours beat us at Villa Park! As always, it'll depend on the draw, Lady Luck can be kind or she can be so very cruel. Not even a draw against relative minnows (Bristol Rovers) guarantees advancement. I'm not sure how Roy Hodgson has fared in his previous FA Cup campaigns whilst managing in this country but wouldn't it be nice to see Roy lead us out at Wembley!

Is that too much to ask?

So what about the playing staff, what are my aspirations for them? After giving so much last year to rescue us from an impossible situation I'm hoping that they'll be resolute in their desire to avoid a similar campaign. I'm hoping the new signings will quickly find their feet in the Premier League and that several will show what decent buys they were.

What are the chances of Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora both getting well into double figures, or of Jimmy Bullard staying fit the whole campaign, or Zoltan Gera scoring a brace against West Brom, or Mark Schwarzer keeping a clean sheet against Middlesbrough and of Johnson and Zamora scoring against their former clubs!

Is that too much to ask?

Off course it is not, it is the optimism we all feel as we embark on a new season, optimism that is usually waning come September but can this season be any different?

Is that too much to ask?

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