The Fulham FC Relegation Battle A-Z

Article by Barnaby Mollett

The 26 things Fulham need to pull of an improbable 'great escape' to secure Premier League survival.

A - Aspiration. The team has a desire and a belief about them in recent weeks - this must continue for the last three games. To quote popular 1999 film 'Galaxy Quest', "never give up, never surrender".

B - Billy the Badger. Mostly, Billy the Badger shouldn't be the most entertaining thing on the pitch - the pizazz of Fulham's one-touch football should!

C - Compete. No matter what happens here on in, the team have got to come out and be competitive in the challenge, taking the game to the opposition. This approach will keep the fans onside 'til the final whistle against Palace.

D - Determination. Each and every player must show it.

E - Erik Nevland. the ex-Fulham hit man is right behind the team each week, bellowing his support from the Twitter terraces.

F - Fulham. Obvious, but the players, staff and fans have to rally together as Fulham Football Club. In recent weeks, this has culminated in more vocal support and visible elation from the players at the final whistle against Villa and Norwich.

G - Guard. The defence may not be the Hodgson-era impenetrable wall, but it's key that the back four continue the improvement they've shown under Magath to not ship goals like white, plastic balls to hungry, hungry hippos.

H - Home Games. If Fulham take six points from games at the Cottage against Hull and Palace, they'll have given themselves a real shot at staying up.

I - Indifference. Some performances under Meulensteen in particular showcased a team that were accused of lacking care or passion for the game. This has been turned on its head, and long may Fulham continue to be a team showing striving spirit.

J - Jinking Runs. See entry for 'Z' below.

K - Konstatinos Mitroglou. Will the Greek feature this season, with a slow comeback from injury and a place at the World Cup on the line?

L - Lewis Holtby. He came, he played, he won the respect of everyone at the club. A great player, an even better man.

M - More Goals. To be honest, at this stage, the ball can fly in the net off Felix

N - "Never give up, never surrender" - see 'A' above.

O - Old Guard. With ol' Duffer hanging up his boots at the end of the season, Brede Hangeland is the last of the 2009/10 Europa League finalists still in the Fulham squad. If he can muster three games of the mettle he showed in that competition (think the steely 1-1 draw away at Shakhtar Donetsk in the knockout stages), then the Whites really will have a fighting chance.

P - Plenty of Goals. To be honest, at this stage, the ball can fly in the net off Felix Magath's spectacles, but it would do wonders for my health - and that of every Fulham fan - if we could win a match in a slightly less close-to-the-wire fashion.

Q - Quality. There have been flashes of it since January in a number of players, and now is the time for those little moments of magic that could turn a game - and this late in the season, set course for survival.

R - Rodallega. I didn't think I'd be putting this in as an entry for 'R' a few weeks ago, but 2 crucial goals in our run-in have made Hugo a cult figure around the Cottage. If he scores two or three similarly vital goals (harness that Wigan survival moment of 2011, Hugo), he'll surely graduate from cult figure to cult hero.

S - Steve Sidwell. Inarguably Fulham's player of the season as a whole, without Sidwell's goals, we'd have barely hit the back of the net. Also has put in a tremendous amount of successful tackles across the season - in the top 10 in the league for that particular statistic.

T - Teamwork. No need to explain this one.

U - Unity. See 'T' above.

V - Victories. Ultimately, the only thing that will save Fulham. Two would be nice, but a precarious rope ladder to safety. Three would be a dream, and a rocket ship blasting out of any stratosphere of danger.

W - Work Rate. There are three games left of the season. 270 minutes of football. And that's 270 minutes of commitment or else there will be no place on HMS Survival out of the Bay of Dismay.

X - Xylophone. Because 'x' is always for xylophone.

Y - Youth. Magath has said a relegation scrap is 'no place' for a youngster, in relation to Dan Burn being taken out of the starting eleven. Whilst he may have a point that some experience is necessary, some of our youngsters have looked bright - especially Cauley Woodrow - and may yet have to chip in with the Cottagers' survival bid.

Z - Zip. Utilising the pace of the wide men in the squad, such as Dejagah and Richardson, will give the Whites the best chance of scoring on the counter attack. Let's see some mazy runs down the wing and a ball in the box for someone to attack!

Do you agree? Has anything been as glaringly missed as a Tomasz Radzinski open goal? Let us know via Twitter @e_fulhamnet.

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