Brighton winner 'illustrated our current woes'
It was not the best game and there was not much between us on the day, but Brighton had the ball in the net twice - and those narrow escapes should have provided the wake-up calls we needed.
However, the loss is a tough one because before kick-off there was just one point between us. Now, Brighton's win has created a gap in the race for the top eight.
Many of us could see it coming. I spoke last week about narratives; we were unbeaten in nine games against the Seagulls and a lot of us thought it would be "Fulhamish" to lose when it mattered most.
And what a way to do it.
A 98th-minute penalty, conceded by Harrison Reed, who only came on 15 or so minutes earlier. It is unfair to level too much criticism at the midfielder - he was played like a fiddle by Joao Pedro, who won the penalty and duly scored it.
But Reed is an illustration of our current woes. Our squad is too thin and we lack the quality in depth. Harrison was a magnificent part of our march to the Championship in 2022, playing in 39 of our 46 league games.
But the 30-year-old is a level below where we want to be and will likely leave in May in search of the regular first-team football he deserves.
This points to a busy summer. If reports are believed, we are likely to lose Antonee Robinson at the end of the season, continuing the recent trend of losing our best player every summer and leaving us needing replacements or reinforcements across almost every position on the pitch.
Despite all this, we sit 10th in the league with more wins than losses. That is testament to Marco Silva.
So perhaps it is not so bad after all.
Find more from Drew Heatley at Fulhamish
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