IT DIDN’T occur to me until Saturday that the seats at the far end of the Putney Stand at Craven Cottage afford visiting fans the opportunity to contemplate the gently lapping waters of the river Thames and the pleasure craft and wildlife serenely cruising by one of the Premier League’s few remaining old-fashioned stadia.

AFTER an utterly exhausting week involving a 100-mile daily commute, I was relieved that we only had a short hop to Fulham’s riverside home in west London on Saturday.