Get the lowdown on today’s opponents: Fulham.
The Opposition
Fulham’s Academy enjoyed a highly successful 2024/25 season, losing out on the Premier League 2 Division One title by just two points.
The Whites Under-21’s finished second behind Manchester City, and were driven by a particularly strong away form, winning 80% of their games (eight wins, one draw, one loss), while the Under-18’s reached the quarter-finals of the Under-18 Premier League Cup and the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup.
Several players stood out, notably Callum Osmand, who earned the league’s Player of the Month award in November and contributed ten goals alongside Kristian Sekularac (9) and Aaron Loupalo-Bi (7), with the former two departing Craven Cottage to join Scottish side Celtic and Hungarian side Fehérvár.
Terrell Works and Lemar Gordon pulled the strings in midfield, with the latter leading the assist charts, while Seth Ridgeon was rewarded for his performances with a long-term deal in the summer, following Luc De Fougerolles and Josh King who have both broken into the first team.
Headed up by former Crystal Palace defender Hayden Mullins, Fulham were one of the most competitive and promising sides in the national youth setup last term, and are set to begin their 2025/26 campaign with a trip to Sutton in the National League Cup, following a positive pre-season which saw them win four of their five friendlies, losing only to Braga B.
The Whites will be looking to improve on a sixth place finish in Group A last season, missing out on qualification to the Knockout Stage by two points, with Aldershot Town and Brighton & Hove Albion both progressing at the expense of Fulham, Maidenhead United, Wealdstone, Woking, Southampton and Derby County.
The Manager
Hayden Mullins
Former defensive midfielder Hayden Mullins has taken the reins at the Fulham Academy July 2023, having established himself as a promising young coach across spells elsewhere.
An England Under-21 international, Mullins had a distinguished playing career at Premier League level, turning out over 200 times for Crystal Palace across a five-year stint in the first team, having come through the ranks at Selhurst Park.
He departed South London in 2003 after a loan move to West Ham United was made permanent, making Upton Park his home for the next six years and racking up 180 appearances in the process. This preceded a three-year stint at Portsmouth where he once again appeared over 100 time, before returning to home birthplace with a loan move to Reading, before closing out his playing career with spells at Birmingham City and Notts County.
After hanging up his boots in 2015, Mullins transitioned into coaching with move to Reading in a brief role that saw him oversee the development of the club’s players who were out on loan, before establishing a long-term association with Watford when he took over the Under-23’s in 2016.
Joining initially as Assistant of the Under-21’s alongside Harry Kewell, he later progressed to the Under-23 team and impressed in charge of the Hornets’ Academy, with his performances seeing him given the call to replace Quique Sánchez Flores in charge of the first team on an interim basis in December 2019, before taking on the same role again later on in the season after the dismissal of Nigel Pearson.
While Watford ended the campaign inside the relegation zone, Mullins’ impact on the Hornets’ performances saw many supporters call for his permanent appointment at Vicarage Road, but after owner Gino Pozzo opted to give Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Vladimir Ivić the job, Mullins departed Hertfordshire in September 2020.
He subsequently joined Colchester United as assistant to Steve Ball, and was later named interim boss following the exit of Ball’s successor, Wayne Brown, before being dismissed himself after an eight-month spell in permanent charge of the U’s.
After departing the JobServe Community Stadium, Mullins decided to switch his attention to international football with a brief spell in charge of the Turks and Caicos National Team in March 2023, but returned to club management when he was unveiled as Fulham’s Under-21 Head Coach, with whom he led to the 2024 Premier League Cup title with a 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
One to Watch
Seth Ridgeon
Talented midfielder Seth Ridgeon signed a long-term deal with Fulham in the summer, committing his future with his boyhood club after established himself as one of the most promising players at Craven Cottage.
An England youth international with Sri Lankan heritage, Ridgeon joined Fulham at the age of eight and worked his way through all the age groups, making his debut for the Under-18’s just six years later, a few weeks before his 15th birthday.
This preceded his first goal for the Under-18’s a month later after coming on as a late substitute, scoring the winner in a 4-3 win over Crystal Palace, before making his first start in a 1-0 win over Arsenal in March 2024.
An energetic and exciting box-to-box midfielder, Ridgeon notably travelled with the Whites to the United States to compete in the Dallas Cup, where they reached the Semi-Final, before making his Under-21 debut in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the start of 2025, a year that would see him sign a new deal with the club after a successful 2024/25 campaign, which saw him make the step up to Under-21s football aged just 16, as well as making moves on the international stage, captaining England Under-17’s at the European Championship.
Recent Form
Fulham 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Fulham 3-2 Woking
Braintree Town 0-1 Fulham
Braga B 3-1 Fulham
Charlton Athletic 2-3 Fulham
Photo Credit: Fulham Football Club
