Fulham F.C.

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Fulham
Image:Fulham crest.jpg
Full name Fulham Football Club
Nickname(s)The Cottagers, The Whites[1]
Founded 1879
Ground Craven Cottage
Fulham, London
(Capacity 26,600 (being extended to 30,500)[2])
Chairman Image:Flag of Egypt.svg Mohamed Al-Fayed
Manager Image:Flag of England.svg Roy Hodgson
League Premier League
2006–07 Premier League, 16th
Image:Kit left arm.png Image:Kit body collarwhite.png Image:Kit right arm.png
Image:Kit shorts.png
Image:Kit socks.png
 
Home colours
Image:Kit left arm black stripes.png Image:Kit body threebluestripes.png Image:Kit right arm black stripes.png
Image:Kit shorts.png
Image:Kit socks.png
 
Away colours

Fulham Football Club are an English football team based in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they celebrated their 125th anniversary in 2004, and they are in the top tier of English football, the FA Premier League. Fulham are the oldest professional football team in London, usually considered to have been founded in 1879 (though Cray Wanderers F.C. are the oldest team in London still in existence).[3]

They spent much time in the old First Division (Premiership) through the 1960s, but are yet to gain any major honours. In 1975, as a Second Division team, they contested the FA Cup final for the only time in their history, losing 2-0 to West Ham United. Fulham qualified for the UEFA Cup in 2002 by winning the Intertoto Cup, beating Bologna 5-3 in the final over two legs. In the UEFA Cup, they won through two rounds before being defeated by Hertha Berlin. In the mid-1990s they had a brief spell in the former Fourth Division, but they recovered spectacularly by the early 2000s.

They currently play at Craven Cottage, their famous home since 1896, a riverside ground on the banks of the River Thames in Fulham, having spent two years at Loftus Road while Craven Cottage was undergoing renovations to bring it up to Premier League standards. The club's training ground is located near Motspur Park (and was where Chariots of Fire among others was filmed) (Sydney Charles Wooderson set the then world mile record of 4min 6.4sec at Motspur Park's University of London Athletics ground on August 28, 1938. It was knocked down by the club), where Fulham's Academy is also situated, including a mini-stadium where the reserves play. The Fulham Ladies' team also played the majority of their games here prior to being dissolved in the summer of 2006. (Note: the ladies' team has since been re-established but is now independent from Fulham FC).

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Amateur days 1879-1898

Fulham started its existence in 1879 as Fulham St Andrew's Church Sunday School, founded by worshippers at the C of E church on Star Road, West Kensington, which still stands today with a plaque commemorating the team's foundation. They won the West London Amateur Cup in 1887 and, having shortened the name to its present form in 1888, they then won the West London League in 1893 at the first attempt. One of the club's first ever kits was half red, half white shirts with white shorts worn in the 1886-7 season.[4] Fulham started playing at their current ground Craven Cottage in 1896, their first game against now defunct rivals Minerva F.C.

[edit] Southern League 1898-1907

Years League
1898-03 Southern League Division 2
1903-07 Southern League Division 1

The club gained professional status on December 12 1898, in the same year that they were admitted into the Southern League's 2nd division. They adopted a kit very similar to modern Arsenal colours in this period, which was worn during the 1900-01 season.[5] In 1902-03 they won promotion from this division, entering the Southern League 1st Division. The club's first recorded all-white club kit came in 1903, and ever since then the club has been playing in all-white shirts and black shorts, with socks going through various evolutions of black and/or white, but are now normally white-only.[6] The club won the Southern League twice, in 1905-06 and 1906-07.

[edit] Into the Football League 1907-1949

1907-28 Football League Div. 2 (Level 2)
1928-32 Football League Div. 3S (Level 3)
1932-49 Football League Div. 2 (Level 2)

Fulham gained admission to the national Football League after the second of their Southern League triumphs. The club's first ever league game, playing in the 2nd Division's 1907-8 season, saw them losing 1-0 at home to Hull City on September 3, 1907. The first win came a few days later on September 7, 1907 at Derby County's Baseball Ground, by a score line of 1-0. When they eventually found their feet in the division they impressed, ending up only three points short of promotion in 4th place. However, this was the best season they had in their twenty one year stay in that division, and after only winning 13 out of 42 games in the 1927-28 season Fulham were relegated to the 3rd Division South, which was created in 1920.

A highlight of that first season was an 8-3 away win at Luton Town in an FA Cup game. The club actually managed to reach the semi-finals of that tournament, where they were humbled 6-0 by Newcastle United. This is still a record loss for an FA Cup semi-final game.[7] A couple of years later the club won the London Challenge Cup in the 1909-10 season.

During this period, businessman and politician Henry Norris was the club chairman and curiously he had an indirect role in the foundation of Fulham's local rivals Chelsea F.C.. When he rejected an offer from businessman Gus Mears to move Fulham to land where the present-day Chelsea stadium Stamford Bridge is situated, Mears decided to create his own team to occupy the ground. In 1910, Norris started to combine his role at Fulham with the chairmanship of Arsenal.

After finishing 5th, 7th and 9th (out of 22 teams) in their first three seasons in the 3rd Division South, Fulham won the division in the 1931-32 season. In doing so they beat Torquay United 10-2, won 24 out of 42 games and scored 111 goals, thus being promoted back to the Second Division. The next season they missed out on a second consecutive promotion, finishing 3rd behind Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City. A mixed bag of league performances followed, although the club also reached another FA Cup semi-final during the 1935-36 season. On 8 October 1938 Craven Cottage saw its all-time highest attendance at a match against Millwall FC, with a crowd of 49,335 watching the game.

League and cup football were severely disrupted by the outbreak of World War II in 1939, with the Football League split into regional divisions temporarily, with a national Football League War Cup and a London War Cup up for grabs. Post-war, a full league programme was only restored for 1946-47. In the 3rd season of what is now considered the modern era of football, Fulham finished top of the Second Division, with a win-loss-draw record of 24-9-9 (identical to that which won them the 3rd Division South 17 years previously).

[edit] 1949-1969: First Division Cottagers

1949-52 Football League Div. 1 (Level 1)
1952-59 Football League Div. 2 (Level 2)
1959-68 Football League Div. 1 (Level 1)
1968-69 Football League Div. 2 (Level 2)

Promotion to the top tier of English football saw the club perform poorly, finishing 17th in their first year and 18th in their second. In only their third season of First Division football, Fulham finished rock bottom of the 22-team league in the 1951-52 season, winning only 8 of 42 games. On May 20th 1951, Fulham played one of their first ever games in North America in an exhibition match against Celtic F.C. at Delorimier Stadium in Montreal in front of 29,000.[8]

A few seasons of mediocrity in the 2nd Division followed, but then the club reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1958 and used this momentum to win promotion back to the 1st Division in the following season, having finished 2nd to Sheffield Wednesday. Graham Leggat joined Fulham in 1958 as well, who went on to score 134 goals in 277 appearances, (making him the club's fifth all-time top scorer). In the 1959-60 season they achieved 10th position in the 1st Division, which until finishing 9th in the FA Premier League 2003-04 was their highest ever league position. This accompanied another appearance in the last four of the FA Cup in 1962.

By this time the club were regularly playing in front of 30,000 plus crowds at Craven Cottage,[9] despite struggling in the League. The club experienced several close escapes from relegation none more spectacular than in 1965-66. On the morning of 26 February 1966 Fulham had just 15 points from 29 matches. The last 13 games saw Fulham win 9 and draw 2 to reach safety. Eventually the club suffered relegation in the 1967-68 season having won just 10 out of their 42 games. However even that was not as catastrophic as the calamity of next season. Winning only 7 in 42, the club were again relegated to the 3rd Division. (Note that this is not the same as the 3rd Division South, as the regional 3rd Divisions had been removed with the 1959 creation of the 4th Division).

It is impossible to talk about Fulham's history without mentioning probably the single most influential character in Fulham's history: Johnny Haynes.[10] 'Mr. Fulham' or 'The Maestro' as he later came to be known signed for The Cottagers as a schoolboy in 1950, making his first team debut on Boxing Day 1952 against Southampton at Craven Cottage. Haynes played for another 18 years, notching up 657 appearances (along with many other club records too), his last appearance for Fulham coming on the 17 January 1970. He is often considered as the greatest player in Fulham history,[11] and never played for another team in Britain.[12] He gained 52 caps for England (22 as captain),[13] with many being earned while playing for Fulham in the Second Division. Haynes was injured in a car accident in Blackpool in 1962, but by his own admissions never regained the fitness or form to play for England again, missing out on England's victory in the 1966 World Cup which he would have stood a chance of being selected for.[14] The Stevenage Road Stand was re-named in his honour after his death in a car crash in 2005.

[edit] 1970-1994: Mixed fortunes outside the top flight

1969-71 Football League Div. 3 (Level 3)
1971-80 Football League Div. 2 (Level 2)
1980-82 Football League Div. 3 (Level 3)
1982-86 Football League Div. 2 (Level 2)
1986-94 Football League Div. 3/2 (Level 3)

The aforementioned 3rd Division hiatus lasted only two seasons though, they were then promoted back to the Second Division as runners-up in 1970-71. This spell also saw Fulham invited to the not particularly prestigious Anglo-Italian Cup, which saw the club draw four out of four games in two appearances in tournament between 1972 and 1974. Thus started of a period of high-profile signings for the club under Alec Stock in the mid-70s, including Alan Mullery and Bobby Moore. The reward of this was their only ever FA Cup final in 1975, having won their first semi-final in five attempts. The club then lost to West Ham in the final. This gained the club qualification to another low-key European tournament, the Anglo-Scottish Cup, where they made the final, losing to Middlesbrough.

That run in the FA Cup saw the setting of an improbable record, that of the most games needed to reach the final, Fulham playing 11 games including replays. In the build up to the 12th game, the Wembley final, Tony Rees and The Cottagers released a single, "Viva el Fulham" (based on Manolo Escobar's "Y viva España") which is still played (and occasionally chanted) at Fulham games. It reached No.46 in the Pop Charts in 1975. The club set another record in the 70s, when they took part in the first ever British league game to be played on a Sunday against Millwall F.C. in 1974, which was staged at Craven Cottage.[15]

George Best played 47 times for the club in the 1976-77 season. Rodney Marsh, who having grown up with Fulham in the 60s went on to play 1st Division football and play for England, rejoined the club in the same season, playing only 16 games. This capped one of the most successful eras in Fulham history.

The hangover from this meant the club were relegated again after winning only 11 in 42 in the 1979-80 season, which saw Bobby Campbell's sacking to be replaced by Malcolm Macdonald. With a strong squad during his 1980-84 period in charge (with players such as Ray Houghton, Tony Gale, Paul Parker, Gerry Peyton and Ray Lewington), they won promotion again in 1981-82 back to Division 2. In 1980, Fulham founded the rugby league club that is now Harlequins Rugby League designed to be an extra stream of income for the football club. Then called 'Fulham Rugby League', they played at Craven Cottage until moving away from the parent club in 1984.

Fulham narrowly missed out on back-to-back promotions, to the First Division losing 1-0 to Derby away on the last day of the 1982-83 season - although the match was abandoned after 88 mins due to a pitch invasion. The side which had shown so much promise was gradually sold off and broken up as the club had debts to pay off, so it was little surprise when the club were relegated again to the Third Division in 1986. The club nearly went out of business in 1987 and the same year saw the break-down of an ill-advised merger attempt with QPR. It was only the intervention of ex-player Jimmy Hill that allowed the club to stay in business as a re-structured 'Fulham FC 1987 Ltd.' In 1987 the club took part in what was one of the longest penalty shoot-outs recorded - it needed 28 spot kicks to sort out a winner between them and Aldershot following a Freight Rover Trophy match.

In 1992 the foundation of the Premier League saw Fulham's division of the time, the 3rd Division, re-named the 2nd Division. (There is a joke amongst football fans that at the end of the 1991-92 season they started to celebrate promotion, before realising all that had happened was that the FA had changed the numbers.) However the club were relegated from that to the new 3rd Division after a poor 1993-94 season, seeing the club in the basement of the Football League, with Ian Branfoot appointed as new manager.

[edit] 1994-96: Fulham's lowest ebb

1994-97 Football League Div. 3 (Level 4)

After a 7th place finish in his first season in charge the club hit its historical rock bottom with its performance in the 1995-96 season, finishing 17th out of 24.[16][17] This season included a loss against Torquay United, who were at the time rock bottom of the Division, with Fulham just one place above them. Branfoot was soon sacked as Manager, but remained at the club in other capacities for a short while.

However, in February 1996 the club appointed then-player Micky Adams as manager, and it was in the summer of that year that his revolution really took off. That signalled the start of the new era of Fulham Football Club.

Micky Adams was appointed as manager and oversaw an upturn in form that lifted the side out of what little relegation danger was present. The next season he engineered a complete turnaround in form and his side, captained by Simon Morgan, finished second - only missing out on first place due to the league dropping the old "goal difference" system in favour of a "goals scored" tally. (While Fulham's goal difference was one better than that of champions Wigan Athletic, they scored twelve fewer goals.) This was somewhat ironic, as the club's then Chairman Jimmy Hill, had successfully argued that goals scored should decide places of teams tied on points while sitting on an FA panel.

[edit] 1997-2001: Al Fayed's revolution

1997-99 Football League Div. 2 (Level 3)
1999-01 Football League Div. 1 (Level 2)
2001+ Premier League (Level 1)

Millionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed purchased the club that summer and fired Adams in the aftermath of a poor start. In Adams' place he installed a managerial 'dream team' of Ray Wilkins (as First Team Manager) and Kevin Keegan (as Chief Operating Officer),[18] pledging that the club would reach the Premiership within five years.

After an argument over team selection, Wilkins left the club in May 1998 to hand over the full managerial duties to Keegan, who steered the club to a spectacular promotion the next season, winning 101 points of a possible 138, captained by Chris Coleman - then the most expensive footballer outside the top two divisions of the English league.[19] Keegan then left to become manager of the England team, and veteran player Paul Bracewell was put in charge.

Bracewell was sacked in March 2000, as Fulham's promising early season form dwindled away. Frenchman Jean Tigana was put in charge and having signed a number of young stars, including Louis Saha, he guided Fulham to their third promotion in five seasons in the 2000-01 season in emphatic style, scoring 90 goals in 46 games. That gave Fulham top flight status for the first time since 1968, which had only taken four years - one shorter than Al Fayed's pledge. During this season club captain and subsequent manager, Chris Coleman, was involved in a car crash which eventually finished his playing career. Fulham's run through the divisions saw many players come and go, but the only player to play for the club in all four leagues was Sean Davis, indeed he is one of few players to ever have played at every level of professional football with one team.

[edit] 2001-03: Premiership debut

Fulham were widely tipped to take the Premiership by storm, with many pundits[20] predicting a challenge for the UEFA cup or even Champions League places (although others were less kind[21]), but their first Premiership season was largely underwhelming; despite a couple of good games and some flashes of brilliance, the end product was a respectable 13th place finish. Fulham remain the only team in this millienium to host top-flight football with some standing areas. Due to restrictions on standings, Fulham decamped to Loftus Road, during the 2002-3 and 2003-4 seasons while their own stadium was rebuilt, but then returned back to Craven Cottage.

The following season saw Fulham dangerously close to the relegation zone, and chairman Mohammed Al Fayed told Tigana that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season. But an awful run of results, culminating in a 4-0 home defeat by Blackburn Rovers led him to be sacked before the season came to an end with relegation desperately near. Jean Tigana made the club's record signing, buying Steve Marlet from Olympique Marseille for £11.5 million. He failed to live up to expectations playing only 54 league games in 3 years, and scoring only 11 goals. He was loaned out to Olympique de Marseille for 18 months when Coleman took over, with his sizeable contract still being paid by the English team, before it eventually expired.

[edit] 2003-2007: Coleman defies the odds

Chris Coleman took charge for five games at the end of that (2002-03) season, earning Fulham 10 points out of a possible 15 and preserving a place in the Premier League for the next season. Coleman was given the manager's job on a permanent basis in the summer of 2003 and despite predictions that the inexperience of Coleman would result in Fulham's relegation,[22] he kept the club well clear of relegation, guiding them to a club record ninth place finish in his debut season. This might have been greater had the club not come under significant financial pressure to sell Louis Saha to Manchester United, for which they received a club record £13 million. The final day of the season saw them win 2-0 away to Bolton - a third goal could have seen them jump the Trotters into eighth place. Coleman notched up another impressive performance in the 2004-05 season and guided Fulham to a secure 13th place finish. The 2005-06 season proved a tougher affair, but safety was once again mathematically assured with three games left of the season and a 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic. There were three relative high points in an inconsistent season: a 6-1 rout of West Bromwich Albion, a 1-0 win over rivals and champions Chelsea in the West London derby, and a 2-0 win over 2005 European champions Liverpool F.C. Fulham's home form was the best outside the top six, with 12 wins from 18 games, while their away form was the worst in the entire league with one win and four draws from 18 games. A game they were winning away 1-0, versus Sunderland, was abandoned after 21 minutes because of persistent snowfall. Finally, on 29 April 2006, Fulham achieved a first away victory of the campaign with a 2-1 win over Manchester City F.C.. Despite the difficulties experienced throughout this season, Fulham achieved a 12th place finish - an improvement on the previous campaign.

Image:Fulham on the attack.jpg
Fulham playing in light blue against Bolton in the FA Cup 2005.

Fulham did not get off to a good start in 2006-07, losing their first match 5-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. This result consigned them to the foot of the table and left them as the season's favourites for early relegation contenders with the bookies; but then recovered well and were riding as high as 8th at one point in December 2006.

Many signings including Vincenzo Montella, Alexey Smertin, Simon Davies and Clint Dempsey were brought during January. Between Mid December and May however, Fulham only won a single game, a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United. In the same time period Fulham drew 9 games and lost 4. Additionally Fulham were dumped out of the FA Cup 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur. On the 10 April 2007, following defeats at the hands of Manchester City (3-1) and Everton (4-1) Fulham Football Club terminated the contracts of Chris Coleman and Steve Kean with immediate effect, while Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez and Les Reed were put in temporary charge.

[edit] Since 2007: Sanchez takes over

Lawrie Sanchez's first match saw him lose away to Reading. In his third match, he looked to gain a much needed point against Arsenal when Simon Davies scored a 78th minute equaliser, but 2 late Arsenal goals saw Fulham lose 3-1 and stay 1 point above the Relegation Zone.[23]. Sanchez's next game was against a Liverpool side that rested many starters after a mid-week Champions League match; a Clint Dempsey goal ensured Sanchez's first win as Fulham caretaker manager. This win, in combination with the results of other matches from the same weekend, ensured Fulham's safety from relegation.

On Friday 11 May 2007 Sanchez resigned from his position as manager of Northern Ireland to become the permanent Fulham manager.[24] During the following summer, Sanchez made a number of major signings for Fulham, the most expensive being the acquisition of Diomansy Kamara from West Brom for £6 million. Sanchez also acquired a number of players he had coached during his time as Northern Ireland manager, including Steven Davis, David Healy, Aaron Hughes and Chris Baird. However, a disappointing first half of the season saw Fulham in the relegation zone after 17 matches, and on 21 December 2007 it was announced that Sanchez had been fired. Roy Hodgson has since been named Fulham's new manager.[25]

[edit] Current management

Position Name Nationality
Manager: Roy HodgsonImage:Flag of England.svg English
Assistant Manager: Ray LewingtonImage:Flag of England.svg English
Director of Football: Les ReedImage:Flag of England.svg English
First Team Coach: John MurtoghImage:Flag of England.svg English
Goalkeeping Coach: Mike KellyImage:Flag of England.svg English
Development Squad Coach: Billy McKinlayImage:Flag of Scotland.svg Scottish
Strength/ConditioningSteve NanceImage:Flag of Australia.svg Australian
First Team Physio: Jason PalmerImage:Flag of Australia.svg Australian
Fulham Academy Director: Simon CoxImage:Flag of England.svg English

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

As of 3 November 2007.[26][27][28]
No. Position Player
1 Image:Flag of the United States.svg GK Kasey Keller
2 Image:Flag of Germany.svg DF Moritz Volz
3 Image:Flag of the United States.svg DF Carlos Bocanegra
4 Image:Flag of England.svg DF Paul Konchesky
5 Image:Flag of France.svg DF Philippe Christanval
6 Image:Flag of Serbia.svg DF Dejan Stefanović (vice-captain)
7 Image:Flag of South Korea.svg MF Seol Ki-Hyeon
8 Image:Flag of Russia.svg MF Alexey Smertin
9 Image:Ulster banner.svg FW David Healy
10 Image:Ulster banner.svg MF Steven Davis
11 Image:Flag of Senegal.svg FW Diomansy Kamara
12 Image:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg GK Tony Warner
13 Image:Flag of Portugal.svg GK Ricardo Batista
14 Image:Flag of Finland.svg FW Shefki Kuqi (on loan from Crystal Palace)
16 Image:Flag of Ireland.svg MF Michael Timlin
17 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Lee Cook
18 Image:Ulster banner.svg DF Aaron Hughes (vice-captain)
No. Position Player
19 Image:Flag of England.svg DF Ian Pearce
20 Image:Flag of the United States.svg FW Brian McBride (captain)
21 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Jimmy Bullard
22 Image:Flag of England.svg DF Elliot Omozusi
23 Image:Flag of the United States.svg MF Clint Dempsey
24 Image:Flag of Algeria.svg FW Hameur Bouazza
25 Image:Flag of Wales 2.svg MF Simon Davies
27 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Danny Murphy
28 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Robert Milsom
29 Image:Flag of Finland.svg GK Antti Niemi
30 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Wayne Brown
31 Image:Flag of England.svg DF Adam Watts
34 Image:Ulster banner.svg DF Chris Baird
37 Image:Flag of Australia.svg DF Adrian Leijer
38 Image:Flag of England.svg DF Nathan Ashton
–– Image:Flag of France.svg FW Ismael Ehui
–– Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg MF Simon Elliott

[edit] Out on loan

No. Position Player
15 Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg FW Collins John (on loan to Leicester City)
–– Image:Flag of Sweden.svg FW Björn Runström (on loan to Kaiserslautern)
–– Image:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg DF Gabriel Zakuani (on loan to Stoke City)
–– Image:Flag of England.svg GK Corrin Brooks-Meade (on loan to Darlington)

[edit] Fulham in Europe

  • 1R = First round
  • 2R = Second round
  • 3R = Third round
Season Competition Round Country Club Score
2002/03 UEFA Cup 1R Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Hajduk Split 1-0, 2-2
2R Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, 2-1
3R Image:Flag of Germany.svg Hertha BSC Berlin 1-2, 0-0

[edit] Rivalries

Image:Fulham arms.png
Arms granted to the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham in 1927, used by Fulham in the 1980s and 90s before Al Fayed changed to the current badge.

Chelsea F.C. are another Premiership football team, also based in Fulham; this creates a clear rivalry between the two clubs (known as the 'SW6 Derby'). Fulham fans have incorporated this rivalry into several of their football chants, (such as the West Ham parody of the Blue flag). It is interesting to note that Chelsea owe their existence to Fulham, as by turning down an invite of the owners of Stamford Brige due to the recent completion of the Johnny Haynes Stand in 1905, Chelsea were established to play in Fulham's place. Fulham have strong rivalries with other West London clubs QPR (of which they share a Borough with along with Chelsea, and thus, with Chelsea, QPR are the most hated team) and Brentford, although these rivalries have not been exercised for several years due to these two teams being in different divisions to Fulham.

Fulham have further rivalries with other London clubs including West Ham United F.C., Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur, Charlton Athletic, and Arsenal, all of which have been regularly contested during recent seasons.

There are no teams outside of London which would necessarily be considered rivals for Fulham, although Blackburn Rovers and Fulham have contested some high-tempered games, and the two were involved in a 1st Division title race during the 2000-01 season. Fulham ran out clear Champions that year winning the league by 10 clear points. Previous to that Gillingham were also considered as rivals to Fulham. Much like the Blackburn Rovers rivalry, there 2 clubs were in several high tempered matches in the lower leagues, however a Fulham Fan was also stabbed to death outside Gillingham FC in Kent which has also intisified relationships between the two clubs.[29]

On 19 March 2006 Fulham recorded their first victory over Chelsea in nearly 27 years, with a goal from Luís Boa Morte. In a very heated and controversial game, Didier Drogba had a goal disallowed for a hand ball, and Chelsea's William Gallas was sent off for a late challenge on Heidar Helguson, which led to a melee between the 2 sets of players. A pitch invasion by both sets of fans following the final whistle led to some skirmishes and arrests and resulted in an FA probe.[30] A roller-coaster of a game in December 2006 (during which Moritz Volz scored the 15,000th goal in Premiership history) ended 2-2.

[edit] Managers

Fulham have so far had 29 managers at the club in 102 years, meaning that the average length of service for a Fulham manager is 3 years and 189 days. Prior to the appointment of the first manager at the club (Bradshaw in 1904), duties normally assigned to a modern day manager would have been shared between club secretary, captain and other officials.

Name From To
Image:Flag of England.svg Harry Bradshaw 1904 1909
Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Phil Kelso 1909 1924
Image:Flag of England.svg Andy Ducat 1924 1926
Image:Flag of England.svg Joe Bradshaw 1926 1929
Image:Flag of England.svg Ned Liddell 1929 1931
Image:Flag of England.svg Jimmy McIntyre 1931 1934
Image:Flag of England.svg Jimmy Hogan 1934 1935
Image:Flag of England.svg Jack Peart 1935 1948
Image:Flag of England.svg Frank Osborne* 1948 1949
Image:Flag of England.svg Bill Dodgin, Sr. 1949 1953
Image:Flag of England.svg Frank Osborne* 1953 1956
Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Doug Livingstone 1956 1958
Image:Flag of England.svg Bedford Jezzard 1958 1964
Image:Flag of England.svg Vic Buckingham 1965 1968
Image:Flag of England.svg Bobby Robson 1968 1968
Image:Flag of England.svg Bill Dodgin, Jr. 1969 1972
Image:Flag of England.svg Alec Stock 1972 1976
Image:Flag of England.svg Bobby Campbell 1976 1980
Image:Flag of England.svg Malcolm MacDonald 1980 1984
Image:Flag of England.svg Ray Harford 1984 1986
Image:Flag of England.svg Ray Lewington 1986 1990
Image:Flag of England.svg Alan Dicks 1990 1991
Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Don Mackay 1991 1994
Image:Flag of England.svg Ian Branfoot** 1994 1996
Image:Flag of England.svg Micky Adams 1996 1997
Image:Flag of England.svg Ray Wilkins 1997 1998
Image:Flag of England.svg Kevin Keegan*** 1998 1999
Image:Flag of England.svg Paul Bracewell 1999 2000
Image:Flag of France.svg Jean Tigana 2000 2003
Image:Flag of Wales 2.svg Chris Coleman 2003 2007
Image:Ulster banner.svg Lawrie Sanchez**** 2007 2007
Image:Flag of England.svg Roy Hodgson 2007
  • *Frank Osborne was employed continuously by the club from 1948-1963, but only spent the above periods as designated manager.
  • **Ian Branfoot continued to be employed by the club after his dismissal as manager.
  • ***Kevin Keegan was employed by the club as Chief Operating Officer (during which time he essentially acted as an Assistant Manager) during the time of his predecessor (Ray Wilkins) being the actual manager.
  • ****Lawrie Sanchez took over as caretaker manager after the sacking of Chris Coleman and was named permanent manager after the club's safety from relegation was assured.
  • *****Lawrie Sanchez was sacked after less than a year by the Fulham board on the 21st December 2007

Managerial records:

  • Only one man has managed the club through two different spells, Frank Osborne in 1948-49 and then 1953-56.
  • The longest spell as Fulham manager was by Phil Kelso, 15 years (1909-1924)
  • Several managers have failed to last more than a year at the club: Bobby Robson, Alan Dicks, Ray Wilkins, Paul Bracewell and Lawrie Sanchez. Further to this, Frank Osborne only had a year after his initial arrival at the club during which he was principally in charge of the team (before Dodgin, senior) arrived, although he later took sole charge of the club for an extended period.

Temporary managers at the club have included:

  • Johnny Haynes: Took over after Bobby Robson was fired in 1968 for only a handful of matches. The Maestro was offered the role permanently but had no inclination to become a manager.
  • Karlheinz Riedle: when Paul Bracewell was fired half way through the 1999-2000 season, there was a temporary period of Fulham being managed by their striker Karlheinz Riedle, assisted his old boss at Liverpool, Roy Evans. Riedle actually injured a lung in the season's penultimate game - his last for the club.
  • Chris Coleman: after Tigana resigned four months before planned in 2003, Chris Coleman was soon appointed as caretaker manager, much to the delight of the fans. Having initially denied he wanted the post, Coleman accepted the role of full-time manager that summer.
  • Lawrie Sanchez: when Coleman was sacked, Sanchez came in to take control of the club for the remaining five games of the season. (See above)[31]

[edit] Grounds

Between the years 1879 and when Fulham had a ground to call their own in 1896, they played at a number of stadiums, only some of which were recorded and this should not be regarded as a full or complete list[citation needed]. Some of the early grounds listed below are likely to have been park/parkland which has now been developed on. Even when the club purchased Craven Cottage and the surrounding land in 1894, they had to wait two years before they could play a game there.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Domestic Cups

  • FA Cup
    • Runners Up - 1975
    • Semi Finals - 1908, 1936, 1958, 1962, 2002
  • League Cup
    • Best Performance (Quarter Finals) 1968, 2004

[edit] European Cups

[edit] Other

  • West London Cup
    • 1886
  • West London Observer Cup
    • 1891
  • London Challenge Cup
    • 1910

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The club itself officially refer to the team as 'The Whites' rather than 'The Cottagers' due to the connatations of cottaging, however TOOFIF and the majority of fans still call them by their original nickname.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ 1879 according to the club history on the official website, but some argue it was 1880.[attribution needed]
  4. ^ Historical Football Kits - Fulham Taken from Fulham FC - The Official 125 Year Illustrated History (Dennis Turner, 2004). This is the first kit known, and sock colours are not specified.
  5. ^ Historical Football Kits - Fulham Taken from Fulham FC - The Official 125 Year Illustrated History (Dennis Turner, 2004).
  6. ^ Historical Football Kits - Fulham Taken from Fulham FC - The Official 125 Year Illustrated History (Dennis Turner, 2004) amongst other sources.
  7. ^ See the FA Cup-specific page in the club history on the official website
  8. ^ [2]
  9. ^ According to the club history at the official website
  10. ^ This is of course somewhat subjective, but he is the first player mentioned in the Great names section of the club's history on the official website. He is also the only ex-player to have a stand at Craven Cottage named after him
  11. ^ He is the first player listed in the great names section of the club's history on the official website, and was voted as Fulham's number one all-time 'Cult Hero' in a BBC poll
  12. ^ He played for Durban City after leaving Fulham according to The FA
  13. ^ According to his profile at the FA.
  14. ^ According to an interview with him from The FA
  15. ^[attribution needed]
  16. ^ Final 1994/1995 Football League Two Table. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  17. ^ Final 1995/1996 Football League Two Table. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  18. ^ According to the 'Keegan & Wilkins' page the club's official website
  19. ^ According to a profile of Al Fayed on the club's official website.
  20. ^ Such as those in The Mirror.
  21. ^ Such as those at the BBC.
  22. ^ Two of three writers of The Independent newspaper predict relegation for Fulham in the 2003/04 season.
  23. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/6543541.stm
  24. ^ Lawrie Sanchez leaves Northern Ireland for Fulham BBC Sport Website
  25. ^ Lawrie Sanchez fired as Fulham manager, Fox Sports, 2007-12-21, <http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/7591050>. Retrieved on 2007-12-21
  26. ^ 1st Team Players. Fulham FC. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  27. ^ Other Squad Players. Fulham FC. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  28. ^ Players Out On Loan. Fulham FC. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  29. ^ From BBC News
  30. ^ From BBC news
  31. ^ BBC News 'Coleman out as Sanchez takes over'

[edit] External links

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