Slight return

spo·rad·ic

(sp-rdk, spô-) also spo·rad·i·cal (--kl) adj. 1. Occurring at irregular intervals; having no pattern or order in time. 2. Appearing singly or at widely scattered localities, as a plant or disease. 3. Isolated; unique:

Hello again. It's been a while but I've been pondering a return to writing about Fulham for some time and the Rome trip just might have provided the catalyst for this. I'm not going to get into regular match reports or trying to keep up with the daily news but if I have something worth saying and I can get it done in a resonable time frame I figure I might as well put it on here. We'll see how it goes.

While I'm here I thought I'd add my weight to the Craven Cottage Newsround campaign to introduce a F*ckupbuzzer to alert Refs to match changing errors. Actually, CCN haven't started a campaign as such but I figured if I started calling it one it might pick up some momentum and force a change.

I've been involved in quite a few heated debates in the wake of the Henry handball. It seems to me there are two issues here. Firstly, what can we do to help officials out and ensure we avoid the sort of mistakes that ruin the game and secondly, how much responsibility should the players take. I'm firmly in the camp of making the most of technology to ensure a fair result. I'm fed up with the media circus that follows a major cock up and would really just like to see something implemented quickly. I also believe players should start accepting their responsibility to make the game more honest. If money is considered more important than fairness and principles there's something very wrong with the world.

Zola, clean sheets & Recaro seats

On Sunday evening I settled down to watch the West Ham v Man Utd highlights on MOTD2. I like MOTD2, it's less pompous than it's elder sibling and usually has a pundit with something interesting to say about the games. Gianfranco Zola is the sort of person it's difficult not to like. He was a footballing genius (even if he did play for the wrong team in the borough) and rarely appears without a big beaming smile. He's also managed to get West Ham playing a free flowing and entertaining style of football. When West Ham beat us at the Cottage (a result I'm still grumpy about) they looked neat but ineffective. We undid ourselves that day but the Hammers had enough quality even then to take advantage. It seems Zola's now got them playing without fear and an amazing string of results has taken their confidence and their ability to new levels. It took a wonder goal from Giggs to defeat them and they must be eyeing European qualification. If nothing else the higher up the league they finish the easier it will be for them when the man from Sheffield United calls to collect their dough.

The game also took Edwin van der Sar a step nearer a World Record for clean sheets in league football. He'll break it if he manages to last 64 minutes without conceding against us next Wednesday. Of all the teams in the Premier League you'd probably fancy your chances of keeping a clean sheet against us than any other. We've managed a paltry three goals away from home all season, half the total of West Brom who are the next worst. Of course it would be typically Fulhamish of us to go and score, probably in the 63rd minute.

Another piece of trivia I noticed was that West Ham now have Recaro seats in their dugout. This is a growing fad amongst those teams that want to be seen as the best; Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, both Manchester's and Reading have all succumbed. Personally I think they look a bit naff, they are, after all, just car seats in club colours but each to their own. I'm glad to say Fulham have yet to be taken in and remain with Arsenal and Liverpool bastions of the plastic seat (though I'd actually be even happier if we still had a wooden bench).

One final word before my digression from things Fulham is complete. The Dean Windass story is an interesting one with twists and turns aplenty. From becoming the only player to be sent off three times in the same game to scoring the goal that won Hull City promotion to the top division for the first time in their history. Paul Fletcher's blog for the BBC summed this up quite well and looked at his hopes for the rest of the season with Oldham Athletic where he's currently on loan. However, even Fletcher couldn't have expected that what Windass would do next would be to take over in goal, survive a penalty and keep a clean sheet for 40 minutes to help Oldham to an away point at high flying Leicester. It's things like this that make Football great.

Who watches the watchmen?

When Willie Young scythed down the diminutive Paul Allen in the 1980 FA Cup final the “football world” reacted with righteous outrage. I was twelve at the time and that moment has stayed with me ever since. Any discussion about the “professional foul” is accompanied in my mind by the image of a giant ginger defender taking the legs away from a young Hammer on his way to score a second and cup winning goal for his side. I think Young got a yellow for his troubles and West Ham went on to win the cup anyway so no real harm done but it did effectively change the rules of association football forever.

This week John Terry’s red card for rugby tackling his opponent was rescinded on the grounds that it was not considered “serious foul play”. There was discussion on Match Of The Day about whether or not Terry had been sent off for a “professional foul”. There’s no mention of this term in the FIFA Laws of the game only a list of reasons to send a player from the field of play. This includes “preventing a goal scoring opportunity” which is the most common interpretation of a professional foul. It’s clear Terry didn’t do that as Ricardo Carvalho was desperately dashing into view to provide the excuse of a covering defender. The Referee stated post-match that he had sent Terry off for “serious foul play”. I really didn’t understand why anyone would have an issue with this. It was after all exactly that. Halsey stuck to his guns, earning in the process some element of respect (from me at least), but was then told by the FA that he was wrong and “demoted” to officiate in a League One match.

I completely fail to understand what the FA feel they’ve achieved by doing that other than to undermine one of their own officials at a time when they are supposed to be encouraging respect from all parties. Personally, I think it was exactly the sort of challenge that should be punished with a red card. It was clearly a cynical foul and completely outside the frame work of anything I think any fan of the game would want to see on a football pitch. To Terry’s credit he didn’t complain too strongly and left the field after only a minor whinge at Mark Halsey. A small gain for the Respect campaign possibly, but wait, here comes Sir Alex Ferguson to exercise his right to operate completely outside the boundaries that other managers attempt to stay within.

Meanwhile, over at the circus that St. James’ Park has become, a more serious offence was also being correctly dealt with. Danny Guthrie’s tackle rightly received a red card. An automatic three match ban – no problem there. However having subsequently discovered that he also broke Fagin’s leg, putting the Hull player out of action for at least six months, further punishment was surely appropriate. I don’t believe Guthrie is normally an aggressive player but the challenge was premeditated and the outcome something the governing bodies should have been keen to do everything in their powers to condemn. The FA didn’t agree. This time they claimed that only in exceptional circumstances could further punishment be applied, citing the Ben Thatcher attack on Pedro Mendes as an example. Well done English FA. One moment your undermining your own referee’s for reasonably interpreting the laws of the game, the next you’re failing to offer any sanctions against those players who might take sporting endeavour a little too far. I’m sure Danny Guthrie regrets what he did, and is unlikely to make a similar rash challenge again, but what sort of message does this send out to the type of player (and yes, even after Roy Keane’s retirement, they do still exist) who see this as part and parcel of the game?

Maybe it’s just nostalgia but back in the day when we allowed Referee’s more opportunity to make their own minds up we seemed to have less controversy. Of course the media is a major cause of this. The growth of digital television and the introduction of more dedicated sports channels means broadcasters need content to fill their programmes with. Too often it looks as though football authorities are just reacting to the media clamour, rather than thinking for themselves. However, it’s just as important that when the FA (or UEFA or FIFA) do have to get involved in decision making, they get it right. I’m afraid from my viewpoint they very rarely do. I think we need an independent body to make these judgement calls, a group unconcerned with it’s own media image, made up of ex-professionals and ex-referees who actually understand and love the game. Can it really be that hard to achieve?

HEC Normal service resumed

OK, it's been two months but I'm back ... well, after a fashion.

There are lots of good Fulham blogs around now, so rather than just repeat the same stuff I'm going to take a step back and re-evaluate what I write. My original reason for starting this blog was to keep track of the games I attended and events of each season. I'll be focussing a bit more on doing just that and keeping HEC a personal record of the season. The main upshot of all this is that I'll probably only post once or twice a week and will try to avoid posting news items that you can read elsewhere. We'll see how it goes.

I've enjoyed the summer break from Fulham. I think it's good to have a bit of time away from thinking about football in general and Fulham in particular. I've made a conscious effort not to get too involved in transfer speculation or to get over excited about the coming season. I watched a fair bit of Euro 2008 and think I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I would have done if England had qualified. All the teams I supported were pretty rapidly knocked out despite early promise. Croatia, Holland, Russia all impressed but didn't go the distance. In the end, despite a typically disappointing final, the best team won. Spain were excellent throughout and I was really pleased for them. I also discovered lots of good players I'd not really seen play before (See my other blog for details HERE). All in all a very entertaining tournament which is what it's all about.

Special thanks to Flum @ TIFF for permission to use his great panorama of the Cottage. Hopefully it looks OK - I've viewed this page from three different computers and got slightly different results each time. It adds a bit of colour anyway and I'll never get tired of looking at a packed Hammersmith End.

Quick mention for this year's Fulham Review. Richard has all the details about it at Craven Cottage Newsround HERE.

So the Premier League begins in 34 days and football is about to get serious again. Can't wait.

"Wick to Wembley" goes to the F.A.Cup Final

Regular readers will know one of my friends has been following the road to Wembley this season. Having started a mere 500 yards from his front door at Chertsey Town for their extra preliminary round replay against Wick, Andy has travelled some 2354 miles, sticking with whichever team won the previous game and finally making it to the F.A. Cup Final last Saturday. You can read his report of Cup Final day here.

It was a remarkable journey, one which proves the magic of the cup is still alive and well, and that the Premier League is not the be all and end all when it comes to great football. In my view it was a special year for the F.A. Cup and, whilst not a classic game of football, the final was as enthralling as any in recent years. Congratulations to Portsmouth fans everywhere (even the annoying tattooed one with the bell!) for being the first winners from outside the big four for thirteen years. I started following Fulham after our F.A. Cup final appearance in '75, I'd love to see us get back there with Roy.

Paul Jewell gets angry

No one's going to argue that Fulham haven't had a shocking season so far. However bad it might have been for us, spare a thought for fans of Derby County. A paltry 9 points, a goal difference of minus 44 and only one win. A team already resigned to relegation and fast closing in on Sunderland's record for the lowest ever Premier League points tally. A grim season then but they could play a huge part in our own fate. They face Sunderland at home on Saturday, will play us in a few weeks time and entertain Reading in their final game of the season.

Paul Jewell was not hiding his anger after their 2-0 loss at Wigan last week and didn't mince his words "I'm embarrassed at the way we played. I can accept losing but not like that, it was a disgrace. Some players are not worthy of being here and the sooner we can get them out the better". I like Jewell a lot. I was a big admirer of the Wigan side he got promoted to the Premier League, and considered him a decent propostition for Fulham manager following the departures of both Coleman and Sanchez. I'm not saying I'd take him over Roy now, I like Hodgson enormously, but if we did find ourselves looking for a new manager I think we could do a lot worse than look at Jewell. He has a passion for the game I like and (though my view could be skewed by that fairly brief spell with Wigan) seems to like to play football.

He hadn't calmed down by Tuesday when the BBC Derby spoke to him "I don't regret it at all, What I said was true, 100% true. I'll defend the players whenever I possibly can if there is decent reason. But I'm still angry now and it's Tuesday morning. I have to stand in front of the media and justify certain things - or try to justify certain things. But I'm not going to try and justify the performance I witnessed on Saturday". Sometimes it's easy for a manager to lose his rag with the players and then find he's still not capable of getting the reaction he wants. Jewell must know that this Saturday is as good a chance of adding three points as they're likely to get (Fulham aside) and I don't think there will be anyone in the Derby squad this Saturday under any illusions about what is expected - "I have to be careful I don't make changes for the sake of it but if I was out of the team on Saturday I'd certainly expect to be in it this Saturday".

As we go into a game that no one expects us to win, Derby might actually be able to make a more significant contribution to our survival attempt. I've got everything crossed!

Two points for a win?

Written by Richard of Craven Cottage Newsround in his Times blog THIS article should be required reading for all fans of football. I'm convinced, have a read and make your own mind up.

The right man for the job?

The last 3 months have seen a fairly high turnover of managers throughout the English leagues. Unlike players, who can be judged on actual performances, assessing how good a manager is can be a more nubilous task. Watching your own players week in week out gives a much clearer view of their style and ability than you can gain for players of other teams who you only see play occasionally. With a manager, whilst you can see certain characteristics in the way his team plays, it’s more difficult to judge exactly how good he is at his job. Most of what he does on a day to day basis is done away from the public view, and so opinions tend to be based on 5 minute post-match interviews or rumours picked up from people "in the know". The bottom line for all managers is that, no matter how good you might be as a coach, you will be judged on results and often won’t get much time to change things if those results are not going well.

What I am trying to get to here is how do you judge when enough is enough and it’s time for a change or when giving a manager more time will yield the right results. It’s clear the best managers around now tend to be the ones who have been in their jobs for longest. A quick look at the League Managers Association website shows the current top 10 to be thus;



I think it’s surprising to see that it’s possible to make the top ten after only 3 seasons but It’s also interesting to note that, with all but a couple of exceptions, the clubs involved are currently in the top half of their respective tables and several of them pushing for promotion or silverware.

Just giving a manager time does not, on its own, mean you’re going to do well. You need to pick the right man for the job in the first place and THAT is the crux of my post. How do you pick the right man? What indications are there to know you’ve found someone who will take the club forward? I think many recent premier league appointments have shown how difficult that is.

Bolton Wanderers are a good example of the quandary. When Sam Allardyce left I think everyone expected them to find life difficult. They choose Allardyce’s assistant Sammy Lee in an attempt to maintain consistency. It didn’t look good from the start, and as Lee tried to introduce a more classic passing style of football to the side, the results were poor and papers were full of reports about fall outs with senior players and disharmony in the squad. When Lee was subsequently sacked Bolton fan’s must have been hoping for a "name" manager to fill the role. Someone with a "proven track record". Instead they got Gary Megson who was instantly derided in the media and not given a particularly warm welcome by the fans. Less than two months in and, following some great results in Europe and at home, Megson’s name is being sung with gusto. Megson does have a track record, but bar two promotions to the Premier League with West Brom he's not looked that impressive. Has he learnt from past mistakes? Should he have been given more time at previous clubs?

Down the bottom of the Premier League Derby, Wigan, Birmingham, Bolton and Spurs have all changed their manager this season. Arguably those five clubs have all seen an upturn in fortune. It's still early days but I reckon the fans of those teams are happier now than they were. That leaves only us, Middlesbrough and Sunderland sticking with the men that began this campaign. I’m sure Roy Keane will see the season out whatever happens to his team (if nothing else keeps him in the job, who would have the guts to sack him?) and Southgate has a very supportive chairman who would not make any changes rashly. Does Sanchez have the support of our board? They certainly backed him in the summer with a decent investment, but are they prepared to stand by their man in the longer term.

Is Sanchez the right man to take us forward or should we fire him now and begin the search again? There are some interesting names out of work right now; Billy Davies, Martin Jol, Martin Allen, Paul Bracewell, Roy Hodgson, Gerrard Houllier, Leroy Rosenior, Terry Butcher, Glenn Hoddle, Joe Royle, Berti Vogts, Marcello Lippi even Jose Mourinho. Probably reading that list there are names that get you excited and others that make you cringe, but I wonder how many we’d all agree on. Being realistic we’re unlikely to see Mourinho or Lippi rolling up at Craven Cottage any time soon but there are some good options should we (or in reality the board) decide it's time for a change. For now Sanchez is still the man but, if he’s going to stay in the job, he needs to get some results very quickly.

A visit to the Emirates

Regular readers of the Chronicle will be aware that my eldest son, Ben (previously referred to as Chop Jr, which would have worked if I could have found a snappier nickname for George. Chop Jr 2 was the best I could manage which didn't really achieve the comic genius I was after and took longer to type), is an Arsenal supporter. I still cling to the faint hope that when he gets older (he's 7 now) he might change his allegiance to Fulham. However, every week that goes by the more I realise that is never going to happen. On Monday we took one more step along that road. Ben got some vouchers for Christmas for a tour of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. For one reason or another it's taken us a long time to find a date when we were able to go, but finally, and ironically less that 7 days before the Whites take to the very same field, we made it up there on Monday.

As a Fulham fan I am fiercely proud of our "little" ground, it's still full of character, even after the recent modernisation and having spent so long within it's confines there are few places where I feel more at home. However, as modern stadia go, the Emirates (which is a crap name, I don't really care how much money you're getting for naming rights it's not the same as giving a ground a proper moniker) Stadium is pretty impressive. The whole tour took an hour and was very well presented. I remember as a kid I did the Wembley tour a couple of times, and that was really special, the Emirates inevitably does not have the same sense of history yet but it is still worth looking round. From the executive seating areas with very comfy seats to the players entrance with an imposing facade for visiting teams and an underfloor time capsule. From the dug out along side the immaculate pitch to the home dressing room with its feng shui design. Everything is very modern and yet very well designed. I'd really like to go and see Fulham play there, this coming Sunday has come too soon,but maybe next season I can make it along. I did place my own special voodoo curse on the ground by wearing my Fulham hat and reciting the ancient gypsy spell "comeonyouwhites" repeatedly in the home dressing room. Let's hope it works.

Ben loved the whole day. We also took the time to find the massive A R S E N A L letters over the clock end bridge and walked back to Highbury to see what remains of that once special stadium. When I asked him what his favourite part of the day was he looked at me with a certain look in his eye and said "I can't say the shop can I?".

Here's some photos for those that are interested.

The Wisdom of George

I've just finished reading George Cohen's autobiography, the aptly titled "My Autobiography". My Dad got me a signed copy for my birthday (thanks Dad!) and it's a really great read. Well written and astutely observed, George cuts straight to the point without ever being caustic. In one of the earlier chapter's George makes some excellent comments about the game of football which seem to me, to have a great deal of relevance to both Chris Coleman's recent reign and Lawrie Sanchez' forthcoming campaign.

"Football is a simple game but a lot of hard work goes into making it so ... it will always be about time and space."

"It is not rocket science or advanced calculus, but it is a lot of hard work and a lot of concentration and if you don't learn to think and sweat at the same time you're going to be in a lot of trouble"

I think these are statements that Lawrie would agree with completely and might be considered the blueprint for the way we are going to play. I'm sure Cookie would agree with them as well, but I'm not so sure he was able to put it across as succinctly as George does.

One last quote from George that made me chuckle, Alf Ramsey in plotting England's route past Portugal to the 66 World Cup final told Nobby Stiles "I want you to take Eusebio out of the game" to which Nobby paused for a few seconds before replying "Do you mean for life Alf?"

Get your own copy at Amazon.co.uk or at AbeBooks.co.uk.

Dario G

Dario Gradi is a football legend and deservedly so, his 24 years at Crewe is something to be proud of on its own, let alone the list of great players that have departed that club for bigger things. The BBC have a great article here about the planned handover of the managerial reigns from Dario to current academy boss Steve Holland. When Gradi finally makes way he will hand over the title of longest serving English football boss to Sir Alex Ferguson. I bet Fergie doesn't manage to give up the reigns at Old Trafford with as much dignity.

The list of former players makes impressive reading and includes David Platt, Rob Jones, Craig Hignett, Neil Lennon, Danny Murphy, Dean Ashton and of course ex-Fulham midfielder Wayne Collins. The one thing they all had in common was the ability to play good football. My other interest in Dario G is due to friends of my parents who lived in a maisonette above Dario's Mum. I had hoped that one day we might bump into him and could invite him up for a cup of tea and a bit of cake while we chatted about football, but alas it never happened. I wish Crewe well for the coming season and hope they have found the man to lead them on through the next 25 years.

It's all gone horribly wrong

No not the Lee Cook transfer. My six-a-side football team lost today in our last game of the season and in doing so blew our, admittedly slim, chance of winning the inter-department league. I'm gutted. I've been playing in this damn league for getting on for 18 years now and only managed to win it twice, both times when I sold my sole to the devil and played for our office equivalent of Manchester United. This would have been my first ever victory with my own team. We'd beaten said Man Utd clones a week ago, and had then seen results go our way setting up a final week in which we still had a chance of taking the title. Today we played an unfancied side, but with one player less (key man Brown choosing fishing over football) and needing to win by 3 clear goals. It was always going to be tough but we were 1-0 up at the break and the title looked on.

I had gambled on using the fresher legs of Welsh Boy Jones on pitch with me in goal but that plan fell apart as I made a series of catastrophic errors in the second half. I'd also broken my glasses in the first half which didn't help. Ginger Rich worked hard to cover the defence but as we pushed forward to try and score the necessary goals I was caught in no-man's land too many times and we ran out 4-1 losers. Jones scored our goal to finish as our top scorer - which is more than impressive when you realise he played over 3/4 of our matches in goal. I had hoped a league title might be seen as some kind of good omen for the coming season but it wasn't to be. I blame Brown. Fishing! I ask you.

OK so we haven’t got Lee Cook after all (I knew I’d end up regretting doing that piece yesterday) but there still seems to be a good chance we will get him in the end. He was born in Hammersmith and grew up a Ranger's fan but, despite rumours that he hates Fulham, it sounds like he wants Premiership Football and is happy to come to us. Fingers crossed, I've a good feeling about this one.