Fulham 4 Juventus 1 - Greatest match of my life

OK, it's a little after the fact but I need to get some words down about this if only for my own memories.

The Old Lady comes to the Cottage. It was always going to be a special night. A chance to play one of the biggest teams in Europe doesn't come along too often and you've got to make the most of it when it does. I'm wearing my lucky socks and my lucky top. I've placed my lucky bet on the opposition. We've driven down our lucky road and made sure my Dad has made his lucky touch of Johnny Haynes' boot. We enter via my lucky turnstile. Done everything we can to help the cause.

The 3-1 loss in Turin had set us a difficult task but that away goal, Dickson's sliced shot in off someone's shin, gave us hope and a lifeline. As long as we don't concede an early goal we'll be ok.

One minute twenty six seconds in. Diego twists and turns in the box and is half blocked. Hangeland tries to clear but doesn't connect. Trezeguet, on the floor from an earlier effort, picks himself up and slots home a sharp finish.

Bugger.

The ground is packed. We've sold out and it's full of Fulham fans (or mates of Fulham fans). There's a brief lull in the atmosphere. We let the facts sink in. 4-1 down with our away goal advantage nullified. It's not gonna happen now is it, but no-one wants the party to end this soon and the atmosphere starts to build again.

Fulham dust themselves down as well. We push on and find ourselves attacking freely. A left foot cross from Konchesky is chested down by Zamora. World Cup winning captain Cannavaro is brushed aside and attempts a quadruple roll to convince the Ref he was fouled. He wasn't, he's just not as good as he used to be. Zamora controls the ball, turns, and fires a bullet volley past the 'Keeper into the bottom corner of the net.

That goal gives everyone a lift. Fulham continue to press. A through ball from Chris Baird looks to have put Zoltan Gera through on goal. Cannavaro falls over again and takes Gera down. There's a pause then a red card flashes. A melee ensues as the Italians argue fruitlessly. Eventually the Juve Captain accepts his fate and hurdles the "Respect" hoarding on his way off the pitch. A nice exit if nothing else. Zamora takes the free kick and, from the distance of the Hammy End, it seems destined for the top corner. The big hand of 3rd choice goalie Antonio Chimenti arrives to push it over the bar.

Fulham keep the pressure on. A Simon Davies freekick eludes everyone before smacking against the far post, then Dickson Etuhu gets his head to a corner and finds the same bit of wood. It's all Fulham. When the second goal comes it's a tremendous team effort. Konchesky rampages down the left wing and sends a firm pass into Zamora's feet. Bobby flicks the ball into the box with the outside of his right foot. Simon Davies, who has tracked across from the other flank, collects the ball and cuts it back from the bye line to where Gera is waiting to fire into the roof of the net. 2-1 Fulham, game on!

It's a thrilling game already but as the half time break gives us a chance to catch our breath we know there's a long way to go. Surely Juve will come out reorganised and more determined.

Fulham start the second spell with the same level of passion and effort they ended the first. Damien Duff drives down the right flank, fires in a cross and catches a gold shirted arm. Penalty says the (frankly quite Fulham friendly) Ref. No Murphy tonight but up steps Mr Gera. I'm not confident, but Zoltan has no fear. A fine penalty whipped into the bottom left corner as Chimenti dives the other way. A double sommersault from Zolo and then he's mobbed by the team. All square and now anything could happen.

With 70 minutes gone Dempsey replaces Kelly. His arrival sees a big re-shuffle. Davies goes to right back, Gera trots out to the left side and Dempsey takes over in the hole. It seems like a lot of change to incorporate one player.

Dempsey has an early header saved by Chimenti. Davies and Duff are now causing chaos down the right hand side. Gera, who initially looked peeved to be moved, begins to find space on the left. We're not sitting back and Juve are praying for penalties. Time ticks away and there's a sharp reminder of how delicate the balance of the tie is. Juventus gain possession for long enough to send a shot low and wide of Schwarzer's right hand post. Not that close but close enough.

Then it happened. Dempsey recieves the ball from Etuhu on the edge of the box, his back to goal. He turns into space, leans back a little and floats a chip towards goal. From behind it happens in slow motion. The ball rises high into the air, it looks like he's over hit a cross, but no. It's coming down towards the top corner. Surely not. That can't go in? Oh my word! It can! It has. YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

There's a primal roar around the Cottage. The noise of almost 25,000 celebrating as one. Dempsey charges down in front of the Hammy End. Pumping his shirt and slapping his badge. This is what he can do. This is why Roy wanted him on the pitch. This is football genius. From 4-1 down to 5-4 up.

Against all the odds we're through. The quarter finals await.

The journey home is punctuated by the sound of congratulatory texts. I'm in a daze, reliving each moment and laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

Friday morning and we're the big news. Radio 5 and Talk Sport are both leading with our amazing victory. We're headline news on Sky. It's real. I seem to spend most of the day taking congratualtions from people at work and explaining what an incredible night it was. Even now as I write, three days later, I'm full of pride and pleasure at what happened on Thursday.

We lost to Man City today. I really don't care. I can't remember a loss affecting me less. We were below par for sure but still gave them a scare. A few players were rested, a few reserves had the chance of a run. It felt like a training game. Preperation for the big matches to come. It's been another amazing season already but there's a chance it could become a very special one indeed.

Omens and viewpoints

It being a cup game I found myself in the Johnny Haynes stand yesterday for the F.A Cup quarter final against Spurs. I'd thought when booking the tickets it would be good to be closer to the action. We'd been in the Riverside for the Shakhtar match and enjoyed the change of scene. The old Stevenage Road stand is shallower and really we were too low to have a great view of the action, that combined with my own sense of foreboding and a tight and, at times, scrappy affair led to an uncomfortable 90 minutes. In fact I can't remember enjoying a game that we've not lost less. As the last few minutes ticked away I could visualise both the elation of a goal for us and the gut wrenching disappointment of a goal for Spurs.

During the week my Mini had reached the unusual landmark of 66,666.6 miles, something that I noticed approaching by chance and managed to capture on camera. Note to any Police officers reading this, I had pulled over and safely parked the car before taking the shot. It did take a bit of doing though to find somewhere suitable at the right moment. This felt like it might be an omen of some kind. You'll probably realise by now I'm quite superstitious.

The first half seemed to be all Spurs. They're no Shakthar Donestk, but they made more use of the ball going forward. Fulham struggled to find any rhythm but remained stoically organised and limited Tottenham to a weak header from Peter Crouch and a Kranjar shot from the edge of the box. Crouch, who was all elbows and whinging, may well have risen to my top five most disliked players in the premier league.

The second half was much better, as Fulham attacked with more purpose and the game opened up a little. We really missed the guile of Danny Murphy in midfield. Jonathan Greening can be a tidy player but I could count the number of forward passes he made on one hand and none of them had the direction or purpose that Murphy might have achieved. Our forward play therefore tended to be a bit repetitive and lacked any real drive or speed of thought. Too many times we'd break down the wing but then slow down the play until we had few options available or simply gave the ball away. I felt yesterday was an occasion when switching the wingers might have shaken things up a bit. Duff and Davies (though to be honest the Welsh wonder had a poor game) bombing down the wing and slinging a cross into the box might have created something our patient build up could not. Though, I guess, that's not really us.

Credit goes to Dickson who had a fine game in the middle and also Chris Baird who seemed to see a lot of the ball. On a positive note we're still in the hat and will at least know who we might face by the time of the replay. The initiative is definitely with Tottenham now but we've got nothing to lose. Maybe Murphy will be back and we'll have one more massive performance in us.

Oh my giddy aunt!

We're through to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup!!! (Yeah I know it's not called that anymore, but still.)

Very proud of the team tonight after a sterling performance. Weathered the storm early on, scored a vital away goal thanks to a towering header from Brede and held on till the end. Danny's red card was the only sour note and he'll know he let his emotions get the better of him. The challenge on Duff (and unneccessary follow up) just seconds before was far more worthy of seeing red. I've never seen Roy react so angrily. All that matters is we're through and the journey continues. Amazing time to be a Fulham supporter.

Photo courtesy FulhamFC.com

FFC Paintball

A random internet search tonight plucked this gem of a picture from the jaws of obscurity. It must have been during Lawrie Sanchez' one and only pre-season prep. Lots of happy smiling faces (apart from Wayne Brown strangely). I'm looking forward to Burnley tomorrow night, they were the team I saw play against Fulham in my very first match. How far we've both come since then.

Fulham FC at Campaign Paintball

Public Service Announcement

That most erudite of Fulham message boards has a new home. If you're familiar with FoF it won't look fantastically different but the team have made some nice improvements and, I think, are hoping for improved speed and reliability. So far I like what I see.

http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php

They've been working quite hard on the rest of the site as well and already have a new Links list and a "Decent Pubs" map available from the front page.

http://www.friendsoffulham.com/home.php

It's been a month since I saw the Whites in action and I'm chomping at the bit to see some live football. January hasn't been kind, though we have at least successfully navigated two rounds of the F.A. Cup. Tricky game at Quiet Hart Lane tomorrow night then my tension can be relieved with the visit of Villa on Saturday.

Reasons for loving Hodgson no. 624

Roy's been linked with the Liverpool job. This is happening more often of late. Mr Hodgson being linked with "bigger" jobs. Each time I see one mentioned it makes me both proud and fearful. I know he's happy doing the job he's doing, but you couldn't blame him if one day he decides he'd like one last shot in a major job. Then he goes and says something like this,

"It's nice I'm being linked here and there, but it's not something I was aware of. We all know it's part of football. We also know the sword has two sides. One minute the sword is tapping you on your shoulder and asking you to arise, the next thing it's being used to cut your head off."

and I can breath a little easier.

I've missed the football today. The last time I went was for the Spurs game on Boxing Day and the next time I'm going is January 30th for the Villa game. It's been too long already and there's another two weeks to go. Ho-hum. Back to my chore list I suppose.

Snow fun and heartfelt thanks

Hello again and a very Happy New Year to you all.

I had planned to write a review of 2009 but as yet I've not found the time to finish it off. As you can tell from the photo below I've had many important and pressing engagements to take care of!

However, I do have a little heart warming tale to tell. Cast your minds back to the home game against Man United. You're smiling already, I can tell. That was, for obvious reasons, a very happy day. I'd planned to drive that day, to give my Dad a break as he travels to mine from East Sussex, but for one reason or another I didn't. As I didn't need them to hand I'd casually chucked my keys in my coat pocket. A pocket with a zip that inexplicably I didn't use. We scored three goals. I jumped up and down like a loon three times. Unbeknown to me my keys fell out of pocket during one of these moments of ecstasy. I'm guessing it was following Damien Duff's match ending volley.

It wasn't until we arrived home that I realised my keys were no longer there. I searched my coat, I searched my jeans, I searched Dad's car. No keys. Anyone who has heard about my travails with my glasses will know this sort of thing happens to me more often than they should for a 40 year old father of two! I rang the club and got through to Tommy on the enquiries line. He was really helpful and checked straight away to find out if they'd been handed in before advising me to ring the security office directly the next day.

The security team do a number of sweeps through the ground following a game, but none of these discovered my keys. In the afternoon I rang again and spoke to Ricky, a different member of the security team. I described where I sit and mentioned the concrete ledge that runs along the edge of the stand. Within an hour he called me back to say he'd found them and I could collect them any time. A quick trip up to the Cottage and all was well with the world again.

Sometimes life throws these little things at you to trip you up. Sometimes they'll get you down or add a bit of stress you just didn't need. This wasn't one of those times. Lady luck was on my side. I was as happy on that Sunday afternoon as I have been for a very long time. My keys had been recovered and my team had beaten Man United 3-0.

So, not the most exciting story you've ever heard but if nothing else a chance for me to publicly thank Ricky and Tommy. It seems to me, as our "little" club has got better and bigger it's actually improved it's people skills. I think the club does a lot right - good prices, good people working for us, good business management. We're a Premier League side with a multi-million pound turnover yet we've retained the feeling of being a family club.

Thank-you Tommy. Thank-you Ricky. Thank-you Fulham.

The beautiful game

Some things I learnt from Saturday's visit of Bolton to the Cottage.

There are days when playing the beautiful game just isn't enough. Sometimes you have to work hard and grind out a result. Fulham dominated the game for long stretches but struggled to find a way to goal. At times our final ball was poor but when we did find the target Jaaskelainen was equal to most of our efforts and when he wasn't there always seemed to be a Bolton head or foot to stab the ball clear. In the end we were lucky to rescue a point.

Gary Megson deserves some credit for recreating an exact facsimilie of Sam Allardyce's Bolton team circa 2003. I'm not the most tactically astute but it doesn't take a genius to understand the Big Sam/Ginger Meg master plan.
1. Kick 'em early and kick 'em hard.
2. Keep kicking them until you can't get away with it any more.
3. Take every opportunity to win a free kick or a corner.
4. Once you've won a dead ball lob it in the box and win it in the air.
5. In the unlikely event you take the lead, defend like billy-o.
It's not pretty but it is effective.

Had Kevin Blom been refereeing this game I doubt Bolton would have finished with more than 8 men. Steve Bennett managed to book 6 Wanderers for a succession of crude and reckless challenges (and Jonathon Greening for an equally poor lunge at Klasnic) but became more and more lenient as the game progressed. The building frustration from our lack of a goal and the unpunished thuggery began to take its toll. On my language if nothing else.

Hodgson era Fulham are no walkovers. This was not a vintage performance but the team deserve credit for their persistance and hard work. We missed the presence of Zamora up front. Dempsey works very hard but doesn't seem to get the rub of the green when he's the lead man up front. We were rescued by a touch of class from Damien Duff and a deflection off Gary Cahill's knee. I celebrated the 75th minute equaliser the way I might have done a winner in any other game.

A sigh of relief at the end, Bolton deserved their point but we fought hard to preserve our unbeaten home record against them since we were both promoted in 2001.

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.

Rome in a day

Looking back over my 35 or so years following Fulham there are many milestone games that stand out. These are matches that live long in the memory and often indicate how well (or how badly) we were doing at the time. The home draw against Lincoln in 1982 that confirmed our promotion (and the first since I'd been going) to Division 2. The travesty at the Baseball ground that ended our hopes of returning to the top flight in 1983. Relegation at the Vetch Field, promotion at Carlisle (even though I wasn't there), the FA Cup victory at Villa park and the subsequent loss at Old Trafford.

There are more of course, some possibly unique to me. I still vividly remember a home game against Walsall when Ian Branfoot had taken over. Possibly our first game in the basement division and one we were losing 1-0 going into the final ten minutes. When Kevin Moore's late header crashed into the net I celebrated like we'd won the league and shed a tear that might have been welling up inside me since that long journey home from Swansea the previous season. I've no doubt that, despite the result, this trip will be another one of those special games.

Me and my friend Mark had booked ourselves on the Fulham flyer. The easy option and, based on our fairly inept attempts looking for independent alternatives, not massively over priced (turns out lots of people found decent deals. Maybe next time!). We left Shepperton at a hideous time in the morning and, once we'd navigated the barrage of Gatwick security (belts off? shoes off? at this hour in the morning?), found ourselves with a couple of hours to kill mooching about the airport shops. I was just admiring the impressive collection of hugely expensive malt whiskey when a familiar face appeared. I knew Rob, of Following the Fulham, was going to be on the flyer and it was great to meet up for the first time in person. This was to be a theme of the trip, meeting people we half knew from the Cottage or making new friends with people we didn't. It's part of what makes Fulham special. Most of us are surprised and delighted to meet someone else who supports the Whites (it didn't used to happen very often). I'm sure this isn't the case if you're a Man Utd supporter.

On arrival in Rome we had an early introduction to Italian driving. After a short pause to watch the baggage handlers look quizzically at an empty luggage hold we began an erratic journey from plane to terminal. Our bus driver seemed uncertain of the exact route to take. We were tooted by one airport driver who we'd just cut up then managed to jump a queue of traffic as our man decided to take the direct approach rather than follow everyone else. Once disembarked, our route through the terminal and onto the coaches was marked by a string of armed Italian police. Maintaining their steely glares there was a hint of bemusement as 300 or so quiet and well behaved Fulham fans strolled past them. I imagine they were expecting something quite different from a visiting English football team. This didn't prevent them from throwing themselves into the role. We had a police escort all the way into town (flashing lights and everything) which seemed, in many ways, to only draw attention to the fact we were there.

Once we reached the drop off point at Villa Borghese we were free to explore. Three hours in the city centre didn't leave much time so we made a whistle stop tour of the main attractions. Spanish Steps - tick. Trevi Fountain - tick. Coliseum - tick. Rob had got to know Tim on the plane who, as a regular visitor to Italy, briefly acted as our guide before being hijacked by a man who claimed he ran the best restaurant in Rome. On our way down to the Coliseum we bumped into the two blokes who sit in front of us in H7. Meeting so many people we half knew or had something in common gave the whole day a slightly surreal feel. Having done the tourist thing we set off in search of food and drink. With nearly all aspects of the trip providing no alcohol (dry flight, dry coach, dry stadium, dry return journey!) the chance to have a pizza and a couple of peronis was gratefully accepted.

Trying to look Italian in front of the Coliseum whilst the ever present Silvio Berlusconi looms in the background

We had a strict return time of 15:30 to catch the coaches into the stadium. This had always seemed unnecessarily early and inevitably, despite the suggestion they'd leave no later than 15:35, it was some time before we even got on the coach. This did enable us to meet more neighbours from H7. Val, Bernard and Henry had got a £2.99 flight from East Midlands airport and were staying over night. There was a huge Police presence and we apparently had to wait for them to search everyone before we boarded. They seemed in no rush to get started and I couldn't help wonder if Fulham had got their time zones confused. After a good hour of posing and looking tough they finally completed a half-hearted search and we were piled onto the coaches. Another long pause before we made our way through town (more flashing lights and sirens) to the Stadio Olimpico. Driven straight into the away fans enclosure we saw no sign of any Roma fans and little evidence that there was a game on at all. We filtered off the coaches towards the Distinti Nord Ovest entrance and at last it felt like we were at a football match. Fulham fans singing and joking as we shuffled our way through the turnstiles.

Police at Villa Borghese

The Stadio Olimpico is deceptively sized. It doesn't dominate the skyline from the outside and whilst clearly large when you're inside there's a different sense of scale that may be a result of its Olympic history. It's still an impressive stadium but I didn't get the same impact I felt the first time I went to Villa Park or Old Trafford. A huge expanse of empty seats probably didn't help, the crowd of 20,000 swallowed up by the 76,000 capacity venue. It's a ground with history though. This is where Liverpool won the European Cup twice (against Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1977 and A.S. Roma in 1984), where West Germany beat Argentina to win the 1990 World Cup, and where F.C. Barcelona humbled Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final. A special place and a rare chance to see Fulham play there.

Nice stadium, if it was full

I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck as the two teams came out for kick-off. This was what it was all about. Fulham settled down quickly and the early exchanges suggested we were in for a tightly contested match. We looked comfortable on the ball but lacked a bit of composure with the final ball. Roma were slow off the blocks but had moments of great touch that hinted of more to come. A long ball to Dempsey who then played a wonderful ball into the box for Kamara to chase, a tap on the ankle and down Joe went. Surely not? But yes - a penalty kick. Diomansy dusted himself off and fired home the spot kick to the mass delight of 2000 travelling supporters. Blimey, 15 minutes gone and we're winning 1-0 in Rome.

Kamara's PK hits the back of the net in blurry vision

We comfortably held our own until the break. The joy we felt at half time was short lived. With less than 5 minutes gone in the second half Nevland (on for the injured Kamara) made an ill judged challenge on De Rossi. A poor tackle for sure, but one that would have got a yellow card in the Premier League. As referee Kevin Blom pulled out the red card 2000 hearts sank as one. We were still 1-0 up but with over 40 minutes to play we all knew the task had just got very much harder. Inevitably, despite stubborn resistance from the Fulham defence, Roma found a way through. A deflected bullet from Roma's Riise followed by an unchallenged header from the brilliantly named Okaka Chuka. 2-1 Roma and they shut up shop.

Roma Ultras, or at least those that could be bothered to turn up

The boys on the pitch did us proud though. They never gave up and, as the final minutes ticked past, created a few half chances to keep us on the edge of our seats. Another straight Red that should have been Yellow saw Konchesky leave the field, but even then we would not bow. Hangeland pushed himself forward and we almost scrambled a late goal. We certainly deserved it but there was no fairy tale ending. The away fans cheered the team off. Hangeland and Paintsil made the effort to come down to where we sat and applauded our contribution (JP kicking the match ball into our reach for someone to claim as a souvenir). As they trudged back to the dressing room it was clear the hurt was as bad for them as it was for us.

Schwarzer fires off a bomb of a goal kick

The last time I'd been made to wait behind after the game we'd just drawn 4-4 with Pompey. This was not quite so fun but still dealt with in good spirit by the Fulham faithful. Most of the Roma fans must have been tucked up in bed with a coco by the time we were allowed to head home but yet again we were met by a variety of armed Italian law enforcers. Back onto our coach (No.3 which had gallantly led the way all day), more flashing lights and an escort all the way to the terminal. A long wait at an apparently deserted Fiumicino Airport before a turbulent flight back to blighty. I eventually crawled into bed at three in the morning. A very long day and one that hadn't fulfilled all my dreams but a journey to remember.

Who's that team we all adore?

Farewell Sir Bobby

A Fulham legend and all round footballing good guy.

This Is The End ...

OK, I know I've said this a few times before but it's time for me to take a break from blogging about Fulham. I've not really had the time to do this blog justice and I need to focus on some other stuff for a while. It might be back at some point in the future but only if I think it can add something worthwhile to the mass of Fulham related discussion that exists elsewhere.

In the mean time I recommend you point your browser at some of these fine Fulham sites.

Craven Cottage Newsround - A great Fulham blog that covers all aspects of the club (though taking a well earned break right now).

HammyEnd.com - The place to look for daily updates of all the Fulham news and some well thought out articles as well.

Friends of Fulham - My current favourite message board (though you can never completely ignore TiFF)

Or any of the sites linked from my sidebar (the place you'll also find Gordon Mills' excellent nostalgia series)

I'll still be writing my Top 5 blog (though maybe not quite so frequently), I've got some big decisions to make on the work front and a big list of jobs to do at home. If all that goes well, I may even get around to learning how to play the guitar properly!

Enjoy Fulham in Europe - Come on you Whites!

HEC 2008-09 End Of Season - Optimism Chart

Long term readers will be familiar with my optimism chart. This is my attempt to sum up the season with a graphical view of how optimistic I felt (the blue line) as the season progressed. Our actual league position is shown by the red line. Last years chart is here if you want to compare.



That's a pretty flat line which is partially down to, what turned out to be, a fairly comfortable season. I think it also has a lot to do with Roy's football philosophy rubbing off on me. We're going to have good days and bad days but we shouldn't get over excited or massively concerned about either. That said, I couldn't help but be enthusiastic after the Man Utd win and the brilliant finish!

HEC 2008-09 End Of Season - Awards

My view on what has been a fantastic season from start to end. There were lots of tough choices to make which is a good sign of how well things went. Although these awards identify individuals for praise the success we achieved was all about how we performed as a team. The sum of our parts was greater than the separate components and that's down to Mr Roy Hodgson.

Player of the Season: Brede Hangeland - This was really tough to choose which is probably one of the reasons our season turned out so well. For me it was between Brede and Danny Murphy. Both had exceptional seasons and were key players in getting the results we achieved. Up until a week go I was going with Murphy but I think I may have just got so used to Hangeland doing what he does I almost took it for granted. Strong in the air, comfortable on the ball and intelligent with his movement, Brede is all you could ask for in a centre back. (Last season: Simon Davies)

Young Player of Season: Wayne Brown - Well there weren't many options in this category. I've watched Wayne play a few times for the reserves and liked what I saw. He seems to have made progress this season and got a brief taste of Premier League football (albeit just four minutes) when he replaced Zoltan Gera at Old Trafford. His recent loan move, to TPS Turku of Finland, can only be good for his development. (Last season: Elliott Omozusi)

Best New Signing: Mark Schwarzer - Another contender for player of the season. Schwarzer was our first signing of the summer, filling that Edwin van der Sar shaped gap we've been struggling with for some time. He has been fabulously consistent all year and has rightly been identified as one of the best keeper's in the League. (Last Season: Paul Konchesky)

Goal of the Season: Zoltan Gera v Man Utd - We've not scored many spectacular goals this year. Paul Konchesky's at West Ham is the only one that really stands out. Zoltan's overhead volley wasn't the most technically brilliant of goals but it meant so much and felt so sweet. (Last Season: Diomansy Kamara v Spurs)

Moment of the Season: Finishing 7th and reaching Europe - It's actually been a season of great moments; the home wins against Arsenal and Man Utd, Dempsey's equalising header against them and being safe from relegation in March. They were all signposts along the route to; our best ever finish in the top flight, the most points we've ever achieved, our highest final position and qualifying for the inaugural Europa League. Brilliant. Bloody brilliant. (Last Season: Kamara's double v Man City)

Most Improved Player: Dickson Etuhu - I had no great expectations for Dickson when he arrived. There had been some strong words of opposition on TFi before he came but that apart I don't think anyone thought he'd be much more than a squad player. When a mop haired midfielder left and Dickson stepped up I thought it was only a temporary fill. He did OK but nothing to suggest he could hold down a regular place. But he did just that. He grew in confidence as each game went by and before long it was clear he WAS going to be a regular and a good one at that. He's become one of my favourite players, anchoring the midfield, freeing Danny Murphy and just playing simple but effective football. Dickson? SHOOOOOT! (Last season: No award)

Most Disappointing Player: No award - Yet again I don't think there's anyone who hasn't tried their best for the club this year. It may not have gone as smoothly for some as they would have liked but they've given it their best shot. (Last season: No award)

Most Underrated Player: Aaron Hughes - Can a player be underrated two years in a row? To be honest I think we all know how important Aaron is to our defence. He's one of the reasons Hangeland looks so good. Always there to tidy up at the back, cover for someone who's out of position or put in a late block. He's only underrated because there are so many other players around him getting the plaudits. A top bloke and a smashing footballer. (Last season: Aaron Hughes)

Player Performance: Murphy v Swansea City - Having scraped through the first game by the skin of our teeth, we found ourselves a goal down at home in the replay. We weren't playing badly but we were running out of ideas. Danny entered the fray on the hour mark and totally turned the game around. He's been running our midfield all season but this was spectacular proof of his all round ability. (Last season: Jimmy Bullard v Aston Villa)

Team Performance: Home v Man Utd - Quite possibly the best Fulham performance I've ever seen. Just two weeks after United had brushed us aside in the F.A. Cup this was the Hodgson team at its very best. A brilliant atmosphere from start to finish. A classy Danny Murphy penalty. Ridiculing the World and European footballer of the year. A winning goal from a remarkable over head kick. Great times. (Last season: Away v Reading)

Best Opposition: Manchester United - This for their 4-0 victory at the Cottage in the cup. For 20 minutes we seemed to have their measure but they were in determined mood that day. Stepped it up a notch got a bit of good fortune and took us to the cleaners. I was also very impressed with Everton on the last day of the season, even more so considering they had the F.A. Cup final on the horizon. A special mention for Swansea who were excellent in both cup games, and Sunderland who caught us on a very bad day but certainly didn't look like relegation candidates. (Last season: Tottenham Hotspur)

Best Opposition Player: Stephen Piennar - Strong running, intelligent midfielder. Did a lot of the hard work for the Toffees and proved too much for us to handle. Enabled players like Cahill and Leon Osman the opportunities to cause us all sorts of problems. (Last season: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool))

Best Goal Celebration: Zoltan Gera v Man Utd - It's been a difficult season for Zoltan and there was real joy in his eyes as he peeled away and ran towards the Johnny Haynes stand. (Last season: The whole team at Pompey)

Quote of the Year: Roy Hodgson "Do you want to go down the (Jamie) Redknapp route - only England, Italy and Spain count? Are we going to say 'You're from Spain, you might be just about okay but the rest of you, Switzerland, France, Poland, Russia, Austria, Ukraine, Slovenia, Serbia, you don't count?' It's nonsense" - It's unusual for Roy to criticise anyone specifically which makes his response to Jamie Redknapp's suggestion about European Refs all the more cutting. As always Roy sees the bigger picture.

Famous Fulham Fans - The Definitive List

UPDATE 17th Feb 2011 - This list is now hosted and maintained at Friends Of Fulham and available from THIS LINK. I'll keep this page here though as a staging point.

This is my latest attempt to provide a "definitive" list of famous (or at least reasonably well known) Fulham supporters. The longer the list gets the more likely it is to include people who may not really be "proper" Fulham supporters. Don't get too upset by this, my original aim was to produce as long a list as possible, so as far as I'm concerned if you've been once its enough!

I began keeping track of these names when, in searching the Internet to find just such a list, I only found two web page links ... and both were blank. I constructed my own list and then posted it on TFI to see who I had missed. This resulted in a massive response which initiated the much larger list which you will find below. The list is in no particular order and almost certainly contains "much which is apocryphal or, at the very least, wildly inaccurate". It certainly includes a number of celebrities who have now passed on, both figuratively and literally.

Subsequently I have found this site The Famous Football Supporters Page which includes a decent attempt but is by no means exhaustive. I will endeavour to maintain this list as the "official FFC Famous Fans list" and would be happy to hear from any one with information about other famous Fulham fans or corrections to the current list. Either post a comment or send me an email and I'll consider the change. Better still, if you are a famous person on the list and aren't actually a Fulham supporter, drop me a line and I'll happily take you along to a game. Hell, who wouldn't want to be on a list that includes Pussy Galore, Pope John Paul II AND The OXO Dad!

The Definitive List Of Famous Fulham F.C. Fans
Last Updated: 10th July 2010

Actors
Ray Brooks (Eastenders, Robbie Box in Big Deal & Narrator of Mr Ben)
Michael Redfern (The OXO Dad)
Hugh Grant
Liz Hurley (has apparently been spotted since splitting with Hugh)
Iain Fletcher (DC Rod Skase in The Bill)
Neil Dudgeon (BBC's Messiah - pretty sure he used to sit near me in block H3)
Sharon Duce (Now a Brighton regular but surely deep down still Fulham)
Dominic Guard (Sharon Duce's partner)
Christopher Guard (Dominic's brother & Cathy Shipton's partner)
Cathy Shipton (Nurse Duffy in Casualty)
Sue Pollard
Keith Allen
Willie Rushton
Nigel Havers
Liz Frazer (Carry-On Films)
Sam Kydd
Bella Emberg (Russ Abbott sidekick)
Pierce Brosnan
Kevork Malikyan (Greek bloke off Mind Your Language & many films)
Fulton MacKay (Mr MacKay in Porridge)
Tony Booth (Father of Cherie Blair)
Tony Curtis
Ben Chaplin (Game-On and a film with a long title)
Patrick Mower (currently Emmerdale)
John Woodvine
Ewen MacIntosh (Big Keith in "The Office")
James Villiers
Ian Cuthbertson
Hugh Laurie
Nigel Planer (The Young Ones)
Neil Pearson (Drop The Dead Donkey)
Robin Askwith (Confessions films)
George Selway (Beryl's Lot)
Maurice Kaufman
Honor Blackman
Peter Vaughan
Geraldine McKewan (Miss Marple)
Benicio Del Toro
Jack Coleman (HRG from Heroes)
Shaun Williamson (Barry from Eastenders)
Martin Wimbush

Television Celebrities
George Lamb (TV presenter & Radio DJ)
"Nasty" Nick Bateman (Big Brother)
Georgie Thompson (Sky Sports News presenter)
Isobel Lang (BBC Weather)
Emily Maitlis (BBC News)
Scorpio (from Gladiators)
Tim Ewart (ITN Sports Editor)
Des Lynham (Brighton supporter but regular attender at FFC for 2005/06)
Kirsty Gallacher (Presenter - Really a Liverpool fan but has attended in the past possibly due to her Dad)
Nick Ross (Presenter, BBC Crimewatch)
Keith Chegwin (Presenter, Chegger's Plays Pop)
Richard Parks (Fame Academy)
"Handy" Andy Kane (TV Handyman)
Janet Street Porter (Various)
Joel Defries (Blue Peter presenter)
James McQuillan (from The Apprentice 2009)

Musicians
Michael Jackson (for one game at Home to Wigan in 1997)
Ralph McTell
Dave Parsons (Bass Guitarist from Bush)
Lily Allen
Alex James (Bass Guitarist from Blur & pal of Keith Allen)
Sam Jeffers (Drummer with Fridge)
Kai Stephens (Bass Guitarist in Hard-Fi) or it could be Ross Phillips (Guitarist in Hard-Fi)
Les Gray (Singer in Mud)
Sade
Richard Drummie (Go West - though it might be Peter Cox)
Paul Roberts (Singer, The Stranglers replacing Hugh Cornwall)
Dusty Springfield
Example (Rapper)
Billy Franks (Singer, The Faith Brothers)
Kate Nash (Singer & friend of Lily Allen)
Jamie T (Singer)
Alan Price
Derek "The Draw" Hussey (Singer with The Blockheads)
Patrick Mascall (Singer & Guitarist with Von Tramp & former FFC programme editor)
The Rapture (US Dance-Punk band)
Crispian Mills (Singer with Kula Shaker)
Felix White (Guitarist with The Maccabees)
The Lurkers (Band whose debut album was "Fulham Fallout")
Mark Baron (Another Level)
Swervedriver (Indie Band)
Don Hymel (The Tim & Bob Show)
Neil Cowley (The Neil Cowley Trio)
Kylie Minogue
Ortise Williams (JLS)

Other Arts & Entertainment
John O’Farrell (Author & Broadcaster)
John Henry Ellen (Author)
Alex White (Author)
Dennis Turner (Author)
Martin Plumb (Author)
Peter Thompson (Author)
Ken Coton (Photographer)
Alex Ferguson (Famous Fan & Author)
"Diddy" David Hamilton (DJ)
Dennis Potter (Playwright)
Tommy Trinder (Comedian and ex-Chairman)
Johnny Speight (Writer of "Til Death Us Do Part")
John Sullivan (Writer of "Only Fools & Horses" and "Citizen Smith")
Eric Thompson (Writer of "The Magic Roundabout", Actor & Presenter)
Steve Steen (Comedian)
Danny Robins (Comedian)
Arthur Smith (Comedian)
Richard Kauffman (Radio 5 presenter)

Fictional
Wolfie Smith ("Citizen Smith" played by Robert Lindsey)
Terry McCann ("Minder" played by Dennis Waterman)
Ronald "Budgie" Bird ("Budgie" played by Adam Faith)
George ("Men Behaving Badly" played by Ian Lindsay)
DC "Dangerous" Davies ("The Last Detective" played by Peter Davison)
Mod ("The Last Detective" played by Sean Hughes)
Dougal ("The Magic Roundabout" in one hard to find episode)
Detective Inspector Jack Regan ("The Sweeney" played by John Thaw)
Detective Sergeant George Carter ("The Sweeney" played by Dennis Waterman)
Matty Cole ("55 Degrees North" played by Jaeden Burke)
Butch Harry ("The Italian Job")

Politicians
Steve Norris MP (was Everton but now a FFC regular)
Steve Pound MP
Martin Linton MP
Andy Slaughter MP

Sports
Jimmy Hill (ex-Player, ex-Chairman, TV Presenter & part time linesman)
Bernard Gallacher (Golfer)
Paul Duggan (Mountaineer)
Andy Woodman (Journeyman Goalkeeper - suggested he may be a Palace fan)
Jamie Moralee (Footballer)
Nicky Bailey (Footballer)
Dario Gradi (Football Manager)
Alan Smith (Football Manager)
Gary Johnson (Football Manager)
Graeme Banyard (Football Manager)
Jim Gregory (Football Chairman)
Malcom MacDonald (Former Football legend and Fulham Manager)
Sarah Lindsay (Speed Skater)

Journalists
Danny Fulbrook (Daily Star)
Frank Keating (Guardian, Observer)
Dave Kidd (The People)
Chris Blackhurst (Financial Ed, Evening Sub-Standard)
Ian Hawkey (Sunday Times)
Joe Posnanski (The Kansas City Star)
Eleanor Preston (freelance Sports Journalist)

Others
Paul Kenny (General Secretary of the GMB)
Max Clifford (Publicist)
Micheal Cole (Former Harrods spokesman)
The Bloke Karate Kicked by Eric Cantona (Assumed he was a Palace fan but apparently he was a regular at Fulham)
Keith Castle (1st British Heart Transplant patient)
Pope John Paul II (Pope)

Last on Match of the Day - Fulham victorious

How typically Fulhamish. In our best ever season we manage to be last on Match of the Day more times than anyone else except Wigan. Mike Whalley's excellent site has been tracking this for the last two seasons. Last season we came joint 2nd behind the frankly massive 13 appearances Derby County mustered. This season it was a much closer affair with us and Wigan managing nine appearances each but Fulham claiming the title thanks to the Gubba difference.

Mike Whalley's - World of Sport "Last on MOTD"

Fulham 0 Everton 2

The pre-match omens were almost too greatly in our favour; a fixture that has been won by the home side on the previous 15 occasions, an Everton side that would surely have one eye on the F.A. Cup final, a Fulham team that still needed a point to secure European football and were keen to end our best ever season on a high. In the end it was too good to be true and we found out just how big the difference is between the team that finishes 5th and the team that finishes 7th.

Everton were very good today. They seized on our weaknesses, gave us no time on the ball, cut out the threat of Murphy and took their chances when they came. Saha was excellent in the solo front man role, hit the crossbar early on and reminded us all of what we lost when he left. It was Steven Pienaar though, who proved to be the driving force. Surging forward time and again, and eventually capitalising on a mix up between Hangeland and Paintsil to find Leon Osman, who slotted home to give the Toffees a half time lead.

Fulham tried hard to find a way back in the second period. Dempsey, who had looked our best player in the first 45, had a number of efforts blocked. Paintsil pushed on more and more, one tantalising run ending with a shot that we all hoped might fly in but ended up veering wide of the post. Hangeland also started to try and force the game our way. A sliding tackle to prevent a breakaway left the opposition player on the floor, whilst Brede picked himself on and continued to charge forward. A neat pass to Dempsey (I think) led to a fee kick which we unfortunately wasted. If this does turn out to be Brede's last game for the club it at least gave us another glimpse of how important the Norwegian has become. I got the impression he really wanted another win today.

A series of subs saw Zamora replace the flagging Nevland. Given more time he might have made a difference, but he didn't do a lot for his reputation slicing one effort hopelessly wide and firing a decent effort straight at Tim Howard. Dacourt replaced the erratic Gera to make what may be his last professional appearance and Chris Smalling replaced Aaron Hughes. Hughes receiving a well deserved ovation as he left the pitch. The game was over when that man Osman neatly collected a cross from the right wing, danced his way through the centre of our defence, and then sent a curling left foot shot crashing past Schwarzer. A goal worthy of winning any game.

Despite the result the party atmosphere remained (helped slightly by the news filtering through from Anfield) and we had the chance to applaud a team that has achieved our highest finish in the top flight.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes (Smalling 77), Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Murphy, Etuhu, Gera (Dacourt 73), Nevland (Zamora 68), Kamara
Subs not used: Zuberbuhler, Gray, Stoor, Baird

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Yobo, Lescott, Baines, Neville (Gosling 79), Cahill, Rodwell, Pienaar (Vaughan 86), Osman, Saha (Castillo 79)
Subs not used: Nash, Jo, Jacobsen, Fellaini
Goals: Osman (45, 88)

Bookings: None

Attendance: 25,497

Referee: M A Riley (W. Yorkshire)

Newcastle 0 Fulham 1

Best Season Ever.

I listened to the last twenty minutes of yesterday's game via the intermittent reception of Radio 5 Live as I travelled back from seeing my Dad in Bexhill. The tension at the ground came through loud and clear. Newcastle throwing all they could muster at us and finding out exactly why we've got to the very fringe of European qualification.

By then Newcastle were down to ten men and we'd already taken the lead. Danny Murphy riding a wild challenge in centre midfield before threading another perfect pass for Eric Nevland to run on to. Nevland timed his run perfectly, Steven Taylor woefully misplaced failing to catch the Norwegian offside, and surged into the box. Eric's magic feet then drew Steve Harper out of his goal then left the 'keeper stranded and helpless as he played a gentle pass sideways to the waiting Kamara. Diomansey had time to polish his boots, adjust his position and smile for the camera before firing into the top of the net.

It could have been a very different story for Newcastle. Martins hit the post early on and Viduka had a goal harshly disallowed (though I'd say Kevin Nolan got his just reward for a lifetime of infringing goalkeepers) in the second half. Dickson Etuhu also made a remarkable goal line clearance. Then it was Schwarzer's turn to take the plaudits making two outstanding saves, first reacting quickly to a lunging effort from Nicky Butt, then saving smartly from a ferocious shot from Obafemi Martins.

Another clean sheet on the road and another composed team performance. We sit proudly 7th placed with only Spurs capable of catching us. Even if they do we won't finish lower than 8th and with a new record points tally of 53 we've already achieved our best ever finish. One more game to go and, whatever happens, it's going to be a party at the Cottage next week.

F.A. Vase journey comes to a close

My mate Andy's trail in following the F.A. Vase from the opening rounds to it's conclusion at Wembley came to an end on Sunday as Whitley Bay beat Andy's home town team Glossop North End 2-0 in the final. Well worth a read if your interest in football isn't solely focused on the media bun fight that is the Premier League.

Chasing The Vase - Game 12 Glossop North End 0 Whitley Bay 2

Eric Cantona

It seems the beautiful game is the new hot topic for the film industry. "The Damned United" has already taken it's share of plaudits and criticisms and here comes the new Ken Loach film "Looking for Eric". The film is being promoted by a Fulham supporter and features Eric Cantona - now there's a player I'd have liked to see in the white of Fulham.