Fulham

Fulham FC is a professional football club from west London who were formed in 1879 in by worshippers at the Church of England on Star Road, West Kensington, which still stands today with a plaque commemorating the team's foundation. 

The club moved into Craven Cottage in 1896. They began life in the West London League before progressing into the Southern League.

Fulham won the second division of the Southern League in 1901-02 and 1902-03, the second occasion resulting in promotion to the top division. 'The Cottagers' went on to become Southern League champions in 1905-06 before successfully defending their title twelve months later.

After winning the league title on two occasions they were elected into the Football League in 1907. Around this time the Chairman, Henry Norris assisted in the formation of Chelsea FC. Fulham were offered the use of Stamford Bridge by Gus Mears. They turned him down so he formed his own club with his brother to play there. Fulham reached the FA Cup semi-final of 1907-08 where they were defeated by Newcastle United at Anfield.

The Cottagers suffered a relegation to Division Three in 1927-28, but returned four years later. After the end of World War Two Fulham were promoted to the First Division as champions, where they remained for three seasons before reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1935-36 at which stage Sheffield United ended their run at Molineux.

They regained their top flight place once more in 1958-59 with Johnny Haynes starring and Jimmy Hill also scoring regular goals, a year after appearing in the FA Cup semi-final before being defeated after a replay at Highbury by Manchester United. 

Bobby Robson became a major player in the side in 1962 the summer after the team had reached the last four of the FA Cup for the fourth time. On that occasion Fulham were to bow out to Burnley in a replay at Filbert Street.

Fulham were relegated in 1967-68. A further demotion was suffered the following season, although they returned to the second tier in 1970-71. The side rebuilt under manager Alex Stock playing some fine football.

While a Second Division club Fulham reached the 1975 FA Cup Final with Bobby Moore and Alan Mullery in the side, losing to West Ham United. In 1976-77 George Best and Rodney Marsh teamed up to make The Whites great crowd pleasers. to see them in action click here and here.

Between 1980 and 1984 Fulham Rugby League shared Craven Cottage in an attempt to bring in extra money from controversial Chairman, Ernie Clay who would later leave the club in debt as well as making a personal fortune from selling off the freehold of the ground to David Bulstrode's Marler Estates, the owners of Stamford Bridge and Queen's Park Rangers.

In 1979-80 Fulham were relegated to Division Three under manager Bobby Campbell. Malcolm MacDonald was brought in as the new team boss as he assembled a fantastic side featuring Ray Houghton, Gordon Davies, Paul Parker and Tony Gale.

The team won promotion in 1981-82 and came desperately close to securing back to back promotions and a return to the top flight. The game that ended the hopes was an away defeat to Derby County which was never completed owing to serious crowd disruption.

The team was quickly sold on for large profit and were consequently relegated once again in 1985-86 under Ray Harford.

Meanwhile it became clear that the intention of Marler Estates was to merge QPR and Fulham, selling the Cottage and playing at Loftus Road. Bulstrode became the new villain, former player and pundit, Jimmy Hill the new hero, as he promised a meeting of Fulham supporters that the club would not die as he became Chairman.

Former player Ray Lewington took over as manager in 1986, taking the side to the play-offs, where they went out at the semi-final stage against Bristol Rovers in 1988-89. Alan Dicks was in charge of the side in 1990-91 before he was replaced by Don Mackay.

Owing to the formation of the Premier League in 1992, Division Three was renamed Division Two. Whatever the title Fulham found themselves in the fourth tier Division Three at the end of the 1993-94 campaign as Ian Branfoot came in as manager to try and stop the slide.

Micky Adams was appointed as player-manage in February 1996 with the club at their lowest ever point. He took the side to promotion in 1996-97 as league runners-up. In the summer of 1997 Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed bought the club for £6.25M.

After a slow start to the following campaign Al-Fayed replaced Adams with the management team of Ray Wilkins and Kevin Keegan. Wilkins departed in the summer of 1998 to leave Keegan in sole charge after the team were defeated by Grimsby Town in the semi-finals of the play-offs.

Big money signings such as Chris Coleman and Paul Peschisolido arrived at the Cottage as Fulham romped to the Division Two title in 1998-99. Keegan departed to become England manager to be replaced by Paul Bracewell, who in return was replaced by Jean Tigana in February 2000.

Tigana spent money on many promising players including striker Louis Saha as he led Fulham to the top flight Premier League in 2000-01 as the team lifted the Championship title. Sean Davis went on to appear for the club in all four divisions.

Fulham consolidated their status while moving to QPR's Loftus Road ground between 2002 and 2004 while the Supporters Trust was set up to put pressure on the board to return to Craven Cottage, which they did after renovating the two ends of the ground.

Tigana took the team to the FA Cup semi-final in 2001-02 where they lost out at Villa Park to Chelsea, before he was sacked and replaced by former defender Coleman in February 2003 before the return home. The new manager was forced to sell Saha for a record transfer fee. 

After several mid table finishes Coleman was replaced by Lawrie Sanchez in April 2007, but the new man only lasted a few months until he was sacked with the team in the relegation zone. Roy Hodgson was appointed as the new boss.

Fulham didn't look back as the club reached their highest ever league position of seventh place in The Premiership in 2008-09, allowing the club to play in European competition for the first time ever in 2009-10. Fulham certainly enjoyed their journey across the continent as they reached the Europa League Final, only to lose 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in Hamburg after seeing off Vetra, Amkar Perm before qualifying from the group stage with AS Roma.

Remarkably the Cottagers continued with a breathtaking victory over Juventus before German sides VfL Wolfsburg and then Hamburger SV were seen off to reach the showpiece with players such as Mark Schwartzer, Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora, Damien Duff and Simon Davies, who equalised in the final, starring.

Hodgson moved on to pastures new at Liverpool to be replaced by Mark Hughes who did a good job in charge before he resigned with Martin Jol arriving at Craven Cottage in the summer of 2011.

Initially Jol's attacking approach was appreciated by the fans as the side collected some great wins with Clint Dempsey the fans hero along with Pavel Pogrebnyak. However, the club changed ownership in the summer of 2013 when Al-Fayed sold to American Shahid Kahn.

Jol failed to strengthen his ageing squad during the uncertainty around the deal and paid for his job in December 2013. Former Manchester United assistant René Meulensteen was brought in. Despite showing signs of progress he was replaced after two months by the German, Felix Magath with Dimitir Berbatov starring on the pitch.

The team were relegated at the end of the season and after a terrible start to the 2014-15 campaign Magath was dismissed. He received ridicule for many of his unorthodox methodry. Kit Symons came in as manager after a spell as caretaker to try and sort out the mess with a young squad.

His side was boosted by the big money signing of Ross McCormack. They struggled and eventually finished in seventeenth place, but Kahn kept faith with his appointment. Eventually the owners patience ran out at the end of 2015 as Symonds was dismissed to be replaced by the former Watford boss Slaviša Jokanović.

The new manager rebuilt his squad and put emphasis on a young side and attacking football as they reached the semi-finals of the play offs where they defeated Reading before beating Aston Villa 1-0 to win promotion thanks to a goal from Tom Cairney.

The goals of Aleksandar Mitrović did much to take Fulham up, but the team found the going much tougher in the Premier League. Jokanović was sacked in November 2018 to be replaced by Claudio Ranieri. 

Ranieri's reign last just over three months with former player Scott Parker being put in caretaker charge of the team; who were relegated shortly after. However, performances improved with the pressure off and Parker was given the managers job on a full time basis.

Parker led the side to the play-offs in 2019-20 where they defeated Cardiff City and the Brentford 2-1 at Wembley with two goals from Joe Bryan to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Work continued building the new Riverside Stand during the 2020-21 season as games were played behind closed doors owing to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The team went back down to the second tier after just one season in their higher status leading to the appointment of Marco Silva to replace Parker.

The new man’s team walked to the Championship title in 2021-22 as Silva rebuilt and strengthened the side which went on to secure midtable security before ending in tenth position in 2022-23 as Mitrović continued to put away the goals.

Fulham FC will play in the Premier League in the 2023-24 season.

My visits

Fulham 2 Leeds United 1 (Saturday 17th September 1983) Division 2 (att: 10,055)

I was travelling down to London with my family for quite a big and emotional occasion although it passed me by somewhat as a seventeen year old. I was about to leave home and start training in Land Surveying and Cartography in Borehamwood. We all went down to have some time together, staying at the Holiday Inn at Swiss Cottage. 

On the train down there I bumped into some of my Leeds mates who were going to Fulham. My dad asked me if I wanted to go with them? I jumped at the opportunity. I was quite nervy travelling down there on the tube as I'd heard tales of other clubs fans meeting up for a punch up. 

This wasn't high on my agenda. We got down to the ground without any problems and we sat in the end block of the Stevenage Road Stand as was the fashionable thing to do at the time.

I immediately took to Craven Cottage. The Cottage itself was just to our left in the corner of the ground where the players got changed. We were in the old Stevenage Road Stand which had a tier of seats with terracing at the front. 

Opposite was the Riverside Stand which was a raised deck of seating. To the left was the large open Putney End. It wasn't as large as it once was as the back section was deemed unsafe. Behind the other goal was the Hammersmith End which was a large home terrace with a roof covering the back half.

Leeds were ahead in the game before a very good Fulham team won after Andy Ritchie had scored for the visitors. I met up with my parents at Piccadilly Circus afterwards. Dad and Nick had gone to QPR v Sunderland instead.

Fulham 2 Newcastle United 2 (Saturday 3rd March 1984) Division 2 (att; 12,290)

Again the family were in town, this time to make sure I was getting on alright. I probably told them the course was going OK when nothing could have been further from the truth. Anyway, this was a chance to relax. Again everyone was kind enough to excuse me for a few hours so I took Nick to The Cottage. This was a big game. 

Fulham were decent and Newcastle were heading for promotion. Kevin Keegan had recently announced his retirement at the end of the current season and with team mates Peter Beardsley, Terry McDermott and Chris Waddle the Toon were the team to watch. 

We took the pleasant walk from the station through Bishop's Park and stood with the Geordies on the Putney End. It was a fantastic game that ended equal with "King Kev" scoring in his penultimate game in the capital as he nodded home a pin point McDermott cross.

Earlier Beardsley had opened the scoring with an overhead kick in the difficult surface showing the wears of rugby league action. Peter Scott scored an almost instant equaliser before Gordon Davies put Fulham ahead before the break with a classy piece of skill.

We were queuing for the tube back to Kings Cross when a Fulham fan started shouting "Sunderland". I didn't realise just how much Newcastle fans disliked their near neighbours until that day! The goal action can be seen here.

Fulham 1 Scarborough 2 (Tuesday 13th September 1994) Division 3 (att: 2,729)

Fulham were just about at rock bottom when Scarborough visited under the managership of Ian Branfoot, who was not very popular at all with the locals. I travelled down after nights at the horrendous Malton Bacon Factory with Carl Ellis on a National Express Coach to Victoria.

We met up with Crusher and Bob Hall who were staying down for the week. A good mate, Ade Stelling who helped running many of our trips had got us cheap accommodation at Piccadilly in a top hotel.

There weren't too many of Seadogs at the game but those that were had a marvellous time as our pretty average team overcame Fulham. David D'Auria scored the winner from near the half way line after a drastic error by keeper Jim Stannard after an earlier Gary Swann goal. 

At the end of the game the home fans were going berserk, trying to get over the fences to have a go at their players, although they were superb with us.

We had a cracking day afterwards drinking around Whitechapel in celebration including taking in some lunchtime cabaret!

Fulham 1 Scarborough 0 (Saturday 13th January 1996) Division 3 (att: 3,557)

Boro were pretty dire this season despite having the excellent Andy Ritchie up front. I went to this game in youngster Eddie's car with Craig and Karl, using local knowledge to park up at Stanmore and travel down on the tube. 

We met up with some Fulham fans I'd made friends with at the game earlier in the season in North Yorkshire for pre match beers at the Firkin pub near to Putney Bridge station.

Boro keeper Ian Ironside made a monumental cock up with a high swirling clearance that led to the only goal of the game in a poor game against an improving Fulham side. It was certainly not football for the purists.

Fulham 4 Scarborough 0 (Saturday 8th March 1997) Division 3 (att: 6,080)

A group of us travelled in style to this game on the Supporters Club coach which included an overnight stay in London's Docklands. We were well on our way and had dreams of getting there for a good pre match beer when driver Dave stopped for forty five minutes for a meal no-one else required. 

He then staggeringly drove all the way around the M25 to enter London from the west. He was getting snarled up in traffic when I took the lead with others following and jumped from the coach to get to the pub.

Once in the ground there was a superb turnout of Seadogs numbering around 400. We heard tales of how the regular people carrier had stopped on the M1 for Bunner to go into a field and ride a horse and then the passengers had patronised the Flying Scotsman, a place of which Crusher gave very crushing reviews of.

Fulham were on their way to promotion with Boro having dreams of a play off place. The Cottagers came out of the traps flying and basically hammered us with goals from Glenn Cockerill, Darren Freeman, Mark Blake with a penalty and Christer Warren doing the business for player-manager Micky Adams

Boro were lucky to score nil. Four days later they lost 7-1 to fellow challengers Wigan Athletic and that was the end of that for the season. However, as always there was far more to it than just a match as we had the night out to look forward to.

We enjoyed a great time in the West End after booking into our classy accommodation in Canary Wharf, returning to the hotel disco later and having a lot of fun at some Germans' expense. The next day we went on a tour of Wembley Stadium which received a mixed review from our group. I loved the place. The coach journeys provided many hilarious moments with some great characters. 

Chairman, John Russell was on board with his wife and some of their friends but never mind. He ran a quiz on Boro which I won which gave me two complimentary tickets including boardroom hospitality for the home game, the following week against Torquay. 

I was really flattered when I rang up to find out where myself and Irish Mark would need to collect the tickets from and I was asked that I would behave! A classic lads weekend away despite the match knackering it up....again.

Fulham 0 Hull City 1 (Wednesday 4th March 2009) Premier League (att: 23,051)

It had been quite a few years since my previous visit to The Cottage. My old Hull City pals John and Frazer sorted me out a ticket and came down with Sharpy and Ian who were also City. Sharpy had been converted since moving to the city and Ian is Frazer's in law. 

I met up with Frazer and we had a few aperitifs while awaiting the rest of the lads who were joined by Dave Cam in Earl's Court. We took the tube to Parson's Green and had a pub crawl down Fulham Road before the game. The pubs were busy but welcoming. I really do like Fulham.

We eventually got into a ground that had changed a bit since my last visit. The Stevenage Road Stand paddock was now seated. Our seats in The Putney End were covered with the stand being built over the old terracing. In an unusual arrangement there was no segregation at this end with some seats being sold to "neutrals". 

Executive boxes filled in the corner as they did at the far end. The Hammersmith End was also a new seated stand. The Riverside Stand had been extended down to the touchline to cater for more fans. The ground had kept its character while being modernised. The areas to the sides of the stand had stalls and it had the feel of lunchtime at a cricket ground before the game and at half time.

Fulham dominated the game with City hanging on and having a rare attack. With the game entering injury time, substitute Manucho scored sending the large away following wild with delight. It had been noisy before then but the singing nearly took the roof off afterwards. The result eventually secured The Tigers Premiership survival.

We went back to Earl's Court for some celebratory and emotional beers as we drank to absent friends. It was so good to catch up with my old pals. I vowed then to make more of an effort in the future.

Fulham 5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (Sunday 4th March 2012) FA Premier League (att: 24,034)

At the time I got single Sunday's off from work once a month. My Dad had visited me before Christmas and stayed over at my flat, before heading to The Emirates Stadium for a tour the next day. He enjoyed coming down, so when he was due again I sorted his trains so it would fit in to go to a match.

We had been at Middlesbrough on the previous Wednesday to watch England Under 21's on a beautiful day, but I had developed a cold. My Dad arrived at Kings Cross on the Sunday lunch after a family stay in York with similar symptoms. My brother Paul was also to join us for the game, so we rang him and arranged to meet him at Putney Bridge station.

We stopped off on our way for a half of ale and a whisky to try and warm us up, as the weather was miserable. We then continued down to Putney Bridge. Paul was running late as the Victoria line wasn't running owing to engineering works. The rain was lashing down and the wind getting up, so we managed to shelter in The Temperance pub. 

It brought back memories as we used to drink in there before Scarborough games. It was warm and the service was first class. We managed to get a couple of chairs around a large table and watch the Newcastle v Sunderland derby.

There was a great atmosphere in the pub, with fans of both sides mingling without any problems. We could have easily stayed there for the afternoon! Paul phoned me and I went round to the station to meet him. We returned and collected Dad and dashed through Bishop's Park towards Craven Cottage.

Our seats were £35, but I was glad to see that there were concessions for pensioners. We were in the 'Neutral Block' next to the cottage. We were under cover, but the wind and rain blew to our corner. It was very cold!

Wolves did their best but it was abundantly apparent why they were at the wrong end of the table. Fulham were in good form under Martin Jol and their new Russian signing, Pavel Pogrebnyak who had been brought in to replace Bobby Zamorra was a terrifying sight. The Whites were awarded a debatable corner and 'The Pog' headed them ahead. 

The home forwards; Duff, Dempsey, Pog and Johnson poured forward constantly. Wolves only respite was through the excellent Jamie O'Hara and some hopeful long balls after they made a few passes without progression. A fine move saw Andy Johnson pull back for Pogrebnyak to double the lead before half time.

At the break we went downstairs to the crowded concourse. The limitations of Craven Cottage were all too apparent, especially on a bad weather day as everyone tried to shelter as well as using the facilities. 

The match programme showed plans for a new Riverside Stand with new access points. The club certainly needed their plans to be passed as it would benefit both football fans and the local population.

We went back upstairs and it was apparent that plenty hadn't returned. The neutral area was a good idea and I never heard a bad word. The fans consisted of tourists, a few Wolves fans and plenty of Fulham supporters with their youngsters who were admitted for just £10. 

My only gripe were that many were the modern fan who were only there to spot the star and spent half their time going in and out for refreshments. Our area was probably better described as being similar to a rugby union crowd.

If they were fans of the oval balled game, then the Wolves team would have been right up their street as they were adept at kicking for touch. A fine ball into open space saw Clint Dempsey waltz through and round the overworked Wayne Hennessey in the visitors net to make it three.

At that point Wolves newly installed manager Terry Connor thought it a good idea to introduce his top scorer Steven Fletcher. Any ideas he had of changing the game were soon squashed as Hennessey blocked a shot, only for Pobrebnyak to follow up and complete his hat trick as he stumbled. 

The veteran Danny Murphy, who had a fine game was replaced by another powerful signing, Mahamadou Diarra. He joined up along side Moussa Dembele, who had a fine afternoon.

The final goal came with seven minutes remaining. Wolves couldn't get hold of the ball and Dempsey finished off a move including twenty five passes with aplomb. Wanderers had earlier had a half chance, but it was blocked with a fine challenge. 

The travelling fans from the Black Country kept their humour and cheered their team to the final whistle. In the 90th minute Mark Scwartzer was forced into his first save, which said it all about the game.

We were very cold by now and it although it had been a fine performance with some great goals, we were only a little less upset than the visiting team when the final whistle was blown. We rushed with the crowds avoiding the puddles in the park and within fifteen minutes we were on a waiting train. 

We changed at Earls Court and went to a old favourite of ours, The Shakespeare's Head at Holborn for whisky, coffe and a good hot meal. Paul then headed off while Dad and I returned to my flat for an evening of live games and then Match of the Day.

A few beers and whisky helped us settle down for the evening. It had been very cold and not conducive for our usual walking, but we'd seen a good if one sided game. We also saw a good old fashioned centre forward as part of an excellent team performance. Even better, the Fulham players actually smiled and looked like they wanted to be there.

Fulham 0 Hull City 1 (Saturday 23^rd January 2016) The Championship (att: 16,935)

One of the joys I occasionally get going to football is when we have a family gathering. Sadly Dad was no longer with us, but with Sally now in London at college, and Nick and Stan heading down on the train, Fulham away was a great chance to catch up.

The rail replacement bus service restricted my free time as I was on night shifts. I went via Wembley on the Overground to West Brompton, where we commenced to The Temperance pub near Putney Bridge station. Fred and his wife Helen were down from Hull and they met us in the pub, as well as Andy Lloyd and his daughter Heidi, who’d become a City fan after her day out at Charlton earlier in the season.

After enjoying a few drinks and the excellent Norwich v Liverpool game on the TV we headed through Bishops Park to take up our seats, with a good view in the packed away end. Everyone in our block was standing, so the two juniors with us stood on their seats. The atmosphere was first class.

Fulham had the lion share on the play in the first half but failed to create too many clear cut chances, save for when Alan McGregor pushed away a Tom Cairney shot. Somehow Moses Odubajo blocked the home forward from putting away the rebound with a miraculous block tackle.

After the break City stepped up a gear, although Fulham had the bulk of possession. Jake Livermore was putting in a decent shift, while Rob Snodgrass offered an option out wide. I was commenting tom Sally that a nil nil wouldn’t be a disaster. I could see a goal coming but I wasn’t sure who’d get it.

Fulham were towards the wrong end of the table before kick off, but were putting in a good solid display for their recently appointed manager Slavisa Jokanovic.

With ten minutes remaining, City’s star performer Odubajo ran to the byline and cut in towards goal. He was about to cut the ball back when the home defender Lasse Vigen Christensen fouled him from behind. Top scorer Abel Hernández stepped up to score from the spot, after keeper Andy Lonergan pushed the shot in off the post.

The noise in the away section grew even louder as the encouragement for the team to hold out continued. Although City were defending well, there were a few looks when the fourth official indicated that there would be five minutes of stoppage time to be added on.

It was in this period that McGregor pulled off a brilliant save from a curling Jamie O’Hara free kick. Shortly after wards referee Paul Tierney blew the final whistle. It took quite some time to get out. Fred and I were extremely concerned with the Scarborough loss to Prescot Cables, but apart from that it had been a cracking afternoon. Middlesbrough’s home defeat meant City went top of the table.

Everyone went their own ways apart from Sally, who went with me as we headed onto Fulham High Road to beat the crowds before we both took the Overground at West Brompton to Willesden Junction. I then had the rotten slow experience of the rail replacement bus service from Stonebridge Park to Kingsbury, while my niece went home to Maida Vale and then out to a party.

Despite another torturous journey into work on the replacement buses, it had been great to see another away win and to see my family and good friends. To see my film of the winning goal, click here.

Fulham 2 Norwich City 2 (Tuesday 18^th October 2016) The Championship (att: 17,082)

My good pal Steve Jarvis offered me a go at corporate hospitality at the Cottage. As someone who enjoys a good drink and food, especially on the house, and has a fondness of visits by the river, I wasn’t going to say no.

Even better was the opportunity to catch up with Martin Charters, an old mate we knew from Lord’s as well as Steve ‘Potholes’ Williams. After beers at Marylebone we headed on the tube to Putney Bridge and walked through the lovely King’s Park to the ground.

We collected our lanyards from reception and walked round the edge of the pitch to the Chairman’s Lounge in the Riverside Stand. Jarvo was an old hand on such excursions and led the way.

Pre-match we tried out various small portions of main course, which included chicken pasta, shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash. We were handed a free programme and then a teamsheet while our hostesses brought round free drinks and put on any match bets we wanted. It was top class service.

Our seats matched up to the hospitality, as we were located three rows behind the away team bench. We even got a quality game to add to the occasion.

Norwich were on a good run of form up at the top end of the league, while Fulham were in a mid-table berth. The first half saw the visitors in control. Jacob Murphy was fouled in the area on sixteen minutes as Graham Dorrans put the penalty away down the middle of the goal.

The Cottagers fought back and had a few efforts on goal but the Canaries seemed relatively comfortable. The home side shot themselves in the foot for a second time as Scott Malone gave away another penalty five minutes before the interval. Dorrans made no mistake to make it 2-0.

At the interval, our pre-ordered drinks were waiting for us on our table as we enjoyed some cake to soak up the booze. My pals were late heading back out after the break. I grabbed my seat as I could see an interesting forty-five minutes ahead of us. I called it right.

Fulham came back out full of intent with former City forward Chris Martin being prominent. Ten minutes after the restart Fulham were back into it as Stefan Johansen scored with a shot from the edge of the box.

On sixty-six minutes it 2-2 as Martin’s shot went in past Michael McGovern in the visitors net. Norwich weren’t prepared to give up with Alexander Tettey having a couple of attempts on goal.

In the end a draw was about the correct result. We headed back downstairs for another beer and a free miniature meat pie before heading off. World Cup hero George Cohen was leaving on crutches after an operation. His statue had been unveiled a few days earlier. I left the lads and headed off for an early start on a coach to Brussels the following morning.

Fulham 1 Leeds United 1 (Tuesday 7^th March 2017) The Championship (att: 22,239)

Jarvo pulled out four more tickets for another midweek game with me off work, so we headed back to the Cottage; this time with Pat O’Neill and Simon the manager from the Cumberland Tennis Club.

After a snifter in the bar at the club we travelled by Uber cab and were dropped off at the end of Greswell Street to walk down as match traffic restrictions were in place. We followed the path from our previous adventure round to the Chairman’s Lounge.

The room was busier than the Norwich game. Fulham had been on a run to the verge of the play-offs, with the illustrious visitors and their huge travelling support of over 7,000 fans a few places higher. Everything was set for a classic evening.

The hospitality was just as good as a few months earlier. This time I rounded it off with a fantastic fruit crumble and custard; perfect fare for a chilly evening by the river.

Fulham got off to the worst possible start as Tim Ream sliced horribly into his own net on five minutes. The home side were full of pace and youth. Slaviša Jokanović had really assembled a fine side including Neeskens Kebano, Tom Cairney, Ryan Sessegnon and Sone Aluko.

It seemed that Fulham had equalised half through the first period when his thunderbolt shot came back off the bar with Robert Green well beaten. My initial impression was that the ball had crossed the line. It was confirmed by several fans around us receiving texts from pals who’d seen the incident replayed on TV.

The away supporters offered a tremendous backing to their heroes as they made a real noise throughout the match. The Fulham fans responded in a more modern way with their card clappers. It all made for a great atmosphere.

At the interval, George Cohen was in the corridor lamenting that the Premier League had adopted goal line technology whereas the Championship hadn’t; yet the financial implications could be just as severe if a club missed promotion by a couple of points.

Alfonso Pedraza had a couple of one on one chances for Leeds, but one effort was spurned by David Button, while the other came back off the post. Fulham continued to push for an equaliser. Sixteen-year-old substitute Sessegnon was creating havoc from his left back position.

Leeds were reduced to ten men as stoppage time approached as Kalvin Phillips received a second yellow card for a poor challenge. Veteran keeper Green pulled off a world class save to keep out a header from Gohi Cyriac.

In the fifth minute of additional time Cottagers skipper and man of the match Cairney picked up the ball just outside the box and bent a brilliant shot into the top corner of the net to rescue a well deserved point. It was a fitting finale to a top class match.

After a couple of beers to allow the traffic to die down I headed back to Wembley with Pat by Uber in time for me to relax back at JJ Moons in Kingsbury.

Fulham 2 Hull City 1 (Wednesday 13^th September 2017) The Championship (att: 15,792)

Good old Jarvo did the business once again for this second tier encounter; which had been moved from the previous day to allow the threadbare Metropolitan Police to control the matches at Loftus Road and Stamford Bridge.

I met up with my pal who was with Cumberland Club manager Simon, at Finchley Road & Frognal station. The service was up the spout, but we managed to get a train as far as Shepherd’s Bush and then the 220 bus close to Craven Cottage.

Steve ‘Potholes’ Williams was running late, so we left his ticket at reception. Good friends are one thing, but we weren’t going to miss out on valuable drinking and eating time; especially when it was on the house!

The welcome and service were immaculate as on previous visits. The food was first class, without being too pretentious. I indulged in small bowls of Thai Chicken Curry, Craven Cottage Pie and Macaroni Cheese; all washed down with Guinness. I even enjoyed a chocolate tart for dessert.

I had a feeling that my two Aussie chums may be in the mood to tease me just a tad about the state of Hull City, trains, stations and just about anything else to press my buttons. Potholes nearly lost his cardboard clapper in a painful spot in the early stages.

We sat next to Jim Richardson, a Scotsman full of character and three of his guests; one of whom was also cheering for City. Our seats were in a prime spot and perfect for watching Tigers boss Leonard Slutsky go through a whole range of emotions.

City had lost 5-0 at Derby in their previous game and I wasn’t expecting too much with all the change in personnel since their relegation. The meagre away following told the story of severe mismanagement at the club that had worn down many diehards into submission.

The opening exchanges were relatively even, with both sides trying to play some quick passing moves on the immaculate playing surface. Allan McGregor in the visitors net denied Floyd Ayité after the same player had gone close with a deflected effort.

Nouha Dicko, up front for City was ineffectual, with David Meyler looking very decent. It looked like we’d be heading downstairs with the scoreline blank until a Sheyi Ojo cross was missed by Michael Hector, leaving Ayité free to score.

Our drinks and cakes were awaiting us in the Chairman’s Lounge at half time, with my compatriots enjoying the full hospitality as I headed back out for kick off.

Fulham starlet Ryan Sessegnon should have doubled his sides lead soon after the restart as he started the move before putting a free header wide from Ayité’s pinpoint cross. The home side were made to pay just a few minutes later.

Kamil Grosicki crossed for Jarred Bowen, whose header was saved by keeper David Button. However, Button followed up to head home the rebound. Within minutes the stopper kept out a drive from lethargic wing back Ola Aina, and then Dicko half volleyed a weak effort straight at him.

This proved to be the pivotal few moments in the encounter. The game was there for the taking for the visitors, but they wasted their chance. Slutsky’s demeanour said a thousand words. His mood was to darken further just after the hour mark.

Ayité tried an overhead kick on goal with the ball falling for Stefan Johansen to smash the ball home via the underside of the crossbar. McGregor pulled off another top save ten minutes later to deny Ayité.

Tim Ream was denied by the City keeper before the away side fired several set pieces into the Fulham area. The home fans around us were getting very anxious, but their defenders proved good enough.

In the final seconds, a breakaway from the Whites saw Yohan Mollo fire a deflected shot against the crossbar and away. Another ball was pumped forward in the attempt of an equaliser, but Fulham held out for their first home win of the season.

We returned to our suite, where I had a couple more stouts before catching a bus to Putney Bridge, a tube to Parsons Green, an Overground to Willesden Junction, tube to Wembley Central and then bus back to Kingsbury.

A fine evening was rounded off in the company of Steve Barnes and Mick Deveraux before I hit the pillow. 

Fulham 2 Everton 0 (Saturday 13^th April 2019) Premier League (att: 24,971)

It was while I was enjoying my break in Thailand that good old Jarvo contacted me and asked if I fancied indulging in some hospitality on my return. It didn’t take me long to make up my mind!

Inevitably, I was struggling with jet lag as I met Steve Barnes who was also onboard for the day. We sampled some organic ale at the farmers market outside West Hampstead Thameslink station to wet our whistles before heading to Hampstead Cricket Club.

There was time to enjoy a little bit of cricket out in the middle before the Uber came to take us to the Cottage; a journey that was remarkably traffic free as groundsman James and John Mennis joined us.

We were looked after as royally as ever by the smiling staff. The Guinness hit the spot as did the fine catering. Former players Gordon Davies and Robert Wilson did a chat on the near miss of promotion in the 1982-83 season. It brought back memories for me.

After the gents had finished there was time for another swift one. As ever I was first upstairs to my seat along with Steve. I wasn’t going to miss any of the game on a beautiful spring afternoon and wanted to make a call overseas.

I wanted to take a proper look at Aleksandar Mitrović who’d prospered despite Fulham’s season ending in relegation. Caretaker boss Scott Parker was keen for his team to impress in his quest to take the job full time.

Mitrović was quickly involved, with Blues defender Phil Jagielka having his hands full as the Cottagers started the livelier of the sides. Everton came into the game on top of a fine run of form, which prompted me to have a little punt on them winning 3-1.

Everton grew into the game and had a decent spell before Jordan Pickford kept them on level terms with a fine save to deny a Mitrović header. Whites skipper Tom Cairney was pulling the strings in midfield and having a fine game.

Calum Chambers had a header inadvertently blocked by Kurt Zouma on the half hour mark as the hosts continued to take the initiative. Pickford palmed away a cross as far as André-Frank Zambo Anguissa whose shot was blocked at close range.

Ryan Babel and Chambers created an opportunity for Mitrović who saw his shot come back off the bar three minutes before the interval. A low cross from the visitors’ Seamus Coleman nearly found Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the half came to an end.

It was back downstairs into the Chairman’s Suite for pies, another stout and other goodies at the break. Our table was certainly enjoying the fare. Three of our number remained there for much of the rest of the game!

I was determined to be out for the restart. However, I diverted my route to the gents. There was an almighty roar just as I was coming out of the door. Fulham had taken the lead through Tom Cairney.

I always enjoyed watching him play; no doubt influenced as he was a former Hull City player. A regular next to me said that he had a poor season. Perhaps playing under the style of Ranieri stifled his flair somewhat?

Fulham continued to look more dangerous as Everton huffed and puffed somewhat. It was fantastic to be sat so close to the pitch. I appreciated the efforts and physicality of the play more than I could remember.

Babel was looking lively all afternoon and made no mistake when put through on sixty nine minutes to coolly slot past the advancing Pickford. Both managers made substitutions as the game drew to a close.

Somehow referee Lee Probert deemed that there would be eight minutes of additional time. During this he decided that a nasty over the top challenge from André Gomes on the ankle of Mitrović only warranted a yellow card. Replays suggested that the Portuguese was fortunate.

At full time I made a quick dash to say goodbye to my pals. I had another appointment and made my way on foot as quickly as possible to Hammersmith station to take the train to Tower Hill to meet up with family.

Nick, Rachel and Stan were down for an overnight stay on their way to Paris; while Sally also joined us for a meal and drinks at The Liberty Bounds pub. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation caught up with me and I headed home for a much needed rest.

Fulham 3 Luton Town 2 (Wednesday 23rd October 2019) EFL Championship (att: 18,082)

Tony Foster got in touch asking if I fancied this match as he was ordering tickets. I thought £24 was fair enough for the home end. I had enjoyed plenty of freebies at the Cottage after all! We met for a quick pint in Hammersmith before walking up to the ground.

The Riverside Stand was gutted with its demolition in progress. Our seats were fine; even if people standing up and down did get on my wick a bit. A sure sign of age! At least my slowly recovering knee got a good workout.

Denis Odoi headed wide before an Ivan Cavaleiro shot was saved by James Shea as Fulham started on top. However, they did look dodgy at the back as they tried to play too much clever football. An error gave James Collins a chance which he fired wide.

On sixteen minutes Cavaleiro passed to Aleksandar Mitrović who fired home from the edge of the box. Shea then kept out an Anthony Knockaert drive and Mitrović, who also had a acrobatic overhead kick just miss the target.

Another Fulham defensive howler allowed Izzy Brown and Collins to combine before the shot went wide. Knockaert and Collins both had further efforts before the half drew to a close with the Whites deservedly ahead.

A curler from Cavaleiro was nearly met by Mitrović at the back post; while Harry Cornick shot into the side netting for the Hatters. A fine Fulham move freed Bobby Reid on fifty three minutes. His low cross was met by Mitrović who doubled the lead.

Seven minutes later Luton got back into the game when Dan Potts headed home a Brown free kick. The goal roused the away following with their team responding before Mitrović completed his hattrick when stooping to head home a Joe Bryan cross.

The home support; with their impressive array of songs for each player, were jubilant. Scott Parker had got his side playing some very attractive football led by Tom Cairney. However, the visitors didn’t lay down easily.

Collins came close before Shea did well to save from Cavaleiro. The lead was cut in stoppage time when Kazenga LuaLua put away a centre from Luke Bolton, but it wasn’t enough to deny Mitro’s night.

Tony and I went our separate ways as I travelled back via the District line from Putney Bridge to get home as soon as possible for an early morning start at work.

Fulham 0 Hull City 3 (Saturday 2^nd November) EFL Championship (att; 18,168)

It was the week of my night shifts, and with Hendon scheduled to play at Taunton Town, I needed somewhere convenient. The fact that tickets in the away end were only £20 and my niece Sally could join me added to the attraction.

After finishing my shift I’d managed to grab some shut eye before awaking for the Rugby World Cup Final, in which England were dismantled by a fitter, stronger and better organised South African side. Not that it bothered me too much.

Rugby, and especially Union, was an enjoyable occasional spectator sport to me. The result didn’t really affect the rest of my morning, let alone my life. A further early siesta put me in decent fettle for my afternoon jaunt.

The District line was closed owing to engineering works, so I arranged to meet Sally at Hammersmith. She was suffering with an injured knee, so we decided to go upstairs and take a bus to the game.

There was confusion and a bit of mild panic from the large assembled crowd as it looked like we’d be cutting it fine for the 220 bus, until in true London fashion, two turned up at once. It was a painfully slow journey along Fulham Palace Road through the busy traffic.

We got to our seats at the perfect time, as just a few minutes later the teams appeared for the pre match remembrance to fallen servicemen as the Last Post was played. It was shortly after that my frustration of all seated stadia rose its head.

Away ends are always worse because of the more passionate fan that tends to attend, but it’s a nightmare when pockets of fans decide they’ll stand. The stewards are virtually powerless, and it leads to rows. It’s crazy. A section of safe standing would solve many issues.

Out on the pitch City started well backed by an excellent following on a wet and windy afternoon. Kamil Grosicki had an early shot saved by Whites keeper Marcus Bettinelli before the Tigers took the lead on nine minutes.

Callum Elder swung a ball to the back post where Josh Bowler’s header was blocked before he fired in on the volley at the second attempt. Fulham came back with a couple of low crosses into the box as they played their oft over-elaborate football.

George Long made a regulation save from Mitrović who soon realised he was in a contest. His play and seeming interest would diminish as the match progressed. His header wide just before the interval was about his last notable contribution.

Play was of a similar pattern when the teams returned. Fulham with the vast amount of possession but being snubbed out by a resolute defence and tigerish midfield. They hardly had a shot on goal of note all afternoon.

City had given the ball away a bit too often in the first half but were more careful after the resumption. They also looked dangerous on the break with sub Tom Eaves adding a physical presence. The excellent Tim Ream did his best to keep the striker on a tight lead.

The lead was doubled just before the hour mark when a fine Jackson Irvine pass found the excellent Jarrod Bowen who turned Alfie Mawson inside out before firing low across Bettinelli into the corner. 

Grosicki fired wide on another counter attack before Bowen’s radar was slightly out with a powerful drive from the edge of the box when attacking with pace. The home fans were frustrated as their side continued to pass and keep possession without any progress.

Six minutes from full time the visitors rounded off the scoring, in slightly fortuitous circumstances. Bowen broke through down the middle. His low shot was saved by the legs of the keeper, but the rebound found a following up Eaves who miscontrolled the ball slowly into the net.

Our journey back was slow, but we were in a naturally good mood. It had been great to spend some quality time with Sally. Our bus took an age to reach West Brompton, from where we wandered to Earl’s Court for the tube.

We said our goodbyes as I changed to go north and grab another couple of hours sleep before heading off for my night shift at work.

Monday 30th November 2020

Click here to read about a further visit as part of my 100 mile Sawasdee Cup Charity Walk late in 2020 as I called in on all the clubs in the top five tiers within Greater London to raise money for Junior Cricket Development in Thailand.

It was good to see work on the new stand continuing as I passed. I also went by on the other side of the river shortly after Christmas, where I was afforded a better view.