It is almost here, my 78th season of watching Fulham. My new season ticket has cost me rather more than the £3.15 that my parents expended on my first one in 1948. That little beauty entitled me to watch 21 League matches, a comparable number of reserve games and a few involving the youth team.
Comfort of course was minimal; no individual seat just a place on a wooden bench. Nor did my parents get a concessionary price for me although my diminutive frame took up far less space than did the other occupants of the row.
Somewhat nearer in time is October 2007 when the Editor of H&F Council's handsomely produced journal Hammersmith & Fulham News published a review of my book 'From St Andrew's to Craven Cottage'. I was then invited to contribute an occasional article about Fulham FC.
Initially I concentrated on nostalgia but when I ran out of history I turned to the contemporary FFC scene. After the News went digital I found that I had become a blogger. The editor told me that I was no longer restricted to a maximum of 400 words yet years later I still catch myself glancing at the bottom left of the computer screen to see how the words are mounting.
Mixed set of pre-season results
In my early years as a supporter the pre-season match was usually a contest between the first team (Probables) and the reserves (Possibles) at the Cottage. This July the setting was the Algarve and the opponents were Nottingham Forest and the Saudi club Al-Hittihad. The lush setting obviously suited the Whites, who won both games comfortably.
Harry Wilson bagged a brace in the opening twenty minutes against Forest and Sasa Lukic furnished Andreas Pereira with a second half goal. Bernd Leno was in great form but could not prevent Chris Wood from scoring his usual goal.
Despite the participation of Karim Benzema, the Saudi team conceded four goals in the first half (Wilson, Emile Smith-Rowe, Josh King and Jorge Cuenca). Marco Silva made nine changes at the interval, introducing familiar names apart from goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte and promising Academy graduates Jonathan Esenga and Aaron Loupalo-Bi.
Lecomte saved a Benzema penalty kick only to concede the follow-up. The striker beat his fellow countryman a second time, the final score being 4-2 to the Whites.
Back on home soil the players did not fare so well, losing 3-2 to Sheffield United at Motspur Park. This was a behind-closed-doors match and the clubs had agreed in advance to add 30 minutes of extra time, something unimaginable in earlier decades when footballers returned after a summer of feasting and drinking.
Fulham ended their pre-season hosting Eintracht Frankfurt at the Cottage. Alex Iwobi, Harry Wilson and Josh King had their moments but it was Raul Jimenez who scored the only goal, a stunning free kick from outside the area. With many players in action at Motspur Park the sole unfamiliar face was that of Samuel Amissah, who came on when Ryan Sessegnon was injured.
Silva's reign continues
Since his appointment in July 2021 Marco Silva has delivered stylish, entertaining and assertive football, inspiring his players to fear no other Premier League side.
True, some weaknesses have yet to be removed if Europe is the target. Experienced and capable defenders are too easily caught out at corners and free kicks, midfielders can go missing and we are still waiting for consistency from our strikers Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz. The impetus seems to drain away in February or March.
Nevertheless, the players can rely on full throated enthusiasm from the stands. In the 1940s there was a radio character called Mona Lott and her spirit seemed to haunt the Cottage. A surprising number of spectators came through the turnstiles busting to sneer at what was on offer and to scapegoat one or two players.
This phenomenon persisted throughout the last century and could turn vicious, even when the majority of fans were campaigning to keep the club in existence. It took a special kind of manager (Alec Stock, Malcolm Macdonald, Micky Adams or Kevin Keegan) to unite everyone behind the team.
Mona Lott's descendants have not entirely left the scene. They can be found at the Hammersmith End, muttering oaths until Andreas Pereira gives way to a substitute. But the voices of the gloom merchants are drowned in the sea of near universal enthusiasm. Crystal Palace has shown that a club outside the elite can win a major trophy (sorry, two major trophies) in 2025. Can we hope for a teeny bit more ambition from Fulham?
Ray Brooks, the star of The Knack and Cathy Come Home, passed away on 7 August. I was pleased to see his obituary include his devotion to the Whites. He was one of the celebrities who joined the above mentioned campaign in the 1980s and he wore a Save Fulham badge when he appeared on Terry Wogan's prestigious TV show.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
