Fulham's supporters and support.

[Southdowns White]

As Fulham fans, you can't help notice how our support is slated each week. Play at home and the comments are about our lack of numbers and passionless support, away it's about how few have made the trip. Personally, I think Fulham fc has had an almost unique set of circumstances that have lead to our current situation, a 'Perfect storm' if you like.
Firstly Fulham is a tiny area of London to draw supporters from when compared to most other clubs traditional fanbases.
I grew up, went to school, as many of you may have done, in Fulham and Hammersmith, There was zero chance of me being able to afford a local property in the area as in the late 80s and early 90s Fulham was well on the gentrification band wagon. I only know of one person from my growing up days who still lives in the borough who owns a property, the other few live in rented and council accommodation. By far the vast majority, like myself have moved well away from Fulham and even west London, I now live 54 miles by road from Fulham fc, I live in a very small town that is more like a village, there are 6 season ticket holders here that I know of. My late teenage kids only ever go to about 5 games a year as traditionally they have played sport on Saturdays and taking children to evening games means they would have got home way too late for school the next day.
At the same time Fulham fc (never a big club) went into a downward spiral and as we know, struggled to survive for the best part of a generation with crowds down to record lows.
We have Chelsea, one of the big 6, QPR, for many years more successful during the 80s and 90s, Brentford, still surrounded by a large working class area, although that is changing, Wimbledon, making a very good come back, all on our doorstep.
When I look at who sits around me now in the Hammersmith end at Fulham, it is a real mix, old school and a multitude of people who didn't grow up locally, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Scottish and Eastern European. This Newer mix can only be a good thing for our beloved club, as without them there would be many more empty seats! these newer supporters could also be the reason some of that passion and noise is missing, they do not have that historical chain of learning and singing those songs that many of us had.
I am always disappointed by the comments from other clubs supporters, who have very little knowledge and probably even less though about why our support is like it is. I have travelled to about 75 to 80 away grounds following Fulham, most of those grounds set in largely hardcore working class areas, many deprived areas with lots of post industrial hardship, communities and families that have lived in the area for many generations, the local football club being one of very few focuses for those living there.
I do try to explain to other teams supporters when then bring up the subject of our poor support, why I believe we are what we are, but when you take everything into consideration, I think it's amazing we get the support we do.
I would add, we have been very quiet in recent games at home which has been disappointing, the only time I saw any real passion was the banter with the Bristol city supporters on Saturday. It really would have been fun to let them stay and suffer the second half, most people were disappointed they didn't come back as apart from a handful of supporters it was quite  a humorous episode.
I would be interested in your thoughts.

[SP]

Completely agree, I tend to get absorbed in the game so have little time for banter with the away fans even though I sit near them.

Having seen the interior scale of the new stand, I think it's going to be a real game changer in terms of our club's status & finance.  I've no idea what sort of fans we'll attract but if it equates to a bigger transfer kitty then it's good for me.

[Twig]

Personally I don't necessarily agree with the criticism so, whilst I don't disagree with your analysis, I don't think any explanation is required. We attract a decent gate by Championship standards and in the Prem we often sell out the ground (except when playing utterly disastrously a la Parker).

Our away support can often be heard loud and proud so just because we are a relatively well behaved bunch who don't shout homophobic abuse or racist nonsense, doesn't mean we lack passion. I think some people mistake bigotry and drunkenness for "passion" and it's rank lazy thinking.

If you want an example of our "passion", look no further than the campaign to save us from Fulham Park Rangers or the efforts made to enable us to return to a refurbished Cottage from QPR. This is real passion, a willingness to put in voluntary time and effort for a cause.

[Mr K.Dilkington]

People literally never take into account the amount of professional football clubs in London we're competing with to attract supporters to Fulham. It's so stupid to ignore this and we're competing with 6 London PL teams and that's without factoring in London championship teams.
It's never a very well thought out criticism.
I don't blame people for wanting to watch arse and all,spuds,and those horrible blues ahead of us. And that's without talking about the others lol.
It really is a competitive market and we do nothing to stand out apart from our ground really...

[fluffyninja]

It's surprising if it takes 5-6 minutes before the library song comes out , when I started going in the 80's the atmosphere seemed terrible but then there were barely 3500 people there.It has got a little better through the premier league era but that's just because there are more fans.

Watching on TV last night some of the songs are started and peter out after one verse / round , a few years ago I could hear Leeds fans singing "We all love Leeds" 10 minutes from the ground and they sung for 20 minutes non stop , it almost makes me think why bother that what was such a poor effort at maintaining a song.

The bloke in the last year or two with the foghorn voice in the Hammy End bellowing out Scotty Parkers black and white army was terrible because no one liked Parker so only about 14 people joined in

Away games are different the fans were great at Reading away OK we were 3-0 up at the time but I just don't think we are that bothered and that is quite embarrassing at home games.

The Bristol City fans in the executive box above H7 that celebrated loudly when they scored on Saturday wouldn't have made it out of Elland Road alive , I'm not suggesting we beat anyone up but we're not exactly nasty are we , opposing teams love the whole day out at the cottage it's hardly a fortress.

The bloke that sits in front of me said to his his friend next to him when told the City lot hadn't come out of the box for the second half said "What Bristol City fans" despite 30-40 people all around him giving them stick as we came back and every goal went in , what bubble was he in ?

I can think of about 7 or 8 occasions in 40 years of watching Fulham I remember a great atmosphere Derby playoff game was the last one , when I started going it was an older man's club with blokes smoking pipes now there's loads more younger fans but we still don't sing.We tend to react when we are playing really well only in my opinion.

I work with Brentford fans and I'm sure we've all heard the jokes about our fans being called Piers and Rupert , my grandparents lived in Fulham Court just round the corner from Stamford Bridge in a working class area , Fulham is not the same any more.Even the shithole that is Brentford is getting posher now with apartments going up all around their new ground it's no longer just a bus stop in Hounslow.

Not many working class people if there's any left in Fulham could ever hope to afford to live there now I think our support reflects that , sorry if some of that seems a bit harsh I think it just mirrors modern day life in our changing towns.

[Mr K.Dilkington]

I would just like to add that no English club has a great atmosphere. Zero. Nil. Not compared to like a bottom half bundesliga team even...the culture is unfortunately completely different. European football culture is just so superior in terms of atmosphere/fun it's not really up for argument.

[fluffyninja]

I would just like to add that no English club has a great atmosphere. Zero. Nil. Not compared to like a bottom half bundesliga team even...the culture is unfortunately completely different. European football culture is just so superior in terms of atmosphere/fun it's not really up for argument.

Agree things like the Poznan , all the bouncing up and down and proper singing doesn't happen as much here.

[SP]

The Palace style Ultras receive universal praise but would do my head in.  I've enjoyed the atmosphere of the German games I've been to but it can feel a little contrived IMO.

[fluffyninja]

The Palace style Ultras receive universal praise but would do my head in.  I've enjoyed the atmosphere of the German games I've been to but it can feel a little contrived IMO.

They are another lot that don't shut up !

[Mr K.Dilkington]

I would just like to add that no English club has a great atmosphere. Zero. Nil. Not compared to like a bottom half bundesliga team even...the culture is unfortunately completely different. European football culture is just so superior in terms of atmosphere/fun it's not really up for argument.

Agree things like the Poznan , all the bouncing up and down and proper singing doesn't happen as much here.

I don't care what all the boring,old,dinosaurs on this board think. If we had a proper ultras section by the nearest corner flag to the Thames up the Hammersmith end it would be so fun. And would attract new,younger fans which we desperately need. Some people's football mindset is stuck ridgedly in a previous century and it saddens me.

[Mr K.Dilkington]

Football is supposed to be fun and entertaining,while bringing people together. Well that's my opinion anyway.
People are allowed there's...☺

[Mr K.Dilkington]

The Palace style Ultras receive universal praise but would do my head in.  I've enjoyed the atmosphere of the German games I've been to but it can feel a little contrived IMO.

They are another lot that don't shut up !

That's iterally the whole point of ultras...lol

[Ruislip White]

Often when fans from other clubs criticise our support, what the are effectively saying is that we are generally civil, not shouting c### every 2 minutes and not looking to abuse away fans for 90 mins simply because they happen to support a different team.  So yes, there is less noise.

The same type of people would probably say our 'fans' at Reading were 'quality' for throwing bin bags around and smashing seats.

I take the criticism of our support with a pinch of salt.

[RaySmith]

I always thought we had a pretty good away support - make a good noise, even if not  the numbers of other Champ. teams.
That's how it seems to me, either being   amongst them at a game, or hearing them on TV.

I think away teams get max fans  coming to the Cottage - it's a day out in London, a bit of a holiday, against  hated Londoners - perceived as privileged and ruling over them, and at the iconic Cottage in its very pleasant surroundings and area- and these fans are always really up for it, probably with a good drink inside them.

Most teams probably have a number of London based fans too, ie fans from that area, taking the chance to see their team, who have moved to London to work or study, rather than the plastic Mancs and Scousers of those elite clubs.

[Twig]

I would just like to add that no English club has a great atmosphere. Zero. Nil. Not compared to like a bottom half bundesliga team even...the culture is unfortunately completely different. European football culture is just so superior in terms of atmosphere/fun it's not really up for argument.

Agree things like the Poznan , all the bouncing up and down and proper singing doesn't happen as much here.

I don't care what all the boring,old,dinosaurs on this board think. If we had a proper ultras section by the nearest corner flag to the Thames up the Hammersmith end it would be so fun. And would attract new,younger fans which we desperately need. Some people's football mindset is stuck ridgedly in a previous century and it saddens me.

So if I don't agree with you I'm a "Boring, old, dinosaur".  So I guess it's ok to call you a naive, young, idiot.

[Deeping_white]

Personally I think that when the time comes for the Hammy and Putney ends to be upgraded/reworked however you want to look at it, we need to seriously consider putting in a lower tiered section with the new railed seating to allow for standing and creating a bit of atmosphere down the front of the stand. It's really annoying how we've got the back 5 rows of the hammy end who are the only ones making noise and singing and they get moaned at by stewards for standing up. We're not the noisiest bunch at the best of times and we moan at the ones who do try and get a bit of atmosphere going

[Mr K.Dilkington]

Personally I think that when the time comes for the Hammy and Putney ends to be upgraded/reworked however you want to look at it, we need to seriously consider putting in a lower tiered section with the new railed seating to allow for standing and creating a bit of atmosphere down the front of the stand. It's really annoying how we've got the back 5 rows of the hammy end who are the only ones making noise and singing and they get moaned at by stewards for standing up. We're not the noisiest bunch at the best of times and we moan at the ones who do try and get a bit of atmosphere going

+1 exactly

[Mr K.Dilkington]

I would just like to add that no English club has a great atmosphere. Zero. Nil. Not compared to like a bottom half bundesliga team even...the culture is unfortunately completely different. European football culture is just so superior in terms of atmosphere/fun it's not really up for argument.

Agree things like the Poznan , all the bouncing up and down and proper singing doesn't happen as much here.

I don't care what all the boring,old,dinosaurs on this board think. If we had a proper ultras section by the nearest corner flag to the Thames up the Hammersmith end it would be so fun. And would attract new,younger fans which we desperately need. Some people's football mindset is stuck ridgedly in a previous century and it saddens me.

So if I don't agree with you I'm a "Boring, old, dinosaur".  So I guess it's ok to call you a naive, young, idiot.

Your style of support is dying and everyone with a braincell can see that. I'm not attacking you personally it's just so clear to what way football support/supporters are trending to in the future. And you can rail against it all you want but ultra-esque support is what will attract new fulham fans imo.
And I like to think i'm pretty switched on to what young football fans go for these days. Just saying...

[Samjack]

I agree with almost all of what the original poster said, very astute observations. I would add a few more thoughts though as to why we are either sometimes quiet/ don't always travel in big numbers *OR* give that impression (I'm not 100% sure it's completely accurate):

1. I think you overestimate the noise and passion at other clubs. Most grounds are quite quiet these days. Football and society has changed a lot in the last 20 or so years. Brentford, QPR, Chelsea are no different. The average league game at Man U and Liverpool is *very* quiet, even if they can still raise it for the very big matches. Every away fan sings songs about libraries and sh1t support wherever they go. It's not just at us.

2. Craven Cottage. I love it. But the accoustics are terrible. Sound just doesn't retain in the stadium. It makes it seem much quieter than it actually is. Sometimes it is really rocking in the Hammersmith End and I've got mates down at the Putney End who say they didn't hear it.

3. The gentrification of the area that happened in the 80s and 90s coincided with our demise as you said. There were a lot of geezers/ rowdy working class types who either moved out of the area or started to watch Chelsea instead. I'm aware of a lot of fans who would follow Fulham in the 60s and 70s but didn't want to watch lower league football in front of a few thousand in the 80s and 90s and so started going down the Bridge (and to a lesser extent down Loftus Road). Their offspring would then be brought up to follow Chelsea so I think we lost a proportion of our noisy fan demographic and the subsequent family connections in the 80s and 90s... The amount of geezer Chelsea fans I've met who are your typical 'loudest bloke in the flat roof pub' or who were the loud, naughty kid at school (in the 80s and 90s) who told me their grandad/uncle/dad used to support Fulham but they were taken to Chelsea instead because Fulham were so sh1t as a kid is unreal.

4. I would guess that Fulham's support is the furthest from its home ground out of any club in the country. This means that there is less of a feeling that people are coming to 'our' area/town that we need to defend/ make hostile, in the way a club like say, Stoke would. It also means that away games are less fun sometimes because people are coming from such a wide area they can't travel together (in my group they are coming from Surrey, Sussex, West Country, Zone 6 West London and South London for example)... which makes the appeal of travelling long distances on a beano with your mates less attractive because a large proportion of the day won't actually be with your mates, you'd just be meeting them there or close to it... As a result our away support fluctuates in numbers rather than is constantly terrible or brilliant. Sometimes we travel with several thousand sometimes it drops down to a few hundred. Having such a dispersed support is a big reason for that.

5. I think we have a much older fan base than most others. We were well supported in the 50s and 60s but due to our lean years we didn't pick up many new fans in the 80s and 90s, links were broken and so we have lots of fans who began watching in the 50s, 60s and 70s... they are all quite old now! Old people tend to be quieter.

6. Your point about our crowd being a real mix of people is a very good one. In some ways it is really nice. Young and old. Lots of women. Foreigners - especailly Yanks and Antipodeons, old-school working class fellas, middle class chaps, reasonable numbers of ethnic minorities, a fair few anoraks, families etc. It is like a complete slice of London life and it makes for a nice friendly atmosphere but it is not a 'united mass of blokes representing their club as one'. That is what all clubs used to be and some, say Leeds or Millwall, still are to a large extent, and that makes for a louder crowd.

7. Linked to all of this... WHEN we go up, the worst thing the club could do is raise the ticket prices. They absolutely must reserve a load of tickets that are cheaper. They should definitley have cheaper tickets for 16 - 26 year olds. This age bracket tends to have less cash but are also the most likely to create an atmosphere. It would be madness to price them out. I also think it would be mad if the club did not embrace the opportunity to bring back a safe standing section. This, in my opinion, would do wonders for the atmosphere at the ground.   

[Samjack]

Personally I think that when the time comes for the Hammy and Putney ends to be upgraded/reworked however you want to look at it, we need to seriously consider putting in a lower tiered section with the new railed seating to allow for standing and creating a bit of atmosphere down the front of the stand. It's really annoying how we've got the back 5 rows of the hammy end who are the only ones making noise and singing and they get moaned at by stewards for standing up. We're not the noisiest bunch at the best of times and we moan at the ones who do try and get a bit of atmosphere going

100% agree with this.