View from the River: Fulham will never be the same again but thanks for the memories Mo
Last night the 16-year tenure of Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed came to an end when he confirmed the sale of the club to the billionaire NFL franchise owner of Jacksonville Jaguars Shahid Khan. Here Fulham blogger Ben Walker pays a fond farewell to the Egyptian.
Firstly a confession. I have never watched a Fulham team that hasnt been owned by Mo. Throughout the years I've stood and sat at Craven Cottage, the generous spectre of our Pharaoh has always loomed large.
In many ways it is hard to imagine following Fulham without Mo walking round the pitch, at a time slightly too close to kick-off, waving his scarf at everyone while surrounded by a rather large group of bodyguards.
Columns looking at our future and our new owner, Shahid Khan, deserve to be written (and will be) but for now I would like to thank Mo for everything he has done for the club.
I can remember many articles over the years detailing how Mo was about to sell the club and turn the prime real estate that is Craven Cottage into flats for a pyramid full of money. Time after time they were wrong.
Throughout 16 years of ownership he remained committed to our club when many, many others pulled out of theirs. Portsmouth, Leeds and others provide stark reminders of what can happen to Premier League clubs whose owners, for one reason or another, lost interest or spent beyond their means. Mo never did this and his final gift of turning a circa 160million loan owed to him into equity made us buyable and financially viable for the future.
From Kevin Keegan to Martin Jol via a Europa League final, Michael Jackson, Roy Hodgson's defence, Jean Tigana's attack, Captain Cookie, and the great escape, Fulham has not and will never be the same again.
Mo, gave me the opportunity to love and enjoy Fulham and I will be forever grateful for that.
Id like to echo other Fulham fans in encouraging the club to rename the Riverside Stand after him, here: http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/alfayedstand (http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/alfayedstand)
Thank you Mo and in your own words - We're not Real Madrid, we're not Barcelona, we are Fulham, Al Fayed (was) the owner.
http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/view_from_the_river_fulham_will_never_be_the_same_again_but_thanks_for_the_memories_mo_1_2277027 (http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/view_from_the_river_fulham_will_never_be_the_same_again_but_thanks_for_the_memories_mo_1_2277027)
Fulham said to be keen on signing Liverpool outcast
Fulham are keen to sign Uruguayan defender Sebastien Coates from Liverpool, reports the Daily Mirror.
The 22 year old has made only a handful of appearances in the past two years at Anfield, and could see his role in the first team further pushed reduced due to the arrival of Kolo Toure from Manchester City on a free transfer. With Jamie Carragher's retirement, it seems most probable that the Ivorian will replace the England veteran in the first team, which means that Coates' role at the club will hardly change.
In fact, the Uruguayan has seen his stocks plummet after arriving from Nacional eighteen months ago, with his only significant contribution a brilliant overhead kick against Queens Park Rangers. Coates has even fallen behind home grown youngsters like Andre Wisdom in the Liverpool pecking order. The 22 year old has just 12 Premier League appearances to his name during his time at the club.
Fulham manager Martin Jol is keen to sign a big central defender for the Cottagers this season, and a 5 million pound move for the Uruguayan international could soon materialize as Coates is available for a relatively cheap price and perfectly fits the requirements of the London club.
http://footylatest.com/fulham-said-to-be-keen-on-signing-liverpool-outcast/46324? (http://footylatest.com/fulham-said-to-be-keen-on-signing-liverpool-outcast/46324?)
Pak-American tycoon becomes owner of an English Premier League team
LONDON: American tycoon of Pakistani origin, Shahid Khan has completed the takeover of Fulham and will be unveiled as the new owner on Saturday.
Mohamed Al Fayed has confirmed he sold Fulham to Shahid Khan, who already also owns the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars.
Barclays Premier League has already approved the transaction.
Khan assumes 100 per cent ownership of the club, debt-free. A formal announcement is scheduled to take place at 1pm on Saturday at Craven Cottage.
'My time of serving as the custodian of Fulham Football Club would one day come to an end, and I feel that time has now arrived,' Al Fayed said.
Khan, 62, is the first non-American to own a NFL club and sees the global sports picture. He describes London as 'the missing piece' in the growth of his NFL team. Buying Fulham for a price in excess of £150m would allow him the opportunity to promote both his sports brands to maximum effect in London.
Forbes ranked Khan last year among the world's richest 500 people with an estimated wealth of £1.7bn, putting him somewhere between Newcastle's Mike Ashley and Arsenal's Stan Kroenke in Premier League terms. His arrival is likely to provide Fulham with a lot more spending power.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-109179-Pak-American-tycoon-becomes-owner-of-an-English-Premier-League-team? (http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-109179-Pak-American-tycoon-becomes-owner-of-an-English-Premier-League-team?)
Profile - New Fulham owner Khan will be up-front and personal
MIAMI: New Fulham chief Shahid Khan, the Premier League's latest foreign owner, is likely to break the mould and be one of the most open and public of billionaires to take control of one of England's top flight clubs.
Other international owners such as Russian Roman Abramovich (Chelsea) and American Malcolm Glazer (Manchester United) rarely talk to the media or engage with fans but Khan has shown that he enjoys attention.
When Khan bought the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011, he brought his yacht into port in the northern Florida city and set about a series of community meetings with local politicians and fans.
"He is kind of a rock star with the fans," Alfie Crow, editor of the Jaguars' fan blog 'Big Cat Country,' told Reuters.
"He comes out to practice, interacts with the fans and talks to them. He is very much out there and engaged. He has really energised people."
Any trepidation Jaguars fans initially had about the team's new owner quickly dissipated as he won them over with his charm, not to mention a thick handlebar mustache and flowing hair that is a marked change from the staid image of the traditional NFL owner.
Khan, after all, is far from a typical owner of an American sports franchise.
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, where he not surprisingly fell in love with cricket, Khan moved to the United States as a 16-year-old, sleeping in a YMCA and washing dishes on his way to earning an engineering degree at the University of Illinois.
He ended up buying the first company to give him a job, transforming Flex-N-Gate into a lucrative car parts business. In 2010 he was making his first move into the sports world with an attempt to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams.
The man who foiled that attempt was Stan Kroenke, who took majority ownership of the Rams. At Fulham, Khan will be in close proximity to Kroenke, the majority shareholder in London club Arsenal.
While Khan missed out on the Rams he did win friends in the NFL's elite ownership group and that helped him when he finally got into the league with the Jaguars.
"I thought, I have developed a love and affection as a fan for the sport and I'd like to be part of it," he told Reuters in an interview last year.
As well as engaging with the local fan base, Khan has emphasised the opportunities to "put Jacksonville on the map" by taking the Jaguars to London for an annual game over the next four seasons.
It was typical of Khan's approach though that he responded to speculation that his move for Fulham might have a negative impact on the Jaguars by emailing the team's season ticket holders to reassure them.
"Fulham F.C. will operate as a fully stand-alone business from the Jaguars. Fulham and the Jaguars each have a great responsibility to their players, fans, partners and communities, and both deserve nothing less than a 100 percent commitment from ownership," he wrote.
"In short, our pledge to you - a Jaguars franchise that is proud, bold and committed - remains unchanged.
Fulham season ticket holders can expect the same sort of hands-on attention, including fan forums, emails, media appearances, the kind of things that most foreign Premier League owners shy away from.
"I want to be clear, I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham, but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans," said Khan.
"My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future that fans of present and future generations can be proud of."
The Premier League, with its unrestricted free-market approach to wages and transfers, is a very different world to the closed, salary-capped business model of the NFL, and it will be fascinating to see how Khan approaches Fulham.
However it turns out, Fulham fans are certainly going to know they have a new owner.
http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Profile+-+New+Fulham+owner+Khan+will+be+up-front+and+personal&NewsID=383568 (http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Profile+-+New+Fulham+owner+Khan+will+be+up-front+and+personal&NewsID=383568)
Thank You Kind Sir
This week will go down as a very important week in the history of Fulham Football Club.
We`ve witnessed a changing of the guard with Mohamed Al Fayed deciding that, at 84 years of age, it was time to step aside and hand the club over, lock stock and barrel, to a new owner, with that new owner being Shahid Khan.
The change in ownership will see Mohamed Al Fayed step aside after 16 years as our owner. In that time the Egyptian has transformed the club beyond all recognition.
We`re no longer languishing in the third tier of English football, we`re back at our spiritual home and along the route we tasted a European Final, something we could only dream about back in those days when we were in the third tier.
Now I could wax lyrical about how Mohamed Al Fayed has changed our club but I guess that will be done by numerous other sites, instead I`m going to keep it very simple and simply offer a very big THANK YOU for everything you`ve done for Fulham Football Club sir and I genuinely hope that we`ll see your familiar face, somewhere, around Craven Cottage for many years to come.
Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=324876#ixzz2YzeGYDQC (http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=324876#ixzz2YzeGYDQC)
Should the Statue Stay?
The erection of the statue of Michael Jackson, outside Craven Cottage, never really sat easily with many Fulham supporters.
Whilst some accepted it, others just didn`t get it!
But now that Mohamed Al Fayed has sold the club to Shahid Khan, the big question on everyone`s lips is will the statue stay?
My feeling are that although it is a monstrosity and has naff all to do with Fulham Football Club, I`m tempted to say let it stay put as a lasting memory of everything Mohamed Al Fayed did for our club.
But that`s only my view, what`s yours?
Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=324877#ixzz2YzeRbBkv (http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=324877#ixzz2YzeRbBkv)
A Chest Full of Cash
With Shahid Khan having taken over Fulham Football Club, the indications are, from the tabloid press, there may be some serious money being made available to improve the club.
If so, Martin Jol will be licking his hands in anticipation knowing that, at last, he can improve the squad and take us forward.
But, if some serious cash is to be made available, the question remains as to who Fulham Football Club should pursue.
Has anyone got any ideas?
Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=324878#ixzz2Yzec4LXD (http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=324878#ixzz2Yzec4LXD)
Chelsea boss backs former Fulham man to challenge Cech
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes that Mark Schwarzer will be able to push number one goalkeeper Petr Cech.
The Blues made a surprise move on bringing in the 40-year-old Australian on a one-year deal but the Portuguese boss is happy with the signing.
"I always said even when I was coaching other teams that we have the best goalkeeper in the world but we need competition for him, we need protection, we need motivation," Mourinho said in Bangkok.
"We need somebody that can give us security and I think Schwarzer is perfect for that because he's a very good goalkeeper, he's very experienced.
"He spent all his career in the Premier League so the Premier League is his natural habitat, so, getting a good opportunity for a free transfer, we have in Mark the goalkeeper we need to complete our group of goalkeepers."
http://www.london24.com/sport/chelsea/chelsea_boss_backs_former_fulham_man_to_challenge_cech_1_2277124 (http://www.london24.com/sport/chelsea/chelsea_boss_backs_former_fulham_man_to_challenge_cech_1_2277124)
Martin Jol excited by pre-season tour of Costa Rica
Fulham manager Martin Jol has admitted his excitement ahead of the club's first pre-season match in Costa Rica.
The Cottagers are currently in South America where they will play CS Cartagines, LD Alajuelense and Deportivo Saprissa.
"We expect to play three very good games, for us it is wonderful to be here," Jol told the club's official website. "The facilities are good, we started training today and tomorrow we have two sessions and we play the first game on Sunday."
Fulham start the new Premier League campaign at Sunderland on August 17.
http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/fulham/news/jol-excited-by-pre-season-tour_93284.html (http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/fulham/news/jol-excited-by-pre-season-tour_93284.html)
Fulham announce sale of club to Shahid Khan
Fulham have announced the sale of the club to Shahid Khan, the CEO of Flex-N-Gate Group and owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League in the US.
"Fulham will be in very good hands with Shahid, whose success in business and passion for sport is very evident"
Mohamed Al Fayed
The transaction has been approved by the Premier League, after it satisfied the Premier League's rules for changes of ownership, and Khan assumes 100% ownership of the club, debt-free, as of Friday. A formal announcement is scheduled at Craven Cottage, the club's stadium, on Saturday at 1pm BST.
The takeover brings to an end 16 years of ownership under Mohamed Al Fayed, during which the club rose from the third tier of English football to the Barclays Premier League.
"My time of serving as the custodian of Fulham Football Club would one day come to an end, and I feel that time has now arrived," Al Fayed said. "The time is right because I have found a very good man in Shahid Khan to accept the responsibility and privilege that I have enjoyed at Fulham since 1997. Fulham will be in very good hands with Shahid, whose success in business and passion for sport is very evident."
Khan expressed his respect for Al Fayed and his "honour" at taking over the club.
"Fulham is the perfect club at the perfect time for me"
Shahid Khan
"Fulham is the perfect club at the perfect time for me," Khan said. "I want to be clear, I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham, but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans. My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future that fans of present and future generations can be proud of.
"We will manage the club's financial and operational affairs with prudence and care, with youth development and community programs as fundamentally important elements of Fulham's future."
http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/2013-14/jul/shahid-khan-takes-over-fulham.html? (http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/2013-14/jul/shahid-khan-takes-over-fulham.html?)
Thanks for the memories Mohamed Al Fayed
TEAMtalk's Fulham FanZoner Henry Walmsley thanks Mohamed Al Fayed after the many highs of his 16-year stint in charge of the Cottagers.
I've been writing blogs for FanZone for about three months now, and I'm not sure whether this will be the easiest, or the hardest I've had to write; there's so much to say, yet it is so hard to do it justice. So here goes.
The only place to start is to say thanks. A huge thanks to Mohamed Al Fayed. It is inconceivable to think where we would be had he not taken over, League Two? Non-league? Maybe extinct. As it is we're an established Premier League team, watching some of the world's greatest players gracing our pitch each week.
I was about to say there have been highs and lows, but there haven't. When you think where we would be without him, there have only been highs. What is a Premier League relegation battle compared to playing in front of 500 every Saturday on an awful pitch? When he took over, he said he wanted to make Fulham the Manchester United of the South. We may not quite have achieved that, but I'm sure not many fans at the time would have predicted us beating them 3-1 away only six years later.
Perhaps the highest of highs was the Europa League final, how much I'm sure he would have loved to win that. Alas it was not to be, but the achievement of getting there was staggering, one of the great European stories and some of the greatest nights the Cottage has ever seen. I cannot thank Mo enough for all the memories, which will last with me forever.
I think he has left at the right time. The club are in a very healthy position, and I don't think he could have taken us any further. His parting gift was leaving us in the hands of Shahid Khan - a man who seems very capable of looking after us. Only time will tell of course but I've heard very positive things from Jacksonville Jaguars fans, the NFL franchise he currently owns, and he is certainly saying all the right things. Khan said: "I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham, but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans. My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future."
This brings me to an important point, and one which I'm sure many fans will be concerned about. Craven Cottage is the heart of Fulham Football Club, and attempts in the past to move away have been vigorously opposed by fans. If the stewardship of Khan is successful, I think there will come a time when we have to choose between the Cottage or progression. Our history is something we're very proud of, but it should not be a barrier to progression. But that time is not now, and I'm getting ahead of myself.
It's important to fans that we do not lose our values as a club. There is always a worry with mega rich owners taking over that we will become, for use of a better word, plastic. We are Fulham Football Club, the oldest team in London, with the oldest stand in the football league. We do not want to become the Fulham Jaguars.
I move into next season with a sense of cautious excitement. I'm very excited about the prospect of us bringing in some much needed quality in certain areas of the pitch, and perhaps being able to move up the table a bit. But the Venkys and Tony Fernandes' have shown how disastrous owners who know little about the game can be. I hope with all my heart this does not happen to us.
I'll end by making the point that Al Fayed's first home game in charge of us was against Wrexham, his last was against Liverpool. Thank you Mo for putting this fantastic club back where it deserves to be.
http://www.teamtalk.com/fanzone/15164/8821555/Thanks-for-the-memories-Mohamed-Al-Fayed? (http://www.teamtalk.com/fanzone/15164/8821555/Thanks-for-the-memories-Mohamed-Al-Fayed?)
Al Fayed was incredible - Khan
New Fulham owner Shahid Khan believes renaming the Riverside Stand after Mohamed Al Fayed would be a fitting tribute to the Egyptian.
After a week of sustained reports, the Cottagers on Friday night confirmed a deal had been struck with Khan, billionaire owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It brings Al Fayed's 16-year reign at Craven Cottage to an end - a period in which his money helped transform the west Londoners from a third-tier outfit to an established Premier League side.
Such generosity and support means the former Harrods owner is adored by Fulham fans, with more than 1,300 of them signing a petition to rename the Riverside Stand the Mohamed Al Fayed Stand.
"I would absolutely be open to that," he said when asked about renaming the stand. "I think we have to honour him, we have to respect what he did.
"That would be something we want to think about, but absolutely I would be open to that and everything.
"I think he has an incredible legacy here. I think if you are a Fulham fan, you understand that. How important that is, what the man did for this club.
"I have a huge amount of respect for that and it's history. I think we have to respect it but we have to move forward."
Khan and Al Fayed posed for the media at a photocall on the Craven Cottage pitch this afternoon, with the former Harrods owner putting on a fake moustache similar to that of his replacement.
One of Khan's first moves will be to get the development of the Riverside Stand under way, which would see Craven Cottage's capacity increased to 30,000.
However, the new owner was coy when asked how much he had paid for the club and was reserved when asked about his plans for the future.
"The goals for this club are very clear," Khan said. "I think it has to do community affairs, we have to have a youth development programme, we have to invest in Craven Cottage.
"On the pitch, we have to have sustainable results moving forwards.
"I have felt that football clubs, whether soccer or NFL football clubs, are civic institutions.
"We are custodians of that. It is business, yet it is a civic asset.
"Fulham is going to be Fulham. It has its unique character, unique history and our goal would be to develop that, respect that and move it forwards."
Born in Pakistan, the 62-year-old moved to the United States aged 16 for college and went on to create an auto parts empire.
Khan is now worth a reported £1.9billion and such riches allowed him to buy NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011.
The Jaguars will play one regular season game a season at Wembley for the next few seasons and, while keen to stress they are separate entities, hopes there can be tie-ups.
"Jacksonville Jaguars are going to be playing in London one game a year for the next four years," he said.
"They are the home team for London so we have a tie and a bond with London.
"I think these are independent clubs, they are going to be run independently, but there are best practices and there could be some synergies. We want to explore them and use them."
Meanwhile Al Fayed has told Khan the much-maligned Michael Jackson statue must stay at Craven Cottage - or his moustache will get the chop.
"Michael Jackson will stay. He can't go, he is here," Al Fayed said, turning to Khan.
"It is part of the deal, it is history, it is listed. You can't change otherwise I will come and take your moustache in public. He knows that."
Al Fayed insists Fulham is going to a good home.
"It is hard of course over so many years," the 84-year-old said. "I have done everything possible to help the club and give it what it deserves.
"It is time for me to have a rest. I have four grandchildren and I would just love to spend time with them.
"It is a hard decision but to find the right person, who really can takeover and look after the club and believe in the club, I find Mr Khan a great guy. He will follow my policy, he will look after the players, the fans.
"He is a great guy, he owns another football club in the United States and without me believing that he is a person who cares I would never pass the club to anybody."
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/8821648/-? (http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/8821648/-?)
Shahid Khan Buys Fulham Soccer Team For $300 Million
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan has purchased the English soccer team Fulham FC from Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al Fayed for $300 million, according to my sources. The enterprise value paid by the NFL team owner is a modest 2.5 times Fulham's 2011-12 revenue, based on the soccer team's 2011-12 financial statements.
The reason for the low valuation, despite the attractive real estate Khan acquires in purchasing Fulham, is the soccer team's consistent mediocre performance on the pitch, which has prevented Fulham not only from qualifying for the Champions League tournament but also from capitalizing on the Premier League's television revenue since Al Fayed bought the team 16 years ago. As a result, Fulham loses money (in the sense of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and had negative equity of $293 million.
In order for Fulham to become profitable, Khan will have to spend more money to get better players. A better performance on the pitch, in turn, will give Fulham a bigger chunk of the Premier League's television distribution, which would help make the team profitable. The economics of English soccer could be to the billionaire's advantage: In the Premier League, the better a team does on the pitch the more television money it receives, and there is no limit on how much teams can spend on player rosters; in the NFL television money is split evenly among the 32 teams regardless of performance and player salaries are capped at about 50% of league revenue.
Khan's entry into sports has clearly been as a value investor. The Jaguars have never been to a Super Bowl and have not qualified for the postseason since 2007. Khan snapped up the Jaguars last January for $770 million, or just 3.3 times revenue. In contrast, Jimmy Haslam recently bought the Cleveland Browns, another struggling football team, for $987 million, or 3.8 times revenue.
Al Fayed takes a small loss on the sale. He paid $45 million for Fulham in 1997 and has loaned the team $288 million.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2013/07/13/shahid-khan-buys-fulham-soccer-team-for-300-million/? (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2013/07/13/shahid-khan-buys-fulham-soccer-team-for-300-million/?)
New Fulham owner Khan will hold talks with Jol as Al Fayed dons comedy moustache
Fulham's new billionaire owner Shahid Khan insists he will speak to manager Martin Jol this week before assessing the future of the club.
But Mark Lamping, president of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Khan's NFL franchise, has warned that if people do not measure up to the new man's high standards there will be changes.
Khan is due to fly to Costa Rica on Friday to watch Fulham in the club's pre-season tour and will speak to Jol, who Khan 'hopes' will start the season as manager.
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/13/article-2362561-1ACB76BA000005DC-926_634x507.jpg)
Welcome aboard: Al Fayed impersonates Khan with a fake moustache at Craven Cottage
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/13/article-2362561-1ACB7302000005DC-403_306x423.jpg) (http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/13/article-2362561-1ACB7234000005DC-121_306x423.jpg)
All yours: Al Fayed has handed over the gauntlet to Khan after taking them from the third tier to the top flight
The Pakistan-born American, who built his Illinois engineering firm into a global business and is worth $2.5billion (£1.65bn), according to US magazine Forbes, said: 'I have a lot to learn. I love football — or soccer — and there is great management here. They have a plan.
'I am not a micro- manager so the business I developed — which is auto parts, from a garage to where we are now — there was a key lesson, which is to find the best people, empower them and support them.
'My goal would be to support the football leadership and business leadership, give them all the resources, money and otherwise, and expect results.
'I have not met him [Jol] but I will meet him. I'm planning on going to Costa Rica this week. This transaction happened late in the day and the team had already left. So I haven't had the chance.'
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/13/article-2362561-1ACB7273000005DC-289_634x552.jpg)
Thank you: Khan paid tribute to Al Fayed, who has helped Fulham rise since 1997
Asked whether Jol would start the season: 'I hope so. Everyone speaks very highly of him. He knows a lot more about football than I do. I would just like to understand what the plan is.'
Khan, who says he watched Fulham play Liverpool at Craven Cottage in 2007, makes frequent business trips to London. The Jacksonville Jaguars are due to play one of their eight home fixtures at Wembley each season between 2013 and 2016. But Khan does not appear to be an owner in the mould of Chelsea's Roman Abramovich or Sheik Mansour at Manchester City, and is talking about running a sustainable club.
'Fulham is unique, like any human being, and has its own virtues,' said Khan.
His NFL franchise, however, have endured a torrid time since he took over in January 2012, losing 14 of their 16 matches last season with head coach Mike Mularkey sacked after one year in charge.
Lamping, who accompanied Khan this week and will join Fulham as a director, said: 'We had a terrible year. He wants to give people the resources to be successful and in return there's a high level of accountability.'
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/10/article-2359370-013540FD00000578-957_634x422.jpg)
End of the road: Al Fayed has always been a popular figure at the Cottage
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/10/article-2359370-0002E80000000258-877_634x422.jpg)
Sky's the limit: The businessman has lent Fulham about £200m interest free since buying the club in 1997
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2362561/Shahid-Khan-hold-talks-Martin-Jol-discuss-Fulhams-future.html#ixzz2YzhUg6P2 (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2362561/Shahid-Khan-hold-talks-Martin-Jol-discuss-Fulhams-future.html#ixzz2YzhUg6P2)
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Damien Duff's new boss has a magnificent moustache
Fulham has changed hands as of last night, and their new owner has one of the finest moustaches around
The deal to sell Fulham was finalised last night for around £150 million, and seeing as our own Damien Duff is currently plying his trade at the London club, we just had to bring to your attention Shahid Khan's magnificent moustache. Check it out:
(http://media.joe.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/moustache-854x1024.jpg)
He also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, and he sent a letter out to fans of the American football franchise to ensure them that the ownership will treat both teams as separate entities, while also putting Fulham fans at ease by saying that he was a long time football fan.
No word on yet on his plans for the Michael Jackson statue outside Craven Cottage though...
http://www.joe.ie/football/football-news/damien-duffs-new-boss-has-a-magnificent-moustache/? (http://www.joe.ie/football/football-news/damien-duffs-new-boss-has-a-magnificent-moustache/?)
Fulham Sale Adds to the Alarming US Takeover of English Football: Daily Soccer Report
(http://worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/fulham-khan-al-fayed-600x450.jpg)
The Guardian's resident anti-capitalist curmudgeon David Conn writes today that "no one seems to question why an increasing number of rich American businessmen are buying up England's leading clubs." It's a fair question considering 30% of the Premier League teams are owned by Americans. But his comments have a tinge of anti-Americanism. After all, 60% of all Premier League clubs are owned by foreigners, so why pick on the Americans?
http://worldsoccertalk.com/2013/07/13/fulham-sale-adds-to-the-alarming-us-takeover-of-english-football-daily-soccer-report/? (http://worldsoccertalk.com/2013/07/13/fulham-sale-adds-to-the-alarming-us-takeover-of-english-football-daily-soccer-report/?)
On Khan's 1st full day as Fulham owner, pressing issue is future of Michael Jackson statue
LONDON — Standing on Fulham's field next to the River Thames, Shad Khan quickly discovered that the issues Premier League owners must tackle extend far beyond soccer.
On his first full day running the London club, the trickiest questions Khan had to face were not about the cash available for new players, or goals for the upcoming season.
The pressing issue locally for the owner of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday was about Michael Jackson.
Yes, the late "King of Pop."
A statue of Jackson sits outside Fulham's Craven Cottage stadium, commissioned after the star's death in 2009 by Mohamed Al Fayed in one of the most contentious decisions of his 18-year ownership.
Now that the Cottagers have been sold, might the statue be removed?
Khan hesitated.
"I've been an owner less than a day," he said, searching for a diplomatic response. "We have to preserve and respect history, but we have to move forward. I'll reflect on it and listen to the fans, then decide."
There's no decision to be made, according to Al Fayed.
"Michael Jackson will stay — it's part of the deal," the Egyptian said, before adding with Khan in ear-shot: "Are you listening to me about Michael Jackson? You promise now? Otherwise ... I will take your moustache off."
The moustache has been Khan's trademark since 1972 as he built his fortune in the automotive industry after moving to the U.S. from Pakistan. He bought the Jaguars in 2011 and now Fulham in a deal thought to be worth more than $200 million.
As Fayed bid farewell to the club he took from the third tier into the Premier League, the former owner of the Harrods department store donned a fake moustache to pose for pictures with Khan on a day of rare scorching heat in London.
The takeover was wrapped up swiftly ahead of Fulham's Aug. 17 opener at Sunderland as the 84-year-old Al Fayed heads into retirement.
But it was the NFL that first enabled Khan to establish a sporting bond with London. The Jaguars will play regular- season games at Wembley Stadium for four consecutive seasons starting with an Oct. 27 meeting against the San Francisco 49ers.
"We obviously have the commitment to London with Jacksonville so I was looking at that," Khan told The Associated Press, discussing the takeover in Fulham's locker room.
"I have watched Fulham and I know the history and I've been to a game here. I just thought about contacting Mr. Al Fayed about a month or so ago just to talk to him, and one thing led to another."
Khan's takeover means six of the 20 current Premier League clubs have American ownership, including four with links to NFL teams.
Aston Villa's Randy Lerner sold the Cleveland Browns last year, the family of Arsenal's Stan Kroenke own the St. Louis Rams and the Glazer family controls both Manchester United and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Khan said the abuse directed by some United fans at the Glazers over the debt they added to the club did not give him any reservations about buying Fulham.
"They have a right to express themselves," Khan said. "But on the other hand, I think the world of the Glazers. I think they have done a great job with Man U, so there might be a little difference of opinion."
Khan said his takeover preserves Fulham's debt-free status and hopes the association with the Jaguars will help to attract sponsors to the Cottagers.
"Certainly Jacksonville coming to London, that helps getting sponsors, but I'd love for Fulham to come to Jacksonville," he said, speaking beneath midfielder Kerim Frei's jersey.
Khan avoided making any lavish claims about how much of his fortune — estimated by Forbes magazine to be $2.9 billion — will be invested.
There were also no outlandish targets set for manager Martin Jol, whose team finished 12th this year in its 12th consecutive season in the Premier League.
Jaguars president Mark Lamping, who has become a director at Fulham, told the AP that Khan "has a philosophy of "hire the best people you can" and then expect results.
Khan made sweeping changes at the Jaguars after the first season following his $760 million-takeover ended in a franchise-worst 2-14 record in 2012.
"Virtually everyone on the football side has been replaced, along with over half of our roster," Lamping said. "When you don't achieve to the level you expect ... you owe it to your fans who have made an emotional commitment to your team to make changes."
And Lamping warned that the Jaguars ownership will act as decisively at Fulham.
"Give them the resources, allow them to make decisions, then hold them accountable," Lamping said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/dcunited/on-khans-1st-full-day-as-fulham-owner-pressing-issue-is-future-of-michael-jackson-statue/2013/07/13/947fb1d6-ebca-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html? (http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/dcunited/on-khans-1st-full-day-as-fulham-owner-pressing-issue-is-future-of-michael-jackson-statue/2013/07/13/947fb1d6-ebca-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html?)
New Fulham owner to keep Michael Jackson statue after 'threats' from Mohamed Al Fayed
(http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/ay_114140908.jpg?w=650&h=451&crop=1#038;h=694)
Warning Mohamed Al Fayed (left) has warned Shad Khan (right) (Picture: Reuters)
New Fulham owner Shad Khan looks set to keep the infamous Michael Jackson statue outside of Craven Cottage – after being threatened by Mohamed Al Fayed.
Khan completed the acquisition of Fulham on Friday from Al Fayed, who had owned the club for the last 16 years.
The Egyptian businessman was largely admired during his time at the club, with his bold decision making winning many over.
But Al Fayed was widely ridiculed after planting a garish statue of the Michael Jackson outside the club's ground in 2011 – as a tribute to the singer who he called 'a good friend'.
And despite much rumour and speculation, the figure looks like it will be remaining at Fulham in the Khan era, with Al Fayed admitting he has threatened the NFL mogul if he gets rid of it.
'The Michael Jackson statue is listed with the club and if he dares to move it, he will be in big trouble,' said Al Fayed.
'I will be forced to rip off his moustache if he dares remove it.'
Khan looks like he will be keeping his face fur though, as he told reporters that he plans on respecting Fulham's traditions – including the barmy statue.
'I have to preserve and respect history, and I will reflect on the statue,' said Khan.
'This is a special and historic place.'
Quite.
http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/13/new-fulham-owner-to-keep-michael-jackson-statue-after-threats-from-mohamed-al-fayed-3881297/? (http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/13/new-fulham-owner-to-keep-michael-jackson-statue-after-threats-from-mohamed-al-fayed-3881297/?)
Khan targets 'next level' for Fulham
Shahid Khan has vowed to take Fulham to the "next level" following his takeover of the club.
Khan's buy-out ended Mohamed Al Fayed's 16-year reign as Fulham owner, during which the club were transformed from a struggling bottom-division side to an established Premier League outfit.
And the Pakistan-born billionaire paid tribute to Al Fayed, who has insisted "the time is right" to stand aside.
"I think it [what Al Fayed has done] is incredible," said Khan.
(http://www.westlondonsport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/khan.jpg)
Khan was unveiled on Saturday.
"He rescued Fulham and had a great vision which he's shared with me. I think it's very, very important to all the Fulham fans.
"It's a very special place. This is the perfect club for me at a perfect time. It's the passing of the baton - taking it to the next level."
The 62-year-old Khan, who moved to the United States aged 16, made his fortune selling car parts and has owned NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars since 2011.
Al Fayed confirmed on Friday evening that he had sold the club, with the financial details remaining confidential.
"It has been a pleasure and privilege to be chairman of Fulham Football Club for 16 memorable years," said the 84-year-old.
"The time is right because I have found a very good man in Shahid Khan to accept the responsibility and privilege that I have enjoyed at Fulham since 1997.
"Fulham will be in very good hands with Shahid, whose success in business and passion for sport is very evident.
"I ask everyone who loves Fulham and our Craven Cottage home to welcome Shahid as he begins his journey as the next guardian of Fulham Football Club."
http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/khan-targets-next-level-for-fulham? (http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/khan-targets-next-level-for-fulham?)
Fulham will hope new owner has more success here than in the NFL
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Shahid Khan has had a difficult time in charge of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fulham's long serving chairman Mohammed Al Fayed has sold the club this week to Pakistani born US businessman Shahid Khan after the Egyptian former Harrods owner decided to sell the club he has been in charge of for 16 years.
In that time he has brought unprecedented success to Craven Cottage, and like him or not, the fact remains he bankrolled the clubs rise to the Premier League; where they are now an established member.
And who can forget the Europa League final? Another triumph under the rule of the charismatic 84-year-old.
The deal is worth between £150 and £200 million pounds and while the Flex-N-Gate owner may not be the richest man in the world he is a fair sight richer than most of us.
But Fulham are not his only sporting venture.
He has long been a fan of American Football and has twice tried to buy an NFL franchise.
In 2010 he went in for the St Louis Rams but current Arsenal supremo Stan Kroenke shafted him on that deal.
But at the start of 2012 he managed to get his hands on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
And Fulham fans will hope they do a far lot better than the Jaguars have since Khan became their owner.
In the last NFL season the Jaguars were the joint worst team in the competition; finishing bottom of the AFC South with two wins and 14 losses in their NFL campaign.
Of course the two sports are incredibly different and the structure of the hierarchy is not exactly comparable.
But his time at Jacksonville has not been without controversy and criticism from his fans.
The first piece of controversy was unfortunately due to rather bigoted views over his ethnicity; which obviously has no bearing on his ability to run a football team so is irrelevant.
But many fans criticised his decision to appoint Mike Mularkey as the new head coach in January after his poor showing as offensive co-ordinator for Atlanta Falcons in the play-offs.
And in the end they were proven right when he was sacked almost a year to the day later.
And Fulham fans will hope that The Cottagers have a much better season than The Jaguars did under Khan.
image: © joeshlabotnik
http://hereisthecity.com/2013/07/13/mn-fulham-will-hope-new-owner-has-more-success-here-than-he-has/? (http://hereisthecity.com/2013/07/13/mn-fulham-will-hope-new-owner-has-more-success-here-than-he-has/?)
Farewell, Al Fayed. Welcome, Khan.
by LYDIA on JULY 13, 2013
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Al Fayed and Khan standing on the pitch. nice moustache, Al Fayed!
Yesterday marked a very important transition for our club. New ownership often comes after weeks of media speculation, protests from fans and a lot of stress for both supporters and workers at the particular club. Thankfully the deal was done in Fulham style with it kept very quiet and then announced officially. We only had any inkling that something was going to happen on Wednesday and then, before we knew it, everything was done by Friday night! Apart from perhaps the Michael Jackson statue, the fans of Fulham Football Club certainly haven't had a lot to complain about over the past 16 years since Al Fayed took the club over. He saw us through a number of promotions and has put a lot of money into the club to improve things. We have lasted in the Premier League for 12 years for a number of reasons but one of the biggest reasons was that we have had solid leadership from the very top of the club. Al Fayed was certainly charismatic and would often say exactly what he thought and I guess that gained him a lot of fans. I liked the way he ran the club as he was involved and rarely missed a home game. He had great communication with both Alistair Mackintosh, the manager, the players and the fans. Some fans have grumbled about not enough money being put in the club but I believe that Al Fayed has done more for Fulham than we can even appreciate. Business has been steady at Fulham with us spending more than £10million on very few players but we have gotten through. If I'm honest, I don't think he could have done more for Fulham so it is probably a good time for him to sell on. The incredible thing is that new boss Shahid Khan takes over a club that is completely DEBT FREE. Not many places around the UK are in this sort of position so Al Fayed has been an outstanding business man and a guy who genuinely had Fulham in his heart. Khan has big shoes to fill. Although it is sad to see Al Fayeds' reign come to an end, I do believe that this is a positive move for Fulham. It was always going to have to change at some stage and Al Fayed is convinced that he has found the right guy in Khan. This can only be a good thing. Khan is also no stranger to owning a sports club as he own National Football League team Jacksonville Jaguars. I hoping that he is careful if his dealing and doesn't start to over pay players and spend ridiculous amounts on people QPR style. What we need are steady transfers and continued trust in Jol and the management team. With a change as big as this often comes a very unsettled club so Khan has to ensure that this doesn't happen. I'm excited about what is to come at Fulham. We have a guy who seems very willing to invest in the club, we have plans for a stadium upgrade and there is a full summer to make transfers and improve the squad. All the best, Al Fayed, you have been great. Here's to the future! COYW
http://hammyend.com/index.php/2013/07/farewell-al-fayed-welcome-khan/? (http://hammyend.com/index.php/2013/07/farewell-al-fayed-welcome-khan/?)
Al Fayed, Thank You For Everything
by LRCN on JULY 13, 2013
(http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/july/12/-/media/Gallery/2013/MAF/1111111.ashx?w=926&h=494)
Mohamed Al Fayed as owner of Fulham is all I have ever known. I started supporting shortly after he purchased the club (coincidentally), and being a 6 year old didn't know what to expect. But really, I don't think anyone could have expected what would go on to transpire over the next 16 years, and I don't think words can quite describe how Al Fayed has impacted this club – so I expect this to be short – but I don't think they are necessary either. Quite simply, Al Fayed has taken Fulham Football Club on the most amazing journey. From the bottom of the bottom to European finals, Premier League football, the creme de la creme of footballing talent on the pitch of Craven Cottage every week, it's unbelievable, it really is, and all while keeping the integrity of the club intact. It's not been completely smooth – there was a time when it looked as if we'd never return to the Cottage, and Lawrie Sanchez was an unmitigated disaster – but we can, at this point, forgive him for that. The scale of the journey MAF and Fulham have been on together is simply staggering.
There is something unique about Al Fayed and Fulham I feel, that's different from any other club-owner relationship, and what makes our bond so strong. He is a passionate man, eccentric, and likewise Fulham are an eccentric club. Both entities are rich in honesty and integrity, never apologising for what they are and what they represent. The money is important, of course it is, but Mohamed Al Fayed created a bond between himself and the supporters that goes far, far deeper than the disconnected, superficial sugar daddy glorification found among other clubs (like Chelsea and City). I get the sense that if their benefactors leave, they will miss the money – but we will miss the man.
Not only should we recognise what Al Fayed has done for us, but what he has left behind too. With CEO Alistair Mackintosh, the club are in safe hands. He has proved himself exceptionally competent and myself and the other members of the Fulham Supporters' Trust were extremely encouraged by him in our meeting a few weeks ago. We are a stable Premier League club with a wise shift in focus from first team investment (which was considerable up until a couple of years ago) to focusing on youth. We are set to have an expansion of the Riverside Stand to develop our spiritual home, Craven Cottage, and with the current coaching set up and player roster there is a lot of promise there.
Al Fayed been through a lot aside since '97 from Fulham – the death of his son, the battles with the press and Royal Family, the sale of Harrods – but all the while he has grown us in one way or another. The memories of bringing Michael Jackson on to the pitch for a Division 2 game (and then building a statue in his memory), the scarf waving, the outbursts, the We're Not Real Madrid... Mohamed Al Fayed will be missed. Thanks for everything.
LRCN
http://hammyend.com/index.php/2013/07/al-fayed-thank-you-for-everything/? (http://hammyend.com/index.php/2013/07/al-fayed-thank-you-for-everything/?)
U21/U18 Triumphs
Fulham's Under-21 and Under-18 sides each recorded a 1-0 victory in their opening pre-season friendlies on Saturday.
Kit Symons' U21 side travelled to Blue Square Bet Premier outfit Sutton United in the 3pm kick-off and left it late to secure victory.
The game looked as though it was heading for a goalless draw until Cauley Woodrow headed home from a corner in the 85th minute.
Earlier in the day, the U18s narrowly defeated London rivals Millwall at Motspur Park, with youngster Wesley McDonald grabbing the only goal.
http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/july/13/u21u18-triumphs? (http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/july/13/u21u18-triumphs?)
Sutton United 0 - 1 Fulham XI
Sutton United 0 - 1 Fulham XI 4
(Woodrow 85)
Half-time Score- 0-0 Attendance- 752
A blazing hot day brought drinks breaks every 15 minutes as the U's entertained their second Premiership club inside 24 hours. The visitors, like Arsenal, brought a young team containing players with international experience and it proved another good test for the U's, against a different style of play to the previous evening. James Folkes began in lively mood and was involved twice in the game's first attack, crossing for Jamie Slabber to bring a good save out of keeper Bettinelli with a powerful header. Tom Lovelock then made a good save with his feet and, indeed, was the busier of the two keepers in the first half, making two more good saves. Cauley Woodrow almost broke the deadlock when he outjumped Lovelock but looped his header over the bar.
Both teams made changes at the break giving several young players a chance. The game remained very even but the heat was playing its part and the pace dropped. Bettinelli made a good low save from the lively Chris Benjamin and another from a Craig Dundas header whilst debutant Luke Badiali made some equally fine stops in the Sutton goal. The game was decided in the closing minutes when Woodrow rose high to head home from a corner.
U's Chairman Bruce Elliott was smiling after the game. "I think we have had a really good weekend. Two good matches against strong sides and I'd like to thank both Arsenal and Fulham for bringing sides down, I hope they have found the games as useful as we did and they'd be more than welcome in the future. The weather has been superb and that seems to have encouraged crowds even better than we were expecting.
Sutton: Tom Lovelock, Mitchell Nelsom, Sam Rents, Jamie Stuart, Moses Swaibu, ALi Fuseini, Anthony Riviere, Dale Binns, Jamie Slabber, James Folkes, Marvin Williams.
Subs: Luke Baidiali (h/t), Kevant Serbonij (h/t), Craig Dundas(h/t), Chris Benjamin(42), Hong Moon (h/t), Ben Kudjodi (h/t), Leroy Griffiths (75) Rhys Murrell-Williamson (52)
Fulham: Marcus Bettinelli, Alexander Brister,Sean Kavanagh, Ronny Minkwitz, Mananga Buatu, Jack Grimmer, Josh Passley, Lyle Della Verde, Cauley Woodrow, Dino Islamovic, Charles Banya
Subs:- Tom Richards, Daniel O'Reilly, Stephen Arthurworrey, Luis Boa Morte,
Referee: M. Coen
http://www.suttonunited.net/news.php?#2185 (http://www.suttonunited.net/news.php?#2185)
Goodbye Al Fayed
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Ian Walton
As the dust begins to settle on the transfer of Fulham Football Club, with new owner Shahid Khan successfully completing the purchase, we look back on the last 16 years at Craven Cottage under the guidance of Mohamed Al Fayed.
To be able to fully appreciate Al Fayed's achievements over the course of his time at Fulham, a flashback to 1984 is in order. In a dark period in the club's history, then chairmen Ernest Clay set in motion a disastrous chain of events that would see the club become all but financially bankrupt.
In 1987, we were placed in another pair of incompetent hands, with new chairmen David Bulstrode planning to amalgamate with Queens Park Rangers - to create Fulham Park Rangers – and sell Craven Cottage off for housing. Public outcry followed, and a campaign led by Jimmy Hill resulted in his successful purchase of the club, while the ground continued to change ownership hands.
With the lease on Craven Cottage moving towards its final deadline, supporters unveiled their 'Fulham 2000' scheme, and invited fans to join for £10, with the proceeds going towards the fans buying back the clubs traditional home. A price of £7.5m was eventually agreed between the two parties, and despite the fans valiant efforts, not even a dent could be made in the realistically unreachable price tag.
As the cliché would suggest however, every cloud does have a silver lining, and if any team were in need of a hero, it was Fulham. Forward to 1997, and welcome Mohamed Al Fayed, a successful businessman with the intentions of making Fulham the Manchester United of the South.
While it was never a feasible aspiration, it was a remarkable example of enthusiasm and ambition that the club hadn't seen in years. Joining the ranks that year were Chris Coleman, an assured central defender prepared to drop two divisions and provide the team with some vital structure and leadership, and Paul Peschisolido, one of the most technically gifted players to wear the Fulham shirt.
Consolidating that season, Al Fayed continued to build a team capable of moving up the football league and appointed Kevin Keegan as director of football, and Ray Wilkins as manager. Promotion to the first division was achieved in the 1999/2000 season, before Jean Tigana took over and secured promotion to the Premiership in 2001.
After 34 years away from football in the top flight, Fulham were back, and while Al Fayed's aforementioned quote was never literally fulfilled, for me he accomplished the equivalent. The individual achievement in steering a dilapidated football club into an established premier division team is remarkable, and an example of a long-term success story that is so hard to find in today's disposable footballing world.
From posing in a black and white wig after securing promotion to the second division, and singing on "We're not Real Madrid", to overseeing the club's greatest achievement in reaching the final of the Europa League, Al Fayed has done it all with Fulham.
Of course there have been the odd hiccups along the way, notably the badge change and the infamous Michael Jackson statue, but I'm sure you'll agree, in the overall perspective of things, Mohamed Al Fayed has done the team proud and will be sorely missed. Here at Cottagers Confidential we wish Al Fayed the best for the future, and would like to collectively welcome the arrival of Shahid Khan. Here's to the next chapter.
http://www.cottagersconfidential.com/2013/7/13/4520450/goodbye-al-fayed-fulham-shahid-khan? (http://www.cottagersconfidential.com/2013/7/13/4520450/goodbye-al-fayed-fulham-shahid-khan?)
Premier League: New Fulham Owner Shahid Khan Plays Down 1st NFL UK Franchise
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan has successfully completed his takeover of Premier League club Fulham from Mohamed Al-Fayed.
The former Harrods owner is stepping down at Craven Cottage after guiding the club from the third-tier of English football to become a top-flight regular in 16 years at the club.
The West London club were promoted to the Premier League in 2001 and have remained among the elite teams in England since then.
Al-Fayed also oversaw a period in which the team reached the UEFA Cup final in 2010 after defeating Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg in the knockout stages.
Roy Hodgson's team then beat Hamburg in the semifinals, with the German club anticipating a final in their home stadium.
However, a late Diego Forlan strike was enough to see Atletico Madrid defeat Fulham, 2-1, in the final.
Now, though, Al-Fayed has sold the club to Khan, who has been the owner of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars since November 2011, as the New York Times reported.
Khan, who moved to the United States from Pakistan at the age of 16, is worth £2.9 billion from his automobile parts manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate, according to Forbes.com.
The Jaguars have signed a contract to play one NFL game per season for the next four years at Wembley Stadium, London, starting against the San Francisco 49ers in October, as NFL.com reported.
That deal and Khan's acquisition has led to reports that the Jaguars owner could set up a United Kingdom-based NFL franchise.
However, the new Fulham owner batted away those suggestions, as he was unveiled at Craven Cottage alongside Al-Fayed on Saturday in an interview with Sky Sports News.
These are two distinct clubs that will operate differently, operate independently, yet there is a huge amount of synergy, and our goal will be to take advantage of that.
When asked by Sky Sports News reporter Bryan Swanson if Khan ultimately wanted to have the first UK-based NFL franchise, the new Fulham owner said:
Right now, we are committed to playing a game here every year for four years.
Khan has also vowed to support Fulham manager Martin Jol in a bid to make the club successful on the pitch, although he would not reveal what kind of money would be available for squad strengthening this summer.
It's very difficult to be specific. I'm not a micro-manager.
I don't plan on being involved day to day, but I do plan on giving them all the support they need financially, or otherwise, to be successful on the pitch.
While Al-Fayed's time at Craven Cottage has been successful on the field, one issue has riled the Fulham supporters particularly.
Almost two years after singer Michael Jackson died in June 2009, Al-Fayed unveiled a statue of the pop legend in a corner of the Craven Cottage ground, as Philip Duncan of the Daily Mail reported.
However, the Jackson tribute was met with derision by a number of Fulham supporters, as Barney Ronay of The Guardian reported.
Khan has promised to respect the view of supporters, as he considers the future of the statue of Jackson, who was a friend of Al-Fayed but had no links with the club.
I've been an owner less than a day. I think we have to preserve and respect history, but we also have to move forward.
I am going to reflect on it, listen to the fans and then really decide.
Khan is now facing the prospect of continuing the work done by Al-Fayed at Fulham. The Egyptian businessman has overseen a meteoric rise for one of football's historic clubs from the football doldrums to a sustained presence in the Premier League.
The billionaire will need all his business acumen to maintain those standards and progress the London club throughout the coming years.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1702774-premier-league-new-fulham-owner-shahid-khan-plays-down-1st-nfl-uk-franchise? (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1702774-premier-league-new-fulham-owner-shahid-khan-plays-down-1st-nfl-uk-franchise?)
Former Fulham star John Pantsil plays in Millwall friendly victory
Ghana defender John Pantsil played in a friendly match for English side Millwall in their 2-0 victory at League One side Crawley Town on Saturday.
The right-back, who recently left Israeli outfit Hapoel Tel Aviv, started training with the club this week in a bid to get himself fit for possible opportunities.
Despite just being given the opportunity to train with Millwall he was given the chance to impress in the friendly.
Pantsil came on as a second-half substitute as they cruised to the victory.
The new manager also handed a start to Nicky Shorey, with fellow trialists John Pantsil and Lee Croft named on a 14-strong bench.
As expected, it was a completely different Lions XI after the break as Pantsil and Croft got their chance to impress.
Next up is beaten League One play-off finalists Brentford away on Tuesday.
The move is meant to keep the defender fit as his agents continue to trawl the market for an opportunity for the Ghanaian to sign for a club.
He has not been offered a trial at Millwall but just a mere chance to keep himself fit in case a club should ask about his fitness.
Pantsil will train with Millwall's first team until he gets a club.
The right-back played for English sides West Ham, Fulham and Leicester City before returning to Israel last year to the club where he started his European career.
Millwall starting XI: Forde, Dunne, Shittu, Osbourne, Shorey, Henry, Abdou, Jack Smith, Martin, Easter, Morison.
Millwall second half: Bywater, Wright, Robinson, Feeney, Marquis, Woolford, Pantsil, Croft, Malone, Beevers, N'Guessan. Att: 1,391.
http://www.ghanasoccernet.com/former-fulham-star-john-pantsil-plays-in-millwall-friendly-victory/? (http://www.ghanasoccernet.com/former-fulham-star-john-pantsil-plays-in-millwall-friendly-victory/?)
Martin Jol set to ask for £20m transfer fund as he meets new Fulham owner Shahid Khan
Jol's job appears secure after Khan - the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL boss - said: "Everyone speaks very highly of him and his reputation precedes him"
(http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article2051961.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Mohamed-Al-Fayed-left-with-new-Fulham-owner-Shahid-Khan.jpg)
Changing of the guard: Mohamed Al Fayed (left) with new Fulham owner Shahid Khan
PA
New Fulham owner Shahid Khan will fly out to Costa Rica this week for talks with manager Martin Jol.
Jacksonville Jaguars NFL chief Khan has bought Fulham for £150million from Mohamed Al Fayed .
Khan admitted he is yet to meet Jol, but will fly to Fulham's pre-season tour of Costa Rica on Friday to discuss the future.
Jol is likely to ask for around £20m in transfer funds , with Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone and Villa striker Darren Bent on his wanted list.
(http://i1.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1898625.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Fulham-manager-Martin-Jol-before-kick-off-of-the-Barclays-Premier-League-match-at-the-Liberty-Stadium-Swansea-1898625.jpg)
Wallet shaker: Jol is expected to ask for £20million in summer transfer funds
PA
"I would hope Martin will start the season as manager," said Khan. "Everyone speaks very highly of him and his reputation precedes him.
"The key lesson is to find the best people, empower them and support them.
(http://i1.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1898936.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Darren-Bent-celebrates-1898936.jpg)
One target: Darren Bent is being eyed up by Jol
PA
"So my goal would be to support the football leadership and business leadership, give them all the resources, money and otherwise, and expect results."
There was a word of warning for Jol from Jaguars president Mark Lamping, who admitted Khan can be ruthless.
"We had a terrible year with the Jaguars," said Lamping. "We made sweeping changes. Not only with the general manager, but with other coaches and we released 47 of our players.
"So those were major changes, which you would expect when the results are far below expectations."
Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fulham-transfers-martin-jol-likely-2050473#ixzz2Z0nKuzX6 (http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fulham-transfers-martin-jol-likely-2050473#ixzz2Z0nKuzX6)
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Luis Boa Morte on th bench??? :021:
Quote from: WhiteJC on July 14, 2013, 10:40:26 AM
Sutton United 0 - 1 Fulham XI
Sutton United 0 - 1 Fulham XI 4
(Woodrow 85)
Half-time Score- 0-0 Attendance- 752
A blazing hot day brought drinks breaks every 15 minutes as the U's entertained their second Premiership club inside 24 hours. The visitors, like Arsenal, brought a young team containing players with international experience and it proved another good test for the U's, against a different style of play to the previous evening. James Folkes began in lively mood and was involved twice in the game's first attack, crossing for Jamie Slabber to bring a good save out of keeper Bettinelli with a powerful header. Tom Lovelock then made a good save with his feet and, indeed, was the busier of the two keepers in the first half, making two more good saves. Cauley Woodrow almost broke the deadlock when he outjumped Lovelock but looped his header over the bar.
Both teams made changes at the break giving several young players a chance. The game remained very even but the heat was playing its part and the pace dropped. Bettinelli made a good low save from the lively Chris Benjamin and another from a Craig Dundas header whilst debutant Luke Badiali made some equally fine stops in the Sutton goal. The game was decided in the closing minutes when Woodrow rose high to head home from a corner.
U's Chairman Bruce Elliott was smiling after the game. "I think we have had a really good weekend. Two good matches against strong sides and I'd like to thank both Arsenal and Fulham for bringing sides down, I hope they have found the games as useful as we did and they'd be more than welcome in the future. The weather has been superb and that seems to have encouraged crowds even better than we were expecting.
Sutton: Tom Lovelock, Mitchell Nelsom, Sam Rents, Jamie Stuart, Moses Swaibu, ALi Fuseini, Anthony Riviere, Dale Binns, Jamie Slabber, James Folkes, Marvin Williams.
Subs: Luke Baidiali (h/t), Kevant Serbonij (h/t), Craig Dundas(h/t), Chris Benjamin(42), Hong Moon (h/t), Ben Kudjodi (h/t), Leroy Griffiths (75) Rhys Murrell-Williamson (52)
Fulham: Marcus Bettinelli, Alexander Brister,Sean Kavanagh, Ronny Minkwitz, Mananga Buatu, Jack Grimmer, Josh Passley, Lyle Della Verde, Cauley Woodrow, Dino Islamovic, Charles Banya
Subs:- Tom Richards, Daniel O'Reilly, Stephen Arthurworrey, Luis Boa Morte,
Referee: M. Coen
http://www.suttonunited.net/news.php?#2185 (http://www.suttonunited.net/news.php?#2185)
Mohamed Fayed – the 'Phoney Pharaoh' who became Fulham's hero
There are not many football club owners who have defied assumption in quite the way Mohamed Fayed did at Fulham.
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02616/mo-fayed_2616871b.jpg)
Trading places: Mohamed Fayed, with fake moustache, and Fulham's new owner Shahid Khan Photo: PA
Who would have thought when he first took over a moribund club in 1997, making noisy promises about transforming it into the Manchester United of the South, that the Egyptian wheeler dealer would depart from Craven Cottage 16 years later not only universally loved by the club's supporters, but with a reputation in place as the kind of old-fashioned, benevolent chairman seemingly endangered in the new order of football.
When he bought the club – just a few months before his son, Dodi, was killed in the same car accident in Paris as Princess Diana – Fayed was greeted with widespread suspicion by the Fulham faithful.
Under the chairmanship of Jimmy Hill, the club were marooned in the third tier of the Football League and there seemed nothing in them that might attract such a ruthless business man, someone who had outflanked Tiny Rowland to engineer a takeover of Harrods, an arriviste and social climber with no history of football support.
Mocked by Private Eye magazine as the 'Phoney Pharaoh', Fayed was once described during a High Court hearing as "deeply dishonest and with an evil habit of vindictively pursuing those who he regarded as his antagonists".
His purchase was widely depicted as a real estate deal, that his asset-stripping eyes were solely fixed on Craven Cottage's superb Thames-side location, reckoned at the time to be worth north of £100 million. Not a bad return, it was thought, for an initial £6.25 million investment.
Yet, almost immediately, his actions began to undermine such conjecture. He delivered on a promise to project the club into the Premier League a year early. He did not interfere in dressing-room decisions, giving a succession of progressive managers – Kevin Keegan, Jean Tigana, Chris Coleman – the room to develop.
What really changed minds, however, was when he returned the team to a refurbished Cottage in 2004 after a brief ground share at Loftus Road. Now that really did come as a surprise, especially after it was revealed that he had sold the first rights to redevelop the ground as housing for a reputed £50 million.
No wonder the fans were soon chanting "give him a passport" in support of his failed campaign to secure British citizenship. Plus there was an eccentric undertow to his ownership that was hard to dislike, one which culminated in 2011 in him erecting a comically hapless statue to Michael Jackson, who had visited the ground once for a game against Wigan Athletic, outside the Riverside Stand.
I remember once I arranged to interview him for a magazine profile. But instead of him appearing at the appointed time, his PR adviser – the latterly notorious Max Clifford – showed up. Clifford said that I could ask him anything I wanted and he had been given the owner's blessing to answer on his behalf.
There followed the most bizarre half-hour in which Clifford not only used the first person in his answers ("I want Fulham to be the best club in the country") but began to affect Fayed's Middle Eastern accent.
By the end of the interview, Clifford was enjoying the idea so much, Rory Bremner could not have carried off a better impression of the Harrods boss. It was the kind of behaviour unlikely to be encountered at Arsenal.
There was one thing, though, that the Fayed‑imitating Clifford said that was hard to gainsay. When asked why Fayed had bought the club he said "because I love Fulham from the bottom of my heart and I love the fans even more than they love me".
This was what seemed to have happened to Fayed at Fulham: if he bought it for the development possibility, he was quickly seduced by the place's old-school values, with its half-timbered stands and Diddy David Hamilton on the matchday PA.
He seemed genuinely fond of the club. And the affection was reciprocated in the stands. You could see that when he made his ceremonial way across the pitch ahead of kick-off, waving a black-and-white scarf above his head, beaming.
The regulars – a body who had built up a protective sheen of cynicism over the years of disappointment – cheered him to the echo. And there was a lot to cheer: the Premier League consolidation, the Europa League final in 2010, the succession of gilded players, from Steed Malbranque and Louis Saha to Dimitar Berbatov, all largely secured on the back of the £187 million in interest-free loans he made available.
The fact is, what Fayed proved at Fulham over the years was that the Beatles were wrong: in football you really can buy love.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/10177976/Mohamed-Fayed-the-Phoney-Pharaoh-who-became-Fulhams-hero.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/10177976/Mohamed-Fayed-the-Phoney-Pharaoh-who-became-Fulhams-hero.html)
'Fulham's a special place and a perfect club,' says new owner Shahid Khan
Self made billionaire pledges to uphold traditions but has big act to follow
In one way Fulham have gone downmarket. When Mohamed Al Fayed took over the club 16 years ago he was proprietor of Harrods. The new owner, Shahid Khan, makes car parts. But yesterday it was clear everyone connected with Craven Cottage, from administrators through to the fans, believe that the man with the moustache is just the chap to take over Fulham and lift them to the mythical "next stage" all mid-table Premier League clubs dream of – Champions' League football – while safeguarding the traditions of what the fans like to call "this family club" down by the Thames.
And this is not just because Khan at about £1.8 billion is estimated to be worth twice as much as Al Fayed, but because the eccentric Egyptian has won such a place in the hearts of the fans during his long reign that they trust him implicitly to choose the right successor to build sympathetically on his legacy.
This fluffy frontage does not chime completely with hard-nosed whispers: that Al Fayed has been planning a sale for the last two years, running the team down, squeezing salaries and running costs to show improving cash flow, selling now when future TV revenue streams look good and before money needs spending to keep the team in the Premier League.
But a man who built his business from a garage to one which employs 17,000 people is no mug. He will have done his homework. And yesterday he said nothing to compromise a smooth reception.
When asked if he had any plans for long-term redevelopment of Craven Cottage as a prime site for housing, like previous chancers had tried, he spoke about "respecting history" and "this special place", adding: "My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future."
As for fears he may turn this friendly club into a soulless, money-making monster, he said: "We will manage the club's financial and operational affairs with prudence and care." Both men separately described themselves as a "custodian of the club, not an owner" in their respective press-release quotes – a clearly co-ordinated phrase, all designed to make the right impression.
So why would a successful businessman pay between £150-200m to buy a mid-table Premier League club in a deal that took just two weeks to agree? "I love football, or soccer," said Khan, also owner of the NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars. He also revealed he had been to Craven Cottage before, "I think in '07 when Liverpool played".
Of course, the huge income potential from TV and marketing that comes from being a Premier League side was quite an attraction and, as Al Fayed knows only too well, there is the buzz of being adored.
When he took over in 1997 the presumption was that he had bought the club to help further his aims to gain British citizenship. Now the club are possibly about to name a new stand after him.
The money Khan has paid for ownership of Fulham just about repays the 84-year-old Al Fayed what he spent lifting the team from the third tier to the Europa League final. Fulham fans fed previously on a diet of fights against greedy owners trying to redevelop Craven Cottage, away trips to Torquay and even the threat of extinction know a saviour when they see one.
So how does Khan follow that? "We have to have a winning, sustainable club moving forward," he said. "It is a very special place and a perfect club for me at a perfect time."
He plans to stop off in Costa Rica this week to speak to Fulham's manager, Martin Jol, on the club's pre-season tour, learn his "plan" for the coming season then "give them all the support they need financially to be successful on the pitch".
Khan also plans to push ahead with plans to redevelop the Riverside Stand (Al Fayed Stand?) at the ground, starting next May, to increase capacity to 30,000. It all sounds good. But only time will tell.
Cottage questions
Who is Shahid Khan?
He came from Pakistan aged 16 and now owns Flex-N-Gate Group, the 14th largest American "automotive supplier". Basically, he made his money from selling lorry bumpers.
Why do Yanks like our clubs?
Khan will be the sixth American owner of a top-flight club. He says he loves London and after speaking to two other US owners, the Glazers of Manchester United, and Stan Kroenke of Arsenal, last week about buying Fulham, they told him to "go for it" and that he will "get hooked".
Will the Jaguars move to London?
He insists they are separate entities and plans only the four regular- season games over the next four seasons already scheduled for Wembley.
Is Al Fayed sad at selling?
"It was a difficult decision as I love the club." Fans are certainly relieved the 84-year-old sold before he died. "Finding someone he has faith in was important," said Fulham Supporters Trust director Barry Gilbertson.
Will Khan watch what he says?
When Al Fayed erected a statue at Craven Cottage to his "friend" Michael Jackson, he said that the club's fans could "go to hell" if they didn't like it. On choosing Khan as his successor he explained: "I'm sure the fans are happy that I didn't pass the club to a junkie."
So what about Michael Jckson?
Will the statue stay? "I'll reflect on it and listen to the fans," said Khan. "If he dares move it he will be in trouble," countered Al Fayed. "I will come in front of the fans with a big razor and take your moustache off."
Star-spangled clubs
Arsenal Owner: Stan Kroenke Estimated net worth: $5bn. Base: Colorado. Bought: 2007-11. Estimated cost: £420m (62% controlling interest).
Aston Villa Owner: Randy Lerner; Est net worth: $1.1bn. Base: New York. Bought: 2006. Cost: £63m.
Fulham Owner: Shahid Khan; Estimated net worth: £1.8bn. Bought: 2013. Cost: £150-200m (100 per cent ownership). Khan is ranked 179th richest American and 491st wealthiest person in the world.
Liverpool Owner: John Henry (as part of Fenway Group); Estimated net worth: $1.5bn. Base: Boston and Florida. Bought: 2010. Cost: £300m.
Man Utd Owner: Malcolm Glazer; Est net worth: $4.4bn. Base: Florida. Bought: 2003-05. Cost: £780m (mostly via loans).
Sunderland Owner: Ellis Short; Estimated net worth: $800m. Bought: 2008-09. Estimated cost: £80m.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/fulhams-a-special-place-and-a-perfect-club-says-new-owner-shahid-khan-8707673.html (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/fulhams-a-special-place-and-a-perfect-club-says-new-owner-shahid-khan-8707673.html)
GIORGOS KARAGOUNIS PENS NEW DEAL WITH FULHAM
FULHAM midfielder Giorgos Karagounis has signed a new one-year deal with the club.
The Greece international, 36, played 28 times for the Cottagers last season and scored two goals following his free transfer from Panathinaikos.
Karagounis had initially been released by Fulham when the retained lists came out on June 7
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/326264/? (http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/326264/?)
Shad Khan: Jaguars 'are the home team for London'
Jaguars owner Shad Khan is the newest owner of the Fulham Football Club, having purchased the London-based soccer club on Friday. One of the benefits of being a billionaire sports owner is the ease of travel involved, and Khan has already scooted across the pond to announce the purchase.
While waiting for the official Sunday announcement, he spoke with Fulham TV about the purchase of the club and his plans for the future. As you might imagine, there was some discussion of the Jaguars. Khan called the club a "civic asset" in the same vein as Fulham.
"I've always looked at the other association I have with the Jacksonville Jaguars is really they're a civic asset," Khan said. "I am the steward of that asset. And I feel very much the same thing here. We want to listen to the fans."
But he also called the Jags "the home team for London," noting the "commonality" between the Jaguars and Fulham.
"First of all, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham operate as two entities," Khan said when asked about the similarities between American and European football. "Obviously, there would be some practices, some synergies we'd like to take advantage of. And the Jaguars will be playing one home game [here] for the next four years.
"So, we are the home team for London. So, there is some commonality there."
Personally, I think the Jags will stick in Jacksonville, but there are many folks who don't believe that. And Khan's purchase of Fulham -- a soccer club not located in Jacksonville -- has many folks believing the Jags could bounce for London.
It's certainly a possibility, though it seems less likely with Khan and Jacksonville pumping millions into Everbank Field. Calling Jacksonville a "home team" for London seems like a cause to get all up in arms about the way it's being referenced.
The reality is Jacksonville is the home team for London. They're playing overseas for several years in a row and Khan is trying to market them internationally. Building a brand relationship between Fulham and the Jaguars will only improve the international recognition of both his football teams.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22747067/shad-khan-jaguars-are-the-home-team-for-london? (http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22747067/shad-khan-jaguars-are-the-home-team-for-london?)
Khan: I´ll listen to Fulham fans
New Fulham owner Shahid Khan has promised not to make any knee-jerk decisions after taking the helm at the Premier League side.
The west London club are looking forward to a new era after Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed sold the club to Khan for a reported £150-200 million.
The Egyptian 84-year-old has been the main man at Craven Cottage for 16 years, in which Fulham have become an established Premier League outfit.
Al Fayed took the club from England's third tier to within a whisker of winning the Europa League but believes he has found the perfect heir in the form of the owner of NFL franchise the Jacksonville Jaguars.
And Khan said he did not want to immediately alter the foundations laid by Al Fayed since 1997.
"I really don't have any plans, I want to listen to the fans," Khan said.
"I have been here 18 hours as the owner and it's not something you want to do... a knee-jerk reaction. So eventually you have to (do) the right thing.
"Our goal is obviously to elevate the club, but do it on a sustainable level.
"I think it is very, very important to invest in Craven Cottage, to have youth development, in community affairs and support the business plan the football team has.
"There is already a plan in place right now to expand the river side stand so our goal would be to really implement that and to increase the capacity."
Outgoing chairman Al Fayed said he was looking to spend more time with family, after his long stint controlling affairs at Fulham.
"I have four grandchildren and I just love to spend time with them. It is a hard decision but to find the right person who really can take over and look after the club and believe in the club," Al Fayed said.
"I have found Mr Khan and I am sure he is a great guy and will follow my policy and he will look after the players, look after the fans, he is a great guy.
"He owned another football club in the US and he is a person that cares. I would never pass the club to someone, to just anybody."
Al Fayed had faith Khan would not leave the fans in the lurch, and said if the supporters felt short changed, the Egyptian would make his successor know about it.
"Of course the fans having given me all their support over years, I would do anything for them," he said.
"I feel sorry but I will be attending all the matches to see them, to scream to them as usual and I am sure Mr Khan will look after them and I will follow him up because if he doesn't do it then he is in trouble with me."
http://uk.soccerway.com/news/2013/July/14/khan-ill-listen-to-fulham-fans/? (http://uk.soccerway.com/news/2013/July/14/khan-ill-listen-to-fulham-fans/?)
'American success story' Khan to play the long game at Fulham
The Pakistani, ranked at 490 on Forbes' billionaires list, will use the Cottagers as part of his grand plan to revolutionise the Jacksonville Jaguars and the NFL itself
PROFILE
By Sam Lee
"Shahid Khan is a great American success story," said Wayne Weaver when the Pakistani billionaire initiated his takeover of NFL franchise the Jacksonville Jaguars in late 2011. "Shahid Khan has become a living embodiment of the American success story," said Mohamad Al Fayed after he handed over control of Fulham on Friday night.
It would be hard to argue with that assertion. Having moved to the United States at the age of 16, Khan has amassed a $2.9 billion (£1.9bn) fortune in the auto part industry and become a pioneer in the short time he has been involved in America's national sport.
Having announced $63m (£41.7m) worth of improvements to the Jaguars' Everbank field in June, including the planned installation of the world's biggest scoreboards (measuring a whopping 55 by 579 feet), Khan has moved quickly to snap up the Cottagers.
To the untrained eye, the $760m (£503m) Florida-based franchise do not have much in common with little old Fulham, but the move certainly makes sense. Whereas other American owners of Premier League clubs have sometimes been accused of focusing on their US teams, the relationship between Khan's two flagship entities could be unprecedentedly close. Politically at least.
The NFL has been determined to take its show on the road in recent years, and after playing the first regular season game on foreign soil in 2005 - in front of more than 100,000 people in Mexico City - London has been the destination of choice.
The St Louis Rams, owned by Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke (who actually outbid Khan when the Pakistani attempted to acquire 60 per cent of the franchise in 2010), had agreed a deal to play one "home" game person season at Wembley between 2012 and 2014. But when they reneged on that agreement, Khan's Jaguars were all too happy to step in and sign up for four matches between 2013 and 2016.
Rumours of a full-time relocation to London raged. Ambitious NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has long wanted one of the league's teams to be permanently based abroad in order to boost the sport's popularity outside the States, and London is seen as the ideal host. There are 11,000,000 gridiron fans in the UK, according to the NFL, while there has been a 154% increase in those watching Sunday matches on television.
And after it was announced that two regular season games would be played abroad for the first time ever, both at Wembley in 2013, the unrelenting Goodell made his play. When it was suggested that London could even host three matches per season, he admitted he wanted the Jaguars contest two of them.
Khan, who had pledged to keep the team in Jacksonville when he took control in early 2012, has since realised that relocation may be the best option. Large sections of the 81,000 capacity stadium, one of the biggest in the league despite being a team of modest popularity, are covered in tarp, while financial backing has also been hard to come by. But he refused to be drawn on Goodell's attempts to force his hand.
"What we're focused on right now as a team is four games in London for the next four years," he said. "That's very important to us. I think everyone needs to understand playing games in London is very, very important for Jacksonville, it's very important to this franchise. We need fans, we need more corporate sponsors. Jacksonville is excellent in fan support, great facilities that we're going to have. We don't have enough corporate sponsors.
"London is the missing piece but, right now, our focus is the next four years with one game."
Having spent between £150m and £200m to acquire Fulham - one of the most expensive takeovers in British football history - just a matter of weeks after investing £40m in overhauling the Everbank field, Khan is clearly not shy to fulfill his plans.
And it's not as if Fulham do not have potential. The picturesque but somewhat outdated Craven Cottage is being modernised, along with the immediate surrounding area, while Al Fayed has left behind the solid foundations of a genuine mid-table Premier League club. Chelsea have always ruled that particular corner of London, but, with intelligent investment, the Cottagers could prove to be a worthy rival.
This has clearly caught Khan's eye, and it should excite Fulham fans, too. Though this latest purchase could be seen as something of a reconnaissance mission, meaning Manchester City levels of spending are unlikely, there is nothing to suggest the club won't benefit from being part of Khan's grand plan.
Should the Jags eventually move to London, despite those lavish redevelopments at the Everbank, they will be gambling on the British public adopting the franchise as their own on a regular basis. There are no guarantees that the roaring popularity of the one-off games, still very much a novelty, will translate to a sustained following throughout a season. But that is clearly the hope, and the acquisition of Fulham will give Khan an extra understanding of Britain and its sporting culture.
Form suggests investment can be expected at Craven Cottage, and should the Jags prove successful on these shores further down the line, it is not unreasonable to expect Fulham to benefit from a spike of popularity in the States.
Undoubtedly an American success story, Khan must now repeat his efforts in a completely different market. There is clearly a long way to go, but Khan's plan could propel Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars out of the shadows and into the limelight.
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2013/07/14/4114288/-? (http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2013/07/14/4114288/-?)
Mohammad Al Fayed departs a universally loved figure
Egyptian wheeler dealer transformed the London club through some canny purchases
London: There are not many football club owners who have defied assumption in quite the way Mohammad Al Fayed did at Fulham.
Who would have thought when he first took over a moribund club in 1997, making noisy promises about transforming it into the Manchester United of the South, that the Egyptian wheeler dealer would depart from Craven Cottage 16 years later not only universally loved by the club's supporters, but with a reputation in place as the kind of old-fashioned, benevolent chairman seemingly endangered in the new order of football?
When he bought the club - just a few months before his son, Dodi, was killed in the same car accident in Paris as Princess Diana - Fayed was greeted with widespread suspicion by the Fulham faithful.
Under the chairmanship of Jimmy Hill, the club were marooned in the third tier of the Football League and there seemed nothing in them that might attract such a ruthless business man, someone who had out-flanked Tiny Rowland to engineer a takeover of Harrods, an arriviste and social climber with no history of football support.
Mocked by Private Eye magazine as the Phoney Pharaoh, Fayed was once described during a High Court hearing as "deeply dishonest and with an evil habit of vindictively pursuing those who he regarded as his antagonists".
His purchase was widely depicted as a real-estate deal, that his asset-stripping eyes were solely fixed on Craven Cottage's superb Thames-side location, reckoned at the time to be worth north of £100 million (Dh554.6m).
Not a bad return, it was thought, for an initial £6.25 million investment. Yet, almost immediately, his actions began to undermine such conjecture. He delivered on a promise to project the club into the Premier League a year early.
He did not interfere in dressing-room decisions, giving a succession of progressive managers - Kevin Keegan, Jean Tigana, Chris Coleman - the room to develop. What really changed minds, however, was when he returned the team to a refurbished Cottage in 2004 after a brief ground share at Loftus Road.
Now that really did come as a surprise, especially after it was revealed that he had sold the first rights to redevelop the ground as housing for a reputed £50 million. No wonder the fans were soon chanting "give him a passport" in support of his failed campaign to secure British citizenship.
Plus there was an eccentric undertow to his ownership that was hard to dislike, one which culminated in 2011 in him erecting a comically hapless statue to Michael Jackson, who had visited the ground once for a game against Wigan Athletic, outside the Riverside Stand.
I remember once I arranged to interview him for a magazine profile. But instead of him appearing at the appointed time, his PR adviser - the latterly notorious Max Clifford - showed up. Clifford said that I could ask him anything I wanted and he had been given the owner's blessing to answer on his behalf.
There followed the most bizarre half-hour in which Clifford not only used the first person in his answers ("I want Fulham to be the best club in the country") but began to affect Fayed's Middle Eastern accent.
By the end of the interview, Clifford was enjoying the idea so much, Rory Bremner could not have carried off a better impression of the Harrods boss. It was the kind of behaviour unlikely to be encountered at Arsenal. There was one thing, though, that the Fayed-imitating Clifford said that was hard to gainsay.
When asked why Fayed had bought the club he said "because I love Fulham from the bottom of my heart and I love the fans even more than they love me". This was what seemed to have happened to Fayed at Fulham: if he bought it for the development possibility, he was quickly seduced by the place's old-school values, with its half-timbered stands and Diddy David Hamilton on the matchday PA.
He seemed genuinely fond of the club. And the affection was reciprocated in the stands. You could see that when he made his ceremonial way across the pitch ahead of kick-off, waving a black-and-white scarf above his head, beaming. The regulars - a body who had built up a protective sheen of cynicism over the years of disappointment - cheered him to the echo.
And there was a lot to cheer: the Premier League consolidation, the Europa League final in 2010, the succession of gilded players, from Steed Malbranque and Louis Saha to Dimitar Berbatov, all largely secured on the back of the £187 million in interest-free loans he made available. The fact is, what Fayed proved at Fulham over the years was that the Beatles were wrong: in football you really can buy love.
http://gulfnews.com/sport/football/mohammad-al-fayed-departs-a-universally-loved-figure-1.1208827? (http://gulfnews.com/sport/football/mohammad-al-fayed-departs-a-universally-loved-figure-1.1208827?)
MARTIN JOL'S WAIT FOR FULHAM FC BUMPER PAY OUT
FULHAM manager Martin Jol is waiting to see where he stands after the sale of the Craven Cottage club.
New owner Shahid Khan has bought the cottagers for £150million from Mohamed Al Fayed.
Khan has a personal wealth believed to be £1.7billion from making lorry bumpers.
And Jol is waiting to see if he is given money to spend - or shown the door.
The feeling is Jol will be given time to press ahead with his plans for the club - bringing down the age of the teamand staying in the Premier League.
But bookies William Hill cut his odds to next boss for the chop to 8-1. Al Fayed transformed the club - now effectively debt-free - during his 16 years in charge.
Fulham reached the Europa League Final three years ago and last season finished 12th in the league.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/326361/? (http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/326361/?)
Fulham Hope Pakistani Owner is Different from Indian Venkys
Fulham have a new owner, a Pakistani born American billionaire Shahid Khan has taken over the club from Al Fayed in a deal worth $200 million. Fans are excited and look towards a successful future but above all, they hope that the Pakistani owner is completely different from the Indian Venkys who drowned Blackburn Rovers.
When Venkys took over Blackburn Rovers in 2010, they vowed to listen to the fans, claimed that they will respect Jack Walker legacy and will be supporting the organization to make sure that Blackburn remain one of the best run clubs in premier league.
What followed is no mystery, Blackburn supporters are in disarray from day one as the Indian Poultry Giants knew little about football yet they senselessly did whatever they wanted to. Now Blackburn find themselves struggling in the championship.
Firstly, the new owners promoted their chicken products through television advertisement; the fans went mad and claimed that Venky's chicken ad has made them a laughing stock. Then, after only one month in charge Venkys sacked highly experienced manager Sam Allardyce as the club was 13th in the league and replaced him with someone who had no experience in managing a top flight club Steve Kean. Blackburn finished 15th with 43 points that year.
Their horrific and clueless form continued under Kean but Venkys did nothing to make amends and fans watched their beloved club relegated from the premier league. In 74 games, Kean had 28% win record. The club is now managed by Gary Bowyer (appointed full time in May, 2013) and finished 17th in the championship last season. The outcry of Blackburn fans under Venkys can still be heard nowadays.
Fulham finished 12th with 43 points in the premier league last season. Their new owner is wealthier than Venkys ofcourse, he is even wealthier than Liverpool's John W Henry according to Forbes with a networth of $2.9 billion as compared to Henry's $1.5 billion. However, Fulham fans should not get overly excited as we have seen clubs drown in debt with rich owners. Just ask Liverpool fans.
Shahid Khan is not looking to change Al-Fayed's foundations immediately and wants to listen to the fans. Khan said:
"I want to be clear, I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham, but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans. My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future that fans of present and future generations can be proud of."
The statement sounds familiar though.
The good thing is that Khan has the experience of running a Sports franchise unlike the Venkys as he is also the owner of NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars. However, he can learn from Liverpool owners (also own sports franchise) that running a premier league club is completely different and surely not a piece of cake. For now, Fulham fans hope for the best.
http://soccerisma.com/2013/07/fulham-hope-pakistani-owner-is-different-from-indian-venkys/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fulham-hope-pakistani-owner-is-different-from-indian-venkys (http://soccerisma.com/2013/07/fulham-hope-pakistani-owner-is-different-from-indian-venkys/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fulham-hope-pakistani-owner-is-different-from-indian-venkys)
Hangeland hails Al Fayed and new Fulham owner Shahid Khan
Brede Hangeland has praised the old and new Fulham owners after Mohamed Al Fayed sold the west London club to billionaire Shahid Khan this weekend.
The players are currently in Costa Rica where they will play the first of three pre-season friendlies, starting this morning against CS Cartaginés.
It will mark the start of a new era for the Whites after 16 years under the stewardship of the former Harrods boss Al Fayed who helped guide the Craven Cottage outfit from the third tier of English football to an established Premier League outfit.
The new man in charge is also the owner of NFL franchise the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham captain Hangeland told the club's website: "It's been big news for everyone.
"On behalf of the players and everyone that works at Fulham Football Club we'd like to thank Mr Al Fayed for his excellent service to the club.
"It's been 16 years of remarkable service and we're going to miss him.
"We think that Mr Khan is the right man to take us forward, we welcome him into the Fulham family and we look forward to doing our best to make him happy."
http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/hangeland_hails_al_fayed_and_new_fulham_owner_shahid_khan_1_2277393 (http://www.london24.com/sport/fulham/hangeland_hails_al_fayed_and_new_fulham_owner_shahid_khan_1_2277393)
Here's the Costa Rica Diary off the club's website:
http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/july/14/costa-rica-diary (http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/july/14/costa-rica-diary)
It's a video.