The elephant in the room

[SP]

As a lifer, I have no doubt these are our golden years, but a post on another FFC board stirred a few deeply buried feelings.

In response to rumours of a Qatari takeover, someone stated 'Part of me misses the crap old Fulham that I grew up with, I have so many good memories.'  

No matter how good the standard of Premiership football, much of what comes with it is tedious.  I wouldn't say no to a huge Qatari funded transfer budget but it would move me further away from what attracted me to the club all those years ago. Anyone else harbouring such thoughts?

:58:

[BalDrick]

I think the key in that rumour is the fact they'd only have 49% - thus the Fayed family would retain the majority share. On the face of it, it seems extra investment without any of the fear that would go with a Citehesque takeover.

[LBNo11]

...an interesting thought SP, and one I can understand, but I accept fans who have followed the cause in the last 15 odd years will find incredible that some of us have fond memories of the good old bad old days when we were crap and had no money.

I cannot explain it other than a sense of being part of a small band of brothers in the face of adversity. I have no desire to see Fulham spectacularly fail and return to those dark days, however, if we ever did, it would hold no fears for me...

[fulhamthroughandthrough]

Where has this rumour sprouted from?

[The Doctor]

I cannot explain it other than a sense of being part of a small band of brothers in the face of adversity. I have no desire to see Fulham spectacularly fail and return to those dark days, however, if we ever did, it would hold no fears for me...

I suspect that's the division between the "old" and "new" supporters (labels added for nothing more than convenience).  The old guard have been there, done that, bought the T-shirt and given it to a charity shop.  The newer breed have been weaned on the "Premiership is everything" attitude of the modern era and so relegation and the associated implications represent a massive step into the unknown

[TonyGilroy]

I came to the party aged 7 in 1958 and for the next 10 years or so we were not dissimilar to what we have now become. MAF's money simply restored us to what we were.

That I put up with the crap years and kept going says something about me no doubt but being a supporter of a mid ranking top division club with a few exceptional players wasn't a new experience for me unlike those who got infected (God knows how) in the 1980s and early 90s.

The real difference is that over the last 3 or 4 years the club's overall management has become impressively professional. We're not being run by crooks, incompetents, amateurs or hobbyists any longer. Long may that last.

[White Noise]

It originated from a message on Twitter yesterday - @MalawiMbuna -  saying that something appeared to be going on at Fulham because there is a lot of activity and staff are working particularly late.

Fox ‏@MalawiMbuna

Fulham FC being sold to the Qatari Royals? Something big is going down, long staff hours, giant hush hush #ffc #fulhamfc


Fox ‏@MalawiMbuna

@UncleUgs "friend of a friend" at the club, been working all day everyday and not allowed to say anything (& therefore has done by silence!)


It was pure speculation that it might be because things are being prepared for The Qatari's. There is a thread on here from a couple of months ago detailing the original story of their supposed interest. They are of course the people who bought Harrods off MAF.

http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=21894.0

[Lighthouse]

Hate to say it but the elephant in the room is nostalgia. Not just for the club but for bad old days that I thought I hated but compared to now were great. Information has become easy to find and has become rumour and Fulham are trapped between the stone of keeping the Cottage and keeping the club connected to the past and the future of pushing on and becoming even bigger than they are.

I miss the bad old days. But I don't want to take it out on Fulham. They deserve the success they will have.

Although AlFayed is the strongest link and I fear the change if the link is ever broken. Us old people fear change. I was fearful the day AlFayed took over. I need not have been.

[fulhamben]

I think the key in that rumour is the fact they'd only have 49% - thus the Fayed family would retain the majority share. On the face of it, it seems extra investment without any of the fear that would go with a Citehesque takeover.

im no money man , but does owning this amount not automatically trigger the option to bid for the majority percentage of shares

[SP]

Hate to say it but the elephant in the room is nostalgia. Not just for the club but for bad old days that I thought I hated but compared to now were great.

Also, many of the aggravating factors are wider than FFC's influence, traffic, costs, parking & of course the biggest loss of all, terracing.

[TonyGilroy]

I think the key in that rumour is the fact they'd only have 49% - thus the Fayed family would retain the majority share. On the face of it, it seems extra investment without any of the fear that would go with a Citehesque takeover.

im no money man , but does owning this amount not automatically trigger the option to bid for the majority percentage of shares

Not in privately owned companies but none of us actually understands the FFC ownership structure. An agreement to purchase 49% would also very likely address the remaining ownership. I actually can't see the point in buying a minority interest so I can only guess that that would be an interim arrangement.

[Ron Sheepskin]

I'm one of the "new" supporters, to use The Doctor's label. Before Fulham found me I followed a lower league team - both in person, and then latterly from my armchair. There were seasons in what is now called League 2, a couple of years in the Conference, a brief foray into the Championship, and then League 1 mediocrity. You certainly feel appreciated by the club, and the players, for going to matches during the bad times - and I personally think that this feeling persists at Fulham.

I am hugely against a multi-million takeover on the grounds that it may well lead to a stadium move, and an influx of players who care about their bank balance and nothing else. One of the delights at Fulham is seeing players who have been consigned to the scrapheap by 'bigger' clubs blossom, and unknown players arrive and make everyone say wow.

We're still only half a step away from those Cookie days where we would turn up, and have absolutely no idea whether we would be scintillating or shoddy when playing Middlesboro or Wigan for example. I'd like us to be another half step away, and have consistency, but I really don't want us to have someone investing half a billion and become the team that wins everything. I'd be bored.

[elgreenio]

who cares we're screwed when MAF steps down anyway right? no matter how much his son as been groomed for the role

[TonyGilroy]

who cares we're screwed when MAF steps down anyway right? no matter how much his son as been groomed for the role

That depends on the abilities, intentions and motives of his son. No reason to assume the worst. Or the best presumably.

If he doesn't want to run the club himself selling to the highest bidder would be the obvious step.

[fulhamthroughandthrough]

as far as I can make out, this is a rumour just like every transfer rumour - it has no substance

[White Noise]

I'm not sure that is the case. The mission statement must be something along the lines of 'Establish Fulham as a secure Top 10 Prem club that is profitable, self sustaining, plays regularly in Europe, has a ground worthy of a club of that seniority and a growing fanbase around the world.

One question is how long might we need MAF to stay at the helm before that is achieved. 5 years? The club certainly has a very good infrastructure and some excellent people working within it. Does MAF do much more these than let those people do their jobs and occasionally sanction large single items of expenditure (not that that is an unimportant role)?

I saw something on Twitter this week that was, I think, the mission statement of Schalke and it said something along the lines of 'To make involvement in the life of the club accessible to all our suporters from all backgrounds.'

That is the ideal for me. That, as Lighthouse says, we all feel valued by the club but also that the club create a model that means as few suporters as possible are priced out of actively following the club.

[BalDrick]

It could be argued we are ready for the next move upwards. We've no real fear of relegation anymore, we're fairly established as top half (or mid-table if you like). Can we genuinely expect to move up a level without some extra cash?

The crux, of course, is what would the Qataris get out of it? Unlikely not to be looking at any profit.

[TonyGilroy]

If it really is an investment by a Man City type buyer with limitless money and the aim being the prestige of a Champions League London club then I'm afraid that a new stadium is bound to be part of that package.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

It could be argued we are ready for the next move upwards. We've no real fear of relegation anymore, we're fairly established as top half (or mid-table if you like). Can we genuinely expect to move up a level without some extra cash?

The crux, of course, is what would the Qataris get out of it? Unlikely not to be looking at any profit.

In english football, no one makes money that is worth the time + investment.

[White Noise]

It could be argued we are ready for the next move upwards. We've no real fear of relegation anymore, we're fairly established as top half (or mid-table if you like). Can we genuinely expect to move up a level without some extra cash?

The crux, of course, is what would the Qataris get out of it? Unlikely not to be looking at any profit.

I've read some interesting articles about how delighted the guys from Abu Dhabi are about what Man City has done for their global profile and the respect they receive from people they deal with in a business context. They definitely think they have got value for money from the vast sums they have spent. It is an easy reference point for people when they meet senior people from the country and one of the first topics of conversation.

Fulham, even a successful Cup winning Fulham, would always be a lower key version of Citeh but would that be adequate for the Qatari's?