Can anyone explain why we didn't win the Third Division title in the 96- 97?

[DiegoFulham]

we finished on th same amount of points as the league winners Wigan Athletic? but we had a better goal difference? can anyone explain this to me?

[Rhys Lightning 63]

Goal average? I have no idea as I was only 5 at the time

[ffc73]

Our Chairman, Jimmy Hill, had convinced the league to trial 'goals scored' instead of 'goal difference' for a season or two. Fulhamish or what?

Also losing at home to Northampton at the death did not help much either. A performance that Mickey Adams went apoplectic about

[Terry Angus]

Our Chairman, Jimmy Hill, had convinced the league to trial 'goals scored' instead of 'goal difference' for a season or two. Fulhamish or what?

Also losing at home to Northampton at the death did not help much either. A performance that Mickey Adams went apoplectic about

what annoys me most is that wigan weren't just the second best team in that league, they were the third. i don't know how they won it and to make it even worse, they've stuck with us through the divisions ever since, like a bad smell. i always had a soft sopt for carlisle and would much rather have lost the title to them

[MJG]

Our Chairman, Jimmy Hill, had convinced the league to trial 'goals scored' instead of 'goal difference' for a season or two. Fulhamish or what?

Also losing at home to Northampton at the death did not help much either. A performance that Mickey Adams went apoplectic about

was that the game he kicked them out the dressing room after about five minutes?

[DiegoFulham]

Our Chairman, Jimmy Hill, had convinced the league to trial 'goals scored' instead of 'goal difference' for a season or two. Fulhamish or what?

Also losing at home to Northampton at the death did not help much either. A performance that Mickey Adams went apoplectic about

cheers i was wondering if we had won that and somehow won the premier league in the next few years we would be in a elite group of clubs to have won all the leagues in the top 4 divisions. Could we even try to take this away from Wigan after all of these years gone?

[ffc73]

Yes

Our Chairman, Jimmy Hill, had convinced the league to trial 'goals scored' instead of 'goal difference' for a season or two. Fulhamish or what?

Also losing at home to Northampton at the death did not help much either. A performance that Mickey Adams went apoplectic about

was that the game he kicked them out the dressing room after about five minutes?

Yes & he had already made a couple of substitutions in the first half. Angus made a mistake for the Northampton goal & he was hauled off almost instantly.

We were top, had won promotion the previous Tuesday/Wednesday & there was an 11k gate & party atmosphere at the Cottage that got to the players. Northampton also needed the points for their play off push.

With out defeat Wigan went top & we with 3 games to go & we could only watch Wigan's results (2 wins & a draw) & we finished second on goal difference

[Southdowns White]

Goals scored.

[Ordar]

That Northampton game was so disappointing. I can remember the goal to this day.

We were the best team in that league, just had a blip around Christmas, then towards the end.

We had a great honest team, one of my favourite seasons.

[croatianwhite]

Was this the year our last game was at Cambridge united ? If it was there was a great atmosphere in the big pub up the road from the ground which unfortunately is now a mcdonalds ! Cambridge fans were a angry lot too. Coyw

[MasterHaynes]

Yes

Our Chairman, Jimmy Hill, had convinced the league to trial 'goals scored' instead of 'goal difference' for a season or two. Fulhamish or what?

Also losing at home to Northampton at the death did not help much either. A performance that Mickey Adams went apoplectic about

was that the game he kicked them out the dressing room after about five minutes?

Yes & he had already made a couple of substitutions in the first half. Angus made a mistake for the Northampton goal & he was hauled off almost instantly.

We were top, had won promotion the previous Tuesday/Wednesday & there was an 11k gate & party atmosphere at the Cottage that got to the players. Northampton also needed the points for their play off push.

With out defeat Wigan went top & we with 3 games to go & we could only watch Wigan's results (2 wins & a draw) & we finished second on goal difference

It was such a deja vue moment for me and many other supporters who were around when we came runners up to Preston in the early 70's. Had been on the top of the division nearly the whole season. My favorite Fulham 11 with Conway,Barrett, Richardson, callaghan and Brown. Last game of the season we only had to draw, I think we had about 15-16k crowd  there fully expectant , we didn't really turn up for the game and looked like we were just going through the motions for a draw then Heppolette scored a goalmidway through the second half and Preston went up as champions. I had a bad feeling about the Northampton game you felt that it would be so Fulhamish to throw it away again. I remember all the people around me were talking about the Preston game and maybe we just tempted fate and that was it again, but Jimmy Hill persuading the league to change from gaol difference to purely goals scored scuppered us. I think the next season they reverted to goal difference.

[Holders]

The loss to Northampton was very off-pissing. They were rampant in Bishop's Park afterwards.

The Ricky Heppolette goal (diving header at the Hammersmith End) against Preston was probably even more disapplinting. We only needed a point and weren't at our best that day.

[Fulhampete]

I remember Cambridge giving us three sides of the ground. Probably the only time The Abbey sold out. 'The Adams family'

[Holders]

Diddly dee...

[westcliff white]

I believe jimmy paid out the win bonus for winning the league tho, he was rather apologetic for his plan being installed as I remember