The "We're Backing Fulham For The Cup' Thread

[White Noise]

Look out for actors, musicians, celeb fans, ex-players, soap stars and DJ's coming out to public back Fulham over the next week. Please post any you find in this thread and a prize to the first person to spot when 'News in briefs' in The Sun has a good luck message from some naked lovely dressed only in a black and white scarf.


http://shakhtar.com/en/news/13066

Mircea Lucescu: «I wish Fulham to win Europa League»

03-05-10 12:52:44



Girnyky's coach Mircea Lucescu never denied his sympathy for Europa League favorite FC Fulham, London which, on aggregate score result, drove Shakhtar out of this tournament. Mister several times emphasized that his sympathies in this tournament still remain with the Cottegers. Therefore, Fulham qualifying for Europa League final has inspired Lucescu's addressing Cottager's Head coach Roy Hodgson with following message :  

Dear Mr. Hodgson,
Dear FC Fulham's players!

With all my heart I would like to send my best wishes and congratulations on your squad's great achievement – qualfication for the UEFA Europa League Final. FC Fulham won all through the tournament stages, showing powerful, facinating football, and due to harmonious team efforts, character, irrepressible thirst of victory has become successful.

I hope, that shown by FC Fulham confident game manner, will also be performed in Final fixture on May 12, and will make all the European football world speak enthusiastically about you. I sincerely wish the team, beaten Shakhtar, to become Europa League winner, placing our squads' names together in the winner's line of this prestigious European football tournament. I wish you every piece of success in Hamburg.

Yours faithfully,
FC Shakhtar Head coach
Mircea Lucescu

The corresponding letter has been sent to FC Fulham's London address.

FC Shakhtar
Press-office

[Lighthouse]

Didn't have to make this public so good on them. If you are going to be beaten early at least be beaten by the eventual winners. Nice gesture.

[White Noise]

http://www.volzy.com/diary.php

1st May 2010




Well, what a massive night it was on Thursday. I was working for Sky Sports which was a very tough call to make as I was so keen to be at the Cottage for what was undoubtedly the highlight of the club's history. Getting to a major European final is just massive, and for Fulham, to be the last standing English team in Europe representing the Premier League and English football in general in Hamburg later this month, well, it's is an absolute fairy tale. It's seriously the kind of thing I'll hopefully be telling my grandchildren about in 50 years time.

I really enjoyed working on the game at Sky Sports but in the end I think I regret not being at the ground and being part of that amazing atmosphere, especially having experienced the away leg in Hamburg and the Juventus tie at the Cottage - I've got a feeling the other night would have even topped that one. You could feel it even watching it on a screen - I was doing live TV but I was shaking and my heart was absolutely racing, and a couple of days later I still feel the same. It's absolutely wonderful how this season has turned out for Fulham and I'm so happy for everyone associated with the club, but especially the players who've done such an amazing job.  I'll be at the final in Hamburg cheering them on and I can't wait!

There's only two more Premier League games to play now, and the Championship ends this weekend. I'll be taking a short break in May and going on holiday, but I'll be starting my preparations for the new season once June comes around. I played the last reserve game of the season for QPR last week. It was at Aldershot's ground and against Eastbourne. As with the previous game, I played in midfield and having got two the week before, the purple patch continued and I got another.  It was at Aldershot that I played my first QPR reserve game a couple of months back. We lost that one and I gave away a penalty, so it was nice to go back there to end the season on such a positive note. My last few games have really proved that I'm in a much better place now and what a worthwhile experience this has been - and it was certainly nice to finish the season on a bit of a scoring run, especially as I haven't been able to say that since I was about eight! 

Other than that, if you have seen Soccer AM this morning, you'll have seen me busting out a few dance moves dressed as a "Moritz Dancer" as part of their May Day celebrations. So happy May Day and I hope the weather holds out!



More soon...

[LBNo11]

...it's a good job Mircea Lucescu didn't post that on this MB himself...

[Lighthouse]

...it's a good job Mircea Lucescu didn't post that on this MB himself...

A subtle low cross from the wing by LB there. :003:

[MrCheviot]

Guess this is as good a place as any to paste this..

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-For-Fulham-In-The-Europa-League-Final/115051218528430?v=wall

[CorkedHat]

...it's a good job Mircea Lucescu didn't post that on this MB himself...

I still don't give a flying friar what he thinks. I have never heard of him until now. Get off our board you mug  :007:

[The Equalizer]

Good luck Fulham on the biggest game of our history. I'll be there shouting as loud as El Bee when he spots a mouse. Looking forward to the Super Cup in Monaco in August...
The Equalizer

http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=3212.0

[MrMuggins]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/david-healy/david-healy-come-on-fulham-we-are-all-right-behind-you-for-euro-glory-14796568.html

David Healy: Come on Fulham, we are all right behind you for Euro glory
Friday, 7 May 2010


Fulham have a reputation for being a nice little football club by the Thames. They don't have a big ground and generally their fans aren't as hostile as some in English football.


Perceptions about a club that I used to play for have changed this season. And the man to thank for that is Roy Hodgson.

He has been the inspirational figure in Fulham's remarkable run to the Europa League final.

It's an incredible story and one that I was involved in myself until I left the club a couple of years ago.

I joined Fulham in 2007 along with three other Northern Ireland players, Aaron Hughes, Steve Davis and Chris Baird, when our old international boss Lawrie Sanchez took charge at Craven Cottage.

It all started well enough but things then went wrong and Lawrie was sacked with Roy coming in.

At one point we looked certs to be relegated to the Championship until Danny Murphy scored a winner on the last day of the season to keep us up.

When you look at big clubs like Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday who have struggled ever since dropping out of the top flight, I do wonder what would have happened to Fulham had they gone down.

They stayed up though and since then the club has gone from strength to strength, qualifying for Europe and going all the way to the final, beating quality sides like Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg on the way.

Incidentally the atmosphere in the semi-final against Hamburg at the Cottage was amazing and as intimidating as I've ever heard it.

My Northern Ireland team-mates Aaron Hughes, who never gets the credit he deserves, and Chris Baird, who has proved a lot of people wrong by coming back so well when he looked on his way out of the club, have been instrumental in Fulham's success under Hodgson.

And what Roy has done for the club is incredible.

It's no wonder people are talking about him as the possible next manager of England or Liverpool.

He's a gentleman and was straight with me when talking about my future at the club, which made me make a decision about moving on to Sunderland.

Do I regret leaving? Well, having watched Fulham this season in Europe I have thought what might have been, but football is all about making decisions and you have to stand by them. Regardless of that I'll be supporting Fulham next Wednesday in the final against Atletico Madrid in Hamburg. Everyone in British football will be behind them. I'd love to see them win and believe they will.

Roy, Aaron and Bairdy would deserve it more than anyone.

[LBNo11]

...much respect to David Healy (MBE), a lovely article, thanks for posting it MM.. :045:

[FatFreddysCat]

Dont know about respect to Healy LB, i think he was trying to make out he had a bigger part for us than he really did.

[os5889]

Sir Red Nose backing us for the cup, good balance and bobby zamora....

[White Noise]

All the Best


Tuesday 11th May 2010

Fulham FC News

Former Fulham star Ray Houghton has joined the long list of names wishing Roy Hodgson's side well ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Europa League Final date with Atletico Madrid.

The midfield schemer began his playing days at Craven Cottage, making more than 145 appearances for the Whites in the early 1980s, before going on to achieve great success with Liverpool, Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland. And speaking to Fultime Magazine for a forthcoming World Cup special edition, he described his pleasure with the Club's current success.

"I'm absolutely delighted," he enthused. "Especially with the news that Roy Hodgson has been named Manager of the Year, which he says is the pinnacle of his career. It's absolutely sensational. For a club like Fulham to get to a European final is just dreamlike.

"I think anybody associated with the Club will have pinched themselves after the win over Hamburg, and the thousands that will travel there are very lucky indeed. To be there and see your team play in a major European final will be tremendous, and I wish the team every success."

Houghton played for Fulham when we were a second tier side, and although under the stewardship of Malcolm Macdonald and Ray Harford the Whites were regarded as a team with some promise, the thought of the Club as a future European force would have been the stuff of wild fantasy.

"I don't think anybody saw it coming, even in all the years they've been a Premier League club. It seemed such an elite thing to get to," he said.

"They've had to get through 18 games to get to this final, which is crackers, so to remain so consistent throughout is tremendous and the reward is there now with the final.

"Now you just hope the players go out and perform and they don't freeze on the night, because they've been so good so far. Whenever they've been called upon they've always come up with good performances. Now they only need one more, so let's hope they can do it."

The 73-cap Irishman who claimed multiple League championships and FA Cups, still reflects fondly on his time in SW6 with Fulham who first gave him the break in football that didn't materialise at the club he played for as a youth, West Ham.

"Terry Mancini, the then reserve team manager, was pivotal in bringing me to the Club after he saw me playing for West Ham against Fulham reserves," he recalled.

"Malcolm Macdonald and Ray Harford were the ones that gave me the opportunity at First Team level and that helped flourish my career. They gave me a good grounding, taught me my trade and gave me the confidence to believe in myself as a First Team player.

"I've got an awful lot of love for the Club and a lot to thank them for.

"So it's great to see Fulham in the position they're in, and let's hope they finish it off with a victory over Atletico Madrid."

Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/May/RoyHoughtonFinal.aspx#ixzz0necgKei5