Last one out switch off the lights.

[the nutflush]

This is going to be my one and only rant.  I have wanted to post on many other threads but I just don't have the energy any more.  I just watched us concede three goals and lose to an absolutely terrible premier league side and it just proves one thing....we deserve to be relegated.

We deserve it because we have been so poorly run for the whole season possibly even longer.  I know that we should be and I am grateful for the financial support for many years of Mohamed Al Fayed.  There are many questions that could be asked and may never be answered.  1) If Mr Al Fayed was still the owner would we stay up?  2) Is this club too small to rightfully claim a permanent spot in the premier league?

I think the rot started when the rumours spread that Mr Al Fayed was going to sell up.  I think the new owner was always going to be under the pump because as I see it, our investment in the playing roster was woeful for considerable time leading up to the sale.  It is my opinion that had Mr Al Fayed decided to stay as Fulhams owner that Martin Jol would have been shown the door at the end of last season.

I think that the decision to stick with Martin Jol as manager for so long has been the key to our precarious situation.  I know that we have a new owner that has very little premier league experience but I also think he has been well and truly badly advised.  The hiring of Rene Meulensteen was a real gamble.  Some will say it was another disaster.  Some will stay it was just starting to show results when he was shown the door.  And now the jury is still out in my book regarding Felix Magath.

All I know is that three managers in one season is not a recipe for success.  Not to mention the other assistant coaches, football directors and numerous hangers on that were all brought in and out like they were stuck in a revolving door.  God knows how much the club is paying out in contract settlements which leads me to ask this....If we are shelling out so much in contract payouts, then why didn't we go straight to the top in the first place? 

I have posted previously that I have been a long time admirer of Guus Hiddink but was repeatedly shut down by a chorus of "hes too expensive and would turn us down".  But if you count up all the dough we must be paying Jol and his support staff, Meulensteen and his so called support staff of Curbishley and Wilkins etc then we might have had enough to convince him.  In my opinion I think Hiddink as manager and Meulensteen as head coach would have worked.  But I suppose everyone has their opinion and has their right to voice it  Which leads me to the playing roster...

Obviously we have been under resourced for far too long.  We have the worst back four in the premier league.  We have the worst midfield in the premier league and we have the worst list of strikers in the premier league.  It stands to reason that we should be on the bottom of the table with nine matches to play. Its simple.  We are just not good enough.  Yesterdays result hammered it home.  I could go on for hours about who should go or who should stay in our squad.  I just don't have the energy other than to say our youth looks promising and we should be trying to keep as many of them as possible to facilitate a quick return to the premier league.  That aside we need a big cleanout.   

I know this probably sounds like a meandering rant.  It is as I have been saving it up for so long,  I am still seething over another inept performance and I am onto my second bottle of red wine.  I am totally gutted as I live in Australia and I am hardly going to see my team play live next season. 

I take my hat off to all posters here that still see a way out of this mess.  I admire your optimism.  Its a quality I wish I had but I can only conclude by saying...what a balls up.

[Me-ate-Live, innit??]

We all have a rant in us.better out than in !!!
 
For me it is Jol and the peeps that said in condescension : He is a great manager and we are lucky to have him.

Everyone ignored the overall  damage he did at Spurts, with all their money and size he had them, at the bottom of the table and in a right old state,  in his final  season with them.   
Did we (Fulham) actually think he would do better at a small club with a small budget ???
If he even had a modicum of charm ..............   Et cetera, Et cetera, Et cetera, Et cetera

[Admin]

The majority don't want to here this, but Fayed sold us down the river, it was as simple as that. He'd been wanting to sell us for around about the last 3 or 4 years, but no one stupid enough would take us off his hands, until Khan came along that is. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Khan is stupid, he can't be, he's a multi billionaire, but he was seriously miss advised when buying Fulham, and should have looked into it much, much further.

Fayed had no intentions of building that Riverside Stand, it was just part of the glossy brochure, it was clearly down to the club to raise the funds for this, and you can see now why Mackintosh was scrimping and scraping. This in turn, had a massive impact in regards to investing in the squad. Fayed's pockets were officially shut.

I think people are right, if Fayed's heart was still at Fulham, he would have sacked Martin Jol months before, even the season before, but lets be honest, even though he still owned the club, he was practically out the door, and I think others were handed the responsibility of making decisions, Q Mackintosh.

With the take over, what ever idiot advised Khan to not invest, and run with the current plan, shouldn't even be in a job as of today. That decision alone, along with keeping hold of Jol, has practically fooked this club good and proper. It didn't need to come to this, a good strategy and a sensible investment as soon as Khan walked in, would have seen us at least safe this season, with something to build on come the next.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for what Fayed did for Fulham, he let me live the dream, he allowed us to mix with the Premierships elite, even go to a Europa Cup final, but as quickly as he became my hero, he' s also become my enemy. He wasn't a long term fan of Fulham as most think, he couldn't care less how the sale of the club was handled, and he certainly doesn't care what happens to us now.

Club sold for 150 million, 20 million taken over 2 years in repayments, 13 million upfront from the Sky money, and I don't care what anyone says, he took the Dempsey and Dembele' money. He paid of his debt, turned our debt into equity, and walked out with a few million in his sky rocket, job done leaving that stupid statue behind because no one would have it.         

[jarv]

job done leaving that stupid statue.... 064.gif  I liked that bit. only a few responses but very good post and comments.
yours,
resigned to relegation.

[alfie]

The majority don't want to here this, but Fayed sold us down the river, it was as simple as that. He'd been wanting to sell us for around about the last 3 or 4 years, but no one stupid enough would take us off his hands, until Khan came along that is. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Khan is stupid, he can't be, he's a multi billionaire, but he was seriously miss advised when buying Fulham, and should have looked into it much, much further.

Fayed had no intentions of building that Riverside Stand, it was just part of the glossy brochure, it was clearly down to the club to raise the funds for this, and you can see now why Mackintosh was scrimping and scraping. This in turn, had a massive impact in regards to investing in the squad. Fayed's pockets were officially shut.

I think people are right, if Fayed's heart was still at Fulham, he would have sacked Martin Jol months before, even the season before, but lets be honest, even though he still owned the club, he was practically out the door, and I think others were handed the responsibility of making decisions, Q Mackintosh.

With the take over, what ever idiot advised Khan to not invest, and run with the current plan, shouldn't even be in a job as of today. That decision alone, along with keeping hold of Jol, has practically fooked this club good and proper. It didn't need to come to this, a good strategy and a sensible investment as soon as Khan walked in, would have seen us at least safe this season, with something to build on come the next.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for what Fayed did for Fulham, he let me live the dream, he allowed us to mix with the Premierships elite, even go to a Europa Cup final, but as quickly as he became my hero, he' s also become my enemy. He wasn't a long term fan of Fulham as most think, he couldn't care less how the sale of the club was handled, and he certainly doesn't care what happens to us now.

Club sold for 150 million, 20 million taken over 2 years in repayments, 13 million upfront from the Sky money, and I don't care what anyone says, he took the Dempsey and Dembele' money. He paid of his debt, turned our debt into equity, and walked out with a few million in his sky rocket, job done leaving that stupid statue behind because no one would have it.         

Have to say i agree with this fully, although maybe if Jol had been given suitable funds he may have got some decent players in, but alas that is something we will never know.

[LBNo11]

...not going to add anything to this thread, other than to say two great posts, very much how I feel but put into words well...

[One Martin Thomas]

I like ADMIN's post.  Especially the last paragraph.  I have the feeling Jol even may have wanted us to fail to prove a point.

What we are all concluding is that Mark Hughes was right !  He may not have been "politically" correct in what he said but he clearly "rocked the boat" with what proved to be too close to the truth than we would all believe at the time.

[Twig]

Amen to that. Right now I don't even have the motivation to try to post a well written rant.  Hat's off to you both and much of what you argue I also agree with.

[Tonywa]

Absolutely true.  While MAF was wonderful for the club at the time and we would never have made it without him, ultimately, over a period of years he got back every penny he put into the club and walked off with a big fat profit.  Won't complain because we enjoyed as much as he did, but had he really had the interests of Fulham in the forefront of his thinking he would have invested in players over the last few years (particularly given what came in for the two Ds) and he would have redeveloped the Riverside Stand to ensure an ongoing enlarged revenue stream for the club.

[Southcoastffc]

"Fayed sold us down the river" - well perhaps so but he bought us in thefirst place so was fully entitled to.  He gave us a dozen or so fantastic years and it was great fun.     Our new owner's position is interesting to say the least - he bought something that COULD give him a great return and at the moment he and/or his representatives have mishandled it badly.  Will he cut his losses or do what is needed to repair the damage and improve things?   

[YankeeJim]

Its really just bad karma. We started losing when we took the statue down. We should put it back up or perhaps put one up of Jol. It could become a FFC tradition to pee on it before each match.   094.gif

[JDH101]

I agree with the OP. It was a great post that I thoroughly agree with.

I agree with Admin to an extent. You can't deny that MAF has made some money out of us. But two things I'd like everyone to consider:

1) 15 odd years ago before he took over, if you would have told me we go all the way up to the perm, mix it with the best for more than a decade, make it to a major european final but then get relegated finishing bottom of the league with an aging squad, I would have taken it. I think some fans either were not around for the bleak period or they have short term memories.

2) MAF didn't sell us to some dodgy Asian businessman who wants to change our name / kit / drain us of all our money. He sold us to a guy who clearly wants to invest in the club and has the right intentions. Sadly for us, Khan knows nothing about our sport and he had no idea he was taking over such a mess. By the time he figured out Jol was a walking disaster it was too late.

I agree MAF is probably 65% of the reason we are in the position we are in, but he's 100% of the reason we are in the Prem in the first place. I will always love the man and stand up for him. Frankly I miss him and if we get relegated and Khan sold us back to him I would be delighted. But that ain't happening anytime soon.

[Admin]

Its really just bad karma. We started losing when we took the statue down. We should put it back up or perhaps put one up of Jol. It could become a FFC tradition to pee on it before each match.   094.gif

Come on, when he sold Harrod's, he had no where else to put it, and no one else wanted the stupid thing, so the eccentric old fool put it a Fulham, and at the same time made us a laughing stock. That's when I knew deep down he didn't really give a monkies about Fulham!  

[ScalleysDad]

I like ADMIN's post.  Especially the last paragraph.  I have the feeling Jol even may have wanted us to fail to prove a point.

What we are all concluding is that Mark Hughes was right !  He may not have been "politically" correct in what he said but he clearly "rocked the boat" with what proved to be too close to the truth than we would all believe at the time.

Of course he also brought in Dembele, an unknown cheap as chips utility player who went on to be many peoples favourite son over recent years. He also fell out with staff and players for a past time. Its a shame we couldn't find common ground but ultimately his arrogance was not going to fit the role of head honcho, not at The Cottage anyway. At the time it was said that "he just didn't get it" and that has remained an important issue for me throughout the last three tenures. RM almost did and I vividly remember his walk across the pitch in a monsoon to applaud the fans. It has to be the opportunity for Kit Symons to head up the rebuild in The Championship surely?

Hiddink and Meulensteen .......... how did the Board miss that one?

[HatterDon]

I like ADMIN's post.  Especially the last paragraph.  I have the feeling Jol even may have wanted us to fail to prove a point.

What we are all concluding is that Mark Hughes was right !  He may not have been "politically" correct in what he said but he clearly "rocked the boat" with what proved to be too close to the truth than we would all believe at the time.

Of course he also brought in Dembele, an unknown cheap as chips utility player who went on to be many peoples favourite son over recent years. He also fell out with staff and players for a past time. Its a shame we couldn't find common ground but ultimately his arrogance was not going to fit the role of head honcho, not at The Cottage anyway. At the time it was said that "he just didn't get it" and that has remained an important issue for me throughout the last three tenures. RM almost did and I vividly remember his walk across the pitch in a monsoon to applaud the fans. It has to be the opportunity for Kit Symons to head up the rebuild in The Championship surely?

Hiddink and Meulensteen .......... how did the Board miss that one?

Yes, Jol's arrogance was much more palatable than Hughes'

[Deanothefulhamfan]

This has to be the best thread on FOF for a long time....

Great post's by several of you, with a nice counter point from Jdh.

I agree with almost every comment here

[Baszab]

Problem was that AF needed the money as he had huge loans crystallising on his investments - he was really ramped up and had to liquidate - this Khan bloke is in a different league to AF - maybe Khan will write off the investment take the parachute and clear out all premier salaried players - leaving us in Leeds/Blackburn territory - or maybe he will invest properly to try to recuperate his investment ????  Who's advising him ?!! I hate to think

[TheManOnTheBus]

Not even sure what a parachute is in these circumstances.  If Khan wants out: who would buy the club? And for how much?  How much is a championship club with (lets face it) a relatively small fan base worth?  He might just be tempted to write off 100M or whatever he paid for it and off-load dirt cheap (to the supporters' trust?).

Being positive though.  Khan wants a premier league club and in London too (for his Jaguar reselling/synergy opportuniites).  I assume he can't afford Arsenal/Chelsea/Spurs.  Who's he left with?  West Ham - East London doen'st really do it for his market, I'd have thought, so perservere with us? Or take a punt (another 100M) and try and buy the Ha Has (what did they cost?).   I suspect he will persevere and invest for a promotion.  A year in business strategy terms is not long.

[Burt]

It feels like sacrilege to put the boot in to MAF as the cause of our downfall, given without his investment and wise stewardship over the years we would probably still be scraping out a living in the lower leagues, or be ground-sharing with Brentford whilst some swanky penthouses appeared by the Thames, and we certainly wouldn't have attained the heights we have enjoyed over the last 10 years.

I guess the issue is like any owner or investor, at some point you will want an exit, and you will want to realise a return on the money you have ploughed in. This is difficult in football as "normal" business rules do not apply.

So I agree that the MAF legacy may be the root of this season's downfall, but it doesn't seem right to be critical of a man who put so much in to this club during his time here, and showed much more patience and understanding of what makes a good club a good club than many of the other egotistical eejits managing other clubs in the premier league.

[RaySmith]

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It feels like sacrilege to put the boot in to MAF as the cause of our downfall, given without his investment and wise stewardship over the years we would probably still be scraping out a living in the lower leagues, or be ground-sharing with Brentford whilst some swanky penthouses appeared by the Thames, and we certainly wouldn't have attained the heights we have enjoyed over the last 10 years.

I guess the issue is like any owner or investor, at some point you will want an exit, and you will want to realise a return on the money you have ploughed in. This is difficult in football as "normal" business rules do not apply.

So I agree that the MAF legacy may be the root of this season's downfall, but it doesn't seem right to be critical of a man who put so much in to this club during his time here, and showed much more patience and understanding of what makes a good club a good club than many of the other egotistical eejits managing other clubs in the premier league.

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