Did MAF leave us without a paddle?

[Jonaldiniho 88]

This guy helped save our club, had ambition and money to do what most fans couldn't have dreamt (before my time as a fan to be fair) and spent a lot to give us some of the glory years this club has ever experienced. I do not hold him responsible for much, but his fingerprints are on this downfall.
    A billionaire who has loved this club(I really believe he did). And cared so much about this club but couldn't leave us in a strong position, with a solid squad of all ages and successful manager who was improving results rather than avalancheing. And he did this because he wanted to maximise profits? All I read is MAF didnt spend coz he wanted to sell. But he left us with an ageing squad, clueless manager and declining results. Was this fly in his ointment (an ointment sea of money) really going to affect an ageing man who couldn't spend the rest of his money if he tried? I can't help but think in hinds sight he will regret not leaving us in a better state.
     Let me regress because we wouldn't be suffering this fate without him. We could had ceased to be a team at all and all those on this forum would be posting s*** on some other site. We could be in the conference on pitches where the fans stand on more grass than the players, we could be at loftus road, or in debt or leasing a ground with no home (spam) and we are not thanks to him. BUT if an owner leaves a company after so many years and it falls through straight after either he was amazing in all ways or he left if stuck together with bluetac and let the next man fix all the problems.
     Not giving him much of the blame but to expect a novice buyer (to football ownership. The real football btw) to come in and rely on his staff :players, manager, CEO etc... And it fail so quickly I find it hard to blame khan at all compared to MAF a bit.

[WayneKerrins]

Ultimately a 90 year old billionaire put squeezing 25-30m out pre sale to Khan above safeguarding the short to medium term future of the club he claimed to love.
His money so his prerogative? Yes.

Disappointing in the extreme? Absolutely.

Consistent with loving something? Not really.

Cause to sing his name each weekend when we're odds on for relegation? Not on your f.cking nelly.

[MrProphet]

We have a very very large paddle in the shape I believe the 4th richest owner in the league.

The issue is he knows nothing about running a football club and took advice from "the experts" ala Ali mac and Jol. We are where we are because at the start of the season the decision was made to stick with the.cheaply assembled squad of players nearing the end of their careers and not invest in what we needed. Summed up by.paying the same amount of money for a falling apart Scott parker as hull paid for huddlestone....

[VicHalomsLovechild]

   I worked at Harrods when AF brought it and over the next few years senior people came and were dumped very quickly if they dare suggest an alternative. Not much happened unless it added real value and much like Fulham he declared his love of the store and his wish to be buried in the little dome at the top. He sold it and turned a good profit at the right time. He did the same with the club. I've no complaints, can't think of anyone else who would have had pockets deep enough to take us to the Premiership and a European final.
   As much as Khan is accused of knowing little about football neither did AF. Khan is a younger and richer business man. I think on balance we've landed on our feet. This season has been mostly forgettable. However we have plans and permission for a new stand. We have a successful youth team with good players who will make an impact next season wherever we're playing.

[Craven Mad]

To some extent, yes. For a premier league team we have been chronically underfunded in recent years, but this has been disguised by a handful of (debatably successful) £10m players.

Critically, I think the Demps/Dembele money needed to be re-invested, but wasn't, and that left us short on quality..

HOWEVER, Mo was a superb owner and we should all be eternally grateful for everything we achieved under him, and for the generosity he showed. The club needed serious restructuring and investment to reach profitability. Mo had sunk so much into the club, and it just wasn't going to pay-off with a 25k stadium. His generosity and achievements should be forgotten.

[Jem]

For me Mo could walk on water across the Thames to get to the ground. He did so much for the club I do not believe he could predict the mess we are in now. As for the paddle, it is an extremely good one, however, how well it will be used remains to be seen.

[MJG]

He did oversee in his last year a 90% wages to income ratio which is far too high for us.

Lets be honest when people talk about 'investment' you saying that the owner should just write a cheque for £20M and say spend it. That money would be from them and not from within the clubs financial model.

The fees for D&D were used on transfers (both cost & free) and wages, so it has been reinvested back into the team. In the right places? Now that's a different question.

[Craven Mad]

He did oversee in his last year a 90% wages to income ratio which is far too high for us.

Was it really 90:10?? I had no idea it was that high..

[MJG]

He did oversee in his last year a 90% wages to income ratio which is far too high for us.

Was it really 90:10?? I had no idea it was that high..

Actually to turnover:

[MJG]

Here is the wages list:

[grandad]

I seem to remember a load of twaddle about MAF saying that even when he passed away the club will still be run by the Fayed family & would be a dynasty that would last for ever.
I still believe that the whole MAF era was a money making scheme. He bought it, invested, had a toy for a few years , sold it, got his money back plus some.
Will the Khan era be any different?

[Keefy]

He left us Jol...nuff said

[TonyGilroy]

It was a good 15 years for the club and therefore for us.

He sold to a man richer than him who appears to have bought for the right reasons.

Currently we're suffering a setback - the future, who knows, but I don't see it as being MAF's fault.

[RaySmith]

It was a good 15 years for the club and therefore for us.

He sold to a man richer than him who appears to have bought for the right reasons.

Currently we're suffering a setback - the future, who knows, but I don't see it as being MAF's fault.

0001.jpeg

Perhaps it should be restated that without MAF we would have been nowhere near the Prem, let alone remaining there for so many years.

If he had any ulterior motives in buying Fulham, I think these were more to do with gaining status and acceptability in Britain, than any financial interests, and we should be glad that he was motivated to take over Fulham for whatever reasons.

And, rather than selling us down the river - maybe to some dodgy Far East cartel, he sold us to a wealthy, respectable businessman -what he probably thought were good hands, and which may still prove to be so.

[Craven Mad]

Thanks, MJG. Very interesting.

[Logicalman]

It was a good 15 years for the club and therefore for us.

He sold to a man richer than him who appears to have bought for the right reasons.

Currently we're suffering a setback - the future, who knows, but I don't see it as being MAF's fault.

perfectly put.

[Lighthouse]

Nobody is to blame for anything - Except Mark Hughes left and warned about lack of ambition. We laughed and called Hughes names. But Al was thinking of selling the club, talked of sustainability and instead of investing in a better player or two, filled the team with free transfers and out of contract players. So it doesn't take a genius to admit that that last few years our team has been very poor because of the age and quality.

There wouldn't be a Fulham in the Prem if it wasn't for AL. For what ever reason he decided to sell the club and the new owner was conned on sustainability. Now more money will have to be spent on the team unless the owner is happy with a team in decline.

[Logicalman]

Dunno about Berbatov being free or even cheap.

[Lighthouse]

Dunno about Berbatov being free or even cheap.

Ruiz was the only player who cost silly money since Hughes left. Clearly all players are paid big money. But unless the team has investment we end up with what we have. If that is all we want or can afford then we will never play in the Prem again. 

[MJG]

filled the team with free transfers and out of contract players.

Hardly.....From Summer 2010
Spent Money on

Stekelenburg
Riether
Kasami
Berbatov
Richardson
Dejagah
Pogrebnyak
Ruiz
Riise
Gecov
dembele
Halliche
Salcido


Free
Diarra
Boateng
Amorebieta
Karagounis
Rodallega
Petric
Grygera
Sa
Sidwell
Senderos