anyone remember when we went down from the 1st Division......

[epsomraver]

remember it very well, Robson made all his managerial mistakes at his first managers job with us. Who can forget a Forward line of Byrne, Dear and Large, now that was a truly awful front line no wonder it took a Ful back to score a first goal for us after 8 games without a goal - mind you the full back in question was Malcolm Mcdonald but Robson still preferred Large sellingMcdonald to Luton who played him as a centre forward and the rest is history.

0001.jpeg

[LBNo11]

...I remember last time too, and the Southampton fans singing "Goodbye Fulham goodbye, we'll see you again, we don't know when, goodbye Fulham goodbye" at our last home game, and I remember the Trinder quote about the flags and our opening home game in the old second division - I think it was Bristol City, and seeing this proven goalscorer from Northampton Town and Leicester City named Frank Large and thinking, everything would be fine - we then suffered the back to back drop.

Re Vic Buckingham, Dave, he got rid of Rodney Marsh as he didn't want "a clown" in his team, and he also got rid of Keetch and Langley as they didn't suit his continental style he was trying to achieve. Robson retired from playing, I was at his last game for Fulham before he went abroad, (soon to return to take over as manager from Buckingham - and Mullery had been sold before that  by the board to fund the roof over the Hammersmith End, and that is why the then manager Beddy Jezzard resigned...

[Tonywa]

Their star was Rodney Marsh, they also had Jim Langley and Robert Keetch

Love the reference to Robert Keetch.  Sure sign that you weren't around at the time;-)

[Andy S]

With Parachute payments these days I think a similar double relegation is now highly unlikely but not impossible
Remembering back to that relegation season I remember a friend from school betting me that Fulham would go down. Two bob as well a lot of cash for a school boy at that time. I lost and have never bet on us again.

[filham]

Didn't our then chairman,Mr Tommy Trinder, say upon relegation from the top table that we would only be a season in the 2nd division.He was right though as we next year went down to the 3rd?

That's right and if you remember at the time we had flags of all the division 1 clubs flying on poles along the riverside and on relegation Tommy refused to take them down on the basis that we would not stay in division two for more than a season. He was right we were in division 3 the next season.

That relegation season from 1 was not as bad as the present season and this thread raises the possibility of an even worse aftermath to follow.

Is there a leader at the Cottage who can pull things together in the next two months because at the moment we seem to be in complete disarray

[Twig]

remember it very well, Robson made all his managerial mistakes at his first managers job with us. Who can forget a Forward line of Byrne, Dear and Large, now that was a truly awful front line no wonder it took a Ful back to score a first goal for us after 8 games without a goal - mind you the full back in question was Malcolm Mcdonald but Robson still preferred Large sellingMcdonald to Luton who played him as a centre forward and the rest is history.

Haha what a forward line that was, pace to burn (well perhaps not quite)

[RaySmith]

remember it very well, Robson made all his managerial mistakes at his first managers job with us. Who can forget a Forward line of Byrne, Dear and Large, now that was a truly awful front line no wonder it took a Ful back to score a first goal for us after 8 games without a goal - mind you the full back in question was Malcolm Mcdonald but Robson still preferred Large sellingMcdonald to Luton who played him as a centre forward and the rest is history.

Haha what a forward line that was, pace to burn (well perhaps not quite)

Weight to burn more likely!

Johnny Byrne at Fulham was about the most unfit looking player I've ever seen - though I'd previously seen him when he  a rising star playing for Palace in D4.

Always had a soft spot for  Frank Large though - he always tried hard.

[FPT]

Was Alistair Mackintosh at Man City when they suffered successive relegations and  dropped through to the First Division ?
Just asking

No, the complete opposite, he came in when they were down in the dumps and helped bring them back up with a vibrant youthful squad.

His ideas for the academy, which he's also brought here, saw the rise of players like Shaun Wright-Phillips, Daniel Sturridge, Micah Richards, Joey Barton, Nedum Onuoah, Stephen Ireland, Kasper Schmeichel and Dickson Etuhu.

Plus, he also sorted out the deal for City to leave Maine Road and get into the (former) City of Manchester Stadium, obviously now the Etihad.

[MasterHaynes]

remember it very well, Robson made all his managerial mistakes at his first managers job with us. Who can forget a Forward line of Byrne, Dear and Large, now that was a truly awful front line no wonder it took a Ful back to score a first goal for us after 8 games without a goal - mind you the full back in question was Malcolm Mcdonald but Robson still preferred Large sellingMcdonald to Luton who played him as a centre forward and the rest is history.

Haha what a forward line that was, pace to burn (well perhaps not quite)

Weight to burn more likely!

Johnny Byrne at Fulham was about the most unfit looking player I've ever seen - though I'd previously seen him when he  a rising star playing for Palace in D4.

Always had a soft spot for  Frank Large though - he always tried hard.

'Budgie' Byrne was perfect nickname with his protruding middrift but I honestly cannot recollect Brian Dear ever running, admittedly he scored some screamers from 25yds + but he always had to have them teed up right in front of him. Frank large tried but unfortunately he had two left feet which is a problem for a centre forward, to think he was valued at about a third of the deal that took Clarke to Leicester, not even a 10th the value of Clarke as he was to prove with his MOM performance in the next seasons FA cup final.

[epsomraver]

...I remember last time too, and the Southampton fans singing "Goodbye Fulham goodbye, we'll see you again, we don't know when, goodbye Fulham goodbye" at our last home game, and I remember the Trinder quote about the flags and our opening home game in the old second division - I think it was Bristol City, and seeing this proven goalscorer from Northampton Town and Leicester City named Frank Large and thinking, everything would be fine - we then suffered the back to back drop.

Re Vic Buckingham, Dave, he got rid of Rodney Marsh as he didn't want "a clown" in his team, and he also got rid of Keetch and Langley as they didn't suit his continental style he was trying to achieve. Robson retired from playing, I was at his last game for Fulham before he went abroad, (soon to return to take over as manager from Buckingham - and Mullery had been sold before that  by the board to fund the roof over the Hammersmith End, and that is why the then manager Beddy Jezzard resigned...

Thanks Ed , I stand corrected, the old memory aint what it used to be! "Nurse!"

[bog]

How could I ever forget!

[gerrys]

Yes this is correct. QPR also had Roger and Ian Morgan as well as Peter springet in goal. In reality our team was not that bad and had we not lost our captain George Cohen to injury we may well have stayed up imo. Vic Buckingham not a good manager though

Half way through the season, having conceded about 30 goals, we lost George Cohen.......in the end I think we concedex 98.....don't think we quite made the ton!!!

[ron]

How could I ever forget!

I was in the Sixth Form. I remember still the mickey-taking ....."Hey, Ron, What's Black and White and goes down.....?"

[res]

 It was a horrific season, watching the likes of Cliff Jones, Budgy Byrne, Frank Large (all of whom were clearly beyond the end of their respective careers) waddling around the pitch for the first team, while the likes of MacDonald, Barrett and Conway were scoring at will for the reserves. It was also sad to see people like Johnny Haynes and George Cohen playing in such a bereft side, and not being able to contribute due to their ages and (especially George Cohen) injuries; a sad finale to their Fulham careers.

There were dozens of appalling performance, none worst than a 6-0 (should have been more) defeat at Bristol City. After that game, I sat in a Bristol café nursing a mug of tea, and suddenly got surrounded by a posse of dodgy looking Bristol fans; my immediate wave of fear evaporated when they called over the "waitress" to order another mug of tea and a bacon roll for me, footing the bill in "honour of my heroic support of what they considered to be the worst attempt at a football side they had ever seen"

So things have been dire in the past, which doesn't excuse the shambles of last season.

[Andy S]

Yes no message boards to vent your spleen it felt very lonely being a Fulham supporter back then. But things were dire. I think we trained at the Cottage as well so the pitch was in a terrible condition. The players had no access to doctors or physio's there was just a man with a magic sponge and up you went for another kick from your opponents. They were certainly different times

[Snibbo]

It was a horrific season, watching the likes of Cliff Jones, Budgy Byrne, Frank Large (all of whom were clearly beyond the end of their respective careers) waddling around the pitch for the first team, while the likes of MacDonald, Barrett and Conway were scoring at will for the reserves. It was also sad to see people like Johnny Haynes and George Cohen playing in such a bereft side, and not being able to contribute due to their ages and (especially George Cohen) injuries; a sad finale to their Fulham careers.

There were dozens of appalling performance, none worst than a 6-0 (should have been more) defeat at Bristol City. After that game, I sat in a Bristol café nursing a mug of tea, and suddenly got surrounded by a posse of dodgy looking Bristol fans; my immediate wave of fear evaporated when they called over the "waitress" to order another mug of tea and a bacon roll for me, footing the bill in "honour of my heroic support of what they considered to be the worst attempt at a football side they had ever seen"

So things have been dire in the past, which doesn't excuse the shambles of last season.

Byrne was the fattest player I've ever seen in a serious football team. Truly porky. Your term 'waddling' is spot on. And to think we part exchanged Alan Clarke for Frank Large - God that made me angry.

[GloucesterWhite]

Painful memories. There was a mock funeral with a coffin paraded through the nearby streets. Please let history not repeat itself.