Khan out?

[Jonaldiniho 88]

What we need to understand here is we was use to seeing names like Danny Murphy, Saha, Van Der Saar, Berbatov, Dacourt, Emmanuelson, Dembele, Gudjohnson and Duff just to name the few that were cream of the crop of European Football. I believe supporters are still coming to terms with where we are now and where we use to be for the last 13 years. I don't think it has hit home yet to some people that we are in the Championship and we don't have that kind of pulling power now since we made a drop out of the Prem. 

Agree but our lack of ambition and probable bottom half finish has the same effect on attractive championship level players next season. A great run to finish seventh this season and a well performing team plus khans pocket could attract better players than just surviving playing poo.

[FPT]

No, I don't think you can blame Shahid Khan.

He brought the club, and decided to stick with the plan in place; and on paper and theory, that was a good thing to do. I didn't expect relegation last year; I didn't expect much more than safety, but I certainly didn't think that we would be relegated, especially as you look at the personnel.

He reacted to the form, bringing in experience coach, Rene Meulensteen; and subsequently spending big in the January transfer window to attract Kostas Mitroglou (one of Europe's best goal-scorers at the time), Johnny Heitinga and Lewis Holtby.

Form didn't improve, and rather than leave it too late; he removed* Rene Meulensteen and replaced him with an experienced "safety expert" in Felix Magath, the German had saved clubs from relegation many times in Germany and Khan was clearly happy with somebody that had a track record in doing what was needed.

What happened, happened; and we approached the Summer, where stripping of the clubs ultimately deadwood commenced. Players like Heitinga, Riise, Duff among other big earners were allowed to leave; and Fulham went to younger players, being ushered by Scott Parker and Ross McCormack. Now, there's still work to do; but I'm happy with the mechanics of our squad thus far, so a good window it was (barring the odd one or two).

We come to another sacking, Felix Magath; after 9 games, we had 1 win and one point in the league, so a justified sacking as the nightmare continued. Kit Symons (who I will admit to being a supporter of also), took the reigns and steered Fulham into a wonderful run of form which saw 1 loss in 9 and us catching up with the others, jumping from dead-last with one point, to 17th place with 19. Kit Symons got the job, as he should have done - I didn't see anyone better (Steve Clarke maybe) but when your sit-in is performing that well, there'd be more questions asked about how he didn't get the job.

From December, the form really dropped off with the 5-0 loss at home to Watford seemingly the catalyst. We've only won 4 since that game, losing 5 and drawing the other in the process. Is that Khan's fault? I don't think so. Is it Kits' fault? Partially, but to put the blame on him wholly would be harsh.

What we need to do, is wait until the summer and fine-tune the squad. The summer transfer window needs to be the time when we do a MOT, get rid of the deadwood and uselessness, and bring in some quality with another parachute payment bunch. It is this window that will dictate our future - we have the core, we now need to sprinkle the gems which will take us from mid-table, to a promotion battler. That will become easier with the addition of Mike Rigg and we all just need to calm down about this season - there are five teams at least that will finish below us. Oh, and at one point this evening, we went up to 12th; so that shows how easy it is to run up the table if we go onto another run of form.

To finish, I don't think Khan has directly done anything to affect the club negatively; it's just a series of unfortunate events, and another thing that this football club will have to overcome.

[Jonaldiniho 88]

No, I don't think you can blame Shahid Khan.

He brought the club, and decided to stick with the plan in place; and on paper and theory, that was a good thing to do. I didn't expect relegation last year; I didn't expect much more than safety, but I certainly didn't think that we would be relegated, especially as you look at the personnel.

He reacted to the form, bringing in experience coach, Rene Meulensteen; and subsequently spending big in the January transfer window to attract Kostas Mitroglou (one of Europe's best goal-scorers at the time), Johnny Heitinga and Lewis Holtby.

Form didn't improve, and rather than leave it too late; he removed* Rene Meulensteen and replaced him with an experienced "safety expert" in Felix Magath, the German had saved clubs from relegation many times in Germany and Khan was clearly happy with somebody that had a track record in doing what was needed.

What happened, happened; and we approached the Summer, where stripping of the clubs ultimately deadwood commenced. Players like Heitinga, Riise, Duff among other big earners were allowed to leave; and Fulham went to younger players, being ushered by Scott Parker and Ross McCormack. Now, there's still work to do; but I'm happy with the mechanics of our squad thus far, so a good window it was (barring the odd one or two).

We come to another sacking, Felix Magath; after 9 games, we had 1 win and one point in the league, so a justified sacking as the nightmare continued. Kit Symons (who I will admit to being a supporter of also), took the reigns and steered Fulham into a wonderful run of form which saw 1 loss in 9 and us catching up with the others, jumping from dead-last with one point, to 17th place with 19. Kit Symons got the job, as he should have done - I didn't see anyone better (Steve Clarke maybe) but when your sit-in is performing that well, there'd be more questions asked about how he didn't get the job.

From December, the form really dropped off with the 5-0 loss at home to Watford seemingly the catalyst. We've only won 4 since that game, losing 5 and drawing the other in the process. Is that Khan's fault? I don't think so. Is it Kits' fault? Partially, but to put the blame on him wholly would be harsh.

What we need to do, is wait until the summer and fine-tune the squad. The summer transfer window needs to be the time when we do a MOT, get rid of the deadwood and uselessness, and bring in some quality with another parachute payment bunch. It is this window that will dictate our future - we have the core, we now need to sprinkle the gems which will take us from mid-table, to a promotion battler. That will become easier with the addition of Mike Rigg and we all just need to calm down about this season - there are five teams at least that will finish below us. Oh, and at one point this evening, we went up to 12th; so that shows how easy it is to run up the table if we go onto another run of form.

To finish, I don't think Khan has directly done anything to affect the club negatively; it's just a series of unfortunate events, and another thing that this football club will have to overcome.

Incredibly well said. Plus all the ones.

[grandad]

I put all the blame on Al Fayed. After the Europa final he failed to rebuild the side as he had already decided to sell the club & get all his money back.
We have not recovered & it will be damn hard to do so now there is the FFP to contend with. There is no way Khan can pump in millions as Fayed did under the new rules.

[Bronaldinho]

Can't blame Khan at all to be honest.

The guy is seriously minted and a great owner for our club. He funded the car crash of last season, he listened to the fans for the latest appointment in Kit Symons and even relied on a few famous people on that committee. He's doing his job well of funding the club and especially when he's going to fund the expansion of the stadium.

Unfortunately, the Kit appointment isn't working out at all, and it was sensible for him not to splash out big in January to recover this season. FFP too.

In the summer, he'll most likely get out his wallet again, funding a new squad and clearing out a lot of dead wood.

You can't blame Khan at all, he's actually doing a great job sadly the man has been unlucky/poorly advised going forward.

I'm pretty sure it weren't Khan's idea to seek out Magath in January, it was only because Magath's agent met Ali Mac and co that they got him in when they saw his CV.

[Bronaldinho]

I put all the blame on Al Fayed. After the Europa final he failed to rebuild the side as he had already decided to sell the club & get all his money back.
We have not recovered & it will be damn hard to do so now there is the FFP to contend with. There is no way Khan can pump in millions as Fayed did under the new rules.

Al Fayed was a legend, no doubt about it. But you're right, the club was crying out for investment  but we focused on the cheap options of over the hill players, 30+ to keep us afloat until he could sell. He sold at the right time.

[FFC1987]

It's becoming abundantly clear that even under Al Fayed, the backroom staff at Fulham are run by charlatans, if anything, I think the club as a whole was held together with gaffa tapped gift wrapping and presented to Khan. Don't get me wrong, he's made a few errors in managers etc. but overall, I think he's had his trousers pulled down. Current situation is a shambles and we'll see what the chairmen is made of by either condemning it, or turning it round. That's how i'll judge Khan. As for Kit, I think he found his level in the youth setup, the sooner he gets back there, the better.   

[Baszab]

It's not about Khan funding cos he loves you and me - it's about him protecting his investment - any long term plan would have foreseen the TV rights increasing yet again with BT bidding against Sky and serious investment should have been made 18 months ago to prevent relegation AT ANY COST - now Khan has to decide whether to take a haircut and just run the club under FPP rules - being sustainable - i.e. this means not putting any more dosh in -- if so it's back to the backwaters of the third division again - which is a full circle back to what I grew up with anyway

[WayneKerrins]

Can't blame Khan at all to be honest.

The guy is seriously minted and a great owner for our club. He funded the car crash of last season, he listened to the fans for the latest appointment in Kit Symons and even relied on a few famous people on that committee. He's doing his job well of funding the club and especially when he's going to fund the expansion of the stadium.

Unfortunately, the Kit appointment isn't working out at all, and it was sensible for him not to splash out big in January to recover this season. FFP too.

In the summer, he'll most likely get out his wallet again, funding a new squad and clearing out a lot of dead wood.

You can't blame Khan at all, he's actually doing a great job sadly the man has been unlucky/poorly advised going forward.

I'm pretty sure it weren't Khan's idea to seek out Magath in January, it was only because Magath's agent met Ali Mac and co that they got him in when they saw his CV.

'

Get his wallet out again?.. Chuckle chuckle

[WayneKerrins]

No, I don't think you can blame Shahid Khan.

He brought the club, and decided to stick with the plan in place; and on paper and theory, that was a good thing to do. I didn't expect relegation last year; I didn't expect much more than safety, but I certainly didn't think that we would be relegated, especially as you look at the personnel.

He reacted to the form, bringing in experience coach, Rene Meulensteen; and subsequently spending big in the January transfer window to attract Kostas Mitroglou (one of Europe's best goal-scorers at the time), Johnny Heitinga and Lewis Holtby.

Form didn't improve, and rather than leave it too late; he removed* Rene Meulensteen and replaced him with an experienced "safety expert" in Felix Magath, the German had saved clubs from relegation many times in Germany and Khan was clearly happy with somebody that had a track record in doing what was needed.

What happened, happened; and we approached the Summer, where stripping of the clubs ultimately deadwood commenced. Players like Heitinga, Riise, Duff among other big earners were allowed to leave; and Fulham went to younger players, being ushered by Scott Parker and Ross McCormack. Now, there's still work to do; but I'm happy with the mechanics of our squad thus far, so a good window it was (barring the odd one or two).

We come to another sacking, Felix Magath; after 9 games, we had 1 win and one point in the league, so a justified sacking as the nightmare continued. Kit Symons (who I will admit to being a supporter of also), took the reigns and steered Fulham into a wonderful run of form which saw 1 loss in 9 and us catching up with the others, jumping from dead-last with one point, to 17th place with 19. Kit Symons got the job, as he should have done - I didn't see anyone better (Steve Clarke maybe) but when your sit-in is performing that well, there'd be more questions asked about how he didn't get the job.

From December, the form really dropped off with the 5-0 loss at home to Watford seemingly the catalyst. We've only won 4 since that game, losing 5 and drawing the other in the process. Is that Khan's fault? I don't think so. Is it Kits' fault? Partially, but to put the blame on him wholly would be harsh.

What we need to do, is wait until the summer and fine-tune the squad. The summer transfer window needs to be the time when we do a MOT, get rid of the deadwood and uselessness, and bring in some quality with another parachute payment bunch. It is this window that will dictate our future - we have the core, we now need to sprinkle the gems which will take us from mid-table, to a promotion battler. That will become easier with the addition of Mike Rigg and we all just need to calm down about this season - there are five teams at least that will finish below us. Oh, and at one point this evening, we went up to 12th; so that shows how easy it is to run up the table if we go onto another run of form.

To finish, I don't think Khan has directly done anything to affect the club negatively; it's just a series of unfortunate events, and another thing that this football club will have to overcome.

Bring in some quality with another parachute payment bunch? Not that he spent any of it last year either. Sustainability...

[McBride78]

Khan is not going anywhere, might as well get used to him.  I don't think he is interested in selling, and even if he was he would not do so now at a loss.  I actually think he will be a very good owner once all the correct personnel are in place.  Martin Jol was a mess, the personnel at the time was a mess.  Dempsey's head got too big and he left for a year on the pine at Spuds.  Dembele Sr. same story.  Couple that with the remainder of the squad aging and you get what you get.  We were not built by the previous ownership and management for sustainability.  Our average age when we dropped was near or over 30.....now it is in the low - mid 20's.

I quite like the window we have had.  Not just for the age of the players brought in, but for the long contracts (cairney on 4 years I believe).  Pringle can be a mainstay as well for a few years.  We have LVC, Dembele the second, Ross, Hyndman, Betts, and possibly a rejuvenated O'Hara.  If we sign the defenders that I think will be signed in the next two weeks, it could shape up to be a good season.   

[JPCL]

Don't understand all the Shahid Khan bashing, he's backed every single manager financial wise and speaks highly and funds are readily available if the right player becomes available. He continues to back the club when in two years he's seen no reward for his spending, think the guy deserves a break. Made a couple of mistakes but don't think he's solely to blame, the club was struggling before he came so any criticism of him I deem to be unfair.

[valdeingruo]

All posts stating Khan's good points are accurate.

The only thing he is to blame for is trusting the existing hierarchy about the state of the club and taking their advice regarding the running of the club.

He has invested, appointed the majority fan's choice of manager and got a footballing man in for transfers instead of a money man.

If in 2-3 more years we haven't progressed or gone backwards then you can start questioning.

[Texas White]

All posts stating Khan's good points are accurate.

The only thing he is to blame for is trusting the existing hierarchy about the state of the club and taking their advice regarding the running of the club.

He has invested, appointed the majority fan's choice of manager and got a footballing man in for transfers instead of a money man.

If in 2-3 more years we haven't progressed or gone backwards then you can start questioning.

Agreed

[Jack Fulham]

I honestly think Khan was sold down the river a bit. It looked as though he was inheriting a stable premier league club when in fact we had a very old squad starved of investment that had a fortunate end to season where we jumped about 5 places to 13th. As someone very new to the game, he was led to a series mistakes by whoever was advising him with mass managerial changes and the Mitroglou signing. Hopefully we've finally got our house in order with Rigg. He seems to sort of know what he's doing despite some of the stuff I've seen written about him on Tiff. Why destabilize the club even further? The fight is on the pitch this season!

coyw.

[valdeingruo]

I would also say, like for most things. IF you want Khan out who do you want IN?

[Bronaldinho]

Really don't understand how some many people are against Khan.

He's been advised by many different people to buy/hire people, that's not his fault. As an owner he's there to fund the club, keep it running well and invest.

1) He's backed every manager under his reign financially. (Only time we haven't spent is under Kit in January, but there was nothing to play for).
2) Stadium Expansion
3) His goal is to get us back in the Premier League and the right people have been hired to help build a solid foundation. Mike Rigg etc.

He's also one of the richest owners in the country and therefore we aren't going to get anyone better. Financially he's a powerhouse and we're fortunate to have him. Yes, our bad period was coincidentally under him, but MAF as much as he was a lovely bloke and a great guy, he wanted to get out hence the lack of funds in the last years. Khan's here for the long-term and he'll keep funding, we're lucky we haven't got to sell to buy etc.

[blingo]

I put all the blame on Al Fayed. After the Europa final he failed to rebuild the side as he had already decided to sell the club & get all his money back.
We have not recovered & it will be damn hard to do so now there is the FFP to contend with. There is no way Khan can pump in millions as Fayed did under the new rules.

The above is 100% correct Sir.

[Yamus]

As most of us seem to agree with who was at fault in the first place,isn't it about time we found a new song

[gang]

It is obviously Al Fayed who is to blame; it seems Mark Hughes was right when he saw what was coming, much as I hate to admit it.