The Decline of Fulham Football Club

[Scrumpy]

the error was not to sack the dutch oaf jol, not lack of investment...MAF liked him but he was useless and destroyed the team, he spent plenty but decimated moral..jol is the villain here not MAF, it really is that simple!
[/quote]

Agree. I blame Martin Jol almost entirely. His policy seemed to be that if we offered crazy wages, then some 'big names' would come. The trouble is, he attracted all the wrong characters. No motivation or backbone. What sort of Manager tries to play Berbatov, Tarrabt and Ruiz in the same team. Madness. Madman.

[andyk]

the error was not to sack the dutch oaf jol, not lack of investment...MAF liked him but he was useless and destroyed the team, he spent plenty but decimated moral..jol is the villain here not MAF, it really is that simple!

Agree. I blame Martin Jol almost entirely. His policy seemed to be that if we offered crazy wages, then some 'big names' would come. The trouble is, he attracted all the wrong characters. No motivation or backbone. What sort of Manager tries to play Berbatov, Tarrabt and Ruiz in the same team. Madness. Madman.
[/quote]



Think his biggest mistake was Darren Bent. If he was trying to play silky, one touch total football so be it, but why throw maurauding bulldozer into the middle of it? Bent is a great player, in the right team, but not with Berbatov as his right hand man. The team was all over the place, with Berba demanding fast slick passing, and Bent wanting it pumped over the top of the back four.

[Wingnut]

Good piece Admin. Enjoyed reading that. We have been on a downward slide since Roy left us.

To be fair, Khan has spent money, he's just spent money badly

The advice he has been given has been extremely poor. The man knows nothing about the game here and he hires "experts" to advise him on footballing matters and they have failed to do their job, repeatedly.

[MJG]

It was the summer of 2013 that killed us. Vast majority of signings that summer were a disaster and all the wrong the age.
Stek,  Parker,  Adel, Bent,  
I wrote about it on viva El Fulham last summer
http://www.vivaelfulham.co.uk/articles/how-not-to-build-a-team-7-404.html

Where the seeds were sown for relegation

Or

How not to build a team

 

It's May 2013 and Fulham have just finished their 12th season in the premier league. The 2012-13 had not been a classic season and in fact after reaching 40 points in Mid-April with a draw away to Aston Villa, the team seemed to pack their bags and sit on a beach for the next 5 games as we lost 4 homes and the obligatory away game to Everton.

By beating Swansea 3-0 away on the last game of the season we somehow finished 12th, 7pts clear of relegation. Without that win only Sunderland would have been between us and the relegation zone.

My feeling at the time was I could not care less if Martin Jol left or stayed. I had lost faith in him around Christmas time, and his treatment of younger players and his almost god like adulation Berbatov had worn thin.

But anyway we had survived, we had another season to look forward to and before we even had time to lay back and enjoy another wet British summer we went and signed three players in May.

Sascha Riether (30) Signed a permanent deal after his successful years loan �1M and a 2 year contract.

Derek Boateng (30) Joined us after having his contract cancelled by Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. There is some confusion on his contract, is it one year with an option or two years till the summer of 2015?

Boateng had been chased by Fulham and Martin Jol for at least 3 or 4 transfer windows. To get him on a free was good and it looked as if we had got our man to hold that midfield together

Fernando Amorebieta (28) Joined on a free and 4 year contract. I would admit to not knowing anything really about him, apart from one photo of him kicking Messi in the head.

With these 3 signings it looked as if we had plans in place and acting fast to get who we wanted. All experienced but also at low cost. With Amorebieta coming in I felt we would now lose one of the other central defenders. We already had Hangeland (31), Hughes (33) and Senderos (28) and thought this would be the chance for Dan Burn (21) to become the 3/4th choice centre back and add some youth to the defence. Early July Burn was sent packing to Birmingham for a season long loan.

Back to the conveyor belt of transfers, next in a world cup finalist. The Dutch keeper Maarten Steklenburg (30) signed for a figure in the region of �4-5M and on another 4 year contract. The fans reaction was a bit mixed; he had injury problems in the preceding season, but most recognised he was a good goalkeeper. At the time I felt it was a bit harsh on David Stockdale, for me he had done nothing wrong when he had played and I felt that the fee could have been used for another position. But hey we had a world cup goalkeeper

It was about now you start thinking, ok we have the experience but we still need to get the age of the squad down. Must be looking at some guys in their mid 20's.

2 weeks before the season starts and we have him...a player under 25. Adel Taarabt(24) jumped onto the bus at Shepherds Bush, got off at the stop opposite Finlay Street and found himself on loan at Fulham for the season. Once again greeted with mixed views, but a player with talent and one of the few in the squad not with a free bus pass.

The excitement is building, 2 days to go to the season and behold Darren Bent(29)..one of the top Premiership goal scorers in recent years signs also for a season long loan (Take note only 2 domestic loans are allowed..we think, I'm not sure, try reading the FA rules on it..impossible to know). �2m season long loan fee and �40-50K maybe a week. �4M package for the season, surely he's worth it? With Berbatov and Bent up front, who needs the S&S when you have the B&B?

We kick the season off and it's a great start (if not performance) a 1-0 away win at Sunderland. Its 3 pts in the bag and we overlook the performance and await Arsenal in a weeks time. But before that we have one more major signing..enter that 1950's looking straight laced, not a hair out of place, Scott Parker (32). Having fought off the mighty QPR of the championship (That's Division 2 for the oldies) for his signature, Scott continued his trip around London football clubs.Charlton to Chelsea to West Ham to Spurs and now Fulham (with a couple of years hard labour in the North East at Newcastle).

Penning a 3 year deal on reputed wages of �40-60K a week and a transfer fee in excess of �3m, the total package for Mr Scott Parker if he stays 3 years at Fulham will be in the region of �9-12M (not taking into account his relegation clause which I'm sure he has)

Last but not least is Elsad Zverotic(26), signed on deadline night for a few hundred thousand and a 2 year contract with a 3rd as an option. The natural replacement for Chris Baird and although not under 25 it was close enough.

So let's recap, who have we signed:

Sascha Riether (30)

Derek Boateng (30)

Fernando Amorebieta (28)

Maarten Steklenburg (30)

Adel Taarabt(24)

Darren Bent(29)

Scott Parker (32)

Elsad Zverotic(26)

 

8 players signed, around �10M in fees which does not include the Free transfer signing on fees and an average age of 28.63. The question is how's that's going to help bring the age of the squad down. A squad which already has 8 players over the age of 30.

Of course I forgot to mention the resigning of Giorgos Karagounis (36), He stayed on in July to bring his duracell bunny all action energy to the squad and team. I love his all action style, but he was past it at the end of last season.

So there we are, Martin Jol has made his signings, He's built his team, how could it go wrong?

Well quite early actually.

Boateng played at Sunderland and was subbed, on the bench for a couple of games and then 2 more league appearances and gone. Nowhere to be seen. Martin why is he not on the bench? "He's not versatile enough to be on the bench" has to be one of the must stupid comments I have ever heard from, a manger. Here is a player that Jol had chased for 2 years, and 1 game into his Fulham career Jol realises he's not versatile enough. Did he ever watch him?

Stekelenburg, the worries of him being injury prone hit us right in the face first game. Subbed and misses next 6 games. He comes back and lacks confidence and stuck to his line. To be fair I don't think any goalkeeper would have enjoyed playing behind our defence. But I stand by the view that it was �5M wasted when we needed a player in midfield.

Taarabt was there or there abouts in the team. Didn't really produce anything but actually had a couple of good games under Rene. But Jol again spoke about how do I fit him, Ruiz, Berbatov and Bent all into the team. Seems to have found Italy more to his liking, gifted but just does not seem to know how to use the skill he has.

Parker started the season well and was clearly our best player up till Christmas and New Year. But he and Sidwell in the middle produce nothing. They have no creativity about them, no pace and age is against them both. The replacement for Murphy was not Parker, why did Jol sign him when he was clearly not what we needed.

I'm going to finish (something he could not do all season) on Bent . From day one he looked unfit, slow and not sure what he should be doing. I blame Jol completely for this. Once again he signed a player and did not know what to do with him. "I have to find ways to play Berbatov and Bent together"

Now it's true that you never know if partnerships will work, but Jol is an experienced manager, he knew these players. He must have had a plan in place?

Well no he never. You can talk about MAF & Khan not giving him money to spend. And ok I agree we needed to invest more. But last summer with wages and fees we spent quite a bit for a club of our size. The �8M spent on Stekelenburg & Parker was a waste. Who signed off those contracts?

Where was the plan for the team? You can't just sign players because they are there, you must have a strategic plan behind what you're doing.

We had a team with 3 no 4 players who effectively are left backs. Richardson, Riise, Briggs and Amorebieta.

4 players who play centre back none of which are under 28.

All this without even touching on how to get the best out of Ruiz

The failure last summer to get the right players in, both in age and positions is why we find ourselves relegated. While writing this I seem to have got angrier as it's gone on. Bringing back all the thoughts of last summer it was a car crash waiting to happen.

But that's then and this is now, we look forward to a season ahead with a fresh vitality to the team. We have seen the future and they are U21 and raring to go.

- See more at: http://www.vivaelfulham.co.uk/articles/how-not-to-build-a-team-7-404.html#sthash.x5DhwXME.dpuf

[Nick Bateman]

Fulham's fall from grace has been brutal. From rubbing shoulders with Premier League giants to a relegation dogfight in the Championship, the club has been in a nosedive for the last few years. But the point of decline can be pinpointed to the summer of 2012. A lack of investment from Mohamed Al-Fayed led to an aging squad that would eventually be doomed to relegation.

Seemingly within a heartbeat, the once respected Fulham Football Club has plunged to new depths. Relegation from the hallowed ground of the Premier League was hard to take, but many expected the team to bounce back quickly. To be embroiled in a relegation battle in the Championship was an idea no one dared entertain. However, that is the predicament we find ourselves in now. But what happened to propel a once great side into such abysmal twist of fortune? The turning point of the summer of 2012 provides a crucial insight to the decline of Fulham Football Club.

The 2012 transfer window was a decisive moment in the future of Fulham. It was the end of Martin Jol's first year in charge after Mark Hughes' acrimonious departure, and results were encouraging. We had come off one of the best seasons in recent memory (bar the Europe League run) in which we had done the league double over Liverpool and Queens Park Rangers, beaten Arsenal, drew Chelsea twice, and finished an impressive 9th. Clint Dempsey was our breakout star, having scored 23 goals in all competitions in a superb season from the American. Coupled with the impressive performances of Moussa Dembele and Danny Murphy in midfield, Brede Hangeland at the back, and Pavel Pogrebnyak up front, Fulham appeared to be headed on a brilliantly positive route.

However, we now know that much was going on behind the scenes. Mohamed Al-Fayed, the club's longtime owner, was priming to sell the club that he had purchased the club in 1997, when Fulham was in the third division of English football. He made a bold statement that we would be promoted to the Premier League in five years, and his dream came true. With Al-Fayed's large financial backing, we were promoted to the Premier League in 2001. But after over a decade and a half of ownership, Al-Fayed was ready to sell. A shrewd businessman, the Egyptian realized he didn't need to invest heavily in his last couple of years, as he wanted to make as much money as possible. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2012 many questions needed to answered.

In the end, we failed to address any of the stark issues that presented themselves. Danny Murphy, club captain and FFC legend, left that summer for new pastures at his old age. Murphy had been a commanding presence in midfield and his passing range and tenacity were unmatched. Yet we needed to find a replacement to fill the void. Many saw the Belgian Moussa Dembele as the answer, as he was now deployed as a deep-lying central midfielder. But after Dembele's impressive performances (notably his man of the match display against Manchester United in late August) he was sold to Tottenham on deadline day for 15 million pounds. Another player who had attracted interest was our leading scorer, Clint Dempsey. Dempsey unprofessionally sat out the first two matches of the new season attempting to force a move. He had his wishes granted on deadline day with a transfer to Tottenham, joining Dembele. It was a devastating blow, as some of Fulham's most consistent and exciting players over the past couple seasons had departed. New recruits were needed.

Yet Al-Fayed did little but paper over the cracks. Dimitar Berbatov was brought in to much fanfare and produced a stellar first season. But the fact of the matter was that he was aging fast, and was never a long-term goal scoring solution. As soon as the going got tough in our relegation campaign, he was shipped off to the luxuries of Monaco. Our replacements to the central midfielder were not addressed either, with Karagounis and Diarra being brought in. Both were in their mid to late thirties; coupled with an aging defense, a recipe for disaster.

The repercussions of sticking with an aged squad were vast. Fulham had previously invested in young players such as Pajtim Kasami, Kerim Frei, Chris David, and Matthew Briggs. These were all exciting talents who had the potential to impress on the biggest stage. Yet the management favored experience over youth, alienating our young prospects with loan moves and time on the bench. A more accepting strategy of our youthful players could have saved the club from relegation. Instead, every one of the aforementioned players have now left the club.

While Fulham brought in short term solutions, many other clubs were doing good business. Newly promoted Southampton had bought the creative midfielder Steven Davis from Rangers on a free, lethal finisher Jay Rodriguez from Burnley, and pacy fullback Nathaniel Clyne from Crystal Palace. West Ham also received a powerful central midfielder, Mohamed Diame, on a free from Wigan. Why weren't Fulham pursuing these types of players? Within a year, Southampton had attracted the likes of Victor Wanyama, Dejan Lovren, and Pablo Osvaldo. If Fulham had followed Southampton's lead with a smart, ambitious transfer strategy, we might be the ones sitting in the top 7 of the Premier League today.

Fulham ended up finishing a disappointing twelfth in 2013, ending the season on a run of one win out of eight -- only seven points above the drop zone. In July 2013 Mohamed Al Fayed sold the club to new owner Shahid Khan, and things went downhill from there. A smattering of experienced signings gave Fulham one of the oldest teams in the Premier League, and a horrible season culminated in relegation under madman Felix Magath.

Our turbulent past couple of seasons can all be linked back to the summer of 2012. It marked a turning point in our club's history, a fork in the road. We either could have strengthened significantly as was needed and become an established top half Premier League side, or we could have papered over the cracks and hoped for the best. Disastrously, we chose the second option, and we paid the price with relegation and struggles in the Championship. If only Mohamed Al-Fayed had chosen to fork out the cash in 2012. It all could have been oh so different.

http://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2015/3/15/8215967/the-decline-of-fulham-football-club

Absolute RUBBISH!

It reminds me of the idiots who are blaming Sir Alex Ferguson after he left for their decline.

Fayed would NEVER have allowed Fulham to get relegated and did enough to keep us up every season after magnificently steering us up through the divisions.  The last few years Fulham were a mid-table team pushing for a Europa League spot.  He did want to sell Fulham, but tried his BEST to bring in a wealthy new backer who would bankroll the club and not do a "Bulstrode" - this Fayed fulfilled.  Of course, the author of this trash does not give our former chairman any credit.

The author of this drivel is also an idiot, a complete buffoon of the highest order, who definitely knows NOTHING about football or Fulham.

[Nick Bateman]

.....and the link between both the Maff era and the Khan era..... Alistair Mackintosh.
There's your 'smoking gun'.
You would not trust him to run a bath, yet alone a business.

Very true!

[love4ffc]

If Khan had not bought and Fayed still owned FFC but was still looking to sell,

the questions that can never really be answered are.....

• Would Jol have remained?
• If we kept sliding towards relegation in the 2013-2014 season would Fayed have splashed the cash to prevent our relegation? Remember he is probably looking to get the most bang for his buck in a sell.
• Once relegated would Fayed have spent to get us back to the PL?   Remember he would also of been under the fair play rules just as Khan is now.

Everyone can make their guesses but we truly will never know what Fayed would of done. 

[RaySmith]

There is also the harsh reality that it is very hard to  run Fulham as a sustainable club, and compete in the Prem - though the financial rewards of being in the Prem are ever greater, which is presumably the main thing that attracts foreign owners.

[Buffalo76]

Al Fayed was trying to make us self sufficient, which was never going to be easy in the football industry, but it was the right idea for the long term future/safety of the club. How many clubs in the premier league can say they are truly self sufficient? Very few I would imagine!

We were a mess of a club when he bought us; the ground, the training facilities & up until the season prior to him taking over, the on field performances. Yes, we'd just been promoted, which was the first bit of success I'd enjoyed during my time supporting Fulham. We did make the play-offs a few seasons before but were brushed aside by Bristol Rovers, so I don't really class that as 'success'.

If you compare us today to the club/business we were then, the difference is massive, and that is down to Al Fayed. He invested heavily in everything to do with the club - everything about us is premier league standard, (current team excluded). He put everthing in place to make us successful, and I think he achieved that.

Premier league football is something I never thought I'd see at Fulham but for us to achieve that, and maintain it for well over a decade and reach a European final, is down to one man, Al Fayed.

There was always going to be a time when he would want to retire, and he should be allowed to do that without constantly throwing his & his families money at the club. He put the processes & plans in place for us to work but running costs just seem to go one way in this industry.... Up.

He covered our losses personally, which have been significant over the years, and he left us debt free, so I don't accept that one poor transfer window should undo all the good work that he did & he be blamed for our current position.

You could argue that Kahn is doing exactly the same thing now. It's been a horrendous season & we were desperate for money to be spent in January, but nothing happened - certainly a lot less than the 2012 transfer window when we brought in Berbatov. Not investing in January could be a whole lot more disasterous than Al Fayed's apparent lack of ambition a few years ago.

I imagine we'd all like to put our finger on what has gone wrong at Fulham recently, if there was 'a reason', it would be easier to put right. But to blame Al Fayed......... Ridiculous.

Under Big Mo's ownership we had some great times. He spent more than enough money on the club as a whole improving things off the pitch as much as on it. Khans been in the building two minutes and we could be heading for successive relegations. The Premier League's looking like a million miles away right now.

[Adi-ffc]

Fulham's fall from grace has been brutal. From rubbing shoulders with Premier League giants to a relegation dogfight in the Championship, the club has been in a nosedive for the last few years. But the point of decline can be pinpointed to the summer of 2012. A lack of investment from Mohamed Al-Fayed led to an aging squad that would eventually be doomed to relegation.

Seemingly within a heartbeat, the once respected Fulham Football Club has plunged to new depths. Relegation from the hallowed ground of the Premier League was hard to take, but many expected the team to bounce back quickly. To be embroiled in a relegation battle in the Championship was an idea no one dared entertain. However, that is the predicament we find ourselves in now. But what happened to propel a once great side into such abysmal twist of fortune? The turning point of the summer of 2012 provides a crucial insight to the decline of Fulham Football Club.

The 2012 transfer window was a decisive moment in the future of Fulham. It was the end of Martin Jol's first year in charge after Mark Hughes' acrimonious departure, and results were encouraging. We had come off one of the best seasons in recent memory (bar the Europe League run) in which we had done the league double over Liverpool and Queens Park Rangers, beaten Arsenal, drew Chelsea twice, and finished an impressive 9th. Clint Dempsey was our breakout star, having scored 23 goals in all competitions in a superb season from the American. Coupled with the impressive performances of Moussa Dembele and Danny Murphy in midfield, Brede Hangeland at the back, and Pavel Pogrebnyak up front, Fulham appeared to be headed on a brilliantly positive route.

However, we now know that much was going on behind the scenes. Mohamed Al-Fayed, the club's longtime owner, was priming to sell the club that he had purchased the club in 1997, when Fulham was in the third division of English football. He made a bold statement that we would be promoted to the Premier League in five years, and his dream came true. With Al-Fayed's large financial backing, we were promoted to the Premier League in 2001. But after over a decade and a half of ownership, Al-Fayed was ready to sell. A shrewd businessman, the Egyptian realized he didn't need to invest heavily in his last couple of years, as he wanted to make as much money as possible. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2012 many questions needed to answered.

In the end, we failed to address any of the stark issues that presented themselves. Danny Murphy, club captain and FFC legend, left that summer for new pastures at his old age. Murphy had been a commanding presence in midfield and his passing range and tenacity were unmatched. Yet we needed to find a replacement to fill the void. Many saw the Belgian Moussa Dembele as the answer, as he was now deployed as a deep-lying central midfielder. But after Dembele's impressive performances (notably his man of the match display against Manchester United in late August) he was sold to Tottenham on deadline day for 15 million pounds. Another player who had attracted interest was our leading scorer, Clint Dempsey. Dempsey unprofessionally sat out the first two matches of the new season attempting to force a move. He had his wishes granted on deadline day with a transfer to Tottenham, joining Dembele. It was a devastating blow, as some of Fulham's most consistent and exciting players over the past couple seasons had departed. New recruits were needed.

Yet Al-Fayed did little but paper over the cracks. Dimitar Berbatov was brought in to much fanfare and produced a stellar first season. But the fact of the matter was that he was aging fast, and was never a long-term goal scoring solution. As soon as the going got tough in our relegation campaign, he was shipped off to the luxuries of Monaco. Our replacements to the central midfielder were not addressed either, with Karagounis and Diarra being brought in. Both were in their mid to late thirties; coupled with an aging defense, a recipe for disaster.

The repercussions of sticking with an aged squad were vast. Fulham had previously invested in young players such as Pajtim Kasami, Kerim Frei, Chris David, and Matthew Briggs. These were all exciting talents who had the potential to impress on the biggest stage. Yet the management favored experience over youth, alienating our young prospects with loan moves and time on the bench. A more accepting strategy of our youthful players could have saved the club from relegation. Instead, every one of the aforementioned players have now left the club.

While Fulham brought in short term solutions, many other clubs were doing good business. Newly promoted Southampton had bought the creative midfielder Steven Davis from Rangers on a free, lethal finisher Jay Rodriguez from Burnley, and pacy fullback Nathaniel Clyne from Crystal Palace. West Ham also received a powerful central midfielder, Mohamed Diame, on a free from Wigan. Why weren't Fulham pursuing these types of players? Within a year, Southampton had attracted the likes of Victor Wanyama, Dejan Lovren, and Pablo Osvaldo. If Fulham had followed Southampton's lead with a smart, ambitious transfer strategy, we might be the ones sitting in the top 7 of the Premier League today.

Fulham ended up finishing a disappointing twelfth in 2013, ending the season on a run of one win out of eight -- only seven points above the drop zone. In July 2013 Mohamed Al Fayed sold the club to new owner Shahid Khan, and things went downhill from there. A smattering of experienced signings gave Fulham one of the oldest teams in the Premier League, and a horrible season culminated in relegation under madman Felix Magath.

Our turbulent past couple of seasons can all be linked back to the summer of 2012. It marked a turning point in our club's history, a fork in the road. We either could have strengthened significantly as was needed and become an established top half Premier League side, or we could have papered over the cracks and hoped for the best. Disastrously, we chose the second option, and we paid the price with relegation and struggles in the Championship. If only Mohamed Al-Fayed had chosen to fork out the cash in 2012. It all could have been oh so different.

http://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2015/3/15/8215967/the-decline-of-fulham-football-club

the error was not to sack the dutch oaf jol, not lack of investment...MAF liked him but he was useless and destroyed the team, he spent plenty but decimated moral..jol is the villain here not MAF, it really is that simple!

Exactly.

Remember how happy a lot of us were when Jol came in. It was bad luck he turned out so badly, and MAF was absolutely right to give him time to turn it around. Not Al's fault.

[robert]

Personally I feel this thread could be very short.Good and bad spells will come and go no matter what-its almost fate.Being a true Fulham supporter is like being married though and you should stick with them through good or ill,decline or no decline.

[Lighthouse]

Personally I feel this thread could be very short.Good and bad spells will come and go no matter what-its almost fate.Being a true Fulham supporter is like being married though and you should stick with them through good or ill,decline or no decline.

Yes but that is what those in an abusive relationship would say. If you are constantly being hit or have a partner that is drunk all the time. You have to speak up. You support them until the partnership becomes too one sided. Fulham are not bad and weak. But have an addiction to bad decisions. We need to help them kick that habit and not just blindly support them.

[snarks]

I do believe if MAF were still in charge in the relegation season, Jol would have gone earlier. Rene would not have been appointed and dispensed with so quickly, which would have meant no Felix. Now whether MAF would have gone for Tony Pulis or someone else iis like the rest of this entirely conjecture.

I also believe that MAF wa less concerned about the club when he was looking to sell and his lack of long term investment in the squad following Roys departure was also a factor. However to blame him is harsh, as is blaming Khan.

If Khan has made a mistake, it was relying on his advisor on the football side too much.

[robert]

Fair point Lighthouse but it would take an awful lot to desert Fulham.

[Lighthouse]

Fair point Lighthouse but it would take an awful lot to desert Fulham.

Sadly too true. We are stuck with them.

[Logicalman]

Fair point Lighthouse but it would take an awful lot to desert Fulham.

Sadly too true. We are stuck with them.

.. or they with us, of course!

[Arthur]

Fulham are not bad and weak. But have an addiction to bad decisions. We need to help them kick that habit...

And what is there that suggests we can do this?

The last help 'we' gave the Club was to back Kit Symons for the manager's role so roundly that it made it impossible for Khan to appoint anybody but him.

Scroll forward fewer than six months, however, and many of those who wouldn't entertain the prospect of anyone other than Kit last October have already changed their minds and would happily see him replaced, while a further significant proportion are, it would seem, unsure, or worse still, indifferent as to whether he should lead us into next season.

If I were Khan, I would consider that this sort of 'help' I can do without.

[LBNo11]

Fulham are not bad and weak. But have an addiction to bad decisions. We need to help them kick that habit...

And what is there that suggests we can do this?

The last help 'we' gave the Club was to back Kit Symons for the manager's role so roundly that it made it impossible for Khan to appoint anybody but him.

Scroll forward fewer than six months, however, and many of those who wouldn't entertain the prospect of anyone other than Kit last October have already changed their minds and would happily see him replaced, while a further significant proportion are, it would seem, unsure, or worse still, indifferent as to whether he should lead us into next season.

If I were Khan, I would consider that this sort of 'help' I can do without.

...Khan had five advisers and a run of form to help make his decisions, if he wanted someone else he would have got them whatever our wishes. He has been poorly advised by his advisers before Kit so at least things are consistent...

[Arthur]

And what is there that suggests we can do this?

The last help 'we' gave the Club was to back Kit Symons for the manager's role so roundly that it made it impossible for Khan to appoint anybody but him.

Scroll forward fewer than six months, however, and many of those who wouldn't entertain the prospect of anyone other than Kit last October have already changed their minds and would happily see him replaced, while a further significant proportion are, it would seem, unsure, or worse still, indifferent as to whether he should lead us into next season.

If I were Khan, I would consider that this sort of 'help' I can do without.

...Khan had five advisers and a run of form to help make his decisions, if he wanted someone else he would have got them whatever our wishes. He has been poorly advised by his advisers before Kit so at least things are consistent...

If I am interpreting your last point correctly and you are saying that the 'advice' Khan was being offered by the great majority of supporters (i.e. to appoint Symons) was poor, I would agree that it seems so.

I do not agree, however, with your assertion that Khan could not have been influenced by the outpouring of support in the stands and on forums such as this. Had he known whom he wanted - or felt confident of identifying the best candidate 'off his own bat' - what would be the need to appoint a committee?

Now, whether or not they advised him to give the job to Symons, I don't know.

What I did note, nonetheless, was that, at the press conference at which Khan introduced Symons as the new manager, he thanked the five at length for their efforts... without going so far as to state that they had actually recommended Kit.

I think it somewhat odd that Khan's gratitude should indicate nothing more than the five's tacit approval... unless, of course, Symons was not top of their list and our Chairman went against their advice to satisfy the clamour of the supporters.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

We would be in a comfortable mid table position on the form under Symons if he had been in charge all season.

To suggest that appointing Symons was a bad decision is unfair to Kit, Khan and the five man panel. To say that does not recognise that he has improved our performance dramatically in comparison with the previous incumbent or that they were no names being mentioned at the time that were clearly better or that those with hindsight can name now.

That is not to say that Kit is the man to get us promoted and back as a solid PL club. We will have to see how he finishes the season and if he is given a transfer window to build his team with the help of Rigg and Curbishley.