Fulham are not boring!

[Kent Cassandra]

This isn't aimed at anyone in particular and it is not meant to cause offence but when we say that we are bored with something we are saying that this something is tedious. Does this apply to watching Fulham, not on your nelly?  Even in the bad old days when we were languishing in the bottom division the wit and humour of our supporters kept us entertained.  I remember when supporters from all around the country were vociferous in their condemnation of boring Arsenal who at the time won nearly every game. My experience of life tells me that when people, especially children tell me they are bored, that expression of boredom is often concealing what we unconsciously perceive as our own deficiencies. I used to tell my kids 'Look at yourself you are probably boring'.  I watched the match against Blackburn last week and from the first minute to the last it was one of the best and most exciting matches that I have watched this season. Both teams tried to play proper football and there was not one moment when I was not on the edge of my seat.  I have watched a few premier league matches this season that have not been at all exciting one of them which involved two top teams could only muster one shot between them in the whole match. Maybe I am too old and don't see the point anymore of being overly ambitious and unhappy but frankly I would rather watch Fulham despite our few deficiencies.

[Lighthouse]

It comes down to expectations as well. I think following Fulham, even over recent years, should have made people aware that we were a club in decline. Now I personally think we are turning a corner. But while it will always be depressing to see or hear us lose. I guess the personal investment declines with whatever is going on in peoples lives.

Frustration is really the main feeling. But as in all sport you never know what will happen. I wish I was younger and had the time and finances to go as much as I used too. It was frustrating in the lower leagues too. Depressing as well. However there was an odd 'togetherness'. Social media may have given us all a chance to comment and feel bored but the experience of the 'support' may have declined. Football is only boring with wall to wall coverage and comment.

[grandad]

I agree with the Topic header. In my 61st season & have never been bored & never will no matter where we are. In all my seasons how many good ones have I seen. Half a dozen. Does it matter. It is either in ones blood or not.
Yes we have had disappointments. My personal one is at the 1975 Cup Final Alec Stock saying to the players."You have got to the Final,just go & enjoy yourselves" I wanted them to go out & win.
I will be over from Spain in October to see the Leeds & Reading matches & there will not be one minute of boredom from me.

[bog]

I agree KC. At times United fans are bored with them keep winning. A lot of their home matches got so predictable that there was not much to really cheer about as it was so expected. 'Bored' is such an annoying word! 

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[Blanco]

So consistently losing isn't boring but consistently winning is? Please.

[RaySmith]

Maybe it's harder to get bored watching Fulham than with 'successful' clubs, because with Fulham you can always expect the unexpected, and the  games are so often important -and the outcome never predictable.

When I began watching Fulham - every home game -in the 60's, there were periods when we seemed to lose every week, and battled against relegation most seasons it seemed, but I was the opposite to bored- though I hated losing all the time - but it was the struggle that made it completely absorbing - an emotional roller-coaster - and it's been the same for me right down to the bottom league and back, up to today.

OK, I'll admit to feeling some moments of 'what am I doing here?' while I stood in a nearly empty Enclosure, in a dour mid- table bottom division struggle, as the ball was hoofed into the grey winter sky before the almost non-existent crowd, with just a hardy few chanting support from the nearly empty Hammy End, but generally watching Fulham is one place where I can completely lose myself, and that is one reason that keeps me supporting, I suppose.

It doesn't matter in that respect - but of course I do care- how Fulham are doing or where they are, but I still get buzz out of going to see them play, that I can't find anywhere else, and it's often when the club is threatened with relegation, or doing badly, that I feel an even greater urgency about going and getting behind the team.

But everyone is different , of course, but it is the excitement and emotional engagement that keeps people watching the game, and often paying large sums of money to see a team that , and I don't just mean Fulham, that never seems to have much, if any, success.

[dannyboi-ffc]

You are a very nice guy Kent Cassandra and it's demonstrated in the way you avoided pinpointing this thread at me directly. It's been a pleasure meeting you twice and I hope we will again soon. But it's the biggest coincidence I've ever experienced if it isn't a response to my thread.

With hindsight I think 'boring' is the wrong word but your reasons for explaining why Fulham aren't boring miss the point of why I feel that way. You never know what to expect with fulham but you are almost guarentee goals no matter which end they go in lol. But we have never been dull in that respect.

I could have started supporting Man Utd as a kid like my Dad in the 90's when United won everything. My first game was at white Hart lane Spurs vs United with my Dad, I fell asleep before half time. A few weeks later I went to the Cottage with my Grandad when we were in the bottom tier struggling and I loved it just like my kids love it now.  It's not my fault that I got lucky supporting at a time when we rose to the top. That was an added bonus to the joy of just being there.

All I have ever known is Jimmy Hill, Al Fayed and Diddy Hamilton, that's my Cottage experience right there. As someone much older you knew a time before that so the change probably isn't a big deal to you. But with the likes of Diddy, Lewington and Mo with his scarf waving we always had that humour and connection to those on the pitch. We had Morgan, Cookie, Lee Clark, Brede, Mcbride and most recently Stockdale who absolutely worshipped the Fulham fans. It is merely coincidence in my case that we are struggling in the championship that I feel this way.

We have no leaders and other than Kit no one at the club who understands what Fulham means. I still have my routine on matchdays and the walk through the park,  that feeling standing outside the ground in Stevenage Road. But once I'm inside it is different. It lacks the character it used to have. It doesn't feel any different to being at the Hawthorns or the Valley. Obviously the ground is special but the atmosphere has changed.

It is not the clubs fault that Diddy retired and the kid does his best but it's not the same. It may seem small and petty to others but he was a big part of what made a day at the Cottage special to me. Since we lost Hodgson I think the club has been on a decline in more ways than just on the pitch. Mo lost interest and all the managers since didn't get Fulham like Woy either in it for themselves or just not capable of embracing us for what we are. It went a bit unnoticed for the first few years as Lewington and mainly Diddy kept the experience going but now he has gone I feel so distant from the pitch. I don't feel the bond to the players or the announcer who I normally ignore unintentionally, I just forget he's there.

No doubt I will get that back eventually but I am not ashamed to be honest and admit the club isn't as magical as I always knew it. Doesn't mean I am ever going to turn my back on them but I simply won't believe any supporter who tells me they think the atmosphere is better or even the same without the characters that made it so Fulhamish.  

And although I do genuinely think we are in fine hands as a club under Rigg and I trust Khan and believe his heart is in the right place. I do think he could learn a thing or two from his fellow American Brian McBride who knew nothing more than Khan really about us but embraced Fulham and become very dear to our hearts despite not being as talented as others. Is simply just staying at the Cottage enough to think you know Fulham as a chairman? We could spend a fortune and win the champions league but I wouldn't enjoy it as much without the things that make it special to me.

And yes it is boring hearing repetitive threads from myself included about how close we are to the playoffs as if the premier league is all that matters. How comes it was a 27 year old that pointed out the disappointment of how badly the club handled the farewell to Leggatt? Whilst everyone else was just happy to talk about the fact we won. Is one entertaining win like you referred to this game the holy grail of being a supporter? Of course it isn't.  And since quite a few have taking it upon themselves to say how wrong I am that Fulham are boring I likewise am very saddened that no one seemed to care about the shambles for Graham Leggatt, a player I didn't even see play!

That last bit is not targeted at you mate but in general to everyone who saw the word 'boring' and started casting assumptions

[epsomraver]

Two points i feel  firstly  Fulham have been boring since Jol took over and we started this tedious round and round and backwards football nobody seems to want to run at players take on players have a shot, just get down the wing and wack a cross in seems to be the aim now days and that is not unique to Fulham, sometimes I wish I had taken my book to read at games , secondly lot easier to say that we are not boring when it just means deciding whether to pull up a chair and turn a laptop or TV on , not actually going to the game and putting your money where your mouth is

[Burt]

Danny's broader point (I think!) is not just that the football isn't as exciting as it used to be or could be, but the club has been losing it's identity and affinity with its fans and the community.

[dannyboi-ffc]

Danny's broader point (I think!) is not just that the football isn't as exciting as it used to be or could be, but the club has been losing it's identity and affinity with its fans and the community.

Sorry to be a wum but after about ten posts of explaining I didn't think it was rocket science. But thanks for probably putting it better than I ever could!   :54:

[Peabody]

You know I agree with you KC . Pity you get a reaction like the one from Blanco. Just goes to show, that having an opinion is only one sided.

[Kent Cassandra]

Dan You have  explained yourself and I do get the point you are making. I must admit this thread was in response to your thread where so many people used the word boring.  I wish you had been around when Tommy Trinder was chairman and was a top comedian of the day. Every Sunday evening he was performing on TV and although his cracks were very Fulhamish everyone knew who Fulham was. I think we can sit down and agree that some of the changes are not what we wanted but whatever we do or say is not going to change things. As my American brother in law keeps telling me 'You can't stop progress' and I keep telling him have you ever heard of the progress trap.  Its not anyone's opinion that I am getting at, it is the word boring.   Obviously by the amounts of posts on your thread the subject must be interesting.  Hope this makes it clear...Terry

[Kent Cassandra]

Epsom, your first point I absolutely agree with but I wouldn't use the word boring.
Your second point I can't really understand what You are getting at.
Its just as easy to say something is boring as not boring and are you saying that I don't go to games, I am a season ticket holder and haven't missed a league game for many years.
How have you settled in to the West country?

[Twig]

First things first, I was a season ticket holder 'till I moved to Dubai so now I can no longer attend.

There seem to be two different points running here; i. has following league football in England become less interesting (or more boring) ii. has supporting FFC become more boring?

In my view the answer to football in general is yes.  And for a host of reasons; the gap between the have's and have nots, the uncaring/disconnected/sometimes corrupt owners, the tedious shirt tugging in the box that goes unpenalised, pointless third and fourth officials who add no value, the list of woes is lengthy at both macro and day-to-day level.

Regards FFC I would never ever say that supporting Fulham is remotely boring, there is just too much that is unexpected and despite everything I still experience a close connection with the club I love (but ok I only get there once or twice a year now).  The negative emotion I experience is frustration rather than boredom.   I was specially frustrated that our achievements in Europe were pi...ed away so spectacularly.  Yes Roy had every right to move to a bigger club, yes MAF had every tight to sell the club, but what a mess was made of the transition.

Personally, whilst having reservations I feel that we are showing signs that we are turning a corner and I am very cautiously optimistic.  I would still like to see more presence from Khan, more evidence that Kit is learning and more evidence that the defensive coaches have got a grip. But taken in the round things do seem to be moving ponderously in the right direction.

Bored no, frustrated - well that was always part and parcel of supporting the Whites.

[FPT]

I want to address the point of affinity with players and the on field of Fulham with the supporters.

Our squad has had so many surgeries in recent years that it is somewhat difficult to love a player on or off the field, but do you think it's because of the volume of player transaction in recent years that causes this? You could really argue that our entire XI from the Sheffield Wednesday game has been here no longer than year - Dembele is getting his first real run of matches, and although Tunnicliffe was singed in January, he was quickly shipped out to Wigan.

These things do take time, I think the loyalty of Brede Hangeland - where he could easily of moved to a bigger club, he stayed at Fulham at represented the football club with great class, and was close (by all accounts) to becoming the player president (or whatever the title is) of the PFA. He was also a vital component of our most successful period as a football club so I think that helps him become a fan favourite.

I don't think there's a player that all supporters agree on yet which doesn't help things. Even a Marcus Bettinelli, a rookie essentially, saved us from Gabor Kiraly to mostly success last season has a good number of critics. I think the closest from our current squad to building that mutual love is probably Jamie O'Hara? He's got the talent, as well as playing with the heart and coming from negatives to rebuilding himself. Though returning to Brede Hangeland, Jamie hasn't had close to the time yet of course as well as the form for Fulham as a whole being on average form at best.

So yeah, I do see the player point. I do miss David Hamilton, but it had to happen soon, he's way in his 70s - big shoes to fill for anybody that replaced him - much like Moyes taking over from Fergie.

These things do take time as I said, and I do see this point of few, it's been difficult to truly take a player or club member to take to heart; and I think the difference in opinions of every player in the squad reflects that. I've been a member of this board for a long time, I think 2010 (if not 2011) and I don't recall anybody having a bad word to say about Brede (in his prime), Hughes, Murphy, Dembele (once moved to central midfield), Schwarzer (before playing with the ball in goal became a thing). I do just find that interesting, do we all agree on/love/appreciate one player like we did in the past? O'Hara? Were Cairney played in the middle and allowed to affect the game more so than he has on the right, possibly? Ross' performances are frustratingly inconsistent really, Christensen was quiet early on (and a dropped to the bench subsequently), Tunnicliffe has many a critic, Stearman is yet to show what he's really capable with whilst also affecting performances/results.

So yeah, I think your onto something with that Danny.

[Tempest]

I actually preferred the good old bad old days, with the exception of MAF's takeover and our success of getting to the PL, The PL days were generally pretty dull for me. We had some great victories and for me none more so than over Chelsea of course but we didn't really win that many games and were shockingly poor away from home.

In the lower leagues we won more games each season, without checking I'd say we probably won more games in the seasons we were relegated from divs 2 & 3 than we won in any season in the PL!

I do prefer lower league football to watch live for a number of reasons.

Would I like us to return to the PL?? Not really, not unless we were in contention for a Europa League place, avoiding relegation each year as our main objective is pretty pointless from a sporting point of view (not financially of course).

With regard to expectations, my only expaectations are the manager gets the most from the players and the players give their all.

Lee Bowyer on Talksport today about Geordie fans, all they expect is for a player to give 100%. I;m happy with that.

[Kent Cassandra]

Tempest, I agree with your comments about the premier league. The championship is a proper league that one feels any team on their game can beat any other team.  When I watch the premier league now on TV I am amazed at the room they get to play their football. In the Championship all teams work their socks off and the standard is much higher than I expected.
If we can win more games than we lose this season especially at home I will be satisfied.

[Tony]

I actually preferred the good old bad old days, with the exception of MAF's takeover and our success of getting to the PL, The PL days were generally pretty dull for me. We had some great victories and for me none more so than over Chelsea of course but we didn't really win that many games and were shockingly poor away from home.

In the lower leagues we won more games each season, without checking I'd say we probably won more games in the seasons we were relegated from divs 2 & 3 than we won in any season in the PL!

I do prefer lower league football to watch live for a number of reasons.

Would I like us to return to the PL?? Not really, not unless we were in contention for a Europa League place, avoiding relegation each year as our main objective is pretty pointless from a sporting point of view (not financially of course).

With regard to expectations, my only expaectations are the manager gets the most from the players and the players give their all.

Lee Bowyer on Talksport today about Geordie fans, all they expect is for a player to give 100%. I;m happy with that.

Tempest, I found myself saying "Yes, I agree" to nearly all of your comments, especially the manager getting the most from the players and the players giving their all.
I am convinced that all supporters of football clubs can accept it, if their team is not very good in terms of quality, but do expect the players to work damn hard to try to get results. It is not only Geordie fans. It has been said on other posts that Dan Burn may not be that good, but at least he tries.   

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

Can anyone honestly admit that at some point they have not been a teeny weeny bit bored watching Fulham or the club/fan connection.

Certainly in the last 3/4 years there have been several games when however a game was going at any point, and how well (or not) we were doing, we just knew what the outcome would be.
It happened a lot last season.
Repetition is boring unless you're a sloth, a slender loris,  a lemur or a koi carp  "Heron, oops there goes another one, that's getting boring, but at least it gives us a bit more room in the pond"

It's not his fault but hearing GJ constantly saying "You can hear what's happened" or "Oh Noo"
but worst of all knowing he's going to say it.
Now that's boring.

Human beings by our very nature are strivers (except the ones that aren't) I cannot think of anything worse then being  "Mr Normal" or "Mr Boring"

I tend to live by the creed "You've always got to have something to look forward to"
For instance I've got shepherds pie for dinner tonight and I like shepherds pie.

Most of us on here do have black and white blood and it's a shame that one of our own who wears his heart on his sleeve and spilled his thoughts on OUR FORUM has had so much stick.  No words of encouragement like "Don't worry Danny etc"  "I'll buy you a pint before the next home game, mate"

In this instance "stick" and somewhat ridicule is boring


BTW: I think the Arsenal thing was in reference to George Graham's stream of 1-0's which was boring.

Some of my posts are boring.
Searching for oil can be boring.
Having sex with your cousin can be relatively boring (unless you live in West Virginia then it's expected)

I'm getting boring now.

[Kent Cassandra]

Roger I can honestly say that I have not been bored, very few people that I see at the match look bored.  I see enthusiasm, support, humour, frustration and very occasionally at Fulham anger. Watching on TV then you might have a point but no one, not even you Roger have a clue what Fulham are going to do next.
If repetition is boring then all human beings, animals, fish, plants, planets, galaxies and who knows even the universe may repeat itself infinitely.
I count Dan as a friend even if I am old enough to be his granddad. No we may not agree on everything that would be repetitious. But the one thing that we do agree on fundamentally is respect.  A lot of posters on his thread have got the wrong end of the stick (Do you see what I'm doing there, just like drilling for oil is boring). Danny has explained several times but people don't seem to want to listen and just want to air their pet hates.
Your creed "You've always got to have something to look forward to" does sound as if you are a little bored. At my age my creed has to be "I hope I can get all my projects finished before I fall off my perch". I was going to say 'die' which would have rhymed nicely with Shepherds pie which I also like but wouldn't like to consume it repetitively.
So Roger, if like Arsenal we went the rest of the season winning every game 1-0 the vast majority of our fans would be ecstatic, including you I suspect. Now I am wondering how you could be ecstatic and bored at the same time.
If you think I am boring give me some notice and I will stop taking the pills.
Terry Time for the Ovaltine and digestive....night night.............