Happy Birthday Al Fayed

[bill taylors apprentice]

Bill.  If i ever attend ? Ive been going to cc since the 1960s.Ive been to over 130 grounds to see ffc play.What gets me is  as ive mentioned before  maf claiming to be a fulham fan but approaching chelsea before us   Why ?

Of course he wasn't a fan previously but who cares!
I'm totally aware of MAF's re writing of certain parts of his life, I worked for Harrods just before he bought it and was told stuff that went on by friends still working there.

To be generous to him, he enjoyed being "the big I am" but he did back it up and I think we can all be ungrudging about his original motives and generous in our appreciation.

To use an old fashioned word, he was a rouge I'm sure and like many business men did what he had to do at times but boy oh boy just think about what kind of rouge we could of ended up with.

I understand he wasn't the kind of person everyone would warm to but I enjoyed his character and am forever grateful to him.

[Buffalo76]

Legend ? You mean he threw a lot of money our way. Like the guy at the bridge does.

The word Legend is over-used at times but in Big Mo's case its very apt. We would never achieved what we did without him. Yes he did splash the cash but so have plenty of other owners. Do you think City fans or Chelscum fans moan about all the money that's been spent at their clubs over the last few years????? Admittedly I wonder who these so called Chelscum fans supported pre- Abramovich!!!!

[dannyboi-ffc]

In a way Al Fayed can't win with some supporters. Considering the dark days of the 80s I would imagine the stuff we achieved with him wasn't even a dream. Yet some seem pretty ungrateful to me.

On one hand you have those who say we are now in the situation we find ourselves in because he didn't invest. And then others point out that he wasn't a fan but more of a businessman who splashed the cash to gain the success we had. So which is it?

I don't know about the rest of you but when I get to 85 years old I hope to not have the stress and responsibility of running a football club no matter how much I love them. Sure he did get his money back, big deal. I love Fulham more than anything but I doubt I would write off over 100 million if I could get it back in my 80s.

Again so what if Mo wasn't a fan before he bought us, so what if he approached Chelsea first, so what if we were going to be his man utd of the south project just to make him richer. Doesn't that add to the romance of the fact he did fall in love with the place and it's fans. His passion and scarf waving was clearly for attention but most supporters loved it. He showed heart towards us in a personal way, add to that his two songs with Keith Allen, the Fulhamish sense of humour and a genuine bond was developed. We only spent over 10 million 3 times under Mo, Marlet Ruiz and AJ. I would argue that all 3 were a waste of money and prove that lack of investment or over investment means sweet FA if you don't have the knowhow of what you're spending it on. We were run brilliantly under Mo and he rarely made the same mistake twice. You could argue Khan splashes the cash, Mitroglou and Ross cost the same amount as our starting line up in the Europa League final and what do we have to show for it?

Whatever way you look at it we achieved special things under Mo. Maybe he wasn't everyone's cup of tea and those people will get their opportunity to criticise him the minute someone posts a debate asking whether he was a good chairman.

However, this wasn't a question. This was an opportunity for fans to join me in wishing an 87 year old gentleman a happy birthday and to thank him for achievements that weren't possible without him. Opinions are for everyone but that last sentence is a fact.