Optimism

[Fulham33]

Ok I will start.
I have been going to the Cottage since April 62.
I used to play sport on a Saturday but went whenever I could.
I have always managed to get a ticket for any game I wanted by being quick and smart.
Cup Final, Europa League, Play-offs etc etc.
I am disappointed with all the negativity but it is what it is.
I don't go to watch Man U or Liverpool or anybody else - I go to watch the Whites against whoever - hence I was there when we lost to Hayes!!! (a Friday)
I have recently retired and yesterday I bought my first season ticket - in fact I bought 2 - one for my son.
I live in hope and eternal optimism rather than 59 years of experience. (not all bad)
So FTID & COYW
It's gonna be a good season and the encouragement for the team will far outweigh any negativity that may be around me. My son will act as a moderator and keep my language in check - the best he can.
Seriously we will be loud and proud

[Fulham1959]

Good for you !

[FulhamStu]

Good to be optimistic, I also am esp during close season.  There is no pleasure in being a moaning old git, FFC can be hard work always has been but it's the lows that make the highs better.  We would get more satisfaction from coming runners up next season in the championship that Chelsea fans from winning the champions league, they have no where to go whereas we have lots of possible improvement in front of us.   Football is dominated by money, we have a seriously wealthy owner who has consistently ploughed hundreds of millions into the club, he does not want to see it fail and it will not.

[davew]

Good for you !

+1, admire your optimism!!

[paulbrookersmazydribbles]

Ok I will start.
I have been going to the Cottage since April 62.
I used to play sport on a Saturday but went whenever I could.
I have always managed to get a ticket for any game I wanted by being quick and smart.
Cup Final, Europa League, Play-offs etc etc.
I am disappointed with all the negativity but it is what it is.
I don't go to watch Man U or Liverpool or anybody else - I go to watch the Whites against whoever - hence I was there when we lost to Hayes!!! (a Friday)
I have recently retired and yesterday I bought my first season ticket - in fact I bought 2 - one for my son.
I live in hope and eternal optimism rather than 59 years of experience. (not all bad)
So FTID & COYW
It's gonna be a good season and the encouragement for the team will far outweigh any negativity that may be around me. My son will act as a moderator and keep my language in check - the best he can.
Seriously we will be loud and proud

This is fantastic. The best thing will be walking down Stevenage Road to go back to the Cottage regularly again. I hope you and your son can enjoy that together for many years to come.

[Andy S]

Well you had better admire mine as well because I have watched the whites nearly as long and one thing I will say is that already i'm Looking forward to next season and winning a few more games. Next season it all begins again clean slate and all

[filham]

Good to have such a positive post.
I too have been watching Fulham for a very long time and what I am finding so difficult right now is having very little idea what our team is going to look like next season and who the manager is likely to be. Really can't remember so many doubts at any time in the past.

[SP]

I'm with the OP, the slate is clean for me & I'm desperate to get back to our normal match day routine.

[HV71]

We live off one word ( as all fans do ) "hope"

[mrmicawbers]

Think you're on the wrong message board mate.All doom and gloom on here.

[The Rational Fan]

Around 87% of English Football League Fans worldwide support one of the six/seven teams likely to win the Premier League. Most of our fans seem to think that any season that is not a vast improvement on the season before(finishing three or four places higher than the season before) is a disaster. Such insane expectations are unsustainable in the long-term, because we are not going to win the Premier League in eight to nine years' time. 

A realistic goal is we go up next season, go close to staying up but go down, go up again and maybe scrap a 17th EPL place. I am very optimistic such a path is very achievable, as long as we keep bringing in players in their early 20's to replace the aging more senior players and learn which yo-yo players might be useful in the Premier League.

Most fans have their head in the clouds about where we should be and then become totally disappointed with results.

[RaySmith]

Ok I will start.
I have been going to the Cottage since April 62.
I used to play sport on a Saturday but went whenever I could.
I have always managed to get a ticket for any game I wanted by being quick and smart.
Cup Final, Europa League, Play-offs etc etc.
I am disappointed with all the negativity but it is what it is.
I don't go to watch Man U or Liverpool or anybody else - I go to watch the Whites against whoever - hence I was there when we lost to Hayes!!! (a Friday)
I have recently retired and yesterday I bought my first season ticket - in fact I bought 2 - one for my son.
I live in hope and eternal optimism rather than 59 years of experience. (not all bad)
So FTID & COYW
It's gonna be a good season and the encouragement for the team will far outweigh any negativity that may be around me. My son will act as a moderator and keep my language in check - the best he can.
Seriously we will be loud and proud

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[Cambridge Pete]

Well said that man. Hopefully the upcoming season will be a good one. Whatever, the season brings we will all have optimism for the next one. Enjoy your retirement. Pandemics and money allowing do all the things you want to do. COYW

[roberto w6]

A new season is always a fresh start and cause for optimism
Fulham 33's original post inspired me and yesterday I bought my first season ticket.
I have been going to the same seat almost every week for the last couple of years (excluding last season of course) where there are a good bunch of people in the Hammy End. I know that seat must be available but it didn't show on the website, i went to the ticket office and it is closed (fyi) and the phone line just has a message saying "too busy, call back later". So I bought the nearest seat in the hope that if my fave seat is still free I can ask for a change
In terms of optimism: I hope we have a 2 year rebuilding plan and, if successful, we will be better equipped to stay up for the long-term. I'm looking forward to seeing positive changes (some of which will inevitably fail) until we get the blend that works. If Scott changes (is allowed to change?) his approach, let's give him time. If we get a new manager, let's give him time
COYW

[colinwhite]

nice post.

[filham]

Around 87% of English Football League Fans worldwide support one of the six/seven teams likely to win the Premier League. Most of our fans seem to think that any season that is not a vast improvement on the season before(finishing three or four places higher than the season before) is a disaster. Such insane expectations are unsustainable in the long-term, because we are not going to win the Premier League in eight to nine years' time. 

A realistic goal is we go up next season, go close to staying up but go down, go up again and maybe scrap a 17th EPL place. I am very optimistic such a path is very achievable, as long as we keep bringing in players in their early 20's to replace the aging more senior players and learn which yo-yo players might be useful in the Premier League.

Most fans have their head in the clouds about where we should be and then become totally disappointed with results.

A new season is always a fresh start and cause for optimism
Fulham 33's original post inspired me and yesterday I bought my first season ticket.
I have been going to the same seat almost every week for the last couple of years (excluding last season of course) where there are a good bunch of people in the Hammy End. I know that seat must be available but it didn't show on the website, i went to the ticket office and it is closed (fyi) and the phone line just has a message saying "too busy, call back later". So I bought the nearest seat in the hope that if my fave seat is still free I can ask for a change
In terms of optimism: I hope we have a 2 year rebuilding plan and, if successful, we will be better equipped to stay up for the long-term. I'm looking forward to seeing positive changes (some of which will inevitably fail) until we get the blend that works. If Scott changes (is allowed to change?) his approach, let's give him time. If we get a new manager, let's give him time
COYW

Are you saying it is too much to expect a big improvement on last season's record breaking nine goals scored at the Cottage. If we can't significantly improve on that a lot of us, I suspect, will fell most disappointed even before the season starts.

[jarv]

Good post, you reflect many of my own experiences with Fulham. (I played football every Saturday which limited attendance).

Last 30 years living abroad,  but have  been home almost every year and been able to get to about 30 plus games. Only seen 1 (one) defeat (Sunderland 4-0) in all those years. (which includes a few away games) The joy of being at the cottage is immense, I love it.

No room for negativity from me. When you are rationed, it offers a lot pleasure just to be there, no matter which opposition.

[roberto w6]

A new season is always a fresh start and cause for optimism
Fulham 33's original post inspired me and yesterday I bought my first season ticket.
I have been going to the same seat almost every week for the last couple of years (excluding last season of course) where there are a good bunch of people in the Hammy End. I know that seat must be available but it didn't show on the website, i went to the ticket office and it is closed (fyi) and the phone line just has a message saying "too busy, call back later". So I bought the nearest seat in the hope that if my fave seat is still free I can ask for a change
In terms of optimism: I hope we have a 2 year rebuilding plan and, if successful, we will be better equipped to stay up for the long-term. I'm looking forward to seeing positive changes (some of which will inevitably fail) until we get the blend that works. If Scott changes (is allowed to change?) his approach, let's give him time. If we get a new manager, let's give him time
COYW

Are you saying it is too much to expect a big improvement on last season's record breaking nine goals scored at the Cottage. If we can't significantly improve on that a lot of us, I suspect, will fell most disappointed even before the season starts.

Not at all. I hope for and we should expect an improvement in terms of goals scored and overall entertainment. All I am saying is that we should try and build something for the longer term, so rather than rely on this squad which may get promotion only for a sadly probable repeat of this season, why not take 2 years and aim to build a squad that has a stronger chance of staying in the PL. And that we should keep optimistic during that building period because there are bound to be things that go wrong along the way. In short I'd prefer to spend 2 years in the Championship to get promotion if the time was used for long-term thinking around creating a PL level squad.

[SP]

Well, as none of our players seem to be playing at the Euros or Copa America, they should all be well rested?

[Twig]

Lovely post. Enjoy walking down to the Cottage with your son (my daughters were never interested and believe me I tried!).
I have to say I'm not really looking forward to next season. I tend to find the quality of football poorer, the standard of officiating lower, away grounds a bit more decrepit and the excitement of beating a Liverpool or equivalent is obviously not there. I do recognise there are compensating factors but I prefer to watch us in the Prem.
However the main reason I am downbeat has nothing to do with Prem vs Champ, it's that I see no change at DoF level and no indication that our transfer approach is about to change any time soon.
Give me a manager who sets us up to play a more expansive style of football and a professional DoF who works in tandem with him...Then I'd get excited even if it was the start of a new season in the third or fourth divisions.