On this day 25 years ago

[Ludlow Richard]

We beat Hartlepool 1-0, with a first half goal by Darren Freeman. That game in the fourth tier of English football sounds mundane, doesn't it? I was there and I remember nothing about the game. But this win 25 years ago today was our 7th game unbeaten of an 11 game unbeaten run, with the 10th and 11th games in that sequence being That Away Win at Carlisle and the 0-0 draw at Mansfield that secured promotion under Mickey Adams.

It's hard to credit what we have seen in the 25 years since beating Hartlepool. No-one in the 7,000 crowd would have foreseen five promotions (with hopefully a sixth to come shortly) and three relegations, two new stands, European football, a European final, Juventus, Hamburg, Tigana, Jokanovic, Silva, two play off final victories, 13 consecutive seasons in the Premier League, the Great Escape, wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Spurs (in fact we have recorded PL wins against 18 of the current 20 teams in the PL, the only two "missing" are Watford [four games played, three draws and one defeat], and Brentford, and we have beaten 38 different teams in our seasons in the PL).

Has any club had 25 years quite like ours? I very much doubt it.

[Fernhurst]

Well done Richard summing up the last 25 years succinctly.
Incredible road we have traveled and the future looks ever brighter.

[RaySmith]

Well done Richard summing up the last 25 years succinctly.
Incredible road we have traveled and the future looks ever brighter.

0001.jpeg

[Cobh Fulham Fan]

Well done for a lovely piece of plain wake-up history there.   Sometimes context can be a great leveller and can help steady the nerves of the worriers!

[Twig]

It's been bumpy but often fun and sometimes downright uplifting.

[Steeeeeeeeeed]

Also the FA Cup Semi Final of 2002...

https://youtu.be/EIbjhyuL0JQ

Flipping John Terry and his action man headband, and Flipping Villa Park

[DukeTyrion]

I remember when Darren Freeman and Rob Scott joined. We had finished the last season on a roll, after Mickey Adams had taken over (not that anyone knew at first, the rumour was that Branfoot was scouting up North). Conroy was put on the transfer list, then went goal crazy.

Sometimes things are not going well and friends comment about Fulham's results and I tell them, from where we were, it's dizzy heights.

Interestingly, if you took the average finishing position of all the teams in the football league, over all the season, I believe Fulham would be top half of the Championship table, but just outside the play off places.

[AJW48361]

Total disgrace that Semi Final was played at Villa Park.I didn't attend on principal and felt  disappointed  The Clubs and Supporters never opposed the Venue more forcibly.

[filham]

A great post Richard.
If ever a season was a cornerstone for a cub that season 25 years ago was certainly ours.
In my old memory the Haynes era stands out as our best ever times but  this post has made me think and perhaps the brain box is in need of a reshuffle.

[Alec of good Stock]

I have a completely different take on it.
I started watching Fulham in 1968 but stopped going just after Mr Al Fayed bought the club which meant the removal of Micky Adams as manager and Jimmy Hill as Chairman, two of the people who had saved the club from going in to Non League and possibly out of business. The team that was promoted from Division 4 which was assembled with old pros in the last year or so of their career, journeymen and free transfers was possibly the most important team that the club has ever had.
It was inevitable with the club being wealthy that success was on its way, but bought success didn't interest me. I know that I was in a tiny minority, but there were a few others who thought along the same lines.
I remember my last game was a 1-0 defeat ay Molyneux in September 1997 and Terry Angus, one of my favourite players, who had just left the club for Slough Town, was sitting with us.
I've been to Craven Cottage only once since then, a Premier League game against Portsmouth and didn't enjoy the experience.
I loved the club as it was in the 30 or so years that I followed them home and away, however good or bad the team was but now, as much as I still want them to do well, sadly it is just a passing interest.

[JimOG]

Well done for a lovely piece of plain wake-up history there.   Sometimes context can be a great leveller and can help steady the nerves of the worriers!

+1

[filham]

I have a completely different take on it.
I started watching Fulham in 1968 but stopped going just after Mr Al Fayed bought the club which meant the removal of Micky Adams as manager and Jimmy Hill as Chairman, two of the people who had saved the club from going in to Non League and possibly out of business. The team that was promoted from Division 4 which was assembled with old pros in the last year or so of their career, journeymen and free transfers was possibly the most important team that the club has ever had.
It was inevitable with the club being wealthy that success was on its way, but bought success didn't interest me. I know that I was in a tiny minority, but there were a few others who thought along the same lines.
I remember my last game was a 1-0 defeat ay Molyneux in September 1997 and Terry Angus, one of my favourite players, who had just left the club for Slough Town, was sitting with us.
I've been to Craven Cottage only once since then, a Premier League game against Portsmouth and didn't enjoy the experience.
I loved the club as it was in the 30 or so years that I followed them home and away, however good or bad the team was but now, as much as I still want them to do well, sadly it is just a passing interest.

I sympathise and respect your view and yes I would rather follow football that wasn't controlled by television and big money men who grossly overpay players and show little respect to fans. However that is the form of modern football and there is little I can do to wind the clock back. The only form that my beloved Fulham is available in is the one owned by MAF and Shahid Khan over the last 25 years and they have delivered a good product that I have really enjoyed following.

[WokingFFC]

A great post Richard. It was my now wife's first season of watching Fulham, so I attribute our rise as much to her as I do those your mention above😆🤣😂

Villa park was a shambles, especially waiting for the train back to Euston that was heavily delayed after being sent to Wolverhampton if my memory recalls.

Carlisle was a great day. Woke up at around 1pm in the central hotel (having arrived at 5am) to see the throngs of Fulham fans in the square having just arrived by train. Wonderful sight.

Ah the memories, what a wonderful rollercoaster ride supporting Fulham is!

[bog]

A quality posting Richard.  :54:

092.gif

[Fulham Tup North]

I remember going on the coach with the players for the Carlisle away game.... unbelievable weekend... and going onto the pitch at Mansfield midweek and Jimmy Hill coming out to wave to the fans...
Carlisle away was when Simon Morgan ran a sweepstake for the Grand National but it got postponed and run on the Monday... my horse won and Mr Morgan still hasn't paid me!! You think you know someone!!!
COYW

[filham]

If we have a hall of fame in the new stand then without doubt there should be places for both Jimmy Hill and Mickey Adams.

[bencher]

That promotion season was the first season I really committed to being a Fulham fan. My Dad used to bring me to games and bought me a Fulham kit and scarf, but my best friends were Arsenal fans and I wanted to copy them. Something clicked in the team that year, and clicked in my heart and head as well, and I never looked back. I liked a few of the players from that era, Darren Freeman, Mike Conroy (whose name and number I scribbled on the back of my kit in biro), but most of all, Robbie Herrera. Fond memories.

[Jims Dentist]

Terrific summing up Richard.

[Lester Burnham]

We beat Hartlepool 1-0, with a first half goal by Darren Freeman. That game in the fourth tier of English football sounds mundane, doesn't it? I was there and I remember nothing about the game. But this win 25 years ago today was our 7th game unbeaten of an 11 game unbeaten run, with the 10th and 11th games in that sequence being That Away Win at Carlisle and the 0-0 draw at Mansfield that secured promotion under Mickey Adams.

It's hard to credit what we have seen in the 25 years since beating Hartlepool. No-one in the 7,000 crowd would have foreseen five promotions (with hopefully a sixth to come shortly) and three relegations, two new stands, European football, a European final, Juventus, Hamburg, Tigana, Jokanovic, Silva, two play off final victories, 13 consecutive seasons in the Premier League, the Great Escape, wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Spurs (in fact we have recorded PL wins against 18 of the current 20 teams in the PL, the only two "missing" are Watford [four games played, three draws and one defeat], and Brentford, and we have beaten 38 different teams in our seasons in the PL).

Has any club had 25 years quite like ours? I very much doubt it.

Great post!  Thank Mo Al Fayed