We've lost ‘That Fulham Feeling’ - how do we get it back?
Despite another mid-table top-flight finish, everything just feels a bit limp.
At the end of last week, the postman dropped the Fulham season ticket renewal brochure on the door mat. In all honesty, I don’t think I really need it posted, but I do quite like getting a physical copy.
The club’s marketing team always creates a slick-looking pack and this one was no different. Their latest slogan seems to have moved on from London’s Original Football Club to ‘That Fulham Feeling’. A catchy line that works well, but is the ‘Fulham Feeling’ a particularly positive one right now?
There’s one game remaining of Fulham’s Premier League season and despite being fairly close to our record points total it doesn’t feel like a celebratory time at the club.
Despite some notable highs, it’s been a bit of a slog at times this season with the increasingly dark cloud of Marco Silva’s contract situation hanging around for the entire campaign.
Results and performances, of course, have a huge impact on fan sentiment. I doubt Wolves fans would be as up in arms about their club as they are right now if they were in Bournemouth’s position. Fulham’s comfortable, stable status in the Premier League table is probably doing quite a lot of heavy lifting to prevent widespread discontent among the fans.
Deja vu
The whiff of April/May 2013 feels incredibly strong right now. If you’ve blocked it from your memory this is the latter part of the Martin Jol era, where Fulham set themselves up horribly for what was to be a relegation campaign with six defeats in their final eight Premier League matches.
A 3-0, last-day-of-the-season victory at Swansea City falsely boosted Fulham from 16th to 12th place in the league - papering over some gigantic cracks that truly manifested in 2013/14.
And look, maybe I’m wrong about being so pessimistic going into the next campaign. It’s not all doom and gloom as I’m excited to see what players like Oscar Bobb and Kevin can bring to this side, as well as the continued progression (hopefully) of Josh King. You could have equally said the same though about Ashkan Dejagah, Bryan Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov.
However, I don’t think it’s the looming spectre of struggle that concerns me most right now. A team like Fulham has always got the possibility of going back to the Championship. I don’t think we can be arrogant enough to watch behemoths like West Ham and Spurs battle to stay up and then assume that Fulham will be safe forever.
Apathy’s spreading
I’ve only got anecdotal evidence for this, but it doesn’t feel like there is any unity between fans and the club right now. In the last few weeks I feel like I’ve seen more comments than ever before from Fulham fans saying that they and the people they go to Fulham with are not renewing their season tickets next year.
There are probably wider football factors at play such as VAR and the endless kick-off time changes for TV, but Fulham have to shoulder most of that apathy that’s brewing.
Consistent price rises, deteriorating stadium facilities (except the Riverside) and the unorthodox way we conduct our transfer business, leading to Silva’s continued unhappiness all play a role.
We’ve all got used to it, but having the owner’s son as the Director Of Football is still absolutely mental. As a fan base, we are far too accepting of this irresponsible nepotism (myself included given that I once interviewed him and didn’t push that question).
I know that no club is perfect and the grass isn’t always greener, but it’s tough watching Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth fans who appear to be bought into their club’s identity. Tony Bloom, Matthew Benham and Bill Foley feel so much more in-tune with their respective clubs than the Khans ever have been.
I will renew my season ticket without hesitation, but I have to admit that I feel like my love for Fulham is consistently tested. Don’t get me wrong: I love Fulham, the fans, the stadium, the culture and the history. This club has helped give me a livelihood and been where I’ve met some of my very best friends. But do I love how it’s run and what those in charge stand for? The answer has to be no.
The customer’s never right
I read the latest Fulham Supporters Trust (FST) minutes last week and found the confrontational way that club director David Daly interacted with FST chair Simon Duke to be an indictment of how the club’s internal culture appears to be toxic.
Say what you want about the FST, but they have a right to be angry about the way they’ve been sidelined for the hand-picked Fan Advisory Board (FAB). The tone of Daly came across as domineering and intimidating in my opinion and isn’t how volunteers (aka.. customers) who give up their time to speak on behalf of other fans (aka.. customers) should be spoken to.
This is in addition to all the other gaffes of recent times. The Brentford fun run debacle, our broken loyalty points system and the ‘local football team’ post on the Fulham Pier website when Fulham had a scheduled home match.
It feels like Fulham’s true focus is The Riverside and this above-all-else push to pivot to luxury. The stand has rarely looked full this season and is the non-matchday revenue from a members club and a 13-room hotel really going to generate a significant sum that makes a tangible difference to our playing squad?
Matt Littlejohn’s brilliant article suggesting that Fulham made less money from ticket revenue despite the opening of the Riverside was an eye-opening revelation that perhaps the early appetite for our expensive facilities aren’t as strong as the club would have hoped.
The buck(s) stop with Khan
Ultimately, this all stems from the top and the culture Shahid Khan has brought to Fulham. While Alistair Macintosh does the work, Shahid sets the tone. He is the one who still thinks employing his son as Director of Football is a good idea. He is the one who seems much more interested in developing the brand of ‘Fulham Pier’ than the brand of ‘Fulham Football Club’.
This is probably a taboo opinion to have, but if the Khans announced they want to sell Fulham, I would see that as a positive thing. Sure, I know there are ‘worse’ owners out there, but we can’t spend forever just playing the ‘better the devil you know’ card.
The Khans have done good things in their tenure, appointing Marco Silva was probably their smartest move, but equally I feel like Fulham have regressed in so many ways in the 13 years they’ve owned the club. We used to be everybody’s second team, the lovable upstarts bloodying noses in the Premiership and Europe. Now, it feels like Fulham are seen as boring and sterile both on and off the pitch.
I can already foresee the comments calling me ungrateful. Mid-table Premier League football is all well and good, but to be honest I’d rather be watching Championship football if it meant my club found its soul again.
I know that Shahid Khan has spent a lot of money and continues to bankroll Fulham, but let’s not pretend that this is philanthropy. The value of Fulham is now over £500m and although he may not fully recoup his losses with a sale, do not underestimate the clout and kudos that owning a Premier League club gives a billionaire.
People talk about ‘sports-washing’ when it comes to nation states owning sport franchises, but there is also an equal positive benefit for the mega wealthy. Shahid is using Fulham just as much as Fulham is using him, and there are a plethora of other very rich people who would love to own a club like ours. He promised to be a custodian, and he shouldn’t be unaccountable just because he’s using our football club to diversify his extraordinary wealth.
Ultimately, only Shahid will decide when the time to sell up is. Until then, I think the ‘Fulham Feeling’ may continue to be an apathetic sensation for many.
Spot on. 'Finally lost patience' is where I'm at. The shameless nepotism of the owner's son being Director of Football is an embarrassment for al of us - and clearly is at the heart of Silva's issues with the club - as it seems to have been with every good manager that we've had. Our recruitment policy is so obviously dysfunctional. Silva's disillusion has well and truly seeped into the players. I was at Molineux on Sunday and it was awful - so flat, so many players way off their best, no sense of unity at all. Something is very wrong and needs to be addressed.
Great article Sammy, you articulated many of the thoughts we have all been feeling.
We have reached a junction which has not been particularly well handled. Marco not feeling able to commit to the Club has not only been a distraction and disappointing, but has led to instability, both on and off the field. The Khans have not forced a showdown because it is in their interest to have continuity. Their ambition seems to be: that they are happy as the owners of a mid table Club; visiting Neutrals and Corporates can enjoy premier hospitality at a Premiership game. I get it, but it’s a bit like an AI version of what it is to go to a Premiership game. There is no atmosphere in the Cottage on some elite games because either the Corporate guests don’t support Fulham but wanted to see Liverpool Utd or City anyway, or are not really football supporters, may not even like football, and are there for a jolly.
Investing in local families and supporters(just repeating what everyone knows is right) is the key. But I’m afraid they are looking at this from a different culture.
I guess the difference between the Khans and Tony Bloom is that he comes from a family who are passionate Brighton supporters, who understand what it is like to support a small club. He has developed the club as a dream project: building a fabulous stadium for all supporters; understanding how the transfer market works; and having the vision and ambition to make his and other supporters dreams come true. He is smart enough be able to see what support will be necessary for Brighton to succeed in Europe. Good Luck.
This is not the case with the Khans: they see Fulham as part of their portfolio of sport investments. Of course they want Fulham to do well but do not have the visceral passion that we have. Mid table suits them very well, as they would have to invest a lot on players if we were to get into Europe, I often wonder whether they’ve always told Marco to take the foot off the pedal come March as it doesn’t suit their business plan.
As for the much needed improvements to the other parts of the ground: it is both difficult and expensive to make changes to a listed building. In reality they would probably have to close each stand as there just not enough time over the summer to do it all, so the decision is - to patch it up at end of each season.
Not great, and uncomfortable for true supporters who can’t use the lavatories or get a drink at half time without having to make a plan.
I completely agree with you Sammy that it feels like the Martin Jol season: Fahyed was taking back loans he had lent the club and was looking for a buyer. I was at the Swansea game. We had hardly won away that season and suddenly we won 3-0 and go up to twelfth, a mid table side. And then along cames the Khans. I do wonder if there was some under the table, brown envelope deal that helped the result. So the wicked old business man sold a patched up mid table team, that was ready for relegation, to an unsuspecting, unknowledgeable US billionaire, who had a soccer virgin son. And then, 13 seasons later, Fahyed’s prediction about the removal of Michael Jackson came to pass-Spooky!
All I can say to you Sammy is: You are a bright, shining light in the Fulham gloom. Don’t let your enthusiasm waver as you and your Team have brought a lot of fun and joy to everyone throughout the season. Thanks for that.
Looking forward to the Half Moon
COYW