Our 2008/09 and 2024/25 Premier League sides: a combined XI

After Sunday’s victory over Brentford, this 2024/25 Fulham side cemented themselves as one of the all-time greats, by amassing a club-record 54 Premier League points, alongside three fabled West London derby wins.

So today, we look back at our previous record holders, the 2008/09 side led by Roy Hodgson that finished seventh on 53 points, to make a combined eleven between the record-breaking sides.

Formation

4-2-3-1

Giving this XI the perfect balance of individual competition between the two respective teams. The 4-4-2 Hodgson deployed would be tweaked to a Silva-esque 4-2-3-1 in today’s game. I want to merge the two, so 4-2-3-1 gets the nod.

Goalkeeper: Bernd Leno

Our german shot-stopper narrowly beats the summer of 2008 Bosman signing of Mark Schwarzer. Bernd Leno’s initial £3m transfer fee looks to be more of a bargain every passing week

The German could start for nearly every team in the current Premier League. Bernd makes my team, despite the consistency Schwarzer displayed throughout his five-year stay at the Cottage. It’s a tough call though; I’d have the Aussie behind just Leno, and Edwin Van Der Sar in my list of all-time great Fulham keepers.

Left-back: Antonee Robinson

Perhaps the best left-back in the Premier League currently and certainly our best-ever, Antonee Robinson’s 2024/25 campaign is as good as any individual season put together by any player in black and white, despite a recent injury-led dip in form of late. Paul Konchesky, whilst a good servant to Fulham, didn’t have half the attacking capabilities or physical gifts to rival Robinson. Sorry, Paul,.

Right-back: Kenny Tete

Losing out to John Pantsil, and Chris Baird, both of whom featured at right-back in our 2008/09 campaign, King Kenny starts in my record-breaking combined XI. Kenny’s a rare breed of full-back; a truly elite one-on-one defender with a whip of a cross.

Despite fitness struggles blighting much of the Dutchman’s career, Tete goes down as the best right-back on Stevenage Road since the days of Steve Finnan. While Pantsil and Baird both gained cult hero status at Fulham, the recent clamour for a new deal for the 29-year-old Tete is testament to the levels he has maintained by the river. With that said, we still all dream of a team of John Pantsils!

Centre-backs: Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes

Hangeland and Hughes are, simply, the best centre-back partnership in Fulham history. Dubbed the Thames barrier, they epitomised the defensive discipline of Roy Hodgson’s Whites. Hangeland was a colossus, while Hughes was a smart, yet aggressive, reader of the game. The Norwegian and the Northern Irishman’s games were meant for each other. In spite of the leaps and bounds Calvin Bassey has improved since the start of last season, this may have been the easiest selection of this article. The Thames barrier reunites: defensive structure secured.

Central midfield: Danny Murphy (C) and Sander Berge

From two of the easiest selections in the XI to two of the hardest. Dickson Etuhu and Sasa Lukic: I’m truly sorry one of you has to miss out, especially you Dickson. The most unsung hero of our European glory. That goal away at Juve was massive in retrospect!

Murphy brings the leadership; Berge brings the legs. A leader like Murphy is what the FFC team of today lacks; Danny’s leadership throughout the 2008/09 season, his infamous goal to keep Fulham up away at Fratton Park, that calming presence, and blood-and-guts nature give him the armband and make him an integral part of this Fulham engine room.

Berge’s ability to drive with the ball, alongside his aptness at dominating central areas physically, would see the Norwegian complement a physically adept Murphy perfectly at the base of midfield.

Wingers: Zoltan Gera and Harry Wilson

Slightly out of position on the left wing, Zoltan Gera made a nuisance of himself for opposing defences. Constantly hassling defenders with a sneaky element of pace, alongside an eye for a goal, that saw Gera net some crucial goals for Fulham down the years. Zolly could have got in on his goal against Hamburg alone. Gera, Gera, Gera!

As for the right wing, Is there a tad of recency bias the day after his fourth derby goal in a singular campaign? Yep. But big players are counted in big moments, and Harry certainly has been. Wilson’s movement is exquisite, and his technical ability unrivalled in this Fulham squad. Wilson has written his name into Fulham folklore.

Simon Davies should feel so unlucky to lose out to his countryman; Davies, like Wilson, scored many massive goals for the Whites. If Diego Forlan’s goal was rightly ruled as offside, Davies would be thought of in even more glowing terms by the river, that would see him get into this team, but that’s football. Wilson partners Gera out wide.

Attacking midfield: Clint Dempsey

To call Clint Dempsey an attacking midfielder would be facetious. Dempsey played in a second striker role in the majority of his time by the River. Dempsey needs no introduction: raw ability, a fire in the belly, and a physical capability to mix it with the best of them, Dempsey could have gone down as one of the best Fulham players of all time if he hadn’t departed to Spurs so unceremoniously. The American’s inclusion over ESR or Pereira was a no-brainer. Clint’s ability to create something out nothing is something this Marco Silva side is crying out for. If I were to take one player from the 2008/09 to add into the present day Fulham side, it would be Deuce.

Striker: Bobby Zamora

The attack is where Hodgson’s men show their quality. Despite not being as free-scoring in 2008/09 as Rodrigo Muniz has been throughout patches of this season, Zamora’s ability to hold up the ball, win a physical battle and bring his teammates into play propelled Fulham into seventh before the now 44-year-old scored eight Europa League goals in a scintillating European run the season after.

Zamora was your quinessential talismanic number nine. I draw a lot of similarities from Bobby’s game to Zamora to Rodrigo Muniz’s style of play. Like the ex-West Ham forward, Rodrigo is raw, but In a few years, it wouldn’t shock me if I put Muniz ahead of Zamora but for now, it’s Bobby leading the line.

The boss: Roy Hodgson

He led us to seventh in what could be described as a higher-quality Premier League than this one. It’s hard not to look at what would have been the history and the present. Hodgson pulled off a stunning great escape before leading us to our then-record points total in the Premier League. If that wasn’t enough, he then led us on a fairytale journey across Europe. If Marco wins a cup next season, maybe my views will change, but Roy Hodgson still holds the mantra of being the Whites best-ever boss.

With vintage Roy in charge, the Thames Barrier reunited, with added wing dynamism from Antonee Robinson, Hodgson’s side are brought into the 2020’s. Partner this with the perfectly blended duo of Berge and captain Murphy, alongside the nostalgic attacking talents of our 08/09 front four, bar newfound hero Harry Wilson, anything is possible

Atletico Madrid, we’re coming for you. The FA Cup, you’ll be ours soon, and the Intertoto? We’ll win it again!