Post by nzcolin on Mar 7, 2015 20:12:01 GMT
Some internet blog from Pundit Arena. All been said before, but just about sums up how I feel at the moment!
Once upon a time, Fulham FC were Premier League stalwarts. Now they sit 20th in the Championship. What!? How!?
It’s less than 24 hours since Fulham were roundly and wholly trounced 5-1 by Bournemouth. This result is not an anomaly, you don’t end up 20th in the Championship without these kind of matches. But just how has this happened and who could be to blame?
So why is this a big deal?
Fulham are a London club with a billionaire owner. In the world of football there are so many variables you cannot control, location is one of them. But being a London club in location stakes is the footballing version of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. If it’s not obvious it should be. London, regardless of your thoughts on it is a Mecca for people with money. It is a global city with endless opportunities to distract yourself and spend cash. Things like this are valuable selling points when signing a big player.
But of course signing a big player isn’t even a possibility unless you’ve got cash to spend. And Fulham do. They are owned by Shahid Khan a Pakistani-American billionaire. In September of last year his net worth was valued at $4.6 billion.
So in short, it’s inexcusable really what is going on in SW6. They have all the resources a club looking to bounce back from relegation should need and yet they are just about keeping their heads above water. This season will require a great escape on a par with the 2007/08 escape that kick started a wonderful period under Roy Hodgson.
So who is to blame?
Kit Symons is the current manager but that’s likely to change given results this season. Can he be blamed? No, not really. Symons’ only managerial experience prior to the Fulham job was as a temporary caretaker manager for Crsytal Palace and Colchester. A club looking to bounce back should probably have gone for proven Championship experience in this case. That mistake is now costing them.
In fact it’s obvious really who is to blame for Fulham’s troubles. Since Khan has taken over, things have been in a permanent slide. Sacking Martin Jol was probably wise but the appointment of Rene Meulensteen was not. Rene, from his time with United is clearly a very smart football man. He was not however a suitable manager. Meulensteen had an ego that wouldn’t shut up and it cost him a job and Fulham some vital points that could have staved off relegation.
Burnt from that decision, Khan headed to the opposite end of the experience spectrum when he appointed Felix Magath. But the decision had the hallmarks of an owner who was new to football. Magath is successful. Magath had never been relegated. Magath was a tactics man, a game-plan man. And yet he was not the right man for the job. On the surface it was the right appointment for Khan but it was a decision that lacked context. Magath’s success stretched back to a time gone by. He is a difficult man at the best of times and given the time constraints the club were under to get results, his appointment was actually a huge risk. One that didn’t pay off.
Mohammed Al-Fayed was never the richest owner. His grandiose statement in 1997 that Fulham would be “the Manchester united of the South” was naive and before the Abramovich era. It never happened, but he ran a steady ship. In retrospect, what he did was incredibly impressive. Khan has failed in his tenure as owner so far. If Fulham are lucky, he’ll sell them to someone who cares and can afford them. Given their current trajectory, they could cost a whole lot less to any suitors in June, should the be relegated to League One.
So what is going on at Fulham? Bad management from the top down. It has trickled into every facet of the club. Shahid Khan is a rich and successful man, but the business of sport is one he should have avoided. Any fans of his NFL franchise, the Jacksonville Jaguars can attest to that.
Then again, maybe it’s all to do with the removal of Michael Jackson’s statue from Craven Cottage? If only it were that simple.
Once upon a time, Fulham FC were Premier League stalwarts. Now they sit 20th in the Championship. What!? How!?
It’s less than 24 hours since Fulham were roundly and wholly trounced 5-1 by Bournemouth. This result is not an anomaly, you don’t end up 20th in the Championship without these kind of matches. But just how has this happened and who could be to blame?
So why is this a big deal?
Fulham are a London club with a billionaire owner. In the world of football there are so many variables you cannot control, location is one of them. But being a London club in location stakes is the footballing version of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. If it’s not obvious it should be. London, regardless of your thoughts on it is a Mecca for people with money. It is a global city with endless opportunities to distract yourself and spend cash. Things like this are valuable selling points when signing a big player.
But of course signing a big player isn’t even a possibility unless you’ve got cash to spend. And Fulham do. They are owned by Shahid Khan a Pakistani-American billionaire. In September of last year his net worth was valued at $4.6 billion.
So in short, it’s inexcusable really what is going on in SW6. They have all the resources a club looking to bounce back from relegation should need and yet they are just about keeping their heads above water. This season will require a great escape on a par with the 2007/08 escape that kick started a wonderful period under Roy Hodgson.
So who is to blame?
Kit Symons is the current manager but that’s likely to change given results this season. Can he be blamed? No, not really. Symons’ only managerial experience prior to the Fulham job was as a temporary caretaker manager for Crsytal Palace and Colchester. A club looking to bounce back should probably have gone for proven Championship experience in this case. That mistake is now costing them.
In fact it’s obvious really who is to blame for Fulham’s troubles. Since Khan has taken over, things have been in a permanent slide. Sacking Martin Jol was probably wise but the appointment of Rene Meulensteen was not. Rene, from his time with United is clearly a very smart football man. He was not however a suitable manager. Meulensteen had an ego that wouldn’t shut up and it cost him a job and Fulham some vital points that could have staved off relegation.
Burnt from that decision, Khan headed to the opposite end of the experience spectrum when he appointed Felix Magath. But the decision had the hallmarks of an owner who was new to football. Magath is successful. Magath had never been relegated. Magath was a tactics man, a game-plan man. And yet he was not the right man for the job. On the surface it was the right appointment for Khan but it was a decision that lacked context. Magath’s success stretched back to a time gone by. He is a difficult man at the best of times and given the time constraints the club were under to get results, his appointment was actually a huge risk. One that didn’t pay off.
Mohammed Al-Fayed was never the richest owner. His grandiose statement in 1997 that Fulham would be “the Manchester united of the South” was naive and before the Abramovich era. It never happened, but he ran a steady ship. In retrospect, what he did was incredibly impressive. Khan has failed in his tenure as owner so far. If Fulham are lucky, he’ll sell them to someone who cares and can afford them. Given their current trajectory, they could cost a whole lot less to any suitors in June, should the be relegated to League One.
So what is going on at Fulham? Bad management from the top down. It has trickled into every facet of the club. Shahid Khan is a rich and successful man, but the business of sport is one he should have avoided. Any fans of his NFL franchise, the Jacksonville Jaguars can attest to that.
Then again, maybe it’s all to do with the removal of Michael Jackson’s statue from Craven Cottage? If only it were that simple.
