1879–1898: Formation
Fulham were formed in 1879 as Fulham St Andrew's Church Sunday School F.C.[4], founded by worshippers at the Church of England on Star Road, West Kensington (St Andrew's, Fulham Fields). Fulham's mother church still stands today with a plaque commemorating the team's foundation. They won the West London Amateur Cup in 1887 and, having shortened the name to its present form in 1888, they then won the West London League in 1893 at the first attempt. One of the club's first ever kits was half red, half white shirts with white shorts worn in the 1886-7 season.[5] Fulham started playing at their current ground Craven Cottage in 1896, their first game against now defunct rivals Minerva F.C.
The club gained professional status on 12 December 1898, in the same year that they were admitted into the Southern League's Second Division. They adopted a red and white kit during the 1900-01 season.[6] In 1902-03 they won promotion from this division, entering the Southern League First Division. The club's first recorded all-white club kit came in 1903, and ever since then the club has been playing in all-white shirts and black shorts, with socks going through various evolutions of black and/or white, but are now normally white-only.[7] The club won the Southern League twice, in 1905-06 and 1906-07.
[edit] 1907–1949: Football League
Fulham gained joined The Football League after the second of their Southern League triumphs. The club's first ever league game, playing in the 2nd Division's 1907-8 season, saw them losing 1-0 at home to Hull City in September 1907. The first win came a few days later at Derby County's Baseball Ground, by a score line of 1-0. Fulham finished the season three points short of promotion in fourth place. The club progressed all the way to the semi-final of that season's FA Cup, a run that included an 8-3 away win at Luton Town. In the semi-final they were heavily beaten, 6-0, by Newcastle United. This is still a record loss for an FA Cup semi-final game.[8]1909-10 season. Fulham's first season in Division Two turned out to be the highest that the club would finish for twenty-one years, until in 1927-28 when the club were relegated to the 3rd Division South, created in 1920. Two years later the club won the London Challenge Cup in the
During this period, businessman and politician Henry Norris was the club chairman and curiously he had an indirect role in the foundation of Fulham's local rivals Chelsea F.C.. When he rejected an offer from businessman Gus Mears to move Fulham to land where the present-day Chelsea stadium Stamford Bridge is situated, Mears decided to create his own team to occupy the ground. In 1910, Norris started to combine his role at Fulham with the chairmanship of Arsenal.
After finishing 5th, 7th and 9th (out of 22 teams) in their first three seasons in the 3rd Division South, Fulham won the division in the 1931-32 season. In doing so they beat Torquay Unitednext season they missed out on a second consecutive promotion, finishing 3rd behind Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City. A mixed bag of league performances followed, although the club also reached another FA Cup semi-final during the 1935-36 season. On 8 October 1938 Craven Cottage saw its all-time highest attendance at a match against Millwall FC, with a crowd of 49,335 watching the game. 10-2, won 24 out of 42 games and scored 111 goals, thus being promoted back to the Second Division. The
League and cup football were severely disrupted by the outbreak of World War II in 1939, with the Football League split into regional divisions temporarily, with a national Football League War Cup and a London War Cup up for grabs. Post-war, a full league programme was only restored for 1946-47. In the 3rd season of what is now considered the modern era of football, Fulham finished top of the Second Division, with a win-loss-draw record of 24-9-9 (identical to that which won them the 3rd Division South 17 years previously).
[edit] 1949–1969: First Division Cottagers
Promotion to the top tier of English football saw the club perform poorly, finishing 17th in their first year and 18th in their second. In only their third season of First Division football, Fulham finished rock bottom of the 22-team league in the 1951-52 season, winning only 8 of 42 games. On 20 May 1951, Fulham played one of their first ever games in North America in an exhibition match against Celtic F.C. at Delorimier Stadium in Montreal in front of 29,000.[9]
| 1949-52 | Football League Div. 1 | (Level 1) |
|---|---|---|
| 1952-59 | Football League Div. 2 | (Level 2) |
| 1959-68 | Football League Div. 1 | (Level 1) |
| 1968-69 | Football League Div. 2 | (Level 2) |
A few seasons of mediocrity in the 2nd Division followed, but then the club reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1958 and used this momentum to win promotion back to the 1st Division in the following season, having finished 2nd to Sheffield Wednesday. Also joining Fulham in 1958 was Graham Leggat, who went on to score 134 goals in 277 appearances, (making him the club's fifth all-time top scorer). In the 1959-60 seasonFA Premier League 2003-04 was their highest ever league position. This accompanied another appearance in the last four of the FA Cup in 1962. they achieved 10th position in the 1st Division, which until finishing 9th in the
By this time the club were regularly playing in front of 30,000 plus crowds at Craven Cottage,[10]1965-66. On the morning of 26 February 1966 Fulham had just 15 points from 29 matches. The last 13 games saw Fulham win 9 and draw 2 to reach safety. Eventually the club suffered relegation in the 1967-68 season having won just 10 out of their 42 games. However even that was not as catastrophic as the calamity of next season. Winning only 7 in 42, the club were again relegated to the 3rd Division. (Note that this is not the same as the 3rd Division South, as the regional 3rd Divisions had been removed with the 1959 creation of the 4th Division). despite struggling in the League. The club experienced several close escapes from relegation none more spectacular than in
It is impossible to talk about Fulham's history without mentioning probably the single most influential character in Fulham's history: Johnny Haynes.[11] 'Mr. Fulham' or 'The Maestro' as he later came to be known signed for The Cottagers as a schoolboy in 1950, making his first team debut on Boxing Day 1952 against Southampton at Craven Cottage. Haynes played for another 18 years, notching up 657 appearances (along with many other club records too), his last appearance for Fulham coming on the 17 January 1970. He is often considered as the greatest player in Fulham history,[12] and never played for another team in Britain.[13] He gained 52 caps[14] with many being earned while playing for Fulham in the Second Division. Haynes was injured in a car accident in Blackpool in 1962, but by his own admissions never regained the fitness or form to play for England again, missing out on England's victory in the 1966 World Cup which he would have stood a chance of being selected for.[15] The Stevenage Road Stand was re-named in his honour after his death in a car crash in 2005. for England (22 as captain),
[edit] 1970–1994: Mixed fortunes outside the top flight
The aforementioned 3rd Division hiatus lasted only two seasons though, they were then promoted back to the Second Division as runners-up in 1970-71. This spell also saw Fulham invited to the not particularly prestigious Anglo-Italian Cup, which saw the club draw four out of four games in two appearances in tournament between 1972 and 1974. Thus started of a period of high-profile signings for the club under Alec Stock in the mid-70s, including Alan Mullery and Bobby Moore. The reward of this was their only ever FA Cup final in 1975, having won their first semi-final in five attempts. The club then lost to West Ham in the final. This gained the club qualification to another low-key European tournament, the Anglo-Scottish Cup, where they made the final, losing to Middlesbrough.
That run in the FA Cup saw the setting of an improbable record, that of the most games needed to reach the final, Fulham playing 11 games including replays. In the build up to the 12th game, the Wembley final, Tony Rees and The Cottagers released a single, "Viva el Fulham" (based on Manolo Escobar's "Y viva España") which is still played (and occasionally chanted) at Fulham games. It reached No.46 in the Pop Charts in 1975. The club set another record in the 70s, when they took part in the first ever British league game to be played on a Sunday against Millwall F.C. in 1974, which was staged at The Den.[16]
| 1969-71 | Football League Div. 3 | (Level 3) |
|---|---|---|
| 1971-80 | Football League Div. 2 | (Level 2) |
| 1980-82 | Football League Div. 3 | (Level 3) |
| 1982-86 | Football League Div. 2 | (Level 2) |
| 1986-94 | Football League Div. 3/2 | (Level 3) |
George Best played 47 times for the club in the 1976-77 season. Rodney Marsh, who having grown up with Fulham in the 60s went on to play 1st Division football and play for England, rejoined the club in the same season, playing only 16 games. This capped one of the most successful eras in Fulham history.
The hangover from this meant the club were relegated again after winning only 11 in 42 in the 1979-80 season, which saw Bobby Campbell's sacking to be replaced by Malcolm Macdonald. With a strong squad during his 1980-84 period in charge (with players such as Ray Houghton, Tony Gale, Paul Parker, Gerry Peyton and Ray Lewington), they won promotion again in 1981-82 back to Division 2. In 1980, Fulham founded the rugby league club that is now Harlequins Rugby League designed to be an extra stream of income for the football club. Then called 'Fulham Rugby League', they played at Craven Cottage until moving away from the parent club in 1984.
Fulham narrowly missed out on back-to-back promotions to the First Division, losing 1-0 to Derby away on the last day of the 1982-83 season - although the match was abandoned after 88 mins due to a pitch invasion. The side which had shown so much promise was gradually sold off and broken up as the club had debts to pay off, so it was little surprise when the club were relegated again to the Third Division in 1986. The club nearly went out of business in 1987 and the same year saw the break-down of an ill-advised merger attempt with QPR. It was only the intervention of ex-player Jimmy Hill that allowed the club to stay in business as a re-structured 'Fulham FC 1987 Ltd.' In 1987 the club took part in what was one of the longest penalty shoot-outs recorded - it needed 28 spot kicks to sort out a winner between them and Aldershot following a Freight Rover Trophy match.
In 1992 the foundation of the Premier League saw Fulham's division of the time, the 3rd Division, re-named the 2nd Division. However the club were relegated from that to the new 3rd Division after a poor 1993-94 season, seeing the club in the basement of the Football League, with Ian Branfoot appointed as new manager.
[edit] 1994-96: Fulham's lowest ebb
| 1994-97 | Football League Div. 3 | (Level 4) |
|---|
After a 8th place finish in Branfoot's first season in charge the club hit its historical rock bottom with its performance in the 1995-96 season, finishing 17th out of 24.[17][18] This season included a loss against Torquay United, who were at the time rock bottom of the Division, with Fulham just one place above them. Branfoot was soon sacked as Manager, but remained at the club in other capacities for a short while.
However, in February 1996 the club appointed then-player Micky Adams as manager, and it was in the summer of that year that his revolution really took off. That signalled the start of the new era of Fulham Football Club.
Micky Adams was appointed as manager and oversaw an upturn in form that lifted the side out of what little relegation danger was present. The next season he engineered a complete turnaround in form and his side, captained by Simon Morgan, finished second - only missing out on first place due to the league dropping the old "goal difference" system in favour of a "goals scored" tally. (While Fulham's goal difference was one better than that of champions Wigan Athletic, they scored twelve fewer goals.) This was somewhat ironic, as the club's then Chairman Jimmy Hill, had successfully argued that goals scored should decide places of teams tied on points while sitting on an FA panel.
[edit] 1997–2001: Al Fayed's revolution
| 1997-99 | Football League Div. 2 | (Level 3) |
|---|---|---|
| 1999-01 | Football League Div. 1 | (Level 2) |
| 2001- | Premier League | (Level 1) |
Millionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed purchased the club that summer and fired Adams in the aftermath of a poor start. He installed a two-tier management "dream team" of Ray Wilkins (as First Team Manager) and Kevin Keegan (as Chief Operating Officer),[19] pledging that the club would reach the Premier League within five years.
After an argument over team selection, Wilkins left the club in May 1998 to hand over the full managerial duties to Keegan, who steered the club to a spectacular promotion the next season, winning 101 points out of a possible 138, after splashing £1.1 million to sign Paul PeschisolidoChris Coleman - then the most expensive footballer outside the top two divisions of the English league.[20] Keegan then left to become manager of the England team, and veteran player Paul Bracewell was put in charge. from West Brom who was top scorer and captained by
Bracewell was sacked in March 2000, as Fulham's promising early season form dwindled away to mid-table mediocrity. Frenchman Jean Tigana was put in charge and having signed a number of young stars, including French striker Louis Saha, he guided Fulham to their third promotion in five seasons in the 2000-01 season in emphatic style, scoring 27 goals in 46 games. That gave Fulham top flight status for the first time since 1968, which had only taken four years - one shorter than Al Fayed's pledge. During this season club captain and subsequent manager, Chris Coleman, was involved in a car crash which put him out of action for well over a year and eventually ended his playing career after he failed to make a sufficient recovery. Fulham's run through the divisions saw many players come and go, but the only player to play for the club in all four leagues was Sean Davis, one of few players to ever have played in all four divisions of professional football with one team.
[edit] 2001-present: Premier League
Fulham returned to the top division of English football, and competed in the Premier League for the first time. The club finished the 2001–02 season mid-table, in 13th place. Fulham were the only team to host top-flight football with some standing areas in the 21st Century, but due to restrictions on standing this was not allowed to continue. Fulham were forced to groundshareQPR at Loftus Road during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons while Craven Cottage was being rebuilt as an all-seated stadium. with
In 2002-03 Fulham spent most of the season near the bottom of the table. Chairman Mohammed Fayed told manager Jean Tigana that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season. Tigana broke the club record for most expensive signing, buying Steve MarletOlympique Lyonnais for £11.5 million. With five games to go, and relegation still possible, Tigana was sacked, and Chris Coleman was temporarily put in charge. Fulham won 10 points from a possible 15 and managed to avoid relegation. from
Coleman was given the manager's job on a permanent basis in the summer of 2003 and despite predictions that the inexperience of Coleman would result in Fulham's relegation,[21] he kept the club well clear of relegation, guiding them to a club record ninth place finish in his debut season. This might have been greater had the club not come under significant financial pressure to sell Louis Saha to Manchester United, for which they received a club record £13 million. The final day of the season saw them win 2–0 away to Bolton.
Coleman notched up another impressive performance in the 2004–05 season and guided Fulham to a secure 13th place finish.
The 2005–06 season proved a tougher affair, but safety was once again mathematically assured with three games left of the season and a 1–0 win over Wigan Athletic. There were three relative high points in an inconsistent season: a 6-1 rout of West Bromwich Albion, a 1–0 win over rivals and champions Chelsea in the West London derby, and a 2–0 win over 2005 European champions Liverpool F.C. Fulham's home form was the best outside the top six, with 12 wins from 18 games, while their away form was the worst in the entire league with one win and four draws from 18 games. A game they were winning away 1–0, versus Sunderland, was abandoned after 21 minutes because of persistent snowfall. Finally, on 29 April 2006, Fulham achieved a first away victory of the campaign with a 2-1 win over Manchester City F.C. Despite the difficulties experienced throughout this season, Fulham achieved a 12th place finish — an improvement on the previous campaign.
Fulham did not get off to a good start in 2006–07, losing their first match 5-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. This result consigned them to the foot of the table and left them as the season's favourites for early relegation contenders with the bookies; but then recovered well and were riding as high as 8th at one point in December 2006.
During the January transfer window Coleman added Russian midfielder Alexey Smertin, American winger Clint Dempsey, and Welsh compatriot Simon Davies to the squad, and captured exciting loan signing Vincenzo Montella. Between mid-December and May however, Fulham only won a single game, a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United. In the same time period Fulham drew 9 games and lost 4. Additionally Fulham were dumped meekly out of the FA CupTottenham Hotspur. On the 10 April 2007, following defeats at the hands of Manchester City (3-1) and Everton (4-1) Fulham Football Club terminated the contracts of Chris ColemanNorthern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez and Les Reed were put in temporary charge. 4–0 by and Steve Kean with immediate effect, while
Sanchez did not have the immediate impact that the Fulham board would have hoped for. With 5 games to save the season, Sanchez managed only a point from the first 3; a home-draw against Blackburn Rovers sandwiched between away defeats to Reading and Arsenal. In Sanchez's fourth game, Fulham took on Liverpool, who were preparing for the UEFA Champions League final against A.C. Milan. Liverpool's manager Rafael Benítez made 9 changes to his starting 11 for the game, much to the annoyance of Sheffield United and West Ham United, who were also struggling in the league. Fulham defeated the second-string Liverpool side 1-0 via a second half Clint Dempsey goal (his first for Fulham), earning Sanchez his first victory and ensuring safety for Fulham. They finished the season with a 3-1 defeat away to Middlesbrough.
Despite a return of just 4 points from a possible 15, Sanchez had retained Fulham's top-flight status and was rewarded for his efforts with a permanent contract, subsequently resigning as Northern Ireland manager on Friday 11 May 2007.[22]
Sanchez received strong financial backing from the board and made a number of signings during the summer-break. The most expensive of these additions was striker Diomansy Kamara, a £6 million signing from Championship outfit West Bromwich Albion. However, the majority of Sanchez's purchases were players from the Northern Ireland set-up, including Steven Davis, David Healy, Aaron Hughes and Chris Baird.
Fulham showed signs of improvement from the previous season and were unfortunate not to start the 2007–08 season with a victory, after leading Premier League title contenders ArsenalEmirates Stadium. Healy scored his first for Fulham by taking advantage of a mistake by the Gunners' keeper Jens Lehmann in the opening minute. However Robin Van Persie replied from the penalty spot before Alexander Hleb added the winner in the 90th minute. Fulham brushed aside this disappointment to beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the following match. Despite defensive frailties, the Whites had begun their first-full season under Sanchez by playing attractive, attacking football. In their third fixture of the season, at home to Gareth Southgate's Middlesbrough, striker and club captain McBride was seriously injured in the process of opening the scoring, before Tony Warner's mistake allowed 'Boro back into the game. Fulham's misery and Sanchez's fury was compounded when Healy's injury time strike was incorrectly ruled out by the linesman, despite clearly crossing the goal-line.[citation needed][23][24] for 84 minutes at the
Following this result, Fulham registered several draws, including two six-goal thrillers against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Both games showcased the good and bad aspects of Fulham's play under Sanchez - incisive attacking football undone by continued poor defending. Sanchez attempted a more direct style of play to grab an elusive win but his squad were ill-suited to long ball football. Though the former Wimbledon defender oversaw a second win of the campaign at home to Reading, he was dismissed on 21 December 2007, with Fulham in the relegation zone. His case was not helped by the number of Championship-quality players he signed and his reliance on a high-defensive line, despite employing relatively slow personnel.[25]
Roy Hodgson was named as the new manager of Fulham on 28 December 2007, and took up his contractual duties on 30 December 2007[26], just two days before the January transfer window opened. The squad's spine was strengthened with the signings of Brede Hangeland, Leon Andreasen, Eddie Johnson, Erik Nevland and veteran former Liverpool striker, Jari Litmanen. Canadian captain and right-back Paul Stalteri and Finland's Toni Kallio were also signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur and Young Boys, respectively. This new look squad was complemented by the return of key players and fan favourites Brian McBride and Jimmy Bullard. Both would prove to be hugely influential in Fulham's end-of-season run-in.
Hodgson's tenure started with a 2-1 loss to Chelsea on New Year's Day, followed by a goalless draw with Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium before he claimed his first win five days later against Aston Villa, courtesy of a trademark Bullard free-kick. Despite this positive start, Fulham struggled to build momentum and their form remained patchy throughout March. Hodgson did however add a second victory on 16 March 2008, against an Everton side chasing the fourth and final UEFA Champions League qualification spot. Former Toffees Simon DaviesMcBride combined, with the latter heading home to secure a 1–0 win at Craven Cottage. and
Again however, Fulham failed to maintain a consistent run of form following a victory. A drab 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Roy Keane's Sunderland side left Hodgson on the verge of tears in the post-match press conference and many pundits writing off Fulham's survival chances.[27] Fans contended that although Hodgson's side were markedly improved defensively, and retained possession much better than under either Coleman or Sanchez, with aesthetically pleasing football, a lack of fire power up-front and the failure to settle on a first-choice 11 had hurt the team and caused vital points to be dropped.
Despite the negative press Hodgson continued to believe survival was attainable and rallied his team to win four of their remaining five games and secure their Premier League status for the 2008–09 season. This incredible run of form started with a first away win in 34 attempts against relegation rivals Reading. However, for many fans the turning point of the season came two games later, against Manchester City. Fulham trailed 2–0 at half-time and due to results in other fixtures, were mathematically relegated. However the introduction of the much maligned Diomansy Kamara heralded the start of a fantastic comeback. Kamara struck twice as Fulham registered a 3-2 victory and second consecutive away win.
This result set the scene for a "six-pointer" against fellow strugglers Birmingham City at Craven Cottage. McBride and Erik Nevland struck to lift Fulham out of the relegation zone for the first time in months and leave survival in the club's own hands.
Barring a goal-rush from Reading, a win against a Portsmouth side looking ahead to their first FA Cup Final appearance in 69 years would guarantee survival. This however would be no easy feat. Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, himself a survivor of several relegation scrapes (West Ham in 1995 and 1997 as well as Portsmouth in 2006), promised to field a full-strength side. More importantly Fulham had never recorded three consecutive victories in the Premier League, much less three consecutive away wins. Fulham's fans travelled to Fratton Park expecting a tense final-day and they weren't disappointed. In fact, with 15 minutes to play Fulham were again mathematically relegated with Birmingham City and Reading leading comfortably. However Kamara earned Fulham a free-kick with 76 minutes played, and Bullard's delivery found Danny Murphy who headed home the decisive goal, sparking manic celebrations from the travelling fans. Hodgson had ensured survival against all odds, breaking several club records in the process and cementing his place in Fulham folklore.
Fulham reached the quarter finals of the 2008-09 FA Cup, eventually losing at home to Manchester United. In the league they finished seventh, earning qualification for the inaugural UEFA Europa League, the second time that the club had entered a UEFA competition.
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