Fulham - end-of-season report
Fulham - fan's 2007/08 end-of-season report
Monday, 02, Jun 2008 07:05
Good, bad or just the same old, same old? What the fans made of the 2007/08 season.
Fulham fans would have been optimistic going into the 2007/08 season, with former Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez cutting all ties with the national side to take on the job at Craven Cottage full-time.
Sanchez had done a satisfactory job when combining the two jobs towards the end of the previous season after the Cottagers terminated the contract of Chris Coleman in April 2007.
Euro 2008 qualifying top-scorer David Healy joined Sanchez in the close season, while fellow Northern Irish counterparts Steven Davis, Aaron Hughes and Chris Baird also followed Sanchez to west London.
However, Diomansy Kamara was brought in with the job of firing the goals to push Fulham up the table, following his £6 million arrival from West Brom.
But a bad run of luck in the early part of the season and some poor performances saw the Cottagers spend a large percentage of this time in the relegation zone and chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed decided in December that Sanchez's time was up.
Experienced nomadic coach Roy Hodgson was brought in to try and keep Fulham in the Premier League, but despite a team restructure in the January transfer window Fulham seemed doomed for relegation come April.
But four wins in their last five games, including three away wins on the bounce, saw Hodgson pull off what was referred to as the "great escape" - ending the season on a high when, in reality, 17th place out of 20 is a big disappointment.
Grade: C
High Point
Defeat at the City of Manchester Stadium, with three games remaining, would have certainly spelt the end of Fulham's stint in the Premier League.
And with 20 minutes left every fan of Hodgson's charges would have been preparing to tackle the likes of London rivals Crystal Palace next season after Stephen Ireland and Benjani had put Manchester City 2-0 up.
But substitute Kamara gave Fulham a glimmer of hope before Danny Murphy equalised with ten minutes left.
Then, in the dying seconds and with a draw not enough for Fulham, Kamara struck again to keep the Cottagers hopes of avoiding relegation alive.
Low Point
Fulham had some rotten luck at the start of the season, with injury-time goals from Arsenal and Aston Villa leading to 2-1 defeats, while David Healy wrongly had a goal disallowed in a defeat against Middlesbrough.
However, long term injuries to key striker Brian McBride - who dislocated his left kneecap while scoring in the Middlesbrough defeat - and playmaker Jimmy Bullard, who also picked up a knee injury weeks later against Newcastle, were big turning points in the Cottagers' season.
Both were key players for Fulham and it was no coincidence that Hodgson's side began to improve when both returned late in the season.
The manager
Roy Hodgson pulled off one of the masterstrokes of the century in keeping Fulham in the Premier League.
Fulham were 19th when Hodgson arrived just after Christmas and early results didn't call for much optimism among the Craven Cottage faithful.
Hodgson used all his European intuition to seek out the likes of Brede Hangeland, Leon Andreasen and Erik Nevland in the transfer window to rejuvenate the side, whose morale must have been at an all-time low.
Things didn't click straight away and a draw at bottom side Derby and a home defeat against Sunderland had the fans wanting Hodgson out. But these attitudes are now a distant memory, with top-flight safety secured and optimism replacing pessimism ahead of what could be an exciting summer.
Fan's Player of the Year
- Danny Murphy -
Although fairly quiet for much of the season, Danny Murphy stepped up to be counted when it mattered.
When the Cottagers really needed goals, the former Liverpool man found two of the most crucial.
He struck the equaliser in the 3-2 win at Manchester City and then headed home the only goal of the game against Portsmouth on the final day - a goal which could make Fulham approximately £35 million better off than they would have been in the Championship.
Needs for Next Season
Fulham's form over the last six games would have earned them a Champions League place if they could have done it over the 38-game season, but it shows that the team is useful when there is a full quota of players to choose from.
Hodgson will be looking for a more prolific goalscorer after Clint Dempsey ended this year with the club's golden boot with a miserly six goals.
Manchester United reject Louis Saha has been touted for a possible Craven Cottage return to try to help the team score more than 38 goals next season, and his abilities - if he can stay fit - would be more than welcome on the banks of the Thames.
Conceding 60 goals is also too many and a new goalkeeper may also be targeted.
Craig Kemp