In The Shadow of Giants by Leandro Vignoli

Author:Leandro Vignoli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
Published: 2021-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Next stop: London, England

Distance: 663km (412 miles)

How to get there: Nine hours and 50 minutes by bus

Best advice: Forget what I just said about saving money. Just take the train

Soundtrack: ‘Enjoy Yourself’ by The Specials

CHAPTER 8

NOBODY HATES FULHAM

Fulham 1-1 Leeds United

Craven Cottage

Tuesday, 7 March 2017

Championship (Second Division)

Attendance: 22,239

London is football’s capital, with clubs from all walks of life, whether a local community club like Sutton United, or the nouveau riche like Chelsea, but only one is the oldest club and that’s Fulham Football Club. Different postal codes give London an aspect of many cities within a city, and the rough area around The Den in the south-east is definitely not the same as the posh south-west, where attractions include Buckingham Palace, Hugh Grant and the oldest football stadium, and that’s Craven Cottage of Fulham Football Club. Every team in London, stereotypically or not, is associated with a certain type of fan base: Arsenal is multicultural, Tottenham is the local Jewish, Millwall and West Ham are working-class dockers, Chelsea are ex-hooligans, and one fan base is particularly friendly and that’s Fulham Football Club.

The Craven Cottage stadium is on the banks of the River Thames, a pleasant walk through a promenade along the river or by impressive Victorian houses from Hammersmith station. Either way is gorgeous and touristy, although I had a stop to make at Chancellors Pub to meet Daniel Crawford and his friends for the traditional pre-match flat pints. Crawford is a local Labour councillor and board member of the Fulham Supporters’ Club, and has been a true Fulham FC fanatic since 1993. ‘I was first taken to the Cottage by my neighbours, and it was a different experience from what I expected because there was no one there,’ he says. ‘The club was bad at the time, even losing to non-league clubs in the FA Cup. It was more like a social occasion for me, and that is what initially got me hooked. I take it more seriously now.’

Fulham beat Swansea 3-1 on that day in November 1993 with 3,000 people at the Cottage, as the team finished that season relegated to the fourth division. In the opening weeks of 1996, Fulham was 91st of the 92 clubs in the Football League, and it is part of their supporters’ culture to brag about how the club was once ranked second from bottom in the entire country and ten years later was promoted to the Premier League. ‘Supporting Fulham is like being on a roller coaster,’ says Liam, who is at the table, a tall and corpulent, long-haired man with a sailor tattoo on his forearm. After a decade in the Premier League, Fulham is back to the second division now.

Unlike the club’s darkest period, however, average home attendance increased from 4,200 fans in the 1995/96 season to nearly 20,000 only five seasons later. All matches at Craven Cottage are normally sold out these days, although it is easier to find tickets on the spot compared with other, bigger clubs in London.

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