I guess the best way to describe how I feel today would be to take you back to July of 2005 during Fulham's preseason tour in Columbus, Ohio here in the States. After watching the Cottagers get run off the pitch in two friendlies against the Columbus Crew and the MLS (Major League Soccer_ All-Stars my brother Mike and I were less than impressed. In fact, I remember Mike telling me during the final match against the All-Stars that Fulham was going to get relegated. Unfortunately, I could create a strong case to refute what he said as the Whites were coming off a 13th place finish in the Premier League and had not done anything significant in the offseason to strengthen the squad.
But my friends, we are not in Columbus anymore. The days of struggling to stay up in the Premier League are a thing of the past with Roy Hodgson at the helm. Gone are the days when each and every match was a struggle and the football was hard on the eyes. This club has turned the corner. We are not duking it out with the teams at the foot of the table, we are fighting and beating teams that traditionally have dominated the Premier League and teams around Europe that are champions of their respective leagues. It feels like I am dreaming. Fortunately, I am not. This is real. And it is fun to be a part of from a supporter perspective.
This past week has in my opinion been the best week I can remember as a Fulham supporter. Things started in Switzerland in a must win or go home match against FC Basle. The Cottagers stepped up and won 3-2 and advanced to the knockout stage of the tournament. As if that were not enough, the Whites returned home to Craven Cottage on Saturday and not just defeated Manchester United, but outplayed them and ran them off the pitch in a shocking 3-0 victory.
Wins in Europe and wins over Manchester United do not occur often for clubs like Fulham. But to secure two historic wins in a matter of four days was about as good as it gets. I can only imagine what it has been like for the Fulham supporters who were at each of those matches. I watched both matches on television here in Chicago and could not stop smiling at what I was seeing. The style of football and the end results were enough to make any supporter as proud as he/she could be in the way this Fulham team has transformed itself into a legitimate contender for a European spot once again this season.
Manchester United supporters can make the claim that injuries played a major part in Fulham's win on Saturday. While that might be the case in the United defense, the attacking options Sir Alex Ferguson played in Rooney, Owen and Berbatov and world class and they could not crack the Fulham defense. If you can't score, you can't win.
Fortunately, Fulham did score and scored often. Danny Murphy, who has been a thorn in the side of Manchester United, opened the scoring the 22nd minute with a 30-yard shot past Tomasz Kuszczak. From that point on, it was all Fulham all the time. Second into the second half, Mr. Bobby Zamora scored his 10th league goal of the season to double Fulham's lead. Damien Duff rounded out the scoring late on to make it a 3-0 final.
If you did not watch or attend the match I cannot stress to you enough how dominant Fulham was today. Truth be told, they missed some good opportunites to score more. It could have easily been 4 or 5 goals on the day. In fact, in the last ten minutes of the match, it could be heard on the television the Fulham supporters chanting, "We want four. We want four". It was as though we were playing against a lower level club when in fact it was the mighty Manchester United that was for once on the opposite end of a major league beatdown at the hands of our Cottagers.
Fulham is playing exceptionally well right now and truth be told, there is no telling how high this team can finish in the league or how far they can advance in Europe. There is a long way to go in each competition. However, Fulham has made it be known that last season was not a fluke and that they will be any team a match on any day in any stadium. That my friends is a far cry from the Cottager team my brother and I saw back in Columbus in July of 2005.
I know I have said this in the past, but a quick word of advice to my fellow Fulham supporters would be to enjoy this right now. These matches and results we have seen over the past few days don't come often for a club like this. I never dreamed in a million years that this would happen to the club I love so dear. Well, it is happening and it is a fun ride to be on.
I wish I could give you more words to tell you how I feel, but words are not there. Emotion has gotten the best of me and stripped me of more to say. It is snowing and freezing cold outside here in Chicago but in honor of today's historic win, beers are in order with a fire in the backyard tonight with some family visiting. I will enjoy the beers and drink in honor of Fulham Football Club. They have given us an early Christmas present and like the Denver Nuggets Starter jacket my parents gave me at Christmas when I was 12 years old, I will not forget this.
What are your thoughts and feelings about the past few days for Fulham? Are you like me in the sense that you are in shock at what has occurred during the last two matches? I would like to read what you have to say. Share your thoughts and feelings with us all. We are all part of the Fulham family and we are all one for Fulham!!
Well done Fulham!!!!!!
RSS feed