“If some stupid fans don’t understand and appreciate such a gift this guy gave to the world they can go to hell”.
This is a quote from Fulham owner Mohammed Al Fayed, after the clubs fans reacted angrily to a statue of late singer Michael Jackson being erected outside of Craven Cottage.
As rumours circulate today that Al Fayed could be ready to sell up and end his love affair with Fulham Football Club, this one incident in many ways sums up his ownership style. A little odd but ultimately memorable.
The often out-spoken Egyptian ended this tirade by stating that any fans that were unhappy with the statue could go to watch Chelsea instead as he didn’t want them as fans. Of course, the fans had every right to dislike the statue. There were two very obvious drawbacks:
Jackson had no obvious affiliation with Fulham, other than attending one match in 1999.
and
Even the most die-hard MJ fan had to admit that the statue looked pretty shoddy.
But Al Fayed proceeded anyway because make no mistake, he invariably gets what he wants and he will only run the club as he sees fit. Any fans that don’t agree can, of course, “go to hell”.
In 1997, what Mohammed Al Fayed wanted was to buy Fulham FC and have them in the Premier League within 5 years. In 2001, under Al Fayed’s leadership, Fulham won what is now the Championship with an impressive 101 points amassed.
Al Fayed bought Fulham after they had just received promotion to what is now League 1. A fledgling squad was tasked with this demand by Al Fayed to be in the Premier League in 5 year’s time. The task seemed mammoth, possibly even unobtainable. But Al Fayed put his money where his mouth was and gave Fulham every chance of achieving just that.
A managerial dream team of Kevin Keegan and Ray Wilkins was installed, with Keegan eventually leaving to take over as England manager after having secured promotion from the third tier. The wheels were already firmly in motion and Fulham’s meteoric rise had begun.
Frenchman Jean Tigana took over second tier Fulham in 2000 and helped further the success. Outside of promotion Tigana’s other major achievement can be noted as the acquisition of French striker Louis Saha, who would eventually be sold to Manchester United for more than the £6.75million that Al Fayed had originally bought the club for.
This was the kind of deal that Fulham had not seen the likes of just 4 years earlier and evidence of how far they had come.
Now, 12 years on from that promotion Fulham still find themselves plying their trade in the Premier League. Marquee signings like last summer’s purchase of striker Dimitar Berbatov are not exactly the norm but not entirely rare either, the kind of deal that an established Premier League club like Fulham are capable of making.
Fulham achieved safety last season under Martin Jol and there have been numerous other managers who have also contributed heavily to their continued top flight status but the chairmen surely deserves a bulk of the credit.
The facts are simple;
-1997, Fulham are a third tier side with not a lot of hope for further progression.
-Mohammed Al Fayed invests nearly £200million of his own money over the next decade.
-2013, Fulham are a Premier League side. They play a derby twice a season against local rivals Chelsea and were runners up in the 2010 Europa League.
It’s not a bad situation they find themselves in.
It’s this impact that has given Al Fayed free reign over Fulham. During my research for the opening of this article and the Michael Jackson statue I came across a lot of hate for the statue but none for Al Fayed. Comments varied from “I like the chairmen but I don’t like the statue” right up to “the chairmen is god here...if that’s what he wants to do then that’s what he wants to do, we don’t argue”.
Fulham fans seemed thrilled with the contribution of the former Harrods owner and I don’t blame them, the transformation of the clubs fortunes is phenomenal and one that we are unlikely to see again elsewhere. So they can allow him the odd eccentricity.
Naturally, Fulham supporters will be disappointed with the suggestion that their beloved owner could soon be departing but at 84 years old he deserves to be without the stress of owning a Premier League football club. 13 (and counting) straight Premier League seasons is a huge achievement for the diminutive London club and one that some of their local rivals such as West Ham and QPR could only dream of.
Whoever the next owner of Fulham FC is has a wonderful base to build on as they strive to take the club forward. Fulham fans, as you already know, you can thank Mr Al Fayed for that.
One things for certain though, no matter how impressed you are with Al Fayed and the money he has seemingly selflessly ploughed into football over the last 16 years one thing cannot be denied; the Jacko statue does look bloody awful.