Cast your mind back a few weeks……………….frustration, anger and overwhelming feelings of helplessness…………watching our beloved Fulham being ceremoniously flushed down the Championship toilet.  Bad times……….so bad in fact that I felt compelled to write to our Chief Executive pleading for him to “DO SOMETHING!!” Imagine my surprise when not only did I get a reply but was invited to Motspur Park...to discuss various decisions “both good and bad” the email said.  Well I didn’t need asking twice – the appointment was made and the list of questions compiled.  Many of my own together with those posted to me on Twitter.

Then before we could meet, my prayers were answered…..’Fulham say farewell to Magath and the crazy world of Felix the madcap’ the headline read.  Huge sigh of relief…..followed by a ‘do you still want to come in?’ email from Alistair Mackintosh’s PA.  Damn right I do! Magath’s reign may have finally been toppled but what on earth had been going on behind the scenes at Fulham and were we to believe all the crazy rumours and stories we were being fed?  I still wanted answers. 

So the eagerly anticipated day arrived – Wednesday 24^th September.   Myself and a lifelong Fulham friend of mine went to the training ground and were led to the boardroom.  After being delayed by 20 minutes and repeatedly apologised to for the delay, Mr Mackintosh arrived full of apologies but telling us we could have the next 2 hours of his time.  He is clearly a very polished CEO and how much of his charm is PR I’m not sure, but all the same I warmed to him immediately and thought he seemed  like a 'decent bloke'.  I wasn’t born yesterday and can be fairly cynical at times but I felt he was a genuine guy who has Fulham’s best interests at heart and gave straight honest answers within his capacity without compromising his position.

The list was produced and we all settled in for a long Q&A session.

First up, why was Martin Jol given so long? We hit 40 points, the players stepped off the gas and switched their boots for flipflops.  Then results went against us and we got dragged into the dropzone.  In the meantime, the sale of the club was going through and for the sake of stability we kept him on.  He is a fairly insecure guy, Mr Jol, and it appears that his confidence took a severe knock at this point. Going in to the new season with a new owner we had renewed faith but again results didn’t go our way.  Jol was getting increasingly anxious so the club installed Rene as his number 2.  Unfortunately, it was too late and Martin Jol was a broken man – his confidence gone…… he and Fulham parted ways.

Why wasn’t Rene given long enough? Rene didn’t want the number 1 role – he was happy to be number 2 but as he was in place the club went with him.  Ali Mac agreed that he didn’t think Rene was ready so they installed Alan Curbishley to boost Rene’s management team.    As reported, no-one really knew who was in charge and when Rene requested Wilkins join him on the bench it was chaos.  It didn’t work out so Fulham decided to take drastic action……………oh the beauty of hindsight……………..

Why did we employ Magath given his reputation?  It was his reputation and credentials of saving clubs from relegation that caught the club’s eye.  We know what happened next………..but despite Mr Mackintosh confirming that Felix didn’t like him, he wouldn’t be pressured into letting on what he thought of Felix.  He did however confirm that the new players he signed and the youth players he brought in liked him…………………well they would wouldn’t they????

Was it true that Scott Parker paid £20,000’s worth fines on behalf of some youth players who were late for a training session? No. One of the players wasn’t even fined as he wasn’t in the first team and the other player was fined a week’s wages which at that level would be around £2,000 (if that). It was agreed that even so it had been a nice gesture on Scotty’s part.

It was at this point that I asked Al, as I now like to call him, how much power he has when it comes to appointing managers.  He jokingly stated that he has no say in the team selection which was a good thing but that whilst he is not responsible for manager decisions, he does have ‘some input’.  For the record, he is totally behind Kit and says that the vibe around MP is so much better recently.

What about the summer exodus? Why did so many leave? I will keep this bit brief but in short, the players who left were to be fair, responsible for our relegation.  They didn’t play well and whilst a lot of that can be attributed to the manager and his passion for bingo, weird decisions - Dan Burn at RB v Stoke, and love of cheese, at the end of the day it is the 11 lads on the pitch that count.  They didn’t step up when it mattered.  Here is a brief outline:-

Hangeland – didn’t want Championship football, lined up a deal with QPR, stalled on re-signing for us so we said if you don’t want to play for us goodbye.  His release papers were emailed to him because he was on holiday in the Maldives. He eventually signed for Palace.

Sidwell – wanted to stay at Fulham but also wanted more money so we said no.

Stockdale – Magath wouldn’t guarantee him the No.1 shirt (which to be fair he can’t) and Brighton came in with a 3 year deal with the offer of No 1. He hasn’t had to move his family and I for one don’t begrudge him leaving.  He has to put his family first.

Mitroglou – recovering from an injury when we signed him. Played for U21s & scored twice. Played for Greece.  Sustained another completely different injury in training.  I believe this was not publicised too much in case Magath’s training regime was criticised.  He is now on loan is regaining his form, earning us an income and he will either return or be sold to recover his money.  

There were many other questions for which we received totally reasonable answers.  Mr Mackintosh repeatedly told us that the club is in good hands and that whilst maybe not as visible as Mr Al Fayed, Mr Khan is fully committed to the club and has been present at more games than we think.  I suggested that as fans, it is reasonable for us to be nervous of a  foreign owner living abroad, being involved in a completely different sport but was reassured that our club is in a better position now financially than it has been for a very long time. I suggested that Mr Khan’s relationship with the fans may be improved if we actually set eyes on him and he agreed that my comments were fair.

I was able to suggest that we reinstate some fans to the board and increase our fans forums. I was even so bold as to suggest a Fan Liaison Officer……………..on £50,000.....part-time but sadly he wasn’t forthcoming in offering me the job……..

Mr Mackintosh has secured many sponsorship deals including Marathonbet tying us in for decent periods of time so that despite our Championship status we have probably one of the best sponsorships outside the Premier League. I believe that he is good at what he does and clearly has a huge love of Fulham.  Love him, hate him, blame him for whatever……………I was left with a good feeling.  I felt valued, that my opinion mattered.  That I could get answers……………..my 37 years of support was appreciated and recognised.   My friend who accompanied me felt the same. He has been a fan for over 40 years – there is not much we haven’t seen at the Cottage.    

Since our meeting, we have won 2 league games and Kit can totally take the credit for that.  Kit has galvanised the team, steadied the boat and gained a valuable 6 points.  I personally hope he is given the job permanently. I believe that in Kit we have hope and in Alistair Mackintosh we have experience, commitment and ambition.

The whole experience for me was really refreshing and has given me renewed hope and faith in the club.  I hope that what I have shared will do the same for you……………it’s not easy being a Fulham fan but being a valued and listened to fan has been extremely uplifting.  I believe that it is time for us to really get behind the Club, Team, Manager, CEO and Owner.  We are all in this together and our time is now.

Come on You Whites!

 Rachel Wright

@geezer_bird

Views are my own.