Fulham Football Team

Jean Tigana and Fulham find themselves in rented accommodation at Loftus Road this season but their bid to establish themselves as a major force in the Barclaycard Premiership continues apace

Fulham has enjoyed a remarkable rise to the top tier of English football. As the F.A. Premier League kicked off in 1992, Fulham were simply hoping to avoid relegation to the Third Division.

Three years later, the Craven Cottage club was in danger of falling off the footballing map altogether – but those days seem like a distant memory now. Flamboyant chairman Mohammed Al Fayed dreamt of Fulham winning the F.A. Premier League and invested heavily in pursuit of his ambition.

After cruising to the First Division title in 2001, Al Fayed’s expensively-assembled team was able to stand toe to toe with England’s finest club sides. With former French midfield star Jean Tigana as coach, Fulham kicked-off the new season at Manchester United and showed they belonged in the top division with some sparkling football, despite a 3-2 defeat.

Following an impressive first campaign in the F.A. Premier League, ambitious Fulham are one of the teams to watch this season, with World Cup star Junichi Inamoto among the exciting additions.

Fulham Football Club History

Formed by a group of church-goers in 1879, the name Fulham was adopted in 1888 and the club had various home addresses before settling in at their current Craven Cottage base in 1896.

The Cottagers entered the Football League in 1907 and had to wait over 40 years before securing their top-flight place, spending three seasons in Division One before a return the Second Division.

Their second spell in the First Division was more successful. Talisman Johnny Haynes, who made 594 league appearances for the club between 1952 and 1970 and earned 56 England caps, helped Fulham survive at the top for the majority of the 1960s.

Legendary figures Bobby Moore, George Best and Rodney Marsh were signed by the club in the mid-1970s, but even though their combined talents could not bring about a return to the main stage Fulham soon gained a worthy reputation for their attractive style of play.

The 1980s and 1990s proved testing and Fulham’s league status was threatened before new chairman Mohamed Al Fayed financed a staggering revival.

The Harrods owner’s dreams came true in 2001 when Fulham took the First Division by storm to secure promotion to the FA Premier League, and under the hugely influential Jean Tigana the Cottagers secured a highly-respectable 13th place finish.