THE TALE OF THE MANY MESSIAHS - Del 2/2
Daniel Crawford, en av våra män i London, slutför sin artikel om hur resan mot toppen började...
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Little Fulham were making headlines again but if anyone had suggested that Al-Fayed was to buy the club I would have sent them into hospital for observation. He did, but it was clear he wanted a big-name manager to bring the necessary glamour to attract the fans (Adams had kept the gate above
5,000 but Al-Fayed wanted more). Adams was not happy to work under Keegan and so the club and its young manager parted company. Keegan was not tempted away from the sanctity of the golf course for the cutthroat business of management, instead becoming Director of Football under Ray Wilkins. Wilkins reign was frustrating and thankfully short. He wanted to create eleven Ray Wilkins´ and wanted them to play pretty football. However, shooting outside the area became something foreign to the lads and Wilkins didn´t last the season.
Keegan was the only man to take over, with his appetite for the game fully restored. He was a breath of fresh air, bringing in a number of players who are currently in the first squad - including the hugely underrated Steve Finnan, who has got to be one of the club´s most consistent performances.
Keegan´s sides have never paid much attention to defence and the man himself has the attitude that "if they score 5, we´ll score 6". Strangely he was defensively sound during his time at the helm and the attack operated with delightful consistency.
He liked what he saw in Canadian Paul Peschisolido, who was signed by Wilkins and, paired with the builder turned expert goalpoacher Geoff Horsfield, he fired Fulham into the First Division. The fact that Keegan´s stay was a short one was because he had his arm twisted by the Football Association. Initially reluctant to replace Glenn Hoddle as national manager because of his commitments to Fulham, Keegan eventually agreed to manage the nation for a six-game period. He "caught the England bug" whilst away with
the national team and was released from his contract. Some called him a genius, some a patriotic soul and others the man for the job. Sadly, he was found wanting at international level.
Paul Bracewell´s stint in charge was just as frustrating and as brief as Wilkins. Again, he tried to play neat football and get results but his sides had an uncanny knack of throwing away sizeable leads. His managerial debut at Birmingham could have been a summary of his time in charge. Fulham were 2-0 up with goals from Horsfield but lost it late on and drew 2-2. A similar situation showed Bracewell´s tatical naivety - when he took off the lively Paul Peschisolido at Leicester with Fulham leading 2-0 in the quarter-final of the League Cup and paid the penalty; a disappointing defeat on penalties. There were the high points - notably a wonderful performance against Spurs in the previous round of the competition when we looked like the best team in the world and an equally impressive demolition of Wimbledon in the FA Cup.
The championship season under Jean Tigana has been well documented. I can safely say that in ten years of watching Fulham, this is the best side I have witnessed and long may it continue.
Daniel Crawford är editor på London magasinet Sportscene, och skriver även exklusivt för "The Craven Cottage" här på SvenskaFans.com
