Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has told his club’s fans to get a sense of perspective after owner Mohamed al-Fayed was criticized for not spending big money in pursuit of success.
Hodgson has turned the Cottagers into a formidable force over the last two seasons despite spending only a relatively small amount of money in the transfer market.
The unheralded Premier League club have reached the knockout stages of the Europa League this season and will make the FA Cup quarter-finals if they defeat League Two team Notts County at home today.
While the majority of the club’s fans are grateful for the progress made under al-Fayed, the Harrods owner who took over Fulham in 1997, a small section want him to give Hodgson more financial support.
But Hodgson knows the dangers of living beyond a club’s means and cited Notts County, who were sold this week for £1 with debts of more than £1.5 million (US$2.35 million) and the threat of a winding-up order hanging over them.
County appointed former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson as director of football in the close-season backed by a mysterious group of investors.
Yet by December, investors Munto Finance had effectively pulled out their investment, leaving the club in danger of being declared bankrupt.
Eriksson resigned as County’s director of football following the club’s latest takeover.
“We were lucky, we had a sugar daddy, a man who was prepared to come in and put money into the club and help us,” Hodgson said. “But in recent years, certainly while I’ve been here, we’ve tried to run the club sensibly as a business.”
“We are greatly indebted to Mohamed Al Fayed for all the money he has put in and the support he has given us but occasionally now you see letters from fans saying he should invest more and throw more money in and I can’t believe the ingratitude,” he said.
“There we were a few years ago just about to go out of the Football League, here we are stable in the Premier League. I’d hate to see this club going the way some clubs have gone recently,” Hodgson said.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS