Here is the result in plain text without added lines:
As the Tube doors jolt open at Putney Bridge, a gruff cry of “eaaaaagles” echoes down the platform. It is only 10am but the mood is of boisterous anticipation for what could lie ahead. By 2pm, these people could be having an unforgettable experience.
A young couple bemoan not having remembered there’s a football match on as the queue down the stairs to Station Approach moves at a crawling pace. There are more queues outside at the River Cafe opposite the station exit as people wait for iced lattes and croissants. Very Fulham.
A tout is trying to sell three match tickets to sit in the Hammersmith End for £270 ($350). A punter tries to haggle and the tout loses his temper: “I just told you, no bidding!”
This is pretty much the angriest scene that’ll be witnessed today (other than home fans lambasting Calvin Bassey’s defending). This is Fulham, after all, the Premier League’s nicest club and a favourite away day for thousands upon thousands of football fans around the country.
Why? Well, for a start, you’ve got the nearby surroundings. If your route to Craven Cottage is from Putney Bridge station, take a walk down the River Thames on a sunny spring morning and transport yourself to a place of calm and serenity.
People are sat on benches eating sandwiches, or doing a crossword in a newspaper. Even the kids swigging from bottles of Corona are harmless. You don’t get this at Millwall.
Then take a wander through leafy green Bishops Park, with its mix of families, small dogs and runners, so many runners. There’s a funfair in the middle of it, and watching a Fulham fan with a skinhead and a Union Jack flag draped around his shoulders (yes, this man does exist) while navigating the cones laid out for children wearing roller-skates is quite an image.
Crystal Palace fans are dotted around, proudly wearing their red and blue colours. The chances of recriminations for sporting their shirts, which would be a problem at dozens of grounds in the Premier League and below, are minimal here.
They talk of wanting the late kick-off at Wembley at semi-final weekend. Presumptuous, but ultimately fair. They also talk of this being an ideal away day. “Fulham away is always on my list for the season,” Palace fan Dan tells The Athletic.
For most of the club’s history, though, Fulham haven’t troubled the headline-makers of English football. From 1970 to 2001, they didn’t once set foot in the top flight. A 14-year stint in the top division followed under the ownership of the now-deceased and disgraced former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, who sold the club to Shahid Khan.
Under Khan and his son, Tony, who is vice-chairman and director of football operations, Fulham are moving towards not only becoming an established top-flight club again following a period of flitting between the top two divisions, but also to being a boutique club, where people are asked to pay high prices not just to watch a football match, but to enjoy a deluxe experience in “a location like no other”, in Shahid Khan’s words.
There is the £120million Riverside Stand that backs onto the River Thames and is being opened stage by stage. When fully completed, it will offer a restaurant curated by a Michelin-star chef, high-end bars (including one on the rooftop) and seats and a bar behind the dugout, plus a private pool. There are plans to offer an option to travel there by boat.
Obviously, this doesn’t come cheap. Just to sit in the Riverside Stand for Fulham’s next home game against Liverpool will cost £150. Season tickets reach the £3,000 level, the most expensive non-corporate season ticket in the Premier League.
For fans, it’s a lot to stomach, and they have tried to make their voice heard, with protests in 2023 and again recently at the Manchester United away game in the FA Cup, and again recently at the Liverpool away game in the Premier League.
Fulham are a club on the rise, fighting for Champions League football this season under Marco Silva’s management. On Saturday, the task of turning Fulham into a club that offers a high-end experience on and off the pitch is brought home. You can’t really offer one without the other. Just ask Queens Park Rangers.
Source link
