Fulham FC - Part 2 - The Great Escape

By Nishant Joshi

We resume our series on Fulham FC with the team struggling at 2-0 down away at Manchester City, in desperate need of a win...

At half time, I can only imagine that Hodgson gave his team the greatest Vince Lombardi-esque team talk in history.

First, they pegged one back courtesy of Diomansy Kamara, the outright flop who I had compared to a headless chicken. Blessed with a lot of pace, Kamara had been an unmitigated failure until that point. At 2-1, I decided to have an emotional, parting bet. I was on a good run at the time, and I was suddenly filled with new optimism. If nothing else, I knew that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't have a bet on Fulham at this point! I talked myself into it and eventually had a tenner on at odds of 69/1. I didn't mind having a patriotic bet on my team, but I didn't want to be the mug who wasted £20 or more on a team who hadn't won an away match in so long - let alone against a side such as City who had been performing so well at home.

All of a sudden, Danny Murphy bagged another one - via a rebound off his missed penalty - and it was 2-2. With 20 minutes left, I tuned into Gillette Soccer Special, hoping for that idiot Paul Merson to give me some good news! Time went by painfully quickly, and before I knew it we were into injury time, still level and heading for relegation with this result. In the 91st minute, Jeff Stelling shouted out in typically cliffhanger fashion: "More drama at the City of Manchester Stadium! There's been a goal...which way has it gone? Over to Paul Merson."

As such a devoted fan, my heart was racing and I was on the verge of blacking out. Sickeningly, Paul Merson was about to decide my fate. Secretly, I knew that it would be good news. If Fulham lost in injury time again, after giving me hope of landing a shock 69/1 shot, it would literally be indisputable evidence that God does not exist.

Merson shouted and mumbled simultaneously, but I couldn't really give a shit what he said. The caption came up saying it was 3-2 to Fulham and I came close to leaving the house, running down the Fulham Road and celebrating a la Ravanelli. Fulham were just safe - for now.

Again, I had cause for optimism. We were always reliable against the lower-half sides at home, and I was certain that the Craven Cottage faithful would be able to boost us to a fairly comfortable victory in our penultimate match, against Birmingham. In the end, the scoreline of 2-0 made it seem a lot more comfortable than it was. It was an extremely anxious and nervous match, and two late goals sealed it.

Finally, we had found ourselves in the last game of the season, needing three points to stay up. Away to Portsmouth was an incredibly tough fixture as a last game, having had such a tremendous season themselves. They were near unbeatable at home, but still, fate proved kind. With their FA Cup Final the next weekend, Harry Redknapp rested a few key players and Portsmouth were clearly not focused on the outcome of this particular fixture. It played into Fulham's hands that the result was utterly

Proved to be an exceptional buy Brede Hangeland

inconsequential for Portsmouth, and Fulham were installed as 2.2 favourites to win, and secure their top-flight status.

As expected, Fulham played a cagey game, but the sense was that the game was theirs if they wanted it. Chances were limited, and as time began to run out, there was a sick feeling of 'close, but no cigar'. Even if we hadn't managed a win in this game, Fulham fans could not be upset at the effort the players had shown throughout the season. They had clearly tried their best and their collective failings were largely down to an incompetent previous manager in Lawrie Sanchez.

Eventually, in the 78th minute, Bullard floated a deep, hopeful free kick into the Pompey box. Fittingly, his best mate and Fulham captain Danny Murphy got on the end of it and hit it home.

Unlike the dying minutes at Manchester City, the last fifteen minutes of the season seemed like hours and hours. Some half-chances missed, some blocked shots, more nerve-shreddingly cagey play from Fulham. At the end of the day, Fulham sealed a remarkable comeback and achieved a feat which is easily forgotten in the history books - and by the bookies.

People were impressed at Fulham's comeback at the end of the season, but at the same time, they were by and large nonplussed by the situation. A small club avoiding relegation with a late winner on the last day of the season was nowhere as glamorous or noteworthy as Chelsea winning the title. Hodgson kept a low-key profile throughout the summer, making some signings who we'd never heard of. Among those, Brede Hangeland proved to be an exceptional buy, as one of the most solid centre-backs in the league. Anybody who has seen the huge Norwegian up close will testify to the fact that he NEVER loses a header. He is taller and more powerful than just about anybody in the league, and as such he is an incredible bargain signing. All thanks to Hodgson's vast bank of knowledge from his time in Scandinavia.

Fulham went on to enjoy brilliant success the next season, going from near-relegation to qualifying for the Europa League. From a betting point of view, we made plenty of cash last year backing Fulham, as bookies continuously under-estimated them at home. Prices of evens and above were being bandied about for Fulham to beat teams in poor form and in the lower half of the table. Given their home form, Fulham should realistically be odds-on for a large percentage of their matches, yet in the past two seasons they have only been odds-on at home to teams in the bottom five.

Pre-season, we had also backed Fulham to come top of the Premiership handicap league - essentially a league which predicts the teams that will out-perform expectations the most. Fulham came second to Stoke, proving the point emphatically. The thinking behind this particular bet was perhaps not entirely logical, but with a huge sense of deja vu.

The previous season, Portsmouth had been in a virtually identical situation. Saved by Harry Redknapp in the second half of the season, Portsmouth enjoyed a hugely successful 2007-08, culminating in winning the FA Cup. In my opinion, having tasted near-relegation and having completed 'The Great Escape', the Portsmouth players knew what was required of them, the manager knew how to get the best out of them, and the home crowd made for a fiercely claustrophobic environment for away sides. All of this was quite apparent in Fulham during the 2008-09 season, as a modestly talented team with brilliant morale enjoyed an excellent season, culminating in qualification for this year's Europa League.

Join me tomorrow for the final part of this trilogy, as I dissect this year's Europa League and FA Cup contenders...

Nishant Joshi