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Club Focus - Fulham - Dizzying heights, shattered dreams, but a proud club still believes
Empty handed, yet full of pride. A 63-game long season ended with the mix of emotions that Craven Cottage has spilling from its walls. Hope sprung from several memorable comebacks from against the odds. Despair struck after Diego Forlan cruelly defeated Fulham 116 minutes into the Europa League final. Yet, ultimately, pride overruled any other feeling as the players, manager and fans reflected on what was, despite not actually winning anything, the most successful season in the club’s history.
The Fulham players brought literal meaning to the age-old blood, sweat and tears metaphor on Wednesday night. Bobby Zamora pushed himself beyond the pain barrier for the last few games of the season, Danny Murphy had worked so hard he could barely stand come full-time. And
Zoltan Gera collapsed in a heap of emotion at the end of extra-time, summing up emphatically how everyone connected with the club - and to a certain extent plenty of outsiders - felt at that moment. It was a cruel, cruel way to end a season of such hope, with this last game proving just one tiny step too far for Fulham to get the recognition they deserved - the Europa League trophy. When the fans at the end of last season were singing “we’re all going on a European tour”,not one of them expected to take in 19 fixtures, seven countries and thousands of air (or coach) miles, but their club has been the footballing story of the season and all it lacked was a fairytale ending. This, however, was real life, and 120 further minutes was simply too much for such tired legs.
Those supporters old enough to remember the club’s last golden era will be only too aware of the club’s ability to make promises only for luck to change its mind at the last moment - somehow it just would not have been Fulham were it Murphy lifting the trophy on Wednesday night. Over the years Fulham have fluctuated between the top flight and the bottom of the football ladder, and despite missing out yet again on a major trophy, the 2009/10 season far eclipsed all others that had gone before it. And for that reason, even accounting for the late heartbreak, 2010 will be remembered as a major success. Not in the league, perhaps, although a safe mid-table position is still a remarkable achievement when considering the team’s two cup runs (let’s not forget the FA Cup quarter-final), but the overall view of this year will be of how one man and his troops overcame the odds from every angle to succeed beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.
That man, Roy Hodgson, took the defeat as he takes any result - with humility and grace. Clearly devastated by the outcome, he took the opportunity to praise his players, and rightfully considering the consistently high performances from the majority of them over the slog that has been 2009/10. Zamora, with Hodgson's continued support, has been a revelation. Damien Duff's career has been rejuvenated since his summer move. And Gera has filled in (and improved upon) for Andy Johnson spectacularly, particularly in Europe. All the above - and most of the rest -have thrived on the team-focused tactics that the manager demands, and now at the end of the season their performances can be judged on consistency rather than temporary form. No player can be accused of underperforming, and that really is testament to the talents of Hodgson.
Had Fulham won the Europa League then there would have been a case for the manager achieving all he could at the club - not that Hodgson would ever make such a claim. Now, however, he could well feel like he has unfinished business. The potential that this quaint family-friendly club alongside the river was clear this season for the whole of Europe to see, but the pain of the harshest of defeats served as a reminder that, whether they go on to bigger and better things or not, the spirit of everyone involved will always remain.
The important question now is whether Fulham will sink back into the comfortable surroundings of Stevenage Road by the river, or whether this past year, combined with the fact Craven Cottage will host no European fixtures next season, will spur the club on to further success and a regular attack on the top seven. In truth, a lot rests on whether Hodgson is plied away from the esteem he has built in SW6 for one last chance to prove himself at an already established outfit or whether he, along with Mohammed Al-Fayed, can keep the bulk of the squad together and improve on it with more clever transfers. For those who witnessed each of the 63 games this season provided, dare they dream that things could get even better? For they, more than anyone, know the pain that is caused by dreams being shattered.
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