2007–08_Fulham_F.C._season

2007–08 Fulham F.C. season

2007–08 Fulham F.C. season

Fulham F.C. 2007–08 football season


The 2007–08 season was Fulham F.C.'s seventh consecutive season in the Premier League. Lawrie Sanchez was in charge of the club for the first few months of the season after taking charge at the end of the previous campaign, but left the club by mutual consent in December 2007 after a string of poor results had sent Fulham sliding towards the relegation zone. He was replaced by ex-Finland national team coach Roy Hodgson, who had previously been in charge of fellow Premier League side Blackburn Rovers amongst many other clubs around Europe. Fulham managed to save themselves from relegation to the Championship with a 1–0 away win against Portsmouth at Fratton Park, their third-straight away victory, despite wins for relegation rivals Reading and Birmingham City, staying up on goal difference.[1]

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Season review

August

Fulham almost started the season off perfectly when they went ahead against Arsenal through a David Healy goal after one minute during the first weekend of the season, but Arsenal won the game in the last ten minutes with goals from Robin van Persie and Alexander Hleb. Fulham, however, did win their first home match of the season in a midweek match against Bolton Wanderers with goals from Healy and Alexey Smertin (later confirmed as a Gerald Cid own goal), having come from behind after ex-Fulham striker Heiðar Helguson's early goal. It would be several months before Fulham would experience another league victory.

In their third game of the season, Fulham again experienced a turnaround, but this time the scoreline went against them. They were 1–0 up against MiddlesbroughBrian McBride scoring before being carried off injured – but they could not hold on to their lead and lost 2–1. There was controversy about the result because, in the last minute, Healy had a clear goal not given as the referee or linesman could not see that the ball had crossed the line.

The final league game of the month was against Aston Villa; for a fourth game in succession, the team scoring the first goal failed to win. Fulham scored through Healy after six minutes, but two second half goals from former Fulham defender Zat Knight and Shaun Maloney gave Villa the victory.

September

After three agonising defeats in their first four games, Fulham felt that they deserved some luck; this came in the first game of September against Tottenham Hotspur. Younès Kaboul and Dimitar Berbatov had put Tottenham in cruise control with two first goals before Dempsey replied for Fulham just before half-time. Gareth Bale extended Tottenham's lead on 61 minutes to 3–1 but Fulham managed to snatch a draw. Alexey Smertin's 77th-minute goal (also confirmed as an own goal, this time by Ricardo Rocha) and Diomansy Kamara's bicycle kick in stoppage time gave Fulham a 3–3 draw.

In the next game, away to Wigan Athletic, it was the opposition that rescued the game late on. Dempsey gave Fulham the lead but Jason Koumas scored a penalty 10 minutes from time after Hamer Bouazza's foul on Mario Melchiot to give Wigan a point. Another two draws followed in September: firstly a 3–3 draw against Manchester City, throwing away a lead twice before having to eventually come from behind (Hamer Bouazza, Simon Davies and Danny Murphy scoring for Fulham, with the City goals coming from Martin Petrov and Émile Mpenza). They followed that up by holding Chelsea to a 0–0 at Stamford Bridge.

In the League Cup, Fulham suffered a 2–1 home defeat to Bolton.

October

Fulham started October with a home defeat against Portsmouth, through deflected strikes by Benjani and Hermann Hreiðarsson. A week later, against Derby County, Fulham had their second goalless draw of the season in a game of few chances, although in truth Derby could have snatched the win.

The final game of the month saw Fulham throw away yet another lead with a 1–1 draw against Sunderland. Simon Davies gave Fulham the lead in the first half and they held out until the 86th minute, when Kenwyne Jones was in the right place to score an equaliser for Sunderland.

November

Fulham started November with a 3–1 home victory against Reading. Simon Davies put Fulham in front after 18 minutes. Kevin Doyle equalised ten minutes after the break, but Fulham struck back with goals from Clint Dempsey and David Healy. Elliott Omozusi was sent off in injury time, in only his second appearance, for a second yellow card.[2] Fulham were unlucky to lose in their next game away at Liverpool as Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard both scored in the last ten minutes for a 2–0 victory. It was very harsh on Fulham, who had resisted the Liverpool pressure for the majority of the game.[3]

After the international break, Fulham drew 2–2 with Blackburn Rovers, having twice been in front through goals from Danny Murphy and Diomansy Kamara, only to be pegged back by Brett Emerton and Stephen Warnock.[4]

December

December was a busy month, with matches crammed together at the end of the month. It turned out to be a very unsuccessful period for Fulham, as they took just two points from a possible 18.

January

A very bad start to the new year saw Fulham defeated by close rivals Chelsea 2–1 at Craven Cottage.

February

March

April

April started with a 3–1 defeat at home against Sunderland with second half goals from Danny Collins, Michael Chopra and Kenwyne Jones, even though Fulham had equalised through a brilliant David Healy goal from 30 yards out. Things improved the next week though as Fulham finally recorded their first away win since beating Newcastle United in September 2006, against Reading at the Madejski Stadium. Brian McBride and Erik Nevland scored the goals. It came as some relief to the long-suffering away support and put Fulham's survival bid back on track. However, Fulham then suffered a home defeat against an under-strength Liverpool side, Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch scoring for Liverpool. This defeat meant for most Fulham fans that relegation was looking almost certain; if results would not go their way the following week, then they could be relegated.

The following week, Fulham gained a priceless three points away to Manchester City to record their second successive away victory. After falling behind 2–0 in the first half, Fulham fought back from mathematical relegation to score three goals in the last twenty minutes, culminating with a 92nd-minute goal by Diomansy Kamara, his second of the game.

May

On 3 May, Fulham were able to pull themselves out of the drop zone as Reading lost to Tottenham, and Fulham earned a vital three points with a win against Birmingham, one point above Fulham in the league table. This sent Birmingham to 19th position and Reading to 18th position, as Fulham leapfrogged both to 17th position on goal difference. Fulham's Premier League survival was in their own hands going into the last game of the season; both Reading and Birmingham registered big wins, but Fulham survived on goal difference with a 1–0 victory away to Portsmouth.

Players

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

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Transfers

Summer

In

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Out

More information Date, Pos. ...

Winter

In

More information Date, Pos. ...

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

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Club

Management

More information Position, Staff ...

Last updated: 21 Sep 2007
Source: Fulham FC

Other information

Chairman Egypt Mohamed Al Fayed
Managing director Scotland David McNally
Technical director England Les Reed
Director Egypt Omar Fayed
Director Egypt Karim Fayed
Director England Mark Collins
Director England Stuart Benson
Commercial manager England Olly Dale
Commercial manager England Mark Maunders
Secretary England Zoe Ward
Ground (capacity and dimensions) Craven Cottage (26,600 / 112x72 yards)

Source: Fulham article on 15 Aug 2007

Competitions

Overall

More information Competition, Started round ...

Updated to match played 11 May 2008
Source: Competitions

Premier League

Table

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition
(R) Relegated

Results summary

More information Overall, Home ...

Last updated: 11 May 2008.
Source: Barclays Premier League

Results by round

More information Round, Ground ...
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2008. Source: Competitive Matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Pre-season

2007-07-17 Dagenham & Redbridge 0 – 1 Fulham Victoria Road, Dagenham
19:45 (Report) Kamara 44' Attendance: 1,224
2007-07-24 Portsmouth 1 – 0 Fulham Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po
11:00 Benjani 44' (Report) Attendance: 36,801
2007-07-27 South China 1 – 4 Fulham Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po
11:00 Barros 56' (Report) Diop 19'
Bocanegra 46'
Healy 73'
McBride 82'
Attendance: 39,535
2007-08-01 Staines Town 1 – 2 Fulham XI Wheatsheaf Park, Staines
19:35 Watts 16' (og) (Report) Timlin 35'
Gonçalves 77'
Attendance: 385
Referee: Paul Forrester
2007-08-03 Queens Park Rangers 2 – 1 Fulham Loftus Road, Shepherd's Bush
20:00 Sahar 58', 68' (Report) McBride 10' Attendance: 5,479
2007-08-07 Aldershot Town 1 – 1 Fulham XI Recreation Ground, Aldershot
19:45 Chalmers 27' (Report) Brown 30' (pen.) Attendance: 1,035
Referee: Steve Creighton

Premier League

2007-08-12 1 Arsenal 2 – 1 Fulham Islington, London
12:00 Van Persie 84' (pen.)
Hleb 90'
(Report) Healy 1' Stadium: Emirates Stadium
Attendance: 60,093
Referee: Phil Dowd
2007-08-15 2 Fulham 2 – 1 Bolton Wanderers Fulham, London
19:45 Healy 23'
Cid 26' (o.g.)
(Report) Helguson 12' Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 21,102
Referee: Lee Probert
2007-08-18 3 Fulham 1 – 2 Middlesbrough Fulham, London
15:00 McBride 16' (Report) Mido 55'
Cattermole 88'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 20,948
Referee: Lee Mason
2007-08-25 4 Aston Villa 2 – 1 Fulham Birmingham, West Midlands
15:00 Young 51'
Maloney 90+1'
(Report) Dempsey 6' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 36,638
Referee: Steve Bennett
2007-09-01 5 Fulham 3 – 3 Tottenham Hotspur Fulham, London
15:00 Dempsey 42'
Rocha 77' (o.g.)
Kamara 90'
(Report) Kaboul 10'
Berbatov 28'
Bale 61'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 24,007
Referee: Mike Riley
2007-09-15 6 Wigan Athletic 1 – 1 Fulham Wigan, Greater Manchester
15:00 Skoko Yellow card 66'
Koumas 80'
(Report) Dempsey 11' Stadium: JJB Stadium
Attendance: 16,975
Referee: Rob Styles
2007-09-22 7 Fulham 3 – 3 Manchester City Fulham, London
17:15 Davies 13'
Bouazza 48'
Murphy 75'
(Report) Petrov 36', 60'
Mpenza 50'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 24,674
Referee: Mark Halsey
2007-09-29 8 Chelsea 0 – 0 Fulham Walham Green, London
15:00 (Report) Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 41,147
Referee: Mark Halsey
2007-10-07 9 Fulham 0 – 2 Portsmouth Fulham, London
16:10 Davis Yellow card 21' (Report) Benjani 50'
Hreiðarsson 52'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 20,774
Referee: Howard Webb
2007-10-20 10 Fulham 0 – 0 Derby County Fulham, London
15:00 (Report) Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 22,576
Referee: Phil Dowd
2007-10-27 11 Sunderland 1 – 1 Fulham Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
15:00 Jones 86' (Report) Davies 32' Stadium: Stadium of Light
Attendance: 39,392
Referee: Andre Marriner
2007-11-03 12 Fulham 3 – 1 Reading Fulham, London
15:00 Davies 18'
Dempsey 72'
Healy 90+1'
(Report) Doyle 54' Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 22,086
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
2007-11-10 13 Liverpool 2 – 0 Fulham Liverpool, Merseyside
17:15 Torres 81'
Gerrard 85' (pen.)
(Report) Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,057
Referee: Steve Tanner
2007-11-25 14 Fulham 2 – 2 Blackburn Rovers Fulham, London
16:00 Murphy 51'
Kamara 63'
(Report) Emerton 57'
Warnock 79'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 22,826
Referee: Mike Dean
2007-12-03 15 Manchester United 2 – 0 Fulham Trafford, Greater Manchester
20:00 Ronaldo 10', 58' (Report) Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 75,055
Referee: Rob Styles
2007-12-08 16 Everton 3 – 0 Fulham Liverpool, Merseyside
15:00 Yakubu 51', 61', 79' (Report) Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 32,743
Referee: Steve Bennett
2007-12-15 17 Fulham 0 – 1 Newcastle United Fulham, London
17:15 (Report) Barton 90+2' (pen.) Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 24,959
Referee: Howard Webb
2007-12-22 18 Fulham 1 – 1 Wigan Athletic Fulham, London
15:00 Dempsey 78' (Report) Bent 70' Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 20,820
Referee: Alan Wiley
2007-12-26 19 Tottenham Hotspur 5 – 1 Fulham Tottenham, London
13:00 Keane 27', 62'
Huddlestone 46', 71'
Defoe 90'
(Report) Dempsey 60' Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 36,077
Referee: Andre Marriner
2008-01-01 21 Fulham 1 – 2 Chelsea Fulham, London
12:45 Murphy 10' (pen.) (Report) Kalou 54'
Ballack 62' (pen.)
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,357
Referee: Mark Halsey
2008-01-12 22 West Ham United 2 – 1 Fulham Newham, London
15:00 Ashton 28'
Ferdinand 69'
(Report) Davies 8' Stadium: Upton Park
Attendance: 34,947
Referee: Mike Riley
2008-01-19 23 Fulham 0 – 3 Arsenal Fulham, London
15:00 (Report) Adebayor 19', 38'
Rosický 81'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,297
Referee: Peter Walton
2008-01-29 24 Bolton Wanderers 0 – 0 Fulham Horwich, Bolton
20:00 (Report) Stadium: Reebok Stadium
Attendance: 17,732
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
2008-02-03 25 Fulham 2 – 1 Aston Villa Fulham, London
16:00 Davies 73'
Bullard 86'
(Report) Hughes 69' (o.g.) Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 24,760
Referee: Chris Foy
2008-02-09 26 Middlesbrough 1 – 0 Fulham Middlesbrough, Tees Valley
15:00 Aliadière 11' (Report) Stadium: Riverside Stadium
Attendance: 26,885
Referee: Phil Dowd
2008-02-23 27 Fulham 0 – 1 West Ham United Fulham, London
15:00 (Report) Solano 87' Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,280
Referee: Howard Webb
2008-03-01 28 Fulham 0 – 3 Manchester United Fulham, London
15:00 (Report) Hargreaves 15'
Park 44'
Davies 72' (o.g.)
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,314
Referee: Mike Dean
2008-03-08 29 Blackburn Rovers 1 – 1 Fulham Blackburn, Lancashire
15:00 Pedersen 59' (Report) Bullard 89' Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 20,362
Referee: Mike Riley
2008-03-16 30 Fulham 1 – 0 Everton Fulham, London
13:30 McBride 67' Report Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,262
Referee: Steve Bennett
2008-03-22 31 Newcastle United 2 – 0 Fulham Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
15:00 Viduka 6'
Owen 83'
Report Stadium: St James' Park
Attendance: 52,293
Referee: Howard Webb
2008-03-29 32 Derby County 2 – 2 Fulham Derby, Derbyshire
15:00 Villa 10', 80' Report Kamara 24'
Leacock 78' (o.g.)
Stadium: Pride Park
Attendance: 33,034
Referee: Mike Dean
2008-04-05 33 Fulham 1 – 3 Sunderland Fulham, London
15:00 Healy 73' Report Collins 44'
Chopra 53'
Jones 75'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,053
Referee: Mark Halsey
2008-04-12 34 Reading 0 – 2 Fulham Reading
15:00 Report McBride 24'
Nevland 90+2'
Stadium: Madejski Stadium
Attendance: 24,112
Referee: Chris Foy
2008-04-19 35 Fulham 0 – 2 Liverpool Fulham, London
15:00 Report Pennant 17'
Crouch 70'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,311
Referee: Martin Atkinson
2008-04-26 36 Manchester City 2 – 3 Fulham Manchester
15:00 Ireland 10'
Benjani 21'
Report Kamara 70', 90+2'
Murphy 79'
Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium
Attendance: 44,504
Referee: Mike Dean
2008-05-03 37 Fulham 2 – 0 Birmingham City Fulham, London
15:00 McBride 52'
Nevland 87'
Report Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,308
Referee: Chris Foy
2008-05-11 38 Portsmouth 0 – 1 Fulham Portsmouth
15:00 Report Murphy 76' Stadium: Fratton Park
Attendance: 20,582
Referee: Mark Clattenburg

League Cup

2007-08-28 Shrewsbury Town 0 – 1 Fulham Shrewsbury, Shropshire
19:45 (Report) Kamara 59' Stadium: New Meadow
Attendance: 6,223
Referee: Paul Taylor
2007-09-26 Fulham 1 – 2 (a.e.t.) Bolton Wanderers Fulham, London
20:00 Healy 78' (Report) Guthrie 57'
Giannakopoulos 112'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 10,500
Referee: Steve Bennett

FA Cup

2008-01-06 Fulham 2 – 2 Bristol Rovers Fulham, London
14:00 Healy 40'
Murphy 73'
(Report) Coles 2'
Hinton 65'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 13,634
Referee: Keith Stroud

Squad statistics

More information No., Pos. ...

Updated 5 May 2008

  • * Player is out on loan
  • ** Player has left club

References

  1. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | NI skipper Hughes in Fulham move". BBC News. 27 June 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  2. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham complete £4m Davis swoop". BBC News. 5 July 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  3. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham sign Kamara from West Brom". BBC News. 9 July 2007. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  4. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham complete capture of Baird". BBC News. 12 July 2007. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  5. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Striker Healy agrees Fulham move". BBC News. 13 July 2007. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  6. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham snap up defender Konchesky". BBC News. 13 July 2007. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  7. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham seal deal for QPR's Cook". BBC News. 19 July 2007. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  8. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham swoop for defender Leijer". BBC News. 4 August 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  9. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham bring in goalkeeper Keller". BBC News. 23 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  10. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham swoop for defender Ashton". BBC News. 30 August 2007. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  11. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham sign Murphy & Kuqi on loan". BBC News. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  12. "BBC SPORT | Football | Premier League | Reading and Fulham complete swap". BBC News. 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  13. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham complete Stefanovic deal". BBC News. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  14. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Oldham Athletic | Oldham recruit veteran Crossley". BBC News. 14 June 2007. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  15. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Bolton Wanderers | Helguson set to make Bolton move". BBC News. 20 July 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  16. "BBC Sport – Football – Birmingham complete double swoop". BBC News. 3 August 2007. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  17. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Aston Villa | Villa complete £3.5m Knight deal". BBC News. 29 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  18. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Portsmouth | Portsmouth land Diop from Fulham". BBC News. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  19. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Hangeland completes Fulham switch". BBC News. 18 January 2008. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  20. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Fulham swoop to capture Andreasen". BBC News. 22 January 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  21. "Fulham complete Johnson signing". BBC News. 23 January 2008. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
  22. Fifield, Dominic; Murray, Ewan (29 January 2008). "United reject Nevland to get second chance at Fulham". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  23. "Fulham bring in three new players". BBC News. 31 January 2008. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009.

Notes

  1. Kamara was born in Paris, France, but also qualified to represent Senegal internationally and made his international debut for Senegal in 2003.
  2. Warner was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and made his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in February 2006.
  3. Timlin was born in Peckham, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented them at U-17 and U-21 level.
  4. Bouazza was born in Évry, France, but also qualified to represent Algeria internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Algeria in February 2007.
  5. Hangeland was born in Houston, Texas, United States, but was raised in Norway from the age of 1 and made his international debut for Norway in November 2002.
  6. Kuqi was born in Vushtrri, SFR Yugoslavia (now Kosovo), but was raised in Finland and made his international debut for Finland in August 1999.
  7. John was born in Zwedru, Liberia, but was raised in the Netherlands and made his international debut for the Netherlands in August 2004.
  8. Crossley was born in Barnsley, England, and represented them at U-21 level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through a grandparent and made his international debut for Wales in February 1997.

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