[Ealingwhite]

Over on the official FFC Message Board yesterday, there were one or two folks from the US expressing interest in Fulham. One or two seem to have been interested for a while but of course, some were there for the first time because of the McBride/Bocanegra signings.

One, calling himself "American Novice" was on his way over for the Man U game and wanted some local flavour and bits on the ground etc. I posted some stuff and he came back to say was just what he was after.

So I thought I'd see if there was somewhere that other US interest might live and came upon this site.

I'd just like to say a very warm welcome to anyone from the US interested in the club. With soccer seemingly very much on the up in the US, I hope we will become a place of choice for the burgeoning number of US talents who want to tryout in the EPL and equally so for US fans.

Fulham is a small club by comparison to nearly all the other Premiership sides but definitely distinctive in a nice way as a result. One of the very best things about Fulham is that the crowd is generally very family oriented and friendly.

The club dates from the late 1900's and was one of the leading sides in England at various times but perhaps most notably in the fities and sixties. It then spent years declining in every way possible.

When Mr Al Fayed bought it in the late nineties FFC were second/third bottom of the whole English senior league setup and in danger of falling out altogether and going into liquidation.

With this and competition from more recently successful and now much larger clubs in London and elsewhere, we need to build up our genuine support. It will take consistent (relative) success over years to achieve this.

In doing this however, we seem to have attracted a good share of the foreign nationals living in London , of whom there are many.

I think this in part the nature of the club, in part the cosmpolitan development of staff and players and in part due to particular signings.

As you may know, we do have quite a lot of support from Japan ("the Inamoto effect") and these are in evidence at every home game. Some are visitors to Europe "on pilgrimage" to Ina but quite a number are now more regular "locals" as many are sent to London by their companies and live just a few miles to the west, mainly clustered around the Japanese school in Ealing.

It would be great if we could also see an increasing number of Americans at games either while on visits to London or drawn from the large expat community here (we do have some already tho). So, if you have relatives or friends in London or SE England, copy and paste my note and e mail it to them please - they would be very welcome additions to our cosmopolitan crowd.

For those of you who do get to visit a game in future, one "don't" that occurs is to avoid loud references to Pearl Harbour (sorry English spelling -Harbor....) as we find major diplomatic incidents detract somewaht from the game!

I am one of the newer supporters, having only started about four and a bit years ago just before Tigana arrived as coach/manager but its become a big deal for me now and all my family have season tickets.

As one of the other replies suggested, some of the support is perhaps a bit fickle and less welcoming. There are, as reported in other posts, some who regard themselves as "original" supporters and pehaps resent some of the development that has taken us to the upper reaches of one of the strongest leagues in the world.

This perhaps shows up most strongly in less savoury ways around issues such as the major long term issue of where we will play our football long term.

The reason for mentioning this is that, as with all message boards of course, there is sometimes a tendency for minorities to dominate. I am sure you will be able to sift through for stuff of genuine interest and opinion. As per previous posts, you will indeed find the vast majority of fans (and those at the club) very welcoming.

Hope this gives you a bit of colour. I will come back and follow the board to see what kicks off and would be happy to help with specific questions etc.

With the caveat above regarding the message board elements, I have also posted a few addresses that you may find good for information etc.

Alan

Addresses referred to:

The official site is at http://www.fulhamfc.com. There is a message board there too.

The Fulham Independent message board is at http://www.voy.com/13865/

Fansite at http://www.fulhamweb.com/

Fansite at http://fulham.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=906

Good for news http://www.4thegame.com/club/ffc/

Good for news http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/New...562,57,00.html

[Mr. Bandwagon]

Allow me to welcome you to BigSoccer, EW.

I'm not quite a died in the wool FFC die-hard, but I'm looking forward to following their fortunes in the EPL.

[orbie]

http://www.mlsnet.com/multimedia/pep...ch_results.php[/url]



Thought I'd post for any one interested in what McBride did last season for his squad.

hope the link works right.

[nyrmetros]

So what do the UK Fulham supporters think of the new Yanks ?

[Californiaspurs]

Fulham fans are few and far between and even sparser in the US, so NY Metros you're gonna have to go over to a Fulham UK board to find out (see previous links).

I personally think it's heart warming to see a flurry of American support for FFC instead of the mind-numbingly predictable ManUre and Arse.

But as a previous poster mentioned, Fulham have had north American players on their roster before. Where were you all then, pray?

Anyway, supporting Fulham is mostly cool. They hate Chelsea. Most of their fans are very friendly. Craven Cottage is magic. Delapidated, but magic nonetheless. One of my brothers lives a few miles from their training ground at Motspur Park near Wimbledon, and I've seen the Fulham stars and Cookie cruising into the car park in their flashy motors and waving at the few die-hard fans in attendance and signing autographs.

But. They don't like QPR. Uncool. Their "real life" fans are excellent and welcoming, but the on-line community is one of the bitchiest you'll find anywhere. Just a minority, but as we know, those types tend to trawl the soccer-related internet in numbers that punch above their weight.

Anyway, more power to Yankee Fulham fans. I dub thee.... Fulhamericans

Now prepare yourselves for your first disappointment: a thrashing by the mighty Spurs in the Premiership.

[Greddy]

Thank you for your kind words and information. I am a Chicago Fire supporter, and as such, have been fortunate enough to see Carlos Bocanegra develop as both a player and as a person. He is class personified in both regards. He has been extraordinary for both our club and country, and I think it's wonderful that Fulham is giving him the opportunity to take his game to the next level. I think he can continue to develop at your fine club, and one day bring you great pride as a Fulham supporter. Treat him well. You have at least one new supporter in me.

Mike

[Pyro]

Thanks for the post Alan and for all the info. I am definely planning a trip to London to see Fulham when they return to the Cottage next year. Bocanegra alone would have raised my interest in Fulham as he is the first major export from arguably MLS's consistently top team, Chicago Fire (bias shining through.) However, seeing that McBride has joined the Fulham ranks and he is from the Chicago area, my full EPL support is behind Fulham.

I'd expect this board to get much more activity as the season progresses. Also keep an eye on the Yanks Abroad threads to see extensive discussion on Bocanegra and McBride.

Of course if you have any questions about MLS, feel free to ask.

[SCBozeman]

Hi Ealingwhite, I intend to see the Birmingham match at Loftus Road on April 3. Question for you, should I attempt to purchase tickets ahead of time, or can I buy tickets on the day of the match? Also, any suggestions on the best place in the park to see the match?

Btw, US up and comers probably won't be trying out for Fulham because they'd need a work permit. Thus, only established US internationals can really get one. I invite FFC to attempt to purchase or sign such established players (beginning with Donovan and Beasley), but I doubt such players would be interested in showing up for a tryout.

[picaraza]

Ealingwhite,

(if you ever come back) So what about rivalries. Is Chelsea the big game then?

Also, regarding your comment about not mentioning the words "Pearl Harbor", I really don't think that will be a problem. I think that our fan culture is a tad bit less confrontational than you've got over there.

Whatever other problems we have in the States racial taunting (whooping like monkeys or jokes about the holocaust) and hooligan riots are unknown at sporting events here.

If your grounds are a "family orientated" as you say, then you've got a pretty good idea of what the stands are like in the US.

Although I am a Newcastle fan, I really appreciate Fulham and Charlton and hope that both teams the best. It is good to see the smaller teams succeed. It is a shame that teams like ManU and Chelsea can trip up challenges by buying your best players ... when already have too much on their plates.

[Ealingwhite]

Hi all

Picking up on a few questions and points in later posts:

SCBozeman - Tickets for matches

For the Birmingham (and any other) match at Loftus Road, you would be much better to try to get tickets in advance if at all possible. Rember that its a small stadium and there are greater security measures than generally in the US, both making ticket purchase a little more awkward. The way it works is this:

1. Tickets usually go on sale for a limited period to members and season ticket holders only.

2. If unsold, they go on general sale

3. BUT if the away support areas are sold out through the visiting club, the general sale is discontinued to avoid away support infiltration.

4. For less popular fixtures, there are usually tickets available on the day from the Loftus Road ticket offices (one on South Africa Road and one on Ellerslie Road) but this is also sometimes limited to members and season ticket holders.

5. Tickets to visit away matches are always to season ticket and members only.

Obviously being a season ticket holder is not the way if you live in the States so, overall, I would say the best way to proceed is to become part of the membership scheme(s). There have been various types of this at various times in recent years and, being an ST holder, I have never needed to bother with these so don't really know much about them. I think they are aimed more at those further afield to both provide news/offers and access to more occasional tickets. I don't think the subscrption is much. Best thing to do is to look over on the website at www.fulhamfc.com. If not, there are e mail addresses for the ticket office etc there and I'm sure a note to one of these will bring appropriate instructions.

SCBozeman - The best place in the park to see the match.

It depends what you are after. The South Africa Road stand is the largest and probably gives the best overall view. But it does tend to have more corporate seats (common in London particualrly as is wealthy place) and less avid fans (home couties stock brokers!) so the atmoshere can be quiet - for lesser games such as the Birmingham one, some of the corporate seats are often unfilled.

The Ellerslie Road stand opposite (smaller old fashioned) is where we are and has generally good views and much better atmosphere. There are a lot of season tickets here though, so getting individual match day tickets for the better parts of this is not always easy. However, we are near one end rather than central and this still offers a good seat with the best view of action at one goal and quite acceptable line of sight on the other. Remeber, its a small ground so, wherever you are, its not too bad.

The loft end behind the goal (the way support is at the other end) is where all the very vocal support goes. I hate watching games from behind the goal though and don't recommend it. There are some restricted view seats in the corners and at a few points in the main stands but you will always be told if offered these and they are seldom used except for big games (Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool etc).

All in all, I'd recommend Ellerslie then South Africa.

Its best if at all possible to avoid those immediately around the stand access stair entrances (late comers/ early goers, people going to the john/food places getting in line of sight) and those at the start of a row (the same lot continually "excusing" themselves and you becoming a jack in the box). Its not always easy to determine this accurately when purchasing though - but ask and see if you have a knowlegeable agent (not common).

Picaraza

Sorry about my "Pearl Harbor" comment. This sort of slightly black dry wit is unfortunately part of British humour...... In truth, being British, we don't like to interfere with personal freedom or even eccentricity. If you ran up and down the aisles shouting this with a bunch of bananas on your head , no one is likely to take any notice whatever except to suggest you were blocking the view!

On the other hand, less savoury aspects surounding scoccer have of course received widespread attention over the last thirty years. But I would just like to say that in all my years as a supporter and regular attender at FFC and elsewhere I have never once witnessed anything worse than some bad taste or language - some of which can in fact be very funny, even if you find yourself trying not to laugh Certainly we have absolutely no problems at FFC and, for example, have been one of the two leading clubs in the "Kick Racism Out of Sport" campaign.

Overall, you will find English soccer matches similar but subtly different to comparable US sports venues - less razzle but perhaps more earthy passion might be one way of describing it.

Thanks for the comments on the likes of Fulham and Charlton. It is essential that this type of development continue or soccer, like other aspects of life, will consist of just a few big brands and little substance.

Regards to all

Alan