Welcome to Craven Cottage and our home debut in the 2019/20 Sky Bet Championship season. As you can tell, there’s a surreal feeling at your home ground this season, and the same will be true in 2020/21 as well. Progress requires change, and it’s my hope that you’ll embrace it as the Riverside Stand - as we once knew it - gives way over the next two years to what I feel will be one of the game’s true jewels among stadia here in England and anywhere in the world, while retaining the history and tradition of the Cottage that you know and love.
I’ll address some of what we’re doing and what’s ahead on the Riverside Stand later in the notes. First, I’d like to let you know that I’m very aware of the reported incident in the away end from last Saturday’s match at Barnsley. The matter continues to be investigated by the authorities and, until there is resolution and closure, it would not be appropriate for me to comment. What I can say is reports of this nature will, at all times, command our club’s complete attention and my personal interest as well. Of this, you can be assured.
Last Saturday was a tough day all around. Following a respectable and promising second-half showing in defeat against West Ham United in our final friendly of pre-season, we travelled to newly promoted Barnsley for a campaign opener that would feature, in my estimation, a Fulham side that represented one of the league’s more proven and cohesive line-ups to start the term in the Championship. And, to be clear, that’s exactly what we have - a squad that is built for immediate and lasting success in perhaps the most rugged, competitive and unpredictable league on any continent. Credit to Barnsley, who didn’t permit us the opportunity to find our game. But the 1-0 defeat we suffered doesn’t cause us in the least to rethink the team assembled by my son Tony Khan, starting his third full season as our Vice Chairman & Director of Football Operations, and Head Coach Scott Parker. There are 45 matches to go and I’m confident we will see excellent form from our First Team this afternoon against Blackburn Rovers, making their first visit to Craven Cottage since 2017.
There should be no misunderstanding as to what our goal is this season, and that’s an immediate return to the Premier League. In fact, while we didn’t anticipate or like being relegated last season, we were prepared to pivot quickly from our Premier League roster and wages so our reinvention as a top-calibre Championship side would be seamless and swift. That approach required keeping our most prized assets and recruiting exceptional talent to Fulham Football Club, which we feel offers the best environment anywhere for footballers to excel and be appreciated.
I believe we delivered an important message, internally and externally, by securing new long-term deals with our captain Tom Cairney and Aleksandar Mitrović. As I’ve noted in the past, passion for Fulham has a value. It was an unmistakable dimension of Scott’s profile as a player here at the Club for three seasons, and it will undoubtedly positively shape his approach as Head Coach. Well, the same is wholeheartedly true for Tom and Aleksandar, who do more than play football. They play football for Fulham. There is a distinction, and it’s one they bring to each training session, and every moment of every match. There was a lot of interest in both men by clubs at the highest levels of the game, but they committed their futures to our cause here at FFC. And in doing so, they’re showing unqualified loyalty to our supporters. Thank you, Tom and Mitro.
Meanwhile, in addition to welcoming home players who were out on loan, prior to the start of the season we landed two outstanding stars that were of interest to us well before the opening of this summer’s transfer window in Ivan Cavaleiro and Anthony Knockaert. Ivan, coming from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Anthony, arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion, both join on season-long loans with a view to permanent transfers. The market for their services was competitive, as they each possess Premier League and Championship experience, with their previous performances in this division resulting in their sides being promoted. Fulham supporters will likely remember Anthony earning the Championship Player of the Season award in 2016/17 and the difficult encounters we faced against both players in recent campaigns. It’s good to have their talents and credentials for promoting teams here in SW6! I’m just as pleased with the development earlier in the week that Harry Arter also joins us on loan from AFC Bournemouth. Harry will strengthen us in the midfield and, consistent with Ivan and Anthony, he was integral in the promotion of his former club - actually twice, from League One to the Championship and from there to the Premier League. Welcome, Harry!
Our sale of Ryan Sessegnon this week, of course, is the moment that everyone is talking about, and understandably so. We are proud of Ryan and the Fulham Academy that played a significant role in developing him into the elite player he is today. Ryan is also an exceptional young man, shaped as a youngster by a supportive family as well as Huw Jennings and the Academy staff here that focuses on building character as well as growing talent. We take our investment in players of Ryan’s overall quality seriously, and therefore wanted him to stay with FFC. Our efforts to keep Ryan at Fulham were strong and sincere, but he expressed the desire to consider a new start and there comes a point where the best path forward for all parties is to respect the wish of the player. That path was taken Thursday afternoon.
With Ryan’s departure comes a record transfer fee for Fulham that will be reinvested in your club over time, as well as the arrival of Josh Onomah on a permanent move from Tottenham Hotspur. Ryan leaves FFC with our complete respect and best wishes, and I thank him for the many memories in such a short time, particularly his assist to Tom Cairney at Wembley. I also know his twin brother Steven will be eager to carry on the Sessegnon name at Fulham, where he will be a candidate to take on an important role on our backline.
Finally, at the close of business on Thursday, we also added Harrison Reed and Bobby Decordova-Reid, both coming from respected teams and with much to offer our club in terms of proven experience and results at this level. I know you will join me in a warm greeting for Josh, Harrison, Bobby and all of our newcomers this afternoon as we open our home slate and strive to get level on the young season.
Now, to the Riverside Stand, or what is left of it. First, if you were unable to join us for the West Ham friendly two weeks ago, prepare yourself for a vastly different Craven Cottage experience. To that point, I have a request. With only the Putney, Johnny Haynes and Hammersmith stands in play over the next two seasons, we’ll be asking you to bring your finest voices to every match to create the kind of home atmosphere we’re used to and one that really helps your team. But as indicated earlier, I promise you the transition will be worth it, and I have no doubt continuing to play at Craven Cottage through the duration of the project is preferable to renting at nearby rival grounds.
I’ve spent time at the Cottage this week and have nothing but good news for you. The project is tracking on time, with the soft stripping of the Riverside Stand already complete. Our main contractor has been on site for about six weeks, and much of the gritty preliminary work has been carried out. You’ll see that work has included the removal of several hospitality boxes, and we anticipate the Riverside Stand will be completely gone by this Autumn - again creating a strange setting at this historic location, but perhaps one that will give us an advantage against visiting sides.
As you can imagine, the relocation of supporters from the Riverside Stand was a challenging process. I must thank our fans for their understanding and patience, and I commend our superb staff at the Club for their diligence and commitment to satisfying everyone best as possible. Once-in-a-lifetime projects like this ask more of everyone, and I’m grateful to all for making the best of it. Summertime tasks related to the project also included the relocation of our event control and matchday operations spaces to the boxes at the Hammersmith/Riverside corner, near the George Cohen statue. And with fewer on-site options available for matchday hospitality, we now offer packages at Fulham Palace in addition to the limited remaining locations on site. There is significant work being done behind the scenes as well. The iconic Craven Cottage itself is receiving some new touches to the traditional décor and we’re doing some interior work to increase functional floor space, which is more important than ever during the Riverside Stand project. In that same vein, we have created a new area in the centre of the Johnny Haynes Stand called The Flag, which is adorned with pictures and artefacts that celebrate the history and heritage of our club. The Flag will be used as a league-designated space for home and away directors on matchdays, but we may consider it for some limited public use on non-matchdays in the future. For a comprehensive look at the progress, visit our latest report published several days ago at www.fulhamfc.com.
With that, I’d like to welcome visiting Blackburn fans and, as always, thank everyone who loyally and fiercely supports Fulham. We will do our best to reward you this afternoon, throughout the season, and always.
