The Fulham fans have a little ditty that goes something like this: ‘We’re the oldest team in London and we’re going to Germany, Germany’ etc. Once it was explained to a few bemused football tourists that the Europa League final will be held in Hamburg this year, it threatened to catch on towards the end of Sunday’s game.
Jonathan Greening sounds similarly optimistic. The on-loan West Brom midfielder is expected to start in Sofia tonight as Roy Hodgson could make as many as nine changes with the league trip to Wolves in mind and he’s confident that Fulham can acquit themselves well in the competition. Desperate to cast aside the memory of winning a Champions’ League medal that he felt it didn’t deserve at Manchester United, Greening cites his former club Middlesbrough as an example.
I played a few times after that with United in Europe, but to get a medal you really have to do something to earn it. And I can’t see why Fulham couldn’t do a Middlesbrough this season. They were a less fashionable side, and they got to the UEFA final a couple of years back. We’ve got a great set of lads here who could do the same.
Greening also hopes to impress Hodgson enough this season to turn his loan into a permanent deal.
I’ve initially come in on a one year loan, but I’m confident a deal can be put in place to keep me for a long time to come.
