No wonder Roy Hodgson’s proud. Little old Fulham in a European final. When do I wake up?
I do know the club has had some bad times. It’s been a wonderful journey and it’s an achievement as a coach I am very proud of. I have been lucky in my career with some lucky moments but the next one is the best one.
To reach a European final, I don’t care if you’re a top-four team or Fulham, it’s an amazing achievement. I know I’ll remember this night and many nights like it.
This team has produced better results and better football than we’re entitled to. We are in the final for no other reason than we have played very well in some difficult games.
We made a major piece of history here tonight. The atmosphere is something we will remember for a long time. I’m a little bit drained of emotion. You go through a roller coaster out there but cannot be more delighted than I am with the performance. The time at Fulham has been quite magical for me. I established a rapport with the chairman, who has been very good and given me the backing I needed.
And the fans, right from the off, even during the moments when it was not going too well, were still behind us. That is reward for those fans who will now watch their team in the Europa League final.
It was a great performance because it would have been so easy to have lost our heads after Petric’s great goal. It was fairly even but we are suddenly one down and an away goal [down]. It would have been easy to forget our plans but we didn’t and our movement was very good.
At half-time we were determined to play our game as we planned and hope it would work and with a bit of fortune that is what happened. The character of this team has been proved time and time again. They consistently surprise me that they continue to show such character. Normally such success softens you and you are not so determined to get such success.
The stadium in Hamburg is one that can suit teams that play good football. I don’t think having been there before is an advantage but the city was wonderful and it was a wonderful playing surface. Madrid have excellent players and it’s a stadium for good players.
Hodgson hopes Bobby Zamora will be fit for Fulham’s 63rd game of the season.
The injection on Bobby worked quite well but he was beginning to feel the effects. Now we have two weeks to get [him] fit for the final.
You know what is bothering me this morning? All the people who keep saying to me “Fulham got lucky”. At what point does “luck” turn into “GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS, WE’RE A TALENTED TEAM”
You don’t make the run we’ve made based purely on luck.
Best part about the Roy postgame presser is hearing the chanting in the background. Was that the crowd? Fantastic…
Dan – I’ve no sensible words to add but just felt the need to come on here and say YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jason – You need to understand that many Fulham fans have lived with years of failure. Occasionally coming close to very minor success only to see it dashed at the final hurdle. There’s an in-build safety mechanism you start to develop that says “We’ll never achieve anything so I don’t need to feel hurt when we fail just proud that we tried”. The thing is, you’re right, we are a good side but it would take 30 years of success to overcome the internal defenses and let us admit it out loud.
Chopper, what the hell are you talking about? Not one Fulham fan has said anything to me about this being luck. As strange and weird as this sounds, most people I know don’t support Fulham…they support other teams. Thus, they are the ones calling this lucky. Go ahead, search around, find me anyone FULHAM supporter who said this was lucky. I thought most people would have assumed I was talking about non-Fulham supporters.
So, in closing, you need to understand that I wasn’t talking about Fulham supporters and stop preaching to me like I’m some stupid American who “doesn’t get it” when it comes to the club’s history, cause guess what?….I get it & most of us do.
New Orleans Saints fans (of which I am one, being from New Orleans) understand this completely. After our semi-final we heard it from other fans for two weeks until the Super Bowl. And despite the season we put together, just like Fulham have, 18 games in this competition, 35 in the Prem. FA Cup run, it’s not luck. But other traditionally more successful clubs’ supporters can’t stand the fact that the loveable losers beat them and are having success borne of hard work, character and determination.
Many parallels this season.