Fulham cult hero Chris Coleman will return to Craven Cottage in February to help raise funds for the Fulham Foundation.
The popular former Fulham captain and manager will join host Les Strong in the Cottage on Tuesday 1 February for a special question and answer session to support the superb work of the Foundation. The Foundation works with more than 10,000 a people a year using the power of sport to change lives – both young and old. They benefit from a close relationship with London’s oldest professional football club, but their reach into several London boroughs is not funded by Fulham and relies on the generosity of funders and the Fulham fans.
Coleman, a classy centre half, dropped two divisions to sign for the Whites from Blackburn Rovers in 1997 and captained Kevin Keegan’s side to the Second Division title as well as the FA Cup fifth round in 1999.
Coleman was a key player in Jean Tigana’s team that romped to the First Division title in 2000/01 but his participation in that record-breaking season was cruelly curtailed by a car crash in which he broke both of his legs. The proud Welshman returned to play for his country but had to hang up his boots prematurely. He became part of the club’s coaching staff before being parachuted into the managerial hotseat with the Whites facing relegation in 2003, taking ten points from five games as a caretaker manager to secure Fulham’s top flight status.
Coleman beat off competition from George Burley and Klaus Topmoller to become the Premier League’s youngest ever manager and defied the doomsayers by guiding the Whites to ninth place in his first full season in charge, despite the loss of prolific striker Louis Saha midway through the campaign. He kept the club in the top flight until his sacking in 2007 and went on to lead Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in their first appearance at a major finals since 1958.
Coleman, a superb storyteller who has overcome great adversity to break new ground in the game, will be a fantastic guest alongside the laconic Les Strong and the ability to hear from two special Fulham characters in the unique Cottage setting will make for a unique evening. You book your place via the Foundation’s ticketing page.
