Citty AM’s sports editor Matt Hardy has authored an article following his visit to Fulham’s Riverside Stand Sky Deck, which had a rather unfortunate debut ahead of the 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Everton last month.

Hardy quotes the infamous line from chief executive Alistair Mackintosh – ‘at “other clubs you hear the c-word – here the c-words are champagne and caviar’. The rejoinder from a Fulhamish contributor was stinging, even if we don’t endorse the sentiment. The other C-word that leaps out in Hardy’s piece was the suggestion from ‘a senior figure involved in the construction’ of the stand that the club’s plan was to ‘lure casual fans from Stamford Bridge’.

The rooftop pool won’t open until November, when temperatures will surely mean only the bravest will be dipping a toe in the water. Hardy notes that Fulham flirted with leaving Craven Cottage and that Mohamed Al-Fayed’s plans were abandoned. There is no mention of the fact that it was the fans who forced the U-turn, through their ‘Back to the Cottage’ campaign. He does say:

“The club would be silly to give up their prime location, and in regenerating the Riverside they’ve been able to keep the famous Johnny Haynes Stand opposite and the infamous Craven Cottage cornerstone.”

Hardy also writes:

“The reality of modern football is the £20,000 season ticket, and that’ll never change.”

The key, of course, is selling the high-price packages in such large numbers that both the Riverside Stand and Fulham Pier can make inroads into the gap between what Shahid Khan spends on running the club and Fulham generate in revenue. One thing’s for sure, the Whites won’t be sustainable, Mackintosh’s stated goal, for a long time to come.