Graig Carbino wrote a great article about Fulham's rise to prominence in the English Premier League, and behind a coach in Roy Hodgson and midfielder in Clint Dempsey that have really come from obscurity.
-- Back in 1999, West London's Fulham were battling it out for promotion from the third tier of English Football (the old League Two). Some ten years later, the small club from the banks of the Thames River has moved on to bigger and better things.
No, Fulham is not the “Manchester United of the South” as club owner Mohamed Al-Fayed once said. They have, however, firmly established themselves as a strong Premier League side that can never be overlooked.
The resurgence has been up and down since Fulham reached the Prem' for the first time beginning in August 2001. Former captain Chris Coleman's time as manager came and went while his replacement, Lawrie Sanchez, was a total bust as boss. Enter Roy Hodgson.
Hodgson is an English manager that, prior to Fulham, had never really made it in England. He wasn't much of a player, having spent some time with Crystal Palace but never figuring in their first team. At the age of 29, Hodgson set out for Sweden, where he managed Halmstads BK for five seasons.
He would go on to coach back in England, Switzerland, in Italy with Inter, back to England with Blackburn, back to Switzerland, then to Denmark, back to Italy, to the UAE, then Norway, onto Finland and then finally Fulham.
Most English managers tend to cut their teeth in the lower leagues around the UK while waiting for a bigger job to open up. For example, Alex Ferguson began his coaching career with East Stirlingshire on a part-time basis before moving on to St. Mirren, Aberdeen, and then Manchester United.
Not Hodgson though. He is a bit of a different guy and you can tell that just by listening to one of his post-game press conferences. This is a worldly, thinking man that studies the game more than most, can talk about literature and theatre as much as he can football, and has always gone about things unlike those around him.
It seems odd to me that, back in 2000, Hodgson was one of three candidates to take over the England managerial position. Sven-Goran Eriksson was eventually hired. How does a guy like Hodgson, who had very little success managing in and around England, come up for that position?
Eriksson hadn't coached in England prior to taking over either, but he did previously manage the likes of Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio. No slight intended towards Hodgson, but those names carry a bit more weight then say, Malmo, Neuchatel Xamax, Orebro or Viking.
No, there has to be something else there. Maybe the respect and admiration comes from the fact that he did it his way. He didn't plod around in the lower leagues of the UK. He went out on his own, made his own name and gained more respect abroad than he ever had at home.
You'd have to suppose his international success meant something, right?
More recently, the English FA has even had to deny reports that they are lining up Hodgson should Fabio Capello leave the England set-up before his contract runs out. Whatever it is, Hodgson is now held in high esteem from most English pundits and players in the know.
Moving on to another large reason for Fulham's recent success, and we point to a player not unlike Hodgson himself: Clint Dempsey.
I know what you are thinking. Come on, you have to say that, blah, blah, blah. Serious though, Dempsey has been one of the few ever presents for Fulham this past year and a half. He finished joint top scorer in the league last year for the Whites with seven goals and has already hit five in all competitions this term.
Along with Aaron Hughes, Dempsey is the only player to start all 19 Premier League games this season and will look to continue that streak this afternoon when Fulham visit Stoke City.
Dempsey was recently named to famed Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport's 2009 Premier League Best XI. He beat out the likes of Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon and Steven Gerrard among others. Not bad for a guy that, for all intents and purposes, came from nowhere.
Sort of like his manager, Dempsey was an unheralded player growing up that had to scrap for everything he has. He didn't go into residency in Bradenton. He didn't go to Indiana, UCLA, or Virginia to play college soccer. No, he played his youth soccer as close to his home in Nacogdoches, Texas as was possible and attended Furman to play his college ball.
With a manager in Roy Hodgson that's made his name in a different way than most and a US product in Clint Dempsey that has done much the same, Fulham are pushing themselves into the true realm of recognition. Forget trying to be Manchester United or Chelsea or Arsenal. Just be you, do it a bit different, and play well.
Fulham have taken the identity of their underdog coach and captivating midfielder by rising above what those around them have thought and done. They've just gone out and been themselves. They put in a full shift every time out and let the results do the talking. Good on them.
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