Fulham

When I was a young man....yes you can say it was in the last century....I put an advert once in a national football magazine years ago asking for pen-pals (this was in the days before the internet highway - the only way to correspond with people was a land line phone number or letter)....I didn't get much of a response from it but I did get a couple of decent people out of it....one was from a fella down in darkest deepest Dorset where they had a bus stop in their village once a month...despite that he set up his own football team who I occasionally played for when down that way...they were playing in the Blackmore Vale league in Dorset recently but I have just found out that they have now folded (11th Jan 2012 - Rest in Peace, Palace Court FC)

The other person who wrote to me was a girl from London, she lived in a high rise near Euston station...you can't get much more central than that!

Her name was Jennifer and she was a Fulham fan.

The first time I went to Fulham was when they played Leeds United in the old Second division, 17th September 1983....amazingly, with only a black and white photo to go on, I found her and her dad and watched the game with them.

I loved the ground from the first time I saw it, it is one of those grounds that has it's own personality (unlike most of these new grounds that all look alike in my eyes), with the Craven Cottage "pavilion" set in a corner of the ground.

A little bit of history about the cottage itself....The original 'Cottage' was built in 1780, by William Craven (Hence the name!!), he was the sixth Baron Craven and it was originally located on where the centre circle of the pitch now is.

The Cottage Pavilion that is there now dates back to 1905 along with the Stevenage Road Stand, it was built by renowned football ground architect Archibald Leitch (I'm sure he built more than footy grounds though).

The reason The Cottage was built was due to an oversight in the Stevenage Road Stand (as it was then), as Leitch had forgotten to accommodate changing rooms in his final plans.

Besides being the changing rooms, the Cottage (also called The Clubhouse) was traditionally used by the players' families and friends who sit on the balcony to watch the game.

We went into the Stevenage Road stand...now named the Johnny Haynes Stand (since 2005) to watch the game, which Fulham won 2-1....since then I have always a softer than soft spot for the club, was it because of the club itself or for the memories that I had had there?

After the game her dad offered me a lift back to Euston, as he had parked his car near to the ground and he knew I was getting a train back to Euston....it would have been rude of me to refuse.

I was given place of honour in the front seat...all well and good, but I needed to desperately break wind....we were stuck in a lot of traffic, I could feel my stomach bloating with every passing minute. The last thing I wanted to do in a new friends' dad's car was fart.....that would really bugger up the start of a blooming friendship wouldn't it?

Now the pain was starting in my stomach, her dad made a joke and of course I had to laugh, praying that I wouldn't accidently relax my tummy muscles.

I wondered if I should try and squeeze a little one out....should I take the chance, just to help relieve the pain a bit?

Then I saw a sign for Euston, I decided to try and hang on for a little longer, despite enjoying their company I was really hoping that the station would be just around the next corner....thankfully, it was.

Jenny's dad offered to take me as close to the station as possible.

"NO! It's ok", I pleaded, "I can walk from here"

I opened the door and got out of the car slowly, my cheek muscles clenched tightly together to prevent any air escaping.

I smiled and waved and promised that I'd write soon.

The car drove away and I relaxed....and boy did I let blow from there with every step towards the terminus!!

My friendship with Jenny went on for a few years, we'd go places for days out and her knowledge of the names of all 92 league club grounds was unsurpassable...even better than mine!!

We planned to go to all of the aforementioned 92 league grounds together...our lives seemed destined to be intertwined and to know a female who had fantastic footy knowledge was all I asked for in a woman in those far flung days!!

We would even go to watch the Fulham reserves play by getting the bus from Euston Road all the way to Fulham when they played matches on a week day afternoon...ahh...good times!!

But time being the eternal bugger that is went by, Jenny went and got herself a fella, and our friendship and ground-hopping plans petered into nothing, we lost touch and after a little meeting at Euston station in 1988, I found out that she was engaged and then I never heard from her again.

The last time I went to see Fulham play at Craven Cottage was a couple of years after that, December 7th 1990...a rainy Friday night, they were playing Cambridge United in the FA Cup....I went there as I had nothing else to do that night and also I must admit...just in case I saw Jenny....I didn't though so I went into the "Hammy" end...otherwise known as the Hammersmith end behind the goal with the other Fulham fans...got completely soaking wet through as the rain didn't stop that night, the weather shared it's misery with me for the whole game as I watched, quite miserably in more ways than one, a boring 0-0 draw.

Don't know what it is with Cambridge United, but every game I have ever seen them play has resulted in a 0-0 draw.

The nearest underground station is Putney Bridge, don't be fooled by thinking that because Fulham Broadway has the name Fulham in it that it's close by...it's not....Putney Bridge is closer.

But still a fair old walk.

From the underground station if you go over the bridge...then you're going the wrong way (Unless you get off at Putney mainline station, then you do need to go up Putney High Street and over the bridge...but I don't want to confuse you)....head along the Fulham Palace Road, as you bypass Bishop's Park you'll find a club shop on your right.

Don't be fooled by this, you still have a bit of a walk. Carry on along the Palace Road and you'll eventually have the choice of going down either Park Road or Finlay Street on your left, from there you will see the ground.