Fulham's great escape makes case for relegation in American soccer

By Chris Hummer - Potomac Soccer Wire Editor

The story of Fulham’s great escape from the threat of relegation from the top league in English football, the Premier League, is a lesson in the miracles that can happen when a team never quits pursuing every point and every goal with the proverbial "it ain't over 'til its over" attitude. It is also a great example of how the existence of relegation in a league structure can pump fan passions to a fever pitch, even when their team is not at the top of the rankings, a level of passion seen rarely in American soccer.

True relegation is an unknown aspect of league structure in MLS, and in major American sports - period. Americans have a characteristic singular focus on the top prize, the winner, the championship. But what if, as in English football, teams at the bottom of the standings weren't rewarded with higher draft picks, but actually booted from the league to a lower division to make room for champions from that lower division? The corresponding threat to revenues, loss of star players, less TV coverage, and sheer pride would no doubt fill the seats of the half empty stadiums we see in America towards the end of a season when all hopes of reaching the playoffs have been lost. Instead of giving up and saying "we'll get 'em next year," fans would be locked in what English football calls a "relegation battle" that often contains far more drama than the crowning of single champion.

This is the scenario that plays out every April and May in countries all over Europe, with none having quite as much history as the battle in England. And it's not just between the top league and the next tier. There are several tiers of professional soccer in England, and a team that has a really bad few years can find themselves at the very bottom in a heartbeat.

The penalty for slipping out of the top flight English Premier League down to the next tier (oddly enough, called the "Championship") is estimated to cost a team the equivalent of 90 million USD. The fight to avoid "the drop" means everything to a team like Fulham that has established itself in the Premier League. And, for American fans, Fulham's slippage would be like a punch in the stomach, for it would also take down five of the USA's best players, four of whom have moved to Fulham from MLS sides in recent years.


This year's fight to avoid a drop was one of the greatest ever - impressive enough to be given the rare privilege of forever being known as a "Great Escape." This is the story of the 2007/2008 Fulham Football Club. A story where EVERY point earned, EVERY goal scored, and EVERY goal saved really did matter.

Fulham was promoted to the 20-team EPL in 2001 and has spent the seasons since then hovering around mid-table between 9th and 14th place. Then, last season, they finished just 16th, narrowly escaping relegation. In fact it was a late season home defeat of Liverpool on a goal by the newly signed MLS star Clint Dempsey that is widely credited as the goal that kept them safe that year, preventing the disaster of slipping into the final three.

This season was different for Fulham. The previous year they were never actually in the drop zone, only dangerously close to being caught in it by teams below them fighting to escape. This year, with only five games to go in the season, Fulham found itself in the chasm of the final three places since the day after Christmas. They had only won two games since November 5th and hadn’t won a single game on the road in 18 months. Things were grim, and the prospect of five of America’s best players – four of whom had "graduated" to the EPL from MLS – being dropped to a lower league would be borderline catastrophic for serious fans of the game in this country who have adopted Fulham as "America's Team" in the EPL. Every sports pundit, bookie, and non-Fulham fan in England had written them off, and no one could really argue. What no one expected was that they were about to witness one of the greatest five weekends of one of the most impressive against-all-odds stories in sports history, a truly great escape.

Saturday, April 12th: Fulham vs Reading, Reading, England
The cynical say that things always get darkest before they go totally black, and Fulham's future had never looked darker. But on this Saturday, the first light of hope began to shine when Fulham went on the road and beat Reading 2-1, their first road win in 18-months and only their 2nd win in 2008. It wasn't just the three points earned in the win that was important, it was also the fact they had denied Reading three points as well - the proverbial six-point-swing game. Fulham fans were hopeful at this point, knowing that these were huge points with just four games remaining. But they also knew escape from the relegation zone would require several more wins, and their beloved club had only won five times in the previous 34 matches. Could they do it?

Saturday, April 19th: Fulham vs Liverpool at Fulham's Craven Cottage in London
Newborn hope was all but crushed on April 19th when Liverpool came to Craven Cottage in southwest London and handed Fulham a 2-0 defeat at home. The team was now in serious trouble with only three games left, two of them on the road. Sure, it was still mathematically possible to save themselves, but who would have thought at the time that winning three games in a row would be possible? It was something almost no EPL teams outside the top four EVER accomplish let alone teams in relegation battles. Not many thought it was possible to beat Liverpool, but they had done it the previous year on that Dempsey goal, so the hope had a chance. But the defeat was the last nail in the coffin for everybody but the players, Manager and fans of the team. The task ahead? Simple. You have to win every remaining game to avoid relegation - and you need help in the form of other teams losing.

Saturday, April 26th: Fulham vs Manchester City, Manchester, England
April 26th was an away match at Manchester City – a team doing very well most of the season. Despite a feeling of confidence going in, Fulham quickly fell to a 2-0 deficit. At that point, with barely 20 minutes remaining, the prospect of salvaging even one point from a draw seemed impossible, and even that probably wouldn’t be enough. Enter Fulham substitute Diomansy Kamara in the 70th minute. Kamara immediately scored through the legs of Joe Hart, the Manchester City (and England) Goalkeeper, right in front of the Fulham traveling fans. The goal sent those fans into a tempered tizzy as the door of hope opened a crack once more. Then, in the 80th minute, Fulham earned a Penalty and the door opened further. Just as fans started reaching for the knob, Danny Murphy’s PK attempt was saved by Hart - but not held! Murphy pounced and slammed it home to make it 2-2 with 10 minutes to go and door knob firmly gripped. Fulham then threw everything they had into the attack, literally with nothing to lose. As injury time arrived and the clock ticked, it wasn’t looking good. Until, with everyone expecting the final whistle, the referee allowed one last attack to play itself out. Diomansy Kamara used the gift wisely as he burst down the left side onto a perfect defense-splitting pass and beat Hart to his near post for the miracle goal that sent the fans – and likely the whole of England’s sports writers – into overdrive. The team left for dead, the team that just 2 weeks ago hadn’t won an away game in 18 months, had just won two away games in a row for the first time in nearly five years. Dare Fulham fans embrace hope completely now?

Saturday, May 3: Fulham vs Birmingham City, London, England
Next up was Birmingham City, a team that was just one point ahead of Fulham in the table at 18th place on 31 total points to Fulham’s 30. Reading was also above Fulham in the coveted “safe” 17th place with 33 points. However, a Fulham win combined with a Reading loss would springboard them to 17th place by leaving Birmingham 2 points behind and catching Reading on the tie-breaker rule thanks to a superior goal-difference. The match was Fulham’s last of the season at home as well, so hope was clearly justified for the first time in quite a while. With Reading in a major slump, and playing an always strong Tottenham Hotspurs side, the light of hope was justifiably shining. Just as much attention was being paid to this match as those with Manchester United and Chelsea, who were fighting for the league Championship. Despite a scoreless first-half, the “Cottagers” did not disappoint as American Brian McBride scored in the 51st and then Erik Nevland sealed the match in the 88th. Reading had lost at home to Tottenham on a Robbie Keene goal, so Fulham were finally out of the dreaded relegation zone. But there was still work to do. They had to go on the road to meet one of the hottest teams in the league and win an unprecedented third game in a row. The thought that both Reading and Birmingham City would both lose was out of the question. Fulham needed to win.

Sunday, May 11 Fulham vs Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England
This was the last match of the season, and Fulham were WELL into uncharted waters. They had never won three EPL games in a row away from home. And their opponent was none other than a Portsmouth team that was due to play in the FA Cup final match, a tournament to determine the best team (amateur or pro) in England. Portsmouth were missing their England National Team Goalkeeper David James due to injury, but by half time that barely seemed like a liability as the score was knotted at 0-0. With news of both Reading and Birmingham having built their own multi-goal leads at half time of their games, Fulham fans were in a somber mood. Then, in the 75th minute, Danny Murphy scored what might be the most important goal in the history of the oldest club in top-flight soccer in London. He headed home a Jimmy Bullard free kick and was immediately tackled by his teammates as every Fulham fan in the world cheered, jumped, slapped, drank, and cried along. After 15 minutes that must have seemed like 15 years, the final whistle blew, and even the Portsmouth fans stayed on to clap as the Fulham players exited the field. All recognized that they had just been privileged to witness one of the greatest escapes in the history of English football.

This is the drama that is a relegation battle. Over a 38 game season, had Fulham scored just a few less goals, or allowed just a few more, had they tied a game instead of won, or lost a game instead of tied, they would be gone from the EPL. This is the stuff legends are made of and the kind of battle that makes everyone involved better. With another year in the top league in the world guaranteed, Fulham should be able to keep their best players and even strengthen their squad with some summer signings. All is well in Southwest London. And all is well in American soccer circles too, where we can still claim that there are American players starting games and making a difference in the world's best league.


Editor's note:
Relive the story for yourself on SoccerNet.com's Fulham news page:

Goosebumps factor - with the background story above, watch this video and try not to get goosebumps:



Listen to Fulham Goalkeeper explain the great escape on this US Soccer podcast.

Want to adopt Fulham as your team in Europe? Join FulhamUSA fan club

Fulham's great escape was Reading's tragedy. Read on PSW Corner Kicks blog about the little boy who cried and how it turns a spotlight on a critical missing element in American soccer.