Fulham fans should avoid black cats, broken mirrors and walking under ladders, because they’re the unluckiest fans in the football league.
How else can you explain the fact that their team will be playing their 2017 Boxing Day fixture away from home for the FIFTH year on the trot? A quick search on the internet reveals that the chance of this happening is one in thirty two, or just over 3%. As a certain previous chairman used to say: You lucky people!
Although the EFL fixtures have yet to be released, the announcement this morning that Premier League Chelsea are playing at home on December 26 almost certainly guarantees that Fulham will be away on that date. We’re never at home on the same day, due to stretched Met Police resources.
(The last trouble I saw at Fulham was when Putney Costa Coffee sold out of frangipanes, but this holds no sway with the boys in blue).
So why’s it such a big deal? Why’s this particular Fulham fan getting so precious over a run of Bank Holiday away games? There are two consequences of this run of fixtures, both extremely unfair in their own way.
Firstly, it is unfair on Fulham fans. Those of us who follow Fulham home and away, do occasionally need time with the family.
Our devotion to the cause is beyond the comprehension of many friends and relatives and the Christmas break is the perfect opportunity to earn brownie points, repair bonds and build bridges.
For three out of the last four Boxing days, my wife and I have left bemused relatives at the crack of dawn to follow our team to glamorous destinations like Norwich and Derby. It’s beginning to wear a bit thin! We didn’t have the heart to do it for a fourth time last season.
Meanwhile, the Chelsea fans next door (I’ve not used names, to avoid embarrassment) have had their delightfully ‘unique’, extended family over for the last four Boxing Days, had a lengthy lie in and shuffled off to Stamford Bridge after a leisurely brunch.
Meanwhile, the more cerebral members of SW6 have had to travel many miles using a much reduced public transport service, or simply driven themselves to the game after a pretty sober Christmas Day.
At a time when Sky are already pushing fans to the limit with ‘imaginative’ kick off times like Thursday evening, the last thing we need is for the EFL fixture guru to put the boot in as well.
Secondly, it’s not fair on the Club. Football Clubs can usually expect a bumper gate on a Boxing Day, as friends and family re-join the fold and accompany the more regular fans on their pilgrimage.
Fulham are no exception and a crowd of, say, 21k instead of 17k can make an awful lot of difference to finances. With Financial Fair Play demanding that we account for every penny, the extra income can be the difference between a play-off and an embargo. I guess it’s lucky for Chelsea then.
Except, you’ve guessed it, they would get a capacity crowd anyway! Such is the pull of any Premier League fixture that they would probably sell out on Christmas morning! So they really don’t need the ‘favour’ of a Boxing Day fixture – and yet it has come along for five years on the trot!
We’re a fairly happy go lucky bunch at Fulham but we know our football and we know when something is fair, and when something is just a little bit rotten. I’d love some input from the Premier League or the EFL but from where I’m standing, something about this fixture debacle really stinks.
