In the build up to every new season, fans of all clubs anticipate the release of the new kit and for various reasons, we all have our own personal favourite from years gone by. But what do the players think?
Daniel Smith asked three former players: Luis Boa Morte, Robert Wilson and Collins John which Fulham kit was their favourite during their time representing the club…
LUIS BOA MORTE
APPEARANCES: 250
FULHAM CAREER: 2000-2007
FAVOURITE KIT: 2004/05 AWAY
REASON: We were back home at Craven Cottage that season which was special and I also liked the colour and design of the away kit that season.
NOTABLE RESULTS
NEWCASTLE 1-4 FULHAM
We equalled our biggest win at St James Park, thrashing Graham Souness’ side 4-1. This game is remembered for the incredible performance of Mark Crossley who was saving shots with all body parts including his face as the home side were limited to a late consolation goal despite having 20 shots on target. Collins John opened the scoring and Steed Malbranque‘s brace made it 0-3. In his favourite kit, Luis Boa Morte made it 4 with a breakaway goal in the 76th minute, dinking it over the keeper. Craig Bellamy did pull a goal back for the home side but the game was already out of sight.
WBA 1-1 FULHAM
This game is rated as one of the dirtiest matches in Premier League history… The main talking point in the first half was a missed penalty by Robbie Earnshaw who skied his effort over the bar after Moritz Volz was penalised for hand ball. The game came alive in the second half, starting with Papa Bouba Diop, who was shown a straight red for pushing Darren Purse in the face before Chris Coleman’s ten men took the lead thanks to Andy Cole. That wouldn’t be the end of the Premier League’s third highest goalscorer’s involvement either. A surging run from Luis Boa Morte forced a foul from Neil Clement and the defender saw red, deemed to be the last man by referee Mike Dean. As Clement left the field, words were exchanged with Cole and the pair broke out into a fight. Mike Dean got his red card out for a third time and Fulham ended the game with 9 men. Kanu equalised in stoppage time to round off a very eventful afternoon that had a bit of everything.
ROBERT WILSON
APPEARANCES: 243
FULHAM CAREER: 1979–1985 | 1987–1989
FAVOURITE KIT: 1981/82 & 1982/83 HOME
REASON: I picked this kit because I loved the design. Funny enough, it’s very similar to the home shirt we have this season with the black going across the shoulders. We were also promoted wearing it and I had the most enjoyable couple of years of my career playing in that Malcolm MacDonald side.
NOTABLE RESULTS
FULHAM 1-1 LINCOLN CITY
The most memorable match in this kit came in the final game of the 1981/82 season when we sealed promotion back to the Second Division in dramatic fashion. Fulham only needed a point on the night to get over the line but a win for Lincoln would have seen them promoted instead, making this somewhat of a playoff final under the floodlights at the Cottage. The Imps were reduced to ten men in the 57th minute when Dean Coney was taken out on the edge of the box and The Whites took full advantage of the set piece. Tony Gale took the freekick, setting up his his centre back partner, Roger Brown who forced a bullet header into the roof of the Putney net. Lincoln equalised 15 minutes later, leaving an anxious wait for the final whistle as Malcolm MacDonald achieved promotion in his first season in charge.
Iconic scenes followed the final whistle as the players celebrated on the Cottage balcony. Amidst the celebrations, one of the most iconic photos in Fulham’s history was taken as Roger was captured smoking a celebratory cigar.
FULHAM 0-1 LEICESTER CITY
The club also wore this home kit the following season as MacDonald’s side continued to play beautiful football and just missed out on making it back to back promotions. It all ended in tears in the final game of the campaign at The Baseball Ground in that controversial defeat to Derby County, but we wore our away colours on that occasion.
Despite the circumstances in which we lost that day, perhaps it was the results leading up to that game where we threw away the opportunity to make it back to the top flight. It was Leicester City that benefitted from our late demise and a 1-0 loss at the Cottage to the Foxes in that final run in proved to be the difference. It was another match with controversy as Fulham had a perfectly good goal ruled out. Sadly, despite being a very enjoyable, entertaining campaign, it didn’t end with the same jubilation as the previous May and has left a bitter sense of what could have been hanging over that era.
COLLINS JOHN
APPEARANCES: 108
FULHAM CAREER: 2004-2008
FAVOURITE KIT: 2006/07 HOME
REASON: I really liked our home kit from 2006/07. It looked nice but more importantly it was a very good fit and comfortable to wear in matches.
NOTABLE RESULTS
FULHAM 2-1 ARSENAL
Fulham recorded their first win against The Gunners since January 1966. The home side took an early lead from a corner thanks to a trademark header from Brian McBride in the 6th minute. That advantage was doubled soon after as Fulham soared into a 2-0 lead whilst the goalscorer Tomasz Radzinski flew head first into the advertising hoardings! Luckily no lasting damage was caused to the Canadian and his bravery at the far post proved to be the decisive factor in the match. Robin Van Persie’s brilliantly executed freekick before half time proved to be nothing more than a consolation as we held on for an historic victory and our first Premier League victory over Arsenal.
CHELSEA 2-2 FULHAM
There was much talk before the next round of fixtures about who would score the 15,000th Premier League goal. In the 16th minute at Stamford Bridge, the most unlikely of players scored that goal and his name couldn’t have been more ideal for a headline: 15,000 Volz! The German fullback was being used as a makeshift midfielder at the time and found himself in the box as a throw in came in. His low strike at the near post found the back of the net to put his name in the Premier League record books. The game ended 2-2 with an 84th minute equaliser from Carlos Bocanegra, salvaging a point for Chris Coleman’s side to take back down the Fulham Road.
FULHAM 1-0 LIVERPOOL
In the penultimate game of the season, Clint Dempsey scored his first goal for the club and secured our Premier League survival against a weakened Liverpool side who had one eye on the Champions League Final a few weeks later. It was Lawrie Sanchez’ first win as Fulham manager after replacing Chris Coleman in the April.
