# 2007–08 Fulham F.C. season

The 2007–08 season was Fulham F.C.'s seventh consecutive season in the Premier League. Lawrie Sanchez was in charge of the club for the first few months of the season after taking charge at the end of the previous campaign, but left the club by mutual consent in December 2007 after a string of poor results had sent Fulham sliding towards the relegation zone. He was replaced by ex-Finland national team coach Roy Hodgson, who had previously been in charge of fellow Premier League side Blackburn Rovers amongst many other clubs around Europe. Fulham managed to save themselves from relegation to the Championship with a 1–0 away win against Portsmouth at Fratton Park, their third-straight away victory, despite wins for relegation rivals Reading and Birmingham City, staying up on goal difference.

## Season review
### August

Fulham almost started the season off perfectly when they went ahead against Arsenal through a David Healy goal after one minute during the first weekend of the season, but Arsenal won the game in the last ten minutes with goals from Robin van Persie and Alexander Hleb. Fulham, however, did win their first home match of the season in a midweek match against Bolton Wanderers with goals from Healy and Alexey Smertin (later confirmed as a Gerald Cid own goal), having come from behind after ex-Fulham striker Heiðar Helguson's early goal. It would be several months before Fulham would experience another league victory.
In their third game of the season, Fulham again experienced a turnaround, but this time the scoreline went against them. They were 1–0 up against Middlesbrough – Brian McBride scoring before being carried off injured – but they could not hold on to their lead and lost 2–1. There was controversy about the result because, in the last minute, Healy had a clear goal not given as the referee or linesman could not see that the ball had crossed the line.
The final league game of the month was against Aston Villa; for a fourth game in succession, the team scoring the first goal failed to win. Fulham scored through Healy after six minutes, but two second half goals from former Fulham defender Zat Knight and Shaun Maloney gave Villa the victory.

### September

After three agonising defeats in their first four games, Fulham felt that they deserved some luck; this came in the first game of September against Tottenham Hotspur. Younès Kaboul and Dimitar Berbatov had put Tottenham in cruise control with two first goals before Dempsey replied for Fulham just before half-time. Gareth Bale extended Tottenham's lead on 61 minutes to 3–1 but Fulham managed to snatch a draw. Alexey Smertin's 77th-minute goal (also confirmed as an own goal, this time by Ricardo Rocha) and Diomansy Kamara's bicycle kick in stoppage time gave Fulham a 3–3 draw.
In the next game, away to Wigan Athletic, it was the opposition that rescued the game late on. Dempsey gave Fulham the lead but Jason Koumas scored a penalty 10 minutes from time after Hamer Bouazza's foul on Mario Melchiot to give Wigan a point. Another two draws followed in September: firstly a 3–3 draw against Manchester City, throwing away a lead twice before having to eventually come from behind (Hamer Bouazza, Simon Davies and Danny Murphy scoring for Fulham, with the City goals coming from Martin Petrov and Émile Mpenza). They followed that up by holding Chelsea to a 0–0 at Stamford Bridge.
In the League Cup, Fulham suffered a 2–1 home defeat to Bolton.

### October

Fulham started October with a home defeat against Portsmouth, through deflected strikes by Benjani and Hermann Hreiðarsson. A week later, against Derby County, Fulham had their second goalless draw of the season in a game of few chances, although in truth Derby could have snatched the win.
The final game of the month saw Fulham throw away yet another lead with a 1–1 draw against Sunderland. Simon Davies gave Fulham the lead in the first half and they held out until the 86th minute, when Kenwyne Jones was in the right place to score an equaliser for Sunderland.

### November

Fulham started November with a 3–1 home victory against Reading. Simon Davies put Fulham in front after 18 minutes. Kevin Doyle equalised ten minutes after the break, but Fulham struck back with goals from Clint Dempsey and David Healy. Elliott Omozusi was sent off in injury time, in only his second appearance, for a second yellow card. Fulham were unlucky to lose in their next game away at Liverpool as Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard both scored in the last ten minutes for a 2–0 victory. It was very harsh on Fulham, who had resisted the Liverpool pressure for the majority of the game.
After the international break, Fulham drew 2–2 with Blackburn Rovers, having twice been in front through goals from Danny Murphy and Diomansy Kamara, only to be pegged back by Brett Emerton and Stephen Warnock.

### December

December was a busy month, with matches crammed together at the end of the month. It turned out to be a very unsuccessful period for Fulham, as they took just two points from a possible 18.

### January

A very bad start to the new year saw Fulham defeated by close rivals Chelsea 2–1 at Craven Cottage.

### April

April started with a 3–1 defeat at home against Sunderland with second half goals from Danny Collins, Michael Chopra and Kenwyne Jones, even though Fulham had equalised through a brilliant David Healy goal from 30 yards out. Things improved the next week though as Fulham finally recorded their first away win since beating Newcastle United in September 2006, against Reading at the Madejski Stadium. Brian McBride and Erik Nevland scored the goals. It came as some relief to the long-suffering away support and put Fulham's survival bid back on track. However, Fulham then suffered a home defeat against an under-strength Liverpool side, Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch scoring for Liverpool. This defeat meant for most Fulham fans that relegation was looking almost certain; if results would not go their way the following week, then they could be relegated.
The following week, Fulham gained a priceless three points away to Manchester City to record their second successive away victory. After falling behind 2–0 in the first half, Fulham fought back from mathematical relegation to score three goals in the last twenty minutes, culminating with a 92nd-minute goal by Diomansy Kamara, his second of the game.

### May

On 3 May, Fulham were able to pull themselves out of the drop zone as Reading lost to Tottenham, and Fulham earned a vital three points with a win against Birmingham, one point above Fulham in the league table. This sent Birmingham to 19th position and Reading to 18th position, as Fulham leapfrogged both to 17th position on goal difference. Fulham's Premier League survival was in their own hands going into the last game of the season; both Reading and Birmingham registered big wins, but Fulham survived on goal difference with a 1–0 victory away to Portsmouth.

## Players
### First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Kasey Keller |
| 2 | DF | GER | Moritz Volz |
| 3 | DF | USA | Carlos Bocanegra |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Paul Konchesky |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Philippe Christanval |
| 6 | DF | SRB | Dejan Stefanović |
| 7 | MF | KOR | Seol Ki-hyeon |
| 8 | MF | RUS | Alexey Smertin |
| 9 | FW | NIR | David Healy |
| 10 | FW | FIN | Jari Litmanen |
| 11 | FW | SEN | Diomansy Kamara |
| 12 | GK | TRI | Tony Warner |
| 13 | GK | POR | Ricardo Batista |
| 14 | FW | USA | Eddie Johnson |
| 15 | FW | NOR | Erik Nevland |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Michael Timlin |
| 17 | DF | CAN | Paul Stalteri (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 18 | DF | NIR | Aaron Hughes |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | FW | USA | Brian McBride (captain) |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Jimmy Bullard |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Elliot Omozusi |
| 23 | MF | USA | Clint Dempsey |
| 24 | FW | ALG | Hamer Bouazza |
| 25 | MF | WAL | Simon Davies |
| 26 | MF | DEN | Leon Andreasen |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Danny Murphy |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Robert Milsom |
| 29 | GK | FIN | Antti Niemi |
| 31 | DF | ENG | Adam Watts |
| 32 | DF | NOR | Brede Hangeland |
| 33 | DF | FIN | Toni Kallio |
| 34 | DF | NIR | Chris Baird |
| 35 | MF | NZL | Simon Elliott |
| 37 | DF | AUS | Adrian Leijer |
| 38 | DF | ENG | Nathan Ashton |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Zat Knight (to Aston Villa) |
| 7 | DF | ENG | Liam Rosenior (to Reading) |
| 10 | MF | NIR | Steven Davis (on loan to Rangers) |
| 14 | MF | SEN | Papa Bouba Diop (to Portsmouth) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | FW | FIN | Shefki Kuqi (on loan from Crystal Palace) |
| 15 | FW | NED | Collins John (on loan to Watford) |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Lee Cook (on loan to Charlton Athletic) |

## Transfers
### Summer
#### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 27 June 2007 | DF | Aaron Hughes | Aston Villa | £1,000,000 |
| 5 July 2007 | MF | Steven Davis | Aston Villa | £4,000,000 |
| 9 July 2007 | FW | Diomansy Kamara | West Bromwich Albion | £6,000,000 |
| 12 July 2007 | DF | Chris Baird | Southampton | £3,035,000 |
| 13 July 2007 | FW | David Healy | Leeds United | £1,500,000 |
| 13 July 2007 | DF | Paul Konchesky | West Ham United | £3,250,000 |
| 19 July 2007 | MF | Lee Cook | Queens Park Rangers | £2,500,000 |
| 4 August 2007 | MF | Adrian Leijer | Melbourne Victory | Undisclosed |
| 8 August 2007 | DF | Hamer Bouazza | Watford | £3,000,000 |
| 23 August 2007 | GK | Kasey Keller | Borussia Mönchengladbach | Free |
| 30 August 2007 | DF | Nathan Ashton | Unattached | Free |
| 31 August 2007 | FW | Shefki Kuqi | Crystal Palace | Loan |
| 31 August 2007 | MF | Danny Murphy | Tottenham Hotspur | Loan |
| 31 August 2007 | MF | Seol Ki-hyeon | Reading | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2007 | DF | Dejan Stefanović | Portsmouth | £1,000,000 |

#### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 14 June 2007 | GK | Mark Crossley | Oldham Athletic | Free |
| 1 July 2007 | MF | Matthew Collins | Swansea City | Free |
| 23 July 2007 | FW | Heiðar Helguson | Bolton Wanderers | Undisclosed |
| 31 July 2007 | MF | Michael Brown | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed |
| 3 August 2007 | DF | Franck Queudrue | Birmingham City | £2,000,000 |
| 29 August 2007 | DF | Zat Knight | Aston Villa | £3,500,000 |
| 31 August 2007 | MF | Papa Bouba Diop | Portsmouth | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2007 | DF | Liam Rosenior | Reading | Undisclosed |

### Winter
#### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 18 January 2008 | DF | Brede Hangeland | Copenhagen | Undisclosed |
| 22 January 2008 | DF | Leon Andreasen | Werder Bremen | Undisclosed |
| 23 January 2008 | FW | Eddie Johnson | Kansas City Wizards | Undisclosed |
| 28 January 2008 | FW | Erik Nevland | Groningen | £1,850,000 |
| 31 January 2008 | DF | Toni Kallio | Young Boys | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2008 | FW | Jari Litmanen | Malmö FF | Free |
| 31 January 2008 | DF | Paul Stalteri | Tottenham Hotspur | Loan |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | GK | TRI | Tony Warner (on loan to Barnsley) |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Michael Timlin (on loan to Swindon Town) |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Ian Pearce (on loan to Southampton) |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Robert Milsom (on loan to Brentford) |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Wayne Brown (on loan to Brentford) |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Nathan Ashton (on loan to Crystal Palace) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | TJ Moncur (on loan to Bradford City) |
| — | DF | COD | Gabriel Zakuani (on loan to Stoke City) |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Cook (on loan to Charlton Athletic) |
| — | MF | NIR | Steven Davis (on loan to Rangers) |
| — | FW | FRA | Ismael Ehui (on loan to Carshalton Athletic) |
| — | FW | SWE | Björn Runström (on loan to 1. FC Kaiserslautern) |

## Club
### Management

| Position | Staff |
| Manager | Roy Hodgson |
| First-team coach | Ray Lewington |
| Goalkeeping coach | Mike Kelly |
| Reserve team coach | Billy McKinlay |
| Academy coach | Gary Brazil |
| Head of youth development | John Murtough |
| Physiotherapist | Jason Palmer |
| Club doctor | Steve Nance |
| Chief scout | John Marshall |
Last updated: 21 Sep 2007 Source: Fulham FC

### Other information

| Chairman | Mohamed Al Fayed |
| Managing director | David McNally |
| Technical director | Les Reed |
| Director | Omar Fayed |
| Director | Karim Fayed |
| Director | Mark Collins |
| Director | Stuart Benson |
| Commercial manager | Olly Dale |
| Commercial manager | Mark Maunders |
| Secretary | Zoe Ward |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | Craven Cottage (26,600 / 112x72 yards) |
Source: Fulham article on 15 Aug 2007

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Current position / round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Premier League | — | — | 17 | 12 Aug 2007 | 11 May 2008 |
| Football League Cup | 2nd round | — | 2nd round | 28 Aug 2007 | 26 September 2007 |
| FA Cup | 3rd round | — | 3rd round | 6 Jan 2008 | 22 January 2008 |
Updated to match played 11 May 2008 Source: Competitions

### Premier League
#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 15 | Sunderland | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 36 | 59 | −23 | 39 | |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 37 | |
| 17 | Fulham | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 38 | 60 | −22 | 36 | |
| 18 | Reading (R) | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 41 | 66 | −25 | 36 | Relegation to Football League Championship |
| 19 | Birmingham City (R) | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 46 | 62 | −16 | 35 | Relegation to Football League Championship |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 11 May 2008. Source: Barclays Premier League

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | W | L | L | D | D | D | D | L | D | D | W | L | D | L | L | L | D | L | D | L | L | L | D | W | L | L | L | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | W | W | W |
| Position | 15 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 |

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Kasey Keller | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Moritz Volz | 5 (4) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 (4) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Carlos Bocanegra | 18 (4) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 (4) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Paul Konchesky | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Philippe Christanval | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Zat Knight ** | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Dejan Stefanović | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Seol Ki-hyeon | 4 (8) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 4 (11) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Alexey Smertin | 11 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 (4) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | David Healy | 15 (15) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 (1) | 1 | 18 (16) | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Steven Davis * | 22 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Diomansy Kamara | 16 (11) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 | 17 (12) | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Tony Warner * | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Papa Bouba Diop | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Shefki Kuqi ** | 3 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Eddie Johnson | 4 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | Collins John * | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | Erik Nevland | 2 (5) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (5) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Paul Stalteri | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Aaron Hughes | 28 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Ian Pearce * | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Brian McBride (c) | 13 (3) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 (3) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Jimmy Bullard | 14 (2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 (2) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Elliott Omozusi | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 8 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Clint Dempsey | 28 (6) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 (6) | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Hamer Bouazza | 15 (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 (5) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | Simon Davies | 35 (1) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 (1) | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Leon Andreasen | 9 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (3) | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 27 | MF | Danny Murphy | 27 (5) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 (5) | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 29 | GK | Antti Niemi | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | Wayne Brown * | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | Brede Hangeland | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Chris Baird | 17 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 (2) | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 38 | DF | Nathan Ashton * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Updated 5 May 2008
* * Player is out on loan
* ** Player has left club