[Football] Mohammed 'Al' Fayed RIP

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

Can never, ever be forgiven for this atrocity.

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I'm pretty sure I went past that statue at the National Football Museum in Manchester a couple of years back. Frightened the fookin life out of me...

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

RIP Fugger.

Turned Fulham round. Fact.

 

[Live by the sea]

He was a divisive character:
- the first foreign owner of a football club
- 'sharp' in business (shafted Lonrho for Harrods)
- pissed off the Royal Family mightily (& never got a UK passport as a result)
- wanted to make Fulham the 'Man Utd of the south')
- was a mate of Micheal Jackson and erected 'that' statue
But / and
- was a real football fan
- rescued an almost failed club from oblivion (notwithstanding Mickey Adams' amazing job of lifting us from 91st to promotion)
- attended most home games, walking round the pitch, twirling his scarf
- continued to invest for nearly 2 decades, losing millions in the process.

Def a character- seemed ok from what I’ve read about him .

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I said he was a divisive character.

I can still remember the day that my dad (2nd or 3rd generation Cottager) rang me up to tell me his boss had bought Fulham. My dad was working for the Harrods owned insurance company called Genavco. I'd asked him what the company name meant and it was MAF's idea - it was the team he'd played for in Egypt.

It's embarrassing that we (some of us) still sing about him - he eventually stopped pumping his money in. But he did turn us round and stick around, as has Tony Bloom with you lot.

Another plus - he properly funded the Fulham Women's team until the FA reneged on their promises to set up a proper structure and promote it.

So a bit more than 'f*****g NOTHING' then?

 

[essbee1]

So a bit more than 'f*****g NOTHING' then?

Greg, I suggest you read around the subject beofre talking out of your arse.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Greg, I suggest you read around the subject beofre talking out of your arse.

No thanks.

 

[Dancin Ninja BHA]

In a previous life I worked for a year at Harrods (and had a very surreal 5 minutes of my life, selling Des Lynam a new Barbour jacket and talking all things Albion in 1998, a month before the Grand National!!!)

Would see Al Fayed walking around on a weekly basis with a very content/smug look on his face, surrounded by his ex-special forces bodyguards.....he did wonders for that store and Fulham FC, although in my opinion an odious man

 

[MJsGhost]

I was there the day Michael Jackson was paraded around the pitch. It was sunny (May, I think) and he was sheltering under an umbrella. I was standing in the Enclosure, alongside the pitch, and remember commenting that MJ must have been a Fulham fan because he was both black and white. Its fair to say that all Fulham fans hated that statue for many different reasons. It's now been replaced by a decent George Cohen statue and is in a storeroom at the National Football Museum.

I hope you BOOOOOOOed the freaky paedo?

 

[Klaas]

I liked that story about him giving the Fulham players a Gold bar if they won a game. Is it true?

 

[JetsetJimbo]

He treated Micky Adams really crappily when he took over Fulham. Adams definitely didn't deserve the sack, having just led them to promotion, but Fayed couldn't resist the temptation to replace him with a big name in the form of Kevin Keegan.

But that meant Adams was free to join us and finally get us out of that division. So I guess we should be grateful to him.

 

[trueblue]

Al Fayed used to seem a bit dodgy. Compared to the norm nowadays, he was a model owner…

 

[BrightonCottager]

I liked that story about him giving the Fulham players a Gold bar if they won a game. Is it true?

Not heard that one.

 

[Reagulls]

I liked that story about him giving the Fulham players a Gold bar if they won a game. Is it true?

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.


............................................

 

[Bakero]

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That's exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Live by the sea]

He was no doubt a loss less dodgy than the people that own Newcastle and man city today

 

[Eeyore]

If I recall he lived somewhere near Oxted in Surrey. An ex partner of mine lived near him. Had nothing but good to say about his work in that community.

The bloke is dead. Not sure why folk are trying to tear him down. He never got a British passport, perhaps if he'd been a Russian oligarch he might have been okay on that front.

RIP

 

[Questions]

I'm pretty sure I went past that statue at the National Football Museum in Manchester a couple of years back. Frightened the fookin life out of me...

He can’t hurt you now

 

[Klaas]

I liked that story about him giving the Fulham players a Gold bar if they won a game. Is it true?

hmm I googled it and what I found was less funny than how I remembered it. I thought I read that a player said he promised them a gold bar each if they won a game. They thought he was serious, won the game and then he came in the dressing room and handed out the chocolate version.

 

[The Grockle]

I met him at the Wentworth golf event over 20 years ago when I was working. Hospitality was over £500 a day and I met lots of high profile celebrities, none made an impression.

One day I went to cover the sandwich kiosk which was serving roast beef ciabattas, we served him a bottle of water and he was incredibly friendly and tipped the girl on the till the change from a £20 note. He had no reason to be there really because it was with general public but he took the time to ask us how we were and thanked us for our hard work.

Catherine zeta Jones was a highlight as she looked incredible in the flesh but was very dismissive of a star struck teenager serving her who told her she had just seen entrapment. A simple "glad you enjoyed it" would have been nice