Members Dining Club
David was very touched to receive a signed Fulham shirt as a token of gratitude from members as he steps back from the day to day running of the 1879 club he was instrumental in founding.
David would like to express his gratitude to the members and hopes to still attend many dinners in the future.
Peter Jacobs with Billy the Badger and Shahid Khan
David Daly with Fulham legend Brian McBride and Tim Howard
1. Roy Hodgson (51)
2 Jean Tigana (32)
3 Marco Silva (15)
Micky Adams (9)
Alec Stock (5)
Ray Lewington (6)
Malcolm MacDonald (3)
Kevin Keegan (1)
Chris Coleman (2)
Ray Hatford (1)
1. Laurie Sanchez (29)
2. Alan Dicks (28)
3. Don Mackay (22)
Vic Buckingham (4)
Kit Symons (2)
Paul Bracewell (5)
Ian Branfoot (3)
Claudio Ranieri (8)
Booby Campbell (6)
Rene Meulensteen (4)
Scott Parker (4)
Mark Hughes 6
The poll was taken at our last lunch, with Robert Wilson as Guest of Honour, on May 19th.
No surprises in the Player of the Season.
In GOAT I was surprised Luis Boa Morte did not poll any votes.
I applied a counting system of 3 points for a #1 choice, 2 for a #2 and 1 for a #3.
The poll proved popular and I will use it for future events on Fulham-related topics.
Joao Pahlinha : 57
Bernd Leno: 38
Willian: 21
Tom Ream: 15
Kenny Tete: 12
Alex Mitrovic:7
Harrison Reed: 5
George Cohen: 24
Louis Saha: 21
Gordon Davies : 20
Alan Mullery : 18
Les Barrett: 8
Simon Morgan :7
Ray Houghton : 7
Moussa Dembelé: 6
Tom Cairney : 6
Brede Hangeland:4
Graham Leggat: 4
Les Strong:3
Allan Clarke:3
Roger Brown: 3
Mark Schwarzer: 3
Paul Peschisolido: 3
Edwin Van der Sar: 3
Bobby Keetch: 3
Brian McBride:1
Paul Parker :1
Fred Callaghan: 1
Beddy Jezzard:1
Tosh Chamberlain: 1
Micky Adams :1
Booby Robson:1
Steed Malbranque :1
Ray Lewington :1
Vic Halom 1
George was a honoured guest on 3 occasions at the 1879 club.
The passing of George Cohen was certainly felt by all Fulham supporters and beyond.
We only have 11 World Cup winners and of them – George – was the only one-club man, totting up 450+ games for the Cottagers between 1957 and 1968.
Fulham, in terms of trophies, are not one of the most successful London clubs but we can claim a World Cup winner which Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs cannot.
George was a fine right back.
He had speed and a cross, albeit often somewhat wayward, but also a remarkable positional sense and a strong tackle.
I never saw him in his prime but I do recall a comeback game – I think it was against Carlisle – in the old Second Division when, to an exultant Cottage crowd, he flew down the wing in his trademark overlapping run.
He never overcame an injury sustained against Liverpool and could not even take part in his testimonial because of pleurisy.
He did not moan – George was not that sort – even during the three bouts of cancer which he beat, the death of his brother (and father of another World Cup winner rugby player Ben) – and a reverse in his property business that caused him to sell his World Cup medal to Fulham, where it proudly is exhibited together with his statue.
He was especially close to Alf Ramsey – another fine right back.
He was no admirer of the modern wing-back style – “I don’t mind the attacking, but they give away too much real estate defensively …” he would say.
George mastered all the arts of defending and in an era of excellent right backs, like Jimmy Armfield and Ken Shellito, George was the England regular.
When you talk to his fellow players, the admiration is unconditional but they always would say how hard he could be. When it got nasty against Argentina in the 1966 World Cup quarter final he “did” one of them right in front of the Royal Box.
No tribute would be complete without a reference to his lovely wife Daphne.
He once said to me “I am only prepared to come back in a second life if I can remarry Daphne”.
He was bubbly, good fun and concerned with no ego.
He might have been one of the unsung heroes of 1966 … but not by us Fulham supporters.
John Lacy proved to be an excellent guest of honour . He came from an era when university graduates like Steve Heighway , Brian Hall and his Spurs teammate Chris Galvin began to make their mark. As this article by the late and great Dennis Turner makes clear John would have made a superb CEO in today’s football world.
He remembered his times at Fulham with great affection as we do of him.
David Daly gave us his normal, well informed update but as this is a public domain website I will not go into any more detail.
Whilst there were inevitably a few drop outs we had a good gathering including new members Peter Brodnicki and David Baker.
Our next lunch is May 15th. The situation is fluid but will be governed by government health advice and the policy of the RAC.
15 March Stuart Gray who apologised for absence bur attended at 16th October event
3 May: Tony Gale
9 August: Mark Ramprakash
27 September: Paul Peschisolido
16 October : Stuart Gray and Scott Parker at Fulham Foundation fund raising event at Craven Cottage.
6 December Xmas Lunch
Treasurer Mike Powell to report on this separately
Amount in bank account.
Short financial statement.
Subscription of £100 due 31 January 2020 . Please ensure your dues are paid on time to retain membership and ensure the club has sufficient cash reserves.
Cancellation policy
Within 7 days of event
Outside 7 days
13 March
8th May
7th August
4th September ( cricket lunch)
22 October. * (Craven Cottage event with Fulham Foundation)
4th December ( Xmas lunch)
We intend to repeat the October dinner at Craven Cottage to raise money for Fulham Foundation for al the good causes it does in the name of Fulham FC to which we handed over a cheque for £5999 after the October event and to cooperate with them on fundraising events they are putting on such as their golf day in May 6th. It would be good to contribute at least one team. Everyone has their preferred charities but its best to have one for our club that encompasses everyone and the Fulham Foundation ticks that box.
We intend to expand website for info on bank details and events. Please refer to website for any queries initially.
Membership is capped at 35.
David Roodyn, Alan Smith have an overall discretion regarding membership.
The RAC Pall Mall has excellent facilities and good food and wine. They know Alan well and therefore make the arrangements of every lunch much easier.
The Club had a successful year with lunches at RAC well attended with interesting Guests of Honour. We had our first non Fulham speaker in Mark Ramprakash . He was well received and we think it a good idea to have one event with a non Fulham speaker well known in his sport. For the other events we will invite a Fulham Guest and appreciate David Daly ‘s input. David has asked to make it clear he attends lunches and events as a paid up member of long standing and not as an interface/ facilitator of any complaint you may have with Fulham.
Our protocol for inviting a guest of honour is
This works well and ensures a high calibre of guest. We welcome your suggestions of any potential guest but we cannot obviously guarantee his attendance.
The May 3rd lunch at the RAC went very well. David Daly updated us on the new Riverside stand development. Fulham legend Tony Gale told some hilarious stories and also gave a shrewd assessment of the 2018-19 season.
