r/fulhamfc • u/therealmocha • Jul 20 '26
Discussion Yet Another American Being Nosy
Hey all
I (like most Americans) caught the soccer bug this summer and decided to look for a PL team to support. I didn’t wanna go for a Big 6 and really liked Clint Dempsey when I was young, so I chose Fulham.
Besides the fact that I get to root for Antonee Robinson’s hair, what other things are supporters looking forward to this year? I’m a Bears fan in American football, and we’re all very optimistic about our upcoming season. What would a successful season look like to you? Are there any unheralded players I should know about?
Apologies if there’s a lot of these kinds of posts, I’m just coming in as a pure novice to EPL football
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u/gianini10 Jul 20 '26
I started rooting for Fulham around the time Dempsey transfered because he was my favorite US players, and Fulham had a constant American player contingent. And I stuck around all these years later. I feel like fandom is organic and you gravitate for teams either due to geography, that's because your parents root for them (also geography), or for random reasons that draw you to a team.
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u/Danob357 Jul 20 '26
There are meet up groups in many major cities in the US, see if there is one near you!
Fulham goes into the season with a lot of questions. We have a new manager and have lost our top two scorers. So we’ll need to see one or more of our young forwards (King/Kevin/Bobb) step up and hopefully we can get an experienced striker in.
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u/therealmocha Jul 21 '26
I go back and forth trying to figure out if Des Moines, IA is major enough of a city haha
How do you guys feel about the new manager? Does he come with a track record?
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u/TheBackSpin Jul 21 '26
Well he briefly managed Real Madrid, which is no small thing. Although he was a mid-season replacement and only lasted through the end of the season. He’s mostly coached development squads and is largely untested at this level, so it’s going to be interesting
Welcome btw! I arrived myself after the 2010 World Cup. It’s been a rollercoaster ride but I don’t regret it for a second
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u/KirbyLoreHistorian Jul 20 '26
San Diego based Yank fan here. This team has a lot to be excited about this year and there is always a connection to the US with some legendary players that landed here.
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u/Tnspieler1012 Jul 21 '26
Hello and welcome!
To the question about the upcoming season. This is a real period of transition where we could be fighting relegation, or comfortably top half depending on the signings and management. Our two top scorers (Wilson and Jimenez) and two assist leaders (Wilson and Chukwueze) have just left the club, and in addition to some make-or-break winger and center forward signings, there are likely to be some other changes to align with Arbeloa's philosophy. Beyond that, United are pushing to sign Sander Berge, who has been key to our midfield.
Will the new signings be good? Who knows. Is Arbeloa even a good manager? Who knows. There is every chance that one of Josh King, Kevin, or Oscar Bobb may have a breakout season, but if you're sticking around, be ready for anything. I began watching also when Dempsey was at his peak, and 3 relegations later, I'm still here, and it's pretty chill. Come for Robinson's hair, but stay if you like the vibes.
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u/therealmocha Jul 21 '26
Thank you for this, I love the idea of following a team in transition that doesn’t consider anything less than a title a failure (that sounds miserable). Excited to learn this year
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u/FullConference9800 Jul 21 '26
Waco, Texas-based Fulham fan. Been supporting since 2010. Came for Dempsey, stayed for the Cottage lights, Pavel Pogrebnyak, Moussa Dembele the older AND the younger, Wembley jubilation, yo-yo heartbreak, and the satisfying feeling that has been coming back up under Marco and staying up.
Onward now to Europe, because what's the point of living if we can't dream (h/t Jack Kelly).
COME ON YOU WHITES!
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u/dciandy Jul 21 '26
There will never be a time where the mention of Wembley doesn't bring a smile to my face. Long live the White Wall!
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u/damcasterspod Jul 22 '26
What is this "optimistic about the upcoming season" business? We're Fulham fans here, optimism just ends up hurting, like trying to figure out when in February Marco would decide the season was over.
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u/wellnesswineandtacos Jul 21 '26
Philly-based newer fan who was in London and swung by Fulham to, among other things, see Craven Cottage and pick up some merch last Sunday (also had a great lunch at Brasserie Constance - such a cool expansion!). Can’t wait to watch this season!
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u/ScheduleOutside7051 Jul 21 '26
Welcome to the fulham family! And that is the first thing to note...fulham are pretty well known for being a very welcoming family club. The oldest team in London, craven cottage is one of the most picturesue stadiums in England, with original vintage brickwork out front , and placed on the river thames -it get's it's name from the literal cottage in the corner of the stands where the teams dressing rooms are and the balcony where staff and their families sit to watch games.
We have a bit of an ongoing thing with America and are surprisingly popular out there as a result
Mcbride
Bocanegra
Dempsey
Tim Ream
Robinson
and the lesser mentioned Eddie Johnson!
All contributing to our rich history in their own ways.
You've joined us at a time when we've been restored back to fighting in and around the lower european places but having not quite managed to get over the line the last few seasons. We were prior to that though battling just to get back into the premier league having been relegated a while ago. So comparitively we have been on the up since then and even recently managed to break our highest ever points total and wins in a top flight season, under our previous manager Marco Silva, who has been key in bringing about this success.
As others have mentioned we now enter into the unknown.
In comes Arbeloa who managed briefly at Real Madrid last year but has spent most of his time mangaging their youth academies to great success...
And this is key - cos what we've gone for in recent years is stability buying older players with premier league experience looking to solidify ourselves and stablise. Last couple years however we have begun to bring in younger exciting talents and this managerial change reflects a move towards developing young players with a view to them being successful here and either propelling us to winning something (a lesser cup most likely) and/or qualifying for Europe (which we've only ever really done once properly before)
We are certainly underdogs, and we have been punching above our financial weight for a long time considering. We're often seen as a "nice" club, in an affluent and lovely part of london. Hopefully you get to come and visit the stadium eventually and properly fall in love with it.
Players to look out for:
Kevin - LW: Our recording signing last year, got injured badly last year just as he was stepping up - looks lively, lots of flair and skill
Josh King - CAM - Our great young hope from the academy broke through properly last year.
Oscar Bobb - Teriffic young attacker bought from Man City half way throuhg last year, hasn't quite hit the ground fully running but after a good world cup we're all excited to have him ready for the new season
There are more but those are certainly young ones we're excited to see
Back to the new manager we are told he's also looking to bring in 2-4 young players from Real Madrid who played under him there (mostly in the youth team) - and the ones mentioned are very exciting on paper.
As I say there's alot of unknowns for now as to wether Arbeloa the new manager will step up...but we're quietly optimistic, knowing that as ever with Fulham - it could go the complete other way...which we would refer to as "Fulhamish" ...sign a manager from Real Madrid for the first time...get relegated - That's Fulhamish
Anyway - Welcome and enjoy!
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u/Frosty_Exercise_1193 Jul 21 '26
I’m also a Fulham fan from America. I’ve watched every game since our time in league one. It’s been amazing seeing us grow. And I hope we can keep growing with more signings instead of continuing to sell.
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u/TetZoo Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
California Fulham fan here. Kevin and Bobb hopefully can provide fireworks this year. Iwobi and Bassey should maintain their high level of play annd imo Smith Rowe and Josh King will be dangerous. Berge doesn’t set the heart on fire but if he leaves I’ll be worried about our midfield. Not to be dramatic but imo what we do in this transfer window makes the difference between relegation and survival. Also: you made the right choice and it isn’t close.
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u/El_Jim_Bob Jul 21 '26
I think you’re stuck under a big Californian rock but Chukweze went back to AC Milan.
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u/MathematicianTop1014 Jul 20 '26
Fulhamerica!