Who were the Fulham players through the years who you had high hopes for, but who strangely slipped out of view. I'm not necessarily talking about big money signings like Steve Marlet, but anyone who you thought was going to do great for us, but who quickly disappeared from relevance. To start us off, I've got two examples: Jari Litmanen was a world class player whose signing gave me my first hope that Roy Hodgson was going to bring some proper footballing style to our relegation battle. It turned out that we were a couple of years too late for Litmanen to make a meaningful contribution. In the early 90s, I watched delightedly as a young Irish striker called Rory Hammill broke into the team. His eye for goal and more than that, his intelligent movement off the ball had me dreaming of a new Gordon Davies. Since leaving us after two years, he's played the rest of his career in the Northern Irish league which (no disprespect intended) tells its own story. Any other suggestions?
Ara Bedrossian - sparkled when he arrived on loan, but then arrived permanently and never recaptured the same form. Tony Thorpe - prolific at Luton before we signed him, hardly played for Fulham and was sold shortly afterwards. I seem to remember an argument over whether to play him towards the end of the 97-98 season was what led to Ray Wilkins's departure as manager. And for a player who looked destined to achieve big things when he was at Fulham, only to spend his career drifting around the lower leagues: Duncan Jupp.
Bedrossian and Thorpe are great shouts, fulhamish. Funnily enough, only this morning I mentioned Ara in passing on another thread. I liked the look of Thorpe in the handful of games I saw him play. At the time it felt like we had signed him during an injury crisis and then simply offloaded him a few months later when other players came back. It felt very unFulhamish, and a sign of our new-found moneybags ways. Another one who was tipped (by some) for better things was Michael Mison. I remember hearing rumours that we had turned down £900,000 from Sheffield Wednesday - then in the Premier League, with us in whatever the fourth tier was called back then - only to see him drift away to non-league football a year or two later.
Ah yes, Michael Mison. Him, Robert Haworth, and Danny Bolt all ended up at my local non-league club, Sutton United, a few years ago.
Although I wouldn't class this as a 'great' disappoinment, I expected a lot better from Stefano Okaka last year. After seeing some magnificent goals and assists from the young Italian in the lead up to his eventual loan spell at the Cottage, it just really didn't click. After a solid game against us in the Europa, and his goal of the season candidate in Serie A (the back-heel one that would make even Messi jump out of his seat) I was really relishing seeing him in action. A lot of his confidence probably took a battering by missing a complete sitter very early on in his loan spell. It may be slightly unfair to judge someone who is still learning and developing, but I just expected more flashes of brilliance from the guy.
Danny Cadamarteri, on loan however, 5 games, 1 goal. This lad is a serious traveller. Was anyone at Leicester when he came on and scored to take us to a replay? Those 2 were a serious battle with Routledge saving our blushes with a fine solo effort in that replay.
Frank Large ??? No, no, no be serious. Just think though; Leicester gave us cash plus Frank for Allan Clarke; Leeds offererred cash plus two youngsters - Paul Madely and Peter Lorrimer. Fulham preferred Large. That's disappointing. A real disappointment was Dirk Lehmann.
I thought Zesh Rehman was supposed to be destined for bigger things and a fair deal was made at the time of him being the first asian player to start in a Premier League match. I seem to remember he never really made his mark with us or at QPR either after we sold him on being loaned out to several clubs before ending up at Bradford which I guess shows his true level.
Hameur Bouazza was a bit disappointing. He was going to be the quick winger we were lacking and probably are still lacking. Alas though he failed to live up to expectations. If I remember his shining moment for us was dislocating his shoulder whilst running !!!
Remember that well. I was in the Riverside stand and he did it right in front of me. Never seen anyones shoulder pop out without some form of contact on it before or since.
I remember thinking at the time what happens if he goes up for header at some point, when he lands are his legs going to give way. Has to be one of the strangest injuries I have ever seen.
I wouldn't say I necessarily had high hopes for him, but it's always struck me as strange that David Healey could score a hat-trick against Spain playing for Northern Ireland, and many other goals against top-class international opposition, and yet look so ineffectual at club level.
I'm gonna plump for AJ For the price paid and the goals return, he has been our greatest disappointment money wise. His goal return is worse than Marlet and has played far more games. I like the guy but cannot believe we paid over £10 million for him. Everton must have been laughing.
