Sunday 3rd April 2011 (Premier League)
Fulham 3 (Zamora 23, 28, Etuhu 72) Blackpool 0
Attendance: 25,692
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The writer—all dressed up and ready to go home—in
front of the Michael Jackson statue at Craven Cottage.
© Stephen Taylor
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I had been looking forward to Blackpool's visit to Craven Cottage all season, as their style of play, eccentric manager and enthusiastic supporters have been a refreshing addition to the Premier League this season. However, it was always going to be remembered for a non-footballing event that took place 90 minutes before a ball was kicked, in front of a few selected spectators.
The chairman had announced a few weeks before the game that a statue of Michael Jackson would be unveiled before the game against Blackpool to commemorate the "King of Pop." Jackson had attended a game at the Cottage, a 2-0 victory against Wigan Athletic in 1999, when both sides were in English football's second tier.
As far as I know, Jacko did not leave SW6 on that spring day 12 years ago with a burning love for the Cottagers, but it appears that the chairman had commissioned a statue of Jackson after the pop star's untimely death at the age of 50 in 2009, and had planned to display it in Harrod's. However, as the world-famous department store was sold last year, he decided to put it on show at his only remaining high-profile public property--Craven Cottage.
Before the game, all stewards were told not to comment on the statue, should any fans ask their opinion of it, just in case the questioner happened to be a journalist looking for a quote from a "representative" of the club. As most of us hadn't seen the monument before taking up our positions, there was little we could "Say, Say, Say" about it anyway. As it happened, no one asked me about the statue at all, though some other stewards got some enquiries.
After the minor chaos of Blackburn four weeks ago, I was hoping for a relatively quiet afternoon and, thanks to the good-natured away supporters, there wasn't much to deal with, bar the usual innocent drinkers trying to bring their booze into the stand. The Seasiders' fans were the best away supporter I've encountered this season, as they were really well-behaved, remained seated for most of the game and were in party mood, with several in fancy dress. I saw Batman and Robin, Robocop and an unidentified cartoon character, though the Fulham fans trumped them when someone dressed up as Michael Jackson took an extended bow as he left the Hammersmith End just before the final whistle.
On the field, Blackpool earned a routine victory with a couple of goals from Bobby Zamora, both of which were scored at my end, and a scrambled goal from Dickson Etuhu in the second half. It wasn't a bad game and was a much-needed win for Fulham at this stage of the season.
After the game, I walked round to our new statue to discover a colour figure that was not quite what I had been expecting. For me, there's something about a colour statue that can never be tasteful, unless it's a six-inch model of a Star Wars character, not something that towers over the River Thames. The statue will definitely attract its fair share of curious onlookers, and Fulham might even sell some tickets on that basis but, as far as I'm concerned, the best thing about Michael Jackson's presence at the Cottage is that he has been positioned as far as possible from the monument to a true Fulham great that has stood outside the ground's main entrance on Stevenage Road since 18th October 2008 - the late, great Johnny Haynes.
As me and some other stewards made our way to sign out at the Bridge Academy, the Blackpool bus was waiting to leave with, apparently, Ian Holloway placing an order for pizzas on the jouney back to the northwest. Somehow, I can't imagine Arsene Wenger doing the same thing for his Arsenal players.
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The Blackpool players bus waits outside Craven Cottage.
© Stephen Taylor
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