Fulham’s disappointing English Premier League season will end Sunday, and the club won’t be back in the top flight next year after being suffering relegation.
What’s to blame for the team’s struggles?
Former Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed says the removal of a Michael Jackson statue outside the club’s stadium, Craven Cottage, is the reason why.
“This statue was a charm and we removed the luck from the club and now we have to pay the price,” Fayed said, per The Guardian.
“When (current owner Shahid Khan) asked me to move it I said: ‘You must be crazy.’ This is such a fantastic statue which the fans are crying out for. But now he has paid the price because the club has been relegated. He called me because he told me he wanted Michael to return. I told him, no way.”
The statue was erected on the Craven Cottage grounds in 2011, but it became unpopular among the fans, many of whom wanted it to be moved or taken down completely.
Regardless of the statue’s place, it seems silly to blame Fulham’s misfortunes on a statue. After all, Fulham allowed the most goals (83)Â in the Premier League this season, while also scoring the fifth-fewest (38) for a league-worst goal differential of minus-45.
It seems as if the players deserve the majority of the blame for finishing in the bottom three places in 2013-14.
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