Fulham’s Greatest players.

Fulham’s Greatest Players

Fulham`s history has, at times, been a genuine “Who`s Who” of football folklore and the roll call underpins the underachievement of the Club through the years. England captain Johnny Haynes, one of the most gifted players of his generation, spent his entire first class career at Fulham between 1952 and 1970. The original Maestro, Haynes made the unprecedented steps of becoming the first footballer to earn £100 a week.

However, the list does not stop there. Playing alongside Haynes in Fulham`s last top-flight side of the 60s was another one-club man, England World Cup winner George Cohen. And to this day it can still be claimed that England have never won the World Cup without the contribution of a Fulham player.

Fulham has long been renowned for discovering promising young talent that has progressed to win major honours elsewhere. Alan Mullery (Tottenham & England), Rodney Marsh (QPR, Manchester City & England), and Allan Clarke (Leeds & England) all came to prominence with Fulham.

Bobby Robson has achieved success at the highest level in four countries over five decades and it all began, for him, as a 17 year-old at Craven Cottage in 1950. More recently Ray Houghton (Liverpool, Aston Villa & Ireland), Paul Parker (Manchester United & England) and Tony Gale (West Ham & Blackburn) all forged their careers at Fulham before moving on to play in Championship-winning sides.

In addition to being a springboard for many blossoming futures, Fulham has been home to numerous legends in the autumn of their footballing lives. Mullery returned to Craven Cottage in 1972 and linked up with the legendary Bobby Moore, another of the World Cup-winning XI, to don the black and white.

Together, Moore and Mullery guided Fulham through a record 11 matches to reach the 1975 FA Cup Final. Unfortunately, Moore`s former employers West Ham got the better of his new team at Wembley. A year after the Cup final another old boy returned to join forces with a legend in his twilight years when Rodney Marsh and George Best signed. They were both past their best, however the entertainment factor was at a premium.