What Fulham’s failures mean for Shad Khan and the Jaguars

Shad Khan's Fulham (white) lost to English Premier League leaders Chelsea 3-1 on Saturday
to remain in last place and in threat of relegation. (Photo Courtesy of FulhamFC.com)

By Will Brown

English media has lamented the increase in foreign ownership of its soccer clubs for years. However, commentaries will not staunch the influx of overseas ownership in that country.

Friday, Richard Williams of The Guardian, wrote a commentary that once again wondered aloud about the impact of foreign ownership in English soccer. He used Fulham Football club as an example of a club that may have done it right.

The problem is Williams was referencing previous owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

Fulham has a 6-3-19 record, or 21 points, which is good enough for dead last in the English Premier League. Saturday’s 3-1 loss against league leaders Chelsea underscores how dire the situation is for Shad Khan’s other football team. Not only does Fulham have the worst record in the EPL, but they have the worst goal difference of the 20 teams in the league, and their 62 goals allowed is more than any top-flight team in the top five European leagues.

“Would they be in this demoralising position had Fayed stayed on? At least, unlike his successor, he was not one of those absentee owners who resemble the rich folk currently purchasing London mansions and penthouse flats as investments and leaving them empty,” Williams wrote. “Khan attends the occasional match at the Cottage — which is more than can be said for Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, the owner of Manchester City — but his physical commitment, like his knowledge of football, is at best semi-detached.”

Williams admitted Fayed had his quirks. Fans will tolerate eccentricities so long as their team is productive. The problem with Fulham under Khan’s leadership is they are not.

Fulham has 10 games to save its season. Unlike the Jaguars, Khan’s other investment will not be rewarded with an opportunity to sign some of the best talent around because of failures in previous seasons. If Fulham doesn’t win games, the more the better, the club will be relegated to a lower league.

So what you say?

Well, far smarter people have estimated that relegation from the English Premier League will cost a team more than $30 million in television revenue. That doesn’t even include reduced income from gate receipts, sponsor dollars and selling players at cut-rate prices.

Khan spent a reported £200 million to buy the club last summer. Anyone who spends that type of money on anything would not be thrilled if their investment substantially depreciated within a year.

The appointment of Felix Magath to be Fulham’s manager may be the latest ploy to save the season and secure top-flight status.

Magath has won a league championship in Germany with two different clubs. He has also fallen out with just about every club he’s managed in the last 15 years — occasionally with disastrous results preceding his exit.

“It wasn't lost on me that introducing a third manager in a season would appear, let's say, unconventional or unpopular — or both," Khan wrote in the program for Saturday's match against Chelsea according to the Associated Press. "I expected the scrutiny and know there will be more ahead. I accept this and welcome the responsibility, because the alternative was risking a non-stop slide in the table in the hope that better results would occur in time to save our season."

Khan, as well as other Jaguars officials, has repeatedly stated the two clubs will have strategic synergies. The New York Times devoted an entire feature about just that back in October when the Jags were in London to play San Francisco.

Fulham had just as many games televised nationally in the United States this season as the Jaguars did — yet another perk of playing in the English Premier League. If the club is to be self-sustaining in the near future, as Khan told the Times he prefers, second-tier soccer will not be satisfactory.

In order to avoid that fate, Fulham must have a late-season resurgence, like the Jags did in 2013. Otherwise, the consequences of relegation would reverberate across the Atlantic.

How do you handle the heat?

This has been the hottest week of the year in Northeast Florida.

It’s one thing for forecasters to say that. It’s another to walk outside and feel the heat rain down on you. As comfortable as the air conditioning was Wednesday, leaving it to volunteer downtown at the City Rescue Mission is a very good way to insert some humility with the humidity.

Initially, I was uncomfortable in my role of wiping down tables when people were finished eating. The room had a capacity of 112. In the 90 minutes we were there, there were not too many empty seats.

As wave after wave trudged in to gobble up a meal of tuna casserole, green beans, carrots and bread I started to observe, as well as feel guilty for my initial reticence. Frequently, Jacksonville’s less fortunate would walk right in front of me as they collected their salad and peaches at the other end of the room.

Standing against the glass waiting for people to finish their meal gave me time to think. 

The most sobering moment was watching a young black man, who looked to be in his 20s, walk in, pump his hands under the hand sanitizer and continue on to receive his food. The fact he didn’t break stride when cleaning his hands is what stuck with me. That one motion said that he has visited City Rescue Mission so many times that he knew exactly where it was without looking and without wasting movement.

That one motion humbled me. I didn’t know his name, nor did I ever strike up a conversation with him. But, from then on when I cleaned a table, I made a habit of saying hello, asking people how their day was and treating them like the people they are.

Of course there were some quizzical looks, like when I couldn’t help by observe the gentleman who walked into the City Rescue Mission in a Boston Bruins hat, T-shirt and black jacket. Rather than judging, my heart hoped that he at least came from a cool place on an afternoon where temperatures were in the mid-90s with an ever-increasing humidity.

Every day, the City Rescue Mission feeds about 400 people. Of the people who ate meals Wednesday about 75 percent of them were men. Considering 40 percent of homeless men have served in the military and Jacksonville is a military community, it’s fair to assume that many of the men served by the City Rescue Mission are veterans. 

Though the number of homeless people is dwindling, there are still hundreds of thousands of people in the richest country in the world who do not have a consistent place to live. Jacksonville has approximately 3,000 homeless people. More than 630,000 people in America are homeless. That is taking every resident of Tampa and Orlando and leaving them on the street—along with 35,000 others.

In a perfect world, I would never have told anyone about my trip to the City Rescue Mission. To me, it cheapens an act of kindness by broadcasting it. But, Wednesday’s volunteerism convicted me. I have had ample opportunities and blessings in my life, even in this time of transition.

Homeless statistics can be cold and detached things. Seeing the warmth of the people who embody those numbers is a sobering cup of ice water on a sweltering summer afternoon.

Laughs and liveliness,

-Wb

Do you know the penalty for not voting?

By Will Brown

When I was an undergraduate an uncouth woman was recognized as Miss FAMU. We shared a last name and that was about it for commonalities. Yet for some reason classmates and others thought I was related to this Montgomery mistress.

That year the winner repulsed me to the point that I picked up one of her campaign signs after the election and kept it at my college apartment as a constant reminder that those who represent us are not always the brightest cookies in the jar.

On top of the campaign poster, which was hung on the wall in my apartment, was a quote from Plato: “one of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

The quote was recycled Wednesday afternoon when the U.S. Senate failed to pass legislation that would “ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and provide a responsible and consistent background check process.”

The bill needed 60 votes. It received 54.

When news of that vote reached Barack Hussein Obama II the American president was incensed. The second amendment specifically states “a well regarded Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Now, I’m not a constitutional scholar, but I seriously doubt any militia would accept someone with a criminal history, or someone who may be suffering from mental illness.

For the sake of this discussion, forget the second amendment. The 17th amendment is far more important.
In January a Pew study found a majority of Americans favored gun control similar to the bill introduced by West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey that did not receive enough votes to move forward.

If a majority favored regulation 90 days ago, and those We the People sent to Washington to represent us chose to vote otherwise maybe it’s time to rethink who We the People send to Washington. This is why the 17th amendment, which was ratified 100 years ago this month, is important. It gives We the People an opportunity to elect our Senators. Previously, delegates from the states selected and sent Senators to Washington every six years.

There will be 31 Senate seats up for grabs next November. Of those 31 races there will be 25 incumbents — Massachusetts will have an election in June to replace the seat vacated by John Kerry.

Susan Collins (R-Maine) was the only elephant who was bold enough to put her trunk up and vote for this legislation. The 10 other Republicans whose seats will be up for election next fall voted against the bill.

Republicans were not alone in forgetting humans are not invertebrates. Five Democrats also did not support this legislation for a sundry of reasons. Maybe it’s a coincidence that three of those five donkeys are up for reelection next year. Maybe, it’s not. The six Senators, four Democrats and two Republicans, who will not seek re-election voted along party lines. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey), Carl Levin (D-Michigan) and John Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) all supported the bill. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) and Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska) did not.

The president advocated remembering today’s vote 19 months from now. Our liberal president has proposed a lot of things, but asking the people he serves to recall how their Senator voted on one piece of legislation 19 days from now might be more difficult than passing universal health care.

In the interim we can only hope to be led by people, on both sides, who prefer our politicians display common sense, not cowardice. Otherwise we will continue to be governed by our inferiors.

Laughs and liveliness, -Wb

Fairness is a novel concept, isn’t it?

Tuesday afternoon I was once again late for work because I was captivated watching a soccer game. This time the Italian champions were hosting the European champions in a very interesting contest. It turns out the Italian team decisively won 3-0.

Soccer, nor sport as a whole, is for everyone. But, it serves as a spectacular example that the best teams, the best players, the best coaches, or the most deserving squads don’t always have results that favor them.

The continuous lust after advertising and television dollars has heaped immense pressure on the participants to perform like a peacock on parade.

Hours after losing the European champions fired their coach. The same man who lifted the team to its highest heights in the 107-year history of the team was fired for winning just two out of his last eight games.

It was yet another reminder the world is not fair. It’s probably not the best to be so dismissive of the optimism in people, but the truth sometimes hurts.

My sister would argue “Will, the truth you tell is refreshing, until people realize it’s a golden shower.” But, she has always been funnier than me.

By now most of us with a social media pulse have seen the “30 Days of Thankfulness” campaign waged on Facebook and other mediums. It’s a spectacular reminder to appreciate the small blessings, because bigger ones are frequently not in our control.

Roberto Di Matteo, the former coach of the European champions, may have an impressive resume, but he also no longer has a job.

It’s doubtful Di Matteo will spend the rest of the year wallowing in the unfairness of it all — especially considering he’ll be paid for another 18 months by a billionaire who is indebted to him.

What is your calling in the happy valley of life?

Paul William Bryant died the year before I was born. But he apparently was a legend in his occupation, one who was so revered that those who didn’t call him “Sir” simply called him “Bear.”

He was not a perfect man, but one who was an excellent molder and motivator of young men.

Joseph Vincent Paterno was like Bryant in that respect. Neither man was perfect, but there are thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people that were inspired by the lessons both men taught.

Paterno died Sunday after complications from lung cancer at 85. Until November 9, 2011 Paterno coached at Pennsylvania State University since 1950. For context, the man who coldly told him of his termination over the telephone was born in 1954.

Paterno spent 31,442 days on this Earth. For all but a quarter of one percent of those days he was known as an honorable man who tried to do things the right way.

There will be some who say he died because of a guilty conscience in a child sex abuse scandal that has rocked his former employer. Others will claim he died of a broken heart because of how his career ended.

I would argue he died because his time on Earth was complete because Paterno, like Bryant, was put here to use athletics to mold boys into men. Both were humble men, yet idealistic about their legacies because of their unprecedented success. Sadly, both died within 90 days of coaching their final game.

Everyone has a coach or a teacher in their life that has genuinely touched them. If you do not, all I can do is pity you for missing your blessing. The lessons may not be evident immediately, but with reflection they will become apparent. While you are at it, thank those teachers, professors and coaches that have helped you along the way. Many of them are monetarily underpaid, so reimburse them with compliments.

Mike Shannon was the parent of a teammate. But to me, he was my first coach, back when I was a 4 year-old playing in a soccer league in Sarasota where the home field has been converted to a Par-3 golf course. I will never forget Larry Laskowski and Charles Stockton telling me to not wallow in self-pity, but celebrate with my teammates, after missing three extra points in a football game we won 47-6

But the most important coach in my life was a man named Bob Rowe. He is a small man in stature, but his lessons in kicking a football 50 yards and using football as a means to an education cast a larger shadow.

When I had a mental block that was preventing me from reaching my on-field potential, Coach Rowe told me “If you have done it once, you can do it a thousand times.”  To this day, I remind myself of that comment when an obstacle appears too conspicuous to overcome.

No one would deny Jim Tressel, Barry Switzer. Bobby Bowden and Jimmy Johnson are great football coaches. What separates those national championship winners from people like Jake Gaither, Eddie Robinson, Tom Osborne, Paterno and Bryant is that the latter group were highly successful AND used education to mold men.

"If you're not a man when you get there, you'll be a man before you leave," former NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington said of his Penn State experience. "Joe has his system so that you're prepared for life. Joe trains you more mentally than physically so that nothing will rattle you."

Ten days before Paterno’s career unceremoniously ended, I wrote a blog congratulating the champion and for taking some of the sheen off of himself to recognize others. Few people read it, which doesn’t bother me, but while people in my business were eviscerating the coach for all that he could and should have done a week later they were ignoring his humility in the limelight.

A family spokesperson told Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post one of Paterno’s final lucid thoughts to anyone outside his immediate family were used to think about others, a constant characteristic throughout his life.

“I’m happy in one sense that we called attention, throughout this state, and throughout the country probably, that this is going on,” Paterno said of the scandal that indirectly cost him his job. “It’s kind of been like a hidden thing. So maybe that’s good.”

Paterno’s life, legacy and death is another reminder that we must all find out why we were placed here on this earth. Through prayer, thinking, actions and occasionally failure our calling will come to us. There is as much honor as being a maid as there is in being the president if that is our calling.

Put more bluntly, without sanitation workers our lives would stink.

Laughs and liveliness,

-Wb

Is it July already?

Amid the champagne and other spirits that flow at the end of most December’s many people set resolutions for the upcoming year, as though they are starting anew.

More than 100 million people have fallen for this trap of believing January can be just the catalyst for a change in their life. Since more than 90 percent of us fail to meet all those goals we have set, there is no shame in admitting that 2011 is half over and most of our optimism has dissipated like those chocolates we either ate or bought for Valentine’s Day.

I did not set any resolutions for myself this year. But in the days before my birthday I attempted to set 26 goals for myself. The fact I couldn’t even find 26 things I wanted to accomplish, should have been an indicator just how hard it is to fulfill one’s To-Do list in a given year.

Of the 20 things that I scribbled down, some have been accomplished and that includes “regaining strength in my right hand” after breaking my writing hand the day after my birthday. There are others like “proposing to Whitney” that I’m still working on.

Perhaps our inability to finish what we start has infiltrated other areas of our culture and lives to the point that we find it odd when someone actually does lay out an ambitious plan and accomplish it. Or perhaps that is looking at something as wistful as a New Year’s resolution too seriously. Either way, the midway point of the year is an opportune time to bring up a larger point about setting goals for ourselves.

If I got a 40 on a test when I was in school my parents would probably have a conniption. But, if I said eight of my 20 goals have been completed through six months, the optimists that they are would say that I have six more months to finish my list.

Then again life could be worse as there are six more months in the year for us to resolve our unfinished resolutions—even if that extra cupcake is tastier than the thought of looking perfect at the beach.

Laughs and liveliness,

-Wb