11 Most Ridiculous Excuses For Losing Football Matches
11. A Distinct Lack Of Michael Jackson
Given some of their abject performances in the Premier League during that season, and their unlikely commitment to the managerial merry-go-round over the course of just one term, Fulham were a serious source of grim amusement over the course of 2013 and the first half of this year. Their final humiliation - having signed a terrible striker for a ludicrous amount of money from Greece (which has never, ever worked in the history of the league) - came when the club were relegated to the Championship, but it would never have happened, according to former club owner and occasional accidental stand-up comedian Mo Fayed, had they not removed the thing that was the former biggest laughing stock in Fulham. Fayed claimed after that fateful relegation that the side would not have lost as many games and gone down if they hadn't chosen to remove their "lucky" Michael Jackson statue, that he had for some reason commissioned to stand outside of the ground. With a characteristic lack of self-awareness, Fayed claimed the following:
This statue was a charm and we removed the luck from the club and now we have to pay the price. When (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. Its really upsetting. This was a lucky place. Fulham never go down. Now they are relegated. Now hes crying."
With a chilling lack of awareness, Fayed then added:
