Fulham’s Football club sold [Update] MJ Statue Removed

[myosotis]

The original thread from the unveiling of this statue is in the news archive, here:
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/threads/112151-Fulham-Football-club-to-get-statue-of-MJ/page14


Fulham’s new owner Khan told to keep MJ statue

Mohamed Al Fayed says there will be trouble if statue is moved • ‘I wouldn’t pass this club to any junkie,’ Al Fayed says

Mohamed Al Fayed has told Fulham‘s new owner, the US billionaire Shahid Khan, he will be “in big trouble” if he tries to remove the statue of Michael Jackson erected outside Craven Cottage in 2011.

In a photocall to announce the club’s sale, Fayed, 84 – wearing a comedy moustache in tribute to Khan – told reporters that the statue was “a listed monument”. He also said he had vetted the owner of NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars thoroughly before agreeing to sell. “I wouldn’t pass this club to any junkie.”

Fayed completed the sale for a reported £200m on Friday after 16 years as owner – a period during which they rose from the third tier to the Premier League. They now become the sixth top-flight club under US ownership.

Fayed said: “It was difficult to sell because I love this place … but I feel comfortable passing it to someone who loves the game and the club. He already owns a club with the same prestige.”

Khan, 62, said Fayed had done an “incredible job”, and promised to respect the club’s history.

READ MORE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jul/13/fulham-shahid-khan-michael-jackson-statue

.................................................................................................................................................

Not all of the stories are quite so definite about the future of the statue......

New Fulham owner Khan targets success but guarded on Michael Jackson statue

LONDON — Reuters

Published Saturday, Jul. 13 2013, 10:52 AM EDT

Fulham’s new owner Shahid Khan said he did not intend to micro-manage the Premier League club but pledged his full financial support to bring success on the pitch when he met the media on his first full day in charge on Saturday.

Pakistani-born Khan, 62, a billionaire car-parts manufacturer who also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise, completed the takeover of the London club from former owner and Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al Fayed on Friday.


Meeting the media at a sun-drenched Craven Cottage by the banks of the River Thames, the flamboyantly-mustachioed Khan said he envisaged a “sustainable, successful future” for the club and praised Al Fayed for his 16 years as owner.

Al Fayed, 84, who is retiring to spend time with his family, rescued the once-ailing club from the lower divisions in 1997 and has helped them to maintain their Premier League status for 13 seasons.

Khan gave away little about his specific plans and was even cagey about the future of the famous statue of the late rock star Michael Jackson which Fayed erected at the ground in 2011 following the singer’s death in 2009.

“We are looking to have a winning, sustainable club moving forwards. It is a very special place, and a perfect club for me at a perfect time,” he told Sky Sports.

“I think Mr Al Fayed did an incredible job here over the last 16 years building it to where it is - and now it’s a passing of the baton.

“There is a great leadership here and my goal is to sustain that and to support the business plan they have. I have a lot to learn but I will be supporting them.

“It is very difficult to be specific. I am not a micro-manager, I don’t intend to be involved day to day but I do intend giving them all the support they need financially to be successful on the pitch.”

JACKSON STATUE

He said plans to modernize the stadium and increase its capacity from around 26,000 to 30,000 were “absolutely vital” but would not be drawn on the future of the controversial Jackson statue which stands at one end of the Riverside Stand.

“I have been the owner less than a day. We have to preserve and respect history but we also have to move forward. I am going to reflect on it, listen to the fans and then decide.

“This is a special, historic place that really needs the investment and our goal would be to redevelop it moving forward.”

Regarding his ownership of the Jaguars he said there was “synergy” between the two clubs but they were distinct and would operate independently.

Al Fayed, sporting an imitation Khan-style moustache, said he was delighted to be handing over the club to Khan, but did give him one warning.

Asked about the future of the Jackson statue, Al Fayed looked at Khan and replied: “The Michael Jackson statue is listed with the club and if he dares to move it, he will be in big trouble.

“You listening to me? You promise now - otherwise I will come in front of all the fans with a big razor and I will take your moustache off.”


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...ed-on-michael-jackson-statue/article13209258/

 

[morinen]

I never thought I would say it about a Michael Jackson statue, but I wish they took this one down, lol. It's horrid and an object of ridicule. Michael needs to be honored in London, but in a proper dignified way.

 

[AtlasAir]

Is this one of the HIStory statues?

 

[la_cienega]

Well, I'm just glad his friend still supports him.

 

[qbee]

The Man loves Michael no doubt and that is what the statue stands for. He wants to honor him. It's not a great likeness but it isn't terrible either. I have no preference where the statue is placed, but I hope they honor Al Fayed wishes. It means a lot to him. I respect that.


Mr Al Fayed said: "Michael Jackson was truly a legend, a term used too often in this modern world saturated in the hyperbole surrounding celebrity.

"He was my friend, a man with whom I shared many happy memories and who died a tragic and untimely death. He left behind a legacy of music so vast it takes one’s breath away, from a precocious talent to an ingenuity and ground breaking modernity that shall never be repeated. It shall often be imitated, but it will never be replicated, Michael Jackson was, and shall always remain, one of a kind."

 

[thrillerchild]

Is this one of the HIStory statues?

No. It's below. He visited a game with Al-Fayed years ago

 

[Dilan]

I live in fulham so i'm very about this news! sadly though the statue is not infront of the club it's at the back so you can only see it if you have tickets to a match.

 

[AtlasAir]

Oh... I don't think I like it...
At least the face, anyway.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

If they take it to replace it with a well made one, I wouldn't mind at all.

 

[DangerousSC]

I think it's good he was a friend of Michael's and that he wanted to honour him... But positioning the statue outside the Fulham's Craven Cottage stadium was a little unnecessary. I mean, the club isn't really related to MJ and, honestly, a new manager's first concern shouldn't be about a statue. Maybe Mohamed Al Fayed should have commissioned the statue elsewhere, like on his own property.

I'm not really happy about the satirical comments about Fayed "shaving Khan's mustache off" joke either... Makes me feel like Michael is also being mocked a little.

 

[mysterygirl7]

I never thought I would say it about a Michael Jackson statue, but I wish they took this one down, lol. It's horrid and an object of ridicule. Michael needs to be honored in London, but in a proper dignified way.

I can't believe you are saying this, when Mohamed Al Fayed really did something to honour Michael. Think about it, he put up a statue, he made a tribute, and he didn't care what anybody thought! He defends Michael like not a lot of people has! There is always caution and reservations made, when most "friends of MJ" say their praises, which they only say, because it is popular to say it now, that Michael is...
(sorry I can't say that).
Examples of this behaviour are: Quincy Jones, Lisa Marie etc.. "I didn't SEE anything... "
But here is a man, who tells people to go away, if they don't like his statue, he tells them, that he don't even want them to be in Fulham, if they don't appreciate it. That is the kind of human being, that I like... someone who defends Michael LOUD and CLEAR!! A true friend.

God bless you Mohamed Al Fayed.

 

[PrɛttyღBµʈʈɇrƒℓу]

Beat It: Fulham to return Michael Jackson statue to Mohamed Al Fayed

<time itemprop="datePublished" pubdate="" datetime="2013-09-19T15:48BST">Thursday 19 September 2013 15.48 BST


</time>

The Michael Jackson statue at Fulham 'is not part of the Riverside development of the stadium and will be returned to the former chairman in due course'.
Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Action Images​

Fulham are to return the statue of Michael Jackson outside Craven Cottage to the club's former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

The sculpture was installed at the back of the Hammersmith stand in 2011, in tribute to the late singer, whom Fayed insisted was a fan of the west London club.

Fulham were bought by the American Shahid Khan in a £150m deal during the summer, and initially it had appeared the Jackson statue would remain in place.

However, it now appears Fayed will take the statue to one of his other properties as the club press on with plans to revamp their home on the banks of the Thames.

A Fulham spokesperson said: "The statue is not part of the Riverside development of the stadium and will be returned to the former chairman in due course."

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/sep/19/fulham-michael-jackson-statue

 

[qbee]

However, it now appears Fayed will take the statue to one of his other properties as the club press on with plans to revamp their home on the banks of the Thames.

Good he can now place his monument/Tribute to Michael where it will be more appreciated. I really do admire him for how he stood his ground and put his love for MJ first.

 

[barbee0715]

I admire him too for standing his ground on the statue-even though it was mocked and ridiculed in every article I pulled up and read about the soccer club. And I love his sentiments about Michael. Beautifully said.

I'd like to see it put outside Wembley.

 

[Sam Sam]

Although the statue is not the best likeness of Michael, I really appreciate it because it came from a place a love. I wish more people honored MJ like this.

 

[thrillerchild]

I admire him too for standing his ground on the statue-even though it was mocked and ridiculed in every article I pulled up and read about the soccer club. And I love his sentiments about Michael. Beautifully said.

I'd like to see it put outside Wembley.

Even though this move would bring it closer to me I would NEVER want it outside wembley.

 

[bobmoo79]

To be honest while I can't fault Fayed's good intentions, I have to admit that statue was a lousy tribute - it only served to focus more negative attention in MJ's direction.
The sculpture did not look like MJ in any era of his life and the colours made it look tacky.
It was an embarassment.
I don't want to see it put anywhere.


I have no idea why Fayed did not demand a better likeness. He should have rejected it and told the artists to start again, or hire another artist. When you look at other MJ statues around the world, like the ones in China, Russia, Rio and the HIStory statues in Amsterdam and the other place (I forget where it is now), they are so much better.


If anybody were to put a well crafted statue in the UK, I would like to see it in London somewhere. IF the old Wembley stadium were still standing I would have to say put it there, because MJ held the record for most sold out concert dates at that venue, but it's been replaced and Take That hold the record at the new stadium. As it was going to be MJ's comeback venue. I would like to see an MJ statue at the O2 Area

 

[Dtwmjj]

The statue of Michael Jackson outside Premier League club Fulham has been hauled down.
On the orders of new owner Shad Khan, the tribute to the late &#8220;King of Pop&#8221; was removed Wednesday from outside Craven Cottage in west London.

The statue is being returned to Mohammed Al Fayed, a friend of Jackson&#8217;s who sold Fulham to Khan in July.
&#8216;He was my friend, a man with whom I shared many happy memories and who died a tragic and untimely death.&#8217;
Photos Below&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2431694/Michael-Jackson-statue-removed-Fulham.html

http://home.mj-upbeat.com/wp-conten...icle-2431694-1840A79D00000578-662_306x423.jpg

 

[Electric_Mayweather]

I never thought I would say it about a Michael Jackson statue, but I wish they took this one down, lol. It's horrid and an object of ridicule. Michael needs to be honored in London, but in a proper dignified way.

I agree. I appreciate the intention and effort, but it was simply in the wrong place. Not to mention, the statue looked tacky IMO.

 

[qbee]

<nyt_headline type=" " version="1.0">A Statue Is Removed, and Fans Are Thrilled</nyt_headline>

Since April 2011, a nearly eight-foot statue of Michael Jackson, stood facing the Thames, behind the home stands.

By KEN BELSON Published: September 25, 2013


LONDON &#8212; For decades, Michael Jackson was known for his elaborate entrances and glittery stage shows. On Wednesday, the King of Pop was hauled away in air-bubble packaging by four burly stonemasons.

It was an unceremonious end to his nearly three-year run at Fulham&#8217;s stadium, Craven Cottage. After 90 minutes of chiseling, sawing and hacking, Jackson left the building, horizontally, on the back of a truck.

He will not be missed by Fulham fans. Since April 2011, a nearly eight-foot statue of Jackson, made of Jesmonite, stood facing the Thames, behind the home stands. A large sign that read &#8220;Michael Jackson the Tribute&#8221; hung next to Jackson, who stood atop black granite with a sequined jacket, an ammunition belt and a glove on his right hand.

His presence was incongruous in the extreme. Mohamed al-Fayed, the team&#8217;s eccentric former owner, who called Jackson a friend, had the statue built even though Jackson seemed to care little about soccer and attended only one Fulham match.

Fulham&#8217;s fans were happy with Fayed, who spent lavishly to lift the club&#8217;s fortunes. They helped pay for a tasteful and far more expensive bronze statue of Johnny Haynes, perhaps the team&#8217;s greatest player, which stands at the other end of the stadium.

While Jackson&#8217;s fans traveled from far and wide to pay their respects, in the masculine world of English soccer, the homage to Jackson was considered a joke.

&#8220;It&#8217;s rubbish,&#8221; said Andy Hunt, a longtime fan who stood near the statue before Tuesday&#8217;s League Cup game against Everton, drinking beer with his friend, Malcolm Apted. &#8220;I don&#8217;t object to the person. If it was in bronze, maybe. But it&#8217;s tacky.&#8221;

Fayed &#8212; who bought Fulham in 1997, a few months before his son, Dodi, died in a car crash with Diana, Princess of Wales &#8212; was unrepentant. When asked in 2011 about whether a statue of Jackson made sense at the fabled stadium, he said, &#8220;If some stupid fans don&#8217;t understand or appreciate such a gift, they can go to hell.&#8221; For good measure, he invited these unbelievers to root for Chelsea, Fulham&#8217;s archrival, which plays two subway stops away.

Fayed got his way until he sold Fulham in July to Shahid Khan, the billionaire owner of the N.F.L.&#8217;s Jacksonville Jaguars. At the news conference announcing the deal, Fayed threatened to cut off Khan&#8217;s signature handlebar mustache if the statue were removed.

Two months later, Khan made perhaps the most important decision of his young tenure as owner: ***** would go. &#8220;Our supporters&#8217; views on the statue have been made clear,&#8221; he said in a statement last week. Removing the statue, he said, was &#8220;the right thing for Fulham Football Club.&#8221;

The decision won Khan instant credibility with fans who were otherwise unhappy with the team&#8217;s slow start this season.

For now, the statue of Jackson will remain in a warehouse while Fayed decides its fate.

Martin Jol, Fulham&#8217;s manager, is considering bidding for the statue and either auctioning it for charity or adding it to his art collection, which includes nearly two dozen other statues and several hundred paintings.

&#8220;It would be nice to keep it in the Fulham family, if he wants,&#8221; Jol said, referring to Fayed.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/s...statue-removed-from-soccer-stadium.html?_r=1&

 

[PrɛttyღBµʈʈɇrƒℓу]

Michael Jackson statue had more movement than Fulham’s Whacko defenders

<cite class="byline vcard" style="font-style: normal; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); font-size: 11px; display: block; font-family: arial; vertical-align: middle;">By Eurosport | Desmond Kane – <abbr title="2013-11-02T20:04:53Z" style="border: 0px;">18 hours ago</abbr></cite>




It is a month or so since Fulham removed the much-maligned Michael Jackson statue, an odd monument to the American pop singer that had stood proudly perched overlooking the River Thames for the past two years.

The towering tribute - over a foot taller than Brede Hangeland - was erected inside Craven Cottage at the behest of the club's slightly eccentric former owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, who was friendly with Jackson before his death in 2009.

Of course, Fulham fans were never sold on the reasons why this bizarre statue was constructed to remember a figure who once turned up to watch a home match with the rest of the American tourists visiting London.

One of Pavel 'The Pog' Pogrebnyak would have made more sense. When Al-Fayed sold Fulham to Shahid Khan in July, the Jackson statue was on borrowed time. The general consensus among supporters deemed it surplus to requirements. It is a slice of life the club's Dutch coach Martin Jol could soon be sampling.

There must surely be a concern Jol could go the same way as the Jackson statue after being party to his side's slipshod performances in their past three outings. Some of the marking against Manchester United in the 3-1 defeat made one wonder if the central defenders Philippe Senderos and Fernando Amorebieta were still paying their own personal tributes to Jackson.

Senderos and Amorebieta were statuesque as United ruffled the Fulham net three times in the opening 22 minutes. Jol's side came to their senses after being round-housed. By then, it was too late.

Senderos was particularly culpable for the opening goal as he was left marking himself when Wayne Rooney slipped in Antonio Valencia. Robin van Persie and Rooney helped themselves to the other two under little or no pressure as the general distress continued to bite deep into the home side's heart.

Jol had been busy beforehand calling on his side to turn Craven Cottage into a "fortress". In the end, there was only a craving among the frazzled home supporters for proper defending. Despite his appetite for attack, Jol should probably dispense with the two up front policy of Bryan Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov that is patently not working out.

An anemic performance in losing 2-0 at Southampton in the Premier League last week was followed by a 4-3 loss to Leicester in the last 16 of the League Cup in midweek. Nine goals lost in three games is not good news at any level.

An extra midfielder would have been of benefit to assist Steve Sidwell and Scott Parker, two men who seemed lost in trying but failing to deny United space rather than focus on the business of creation. Jol's future health in his post surely depends on having a sobering effect on defenders who are not fulfilling their job titles.

Manchester United manager David Moyes was supposed to be a mananger under pressure before this match, but another week brings another twist in the unremitting Premier League. Moyes's side are only three points adrift of Chelsea in third place. Not yet in rude health, but they are slowly getting better.



Jol has a couple of obvious problems. One is that United did not need to be very impressive to usurp his side. The other is that he is not the new owner Khan's man. He was hired by Al-Fayed, yet it could be argued that Jol's concerns seem to be less pressing than those of Chris Hughton at Norwich.

Hughton would seem to be in a bleaker place after Norwich suffered a 7-0 beating at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium.

There was apparently more spirit in Napoleon's retreat from Moscow than the stuffed Canaries managed to unearth in collapsing like a cheap Bryan Gunn tracksuit of yesteryear.

The Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure's comments afterwards said enough went he commented that City had found it difficult for the opening 10 minutes or so. He was trying to be diplomatic, but unwittingly highlighted a wretched day for the visiting side.

It is not losing against United or City that is the main problem for Jol or Hughton when they sat down, perhaps with a glass of hot milk and an old coaching manual, for a few moments of contemplative reflection before bedtime on Saturday evening.

The other 80 minutes made for grim viewing. Norwich were fortunate to escape from Manchester hemorrhaging only seven goals. It is the manner of the defeat. Jol can at least say that he witnessed some sort of response from his side in the second half.

Hughton must reflect upon overseeing Norwich's heaviest defeat in the Premier League in this or any other season. John Ruddy looked twitchy in goal, a worse proposition than the dropped City goalkeeper Joe Hart for England, but it said enough when Hughton himself could have done better in defence than the players he chose.

Norwich should not be losing 7-0 to any side in the Premier League. Not with the amount of talent they have recruited during the close season.

"We have all let the club down and I include myself in that because I pick the side and determine the tactics of the team," said Hughton. "I have not been on the end of a defeat like that before. I have always had confidence in my ability."

At the time of writing, Jol is 11/8 favourite to be the next Premier League manager to lose his job. Hughton is a hot bet at 4/1. It may mean nothing, but the odds are hardly surprising.

They Don't Care About Us, sung Michael Jackson. Do they? Like Jol, Hughton must hope his club's board continue to have faith in the wares he is selling.


http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs...more-movement-fulham-defenders-200653582.html