Mohamed Al-Fayed

Anyone who has tried running a football club knows that supporters are hard to please. Winning is not always enough. The average fan wants Roman Abramovich in the boardroom, trophies in the cabinet, superstar signings on the pitch and a decent pie at half-time.

Mohamed Al-Fayed has deep pockets but the Harrods chairman estimates that he has spent about £200 million on Fulham since he took control of the club ten years ago today. The West London team had just been promoted from the bottom tier when the Egyptian businessman arrived at Craven Cottage in a horse-drawn carriage and promised journalists that his side would be playing in the Premiership within five years.

The Harrods chairman had the money to buy a bigger and more successful club – multimillionaires seldom go shopping in Coca-Cola League Two these days – but he has always liked a challenge. A year earlier, Fulham had been playing in an almost deserted stadium in front of about 3,500 hardcore supporters and were in danger of going out of business.

“It does not seem ten years ago that I bought the club,” Al Fayed said. “The time has gone by so quickly, and we’ve achieved so many great things – with more to come.”

Throwing money at Fulham did not produce instant results – Micky Adams’s team failed to climb out of the third tier in Al Fayed’s first season with the club – but within four years, 12 months ahead of schedule, Craven Cottage regulars were watching Premiership football and Al Fayed had set his sights on establishing Fulham in the top flight.

“I always knew that I would commit to Fulham for the long term,” he said. “It has been a source of great pride and joy to me that I have been able to do that, and that I have been able to reward the loyalty of fans who instantly took me to their hearts.”

Some of those supporters, who have become accustomed to Fulham treading water in the Premiership, have started to question the chairman’s commitment. They complain that he has lost interest and pine for the heady days of August 2001, when Jean Tigana was spending almost £1 million a day on players.

Chris Coleman lost his job as manager in April soon after complaining that he had not been backed in the transfer market but Al Fayed has revealed that he will be opening his chequebook this summer and investing “significant funds” in players. Lawrie Sanchez may not have convinced supporters that he is the right man for the job since the former Northern Ireland manager replaced Coleman, but Al Fayed has liked what he has seen. The club have regained their focus, Sanchez calls the shots and David Healy, the Leeds United and Northern Ireland forward, and Steve Davis, the Aston Villa midfield player, are two targets who are likely to arrive before the start of the season.

“It is vital to continue on this path, which is why I haven’t hesitated in making significant funds available to our new manager,” Al Fayed said. “I want him to invest on the pitch and build a team that can take us to further heights. We have a wonderful club on the banks of the Thames, a magnificent training facility and we play in the best league in the world. I have no doubt that we can attract the best players to come here.”

Fulham avoided relegation by only a point last month and Sanchez has wasted little time in stamping his authority. Vincenzo Montella, Wayne Routledge, Claus Jensen, Tomasz Radzinski, Mark Crossley, Mark Pembridge and Jan Lastuvka will not remain at the club and Sanchez is likely to focus on recruiting young British players this summer. Russell Anderson, the Aberdeen defender, Aaron Hughes, the Villa defender, and Lee Cook, the Queens Park Rangers winger, are on Sanchez’s shopping list and Al Fayed is expecting to spend at least £10 million on recruits.

“My passion for the club and my desire to succeed is as strong as ever, perhaps even stronger now that we are so close to achieving our ambition of becoming an established top-ten Premiership side,” Al Fayed said. “The enormous sums of money and the considerable time and commitment which have been invested over the last decade have laid the foundations.

“It has been a tough 2006-07 season – difficult decisions needed to be made. But our fan base continues to grow and a first-class infrastructure is in place. We have identified a number of targets and there will be moves throughout the summer to support our aims.”

Fulham were losing to teams such as Northampton Town in front of about 3,500 fans before Al Fayed took control of the club in 1997. Ten years, seven managers and about £200 million later, Fayed watched his team retain their place in the Barclays Premiership last month by beating Liverpool 1-0 at home before 24,554 fans.