Fulham's Losses More Than Double Almost £17 Mill

[Macmoish]

MIRROR

- Fulham's losses double to nearly £17m
14/03/11 By Martin Lipton

Fulham's reliance on Mohamed Al Fayed became even clearer last night as the club unveiled their losses had more than doubled.

Despite a lucrative run to the Europa League Final that brought in £12.5million, losses went up from £6.9m to £16.9m on the back of player investment under Roy Hodgson and new boss Mark Hughes.

It extends the scale of former Harrods owner Fayed’s financial backing for the Craven Cottage club.

He has underwritten the bulk of the club’s debts of around £224m, including the latest loss.

The Egyptian-born owner said: “The continued success of Fulham and its eventual financial self-sustainability is my priority.”

Despite the financial pressure, captain Danny Murphy is convinced his side can still finish in the top half of the Premier League.

"From now until the end of the season we need to set our standards high to try to finish as far up the table as possible," he said.

"Personally, I really believe we can achieve a top half finish, which I think would be a satisfactory return given the problems we had earlier in the season. So that 's the aim.

"Of course, it will take hard work and commitment, but we're ready for that. We're more or less back to full strength in terms of player availability."

www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Fulham-reliance-on-Mohamed-Al-Fayed-became-even-clearer-last-night-as-the-club-unveiled-their-annual-losses-had-more-than-doubled-to-nearly-17million-article713825.html#ixzz1Gduae9Nc

[Macmoish]

So back to this...If a relatively-successful and I think relatively well-run Fulham club lose this, what for QPR?

[canadaranger]

Almost a quarter of a billion pounds... That man has ***deep*** pockets!

[Macmoish]

Guardian

Mohamed Al Fayed committed to Fulham despite club's £16.9m losses

• Losses up by £10m due to increased contracts and wages
• 'The continued success of Fulham is my priority'

The Fulham chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed, remains fully committed to the club despite the Cottagers posting a £16.9m loss for the last financial year.

Under their former manager Roy Hodgson, the side reached the final of the Europa League in 2010, which helped bring in an additional revenue of around £12.5m. However, overall losses went up by £10m, mainly because of increased wages and new contracts.

Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, has been in charge of Fulham since 1997, with the club having sustained their top-flight status now for 10 consecutive seasons.

Al Fayed has already bankrolled Fulham's rise through the divisions to the tune of more than £160m on an unsecured, interest-free basis. And the 78-year-old insists he is as passionate about the club now as the day he arrived at Craven Cottage.

"As is evident, I remain committed to making investment funds available to achieve our goals both on and off the pitch," Al Fayed said. "The continued success of Fulham and its eventual financial self-sustainability is my priority."

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/15/mohammed-al-fayed-fulham-loss