![]() ![]() ![]() After several near-misses, Brentford were finally promoted to the top flight for the first time in 74 years with victory over Swansea City in the 2021 Championship play-off final.Ĭhelsea operate on a completely different level to their three neighbours. They signed Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma for around £1.8million each and sold them, to Aston Villa and West Ham United respectively, for a combined total of more than £50million. They disbanded their youth academy in 2016, although due to Premier League rules they relaunched a Category 4 academy this summer, and invested in a unique B team model.īrentford also overhauled their recruitment strategy and focused on identifying young players with vast potential they could sell on for substantial profits. Since Matthew Benham took full control of Brentford in 2012, the club have taken a different approach. Combined, though, Al-Fayed and Khan have sunk £600million ($710m) into the club. This support has sustained Fulham, both by investing in players and covering considerable losses, although financial fair play restrictions, limiting expenditure to be more in line with revenues, have affected the extent of that investment in recent years. Al-Fayed’s backing took the club from the third tier to the top flight, where they then stayed for 13 years.īought by US businessman Shahid Khan in 2013, Fulham have spent 16 of the past 22 campaigns in the top flight, mainly bankrolled by a wealthy benefactor. ![]() His takeover ended years of financial concern. Today, both are in the Premier League and their journeys have contrasted.įulham’s fortunes were transformed when Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed, the former owner of the London department store Harrods, bought the nearby football club in 1997. They fought one another to escape the second division, and Fulham beat Brentford 2-1 after extra time in the 2020 Championship play-off final at Wembley to get promoted. However, since Fulham were relegated in 2013-14, they have shared the same targets. Brentford finished ninth in League One, English football’s third tier, that season. In 2009-10, Fulham followed a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League with victories over Wolfsburg, Hamburg and Juventus on their way to the Europa League final. In the early 2000s, Brentford and Fulham hardly considered themselves adversaries with the clubs so far apart in the footballing pyramid despite their geographical proximity. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. The rivalry is alive and well, with the reverse fixture in early March. His Fulham counterpart would bite back, though, by grabbing a last-minute winner. Ivan Toney had two goals disallowed before finally scoring in the 70th minute and he marked the occasion by imitating the goal celebration of Fulham’s star man Aleksandar Mitrovic. Like any good derby, the tackles were flying in, from a late Christian Norgaard challenge on Jay Stansfield’s ankle to a brutal aerial collision between Joao Palhinha and Ben Mee. Their histories have become intertwined while rivalries have risen and fallen.įulham’s 3-2 victory over visitors Brentford on Saturday was the first time the two clubs had ever met in the top flight and there was plenty of drama. Chelsea, Fulham and Championship side Queens Park Rangers are all based in the borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, while Brentford are a stone’s throw over the border in Hounslow. West London is a crowded place, football-wise. They are both trying to establish themselves in the top flight - and emerge from neighbours Chelsea’s large shadow. Despite Chelsea’s success, two other clubs also based in west London are flourishing.īrentford and Fulham, separated by only four miles, have spent decades competing in different divisions but their rivalry has entered a new era. If you walked past Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon, you would have been tricked into thinking Chelsea were playing at home.Īt midday, fans were flocking around the Britannia Gate entrance, taking photos next to a billboard of Raheem Sterling, the club’s highest-profile new signing, which had the words “Welcome” plastered across it in 11 different languages.įamilies walked out of the club’s official store carrying bags filled with merchandise.Ĭhelsea actually were away to Leeds United this weekend, yet there was an unmistakable buzz in the area.Ĭhelsea have a global appeal by virtue of competing for the biggest trophies - they have won the Premier League and Champions League twice in the past decade, and are the current world champions.
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