When pitch-side ad boards brought flashing images to the game it seemed an unnecessary distraction to players and spectators.
Now, we are accustomed to it and barely give it a glance especially when the football is as entertaining as it has been this season. Even so, I have noticed one recurring sign at the Cottage listing Fulham supporters' groups across the globe. The club tell me there are 20 such groups so far – with more in the pipeline.
Italian fans can contact Luca Rossi at fulhamitalia@gmail.com but I would like to concentrate on a one-man supporters' group, namely Ivan Ambrosio. It is nearly two years since the Parish Administrator of St Andrew's Church Fulham Fields advised me that a young visitor to the church wanted to question me about the origins of the football club.
We arranged to meet at a Barons Court cafe, and I was instantly swept away by his enthusiasm for Fulham and for football generally. After I had answered his questions, he showed pictures of the hundreds of grounds that he had visited and the many personalities that he had met. He was planning to write a book and embarrassingly he wanted to include my ramblings.
Subsequently 'Il Mio Viaggio in Inghilterra' (My trip to England) was published in March 2021 with Claudio Ranieri's preface and an afterword by Filippo Galli, AC Milan's legendary defender. Ivan emailed me from Italy inviting me to contribute to a related video that he was making. I tried to film my section outside Craven Cottage one Sunday morning but was defeated by the joggers, dog-walkers, cars, motor bikes, delivery vans - you get the idea.
Anyway, it was refreshing to encounter several Fulham fans there whom I had not seen for a year. Eventually my daughter Catherine filmed my contribution at home, and she did a most impressive job though I cannot say the same for her father.
Since the book has not yet appeared in an English edition, I shall say a bit more about Ivan. As a child he dreamed of being a professional footballer. Though born and raised in Naples, where football is a religion, he longed to play in the stadia of the United Kingdom.
So, in 2013 at the age of 19, Ivan left home with a one-way ticket to London. Unfortunately, his dream of becoming a professional did not work out so he decided to experience the stadia in another way. Between 2015 and 2020, he visited more than 300 grounds in the United Kingdom and attended 132 matches.
Living in London from 2018 he began his journey as a Football Association coach while working at Stamford Bridge as a private waiter for the family of Callum Hudson-Odoi.
From a window in his West Kensington lodgings he looked every day at St Andrew's Church, where Fulham FC began. It was in West Kensington that he put together the story of his dreams and his journey to fulfil them.
Ivan's book, soon to be published in English, explores his philosophy of life and includes more than 50 stories covering British football, his love for Craven Cottage and his many unforgettable encounters. As he says: "With football, dreams and happiness are always at the centre of it all."
I will review Ivan's book when it appears in English. In the meantime, you can find further information at My trip to England – the website is in Italian.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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