The Premier League’s Most Unique and Boutique Stadium Experience

As the Tube doors jolt unfastened astatine Putney Bridge, a gruff outcry of “eaaaaagles” echoes down the platform.

It is lone 10am but the temper is of boisterous anticipation for what could prevarication ahead. By 2pm, these radical could beryllium having an unforgettable experience.

A young mates bemoan not having remembered there’s a shot lucifer connected arsenic the queue down the stairs to Station Approach moves astatine a crawling pace.

There are much queues extracurricular astatine the River Cafe other the presumption exit arsenic radical hold for iced lattes and croissants. Very Fulham.

A tout is trying to merchantability 3 lucifer tickets to beryllium successful the Hammersmith End for £270 ($350). A punter tries to haggle and the tout loses his temper: “I conscionable told you, nary bidding!”

This is beauteous overmuch the angriest country that’ll beryllium witnessed contiguous (other than location fans lambasting Calvin Bassey’s defending).

This is Fulham, aft all, the Premier League’s nicest nine and a favourite distant time for thousands upon thousands of shot fans astir the country.

Why? Well, for a start, you’ve got the adjacent surroundings. If your way to Craven Cottage is from Putney Bridge station, instrumentality a locomotion down the River Thames connected a sunny outpouring greeting and transport yourself to a spot of calm and serenity.

People are sat connected benches eating sandwiches, oregon doing a crossword successful a newspaper. Even the kids swigging from bottles of Corona are harmless. You don’t get this astatine Millwall.

Then instrumentality a rotation done leafy greenish Bishops Park, with its premix of families, tiny dogs and runners, truthful galore runners.

There’s a funfair successful the mediate of it, and watching a Fulham instrumentality with a skinhead and a Union Jack emblem draped astir his shoulders (yes, this antheral does exist) portion navigating the cones laid retired for children wearing roller-skates is rather an image.

Crystal Palace fans are dotted around, proudly wearing their reddish and bluish colours. The chances of recriminations for sporting their shirts, which would beryllium a occupation astatine dozens of grounds successful the Premier League and below, are minimal here.

They speech of wanting the precocious kick-off astatine Wembley astatine semi-final weekend. Presumptuous, but yet fair.

They besides speech of this being an perfect distant day. “Fulham distant is ever connected my database for the season,” Palace instrumentality Dan tells The Athletic.

“It’s friendly, the locomotion to the stadium is beautiful, they person away-friendly pubs and it’s a picturesque crushed connected the Thames.

“They’re astir apt the astir accommodating nine for distant fans. Well, they’ve been beauteous accommodating successful the past fewer years anyhow due to the fact that we’ve won a few.”

Until reasonably recently, Fulham were truthful accommodating that they adjacent had a neutral basal wherever location and distant fans could freely beryllium adjacent to each other, a conception beauteous overmuch unheard of successful English football.

It’s a conception successful keeping with the middle-class surroundings: quiescent streets, multi-million-pound houses and rowers grooming for the Oxford-Cambridge University Boat Race, which volition walk by present successful a mates of weeks. There was adjacent (at least) 1 celebrated histrion astatine the crippled connected Saturday, with Fulham instrumentality Hugh Grant pictured lending his support.

For astir of the club’s history, though, Fulham haven’t troubled the headline-makers of English football.

From 1970 to 2001, they didn’t erstwhile acceptable ft successful the apical flight. A 14-year stint successful the apical part followed nether the ownership of the now-deceased and disgraced erstwhile Harrods proprietor Mohamed Al Fayed, who sold the nine to Shahid Khan.

Under Khan and his son, Tony, who is vice-chairman and manager of shot operations, Fulham are moving towards not lone becoming an established top-flight nine again pursuing a play of flitting betwixt the apical 2 divisions, but besides to being a boutique club, wherever radical are asked to wage precocious prices not conscionable to ticker a shot match, but to bask a deluxe acquisition successful “a determination similar nary other”, successful Shahid Khan’s words.

There is the £120million Riverside Stand that backs onto the River Thames and is being opened signifier by stage. When afloat completed, it volition connection a edifice curated by a Michelin-star chef, high-end bars (including 1 connected the rooftop) and seats and a barroom down the dugout, positive a backstage pool. There are plans to offer an enactment to question determination by boat.

“No 2 visits are ever the same,” Fulham’s blurb connected Riverside states. “One thing, however, is constant; exceptional work throughout.”

Obviously, this doesn’t travel cheap. Just to beryllium successful the Riverside Stand for Fulham’s adjacent location crippled against Liverpool volition outgo £150. Season tickets scope the £3,000 level, the astir costly non-corporate play summons successful the Premier League.

Season tickets elsewhere successful the stadium tin inactive scope £1,024, portion mean Premier League lucifer tickets, again for Liverpool, scope from £66 to £106, with a smattering of £35 seats connected the sides of the Johnny Haynes Stand.

Exorbitant fees for Premier League tickets are progressively common, particularly successful London wherever Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United volition complaint akin prices for matchday tickets.

It’s a batch for fans to tummy and they person tried to marque their dependable heard, with protests successful 2023 and again precocious astatine the Manchester United distant crippled successful the FA Cup, a joint-protest with location supporters aft being charged astatine slightest £52 for a seat. In Premier League games, determination is simply a £30 headdress connected distant tickets crossed each clubs.

“There decidedly a consciousness of feeling fleeced by the club,” Fulham regular Liam tells The Athletic.

“I person friends who can’t spend to travel anymore, but the nine is going successful a antithetic direction. Fulham utilized to beryllium unfastened to everyone, location and distant fans, but it’s becoming overmuch much exclusive.”

The club’s main enforcement Alistair Mackintosh precocious defended the terms rises, saying: “When I archetypal spoke to the Fulham Disabled Supporters Association they gave maine immoderate proposal — that Fulham is the benignant of nine that tin person a concern people oregon archetypal people and person fans that crook near connected a plane.

“They said to me, that is for immoderate people, but the remainder of america privation a premium acquisition elsewhere.

“They whitethorn privation to person this acquisition for the unusual game, past whitethorn privation to instrumentality to their seats.

“I consciousness stretching pricing means determination is thing for everyone astatine Craven Cottage.

“But the attraction is connected the top-end pricing arsenic it is much absorbing to study than the bottommost end, but our crippled against Villa is sold out.”

Fulham are a nine connected the rise, fighting for Champions League football this play nether Marco Silva’s management.

On Saturday — which starts with 1 of the astir electrifying atmospheres heard astatine Craven Cottage for immoderate clip for their biggest crippled of the season, an FA Cup quarter-final against Palace — the task of turning Fulham into a nine that offers a high-end acquisition connected and disconnected the transportation is brought home. You can’t truly connection 1 without the other. Just inquire Queens Park Rangers.

A broad 3-0 nonaccomplishment puts Fulham’s play connected a weapon edge. Out of the cup, tin they present scope Europe for conscionable the 4th clip successful their history?

Those boutique summons income whitethorn beryllium connected it.

(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Tim Spiers is simply a shot writer for The Athletic, based successful London. He joined successful 2019 having antecedently worked astatine the Express & Star successful Wolverhampton. Follow Tim connected Twitter @TimSpiers