Half-Term Report: Fulham

Jean Tigana's days appear numbered, which may well suit the Frenchman as much as his disenchanted chairman.How did it come to this? Answer: impatience. The days of creating, in Fayed's words, "a Manchester United of the south" are still a long way off. After all you need your own Old Trafford first and playing as temporary tenants at Loftus Road to the smallest crowds in the Premiership does not help. It now appears very unlikely they will ever return to Craven Cottage and some fans must be asking themselves if they are to be the next Wimbledon, especially if Fayed decides he wants some of his money back. In many ways, Tigana's reign has been an amazing success. He brought them up, got them into Europe and will, probably, steer them to safety this season. But many of his signings have backfired, and it turned very sour over Steve Marlet.