Off The Wall? You could say that. Mohamed Al Fayed, the Fulham chairman, unveiled a statue of Michael Jackson at Craven Cottage before yesterday’s match against Blackpool to gasps that did not necessarily indicate universal admiration.
The work is 7ft 6in tall and overlooks the Thames on a 2.5-tonne granite base decorated with a stave and lyrics from Man In The Mirror. Fittingly, given the subject, it is quite odd. One fan suggested that it resembled something found in a dustbin outside Madame Tussauds.
“I find it rather amusing,” Mick Mumford, a supporter, said. “If Mr Al Fayed wants it there, that’s fine by me — he’s done a lot for the club.”
Given that he has bankrolled Fulham since 1997 to the tune of more than £160 million and led them from the third tier to top-flight stability, Al Fayed, right, could probably erect an 80ft-high frieze of Lady Gaga in the centre circle and most fans would not object.
Even if they did, he would not be likely to listen.
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“Why is it bizarre? Football fans love it,” he said. “If some stupid fans don’t understand and appreciate such a gift, they can go to hell. I don’t want them to be fans.
“If they don’t understand and don’t believe in things I believe in, they can go to Chelsea, they can go to anywhere else. People will queue to come and visit it from all over the UK and it is something that I and everybody else should be proud of.”
The statue was commissioned after Jackson’s death in 2009 and was originally intended to be installed at Harrods, but Al Fayed sold the store for £1.5 billion to Qatar Holdings last year. Jackson, after all, was arguably more of an Exeter City loyalist, having been introduced to the Devon club through Uri Geller, the spoon-bender.
Yet there are some Fulham connections: Jackson witnessed them beat Wigan Athletic in April 1999 as a guest of his friend, Al Fayed. “He enjoyed himself,” Al Fayed claimed.
There’s more: Bad was the first album bought by Simon Davies, the Fulham winger. And Jonathan Greening, the midfield player, cites Smooth Criminal as his favourite song.