Such a crying shame for relegated Fulham

FULHAM players cried in the changing room after the final whistle at the Britannia confirmed their relegation.

Manager Felix Magath was close to tears, too, in his post-match Press conference 15 minutes after Fulham dropped limply and lamely out of the Barclays Premier League after 13 years in the top flight.

‘In Germany we would say it was a blackout,’ Magath said. ‘We had no chance from the beginning. We were not in the game.

‘The team felt too much pressure so we couldn’t run, we couldn’t pass, we couldn’t play.’

Former owner Mohamed Al Fayed promised to give the club Premier League football within five years when he bought them for £6.25million in 1997. He did not disappoint.

They have been ever-present in England’s elite league since their whirlwind run from the Third Division, with three promotions in five seasons from 1997 to 2001.

Since then there has been a run to the 2010 Europa League final, including a 4-1 home victory over Juventus in the semi-final. They enjoyed a league high finish of seventh in 2009 and a statue of Michael Jackson outside Craven Cottage has been and gone.

Those heady days seemed a world away as they were taken apart yesterday. At times it felt like Stoke were playing a training game and manager Mark Hughes had drafted in a group of youth team and reserve players to test out passing moves with his senior side.

Stoke caressed and cajoled the ball around the edge of Fulham’s area as their opponents hared around diving and blocking. Finally, after 39 minutes, the pressure produced a goal, despite Fulham’s desperate efforts.

Marko Arnautovic took his time inside the penalty area before cutting the ball back to Stephen Ireland, who struck a first-time shot which John Heitinga somehow blocked.

The ball ballooned up into the air, Heitinga dived back into his goal but the ball clipped the underside of the bar and into the path of Peter Odemwingie to tap in from a yard out.

Fulham were nervous and nerves bring mistakes. They were lucky not to go behind in the 24th minute when Mahamadou Diarra passed straight to Ireland on the edge of his own area. Ireland had options but went for goal himself and David Stockdale leapt acrobatically to push the ball wide.

Magath made some odd tactical decisions. After 34 minutes he pulled the ineffective Lewis Holtby, so often the catalyst for good in Fulham’s play, and sent on Ashkan Dejagah. ‘He is very skilful but he didn’t get any of the ball, I saw nothing from him,’ Magath said.

Clearly seeing something the rest of us did not, he made no further substitutions at the break despite his side failing to register a shot on target.

He played the towering Dan Burn on the right and Oussama Assaidi had a field day, beating Burn for fun and causing havoc in Fulham’s already nervy back line with low balls into the box.

The second goal came from 21-year-old Burn’s flank. Assaidi fed Odemwingie in behind Burn and the free-running Arnautovic fired in the cross from seven yards.

Burn was finally replaced by striker Kostas Mitroglou in the 58th minute, with Magath left with no choice but to go for it. But things just got worse.

‘That’s why we’re going down,’ the 3,000 travelling Fulham fans chanted as Kieran Richardson shot woefully over from the edge of the box with 20 minutes to play.

Many of them left when Assaidi made it three in the 73rd minute with a goal he deserved.

Steven Nzonzi carried the ball from just outside his own box as the home side broke quickly. He fed Arnautovic, whose low cross was tapped in by Assaidi.

Richardson’s drive into the bottom corner looked to have salvaged some pride for the away side but two minutes later substitute Jonathan Walters beat the offside trap to slot Stoke’s fourth.