Tony Khan does not look or sound like a man who has just watched his team lose a local derby in agonising circumstances. If he is feeling bruised after seeing Fulham fall to a last-minutedefeat at home to Chelseahe is hiding it well. Instead Khan, the vice-chairman and director of football operations, brings nothing but positivity when he breezes into a small, private room at Craven Cottage and starts to talk about his hopes for the future.
The most immediate issue is whether Fulham’s push for European qualification is still on. “Oh absolutely,” says Khan, on a flying visit to London from his Florida base. “We have a very good chance and we have so many exciting things we can achieve in the remaining fixtures. It’s been such a great season. There’s a lot of great things happening at the club. It’s been so fantastic. I’m really excited for the future.”
It has been 12 years since Khan’s father, Shahid, bought Fulham. There were challenges during the ownership’s early years – accusations of dysfunction followed relegations from the Premier League in 2014, 2019 and 2021 – but the outlook is brighter than ever. Shaking off a reputation as a yo-yo club is a good feeling for the Khans, who also own the NFL team the Jacksonville Jaguars. This is Fulham’s third consecutive season in the top flight, the expansion of the ground provides an opportunity to increase revenue and there is pride at the team’s progress since the appointment of Marco Silva four years ago.
“It’s a real thing we’ve built, a family environment, a close-knit club,” Khan says. The 42-year-old started working on Fulham’s transfers in 2016 and became sporting director a year later. His company, TruMedia Networks, is a major player in the world of sports data. Khan uses his eye for analytics and numbers to pick out transfer targets, although he also understands the importance of a human touch. He follows players and wishes them well even after they leave Fulham.
Building and maintaining relationships is part of the job. Khan is effusive in his praise for Silva, who could be in demand this summer. The Portuguese is a contender to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham, and there have been links with clubs in Italy and Spain. The worry is that Silva will get itchy feet and decide he can take Fulham no further. Alternatively he could realise that he is on to a good thing in south-west London and consolidate his power by signing a new deal.
Khan has been doubted in the past, so would he see European qualification as vindication for his work? He seems reluctant to talk himself up, saying: “It would be an incredible achievement for the club and a tribute to the great work Marco is doing here. Marco is absolutely fantastic. The run we’ve had here in the four years is a real credit to him and the squad and the staff. We want to keep it going.”
Khan is relaxed about speculation regarding Silva’s future. “I love working with him,” he says. Has he planned for life after Silva? “We have a fantastic thing going with the excellent people in the club now. We’re focused on the future. We keep building. We all have aspirations of what we’re trying to do.”
Silva is heavily involved in recruitment. Khan considers whether his own role has evolved in recent years. “I love using analytics and collaborating with Marco’s opinions,” he says. “Marco is a very sophisticated football mind who incorporates his opinions from watching a live match and countless hours of video and analysing numerous reports and his own analytics.
“Then I meet with him and I have my own independently assembled analytics. I try to use a lot of data of my own and form some kind of informed data report. Then I’m very fortunate with somebody who’s so sophisticated in his preparation as Marco. He is by far of the people I’ve worked with in football the most thoughtful and organised person.”
Fulham want to push on. Mid-ranking clubs have become financially stronger and more competitive but challenging the elite remains tough. When it comes to assessing Fulham’s potential it is worth remembering that they do not have a huge fanbase. Losing two FA Cup quarter-finals in three years has led to a few grumbles from supporters, as has a tendency for promising seasons to fizzle out come springtime. The new Riverside Stand has added a dash of modernity to Craven Cottage, raising the capacity to 29,589, but emulating Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest by making genuine challenges for Champions League qualification would require a level of spending that could prove beyond Fulham in an era of profitability and sustainability regulations.
Khan acknowledges that there have been tensions with supporters over high ticket prices. Watching a game in the Riverside is not cheap and Alistair Mackintosh, the chief executive, is accused by some fans of being out of touch. The challenge is finding a balance to raise match-day revenues without alienating the core support.
“The club has had many milestones on and off the pitch and we have a lot of new milestones we can continue to hit,” Khan says. “New aspects of the stadium were opened in the new development for the very first time. That experience continues to grow. It was a sellout with the expanded capacity today. The fan experience has continued to grow.
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“The investment in the club has been tremendous and my father has worked really hard to build the stadium up and to build the best experience for the supporters possible in the Riverside development. Craven Cottage has come so far under my father’s leadership and Alistair Mackintosh and the team and what they built. The ground continues to expand. It’s a beautiful place with so much history.”
Fulham continue to make steady rather than spectacular progress. Khan believes that football needs financial regulation and says Silva understands the importance of compliance with PSR. “Marco and the board and I have been able to manage to keep the club in good compliance while keeping a very competitive squad that doing great things. That’s been a great team effort and I really love working with Marco for that reason. He’s a brilliant person.”
Fulham have made big profits through the sales of Aleksandar Mitrovic and João Palhinha in the past two years. Both were key players but Silva has kept the team competitive. Expect Fulham to survive if someone tries to sign their flying left-back, Antonee Robinson, this summer.
Stability helps. Fulham have the league’s third-oldest squad and stand out because, unlike other upwardly mobile clubs, they do not place a heavy focus on targeting young talent with resale value. There is almost something old school about Silva’s ability to spot useful experienced players who have been discarded by other Premier League clubs. Raúl Jiménez, Willian, Timothy Castagne, Adama Traoré, Bernd Leno, Issa Diop and Alex Iwobi are good examples.
Equally Khan, who calls Silva a “rejuvenator”, is keen to point out that Fulham have also added an injection of youth with the signings of Rodrigo Muniz, Calvin Bassey and Emile Smith Rowe. There is delight at Ryan Sessegnon, an academy product,enjoying a renaissancesince returning from Tottenham.
“We’re doing really well with a well-organised plan,” Khan says. “Marco is very receptive to the data and information and that’s why we’ve built a great collaboration. We have a great core of people who have built trust over the years. There’s a real bond in this club. This place, Craven Cottage, builds an intimacy. There’s an identity to the club and Marco’s a huge part of it. There’s a lot to build on.”