The Predictor League for Fulham is open. Enter your team HERE. Deadline is 3.30pm.
Blast from the past
22nd December 1906 – Henry Campbell-Bannerman was the Liberal Prime Minister, the Education (Provision of Meals) Act was passed the day before to allow local education authorities to provide cheap or free school meals to the poorest children, and future Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev was born three days earlier. West Ham United, meanwhile, secured a 4-1 Southern League First Division victory over Fulham in front of 10,000 at Craven Cottage.
The Hammers went into the game without a win in seven matches, drawing six of them. Lionel Watson (pictured) scored a hat-trick in this 4-1 win in west London to bring that run to an end. Outside-left Fred Blackburn scored the Irons’ other goal. 25-year-old inside-left Watson, who had played First Division football with Blackburn prior to moving south to sign for West Ham, scored 27 goals in his 80 appearances for the Hammers between September 1905 and April 1908. A great practical joker, he returned to Lancashire to join Blackpool and continued to live in the seaside town after his retirement from football, later working as an auctioneer before his death in 1945.
Centre-forward Harry Stapley would be the Hammers’ top scorer for the season with 22 goals from 37 appearances. Syd King’s Hammers went on to finish the 1906/07 Southern League First Division season in fifth place, while Harry Bradshaw’s Fulham topped the division and were elected to the Football League. Newcastle won the First Division title and The Wednesday won the FA Cup.
West Ham United: George Kitchen, Bill Wildman, Syd Hammond, Tommy Allison, Frank Piercy, Len Jarvis, Dave Lindsay, Billy Grassam, Harry Stapley, Lionel Watson, Fred Blackburn.
Club Connections
Ryan Fredericks travels to his former club. Scott Parker played for both clubs and is currently manager at Craven Cottage. A decent number of players join the pair in representing West Ham United and Fulham over the years. These include:
Goalkeepers: Bill Biggar, Jan Lastuvka, Tony Parks.
Defenders: Paul Kelly, Bobby Moore, Tony Gale, George Redwood, Kevin Lock, Jack Hebden, Rufus Brevett, John Paintsil, Paul Konchesky, Ian Pearce, Wayne Bridge, Jon Harley, Alan Stephenson, Andy Melville.
Midfielders: Luis Boa Morte, Dick Richards, George Carter, Papa Bouba Diop, Ray Houghton, Fergus Hunt.
Strikers: Johnny ‘Budgie’ Byrne, Brian Dear, Alf Harwood, Jack Fletcher, Roger Cross, Iain Dowie, Fred Harrison, Billy Brown, Archie Macaulay, Danny Shea, Bill Davidson, Kenny McKay, Leroy Rosenior, Bobby Zamora, Mladen Petric.
Today’s focus though is on a player who spent nearly five years with West Ham before joining Fulham. George Horler was born in Coleford, Somerset on 10th February 1895. He started his career with Frome Town before signing for Reading. Horler served as a sergeant in the Army Medical Corps during the First World War, returning to Reading after the conflict and enjoying several seasons with the Biscuitmen (as they were then known). It was from the Elm Park club that Horler joined the Hammers in 1922.
The 27-year-old Horler (pictured) made his Hammers debut in a 2-1 defeat to Bradford in the Second Division on 26th August 1922 at the Boleyn Ground. Horler played his part in West Ham’s run to the 1923 FA Cup Final, appearing in both second round matches as Brighton were defeated after a replay. The left-back also made five league appearances as the Hammers were promoted to the top flight for the first time in the club’s history in 1922/23. Generally a back-up to Jack Young, Horler’s full-back partnership with Jack Hebden in the old London Combination was reckoned to be the finest in the Reserve League and led to the pair being chosen to represent the competition – Hebden would go on to captain West Ham before also departing for Fulham.
Horler, who continued to reside in Berkshire during his time at West Ham United, progressed to the first team in 1926/27, making 23 appearances that season as the Irons finished sixth. He was also an accomplished singer and often formed a duet with pianist (and outside-right) Tommy Yews to entertain at social gatherings, both at home and on tour. Horler lost his place to Alfred Earl the following season though and made his final appearance for the club in a 5-3 defeat at Tottenham on 5th November 1927. After 52 appearances for West Ham United, without scoring, the 32-year-old Horler moved to Second Division Fulham for £600 the following month.
Horler made nine appearances for Fulham, without scoring. After six months at Craven Cottage, he moved on to Aldershot in the summer of 1928. George Horler passed away in March 1967 at the age of 72.
Referee
Saturday’s referee will be Cheshire-based Mike Dean; 2020/21 is Dean’s 21st as a Premier League referee. Since West Ham United achieved promotion back to the top flight in 2012 Dean has refereed 26 of our league matches, officiating in ten wins for the Hammers, eight draws and eight defeats.
Dean refereed our final match at the Boleyn when we famously triumphed 3-2 over Manchester United. His decision to send off Sofiane Feghouli just 15 minutes into our 2-0 defeat to the Red Devils in January 2017 was later rescinded. Dean’s three Hammers appointments last season were the 5-0 opening day home defeat to Manchester City, our 0-0 draw at Aston Villa in September 2019 when he sent off Arthur Masuaku and our 3-1 home defeat to Arsenal in December 2019. He most recently refereed the Hammers in our 1-0 FA Cup third round win at Stockport last month.
The VAR Official is Lee Mason.
Possible line-ups
Fulham could be without Terence Kongolo and Tom Cairney, who are injury doubts. The Cottagers haven’t won in the league since the last day of November, drawing seven and losing four of their 11 games since.
West Ham United will be without Arthur Masuaku, while Darren Randolph remains a doubt.
Possible Fulham XI: Areola; Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo; Tete, Anguissa, Lemina, Robinson; Loftus-Cheek, Lookman; Mitrovic.
Possible West Ham United XI: Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Fornals, Lingard, Benrahma; Antonio.
Enjoy the game – Come On You Irons!