Fulham striker Barry Hayles faces tomorrows FA Cup semi-final against
Chelsea at Villa Park with the prospect of triumph, disappointment,
and perhaps even both at once.
After a run of eight games without a goal, Hayles, the club’s top scorer,
was dropped for the 1-1 draw away to Newcastle United on Monday and so may
sit out the biggest game of his career — but even if he plays and scores
and Fulham win, he will almost certainly miss the Final.
Victory, and a win for Arsenal over Middlesbrough, will guarantee Fulham
a place in next season’s Uefa Cup, but the three-match suspension that
Hayles received earlier this week for an altercation with Hayden Foxe, of
West Ham United, in a match in November would rule him out of a trip to
Cardiff — unless the club wins an appeal that must be lodged by April
29. Even then, another hearing before the FA is scheduled for next week,
over incidents in a match against Everton in December.
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Fulham striker Bazza Hayles
faces up to the challenge of F.A. suspensions and competition for
his place at the club.
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Hayles may be paying the price for letting frustration get the better of
him, but the timing of such disciplinary matters has been unfortunate, in
that both events took place before the club’s Cup run began. “It
has taken so long to come through,” Hayles said. “Nearly five
months have elapsed, and they push it forward now. They say there has been
a backlog, but it’s strange, really.”
Europe, however, would be a consolation, even though Fulham still need
to make certain that enough league points are won to avoid relegation.
“It will be in the back of your mind that we could be in Europe,
but there’s the Premiership as well,” he said. “If the
suspension does kick in on the 29th, then I’ve only got a few games
to play this season. I need four goals to break that 15-goal barrier.”
That Hayles can envisage such a target is already something of a triumph,
bearing in mind that before Stevenage Borough took a chance on him, he
was working as a carpenter and paying £3 per match in subs to play
the game. Bristol Rovers gave him his chance in the league, at what seemed
a risky sum of £250,000 for a non-league player, in the summer of
1997, and a little over a year later, Kevin Keegan took him to Craven
Cottage for £2 million, Hayles repaying the club with a fair proportion
of the goals that won two promotions. Jean Tigana retained Hayles when
many expected him to be surplus to the Frenchman’s requirements,
but the transfer talk this season has centred around the forwards that
Fulham have attempted to sign. Both Jan Koller, of the Czech Republic,
and John Carew, of Norway, were expected to oust the former Jamaica player,
and Steve Marlet, of France, has kept him out at times.
“I think he (Tigana) will bring in new faces,” Hayles said.
“Another forward will push me down the list, so I would either stay
and battle or move on, but I’d have to see what the club would say
about that. I’m not 21, I’m 30 next week, so I want to be starting
as many games as possible.”
Tigana, though, may also be feeling the pressure. Training sessions at
the club, Hayles said, are not the light-hearted affairs they once were.
“He’s been a lot more serious and training has been more focused,
especially on set pieces — we haven’t scored enough goals from
them. He has been more determined, and needed to be, I think. But Monday
at Newcastle was one of our better games.”
The lack of goals, from set plays or any other source, has been Fulham’s
main problem this season, but Louis Saha’s fortunate deflected effort
at St James’ Park may signal a change of luck that Hayles must hope
will rub off on him too. “We’ve talked about it, worked on it
on the training ground, but just can’t put our finger on it,”
he said. “Sometimes it has been good goalkeeping, sometimes bad finishing.
A few weeks ago, the shot would have hit Louis and gone back out. Maybe
our luck has changed.”