When a club goes from the bottom tier of the Football
League to the Premier League in just five years it's inevitable that there are
going to be casualties along the way.
It's even more likely when the club is taken over by a
mega-rich ambitious businessman determined to transform them into one of the
top teams in the country.
Fuham's rapid ascent up the footballing pyramid came
after Mohamed Al-Fayed's investment in 1997 and left little room for sentiment
to the players - and manager - who had just won them a promotion.
One of those was former Rotherham defender Rob
Scott.
The older brother to former Millers manager Andy joined
the Craven Cottage club in 1996 from Sheffield United and was heavily involved
in the 96/97 team that finished second in Division Three under rookie boss
Micky Adams, making 44 appearances.
Following that success the king of Harrods bought the
club and immediately dreamed big.
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| Rob Scott played a major part in Fulham's 1996/97 promotion from Division Three |
And the Egyptian businessman put his hand in his pocket, spending
over £7million on transfer fees, bringing in the likes of Paul Peschisolido,
Peter Beardsley, Ian Selley and Chris Coleman – for £2million.
Scott managed 26 appearances that season, though did not
feature after January and his time on the banks of the Thames was coming to an
end.
With a further influx of well-paid players coming in
during that summer, after a loan spell at Carlisle, Scott ended up at Millmoor
with the Division Three Millers just before Christmas of the 1998/99
season.
Some players could have taken umbrage at being shown
little reward for their success, but Scott takes it on the chin.
"It was a massively different club back then,"
Scott reflects on the state of the Cottagers when he joined.
"When I went there we were second or third bottom of
the Football League, so where they have got to from then is a massive
achievement.
"I went to what was a very traditional club with
great history, but it was on its knees really and financially we didn't have
much.
"The first full season I was there under Micky
Adams, he changed the team around and got some very hard-working personnel in
and on the back of that we came to a little bit of prominence.
"It was my third or fourth season as a professional
footballer and I was lucky enough to get promotion.
“I played about 99 per cent of the games and it was a
really good team.
"It was a great season, not just in terms of getting
promotion, but the squad we had was a great bunch of lads and we all got on really,
really well.
"Mr Al-Fayed then decided to come in and invest a
lot of money and bring in a lot of high-profle players.
"After that it was massively different, Ray Wilkins
came in to be head coach and he was brilliant. He was an excellent guy he would
treat everyone the same whether they came in on big contracts or left over from
the previous regime, he didn't treat anybody any differently or force anybody
out.
"Then Kevin came in and he gave everyone a go, but
obviously the club went to another level in terms of the affordability of
players.
"From a year ago when the squad was made up of lower
league players or players disregarded by the top clubs to having the likes of
Chris Coleman, Peter Beardsley then you start thinking your days might be numbered.
"There was no ill feeling, it is a great club and I
have a lot of affection for that club.
“The target to me was to play every week and I wasn't
doing that at Fulham because of the names they brought in.
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| Mohamed Al-Fayed transformed Fulham after he bought them in 1997 |
“It was no disgrace personally but the club had moved on a little bit and ultimately I ended up at Rotherham."
Fulham were not the only club to gain from their quick
rise - the Millers did too as it meant they could get Scott.
And when he arrived at Millmoor as a striker, no one
could have imagined what was to take place over the next seven years as the
Millers went on their own meteoric rise, winning back-to-back
promotions on substantially less money than Fulham had spent to climb the
leagues.
Scott was a mainstay of Ronnie Moore's team, not as a
striker or winger, but as a defender.
His versatility was key as Moore took the club to the
second tier and Scott was happy to play anywhere.
"Even growing up as a kid I played as a forward, a
winger and in defence, so it wasn't anything too new for me," he
added.
"Even in the few weeks before leaving Fulham I had
played as a wing-back so I know that Ronnie and John came to watch me as a
forward but I have been made aware since that Kevin Keegan had spoken to Ronnie
and told him not to be afraid of playing me as a defender.
"Ronnie had that in mind and the level we were at
the finances available it's an asset that you can have a player who can play in
a number of positions.
"And as it turns out I played for Rotherham in every
position apart from in goal.
"As long as I was playing I didn't really mind where
I played and when we were playing we were doing quite well and as long as we
were a part of it it didn't bother me too much."
