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Jezzard, Dempsey, Mitrovic... who is Fulham's greatest ever player?

Mail Sport with the help of our readers is on a mission to find the greatest player of all-time at each of the 20 Premier League clubs.

Today it's the turn to look at the legends of Fulhamfrom the delightfully-named Bedford Jezzard to Aleksandr Mitrovic.

And once you've made up your mind on who is the best ever, it's time to vote...

Fulham are one of the nicest clubs in the country based at Craven Cottage on the River Thames but that shouldn't diminish their importance.

They were first club to have a showbiz chairman, comedian Tommy Trinder, and pay a player £100-a-week, Johnny Haynes. Personalities who have served the club in different ways include George Best, Bobby Moore, Bobby Robson, Kevin Keegan and Mohamed Al-Fayed.

Aleksandr Mitrovic's sensational 43-goal season - a Championship record - won Fulham promotion back to the Premier League in 2021-22 - but is he the club's greatest ever footballer?

Bedford Jezzard was still an amateur when he helped the club to the First Division in 1949

Bedford Jezzard was their first big star and still an amateur when he helped the club win promotion to the First Division in 1949 as an inside-left.

He scored 123 goals in 160 games before an ankle injury ended his career aged 30. Before then he'd formed a great partnership with Johnny Haynes who was viewed as the best midfield passer of his generation.

Haynes captained England and when the maximum wage of £20-a-week was abolished in 1961, Fulham's showbiz chairman Tommy Trinder gave his talisman £100-a-week to keep bigger clubs from signing him.

Also alongside Haynes was a young Bobby Robson who arrived in London from the north-east aged 17 in 1950.

Robson was a goalscoring midfielder who had two spells at Craven Cottage before retiring in 1967 and starting his managerial career there.

When England won the World Cup in 1966, Fulham were represented by full-back George Cohen. Remarkably, it was the only trophy he won in his career - but you might as well start at the top!

Born just a mile away from Craven Cottage and a boyhood fan, Cohen was a one-club man who played 459 times before a knee injury ended his career at the age of 29. George Best rated him 'the best full-back I ever played against.'

If Cohen was famed for his gentlemanly conduct, Alan Mullery was a whirlwind personality who liked to give and take plenty. As a manager, he told his players they should listen to him as he'd marked Pele out of the game at the 1970 World Cup.

When England won the 1966 World Cup, Fulham were represented by George Cohen (left)

Fulham legend Alan Mullery (left) pictured alongside club chairman Tommy Trinder (right)

Mullers started and ended his career with Fulham, with a spell at Tottenham in between where he was the midfield replacement for legendary figure Danny Blanchflower.

A passionate captain who wouldn't allow second-best from his players, Mullery's stunning hit for Fulham against Leicester in 1974 was voted Goal of the Season and still talked about today. The following year he skippered them in the FA Cup Final against West Ham, Bobby Moore one of the players he led out.

Fulham's record goalscorer is Gordon Davies, a noteworthy achievement as the former PE teacher didn't turn pro until he was 23. He signed from non-league Merthyr though another club showed interest. 'I could have gone to Liverpool before Ian Rush,' he later revealed.

Though Fulham as a club went through difficult times, Davies scored 114 goals in six years before being snapped up by Manchester City in 1985. The Welshman returned to Craven Cottage the following year and became their most prolific scorer in his second spell, a fox in the box who somehow found space to finish a few yards from goal.

Fulham's return to the big time began when Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed bought the club in 1997 and appointed Kevin Keegan as manager.

A highly-significant signing was Wales international defender Chris Coleman who agreed to drop two divisions to join Fulham who were in the third tier.

Fulham's unorthodox forward Clint Dempsey (above) scored an impressive 23 Premier League goals for the club, a figure beaten only by Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero

Chris Coleman (holding trophy, left) pictured alongside former Fulham manager Kevin Keegan

'Cookie' was instrumental to the Londoners twice winning promotion to reach the Premier League though a bad car accident at the end of 2000 in which he broke both his legs meant he was a Fulham manager rather than player in the top flight. 'My trousers were covered with blood,' he recalls of the crash.

The highlight of Fulham's recent history was reaching the Europa League final in 2010 where they were pipped 2-1 by Sergio Aguero's Atletico Madrid.

The result might had been different had Bobby Zamora been fully fit. The skilful centre-forward had been an integral part of Fulham's run under Roy Hodgson, scoring in famous wins against Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus and Wolfsburg on the way to the final.

Nobody has scored more Premier League goals for Fulham than Clint Dempsey who was regarded by team-mates as the hardest trainer they ever worked with.

Dempsey, who also scored for USA against England at the World Cup, had a knack for finding the net even though he wasn't an orthodox striker. In 2011-12, he hit 23 goals for Fulham, a figure beaten only by Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Aguero.

More recently, Aleksandr Mitrovic was the reason Fulham were always able to bounce back to the Premier League after relegation.

Under Marco Silva, the Serbian powerhouse set a Championship record by scoring 43 goals in 2021-22.

His 14 goals the following season ensured Fulham stayed up and ended their yo-yo run of jumping between the two divisions. When he moved to Saudi club Al-Hilal in 2023, it's believed Fulham received a £50million transfer fee to invest in other players.

To select your greatest Fulham player, click on the voting button or email greatest@dailymail.co.ukif you want to choose someone not on the shortlist.

We will reveal the results of the greatest all-time player for all 20 Premier League clubs before the start of the 2024-25 season.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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