Exeter City have trolled Championship side Fulham after the Cottagers claimed Jay Stansfield was a product of their academy.
Stansfield, son of former Grecian legend Adam, left Devon in August to sign for the recently-relegated West London side. He was the latest in a long line of talented youngsters to leave Exeter looking for fame and fortune, with Ollie Watkins and Ethan Ampadu two other big names to have come through the ranks at St James’ Park.
Julian Tagg, chairman of Exeter City, said at the time of Stansfield’s departure; “While Fulham have paid above what we would likely get in an arbitration fee from the Professional Football Compensation Committee, and therefore it was sensible for the club to accept, the ability for football clubs, with much bigger resources at their disposal, to take young players from successful academies like Exeter City at a fraction of the cost of which they are valued, is a problem that football still needs to solve.”
That value of which he speaks went up yesterday as the youngster appeared for Fulham as they beat Premier League side Aston Villa 2-1 in the FA Cup third round. Immediately after the game, Fulham put out a tweet claiming he was the latest product of their academy.
That piqued Exeter’s interest, given that Stansfield served his apprenticeship with them and has only had five months with Fulham. They replied by retweeting the post with the comment ‘Errr’.
That prompted a host of supporters to back them up on Twitter, with many coming out to defend Exeter, including Fulham fans.
I’m a Fulham fan and I think Fulham should show more respect to your club. He’s your Academy graduate. Not ours. We can all claim he’s the level where he’s at because of our academy as that’s a matter of opinion, but at least get the facts right.
— E. Zat (@DoubleeZat) January 5, 2020
I couldn't agree more, what a strange tweet from Fulham.
— Aid◼️◻️ (@AidanRobbins10) January 4, 2020
It’s a bit like stealing your mates homework, putting your name at the top and handing it in whilst claiming you did the hard work 😂
— bytheriver⚫️⚪️ (@bytheriver1879) January 4, 2020
Standard thievery from the “Bug Boys” as per. 🙄🙄
— Simon Southgate (@simon1883) January 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/TheBillyWright/status/1213545195251412995
Small club get a grip 🥱
— 🏁 (@UTF1879) January 5, 2020
Love it, been at Fulham since he was 3 and a half years old and finally reaps the rewards.
Best academy in the land. 🤪
— Matt (@Fulhamatt) January 5, 2020
