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Search forBristol City defender Fontaine hoping for a happy homecoming
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 18:44
Born and raised in south London, Fontaine is entitled to regard tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship clash at Crystal Palace as something of a homecoming.
But he insists any lingering allegiance he may still feel towards the club he supported as a boy will be subjugated by the overriding requirement to earn three points for Bristol City – all of which will bring him into direct confrontation with friends and family, most of whom are dyed-in-the-wool Eagles fans.
"It's where I grew up as a boy and it's where all my family still live," said Fontaine. "I was brought up right next to Selhurst Park in Bungalow Road and was raised to be a Palace supporter. You could hear the noise of the crowd from our house.
"Most of my family were Palace, so it was natural that they should be my team, too. I used to go to a lot of games and I have good memories of those days."
Fontaine will no doubt spot numerous familiar faces in the crowd at Selhurst Park, where his dad still works as a turnstile operator.
He confirmed: "There will be a lot of family at the game and it will be nice to go back and catch up with them all.
"They'll all be cheering for Palace, but that won't bother me. It used to be a bit of a problem for me when I was younger, but not any more."
Blood may be thicker than water, but Fontaine will take great delight in putting one over on his family.
He recalled: "They were none too pleased with me when we beat them in the play-off semi-final last season.
"They'd set their hearts on a trip to Wembley and I think they're still upset with me that they didn't get there. Hopefully, we'll beat them again and they'll have another reason to be upset with me!"
Although the young Fontaine dreamed of one day turning out for his favourite club, the opportunity never arose and his football career took a very different turn when clubs from the other side of the capital city came knocking.
He recalled: "Playing for Palace simply didn't happen. Of course it's something I thought about, but Wimbledon came in for me when I was still young and I joined them briefly.
"Then I was scouted by Fulham and that was that. They offered me a deal and I never looked back."
Regarded as a player of great promise, Fontaine found opportunities hard to come by and instead gained first-team experience on loan at Yeovil Town.
When Gary Johnson departed Huish Park to take over the managerial reins at City, one of his first calls was to Fulham to check on Fontaine's availability.
The versatile defender has since established himself as a regular fixture in City's Championship starting line-up. While his credentials as a defender have never been in doubt, his goal-scoring record still leaves much to be desired.
Fontaine's first senior goal – netted against Wolves at Molineux a year ago – was the cause of much mirth, given the bet between player and manager which required Johnson to remove his trousers in public.
A further goal followed against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, but he then had to wait until last Saturday's clash with Nottingham Forest to add to his tally. Having contributed goals in two draws and a defeat, he is now intent upon scoring a match-winner, and there would be no better place to start than at Selhurst Park.
"I've enjoyed the goals I've scored so far and the first one at Wolves will stay in my memory," says Fontaine.
"But that one and the one I scored against Forest were both equalising goals and were only worth a point.
"My next target is to score a winning goal and I'd love it if it came against Palace."
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