Fulham's Craven Cottage (Phil Cole/Allsport)

Mohamed Al Fayed's club were planning to groundshare with their west London neighbours Queens Park Rangers for the next two years before returning to a new 30,000-capacity home in August 2004.

But Fulham chief executive Bruce Langham admitted today that the nine residents - who have formed a group called the 'Fulham Alliance' - are forcing the Cottagers to look for new stadium sites elsewhere in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

And the Alliance, who have already fought a three-year legal battle against the Craven Cottage revamp, tonight warned they plan a new front in the battle with the club - thanks to a fund-raising drive expected to drum up well in excess of £100,000.

Alliance chairman Bill Adlard told PA Sport: 'It's not suitable to cram in a Premiership football club stadium. It would be a nightmare as the area just isn't big enough.

'It will overwhelm the transport and squeeze people into the tiny streets. I'm not surprised Fulham are now looking somewhere else. Fulham fans should want their club to have the best development they can. We don't believe they can achieve that at this site, so we hope they get the right venue.'

The Alliance have asked the House of Lords' appeal committee to force theSecretary of State to reverse his decision not to order a public enquiry into the development.

And the protesters, who expect to hear either next month or in October if they have been successful, are also ``acting on good advice'' and submitting a High Court appeal to quash the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham's grant of planning permission for the new stadium.

Adlard, 51, a former barrister and now a financial analyst who lives 300 yards from Craven Cottage, added: 'We're likely to take this to the European Court of Human Rights if we fail.

'We have already raised comfortably in excess of six figures - and we're confident we can do that again. Every time we have fund-raising drives, we're staggered by the response. We have around 1,500 supporters and no money problems at all.'

The Alliance's warning came as Fulham admitted they did make an unsuccessful bid for the 10.3 acre former Dairycrest milk distribution depot in Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush - just round the corner from QPR's Loftus Road ground.

The Cottagers lost out to the preferred bidder, property developer Helical Bar & Morley Fund Management - and the club's chief executive Langham confirmed: 'We made a bid for a site in the borough.

'We were unsuccessful in gaining that site and are now investigating other fallback positions. It's prudent business practice to look at fall-backs if it is not possible to redevelop Craven Cottage.

'Our plan is still to redevelop the ground, but the longer it gets held up in the planning process, the more difficult it will be redevelop in two years. So the sooner we get a result on this, the better for everybody.

'Craven Cottage is still top of the list, but the planning permission hasbeen held up by action by local residents and the legal process. Until that is resolved, we can't move forward.'

On the pitch, last night's injury-time strike by Sean Davis gave Fulham a 1-0 lead to take to eastern France for Wednesday's Intertoto Cup semi-final, second leg clash with Sochaux.

If they progress, the Cottagers are almost certain to face Italian side Bologna in the two-legged final - with a UEFA Cup spot going to the winners. Bologna thrashed Czech outfit Teplice 5-1 last night.

Fulham striker Louis Saha said: 'We started the Intertoto Cup with big hopes. Now we're very close to our target and concentrating on it. My dream is to play in the Champions League, so playing in the UEFA Cupwould be a good step to help the team towards the Champions League.

'Sochaux came for a draw last night but Sean Davis made us very happy with a very good strike. We have an advantage with our goal and must now work to keep that advantage.