Seems there is someone leaking stories to the press about the unrest in the dressing room. Stories of Zamora bust up, Baird having the hump at being left out, Kasami gets fined for missing Penalty at Chelsea, players disenchanted with new training methods. I wonder which player(s) it is leaking the dirt. Could it be an ex-manager. or could it just be Jol is too open with the press.
Jol was asked about the unrest following the game Sunday. He said "every player has an agent" and that their complaints are bound to come out in the press - but that he wasn't worried about it. Earlier in the week, Bobby had been featured in a couple of stories saying the "England international wanted away" ... blah, blah, blah. Reading between the lines, Bobby was the likely source of the "unrest" story. The trigger for all this, I suspect, was that Zamora didn't like being left at home by Jol when the team flew off to Odense. Zamora's a player; he wants to play every game he can. Jol left him home claiming the two were ill, but I suspect Jol believes Bobby's body won't hold up this year if he's playing twice a week. Bobby's a star on the team. He wants things to go his way, but the manager clearly has other ideas. Since the team's been struggling, Zamora probably felt he had room to complain about how the team was being managed. But now that the team has hit a streak of form (albeit against two weak teams), I think the complaining will probably die down. -- my two cents: if I were Jol I'd have a team talk and tell the boys outright that, as long as the team's competing in Europe, the players will be used in a rotation system. Aside from the defenders, I don't think our players can play at their best twice a week. Jol knows that. Hodgeson knew that. All Jol needs to do is be honest with his players and set their expectations.
I think Jol has told them, it's in his interest to do so. He also said in the BBC interview that Fulham have to have a good rotation system. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. it clearly worked at the weekend and at Odense.
If I had to guess my money would be on Senderos. One of the quotes in the Mirror was âYou can play well and he will just drop you for no reason and you canât do that to senior pros at a football club.â That sounds to me like the source is someone who's played and been dropped. The players must understand there'll be rotation for European games, so the reference to being dropped must be about the Premier League. Jol specifically mentioned Kelly as being unlucky not to play on Sunday having done well in recent matches, so it could be him, but the guy who's got to be most unhappy must be Senderos. He was first choice at the start of the season but, despite Hughes being injured, he's found himself getting dropped for Chris Baird who's barely played at centre back in recent seasons.
I don't see how idle speculation about who is responsible helps anyone. It could be any of the players mentioned, or not. What's the point in slinging mud when all we're doing is guessing? I'm concerned at the idea that Jol's man-management style may be a little high-handed, but I suspect that the mood in the camp will improve as results improve. Officials within the club may (or may not) be in a position to work out who is leaking stuff, I don't think that we are, and I don't think it's helpful for us to throw names out there without any factual basis for our guesswork.
First, I agree with the fine on Kasami if it is true. Tough but there should be discipline. Now it's like a witch hunt trying to find who might be leaking information to the press. Players are never happy... (It's like Elfs are never happy, borrowed from my daughters animation series!) Jol can see that certain players are struggling when playing twice a week. Remember the second half of the season 2009-10 prior to the Europa league. I think there is need for strong management. Man Utd, Arsenal, City, Liverpool and Chelsea all have a rotation system. Especially when the players are in their 30s. Btw, Odense is not a weak team. Watched a couple of their games and they play good football. Just happened on the day for Fulham to be good. And maybe all this is rubbish. The last player who would complain is Baird. Never did and he is a proper professional. He was left out by Roy, MH and never heard anything.
When the team's winning, the manager can do no wrong. When the team's losing, ever choice the manager makes will be questioned, both both the players and the fans. That's what happened with Hodgeson last year at Liverpool; that's what's happening this year with Wenger. I, too, doubt Baird would be the complainer - he doesn't seem the type. Senderos, too, has only recently started playing some regular football. I'm guessing its someone a little further up the food chain. The captain's right in the sense that the important issue isn't who complained, but whether there's problem with the way Jol manages his players. Hodgeson's genius, I always thought, was that he always got the most from his players. He took a few cast-offs not playing regular football at their former teams (Johnson, Zamora, Pantsil, Duff), brought in a few players of his own (Schwartzer, Hangeland) and mixed them in with the strugglers who were already here (Murphy, Dempsey, Davies, Baird, Hughes) and got them to play as a team. There wasn't and still isn't a superstar amongst them, yet we put the fear of God into every team who came to The Cottage. Let's face it - Fulham punches above its weight class. We're a bit like Everton. We compete and beat teams like Sunderland, Newcastle and Villa with much larger stadiums and budgets. In order for that to happen on a consistent basis, we need a manager who can work wonders. Hughes got by on Hodgeson's coat tails. Jol will sink or swim on his own merit.
Captain. In full agreement with your article. If on the other hand some of our players think they are to important to play for FFC, get shot of them,but make sure we get a good return.
Here here. Although I still think these stories about unrest are much ado about nothing. Jol is bound to chop and change, not only because of the amount of games we're playing, but because he's probably still finding his feet re: best players for each system etc.
I believe Kasami was fined because he was not the designated penalty kicker but took it on himself - effectively over-ruling the manager. And of course missed. If so, a fine is not unreasonable. What is irritating in the extreme is the spin the press, Sun and Mail in particular, put on it; saying solely the the fine was because he missed. I'd place little credence on the reputed "insider" / "a source" said - sounds like hogwash and made up. Why is it the media in general can never say anything good about FFC? Reporting on the Man C game concentrated on how they threw it away not on how good we were in the second half. Even after Sunday there was more narrative about Warnock's bleating and Traabat's pout, than our superlaive performance. Is it MAF they don't like? And where are the FFC PR people? They are part of the 'Brand Fulham' team after all but seem to do a miserable job in promoting the club.
New twist on FineGate - http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...penalty-kick-row-EXCLUSIVE-article808141.html I think Jol redeems himself here, to some extent. Whether or not you think that's the case, one word that certainly describes it is 'Fulhamish'.
That was a strange story - Jol fines himself? Sounds like he's struggling a bit to find balance in managing the players.
I didn't see it as struggling to find balance; I saw it as acknowledging that the fault was partly his. To my mind that could go a long way to redressing any perceptions the players may have of him being arrogant and aloof. A bit of self-deprecation and humility goes a long way.
I guess at some stage when things are going wrong there will always be discontent in the squad. Maybe some of the senior players don't like the competition. With a long season and so many games, Jol has to look at the big picture. Can players keep fit, which is the best way to integrate the new players into the team. How does he keep the players happy while rotating. I think this is the best squad we've had for a few years, we have more players who can compete for first team places, not just bench warmers. We have young players breaking through, who have been given a chance to step up. I remember Ruiz being tapped up by Newcastle, but he said that he had such a nice feeling about Fulham and the welcome the manager and staff had given him that he didn't even contemplate talks with the Geordies. The same with Gignac, that Jol and his wife had made him welcome at a dinner, that he was desperate to even try and get his own agent to find someone for Marseille to take so they would release him.
I think Jol is making his mark on the squad. There are still lots of egos to manage. I still think he'll do well for us. I like him a lot. Don't forget it's still early doors, plenty of time in the league yet plus the Europa. Just read this post, very dis jointed!! Sorry. COYW
In addition to what everyone else has said, squad rotation is essential. We now have a squad where we could conceivably put out two different starting XI's which I think could both survive in the PL. The squad must embrace this and use it as a reason to make themselves undroppable. Even at man city aside from maybe Hart, Silva and Aguero, no one in that side has a virtually guaranteed place in the team and the players need to know this.
Another spin on this is how much media time/column inches we are suddenly getting - ok, its from a somewhat negative perspective but we're now seen as a club worth talking and writing about by journalists which is new. My 2 cents/pennies are that this is a storm in a tea cup which will soon blow over as the newcomers (including Jol hinself) settle in and the stalwarts get used to them and the new ideas.
