There has been talk in several papers this week,of the possibility of MJ joining Hamburg. There are several factors which could support this rumour. MJ could be concerned about the transfer fund he has been given. If there is no marked improvment next season,the club decide on a change. Or a longer term contract offered with Hamburg. I personally would like to see him stay to see how we perform with our new signings,but hopefully he does not jump ship, in say, late August leaving us in the S..t. Looking foward to next season with anticipated optimism.
Ros, my concern is the 1 year contract. I would like the club to think more long term. MJ is a good fit for Fulham, assuming he gets on well with the board. He's signing his own players now, players he's tracked for some time, and needs time to put together his team. Stability is the key for me. I hope he stays.
I certainly share the concern, Craving. Jol is a very good fit for Fulham and the board needs to show him that we value him. A one year rolling contract might work for a 60 year old who is waiting for the England job, but not for a 50 year old like Jol. A 2 year deal seems good, as a minimum.
I'm not overly concerned about the Hamburg rumours. He's already managed them, and I'm not sure that they did so well that he'd be regarding as a homecoming hero or anything like that. Also, when he took the Fulham job he made a point of saying that he wasn't looking at us as a stepping stone for a bigger club - he's already managed in the Champions League, and didn't see that as the be all and end all of what he wanted to do (are Hamburg in the Champions League next season? I honestly don't know). What we might see is Jol choosing not to play the rumour down as a way of strengthening his hand when negotiating transfer funds and players' wages with the board. Here's an article which I stumbled across back in 2010 when we were first after Jol. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him use Hamburg to improve his situation with us in the same way that he used us to leverage conditions at Ajax. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...nting-more-2031095.html?origin=internalSearch Like others have said, I think Jol is the man for the next few years. I suspect the board will see how next season starts, and then look to tie him up for another couple of years (at least) if all goes well. I certainly hope so.
We need to secure Jol. Another experienced manager might be off the market soon... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22649939
