In an interview with a local paper Jol has made it clear he will always play Berbatov before Bent and that he has now decided they can’t play together. Well I suppose that simplifies team selection! “Fulham manager Martin Jol has held talks with Darren Bent over his role in the team and has suggested he may have to settle for being a substitute. The Dutchman is reluctant to play Bent alongside first-choice striker Dimitar Berbatov after his decision to field them together against Cardiff City backfired in a recent home defeat. Jol insists Bent, who is on loan from Aston Villa, will still have a major part to play this season. “I have always tried to get my players confident. They always have a good season with me and Bent will have a good season with me,” said Jol. “I’ve seen him a couple of times and spoken to him, and the conversation was private. It’s awful to tell players that they won’t start or that they won’t play but when I spoke to him I had to tell him a few nice things.” “I said it would be awful if I don’t use him in a proper way and he will be a good part of things this season. He has been a good part already. He knows what my intentions are, but it is not my intention to play Berbatov and Bent [together], I have to be honest.” Bent, 29, netted the winner against Stoke on Saturday and has made seven appearances since his arrival at Craven Cottage. He has scored three goals – all of them coming after he has come off the bench – and Fulham have lost all four matches he has started. “Sometimes he can’t start,” Jol admitted. I was very happy with Bent coming on in the Stoke game. It’s great to have someone like Darren to come off the bench.” “My intentions are still to use Darren, and to get the best out of both him and Berbatov, but it’s not easy because you need time to work on that system.” Source: http://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/jol-dilemma-over-darren-bent-role-4443312-html PS Not sure why he is making public what he says was a “private conversation”.
I can see where you're coming to that conclusion, but he hasn't actually said that. He said he won't play them together, and that Bent is good to have on the bench. The fact we've lost every game he's started has to count for something.
Berbatov a is having a strange season. 15 goals last season means he will surely get the nod. That said I think he above all others is missing Dejagah and kaka playing as well as they did. Not sure if it is the service or whether he is just out of form. Great to have bent as competition though and he is a valuable player to have around.
Jol basically confirming what we all knew. No matter how Berbatov plays, and he's been WOEFUL this season, he will always be selected. What sort of manager tells a player he won't be getting game time at the start of his contract? Like that's supposed to spur Darren on to try harder? If Jol doesn't prefer him when Berbatov is playing awful, he sure won't when Berbs begins to find some form. This is the Schwarzer/Stockdale scenario all over again. Poor man management.
Not sure I see the Schwarzer/Stockdale parallel. I can't remember a time when Schwarzer's form warranted dropping him, and consensus on this board for the last year, maybe more, has been that Stockdale wasn't as good as we all originally hoped he was going to be. Maybe I'm missing the point. I'd prefer to see Bent in the team to Berba, but before we criticise Jol for his bad management of the situation, lets wait and see how he manages the situation rather than rely on guessing what has been said behind closed doors on the basis of one press report which, even in this thread, has been interpreted in more than one way!
Journalists will obviously ask loaded questions. Even fans do, if “Hangout with Darren Bent” is anything to go by, where the Berbatov v Bent question was raised: http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/october/10/darrens-hangout What concerns me is that Jol appears to head his response towards negative comments about the players - Boateng and Dejagah being other recent examples. I just cannot see the need for this unless it is his express intention. And if it is, it’s poor man management to do so publicly. In this particular interview, there’s no room for interpretation when he said he “would not play Berbatov and Bent together”. That is in contradiction to not only what he said at the start of the season but also just a couple of weeks ago. And that brings into to question whether he really does know what he’s doing.
The parallel I was referring to was when Schwarzer missed a few games last season through injury and Stockdale came in and did a damn fine job, only for Jol to come out and say that Schwarzer would walk straight back into the team despite Stockdale's form. It's hardly confidence boosting. Players should be selected on form and form alone, that meant Stockdale should have kept his place and Bent should be starting ahead of Berbatov. Do you disagree that Bent is in better form than Berbatov currently?
Eh? I remember him getting rubbished on here and being at fault for a couple of goals. I certainly don't remember him being especially good.
All a matter of opinion, a lot of people prefer to focus on Stockdale's faults rather than positives, for example how he doesn't have command of his area or communicate well with the defence, rather than focus on the fact he's a very good shot stopper. He's not all bad. Plus, Schwarzer was very dodgy last season in spells, which his penalty saves gloss over to an extent.
That is the problem with Jol. He refuses to face the facts and find a solution. Berba and Ruiz need to be dropped. Took him a season to drop Riise... Stockdale? Good reflexes and that is... Nothing else as a goalkeeper. Can't defend corners and doesn't command his area. The sooner Stekelenburg comes back and sooner we get someone else the better.. Simples...
Stockdale had a really good spell when he first came on the scene (think it was during/after our Europa season). Unfortunately his confidence is now non-existent and he's a shadow of that former player. I'd like to see him go to a Championship club in Jan (ideally permanently) and give Etheridge a run on the bench.
Maybe that's because Jol keeps sending him out on loan to teams, and just as he starts to find some rhythm, he's recalled to come sit on our bench.
Stockdale is no where near good enough. He's looked exposed in the games we've played this year however is capable of pulling off a fine save. The Stoke save at the end of the match was a match winner however he looked out of position in the first place. How he got on the bench for England is amazing. Still look at Hart...we all think his questionable now so this is relative, keepers do have goo and bad spells but that normally goes with the team. A good defense equals a good keeper. For me we don't have either at Fulham.
Bent doesn't quite agree with the 'boss': "Fulham frontman Darren Bent insists his strike partnership with Dimitar Berbatov can work. The pair have so far failed to forge a relationship in attack, with injuries hampering their progress. Boss Martin Jol admitted he is struggling to find space for the duo in the same starting XI. But Bent, who has scored three goals since his switch to Craven Cottage, says it’s only a matter of time before the duo strike up an understanding. He told Fulham’s Google+ Hangout: “The manager wants to work on the partnership with me and Berba. We haven’t really had a chance yet because of injuries." “On the training pitch we are working on things and trying to get it going. Berba can play with anyone because he’s that good a player. But partnerships take time. Hopefully we will be firing on all cylinders soon.” Source: http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bent-berbatov-can-lethal-partnership-6173726
