âIt is not only about strikers. Nine players left the club and there will probably be one or two [more] leaving the club. I am not only after a striker, you know. We need players for the numbers as well because we could not field a second XI [on Thursday], for example, so you have to field your best players all the time. That is not what you want and that is why we are trying to get players. We are very close [to making signings] but it is always the same, you know. If you want a good player there are always other clubs involved so you have to wait and seeâ Thatâs a straight quote from a statement by Jol last Friday. In fact the total out is 12 not 9, so I assume he is talking about the number he is personally responsible for letting, or about to, go. Since the post is about âJolâs Transfer Strategyâ, Iâll keep it to his 11 (wow, a whole team!). Also I considered his performance in business terms because, after all, we are continually being told that âfootball is a business. IMHO Jol is not currently managing FFC as a business. Does he have a transfer strategy? Not on the evidence thus far. In the next 5 posts Iâve given a different business reason why I believe that conclusion to be the case.
1. Economic Plan In another thread I commented that the club’s trading loss for season 09/10 was £17m. So, on joining, Jol will have been told that yes, he get capital (rumoured to be up to £20m) but not at the expense of increased wages (ie the trading deficit). In other words he wouldn’t simply be able to add to the current squad ( a la Man City). Let’s assume the average of the released players was £20k per week - the annual saving therefore equates to £11m. So far so good. Well on paper anyway. Unfortunately life is not that simple - a) The club’s wage cap is £40k per week, so by the time all the knock-ons are allowed for (eg the Agent’s 5%) that would buy 5 top end (for us) new signings. We’ve already bought 4, at a guess on averaging half that so the scope for ‘major’ additional players is limited. And of course there are no annual savings for the club. b) A major reason why we had such a big trading los (the £17m) was simply because we finished 12th in the league. A club gets premiership prize money plus TV revenue dependent on its position in the league. FFC are not only reliant on that income but our economic viability is very sensitive to it. At present it accounts for 64% of the club’s total annual income (compare that to Arsenal’s 34%). Fall below 12th position and we take a big hit. Our gate receipts only bring in 11% of income. But unless we remain reasonably successful and regularly play to full houses that will also take a hit. A consequence may be increased ticket prices. So getting rid of a whole team may be a false economy
2. Continuity Plan Any sensible company has a plan to manage disasters or the unforeseen. In football terms that would cover such things as injuries, unexpected loss of form or resources being stretched by a bunching of fixtures. Dumping a whole team, effectively cutting your squad to a bare minimum, is the reverse to having a Continuity Plan. It’s not managing the risk of a disaster happening it’s actually creating the inevitability of it happening
3. Quality Plan The aim is presumably to improve or at least not drop standards. In football terms that could be viewed as the team’s entertainment value or its league position. And preferably, both. Jol seems clear how he will achieve this; to again quote him “.. with attackin football - for the fans as well because as well you play for the supporters”. All well and good. However as in business and in life, you are dependent on people. Getting rid of experience workforce and/oor upsetting your workforce does not tend to improve the end product. I know we’ve moved on and all that, but any dinosaurs still around may recall history and relate Jol’s approach to the Buckingham era - a right Royal Cock-up
4. Managing Change Jol wants to impose his own style, his own vision. No problems. Well not too many. There is the nag that it’s what, 5 years since he was last in charge of a premiership team - it’s a lot different now than then. And very different from the continental game he’s used to. Importantly though, believing that you can change systems and personel overnight, without a cost, is either arrogant or rash.
5. Recruitment Quite naturally Jol wants his own team. However his approach is quite bemusing; he’s all over the place as if anyone will do so long as he (Jol) has bought him. Two questions - i) why is he not head hunting? That is, saying to Macintosh “that’s the man I want, get him”. (Especially at RB and CF). ii) why has he allowed a whole team to disappear without knowing he has (at least some) replacements?
It appears that Jol has no transfer policy, Why? We all know that a R/B & C/F is a priority,and who is he supposed to be in for someone from Crystal Palace,amongst other unknowns,wilst offering that complete non endity of a centre forward ? a 3 year extension to his contract,at what 40k pw = 6.25 million; someone is taking the p..s.
Val, I know you want rid of AJ, but it's quite obvious that our squad is threadbare as it is. I honestly can't think why we've not been replacing these players. Earlier in the the summer it looked as if we were on quite a recruitment drive, but we've not had a signing in a while. I won't worry until September 1st.
I'd worry now - all looks clueless to me. I am rapidly turning against Jol. 1 League goal and 1 point after 3 matches is pathetic. I was fully expecting us to have about 18 points after our first 10 games bearing in mind they were all winable. We will be lucky if we get 4 points at this rate. Next up - pointless Blackburn - bets that they have their first victory of the Season at our place?
I'm with Bidley, let's see what the rest of the transfer window brings before we panic. If you'd told me that after three matches we'd be above Spurs and Arsenal, I'd have taken that at the start of the season!
My impression is that Jol (and the club) do have a strategy, or rather two. First, there does seem to be a genuine focus on recruiting good young players as everyone knows we have an aging squad. Mark Hughes started this last summer signing Dembele, and by all accounts we beat off strong competition for Kasami this Summer. There were also reports over the last year that we were interested in Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton but we were never going to get near what Arsenal paid for him. We're also being linked with Zaha from Palace and Nacer Chadli of Twente. With good younger players there will always be other clubs in for them and, because we're Fulham not Man United, we're not always going to get everyone we go after. Strategy number two involves signing players who can go straight into the first team and do a job in the Premier League and in Europe. We signed Riise because he was available, we needed a left back, and from what we've seen so far he's still a quality player. Zdenek Grygera looks to be on his way from Juve, and at 31 fits into the same category as Riise, although his lack of Premier League experience is a worry after the Salcido debacle. The title of this thread is 'Jol's transfer strategy', but it seems to me the club has it's own broader strategy when it comes to player recruitment and Jol has to fit into that. One of his first signings was Gecov, a player he didn't seem to know much about but had been on the club's radar for a while. I assume that Jol has the final say on who comes and who goes, but behind that is a scouting network and a wider strategy to put more resources into the development squad than in the past. Ultimately, the transfer policy has to be a mixture of idealism - recruiting talented players aged 18-21 who will become big stars with a sell-on value to match, and realism - making sure we have a squad capable of meeting the demands of the Premier League and (this season at least) a knackering Europa League schedule. How well Martin Jol manages to find the right balance we'll know by next May, but I have confidence in him at the moment.
My son and I were discussing this down the pub at lunchtime. My son was against Jol's appointment from the first and doesn't rate him as a manager so a poor start was simply going to reconfirm his prejudice against the guy. I initially thought he was a solid appointment and was pleased he had chosen us over the other jobs available at the time, however, I admit to rapidly losing faith in the guy. Having said this, I am willing to give the guy until Christmas before I get on his back (well, if we only have 10 points by November I might start earlier - I reserve the right). Regardless we both agreed on the Transfer Policy question started by this thread. In essence we completely agree with Fulhamish's point above - it is Fulham who have a strategy (or policy) and Jol must work within it - down to fees paid, salaries offered and bonus's available. Where Jol's and Fulham's strategies converge is in the desire for a younger team. Jol wants this because he realises that we have one of the older (if not the oldest) squad in the Premiership, The board want it because younger players can generally be paid less and Mo's stated aim is for the club to become self-sufficient (never going to happen but that's another debate). They also converge at the other end of the scale with older players who are on the way down in terms of salary, the Riise's, Gudjohnson's, etc who can still cut it but can't demand a huge pay packet anymore. The board are quite happy for these guys to play for us as there isn't a long term commitment in terms of a five year contract. Whilst all this is nice it doesn't help us recruit established players who are at the top of their game (but not necessarily World Stars). I find it very frustrating that we are never linked with any "good" players - it's either someone you've never heard of who might be okay (Malbranque) or rubbish (Salcido), or someone their current club is trying to off load and is being talked up by their agent (Keane, Jerome). The genuinely talented players (Upson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, etc) seem to go elsewhere for lack of the Board putting their money on the table. To me Fulham's transfer policy can be summed up in two words - 1) Frustrating 2) Disappointing
I can't really argue with any of the well thought-out posts here, except to add that we're probably blaming Martin Jol for something that's beyond his control. If Jol had been given an unlimited budget, I'm sure we'd be spending money like Man C. My guess is that Jol has been given a tight budget by Chairman Mo, who has a vision for Fulham that goes beyond money.
Couple of things: 1. You've never heard of Steed Malbranque? Or did you mean someone else? 2. Upson genuinely talented? He was good a few years back but he's been dismal for the past 2 years. That's not just a dip in form - he's slow and doesn't read the game well enough to cover his loss of pace. I'm glad we avoided him. 3. We should not blame the board for not gambling on Oxlade-Chamberlain. We have several needs and a small budget; blowing it all on a promising teenager is a bad idea. In all, I am as frustrated as the rest of you. But if we sign 2 full-backs and a striker in the next 48 hours we should be okay. Besides, Leicester are rumoured to be back in for AJ so you can take some solace in that...
My take on Jols Transfer Stratergy If you look at Jols team it will still have the spine of the team intact. It is an aging spine, but then Jol has to start to look into the youngsters that can take over next season. Schwarzer - Stockdale Hangeland - ? (No real urgency to replace for next season) Hughes - Senderos Murphy - Gecov Kasami Dempsey - Dembele Zamora - ? (Needed this season for Backup)
Surlyc, when we signed him I'd never heard of Malbranque, no. A French colleague explained he was a talent but I'd never come across his name before (or that of Marlet to be honest). I think Upson is a talent, he's played a few times for England so must be a reasonable player is his position - okay, he might not be International class ultimately, but he's better than an average Joe. Oxlade Chamberlain was just an example really but couldn't think of any others at the time.
I think you also need to consider you only hear rumours and not who the club have been looking to sign but failed to do so. Jol is a good guy, give him time and lets not forget we can't go after top drawer players as we aren't big enough. His main priority was for a CM and defender plus an attacking option. He's brought the age of the squad down too. More positivity please, Jol is definitely Fulhamish.
I am on holiday and just managed to watch the highlights of the Toons game. We didn't play that bad at all. Two mistakes really cost us dearly and their keeper was on top form. Think the team will come good. Regarding the transfer strategy so far I would say only Greening might be a loss as I think he would be a good defensive midfielder and showed some good qualities towards the end of the last season. All the rest that have gone were not even on the sub list. We can only make account tomorrow once all the ink has dried and look to the market overall. Don't think other teams have made great impact signings apart from the big 4. Less than 12 hours left, lets be Fulhamish and show some patience!!!
