Bandit let's give Jol till Xmas then! Not Xmas yet! Every year newly promoted teams take everyone by surprise until they get deflated at the second half. Take a breath...
To be fair, Wisla aren't exactly world beaters. We were only impressive in the City and Spuds games for 45 minutes. QPR was indeed an impressive win, it was a bad thing that the international break followed that game as momentum could have seen us go on a decent run, but that's just how it works out.
It matters to an extent. Obviously not when you play well and lose for 38 games, but what are the chances of that happening? If you play well then the points and goals will come, if you sit back and allow the other team to attack, then you're more likely to end up with a 0-0 draw, or like tonight, a defeat.
If we at least play well (which we have mostly this season, I feel) then we know we're on the right track. The team has shown it can work wonders when it clicks, it just needs to click more often! How much of that is down to Jol, we can't tell. His signings have shown promise, but shown classic signs of PL-lag. The second half of the season will give us a better reflection of where we are. If we do ok, then we can really push on next season. Keep the faith Bandit! COYW!
I am not a Wigan fan, so can't say if they just played well in that game or if it has been a common occurrence for them. I, like all of you want to see FFC doing well, and if the points come and the football is good then it doesn't matter who is in charge. I sincerely hope that man is Martin Jol, as I was excited when his appointment was announced, but for me, SO FAR he has not lived up to my expectations and no doubt there are other FFC fans who feel the same. None of us like to see our club down the bottom of the league after-all.
I sincerely hope you're right Bidley, but if you are not and I regretfully am right then acting on it in the second half of the season may well be too little too late.
If we're in a worse position than we were at Xmas last year (which will take some doing) then sign me up for shotgun on the "Jol out" bandwagon. Until then he and the squad have my full support.
It's certainly possible, but all the top sides have been misfiring, and the way we played against Arsenal suggests we can grab a couple of cheeky draws.
I think we all agree that a couple of quality defenders are required,"were required at the start of season and never more so than now",but what do we constantly read in the gossip columns,yet another c/f Jol is supposed to be looking at. Unless he intends to unload AJ & BZ,in the transfer window in which case I fully concur with the rumoured reports. But comes Jan defenders are a must, Risse is past it,and the assortment shuffled into on the other flank,at times leaks like a sieve. What has not been mentioned is that if Swartzer had not been on such good form over the last few weeks,we could now be looking up at the many, and not down on the few.
Totally agree Val. Fullbacks, again, are the order of the day. Jol is sure to address this even more so now that Grygera is out of the forseeable picture.
I'm also frustrated that we were so defensive tonight, and the pity of losing right at the end. However...... He's been in the job for a few months, so let's not keep the revolving door going for managers - It will not lead to success. And I cannot agree that Martinez is the answer! Maybe we could have been higher in the league given the Everton and Spurs results and this thread would have been somewhat different. Injuries have not been kind to us again (not an excuse, it affects quite a few clubs) and the January window will see us doing some business - MJ is saying that we need more cover. As a Fulham supporter, I'll follow Madness and go with Micky Adams famous quote. C-O-Y-W
Bandit ... long time. Sorry about your countryman. I'm sticking with Jol. Yes, we lost last night and didn't look good, but we were hard to beat and I think that's an important turning point for our team. We've had three tough away games in a row and have played good defensive football in each of those. That's something we can build on. The things Jol is reportedly working on in practice (techique and skills) will take time to show up on the pitch, but I think we're seeing some of the fruit of that already. Etuhu and Kelly are much improved, as is Dembele.
Welcome back, Bandy, I wondered where you had got to. Nice to have you back, and I disagree with every word you've typed about Jol! Just to chip in on Martinez, one of the reasons I heard for him turning down the Villa job was that after two seasons with the club he felt that the players were finally starting to play the way he wanted them to. Martinez is a perfect example of why we need to give Jol time. This season - as Hughes' season was - is a very different kettle of fish to the Lawrie Sanchez season. We look composed and measured and are putting together some good attacking moves. Ruiz is adapting - he started against Arsenal, and I suspect will start a lot more often now - and the interplay of the front four is developing. I think we should stick with Jol. And if the worst comes to the worst and we get relegated, I think we should stick with him to bring us back up. Not that I think it's going to come to that.
I'm still up beat on our season in the Premier, it will be interesting to see how we do against Liverpool, United, Chelsea in the next few weeks. Players seem to up their game against the top teams, then comes Arsenal and Newcastle in January. January transfer market we need to look at full backs and prime the squad for any loss of players in the summer. From February on-wards all our home game are mainly against the lower teams. Winning these games would build the confidence and may be help in getting a good run together to get the team moving up the league.
Morgan It's nice to be back. I am however startled at the claim that if Jol were to take us down, you would like to see him remain in the job to see if he can bring us back up. Do you think Jol would stick around? Do you think MAF would contemplate keeping him? MAF has been known to act swiftly if things are not going well so I really couldn't see him sticking with Jol if we are in the bottom three with 10 games left. Everyone wanted Hughes out last year when we were in a similar position, I don't see why everyone is backing Jol so favorably. Both managers were trying to get us to play a different way, and both were failing. What got Hughes back up the table was the return of Zamora. Who is set to return this season that can have such effect? Davies? I don't think so somehow.
Did they? I know the usual lot probably did, but I didn't (although I was at the end of my teather) and I'm pretty sure I wasn't alone.
Well apparently MAF was willing to give Mark his P45 after the West Ham defeat (3-1) so fans wanting Hughes out were, it appears, backed by our chairman.
