Jol's in a no-win situation with Berbatov. Keeping him in the starting 11 at the expense of the team signals that the player is more important than the team. Pulling him from the starting 11 would likely trigger a world-class sulk-a-ton from the player who took a huge paycut in order to grace Fulham with his presence. Unfair or not, I think Jol is gone. You can't fire 25 players, so it's Jol who's likely to move on. But all of this has been in the cards for a while. The penny-pinching of MAF left us with a very thin, old squad of players, and as a result we've been caught out. Yes, we have good younger players, as the Sky pundits pointed out Saturday, but with the win-or-die pressure Jol and other managers are under, there's never a chance to bring young players up through the ranks without risking your position in the table. With Jol out, a new manager can come in and sort out this business with Berbatov, Bent and everyone else, but it remains to be seen if there's enough strength in these old horses to get to the finish line this year.
Don't think it's that bad. We have some good players, just not a team. The big question for me is can these players play as a team? I think so, we just need to find the formation. 3-4-2-1 or 4-3-2-1 formations need to be tried.
Madness I was just saying we lost it in extra time. I'm not saying our problems would have been solved with a point. We should be getting 3 points against Cardiff. It would have papered over a crack admittedly but we would still have the same problems. Big Mart needs to find a solution along with his coaching staff. You don't suddely become a **** coach. He has the experience, just needs to use it and get 6 points against Stoke and Palace. This will put us on 10 points from 8 games. I'd be relieved with this.
Did anyone see the image of some fans being really animated towards him at the end whilst walking to the dressing room? I was shocked that some are so very anti MJ.
This is MoTD3 where Managers under pressure are discussed - notably Martin Jol and David Moyes - the pictures of him walking off the pitch are called "extraordinary" by Mark Chapman - and they are really. It looks like he is in tears. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24325549
Despite all my own doubts, especially after suffering that awful performance against Cardiff, I am still backing MJ. Frankly, I don’t get what’s wrong but with Madness’s assessment seems closest: that we have some good players but how do they play as a team? MJ is a good enough manager, who ought to get us out of this; there are teams with bigger long-term problems than ourselves. So I’ll stick it out for the time being, and save the Booing for Sparky on Saturday. I’m still against FFC heading though the revolving door syndrome - It will get us nowhere. As to MON, Di Matteo, Pulis????????? and some of the other names being banded around are all a waste of time. So 5-7 points against Stoke, Palace and Southampton will do us fine. C O Y W
An emotional day...... please log in to view this image .....................and I'm sure he thought, like the rest of us, we would push on in the second half a la Everton.
Some bookies have Pulis as favorite to be next Fulham manager....... If that happens I will not be going back to the Cottage for a long time!!!!
Who's favourite to replace Moyes? I wish the media would shut up about Jol getting the sack. Just adds even more pressure and winds up the Jol Out brigade even more.
Well I'm now back from my beer and cool off. I feel MJ is the best option for us at the moment. Di matteo done well for Chelsea but he's still really unproven. What players did he buy? He only made the ones he had play better but I feel that was only because they didn't want to play for AVB. Pulis- that's easy no thanks don't want that kind of football at the cottage. Di canio- not fulhamish enough. Gus poyet- again unproven in this league. Martin Jol - loads experience in this league. Made some really good purchases not just for us but for spurs aswell. I feel he was the start of what spurs are now. Yes he has made some dodgy purchases but please name me one manager that hasn't. Take this as you will but its just my honest opinion.
I'm with you Craven. I'm still backing Jol though recent times have been testing. We've played some dreadful stuff but we have also had our fair share of bad luck. We have better players than ever and we need to start a run of good form and get some confidence. All starts Saturday. PS - I like your comment on Di Canio not being enough Fulhamish - that's an understatement !
I agree with Craven, but I suspect that the Stoke game is all or nothing for Jol. If it wasn't for the international break, I'd say he'd probably get the Palace match as well, but if we fail again at the weekend, I think that'll be it. I've been one of his supporters throughout, and I think he's still our best option. That said, if he does go after the Stoke game he won't be able to claim that he wasn't given time. Sacking him isn't necessarily the right decision, but it would be an understandable one.
This is the one I originally posted: Well, it was a Stoke game that saved our season and Hughes' bacon a couple of years ago. If you recall we were in a poor run of form at the time and then there was that dreadful defeat at home to West Ham which provoked, allegedly, a 'players revolt'. So who knows what might happen. Bairdinho Rules
