Aston Villa target Mark Hughes to replace Gérard Houllier as manager

[FulhamMic]

Failed at Spurs and Ajax in my opinion though.

Failed at Spurs?

03/04 Season Finished 9th 52pts (First season in charge)
04/05 Season Finished 5th 65pts
05/06 Season Finished 5th 60pts

Left in October of the 06/07 season after disputes with Comoli over summer signings and the anticipated selling of Berbatov.

For someone who 'failed' he's also number 12 on Spurs top twenty managers of all time.

As for Ajax, Wikipedia can tell it better than me ...

After winning their opening two games of the season, Jol's Ajax lost away to PSV Eindhoven and then drew with Sparta Rotterdam at home, a result that saw them slip down to 7th place in the Eredivisie. However, this was the only game in which they dropped points at home all season. They ended the season with the league's strongest defence and the fewest league goals conceded by any Dutch team in 5 years, including just 4 conceded at home all season. Even more incredibly, they scored 106 league goals (an average of more than 3 per game), the most any Dutch side has scored since the 1997–98 season. This meant that Ajax ended the season with a goal difference of +86. PSV, who had the next best goal difference in the league, had only half of this with +43.
Jol's side didn't drop a single point after January, winning their final 14 games of the season. This meant that they finished with 85 points, a 17 point improvement on the previous season, and a tally that would have been enough to win the league in all but two of the seasons since 1995 when the rules of the Eredivisie changed to award 3 points for a win instead of 2. However, they were beaten to the title by one point, by Steve McClaren's FC Twente, who won their first ever Eredivisie title.

If Hughes leaves, then Jol would be a perfect replacement!  

[FulhamMic]

MAF doesn't give second chances.

If Hughes leaves there's more chance of me being the next manager than Martin Jol.

Our attempt in the summer to lure Jol was in fact our second, so it's clear Mo rates him and I have no doubt he'd approach him this time should Hughes leave.

[TonyGilroy]

MAF doesn't give second chances.

If Hughes leaves there's more chance of me being the next manager than Martin Jol.

Our attempt in the summer to lure Jol was in fact our second, so it's clear Mo rates him and I have no doubt he'd approach him this time should Hughes leave.

That's exactly how MAF operates.

"You dicked me around for a fortnight and made me look a fool but now I'd like to give you one more chance to work for me."

[mike_f]

Failed at Spurs and Ajax in my opinion though.

Failed at Spurs?

03/04 Season Finished 9th 52pts (First season in charge)
04/05 Season Finished 5th 65pts
05/06 Season Finished 5th 60pts

Left in October of the 06/07 season after disputes with Comoli over summer signings and the anticipated selling of Berbatov.

For someone who 'failed' he's also number 12 on Spurs top twenty managers of all time.

As for Ajax, Wikipedia can tell it better than me ...

After winning their opening two games of the season, Jol's Ajax lost away to PSV Eindhoven and then drew with Sparta Rotterdam at home, a result that saw them slip down to 7th place in the Eredivisie. However, this was the only game in which they dropped points at home all season. They ended the season with the league's strongest defence and the fewest league goals conceded by any Dutch team in 5 years, including just 4 conceded at home all season. Even more incredibly, they scored 106 league goals (an average of more than 3 per game), the most any Dutch side has scored since the 1997–98 season. This meant that Ajax ended the season with a goal difference of +86. PSV, who had the next best goal difference in the league, had only half of this with +43.
Jol's side didn't drop a single point after January, winning their final 14 games of the season. This meant that they finished with 85 points, a 17 point improvement on the previous season, and a tally that would have been enough to win the league in all but two of the seasons since 1995 when the rules of the Eredivisie changed to award 3 points for a win instead of 2. However, they were beaten to the title by one point, by Steve McClaren's FC Twente, who won their first ever Eredivisie title.

If Hughes leaves, then Jol would be a perfect replacement!  

Despite all the talent at his disposal at Ajax he failed to win the title.
At Tottenham he spent millions and millions and failed to break into champions league.

[elgreenio]

Failed at Spurs and Ajax in my opinion though.

As for Ajax, Wikipedia can tell it better than me ...

not to mention the overwhelming characters (ex players) behind the scenes having too much impact on club affairs

[Lighthouse]

LA LA LA LA Not listening, fingers in ears, eyes shut, LA LA LA. Hughes not going. Exciting football, building best squad we have ever had. No not going to happen. LA LA LA LA.  079.gif

If it does. We might as well  090.gif

No ambition and little hope left.  :012:

[FulhamMic]

That's exactly how MAF operates.

"You dicked me around for a fortnight and made me look a fool but now I'd like to give you one more chance to work for me."

It depends entirely on whether you believe the chap himself or the conspiracy theorists who roam these boards!

Jol stated in an interview with the BBC on Football Focus not long after Hughes' appointment that he was fully committed to taking the job at Fulham but since Ajax were unwilling to release him from his contract without being paid an exuberant amount of compensation (I think 12mil euros was being quoted by various media outlets) and him resigning would have left him open to being sued by Ajax (I believe they had actually threatened this) he had no choice to but to stay.

Remember when we first approached Ajax Jol had a clause in his contract stating he could return the Premier League any time within it's first year for 1mil euros, and that's why Ajax refused to even talk to us for so long because they were waiting on that clause to expire so they could demand a huge compensation package.

[BalDrick]

MAF doesn't give second chances.

If Hughes leaves there's more chance of me being the next manager than Martin Jol.

Our attempt in the summer to lure Jol was in fact our second, so it's clear Mo rates him and I have no doubt he'd approach him this time should Hughes leave.

That's exactly how MAF operates.

"You dicked me around for a fortnight and made me look a fool but now I'd like to give you one more chance to work for me."

Which is exactly why Messrs Jol and Eriksson are only slightly more likely than Sanchez to get the gig. Not that there is a gig, this is all club-planted (ie Villa) in the media, stoked by bookies trying to drum up interest in a non-story.

[FulhamMic]

Despite all the talent at his disposal at Ajax he failed to win the title.
At Tottenham he spent millions and millions and failed to break into champions league.

Ajax missed out on the title by one point, but read what I posted to see what he actually achieved and the records he broke.

Tottenham only managed to break into the top four last season because of Liverpool having such a poor season under Benitez, and remind me again how much City have forked out in transfer fees and wages to buy their third place. What Jol spent would pale in comparison.

Also remember it was Comoli who targeted and bought players for Spurs, not Jol. This was one of the main reasons behind him leaving/being sacked.

[TonyGilroy]

He said very different things to the Dutch media.

To the English he couldn't break his contract apparently but would have loved to come to Fulham. To the Dutch he loved Ajax too much to leave.

Truth is that had he broken his contract we'd have had to pay compensation - the remainder of money due him - presumably a year's wages.

Ajax found it easy enough to sack him a few months later.

As it is he kept us hanging around for weeks not saying yes and not saying no before discovering that he was bound by his contract.

MAF won't forgive or forget.

[Burt]

The silly season is in full swing.

Lets see what pans out.

I only hope that if Hughes chooses to either jump ship or stay put, that he announces his intentions one way or the other quickly.

[FulhamMic]

He said very different things to the Dutch media.

To the English he couldn't break his contract apparently but would have loved to come to Fulham. To the Dutch he loved Ajax too much to leave.

Truth is that had he broken his contract we'd have had to pay compensation - the remainder of money due him - presumably a year's wages.

Ajax found it easy enough to sack him a few months later.

As it is he kept us hanging around for weeks not saying yes and not saying no before discovering that he was bound by his contract.

MAF won't forgive or forget.

He quit, they didn't sack him.

Fulham published an official statement on their website detailing the facts; it wasn't in Jol's hands it was in Ajax's. He also had two years left on his contract, not one.

[TonyGilroy]

If he quit then why couldn't he have done so to join us a few months earlier?

[FulhamMic]

If he quit then why couldn't he have done so to join us a few months earlier?

Because he wasn't leaving to go to another club, and Ajax at the time where in fourth which was considered to be under performing.

Very different circumstances.

I also believe this is why he's still out of work, a condition of his resignation was that he was unable to take another job in management until after the end of the current football season.

[mike_f]

Just had a tweet back from Jacob Murtagh who is noramlly very reliable and says he expects Hughes to stay.

[TonyGilroy]

FulhamMic

Do you have any inside information or are you, like me, just trying to make sense of what we read.

If the former then I'd be fascinated to know and if the latter we'll just have to live with our different perceptions.

I still don't think MAF sent Jol a Christmas card.

[FulhamMic]

Just had a tweet back from Jacob Murtagh who is noramlly very reliable and says he expects Hughes to stay.

If he is to stay I'd expect a statement from the club either today or tomorrow stating as much, like they did a couple of weeks ago when reports started circulating he was unhappy.

[TonyGilroy]

Just had a tweet back from Jacob Murtagh who is noramlly very reliable and says he expects Hughes to stay.

If he is to stay I'd expect a statement from the club either today or tomorrow stating as much, like they did a couple of weeks ago when reports started circulating he was unhappy.

Now that I agree with.

[FulhamMic]

FulhamMic

Do you have any inside information or are you, like me, just trying to make sense of what we read.

If the former then I'd be fascinated to know and if the latter we'll just have to live with our different perceptions.

I still don't think MAF sent Jol a Christmas card.

Different perceptions it is.

Although in my case I'm I basing my views on what Jol and Fulham have told me rather than tabloid talk or reading between the lines.

[TonyGilroy]

You should only believe what people tell you if you KNOW them to be truthful.

In the football world they'd be very rare animals.