Martin Jol - Why I want him to remain our manager for years to come...

[jelmo]

Just a few reason why I hope Jol will continue to be FUlham manager for the forseeable future and hoping he will not do a Hodgson/Hughes:

• He is building a team for the future while at the same time keeping us competitive in the here & now
• Able to attract a higher calibre of player to the cottage than some of our previous managers using his reputation and name (eg - Berba)
• Despite the setbacks of the transfer window (which I dont believe were his fault) he has not thrown his toys out of the pram and has instead concentrated on getting on with things and staying positive. This has led to a change in tactics to a wider style of play
• He is giving young, exciting prospects a chance and it appears to be paying off eg Kaca
• Our style of play under Jol is particularly easy on the eye and results in some great days at the Cottage (Eg - The Fulham Poznan/Coming back to thrash Newcastle/Thrashing QPR 6-0/Thrashing Norwich/beating Liverpool etc...)
• He is also refreshingly honest in interviews and doesnt whinge too much! EG - Was honest about us picking up class players who havent had the best of times of late.
• Knows how to spot a good value buy/Loan Eg - Pog, Riise, Diarra, Riether, Ruiz**

Right, thats enough Jol backslapping from me. If I've missed something then let me know or if you think Im talking out of my ar*e then please offer a valid counter argument.

** Spot the deliberate mistake

[Mr Fulham]

Big problems ahead though with most of the squad being 30+ years of age.

[Scrumpy]

I agree with most of your points Jelmo. My only worry is that he will get fed up with not having more money to spend and look elsewhere at the end of his contract.

But the style of football I have seen from him has been realy, really good to watch. :Haynes The Maestro:

[jelmo]

Hopefully there was money to spend this transfer window but the late action with our 2 best players didnt give us sufficient enough time to spend it wisely. I guess we will find out this January.

Im sure there must be a plan for the 30+ issue we have at the club. Jol seems to be trying to bed in some of the youngsters and also bought Dejagah who is 26 I believe.

Does anyone know when Jol's contract expires? did we give him a traditional short contract with a Dembele-esque buy out clause?

[Mr Fulham]

Does anyone know when Jol's contract expires? did we give him a traditional short contract with a Dembele-esque buy out clause?

Contract expires at the end of a season but there's a one year option.

[HatterDon]

Big problems ahead though with most of the squad being 30+ years of age.

I'm not sure, Mr. F., but I don't think we're allowed to say such things any more.

[MJG]

Big problems ahead though with most of the squad being 30+ years of age.

I'm not sure, Mr. F., but I don't think we're allowed to say such things any more.

19 players used in the lge so far and the average age of those players is 28.15.
Take out the oldest and youngest and its 28.

if you then add the rest of the squad who are possibly going to play..Stockdale, Kelly, Senderos, Karagounis, Dejagah, Davies, Trotta and the average age of the players playing premier lge for us would be: 28.03
take out the oldest and youngest and its : 27.95

Schwarzer adds pretty much between 0.5 & 0.6 to the average age in anyway you work it and include him.

To compare it to something, according to http://www.myfootballfacts.com/Premier_League_Squad_Ages.html  our average for last season of the squad who played in the premiership was 28.04

So bearing in mind a large group of the squad are a year older and we have brought new players in the age has stood still pretty much. I would say in effect he has stopped the squad ageing rather than reduced it.

Right im off to get a life,

[BestOfBrede]

Big problems ahead though with most of the squad being 30+ years of age.

But that's not a new problem and so don't see why, all of a sudden, it's a big problem?

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

I am with you Jelmo.

The `age' problem has been with us for a while but as MJG carefully shows it is not really getting worse and we have a raft of young players coming through: Stockdale, Briggs, Kacaniklic, Frei, Trott and Smith and all the successful U21s and U18s.

And I am not convinced by the stories of `money problems'. We were trying to buy players on the last day of the transfer window. We wouldn't have been talking to these players if we didn't have money to buy them.

[TonyGilroy]

The key is the quality of young players coming through.

Jol has said that they need to be better than the established players to cement a place but he's clearly willing to give them opportunities to prove that.

In my opinion Alex Kakaniclic has done that. He's got the wing skills but to add to that he's remarkably consistent and has excellent awareness of other players and team requirements. At 20 he could and maybe should improve dramatically but if he fails to do so he'll still be a very decent Prem player.

By contrast Kerim Frei for all his skill is basically, so far, a head down, cut inside and go for goal player. He is though barely 18 and his potential is enormous. On Saturday we got a glimpse of what Kasami and Smith might become.   

There are, in fact, a dozen or more 18 to 20 year olds in the development squad who have the potential to succeed. That may well be a factor in the club not wanting to give some of the older players long contracts.

Calculating the average age of each starting 11 is not really the key indicator of the project to lower the average age. It's the way the kids develop that matters.

[RaySmith]

It will be a shame if he leaves after a couple of seasons, after what he's trying to put in place. He is bringing youngsters through, while not sacrificing  necessary experience.

Fulham have had a problem with managerial continuity, with each new manager introducing their own ideas then leaving after  a relatively short time, like many clubs - but despite that, the club has continued to do well.

I suppose there is a continuity at Fulham, which survives different managers - but it would be good if Jol were to stay, and carry out his vision  - well, he gives the impression of having this, anyway, but maybe he just wants to put a system in place, and then will be prepared to move on.

But I suppose he must want to achieve something at Fulham , even if it is only towards the furtherance of his career.

[mr-ska]

I get the feeling his work has only just started with the side.  You can now clearly see that its Jols side playing, a lot more direct and exciting to watch. I'd personally like to tie him up with a reasonable contract. I've always liked Jol..  im liking him even more with some shrewd signings. Hes often at the U18's  and U21's games.  I think he likes to see players for himself as well as recommendations.  In Jol i trust.

[jelmo]

Yeah, Id be gutted if he left as I'm very interested to see where he can take the team in the future. I also think he can turn our away form around judging by some of the results we had last year. EG - Chelsea away, Arsenal away and best of all Liverpool away.

A contract extension should be on the cards soon to tie him down for a few years to the club. THis would also give the players some reassurance that we might have some stability for once.

[HatterDon]

We are a mid-level club with modest ambitions. If a manager is a very good manager, there's no reason why he should want to stay at a mid-level club if he has an opportunity to manage at a higher level -- Hello,Roy!

I'd like for Jol to stay with us for several seasons, but that's primarily because I think that changing the manager as often as we have since Cookie was fired is dangerous for the club's stability. I'm happy with Jol -- at least as happy as I can be with any manager -- but the truth is that people don't become football managers because they're lacking in ego and modest about their abilities. Besides, football is a business and if Jol builds the squad and the type of football he likes here AND is successful with it [Europa League place, a domestic cup win], he may be too expensive for MAF to afford.

Just as, sooner or later, Fulham will be relegated, sooner or later Jol will walk or get shoved out. Sorry for the dose of reality.

[NogoodBoyo]

Mr. Fulham: "Big problems ahead though with most of the squad being 30+ years of age."
I'm not concerned about aged players as long as we have youngsters in the mix too.  With Sir Roy we didn't.  With Jol we do - and the current success of the Under 18s bodes very well for us with the potential of even more talented youngsters coming through the ranks.
The advantage of buying very experienced players with great talent for affordable fees and salaries is far more sensible for a club in our financial situation.  Look at Murphy, Grygnera and Berbatov.  Injuries are the biggest challenge with this strategy but for every Johnson (sicker than a zombie) you have a Murph (hardly ever injured).  Let's hope Berbatov fits in the latter category. 
Nogood "old and new, borrowed, not blue, isit" Boyo

[jelmo]

We are a mid-level club with modest ambitions. If a manager is a very good manager, there's no reason why he should want to stay at a mid-level club if he has an opportunity to manage at a higher level -- Hello,Roy!

I'd like for Jol to stay with us for several seasons, but that's primarily because I think that changing the manager as often as we have since Cookie was fired is dangerous for the club's stability. I'm happy with Jol -- at least as happy as I can be with any manager -- but the truth is that people don't become football managers because they're lacking in ego and modest about their abilities. Besides, football is a business and if Jol builds the squad and the type of football he likes here AND is successful with it [Europa League place, a domestic cup win], he may be too expensive for MAF to afford.

Just as, sooner or later, Fulham will be relegated, sooner or later Jol will walk or get shoved out. Sorry for the dose of reality.

I see what you are saying but on the other hand, David Moyes is a top manager who has done wonders with Everton (Qualified 4th one season and into the Champions league) and he has stayed at that club for years.

It is possible to have a successful manager stay for a long time at a mid level club because he is a good fit for it, is comfortable (good relationship with chairman) and wants to see through their long term vision.

I do take your point on board though as this is quite a rare thing to happen. Got to stay positive though!