Legs, ambition and confusion

[Jambo]

It is very easy to point the finger at Jol and I won't moan at anyone who does but he has been let down by the board when it comes to player recruitment, he was let down in the summer and he is being let down again in this one.  How many late goals? How often have we faded badly in the second half?  Karagounis was great today for 60 mins but he is 36 and he can't run around like he does for 90 mins.  He isn't the only one. 

Hangeland- Once again Jol said yesterday that the offer is on the table and has been for 2 months, he is playing like he doesn't want to be here and seeing him on the ball makes me nervous.  I love Brede but if his heart is not in it whats the point??

If I'm honest, at the moment I'm just confused at the moment, I don't know what the club want to do in terms of the direction of the club.  Are we just going to be perennial bottom half side or do we want to try and finish in the top 10 or even better?  It hurts to say it but I actually think Hughes was right, we do lack ambition, we don't back the manager and I wouldn't be surprised if Jol walked.  I know that may please some but not me.  I think Gary Megson is available??

[cottage cheese]

i want Jol to walk. He has no idea what to do with this team. That has to be the reason to why we seem so laid back with no desire and passion. Seriously the team just has no fight or hunger anymore.

[epsomraver]

i want Jol to walk. He has no idea what to do with this team. That has to be the reason to why we seem so laid back with no desire and passion. Seriously the team just has no fight or hunger anymore.

I agree and take Berbatov with him, he has done nothing the last two games except give the ball away, a better team today would have scored from his errors, We do NOT have a TEAM at Fulham anymore, the spirit under Woy is dead and buried.

[Boggers]

Today is the first time I have seriously started to question the Jol regime. The body language of players today was awful, they looked like a group of beaten individuals. I think Jol may have lost the dressing room and if that's the case we are deep, deep trouble.

[Jambo]

All valid points but is it all Jol's fault when we have sold £30m approx. worth of players (Zamora £6m, Dembele £15m, Dempsey £7m, Etuhu £1m) and given him £6m back (Berba £4m, Dejegah £2m?)  We can't expect to do what we have done in the past when we sell players and replace them with loans and free agents.  Today was shockingly bad but I do have a sympathy for Jol.  He doesn't want to play Ruiz in centre mid but what option have he got?

[Bassey the warrior]

Agreed. He needs backing. He's trying to change the way he play but he's doing so with little or no support from the board.

[TWFL]

The more it goes on the more mystified I become about this money saga. I'm beginning to find myself being drawn to HatterDon's Conspiracy Theory about MAF getting ready to sell the club off. It is one of very few options that can explain what is going on. Along with that the money is being used for the stand..

[Jambo]

The more it goes on the more mystified I become about this money saga. I'm beginning to find myself being drawn to HatterDon's Conspiracy Theory about MAF getting ready to sell the club off. It is one of very few options that can explain what is going on. Along with that the money is being used for the stand..

Exactly how I feel which is why I find it hard to really have a go at Jol.  If we had spent 15-20 on players and we played like that then fine but we haven't.  MAF selling does make sense, just because nothing else really does.

[StuFFC]

I have been saying this for month's, I want the board to be sacked and replaced as those greedy bastards on save money bonus are ruining the team for the fans. I don't expect much to be added this winter nor this coming summer, yet think many of the players will leave. I don't think Jol has lost the dressing room it is the board that has lost the dressing room.

Losing Dembele was a big blow to our midfield yet with spud giving us £16M the board should of given Jol 2/3 of the money to reinvest, but as much as we hate him Dempsey could be right there is always 2 sides to every story. Where as Dempsey probably would of stayed if the board agreed to invest in better quality players as well as increase the salary cap.

I bet when Jol goes to the board and Mo about the players he wants after he leaves the board sit down and say how much do we lose out on our bonus Mo if we got these players?

Then we end up with players like Richardson replacing Dempsey and Kara replacing Dembele.

[nose]

All valid points but is it all Jol's fault when we have sold £30m approx. worth of players (Zamora £6m, Dembele £15m, Dempsey £7m, Etuhu £1m) and given him £6m back (Berba £4m, Dejegah £2m?)  We can't expect to do what we have done in the past when we sell players and replace them with loans and free agents.  Today was shockingly bad but I do have a sympathy for Jol.  He doesn't want to play Ruiz in centre mid but what option have he got?

The managers job is to get the best from what he has, and he is clearly not doing that.

[leonffc]

I have been saying this for month's, I want the board to be sacked and replaced as those greedy bastards on save money bonus are ruining the team for the fans. I don't expect much to be added this winter nor this coming summer, yet think many of the players will leave. I don't think Jol has lost the dressing room it is the board that has lost the dressing room.

Losing Dembele was a big blow to our midfield yet with spud giving us £16M the board should of given Jol 2/3 of the money to reinvest, but as much as we hate him Dempsey could be right there is always 2 sides to every story. Where as Dempsey probably would of stayed if the board agreed to invest in better quality players as well as increase the salary cap.

I bet when Jol goes to the board and Mo about the players he wants after he leaves the board sit down and say how much do we lose out on our bonus Mo if we got these players?

What?!?
Do you really believe they are on a bonus if they save money?
If so then please explain who is funding the new Riverside stand.

And Dempsey? His head was turned, it had nothing to do with boards offer!

[StuFFC]

It is a theory.

Have you ever wondered why we get less than a third of every sale for investment and rebuilding the team?

Dembele came in for £5M and was sold for £16M, which to me is a £11M profit.

Your telling me that redeveloping the stadium well 1/4 of the stadium will be prioritized meanwhile the club is struggling for survival in the Premier League.

To survive we need to invest in the team, to keep going and grow. For every Dembele or Saha sold, if we reinvested wisely we would of had a half decent team that would easily push into the top half and give us a decent cup run.

Spend between £4-£8M per position and you will have a strong exciting team. (Plus resale value depending on age will be higher)

Spend between £0-£4M per position and you will have a team that will struggle yet you might find some diamonds but by then you have them on such a small contract that the bigger teams find it easier to poach them off you. Or you also get a lot of players way past their prime.

What would you choose?

[bill taylors apprentice]

I think people forget where we have come from since 1997. The money from MAF needed to invest in the clubs infrastructure, the ground, training ground etc etc not to mention the team over the years has been vital.
English football maybe awash with money but MAF is not in the same league as some owners but is still subsidising the club with the aim to make it balance the books.
I remember us being one of the last clubs to have floodlights until the supporters club chipped in, when we sold mullery and clark for big money where was the re investment?
That was then, now we are trying to build the future on sound financial foundations, MAF covers the shortfall while we are still not balancing the books.  Its unreasonable to expect the bulk of every £ in from transfers to be reinvested in players, its never been the case and never will.  

[CH FFC]

Some of you may have your wish, Schalke is apparently looking at Jol.  I do not believe that we have not tried to bring in players, but there definitely needs to be more support for the manager.  Jol has stated that they have put in bids on players, but for whatever reason it has not happened.  Is this because of some failings in contract negotiations? 

[epsomraver]

No they don't want come and play for Jol, full stop.

[west kowloon white]

Of course nobody want's play for Jol full stop.Terms and conditions or loftier ambitions just don't come into it.

[epsomraver]

Perhaps from my bigoted view the fact that when Jol went to Spurs he upset and drove out a lot of their senior players and created a lot of dissent in the dressing room, the fact he does not listen, the fact he has his favourites and the fact his has created the training staff with nepotism , perhaps they are factors then ?

[Berserker]

I think it's the training staff that ring warning bells in my head, i think the coaching side of things seem to have definitely taken a tumble

[FulhamMic]

Perhaps from my bigoted view the fact that when Jol went to Spurs he upset and drove out a lot of their senior players and created a lot of dissent in the dressing room, the fact he does not listen, the fact he has his favourites and the fact his has created the training staff with nepotism , perhaps they are factors then ?

And yet managed to finish 5th in both his full seasons in charge. Interesting.