Martin Jol's sacking should leave his players feeling ashamed of themselves

[Admin]

Squad knew the manager was clinging on by his fingertips yet they went out and produced that shambles at West Ham

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mark-lawrenson-fulham-martin-jols-2874381

Fulham's players – with one or two exceptions – should be disgusted with themselves.

There are some, such as Scott Parker who you know will give you everything. As for the rest, they ought to hang their heads in shame after that pathetic performance on Saturday.

Martin Jol said in his press conference on Friday that he couldn't afford to lose another game.

His players knew that. They knew he had been clinging on by his fingertips.

Yet they went out and produced that shambles to get stuffed 3-0 at West Ham.

Forget about personnel. Forget about the individual quality.

Was that really an attempt to rescue their boss from the sack? Was it heck.

Like I say, certain members of the Cottagers' squad need to have a long look at themselves and think about whether they have taken enough personal pride in their work.

Jol had signed them, given them a chance, taken the flak when things went wrong.

And now he has gone.

His job has been given to his recently-appointed assistant Rene Meulensteen. You have to wonder on what basis he signed his contract.

Did Martin know that he if he lost the next couple of games after Rene arrived he would be out?

Whatever way you shake it down, Rene's arrival was the death knell for Jol.

The chief executive at Fulham, Alistair Mackintosh, is a good operator, but the whole business around Jol has been strange to say the least.

Fans and neutrals were thinking, "What's going on here, then?" while the players must have been thinking, "Is Jol not good enough to do the job by himself?"

I still think Jol could get another job. Generally, his record has been very good. Sometimes you just go to a club and it doesn't work for whatever reason. He'll be back.

However, if Fulham ship out some of their dead wood in January, you wouldn't be able to guarantee they would be back.

[Aaron]

So..

The players should have played out of their skins, won 6-0 and held up Martin on their shoulders and paraded him around the pitch after the final whistle?

I get it now.. It's ALL the players fault, they just didn't like the look of big Martin and so made an effort to ruin his career.

[ToodlesMcToot]

So....

...all Jol needed to do was get the tactics right and run the players harder in practice and they'd  be up in the Euro lge places.

I get it now. It ALL Jols fault. He drafted the players in so that he could make them look like players who couldn't be troubled to  remember even the fundamentals of playing their positions so that they'd look like shells of former PL'ers.

I just love it. Anybody points out the obvious, it doesn't matter. If it smells like they're defending Jol in the slightest, they're in for it. Facts are facts. Jol was terrible for Fulham. Very few of these players have been any better.

[Berbasilk_111]

awful manager, good man, anyway now is the time these players will finally click in gear and produce results which are in accord with their talents.

[BishopsParkFantastic]

I don't believe "Rene's arrival was the death knell for Jol". In fact the opposite - if Rene had been successful in making a quick and positive impact with his coaching methods and achieved good results, it would have kept Jol in his job as Manager until his contract ran out at the end of the season. Assuming Fulham stayed up, I am sure that Rene would have taken over from Jol at the end of the season. For Rene then, it has been a win-win situation: Jol loses his job during the season, and Rene takes over. Jol's contract runs out at the end of the season, and Rene takes over.

[Aaron]

So....

...all Jol needed to do was get the tactics right and run the players harder in practice and they'd  be up in the Euro lge places.

I get it now. It ALL Jols fault. He drafted the players in so that he could make them look like players who couldn't be troubled to  remember even the fundamentals of playing their positions so that they'd look like shells of former PL'ers.

I just love it. Anybody points out the obvious, it doesn't matter. If it smells like they're defending Jol in the slightest, they're in for it. Facts are facts. Jol was terrible for Fulham. Very few of these players have been any better.

It's not that I'm jumping on someone for defending Jol.. It's the fact the article reads to me as being anti-everything except Jol.

Particularly the last few lines which more or less read as saying Jol is bigger than the club.

Also, the squad is old, the squad is tired and some of the players aren't up to task even on their best day.  But 25 players don't all just decide to play badly for a year straight out of spite.

EDIT: Re-reading the initial quote from Lawro has made me realise that the "they" in the last statement refers to the deadwood and not Fulham as a club.. I thought it was trying to suggest even if we totally revamped the squad with a new manager at the helm we'd likely be going down.

[RaySmith]

I'm not sure if it's true that the players didn't try hard, but once  that first goal went in, they seemed to lose the little confidence and conviction they had.

I think everyone was affected by the knowledge that Jol was in line for the sack, and it just seemed to make them freeze.

Hopefully, the players will feel  a new sense of purpose and conviction - and have confidence in RM's tactics and organisation.

[HatterDon]

I didn't see all that much difference in the way we played Saturday and the way we've played for most of the last 13 months. Blaming the players for Jol getting the tin tack is really sad.

[jarv]

Jol lost the dressing room ages ago. They did not want to play for him, that was as clear as the nose on your face. He should have been canned at the end of last season. Any fool could see he was destroying the club with his inept management.  The muppet is completely useless.
I think we can survive but it will be by the skin of the teeth.

[ToodlesMcToot]

So....

...all Jol needed to do was get the tactics right and run the players harder in practice and they'd  be up in the Euro lge places.

I get it now. It ALL Jols fault. He drafted the players in so that he could make them look like players who couldn't be troubled to  remember even the fundamentals of playing their positions so that they'd look like shells of former PL'ers.

I just love it. Anybody points out the obvious, it doesn't matter. If it smells like they're defending Jol in the slightest, they're in for it. Facts are facts. Jol was terrible for Fulham. Very few of these players have been any better.

It's not that I'm jumping on someone for defending Jol.. It's the fact the article reads to me as being anti-everything except Jol.

Particularly the last few lines which more or less read as saying Jol is bigger than the club.

Also, the squad is old, the squad is tired and some of the players aren't up to task even on their best day.  But 25 players don't all just decide to play badly for a year straight out of spite.

EDIT: Re-reading the initial quote from Lawro has made me realise that the "they" in the last statement refers to the deadwood and not Fulham as a club.. I thought it was trying to suggest even if we totally revamped the squad with a new manager at the helm we'd likely be going down.

I worry that we're already too far gone to turn it around. I'm not a long term fan by comparison to the majority of my FOF compatriots, but with or without Jol, what this team really has lacked is character. The team Roy inherited had plenty of it. Right now we're walking a tightrope in the rain and the wind is starting to pick up. I just don't see the leadership in our veterans, save for Brede (if healthy) and Parker, to right the ship.

I hope that Jarv is right and that Jol's players (the one's who knew him already and stated that they came here because of him) ultimately quit on him. If that's true, they still won't be getting much respect from me, but Rene just might have a shot at turning the team around.

Hopefully RM has the money to get in some players who wish to earn their weekly checks and have a bit of a burr up their arse. We definitely need fighters from here on out.

[Deanothefulhamfan]

I posted something similar yesterday. I feel our players have put in pathetic performances week after week, and definitley need to look at themselves.

Delighted Jol has gone, I have been calling it for a long time but our players still need to wake up and have a long look at themselves.

[Logicalman]

awful manager, good man, anyway now is the time these players will finally click in gear and produce results which are in accord with their talents.

Now's the time that Rene should clear out the obvious dross players in our side, the old and feeble of them, and those that couldn't give a monkeys to play for the club under Jol (yes, you all know who you are - bunch of shirt hangers) and just leave those that WANT to play rather than just pick up their over-inflated wage packets at the end of the week.

Unfortunately that includes the majority of those that Jol brought in, and a few of Roys old guard as well. Let the youngsters show us what they can do, it cannot be worse that the crap the older generation has been pretending they call playing.

[JDH101]

Thanks for reminding me why I don't read the mirror. Lazy reporting at its finest.

[epsomraver]

Thanks for reminding me why I don't read the mirror. Lazy reporting at its finest.

Perhaps the players wanted rid of Jol and his poor management, favourites picked week in week out regardless of form, perhaps they did not want to play for him any more? Wednesday and Saturday will show us. Most teams who change their manager usually seem to pick up, let's hope we are one of them

[Skatzoffc]

Thanks for reminding me why I don't read the mirror. Lazy reporting at its finest.

Perhaps the players wanted rid of Jol and his poor management, favourites picked week in week out regardless of form, perhaps they did not want to play for him any more? Wednesday and Saturday will show us. Most teams who change their manager usually seem to pick up, let's hope we are one of them

Agreed Epsom.
I've said this before.
IMO Yol's pathetic man-management meant everyone wanted him gone.
Picking players every week regardless of form or effort leads to them not trying as they know they don't have to.
Not picking players trying hard in training, means they give up trying knowing it won't do any good.
Totally negative psychology.

As long as RM picks the players who are up for it in training, we will see an improvement.
Now....... COYW!!!
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[NorfolkJim]

Ashamed or not, most of our players are good players , internationals. It's been clear for a while that things have not been right between Jol and some of the players. I do wonder now if Brede will suddenly be back - trapped nerve? More like said the wrong thing in the dressing room. If its sour in the dressing room, no one can turn it around - you can either change the manager of buy a fresh team.
The football under Jol has been dire - theres been no pleasure in watching the team. I've not looked forward to games and have enjoyed watching other teams on Sky more than my beloved Fulham because at least on there teams try to attack and only have 9 or 10 men on the pitch because of sendings off rather than for 90 minutes.
Jol sounded like a loser with no faith in his interviews, I'm not sorry he's gone. I wish him well for the future and I'm sure that he is a good manager in the right place but he was never the right sort of manager for Fulham.

[TonyGilroy]

I don't think he lost the dressing room so much as made it too comfortable. Everybody operating in their comfort zone which was adequate last season but suddenly wasn't this.

I didn't expect it and clearly neither did Khan or Mackintosh but players need to be challenged now. The effort and intensity has to be raised. Defeat has to hurt.

Muelensteen may well be a good technical coach but there needs to be a fear factor brought into the equation. That won't be a role he's used to.

Ultimately Jol's method was to tell his players (and us) how good they are, to believe it and expect them to perform at their peak.

The opposite is now necessary.

[Two Ton Ted]

If we get beaten by a better team it's understandable. If we get beaten through not trying it's despicable. The last few weeks have mainly been the latter.

I'm not defending Jol as it's a results based business and he had to take the responsibility, but without a doubt there are a lot of players earning 10's of thousands a week not putting enough effort into their job becuase they knew the manager will get the blame.

We know who they are, they lack effort week in, week out. It'll be interesting to see if they play better on Wednesday.