Monday Fulham Stuff (02/12/13)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Club Statement

Shahid Khan, Chairman of Fulham Football Club, has announced that Rene Meulensteen will run First Team duties, effective immediately, taking over from Martin Jol.

"I spoke with Martin to thank him for his efforts on behalf of Fulham Football Club over the past three seasons and, in particular, since my becoming Chairman earlier this year," Khan said. "Martin was very gracious and I appreciate his understanding of the situation. There's no question Martin is an excellent football man and he has my utmost respect for the commitment he made to our Club.

"However, our poor form and results this season are undeniable, and Fulham supporters deserve better. With more than half the season still ahead, an immediate change was necessary."

Jol expressed appreciation on Sunday for his time at Motspur Park and Craven Cottage since arriving at Fulham in 2011.

"It was a privilege to manage Fulham, one of the great clubs in the Premier League or anywhere in the world," Jol said.  "I'm disappointed in this season but know there are better days ahead for Fulham and its supporters.  I will always treasure my experience here and want to thank Mr Khan and everyone at Fulham for the opportunity."

Meulensteen was appointed as Head Coach of Fulham on 13th November after working at Manchester United, where he worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford between 2007 and last summer.

"Rene was brought to Fulham to assist Martin and today was offered the challenge and opportunity to step in for Martin," Khan said. "I thank Rene for accepting and now we move forward. I have great confidence in Rene and high expectations for our squad to respond."

Meulensteen said: "I appreciate the faith Mr Khan has put in me and will do my very best to honour his trust. We aim to get Fulham back on track, starting Wednesday night."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/december/01/club-statement?

[WhiteJC]

 
Martin Jol sacked as Fulham manager and replaced by Rene Meulensteen 'with immediate effect'
Martin Jol has been sacked as manager of Fulham, with Rene Meulensteen assuming responsibility for the first team with immediate effect, the club have announced

Fulham have sacked manager Martin Jol after defeat at West Ham United on Saturday extended their run of consecutive defeats to six games.

The club announced Rene Meulensteen would take over responsibility for the first team, stepping up to the top job having only been recruited last month as head coach to assist Jol.

Fulham were beaten 3-0 at Upton Park and after 13 games of the Premier League season they stand 18th, inside the relegation zone.

Fulham chairman Shahid Khan said: "Today I spoke with Martin to thank him for his efforts on behalf of Fulham Football Club over the past three seasons and, in particular, since my becoming chairman earlier this year.

"Martin was very gracious and I appreciate his understanding of the situation. There is no question Martin is an excellent football man and he has my utmost respect for the commitment he made to our club.

"However, our poor form and results this season are undeniable, and Fulham supporters deserve better. With more than half the season still ahead, an immediate change was necessary."



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/10486854/Martin-Jol-sacked-as-Fulham-manager-and-replaced-by-Rene-Meulensteen-with-immediate-effect.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham's Parker Performs Perfectly at Upton Park

Bless him. Scotty rocked up at the Boleyn and put in his typical performance: 100% commitment, running himself into the ground, diving in front of shots, covering as many blades of grass as his ageing legs and lungs would allow, even charging into the penalty area on one tunnel-visioned run - and, of course, getting caught in possession twenty five yards out from his own goal, thereby setting up West Ham's opening goal!

If any game summed up Scotty, this was it! He had that trademark exhausted pout on his face from first minute to last and, all so typically, he accepted after the game that it was the players and not the manager who were to blame for the team's truly shocking performance. He said the same about Curbishley, Zola and Grant when at Upton Park, because Scotty knows where his bread is buttered!

So, how many shots did he have on goal? None of course. And how many chances did he create? None of course. And how many of our goals could he be held directly accountable for? At least one because he lost possession as he dwelt on the ball; and you have to wonder where he was during the last 15 minutes of the game as West Ham players ran through unchallenged on the Fulham goal.

Mind you, that didn't stop the match day commentator raving, "Apart from losing possession for the opening goal, Parker was the one blameless player in the Fulham team." Unfortunate then that we probably would not have won the game but for that all so crucial and all so trademark Parker mistake! But there, in a nutshell, is why Parker was ludicrously named "Player of the Year" in the season we went down - because the press love a trier and Scotty tries and tries and tries; he doesn't succeed, but boy does he try and so many can't see beyond the mask of his effort. Never mind the quality, feel the bursting lungs!

So, here's an interesting thought - Scott Parker is now on course for his THIRD relegation from the Prem, achieved with THREE different clubs. Now that's quite some record for a player who some claim is a "great" of the game!

And for all those who idolised him for running around like a headless chicken in his West Ham days, compare the contributions of Parker and Noble on Saturday. I know who I would rather have in my team!



http://thegamesgonecrazy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/fulhams-parker-performs-perfectly-at.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Struggling Fulham dismiss manager Jol

Following a run of six straight defeats, Fulham FC have parted company with manager Martin Jol, with compatriot Rene Meulensteen assuming responsibility for first-team affairs.

Fulham FC have reacted to a run of six consecutive defeats in all competitions by sacking manager Martin Jol and appointing Rene Meulensteen in his stead.

Jol, who had been in charge of the west London team since June 2011, has paid the price for a run of losses which has left the Cottagers in 18th position in the Premier League, three points from safety. Fulham were beaten 3-0 by West Ham United FC on Saturday.

The experienced Meulensteen – whose career includes spells as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United FC and, more recently, as coach of FC Anji Makhachkala – was drafted in to work alongside Jol last month.

However, Jol's compatriot now faces the task of hauling Fulham to safety on his own, starting with a difficult home game against Jol's previous English employers, Tottenham Hotspur FC, on Wednesday.

Fulham chairman Shahid Khan said in a club statement: "Today I spoke with Martin to thank him for his efforts on behalf of Fulham Football Club over the past three seasons and, in particular, since my becoming chairman earlier this year.

"Martin was very gracious and I appreciate his understanding of the situation. There is no question Martin is an excellent football man and he has my utmost respect for the commitment he made to our club."



http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=eng/news/newsid=2031434.html?

[WhiteJC]

 
FULHAMS PATRICK ROBERTS ONE TO WATCH

As Martin Jol exits stage left for Fulham FC, it's time to take a look at one of the brightest prospects at Motspur Park. Under the tutelage of several top coaches and former players, Fulham's academy setup  has seen them lay claim to the U18 Premier League title for the past two seasons running (2011/12, 2012/13). An impressive feat which, to the frustration of many, has not been mirrored by opportunities and pathways through to the first team. Yet there's one player, in spite of the raw percentage of players at Fulham's academy tipping in favour of being non-English, who stands to break that mould for club and country – local boy Patrick Roberts.


http://www.englandfootballblog.com/2013/12/01/fulhams-patrick-roberts-one-to-watch/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fulhams-patrick-roberts-one-to-watch

[WhiteJC]

 
Rene Meulensteen insists he was surprised by Fulham decision to sack Martin Jol

New Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen insists he was surprised by the decision to sack Martin Jol as boss following Saturday's 3-0 defeat to West Ham.

Former Manchester United assistant boss Meulensteen has replaced his fellow Dutchman in the hotseat after arriving at Craven Cottage as head coach last month.

There has been speculation that his promotion was inevitable but Meulensteen is adamant that he did not expect this chain of events.

"I totally disagree with that because it has been a quite long process of me bringing myself into Fulham and I spoke numerous times with people at Fulham," Meulensteen told Sky Sports News.

"I have known Martin for many, many years and my departure from Manchester United took some time but eventually I felt it was the right thing to do to come to Fulham and to help Martin at Fulham Football Club.

"It was definitely not something that I was anticipating. We wanted to turn this corner together."

Meulensteen, who has already spoken to Jol following his departure, is to hold talks with Fulham chief executive Alistair Mackintosh on Sunday evening and he believes he can turn around the struggling Premier League club's fortunes.

He said: "I will meet up with Alistair later to discuss the new situation and how we are going to progress from here.

"We know that Martin has been released which is a shame because I didn't see that coming from within the club and it was something I didn't want to happen to be fairly honest.

"We want some clarity with regards to how we are going to progress on a daily basis from now.

"We know what position we are in. It's a position that Fulham don't want to be in, the staff don't want to be in and the players don't want to be in.

"But this is where we are at and if I am given a responsibility of making sure that I carry out the manager's job for the foreseeable future then we have to do our utmost to get Fulham back up the table.

"The most important thing is that we close our ranks, we know where we are in the league and it is not the place Fulham wants to be.

"It's a massive challenge but at the end of the day when you are faced with a challenge like this it comes down to making sure that you get the basic things right.

"You make sure that you stay mentally strong and that the fans are getting behind the team - I think that is one of the most important things.

"We need to make sure that the players believe and then you make sure you get the basic things right - work-rate, discipline, that sort of thing. They are cliches but these are the things you need to put right first and foremost.

"We need to make sure we make every decision that will increase the chances of making sure that Fulham is a Premier League club next year.

"That's where they belong and that's what we need to do and if investment is needed in whatever area it is then we need to live up to that because otherwise you might be paying a very high price."



http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9052872/?

[WhiteJC]

 
The nightmare is over

Chairman Shad Khan has made the first major decision of his reign as Fulham owner. Just before noon ET, the call went over to London to dispense with manager Martin Jol, with immediate effect. To a massive sigh of relief from a totally disillusioned set of supporters this side of the water, Khan's statement showed sound common sense.

"Our poor form and results this season are undeniable, and Fulham supporters deserve better," Khan said.

At long last, a quote of reason and sanity amid the madness that has reigned in recent weeks. On a gray winter's morning in London that began for me -- as for most other Fulham followers, I imagine -- with the despair of opening up the back pages to find no news of Jol's sacking, the eternal flame at Fulham Football Club flickers back into life.

- Fulham part company with Martin Jol

Saturday evening, after witnessing the debacle at Upton Park, where Hammers fans were genuinely sympathetic and understanding of Fulham's plight, it was impossible to open up this blog with any fresh words to describe the despair. I journeyed into London to meet friends for a night in the theatre. Only on the post-midnight, last train home did the numbness of Fulham's latest surrender in the league hit home.

All I could contemplate blogging this Sunday morning was a sense that Fulham's famous old club had transcended incompetence into the arena of pure farce. Now, thank heavens, we can turn the page and strike up a different tune. In truth, this sacking could have come a month ago, but back then, Rene Meulensteen was not on hand then to pick up the gauntlet.

Fulham's recently appointed head coach is now all of a sudden the top dog. Will we see him joined by Mike Phelan before long, as Khan seeks to bolster the Manchester United connection? Do you think Phelan's quote this week that it was he who was "effectively managing United teams over the past five years," was merely coincidental, or just well-timed? Inside football, had word spread that Jol would be toast with a loss at West Ham? Conspiracy theorists sign up here. Remember, nothing in football happens in a vacuum.

As the Whites turned in another performance on Saturday where half the side looked fit for nothing more than the Championship (again not one single effort on goal), we will find out as early as Wednesday if the players had indeed just given up playing for Jol, and if they can raise their levels for the new regime.

Martin Jol's reign as Fulham manager is over.
Whatever the two home games this week with Spurs and Villa bring, a number of questions will be answered. And the fans will certainly be cutting Rene plenty of slack -- simply delighted to have seen the back of Jol. To quote Khan again, "With more than half the season still ahead, an immediate change was necessary."

The club have made a decisive step, though five straight losses in the league since the win at Crystal Palace made it easy for them. Fulham sit in the bottom three, the goal difference is looking unhealthy already, but the club are still just two wins away from climbing into mid-table.

Meulensteen has key players returning in the coming week: Sascha Riether and Brede Hangeland to bolster the back four, for a start. This grants the head coach licence to dispense with the distinctly average Kieran Richardson (I almost found myself pining for John Arne Riise on Saturday), while I pray Rene has learned the lesson that Steve Sidwell and Scott Parker cannot operate together in midfield, that Damien Duff's top-flight career is over and that Bryan Ruiz must never pull on the white shirt again (labelled shocking in commentary by Tony Gale).

Fulham FC are far from out of the woods yet, of course, thanks in the main to Jol's poor record in the transfer market, his lack of man management skills and failure to impose proper levels of fitness on the squad. These are all areas where Meulensteen must deliver.

For months, Fulham have been an embarrassment and no longer worthy of the Premier League. Now the supporters can give thanks that a seemingly destructive presence has been cut from the club. There have been far worse predicaments in Fulham's history. But now it is time to unfurl the Black & White banner and believe again.



http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/fulham/id/1593?&cc=5739

[WhiteJC]

 
Did Jol ever stand a chance once Meulensteen arrived?

Martin Jol has today lost his job with Rene Meulensteen assuming responsibility for the first team.

Martin Jol has been sacked as manager of Fulham after a poor start to the season which has seen them lose their last five matches.

The defeat against fellow strugglers West Ham on Saturday was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Jol had looked so very despondent and downhearted in recent interviews, and it was inevitable after the 3-0 defeat that he knew his time was up.

Rene Meulensteen has stepped up to manage the team, although their doesn't seem to be much from Fulham regarding this. Whether his contract remains the same is unknown. If so, was it always the board's intention to slowly ease Meulensteen in?

Chairman Shahid Khan said "Rene Meulensteen was brought to Fulham to assist Martin and today was offered the challenge and opportunity to step in for Martin."

"I thank Rene for accepting and now we move forward. I have great confidence in Rene and high expectations for our squad to respond."

The former Manchester United coach arrived at the start of November as head coach, to assist Martin Jol. The job role immediately raised questions over Jol's long term future. In my opinion as soon as Meulensteen was brought in, Jol's days were numbered. It was obvious the Fulham board eyed Rene as the club's eventual manager. Perhaps Jol was given a few more games to prove his worth, but it was always going to be hard almost knowing your future successor was watching over you.

The duo could have worked well together and combined to turn round Fulham's fortune's. But as shown by their defeat on Saturday, and the fact they failed to muster a single shot on target, the situation had not changed. Fulham possess some very talented players in their squad, and certainly should not be occupying one of the relegation spaces.

Much has been said about Meulensteen and how crucial he was behind the scenes at United. Now he has his chance in the greatest league of them all to show his ability. He has a great challenge ahead of him, and come the end of the season if Fulham are 17th or above then you'd have to say he's met his targets for this season.

As for Jol, things clearly didn't get off the ground this season. However I still believe he is a very good manager as shown during his time at Tottenham Hotspur. At White Hart Lane he turned Spurs from an average mid table side into a team capable of competing for a top four spot. He missed out on Champions League qualification by just one place in 2006 and 2007. He will be given another opportunity soon enough in Europe. He is a respected manager, despite this blip on his CV.



http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2013/12/01/jm-did-jol-ever-stand-a-chance-once-meulensteen-arrived/?

[WhiteJC]

 
Oooooo Rene! — The View from South Texas

by HatterDon

I am so pleased that Jol is no longer associated with our club and I'm more than ready to stand strong behind Rene. I have no idea what he's going to do with the present squad, and I have no idea who he's going to sign — or try to sign — in January. I WILL say this, though. I think that we're about 75% certain to be relegated regardless of what he does, and I'm okay with that ... IF

... there is a turnaround in how we play and how we approach the game. Over the last year or so, with only a few exceptions, Fulham's play has been a blight on the reputation of the Premier League. If we had kept Jol and if we continued to play like 11 dead men walking, our relegation would have been met with a combination of joy and relief by other clubs and by television audiences around the world. It sickens me that this might have happened.

If Rene can get our guys playing in a more positive manner and once again make Craven Cottage a fortress again ... if Rene can have 11 players fighting until they drop and doing it in every match that remains in what may be our last season ever in the Premier League, then I will sing his praises to the bitter end.

Every one of us who has any dash of reality in us knows that — sooner or later — Fulham will be relegated. When that time comes, be it May 2014 or May 2030, I want EVERYONE to be sad that Fulham no longer graces the league, that a beautiful football ground will no longer host Premier League football, that fun-loving and friendly supporters no longer cheer opposing goalkeepers and perform creative chants. I want EVERYONE to hope that somehow we'll be back in the league to provide that extra something that we've contributed over the last dozen or so years.

As long as Jol was here, as long as we were playing heartless, toothless football, our relegation was always to be celebrated by anyone who values good football. With Rene, we have a chance to go down in style or ... and this IS possible — to survive to the general relief of football as a whole.

If that happens, I'll be the first to say, "Oooooooo, Rene!"



http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=460

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham Martin Jol the latest victim of a cruel culture of sacking in football
Fulham's Martin Jol the latest to suffer from the impossible expectations placed on football managers.

In his 68 years at Barnsley, Norman Rimmington has done virtually every job at the club.

After retiring as a player, he joined the coaching staff. Following that, he was the groundsman, then the physio, then assistant manager, then the kit man, and finally their laundry man, which he remains to this day.

Oakwell celebrated his 90th birthday at the weekend, and the BBC's Football League Show joined them, with a touching tribute that was one of the highlights of a relatively quiet weekend.

Have football's two faces ever been quite so perfectly juxtaposed? Hours after popping into the laundry room to swap tales and jokes for the cameras, manager David Flitcroft had been sacked, and by the time the show went out on Saturday evening, it had become necessary to amend his caption to "former manager of Barnsley".

The one role Rimmington avoided may have been the secret of his longevity. To be a manager these days is to drink from a bottomless well of sadness. Modern football has never looked a less enjoyable pursuit, with its grimacing players, screeching fans, stern-faced owners.

But ultimately, all must genuflect to the undisputed monarchs of misery: the last ones praised and the first censured, the inevitable victims of a culture that simultaneously demands the world on a string and a head on a plate. Of all the creatures in football's menagerie, nobody is having less fun than the managers.

The evidence is all around. Martin Jol and Dave Jones became 'former managers' on Sunday; those who survive wear the dark foreboding of the temporarily reprieved. Post-match interviews and press conferences often feel like voyeuristic incursions into one man's private grief.

This is especially true in lower league football, with its relentless winter backlog, those endless anonymous Saturdays and Wednesdays in Plymouth and Carlisle, the crushing certainty of a fluttering P45.

Before you send in your £2 a month, this is no string-soaked tug on the heartstrings. Rather, it is a wry observation of the subtly different standard to which managers are held. Often you will hear a player eulogised because they never stop running, give 110 per cent, put themselves about, and so on.

Rarely will you see the same quality recognised in a manager. "He's really managed his socks off today, Jeff, covered every blade of Astroturf in that technical area."

When Romelu Lukaku revealed that he spent hours studying video footage of opponents – a feat otherwise known as "watching football" – he was exulted as a martyr to his craft. When it was revealed that Andre Villas-Boas habitually slept at Chelsea's training ground after working into the night, everybody pointed and laughed.

The modern manager carries the problems of the world in his tracksuit pockets. And yet it is important to remind ourselves what a manager does not do. He does not, for example, kick a football, or give out red cards.

On up to three occasions, he can choose to replace a footballer with another footballer. A floodlight operator with a pair of pliers has more influence on the game. Transfers have been transformed into a pork-barrel jig between owners, sporting directors, agents, and agents' agents. Analysts, specialist coaches and sport scientists are eating away at their contact with players.

Football's new techno-cadre has wafted power away from the manager's office.

Not everybody quite grasps this yet. It was interesting to see BT Sport beginning their coverage of Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United on Sunday with a discussion of Villas-Boas's future, before turning their immediate attention to David Moyes.

On Monday Night Football last week, by contrast, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher delivered a brilliantly scathing 16-minute dissection of Spurs' tactics and mentality without mentioning Villas-Boas once.

It is the beleaguered, bearded Portuguese who perhaps embodies this dichotomy best of all. Of current Premier League managers, it is in him that the ideal of the omnipotent, talismanic managerial figurehead resides most keenly.

Villas-Boas is one of those managers who kicks every ball, watches every video, reads every dossier, studies every x-ray, and thus whose most recent experience of pleasure was in childhood.

Truly, he manages his socks off. And yet on balance, he would probably have been happier taking a job in the laundry room.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/10487125/Fulham-Martin-Jol-the-latest-victim-of-a-cruel-culture-of-sacking-in-football.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Looking Forward: The FFC Christmas List
by CHRIS GILBERTSON on DECEMBER 1, 2013

The departure of Martin Jol has seen Chairman Shahid Khan thankfully taking some overdue action to arrest Fulham's alarming season. Fulham fans have finally got their wish on the first day of Advent. With November turning to December it is less than a month till Christmas and the opening of the January transfer window. How the next two months now unfold could set the tone for years to come.

With change now affected, it is a time to look forward. There is a month for Rene Meulensteen, Alistair Mackintosh and co to plan, and on the somewhat wishful assumption that cash will go into Fulham's January transfer kitty, who, or what, would you like to see on your Fulham Christmas Wish List? All the cries for a managerial change were only as fans wanted the best for their club. So what now? Will we get a late Christmas present from Santa Khan come January the 1st or will it be bargain hunting at the January sales come the end of the window?

Before I list what I'd like to see happen in January, here are a few assumptions and hopes:

• The list is written on the basis, likely or not, that Shahid Khan sanctions actually spending some money. By finally pulling the trigger on Martin Jol's tenure there is the sign that Khan understands the severity of Fulham's current predicament. That the situation is also largely the result of penny pinching underspending last summer will hopefully also not have gone unnoticed.

• Though January is well recognised as the worst time to go spendhappy – prices are inflated, good deals are rare and unscrupulous agents look to secure transfers for their players off a whim or a prayer or less – another cheapskate transfer window is not an option. January shopping sprees can go both ways; Roy Hodgson kept Fulham up with some smart January spending in 2008 but QPR wasted millions in a vain effort to stay up last season.

• No more past-their-prime formerly decent players can be allowed to arrive on Ryanairesque budget. Players to be signed will hopefully have been long identified and mercilessly scouted, fitting the club's style and philosophy, rather than simply the manager's {well we'll give Rene a chance with an old boy or two seeing as his former club is rather more successful than any of Jol's} or on the basis of reputation or former talent.

1. Sign at least one young central midfielder

Stamina and a lack of fitness have been one of several alarming traits that have characterised Fulham's season so far. Whilst training, or the lack thereof, may have contributed significantly to our lack of physical athleticism, the age of the side is also an undoubted factor. In Boateng, Sidwell, Parker and Karagounis, our engine room options top a combined 120 years old. One of our more technical weaknesses also appears to be the inability to get the ball from midfield to the attack. Finding someone who can play a full 90 minutes as a defence to attack pivot could prove crucial to survival hopes.

Good athletic central midfield playmakers don't exactly grow on trees, and when they do come round they tend to be on the expensive side of the equation. Unfortunately for Mr Khan's wallet, this is one position that Fulham's academy doesn't appear ready to fill. Of the two leading candidates, Lasse Vigen Christensen has shown considerable promise at U-18 and U-21 level but is not yet first team saviour material, whilst the leading creative central midfielder in the youth ranks, Emerson Hydnman, is a year or so off senior football.

All this means the owners' chequebook needs to be opened. Here are two targets I'd like to see Fulham linked with:

Will Hughes

18-year-old prodigy Hughes is the English crown jewel in the football league. With over 50 first team appearances already under his belt for Derby County, his is the signature that nearly every Premierleague club would give their proverbial right arm for. The teenage midfield maestro with the peroxide blonde hair is said to have an asking price in the mid teen millions, however how Derby would react to a concrete offer in the multiple millions remains to be seen. Though costly, Fulham could offer Hughes near automatic first team football, something that bigger suitors, such as Liverpool who were linked last week, could not. Signing young talent like Hughes would also make coming back from relegation a lot easier should the worst happen.

Stefan Johansen

22-year-old Norwegian Johansen would be the perfect signing for Fulham. The majestic playmaker was recently voted Norway's co-Player of the Year, sharing the award with our very own Brede Hangeland. It was a moral victory for the Stromsgodset player as Hangeland himself admitted to forgetting to cast his vote, which he retrospectively said would have gone to Johansen. A ringing endorsement from our skipper which should help Johansen's cause in getting a move out of Norway, though truth be told he doesn't need much help. A glorious left foot and the ability to glide across the pitch saw Johansen star for a strong Norwegian Under-21s last summer at the European championships in Israel and has seen him go on to progress into the Norwegian senior side, where a debut goal v Sweden and a league title as the star of lowly Stromsgodset capped a stellar year.

2. Sign a strong centre forward

While the common opinion would have Fulham set up front, there are a plethora of problems with Fulham's striking core. Aside from devastatingly talented 17-year-old Moussa Dembele, Fulham's entire attack is on the decline. Berbatov has looked uninterested and sub-par all season, Darren Bent is proving unreliable and well past his prime and will hopefully be sent back to Villa for good as a 32 year old come the summer and the Hugo Rodallega experiment is a year and a half in. While Hugo would be a great striker at Championship level should we get relegated, a fit, hungry, agile and strong top level hitman or partnership is lacking and very much needed. Academy talent Marcello Trotta and Cauley Woodrow are both gaining experience on loan and Muamer Tankovic will likely do so at some point this season. This leaves reinforcements being needed. Though a midfielder should be the first cash deposit of January, some firepower is needed, even if on a short-term basis. Here are two below the radar options:

Pavel Pogrebnyak

One thing Fulham have lacked up front this season is an ability to hold onto the ball. The little round thing is never up front long enough to take any pressure off the midfield and defence. Former Fulham man Pogrebnyak was a fan favourite in his 6 months here. A long term Fulham target, Pogrebnyak was brought to Fulham on the instructions of chief scout Barry Simmonds, not the manager. He knows the club and the league, and is stronger than all our current strikers put together. At 30 he's not exactly the long-term answer, but a loan from Reading would take the striker's wages of the Championship club's books and provide us some strength up front in a move that would potentially suit all parties.

Jordan Rhodes

Blackburn striker Rhodes is someone I've wanted Fulham to sign for several years now. Stuck outside the top flight in a Blackburn side not going anywhere fast, Rhodes would likely jump at the chance to move up a division. Rovers might also be tempted to sell should the right offer come in. A natural poacher with 36 goals in 59 league games for Blackburn, at only 23, Rhodes would provide the long-term striker Fulham need rather than any of the current crop at Fulham, all of whom should be gone after the season closes.

3. Sign a left back

Oh Kieran, honestly it's not your fault; you're just not a left back. Yes, one of Martin Jol's more foolhardy moves has been to rely upon converted midfielder Kieran Richardson at left back. While this has been predicated mostly by the alarming decline of John Arne Riise and injury and lack of faith in Matthew Briggs, Richardson simply isn't good enough to line up in a defence that needs to be better than the sum of its parts. A fine squad player, the left footed Chris Baird, I'd like to see Richardson stay at Fulham as a utility player, able to cover various positions. The defence has issues across the line. There is no doubt a centre back is needed but there is a good player in Amorebieta and Dan Burn will start next season, but full back is consistently a source of encouragement for opposition, just look at Jarvis and Downing for West Ham during the abysmal showing on Saturday.

Alexander Buttner

The somewhat obvious suggestion, Buttner was a supposed Fulham target before his surprise move to Manchester United in 2012 where he worked under fellow Dutchman and new Fulham Head Coach Rene Meulensteen. A pacy natural full back, a loan or permanent move for Buttner would suit Fulham's needs at left back.

Jamaal Lascelles

20-year-old England U-20 centre half Lascelles might seem a surprise answer to our defensive issues but a move for the Nottingham Forest man would suit Fulham in several ways. By signing a centre half, Amorebieta could play at left back for the remainder of the season, where he has done well when tried, and though not a natural left back, he is far more solid than Richardson. Signing a young centre half to potentially pair with Burn going forward is some forward thinking we're not used to. While academy players Jack Grimmer and Liam Donnelly could well play first team football in the future, loan periods will be required before they are ready. Lascelles' ability to play right back would also allow for more cover for Sascha Reither who has looked sub-par and unfit himself at times this season and Montenegran utility man Elsad Zverotic. Albeit this might be a pie in the sky suggestion too far. Lascelles is perhaps just too inexperienced to drop into the fire pit that is a relegation dogfight, but Fulham are the opposite to most struggling sides who usually have an abundance of exuberance but a lack of experience, we have the opposite, all the experience but non of the youthful exuberance.

4. Bring Clint Dempsey back on loan

Not a complicated decision this one. Yes he left acrimoniously, but that was a result of ambition fuelled by incessant chirping in his ear from the US media that Fulham weren't good enough for him. Fact is, we were. I'd bet a good dollar or two Clint now knows that, and with a loan to Europe supposedly being written into his MLS contract with Seattle, it is a deal that would hardly need mountains to be moved to get it done. We need goals and don't have a bona fide starter on the left wing; Demspey is our record Premierleague goalscorer and scored nearly all of them from a starting position on the left of midfield. Put the ball in the back of the onion bag once again and all will be forgiven for the way he left.

5. Expand the Board

The departure of Martin Jol this afternoon was a decision that came not a second too soon. The entire management debacle has shown Fulham's new ownership and management structure to be somewhat understaffed. Top down decisions come from the owner who along with Mark Lamping, make up half the board whilst being based several thousand miles from Craven Cottage. Day to day responsibilities in running the entire enterprise that is Fulham Football Club fall onto the other half of the board in the form of CEO Alistair Mackintosh and Finance Director Sean O'Laughlin. No wonder then that decisions seem to take a while under disjointed circumstances. Khan and Lamping need more help on the ground in England. A Non-Executive Director or two would give the existing directors some operational help and perspective. A few extra Fulham or Football brains in positions of influence would also help Fulham look beyond the week-to-week and towards the long term.

Postscript: Requiem for a Dutchman

Seeing a man lose his job is never great. Wishing downfall on a man is not great, but there has been something not right at Fulham for some time. Whilst his first season in charge was successful, it was largely an inherited team and club scouted additions that led the success. Fulham have never recovered from losing those key men, Murphy, Dempsey and Dembele in 2012, and Jol's tenure has only been going one way since. Comments about expectations and the fans led to alienation from the fanbase for Jol while on-pitch performances have been declining for over a calendar year (Sunderland last November was the beginning). Whilst always wanting to wish someone the best for the future, it was time for Fulham and Martin Jol to part ways and move on.

Bring on the first game of the Rene Meulensteen era, however long that is. We await news of his tenure and backroom staff. January will be crucial. Time for making excuses is over. Results must now improve. Fulham are a Premierleague club, starting on Wednesday lets all show it again. The energy has been put back into Fulham Football Club. Perhaps now we can believe again.

COYWs



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Mark Lawrenson on Fulham: Martin Jol's sacking should leave his players feeling ashamed of themselves

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

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.



Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mark-lawrenson-fulham-martin-jols-2874381#ixzz2mIADrSmG
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Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen questions part in Martin Jol's demise
Fulham head coach Rene Meulensteen says he was common denominator when manager Martin Jol and Anzhi's Guus Hiddink were sacked

Martin Jol was dismissed yesterday as Fulham manager and replaced immediately by Rene Meulensteen after Shahid Khan, the club owner and chairman, finally lost patience with Jol following a run of six successive defeats.

Meulensteen, whose arrival as head coach to work under his fellow Dutchman last month intensified speculation that a change was imminent, has agreed a contract until the end of the season. He will take over first-team duties with immediate effect, taking charge for the first time for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

"It's a massive challenge, but when you're faced with a challenge like this it comes down to making sure you get the basic things right. You need to stay mentally strong and make sure the fans are getting behind the team," Meulensteen said.

"I am confident because of the sort of experiences I've had for so many years at Manchester United I know what is required at the top end of the Premier League."This is a different challenge with different pressure. This is making sure you realise the need to keep three teams below you. Don't even speak about getting into the top six, top 10, whatever it is. You need to make sure you close your ranks, and you make sure you start winning again. We need to make sure we don't start conceding easy goals which Fulham have done in the last two games and the games before."

Meulensteen also revealed that he had talked to Jol after he had been dismissed. "I rang him straightaway. I said to Martin: 'Listen, I don't know if this is anything to do with me, but in the time I worked 12 years with Manchester United, and for five to six years with Sir Alex Ferguson, I had no problem, but I go to Anzhi and Guus Hiddink departs after two weeks, and Martin does the same.'



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/10487254/Fulham-manager-Rene-Meulensteen-questions-part-in-Martin-Jols-demise.html