While some London clubs have been having their annual drama;
no names, Chelsea! Fulham, and more
importantly, Martin Jol have been going about their business.
The manager has been quietly making plans and trying to
change the mentality of a club that has under-achieved throughout it’s time in
the Premier League. I have a sneaky
suspicion that next season; they could well be the ones to watch or the
semi-surprise package if you will.
The club and owner, Mohammed Al Fayed, originally wanted Jol
as their manager following Roy Hodgson’s departure to Liverpool in July 2010,
but it wasn’t until June 2011 that they got their man. The Dutch manager became familiar with the
Premier League during his three years at Tottenham Hotspur; before his
unceremonial and unexpected sacking.
Taking over at Spurs on 8th November 2004, he
took the club to a top-half finish; with them finishing the season in ninth,
four places above where they had been when he joined them.
In two of his three completed seasons in north London; they
ended the campaign in fifth spot, thus securing a UEFA Cup slot. The fans were not happy to see him go and the
team never had another real chance of breaking into the top four until the
appointment of ‘East London God’, ‘Arry Redknapp
So far Jol has shown exactly why the west Londoners were so
keen to capture his services. When there
were rumblings of unrest in the camp regarding Bobby Zamora, he allowed the
striker to move across the capital to relegation strugglers, Queens Park
Rangers. The sale of one of the
so-called key men allowed him to show the rest of the squad who was boss and it
appears to have worked in his favour.
Since Zamora's departure in January, the Dutchman has brought in
Pavel Pogrebnyek from Stuttgart. The player scored five goals in his first
three games and became an instant hit with the Cottage faithful.
He has also started to get the best out of a group of
players who appeared to be lost for guidance and somewhat nonchalant during
Mark Hughes’ tenure, most notably Clint Dempsey. Although the American has always been a tidy
and reliable player throughout his five years at the club, this year he has
succeeded all expectations and attracted attention from the so-called ‘big
four’. His 15 Premier League goals have
lifted Fulham to a very respectable tenth in the league, while he has hit the
net 21 times in all competitions. They
sit level with a revitalised Sunderland, just one point behind Carling Cup
winners, Liverpool.
While the more experienced Danny Murphy and Damien Duff have
been made to take a back seat, there haven’t been any mumblings of discontent
as the squad pull together and look forward to future progression under Jol.
If they manage to keep their MVP Dempsey alone with regulars
such as Moussa Dembele and Brede Hangelend there would be no viable reason why
they can’t be fighting the likes of Everton and Newcastle United for those
Europa League positions or looking to take their fans to Wembley after a good
cup run.
The last final they reached was
the UEFA Europa League in 2010 under Hodgson.
A game they lost after a tiring season that took then all over Europe.
Most expected them to kick on from there but they stuttered
as they took their place on the managerial merry-go-round. That is, until the arrival of Jol who has
revitalised the hopes and expectations of the faithful Craven Cottage crowd.
Should he get Dempsey to sign another contract before his
current deal runs out in 2013, the signature will go some way to building the
future the owners believe their patience warrants. The American star admits he wants to play in
the Champions League before the end of his career and the manager will have to
use all of his husky-voiced charm to persuade the striker that’s an ambition
they can fulfil together.
With the recent appointment of Al Fayed’s son, Karim as
vice-chairman, it reiterates the notion that the family are in it for the long
haul. And they will surely expect the
same level of commitment from their manager and most valued players.
If Dempsey decides not to sign, it is likely he will receive
the same sort of reaction as Zamora did four months ago, giving Jol another
chance to show who is boss.
The manager has clearly learnt from his time at Ajax and
Hamburg and next season I believe Fulham will reap the benefits.
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