martin jol's disgraceful dismissal as spurs head coach

The disgraceful dismissal of Martin Jol as the Head Coach of Tottenham Hotspur

29.10.2007

There has been much written and said regarding the latest episode going on at Spurs, all of which is worthy of the worst kind of soap opera, unlike the stuff served up by the TV companies, I can't escape this farce, that has been scripted by the board at THFC.

First things first Jol is/was very popular, has given us two fifth place finishes. He made mistakes. He is a good man, but maybe he could not take us on to the next step. This is open for debate, what is beyond debate is the shabby and underhanded manner in which this whole episode has been conducted.

The perception of contempt that they have shown to Martin Jol and the rest of us is deplorable. We live this, as fans. Let's not forget it is us, who put the money into the club, and who's club this should be.

A internal investigation as to who sent a text to Jol to say he had been dismissed, at half time, should be easy to complete. The Sun and Times broke the news on their website at half time, ITV reported this at the same time. Do you think we will ever be told !!

How Levy can say that they did not sack Jol until after the Getafe game, if true, then the action of an individual or group, is just another example of the bitter back-biting and briefing against each other going on at the club.

Levy is the figure head and ultimate decision maker. He should say, yes, we had made the final decision after the Newcastle game, approached Ramos, told him it was now or never and decided this was the direction the club wished to take.

That at least would have been progressive and shown a true step forward.

You would have thought that the club would have made sure that they conducted this business with some decorum, having already been caught with their pants down meeting Ramos, but never underestimate the contempt that this board has had for it's coach and us.

Let's look at the main characters in this. Levy as Chairman should make the decision and be decisive. I wonder what Joe Lewis thinks of the way his appointment is running the (Business) Football club.

Paul Kemsley. He says that he is a true fan and wants what's best for Spurs, but he may also want want's best for him.

Damien Comolli. A Director of Football, a position once described as the chance to play as manager without any of the accountability of failure and only the benefits of success. Pretty much sums it up. Those that can do ... those that can't, become directors of football ...

The buys this summer were awful, with the notable exception of Gareth Bale ... That is £30m wasted on average players, to compete with good and average players. Is Bent better than Keane, Defoe or Berbetov ? This answer is no.

Kaboul is better than Gardner and Rocha, but he needs to learn to defend, needs a bit more Graham Roberts and not try and be Rio Ferdinand.

If all the buys are a collective decision, as described by the club, then all parties are accountable.

The absence of Ledley King, can't be underestimated. Would we have lost the leads against Fulham, Bolton, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Getafe, Blackburn, with Ledley playing. Maybe some, but not all. Dawson looks like a stranger to his team mates without Leds alongside him.

We have been crying out for a truly creative midfield player and a defensive midfield player ... creatively we have not replaced Carrick or Mendes for that. Zokora, has a wonderful engine, but switches off far to easy and allows people to run by him at will. His passing is awful. Tom Huddlestone is in need of a major confidence boost. Trying to get this back with an array of flicks and tricks, Hoddlesque, needs to get back to basics. Pass and move Tom.

Looking forward, the appointment of Ramos may be the best piece of business that this club has done. It may not be (see one to many false dawn and messiahs at Spurs). The appointment of his own fitness coach will be a step forward (it has been rumoured that the players were unhappy about their fitness regime at training) and the removal of Chris Hughton, a wonderful servant to the club, had to happen when Jol went.

I am glad to see that Hans Segers also left. A goalkeeping coach should have identified that Robinson has technical deficiencies in his game. He does not set himself correctly when people are shooting at range, does not palm the ball away, but back into the middle of the goal. He also needs to be taught how to catch the ball from crosses not just try and punch them away. They used to spend more time playing keepy uppy than basic goalkeeping drills before each game. It is also clear that Cerny is a poor back up.

I hope that we have found our way to a top manger. I hope he does bring us all the success that we all want. Let's hope that we have made the right decision in the wrong way.

The board should now conduct themselves in the manner that befits a club of Spurs stature. Have a long hard look at yourselves, think about how this should have been done and then make the right decisions. Act with class, dignity and honesty, and if you can't, then you will continue to drag the proud name of our club through the papers.

Whilst trying to flog everything about 125 glorious years, think of Billy Nick. Think how he would have conduct himself. Manners make the man, Mr Levy.

If you can't rise to this, then I hope that Tom Kraft (owner of New England Patriots) takes a flight to the Bahamas and provides a price that is acceptable to Mr Lewis and we can have some pride and dignity ... "There used to be a football club over there" ...

PAUL LAMOUREAUX

29.10.2007

Driving to Reading yesterday, we were behind a SCBC supporter who'd decorated his car with stickers including a 'GB' plate (George Burley geddit).

Cogs started turning and after a few minutes I wondered how long it will be before Levy dusts off his 'I Shot JR' bumper sticker.

ELFRID

29.10.2007

As I know that I'm not the only Spurs fan that is experiencing a case of 'deja-vu' here, but didn't we have this Manager/DoF issue before ? Rewind back to Hoddle/Pleat ... that ended in acrimony and both parties dislike each other to this day !

So why oh why did Levy decide to keep faith with this European setup, that obviously doesn't work, and ends up with the manager being sacked instead of the DoF !

If you believe the press, Jol never got the players he actually wanted: Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stewart Downing, Petrov, but got players that Comolli and Levy plus others in the 'transfer panel' believed could do a similar job.

Jol said that he never wanted Younes Kaboul, Prince Boateng & Darren Bent (why spend £16.5m on a striker, when our strikers scored 60 goals last season and were the best attacking unit in the Premiership ?).

We all know what we need, a central defender, and attacking midfielder, and a decent full back (taxi for Lee; I know we've got Bale, but he's picking up on the Spurs injury jinx).

The problem with Jol was, is that he picked his 'favourites', even though they were having a nightmare (JJ, Lee, Lennon etc..) and we squandered oh so many leads last season and the season we nearly made the CL due to Lee and Stalteri(a.k.a. Laurel & Hardy).

I only hope Ramos has the strength to combat Comolli, otherwise it'll be another case of 'deja-vu'.

PAXTON MARK

28.10.2007

So, here we are, another home defeat, another last minute goal and another new manager.

Every three years or so this happens, a 'messiah' arrives in different forms. We have had romantics (Hoddle, Ardiles), pragmatists (Francis, Graham) and just the plain odd (Gross, Pleat). Some started well then faded, while others were just not right. Martin Jol seemed to me pretty good, I did doubt some of his buys, but it seems he didn't buy the players, while his tactics were at times questionable, but he got us to fifth and did it in a way that made us want to go the Lane once more. In short, I thought he was a decent manager, who had to work in a pretty unpleasant environment. He was also a very decent man who clearly loved the club.

And now a new manager, sorry coach, to lead us to glory. But it's not going to happen, because he is going to need what the Spurs board and some of the fans won't give him and that is time. He is going to have to do it in a rush like all the others and to be a successful in football like in everything takes time.

I read that the board are going to give him £40 million to spend in January, why ? It's only going to put incredible pressure on him to get instant results. Let's see if he can improve what he's already got. And let's give him four years more or less guaranteed. Four years to turn Kaboul, Bale and Tarabt into genuine top players. And when does buy, let him do it, not some committee. This so called European way does not work for us. Either trust his judgement or not.

But you know what in three years time I suspect we'll be here again, still searching for the messiah... glory glory indeed.

STEPHEN WILSON

27.10.2007
For Bruce Castle's view, click here.

26.10.2007

In the first sixty years of Tottenham Hotspur's history (seeing as how the club are making such a big thing of the 125th anniversary) the club had twelve managers.

The last twelve managers of this club have lasted just twenty years.

There seems to be no great desire for continuity nor for loyalty and as a "great" club in some people's eyes, I fail to see how the actions of Daniel Levy and his board of directors have lived up to this epithet. Martin Jol is a decent man, who has acted with great dignity. Yes, he is due a handsome pay off to leave the club, but even so, he has not been seen to utter a derogatory word against the club and against the instigators of his downfall especially. He is a man who can see further than the next big thing and any club looking for a manager should jump at the chance of taking him on.

Jol may not be the fully rounded package when it comes to tactics or man management, but he really knows how to conduct himself like a gentleman.

Sadly, the gentlemen of Tottenham Hotspur FC left White Hart Lane a long time ago.

MARCO van HIP

25.10.2007

So, the club decide that just before an important European game is the right time to sack their Head Coach.

Well, timing is everything and they should have made up their mind in the summer or even at the end of last season to get rid of Jol if that was what they were planning. Saying that recent results have been the reason is not good enough, as they went out to tap up Ramos after two games of the season. Why spend £40 million on players, if Comolli is really working to bring in the players the Head Coach needs, if that Head Coach won't get the opportunity to use them for long ? All that means is that Ramos will come in, have his own ideas on the players he wants and that will mean another big spend and some of the players at the club having to make way for the new Coach's own selections.

We will be going through ANOTHER season of transition and this only happens to club's with a stable managerial set-up when players grow old together and the team has to have a fresh injection of youth. With us it is almost every two and a half years when a new manager comes in. Why do we keep changing partners in an attempt to find success.

We can only hope two things.

That Martin Jol finds a club where he can thrive and who appreciate him and that Ramos will be given time to achieve what we all want. I'm not holding my breath on the second one.

PURCELL COLE