SOCCER:FULHAM HAVE succeeded where they failed last summer, by appointing Martin Jol as their manager. The move represents something of a coup in that the Dutchman has a reputation to match the size of his personality, after his positive work at Tottenham Hotspur, Hamburg and, most recently, Ajax. He arrives at Craven Cottage on a two-year contract, with the option of a third, and his capture is vindication for Fulham's persistence and foresight.
The west London club moved for Jol after Roy Hodgson’s departure for Liverpool last July and had agreed personal terms in principle on a three-year contract. Ajax, his employers at the time, had other ideas. To them, it felt like a humiliation to lose Jol to a club of which some people in Amsterdam had barely heard. They refused to allow Jol to leave.
Fulham turned their attentions to Mark Hughes and he led them to an encouraging eighth-placed Premier League finish and Europa League qualification via the fair-play table, before his shock resignation last week.
The club maintained a channel of communication with Jol, who resigned from Ajax in December, and the personal touch flattered, even startled him a little. When Hughes activated the break clause in his Fulham contract to chase what he hopes will be a bigger job, Alistair Mackintosh, the club’s chief executive, therefore knew where to turn.
Jol arrived in London late on Monday night and concluded negotiations with Mackintosh in the small hours of yesterday morning. One of Jol’s assistants will be Michael Lindeman, who worked with him at Hamburg and Ajax, and another will be his brother Cock, who has acted as a personal adviser to him in the past.
Chris Hughton, Jol’s number two at Tottenham, could join him at Craven Cottage but he would prefer a managerial post. The former Newcastle United manager had let it be known he was interested in the Fulham vacancy.
Ray Lewington will stay at the club as the development squad manager but Mark Bowen, Eddie Niedzwiecki, Kevin Hitchcock and Glyn Hodges, Hughes’s back-room staff, will leave. Fulham may have to reach a settlement with the four coaches, as each one has a year of their contract to run.
Jol had been prominent on Aston Villa’s short list, after the midlands club parted company with Gerard Houllier last week, which preceded Hughes’s resignation. But Jol has always favoured Fulham – one of the attractions, on top of a lucrative contract, being the trust the chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed, places in his managers, specifically in terms of transfer dealings.
Fayed never allots a transfer budget; he works on a case-by-case basis and he has endeavoured to give his managers what they want. It feels inevitable Robbie Keane, the Tottenham striker, with whom Jol enjoyed a strong relationship at White Hart Lane, will be linked to Fulham but the club did not want him last January or last summer, when he was available.
“Martin understands my vision for the club,” Fayed said, “and he believes in what we are striving to achieve. I know that he will dedicate himself to helping us move forward and he is with us for the long term. We have enjoyed three incredibly successful years, and my hopes and dreams for this club are for that journey to continue.”
Jol had been desperate to return to England, where he feels he has unfinished business. His three years at Tottenham were characterised by good football and significant strides yet they were also full of near misses.
Jol’s team missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day of the 2005-06 season and lost three domestic cup quarter-finals and one semi-final, as well as a Uefa Cup quarter-final in 2007. The Dutchman is not pleased by suggestions he could not beat the big teams when it mattered. It has always been in his mind to return, to prove he is a manager who can not only improve players and a club but also take the most difficult steps forward.
“I am very happy to join Fulham,” Jol said. “I could have gone to other countries but I was waiting for the opportunity to come back to England. I know a lot about the squad I have inherited . . . I enjoy watching players like Moussa Dembele, who I have known for a while, and there are a few players here I know from my time at Tottenham, like Simon Davies, Danny Murphy and Stephen Kelly. We’ve had a good conversation about players, and where we can try to strengthen and get one or two quality players.”
Fulham play the first leg of their Europa League first qualifying round tie on June 30th, with the players scheduled to report for training on June 23rd. Jol is taking a short holiday and his first day in the job will be June 20th.
GuardianService
