Let’s replace Martin Jol with Jurgen Klinsmann
Stuttering down Green Lanes, lost somewhere between Palmers Green, Southgate and Winchmore Hill, my dad and I passed a pub named ‘The Faltering Fullback’.
I cannot emphasize how aptly this title will resonate with Spurs fans this evening.
Following a truly shocking first half performance, in which the Lillywhites found themselves two goals down after just seven minutes – the first goal the fruit of a series of defensive lapses, including Robbie Keane and Steed Malbranque’s comical efforts to divert to safety a goalward attempt – Spurs came out in the second period requiring four goals in order to be victorious, and desperately needing to recover some sense of pride.
And, whilst eventually fighting back to gain a 2-2 draw, a series of questions must be asked about Martin Jol’s managerial credentials, for the big Dutchman’s tactical decisions and, in particular his substitutions, were no less than baffling.
Martin Jol’s tactical ineptitude has been attacked on several occasions this season, notably after the failure to keep a lead against both Arsenal and Chelsea when Spurs were in positions of absolute dominance. I, for one, stuck up for Jol with quiet indignation and jejune loyalty. However, on this occasion, I can find few positives to redeem the decisions made by the gaffer.
Albeit inconvenienced by injuries, even Jol’s starting lineup was largely suspect; Jol decided to play Pascal Chimbonda, one of the most one-footed players I have ever had the fortune to see play, at left back, a position in which he at no point looked even faintly at home.
Chimbonda’s ordinary sprawling offensive advances down the right wing were made impossible, as, stranded on the left side of the pitch, he was on countless occasions forced to cut inside, losing precious momentum. He was equally ineffective defensively, and we must wonder why it is he was preferred in this position to Teemu Tainio, who is far more able to improvise with his left foot, having filled in regularly at left midfield.
Once Spurs found themselves two goals down, many at the Lane, myself included, clamoured despairingly for a double, or even a triple, substitution. New pace and belief needed to be injected into an abject performance, and I was not alone in voicing the opinion that José Mourinho would have had the valour and the audacity to make such alterations. However, Jol made not a single substitution during an insipid first period, illumined only briefly by Dimitar Berbatov’s excellent turn and shot rebounding off the post.
Even still, many Spurs fans waited expectantly for the two teams to take to the pitch after the break, believing that, at the very least, Jermaine Defoe would be brought on in place of the pedestrian Tainio (it is worth noting that I had demanded a triple-substitution, with Chimbonda restored to right-back and Taraabt, Ifill and Defoe brought into the fray). However, to my great disbelief, Spurs started the second half unchanged.
It was not until the sixty-third minute that Defoe was brought on, with immediate effect, the England striker neatly tucking away from a set piece despite a hint of offside, with his very first touch. Galvanized, Spurs broke away again and the otherwise disappointing Aaron Lennon scrambled home an equalizer.
At this juncture, all of those around me were calling for the introduction of Taraabt, who had twice managed to wreak havoc against Chelsea when called upon by Martin Jol.
However, the next twenty-five minutes or so went by without another change and, whilst Dawson and Berbatov were both guilty of missing excellent chances, in truth Spurs never looked like completing a Liverpool-like comeback, and I am of the opinion that Martin Jol should take a significant amount of responsibility for the defeat (though he was, of course, powerless to prevent the horrendous penalty decision in Sevilla).
The only question left to ask is the following: who, if anyone, would be of high enough calibre to replace Jol, a popular and passionate manager, at the helm?
Traipsing my way through Edmonton, I could think of only two worthy candidates. The first, Mark Hughes, would be difficult to tempt down south, especially as he is considered a prime contender for the Manchester United job when Sir Alex Ferguson finally decides to spit out the chewing gum for good. This leaves, in my eyes, only one option.
The return of the prodigal son.
Jurgen Klinsmann, come on down…
- Is this Martin Jol’s last season at Tottenham?
- What could Mourinho have done at Tottenham?
- Tottenham: Levy confesses to betraying Jol
- Tottenham board members are fools for wanting to kick Jol out now
- Will removing Jol create instability at Tottenham?
Discussion - 83 Responses
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Hugo - personally, i really like Jol. One reason because he is Tony Soprano, another reason was his spat with Wenger! Did Arsene really think he could have taken the man mountain that is Jol? LOL
Anyway, the reason why I think Chimbonda was put at left back was the threat of Dani Alves. Tainio, isn’t as good a defender as Chimbonda, and would have been caught out by Alves because of Tainio’s midfield mentality. Whereas Chimbonda would be more comfortable at picking up Alves.
Unfortunately, Spurs were caught napping in the first 10-15 minutes. Sevilla started really well, straight out the blocks and were putting Spurs under so much pressure. I thought the ref was a load of donuts!
I was cheering for Spurs, but as you say the first half was shocking! But the 2nd half was much better once Spurs started to push players forward and put pressure on Sevilla.
Question for Spurs fans - Jermaine Jenas is shit, right? I mean, he’s really shit, right? Is he a holding midfielder? No. Attacking midfielder? No. Box to box player? No.
I think ur an idiot!
Best manager weve had in years - Hoddle was so great as an ex legend eh???
Admitedly Jol got it wrong last night - Chimbonda looked like a mug on the left - why Tainio ad Chimbonda didnt swap i will never know - But under Jol we play (most of the time)great football.
So once again - i think ur an idiot
Firstly, let me make this clear - I, too, love Martin Jol. He is a passionate and extremely affable man. And he cares about the club. But is he the man to win us competitions, to take us that extra step? That is my concern.
One point that I forgot to mention in the article - what was Jol smoking when he saw it fit to replace Zokora, who had been our best player in the second half up to that point???? We could have done with his runs towards the end of the game.
Not sure I agree about Jenas, but certainly believe the referee was appalling.
I just believe that the decision to play Chimbonda was a double-negative; he was not only poor defensively, but it took away one of our major attacking threats, as well as the Chimbonda-Lennon understanding that has developed over the season. Nothing against Tainio personally - he deserves to be played in position once in a while.
Thanks for your constructive comments.
Hugo,
Your an idiot, you seem to have forgotten quickly how much Jol has moved the club forward in the last few years.
All of a sudden you beleive we have the right to be a top 4 side?? He has worked wonders and I doubt many managers could do what he has.
Im not saying we should settle for being second best but its a work in progress, maybe the impact Jol has had has over inflated your short term expectations.
Zokkora came off and we scored twice in a minute??? I refer u back to my last comment
And also, I’m not an idiot. The club needs to be continually improving, and Jol is tactically inept, and will be/has been found out a few times this season. Ahmed - any bets on Mourinho to manage Spurs? Ojala…
my thoughts exactly, i would love to see Jurgen Klinsmann there one day, i cant see why because we didnt have a left back, you would move a class right back to left back and then play a midfielder as a right back, they seemed like they didnt really now where they should be positioned half the time. I like Jol, he has been a breath of fresh air but i dont think he is the man to bring back the glory days. Thats where i think Jurgen comes in, I have forseen it.
BTW If Jenas takes another free kick/corner im going to kill him
How much longer do we have to suffer this? And how much longer will people fall for it? A disguised Arsenal/Chelsea/whoever supporter claiming to have Spurs’ best interests at heart, calling for the worst thing that could happen to the club?
A few years ago, people used to fall for this type of prank hook, line and sinker, and Spurs fans were hence portayed as ridiculously fickle. Indeed some are, but lame jokes like this became old and transparent years ago.
You’re telling me that our goals had ANYTHING to do with zokora’s removal? I am tempted to call you an idiot. Tainio did nothing during the set piece which led to the first goal, nor did he play a part in the second goal. Imbécil.
Hugo - well said. I agree with the article but forget Jurgen Klinsmann.. he is not going to leave L.A…
Obv the Zokorra coming off and Defoe coming on cannot be the sole reason we scored twice - but if he hadnt done it - wou;ld we of scored twice??? u never know - oh kiss my ass
bog what have u been smoking- and more to the point what has Klinsmann ever won - no record no trophies
I regularly go in the faltering fullback - its in finsbury park…
Losing last night was in no way down to tactical ineptitude - it was down to the players performing very poorly in the 1st half!
Hugo - I’d LOVE to see Mourinho come to Tottenham to manage them - it’ll be the perfect challenge for him.
Ian Young - the author of this piece is a die-hard Tottenham fan.
Everyone else - Klinsmann did a very good job with Germany. Problem is, can he continue that throughout a season? That remains to be seen.
no way, look where we are at now people. 2 years ago we were with Man City & Villa, now look at how far behind us they are. We are improving year on year and whilst we do we cant even consider getting rid of the big man.
Hoddle was a legend too and look what happened there.
Idiot! What was wrong with the tactics last night! We were slow out the blocks and it cost us, but we could have scored 5 or 6! Berbie missed a goldern opportunity as did Dawson. It just wernt our night! I thiunk Jol got it spot on!
Oh Good Lord….. I might refer anyone calling for Jol’s head and a spurs legend to manage spurs back to other spurs legends who have “managed” the club and I do use managed in the loosest sense of the word…. Namely a mister Ossie Ardiles or a certain Glenn Hoddle.
Hugo, you’re the sort of numpty who boos the spurs players if we have a duff 5 or 10 minutes. I do honestly believe that this club would be better off without menaces like you on the terraces.
We’re still in the hunt for europe, we’ve got a strong team and a hell of a fan spirit, none of which we’ve had for a very long time. What exactly will replacing a manager who has taken us so far achieve?
Why not go the whole hog and suggest we buy sol campbell and bring back such superstars as Jose Dominguez or Ruel Fox?
I remember the bad old days, worrying if we were going to face a relegation battle or worse still having nothing to play for because we could finish 10th at best or 14th at worse, while those re mugs up the road were winning everything.
The tide is turning in north london the future is bright, it’s lillywhite!
COYS
There is an example that maybe some Spurs fans can follow. There was a manager way back in 1986, was appointed manager of a gian of a club, but had gone stale. IT took that man, 4 years to get his first taste of success, he was close, according to reports, to getting the boot. However, the board had faith in him, and could see what he was doing behind the scenes. The work done behind the scenes, helped to create this certain club into one of the biggest clubs in world football again, it was a giant amongst giants yet again. The trophies came pouring in, some of the world’s best players have played for and against this team. Th man at the helm has since become the most successful British manager of all time.
Now if anyone knows what ever happened to Alexander Ferguson, a bit of ascottish bruiser from the Govan shipyards, please let me know, would love to know what he’s doing these days! LOL
Success takes time. Even Chelsea had to wait before their Russian bank rolled success came!
Jol, has changed the style of Spurs back to what it was like with Hoddle, Waddle etc. They’re playing good football again. To be fair, he has come in and totally restructured the way Spurs operate. He’s not done this for himself, he doesn’t need or want the limelight as being Spurs messiah. He wants the club to do well, as do the fans - a common factor you see. Let him do his work, building a team doesn’t take as long as building a club, and that’s what he’s doing. He’s already laid the ground work, and Spurs have some of the best young English talent to choose from. Lennon will be massive (not literally) Huddlestone (already massive) will mature into a great player! So give the man Jol, time! There’s stilla lot of work to be done with Spurs before you see any kind of finished article.
Jol is the right man for the job and i don’t even support Spurs!
No. On top of really bad luck in both games for the opening Sevilla goals, Sevilla knew exactly how to start the game against a completely injury ravaged defence and knowing that one away goal would change the course of the game. Add to that the real misfortune of an own goal and we were of course in shock at the realisation of suddenly needing 4 goals, when 1-0 would have won it on the night.
Only things I would question would be why Jenas stayed on so long and wasn’t taken off instead of Zokora. He has been really disappointing lately.
Overall, BMJ has done well for us this season which would be 2 good seasons in a row. When did we last do that? Consider teams like Everton, West Ham, Boro and Leeds whom after a good season subsequently struggled badly. Leeds were relegated before the sold their stars, Everton flirted with relegation last season after qualifying for champs league, and Boro have never regained the form from when they qualified for UEFA. We’ve shown, even after losing Carrick (he had to go for that money especially as he wanted to go) and King to injury that there is real substance in the team and BMJ is managing them well. Managerial consistency is essential, sacking BMJ would be a disaster and send a young progressing team in to disarray! BMJ knows the squad really well now and hopefully will strengthen again in defence over the summer.
Maybe Jol, in heindsight, made some mistakes.
But don’t forget he was the one who got us in europe, got us the semi’s of the carling cup and the the quaters of the FA and Uefa cup and brought the highest quality football the lane has seen for at least 10 years.
All in all, Hugo you are either an idiot or a gooner.
Theres on one real replacement id take and that would be Hiddink. If we ever did go for someone id like it to be him, hes proven where Klinnsamn isnt it. Wed have to push the boat out to get him but hed be worth it. Mourinhio would have me sleeping in my seat i fear with the shiit they play over there. Van Gaal is doing a great job at AZ too, he wants a move tot the prem, id be tempted.
Last night our defence was decimated. King patently unfit (Still he grew as the game wore on), Chimbonda out of position and exposed, and Tainio not a defender. It was a shame but there was little else Jol could do. Lee’s injury has shown his true value to us, he moves the ball quickly and is a constant menace down that flank, it’s just a shame he can’t cross with his left foot. I would have been tempted to play Jenas at right back rather than Tainio, as JJ cannot dominate a game in the middle. He is ponderous and takes too many touches before releasing. The game slows when the ball comes to him. Malbranque had a woeful game, and Lennon only perked up when on the left. In the first half we were pretty awful, only coming to life after the 40 minute mark, and a lot of this was our midfields inability to get to grips with the game. Huddlestone is made for European competition and would have been wonderful last night, but we still need a general in there that can take the game by the scruff of the neck. Who is there? Still atmosphere in the second half was excellant, and had Dawson or Berbatov scored with presentable chances, we could be crowing today. Still as the guy two seats from me was overheard saying, ‘This is Tottenham, we can’t expect anything else…’ How true, we appear alwys destined to dream of what could have been….At least there is entertainment, which is preferable to grinding out boring results Chelsea-style in my opinion…
When will people realise that it is Comoli and Levy doing the great job with our squad??
Jols a good manager and should be given time… but the squad, thats a credit to mr comoli.
Anyway, can we expect the same sort of opportunites next year as we’ve wasted last night? YES… WHY… BECAUSE WE ARE A TOP CLASS TEAM… now when can you remember being able to say that out loud and belive it?
A little patience… if you build it, it will come.
Zakora has been one of our weakest players all season. Jol clearly made the right decissions at the right time. Plus Zokora had been running his socks off all night. JJ didn’t have a good game, but did put in a few good challenges after Zokora went off.
You people need to remember that not so long ago we needed Jurgen to come and stop us from being relegated. now, under the current administration, we are top four contenders.
I can’t believe that any Spurs fans would be niiave enough to think that changing the manager will take us any further down the line than we are at the moment. We have improved year on year, and, while i was as disappointed as anyone that no left footers were signed in the January window (thankful that we didn’t get that waste of space Downing, though!!), you cannot fault BMJ and the Board’s commitment to improving the club. Some of the signings they have made have been pure inspiration (Lennon £4m, Berbatov £10m - both now in the European market worth around 4 times what we paid).
As a collective we just need to be patient and as the team matures together, the performances will just get better and better.
I’m very proud of what our club has achieved in the last two seasons, and I still think this experience will push the players on to get back in the tournement next year.
That must be some of the most stupid reading I’ve done in years. We’re finally starting to get somewhere, and some fans just seem to be plain stupid and demand a trophy only 2 years after Jol took command over a team of mediocracy.
We’ve progressed to the quarters of the UEFA and FA cup, semi’s in the League cup and are still battling for 5th. How can you doubt this man? Clearly we’re going in the right direction. Should we risk sacking Jol because of the urge for instant success?
And, talking about tactical decisions? We played King for the first time in 4 months, how can you defend a 3 man sub. from the beginning of 2nd. half? One injury, or King getting tired and we’d definitely be screwed.
If you want a Spurs legend behind the wheel, you’ll have one in 5 years: Martin Jol, a legend in the making. Heck, to me he’s already a legend. He’s built a squad of talented players, got rid of a lot of deadwood, and now Spurs seem to progress as a club. This is more that other Spurs legends have done. They’ve been great on the pitch, but not as great as managers.
Long Live Martin Jol
COYS!!!
Firstly Conor is spot on, especially the comments regarding Jenas.
Hugo are you saying that we should replace a good/great manager with a ‘name’? Spurs have proved already (better than most) that installing people who have had good playing careers at Spurs don’t make good, successful managers. It is difficult to prove Klinsmann was the reason behind Germany’s half success at the last world cup. So basically he has achieved nothing. Therefore I am assuming that you really do think Martin Jol is poor. This is clearly not the case apart from a few minor discrepancies (Jenas, Chimbonda).
The Jenas factor remains unclear to everyone who has ever watched football but although I was mortified to see Zokora taken off I would assume Jol has based the decision on the fact that Jenas has scored 7 goals this season to Zokora’s none. That can be the only reason.
Conor has answered the question about why Chimbonda played left back.
I do agree that the tactical changes took too long to occur although I think the players must take more responsibility for their running off the ball. Swapping Lennon and malbranque before halftime would have been a sensible gamble.
Overall we were exposed last night in terms of overall quality and experience. We were playing a team who is 2nd in the Spanish league. You cannot fluke 2nd; you can fluke 4th or 5th. The quality across the pitch showed and I felt at 2-2 they still held their own and had chances. In terms of experience we could look solely at Steed. That was probably the biggest game of his life last night. No international caps and a handful of UEFA games = nerves, especially if you are playing out of position and are one footed (oh that implies to Chimbonda too!). The result is cheap goals which in europe is punished. I can understand the desire for Taraabts introduction but I don’t feel he is ready for that sort of game. The result last night was exacerbated by the fact that Seville played poorly in the 1st leg and so we were lulled into a false sense of security and that we could beat Seville and possibly not concede a goal.
The fact remains we are not the finished article. We are however the closet we have been to competing at this level for possibly 25 years. Jol is a factor in that. Indeed it was his tactical prowess that gave us the healthy lead at Chelsea. How was he to know that Mido was would be so poor when he replaced Berbatov? We have 6 games left to play where we can ensure UEFA qualification again. This would actually be an improvement on last season as we have improved the squad and competed well in both the league and cups. This has also been done without arguably our most valuable player Ledley King who has missed over 20 games this season.
I’m not completely blind either though and we need to buy left sided players all summer. Taraabt is a great addition but still isn’t an out and out left footed player. Also offload Mido (oh Freddie K why did you choose to be injury prone and Malian whilst at Spurs!) and Defoe who I thought apart from the goal looked lacking in quality in every facet.
In summation I still think we are going forward but we need to be realistic and that we aren’t a top 5 club yet but we have a chance to get amongst it, given time and if we sell Jenas!
Oh yes and I have drunk in the Fullback. Nice place although the beer garden is a little small.
I dont believe we should get rid of Jol but I too watched the game and was dissapointed. The win was dissapointing but it was more Jol. As said we should have put three strikers on from the moment that second goal went in. Then after Zokora had made some great runs (i hadnt even seen jenas did he play last night (oh yeah he wasted that free kick like a mug)) we took him off!?
We are a team in the making, young players learning the game and were getting better. Same can be said of Jol’s management in England and every mistake he makes he is hopefully learning from.
So lets not sack him but get behind the team and get 5th plave and its on the cards if we beat arsenal to steel 4th. So come you yids!?
Conor - Well said that man…. I could not agree with you more, as a season ticket holder for the last five years I have seen nothing but progression since Jol took control, yes at times his tactical decisions can be questionnable however many of those spurs fans (including the editor of this piece) should consider the bigger picture, i.e. the type of players he is trying to attract and what he is building at the Lane. It would be so simple to do a Bolton and bring in players at the end of the road, pay them a handsome wage in the hope of a quick fix… We have had some shite in charge of our club over the years including (i am sorry to say) Mr Hoddle.. Fighting for Europe, FA cup and UEFA cup quarters plus league cup semis… I defy anyone to question that we are not taking massive steps in the right direction…
Hugo - As mentioned by others on here, you are infact a class A idiot and one that I am ashamed to stand next to at the Lane.
Incidentally, I didn’t boo Spurs once last night. I stayed until the final whistle, unlike the hordes of fans desperate to get out of the stadium when there were still seven or eight minutes left. I departed White Hart Lane deflated and distinctly hoarse from the shouting.
By the way - does anyone know why it was so empty behind the goal, next to the Sevilla fans? I was expecting a sell-out.
i started reading this article, though didn’t finish it so forgive me if you have done an about face later on. let’s have a bit of perspective; we were without the bulk of our defensive squad last night, we conceded an early freak goal which had the further knock on of disturbing the team’s mental state. even fergie would have struggled to control that. utd had the result of champs league history on tuesday, but it might have been very different had totti’s early effort gone in. BMJ has taken us steps forward in each of his 2 & 1/2 seasons in control, i for one, feel very optimistic about next season already. lay off the big man, wipe your nose and grow up. we still have euro places to play for in the league and the team will require our support to achieve these… and the chance to spank the goons - of whom, i would rather our situation than there’s. let’s get behind the team not slate them at the first opportunity. with a little twist of fate (& some better refereeing) we could have had a massively successful season and you’d have been singing the big man’s praises.
replacing jol after one loss, all the great teams have nights like that, its a learning curve, ferguson said so the other night about how the 7-1 win was a result of the younger players learning during the 2-0 loss to milan
saying this however if jol was to go i know who id want klinsmann great tactician for germany no reason why he couldnt do the same for spurs
Total rubbish, a knee jerk reaction.
Jol is an excellent manager that deserves more time. I find it amazing that people are so prepared to juggle managers around, when that’s been the major factor stopping us progressing. Finalyl we get a good one, and you want him out?
Just stupid. and for Klinsmann? WHat has he done exactly? Seriously, what has he done at club level?
You have no idea what you’re talking about
Am I missing something here? Three times this season we have been on the brink of some thing big and three times we have thrown it away.Last nights performance was a disgrace.Lets not kid ourselves,it was obvious that the spaniards felt they had done enough to win the tie in the first half and sat back to defend their lead.Why did Jol need to make two fullback changes,the decision to play Ledley when he was clearly not fit backfired,and was comfirmed by Ledley him self after the game.I personnally cannot see the reason to continually playing Jenas in any role in the side,he has been with us for almost 3 years and I can count on one hand the good perfomances he has put in during that time.Yet Jol persists in playing him.Maybe this one we be more controversal,how many times are we going to hear,”Don’t forget Arron Lennon is only a kid”.Lennon will never any better that he is now! He has been playing premiership football for three years now,bravery is somthing you are born with and he is very lacking in that department.During last nights game I noticed it was 36 mins before he took the ball around the full back.Everybody in football knows all you have to do is hit him hard early on and he goes missing.Oh to have a Mourinio there last night.Do you think Defoe would have sat on the bench until the 65th min when we needed 4 goals? witness his actions at Stamford Bridge in the F.A Cup against us.Great managers back their judgements when making changes,unfortunatly nothing I have seen so far tells me Jol is any better at this than Hoddle,Francis,or even Venables.Surely the role of a sub.should be to change a part of the game that is clearly lacking.Mourinio will take off any player that is not performing at anytime during the game.
Oh my god what absolute rubbish, marc hughs went out of the uefa cup with a fully fit squad much earlier than we did,no one is calling for his head at blackburn, jurgen has managed 35 games some friendlies included,chimbs had to play left because tainio would have been murdered by alves, it shows you know nothing about football find another sport please we dont need people like you at spurs with your agenda, jol has taken us from near relegation to uefa hopefulls, we need slow progress not one season wonders ala leeds, oh and zokora came off because we needed goals how many has he scored this season eh
Smooth and Round - you are a cock mate, plain and simple, Aaron Lennon is only a kid and will improve with age, the boy is a very obvious young talent which is why he has a £20m price tag on his head, you people are exactly why we stutter…. try SUPPORTING your team and not criticising every 5 minutes and we might get somewhere.
Hugo, I’ve read this top to bottom and many other “MJ out” when a result doesn’t go our way. Sorry but you’re wrong.
How many people wanted Jol’s head when we had an unsteady start to the 06/07 season, then look what happened before after Christmas. Look at the bigger picture. 7th in league, a game in hand, three good cup runs. We ARE progressing.
Quick fixes have been our downfall in the past.
It’s now a joy to come into work the day after a match and find Chelski, Manure and Arse fans have all wathched our games and say how well we’re playing.
You could physically touch the joy of UEFA qualification at the end of last season. I’ve never heard “MJ Blue Army” sung so loud and for so long. But now, because we went out at Qtr Final stage we should sack MJ. Get real.
Jol got the tactics wrong (as he has done on other occasions) but is still the man for the job. chimbonda out of position was a disastrous decision. needed subs earlier and not for Zokora.
but where is the passion of the players. only keane really charged round with any effort (albeit wasted).
think too many of them are believing the hype, or spending too long with our “skills trainer” learning fancy flicks that dont pay off (lennon).
anyway, now they need to get over this fast and qualify for Europe next year so they can learn from this and do better next year.
The faltering fullback is no where near green lanes, its in finsbury park, good link though
I don’t think Jol should be the one we blame for our loss to Seville, for me it was Seville’s superior quality in virtually every department. Our defensive frailties were immediately shown up by the slightest bit of movement by any Seville player. Our midfield is frankly apawling. Jenas is an absolute calamity, what does he do? He’s a supposedly attacking midfielder, yet I rarely see him near the oppositions penalty area. I haven’t seen a good cross from him all season an I’ve got a season ticket! Lennon is either really off-form or he’s lost the element of suprise he had last season, cast your mind back to the 1-1 draw last season at the Library where he was continually skining Clinchy, yet this season were lucky if Lennon beats a player once a game. I hate to say it but against Seville we really missed Carricks compusure and ability to split open a defence with a killer ball. Berbatov an Keane were isolated right from the start, largely due to the lack of a real attacking mielfiler to link the midfield and the forwards.
Overall we lost to Seville as they had much better players than us! SIMPLE (Kanoute was a gr8 player at spurs! Its a pity no-one else could see it)
WILL U ALL STOP TALKING RUBBISH ABOUT SAYIN KLINSMAN SHOULD BRE THE NEXT MANAGER, HE HAS ONLY 1 MANAGEMENT JOB IN HIS LIFE, IN A COMPETITION IN WHICH HIS TEAM WERER PLAYING AT HOME SO WAT MAKES U DUMMY’S THINK HE CAN HANDLE RUNNING A FOOTBALL TEAM FROA SEASON WITHOUT ANY TYPE OF EXPERIENCE IN RELATION TO THIS, AND IF HE DOES TAKE OVER AN HAS A FEW BAD RESULTS ULL BE THE SAME IDIOTS WHO WILL SAY HE SHOULD GO OR IT WAS BETTER WHEMN MJ WAS THERE. B4 MJ TOOK OVER WHERE WERE WE….. NOWHERE NEAR LOOKING AT EUR AND HES IS STILL GETTIN IT RIGHT, SAY HE HAS MADE SOME MISTAKES BE HE IS NO DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF THAT TO SOME OVER THE OTHER MANAGER IN THE TOP POSITIONS IN THE PREMIERSHIP OR EURO. LORD KNOW WAT ULL BE SAYING IF HE WON THE PREMIERSHIP LAST SEASON AND GOING THROUGHT THIS. THATS WHY WE’LL NEVER GO 4WARD COS WE’RE NEVER PATIENT AND ALWAYS JUMPING THE GUN. JUST SHUT UP. WE HAD A WEAK DEFENCE DUE TO INJURIES, NO LEFT BACK IN TIRED AND ONE INJURIED CENTER BACK BUT U FOOLS ARE STILL COMPLAINING IF WE’RE IN THE SAME SITUATION IN 2 SEASONS TIME THEN U CAN OPEN UR BIG MONTHS AND CRY NOT NOW, IVE BEEN A SPURS FAN ALL MY LIFE AN I WONT LET U CRAZY DUMMYS MAKE ENJOY THE FACT THAT WHETHER U UNDERSTAND IT OR NOT THE CLUB IS GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
What is wrong with you! Best manager weve had for decades! Admittedly we lack quality in midfield all the time and in defence we were incredibly liable to attack last night, however under Jol weve seen some of the best quality football I’ve ever seen at the lane. The one person who I feel deserves any sort of blame is Malbranque! No explanation neccesary.
Hugo, I won’t stoop to personal accusations, but you are very very wrong and your conclusions make no sense.
Your article says last night was because of Martin Jol’s tactical ineptitude, but then one of your follow-up comments says the players didn’t perform for the first 20 minutes last night. Without that 20 minutes, which you imply wasn’t Jol’s fault, we’d be through to the next round and you wouldn’t have written this article. That doesn’t make sense.
Jol leaving is the LAST thing Spurs need right now, literally. I’d rather lose Berbatov that Jol. He understands Spurs, he understands our traditions and he understands the way we play football: push and run.
You seem to have willingly blinded yourself to several facts too:
Until we met Sevilla, Spurs had won every single game they had played in Europe this season. That is a record for any English club.
Sevilla are currently the best team in Spain, better than Real Madrid and Barcelona. For the team currently lying 7th in the Premiership to push them all the way and only fail because of their own mistakes is pretty commendable.
Last season we played 40 games total and came 5th. This season we will have played nearly 70 by the end, and we will still qualify for Europe, not to mention only just falling to big teams like Arsenal, Chelsea and Sevilla in the semis and quarters of major cup competitions.
Our back line last night was made of brown paper and string for the first 20 minutes: we had a central midfielder at right back, a right back at left back, and a centre-back who hadn’t played since Boxing Day and was clearly not match-fit. We were always going to be vulnerable for the first 15 minutes unless we had Sevilla on the back foot, which we didn’t.
Spurs are on the way up. We have a stronger squad, a better manager and better players than we have had for years. We have promising youngsters coming through that we’ve bought in (like Taarabt) and developed through the Academy (like Lee).
Things are looking bright for Spurs like they haven’t since… I can’t even remember. And you want Jol to go?
Other people have called you an idiot. I’ll just let your article speak for itself.
I accept your criticism, though I refuse to retract my comments (though on reflection, I may have been a little bit harsh). You are all, after all, entitled to an opinion, and we are all selecting whatever information best suits our opinions in order to formulate an argument (well, some of us - no names need be mentioned - aren\’t formulating an argument at all, but are just reacting with pure emotion and little reason).
I for one believe that most of the credit for our current success should go to: (a) Levy, who has financed some excellent purchases, (b) Comoli and Arnesen before him, who have spotted the Lennons and Huddos, and (c) to the PLAYERS themselves, who have performed extremely well (OTHER THAN THE FIRST TWENTY MINUTES LAST NIGHT, before one of you puts forward such a retort). I am also not alone in believing that Jol\’s refusal to dip substantially into the transfer market last christmas cost us that fourth spot.
Incidentally, I didn\’t boo Spurs once last night. I stayed until the final whistle, unlike the hordes of fans desperate to get out of the stadium when there were still seven or eight minutes left. I departed White Hart Lane deflated and distinctly hoarse from the shouting.
By the way - does anyone know why it was so empty behind the goal, next to the Sevilla fans? I was expecting a sell-out.
Finally - I notice you have all conveniently ignored my suggestion of Mark Hughes for Spurs\’ manager. Now Mark Hughes, before moving to Blackburn, had
no credentials other than having revolutionized the Wales team, just as Mr Klinsmann did for Germany.
Oh and finally, the title that Ahmed has given this article is NOT mine. The phrase \’real Tottenham legend\’ misrepresents my feelings, suggesting
that Hoddle or Ardiles were not real legends, or that my main reason for selecting Klinsmann is his legend status.
A bit harsh, aren’t you guys?
The title was my choice, and now I’ve changed it accordingly with Hugo’s wishes…
I think almost everyone has over-reacted to Hugo’s suggestions.
Klinsmann is very under-rated - he will return to management hopefully and will do a great job with whichever club and country he starts with.
Should he come next season? Maybe.
But supporting Jol just because he has brought Tottenham out of the quagmire ignores the possibility that he might not be good enough to take Tottenham to the next level.
Tottenham probably have the time to wait and see. I, like Hugo, would probably wish for a change in management next season to help Tottenham cement their 5th place and push on forward to CL status.
I think that Spurs do have the most talented squad outside the top four (along with Newcastle) and they should be challenging for the 4th place.
If they’re not, there’s a problem with the management.
Can Jol hack it? We can wait and see, or Spurs can act now and ensure that they’ll make it.
Do not underestimate the resources Jol has available to him at Tottenham.
Having said all that - I don’t intend any disrespect to what Jol has achieved and I think that he’s a good manager.
Not one to keep a team consistently in the top four though.
I must say that most of the comments above seem to me to be very sensible, except the idea that we should sack BMJ.Like most of you I may not agree with all of our managers tactical moves but surely we have to look at the bigger picture. In my view it was always ambitious for us to win something this year, and I have to say I doubt that we will win anything next year! We do have the backbone of a good side and with Robbo., Ledley and Berba, plus the best batch of young talent in the football league! but it takes time to gel, and we do need to strengthen a few areas, including the dreaded left side.
But stick with it, the support this season has been fantastic and if we hold our nerve I can see us being a genuine top 6 side in 2009!
Much like when you see a car crash, you can’t help looking..same applies here, a load of idiots writing drivel, but you can’t help but read the drivel. Yes there was a degree of tactical naivity and coming to terms with an inforced improvised back four last night which was exploited superbly by Seville in the first 20 minutes. I’m not sure anybody expected them to coming flying out the way they did last night. However as the game progressed the all new defensive line up improved greatly, King got himself back into the swings of things very quickly after the shock of the first ten minutes. Jol clearly had a word with Chim and the dithering on the ball stopped and he was pushing forward (on his wrong side) with positive results, ditto Tainio, who I thought had a good game out of position. Yes Jenas had a bit of a stinker and I’ve never been his greatest fan but it’s funny how our recent spell of good form has coincided with his return. Watch the running and work he does off of the ball before you start looking for scapegoats. Get rid of BJM shall we, great idea…what kind of f**kin’ idiot are you…I seem to recall similar comments after the semi defeat against the Gooners, no one seemed to complain when we went onto score 87 goals in the next 8 games with exciting free flowing football?? And you smooth and round, having a pop at Lennon, he was probably the single most influencial player for us in the second and apologies on behalf of the boy for not being able to run his b0ll0cks off for 90 minutes every single game, well forget all the great things his done this season and the number of full backs that have been left in his wake.
We learnt a harsh lesson, we got stiched up by some shocking refereeing and got beat by a very impressive and clued up team (yes by clued up I mean being able to cheat to great effect). A bit of luck and we’d be on our wat to Osasuna. Btw, anybody wanna buy a flight to Northern Spain on the 26th??
We can forget about winning trophy as long as Martin Jol is in charge. That is the fact!!!!! Stupid decision against Arsenal, Chelsea and Sevilla shows how good he is. He will make the same mistake when we play Arsenal next week.
What’s the point of having the backbone when most of them will leave in a year or two. Look at Michael Carrick now, he was ordinary playing for us but world class for MU.
We need Klinsmann or Lippi if want to win trophy.
Hugo, you and whoever else doubts Martin Jol are complete no-brainers. Recently its become everyones thing to look back on our bad performances and then pick out what we did wrong. MJs is definitely the best manager we’ve had for over decade and hes made great progress with an underachieving team.
Over the last few years we’ve all seemed to forget what we were from around 92-04 a complete waste of time, not challenging for anything. Now we have a great backbone of English players alongside wonders such as Berbatov n Zokora.
Noone stood up after Spurs bt chelsea 2-1 n say how Jol outwitted Mourinho by playin 4-5-1 at 1-1. Switchin Keane from CF to LM and Lennon from LM to RM, how was our second goal scored……… thats right. I agree some decisions he makes are strange but he has done so much good for THFC and we must not be ungrateful. It is impossible to go from 0-10 in 3 years and we have made so much progress
Oh, just a little point - Blanchflower, you stated that Sevilla are the best team in Spain at the moment. I’m afraid you are also wrong. Barcelona remain the best team in
Oh, just a little point - Blanchflower, you stated that Sevilla are the best team in Spain at the moment. I’m afraid you are also wrong. Barcelona remain the best team in the country, and were it not for a considerable amount of uncertainty (many, including Balague, believe that Rijkaard has already announced his resignation, and we all know what happened when Bobby Robson did the same), would be dominating to a further extent. I personally do not believe that Sevilla’s squad matches up to Valencia’s (especially as the latter have had several injuries), but Sevilla certainly looked a distinctly average side without Jesus Navas, with only Kanoute appearing to be a cut above.
If Rijkaard has already announced his resignation, we should get him and put Martin Jol as his assistant.
At least they speak the same language.
what a load of crap. jol is best manager weve had in years. where were we b4 he came along. mid table and not looking to go any better. since jol has been at the club weve transformed into a top six team, very nearly top 4 and now u want rid of him. ur having a laugh, last season he took us to brink of champions league, this season he has done wonders, semi final and 2 quarter finals and look at the sides weve crashed out too, no disgrace in that and were still sitting pretty in the league and expect us to finish 5th or sixth. could of been better if not for our poor start but were not used to playing all these football matches so again u can understand. jol is great and has done a great job and i cant wait to see what he does next year and who he buys. challenging top 4 next season i reckon
Good article Hugo. Ignore the abusers. Glorious failure last season with Grade A excuse (food poisoning), not quite so glorious failure this year with Grade B excuse (Injuries to Players) and a manager who is quoted as saying that if we do the same again next year it will have been a successful year. I cannot see how this is regarded as progress.
To those who keep harping on about Alex Ferguson, it probably escaped your notice, being Southern nancies, that there have been a number of other factors in his success like Brian Kidd, Steve McClaren (yes he was brilliant as a number 2 in domestic football) and now Carlos Quieros…old sourpuss didn’t do it all on his own. So if we want to keep everybody happy, why not keep Jol as the affable face of interviews and get a coach who knows how to play football in to take charge of the team with a view to succeeding Jol at some future point when we win the Premiership. Then everyone can say “I told you so”.
I doubt it will happen and I fully expect the next round of the Jol out campaign to start again around the middle of november next season….any takers?
Fair play Hugo, maybe an over reaction calling you an idiot..you do appear to be fairly intelligent and arcticulate in your comments. I really do not see what the point is in discussing a replacement for Jol because we lost a very good team in whats proving to be a very decent UEFA Cup?? I for one was critical after our little wobble at the turn of the year and went as far as having a hissy fit and not turning up for the Bolton game. I like lots of others have other have been proven wrong. We’ve gone on a great run since and even in our defeats have impressive against top class opposition. BJM least you forget is still learning and I’m more than happy to carry on sharing the learning experience…anyway Glagsow’s not very glamarous, lets wait for somewhere sunny next year!
Some of you guy’s make me laugh, I’m certainly sure you’ve never been to a game. We have made it to two quarter finals and a semi final.
The league cup was effectively given away by Robinson coming of his line when he should have stayed home for the Ar&^)&l equaliser at the lane. Was that MJ’s fault?
At Chelski 3-1 up Berbatov was subbed because he had picked up an injury. Was that MJ’s fault?
Seville away, a muppet of a ref game a stupid penalty, was that MJ’s fault? Branc sliced a ball into our own net was that MJ’s fault. Last night there was a clear penalty for Zakora that wasn’t given, was that MJ’s fault?
Lets face it, we have played half a season without our captain. we have had loads of injuries in all the other defensive positions and a goal keeper that has be off form for most of the season.
MJ and Camoli have transformed the team in just two years, believe me we are not that far away from a top 4 side. What we need more than anything is stability and making stupid suggestions like let’s get rid of the best manager we’ve had in years isn’t going to help.
The crowd sang MJ\’s blue and white army for 15mins after half time- he is the man, we are going places, our defense was a complete bodge job and Seville are right up the top of La Liga (the 2nd best league in the world)). He\’s got no hair, but we dont care!
It’s amazing how people want to get rid of a manager who is rebuilding a team that lost its best player last season named Carrick. When it clearly still doesn’t have the perfect squad o challenge for a single trophy (i.e the defence lacks back up, no left wingers). Remember people it took Fergie some time to win the league. rome wasn’t built in a day! You spurs fans should be more patient and look at the bigger picture….Jol if he can kepe his current crop togther and add to it is building towards a giant in about 2 seasons time…
Hugo…
Almost all of the comments here are a knee-jerk reaction to a criticism of Martin Jol and Tottenham. Unfortunately most people aren’t willing to discuss their club’s own failings.
You are, and for that I respect you
Now, who’s it gonna be Hugo - Hughes, Klinsmann or Mourinho?
Ahmed Sacker
I’m only eighteen and my Spurs life is still quite young, unfortunately i wasn’t alive to witness the glory glory days and instead been served up with dribble since i was a little nipper down at the lane. Years and years of disapointment and dreams dashed ever year. And although this year is no different in a way, it has most definately been the best year of my Spurs life and i see it as being a late stage in our development under Jol, we are not far away. I think we have to keep the faith in Martin Jol, think of David Pleat, Christian Gross and even Hoddle (who will always remain a Spurs legend) and look at where we are now.
The Giant Has Woken.
IF we had had the own goal scored against us it may have been a lot different and you might now be praising Martin Jol.
IF we had NOT had the penalty against us last week it may have been a lot different and you might now be praising Martin Jol.
IF we had had the penalty last that we should have had it may have been a lot different and you might now be praising Martin Jol.
IF the dog hadn’t stopped to crap it might have caught the rabbit!
Good post Hugo. The threat to the club are not fans like you but numpties who are content with second best. We are a mile away from top 4, get real lads. Jol is a nice guy, but does not have the cutting edge. I don’t think he can be or should be sacked, after all we have progressed since he took over, but we won’t win anything with him if he does not get foxier.
For you numpties heralding Jol as a hero, if you’re happy with being the third club in London, then you are not a Spur. In the long run we’ll have to wait for a Ferguson type of metamorphosis or we’ll need someone else.
I was at the 91 FA Cup final and it pains me to think about how long ago that was. Why are you content with a few good cup runs? Wouldn’t you like to see your team challenge for the league. I’d like to see it in my lifetime.
I’m sorry Hugo, but I have to disagree with you. Whilst I agree with you that last night’s first half performance was horrendous, it is well worth remembering that in just TWO seasons, Jol has done more good for the Spurs cause than the club’s last FOUR managers PUT TOGETHER! Ok, so he hasn’t brought any silverware to the lane yet, but Rome wasn’t built in a day, so calling for the Jol’s head is totally unreasonable. Look at the history of the club for a moment. For years, previous managers have wasted millions of the club’s money on players that had no business calling themselves Premiership footballers. These players lacked the talent, the desire, and more importantly, the passion to play for Spurs. The evidence of this? I think that wasting £20 million on Rebrov and Postiga collectively over the years is evidence enough. Now let’s consider our current position. Since taking over from Santini, Jol has cut out the dead wood (Pamarot, Atouba, Edman, ring any bells?) that Santini left behind, and has set about building a team of players that are worthy of pulling on a Spurs shirt. (Berbatov, Zokora, Chimbonda, just to name a few).
Spurs ARE going places, Hugo, and in a couple of more years, they WILL be a force to be reckoned with again, but it all takes time. Look at the first few years that Alex Ferguson spent at Man Utd. It took him a few seasons, but he built a quality team, and now, Man Utd are recognised as the most successful Premiership team ever. Jol is in the process of doing the same thing that Fergie did when he first joined United - Laying the foundations of future greatness. We just need to give him time.
I haven’t read all the posts on here but after reading the main text, I have to say that Jol has my backing all the way. I see some some Spurs fans already trying to rely on a teenager. I think Zokora was the wrong player to take off as he was making some great runs. A lot of the press have been having a dig at King but that is just easy as he has just come back, but in all honesty, he was our best defender. Keane is starting to look like our weak link. Use Defoe against the Pie Eaters and see what he can do after he has the confidence of a goal behind him.
Hugo, you’re entitled to your opinion….we all are, that’s the fun of football after all. However, the major reason why Spurs have been so inconsitent over the last thirty to forty years is because we have gone through managers quicker than Ulrikka goes through boyfriends. Some people were crying for Jol’s head earlier in the season when we had a bad run….then he was a god once again when we strung a few victories together. The sooner we all realise that he is a decent manager and should be allowed to have the confidence of knowing that he has everybody’s backing then the sooner we will have some chance of breaking into the top four of the Premiership. I and my pals were gutted last night but simplistically calling for the manager’s head just will not prevent those sorts of results under somebody else. Have some faith for God’s sake….get behind him over the next couple of seasons and stop the carping….he can be our next managerial hero if we remain patient and loyal.
No Ahmed- the kneejerker here is Hugo.
Its idiots like him who give us (Spurs fans) the fickle reputation we have.
Fact is that if we get Euro football through the league again on top of our good cup runs then we have moved forward, as it not only shows we have the squad to fight on multiple fronts but that after 15 years of abject league form we are getting some kind of consistency.
Replacing Jol would be madness- luckily our club isnt run by kneejerks like Hugo.
Oh and the reason for Chimbonda being on the left? Jol quite rightly wanted a proper defender up against Alves- who is arguably Sevilles greatest creative threat.
Hugo, you’ve got to realise that real life is not like championship manager, when something goes slightly off cue you don’t make drastic changes. Jol deserves as much credit as anyone, if Berba doesnt score for 5 games will you be making articles called ‘Let’s replace Berbatov with Luca Toni’.?
Its a great relief that its only a small % that feel the same way as you otherwise we would be the laughing stock of the league.
Duncan has made the best remark so far ‘Its idiots like him who give us (Spurs fans) the fickle reputation we have.’
This ‘critic culture’ is pathetic
My god, is this really the kind of level we have been reduced to? We lose one game (that we might have won if things had gone just a bit more in our favour over the two legs) and we call for our manager to be sacked?!? It beggars belief that anyone could be so naive and reactionary. It’a hardly fair to compare Mohrinho to Jol when one can bring on the likes of Joe Cole, Kalou etc and we can only bring on the likes of Gardner. Servilla are a top side, challenging Barca at the mo in the primera ligue so get some perspective. Don’t start talking about tactics and formations that you so obviously know nothing about.
mate, get a life. you really need to open your eyes and see the light. yes, we should of finished arsenal off in the league cup. yes, we should have finished chelsea off in the F.A. cup. and yes, we should have finished 4th last season. but look at the squad, the average age of the team is something like 22. how can you expect a squad with the average age of 22 to compete at the highest level constantly? we have a strong young squad that is deff going places.
im only 16, so i never witnessed the glory days. the best i remember is the league cup victory. but im still smart enough to see that martin and the team are going places and with damien comolli and daniel levy.
im a season ticket holder at paxton road, i got it last year when we played some of the best football ive ever known us to play in a good 10years. and i bet, any money you want, that you were on the terraces last season singing oyur heart out to martin jol and the boys.
done get me wrong, we’re not the most perfect squad. and i can see where we need improving. but martin jol is DEFF not one of them.
get your toungue outta your mates arse and learn some sense. we are on our way to big things.
with chimbonda playing on the left, that was a VERY good idea of jol’s. with the attacking style of football that sevilla play anyway, and the fact that daniel alves in some peoples eyes is one of the best wing backs in the game at the moment, it was much better to play the strong defencivly full back on the left. we play malbranque on the left, and he plays good there. but malbranque is an attack minded player, we would have been ripped to shreades by alves is we played someone like charlie lee or charlie daniels there. malbranqu would have been to far forward to help them.
zokora worked his socks of last night, and he deserves alot of credit. the transfer money we payed for his is starting to show now.
maybe we should have played philip ifil instead of tainio aswell. having a natural full back instead of a midfielder might of helped.
the club is going places mate, with martin and the players. and i pray to god, allah, buddah or who ever is up there that you dont come with us.
your just a muppet mate. simple as.
what u hav jus said is pure rubbish. what jol has done in these last few years is remarkable compared to what other managers achieve in triple his time at spurs. Sure mourinho has won the premiership the last two years but chelsea have practically bought the title those two years with their million quid team. And what about when jol simply out managed mourinho back in november of last year at white hart lane and even on the other 3 occasions we hav played them but on the other times chelsea were saved by one of their expensive individual players.
MJ is the of the best managers n the league right now and the last thing we need is a cocky german comin in after a lucky world cup. As soon as he;’s and loses his first few game ull be prayin that jol could come back
the sevilla game was unfortunte and those two early goals killed us but we still gav r selfs a chance at coming back which most managers would hav jus brought on subs and said forget it
I love Martin Jol and he is not goin anywhere and that would definately be in the best interest of the club
COYS!!!
I agree he has to go!! he just camt seem to make the big decisions and make the right calls! and worst of all he turns around yesterday and says its been a good exciting season!!!!!!!!!!!! Its only good and exciting when u get some silverware, mr jolly wally, its time to go!! and we must do whatever we have to do to get Jurgen back!! and its as simple as that!!!!!!!!!!!
and ps dylan, the jolly wally has nearly spent as much cash as the blue scum!!! And how bad some of those have been!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MARTIN JOL BEST MANAGER AT TOTTENHAM FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I THINK WERE GETTING THERE. THINK ABOUT THIS ALEX F DIDN’T WIN THE EUROPEAN CUP ON THE FIRST GO
Good old Duncan, resorting to branding all who dare to question Jol’s ability as “the problem with Spurs”. Hugo, and many others, are not “knee-jerkers”, but I fear that Duncan, and those like him are knee-tremblers when it comes to Jol. Keep fantasising in your bathrooms boys but ultimately you will wake-up to reality unless something changes at the lane. Of course, most of the rest of us will be dead by then, but at least we won’t have changed anything.
Spot on mate….take no notice of the little girls calling you an idiot….there still peeing in their pants because we got to fifth last year….that also goe’s down to a jol cockup as we should have got 4th!!!
It’s just one tactical mistake after another…get rid…..he has the tactical knowledge of a carrot!
Once he’s gone and someone with some idea makes use of our great squad the same little girls will be saying the next guy is god!
They have no idea……great article…keep it up…COYS (minus jol!)
Just a little addition…see the post above by YIDO……unfortunately he shows you the calibre of the average spurs fans tatical knowledge…..he can’t see that there was a tactical problem. Of course they played badly you idiot but thats when a proper manager will make some changes and try to get thing going. …yido, pee off and go learn something before you comment on a good article.
Everyone is understandably disappointed that the EUFA cup final was drawn as a quarter final match- and we lost it over two legs in no small part due to poor ref decisions.
Jol often gets tactics wrong and often baffles us by his line-ups, positional strategy and subs, but he is a tryer and in that respect he reminds me very much of Bobby Robson (before he became England manager)
Think about how Eindhoven , Porto, and Ipswich played under Robson.
But like Robson, I fear Jol will end up with a tag as ‘the nearly man’. Something is missing from his character make-up. Perhaps he could spend some time with Fergie and find out how to go the extra mile?
Oh do shut up Para. As a season ticketholder of 28 yrs, im only trembling in anticipation of where continued patience and time will get us.
Ive sat through 15 yrs of mediocrity and compared to that the new regime is a breath of fresh air.
Funny how that if Dawson and Berbas GILT-EDGED chances had gone in we would all be praising Jol for a remarkable comeback.
Jol is learning, our young squad is learning- it just seems that many of our fans have not learnt that patience in our steady progress under Jol is warranted- and most of all deserved.
God it feels good to know that last season wasnt a flash in the pan, and that even though we are out of the cups that we still have something to play for- even after our absymal start to this campaign.
… This is where you assume that all are like-minded. I believe that Jol got the tactics wrong, and even had those 2 chances gone in, I would still have questioned the decisions - nowhere near enough chances were created in the first half and no urgency was recovered until Defoe was borught on. Chimbonda was equally out of place all night, a fact that victory would not have masked; Jol is simply too stubborn to rectify such an error.
To Rich,Another £20 million performance from Lennon on Sunday.Was it 4 times or 5 that he touched the ball!