By Simon Wright – Follow
me on Twitter @Siwri88
No manager in
the Premier League wants to lose their job and in many cases, sackings over the
years have been quite harsh.
At Fulham though,
the club had no option as Martin Jol’s contract was terminated with immediate
effect on Sunday afternoon.
Dutchman Rene
Meulensteen who came in as a number two to his countryman only three weeks ago
will take charge of first team affairs for the remainder of the campaign.
In a club
statement released on their website, new owner of the Cottagers Shahid Khan
took time to thank Jol (pictured) for his efforts but insisted a change had to happen in
the management of the club.
He said: “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 me becoming chairman earlier this year. 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.”
Fulham have
already lost nine matches in the Premier League this season and suffered six successive
defeats on the bounce which included a League Cup exit to Championship side
Leicester City in October.
Jol’s final
match in charge was Saturday’s pitiful 3-0 defeat to London rivals West Ham
United at Upton Park. For a while, the pressure has been mounting on the
manager and it was clear from the performance over the weekend that the players
are both lacking confidence and not enough seem to be playing for the shirt.
The players
have to take some responsibility for Fulham’s lack of form. Patjim
Kasami and Scott Parker aside, a lot of them have played well below par this
season and have let both Jol and the supporters down.
The buck does
stop with Jol ultimately. He couldn’t get the players motivated enough,
especially in his final weeks in the job. He looked a broken man from late
September when Cardiff stole a late win in west London. A change in management
was inevitable before it became too late.
This is
Fulham’s worst start to a Premier League season since they entered the top
flight in 2001. The club sit in the bottom three and have pivotal league
fixtures coming up over the Christmas period, starting with home matches in the
next seven days against Tottenham and Aston Villa.
It is a great
opportunity for Meulensteen to show his capabilities as a manager in this
country. After six years working as first team coach at Manchester United under
Sir Alex Ferguson, he deserves his chance in the main hotseat.
It remains to
be seen if he is the right man for the position but it couldn’t have got much
worse for the supporters. The timing of this change has come at the right time.
It might seem like a final throw of the dice from the Fulham owner but he has
made a decision that over time became an easier one to make.
It will be
very interesting to see the reaction of the players come Wednesday evening.
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