Spurs vs The Press - Who Can We Believe?

Whatever your feelings about Martin Jol and his ability to win something with Tottenham, you have to concede that the last week in Spursland has been record breaking in terms of strange goings on. Spurs have become a media circus, with even events down the road at the Chavs not keeping us off the back page for more than a couple of days. If you ask me, the first person picking up their P45 should be that dozy bint who calls herself the head of PR - could she have done a worse job if she tried???

Constant media speculation of the sort that Jol is experiencing at the moment often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy (as countless England managers will tell you), but what confuses me is the conviction with which the papers report what are in essence three completely conflicting stories. On Monday I read three papers and the Spurs news in each was different, the synopsis of which is roughly:

1. Jol has already agreed a payoff and is just waiting for Levy to find his new man


2. Jol is being sacked against his will


3. Jol is staying and has the full support of the board

Now, oddly enough you would think that the people who actually know would be the board and the manager - yet they are the only people who are championing position 3. In every interview and via several statements both Jol and Levy absolutely assure us that Jol is backed and is going nowhere, they could not be more resolute if they tried - so why won't anyone believe them?

The answer could be that old favourite the "club insider", or maybe even "a source close to". Seeing as how Jol is still there, I wonder how that source could have been so wrong for so long and yet still be trusted by the journalists. Call me cynical but if you were a director of a football club who was looking to hound out the manager by subversive tactics, a steady stream of leaked stories of EGM's and secret meetings with other managers would seem to be a rather effective way of making the present incumbents position untenable.

Let's take a look at some of the evidence presented so far:

Press says:
That the board had an emergency meeting the other day in which they agreed a £4m payoff package for Martin Jol
Club says:
That there absolutely was no such meeting and that they have never even discussed a payoff package

Press says:
That Martin Jol is acting as a caretaker until the board can secure the services of the replacement
Club says:
That Martin Jol has their continued backing

Press says:
That Levy called Mourinho 5 times, that both Capello and Houllier have been seen in London this weekend, that Spurs met with Ramos in August, that Ramos has now fallen out with those at Seville and that Comolli was in Spain this weekend at the Barca vs Seville game
Club says:
That they didn't meet Ramos in the summer and that Comolli was actually at the Southampton vs Burnley game so couldn't possibly have been in Spain

So who do we believe?

One thing is certain and that is that Levy cannot exactly come out and admit to any of the accusations levelled at him without undermining the club, and in particular Jol's relationship with the players, any more that he has already. The conflicting stories will continue and one day we'll get a new manager because unlike in politics where the people in charge are at least accountable to the voters, in football there is zero accountability at the very top.

If Levy is lying it's because he knows he can get away with it. He knows full well that even if he announces a new manager tomorrow that nobody is going to camp outside his door demanding to know why they have been spun to and treated like idiots, he knows that the turnstiles will still revolve 35,000 times every other week and that the press (and probably the fans) will have forgotten all about it within a fortnight.

Do the Fans Really Back Jol?

After Saturday's defeat the press are once again all over the fact that BMJ will be picking up his P45 - most suggest in about 6 weeks from now. Of course, in the real world this would seem bizarre as the board have gone to great lengths to assure everyone concerned that the big fella will have until at least the end of the season, but in the crazy world of football I don't know if we can be surprised about anything.

The constant media hounding is taking it's toll on supporters, even myself - a staunch Jolist, has started to become brainwashed and my views on Jol's tenure change daily - sometimes even hourly! However, the manager himself still believes in us, Martin Jol has come out and said that:

"I feel there are two worlds here in London. There are you guys (journalists) and then there are the supporters who read your papers. It's amazing, no? Although they read your papers, they're still backing me. That's a great feeling."

My question to you is this: When the chips are down with what army do you stand? No wishy-washy answers dependant of a variety of circumstances will be allowed here, it's a case of right now - either for or against?

Is Jol right, are we with him? Please vote in the poll in the top left of his page and by the end of the day perhaps we will find out...

Can Jol Develop?

So Tottenham recently conceded their second devastating last minute goal of the season, and who would bet that it will be their last? Contrary to beliefs held in some quarters, replacing Robbie Keane with Defoe was not the root cause - Defoe has enough ability to be dangerous and a straight swap should have caused no real problems. A flukey goal gave Fulham hope, but at that point can anyone really say that they were thinking "Oh Martin, what we need now is Dawson on for Malbranque". No, I didn't think so.

In a move that technically resulted in us having 6 defenders on the pitch, Spurs sat trying to hold on for 10 minutes and of course the inevitable happened. Jol is a strange fish in that he point blank refuses to learn his lessons. Any Spurs fan who has watched their team for more than a couple of years must know that we are incapable of shutting up shop. Any football fan knows that when a home side come back from 3-1 down to 3-2 that they and the crowd are going to be pumped and so playing at the edge of your own 18 yard box is asking for trouble. Jol and the board would have us believe we are in a position to challenge the top four, but who of them would have cacked their pants against the likes of Fulham and gone defensive.

In fact, why change things at all when the team out there was in complete control. Jol has to learn that substitutions should be saved for when we are losing, or in danger of losing. In my opinion the correct sub to make at 3-2 up would have been Taarabt for Malbranque. That way the defenders and midfielders have an outlet that would relieve the pressure much more effectively that a hoof up field. Simply slide the ball out to the wing wizard and let him run up field with it - we keep the ball for more that 30 seconds and Fulham lose their impetus.

Tottenham have proven that they can play some very good football under Jol, but there are three things he needs to reflect upon regarding his own ability:

1. He needs to think harder about his substitutions. Is Chris Houghton just a "yes man" because surely they must consult about these things? So many times they make changes that even the fans can see are ludicrous that it defies belief.

2. He must stop trying to please all of the strikers all of the time. I suspect that Jermaine Defoe would rather get 90 minutes once every 3 or 4 games than 15 minutes every week. When we are playing well it disrupts the flow, and if the two chosen front men are having a good game then there is no reason to change them.

3. Why Oh Why Oh Why do we pass the ball straight back to Robbo from the kick-off. All it ever results in is a hoof up field and the loss of possession within seconds. This MUST stop NOW. (Boy that one annoys me)

He could also do with coaching players to pass to the man in space rather than trying to thread the ball through the eye of a needle, or pumping an ambitious one over the top. Admittedly this isn't as bad as it used to be so it doesn't make my top 3. The main culprit these days is Jenas - and that is mainly because he's too damn slow when he gets the ball.

Although I may have edged into the Jol Out Zone on Saturday afternoon and Sunday I have since calmed down and without anyone top class available to replace him have realised that he is here to stay. To coin a phrase often applied to young upcoming players, has anyone stopped to consider that Jol is not quite "the finished article" when it comes to management?

Let's face it, he hardly has the 20 years experience of some top managers, or the glowing track record of Europe's elite - but he does have potential. However, if he (and Spurs) are to progress and develop, Martin Jol has to start to appraise and evaluate his own strengths and weaknesses and he himself has to do something about them.

For the sake of Tottenham Hotspur he has to start right now.