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11th
March 2007 - Paolo Hewitt writes in defence of Martin Jol Still want
him out? Still want Jol to go? Still on the phones to the radio stations
laying into him? Even after a week which has yielded four wins, fourteen
goals? The fickle nature of football fans was never more evident than two
weeks ago when following three defeats on the spin, numerous Spurs fans
suddenly started calling for Jol's head. A month
previous, with the team two nil up against Arsenal, Actually,
If I was Martin Jol, I would personally thank every one who called out for
his sacking. Their calls created a sense of crisis which Spurs responded to
in the best possible fashion. Against Fulham, Everton and play,
hit gold and now looks unstoppable. Paul Robinson finally re-discovered his
confidence and began making match winning saves again, Zokora has got more
adventurous, the midfield has got tighter and harder, and suddenly the world
class Berbatov finally has a set of players he can fruitfully work off. There are
many who harbour mistrusts against Jol, have done from day one. Yet I am not
one of those. I think him one of the best since Bill Nick, in there with the
Burkinshaw's and the Venables. Here's why.
From day one, Jol, unlike many of our managers, has instantly understood
Spurs and its traditions. He has tried to combine pragmatism with adventure,
style with steel.
In doing so, he has achieved something that was quite beyond his
predecessors; he has steadied Spurs, put it on a good grounding for the first
time in years and raised our hopes and expectations to realistic levels.
Champions League? Not for at least three years. A cup victory? Possible. Since his
time at the helm, Jol has ensured that the season does not end for Spurs fans
in January but May time. He has done so because he knows how to put a team
together. Look at the core of the team now. Robinson, King, Dawson,
Chimbonda, Lennon, Zokora, Defoe, Berbatov, Keane, Huddlestone, every one of
them and more would be coveted by other managers. When he took over, Michael
Carrick was inexplicably languishing in the reserves with Santini, refusing
to play him. Jol used Carrick from the start, deploying him in a great
position to guide Spurs towards At the
same time, Jol has developed a very forward looking policy, placing great
emphasis on speed and youth, and building a team for the future as well as
the present. His faith and trust in the young minds and legs of players such
as Lennon, Huddlestone and Dawson, is refreshing. Although he sometimes
baffles with his team selection, (Ghaly, prime example) it is normally
only one or two players we scratch our head over as they wander onto the
pitch. In the case of other managers, it was the whole bloody team sometimes
that left us perplexed. Tactically, he might have deficiencies. |
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to
really admire. Every time I tell someone I support Spurs, their first
reaction is always, 'Oh I like your manager.' Why is that? Because Jol is a
class act, down to earth, and very clear. If we play bad, he says so, loud
and clear. No excuses. 'I told the players,' he said one week on TV, 'you
don't score the goal, you don't win the game.' Couldn't be simpler. He also
never moans. As I write Wenger is still crying about the FA and the final,
and it does him, (and the game) no favours
whatsoever. Jol may point out the errors but that's it. He refuses to lay
blame at other people's doors, and he is right to do so. When we were beaten
by Benfica in the semi final of the European Cup in 1962, refereeing
decisions were widely made responsible for our defeat. Bill Nick would have none of it. 'If we hadn't made
those defensive errors they wouldn't have scored and won the game, no matter
what the ref did,' was his comment. Jol is cut from the same cloth. I have
only one other beef with Jol and it is a major one; the man goes to Eric
Clapton concerts. Apart from that sackable offence,
the man in charge of Spurs right now is the best man for the job. And long may
it remain so. Agreed? |
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Columnist Profile – Paolo Hewitt In 1967, I lived in Bagshot and was football
crazy. One Saturday afternoon, I decided I needed a football team to support.
The radio was on. The man said Spurs were playing . .. .. .. .. . Click here to visit Paolo’s own
website |
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I am
going to put my hands up right now and give you the truth behind this
article. Okay. My initial intention was to write an article entitled, The
Songs Of The Park Lane. This would be an attempt to relate the story of a
Spurs game through the supporter's songs. It entailed taping the crowd for
ninety minutes and then relating their songs to the action on the pitch. Great
idea, right? Jim Duggan thought so because he accepted it for publication.
Then it hit me. After the match, I would have to go home and spend hours and
hours transcribing the tape and as any journo will tell you, that task is
easily the most tedious ever invented. And although I love Spurs forever, and
stand up without fail every time I am asked that question by my That is
the impact Huddlestone has made this season. In a short time he has made
himself 'an untouchable,' easily the most assured player in our ever changing
midfield. Everything about this player flatters to deceive. He looks in his
twenties. He is nineteen. He has the build of a burly centre half but he is a
mightily skilful midfielder who’s dribbling, control, vision and
passing has been at the centre of many of our recent victories. He was easily
man of the match in our last two games ( turns to
create space for himself, then he delivers balls which create great space for
others. His thinking is sharp, always one step ahead, and his passing at
times reminiscent of none other than our man of miracles passed, Saint Glenn
of Tottenham.( In fact, the current Spurs team carries a lot of echoes from
the past. A Spurs
Xmas Players panto would surely cast, Berbatov
as Chivers. Lennon as
Cliff Jones. Robbo as Ledley as
Mike England. When
United paid such a huge sum for Carrick I grudgingly accepted the wisdom of
accepting the loot but worried for the future. I shouldn't have. Spurs knew
what I didn't. Tom Huddlestone was the man. And if he is not in an Shout
it out boys, the future is bright, the future is a Stone. |
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