Stand Up For Martin Jol

Picture courtesy of @mattcg. A link to his Spurs pictures blog is just over there, top left. 

White Hart Lane, Thursday 25^th October 2007. Not four years have passed, but a night so fabled, it already feels like part of Tottenham folklore. The tale of the manager who sat on the bench presiding over his sides 2-1 home defeat to Getafe, the whole ground singing his name as the news began to filter through the cold, huddled collective that the dead man walking had finally keeled over. Sitting on the bench, managing his team, unaware of what everyone else knew. He had been publicly sacked, but there he was, the dignified Dutchman still playing away on the deck of his own sinking vessel, still focused on trying to steer his crew to victorious waters. ‘Stand Up For Martin Jol’, roared the crowd. They did. To add further insult, none but a certain Bulgarian delivered the confirmation; putting his arm around his shoulders after the final whistle and said ‘sorry boss’. Only then did the penny drop for Big Martin Jol.

The courting of Juande Ramos in the lead up to the climactic, and very public, shoeing of BMJ was perhaps the biggest source of shame for us fans; seemingly able to bear the weight of years of under achievement and poor management at every level, but ashamed to see those entrusted with the running of our club treating a man, who had always conducted himself with the utmost grace under fire, so shabbily. We are our club, and our club had just done something that reflected very poorly on us, the blind followers of said institution. Tottenham publicly humiliated the big, cuddly man with the funny accent on live TV, therefore all Tottenham fans are the types who mug old ladies and slash wheelchair tyres. It wasn’t something that sat comfortably with anyone associated with the club.

Affable, honest, no-nonsense- an adopted Englishman and a true Tottenham man we could all relate to, the outpouring of sympathy for the big man was as justified as it was blinkered. The two fifth placed finishes held up in isolation sound impressive, especially given that the first one was a lasagne and a decent away showing away from being a fourth placed, possible UCL qualifier, but things began to slide from there. Unable to recover from the setback, the following seasons 5^th placed finish was nowhere near as impressive, never challenging for fourth, and several poor results were compounded when a classy, Ramos led Sevilla side came and danced around us in the UEFA Cup, exposing the gaps in BMJ’s tactical armoury.

The writing was on the wall from there. Levy had seen how far behind the best that the UEFA Cup had to offer we were, never mind the Champions League, and knew that a change was needed. Terrace support for Jol was generally very good, but a few knew that, deep down, he wasn’t quite good enough to take us to the next level and keep us there. It was obvious to Levy for a long time, and although the means in this case were particularly mean, the removal of Jol was necessary in the pursuit of Champions League football.

There are 3 moments from the reign of BMJ that stick in my memory, and in a way, encapsulate all you need to know about his time at Tottenham.

1)      Going toe-to-toe with Wenger as the Frenchman bleated about a ball that should have been put out of play while one of their lot was down with some sort of ‘injury’. ‘I DID NOT SEE IT’ yelled Jol in the face of the exasperated Wenger. Ironic, grizzly and unmoved. The traits that made him so popular.

2)      Tainio picking up a second booking in the home leg against Sevilla, fouling his opponent who continued rolling once hitting the deck. Tainio then walked after him, making sarcastic rolling motions with his arms to emphasise the dive, but like his manager, had no other answer to the wiley foreign invader than to gesticulate impotently.

3)      Daniel Levy smiling in the Old Trafford stands as we were on course for another annual beating at the hands of Manchester United. ‘This’ll make the whole firing business a bit easier for me’, he appeared to say. Or maybe he was thinking about something funny his mate had said earlier. Either way, it’s an enduring image from Jol-ey’s final domestic outing in the Tottenham tracksuit.

Following his appointment to the Craven Cottage hot seat this morning, there isn’t a Spurs fan out there who won’t be wishing him all the very best, and any Fulham fan looking for a reference from a terrace trotter won’t need to look too far for a glowing one from any of our number. I can guarantee you his commitment to the cause, a hugely likeable man and the odd ‘darling’ to any ladies in the studio. A charmer and a gentleman. Just don’t expect any tactical master classes.

Barely a home game goes by where a member of the double side isn’t trotted out for a mumbled monologue and bit of a wave- great men, but representative of a different time that I and an increasing majority weren’t around to enjoy. I remember Martin Jol fondly, and despite his flaws and the inevitability of his departure, I’ll be looking forward to welcoming back with an ‘apologies on behalf of the club BMJ, we all still really like you’ type applause.

Stand Up for Martin Jol