TEAMtalk Editor Simon Wilkes hits out at the ongoing witch hunt aimed at Martin Jol and questions the wisdom of some headlines aimed at Spurs.No one can deny
that Martin Jol is under pressure at White Hart Lane.Each game that goes by
could reportedly be his 'last in charge' if they lose - but only if you buy into
the frenzied media hunt for his scalp.Admittedly the Tottenham board triggered
the whole saga by hitting the panic button after seeing their team lose their
two opening Premier League games despite massive investment in the squad over
the summer.Following the multi-million pound arrivals of Gareth Bale (£10m),
Younes Kaboul (£8m) and Darren Bent (£16.5m), Spurs were tipped as serious
contenders to gatecrash England's 'Big Four', especially as they'd finished in
fifth for the last two seasons under Jol to qualify for the UEFA Cup.But defeats
by Sunderland and Everton sparked talk of Jol being replaced by Sevilla coach
Juande Ramos, who claimed he received a 'dizzying offer' to take over from the
portly Dutchman.The tabloids went into overdrive and were hunting like a pack of
wolves, so much so that Spurs' third league game, a comprehensive 4-0 gubbing of
Derby, was virtually swept under the carpet and overlooked.They smelt blood and
a trip to Old Trafford ended in a harsh 1-0 defeat - no disgrace, but enough to
keep fanning the flames.Chairman Daniel Levy has admitted there was an 'element
of truth' in the rumours that the board were pondering Jol's future - but the
Spurs boss has kept his head held high through all the mud-slinging, and appears
to also have a lot of respect in the dressing room.Monday night's staggering
comeback against Aston Villa, where Spurs recovered from 4-1 down with roughly
20 minutes left on the clock to draw 4-4, does not suggest that Jol has 'lost'
the players - and Levy was celebrating big time in the stands.Read any Spurs
message boards and you'll see that the majority of fans are also firmly behind
the manager, so why is he still so under the cosh? Spurs are notoriously poor
starters so their 18th place in the table should not be a massive concern after
just eight of 38 league games.And were they knocked out of Europe on Thursday
night? Oh no, that was Blackburn wasn't it.In fact didn't Spurs beat Anorthosis
Famagusta 7-2 on aggregate, bagging a cruise-control 1-1 draw in the away leg
after hitting them for six at The Lane?I'm no Carol Vorderman but I've got my
abacus here and have worked out Spurs won by a five-goal margin. The tabloid
reaction to Tottenham's draw in Cyprus was as follows: "Progression to the group
stage of the Uefa Cup was not without its heart flutters." (The Times);
"Tottenham narrowly escaped a UEFA Cup embarrassment." (Daily Star/Express);
"Tottenham's blushes were spared." (Daily Mail); "Only a 78th-minute leveller
from substitute Robbie Keane spared Spurs' blushes." (The Sun); "This was hardly
the confidence-building exercise he (Jol) would have counted on." (The
Guardian).In contrast Everton "charged through to the group stages" according to
various tabloids, despite scraping through by the skin of their teeth thanks to
Victor Anichebe's 88th-minute winner to seal a 4-3 aggregate victory over
Ukrainians Metalist Kharkiv - hardly a European powerhouse.Newspapers have a lot
of power in this country, perfectedly summed by the Kaiser Chiefs' lyrics 'we
are the angry mob, we read the papers every day, we like who we like, we hate
who we hate, but we're oh so easily swayed'.But with great power comes great
responsibility, something they are failing to implement in Jol's case.
Linked here: http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1784_2781088,00.html
Great article and love this quote by the Kaiser Chiefs' lyrics 'we are the angry mob, we read the papers every day, we like who we like, we hate who we hate, but we're oh so easily swayed'
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