League position is not anything, but under Jol it has been a slow and steady decline since he took charge in 2011. He took charge of a club who had finished 8th the previous season, and had stalled one shy of a club record points tally under Mark Hughes. The Dutchman was expected to continue the good work of Hughes and Hodgson, who don't forget led the Cottagers to a Europa League final in 2010. Jol was also expected to bring attractive football, a virtue that led to many seeing his sacking at Tottenham as unfair - he had led the club to two successive fifth place finishes before his sacking. He had also led Ajax to a second place finish and Dutch Cup success in 2009-10. Yet, for a manager Fulham tried so hard to snare - he was contacted the summer before eventually arriving - fortunes have gotten worse. A ninth place finish in his debut season was followed by an unremarkable year last time out and 12th spot. Last season even saw a run of five defeats from six games which saw the threat of relegation rearing its ugly head. Fortunately other teams got Fulham out of the mess by their sheer ineptitude, but they might not be so lucky this time. The thrashing at Anfield means Fulham lie 17th, and if Stoke get anything from their game at Swansea Jol's stricken side will drop into the bottom three, where they currently look like staying unless things change. The lack of fight from Fulham in recent weeks may be a sign that the players have given up on their manager.
I am from Bangor, aged 24, and possess an MA in Journalism from The University Of Ulster. I have had work published in the Belfast Telegraph and interviewed several local footballers and Olympic athletes. I also run my own sports blog, 'Sporting Thought' in addition to contributing to What Culture.
