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Fulham Are In Safe(r) Hands

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I can imagine that, if I were a Fulham fan, I would be very pleased with how things have turned out in the past two weeks. When Mark Hughes announced that he was leaving the Whites nearly two weeks ago after only a season in charge, many of their fans mourned the loss of a man who had guided them to their second highest Premiership finish since their promotion from the old First Division, now the Championship, in 2001. But with the appointment of Martin Jol, one could say that Fulham have arguably gained a more efficient manager in the Dutchman.

Although Jol has been in the managerial business for longer than Hughes, he certainly has the more impressive track record. He won the Dutch Cup with Roda JC, turned Tottenham Hotspur from a mid-table Premiership side into one that very nearly reached the Champions League, twice, thus laying down the solid foundations for their European exploits last season under Harry Redknapp. Yes, he was sacked from Spurs only seven months after guiding them to 5th place having gained only seven points from ten games, but nearly all managers, whether it’s Brian Clough or Alex Ferguson, have had bad seasons.

Who knows, the new Fulham boss may have turned things around had he been given the chance. He spent one season at German club Hamburg in 2008/2009 where they came 5th. They have finished below that in the two seasons since his departure. His next venture was with Dutch giants Ajax whereupon they completed the campaign as runners-up, only a point behind Steve McClaren’s FC Twente despite having a +86 goal difference.

Hughes has a respectable, if unspectacular record in management although many would argue that he has not had the resources to challenge at the very top. And the one time that he did have them at his disposal, he was unfairly sacked by Manchester City. His first managerial job consisted in guiding Wales to the play-offs of the qualifying stage for Euro 2004. Beating Italy on the way, it was quite an achievement for a country so used to being one of the world’s whipping boys as they came so close to reaching a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup.

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