Martin Jol’s tenure at Fulham started on a positive note, when he led Fulham to a 3-0 victory in the Europa League against Faroese. His success continued in the Premier League despite earning a draw in his first league match. His first season with ended with Fulham recording 52 points - just 1 point off the club's record points tally. That same season Fulham finished 9th in the league and narrowly missed out on the knockout stage in Europe.

When Jol started at Fulham he took up the vacant position that was left in 2011 after the club sacked Mark Hughes. Martin Jol’s first words as manager were “I am very happy to join Fulham. It is a club with good, solid foundations and a great fan base. I am looking forward to being part of the Fulham family and thank the chairman for the trust shown in me.”  After his second season, his contract was extended to June 30, 2014.

Martin Jol’s demise started with his inability to replace Fulham’s key players that left during his tenure. Fulham was dealt a huge blow in 2012-2013 when within three days they lost two of their best players to rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Mousa Dembélé, who at the time was one of the league's upcoming midfield players, left after Spurs triggered his release clause, while Clint Dempsey, Fulham’s player of the 2011-2012 season as voted by the fans, also left for Spurs after a move to Liverpool broke down. That season Fulham went on a dismal run of 7 winless matches and eventually finish 12th - only 7 points safe of relegation.

Fulham have been a mid-table side with ambitions of participating once again in the Europa League. Martin Jol’s Fulham experienced a very poor start to this years’ campaign with only 3 wins, against Sunderland, Stoke City and Crystal Place, and a draw from 13 matches. Fulham are currently in the relegation zone at 18th place with only 10 points and 3 points away from safety. Hence, Martin Jol has been sacked as manager of Fulham. The decision came after his side suffered a 3-0 defeat to West Ham United on Saturday, November 30th on match-day 13.

Fulham's next league match is against an underachieving Tottenham who will be looking to regain their league form with a win. René Meulensteen, who was brought in as Martin’s subordinate, will be in charge and he will be hoping for a positive result. 

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About the author
Damani Williams
I am from the caribbean island of St Vincent. I am a young man who looks at a lot of sporting activities. I also read a lot of sports news and world news. I thought I am going to make writing a new hobby of mine and more so write about the thing I love most which is sports.