Martin Jol's Blue and White Army

It's been a horrible start to the week. The one before it wasn't great either. Losing to Sunderland was a punch in the face. Losing to Everton perhaps more painful because I sat next to baiting, jubilant, Toffee fans who held nothing back when ripping seven shades of the yellow stuff after each goal went in. The situation probably wasn't helped by the fair bit of goading thrown at them when Gardner equalised, but that's supporting football for you - well, supporting Spurs at least.

Speaking of which, opinion is divided between said Spurs fans over the fate of Martin Jol - a manager who's got the best league record for Spurs since Billy Nich, successive fifth place finishes, and a brilliant right hand wave. Tactically flawed, perpetually picking wrong substitutes and lacking the experience to get us into the top four are all points raised against the Big Man.

Whether you think Jol's got what it takes or not isn't massively important at the moment. The fact that Jol's tools to enable Spurs a successful season are being stripped from him by Daniel Levy and cronies is infinitely more pressing. Don't mistake me, Levy's done a smashing job, but he's handled this situation all wrong leaving Jol and squad under gigantic pressure. How can Jol prepare adequately for the trip to Man Utd when not knowing if he'll be out on his big Dutch arse the following Monday?

What is needed is calm. A statement of unequivocal support for Jol would've been the right thing for Levy to instead of the half-baked vote of confidence released by the Spurs board earlier today:

“We have had two good, progressive seasons with fifth place finishes. I am an ambitious chairman, we are an ambitious club and we want Champions League football at White Hart Lane. We, the Board, owe it to the club and the supporters to constantly assess our position and performance and to ensure that we have the ability to operate and compete at that level.

“We have made a massive investment in the squad and as a result we have the best squad of players this club has had for over 20 years and they are equally hungry for success and silverware. For that we need our management and coaching standards to be of the highest quality such that players can fulfill their potential and we can compete with the best.

“We have discussed all of these expectations with Martin [Jol] and he has confirmed to me today that he feels he is equipped with a squad and a determination to take on that challenge.”

What we have here is a 'get out' - finish fourth, or get out Martin. Thanks for the memories.

I would expect that Jol remains in charge until the end of the season, and, should he achieve qualification for the Champion's League there'll be a fair few humble gentlemen sitting in the West Stand come the beginning of next campaign. That's how, by rights, things should go, but they won't, we all know it. We'll finish 14th or something.

Whatever happens Jol has my support at least (as long as we don't lose the next three games then the fat gimp can do one). I got your back Big Man.