I am not, of course, being entirely serious. Following the weekend's results, Tottenham sit four places and one point above United. Despite poor performances in the first two games of the season, Spurs have had a better start than last years Champions yet the whilst the red half of Manchester are simply suffering a 'blip' the North London club are deep in 'crisis'. That is if you believe everything you read in the national press.
Is anyone calling for Ferguson's head? No. Is anyone questioning him after he splashed millions on expensive imports that have, so early in the season, yet to come good? No. Yet a few hundred miles south, Martin Jol is the subject of a media witch-hunt beyond all reason. Do I believe United are in crisis and Ferguson should be sacked? Of course not. What this does serve to highlight is the farcical duplicity of the newspapers that will not be content until they have Martin Jol's head.
The parallels are there, even if some might deny it. Both clubs are aiming high this season and both have stuttered early on. Both managers have spent a fortune strengthening their squads after one of their most successful seasons in recent years and both are being hampered by injuries or suspensions. Yet when Jol shakes Ferguson's hand before this Sunday's game at Old Trafford, only one man will be in fear for his job. It would seem that no matter what happens during those ninety minutes, Jol's card has already been marked.
According to a wealth of media sources Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy has lost all faith in the man who led his side to successive fifth placed finishes over the past two seasons, and apparently he's not alone. The BBC reports this morning that 'Spurs Chiefs lose faith in Jol', stating that 'he has lost the confidence of several top officials at the club'. They do not name names. The Daily Mail agrees, claiming that Jol was 'on the brink' of the sack last night, going on to write that 'Jol no longer has any allies in the boardroom and sources at White Hart Lane claim the relationship is "irretrievable"'. Again, they do not name names.
Why do Tottenham 'chiefs' want Jol out? The Sun exclusively revealed this morning that the final nail in the Dutchman's coffin came when he 'stunned his chairman by demanding to sell his star striker' Dimitar Berbatov after the game against Sunderland. This is the same newspaper that tried so hard to unsettle the Bulgarian into a move to Old Trafford this summer when the club and player issued statement after statement declaring otherwise. But why should they stop at bare faced lies? Why not add a bit of conjecture and speculation, and so The Sun continues: 'Sunsport can reveal a number of Spurs players have expressed their dismay over Jol's team selections and tactics, especially away from home'. Can you see what they did there? The clever journalist has thought 'Spurs have a big squad and they don't have a great away record' add the two together and you get yet another stick to beat Jol with. Oh and they do not name names either.
One article that does put a name to a statement is The Mirror that wrote yesterday of Darren Bent's dismay at the potential sacking of the man who bought him to the club just a few months earlier. "For people to talk about him getting the sack is absurd. The lads believe in him and so do the fans - you could see that by their reaction against Derby." Encouraging stuff yet unfortunately The Mirror let themselves down this morning by reporting that Tottenham vice chairman Paul Kemsley met Sevilla boss Jaunde Ramos in a view to persuading the Spaniard to replace the outgoing Jol, sticking the knife in by stating that some senior players have accused him of "losing the plot" in regards to his team selection.
The issue is not that the papers have no right to report speculation and conjecture because if that were the case the sports pages of most of the nationals would be rather baron. What is offensive is the pure volume of pages devoted to the seemingly single-minded purpose of undermining Jol's tenure at the club. Even The Times , not known for hyperbole or sensationalism, devoted eight of the ten paragraphs that made up their match report of the Derby County match at the weekend to speculating Jol's future. How can anyone at the club concentrate on the football, which is, lest we forget, most important, when the media seems to care so little for it?
The disappointing thing is that try as we level headed fans might, and as clichéd as it sounds, there is no smoke without fire. Granted these knives the media are now so gleefully twisting into the back of Martin Jol were no doubt pre-sharpened - with many journalists and pundits waiting for the first sign of weakness, from a much hyped team, to pounce on - there can be little doubt that there is some degree of strife at the club. Levy's silence on Jol's future speaks louder than the mass of newspaper pages devoted to it. I devoted few words to stating Martin Jol's defence because I believe that the idea of sacking him so early in the season is such nonsense that it borders on the farcical. Whether Levy believes that, is another matter. If he does decide to dispense with Jol services, however, he will only succeed in playing straight into the hands of a section of the media who seem intent on mocking our club. I mean it's not the first time the press have destroyed the reputation of a genuinely nice and honest man. Graham Taylor, anyone?