When Mark Hughes left Fulham for the realms of unemployment, a firm message of intent was sent out to the footballing world. Although Sparkey and super agent Kia Joorabchian claim that he left Fulham with no other job lined up, one can't help but question this, especially in the knowledge that less than 24 hours after announcing his refusal to sign a contact extension, a vacancy at Aston Villa had become available. After stating that Fulham did not match up to his own ambitions, it's hard to place where in the Premiership Hughes will end up. Other than Chelsea who inevitably will hire Guus Hiddink within the next seven days, non of the so called 'top 6' jobs are or will be available in the near future. Fergie and Wenger appear to be irreplaceable, the chance of a return to Manchester City appears to be as likely as the iverpool fans welcoming Paul Konchesky and his mother to Anfield. Tottenham would arguably be the best fit, but 'arry is settled in London and after recently securing a new contract at Liverpool, Kenny Dalglish does not appear to be leaving any time soon.
Enter Aston Villa. Arguably a perfect fit for both employer and employee, yet Sparkey hasn't been able to have a look in. His unprofessional handling in leaving Fulham coupled with Mohammed Al Fayed's close ties at Aston Villa appear to explain why this is the case. Fayed is a close friend of both Randy Lerner but more significantly 'Deadly' Doug Ellis. Although Ellis is no longer the chairman at Villa he still holds an important role in deciding the goings on at the football club. Fayed's less than glowing reference of Hughes will have only hindered his chances of getting the job. Fulham and Fayed will have felt that after staying loyal to Hughes on boxing day after Fulham lost 3-1 at home to a West Ham (a team who had not won away in over two years) thus dropping into the relegation zone that Sparkey would have shown a similar amount of loyalty by signing a new deal and staying at the club for at least another year. There is no questioning that Hughes is a top manager, but his ego is something which may hold him back when obtaining a so called 'top job'.
The irony of it all is that Hughes was always Al Fayed's second choice. The publicised pursuit of Martin Jol after Roy Hodgson left, highlighted that Jol was in fact Fulham's number one man. If Ajax's resolve had not been so tough the likelihood of him joining Fulham after Hodgson's departure would have been extremely high. Either way, the real winners in it all has to be Fulham. They have disposed of a manager who lacked passion in the dugout as well as not being in it for the long haul as well as securing the man they believe to be able to take the football club forward. Not only does Jol come with a wealth of coaching experience, he knows the English game inside out. As well as having a mostly successful managerial spell at Tottenham Hotspurs, his playing days included spells at both West Bromich Albion and Coventry City respectively.
One can only hope Jol's two year contract with the option of a third will bring stability and longevity to the football club, something which is imperative following the recent success in both Europe and top 10 finishes. A few quality signings as well as a decent run in both the Europa League and the domestic cups and Sparkey will become somewhat of a forgotten figure at the cottage.
Enter Aston Villa. Arguably a perfect fit for both employer and employee, yet Sparkey hasn't been able to have a look in. His unprofessional handling in leaving Fulham coupled with Mohammed Al Fayed's close ties at Aston Villa appear to explain why this is the case. Fayed is a close friend of both Randy Lerner but more significantly 'Deadly' Doug Ellis. Although Ellis is no longer the chairman at Villa he still holds an important role in deciding the goings on at the football club. Fayed's less than glowing reference of Hughes will have only hindered his chances of getting the job. Fulham and Fayed will have felt that after staying loyal to Hughes on boxing day after Fulham lost 3-1 at home to a West Ham (a team who had not won away in over two years) thus dropping into the relegation zone that Sparkey would have shown a similar amount of loyalty by signing a new deal and staying at the club for at least another year. There is no questioning that Hughes is a top manager, but his ego is something which may hold him back when obtaining a so called 'top job'.
The irony of it all is that Hughes was always Al Fayed's second choice. The publicised pursuit of Martin Jol after Roy Hodgson left, highlighted that Jol was in fact Fulham's number one man. If Ajax's resolve had not been so tough the likelihood of him joining Fulham after Hodgson's departure would have been extremely high. Either way, the real winners in it all has to be Fulham. They have disposed of a manager who lacked passion in the dugout as well as not being in it for the long haul as well as securing the man they believe to be able to take the football club forward. Not only does Jol come with a wealth of coaching experience, he knows the English game inside out. As well as having a mostly successful managerial spell at Tottenham Hotspurs, his playing days included spells at both West Bromich Albion and Coventry City respectively.
One can only hope Jol's two year contract with the option of a third will bring stability and longevity to the football club, something which is imperative following the recent success in both Europe and top 10 finishes. A few quality signings as well as a decent run in both the Europa League and the domestic cups and Sparkey will become somewhat of a forgotten figure at the cottage.
