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Monday Kickoff: Fulham to hire Jol, Liverpool lands Cole and more

Martin Jol (Reuters)

The lengthy search for a replacement for Roy Hodgson appears to have concluded with Fulham preparing to announce the hiring Dutch manager Martin Jol.

The former Ajax and Tottenham manager beat out several candidates, including U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley, for the Cottagers job and is expected to be introduced today.

Fulham will try to build on a season that saw the Cottagers reach the Europa League Final, with the Daily Telegraph suggesting that Fulham ownership will provide Jol with a considerable transfer budget to land reinforcements. Just what that will mean for the futures of U.S. internationals Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson remains to be seen.

Here are some other stories to get your Monday going:

LIVERPOOL LANDS COLE

England midfielder Joe Cole had his pick of destinations after leaving Chelsea on a free transfer, but rather than join a Champions League side, Cole is joining Roy Hodgson's rebuilding project at Liverpool.

Cole joins the Reds after Liverpool lost midfielder Yossi Benayoun to Chelsea earlier this summer. His arrival could help Liverpool hold on to stars Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, who are both candidates to leave Anfield if the club doesn't show it can maintain a strong team.

Liverpool still may lose Javier Mascherano, who is looking like the player most likely to re-unite with former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez and Inter Milan.

ARENA TO NAME MLS ALL-STAR RESERVES

Los Angeles manager Bruce Arena will announce the reserves for the MLS All-Star Game today at 1pm. His reserve selections, as well as MLS Commissioner Don Garber's selection will be unveiled on Monday afternoon.

The MLS All-Stars face Manchester United in Houston on July 28th.

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What do you think of these stories? Think Jol is a good choice for Fulham? Surprised to see Cole join Liverpool? Who are you hoping is named to today's MLS All-Star Reserves?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I really hope that Joe Cole’s signing will pay dividends for Liverpool…20 million is a lot of money to pay for a player who just sit out a season due to injury or worse, playing horribly…

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  2. I disagree with your assessment of EJ’s current abilities, as well as, your assessment of how I form my opinions. That said, I don’t hate the guy, so I am, perhaps, not as passionate in wanting to dump on him as you are in wanting to defend him. You could end up being right about him, but I think the odds are very long that EJ will contribute at Fulham.

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  3. Two years ago they were mired at the bottom of the table and were about to fire ineffectual Juande Ramos. Try again.

    Bunch of Gooners on here, eh? I’m not saying Spurs are going to win the league. They’ll have an uphill battle to get back to fourth with the gobs of money that City is throwing around (unless the Scum continue to fade the way they ended last season). All I’m saying is that TODAY they’re in the Champions League (and Liverpool isn’t), TODAY they’re a quality side that’s only going to get better thanks to the extra funds and lure of playing in the Champions League, and TODAY they’re arguably a better fit for Joe Cole than the Reds.

    But it’s all moot now, innit?

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  4. A sensible post about Spurs. They are being overhyped so much right now. If I remember correctly 2 years ago they went out of the UEFA cup at an early stage, and that was with a team as talented as the one they have now.

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  5. Don’t think this will affect Clint Dempsey’s career. He’s been a starter for a couple years now and I can’t see that changing no matter who the manager is.

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  6. The Bournemouth keeper had a monster game from all acounts… EJs touch has improved by miles and miles…he also has learned to make great diagonal runs which are leading to these 1 v 1 chances…

    Don’t just recycle what the Fulham messageboard muppets are saying… EJ is every bit as good as David Elm and I have always thought he could contribute like Kamara…

    Kamara is on his way out, Andy Johnson is crocked… David Elm is a Bobby Zamora back-up… EJ has the best shot ever to make it… If Fulham wanted him gone they would have let Aris have him…

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  7. I’m not a “typical Eddie hater.” I am a realist. I was hoping he would make it, but he just has not shown the quality to be a Premier League forward. Fulham were desperate for options at forward from the day EJ got there, and he never took his chance. He also failed to get into the USMNT, which was also thin at forward. His touch is still way too heavy. He has not shown the ability to take on players or the skills to be a target man. He does not seem to know where to go when he does not have the ball. His finishing has been weak (his 1 v 1 against Bournemouth in the last minute being his most recent example). This is not “hate”, but, rather, realistic criticisms of EJ’s play. Scoring a couple of goals in preseason in Australia or against Brentford is not an indicator of Premier League success. As to where EJ will end up, I admit to being “very uninformed”, but I don’t see EJ contributing at Fulham, thus, I think EJ is going somewhere else.

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  8. Glad Bradley didn’t get the Craven Cottage gig. I’d rather see him sign on somewhere in Europe as an assistant so he isn’t thrown into the fire from the start.

    If Mascherano leaves Anfield, I can’t help but think about how perfect a situation that would be for Michael Bradley. He is young, cheap, and freakin’ good. Plus, he won’t be breaking players legs like Mascherano. The Kop would love Bradley’s work ethic.

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  9. Martin Jol is great coach and Fulham are lucky to get him. His first job will be to retain his most valuable players, After losing Swartzer, he will be looking for a good Goaltender! Guzan..anyone?

    I think EJ will be sold or loaned. His Greek experienced helped his confidence and showed he can still play, but unless he can knock the socks off Jol, I expect his days are numbered at Fulham.

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  10. I can’t take away the man’s (Redknapp) accomplishments. It isn’t a mistake he got Tottenham to the Champions League but it doesn’t sound like a place to ressurect your career when you have your pick of teams. If Hodgson can make a world beater out of Zamora just imagine what he can do with Cole. I don’t see Harry having the patience to bring Cole back to his best if he isn’t right now.

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  11. Hodgson’s a fantastic manager, no question. But let’s stop slagging on Uncle ‘Arry. He came in and turned around a Tottenham squad in shambles after Ramos and took them to the Champions League in two seasons. Redknapp also rewards loyalty in his players; you see that in the results he gets out of Palacios, Dawson, and Ledley King. And he had that nice connection to Joe Cole from their West Ham days.

    Sending Keano to Celtic was actually a good move — Keano was struggling with his form and confidence, and Spurs were blessed with an abundance of quality strikers.

    You don’t like Redknapp. Fine. And Hodgson’s quality. But stop pretending that Redknapp isn’t also quality. Some were saying he was a shoo-in for England if the FA fired Capello.

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  12. Wow. You qualify for one Champions League and you are global footballing super power in the making. Let’s see if you even make into the group stages. If I remember correctly Spur’s recent forays in Europe at the UEFA Cup/Europa League haven’t exactly been glittering…

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  13. Or Ives are there any updates on Klinsi’s future with the Nats?

    (SBI-If there were, don’t you think they’d be on the site?)

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  14. If I had to choose between Hodgson or Redknapp as my manager I would choose Hodgson everytime. Who would really want to play for Redknapp? All the no Christmas party nonsense, talking down players in the media (Bent), sending his captain out on loan for half the season. Not exactly the environment I would choose to play in if I could basicially go anywhere. Champions league or not I think Cole made a good decision, Hodgson will give him a chance to get his form back. Redknapp would have benched him after one or two bad games.

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  15. Liverpool will be back as long as Torres stays healthy. And Tottenham won’t make it to the top 4 this season.

    Get a grip.

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  16. I really have no hatred towards EJ. I said I wanted him a DC. I just am bassing my statement on history. EJ played in last seasons preseason too. He even appeared in the Europa League. That all went well…. right?

    As always, I would love to eat my words and see EJ score 15 goals and become a USMNT beast.

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  17. Where is he going to? They already rejected a 1.5 Million bid from Aris… they are very thing at striker already…he is under contract through next June… If they wanted him gone they would have taken the offer… I feel many of you are very uninformed…

    He has actually played very few games for Fulham with the 1st team… It was well know that Roy Hodgson did not rate him and they his purchase was desperation and already in the works under Lawrie Sanchez… to me it seems that this may be Eddies best chance…

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  18. I agree with this…so much of EJs time at Fulham has been hearsay and I expect the people above are just typical Eddie haters…he already played in both preseason friendlies and scored and assisted… Also Andy Johnson is going back for more knee surgery in the US and Kamara is all but out the door… they already rejected Aris FC’s bid this summer so they must see some value in him…Also Jol will want to look at what he is going to be working with…it could actually be a great chance for Eddie…

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  19. Point taken. Still, I’d say that in this situation signing for Tottenham would’ve been a better choice than signing for Liverpool. It doesn’t look like Liverpool will be back in the top 4 for a while, unfortunately.

    Again, Cole made a financial decision, not a football one. Which is fine, but let’s be honest about why he did it.

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  20. I think EJ will stay at Fulham. I think Jol would want to look at some players himself. The fact that he’s a continental manager may give Eddie a chance.

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  21. I agree it is up to Cole’s motivation, but I think he is a competitor. I also think Roy Hodgson is the man to get Cole back to the level he should be. I’d look for Cole to have a big impact this season.

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  22. iT was really a long shot for BB to go straight to the EPL after the WC. Realistically, it’s great that his name and pedigree got out there in the rumor mill…Germany or a smaller Euro league is a little more reasonable at this point.

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  23. It depends how motivated Cole is. He has had a lot of injuries in his career (as did Owen) but he has the natural talent to make up for it. If he gets playing time at Liverpool, it’s up to him to make the most of it. Cole was once hailed as the best English player of his generation – on technique. Maybe he can at least show us why that was the case.

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  24. Spurs has been a rising English football power for decades, but never quite made it to the top. Man City has a far greater chance to be the new member of the “Big Four”.

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  25. He was injured for the first month or so of the season, and by the time he got healthy and back into game shape, there wasn’t really a free spot for him in Chelsea’s lineup.

    But ya, the key is his form, and his health. Liverpool have had enough injury problems over the past couple years, so it may not be a great idea to add another injury weakened player…but I think he’s a good addition.

    Now they just need 2 left backs.

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  26. As much as Tottenham seem to be rising, the outlook for first-time Champions League qualifiers doesn’t bode well for them. Just look at Everton, Wolfsburg, Osasuna, Chievo, Real Betis, Celta Vigo, Udinese, and every time Villareal qualifies. These teams all had trouble balancing domestic and european seasons, causing them to not return the following year.

    I’m not saying that Tottenham don’t have the quality to stay near the top next year, but don’t take it for granted. It’s tougher to stay at the top than the usual “Big Four” make it seem…

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  27. As much as Tottenham seem to be rising, the outlook for first-time Champions League qualifiers doesn’t bode well for them. Just look at Everton, Wolfsburg, Osasuna, Chievo, Real Betis, Celta Vigo, Udinese, and every time Villareal qualifies. These teams all had trouble balancing domestic and european seasons, causing them to not return the following year.

    I’m not saying that Tottenham don’t have the quality to stay near the top next year, but don’t take it for granted. It’s tougher to stay at the top than the usual “Big Four” make it seem…

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  28. haha, I imagine that was happening regardless of who the new coach was.

    I’d take him at DC United though, that is for sure.

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  29. Cole signing for Liverpool over Spurs is a purely financial decision and NOT a football decision. Liverpool, Hodgson notwithstanding, is on its way down and is leaking talent. Spurs, by contrast, will actually PLAY in the Champions League this season, is a rising English football power, and seems to be a better fit for Cole’s style of play.

    But you know, it’s hard to turn down £90,000/week.

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  30. If Cole regains his form that could be a great signing for Liverpool.

    I have a feeling Cole could become Owen 2.0 though (meaning a lot of press hype for Owen at Man United but not a lot of product). I mean, Cole really didn’t produce very much at Chelsea last season.

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  31. As a Liverpool fan, I’m desperate for Cole to regain his best form at Anfield. He had so much potential for a youngster, but through injuries, being out of favor with managers, being underused or misused, he never achieved his potential. Liverpool fans will hope this is a resurrection for Cole – still the most naturally gifted English player of his generation.

    Reply

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