Ex Spurs boss Martin Jol all set to manage Fulham

In a rather curious move, Martin Jol has chosen to turn his back on the chance of Champions League football with Ajax, to take the vacant managerial post at Fulham instead.

Popular with the Spurs fans, Jol managed to eek out a pretty decent job of things at the London club until his rather cruel sacking in October 2007.

Since then, he has taken Hamburg to 5th place in the Bundesliga, and he guided Ajax to 2nd in the Dutch Eredivisie last season, with the team scoring an astonishing amount of goals along the way.

Jol’s first order of business will presumably to guide the team back into Europe, after their particularly good showing under Roy Hodgson last year – making it to the final of the Europa League.

Hence, Fulham would make for enormously unlikely league winners, with understandable odds of 500/1.

Jol’s first Premier League match to mark his return will come against Bolton at the Reebok on the opening day of the season.

Bolton are the narrow favourites to enjoy a winning start the the campaign, with odds of 5/4 to win the match, compared to Fulham’s 7/4.

The odds for a draw are tempting at 11/5.

Fulham have so far enjoyed nine opening days in the Premier League, losing four, drawing two, and winning just three of those matches.

The last time they came across Bolton at this stage, however, they won the match 4-1 – albeit playing at Craven Cottage.

Can Martin Jol get off to a winning start in the league, just like he did at Ajax? Or will he first taste the bitter pill of Premier League loss, as he did when he took the reins at Spurs?

Or could this be a draw, just like his league opener with Hamburg? See the full Bolton vs Fulham market.