Spurs after Martin Jol

For two years a certain Dutchman had been basking in a certain posh area of London with a certain band of supporters always eager to kiss his shoestrings but the stark realization that in football the present is more important than the past couldn't have arrived with a more striking blow. Failure to even march anywhere near the vicinity of the promise built of previous seasons' displays has cost Martin Jol his managerial job at Spurs, although no one denies his contribution to raising Spurs to a new peak in the English Premier League.

It can hardly be a coincidence that Tottenham Hotspurs' two successive fifth place finish in the Premiership came at the same time that Jol spread his wings in England. When Jol took over from an always doomed Jacques Santini in 2004, the North London club were placed comfortably in the luxurious mediocrity of mid-table, capable of snatching a last day UEFA Cup berth and maybe going on a good Cup stride. But not, never ever dreaming in their wildest night of brushing shoulders with Europe's elite in the UEFA Champions League.

But that's precisely what Spurs came so agonizingly close to in each of the last two seasons but always failed at the final hurdle. This season, they were anticipated by many to break into the top four in the Premiership and upset the balance. But alas, football hardly follows the script. Starting with their opening day loss to newly promoted and forever relegation candidates Sunderland continuing to the abysmal defeat to Getafe in the UEFA Cup at White Hart Lane on Thursday, Tottenham have been disoriented and disillusioned; their game has often lacked imagination and coherence appeared to be just a 9-letter word. Only a single win in 10 games and that victory barely manages to spark optimism; after all, any team should always beat Derby County anytime, all time.

Spurs' drop in form is a ghastly surprise when you consider that they have managed to retain the team that demonstrated an unlikely threat to force into a Champions League qualifying spot. The likes of Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov, Aaron Lennon and Ledley King form the spine of this exciting Spurs side and albeit their individual performance has not dropped, the collective display has been hugely disappointing. So disappointing that the team is lying third from bottom in the Premiership table.

In hindsight, the sacking of Martin Jol was simply an inevitability stripping itself naked. Martin Jol was always courting a mistress in Tottenham Hotspur and the sneaky honeymoon period was scheduled to come to a full stop sometime soon. Spurs might be a club with ambition and potential but there are bigger and much better clubs than them in the Premiership. Money might not be a factor for Spurs but the history and glamour to lure Europe's better players to White Hart Lane is crucially absent.

No wonder that football is considered a demanding mistress, a whore in fact. As long as you keep the results coming and pump the whore, it shall remain your best friend. You are certainly entitled to believe that the whore would stay with you as long as you keep it happy but once the drops stop trickling in, she would rush away from your bed, leaving her dirty, stained underwear behind.