Can Juande Ramos lead Tottenham to an assault on the big four?
There was a mixture of immense disappointment and great celebration and pride at White Hart Lane last season.
Before a ball was kicked Tottenham were looking good. Martin Jol was a popular and reasonably successful manager and the team were hotly tipped to be about to launch a serious bid to infiltrate the ‘big four’ at the top of the Premier League.
With two fifth placed finishes behind them, the time had come to take the next step. A surprisingly disastrous start to the season saw them looking at the bottom four rather than the top four and Martin Jol was dismissed.
In came Juande Ramos and he turned the team’s fortunes around almost immediately. A stunning League Cup semi-final win over old rivals Arsenal saw them through to the final where they out played, out thought and out fought Chelsea, to win the cup.
Whether the celebrations were too great or too premature is open to question and the team’s season fizzled out with a disappointing run of league form after the cup triumph.
Ramos was unable to reproduce his Uefa Cup success and Tottenham were eliminated after a woeful first leg performance at home to PSV.
So I would say that the jury is still out as to whether last season was a success at the Lane or not. Now it is time to look forward. Can Tottenham really challenge Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United?
The ambition is certainly there. The signing of Mexico international Giovani Dos Santos from Barcelona for an initial £4.7m fee that could rise to £8.6m depending on appearances, shows that they are aiming high.
The nineteen year-old broke into the Barcelona first-team under former boss Frank Rijkaard last season and made 16 starts in all competitions and came on as a substitute 22 times in the campaign.
He also scored a hat-trick in the final league game of the season as Barca beat Murcia 5-3.
The winger cum front man who has signed a five-year deal, said: “It’s a dream to come to a big club like Spurs. I came here because of the passion of the fans, the size of the club and I can see us growing in the future.”
That all sounds very positive and Tottenham may well have a gem on their hands. Reports suggest that Giovani is a slight figure but has a terrific burst of acceleration and a superb left foot.
The future of mercurial striker Dimitar Berbatov is not clear with Milan, amongst others, thought to want the Bulgarian front man. Tottenham and Ramos have done what they can to keep him and that again shows that the right ambition exists at the club.
Obviously we will know more about Tottenham’s chances when we see who is coming in and who is going out, but it is worth looking to see if they may have what it takes.
There is no doubt that Ramos is a manager who achieves success. After winning two promotions from the Spanish Segunda league in the 1990’s he went a little quiet. Then, since 2005 he has achieved great success, winning the Uefa Cup twice, the Uefa super cup, the Copa del Ray, the Supercopa de Espana and, of course, the English Carling Cup. That equates to a remarkable six trophies in three seasons.
Can the man from Spain go on now to turn Tottenham from perennial hopefuls and nearlys into a Premier League challenging side and carry on with his recent record of winning things?
Despite still being regarded as a ‘big club’ by many fans and their new signing, Tottenham have not performed at a level commensurate with that term for many years. Their last league triumph was forty-six years ago, FA Cup seventeen years ago and victory in Europe came twenty-three years ago. The Carling Cup victory was their first trophy since they won the same competition nine years previously.
There is little doubt that Juande Ramos has a huge task ahead of him if he believes he can get into that top four or at least win a significant cup. He has some good players and some very good players but the list of greats is not so long. In order to challenge at the top the team has to have at least some players in the ‘great’ category. At United you can count Ronaldo, Scholes, Ferdinand, Vidic and possibly Rooney and Tevez. At Chelsea there is Carvalho, Terry, Ballack and Drogba. At Arsenal Fabregas and Adebayor stand out and at Liverpool they have Gerrard and Torres. Who would you name from White Hart Lane in the same sentence as some of those players?
Some managers have the knack of making average players good and good players great. Unless Ramos spends very big in the transfer market I think he is going to have to show that he possesses that quality more than anyone before him if Tottenham are going to challenge the big boys.
Once again I can see Tottenham battling for fifth place with the likes of Everton and Aston Villa but I don’t think they will be able to take the next step up. Of course it is still possible that Arsenal may lose more of their best players and not replace them sufficiently. If that happens there may well be a gap in the top four for someone to aim at. Will it be Tottenham?
Difficult to say whether an assault can be made on the Big Four before the transfer dust has settled and we can see who is going to be where (e.g. Berbatov going? Villa coming? etc. etc.).
Currently, I’d back them for a top seven finish and to go close in one or more of the cups.
Whether or not Spurs can make a “sustained assault” next season on a top four place (as Everton did with Liverpool for much of last season), ultimately they will not finish in a top four spot. I could see them doing so in a couple of years, at the expense of Arsenal or Liverpool, if the Ramos project continues its positive start.
i think its going to be hard for any team to break into the top four without adding real quality players.although it seems some of them are having trouble keeping their players which indicates it shouldn’t be as hard. a class keeper, center back, mid fielder and if berba goes some quality forwards ijust can’t see ramos chucking away leads like other managers before him.so i do think this could be a season where we see a different top four maybe atop six instead as teams close the gap even more?lets all hope so eh.makes it that much better.
Since when was Ferdinand a “Great” player ? he is somewhat over-rated.
Scholes is only having great moments, not consistant anymore. Ronaldo is as good as gone, So i guess man utd wont be in top 4 next season either..
Guess King, Bale, Hutton, Woody, Giovani, Modric, Berbatov, Keane Taraabt are all players that would never now, or in future, get into a top 4 team and perform well…
Because you know what your talking about.. .Please go back to champ man in your armchair. thank you.
As a Spurs fan I say no,but then agan I think it will be an explosive season with lots of suprises, so lets just wait and see…AND PLEASE SPURS FANS, SHUT UR MOUTHS AND DONT BE OVER CONFIDENT, EVEN IF YOU DO THINK WE’RE IN WITH A CHANCE, COZ WE THNK THAT EVVERY YEAR..
This talk about “Big four” is complete bulls*it, there’s “Big two” – ManU and Chelski, who are “untouchables”, winning things year in year out, and then there is the other two – Pool and Arse, who can’t challenge the Top two and are there to be taken.
If not next season and if not by Spurs, then season after that and by someone else, for example Villa, City or Castle.
The gap is closing fast.
I think King, Berbatov, Keane, Woodgate and now Modric all fit that description of ‘great’, if Carvalho and Vidic do. But it’s not a criteria necessarily to success. Of course there are other players at both Arsenal and Liverpool that you have overlooked – Carragher, Toure, Van Persie who are just as effective at club level as those you named.
Tottenham are famous throughout their history for having 3 or 4 ‘great’ players surrounded by mediocrity and it never got them anywhere – look at the team when Klinsmann, Ginola, Gascoigne and the like were there and see the dross they were surrounded with. It’s been the same at Liverpool in recent seasons.
What an absolutely rubbish article. Aside from unexplainable spelling mistakes, “The winger *cum* front man” – how can you POSSIBLY back up some of the things you have said? I fail to see how Adebayor, Ferdinand and Vidic ‘Great’ players? Great to me means George Best, Diego Maradonna, Pele etc. To class Adebayor especially in this category is laughable.
I also agree with FinnYid, Arsenal and Liverpool are by no means untouchable as we have seen over the last couple of seasons where they haven’t been so far out of reach from whoever is in 5th spot be it Spurs or Everton.
I feel it is to early to say that spurs could break into the top four as it is only june and they have until august 31st to sign new players. So we will just have to wait and see weather Ramos can sign players like Bentley or Gomes and then we can talk about weather they can break into the top four.
Some one hit the nail on the head there, There is No “BIG FOUR” any more, Just Chelsea and man u, Both Arsenal and Liverpool are in the same baot as tottenham, city, villa, eveton And lets be honest, We all forget the mild mannerd portsmouth who are doing fantastic with the smallest budget! I dnt for one second think Spurs will win the league, Not untill the likes of Ronaldo, Nistillroy, ronaldinho and players oft there sought would Join spurs! 3rd is the best we can hope for i belive this year, Either us or livpool, 4th Downwards is were will you will find the most over rated team in the prem at the moment! Arsenal! They sign no one, Selling there starts and i truley belive are lookin at a 6/7th spot this year!
Modric, Santos… Who Next, Berb will stay, furture Starts like hutton, Gunter, lennon, the list continues at tottenham, But it does at many teams, The key is, Not thinking were somehting were not! And thats a top 2 team.
Nick
The most important thing for Spurs is balance. By that we need to have good quality players in their natural positions. We had far too many injuries last season, and we never really had a left winger or a true defensive midfielder. We’ve got a left winger in Giovani, a new keeper coming and a new defensive midfielder is sure to follow. I think we’ll be in the mix with Arsenal and Liverpool, whilst challenging in all cup competitions. It may be a season too soon, with all the new signings though. I’m just glad we’ve got the ambition. We will certainly be one of the most exciting teams next season though, and with King and Woodgate at the back, we should be much better at the back. COYS
How can you cite Dos Santos as a key signing and not mention Modric. The latter will play most games and will be influential. At this stage I do not see Gio starting too many matches, we will have the luxury of breaking him in to the EPL slowly – unlike poor Kaboul who had to be thrown in and has never really recovered.
No one expects Spurs to end top 4. However it is not impossible. All the big4 have potential weaknesses and wevery season 1 under performs. If Ronaldo leave Man Utd who will get all their goals? Arsenal overperformed last season and with a bit of unrest there can they even match last seasons form? Liverpool just need a injury to Torres or Gerrard and they are screwed, and who knows how things will go at Chelsea with Big “i haven’t coached at club level for +8 years” Phil now in charge.
We certainly need to get cover at the back, a defensive midfielder and to ship out some of the deadwood – I consider all of the following to be surplus to requirements – Lee, Ekotto, Rocha, Gardner, Chimbonda, Tainio, Boateng, Ghaly, Stalteri and by the sounds of it Robbo ’s days are numbered. Then there is Kaboul, Dawson, Bent & Lennon all of whom significantly under performed last season & cannot be sure of a squad place.
Still a long way to go before we can judeg how well we will do next season, there could be so many changes to come!
Graham, trying to arouse the sp*ds I see. No matter how many writers try to give them erections, one can’t help but be pessemistic.
Javier Mascherano, Pepe Reina, Martin Skrtel? world class aren’t they.
No big four? Arsenal are a far better team than Chelsea? They play better football and have better players. Liverpool compete for the title of King of Europe every season. By no means are United and Chelsea “untouchable”.
I agree with the point from James that Liverpool have great players surrounded in mediocrity I mean we have a keeper who has won the golden boot 3 years in a row, aswell as 2 great veteran defenders we have 2 greats prospects in Agger and Skrtel, the best defensive mid in the world, possibly the best midfielder in the world, a winger who is predicted to one day take us by storm and easily the best striker and in the league (possibly the world) yet we fail to compete.
Spurs might compete but refurbishing a team leads to inconsistancy (just ask Man City) and Chelsea may also struggle with this.
sorry golden glove
Don’t see us as top 4.The defence hinges on Ledleys fitness. Hopefully a new keeper will join soon as well as a holding midfielder,(we’ve never replaced Carrick). Can’t see Villa, (David not Aston), joining us as we don’t have Champions League to look forward to. Not all gloom, can see Modric being an outstanding player next season. Also, remarks about Man U’s decline if Ronaldo leaves, forget it! They’ll be first or second next season. Their problems will happen when Ferguson decides to retire. Hope we can get a class centre back to take the pressure off Ledley. Top 6 at best.
i was dreaming about modric’s impact on spurs just like arshavin’s impact on russia.its was rounded by berbatov, hutton, keane, dos santos and 1 or 2 great signing soon.
Dude, you gotta mention Modric who has looked a class act in the Euros.
There is no way spurs are going to be winning the league.But they might just break into the top 4.Let’s see..they have an excellent defence (Hutton woodgate king chimbonda/gilberto..if king can keep fit that is)..a good enough central midfield (Jenas..modric)..good wingers (malbronque lennon and now dos santos) and a fantastic strike patnership with a pretty good backup striker.
For spurs to come in to the top four..they desperately need some of their big players to step up..namely
1)King:-Vida and rio showed last season how important a tight defence is for a succesful season. Woodgate seems to be an excellent signing.King has a reputation of being one of the best centre half’s in the league..but has been incurring injury after injury.It is vital that he stays fit and forms a good patnership with woodgate as dawson just isnt good enough
2)Jenas/Modric:-Jenas should be ready for some time on the bench after the arrival of the classy Modric.It doesnt seem that the two can form a midfield pair,but then again..thats what they said about rooney and tevez as well.Jenas starts each season full of promise which fizzles out gradually.Spurs definately need one of them..or perhaps both to step up
3)Lennon:-Lennon has always shown flashes of brilliance but hasn’t really had a great season yet.He has had enough time to mature now.It is time he delivers
4)Berbatv:-Whateva you might say..whatever the stats may say..berba good enough to justify the 40 million tag placed on him. He needs to justify it this season
sorry..meant- berba wasnt good enough to justify the 40 million tag placed on him. He needs to justify it this season
If Spurs can get Bale and King fit for the new season then that would help immensly. I think they still need a defensive midfielder (Diarra from Portsmouth) and i rate Podolski to be better than Villa as Villa does not look interested half the time but Podolski works tremendously hard when the opposition have the ball and can also score goals.Modric and Dos Santos will become fantastic signings. Spurs for the top four? WHY NOT!
Alex,
I don’t think that was a spelling mistake, personally. Have you not encountered a cross-cum-shot before? (You’ll either recognise that or it will take your mind somewhere else, or both).
Just have to say Graham, I think Ramos will do well there, I do like Spurs. That said, I felt your description of Dos Santos was exactly like Nery Alberto Castillo. How well he does remains to be seen, although I know City were linked with Santos for a while. I wish them well.
By the way Liverpool fan, as much as it pains me to say it the world’s best midfielder is currently at Old Trafford. Also, if bringing in new players led City to inconsistency that can’t be the reason we were in the top 4 at Christmas. It was a combination of a few things: a surprise element, fatigue of players brought in who were used to Winter breaks (according to Sven, I only half believe this) and also in my opinion, his over reliance on 4-5-1 in the second half of last season.
lol @ Anthony
I would really like to see Boruc between the sticks for us next year. 10 million isn’t a too great for a tight goalie, and despite being surrounded by an abysmal team at the Euros he managed to stand tall. Podolski would also be a keen signing, he’s young, fast, and works hard. Top four isn’t out of the question.
Anthony surely you can’t be calling Ronaldo a midfielder, don’t you know by now that Messi’s, Ronaldo’s are now regarded as forwards. I do think Sven messed up with his system but I still believe that building a new side will lead to inconsistancy.
The gap between the 4 teams(Chelsea, ManU , Liverpool And Arsenal) is fast closing up especially with the loss of key playerss like Ronaldo and Adebayor.
The problem Spurs have had for years have been second rate managers who could not match the likes of Sir Alex, Maurinho, Wenger and Benitez. Spurs have resolved this vital problem as RAMOS is a classy operator with a proven track record. The matches against ManU, Chelski, Liverpool & ARSEnal were encouraging without his “players”.
Now with the rebuilding and RAMOS in charge, I will be betting that SPURS will surely make the breakthrough this season!
Pool fan,
I know where you’re coming from, but to my mind the forward has always been something like Bergkamp, Sheringham, Cantona etc. Wasn’t there a position called wing-forward back in the day? Or was it wing-half? Back in the days when most teams seemed to play 2-3-5 lol.
I still think Arsenal havent caught on. Yeh I know they are the position between mid and forward but Uefa classifys them as forwards (then again Uefa have been known to be idiots)
What Spurs fans need desperatly is realism. They have to come back to earth and admit that they are light-years behind the top 4. It’s also funny how they always think they can catch arsenal.Last season you finished 11, Arsenal finished 3, only 4 points behind champions United. And if I remember correctly after the sale of Henry, everyone picked us to drop out of the top 4, yet we actually improved our performances. SO if we coped so well without Henry, what makes you think that the sale of Adebayor will have any impact? TIME TO FACE REALITY, YOU ARE A SECOND RATE CLUB WHO CAN AT BEST FINISH FIFTH.
nima, ur obviously an arsenal fan who just bashes tottenham for no apparent reason, so ur input is invalid.
tottenham need a new centre back, king has to go, there is a time when it doesnt matter how good a serviceman he has been, the team is more important than a player.
with hunter, bale, woodgate and gunter in the backs. we need to step up our attack in the midfeilders. i think that having giovanni, jenas, modric and hopefully bentley can put pressure on opposition defence we so rarely did last season.
keane and berbs would be fantastic yet again if they dontget sold late.
last season malbranque played quite well and is 100% committed to the team, however he lacks the skill required for a top 4 club.
on the bench and by no means out of the team i would love to see o’hara, huddlestone, dawson and bent. (stupid jol for spending 16.5mil on bent – however he can prove quite useful if needed and unless we get a super good offer for him, should keep him, unless we sign luis garcia from espanyol)
i think our main focus this year should be making sure our fitness is again improved so that after 70min we dont fall behind quality teams like man utd and chelsea.