Juande Ramos News Archives

Since Tottenham crashed out of the UEFA Cup on penalties back in March, its fair to suggest that cruise control mode has set in a White Hart Lane. The north London club are guaranteed a spot in next season’s UEFA Cup following their Carling Cup victory. But with just two games of the season remaining, the height of the club’s current ambition is to leap frog West Ham into tenth position in the Premiership table.

Spurs’s league form has been consistently inconsistent throughout 2007/2008 and to emphasise the point, Juande Ramos‘ team have managed just one win in their last eight games. It’s hardly the kind of form expected from a side talked about in many quarters as being top four material last summer.

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Blackburn Rovers’ hopes of UEFA Cup football next season took a hit when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Tottenham.

Bulgarian international Dimitar Berbatov gave Tottenham, who have already made sure of a return to Europe by winning the League Cup, a sixth-minute lead before Morten Gamst Pedersen levelled for Blackburn on the half-hour mark.

England goalkeeper Paul Robinson was left out by Tottenham after being troubled by an ankle injury and his replacement Radek Cerny was soon in difficulties when he fluffed a clearance.

But Spurs were soon in front.

Steed Malbranque passed for Jermaine Jenas who found Berbatov in space and the Bulgarian coolly slotted in his 22nd goal of the season.

At the other end of the pitch, Pedersen had a shot saved by Cerny before England winger David Bentley created an equaliser for the Blackburn star.

Bentley breezed past Pascal Chimbonda before pulling the ball back for Pedersen to finish past Brad Friedel.

Bentley and his England international counterpart Aaron Lennon both shone in an end-to-end game but neither side was able to find the killer touch with the result leaving Rovers in eighth place and Tottenham in 11th.

Blackburn can still improve on this season, with Portsmouth facing a tough run of fixtures with an away game to West Ham on Tuesday and then home next weekend to a resurgent Newcastle United. Tottenham on the other hand have more to worry from Newcastle United overtaking them than of them going on to overtake West Ham.

After a turbulent season as replete with failure as success – an extremely disappointing league position and a whimpering exit from the UEFA Cup compensated only by a euphoric Carling Cup win – one gets the feeling that Juande Ramos and his team are to take advantage of the long summer break to effect a heavy clearout of a squad that was by and large inherited from their predecessors.

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Juande Ramos has decided to splash the cash in Manchester United’s direction with Tottenham picking up a host of stars from the Manchester United firesale.

Tottenham are reported to have struck deals with United keeper Ben Foster, former Tottenham midfielder Michael Carrick as well as French internationals Louis Saha and Mikael Silvestre.

The combined deal will cost Tottenham £30m, and while some reports have suggested that Manchester United were giving Saha and Silvestre for free, we have confirmation from Tottenham that they will indeed be paying for the services of Saha and Silvestre.

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It was a great night, for the most part, for British sides in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night, as four of the five British participants still in the competition advanced to the round of 16.

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So the see-saw that is the Premier League lead has swung back the way of Arsenal again after they became the first side this season to leave the City of Manchester Stadium with three league points, whilst their North London neighbours Tottenham apologized for humiliating them in the Carling Cup last month by halting the Manchester Utd Globetrotters with a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane - although the ungrateful souls among Gunners fans may still manage a grumble about Juande Ramos’ side conceding an equaliser with literally the last kick of the match, via a combination of Carlos Tevez & Michael Dawson.

Behind them, Chelsea lost ground in third place as Jermain Defoe’s debut goal for Portsmouth denied Avram Grant’s side a club-record tenth successive victory after Nicolas Anelka had picked up his first league goal for the Blues.

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It’s a funny old game is football, full of omens, curses and clichés. No sooner had Tottenham got one monkey off their back by beating Arsenal for the first time in nine years, they turned their attention to ending a winless run at Old Trafford that stretches back more than twice as long. 1989 was the last time Spurs collected a win at Manchester Utd, their side that day featured the likes of Gary Lineker & Paul Gascoigne. Incredible eh? But United were in no mood to follow in Arsenal’s footsteps, even after falling behind to Robbie Keane’s first half strike. Cristiano Ronaldo took his frightening goal tally to 25 in 27 games this season, and Juande Ramos’ incredible cup run came to an end after three unforgettable years at Sevilla and, already at, Spurs.

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It seems Juande Ramos is not willing to sit back and bask in the glory of reaching a major final in his first three months in charge at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham have agreed a fee in excess of £7m for Middlesbrough defender Jonathan Woodgate, who will discuss personal terms today. Ramos has also confirmed his desire to bring Valencia outcast David Albelda to Tottenham, although a deal for the 29 year old Spanish international would be a complicated process.

Meanwhile former Spurs forward Fredi Kanoute, now at Sevilla, opened the door on a possible return to North London in an interview with the BBC, saying “I like Ramos as a coach. He has been very good with me, and I like the way he works. If he asked me [about a return], I would have to think about it because it is an important time in my career.”

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Juande Ramos‘ stock is high at the moment. A quick skim of the papers and football websites will tell you that. Spurs’ 5-1 victory over their North London rivals Arsenal on Tuesday night had fans and pundits purring.

Arsene Wenger’s side was admittedly a mostly second-string one, but it was these second stringers who had already bulldozed past Premiership sides in Newcastle & Blackburn en route to this semi final clash. Spurs came away from the first leg at The Emirates a fortnight ago disappointed with a 1-1 draw, having dominated for large periods. And without a win against their more distinguished rivals in their last twenty one attempts, Spurs fans could have been forgiven for feeling that their side may well have wasted a big chance.

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Tottenham fans, it’s not a typo. This time, your team made sure Arsenal couldn’t do it again, and break your hearts for the umpteenth time.

A Tottenham victory over their archrivals was inevitable, but in the process of getting the long-awaited triumph, Juande Ramos’ side released years of frustration and disappointment on an Arsenal side that, truth be told, didn’t stand much of a chance of leaving White Hart Lane victorious from the kickoff.

As a result, Spurs have their first win over their nemesis since 1999, and more importantly, are in the Carling Cup final, with a chance to win their first trophy since they won this same competition in the 1998-99 season. Read the rest of this entry »

Several times over the last eight years, Tottenham have had victory against Arsenal within their grasp, only to let it slip away in the late stages.

History repeated itself at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, as Tottenham took a first-half lead, only to see Arsenal nick a goal in the late stages again and earn a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Carling Cup semifinal encounter.

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As opposed to ending the roundup with the signings as I usually do, I’ll start today’s with the signing news.

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If you think you’ve seen it before, indeed you have. For the second year in a row, Tottenham and Arsenal face off in the Carling Cup semifinals, with the winner going up against Chelsea or Everton in February’s final at Wembley. The first leg will be contested at the Emirates Stadium on January 8th, with the second leg being played at White Hart Lane on January 22.

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Tottenham Hotspur were touted by many to seep into the top four in the English Premier League this season but far from coming anywhere near, Spurs are fighting in the bottom half of the table.

In 16 Premiership matches this season, Spurs have mustered just 15 points and have conceded a whooping 29 goals. It is Spurs’ leaky defense that has been the main headache for manager Juande Ramos and the Spaniard is eager to settle that issue when the January transfer window opens.

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Now I’ve been thinking about an article on the new Jefe at Tottenham Hotspur for some time now but I thought I’d give the guy a chance first and he’s largely been good, but after the dismal 3-2 against Birmingham City I thought now would be a good time to criticise/praise Señor Ramos.

But there’s just one problem before I decide whether or not to unleash on the guy; who is he? How did he arrive where he is now? And most importantly, is he good enough to manage Spurs?

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If you North Londoners poke your heads out of your window this evening only to encounter the terrifyingly pathetic sight of a six foot ogre bawling his eyes out, you won’t be dreaming, you won’t have accidentally turned on your much-thumbed copy of the Shrek 2 DVD, and it won’t be because it’s Halloween. It will be none other than Jolly Martin, still trying to recover from the progressive humiliation suffered in the hands of the Spurs board.

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Tottenham Hotspur currently sit 18th place in the table, in the relegation zone and only above Bolton and Derby County.

With just seven points coming from their first eleven games, this is hardly the stuff of a team that many claimed would break into the top four this season; their poor results have led to Martin Jol being sacked and Sevilla boss Juande Ramos being brought in to replace him. Ramos of course managed Sevilla just a short while ago, and while Tottenham have had many questionable managers in the past, Juande could be the man to finally bring glory to the north London side.

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“What a bunch of idiots.”

I said that when I first heard about the Tottenham board approaching Juande Ramos, behind Martin Jol’s back, towards the end of August. How hard does your father have to fuck you in your ears for you not to understand the anal stupidity of backing a manager through the summer only to stab him in the back at the end of it?

No, seriously, how far up your ass does your head need to go before you realise that you’ve hit a dead end, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and you’re stuck? Wait, wrong metaphor…

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7 matchdays have passed in La Liga. While Real Madrid is perched at 1st spot with 19 points, the two Seville teams (Real Betis and FC Sevilla) have 12… if you add their totals together, that is.

While the fact Betis is underperforming doesn’t make much of a headline anymore, seeing the team of Juande Ramos with 6 points out of a possible 18 (Sevilla have one game at hand) is another matter. The team that won the last two editions of the UEFA Cup is undergoing one of their darkest periods of past years: 4 consecutive defeats in the Spanish league, and the apparent loss of the beautiful quick playing style that everyone fell in love with.

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Being an Arsenal fan, there is no better time to stick the boot in Spurs as now. During the summer, Tottenham Hotspur spent around £40 million while Arsenal actually made a profit on transfer dealings after selling mercurial captain Thierry Henry.

Many tipped Tottenham to finally break into the top four while Arsenal faded into the UEFA Cup places; the opposite has been true as the Gunners have soared to the top of the table while Spurs sit in the relegation zone.

As much as I love taking the piss out of my Tottenham supporting father (who must have had a troubled childhood to pick such a team), I will not use the widely viewed stage that is SoccerLens to bash the Lilywhites (I have Arsenal forums for that ;)). Rather, I would like to issue a friendly, neigbourly warning:

Tottenham Hotspur must get rid of Martin Jol if they want any chance of challenging for the Champions League places.

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The Tottenham board, in going after Juande Ramos behind Martin Jol’s back, and then doing the very public about-face by ‘warning’ Jol about their expectations and getting him to talk about the Champions League (when earlier in the summer there were sounds coming out of Tottenham of more ‘realistic expectations), have embarrassed themselves and let down their fans and the players.

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The Guardian (eager beavers that they are) and the BBC are both talking about Martin Jol being out of favour with the Tottenham board and the Guardian goes a step further, saying that the Tottenham board have sounded out Juande Ramos and now the Sevilla manager is waiting for an official offer from Tottenham.

At this point I don’t know what to think. It seems a bit ridiculous that the board would back a manager so strongly in the transfer season, see that several first-teamers are injured and then prepare to sack the manager based on the results of the first three games (I wrote about this in detail yesterday as well).

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There has been a lot of speculation in the press recently about Martin Jol’s future at Tottenham, including reports that the Tottenham board has sounded out Juande Ramos and Jurgen Klinsmann as potential replacements as Tottenham manager.

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