Juande Ramos, the Sevilla coach is claiming that he turned down a very lucrative deal to coach at White Hart Lane. The Spurs are denying any contact with Ramos or any other coach. I think they protesteth too much.
This is fast developing into a farce and the losers are the Spurs administration who have got their knickers in a twist after losing to Sunderland and Everton. They have egg on their face.
Basically, even if they get Ramos for Jol, the new coach will face the same problem of inflated expectations after Spurs doled out huge amounts of money in the transfer market. It is now written as an edict that the Spurs will finish no less than fourth and book a CL spot. There appears to be little possibility from deviating from that script. But just three games into the Premiership the Spurs want to throw Jol under the bus.
A really classy move. I think Jol dereves better than that. I can see managers lining up to take the Spurs job knowing full well that this board will boot them out at the slightest hint of trouble. But this board is still looking to making a splashy transfer.
So now we have the rumours that Spurs are looking to Juan Roman Riquelme to steady their midfield. This is ridiculous. How much money are the Spurs willing to throw away? At 17m pounds Bent was easily overvalued by about 5m. Look, the Spurs have horrendous injury problems. They don’t have Berbatov and Lennon who are their catalysts. Look at Man Utd, three games into the season and they can’t buy a goal. Who would have thought that was possible? You do the best with the players you have, not who you want to have. (heh!)
The problem is possibly one of image too. Jol is not a cuddly bear. He is a dour and unsmiling man whose emotional register is one of perpetual glumness. He rarely reacts as if the world is on fire. In an environment of such charged expectations, Daniel Levy might feel like Jol does not have the fire in his belly. This is entirely untrue. Jol is as competitive as the next coach. In fact, as a coach he has done more for the Spurs to bring them to the level where they can even think of cracking the big four. The honourable thing to do would be to give him this season to prove himself without getting into an unseemly row which would bring morale down.
But the people who count are the players. It is upto Robbie Keane to assume a leadership role and come out with an unambiguous statement that supports the manager. This will force the hand of the board because fans come to see the players and not suited poofs who sit in their box with their mineral water and latest squeeze.