Most didn't believe me when I stated that Spurs were interested in bringing in Ricardo Quaresma or Juan Roman Riquelme, however a few days later the press discovered that this was true and although they were very long shots and did not come off, my sources were right. 

I have been led to believe that the Spurs board were willing to stick with Martin Jol until the end of the season as they were made to look stupid for trying to stab him in the back before finding out that the preferred replacement had changed his mind about joining them.

I have learned that the board feel as if they are in a no-lose situation now with Jol. If Spurs fail to win anything or qualify for the Champions League this season, then they will not be seen as the enemy for ditching the manager. However, if Jol does guide Spurs to success, then they will have got what they wanted and all will seem well at the club.

'As he is more than settled in London and will have money to spend, it will surely make the board contemplate sending out their own sources to see whether Jose would be interested in coming to the Lane.'


The list of potential candidates we all know was long and all had very good credentials.  Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, Jurgen Klinsmann, Ronald Koeman and, of course, Juande Ramos are among the top names to be linked with the post. If at the end of the season these men are all still available and the board find themselves in the position of looking for a new manager, then they would have taken their time to speak to these candidates to confirm that they would want to take the job so that the embarrassment of being rejected is not felt again. However, with the availability of Jose Mourinho, I personally believe that this whole situation may change.

A manager of this stature can become a realistic target (the Daily Mail reports that Spurs are third favourite at the bookies to land the Special One). As he is more than settled in London and will have money to spend, it will surely make the board contemplate sending out their own sources to see whether Jose would be interested in coming to the Lane. If so then surely no time would be wasted, but they cannot afford to be caught in another embarrassing situation and must ensure that their targets are realistic (for example, reports claim Klinsmann is not interested)

I am personally of the opinion that Jol is great for Tottenham, although he is probably lacking the tactical knowledge of the top managers and maybe cannot attract the really top players. However, if there is a choice of any of these managers taking the hot seat at Spurs, my first choice would be Mourinho, followed by Capello or Lippi, and then Jol.