Home > Football > Just five games and Juande Ramos has restored the faith of Tottenham fans
by Kevin Hawkins on 29 November 2007
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A few short weeks ago, the wailing and gnashing of teeth emanating from N17 could be heard from Land's End to John O'Groats. Five games later and, judging by the various comments to articles on the net, there seems to be a growing epiphany, with some of the faithful transferring their allegiance from Martin Jol to Juande Ramos without breaking stride.
This doesn't mean to say that the board have been forgiven, of course. Football fans always need someone or something to moan about. They need someone to denigrate almost as much as they need someone to worship. That is their nature. Having been a Spurs fan, man and boy, for over 40 years, I, too, have done my share of denigration and worshipping, but I've come to the conclusion that getting overheated about the boardroom antics in football just isn't worth having a stroke over.
What really happened in the boardroom over those fateful weeks will only ever be known to those present. Even if there was some logic to their actions, that will never be believed by the majority, and Damien Comolli has such a hill to climb with the fans that he'll need oxygen and Sherpa guide before he gets to the top.
I felt a lot of sympathy for MJ but that is an episode now consigned to history. We need to move on and give our support and loyalty to Ramos. Five games in and he seems to have steadied the ship. I thoroughly enjoyed the West Ham game, although it would have been nice if Jermain Defoe wasn't quite so anxious to score and relaxed into his normal game.
I thought Ramos showed he is very capable of some Mourinho-style inventive decision making. Although the decision to get Younes Kaboul off wasn't a difficult one, replacing him with a striker was.
We now need to start turning these draws into wins and we will climb the table. We do have a lot of talented players and we just might have a manager who can get the best out of the likes of Jermaine Jenas, who can be a real play-maker on his day. The trouble is he doesn't know which day is his!
I guess what I'm saying is that the MJ era is now history, boardrooms are what boardrooms are, somehow businessmen who are first class at keeping their commercial empires going and conducting business in private, feel it is OK to forget every principle of decent management once they own a football club. But, as, fans we need to forget that no matter how hard that is, we need to move on because we can't affect what happens, no matter how much we delude ourselves that we can. Get behind the new era and keep the faith.
Comments (12)
by Yehuda Cohen on November 29, 2007
Can we ait until we play a team of note before we start to say that Ramos has affected genuine change
by Essex_Yid on November 29, 2007
Finally a good article on this blog.. well done COYS
by Yido - Paul on November 29, 2007
As we are outside the transfer window, Ramos is using the same players that BMJ had at his disposal. Does this just prove that the players had lost faith with BMJ ??
by BIG SPUR on November 29, 2007
I think MJ lost faith in himself and that translated to the players. Whether he lost it because of the actions of the board, or whether their actions were prompted by his loss of faith, depends on who you believe.
by DannyBoy on November 29, 2007
5 games against absolute mediocrity yielding 3 wins and two draws - wonderful. BMJ was doing fine until the Board went behind his back, lied to the fans and tried to get Ramos. I beleive that if they hadn't done that , we'd be in the top 8 and he'd still be here. Let it be said our club are an absolute disgrace to the memory of the fine establishment that the club used to represent. As for Ramos - how anyone can say he's tactical decisions on Sun were good is beyond me. 2nd half we had at one point we had a back 4 of Lennon, Chimbonda, Zokora and Bale - Any half decent side would have buried us - thank christ West Ham are as inept as we are. Make no mistake Yiddos - we are on the road to nowhere and the blame lays firmly at the feet of Levey, Kelmsly and Commolli.
by AlbertEinstein on November 29, 2007
Good old DannyBoy.....Jolforever. Nice man, poor manager and he's gone, thank goodness. Being a genius I can see the logic of waiting a while before making a judgement on Ramos, but I think it speaks volumes that he is doing at least as well as Jol (if not better) with a bunch of players that he does not really know against teams that he doesn't know. I think that is a good start and a sign that improvements may follow. As you say, we haven't played any of the top teams yet, but even if he loses to all of them he will be at least as good as Jol. Hope you are happy in your negative misery.
by roy on November 29, 2007
Obviously DannyBoy misses Jol as many of us do but he spoils his comment with a stupid dig proving his lack of balance. Stating any decent side would have buried us when we had Lennon and Bale in the back four is obvious to us all. You don't have to have too many brain cells to see that but the whole point was we weren't playing a decent side. Ramos made his substitutions to be effective against the opposing team out on the field. Surely that is the skill of management beating what's put before you not putting a side out to beat anyone else. That's what management are for!!!
Surely the major point of the article was to move on. Nothing we say will reverse any decisions and yes, I believe MJ had lost the plot. To say we would be in the top 8 if he'd stayed is staggeringly naive, but then that is the other point in the article, football fans thinks with their hearts not their heads, that's why the boardrooms don't listen to them.
by Lionel on November 29, 2007
[quote]Surely the major point of the article was to move on. Nothing we say will reverse any decisions and yes, I believe MJ had lost the plot. To say we would be in the top 8 if he'd stayed is staggeringly naive, but then that is the other point in the article, football fans thinks with their hearts not their heads, that's why the boardrooms don't listen to them.[/quote]yeah but I think he meant that if Jol hadn't been judased by the directors the club would be in the top 8.
by lama on November 29, 2007
Good article mate, first i've enjoyed in a long while seeing as the trend at the moment is "Love Jol" / "Hate Jol" / "Unrealistic Signings Update". Have to say though the line "Jermaine Jenas, who can be a real play-maker on his day. The trouble is he doesn't know which day is his!" should be replaced with "Jermaine Jenas, who can be a real play-maker on his day. The trouble is he generally doesn't know what day it is..." Think we all know that Jol wasn't "the one" lets just get behind Ramos and hope he is. Watching the allborg game at the mo (24:54), christ we need a defence.... COYS
by Kenny Johnson on November 30, 2007
Good Article.A real breath of fresh air.I feel we can only really judge if Spurs are in forward mode when we play key games.Situations that look promising can and do change dramatically.Patience is a word seldom used in football, but we need to assess Ramos's progress over a far longer period than a handful of games.Ledley's return will undoubtedly spark a more positive and stable back line, where confidence is obviously lacking.This, is of course basicially the same squad that strung together back to back top five finishes,so it's clear that the level of quality is unquestionable,commitment on the other hand,like confidence maybe not so.Hpefully our season can get the kickstart it surely needs.COYS
by Brains on November 30, 2007
Would have been a decent article if the author realised that Ramos had been in charge for 6 games and not 5!
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