Tottenham Spurs have fired manager Juande Ramos and Sporting Director Damien Comolli. They are currently set to appoint 61 year old Harry Redknapp from Portsmouth with a €5 million compensation package. The first string coaches Marcos Alvarez and Gus Poyethave also been fired in the management cleansing following the string of defeats for the Spurs. Spurs have only taken 2 points from their first 8 games in the EPL with their only points obtained from ties.
Many were questioning whether Spurs sports director Damien Comolli was doing his job correctly in managing transfers. Last seasons starting forwards Robbie Keane and Berbatov both transferred to different teams and many question whether he found suitable replacements.
Redknapp commented on his transition:
“Once Tottenham came in and once the offer was made it was difficult for the club to turn down a £5m offer for a manager. The club were pleased to take it and hopefully people will remember what I’ve done there. I’ve got some good memories and I have had some great times there.”
Clive Allen will take over as interim-manager for the Bolton game until Redknapp’s move becomes official.
More information and interviews concerning escalation to Ramos firing:
Manager Juande Ramos has been under considerable pressure recently with Tottenham suffering the worst start to a season for the club since 1912. They currently stand at the very bottom of the Premier League with 2 points; 8 games have been played so far this season and Tottenham has still not won a game. Their record now stands at 6 games lost and two ties. The news comes hard to fans and players who were hoping that Spurs could make it to the Top Four this season. However, they should have realized that this was unlikely when Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov were transferred away. Spurs were left without a competent attacking force.
Ramos commented on the situation:
“Any decision on my future is not up to me but I am determined to put it right. It is my job, my work. The main problem for us is scoring goals. You have to score to win games and we are finding that difficult. But if we continue to play similar to how we did against Hull we can change the situation. The effort was there and the players did their job very well. Their attitude was positive and when I speak to them they say they want to finish this situation quickly.” Reportedly, if Ramos was sacked he would be due between €15-20 million in compensation which may be why he is being given a better chance than most. It was also difficult for Tottenham to obtain Ramos who recently led Sevilla to 2 UEFA Cup wins.
However, Ramos met with club chairman Daniel Levy Thursday and said the meeting had been productive.
“It was very nice, very happy. He’s very happy. We know the problem and we are speaking about looking for the solution but the meeting was nice. The problem has to stop on Sunday, not January. To win matches you need to play football. Fighting is difficult because they are a very strong team. I think we need to play. We have to show that we are worthy to stay up, but if we are not winning games it doesn’t count for anything. We need to win matches. We are very good in defense, in midfield very good but we need to improve and score goals. To win or to lose, all the team have the responsibility. Football is like the markets. It’s possible that then the markets change and go up, and so do we.”
Bent commented on the teams dismal form:
“One win won’t get us out of it, we need to start winning games so that there isn’t a gap where you need to win two or three games just to have a chance. We’ve got a difficult game against Stoke but if we prepare like we know we can do, and play like we did against Hull in periods, we know we can beat anyone. Everyone is still upbeat. There are things going around that there is unrest in the dressing room but everyone is behind the manager, and we are all behind each other. I’ve said on numerous occasions, I’m sure we’ll be okay and we’ll put it right sooner or later. It’s disappointing, obviously, but we have to take positives and in some games we’ve been playing well enough to get something from games. When you lose to Hull with goals like Geovanni’s, there’s nothing much you can do about that. It just seems to happen to us but I’m sure we’ll put it right eventually. We know what we have to do.”
Its apparent that Spurs spirits are at an all time low with David Bentley suggesting people Tottenham has become a laughing stock.
“I know people are having a laugh at the fact we are bottom of the league at the moment but it’s up to everyone at the club to stop the jokes. We’re not happy with what has been happening. You cannot hide from the situation but what we need are a team of leaders who take responsibility. We have to grow as people. We have more than enough good players at Tottenham to get us out of this situation and I give my word that we will. I’m fully behind him [Ramos], 100%. I still love being at Spurs and I don’t regret joining the club for one second. I know I haven’t been at my best but I haven’t become a bad player in a fortnight. The manager believes in me.”
(Bentley joined White Hart Lane from Blackburn for €15million this past summer and was benched after having made these comments).
Ramos talked about the sultry situation at White Heart Lane:
“I am worried about the situation but last season we won the Carling Cup and everyone was very happy. At this moment everyone is very sad and I am worried about it as I don’t like this situation. We need to work very hard to change this situation and only hard work can change it. This is my job and I am working very hard each day to finish this situation. The responsibility is all the people working in the club starting with me and finishing with the last person - we all have responsibility, when we win and when we lose.”
His attitude contrast sharply with last Thursday whence he spoke with Spurs club chairman who was reportedly very positive despite the situation.
“I don’t know - this is a question for the chairman. I speak to the chairman when he permits us to speak. He’s a very busy person and I don’t know when it will be possible to speak. Sometimes football is difficult to explain. We had two penalties against us, two players sent off, some players injured. It was very difficult for us after the sending off in the first half but the attitude of the players was very good. We played Chelsea away and played okay and got a point and I think playing against big teams, the team can concentrate well.”
Spurs defender Jonathan Woodgate has suggested that Tottenham has a strong chance of being relegated unless they take strong, immediate action. He even stated that Leeds, the team he had played with in 2004, was a better team than the current Spurs squad. Leeds was relegated from the EPL that same season.
“People say we are too good to go down but we aren’t. I’ve seen it happen at Leeds and they had a better team than we do here.” He also said that Spurs were currently facing relegation. “One million per cent we are at the moment.”
Tottenham recently played Udinese in the UEFA Cup and lost 2-0. Woodgate said that the players needed to “take responsibility” for their form. Spurs committed multiple blunders with their keeper Heurelho Gomes conceding a penalty (their 3rd in 2 matches) and with Jamie O’Hara obtaining 2 yellow cards in the span of 1 minute. O’Hara was sent off, the 3rd player to be dismissed in the past 2 games.
When O’Hara was asked if he could take anything positive from the game he responded:
“No, none at all. What went wrong was the same as has been happening in every single game we have played in this season - a lack of concentration. We have got to start learning quickly. A goal goes in and you think ‘here we go again’. When you have a losing mentality like we’ve got at the moment you have got to get really stuck in and start winning games or you just get used to losing and losing and losing. We have really got to roll our sleeves up here and start grafting because, I am telling you now, it is going to be hard. We are bottom of the Premier League with two points and it doesn’t really get much worse than that. Without a doubt I will take responsibility - I have got to stand up like everyone else. It is the players who shoulder the blame because we are not pulling our weight on the pitch. If we are not producing the goods and getting the wins then pressure is going to be put on the manager, the chairman and Damien Comolli [sporting director]. The way we have been playing, we deserve to be down at the bottom of the table - we deserve to be where we are, end of story.”
Brazilian keeper Gomes described the situation at White Heart Lane just before Ramos was sacked:
“I do not think the big problem is with the quality we have on the pitch. I think it is more mental at the moment. We are lacking in confidence, the game can be lost in your head. It is a difficult period for us at the moment. We lost another game against Udinese and everyone in the dressing room is down right now but we have to carry on because there are more games to play and Bolton is another difficult match. The formations are not an issue. What is important is the mentality of the players to produce a good performance and get us goals. We have great quality in this squad. We train well every day but on a matchday I do not know why this has happened.”
Ramos commented on the sultry situation again,
“I’m very angry because I don’t like to lose. We lost this match in this competition and now we have to win matches to qualify for the next stage.” Bentley commented about the situation at White Heart Lane before the game and when Ramos was asked why he did not play in the game in Italy Ramos said, “I chose these 18 players out of the 20 in the squad. I don’t know what happened before the match. His [Bentley’s] reaction was normal, the same as the other players who are not playing. The situation is not very comfortable. At this moment [morale] in the dressing room is not in a normal situation but they know it’s possible to win in football and it’s possible to lose.”