[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Source: The Observer[/FONT]
If Aaron Lennon starts for England against Spain at Old Trafford on Wednesday and reproduces the form he has shown for Spurs recently, Martin Jol will, finally, let the merest smile cross his normally immoveable features. More immediately, the Tottenham head coach would like him to tear Manchester United to shreds at White Hart Lane this afternoon. He is not, though, one to get carried away about the flying winger.
It is not that the Dutchman does not rate Lennon - on Friday he spoke about him as being in the same class as Cristiano Ronaldo - it is just that, when quizzed about anything to do with his team, his inclination is to leaven his response with negative, downbeat mutterings. He is the Doctor No of football. He does not want to leave the impression of celebrating a Spurs revival prematurely.
Sometimes you imagine he does not believe the Glory, Glory days will ever return to White Hart Lane, but that would be misleading. Indeed, there are signs that he thinks they are not that far away. Football writers ran a spread bet on the number of 'noes' Jol would deliver during a recent press conference. There was none. He is warming to his task, cautiously but with fewer doubts than at any time of his stewardship.
Tottenham's mid-table position in the Premiership this morning is unimpressive for a club of their resources - and odds against to improve after they have played United. A draw would be a good result, a home win a surprise to all but those whose allegiances are embroidered in blue and white.
The leaders, three points clear of Chelsea with a game in hand and unbeaten in the Premiership since losing 3-0 to Aston Villa before Christmas, are on fire; Spurs remain brittle and brilliant, vulnerable and dangerous, often in the space of a few minutes in the same game.
Jol knows that this unpredictability is what makes them an intriguing team to watch - and opponents of which to be wary. Traditionally, such rollercoaster form has served Spurs well away from the grind of the Premiership. But their exit from the League Cup against the startlingly resilient teenage sprites of Arsenal on Wednesday night invited the familiar shrugs of resignation around N17. How the Gunners loved it as they struggled home through clogged-up roads. It is eight years since they lost to Tottenham.
That dispiriting performance - desperate, on tired legs at the end and falling short again against their north London tormentors - resembled England's cricketers banging their heads against the Australians this winter. Maybe it was a coincidence, but not long after England had finally managed a win over Australia on Friday morning, Jol was expounding on why Spurs can drag themselves clear of the dross and up to the shoulders of the big four. He sounded almost upbeat.
He still believes in them - more than ever, it seems. He insists Spurs are more expansive than last year, especially in midfield, a throwback position adopted to such pleasing effect recently in the first half before losing to Newcastle and, last weekend, in walloping Southend in the FA Cup.
The player who shone more brightly than anyone that day was Lennon, who withdrew with a 24-hour bug on the afternoon of the Arsenal game, before declaring himself well, then unwell again - too late to be replaced in the squad. Un...Jol-like, the Tottenham head coach insisted that had he had Lennon, along with the injured Ledley King (still five weeks away from returning) and Dimitar Berbatov available, 'I'm 100 per cent sure, totally convinced we would have beaten Arsenal, would have been in the final'.
A mouthwatering comparison is in prospect at White Hart Lane when Ronaldo lines up against Lennon, two scintillating wide attackers, both young, electrically quick and clever.
Is Lennon as good as Ronaldo, someone wondered? Long, long pause. 'No. He's younger, he has less experience. Ronaldo, he's scored 12, 13 goals already. Lennon didn't. So, let's be honest. Look at the production: Ronaldo is probably the best in England on the wing. With assists, he's probably been involved in 20 goals. Lennon has probably been involved in five or six. But you have to see how many chances Lennon already has created. He's on his way to being, possibly, like Ronaldo.'
Elsewhere on the realism front, Jol knows Tottenham are seriously weakened by the continued absence of King, their captain, and, as good a job as Robbie Keane is doing in his place, they miss the calm control the England defender provides from the heart of the defence. Michael Dawson did splendidly against Arsenal and Ricardo Rocha, the new Portuguese signing, despite his slip to allow a goal on Wednesday night, is a solid replacement. But Jol wants dominance and strength as well as expansion. He needs a sound midfield voice and, contrary to what some think, the physically imposing Tom Huddlestone is not that man.
'How many players are there like Ray Wilkins, who was 20, 21 when he was captain of Chelsea?' said Jol. 'In England, it's very difficult if you're 19 or 20 to be a real leader. I have to teach him that he must open his mouth. It's very difficult. He must guard the whole shape of midfield. That is a bit of a problem when [Jermaine] Jenas is going forward and Lennon is always far up the field, [Steed] Malbranque wants to do his dribbling.'
Sir Alex Ferguson thinks Jol is doing a fine job but he needs more time. 'Tottenham have got the resources and the history that suggests there shouldn't be a gap that is there at the moment and I think the ambitions of Martin Jol are beyond that,' he said. 'He's got ambitions to make them better and you can't just do it in one year. You need four or five years really to implement the vision of the club and the development of the team.' And that neatly describes today's match: the imposing present against the potentially glittering future.
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