A bit OTT - he loves nothing better than ripping into us, but don't entirely disagree.:
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_4002091,00.html
Tottenham Hotspur
Same old Tottenham? Not quite. The Spurs side defeated at Middlesbrough this weekend contained just two of the eleven who started last August's opening-day calamity at Sunderland. Juande Ramos cited the inevitable lack of cohesion as he sought to explain why his side had been second best at the Riverside, observing that "It's always difficult when you've got quite a few new players for them all to settle in." But what is Ramos' job but to shape eleven individuals into a cohesive unit?
Spurs dawdled before belatedly entering the transfer marker this summer, waiting until late July before finally pursuing their long-anticipated overhaul with proper haste. Even now, with Dimi Berbatov exiting and Andrei Arshavin expected, the alterations are not yet complete. Ramos' remark should not be read as an excuse but a damning observation. There is no excuse for a club to begin the new season in such a state of flux.
In fairness, the Tottenham boss has apparently been a mere observer to the Berbatov saga but it is difficult to sympathise with Ramos when he continues to proclaim the Bulgarian's "professionalism" and then feels compelled to omit his lead striker. If, as reported, Berbatov waited until the eve of the new season before handing in a transfer request then that is the most unprofessional act of a Premiership footballer since, well, Ledley King warmed up for the new campaign by falling out of an Essex nightclub on Monday night.
Having announced in an interview published on Saturday morning that "I can play every game this season...I'm fit at the moment so I don't see why I shouldn't be able to play in all the games", there was a particularly depressing resonance to King's omission from the starting line-up. No reason has yet been provided, but he can hardly have been rested on the opening day of the season and it's reasonable to assume his absence was related to a longstanding knee problem. Aside from identifying a replacement for Berbatov, the unavailability of King should cause Ramos to reconsider his decision not to buy a centre-half this summer while events at the Riverside also highlighted why Spurs' failure to buy a defensive midfielder is so baffling.
Officially, Alan Hutton was the only Tottenham player unavailable for duty due to injury. The absence of the right-back should not have spelt calamity but it was the start of Spurs' undoing on Saturday once Ramos opted to deploy Didier Zokora as the Scot's replacement. That left Spurs midfield wretchedly unbalanced and short of bite. Such was Modric's anonymity it was difficult to determine what his role in the team actually was but it certainly appeared as if the Croatian, a playmaker for his national team, was tasked with filling the holding role. No wonder Spurs' defence was run ragged.
In Match of the Day's commentary of Middlesbrough v Tottenham, the name of the visitors' £16m summer recruit wasn't mentioned even once. What a shocking waste of talent.
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_4002091,00.html
Tottenham Hotspur
Same old Tottenham? Not quite. The Spurs side defeated at Middlesbrough this weekend contained just two of the eleven who started last August's opening-day calamity at Sunderland. Juande Ramos cited the inevitable lack of cohesion as he sought to explain why his side had been second best at the Riverside, observing that "It's always difficult when you've got quite a few new players for them all to settle in." But what is Ramos' job but to shape eleven individuals into a cohesive unit?
Spurs dawdled before belatedly entering the transfer marker this summer, waiting until late July before finally pursuing their long-anticipated overhaul with proper haste. Even now, with Dimi Berbatov exiting and Andrei Arshavin expected, the alterations are not yet complete. Ramos' remark should not be read as an excuse but a damning observation. There is no excuse for a club to begin the new season in such a state of flux.
In fairness, the Tottenham boss has apparently been a mere observer to the Berbatov saga but it is difficult to sympathise with Ramos when he continues to proclaim the Bulgarian's "professionalism" and then feels compelled to omit his lead striker. If, as reported, Berbatov waited until the eve of the new season before handing in a transfer request then that is the most unprofessional act of a Premiership footballer since, well, Ledley King warmed up for the new campaign by falling out of an Essex nightclub on Monday night.
Having announced in an interview published on Saturday morning that "I can play every game this season...I'm fit at the moment so I don't see why I shouldn't be able to play in all the games", there was a particularly depressing resonance to King's omission from the starting line-up. No reason has yet been provided, but he can hardly have been rested on the opening day of the season and it's reasonable to assume his absence was related to a longstanding knee problem. Aside from identifying a replacement for Berbatov, the unavailability of King should cause Ramos to reconsider his decision not to buy a centre-half this summer while events at the Riverside also highlighted why Spurs' failure to buy a defensive midfielder is so baffling.
Officially, Alan Hutton was the only Tottenham player unavailable for duty due to injury. The absence of the right-back should not have spelt calamity but it was the start of Spurs' undoing on Saturday once Ramos opted to deploy Didier Zokora as the Scot's replacement. That left Spurs midfield wretchedly unbalanced and short of bite. Such was Modric's anonymity it was difficult to determine what his role in the team actually was but it certainly appeared as if the Croatian, a playmaker for his national team, was tasked with filling the holding role. No wonder Spurs' defence was run ragged.
In Match of the Day's commentary of Middlesbrough v Tottenham, the name of the visitors' £16m summer recruit wasn't mentioned even once. What a shocking waste of talent.
