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The Double-edged Sword

Krafty

Well-Known Member
May 26, 2004
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I think what he meant was that UEFA cup or not, we are already an unattractive prospect.

Certainly less attractive than before the season began, but we still haev quite a few things goign for us. I think a lot of players would prefer to join us, as long as we not adrift at the bottom, then join Udinese for example, as the Premiership has a better reputation, we pay better as a group than most serie A teams, we are based in London.

If we are still in the uefa cup it, hopefully, shows that the first half of the league season has been a bit of a blip and that we will be better next season. If we are out of the cup it compounds our league form, making it look less temporary
 

2bearis2do

Well-Known Member
Apr 22, 2006
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I'm including last January's dealings, which were already in response to Ramos' demands. So the new players who appear in the first 11 include Woodgate, Hutton, Gomes, Gilberto, Corluka, Bentley, Modric, Dos Santos, Pavlyuchenko & Campbell. That qualifies as "wholesale" in my dictionary.



My understanding is that he was very keen on both Pavlyuchenko and Arshavin and would have been contented with Milito.

I also have it from two people that virtually every player bought last Summer was Ramos' choice. There are a few who didn't get bought, but they were also Ramos' personal preferences. According to what I've been told, Ramos has definitely not been landed with players he didn't want, except perhaps for the last-minute stop-gap that is Campbell.

Ramos instigated the clear-out. Ramos instigated the acquisitions and was personally involved in choosing the players. I am not actually disappointed with the new players. I think they'll all be good, individually, when they get used to England and/or each other. What I am disappointed about - and I said it was mad before it happened - was the sale of several players who gave the side continuity, especially Malbranque and Tainio, not to mention Keane, who would have stayed willingly and continued to give 100% if he'd been told he couldn't go.

And it isn't just about the individual names. It's about the decision to stop building the side incrementally and buy a whole new midfield and defence, which is basically what's been done since January. Then three strikers left and suddenly we have what is effectively a whole new starting 11, except for Jenas, Zokora, Lennon and occasionally King or Huddlestone.

Fair points. Now seen with my ´January eyes´on.

And with that perspective it makes the current situation even more laughable does it not. As really and truly Ramos has now had 30 plus games in which to integrate his January bods.

I couldn´t agree more with you about the incremental improvement of a team. That is what team building is all about and yet Ramos has been given the license to build from scratch. That is absolute blind and dangerous faith on behalf of the board.

One question that raises its ugly head is the sale of Berbs and Keano. IF it was agreed to give Ramos a clean slate and opportunity to build his team, then it may well have been with the caveat that he must raise the money from the existing squad. Therein IF he really wanted Modric and Bentley, the only way he could afford them would be to sell Berbs and Keane. Therein (and we don´t know the secret discussions) the sales of Berbs and Keano may well have been given a much easier clearance than we are led to believe. Who knows.

What I do know, is that both Keane and Berbs are doing the business in the CLeague. And they could have been doing that for THFC in the CLge, IF the summer transfers of 2007 had been of the calibre required to move that particular team up a notch. I think this is one of the saddest legacies of the last couple of years. A Keano and a Berbs partnership is a rare thing and should have been the focus of all transfer activity.

Last season, both knew the CC Cup was as good as it was going to get at the Lane. Both were in the prime of their career and both chose to move on. A sad reflection of our incompetent transfer activity over the last two summers.
 

jolsnogross

Well-Known Member
May 17, 2005
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As for Comolli, his job is to get the deals done. I don't think he bears any more (nor any less) responsibility for the recent individual errors of judgment than the other 3 men on the transfers committee.

Where Comolli has to be singled out is that it was clearly his initiative to try to get rid of Jol and install Ramos. If Ramos is deemed to have failed, Comolli has to go, because it was he who instigated the risky decision to end 4 years of incremental building and go for a quick step-change and a complete turnover in management and playing personnel.

All of them have taken collective responsibility, publicly. Why fans insist upon blaming some individuals and not others says more about the people doing the blaming than it does about the people being blamed.

Comolli's job isn't just to get deals done surely - if that was the case he'd have been hired as a club lawyer or negotiater. He's a director of football, so he has responsibility for the longer-term direction and ethos of the club, as well as facilitating the manager in the shorter term. I think he's wholly unqualified for this. Without arguing about this-or-that player or this-or-that window, he wasn't worthy of the position before he came in, and hasn't shown himself to be adequate, let alone excel, since he's been in it. So I agree that he is only deserving of his fair share (and no more) of the current playing crisis. But he is also not up to the job he holds and should be removed (whether he should be replaced or not is another issue).

As Ramos' position becomes more untenable, I may get my wish as you've said. It's very tough to see us in the state we are in and I'm surprised and disappointed in Ramos - given the eagerness to get him in, I assumed he'd be like Mourinho in terms of personality: oozing confidence, a man with a plan, a man not to be trifled with, a man whose aura and know-how would lead to us to at least what Jol had achieved. Again tonight, that just isn't the case and if not getting the most out of a talented squad was a reason for sacking Jol, then Ramos must surely fall on the same sword.
 
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