Candid Juande Ramos Interview about Spurs....

[mpickard2087]

I found this bit funny:

"[Daniel] Levy had an easy explanation: 'No, the thing is, the coach doesn't get it, the players are hungry, they don't eat,

I just get the image of Thudd driving straight to Mcdonalds after training as a result of being starved by Juande. After all:

"We trained not far from a McDonald's and we'd see them in there eating hamburgers"

I'll be at the Dnipro game (1882 as well) I'll give him a cheer, the c*** did win us a trophy.

Maybe a bit of "Juande give us a wave, Jaunde Juande give us a wave"

That was one of the criticisms at the time iirc. The players had to eat at a certain time, no pre-match meal etc on the day apart from some liquefied concoction and apparently there were complaints of hunger pains. It did sound like things were over the top, though easy to say that when we were losing games.

 

[VoteMe4Prez]

"Spurs aren't going to win the league. Economically, it works well but in sporting terms maybe it needs retuning. You can't demand something that doesn't fit the reality."

Ouch Juande, some of us have feelings you know

 

[Spurger King]

I'm just pleased that he took some time out of his busy schedule as an exorcist to win us a trophy.

 

[idontgetit]

Amazing win for us in the Cup, will always remember him fondly for that. We definitely benefited from his fitness regime once the players were let loose under Redknapp but fuck me they looked tired and uninterested under him

 

[camaj]

It's an interesting read. I think it's the first time that anyone has confirmed the stories about Levy that the critics often raise. All too often people place a disproportionate amount of blame on the manager when what happens on the pitch is mainly the result of the eleven players. If they're not good enough then there's not much the manager can do.

I do feel Juande was a bit unfair though. Comolli was sacked, it seemed, because Redknapp didn't want anyone above him and Levy was desperate enough to say yes to that demand. It seemed like no one wanted to sell Berbatov and Keane but if Juande felt that the issue was the quality of replacement why sign Pav? Or is he saying that he didn't want Pav?

I also think it's unfair to suggest that Levy doesn't care about winning the league but of course he cares about running a sustainable business and often the two things are in opposition. Levy clearly wants to do well on the pitch, after all there's nothing better for business than a successful team, but favours a long term, low risk strategy that pays off in the long term

 

[jolsnogross]

We were a disaster after the cup win and, while there were some mitigating circumstances, he had to go and whether he agrees or not, he had lost the dressing room. We were getting tonked by really average sides, sides that didn't even have a Darren Bent quality striker.

But, one mitigating factor stands out above all else and that's having to work for empty-suit Commoli. Ramos's first mistake, and by far the worst, was accepting a position in which his own footballing insight was subservient to Commoli's. That's just mental, and sacking Commoli after giving Ramos his cards was indeed the honourable thing to do.

He seems to be a decent bloke and that cup win meant quite a bit to us, so I hope he is well received upon his return.

 

[tototoner]

Levy more interested in profit over success shocker

 

[OneHotspur1988]

Couldn't score if we used rainbows for goal posts lol

 

[Tottenham_God]

He wanted Villa and sounded like Villa was willing to negotiate..? Why the fuck did Levy not offer him 300, 000 a week?

 

[parklane1]

Like everything else in these type of situations, there is his side, the other side and somewhere in the middle is the truth.

 

[Matthew Wyatt]

He still managed to lose 4-1 to Birmingham with Berbatov in the team. And 4-1 to Newcastle who weren't very good at the time either. Yeah, we sold Berbatov and Keane but we also bought the best midfielder we've had for decades. He still had a very good squad yet managed to start the season by losing to the likes of Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Hull. Maybe he was cajoled by the interviewer, but a lot of that reads like he's still got a massive chip on his shoulder.

That's unfair, and worse, a distortion of events. Modric hardly hit the ground running. It took him a couple of seasons to get good and four to become "world class". You're manipulating the truth to tell your story. Ramos was up against it.

 

[C-oops]

His refusal to learn the language is enough for me to say I was glad he went when he did. You can blame all the other things but this imo was a major point in his downfall. He didn't even tell poyet what the team was until the team found out which was odd considering he was the supposed assistant and the translator.

 

[Mullers]

He still managed to lose 4-1 to Birmingham with Berbatov in the team. And 4-1 to Newcastle who weren't very good at the time either. Yeah, we sold Berbatov and Keane but we also bought the best midfielder we've had for decades. He still had a very good squad yet managed to start the season by losing to the likes of Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Hull. Maybe he was cajoled by the interviewer, but a lot of that reads like he's still got a massive chip on his shoulder.

But that is a midfielder and not a replacement for two strikers. I don't read it as a massive chip on his shoulder I read it as someone who feels hard done by and to be honest I don't blame him.

 

[teok]

Nice interview.

 

[Misfit]

Yeah well, not going to comment on the DL stuff. He's not the first guy to encounter that. Frankly, Joe Lewis should have sucked it up and let H remain. He was the ultimate pragmatist really. Lived with whatever happened.

Takes a particular sort to work with DL effectively and he was the best by far.

Otherwise, I remember the end of the season we won the cup and it was ugly. All the lights were pretty much turned off after that game. We picked up right where we left off next season as well. That's on you Senor Ramos. I assume the interview was done in Spanish and the translated anyway. Another gripe.

 

[Mullers]

Levy once again fucked up but as usual he makes a clean get away. Eto? just imagine if we had got him, but fair enough even Ramos says he wanted too much in wages. But we were in with a chance of getting Villa and Levy fucked that up with his hard negotiations.

Will that fucker ever be blamed for anything?

 

[parklane1]

Levy once again fucked up but as usual he makes a clean get away. Eto? just imagine if we had got him, but fair enough even Ramos says he wanted too much in wages. But we were in with a chance of getting Villa and Levy fucked that up with his hard negotiations.

Will that fucker ever be blamed for anything?

You have enough moans for the whole forum.

 

[Johnspur]

Ramos certainly wasn't helped by Levy, on the other hand he has to take some of the blame, didn't learn English, plus things were sliding way before the start of the next season.

I've got some time off work at the moment and I've been watching some season reviews on DVD (what a loser, I know).

Ramos' reign started going south after we won the league cup, we were tonked 4-1 by Birmingham and at home to an average Newcastle. Home draws against dross like Middlesborough and Bolton. It was difficult viewing. He has to hold his hands up to that, we still had a good squad at that point!? Also, I'm not sure if it was him, Commoli or Levy, but in that January window we signed Chris Gunter, Gilberto and Alan Hutton (though to be fair Hutton was decent in the league cup final) jeez.

 

[yankspurs]

Meh. 2 sides to every story. We couldnt score and he only got 2 points from 8 games. Kinda clear why he was sacked. That bit about him wanting Eto'o and Villa is just comical. You know who else wanted them, Juande? Every other club! Same thing now with Messi and Ronaldo! Every freaking club dreams of having them in their team! But they cost way to much money and command way to much in wages!

As for Commolli and the DoF thing, it works at some clubs and doesnt at other clubs. Obviously it did not work with Juande and Commolli. It is important though, IMO, that it works with Franco and Tim. Franco has contacts all over the world and was bought in to help with getting younger talent around the world for us to develop(Tim is clearly good with young players so this could pay huge dividends), not just because AVB wanted him. Levy brought him on because he obviously felt that he had too much on his plate and needed some duties relieved. That was kind of clear when Levy rejected his resignation.

Anyway, what he says about Spurs being a business is completely true. The sport is a business, FFS. We are run in a way where we want success within our means but also be profitable. Levy likes to sell on a high for profit. Our transfer business the last year(Jan 13, 14 and summer 13) netted us a 10-15mill profit due to the Bale sale IMO, we should really start holding on to our great players instead of just selling them whenever a big bid comes in or when they kick up a storm to get a move. Keeping these great players, while adding a few pieces around them that would improve us, will prove ambition and commitment to success. The lost revenue from the sale would be made up in sponsorships, TV money, and competition money. We need to start actually spending money and investing into the squad and using sales of others to offset some of the expenditure.

 

[mattyspurs]

Levy once again fucked up but as usual he makes a clean get away. Eto? just imagine if we had got him, but fair enough even Ramos says he wanted too much in wages. But we were in with a chance of getting Villa and Levy fucked that up with his hard negotiations.

Will that fucker ever be blamed for anything?

Mullers, you do know where Villa ended up? Barcelona right? I'm sure if Levy had even slightly calmed his hard negotiations we wouldn't have been able to compete with Barcelona getting David Villa in his prime