Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Some new residents on White Hart Lane


This man is a good coach. Juande Ramos won back to back UEFA Cups with Sevilla and the Carling Cup with Tottenham last year. I thought Martin Jol was a good coach and I wish him well at Hamburg. The two coaches have similar styles, though as you can see from his suit Ramos bring a bit more panache. Tottenham came a couple bad mincemeat pies from pipping Arsenal for fourth a couple years back, and maybe that's why Ramos changed the team's diet when he arrived. One of his other big changes was Paul Robinson. The fact that he was the number one keeper for England might explain their absence from Euro Cup. He can pull of the spectacular, but he also makes a serious amount of flubs. He's like a less entertaining Jens Lehmann. He just purchased Heurelho Gomes from PSV and Robinson will likely be sold in the coming weeks. He has already made some other shrewd moves during the transfer window.

Luka Modric was one of the stars of this Euro Cup. He seemed to be in the middle of every play for Croatia. His passing was sublime and he showed no fear with his tackling. He is also only 22 years old. The midfield corps of Tottenham is: Lennon, Malbranque, Zakora, Huddlestone, Jenas, Tainio and Boateng. Lennon and Malbranque, consistently underrated, are great on the wings. Jenas is a player who everyone expects to find a place in the England squad soon. Zakora is looking a lot better under Ramos than he did under Jol. Huddlestone doesn't look like much, but a few times he'll make a DVR pass. That's when you're so shocked at the pass you have to rewind your DVR and watch it again. With Berbatov and Kean or Bent playing up top, that means only four positions in midfield. They'll be looking to challenge in Europe as well as the Cup competitions, so they'll need depth. They also just signed Giovanni Dos Santos. He is a quick player who is great on the ball and should fit well in the system. Barcelona already have Messi and Krkic to fill that role, but Dos Santos is definitely a player to watch. The only concern will be his size, as both he and Modric are on the small side. Modric should definitely be tough enough to handle the Boltons and Blackburns, but we'll have to see how Dos Santos does in a more physical league. The continuing issue for Tottenham is their defense. Ledley King is always injured and the same can be said for Woodgate. Bale was injured for a large part of last year and Chimbonda has a bit of an attitude problem. The less said about Kaboul and Lee the better, while Dawson just needs to be a bit more consistent. Ramos definitely has the talent up the field. With one more addition to their back line to go along with Gomes they might put some fear into the Big Four.

The other big news of the day concerns Barcelona. They snapped up Danni Alves from Ramos' old team Sevilla. A little back story on Alves, because his transfer drama last year helped push Mourinho out the door. Chelsea had a lot of defensive problems in 06-07. They sold Gallas and Huth so they had no cover when Carvalho and Terry suffered injuries. With injuries to Cech and Cudicini in the same game Clean Sheet Chelsea was no more. Abramovich refused to spend and told Mourinho to win with the squad he had, which he couldn't. That summer Tal Ben Haim came in for free and Alex was recalled from PSV, but Mourinho really wanted Alves. Abramovich refused to spend and that is why Essien was forced to play at right back for much of the season. They now have a cheaper replacement in Bosingwa, but Alves is definitely a superstar. It's a smart move for Barca to spend on defense. They've also signed Seydou Keita, a good defensive midfielder, and Gerard Pique. This is a sign that new coach Pepe Guardiola is taking defense more seriously. Deco and Dos Santos are already gone and it is expected that Ronaldinho will follow them. Even Eto'o and Henry have been rumore to be leaving the Nou Camp. If any team can cope with the loss of these superstars it's Barcelona. They still have Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Krkic. And you can expect that any money they get from selling these superstars will go into buying new superstars. I'm sure Unicef will be thrilled.