Juande Ramos: Tottenham Hotspur's Transfer Wizard

Unlike his predecessor Martin Jol, Juande Ramos appears to have got the script on how to run a transfer window.

Back in the summer, Jol spent a combined 24.5-million pounds on two players he didn't need: Darren Bent and Younes Kaboul. Bent rarely plays and hardly rates his fee and Kaboul has been a consistent feature in blooper highlights, failing to adapt to the Premier League.

Ramos has spent plenty, but took the time to address Spurs' needs rather than splashing the cash on the flavour of the month (Mr. Bent, as it were). Back in the summer, Tottenham needed a center back. At the end of December, they still needed a center back.

So Ramos gets Jonathan Woodgate for 6.5-million pounds. A couple of full backs would be nice too, so enter Alan Hutton, the highly rated Scotland right-back (9-millionpounds) and Gilberto, a Brazillian international from Hertha Berlin (fee undisclosed). Throw in Chris Gunter, a promising left-back and Ramos has successfully transformed his defense for about the same price as Jol's summer spending spree on two players now surplus.

Watching Spurs play Everton yesterday with Woodgate and Gunter both in the team, it was clear the improvement Ramos made. Woodgate was solid, lending the leadership at the back Spurs miss with Ledley King injured. Gunter started his first Premier League game, and performed well enough for a 19-year-old.

But perhaps the most telling statistic from the game was the announcer pointing out that the clean sheet was Spurs' first in 63 games.

Progress, anyone?

As a footnote, Jermaine Defoe looks on his way to Portsmouth, further clearing the wasted bodies left by Jol on the Whiteheart Lane bench.

Worth A Look: Madrid Derby, Kevin Keegan Part III and FA Cup revisited

This weekend is particularly sparse when it comes to marquee footballing match ups. England this weekend features three matches between the top three and teams in the bottom quarter of the table. Lambs to the slaughter, says I. That being said, a trio of matches stand to draw deserved attention from the more discerning, perhaps neutrally inclined footballing fan. And Toon fanatics.

Saturday January 19

Newcastle vs. Bolton, 12:15 p.m. ET

With the circus back in town, everyone in the Northeast of England will be forgetting that this was actually supposed to be Big Sam vs. Little Sam, part II. And now for something completely different.

Yes, King Kev is back in charge; we haven't seen times like these since the heady days of '96 when the Keegan led Newcastle managed to cough the league title up to Manchester United. Newcastle will be a different team, one filled with a new spirit, a new belief and if the mid-week FA Cup tie is any indication, the people of Newcastle will be looking for some place beyond the sky.

Bolton will be looking to mitigate the overwhelming emotion this fixture will elucidate amongst the crowd at St. James Park. The job got a little harder with the departure of Nicolas Anelka, but the team is playing better under Gary Megson. They'll make Newcastle earn their points, but I get the feeling that fate is against the Trotters this weekend.

Sunday January 20

Manchester City v. West Ham United, 11:00 a.m. ET

Deja vu, anyone? Four days after clashing in the FA Cup at the City of Manchester Stadium, these two clubs meet up again in the Premier League. City won the first encounter 1 - 0 and with their stellar 9 - 2 - 0 home record this season, West Ham will be in tough again.

The one thing I'll say about the Hammers this season is that they are anything but predictable. They've never looked horrible, and in fact looked to be quite a fashionable side at times. Despite a rash of injuries to many key squad members, Alan Curbishley's men have managed to maintain a respectable 10th, only 7 points back of City with a game in hand. Their road record has been surprising as well, winning 5 of 10 on their travels this season.

A quick rematch is sure to keep the passion high, so look for a quality fixture here.

Athletico Madrid v. Real Madrid, 1:00 p.m. ET

More than a few TVs in North America will be tuned to the other football around this time to catch some over hyped playoff clash, but the best bet for your Sunday afternoon viewing pleasure is surely taking place at the Vincente Calderon.

Athletico have only managed to beat their cross-town rivals once in ten meetings, but the Torres-less side of Madrid is turning up the heat this season, sitting third on 37 points. The emergence of Sergio Aguero and the continuation of stellar play, post-Man United, by Diego Forlan have helped contribute to an improved team approach at Athletico following the departure of their talismanic captain.

Real have been perhaps the only consistent side in Spain this season, building upon their championship form of last season. The Vincente Calderon Stadium is a tough place to play on the best of Sundays, it will be a true test of Real's ambition against their local rival.

Send in the Clowns, Liverpool style

As Sami Hyypia put it after a lacklustre draw at Middlesbrough Saturday: "We seem to be becoming like Newcastle. Every time we pick up a paper, there seems to be something new."

Liverpool is becoming, quite quickly, a higher profile, higher stakes version of Newcastle. The ownership hasn't a clue how to operate a football club (for more on the Newcastle situation, read Martin Samuel in the Times). The two men at the club who should know better, David Moores and Rick Parry, appear to have turned into very capable yes men, failing to back the manager and failing to stop Hicks and Gillett from approaching Jurgen Klinnsmann last November as "an insurance policy".

Liverpool's owners are only exacerbating the situation on the field, adding fuel to the fire rather than doing anything constructive to help the team. If they don't want to spend any more money on players, so be it. But don't sack your manager because he asks for funds to improve the team.

That being said, perhaps the American owners don't have the pockets nor the stomach for this game. Football is not hockey, it is not baseball, nor is it like any other sport in North America. A team cannot simply buy its way to a title for less than the value of the club. Roman Abramovich plunked down half a billion pounds to win two league championships. That's how you win the league in a hurry.

Hicks and Gillett took out a loan to purchase Liverpool, pay off its debt and had some left over to buy a few players. A steady investment of this type over a few years might get the Reds closer to a title, but to think that a third of the way through the season this paltry amount should be paying immediate dividends is ludicrous.

Rafa Benitez has his failings and can improve as a manager, but he has delivered a European Championship, an FA Cup and a European Super Cup during his first three seasons in charge. Liverpool is underachieving at the moment, but rash decisions will get nowhere.

As teams like Manchester United and Arsenal have learned, to their credit, when you find a good manager, stick with him. Alex Ferguson won nothing in his first few years at United. Arsne Wenger had more immediate success, but he has also gone for spells without winning anything.

Ask a Newcastle fan what the consequences of a revolving door policy for their managers has earned them.

If I were Benitez, I'd be considering my future at the club as long as Hicks and Gillett are running the show. Perhaps the news that Dubai International Capital is once again interested in purchasing the club should be welcomed as good news by all who are involved with the club, staff, players and fans alike.

Worth A Look

Here's four games that I'm sure Big Sam, now with time on his hands, will want to check out around Europe this weekend:

Saturday

Everton v. Manchester City, 10:00 a.m. ET

Resting in fourth place after the Christmas test, this is a chance for City to show they can win on the road. They've only managed this feat once in the past five games away from the City of Manchester stadium and they come up against a tough Everton squad. This will be a good litmus test for City and should give Sven-Goran Eriksson a good idea where he should spent his shady Thai cash this month.

For Everton, they were unfortunate to not come away from Chelsea in midweek with a draw in the Carling Cup and they'll be out for blood. I've seen a fair bit of Everton in the past month, and they look every bit the part of a team destined to return to the UEFA Cup again next season. Throughout the squad they have quality; with some luck they'll go a ways in Europe this season, providing more funds for Moyes to invest in the off-season. Watch for young Victor Anichebe to feature more now that Yakubu has left for the African Nations Cup.

Chelsea v. Tottenham, 10:00 a.m. ET

Of all the teams who should have been looking ahead to the African Nations Cup, Chelsea should have seen this January coming. No less than their two top strikers in Didier Drogba and Solomon Kalou along with all-World midfielder Michael Essien are now off for about six weeks at the competition.

Fortunately, the money pit that is Chelsea rolls on. Enter Nicholas Anelka for 15-million pounds to stave off a goal drought at Stamford Bridge. Anelka is about as proven a Premier League commodity as they come, so it's unlikely to be money wasted. And not a moment too late, for enter Tottenham.

The Spurs have played league leaders Arsenal very well twice in the past month as Juande Ramos is living up to the hype, lifting his team to 12th place in the table. Tottenham are less porous at the back while keeping the net bulging at the other end of the pitch. Dimitar Berbatov in particular has woken up from an early season malaise to show up on the score sheet with startling consistency. This will be a contest to test Chelsea's mettle and Spur's confidence in this new year of 2008.

Sunday

AC Milan v. Napoli, 2:30 p.m. ET

If only to see the debut of the young Brazilian Pato. Milan, as I have noted previously, are woeful. Pato should provide them with a shot in the arm, particularly if he is able to work well with his compatriot Kaka (who wouldn't, really?).

After starting well, Napoli have cooled off in the past couple months. They still sit five places ahead of Milan and can take comfort in Milan's poor home form this season.

Athletico Madrid v. Valencia, 3:00 p.m. ET

Valencia manager Ronald Koeman has ended fun time, dropping many of the under performing, overpaid whiners who have accomplished little or nothing so far this season. Santiago Canizares, David Albelda and Miguel Angel Angulo have been sat, while the Dutchman has brought in the young Argentine Ever Banega from Boca Juniors to start anew at the Mestalla.

Having seen Banega in the summer at the FIFA U-20 Championship, I have to say that he was at least as important to the Argentine side that won the tournament as was Sergio Aguero, who will line up for Athletico on Sunday. The transfer has yet to be completed, so there won't be a debut, but after a win against Betis in the Copa del Rey in midweek, it should be interesting to see how Koeman's new-look squad does in the volatile atmosphere that is the Vicente Calderon Stadium in Madrid.

Ligue 1

I've really tried to get into watching the French first division this year. Setanta broadcasts a couple games every Sunday, but when I sit down to watch, I often move on an look for some better way to spend my afternoon. So if anyone is wondering why I don't often mention Ligue 1, it's because it kinda sucks. Sorry France, but you've got a long way to go to hold my interest. Try getting some players I've heard of before, like England, Germany, Spain and Italy do. Even the Dutch league has more familiar faces, for me at least.

Allardyce Sacked!

According to ESPNsoccernet, Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce has been sacked. As of this writing, they had no other details up on their site. The Guardian is reporting that both the club and manager are parting ways by mutual consent, but that's a tired old phrase. Sam was sacked.

I can hardly say this is surprising. Newcastle struggled through the Christmas season (I was writing a post about the holidays when I came upon the story) and played to a mediocre draw against Stoke in the FA Cup on the weekend. Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, failed to make any significant statements in support of Allardyce which had led many pundits to assume the end was nigh.

Considering the amount of money invested in the squad by the former Bolton manager, most fans have been justified in their anger. Joey Barton, who has played little this season and has had continual off-field problems cost just under 6-million pounds, for example. Alan Smith, who has played but failed to make a significant contribution, cost a similar sum.

Too bad for Sam, one of my favourite footballing personalities. I'm sure there will be a line of clubs waiting to give him another shot, I only hope this was a continuation of the Toon curse and not a reflection of Allardyce's inadequacies.

Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008

The holiday season being what it is, I haven't spent much time in front of a computer screen over the past two weeks, and I hope most people have done the same. Visit with your family, for crying out loud.

2007 is gone, along with all of its miserable baggage. England, the L.A. Galaxy, Leeds United, Tottenham and a host of other miserable footballing entities will be glad to see the end of last year.

On the other hand, I'm sure Alex Ferguson and Manchester United will look back on the past twelve months fondly, much to the chagrin of many.

I've managed to catch a good many games over the past days, during the English silly season. On Friday, I plan to recap the Christmas period in the Premier League and give my thoughts on the implications of four games in the space of 12 days.

On Thursday, I plan a proper recap of 2007. It was a big year, as always, for football and I want to highlight some of the juicer bits.

For any out there who haven't heard the saddening news, 35-year-old Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell died after collapsing on the pitch Saturday in Scotland. Along with the passing of the young Sevilla player Antonio Puerta, 2007 was a tragic year for footballers and fans.

Watching the Aston Villa v. Tottenham game today, I thought the hosts did well to honour O'Donnell in a touching pre-match tribute. It was the second time in the past few days I'd watched a club do the proper thing by respecting those who have gone before.

At the Sunderland v. Bolton game on Saturday, the Black Cats continued a tradition of observing a moment of silence to honour former players and fans who've passed away during the year. Taking place before their last home match of the year, I thought it was an excellent salute to the people who make football part of the fabric of life around the world.

Happy New Year all and take a moment to remember those who have made the game great over the years, fans and players alike.