Love The Game

With the signing’s of Gilberto, Jonathan Woodgate and with the first final in 6 years, life would seem quite wonderful for Tottenham at the moment. In July the pundits had Tottenham as the only club able to break the monopoly, the top four have had on the Premiership in recent years. But by the end of August, Martin Jol was the bookies favourite for the sack after a poor start to the season, this was compounded with news in September that the Tottenham board were trying the lure Sevilla’s then manager Juande Ramos, which the board were quick to deny and distance themselves from. Life at the Lane was less than rosy with the club being in the relegation zone and the Spurs faithful in uproar about the possibility of losing a favoured manager. Then came that famous day in October when Tottenham played Spanish outfit Getafe in the UEFA Cup, they lost 2-1 but the more significant news was that this was to be Jol’s final game, the board had decided to sack him and his number two Chris Hughton.

There was only one man now that was going to be taking the hot seat, he was appointed within two weeks and the rebuilding was set in motion. With some good away results at Manchester City in the league cup and Portsmouth in the league things were slowly but surely turning around, then with a the famous two legged victory over Arsenal in the league cup semi-finals, life under Ramos was quickly showing the potential to be a golden era. This can mainly be put down to a major cultural change on the training ground, the Spurs players have been showing more consistency and leaking less goals since. One of the first things that Ramos did when he took over the reigns was to introduce a very different diet, players like Huddlestone were told to loose weight, reportedly over a stone. A alcohol ban was placed with random testing, players were made to train later after the mid-afternoon meal and a lot more stamina work was introduced with shuttle runs being the main emphases.

Until this week Ramos had worked only with players that had been brought to the club before his reign, it will be over a year until people see a team fully put together by the Spaniard, but these are the first bunch of players that he has had a choice to bring to the club. Not surprisingly both players are defenders, Gilberto is a 31 year old Brazilian signed from Hertha Berlin, he can play left back and left midfield which will be of great benefit for an injury plagued Tottenham squad, he is a winner of a World Cup and brings vital experience with him. The second signing is a centre back of great potential but also a big risk, no one can doubt the talent of England International Jonathan Woodgate but what is brought into question is his fitness. He only averages in his career twenty games a season and has been plagued with thigh and ankle problems, this could be seen as a gamble by Spurs especially with captain Ledley King being susceptible to injury. But if Ramos can keep the 28 year-old defender fit then that partnership has the potential to be the best in the league.

With the new signings the squad does seem a lot more stronger on paper, if they can be merged into the starting eleven quickly and the team adapts, then it is in all probability that the club will be a true contender for Europe next year. If the club can break the strangle hold that Chelsea have over them and the league cup then they will be in Europe next season and contenders for more trophies. Juande Ramos can see the potential in the club and with the backing of the board in the transfer windows then the development of the squad could be fulfilled and champions league football to be played at White Hart Lane in the near future. Maybe even the talented Spaniard can bring the great success the club had in the 1960’s and 1980’s.

The English league has always had close ties with Scottish players and managers, in the past great managers like Bill Shankly, Sir Matt Busby, Tommy Doherty and players like Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Dennis Law have all graced the English league. It seems at this current moment a Scottish contingent have again placed a mantle on the Premiership, obviously the first name on the list is the most successful manager in English history, that is Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United. He has been Manchester Utd manager for 21 years and has won 9 League titles, 5 F.A Cups, 1 European Cup, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 Super Cup and 2 League Cups for the club. The man is a living legend and his C.V speaks volumes for what he has done for the English league, in the 1185 games in charge he has won 686 of them, that is a 57.89% win ration which no one can better in the world. He is not the only Scottish manager in the Premiership that is taking a club forward. Everton have been making steady progress under him and are now a real force in the league, which no club wants to face at their home ground. This all goes down to David Moyes who is the third longest serving manager in the Premiership at this current moment. He has guided the club into Europe twice in his time there and is introducing youth from the academy in the eyes of Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan. The future is looking very good for Everton, they are big, they are strong and with a dogged determination it looks like silverware will be coming to Goodison Park sooner rather than later.

Another addition to the Premiership is the new Birmingham manager, Alex McLeish, a former Scottish international and Aberdeen defender, during his time there he was managed by Sir Alex Ferguson. Before his appointment with Birmingham he was Scotland manager, who were piped at the post by Italy in European qualification. He also managed Rangers to the Quarter finals of the champions league two seasons ago, the best run in their history. He has a good pedigree and will no doubt have backing from the Mr Gould and Mr Sullivan, the Birmingham board, this has already been shown with the signing of James McFadden who was Scotland’s best performer during their Euro qualification campaign. He likes his teams to show commitment and give their all to the cause, which is certainly a major benefit when playing in the fast and furious Premiership. This will be another team that will be improving over the next couple of seasons and will have many onlookers interested in the development of the team.

With Scotland producing another crop of good young players and their managers plying a good trade in the English league the question should be asked, how do they produce this with such a small population when compared to England. Scottish players and managers bring a certain passion and work ethic to the game that could only be deemed as inspiring, what is lacking is made up with tenacity, bravery and down right stubbornness. Maybe the English should start to look north of the border when it comes to getting the best of them selves including players, managers and fans alike.