Dreaming of a new era..Tottenham under Ramos

The new English Premiere League season is upon us and with it comes hopes and expectations of clubs that fall below the top 4. This year one particular club from London aims to break through the ceiling and become a true contender for English domination. This club is Tottenham Hotspur under the tutelage of Spanish manager, Juande Ramos. Ramos has created quite a reputation of winning silverware from his days in Spain in charge of Sevilla FC. There Ramos took his team to the UEFA Cup in his first season in charge and then managed to retain the title the following season. He also managed to lead Sevilla to a 3rd place position in the La Liga and win the Copa Del Rey against Getafe. His achievements attracted Tottenham after they parted ways with their former manager Martin Jol after a disappointing start to the 07/08 season.

Ramos made his way to England in October to take over Tottenham and made drastic changes that lead the team to win the Carling Cup. Ramos however made it clear that he was not impressed with the lineup he inherited and informed his board that he intended to overhaul the existing team in the summer transfer window. Ramos kept his word and this summer a number of players exited the club, while Ramos signed new players from around the globe. With the transfer window not quite closed Ramos still seems to be skillfully weaving his way bringing in players into the club. Over the past two months Tottenham has seen new faces such as Croatian playmaker Modric, Mexican prodigy Dos Santos, Brazilian goal stopper Gomez and heir to David Beckhams English role David Bentley. Ramos also gave a number of Tottenham players the exit, such as marksman Robbie Keane, defender Chimbonda and goal keeper Robinson. Existing players were also given more responsibilities, such as striker Darren Bent, defender Gareth Bale and midfield duo Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Jenas. If the preseason is anything to judge future performances for the Spurs, then it could be said that Ramos has improved the squad with his transfer strategies. Tottenham has had an impressive pre-season so far with new and old players contributing to a number of goals against Championship teams and German opposition.

It seems Ramos has done alot of good in the summer. He has weeded out all the sub par players in the current roster and has replaced them with potential and quality. At the same time he has put his faith in existing members of the squad. The best example of his faith in an existing player, is English forward Darren Bent. Bent was signed by former manager Martin Jol for over 9 million pds and failed to impress with the Spurs. His signing became the laughing stock of media jokes and many felt that Bent would have been one of the first players Ramos would have given a pink slip. Instead of giving Bent the exit, Ramos has allowed starting striker Robbie Keane to leave the club, and has given Bent his place. This move may have been coerced since it is alleged that Liverpool and Keane partnered in forcing Tottenham into the transfer. However this does not stop Ramos from finding a suitable replacement outside the current squad since he has has been granted the necessary funds to revamp the team. Bent has rewarded his managers faith in him with an impressive preseason display where he has scored 4 goals in one match against Championship side Norwich and has scored consecutively in over 4 games. If he continues to perform at this level when the season starts, Keane will not be missed.

The arrival of the Mexican teenager Giovanni Dos Santos also seems to be a positive one. Gio is a product of Barcalona's prolific youth academy and was hailed as the heir to Ronaldinho in Spain. Last year he saw himself playing a more substantial role in Barcalona's first team due to injuries to key players. It was believed that this season he would have galvanized his position in Barca's first team. The football world was shocked to hear that the young Mexican decided to move to England and sign with the Spurs. Giovanni's signing allows Ramos to have a number of options in the attacking area. Gio's versatility allows his manager to utilize him either as a striker or an attacking midfielder. He is a proven playmaker that is able to distribute the ball to the striker or position himself for a shot on goal. Ramos already has a number of playmakers in his squad such as Modric, Jenas and new signing Bentley, so Giovanni could see himself in striker role, or supporting striker role. Dos Santos should provide to be a handful to defenders in any position he is placed on the pitch.

This season movement up the pitch and servicing should not be a problem for Tottenham. Ramos has signed and retained a number of talented midfielders. The two new players brought in are Luka Modric and David Bentley. Modric was Ramos first summer signing and he could soon turn out to be the steal of the transfer window, with a going price of just 10 million pds. Juande was shrewd enough to capture the budding midfielder before his appearance in the Euro 08 competition, which would have certainly increased his transfer fee. Modric brings potential and youth to the club. The young Croatian has earned a reputation of his smooth control in midfield. If he is able to adjust to the English game he should be able to regulate the tempo of the Spurs attack. The next midfield purshase Ramos made has already proven that he has the ability to perform in the EPL. This player is David Bentley and he should provide the Spurs with precision long passing and top quality free kicks. Last season while playing for Blackburn Rovers, Bentley was among those that topped the league in assists and gave David Beckham a fight to retain his starting position on the English squad.

Jenas and Lennon are the two promising young midfielders retained by Ramos. Both players are in their early 20's Jenas plays in the center of the pitch and is tall, strong and has the ability to move forward and score goals. Jenas has also improved under Ramos tutelage which has found him being called up for the English senior squad. Aaron is a midfielder that plies his trade on the wing. He is short and quick and is able to bring the ball quickly up the pitch to service the strikers. These two along with retained midfielder Huddlestone should be able to make positive contributions to the side.

It seems that where Ramos falls short is in defense. Ramos has not signed any new defenders so far. His main signing in the defensive part of the pitch has been Brazilian goal keeper Gomez. Ramos felt that the goal keeper he inherited from Jol, Paul Robinson was not effective and sent him off to Blackburn Rovers. His solution is former PSV goalkeeper Heurelho Gomez who is expected to keep the ball from entering the back of the net. Other than the goal keeper he has decided to keep his present defenders. This could be the achilles heel for Tottenham. Last season the team conceded a large number of goals. Ramos main central defenders King and Woodgate, while extremely effective are prone to injuries throughout their careers and spend most their time off the pitch. The positive in defense is the return of the young Gareth Bale, who missed out most of last season due to injuries. The young defender has grown a reputation of going up the pitch on the wing and scoring impressive free kicks. It should be interesting to see if Ramos can achieve to recreate the success he brought to Sevilla with this promising lineup.