The Undermining of Martin Jol at Spurs

[first posted on Topspurs.com]

Martin Jol started out with the ambition of emulating the success achieved by the great Bill Nicholson but ended up joining the long line of managers who have failed to bring success to White Hart Lane. His final match against Getafe in the UEFA Cup ended in defeat but in spite of everything Martin Jol left Tottenham Hotspur with dignity and honour.

It was a sad and disappointing way for the manager to leave the club after he had done so much to lift Spurs from the mediocrity that had preceded his almost three years in charge. To finish fifth for two consecutive seasons was way beyond anything that his immediate predecessors had achieved but it wasn’t enough for the Board or some of the more demanding supporters. His target for the season had been to break into the top four and the Champions League positions with his ‘card’ had been clearly marked by the Chairman, Daniel Levy. However, with the poor start to the season that was looking a forlorn hope and with the players’ confidence so obviously at a low ebb, there was no indication of an immediate improvement in the position.

Defeat at Liverpool before the break for international games would probably have brought a close to Jol’s managerial reign but a spirited performance from the players took them to within seconds of a historic victory. Another difficult away game at Newcastle last Monday saw a terrible defensive display contributing to their defeat and was probably the last straw for the Board.

Having taken the decision to remove Jol and his assistant, Chris Hughton, before the Getafe match, the subsequent defeat would have justified the decision in the minds of the Chairman and directors.

However, Martin Jol had been in an untenable position from the end of August when the initial approach was made to Juande Ramos at Seville. From then on everyone knew it was only a matter of time before he would be leaving White Hart Lane and as the weeks dragged on the situation only deteriorated with the manager looking more forlorn on every occasion.

Through those difficult weeks and the period last season when a poor sequence of results in the early weeks of 2007 had put his position under threat, Jol conducted himself quietly and with dignity, never speaking out or criticising those in charge at the club. Last season, the Cup victory at Fulham brought a stay of execution and a series of results that lifted the club to fifth but there was to be no reprieve this time.

As manager of Tottenham Jol did much to restore respect for the club which had suffered so many ignominies in the recent past. His style may have been over-cautious on occasions but when the team played well they could produce the attractive, exciting football associated with the club. Where he failed was in the inability to win the critical ‘big’ games against the top four or in the latter stages of the Cup competitions. When drawn to play a top side there was an inevitability about the result.

It was probably this last difficulty that influenced the decision of the Board who thought that Martin Jol was unable to take the club any further.

But was the manager helped by the policies of the club?
· the restrictive salary scales which prevented them signing top quality, experienced players
· the preference for signing young players with an improved sell on price
· the insistence on a Director of Football with a say in the players who were signed
· the refusal to sign a left-sided midfield player
· the prevarication on transfer deals which usually floundered after weeks of negotiations
· the sale of Michael Carrick, around whom Jol had built his team.

All of these issues contributed in making the manager’s job more difficult and undermined his position but through it all Martin Jol kept his countenance and his thoughts to himself, striving to make a team and produce results from the players with whom he had been provided.

Martin Jol was a gentleman – he had a feeling for Tottenham Hotspur and its historical success and he had a desire to bring success to the club and to the supporters who appreciated his endeavours.

Martin Jol didn’t deserve to be treated as he was by the Board and he didn’t deserve the harsh criticism that was dished out on some of the supporters’ internet message boards.

He has left now and rightly been well rewarded for the remaining period of his contract.

Thank you Martin Jol for your efforts on behalf of Spurs, you brought us great hope and perhaps it was that that lifted our expectations to a new level and brought about your own demise.

Best wishes for the future – you will be remembered at White Hart Lane as a gentleman but one who ultimately failed to achieve the success we all desired.

Jol, Ramos and Tottenham Hotspur

Jol, Ramos and Tottenham Hotspur – What Really Happened!

International week – it should have been a quiet week at White Hart Lane.

The story after Saturday’s win over Derby should have been about Steed Malbranque’s two goals. The headlines should have been about Spurs scoring three goals inside fifteen minutes. The media should have been crediting Jermaine Jenas for an improved showing and individual goal after disappointing performances in the first two games. They might even have suggested that the result had lifted the pressure from Martin Jol’s shoulders after the poor start to the season.

But no – we’ve had three days of leaks, speculation and reports of Martin Jol’s pending departure and the imminent arrival of Juande Ramos from Seville, arriving on a white charger to take over at White Hart Lane.

The news broke prior to the Derby game when betting was suspended on the possibility of Jol being this season’s first managerial casualty. Then Spurs officials had been spotted speaking to Ramos in Spain and while the Tottenham board remained silent, the media and message boards filled the vacuum in a wild frenzy of speculation.

Now, finally the Board have issued a statement saying that Martin Jol and his coaching staff have been made aware of the Board’s expectations for the season and that the manager is going nowhere.

Not a ringing endorsement or vote of confidence for the coach and his staff.

How did all this come about?

It has been alleged that all has not well within the club between some board members and the coach for some time. Last season, Spurs’ FA Cup win at Fulham came at a critical time for the coach and was a turning point for Jol who it was thought was in danger of losing his position. However, tensions remained, on both sides, and through a difficult summer of transfer negotiations there would have been many discussions, agreements and disagreements, over suitable players. The Board thought they had done well by spending £40 million on new players but the question remained, where they the players the manager needed or wanted?

Into the new season and the injury hit team played poorly in both commitment and style at Sunderland and against Everton. The team which was being widely tipped to break into the top four was now languishing at the bottom of the league, not what had been expected.

The Board, looking at the immediate fixtures, could see difficult times ahead - a home win against Derby was expected but then Manchester United at Old Trafford, Fulham away, the North London derby at White Hart Lane with a trip to Anfield a few weeks later. Going on past experience, the return from those games could be minimal and so the Board thought it was an opportune moment to take action to replace the manager.

Arrangements were made to speak to the manager of Seville but they were spotted and so the story broke across the media fuelling the speculation that Martin Jol was on his way out of Tottenham. Spurs said nothing, hoping to wrap up the matter quickly, especially when it was reported that Ramos was wanting to come to the club and was wanting to start before the commencement of the Spanish season at the weekend. It all sounded good from the Spurs’ Board’s point of view.

However, as the matter dragged on, Sevilla started to flex their muscles – Ramos was going nowhere, they stated, he would see out the final year of his contract. It was getting tricky and now instead of wanting to be in place by Saturday, it was being reported that Ramos wanted to think about it for a couple of weeks. Perhaps he looked at Spurs’ up-coming matches and thought United and Arsenal in the first three games was a rather poisoned chalice that was better not accepted, hence the delay. The most recent statements indicate that Ramos will be remaining with Sevilla, his improved salary for the final year of his contract agreed - Tottenham Hotspur are so useful as a bargaining tool!

Spurs hadn’t been thinking on that timescale so how could they turn around a situation that had been suggesting that Jol would be on his way in a matter of hours, without losing total face. They couldn’t sack the manager as there was no-one to replace him and they couldn’t deny that they had met Ramos as there was photographic evidence to prove it.

A face to face meeting with the coach and his assistant to lay down their expectations for the coming season, to make it clear what was expected and ensure everyone that Martin Jol was going nowhere while they were within their rights to look at ways of ensuring the best for the club in the future.

For the moment, Martin Jol is still in charge – wounded but perhaps like the wild animal which has been shot and injured, he’ll come out fighting more determined than ever to show the Board and the doubting supporters that he is capable of taking Tottenham into the Champions League and future success.

I am not an ITK (In The Know) and this is total supposition and speculation on my part about what has happened at Spurs over the past few days.

Spurs in History - 27th July

27th July, 1994

As Ossie Ardiles attempted to raise the spirit at White Hart Lane following the F.A. punishment, it was announced that Spurs were to sign Rumanian International and World Cup star, Ille Dumitrescu.

He had started his career with Steau Bucharest and had made 44 International appearances for his country. An exciting player, his period at Spurs was not a success, it being difficult to find a role for him within the team formation. He made 16 League appearances and scored four goals in two seasons before being transferred to West Ham United in March, 1996, having had a loan spell with Sevilla.

Spurs’ Players ‘Bottled it’ in their ‘Big’ Games

Time for Spurs to Show their Worth against Arsenal

So near and yet so far could be the epitaph for Spurs’ season. It, like last season, will be remembered, if it is, for the ‘nearly’ achievements. Carling Cup semi-final defeat after extra time in the second leg, FA Cup quarter-final defeat after a replay and a single goal aggregate defeat in the UEFA Cup Quarter-final tie. Compared with Spurs’ record over the last number of seasons that is some progress but when it came to those ‘big’ games the players lost their nerve.

In both of the domestic Cups they held a two goal lead but against Arsenal the departure of Dimitar Berbatov early in the game through injury saw Spurs’ former confidence drain away and the Arsenal youngsters were able to impose themselves on the game and ultimately on the tie. ‘Disappointed,’ said the players, ‘we don’t want that to happen again, we’ve learned from that.’

And so for the FA Cup 6th Round game against Chelsea, the players were up for that game and took Chelsea by surprise. A lethargic Chelsea were trailing 1-3 at half-time and even in the second half as Jose Mourinho threw on striker after striker in an attempt to rescue the situation, Spurs had the chances to put the result beyond doubt. The substitution of Berbatov again proved costly as Spurs lost their threat in attack and Chelsea eventually scored the goal which gave them the hope of a comeback. Sure enough, having scored one the equaliser soon followed. Chelsea had rescued the situation and going to White Hart Lane wasn’t a problem to them. So it proved in the replay, Chelsea contained and two moments of magic secured the game. The Spurs’ players once again had failed to produce their best when it really mattered.

The UEFA Cup quarter-final draw produced another difficult game for Spurs. Sevilla, the Cup holders and the team challenging Barcelona for the Spanish Liga title would be the most difficult opponents that Tottenham would have to face in their European journey this season.

However, it would be different this time.

Jermaine Jenas commenting before the first leg game in Sevilla,

‘You get nothing for reaching quarter-finals or semi-finals. You go home, you are out and you have to watch others play in the final and lift the cup. It’s not a nice feeling and it’s not something we want to continue. If you look at the teams we lost to [in the cups], it has been Arsenal and Chelsea, two of the top three or four sides in England. It was devastating to lose those games. But now, it’s up to us to make that step and beat those sides so we are able to break through into finals and so on. We definitely have the talent.’

That was good to hear from a Tottenham perspective, the players realised that they had to raise their game for these important matches.

In Sevilla, Spurs were unfortunate that a refereeing decision preventing them from building on the excellent start given to them by Robbie Keane’s early goal. The penalty award set Spurs back and rejuvenated the home team and for the rest of the first half Spurs appeared to be in shock. The half-time interval allowed them to regain their composure and re-organise so that they finished the game well although unable to score a second goal.

A single goal deficit going into the second leg at home was acceptable. Tottenham knew exactly what was needed. However, within seven minutes that was shattered and Spurs’ European dream was over. The two quick goals midway through the second half didn’t alter the course of the game as Sevilla with Tottenham old boy, Fredi Kanoute, qualified comfortably.

In spite of Jenas’ words, once again the Spurs’ players failed to rise to the occasion and produce a performance worthy of the occasion. The Sevilla players were much quicker to the ball and prepared to battle together for the result. They started quicker and Spurs were caught cold and never recovered from it.

This has been the case for Tottenham over many seasons. Their record against the top four sides is abysmal – the only light in this darkness was the unexpected home win over Chelsea in the Premiership earlier this year. Every year Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool brush them aside as of little consequence. Other teams achieve unexpected wins over the top clubs. Bolton have been a regular thorn in the flesh for all the top sides for a number of seasons, Portsmouth have done it as well and West Ham United, this season fighting against relegation have achieved their second successive away win against Arsenal having already beaten them and Manchester United at Upton Park earlier in the season. So of their meagre total of twenty nine points, West Ham have earned nine of them with wins against two of the top four sides while Spurs have taken three points. The Spurs players have failed to raise their game for season after season – regardless of who is playing – there is an obvious lack of believe at the club and an acceptance of being second best.

Martin Jol talks of the players showing a ‘winning mentality’ but it is lacking when faced with the top sides. A lack of leadership and drive on the field is evident with Spurs needing the fighting qualities displayed over many years by former captains, Steve Perryman, Graham Roberts, Alan Mullery and Dave Mackay.

How would the Spurs players respond to the management style displayed by Sir Alex Ferguson or Roy Keane? Is life too easy at White Hart Lane? If Spurs are to get into the elite of the Premiership a few feathers may have to be ruffled at the club. The summer transfer market shopping list should include that aggressive, combative type of player who ill inspire those around him to greater effort and won’t accept excuses for missed opportunities. Such qualities don’t exist within the players currently at the club so someone is required who will set the example, set the standards and discipline that are necessary to make this forward step.

As Jamie Carragher said when questioned about Liverpool’s Cup defeats to Arsenal earlier in the season, ‘We need better players.’ That certainly is the case where Spurs are concerned with players who can take the pressure of the ‘big’ games and produce their best performances when they’re most needed and when faced with the highest level of opposition.

Spurs’ next game is against Arsenal at White Hart Lane. The supporters will be ready for the game but will the players? They know what a North London derby means to the supporters but will they produce a performance on the day or will it again be a case of almost but not quite good enough?

Tottenham Hotspur v Sevilla Aftermath

‘Don’t Talk, Just Play’

(UEFA Cup - not this year Spurs)

Over the past week there have been sound-bites coming from White Hart Lane – very much in line with the thoughts of the ordinary supporter.

Prior to the game in Sevilla, Jermaine Jenas said, ’You get nothing for reaching quarter-finals or semi-finals. You go home, you are out and you have to watch others play in the final and lift the cup. It’s not a nice feeling and it’s not something we want to continue. If you look at the teams we lost to [in the cups], it has been Arsenal and Chelsea, two of the top three or four sides in England. It was devastating to lose those games. But now, it’s up to us to make that step and beat those sides so we are able to break through into finals and so on. We definitely have the talent.’

He repeated these sentiments in interviews on radio this morning.

Martin Jol was quoted in yesterday’s papers from his programme notes for the Sevilla game, ‘Be in no doubt that when we step out tonight we shall do so determined to get the result for you all.’

Unfortunately, neither has been able to get the views across to the team in a meaningful way as once again Spurs fell short at the business end of a Cup competition.

Tottenham is not somewhere you would include in the ‘Top 100 places to visit in London’ but last night on a beautiful early spring evening the supporters of Tottenham and Sevilla mingled outside White Hart Lane in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere that was the complete opposite of the scenes and reports of events inside the stadium in Spain a week ago. Inside the stadium, both sets of supporters built up the atmosphere for a game that would determine which club would be looking forward to the semi-final games in the UEFA Cup – there was a lot at stake on the evening.

Unfortunately, the Tottenham players took this congenial atmosphere onto the pitch, enabling Sevilla to do what Robbie Keane did a week earlier and score an early goal. Not the start that Spurs’ fans had been looking for but nothing had really changed because with Spurs’ defensive difficulties, it was unlikely that they would keep a clean sheet and go through with a 1-0 win and the away goals rule. However, then within seven minutes, Fredi Kanoute did for Sevilla what the previous week’s referee prevented Spurs from doing – building on their good start and increasing their lead. Two goals down – White Hart Lane was stunned – Spurs would need four goals to win.

If ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ and ‘every picture tells a story’ then the photograph on the back page of today’s Daily Express sums up how everyone was feeling – it shows Keane, Jenas and Berbatov waiting to kick off after Sevilla’s second goal, all with a look of total disbelief at what had happened.

The record books will show that Spurs’ earned a draw and lost 3-4 on aggregate and the statisticians will be able to note that Spurs have only lost one home game in all their European matches. Spurs have been given credit for coming back into the game but those facts don’t tell the real story - it was forty one minutes before they made a purposeful and meaningful attack when Didier Zakora burst forward at pace and released Berbatov who shot narrowly wide. Berbatov then hit the post with a shot in the final moments of the half – if only – but in truth Spurs could have been four or five behind by the interval, such was the pace and skill of the Spanish team.

Throughout, the fans kept up a continual chorus of support for the team and they were rewarded with two goals in a minute, half way through the second half. A late rally, an amazing comeback, nobody really expected it and throughout the Sevilla reserve goalkeeper hadn’t a save to make, while in the latter stages it was Paul Robinson who had to pull off one or two saves to prevent Sevilla regaining the lead.

Also in his programme notes, Martin Jol treated us to the views of Ernst Happel, a coach he has admired since his younger days – ‘I understand Happel was a man of few words,……… He had two favourite phrases. ‘Don’t talk, just play’ was what he would instil in his players, whilst his pre-match team-talks consisted of the rather prosaic,’Gentlemen, two points.’

There’s been plenty said over the last week but now the talking is over and we will just play…..’

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen – the concern is not that they failed to get past the team sitting second in the Spanish League and UEFA Cup holders, but the nature of their demise. Within seven minutes the war (qualification for the UEFA Cup semi-finals) was lost, although they later managed to draw the battle (the match). Once again the players had failed to deliver when it mattered most – those big, winner takes all games.

Spurs’ record in the Premiership against the top sides this year, apart from the Chelsea home game, has been appalling – even worse than some recent years when Spurs appeared to be starting to challenge those teams but without actually winning. However, this season they conceded three goals at both Anfield and the Emirates Stadium, lost at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge by a goal, without ever being a real threat to the home side, lost by four at home to United while Liverpool comfortably handled Spurs at White Hart Lane, with Arsenal to come in a week’s time. In both the Carling Cup and FA Cup, Spurs put themselves in a strong position against Arsenal and Chelsea when holding a two goal lead but ultimately failed.

Jenas is quoted as saying he is tired of losing at the late stages of Cup competitions but here again against Sevilla, he along with numerous others failed to make an impression or any meaningful contribution. In last night’s game he was anonymous as he has been in previous games against the top clubs. Steed Malbranque never recovered from the horror of gifting Sevilla the early goal. Aaron Lennon couldn’t escape the clutches of the defenders appointed to mark him throughout and so ineffectual was he as an attacking threat that in the final moments of the game he was consigned to left back while Pascal Chimbonda moved forward as an extra attacker. Robbie Keane had one of those ‘running round in circles games’ which he frequently reserves for the top teams. For an hour of the biggest game of the season the players could not raise themselves from the lethargy that was so restricting their play - their control, their passing, everything let them down. The winning mentality that Martin Jol talks about so often, simply is not there in this squad of players.

What is the answer to Spurs problems? Well to answer in the honest words of Jamie Carragher when questioned after Liverpool’s two Cup defeats to Arsenal in early January – ‘We need better players.’

Once again much will be written and speculated on as the summer transfer window opens and action will be taken in an effort to rectify the wrongs of this current season. However, the actions of last summer may be saying more than words, about the current owners’ view of Tottenham Hotspur’s place in the football hierarchy. They took the money for Michael Carrick and that transfer has certainly strengthened the northern club while Spurs, although they may have shown improvement in their style of play in recent weeks, have done little to suggest they are closing the gap on the top clubs in the Premiership.

Logan Holmes.

Tottenham Hotspur v Sevilla UEFA Cup Q/F (2nd leg) Preview

Thursday, 12th April, 2007
Tottenham Hotspur v Sevilla
UEFA Cup Q/F 2nd Leg
KO: 7.45pm
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Welcome to European football 2007 – in Seville everyone discovered what European football was all about - the hostility of the police, diving and win at all cost tactics and refereeing that favoured the home side. The previous games this season have been a mere stroll in the park compared to Spurs’ Spanish experience.

Spurs came through relatively unscathed and know exactly what they have to do at White Hart Lane:

Spurs win by 2 or more goals and they qualify for the semi-finals.
Win 1-0 – Spurs qualify on the away goals rule, thanks to Robbie Keane’s precious goal after a minute.
Win 2-1 – the game goes to extra time and possibly penalties.
Any other single goal win by Spurs would see them eliminated on the away goals rule.

In Spain Spurs had the perfect start and for the next twenty minutes they were comfortable and only when the referee interfered with the penalty award did Sevilla come into the game. For the rest of the first half Spurs were stretched but Martin Jol did an excellent job at half-time to get the team regrouped for the second half when they were rarely troubled and could have equalised. So at the end of ninety minutes, a one goal defeat can be regarded as a job well done.

Of course, the work now has to be completed at Tottenham. Sevilla showed that they are quick on the break so Spurs will have to be careful as they look for those important goals that they don’t leave themselves exposed at the back.

Spurs will have to show patience and composure to deal with the Sevilla players’ attempts to win free-kicks every time they are tackled. Here the referee must take a firm control to avoid a repetition of the first game when free kicks were awarded liberally to Sevilla while the Spurs players, especially Keane and Berbatov, received little protection.

The referee on Thursday evening is Konrad Plautz from Austria.

Injuries are playing a part for both sides – Lee and Stalteri have now joined the Spurs’ injury list but it is rumoured on message boards and has been reported in some of the media that Ledley King is ready for a return to action. That would be a great boost for Spurs but he has been out for so long and we have heard on a number of occasions that he was about to make an appearance in the team. We will have to wait and see.

Sevilla again rested players from their weekend drawn League game so it shows the importance this game is to the Spanish club as they strive to retain the UEFA Cup. However, their goalkeeper, Palop, is injured as is Chevantón who started on the bench last week. He is Sevilla’s top scorer in the UEFA Cup this season with four goals. David Cobeño is expected to take Palop's place for the game at White Hart Lane. The Sevilla forward Luis Fabiano is now available having been suspended for the first leg.

For Spurs to qualify they will have to inflict the first defeat by an English side on Sevilla who defeated Middlesbrough and drew at Bolton in last season’s competition.

Spurs’ record in European games at White Hart Lane shows only one defeat, to Real Madrid in the 1985 UEFA Cup Q/F (1st leg) game. On the two previous occasions that Spurs have lost the away leg by 1-2, they have subsequently won the home game to progress to the next round.

1983-84 UEFA Cup (S/F) Hajduk Split (a) L1-2 (h) W1-0 (won on away goals rule)
1984-85 UEFA Cup (2nd R) FC Bruges (a) L1-2 (h) W3-0

On four other occasions, Spurs have returned to White Hart Lane with a one goal deficit and progressed against Dulka Prague (EC Q/F – 1962) and Bayern Munich (UEFA Cup 3rd R – 1984) but lost to Lyon (ECWC - 1967-68) on the away goals rule and to Feyenoord (ECWC -1992) who held on for a scoreless draw at Tottenham in .

The game is balanced on a knife edge with no room for error and Sevilla’s success is such that they never know defeat – pulling the previous tie around in the final moments when they looked to be going out of the competition. A goal in injury time took the game into extra time when they managed to score a decisive winner. However, with Spurs’ home record being so impressive this season they will be confident of further progress. The only note of caution is that when the top clubs have come to White Hart Lane, with the exception of Chelsea in the Premiership, Spurs have been unable to fulfil their promise. I trust they are ready and able for the task in hand this time.

The game is set up for another pulsating ‘Glory! Glory!’ night of European football at White Hart Lane. The atmosphere will be tremendous as we roar Spurs to a semi-final tie against probably Osasuna of Spain as they hold a three goal lead over Bayer Leverkusen following the first game in Germany.

Sevilla v Tottenham Hotspur [UEFA Cup Preview]

Thursday, 5th April, 2007
Sevilla v Tottenham Hotspur
UEFA Cup Quarter-final (1st Leg)

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The UEFA Cup starts in earnest on Thursday evening – away to the trophy holders, Sevilla. Earlier games in Turkey and Leverkusen seemed daunting on paper but in reality Spurs performed well and came through and now have 8 successive wins in Europe. Only Real Madrid in 1985 and 86 have retained the UEFA Cup and Spurs as the only team left who have won it twice will be looking to prevent the Spanish side from copying the feat achieved by Real.

Sevilla with Fredi Kanoute will prove difficult opposition and the way they disposed of Middlesbrough in last season’s Final should be a warning to everyone. They reached the knockout stage of this year’s competition by finishing second in Group C.
They then beat FC Steaua Bucuresti 2-0 away and 1-0 at home to reach the last 16. However, they were fortunate to survive the last round requiring a late injury time goal from their goalkeeper Andrés Palop to take the second leg game into extra time as they overcame FC Shakhtar Donetsk after a 2-2 draw at home. Ernesto Chevantón's extra-time goal secured a 5-4 aggregate victory. So on Thursday evening two goalkeepers who have scored goals for their teams in the past few weeks will be opposing each other. Sevilla have won three of their five home UEFA Cup games including a 2-0 over Braga but lost 1-2 to AZ Alkmaar.

Sevilla are a team of talented players. Apart from Kanoute who left Spurs in the summer of 2005 and is their leading goal scorer with 22 goals, they have a Brazilian right back, Daniel Alves and two skilful wingers Jesus Navas and Antonio Puerta. The strength of the Sevilla side is shown by their two wins over Barcelona this season, once in the Super Cup and recently in the league. A win over Real Madrid has also helped them to second place in the Spanish Liga, two points behind Barcelona.

Sevilla forward Luis Fabiano is suspended for the first leg, while team-mates Julien Escudé, José Luis Martí and Aitor Ocio are all within a caution of missing the return match in London. While for Spurs Berbatov and Chimbonda are both one booking away from a suspension.

Spurs record against Spanish sides is not as good as against some of the other continental sides.

P 5 W 1 D 2 L 2 For 6 Ag 4

After the initial impressive 5-1 success in the ECWC Final in 1963 against Atletico Madrid, Spurs have lost out to both Barcelona and Real Madrid. Both ties are memorable, the 1982 ECWC (SF) against Barcelona was a bruising encounter and saw Spurs draw1-1 at WHL but lose by a single goal in the second leg. Against Real Madrid it was a first home defeat in Europe, to a Steve Perryman own goal, that saw Spurs’ demise as the away game ended scoreless in the Q/F tie, with Perryman sent off in the second leg. This would be a good time to avenge those last defeats.

The Spurs team should be on the usual lines, now that Martin Jol seems to have settled on his best team. With no central defensive cover, Chimbonda should partner Dawson with Stalteri coming in at right back. It is rumoured that Ledley King may travel and have a place among the substitutes in case of an emergency. Depending on his level of fitness Tainio may get a place in midfield, while Keane will probably start alongside Berbatov.

Spurs have encountered tough draws in the latter stages of this season’s Cup competitions – Arsenal in the Carling Cup (SF) and Chelsea in the FA Cup (QF) and now Sevilla. They can look back on those previous competitions as missed opportunities – they can’t afford to make the same mistakes for a third time. A thoroughly professional performance is required in this game so that Spurs come back to White Hart Lane in control of the tie. An away goal is important while the defence must concentrate for the whole game, something they have failed to do too often this season, or they could be severely punished in Spain.

For those who are travelling to Spain – have a good trip and I look forward to the second leg at White Hart Lane in a week’s time.