RAMOS: Sunday People are Scum

According to today's Sunday People, Juande Ramos is considering his position at Tottenham. Now, I realise The People is not renowned as being a bastion of journalistic integrity, but this load of old tosh really takes the biscuit. This story is so outrageous, so anti-Spurs and so sensationalist that it is nothing more than an attempt to kick a club while they're down. I know I should try to ignore it but it's the kind of irresponsible journalism that really winds me up.

If, for one minute, we dissect this codswallop, we can see it bears all the trademarks of a story made up in the pub...

The People says:

Juande Ramos is on the brink of quitting Spurs, less than a year after taking over as boss. The Spanish coach and his family are struggling to settle in England and Ramos has told close friends he is homesick. Ramos is said to be seriously considering his future at White Hart Lane and looking at a return to Spain.

We say:
Ramos has hardly moved to the other side of the planet. I thought being "homesick" was something that affected 17 year old strikers who have left mummy and daddy for the first time, not experienced leaders of men that are in their mid fifties. Would you seriously consider quitting multi-million pound job, managing one of the most promising teams in probably the best league in the world because you were a bit homesick?

The People says:

As well as having problems in his personal life, Ramos is under scrutiny following Tottenham's disastrous start to the season. Although he led Spurs to victory in last season's Carling Cup final, Spurs go into this afternoon's match against Wigan at the foot of the Premier League, having made their worst start for 34 years.

We say:
What problems? Is it just his homesickness or are The People suggesting he has other issues? The rest of this paragraph is just statement of fact.

The People say:

There have been question marks raised over his failure to line up a suitable replacement for Dimitar Berbatov, who was always destined to join Manchester United before the transfer window closed. And Ramos's judgement has been called into question following the signings of goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and striker Roman Pavlyuchenko for a combined total of almost £22million.

We say:
The failure to replace Berbatov was hardly the fault of Ramos. He did not ask Levy to sell his best striker half an hour before the deadline, not to mention that it is technically Comolli's responsibility to line up replacements. Also, who exactly is it calling his judgement into question? Gomes has proven to be a top quality keeper and is roundly regarded as a massive improvement over his predecessor. Pavlychenko is an established international who was the toast of Europe this summer and has made one appearance for his new club. Are The People suggesting that both these players are toilet? If so then they clearly don't know their arse from their elbow.

The People say:

Sources close to Ramos claim he dislikes the English weather and also the food. The 53-year-old, who lives near the club's training ground in Chigwell, Essex, has also struggled to get to grips with the English language. And his wife and three children, have been slow to settle.

We say:
This is the most ludicrous of all the statements. I mean OK, we have hardly had a gloriously sunny summer, but London is hardly Siberia. I would also expect that an intelligent man like Ramos did not just rock up at Heathrow one day to be completely gobsmacked by the fact that it was raining and a little bit chilly. Claiming he doesn't like the food is border line insulting. London must have the widest variety of restaurants available to it's inhabitants of any city in the world - and failing that are you telling me Mrs. Ramos can't find the ingredients to whip up a tasty paella at her local Sainsbury's?

The language issue has been made much of by the press recently. But the players all say his English is OK and that it's the language he conducts his training sessions in. Also, I may be mistaken but I believe he gave his first English speaking press conference only a week or so ago.

The People say:

To add to the problems for Ramos, there is already unrest in the dressing-room following Tottenham's dismal start. Winger David Bentley, the pick of the summer signings, sought showdown talks with Ramos after Monday's defeat by Aston Villa because he is unhappy that he had not yet been allowed to play in his favoured position and had instead been used in a central role.

We say:
The scum at The People are trying to insinuate that the unrest is directed at Ramos as a precursor to saying he is losing the dressing room. This whole paragraph is unfounded and provocative. The language used deliberately sets out to paint a picture of unrest. Did Bentley actually have "showdown talks" or did he simply talk to the boss about his performances and how he thought he could improve. In fact, how do the People even know this happened?

So all in all it strikes me as the largest pile of steaming manure that I have read in a very long time. If Ramos leaves any time soon I'll eat my membership card, but one thing is for certain, if he is not the manager come the end of the season it won't be because he's sick of fish and chips.