Can This Man Save Spurs?

Juande Ramos, who is said to be the next manager of Tottenham Hotspur, has never managed outside Spain. His current club, Sevilla, currently sit a disappointing 11th in La Liga. None of his teams have finished higher than third in Spain's top flight (and that just happened once, last year). His Web site, JuandeRamos.com, lists his motto as "What you put into football you get back, a thousandfold." Sounds a bit simple, if you ask me. If it were truly that easy, the U.S. would have won a world cup by now, I would think.

And yet, Ramos might just be the best-qualified candidate out there, at least among guys Spurs have a reasonable chance at landing. (No, Jürgen Klinsmann is not going to take the job. Neither is José Mourinho and I don't know if I'd want him in the first place). Seville have won the last two UEFA Cups, last year's Copa del Rey and this year's Spanish Super Cup. Finishing no better than third is no great crime in a league where the perennial top two are among the very best--and very richest--in the universe. This year's disappointing domestic form includes losses to Barcelona (at Camp Nou), Real Zaragoza, Deportivo, and Espanyol. Not the easiest early-season schedule. As for his motto, maybe a simplistic approach is what Spurs need right now. Maybe they just need to get back to basics and stop believing how brilliant they are and how they should be in the top four. Maybe, if they start trying to outwork their opponents as well as trying to outplay them, they will see results.

Unfortunately, it doesn't like we'll know the answer to this question until next year. Will Spurs even be a Premiership side then?