Tottenham's trading has weakened parts of squad - Ramos

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From today's Guardian

Tottenham's trading has weakened parts of squad - Ramos

Dominic Fifield
The Guardian, Thursday September 18 2008

Juande Ramos has conceded that a summer of frantic transfer activity at Tottenham Hotspur, all overseen by the sporting director, Damien Comolli, has left his first-team squad "better in some positions, worse in others", with the Spaniard deeply concerned by the side's wretched start to the new Premier League season.

Spurs find themselves in the familiar position of seeking respite from domestic toils in the Uefa Cup against Wisla Krakow at White Hart Lane this evening, though Ramos, conducting a press briefing in English for the first time, could not escape the reality that his side languish at the bottom of the Premier League. The Spaniard's defence of Comolli, whose position has been brought under sharper scrutiny by the summer's activities, was unconvincing and there was an admission that he does not know how long it will take for his mishmash of signings to gel.

"I am worried [by the league start] because we need points at the moment," said Ramos. "To have only one point is a difficult situation to be in. I'd say to the supporters that they need to have confidence in the team. I think, this season, we are better in some positions and worse in others. But the squad is the squad. I'm sure it is a good squad and, in the future, we'll be better and will go up [the table]. But we need time to adapt.

"This is the big problem for us. I'm sure the squad is high quality, but it's normal that they need time to work together. For adaptation. I hope this is not a transitional season. I don't know, though. We have many young players, but their quality is high. We all want performances to come quickly -myself, the fans, the club - but we need to be patient. This process takes time.Monday [the 2-1 loss to Aston Villa] was the first time Darren Bent and Roman Pavlyuchenko had played together. We had three players - Vedran Corluka, Fraizer Campbell and Pavlyuchenko - who only arrived at the end of the window, so they have not trained with us a lot. There have been big changes, players going and more players coming, so it's normal for it to take time."

Yet the reality is that this side have won only three league games - West Ham, Portsmouth and Reading - since they claimed the Carling Cup in February and are currently enduring their worst start to a season in 34 years. The nine summer arrivals, offset by a spate of departures, are still bedding in, though frustration has been registered that, as ever, Spurs conducted much of their key business on the eve of the closure of the window.

The high-profile departures of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane have left them shorn of options up front, with Pavlyuchenko - cup-tied tonight - the pair's principal replacement. The Russian was more than halfway through a league campaign with Spartak Moscow and in normal circumstances might have required nursing through his first season in English football. "But we can't rest the players because we sold two strikers, Berbatov and Keane, and only signed one," said Ramos. "He needs to play all the matches. When we get holidays, he'll take a rest. At the moment, it's impossible to rest him.

"The team is playing a long time with Berbatov and Robbie Keane as habitual strikers. Now it's a different situation. We need to start in the beginning again. We need to understand this situation - a new situation for the team and all the players."

Yet there was to be no public criticism of Comolli. "All the people work very hard in the club," said Ramos, dead-batting the issue. "Everyone is together in the club. The decisions are made together. Not one person is responsible. Whether it is winning or losing, we do things together. The club, all together. Me as well - I'm the club. We're all responsible for winning or losing. The worst thing for us was losing Berbatov at the last moment and we didn't have time to sign a new player. But business is business. It was impossible."

The Uefa Cup should offer some respite, even if the Polish club are unlikely to be steamrollered this evening, though this will be an interlude before Wigan heave into view on Sunday. Martin Jol, Ramos's predecessor, was granted 10 Premier League matches last season before he was ousted. "Can I turn this around? Of course, totally, totally," added the Spaniard. "We have a good squad and I'm sure the team will climb the table."

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1; probable): Gomes; Gunter, King, Woodgate, Bale; Zokora, Jenas; Lennon, Dos Santos, Bentley; Bent.

Wisla Krakow (4-4-1-1; probable): Pawelek; Baszczynski, Glowacki, Cleber, Diaz; Lobodzinski, Cantoro, Sobolewski, Zienczuk; Boguski; P Brozek.

Referee L Batista (Portugal)

TV: Setanta Sports 1, kick-off 8.10pm