Phil Ball of ESPN Soccernet offers up his take on the Juande Ramos-Martin Jol saga, which came to its long and drawn out end last Friday after the Spaniard accepted Tottenham's offer of 6 million euros (approximately $7.5 million) per year for three years. The most unfortunate aspect of the tale is that most Tottenham fans didn't want to see Jol go; Sevilla fans certainly didn't want Ramos to leave, which means that in the end, Ramos arrival and Jol's departure at White Hart Lane came down to their relationships with their former bosses.
Indeed, the situation at hand "says a lot for presidential power and its perennial misuse," says Ball. It's no secret that Spurs president Daniel Levy disliked Martin Jol despite his modest success there. But it was Ramos, meanwhile, who severely disliked Jose Maria Del Nido of Sevilla -- and for good reason, says Ball, who recounts that story.
It was always a strained relationship after Del Nido tried to sack Ramos barely six months into the job in 2005, but results improved and Sevilla eventually became the surprise UEFA Cup champion later that season. However, when the time came to renegotiate his contract in the summer of 2006, Ramos said he was given an "insulting" offer. Then, a few months later, Del Nido chose to sell star defender Sergio Ramos to Real Madrid, a move which angered the Sevilla coach even further. Del Nido, meanwhile seems to have no problem with angering his employees: it was he who kept want-away fullback Dani Alves from leaving over the summer, by repeatedly increasing his price tag.
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