The Spurs Pies 2007/08 Season Review: November
Juande Ramos' first full month as Spurs manager saw us go unbeaten in all competitions, and there were clear signs of Ramos stamping his authority on the squad.
Friday November 2nd
Jol criticises Comolli's signings
A week after the Martin Jol saga finally came to a head, Jol spoke out against the transfer policy of his director of football, Damien Comolli. With Jol brought in by Comolli's predecessor Frank Arnesen, it was always likely that Dutchman's relationship with Arnesen's successor would be strained, and so it proved, and as much as anyone tries to deny it, Comolli's record so far is decidedly unimpressive.
Saturday November 3rd
Premier League - Middlesbrough 1 Spurs 1
Ramos' first real test was certainly not passed with flying colours, but the Spaniard wasted no time in exhibiting his willingness to change things briskly when he feels they are not working out.
Choosing to start with Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe rather than Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov, within minutes of Luke Young's equaliser for Boro, both Defoe and goalscorer Bent were made abundantly aware that their time was up, with Keane and Berbatov thrown on in search of what proved to be an elusive winner.
Thursday November 8th
UEFA Cup - Hapoel Tel Aviv 0 Spurs 2
Another game that exposed the folly of the long and arduous process by which the UEFA Cup wheat is sorted from the chaff. This was another unwanted and unnecessary excursion to the far reaches of Europe that saw us eventually emerge unscathed. The main talk in the press next day centred around whether or not Berbatov had smiled upon scoring, and that should give some indication of the foregone conclusion that was this match.
Sunday November 11th
Premier League - Spurs 4 Wigan Athletic 0
Hutton linked with January move
The match against Wigan gave us the opportunity to enjoy a brief sojourn into the role of well-run, competent football club, as we came up against a Wigan side that had sacked manager Chris Hutchings just three months into his first season in charge, leaving Frank Barlow to take up the thankless caretaker mantle.
This eventful Sunday also saw the first murmerings of a move for then-Rangers right-back Alan Hutton. The move would of course come to fruition two months later, and Hutton proved a very useful acquisition.
Wednesday November 22nd
Robinson dropped as England capitulate
After months of calamity that had transformed the previously dependable Paul Robinson into a shadow of his former self, England manager Steve McClaren chose to replace him with the seemingly reliable Scott Carson. Turns out, Carson actually made Robinson look like Gordon Banks, and England promptly failed to qualify for a major tournament for the first time since 1994.
Sunday November 25th
Premier League - West Ham United 1 Spurs 1
A trip to Upton Park, the scene of great drama in recent seasons for the mighty Spurs, and though this match was never going to live up the all-time classic of the previous season, it still had its fair share of ups and downs. The final word went to West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green, who saved an injury-time penalty from Jermain Defoe to deny us a probably deserved three points.
Thursday 29th November
UEFA Cup - Spurs 3 Aalborg 2
A month further on, and yet for a lengthy period, it seemed as if absolutely nothing had changed. The routine victory over Hapoel three weeks earlier had got our UEFA Cup campaign back on track, but when Aalborg scored their second goal of the evening with 37 minutes gone, it seemed as if failure was deigned to rule supreme over our European dream.
As it turned out, a typical Spurs comeback was provided courtesy of Berbatov, Steed Malbranque and Bent, and Ramos could rightly claim to have masterminded the great escape, with his double half-time substitution paying instant dividends.
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