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Monday Football
29 October 2007
by Jerrad Peters

OF the four Spanish clubs which qualified for the Champions' League last season, three have already undergone a managerial change. Only Barcelona's Frank Rijkaard remains in the job, while each of Real Madrid, Sevilla, and now Valencia have parted ways with the manager who led them to a top-four finish in 2006-2007. Valencia made their change early this morning when it was announced that Quique Sanchez Flores had been sacked. An international full-back and 10-year veteran with Los Che during his playing career, Sanchez Flores took the helm at the Mestalla after a two year spell at Getafe. This weekend's 3-0 loss to Sevilla, however, was the final straw for a board of directors which had grown impatient after a series of lacklustre performances. "It was a carefully thought-out decision," stated club president Juan Soler, "taken after an intense analysis by the technical staff so that we can achieve our aim of becoming one of the top teams in Europe." The defeat at Sevilla was the week's second disappoint result. On Tuesday, Valencia dropped a humiliating 2-0 decision against Rosenborg in Norway. Still, the 42-year-old Sanchez Flores led the club to 3rd and 4th-place finished in the league in 2006 and 2007, respectively. A far cry from the 7th-place side he inheritted following the departure of Rafael Benitez to Liverpool. Oscar Hernandez has been named interim manager of the club.

Sevilla, meanwhile, have appointed Manuel Jiminez to succeed Juande Ramos at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. The 43-year-old distinguished himself during a 14-year playing career at the club and took control of the Sevilla reserves in 2000. This will be his first position in senior management; and Club president Jose Maria del Nido is commited to keeping Jiminez in the job until the conclusion of the season. Del Nido was exasperated by the sudden departure of Ramos over the weekend, stating, "Ramos told us he was quitting and that was in spite of the serious damage this decision would cause." He continued, "Because of the damage he has caused, we won't speak of Ramos again." Sevilla are likely to pursue charges against Spurs regarding Ramos' hiring. Del Nido alleges that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy "tapped-up" the 53-year-old over the course of negotiations. If found guilty, Spurs could be on the hook for in excess of 1M-pounds in damages.

For his part, Ramos took charge of Tottenham Hotspur this morning. After watching his new side succumb to Blackburn Rovers at White Hart Lane on Sunday, the Spaniard addressed the players and staff in the dressing-room following the deflating result. "I'll see you Monday," he stated simply. "We start tomorrow morning." His plans are anyone's guess. But several theories have a handful of his former players following him to White Hart Lane. Fredi Kanoute, a former Tottenham player, is atop that list. And each of Daniel Alves and Luis Fabiano, Christian Poulsen, and Jesus Navas have been mentioned in the same breath as well. To secure their signatures, however, Ramos may have to count on something of a coup developing at his former club. Part of Sevilla's strategy in retaining their star players is to sign them to contracts which include enormous escape clauses -- as evidenced by Chelsea's failure to pry Alves from Andalusia in August. Spurs, having already spent over 40M-pounds in transfer fees over the summer, would be unlikely to pay heavily for additional players in the near future. But if Alves, who is already unsettled in Spain, can orchestrate his own move, joining up with his former boss would not be at all out of the question.

Gus Poyet has officially joined Ramos' coaching staff. The 39-year-old Uruguayan was Denise Wise's number-two at Leeds before making the switch over the weekend. Poyet ended his playing career with Swindon Town in 2006 after stints with Spurs, Chelsea, and Real Zaragoza. He will work in tandem with Marcos Alvarez -- Sevilla's former fitness coach.

Jaap Stam has ended his playing career. The 35-year-old Ajax defender made the announcement today, brining to a close his 15-year career. Before retiring from international football in 2004, he had also amassed 67-caps for Holland. His greatest triumph, however, was winning the League, FA Cup, and Champions' League treble with Manchester United in 1999. But after three, successful seasons at Old Trafford, Stam was sold to Lazio after criticizing United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in his autobiography, Head to Head. He also played two seasons at AC Milan before moving to Amsterdam last summer.

Chelsea are hoping to land Gareth Barry when the transfer window re-opens in January. The Aston Villa midfielder has risen to prominence in the wake of a string of exceptional performances for both his club and the England team. Roman Abramovich watched the 26-year-old closely over two international encounters between England and Russia and is thought to covet the player greatly. Villa, however, are in no mood to sell their captain. Owner Randy Lerner has reiterated that money is of no concern when it comes to retaining the club's key players; and manager Martin O'Neill is the force behind Barry's renaissance.

A far more likely move is that of Iceland international Eidur Gudjohnsen. Currently out of favor at Barcelona, the 29-year-old is desperate for a return to the Premier League after bolting Chelsea for the Nou Camp in 2006. With manager Frank Rijkaard prefering the attacking trio of Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, and Lionel Messi, Gudjohnsen has languished on the bench for much of the season. He will only be pushed further down the pecking order when Samuel Eto'o returns from injury next month. The Catalans value the forward at approximately 8M-pounds; and both Portsmouth and Manchester City are thought to be sniffing around. Pompey, it seems, are linked with every striker on the market. City, meanwhile, will be looking to replace Rolando Bianchi. The Italian has been a bust since his summer move from Reggina.

The winds of change are blowing at The Riverside as well. With Middlesbrough fighting relegation, chairman Steve Gibson is widely believed to be mulling a change of manager. Gareth Southgate has achieved little since succeeding Steve McClaren last summer. His seventeen months in charge have seen the club drop from European contention to the bottom places while star players such as Mark Viduka and Yakubu departed the club for Newcastle and Everton, respectively, over the summer. Paul Jewell is already being tipped to replace Southgate. The 43-year-old is desperate to get back into football after stepping down from the top job at Wigan in May. He was in the mix for the vacancy at Bolton Wanderers -- a job he ended up losing to Gary Megson.