Ex-Spurs boss Jol: Team losing identity

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LONDON: Martin Jol, sacked as Tottenham boss last season, says his former club, rooted at the bottom of the Premier League, has lost their sense of identity.
Under the Dutchman Tottenham enjoyed consecutive fifth place finishes and boasted half a dozen players in the England squad.
Since Jol, now in charge of highflying Bundesliga side Hamburg, was replaced by Juande Ramos Spurs’ fortunes have plummeted €” this is their worst league start in 53 years.
In an interview with The Sunday Times Jol blames the north London side’s confused signing policy which has seen the squad’s English core replaced by an array of foreign imports.
Jol told the newspaper: “I feel if you work for an English club you need an English identity and I think that worked. We were developing young players and were in Europe every year.
“I had six players in the England squad. Now there is Corluka, Giovani, Pavlyuvhenko, Modric ... and Spurs have a different philosphy.
“They’ve changed the team’s identity. They are so desperate for succcess that if they are not successful it will be a disaster.”
He says he feels no bitterness towards chairman Daniel Levy and director of football Damien Comolli who hired Ramos as they felt Jol wasn’t the man to take the club into the top four.
Under Ramos, who guided Spurs to the League Cup title last season, Tottenham have collected just two points from their first six games this season.
But Jol insists he believes it is not the club’s director of football-head coach system that is to blame for the crisis.
“If you work with a football director who’s your choice, or you’re his choice, the system functions. When Frank (Arnesen) was at Spurs it was perfect. But if one coach leaves and the next one is changing 10 or 12 players what’s the value of having the structure?”
Since Jol’s arrival at Hamburg the German side has lost only one of their ten matches to lift them up to a three way tie at the top of the Bundesliga.