Jol Wants Spurs To Pay Up So He Can Move On

Former Spurs manager Martin Jol will demand that Tottenham pay him his multi-million-pound compensation package in a one-off lump sum so that he can get on with the rest of his life and resume his football management career, claims the Daily Mail.

The newspaper says that Dutchman Jol had been expecting Spurs to pay off his contract — worth about £4million — in full after he was sacked by the club in October, especially as they were caught holding a meeting with his eventual replacement, Juande Ramos, while Jol was still the manager at White Hart Lane.

Instead though, Jol is being paid by Spurs in instalments.

And that, apparently, is an obstacle to Jol's attempts to negotiate a swift return to football club management in England.

Why? Because, says the Mail, negotiations with another club could adversely affect (that is, reduce) his payments from Tottenham.

Jol is arguing the case that Tottenham are blocking his chances of taking a new job by refusing to make him a 'full and final' single payment.

Unless this situation changes, Jol will have to wait until his exit contract is completed at the end of the season.

Defoe Happy At Tottenham

There was a reported bust-up between the pair two weeks ago with Ramos telling Defoe he could leave the club, before changing his stance.

While his new contract remains unsigned, Aston Villa are monitoring the situation but Defoe insists he wants to stay at White Hart Lane.

The 25 year old was selected to captain the side in the weekend victory over Sunderland, which he sees as a sign of the manager’s faith in him.

"It is a gesture that says that he wants me to stay at this club and for me that is special" Defoe said.

"I have always said I want to stay and the fans have been great with me. More importantly I love the boys, they are a great bunch of lads and I believe we can do something special.

"People say things when they are upset. The gaffer pulled me aside the next day and said he didn't mean it.

"He was honest with me and said 'I want you to stay at this football club, get goals and we can achieve something special here'."

Defoe’s chances have been limited this season with Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane the preferred pairing more often than not. However, Defoe has declared that he understands that competition for places will always be fierce at a club like Tottenham.

"He is a great manager with great ideas so that's good" said Defoe.

"He is an honest guy. I asked him if I was part of it and he said I definitely was.

"There are four forwards here so obviously the competition is hard, but at the end of the day if you get a chance you have got to take it."

Poyet: Wasteful Spurs Secured Tough Win Gus Poyet admitted that his side were made to labour for their win against Sunderland in the second half.

The Tottenham assistant manager did not mince his words about his team’s performance in the second half, speaking to BBC Sport after the match.

Said Poyet: “We [Tottenham] were so impressive in the first half, creating chances and playing lovely football, but we didn't score the second and so we had a very, very tough second half.”

Spurs had taken an early lead through Aaron Lennon in the second minute. Sunderland defender Paul McShane was intercepted by Lee Young-pyo, and he delivered a pinpoint pass to Jamie O'Hara, whose cross was poked home by Lennon.

But the hosts failed to extend their lead as strikers Jermain Defoe and Dimitar Berbatov couldn’t make their scoring opportunities count.

After the break, however, Tottenham took their foot off the pedal, which allowed Sunderland to dominate. The visitors began to grow in confidence, and even threatened to score on numerous occasions. A crucial late strike by substitute Robbie Keane, however, secured all three points for Spurs.

Poyet explained Juande Ramos’ decision to rest several first-team players against Sunderland.

"There are many reasons for that, maybe. We're still in all the cups and are playing so many games for one,” he added. And, he conceded that Tottenham should have continued to pile on the pressure on Sunderland after clinching a first half lead.

“I think we might have relaxed after half-time too and you can't afford to do that in the Premiership,” said Poyet.

Still, he believes a fourth successive home victory will help boost the team’s confidence, ahead of the Carling Cup semi-final clash against Arsenal on Tuesday.

"I'm glad we defended well and held on for a win [against Sunderland]. We now have a massive game against Arsenal on Tuesday and, if we could get to the final, it might prove a turning point for this club in terms of winning things and getting into Europe again."

And Poyet had special words of praise for Keane, who scored his 100th goal for the club to help seal Tottenham’s win.

He said: “He’s [Keane] got plenty of quality and desire to do well for the club. Even though he had only 15 to 20 minutes to play, he came on and score an important goal for us.

“I’m really delighted for him.”

Ramos Reveals Keane Admiration Spurs boss Juande Ramos has admitted he would have loved to have signed Roy Keane as a player despite his famous shor

As Ramos prepares to welcome Keane’s Sunderland side to White Hart Lane this afternoon, he says there is unlikely to ever be a player who is as combative and inspirational as Keane was for Manchester United.

"Players like Roy Keane are essential in any team" Ramos said. "I loved him as a player and I would have loved to have bought a player like him now.

"He had such personality and energy which he brought to the group and sadly players like him are disappearing little by little.

"You can never say there won't be a player like him again, but it's just very difficult to find one with such a strong character and personality.

"I don't know why it's the case that there are no longer players like him; it's something a footballer carries inside himself. It's not something you can teach, it's something you have naturally."

Despite this admiration, Ramos is determined to get one over the Sunderland boss and gain revenge for Spurs’ opening day defeat at the Stadium of Light.

"We lost to Sunderland in the first game of the season," Ramos explained.

"We have to recover our position now that things are improving. We've made a few changes in defence and little by little we are finding a solution to this.

"In the last couple of games nobody has scored a set-piece against us and that is good."

Keane Acknowledges Influence Of Namesake Ahead of the Tottenham-Sunderland clash on Saturday, Robbie Keane has praised the job done by his namesake R

Former Republic of Ireland team-mates Roy and Robbie Keane come face to face again at White Hart Lane this weekend when Roy's Sunderland side take on Spurs, in whose revival Robbie's goals are proving to be vital.

The two Keanes - Roy from Cork and Robbie from Dublin - played together for several years in the same Republic of Ireland team.

And Robbie, who is one goal shy of his century of goals for Spurs, and will be looking to reach that milestone against Sunderland, has acknowledged the influence the former Manchester United midfielder has had on his own football career.

“Roy was a great player and you just respect someone who was such a high-profile player,” Keane told The Star.

“I was 17, just getting into the Irish set-up and there was Roy Keane to look up to and respect.

“He’s done a great job with Sunderland. Hopefully it won’t be so good for him Saturday."

But Robbie added: “I’m not going to make a special effort to have a few words with Roy. I’ll just play the game and concentrate on myself."

The fixture is the reverse of that on the opening day of the season, when Sunderland marked their return to the top flight by beating Spurs with a last gasp goal and setting the Londoners on a rocky path that culminated in the sacking of manager Martin Jol and his replacement by Juande Ramos.

Since then, Tottenham's fortunes have improved while the Black Cats are in the bottom three, though victory over Portsmouth in their last outing has eased the pressure.

But Robbie Keane, with 15 goals to his name already this season, will be aiming to reapply the pressure on Roy by helping to fire Tottenham to a victory that will nudge them further towards the top half of the table.

Clean Sheet Pleases Poyet As Spurs Progress

The decisive goal in the 1-0 win was scored by the prolific Robbie Keane on 15 minutes when he hammered home the rebound after Younes Kaboul had headed against the Reading bar.

Jermain Defoe came close to adding a second but his powerful volley was superbly saved by Adam Federici.

In the second half, Reading's Stephen Hunt volleyed against the bar, and Steed Malbranque also saw a volley tipped on to the bar by Federici.

After the game, Tottenham's assistant manager, Gus Poyet, told BBC Sport:

"We didn't want an open game today and it was important for us to keep a clean sheet.

"Reading tried to equalise but we had two or three great chances as well so we are delighted with the performance.

"We played very well, passed the ball around and created chances - so I think we deserved to win."

Reading manager Steve Coppell commented: "It was my game plan that we should keep it tight in the first half and then go for it in the second half.

"That's what we did and we threw everything at them. Maybe if we had a little bit of good fortune we could have taken it into extra-time.

"A little bit more subtlety might have unlocked their defence, but Tottenham are a good team."

Mané and Negredo To Stay Until End Of Season

Juande Ramos has been keeping an eye on the two Almeria players and was thought to be interested in taking both of them to White Hart Lane in January transfer window.

Negredo, 22, signed by Almeria in the summer from Real Madrid and has impressed with his general forward play and his goal tally, which currently stands at six at the half-way point of the season.

Madrid do have the option to buy back the striker from Almeria at any point in the next two years and therefore Tottenham may have a fight on their hands if they do decide to make their interest official.

Negredo himself stated that he has heard nothing from his agent about Tottenham's interest, but was pleased to be linked with such a club.

"My representative (Juanma Lopez) has not said anything to me on the subject. But I am flattered that a club like Tottenham pays attention to me. I do not know anything. It is the truth," he told Marca.

"I only think about obtaining another year with Almeria. It is the only objective that we have at the moment."

Mané's agent García Quilón has strong links with many Premiership clubs and has been sounding them out for a possible move for his client, who has performed excellently at left-back for Almeria this season and has attracted interest from other teams in Spain as well as from abroad.

However, he is also keen to stay until the end of the season and help Unai Emery's side in their battle to stay in the top flight, and would therefore not consider a move until the summer.

Fred Rejects Tottenham And PSG Fred has revealed that he received offers from both Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain and turned them down and

The Brazilian striker is set to leave Olympique Lyonnais during the current transfer window after failing to win a regular place in the team this season.

Juande Ramos' interest in Fred may raise a few eyebrows at White Hart Lane given the littany of attacking options available.

"For the moment, I have only received two offers, from Paris and Tottenham," he told L'Equipe. "PSG made the first offer to me. I refused it. With Tottenham, it is the same.

"Meetings have taken place with my brother. I think that we are going to see things materialise by Wednesday.

"Lyon have held talks with other clubs, not me. Not yet anyway."

While Fred has claimed that he rejected an offer from PSG, his current club believe that he is only holding out for better personal terms before joining them.

"Lyon have noted the declarations made by Fred in the press this morning and recall that the Brazil international has confirmed on several occasions his desire to play for PSG," a club statement read.

"Moreover, Lyon confirm that the different offers received so far for a transfer of Fred are close to one another, that they correspond overall to the expectations of the club and that essentially they differentiate from one another only by virtue of bonus fees involved and methods of payment.

"Lyon would like to make it clear that it is the player, of course, who will choose his final destination and that if Fred isn't transferred, he will stay available to coach Alain Perrin."

Defoe A Target For Portsmouth? Jermain Defoe is emerging as a possible target for his former manager Harry Redknapp, who is looking to strengthen his

Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe, who has been told he can leave White Hart Lane by Spurs manager Juande Ramos, is reportedly a target for Portsmouth.

A number of sources reckon Pompey would be prepared to pay around £8million for the England international striker, who has said he would like to stay at Tottenham but realises his long-term future must lie elsewhere now that Ramos has held the exit door open.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, having thrown his lot solidly behind the south coast club by rejecting Newcastle's overtures, is now fully focused on strengthening a Pompey squad depleted by the demands of the African Cup of Nations.

Kanu, Sulley Muntari, Papa Bouba Diop and John Utaka have left Fratton Park this month for the continental Cup in Ghana, and could be gone for several weeks depending on how well their respective countries do in the tournament.

Defoe has also been linked with Aston Villa, but Redknapp brought him through the ranks at West Ham and could therefore have an edge.

"We need to strengthen a little bit," said Redknapp after Portsmouth's 2-0 defeat at Sunderland yesterday.

"We are short, there is no doubt about that. We need to get one or two in this week to give us a little bit of strength and depth."

Jarque In London To Complete Spurs Move A report in The Times claimes that Espanyol defender Daniel Jarque is in London to complete a January transfe

That Juande Ramos is looking to shore up his team's defence this month is no secret at White Hart Lane.

Spurs have looked been linked with a number of defenders over the last month, but the name of Espanyol's highly rated centre-half Daniel Jarque has been at the top of the list.

It was initially thought that Espanyol would not let the player go until the summer, but The Times suggest that a deal has been struck.

The player - who has missed the last few games through a toe injury - reportedly flew into London late on Sunday night to complete a medical and agree personal terms.

Jarque came up the ranks of the Espanyol youth system, making his debut for the 'B' team in 2002, and graduating to the senior team two years later.

The 25-year-old has since been a first team regular at the club, and is rated as one of the very best defenders in La Liga.

He could become the first signing of the Juande Ramos era this week, and partner skipper Ledley King at the heart of Spurs' defence.

Ramos Eyes Spanish Duo As First Transfer Targets Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos is rumoured to be pondering a swoop into the Spanish market f

Negredo is a highly-rated centre forward, while Mane is a left-footed fullback who is also comfortable in midfield.

The duo have both performed admirably in La Liga this term in Almeria’s fight to survive relegation, but will surely move to North London if Spurs made an approach.

Negredo is the more promising proposition, as he has scored five goals in 15 starts for his struggling club this season and has attracted attention from clubs all over Europe.

He only arrived in the summer from Real Madrid - who interestingly brokered a buy-back option into the deal for they still rate the player but couldn’t assure him the playing time he wanted.

"There does exist interest from big clubs in England, Germany and France for our players at Almeria but we have not received any formal offers," insisted Almeria Chairman Alfonso Garca.

But Negredo revealed a lot more as he confirmed that Spurs have been in touch.

"For me it is good to hear that Tottenham follow me," he told the Spanish papers.

"But I do not know any more details. Now in my head I am only thinking about Almeria and to play as much as I can for them.

"Any offers go to my agent and club."

Ramos Eyes Spanish Duo As First Transfer Targets Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos is rumoured to be pondering a swoop into the Spanish market f

Negredo is a highly-rated centre forward, while Mane is a left-footed fullback who is also comfortable in midfield.

The duo have both performed admirably in La Liga this term in Almeria’s fight to survive relegation, but will surely move to North London if Spurs made an approach.

Negredo is the more promising proposition, as he has scored five goals in 15 starts for his struggling club this season and has attracted attention from clubs all over Europe.

He only arrived in the summer from Real Madrid - who interestingly brokered a buy-back option into the deal for they still rate the player but couldn’t assure him the playing time he wanted.

"There does exist interest from big clubs in England, Germany and France for our players at Almeria but we have not received any formal offers," insisted Almeria Chairman Alfonso Garca.

But Negredo revealed a lot more as he confirmed that Spurs have been in touch.

"For me it is good to hear that Tottenham follow me," he told the Spanish papers.

"But I do not know any more details. Now in my head I am only thinking about Almeria and to play as much as I can for them.

"Any offers go to my agent and club."

Robinson Told That He Can Go - Report Tottenham Hotspur have told goalkeeper Paul Robinson that he can leave the club if he wants to after he was dro

The England international goalkeeper was said to be furious about being left out of the team for the Carling Cup semi final against Arsenal in favour of Radek Cerny on Wednesday.

According to the Observer, Robinson held talks with chairman Daniel Levy the following day and was told that he if he was unhappy then he could look for a new club.

In a season of change at the north London club, the keeper's form has been widely questioned and he caused controversy when he spoke out against Martin Jol's sacking.

That turned Levy against him, according to the report, and the Tottenham supremo has been looking for a way of edging Robinson out of the club ever since.

Sporting director, Daniel Comolli, was also angered by the support for Jol and is also alleged to have advised Steve McClaren to drop him long before England's final Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia in November.

Robinson is one of the club's top earners, along with Robbie Keane and Ledley King, taking home around £40,000-a-week, and that is also a factor in wanting him off the books.

Despite Levy telling Robinson that he can go, Tottenham will demand that any would-be suitor match their asking price for the 28-year-old.

After making 95 appearances for his hometown club Leeds United, Robinson joined Tottenham in 2004 for £1.5m and has been the club's number one ever since.

Having been left out of the team against Arsenal, he was also on the bench for the Lilywhites' defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday