How sorry saga ended in farce

To say the handling of the situation by the board has been a shambles is as much an understatement as saying Tottenham have had a problem in defence this season.

From the moment they were caught meeting with Sevilla coach Juande Ramos two months ago, the whole football world has known Jol was a 'dead man walking' and, to the club's cost, so have the players.

By failing to get their man at the first time of asking, it put Jol in an untenable position and left a huge feeling of uncertainty in the dressing room, which has then affected their displays on the pitch.

But then chairman Daniel Levy has had his doubts over the Dutchman since the start of the year when the club went two months without beating a side from the top flight. A 4-0 win over Fulham in the FA Cup saved Jol from the axe and the club went on to finish fifth for the second successive season.

But the concern in the boardroom remained with the club having defeated just one of the big four in the league (Chelsea) since he took over in November 2004. They had also seen the team get knocked out in the Carling Cup semifinal against Arsenal and FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea last term, as well as losing against Sevilla in the last eight of the UEFA Cup.

After sporting director Damien Comolli had spent £40million on new players for Jol in the summer, he was expected to get them in the Champions League. But the season started with defeats against Sunderland and Everton and that prompted Spurs directors to go on mass to meet with Ramos in Spain.

Unfortunately for them, outgoing vicechairman Paul Kemsley and club secretary John Alexander were photographed leaving the hotel, although Levy is believed to have also been there.

Instead of admitting to their actions, initial explanations were that theywere on a fact-finding mission.

No-one believed them, especially after Ramos admitted he had turned down a "dizzying offer", although Spurs tried to claim he had been misquoted.

It led to crisis talks between Jol and Levy where Standard Sport can reveal he was offered £2.5m to walk away then, but with a clause in his contract saying he would get £5.2m if he was sacked, Jol understandably turned it down.

A temporary truce was agreed, but a statement was put out where Levy did not back Jol and effectively said he would be gone if the club didn't look like they'd qualify for the Champions League this season. He said: "I am an ambitious Chairman, we are an ambitious club and we want Champions League football at White Hart Lane. We owe it to the club and the supporters to constantly assess our position and performance."

It only sparked more speculation over Jol's future and when Levy said the manager had his "100 per cent support" two days later, it was too little too late.

The club came under a barrage of criticism, including from this paper, which was the only one to be banned temporarily from White Hart Lane and the training ground.

In fairness, Jol had been touting himself around other jobs, including Newcastle, Ajax and as head coach of the Dutch national team.

Plus, while the board had initially been vilified by the fans for their pursuit of Ramos, they began to change their mind as the team continued to perform poorly on the pitch.

A 4-0 win over a poor Derby side proved to be Jol's only win in the Premier League in 10 attempts, while the defence continued to prove woeful against set pieces. He even told fans at a Q&A session that he was "shi**ing himself every time the opposition took a corner".

Jol accepted he was going, as exclusively revealed by Standard Sport a month ago, but wouldn't quit and miss out on his compensation.

Ramos was then offered £6.2m-a-year, only for him to turn Spurs down again, saying he would only consider coming next summer. It was expected that Jol would go in the recent international break, but the board feared there was noone willing to keep the seat warm for the Spaniard until the end of the season.

Impressive financial results valued the club at around £400m, but with the board looking at possible takeover bids in the near future, a place in the bottom three was putting that at risk.

The 3-1 debacle at Newcastle on Monday night made them accept enough was enough and they proved to be third time lucky with Ramos.