Football FanCast guest columnist Lee Mills reacts to this morning reports that Jermaine Jenas was dropped at the weekend and wonders if Ramos maybe playing mind games.
If there was one moment from our defeat to PSV Eindhoven that really stood out, it was an incident that happened in the early stages of the second half. Jermaine Jenas burst through on one of his trademark runs before making a real hash of a cross come shot and the ball ended in Gomes's hands. As the England midfielder made his run back to the halfway, he was signalling to the bench that his knee had gone. This was to be a key moment for Ramos as he already had Lennon stripped and ready. The Spaniard clearly wasn't convinced and preceded with the substitution and much to my amazement, Jenas stayed on the pitch.
A ruthless streak by Ramos; a manager who doesn't suffer fools gladly, and he was clearly testing the water with his England man. The injury seemed to clear up and as we know Jenas went on playing for the next hour. You could forgive the Spaniard for feeling slightly bemused and you wonder if our own special one has a longer memory than most.
The reason this moment came back to me was this morning's reports that Jenas may have been dropped for the weekend fixture against Portsmouth. It has yet to be confirmed but for me it wouldn't be the greatest shock in the world. He has hardly been in form of late and you could argue that he hasn't played well since the Arsenal game. He remains an enigma to a lot of Spurs fans and I'm very much unsure about him and his contribution to the team. Is Ramos simply playing mind games with him?
Jenas certainly isn't alone in his seemingly poor form and there are many players who have seemed out of sorts since the Carling Cup final. Chimbonda has been woeful in recent weeks; Malbranque is failing to assert his usual influence in midfield and my word what has happened to Aaron Lennon? There is growing discontentment among the Spurs faithful who are starting to lose patience with a player who lit up the Premier League in his first season. He just seems nervous when he gets the ball and doesn't seem to want to take on anyone. His crossing is diabolical and the less said about his finishing the better.
A great deal has been made of Ramos' plans to make wholesale changes in the summer and I wonder whether he will then this time go and bring in a new midfield. I am surprised that the likes of Kevin Prince Boateng, Taraabt and Danny Rose; who is considered one of the best young players in the country haven't been given a chance to stake their claim. One thing is for sure is we are in safe hands with Ramos and I like the fact he is not afraid to make big decisions. I just wonder whether dropping Jenas may prove to be the best thing that happened to him. Hopefully it might be a sharp shock for a player who has bags of ability and who should be performing at a far greater level than we have been currently seeing.
Time will tell!
