The Daily Mail reports that Jonathan Woodgate joined Spurs because he can see that they are going places, White Hart Lane is far more accessible to Fabio Capello, and he wanted to escape his coddled duvet cover of a life at Middlesbrough; Woodgate said:
“I could have stayed at Middlesbrough and had the easy, comfortable life, but I wanted to come to Spurs and play for a team who are going places. I want to play for a club with ambition who are trying to win trophies. With this manager and with these players, you can see what they’re trying to build.
“Being at Spurs reminds me of when I was at Leeds and we had all these new players coming in — I was excited. The fans are good at Spurs, the manager has won silverware, he looks the part and he knows what he’s doing — he’s a proper manager.
“I’m playing with good players here. Fabio Capello will come and watch a lot. It’s just down the road for him, but it’s four hours to Middlesbrough.”
So is this cold hearted frankness about his motives for leaving Middlesbrough the best way to treat your hometown club? And calling Juande Ramos a ‘proper manager’ implies that Woodgate thought Southgate was not a proper coach…