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Bent reveals Jol's 'subdued' team talk before he was sacked by Tottenham mid-match

talksport.com, 25 January 2023, 08:00
Former Tottenham star Darren Bent has revealed what Martin Jol said during his team talk on the night he was sacked mid-game.

The Dutch coach spent three years at Spurs from 2004 and 2007 but his time at the club ended in bizarre fashion after being alerted to his dismissal during a match.

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Tottenham were taking on Getafe in the UEFA Cup in October 2007, a match they would go on to lose 2-1 at White Hart Lane, but the game was more memorable for what happened off the pitch.

News of the sacking spread around the ground as Spurs played on while Jol had already been undermined by the owners, who had met his eventual successor Juande Ramos in Spain just days before.

In the current climate with Frank Lampard getting sacked before the Everton players were told it was put to Bent if he had experienced anything similar.

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Speaking on talkSPORT Drive, host Andy Goldstein was speaking to the former England international, who was on the bench for the game against Getafe, about unexpected sackings.

The ex-Spurs striker replied: "Yeah at half-time, during the game when I was at Tottenham. I can't remember what game it was. Martin Jol got sacked during the game.

"He was standing on the touchline, he's got a face on him. We come in at half-time, there is all this commotion so I said to Ledley [King], 'Oi, Ledders, what is happening?'

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"He said to me, 'Ah the gaffer has been sacked'. Do you know what is mad, now I think about it? His team talk before the match was really subdued. He just said, 'Get out and play lads'."

Official confirmation of Jol's dismissal came hours after the match while his replacement, Ramos, would not last long at Tottenham, either as he got the chop on October 25, 2008, exactly a year after his predecessor.

However, the Spaniard did win the League Cup during his first year in charge - a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Wembley.

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To date, that is the last piece of silverware that Tottenham have won in a period that has seen Harry Redknapp, Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho all arrive and fail to replicate.

Meanwhile, Everton have made Marcelo Bielsa their top choice to replace Lampard as their manager but are running into trouble convincing the Argentine to take the job.

Keep up to date with all the latest news, rumours and gossip with our LIVE transfer blog

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