Quite a few sceptical eyebrows were raised when Real Madrid gave Bernd Schuster the boot back in December and brought in Juande Ramos.

After an impressive spell at Sevilla, Ramos had faltered badly at Tottenham and it seemed the Real board were taking a big gamble in bringing him back to Spain with a contract until the end of the season.

When the affable La Manchan took charge, 100 days ago today, the champions had lost two on the trot and were down in fifth place, nine points behind leaders Barcelona.

Although his first league match ended in a 2-0 defeat at the Nou Camp, Real subsequently went on a 10-match winning run that ended on March 7 with the 1-1 home draw to city rivals Atletico.

Barca’s recent wobble has seen their lead cut from 12 points to six and Real fans are not giving up hope of a third consecutive Primera Liga title.

So has Ramos done enough to convince the men in suits that he should stay on next season?

Domestic success is all very well but what the club really craves is another Champions League triumph after a barren period stretching back to 2002.

The drubbing Real received at the hands of Liverpool will not have done his chances of remaining much good.

It also looks more and more likely that Florentino Perez will mount a successful comeback as club president. The architect of Real’s “Galacticos” policy has been linked in the media with coaches including Arsene Wenger of Arsenal and AC Milan’s Carlo Ancelotti.

Ramos has done a lot of good at Real, particularly tightening up the defence and getting the best out of the increasingly impressive Lassana Diarra, but he’ll probably be plying his trade elsewhere come next season.

PHOTO: Real Madrid coach Juande Ramos attends a news conference before a training session at Anfield in Liverpool March 9, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

Chatting with Real Madrid fans outside the Bernabeu ahead of their Champions League match against Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday, the overwhelming attitude expressed was one of relief that the club was rid of Bernd Schuster.

Tuesday’s surprise appointment of Juande Ramos to replace the moody German has raised hopes that a change in management will give the team a boost and help them get their faltering season back on track.

Jose-Maria, an architectural engineer and lifelong Real supporter from Albacete, said Schuster’s claim at the weekend that it was impossible to win at Barcelona was unacceptable and he had to go.

“You just can’t say things like that and expect to get away with it, it was very damaging,” he said, beating his gloved hands together against the cold.

With an eye on Saturday’s Primera Liga match against leaders and arch rivals Barcelona, he said there was not much former Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur coach Ramos could do in less than a week but his arrival would help change the mentality of the players for the better.

“Schuster was too serious. He was not relaxed with the players or the press and he had no empathy with the fans,” he said. “The players did not defend him and they accepted that it was time for a change.”

Pedro, 26, who works for an environmental agency near Granada, said it had been a good decision to bring in Ramos, although he conceded sacking Schuster mid-season may have been a bit hasty.

“Schuster had lost his confidence and had little interest and enthusiasm so in principle it was the right thing to do,” he said, adding that limiting Ramos to a six-month contract was sensible.

Esther Martin, an unemployed 28-year-old from Madrid, agreed that Schuster had lost his drive and predicted Ramos would make tactical changes that would help turn things around.

“I don’t know much about him (Ramos) but I think football in Spain is very different from England and he has more than proved himself here.”

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s new coach Juande Ramos (L) and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic shake hands during a news conference at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Dec. 9, 2008. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

The Bernabeu axe has fallen again with Bernd Schuster sacked as Real Madrid coach and Juande Ramos coming in to replace him.

The writing had been on the wall for the German after Real’s sticky start to the season. Sunday’s 4-3 home defeat by Sevilla was compounded by Schuster’s comments that winning would be impossible in next weekend’s match at Barcelona.

Ramos must think he is in dreamland having landed one of club soccer’s top jobs only a few weeks after being chased out of struggling Tottenham Hotspur.

What do you make of Real’s move? Did they have any choice or have they again acted rashly? And what about Ramos? Things fell apart at Spurs but he was previously very successful with Sevilla.

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster is all over the Spanish-speaking web, saying, “It’s impossible to win at the Nou Camp.”

Is he right? I guess it must feel that way after Barca’s 4-0 win over Valencia but I don’t suppose Schuster really believes it.

Schuster is engaging in a little light psychology ahead of the weekend’s match against Barcelona, setting the bar as low as possible in the hope of his team clearing it beautifully.

“The game against Barcelona is the one that worries me least,” Schuster said after Real’s latest defeat, 4-3 at home to Sevilla, left them nine points behind the leaders. “The team can put in a decent performance there, but you can’t talk about doing any more.”

It’s the sort of comment you expect from a spin doctor (or you do if you’ve watched a lot of The West Wing). If Real Madrid come away from Camp Nou with a draw, it will feel like a victory. If they are beaten, but not overwhelmed, it won’t seem like such a bad result.

The problem is, this is Real Madrid we’re talking about, club of the century, etc, etc, and a lot of influential people at the club don’t like it when coaches speak like that. 

Schuster’s words may prove to be a brilliant motivational technique, but even if Real Madrid achieve their “impossible” win I don’t think those comments will have done much for his long-term job prospects.

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Raul reacts after missing a chance against Sevilla at the Bernabeu, Dec 7, 2008. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

Real Madrid appear to need more than the couple of ‘youngsters with a future’ their president Ramon Calderon has promised for January if their season is not going to drift away from them.

Ajax striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar will be the first new arrival after Real came to an agreement to sign him, but he will not have been impressed with Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Getafe.

Real, already out of the King’s Cup, put on probably their worst display of the campaign and coach Bernd Schuster hit the nail on the head when he said the scoreline flattered them. They are now six points off leaders Barcelona.

A lengthy injury list is one of their problems.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has been ruled out for the season and fellow forward Gonzalo Higuain was missing against Getafe. Midfielders Ruben de la Red, Arjen Robben and Mahamadou Diarra, and defenders Gabriel Heinze and Fabio Cannavaro were also laid low.

Wesley Sneijder, Miguel Torres and Pepe picked up new injuries on Saturday while the fit players showed a worrying lack of fight. (more…)