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27.10.98

And lo, the dirty deed was done. It came to pass that an ex-Gooner came, once again to manage Tottenham Hotspur. And the good folk in charge at White Hart Lane did not learn from their history, when the false messiah took over the hot seat in 1974, taking the club to the brink of relegation before quitting for the place down the road. He was cast out of the wilderness of Highbury, he has been tempted away from Leeds and he will be denied if he does not bring success to Tottenham and quickly. Finally, if he is responsible for the sin of failure he will no doubt be, verbally, crucified.

Yes, George Graham has taken over at the Lane. His record of success at Arsenal and the turnaround in Leeds’ fortunes have turned the head of the young men who move and shake things at Tottenham. His past - not only the club that he was at, but the actions he received money for - has had a blind eye turned to it. For all Alan Sugar’s moralising about bungs and Venables, he has turned to Graham as the club’s salvation. While not wanting to pre-judge the man (too much anyway), his record is good, but his teams have not performed with the panache that is expected of Spurs teams down the years. You don’t need me to tell you that there has been precious little to enthuse over at Tottenham over the last few seasons, but is this man capable of bringing back the Glory Years to White Hart Lane ?? He may be able to organise the team; even get them high enough up the league to qualify for Europe given time; perhaps win a trophy or two if he has long enough to do it. But will it ever be possible for him to get the team playing the football most Spurs fans want to see ?? I’d like to think so, but my heart tells me otherwise. His accent on defence will make it hard for him to turn the side into an entertaining, attacking and successful unit. Remember what Danny Blanchflower said ? “It’s not just about winning, it’s about doing it in style”.

For all the changes that have taken place of late, the one for the better has been the attitude of the team. While this may have been brought about by the change of management, there seems to be a desire to do well now. Players are putting some effort into their performances and are subsequently reaping the benefits. Since the Derby match, they are obviously out to impress the new manager and secure their future at the club. I hope that it will be possible for the squad to be rationalised, with the dead wood disposed of and some new talent brought in to bolster that which already resides in the bunch of players already plying their trade in the lilywhite shirts.

Regardless of who is in charge or who plays, they are our Tottenham, so keep the faith.

MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON !!!

BRUCE CASTLE

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