Gross to whip Tottenham into shape

Christian Gross, the Swiss coach Tottenham have chosen to succeed Gerry Francis, believes in discipline and industry as the basis for success. Presumably, therefore, he would sympathise with the following managerial creed: "I do not inhibit players from expressing their ability on the field of play. I like them to be as positive as possible. I demand hard work from artists and labourers alike.

"There are certain players in the game who masquerade under the pretext of possessing a special talent and are not prepared to work hard enough to produce it when it matters most. Some of them believe that one special game in eight will get them by but they soon discover that such a ratio is no good to me."

Those words appeared in the autobiography of Ron Atkinson, published when he was the manager of Manchester United. Today, 13 years and four clubs later, Atkinson will be back at Sheffield Wednesday, where he has been reappointed on a short-term contract following the dismissal of David Pleat.

Not for the first time Atkinson, the bluff pragmatist, has taken over a team from one of football's more profound thinkers. At Old Trafford he followed Dave Sexton and when he first arrived at Hillsborough only the sojourn of Peter Eustace separated him from the reign of Howard Wilkinson. When Atkinson moved to Aston Villa it was to follow a doctor of philosophy, Jozef Venglos, the former coach of the Czech national team who had done little to convince English football that its future lay with foreign managers.

Times change: now it is Wednesday who have bucked the trend by bringing back the 58-year-old Atkinson, while Tottenham are swimming with the tide in the appointment of Gross. The tart observation of Alan Sugar, the Spurs chairman, that if Francis decided to stay and call himself Geraldo Francisco results would improve implied that the growing enthusiasm for foreign coaches was a fad. But there is surely more to it than that.

Gross, like France's Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, has become manager at "Hot White Lane" as he puts it because of his qualifications, not his foreignness. As Jimmy Armfield, the Football Association's technical consultant, points out: "Foreign coaches are taught about diet, mental preparation, communication skills, planning, counselling and media skills. I think we must take notice of that."

Foreign experience, not a foreign tongue, is the over-riding factor. Roy Hodgson may be English but his methods are as foreign to the players of Blackburn Rovers as are those of Wenger at Highbury. Chris Sutton has found more emphasis on passing and feels the atmosphere created by Hodgson is less intense though still strict: "He is not someone you'd want to cross."

Soon after Wenger assumed control at Arsenal Ian Wright noted that a lot of tension had gone from the dressing room while training sessions were no longer regimented. Wenger's coaching, he said, was more laid-back. "He just lets a session go on but if he's got something to say he will stop it and tell exactly what you should be doing." Ray Parlour, Arsenal's most improved footballer, has obviously listened well.

Gross will bring a solid grounding in European football to a club where the Franciscan credo of stamina and organisation has failed to arrest a decline. The first thing Francis did on inheriting the Spurs squad from Ossie Ardiles was to put the players through such rigorous fitness routines that some were physically sick. Along the way, however, Tottenham lost the will to win.

Sugar has blamed media pressure for his manager's resignation but Francis is a tough enough character not to be cast down by bad headlines alone. He left Spurs because the team had quit on him, which is often the way of things. At times Atkinson's managerial career has been a story of rousing starts and anticlimactic conclusions, the quips becoming better than the results. Perhaps a certain breed of footballer needs a contrast in managerial types if for no other reason than a change being as good as a rest.

Not that Spurs are likely to get the latter under Gross, for whom hard work appears to be an article of faith. Twenty-seven years ago Bill Nicholson dropped half the first team after an FA Cup defeat at Crystal Palace. Gross will not be in charge when Palace visit White Hart Lane on Monday, but he will be watching.

In the short term Mr Christian may need a touch of Captain Bligh to bring the team back on course. And a Swiss should know something about whipping cream.