Fan's Eye View : Revival revels in rivals' fall

It was 10 seasons ago that Keith Burkinshaw left the manager's desk at White Hart Lane, with the Uefa Cup in the trophy room and the withering parting shot that "there used to be a football club over there". His departure marked the end of an era, and ushered in a grim decade - the '91 FA Cup triumph aside - of financial high-rolling, the Sugar-Venables wrangle and Paul Gascoigne's plastic breasts.

Now, under the shrewd stewardship of Gerry Francis, Tottenham appear to have become not just a football club again, but a team capable of winning things. our resurgence has coincided with the decline of our rivals, Arsenal. As any Spurs success will always be measured against goings-on at Highbury, there is now a tangible feeling of a sea change in the fortunes of the two clubs.

It could, of course, be another false dawn, just like the one that arrived with Klinsmania, the "famous five" forward line, and victories in the first two games of a season that began under the more purist managership of Ossie Ardiles. If that particularbubble burst after home defeats by South-ampton and Watford, and a Coca-Cola Cup exit at Notts County, the current renai- ssance is at least built on firmer defensive ground.

The pragmatism of Gerry Francis has been good for the club. Before his arrival, the team was spiralling downwards as rapidly as our impressive new South stand was rising from the rubble of the Park Lane End. Exhilarating but hopelessly naive attacking ploys were steering a talented team towards the Endsleigh League.

Not that all is rosy in Gerry's new patch. Such is the hyperbole surrounding the club's re-instatement in the FA Cup that it will be a massive anticlimax if Spurs are not at Wembley on 20 May. The odds already being quoted on Klinsmann to score the opening goal in the Cup final appear premature, and a high League placing remains the team's most realistic chance of European football next season.

More distressing to most Spurs regulars has been the new regime's inability to find a berth for the considerable flair of the Romanian World Cup forward, Ilie Dumitrescu, now on loan with the Spanish club, Seville.

Set against that, of course, is the Klinsmann factor. It is rare that a player of one club earns the admiration of so many other supporters. But Klinsmann, like Hoddle and Lineker before him, is the Spurs star that even our adversaries - at least those outside north London - have learned to love. Confounding most expectations, the German has revealed himself not only as a brilliant technician, but also as a decent, intelligent and humorous fellow. You do not have to support Spurs to appreciate the significant impact he has made on English football this season.

The other bonus has been the blossoming of home-grown players. Now, instead of selling off reserves to Norwich City, Spurs are putting their faith in the best crop of young players to graduate to the first team in ages.

Ian Walker made his first entry into Spurs annals via a matchday programme profile that delivered a chest-high tackle on political correctness by listing his desired desert island luxuries as a crate of lager, a Sky Sports subscription and a Page Three model. With cano-nisation by Loaded readers imminent, his recent form between the sticks has designated him one of the country's most promising goalkeepers.

The half-time verdict on Gerry's first season reads so far, so good. The football club that Burkinshaw thought was gone is still thriving. As to the future, the wisdom of another old boy, the late Danny Blanchflower, seems most appropriate. When asked ifthe game was all about winning, Danny replied that it was not - it was all about glory.