My dear Stephen,

Would anyone in their right minds want that poisoned chalice of a job?

Tottenham's problem is and always will be their fans who seem to regard footballing success as a natural birthright rather than something which has to be fought for tooth and nail. I pity the poor, hapless sod who eventually succeeds Mr.Hoddle because if he has not wrapped up the Championship within a fortnight of his appointment, the Spurs 'army' will be seething, whining and demanding his dismissal.

Spurs fans are the 'Arabs' of the Premiership.

Surely this is satirical?

GINOLA COMES FORWARD FOR SPURS POST

By Neil Silver, PA Sport

David Ginola has thrown his hat into the ring as a possible contender for the vacant manager's job at Tottenham.

Spurs sacked one former hero in the shape of Glenn Hoddle last night and now another fans' favourite Ginola said he would welcome the chance to restore the club to past glories.

Ginola told the Press Association: "Having the chance to become part of the coaching staff at Tottenham would be a dream come true for me."

"The club is in my heart, I am Tottenham, and I believe I can be the perfect ambassador for them.

"I am sure I would be good at the job because I am sensitive. I would focus on psychology with the players and develop relationships. Each member of a group of players is different, and to get the best out of them is to know each one as an individual. I would find out what I could say to this one, and that one, without hurting them, so as to boost their confidence."

Former France international Ginola was one of Tottenham's most popular players in recent years.

He joined the club from Newcastle in July 1997 and made more than 100 appearances before being sold to Aston Villa three years later. During his time at White Hart Lane he played a key role in helping the club win the Worthington Cup.

Ginola, 36, has been out of football since his contract at Villa ran out, but has been coaching in France. While some people might not take him seriously as management material, he has strong views on the game and believes he would command enough respect from players and fans alike to help turn around Tottenham's flagging fortunes.

"I would like to manage Tottenham because I know the structure of the club and I know I could attract the best players," Ginola added.

"Some players don't sign for a club because they don't want to work for the manager, so if these players know me, they know I will want to be successful and have a good time along the way.

"I know that what gives you strength is how you link the players, and the important thing is how you build team spirit. I would create a successful spirit - if you don't know each other, how can you go on to the pitch on Saturday afternoon and fight for each other?

"Footballers can become good managers because you work with so many managers in your life that if you are intelligent then you can take all the good things you have learned from different people and mix them into the right formula.

"I think about all the good things I have learnt from all the managers in my career and if I put them together it would be a good mixture."

Ginola faces competition for the job from Martin O'Neill, Graeme Souness, Alan

Curbishley, Raddy Antic and Harry Redknapp, but would welcome the chance to

return to Spurs as part of the coaching staff under any of those bosses.

He added: "I have thought about becoming a manager, or maybe a coach who works with the kids, because I think I would be a good teacher and would get a lot of satisfaction from that."

end

221121 SEP 03

My two favorite quotes: Ginola - "I am sure I would be good at the job because I am sensitive."

And the journalist - "...some people might not take him seriously as management material..."

David,

Come now. You're being hyperbolic. Spurs fans don't see premiership success as a birthright - we're quite capable of looking at the tables and noting the striking run of mid-table finishes. All this foolish consistency wouldn't be so bad if it related in any way to expenditures in the transfer market. As it is, the team that seemed in a rebuilding mode after losing Sol Campbell got off to a great start before settling in, even after getting Keane, to their customary position. But this year, Hoddle made so much of his revamped front line - Hoddle brought a lot of attention to WHL, and he was right to do so. Far from a birthright, fans were generally interested in Postiga, Kanoute, et al. Expectations were higher this year than they'd been in a while, and the team looks about as far from being able to compete with Arsenal as I do of taking over from Hoddle. I think most fans, despite their goodwill towards Hoddle, agree with the chairman that incremental progress is what's sorely lacking, and that we'd be fine with a few losses if Spurs could both score consistently and stem the flood of opponents' shots on goal.