Sky Blues fail to capitalise

The trouble with city men who meddle in football is that they deal in shekels rather than souls.

David Buchler, the executive who showed George Graham the door at Tottenham, should remember the old saying about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Out on the White Hart Lane pitch, push-and-run football wiped the floor with a Coventry side supposed to be fighting for their lives. Had vice-chairman Buchler consulted the players before sacking his manager for the cardinal sin of telling the truth, he might have learned something about what constitutes the heartbeat of a successful club. Graham did a terrific job of make-do and mend, as he tried to compete with Manchester United, Arsenal, Leeds and Liverpool, ambitious clubs who do not flinch at spending big money.

They have a fine bunch of young players at Spurs, many of whom were educated under Graham's paternal eye and in some instances pressed into senior service sooner than he would have chosen.

Even Gordon Strachan, who must feel there is a noose tightening around his own neck after this surrender, was feeling as much for the abruptly deposed Graham as he was for himself.

What makes Buchler and his ENIC gang think that Glenn Hoddle, Marcello Lippi or even Superman can get more out of the resources at Spurs than Graham, especially if the budget for the summer is barely enough to buy Luis Figo's left boot? It was Graham's team playing to Graham's instructions who obliterated Coventry, just as it was his team who carried the club to another FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal.

Stewart Houston, Graham's trusted lieutenant who may be the next man to have his collar felt, was not afraid to refute Buchler's accusation that his old master was not a team player. 'George's record is the second best of any manager in the country and if you were to talk to any Spurs supporter they would say they are going to take the FA Cup,' said Houston.