George Graham the case for the defence by Daniel Wynne

Ever since George Graham walked through the doors of White Hart Lane as manager for the first time as manager in October 1998, following the debacle of the Christian Gross era, he was always going to have trouble winning over a certain section of the fans.

However, the more rational thinking supporters of this great club of ours, myself included, realised that we were fortunate to have been given a manager with a proven track record and also one determined to “get one over” on his former employers down the road. Therefore his history should be left exactly where it belongs, in history.

We are now 117 games into his reign and the debate as to whether he should be in charge for one more game, let alone another 117 is reaching fever pitch. I am firmly on the side of sticking with him and many, many others, the owner of this great website included (in case you didn’t know!!!) want rid.

Under Gross, the players were a shambles. They obviously were not happy with the regime and were playing without respect for their leader. In an instant, that point at least was rectified. The name of George Graham was the tonic the players needed and his third game in charge saw us overcome a potential banana skin in the form of Northampton away in the torrential rain, in the third round of the successful Worthington Cup campaign.

People tend to overlook the fact how he turned those players around quickly. To overcome the likes of Man Ure at home, Liverpool away and Wimbledon over two legs on the way to picking up the trophy was no mean feat.

That same season victories over Watford, Wimbledon, Leeds and Barnsley took us to the semi-final of the FA Cup and we were denied a double Wembley appearance (for the first time since Keith Burkinshaw’s reign in1982) by an abysmal refereeing display by Paul Durkin.

The following season, saw a return to European football. Many people cannot forgive Graham for leaving Ginola out of the second leg trip to Kaiserslautern. However, in my mind this was a brave decision and one that showed he is a quality manager. Ginola was going to be the target of some less than welcoming hospitality by the German hosts after he won the penalty which separated the two teams after the first leg. We all know that he didn’t play as well away from the Lane and so it was the correct decision to “rest” him. The fact we gave away those two late goals was unfortunate, but it was not GG on the pitch at the time. Up until that point, it was a solid away performance and the ink was almost dry on the “Job Done” headlines when…………well you know the rest.

Earlier that season, GG took us to the summit of the Premiership, the first time we had been at the top of the league since the late 80’s. Three straight victories against Newcastle, Everton and Sheff Wed took us there, albeit overnight. Graham also led us to home victories against Arsenal, Man Ure and Liverpool. It was the first time since the 1989-90 season that we beat all three of those teams at home in the same season.

Look what Graham has achieved with Steve Carr. He has turned a raw kid into the best right back in the Premiership. Remember how Carr was not exactly a crowd pleaser? GG has worked enormously hard to get the best out of him. He has encouraged him to get forward more and his first goal came at Wimbledon. His goals against Man Ure and Sunderland on the last day of the season were a joy to watch.

He has bought in a quality keeper in Sully and Rebrov, is pure class and will benefit from the return of Iversen as I think his best position is playing behind the front two facing the goal. GG cannot be blamed for the injuries we have which has resulted in Sergei playing almost as a target man alongside “Sir” Les.

Before you think I am totally ignoring all the points against him, I will acknowledge that Korsten is not exactly a shining light and I am as disappointed as the next man at our away form. I also recognise that his achievements were a long time ago and the game has moved on enormously.

However, what this club needs now is a period of consistency. Sticking with GG is paramount. His ability to turn this situation around, is in my opinion, there for all to see. He is passionate and cares deeply about this club. I had the pleasure of sitting directly behingd him for the home games against Boro and Newcastle, as I was in the press box, and if anyone doubts his passion, let me tell you how wrong you are.

He needs more time. Rome was not built in a day. Fergusson is a great example of that. We were fighting relegation not so long ago and under Francis, unable to win at home. That has gone.

Hoddle will no doubt come home in time but let him make his mistakes elsewhere first. There is no guarantee that an ex player will do the biz. Ask Ossie about that one!

I urge you all to get behind the team and also behind Graham. With a bit more time and the right support the success will follow.