He fluffed the one chance that came his way, courtesy of Alan Shearer, shooting wide from the left edge of the Forest penalty area in the 86th minute. But then he showed an assurance of which his father would have been proud.A minute later, with St James’ still sighing on his behalf, he set Shearer away with a measured through-ball from the half-way line. It led Newcastle to their second goal, Alan Rogers felling Shearer and the England captain scoring his second goal of the day – his seventh in four matches – from the penalty spot.It also prompted chants of “Dalglish”, which never rang round St James’ with quite so much feeling in his father’s time there. At 21, he has the same poised carriage, the same pivoting feet and the same ruddy-faced enthusiasm. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Clyde Wijnhard are an exciting combination whose purchases pay tribute to Graham.

“If I’ve broken up one fight between Paolo and Des Walker this season, I’ve broken up a hundred,” Atkinson said. “Managing Paolo is like trying to keep the lid on a volcano – bloody hard.”There was another eruption when Wednesday were at Watford in the third round of the FA Cup last season. Booked for dissent, Di Canio exploded, shouting in the referee’s face, stamping his feet and windmilling his arms. A red card followed, , together with a pounds 40,000 fine from the club.Atkinson’s successor, Danny Wilson, immediately found problems with the Italian. Di Canio’s attitude was summed up when he said: “It would be easy for me to keep my mouth shut, do my training and play the games, but no one is going to put a towel over my mouth and gag me.” And last week, after Wilson described his players as “fancy-dans” following their Worthington Cup defeat to Cambridge, Di Canio returned fire. “He’s a young manager and perhaps a little immature, so perhaps he thinks attacking his own players in public is the way to show strength,” he said.Now Di Canio’s own maturity is in question – not to mention his future in English football..

HE WORE a bomber jacket, heavy boots and a skinhead haircut and he moved towards George Graham with a sense of purpose. Graham looked up at the stocky figure blocking his path and paused. The man ushered his son forward, an autograph was signed, a cheery word exchanged

So much for running a gauntlet of hate. Graham may have red-and-white blood coursing through his veins but Spurs appear to be so desperate for a respectable side they do not care who produces it. Apart from a plaintive banner paraphrasing Pink Floyd with the appeal “Oh, Graham, leave our Spurs alone” the only abuse the ex-Arsenal manager received was the sporadic calls of “Judas” from the Leeds fans.
It could be that the Tottenham support are still getting their heads round the concept of having their “Great Satan” in Bill Nick’s chair. David Pleat, the stand-in manager, suggested they “don’t know what to think” and if they were confused before the game they must have been bewildered after it. Graham’s CV marks him out as a footballing Clint Eastwood: no frills efficiency and never mind the body count.