Continental soccer charm takes vital hold in England

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): The continental influence within English soccer, the result of a growing number of imported players, has now taken a significant hold on management.

Of the top four teams in the Premiership, one is managed by a Frenchman, another by a Dutchman, and the third by an Englishman who found success in Europe coaching at both club and national level. The odd man out, needless to say, is a Scotsman.

The Frenchman is Arsene Wenger; a year on from his arrival at Highbury and Arsenal stands a point clear at the top. Unfortunately, his training methods and tactics do not appear to include maintaining discipline.

The suspension of key players at crucial times last season cost Arsenal the title. The situation has arisen again with Wenger about to lose Denis Bergkamp for three games, including the visit of Manchester United, after collecting a fifth yellow card against Crystal Palace last week.

The loss of Bergkamp will place added pressure on Ian Wright, another not noted for turning the other cheek. With Wright, Patrik Viera, Luis Boa Morte and Gilles Grimandi also booked against Palace, suspensions again look set to cost Highbury dear.

Arsenal hosts Aston Villa on Sunday. Buoyed by its creditable goalless draw Tuesday against Atletic Bilbao in the UEFA Cup, Villa will not make life easy for the volatile league leader. And in Dwight Yorke and Savo Milosevic it will have quality forwards eager to exploit any lapses.

The driving force behind second-placed Blackburn Rovers is an Englishman who honed his skills in Europe. Fluent in five languages, Roy Hodgson tasted club success with Malmo, took the Swiss national team to the World Cup finals in 1994, and guided Inter Milan to the UEFA Cup final and third place in Serie A last season.

Bottom of the Premiership 12 months ago, Rovers is now within touching distance of the summit. Hodgson's quiet revolution. including twice-daily training sessions and the poaching of Inter's fitness coach, has breathed life into Ewood Park and resurrected the careers of Chris Sutton, Kevin Gallacher and Stuart Ripley.

The cross-Pennine journey to Newcastle tomorrow reunites Rovers with its former manager, Kenny Dalglish. The brash and extravagantly funded success of his reign is in sharp contrast to Hodgson's understated regime.

Weary from its 1-0 Champion's Cup defeat against PSV Eindhoven Wednesday, Newcastle will be hard pressed to hold a Rovers side for whom victory would mean a return to the top, albeit for just 24 hours.

Ruud Gullit, the third element of this European monopoly, has taken Chelsea to fourth place in the Premiership, four points behind Arsenal but with a game in hand.

The Dutchman's admiration for the best the continent has to offer has seen him recruit from Italy, Holland, France, Rumania, Norway and Russia.

Injuries to key players, however, will test his managerial qualities in the coming weeks. A cruciate ligament injury has robbed him of Gustavo Poyet for the rest of the season, and a dislocated elbow against Leicester last Saturday will keep Graham Le Saux out for around ten weeks.

Having embarked on 200-mile mid-week trek inside the Arctic Circle for a Cup Winners Cup tie against Tromso, Chelsea faces the slightly less arduous journey to Bolton on Sunday for a game it would expect to win.

Continental play

The cuckoo in the Premiership nest is the manager of third- placed Manchester United and professional Scotsman, Alex Ferguson. While an admirer of continental play and players, Ferguson's abrasive and confrontation leadership is poles apart from the laid-back style of Wenger, Hodgson and Gullit.

The man and his methods suit United, however, as it proved Wednesday with a 2-1 win over Feyenoord in the Champions Cup. The intensity maybe missing for the visit of Barnsley tomorrow, but anything other than a comfortable victory would be a major shock.

The picture is far less rosy for Liverpool manager Roy Evans. Beaten by Everton last week, Liverpool was humbled 3-0 by Strasburg in the UEFA Cup Tuesday. Shambolic defending was again the cause of a miserable performance.

The likelihood is that Mark Wright will be recalled to the center of defense for the home game against Derby County tomorrow. Patrik Berger and Karl Heinz Rielde will have late fitness tests after missing the game in France, while Oyvind Leonhardsen, Jamie Redknapp and Steve Harkness may all find themselves on the bench after modest UEFA performances.

Having suffered over the years at Anfield, Derby manager Jim Smith, will take great delight in unleashing his exciting and cosmopolitan forwardline on a home defense shorn of both confidence and cohesion.

While Evans is believed to have the rest of the season to prove his managerial worth, the same cannot be said of David Pleat at Sheffield Wednesday or Gerry Francis at Tottenham. Another dip in form and both could be sacked by Christmas. In matches from which they would expect points, Tottenham visits bottom club Southampton tomorrow, while Sheffield Wednesday entertains Crystal Palace.

Elsewhere this weekend, Everton strengthen by its win in the Merseyside derby, visits Coventry City; the upwardly mobile Leeds United meets the physically mobile Wimbledon at Selhurst Park; and in Monday night's match Leicester City plays West Ham.