It is mission accomplished for Juergen Klinsmann and Christian Gross, united in their job of saving Tottenham but distanced by their differences on piloting Spurs to safe ground. They will be even further apart next Monday.
Klinsmann will leave for France '98 before moving on, almost certainly, to the United States on the last leg of an extraordinarily lucrative playing career. At least his penultimate English act was to punch his weight with four goals, repaying more in this performance than in any other one since his £35,000 a week reemployment by Tottenham in December.
That was the Tottenham supporters' Christmas present and the German striker's parting gift amid much bounty at Selhurst Park. The sun shone on Spurs, while Wimbledon were sentenced to the shadows on a day of May madness, especially in defence. Ben Thatcher's reckless foul and sending off, precipitating the Klinsmann goal rush, was as pointless as it was punishing for the hosts.
Afterwards came an element of May mystery: Klinsmann, leaving quickly with cap pulled down, seemed in a strangely dark mood while Gross, expression switching from the severe to a positive beam, gave an almost valedictory speech and hinted at even better to come under his regime. Maybe both men knew something that Tottenham loyalists did not.
"It was the best performance of the season," said Gross, even more rewarding for the fact that "we had to win. They looked very sharp, fitter and ready to play the football I want to play. It was a home game for us today."
More than 8,000 Spurs supporters chorused their delight and Gross certainly struck a winning public-relations note with fans. Even if Klinsmann is leaving, Gross gave no indication that his sojourn at White Hart Lane, criticised by the German among others, would be brief.
Indeed Gross spoke sombrely of Klinsmann, bringing to mind Alan Sugar's famous televised barb about the "mercenary" in 1995. "I gave him a platform to perform," claimed Tottenham's head. "In Italy he hadn't had his best time. Now, if he performs like this, it will be difficult for Germany to leave him out of the World Cup."
Gross will not be making any late plea for Klinsmann to stay, but will the two men part on good terms? "We are all professionals," Gross replied coolly. "We had the same aim - to keep Tottenham in the Premiership."
Gross has another year of his contract to run. If that is reviewed in the summer, Joe Kinnear will inevitably be touted as a successor. Gross praised Wimbledon's manager last week, yet Tottenham's incumbent won this contest handsomely.
For a team previously so miserly in defence, Wimbledon looked distinctly vulnerable even before Thatcher's dismissal for a wild lunge at Allan Nielsen after 52 minutes. Kinnear never really filled the resulting right-back gap, easing the way for Klinsmann to strike emphatically three times in six minutes, twice after clever contributions by his resurgent fellow striker Les Ferdinand.
But Moussa Saib's concluding goal was arguably the best of the day - an angled shot after a ripple of passes, the last a delightful Klinsmann back-heel to the Algerian.
It was a field day for Spurs, and for statisticians. Klinsmann, who struck his opening goal after 41 minutes, went on to double his total for Spurs this season; Peter Fear delivered his first Wimbledon goals this season with rasping right-foot volleys. And Darren Anderton lasted the entire 90 minutes, which ended with the superb David Ginola indulging in long mutual acclaim with the fans.
Not everyone was happy, though. Spurs midfielder David Howells, who has made 250 appearances for the club, said at the weekend he had played his last game for Spurs, claiming the staff had treated him like he was "invisible". Howells spent Saturday at Newmarket races.
"The past few months have been a nightmare," said Howells. "The club have hardly lost a game when I've been in the side, yet I've been cast aside like an old rag. Their communication skills are non-existent. It is clear that I don't figure in Christian Gross's plans. It's very sad, but that's me finished with Spurs."
Wimbledon: Sullivan, Kimble, THatcher, Roberts, Perry, M Hughes, McAlister, Euell (Francis 36), Fear, Leaburn (Gayle 46), Kennedy (C Hughes 63). Booked: Perry. Sent off: Thatcher. Goals: Fear 21, 30.
Tottenham: Walker, Calderwood, Fox (Saib 72), Nielsen, Anderton, Ferdinand (Armstrong 61), Carr, Ginola, Campbell, Klinsmann, Berti. Booked: Berti. Goals: Ferdinand 18, Klinsmann 41, 54, 58, 60, Saib 79.
