Kia ora.
Last Hoddle for the week - and for me for a while, with Fitzie back next week.
Honestly, I don’t know how he does it - racking my brain for a different topic each day, trying to keep the masses entertained (insert Gladiator gif here). I think of it as the writing equivalent of MC’ing an event; it’s a very specific skillset, pulling a thought out of mid-air, and having the ability to utilize that to grab peoples’ attention.
In terms of that, it’s always good to have some sort of connection to the cultural zeitgest, which... I’m more man who yells at cloud than man of the people. I’d never make it as a politician; I’m not sure I even qualify as a writer!
So this is kind of a stream-of-consciousness Hoddle, getting meta, so to speak - because I’ve run out of things to talk about! You probably know far more about me now than you ever wanted to, so sorry about that - but isn’t that kind of the cool thing about Cartilage Free Captain? A community of people, connecting over a particular passion? Even one that absolutely destroys you as much as Spurs?
I guess that’s been my goal this week, and maybe the goal of the Hoddle in general: we all have a single point of connection - so let’s find some more!
All this to say: it’s been a pleasure chatting with you all this week. It took me back to the days when I was but one of the commentariat, dropping #takes into the comments (seriously, are you still even reading this?) on whether a hot dog is a sandwich, knife vs bat, and who’s the next THE. But it’ll be great to have Fitzie back - his chats are fantastic, and even if he has poor taste in football players (#sorrynotsorry) he does have great taste in music. We’re lucky to have him.
Mā te wā.
Matty’s track of the day: End of the Affair (Live), by Ben Howard
And now for your links:
A look at the remaining work needed for Spurs in the transfer window, from Football London
Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall visit the Diary Room: check it out on the club site. There’s even some singing!