Cartilage Free Captain

Tottenham Hotspur haven’t played a football match in over two weeks, and the absence of football has allowed certain sentiments to grow, and in some cases even fester. Players have been with their national teams, and whenever you aren’t able to see the team play for an extended period of time the vibes in the fanbase get a little weird.

So I was happy to see an extended interview with Ange Postecoglou and Optus Sport pop up on my feed this morning. Ange is a gifted communicator — it’s one of the best things about him — and while his answers here aren’t anything unexpected, it’s still nice to hear him speak about the season as a whole, replete with its enormous challenges.

Ange hasn’t really changed his tune much, but there are some interesting takeaways and even some admissions about things he’s gotten wrong this season in the context of everything else that’s been going on.

The full video is embedded in the header of this article and I’d encourage you to watch it in full, but I’ve transcribed a few key and interesting passages below, starting with Ange’s birds’ eye view of the season as a whole so far.

“It’s been a tough season. There’s no hiding away from it. It hasn’t gone anywhere near to the levels we wanted. We certainly started the season off with some pretty clear goals and ambitions around what we wanted to achieve, and I guess there’s an equal frustration there and had some glimpses of us getting to the level we want, and there’s been enormous setbacks, and our inconsistency in the league.”

Postecoglou was also asked what his biggest challenge has been this season in trying to get Tottenham to achieve their team goals for the season. It’s not a difficult question to answer, and Ange was able to navigate it by both acknowledging the factors outside his and the club’s control while also taking responsibility for the team’s obvious failures and shortcomings.

“I think the domino effect of certain things happening [has been the biggest challenge]. You kind of try and assess things as you go along, and at the end of the year sit down, and my inkling is we probably got the start of the year wrong in terms of... you know, it’s just becoming increasingly challenging for footballers these days. They don’t get the traditional break and I just think we went into the season really hard. We probably underestimated the challenges of Europe this year with two extra games and us having a deep cup run.

“And then add to the mix we lost some key players early on and it feels like we’ve been from my perspective chasing our tails since then. We haven’t been able to get ahead of the challenges we’ve had. Every time we try and get some steady ground something else happens that shifts, and a lot of that I think has just gone back to the start of the year. We maybe would have taken a different approach knowing the kind of season we had ahead.”

Tottenham’s incredibly full fixture calendar this season, combined with this past summer’s European Championships and Copa America, were a major contributing factor to Spurs’ inability to overcome key injuries and exhaustion in the middle of the season. Postecoglou acknowledged that challenge, and said that eventually something will have to change.

“I think there are benefits to [a winter break]. It’s not just that, you know, on the continent they have a winter break, but also most of them only have one domestic cup competition. Most of them give the teams in Europe a break before the European games. Most of them have less than 20 teams in their top league. When you add the international schedule, I think there will come a breaking point. I have no doubt about that.

“I think that’s what’s happened to us this year. I think you saw in some clubs last year that were in Europe, whether it was Newcastle, Brighton, teams that looked like they were in the ascendancy get into Europe and all of a sudden they fall off, mainly because of injuries more than anything else. It’s happened to us this year. I think it’s affected Villa and probably [Manchester] City to a certain extent. I think you’ll see it affect teams in Europe next year.

“I think at some point the league will sit down and go okay well this is unsustainable we need to make some changes.”

Spurs fans are obviously frustrated with the way the season has gone, with a sizable percentage looking at Tottenham’s current table position and wondering whether the club is going in the right direction.

“I’ve always said I hate it when people get told how to feel. I think there’s no doubt there’s a large portion of Tottenham fans who have lost a bit of faith and belief in what we’re doing. I think they’re encouraged by what they saw last year for sure but that certainly manifested itself.

“I’m really optimistic and bullish about the squad we’ve got. I just think there’s enormous growth in them once we can navigate through this and being through a tough time you’ll know yourself. Surviving tough times can be such a strong uniter of people because you figure, well, there’s nothing we’re going to face coming down the track that’s going to be anywhere near this bad as what we’ve gone through, and we’ve survived, and we’re together.

“The results have been very disappointing but I hope people see a squad that’s exciting, and then the biggest way we can influence that is by giving them hope. We’ve still got things to play for, obviously in Europe this year, and we’ve got to try and finish the season off in a positive way.”

It’s been readily apparent that Postecoglou is focused on trying to win the Europa League after Spurs qualified for the quarterfinals by beating AZ Alkmaar last month. Ange talked about that competition and how winning it would be a tangible way of providing hope after a challenging season.

“We’re in the quarterfinals! It’s an opportunity, absolutely, and with where we are at the moment, obviously our League season hasn’t been great, but in Europe and the Carabao Cup, and even the FA Cup we performed really well when we needed to in the big occasions.

“With everyone coming back now we’re in a much healthier position. It’s not like this football club is always in semis or quarters of European competition. We’re in the quarters. We’re one of eight clubs. We certainly know that at our best that we can compete with anyone. Knock on wood we’ve got a squad that’s probably as strong as it has been all year. Why not have a massive crack at it? It would be big for the club to win a trophy, but I think for this group if you can go through what we’ve been through this year and come out the other side of it and have success, it’s a great builder for the future.”

How long has it been since we’ve last watched Tottenham play? Too long!

The last time we checked on our beloved Spurs they lost 0-2 to Fulham, with Ryan Sessegnon (remember him?) scoring the second goal for the Cottagers. Maybe it’s best we forgot.

Tottenham Hotspur men’s squad:

This month’s action begins at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, just as we all had hoped. Nothing says ‘Welcome back Spurs’ like a trip to Chelsea.

But it’s also the month Spurs continue the knockout stages of the Europe League. This time it’s against Frankfurt, and it comes as pressure builds on Ange Postecoglou to deliver results. How much of his job security is tied to this latest round? We may soon find out.

Oh, and then Spurs close out the month at Liverpool. Terrific.

Tottenham Hotspur men’s schedule: at Chelsea (3 April); Soton (6 April); Frankfurt (Europa League, 10 April); at Wolves (13 April); at Frankfurt (Europa League, 17 April); Forest (21 April)l at Liverpool (27 April)

Tottenham Hotspur women’s squad:

How lucky are Spurs to play Liverpool not once but twice, and on the same day?

That’s exactly what’s happening here. Who knows what’ll happen, but I do know Spurs are winless in their last seven matches. And Postecoglou isn’t the only one struggling right now, but it appears Spurs are giving Robert Vilahamn a little bit of time to work through this rough patch.

Tottenham Hotspur women’s schedule: Aston Villa (20 April); at Liverpool (27 April)

Fitzie’s track of the day: Dancing Away In Tears, by Yola

And now for your links:

Football London: “What Daniel Levy failed to admit in £700m transfer statement in Tottenham financial results”

Jay Harris: “Tottenham’s Daniel Levy addresses transfers criticism: ‘We cannot spend what we do not have’”

Dan KP: “Daniel Levy sends Tottenham spending warning in message to fans as latest financial results revealed”

Harry Kaneon his favourite dishes at the Bayern canteen

Last month, we wrote about rumors that Tottenham Hotspur were planning yet another preseason tour to Asia, their fifth consecutive preseason trip to the region. While the full scope of those plans have not yet been finalized (or at least announced), today we do have confirmation that Spurs will be heading to Hong Kong at the end of July... to play Arsenal.

While I’m sure there are plenty of both Spurs and Arsenal fans in Hong Kong and the region who are thrilled that this match is going on, the majority of the response on social media has been mixed to negative. And for good reason! North London Derbies are special — one of the most heated and iconic rivalries in English football, matches between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are intended to be highly charged, emotional affairs with real stakes. Doing one as a preseason friendly, essentially a training scrimmage, featuring squads that are likely to be highly rotated, effectively dilutes the experience. It’s kind of baffling why the two clubs would agree to play a “derby” that will almost certainly be juice-less.

But maybe it’s not baffling at all. Preseason tours are about two things: giving fans in other parts of the world an opportunity to watch their favorite Premier League team play close to their homes, and money. With particular emphasis on the second part. There’s really no other reason why Spurs have gone to Asia for five straight times instead of other parts of the world — there’s a high concentration of Asian fans who watch Tottenham Hotspur play (in part because of Son Heung-Min), and that leads to higher attendances, higher ticket fees, and bigger profits. It’s cool that Asian fans get to watch Spurs play football — I will not minimize that aspect of it, it’s neat — but it’s hard not to look at a preseason friendly NLD and not feel like it’s both soulless and corporate.

That said, it doesn’t really matter which team Spurs play in these tours — fans are going to turn out regardless. Including Arsenal feels like a hackneyed attempt to make this match “mean something” when no matter what it won’t mean anything at all. Nobody will care or remember whether Spurs beat Arsenal in Hong Kong in late July, or the other way around. It’s not especially exciting, because there are zero stakes. The only possible exciting thing that could happen is that Cuti Romero is still around, doesn’t get the memo, and two-foot-tackles Declan Rice or something. THAT would be worth the price of admission.

I’m annoyed, but this is going to happen no matter now dumb I think it is.

At long last, we are finally entering the run-in for the EFL Championship. There’s a tonne left to play for and very little’s been decided. Even better, all the teams are on equal matches played (except Preston North End, but who cares about them).

Now, let’s take a look at where the league stands heading into the final seven matches of the season.

Race for automatic promotion: 1 Sheffield United (83 Pts, +27 GD), 2 Leeds United (81 Pts, +51 GD), 3 Burnley (81 Pts, +42 GD)

The race for automatics has been between these three clubs all along. But Leeds have slipped from their perch atop the table with two consecutive draws (against Swansea and QPR). That means they no longer have the inside track.

Meanwhile, Burnley and Sheffield United are on track for a huge match on 21 April at Turf Moor. Burnley have allowed just 11 goals all season (!!) but have a frustrating 15 draws (!!).

Race for the playoffs: 4 Sunderland (72 Pts, +19 GD), 5 Coventry (59 Pts, +5 GD), 6 West Brom (57 Pts, +13 GD), 7 Middlesbrough (57 Pts, +10 GD), 8 Bristol City (57 Pts, +7 GD), 9 Watford (53 Pts, -4 GD)

It’s a little crowded for the 5-6 spots in the table. Frank Lampard took Coventry from bottom half of the table to the inside track for fifth. But all the clubs in the mix have a very inconsistent of results, which makes for an unpredictable finish.

Take West Brom, for example. after draws against Burnley and Hull City, and a loss to Norwich. Those three results put the Baggies in a precaious position, but ahead on goal difference.

They’ve also got a brutal run-in with Sunderland, Bristol City, Watford and Coventry. Plus matches against relegation contenders Derby, Cardiff and Luton.

Race for survival: 18 Stoke (42 Pts, -12 GD), 19 Oxford United (42 Pts, - 17 GD), 20 Hull City (41 Pts, -9 GD), 21 Cardiff City (40 Pts, -20 GD), 22 Derby County (38 Pts, -11 GD), 23 Luton Town (38 Pts, -25 GD), 24 Plymouth Argyle (34 Pts, - 37 GD)

That brings us to the bottom seven in the table, with four points separating 18th from 22nd.

Plymouth Argyle appear destined for relegation while it appears it’s too late for Luton Town to avoid a double-relegation.

Derby County have a handful of major games against relegation rivals Luton, Hull and Stoke. Six points out of nine would be huge.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Lady Bird, by Dexter Gordon

And now for your links:

Dan KP: “Andoni Iraola could be Tottenham’s next Mauricio Pochettino but key questions raised”

Jack P-B ($$): “Bigger than the question of Postecoglou’s future is the question of what Spurs want to be (again)”

You might have seen some stories lately, usually sourced from someone you’ve never heard of in the Italian football media, that Tottenham Hotspur have either offered or are in discussions to offer a lifeline to former Director of Football Fabio Paratici. Don Fabio, who’s worldwide football ban ends in June for his role in the Juventus PRISMA and plusvalenza scandals, is keen to get back into football and that has put him on the radar of a bunch of clubs, most in Italy but also, so the story goes, Tottenham.

The various reports are breathless about Spurs bringing Fabio back to Spurs in some sort of senior leadership role. Would that be at a level equal to Technical Director Johan Lange? Maybe in replacement of Lange? Or perhaps in some other role? Nobody seems know, or want to say.

And that’s because, according to the Daily Telegraph, Spurs haven’t talked to Paratici at all about any potential job opening. Our new best friend Matt Law says Spurs haven’t entered into any negotiations to have Paratici ride back into North London on the back of a donkey while the first team waves palm branches by the side of the road. Paratici is still well regarded at Spurs, with Tottenham using him in an unofficial capacity as an “advisor” to the club, but that hasn’t led to any talks about him getting his/a job back.

Now, could it happen? I mean sure, anything’s possible. It’d be a bit of a weird appointment, especially since Spurs have notably pivoted from Paratici’s “scattershot” method of talent scouting and recruitment to Lange’s data-driven model that has been itself locked behind a black box impervious to leaks or news. My impression of Paratici is that he’s uhhhhhh not exactly a data driven guy, but perhaps bringing him back would lead to him being something of a foil to Lange’s more straight-laced approach to recruitment.

But again, contrary to all reports coming out of weird Italian sources, Law writes that nothing has happened yet and might not at all. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But either way we should probably all take a step back a bit and wait for further developments from trusted sources.

Good morning, hoddlers.

It’s the end of a long week, and your hoddler-in-chief is pretty tired.

Usually on 28 March I like to celebrate Reba McEntire’s birthday. The US singer/actress (who’s starring in a new show) turns 70 today. She spares the special day with Kate Gosselin, Rodrigo Duterte and Vinve Vaughn. What a list!

Normally I find this day a day worth celebrating, but frankly I am just too gosh darn tired to do anything.

It’s too bad Taskmaster Series 19 has not aired yet, because I would love nothing more than to sit on the couch, have a few drinks and watch five comedians make fools of themselves.

Now, I know what you’re saying. “Fitzie, Laugh Out Loud UK is on Amazon Prime!”

I know, dearest hoddlers. I finished it today. I’d give it around a 3.5/5, with the funniest bit coming from Joe Wilkinson (one of the many Taskmaster alums on the inaugural season).

Maybe I’ll throw on some Taskmaster re-runs. Been a while since I’ve seen Series 5.

I don’t have a lot going on for Reba McEntire’s birthday. Maybe I’ll go to a coffee shop. Maybe I’ll pick up a new orchid and possibly a new record.

Your hoddler-in-chief has been shuttling around the Washington metro much of this week. From Home to Navy Yard by way of L’Enfant Plaza. Home to U Street, to McPherson Squre, Farragut West, Farragut North and back and forth and back and forth I go, lured into the Washingtonian underground by the illuminated “M”

And the days hurtle by, the flipping of the calendar’s pages bring us to today, Reba McEntire’s birthday.

All I really want is to sleep and not watch Tottenham Hotspur football (the second part is going pretty well).

Fitzie’s track of the day: Lost in the Supermarket, by The Clash

And now for your links:

Dan KP: “Johnny Cardoso, Archie Gray and how Spurs hope to reshape their midfield”

The Athletic ($$): “Could Andoni Iraola’s tactics work at a bigger club – and would Spurs have the patience?”

Football London: “Tottenham’s best 25 players of the last 25 years: 10-6 revealed”

What’s better than the summer transfer window? How about TWO summer transfer windows! According to an article in The Athletic (£), the Premier League has announced the creation of a second, earlier transfer window that will open on June 1 and close on June 10 ahead of the start of the Club World Cup.

The formation of this new “exceptional transfer window” will make it so that Manchester City and Chelsea, the two clubs competing in the competition, to sign players ahead of the tournament. The new window is not restricted to just those two clubs — all Premier League clubs will be able to buy and sell players during the open window.

The window, which was approved by FIFA back in October, will close on June 10, and then reopen six days later on June 16 and remain open until September 1.

What isn’t exactly clear is whether this new window will line up with other international federations’ windows. One would think so otherwise Premier League clubs would only be able to sign free agent players and not players competing in federations whose windows would not yet be open. I presume that they’ve worked all of this out already, but it would be pretty funny (and very on brand for FIFA and the Premier League) if they had not.

So why not just open the transfer window on June 1 and just leave it open until September 1? Well, Premier League rules state that transfer windows can only be open 16 weeks in the year — 12 weeks in the summer, 4 weeks in January. This extra Club World Cup window is unique to that competition, which starts on June 14. That requires the window to close for six days before reopening with the “real” window.

Good morning and welcome to the latest installment of The Orchad Tales, where your hoddler-in-chief documents the life os his orchid, Planty.

Catch up on parts 3-10 here (Again, this is an open request for anyone who can find Parts 1 and 2):

Part III / Part IV / Part V / Part VI / Part VII / Part VIII / Part IX / Part X

The cherry blossoms are blooming. The tidal basin is dotted with white and pink petals, gifts from Japan many years ago. Spring is here and lovely pastels adorn Washington DC.

Inside my apartment, near my east-facing window, the seven violet-colorued flowers on my orchid have fallen off. Another life-span come and gone. These blooms first blossomed in December, with the final one arriving some time after the new year.

They remained resilient in the dark and gloomy winter, brightening each morning that came and went.

Now, the stalk that grew from the orchid bulb is turning from a beautiful green to brown. The energy and effort it spent to carry the blooms have taken their toll.

Now the orchid begins the next stage of its life: rest.

And that’s what I’ll allow it to do. It will rest and once the stalk is ready to fall off I will prune it. There is one additional leaf that appears to be fading, which will also require some more monitoring.

Planty is entering its fourth year in existence, a living token of my time here in DC. Because of it my entire living room arrangement is slightly off-centre, but Planty’s well-being takes precedence over my aesthetic.

The crown of thorns and ponytail palm I bought in October to accompany it remain, although the former is looking in rough shape. And I’ve since replaced two dead Trader Joe’s plants with a new one, placing it slightly closer towards the window.

There is still some space for more plants here. Perhaps that’s what I’ll do. Bring one or two more into the fold while Planty gets its well-deserved rest.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Te Lloré Un Río, by Mana

And now for your links:

Dan KP: “Tottenham facing major Cristian Romero dilemma as new transfer interest emerges”

Football London: “Tottenham’s best 25 players of the last 25 years: 15-11 revealed”

BBC: “‘I won’t let this define me’- [Aidy] Boothroyd on Parkinson’s diagnosis”

Here’s the thing about Tottenham Hotspur collecting super talented teenagers: at what point do you just... stop? After diving into the young end of the pool (ok that’s not a good metaphor, strike that, reverse it, this way please!) last summer, Spurs seemingly can’t help but be linked to even more talented youngsters.

This time it’s Sunderland attacking midfielder Chris Rigg, as reported by regional paper The Northern Echo, who is already considered one of the Black Cats’ best players, and he just turned 17. There’s a lot of reasons to be excited about Rigg — he has 4G+1A in 2500 minutes in the Championship before he can legally order a beer in the pub, for one. He’s been described as “the next best young player after Jude Bellingham” and has “a Roy Kean-esque type of nastiness” (which now that I think about it may not be the compliment they think it is).

When evaluating transfer sources regarding players in lower divisions, I tend to think the smaller, regional newspapers are the ones that really has the goods, so a paper like the Echo makes me take notice. Notably, the Echo says that Rigg’s future might hang on whether Sunderland are able to promote this summer or not; if they fail to make it through, Rigg is more likely to be sold to any number of interested clubs.

But the kid IS good. He’s saucy as hell with the ball at his feet, isn’t afraid to take on a player on the dribble, and has a confidence or even a fearlessness that seems pretty uncommon for a kid his age. He’s thriving at the Championship level against real adults at 17, which is a strong indicator that he’s likely going to take a developmental leap and be good at the top level as well. But the leap from the Championship to the Premier League is HUGE, and not every player successfully makes it. There’s an element of risk associated with the signing of any young player, especially at what could be a large transfer fee.

And to be clear, as talented as he is, I do have some questions about Rigg’s fit at a club like Spurs. His best position is at the 8, and while you can squint and say he could potentially be a rotational option for James Maddison next season in that role, Spurs are buying at least one other central midfielder this summer and I think I’d be a little nervous about entrusting that level of responsibility on a kid that young who’s taking his first step to top level Premier League football. Riggs has the feel of an extremely Brighton signing, or another club that can give him the developmental minutes he needs at the top level to keep growing.

Spurs, by contrast, are possibly ready to let go a number of senior players this summer (notably Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur) and could really use some experienced, proven top level replacements. Riggs doesn’t fit that bill quite yet.

That said, at a certain level, if you are able to get your football club to sign a young talent like “Riggsy,” you kind of go with that, even if you’re not sure exactly how he fits in. Or maybe Spurs would purchase him and loan him out for a year or two. That may be what’s going on here, I don’t really know.

It’s no secret that Southampton’s teenage midfielder Tyler Dibling is of interest to Tottenham Hotspur. He’s young, talented with a high ceiling, and on a team that’s almost certain to be relegated this season (Soton are currently bottom of the table with just nine points).

That’s put Tyler “Dribbling” on the radars of any number of top Premier League clubs, including Spurs, and with Tottenham seemingly trying to hoover up whatever young talent is available after Chelsea get done doing whatever it is they’re doing, he’d fit in very well with the likes of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, and Mikey Moore.

But Southampton isn’t going to let the crown jewel of their academy go easily. According to John Percy and Matt Law in the Telegraph, Soton are likely to demand in excess of £100m to let Dibling go. Dibling is also being scouted by both Manchester clubs, Bayern Munich, and RB Leipzig.

£100m. That’s a lot of £. Is Tyler “Dribbling” worth a transfer fee that’s in the same category as a teenage Jude Bellingham, Joao Felix, and Kylian Mbappe? I mean, we can have that discussion but based on his current output I’d say probably not, at least now. His potential is huge, but he hasn’t realized it yet. So what gives?

The most likely answer is that Dibling doesn’t have a relegation clause in his current Southampton contract, which would make sense since he’s 19 and signed his current pro contract two years ago. That also suggests that Southampton are holding all the cards here and are likely to want to keep him next season in the Championship, unless they can get a big club to spend stupid money. If they can leverage another year of Dibling to help them get back to the Premier League in 2026-27, they could then sell Dibling for potentially crazy money and finance a transfer window that might help they stay up in the future.

I think it’s pretty unlikely that any interested club, Spurs or otherwise, would offer £100m for Dibling this summer. I do think he could command a pretty good transfer fee, and it’ll be up to Southampton at that point to decide if it’s worth selling him. The £100m fee is almost certainly posturing, and setting a benchmark that’s unlikely to be reached, but it’s also an indicator that Southampton isn’t going to meekly play ball. Get ready for another annoying summer of transfer rumors.