Cartilage Free Captain

good morning!

One of my favourite parts about reading the press releases when organisations announce big moves is how they talk up their new hire. Poch, of course, is no exception.

Poch is described as a highly respected manager (and “serial winner”) with stints at Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

Then it kinda goes on from there:

Pochettino brings a wealth of experience from his time in Europe. He began his managerial career with Espanyol in La Liga before moving to the Premier League, where he made a significant impact with Southampton and later Tottenham Hotspur. At Spurs, he guided the team to their first UEFA Champions League Final in 2019 and consistently achieved top-four finishes in the Premier League.

After his successful tenure in England, Pochettino took the reins at Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the Ligue 1 title, the Coupe de France and the Trophée des Champions, while also leading the team to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League.

We all remember the remarkable job he did at Southampton before Spurs took him. There he revamped the culture of the club, instilling us as title contenders and delivering us to the Champions League final.

And then, of course, well you know. He went to PSG. But that’s where his career stopped, apparently, if you read the release.

And hey, I’m not bothered at all that the USMNT failed to mention in detail his time at Chelsea. It also makes me happy they found he made a ‘significant impact’ at Soton but not the club at Stamford Bridge.

Fitzie’s track of the day: All Of Me, by Billie Holiday

And now for your links:

Long read: How the USMNT landed Pochettino

The Guardian says Poch’s appointment is ‘still a risk’

good morning!

We had our American football fun yesterday. Let’s get back to proper football today.

That’s right gang, I’m talking about the lower divisions in the EFL. I haven’t watched much lately (because I’m either watching Spurs or the Championship), but with the international break well underway now’s a perfect time to talk about the others, right?

I did catch some of Wrexham-Shrewsbury on Saturday morning. Man, Shrewsbury looked awful.

EFL League One:

That’s probably why they’re near the bottom of the table. But we’re only a few games into the season. What I don’t understand is how some teams have played more than others ALREADY. So annoying.

Anyways, Wrexham are somehow top. Don’t ask me how - well, the win vs Shrewsbury helepd. Wrexham did have a good win over Wycombe a few weeks ago.

Still, there’s Birmingham to consider. They still seem like a Championship team to me. And Lincoln City have been knocking on the door for some time.

But - oh no! - what’s up with Leyton Orient? I’m not sure. I hoep they get it together quickly.

Top Six:

Wrexham (13 Pts, +9 GD, 5 MP)

Stockport County (10 Pts, +7 GD, 4 MP)

Barnsley (10 Pts, +4 GD, 5 MP)

Birmingham (10 Pts, + 3 GD, 4 MP)

Charlton (10 Pts, +2 GD, 5 MP)

Lincoln City (9 Pts, +4 GD, 4 MP)

Bottom Four:

EFL League Two:

As little I know of the League One, I know less of League Two. Haven’t watched a minute. Bradford City have been down there a while. It’s a horrible town. That was actually my first experience with England back in 2014. A cab ride from Leeds-Bradford. And then, of course, the cabbie ride back. Twas awful.

Yet somehow I have a soft spot for them. Maybe it’s that chicken.

Also, what’s going on with Accrington Stanley? They seemed so close to League One football the last two years. Is that all gone awry now?

Top Four:

Bottom Two:

Vanarama National League:

As little as I know about the League Two, I know even less about the National League. What even is a Tamworth?

Top One:

Bottom Four:

Fitzie’s track of the day: yours, by Lilliana Villines

And now for your links:

USMNT confirm managerial appointment of Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino faces biggest career challenge with USMNT gig

For the first time in recent memory, Arsenal will play a North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur wearing something other than red. According to the Athletic, the Premier League has decreed that the Gooners wear their black away kits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Sunday’s match, because they (ironically) have too much white in their home kits.

The North London Derby has always been basically a white-versus-red matchup, and while Arsenal’s home kits have almost always featured white side panels and white shorts, there was always enough contrast to differentiate themselves clearly from Spurs’ predominantly white shirts with blue shorts. But this year, for whatever reason, Arsenal’s addidas kits have some extra white on them (visible in the above header photo) that extends down the back of the shirts and that’s just TOO MUCH FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE, so they’ll wear their black shirts instead.

Apparently Arsenal considered switching to red shorts and socks for this match, but ultimately decided to just wear the away kits instead. The decision also means that Spurs will need to wear their blue away kits when they play the reverse fixture at the Emirates early 2025.

This is a silly story that really doesn’t mean much except to traditionalists and those who decide to get upset about these sorts of things, but it will make this particular NLD a little more notable and historic. And if we’re going to get all #banterrific about it, it does suggest that the extra white in Arsenal’s kits (along with the prominent BLUE ACCENTS ZOMG) might represent how Spurs continue to live rent free in their heads, or something, I guess, whatever.

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good morning -

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!

American football, that is!

Don’t ask me how, but the NFL season has already begun. Has your hoddler-in-chief watched a single down? HECK NO.

Though, as a Packers fan, I was concerned to hear about Jordan Love’s injury. Who knows what’ll come. Maybe we’ll find out more tomorrow.

I don’t think there’s much more to say about Week 1. Lemme try (mind you, I didn’t watch a minute)

Patriots beat the Bengals. How? Someone please tell me.

The Chiefs beat the Ravens, and then Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift went to the US Open.

The Bills beat the Cardinals (that’s just a fact).

There’s no big standout to me from this week, except for that Pats-Bengals game I guess. I know some of you like to watch the pigskin.

Now that Week 1 is officially in the books, give me your takes. And inform me of what happened, because I didn’t watch a second.

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Unloving Plum, by Haircut 100

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold rates Tottenham’s players’ season so far

Who’s ready for kit leak season? I SAID, WHO’S READY FOR KIT LEA...

Fine, I’ll just give you the news. We’re not even four weeks into the 2024-25 Premier League season, barely two weeks since the green third kits were formally introduced, and we’re already getting leaks about Tottenham Hotspur’s kits for 2025-26.

Well, I say “leaks” but they’re barely that — just basically color swatches. That said, they’re interesting color swatches. According to football kit leak website Footy-Headlines, Tottenham are expected to have a BLACK AWAY KIT next season, and that’s pretty noteworthy!

Spurs haven’t had a black kit for a decade, but the history of black change kits are, uh, pretty sketch. The last time Spurs had a primary black kit was the infamous “skid-mark” away kits in 2014-15, and before that it was the weird black/gray halfsies kits from 2012-13 —- see header photo — which were pretty much universally derided (and which Spurs wore weirdly more than the blue aways that season).

And yeah, the details in the Footy-Headlines leak are important because it’s not JUST black, but also “Lt Iron Ore,” a gray color that might be used as an accent, or could be a co-primary color. Because this is Nike, I’m fully expecting them to roll out a template that’s like basically Barcelona’s training kit from this season or something. We’ll see.

Speaking of Iron Ore, that’s also one of two accent colors, along with “anchor blue” which is also in use on this year’s home kits, that will be used on next season’s home kits, which were also recently linked on the same website. Again, no design details, but it sounds like we’ll get a white shirt with some blue AND gray next season.

There you go. Let the kit design speculation begin! And remember, it’s probably not going to be as good as what you imagine!

Programming note: Some of the more eagle-eyed hoddlers may have noticed more classic rock tunes featured in the Track of the Day recently. That’s because I’m going to do a little something different for Friday’s Track of the Day. Which of these artists will be featured? Stay tuned

———

There’s no doubt who the best hard-court players in the world are today: Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner. Both players bookended the majors this year with triumphs in the US Open (after winning the Australian Open back in January/February). Here’s how the matches unfolded:

Women’s final: Aryna Sabalenka (2) def Jessica Pegula (6) 7-5 7-5

It’s a rare occurrence when Sabalenka is out-served. I felt that was the case on Saturday. Pegula’s first serves felt more consistent, more dominant. But that first serve was all she had. Here’s a stat for you: 21% wins on second serves. You aren’t gonna win a match with that.

Because, when you play against Sabalenka, it’s really all about how she’s going to play. No one hits the ball harder than her. Few serve it harder. And no one plays the game with such intensity as her.

Such was the case on Saturday, when she won a less-than-straightforward two-set win against the American. Credit to Pegula for fighting back down in both sets, but to me that was more of a case of Sabalenka’s nerves.

The stats illustrate further how this was dictated by Sabalenka, who hit 40 winners to Pegula’s 17 (34 unforced errors to Pegula’s 22).

Sabalenka is a fitting champion, and I hope she can make a real push to regain the World No.1 rank next year.

Men’s final: Jannik Sinner (1) def Taylor Fritz (12) 6-3 6-4 7-5

A much more straightforward win here. Lots of unforced errors from Fritz on Sunday (34) but he had to go big against a player like Sinner, who is so solid and can punish you from anywhere.

There were few times in the match where I felt Sinner wasn’t in control. Maybe when he was down 4-5 in the third set, but I struggle to remember an unforced error he hit during the three-game swing to win the match.

As for Fritz, winning was going to be a tall task. I think to challenge players like Fritz in a best-of-five final is to work on his mobility a little bit more, take charge a little bit and clean up the errors. He did a remarkable job agains Alexander Zverev in the quarters, so he can beat the best.

Still, this year belongs to Sinner.

Fitzie’s track of the day: What Love?, by Charles Mingus

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold answers Q’s in his latest Q+A

BBC on what the future of the Women’s Championship could look like

London City Lionesses’ Kosovare Asllani wants to ‘rewrite the rules of women’s football’

Another signing for Spurs Women, and it’s a weird one! Yesterday, the club announced that it had signed American goalkeeper Katelin Talbert on an unusual half-season loan from West Ham United.

So who is Talbert? She’s a 25-year old American-born keeper who played college ball at Humbolt State University, a Div. II school, graduating in 2020. She has openly admitted to struggling with mental health and weight loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was cut from OL Reign’s roster after being encouraged to try out that summer. Since then her rise in the game has been nothing short of meteoric for someone from such a small program — she’s had stops as a professional in Iceland and Portugal (where she started 23 matches and won the Campionato Nacional Feminino), was signed by West Ham last year, and spent the season on loan in Sweden with Djurgarden.

Which is part what makes this loan so weird! A half-season loan is pretty unusual, especially from one WSL club to another WSL club. To be fair, Spurs could probably use another keeper — after losing Barbora Votikova this summer, Tottenham’s options are Becky Spencer and Eleanor Heeps, so Talbert is likely coming in to push or even compete with Becky for the starting role.

Honestly, there’s a lot to like about her. Talbert s game has been described as “brave” and her Wikipedia page notes her ability to make athletic and aggressive saves, noting her nickname in Portugal was “the American Machine.” She’s comfortable with the ball at her feet and is apparently known as a supreme athlete. Sounds pretty good to me!

Talbert isn’t on the radar of the USA Women’s National Team (at least yet) but she seems like a super interesting under the radar player. I’m not thrilled with continuing to develop a West Ham player, but I can see the upside of bringing in a competent backup keeper, even if it’s only for a half-season. She sounds like a fascinating player, and I’m interested to see what Katelin can bring to a Spurs team that needs an injection of excitement this summer. Welcome, Katelin Talbert!

I hate international football.

Especially when it’s three matches into the season. Just... come on guys. As per usual, though, Tottenham Hotspur have representatives involved, so we can all cross our fingers and pray to whatever football gods may be out there that they all return unscathed. Plus, it’s still football, right?

Destiny Udogie had the misfortune to miss Italy’s Euros campaign as he recovered from the quadricep injury suffered late last season, but he was recalled this break and seized his chance almost immediately, subbing on at the left wing position and assisting Italy’s third goal in a stunning win over France. It was somewhat of an auspicious match for Spurs fans, with Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori starting the fixture for the Azzurri but coming off with a calf injury ahead of the North London Derby following the break. Guglielmo Vicario was also called up for Italy, but as usual, only saw time on the pine with Luciano Spalletti preferring Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.

Another pair of Spurs teammates were called up for Sweden, with Dejan Kulusevski starting and captaining the Swedes as they took on Azerbaijan. The Blågult (that’s the Swedish side in case it wasn’t immediately obvious - which it’s not) won convincingly 3-1, and it was a significant moment for Lucas Bergvall, making his international debut. He subbed on in the 72nd minute, in what would have been a special juncture for the young midfielder.

Meanwhile, Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson both started for Wales, with Davies playing in the center back position. He was successful in keeping a clean sheet, but Johnson and his fellow Welsh attackers were unable to secure three points against a ten-man Turkish side. Also keeping a clean sheet was Spurs vice-captain Cristian Romero, with the Copa America (and World Cup) winner playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 win over Chile in their World Cup qualification campaign. It was the same result as well for Cuti’s fellow Spurs center back, with Radu Dragusin marshalling the defense for Romania against Kosovo.

AFCON qualifiers were also in full flight, and Yves Bissouma, who has had a fraught relationship with his national team of late, was somewhat surprisingly called up. He made the most of it as well, scoring the Eagles’ (no, not the band) solitary goal in a draw against Mozambique. It was the same scoreline for Pape Matar Sarr, starting for Senegal and playing out 68 minutes of a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso.

Lastly, Tottenham and South Korea national team captain Son Heung-min did what he usually did and played 90 minutes in a friendly, where they would have been perhaps disappointed to only draw the match against Palestine.

It’s a clean bill of health so far - I am touching whatever pieces of timber are in reach as I write this - but we’re only halfway through the international break, before we take on aforementioned rivals Arsenal next weekend. What fun!

I hate international football.

Spurs International Appearances:

good morning!

For the first time in competitive history, San Marino have won a competitive football match!

I know I’m not the only one here who’s been measuring their lifespan by this metric, so let’s all take a moment to rejoice in this momentous accomplishment.

Stuck in the bottom of the Nations League, San Marino pulled off a 1-0 win against Liechtenstein on Thursday.

The lone goal came in the 53rd minute from forward Nicko Sensoli. And it was from a pair of blunders from the Liechtenstein defense. First, the defender couldn’t control the ball. Then, the goalie came out when he shouldn’t have. All of it leading to a rather straightforward goal for Sensoli.

It was their first competitive win in 160ish attemps. That is insane.

So I think we can all head into the weekend celebrating the greatest accomplishment in sport this week.

Fitzie’s track of the day: You Wreck Me, by Tom Petty

And now for your links:

The Guardian interviews Emma Hayes