Cartilage Free Captain

We won’t belabor this — earlier this week Matty wrote that Tottenham Hotspur utility player Jamie Donley was close to securing a season-long loan to Leyton Orient in League One. We won’t belabor it — Jamie’s closed the deal and is heading to the Mighty O’s in England’s third tier, and has also signed a new contract through 2029!

Spurs have a long and friendly history with Leyton Orient — Harry Kane famously had his first loan there and it’s where he got his first taste of first team football; he later sponsored the front of their kits for a couple of years. There’s also the Justin Edinburgh connection — the former Spurs defender and Orient manager passed away a few years ago, and the clubs have routinely collaborated on charities and friendlies in Justin’s name.

So as stated, this is a pretty awesome place for Jamie to end up — he should get a good opportunity to play first team football there and at a place not too far from Spurs, and accessible for Spurs fans who want to go watch him. And Spurs have also tied down another of their academy talents to a long term contract — five years is a fantastic outcome, because there’s every chance Donley could be an important player for Spurs in future.

It’s great. I hope he crushes it. Good luck, Jamie!

Who doesn’t love a good kit number post? Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke is no longer Spurs’ newest signing (Hi, Wilson Odobert!) but we now know what number he’ll be wearing on the pitch — it’s No. 19!

So in truth Dominic’s options were pretty limited since Spurs have a ton of players with established numbers. I kinda wondered if he would snaffle up Bryan Gil’s #11 shirt and formalize himself as Erik Lamela’s spiritual successor, or take Emerson Royal’s now vacant #12 but instead he goes with an outside-the-box pick of #19, last worn by (sob) Ryan Sessegnon. Solanke wore #9 at Bournemouth, and #29 at Liverpool, but both numbers are currently taken by Richarlison and Pape Sarr respectively, so maybe 19 is just the closest thing he could pick to his old numbers. Or he just likes shirts with a 9 on it, who knows.

That shirt number has been on a journey, though. Before Sessegnon, its most prominent owner was the GOAT Mousa Dembele from 2013-2018, as well as Sebastian Bassong, Adel Tarrabt, Andy Reid, and Chris Armstrong.

At any rate, you can now order your Solanke kits with confidence from the Tottenham Hotspur team shop! Rejoice!

There’s transfer sagas, like the Emerson Royals to AC Milans, or the Harry Kanes to Bayern Munichs; and then there’s an absolute TRANSFER BOMBA like this. With essentially zero leaks or reporting beforehand, Spurs today announced the signing of Burnley winger Wilson Odobert:

Talk about out of the blue! Or the claret and blue, anyway.

This one was so under the radar that I didn’t even have it listed on my Bat Country spreadsheet I use to track rumors and names; Johan Lange obviously likes to move stealthily where possible. The announcement of the signing is funny as well, with a distinct lack of the usual media associated with such a signing. My theory here is that the announcement was rushed in time to get Odobert registered in time for the match against Leicester, but maybe the Spurs Twitter admin just decided to have a sick day today?

More reporting is leaking out as to the details of the deal, but it sounds like it’s a £25 million fee, with £5m of add-ons and a 10% sell-on clause for Burnley. It may sound steep, but honestly it’s the going rate now for talented youth, and Odobert IS talented, with senior minutes at Troyes in Ligue 1, before claiming 3 goals and 2 assists in 25 starts for Burnley in the Premier League last season. That’s honestly pretty impressive for a guy who was 18 when the season started.

Odobert plays mostly on the left but has also spent time on the right and in the middle, as well as up front. And you want dribbles? Odobert will give you dribbles. He loves to take a man on, with great take-on and carry numbers, which is arguably what is missing from Ange Postecoglou’s squad. This is a signing, though, made at least partially on potential - make no mistake, Odobert is NOT the finished product and this is a signing that may not work out.

That’s not to say though that there isn’t a lot to like here. My thinking is when efforts to sign Pedro Neto fell through Lange reviewed the state of the elite winger market and didn’t exactly like what he saw. When you have young wingers like Desire Doue fetching around £50 million, things are just going a bit silly - so Lange instead went for a longer term gamble, betting on youth to provide an option that could reap huge rewards in coming years.

Welcome to the club Wilson - we’re excited to see what you can do!

Welcome back to the final installment in our mini-series looking back at Tottenham Hotspur’s exciting preseason campaign. So far, we’ve looked at the winners and the losers over the last few days: those who have taken their chances and those who have spurned them.

This last piece is an interesting one. It’s a dig into some of the players for which there are some rather large question marks. For some of these we may see an answer almost immediately as the season kicks off; for others, they may remain an unsolved quandary as time goes by.

These could be players who may have performed well, but in unusual circumstances; or players who have struggled but with indications as to a deeper cause. Let’s discuss the Tottenham Hotspur footballers who are the biggest puzzles for Ange Postecoglou to solve with the launch of the 24/25 Premier League right around the corner.

James Maddison

Maddison could have been swapped with Pape Matar Sarr in the other piece, and I mentally wrestled where to put them. I ended up categorizing Maddison here, because we know just how good a player a fit and firing James Maddison can be. He was a vital part of Spurs’ early season run last season, and if he can get back to that level Spurs will be hard to beat.

That’s the question, though: is that level still achievable for Maddison? He was poor after his return from his midseason injury, though one might hope that he was still suffering the after-effects; but then he was poor in preseason, putting in some muddled performances after a full offseason with no international involvement. Was he saving himself for the season proper? Surely Ange wouldn’t tolerate that. Maybe he’s nervous about his body?

I don’t know, but this Tottenham team needs him fit and firing - and hopefully that will start against Leicester.

Djed Spence

Djed Spence found himself in the doghouse last season, where rumors abounded of a poor attitude as he was quickly sent off on loan to Serie A. You have to hand it to him though - he apparently front-footed these issues this preseason, seeking out time with Ange Postecoglou to clear the air and affirm his commitment to playing for Tottenham Hotspur. One question, however, still remains: is he good enough?

It seems he’s been good enough to play his way back into Ange’s plans at least; some bright performances against weak opposition showed off some of the physical tools at Djed’s disposal. Unfortunately, his shortcomings were then put on display against a tougher opponent, with his poor touch and lack of defensive awareness causing him all sorts of problems in the latter friendlies.

Was this a reflection of him playing out of position against a stronger opponent? Or could we see the same struggles on the right? One thing’s for sure: he won’t have it all his way as Pedro Porro’s backup with Archie Gray breathing down his neck... which, speaking of:

Archie Gray

A hugely talented youngster, Gray was perhaps the most impressive performer across the first few preseason fixtures, where he was deployed in the center back position. He then transitioned into midfield, and things got much tougher for him. He often struggled to find space to receive the ball, and often gave away possession under pressure. In fact, I would argue that he and Sarr were the two main reasons Tottenham were almost unable to get out of their half in the first match against Bayern - but it wasn’t just the Bundesliga giants, as Gray struggled in the same way against the K-League All Stars.

He then offset all of this by subbing on in the second half at right back in the second match against the Germans, where he looked fantastic! Which then begs the question - how is he going to develop, and where will he get minutes this season? Spurs paid a pretty steep price for the youngster, with a view to him being a future option at the #6 - but is he ready now? Because he may be hard-pressed to get minutes on the right, with Pedro Porro and Djed Spence (as mentioned above) potentially ahead of him in the pecking order. He has a lot of talent, but the Premier League is a step up.

Dejan Kulusevski

Arguably the top performer of preseason. So why is he listed here, rather than the first piece, I hear you ask? Well, Deki spent nearly the entirety of his preseason at striker... where Spurs just made a £65 million signing, and where Spurs also have the likes of Richarlison, Son, and Will Lankshear (I know, I know) at their disposal to fill any additional minutes Solanke can’t.

And this is the thing with Deki: he doesn’t really have a true position in Ange-ball. He doesn’t have the speed or trickery to really fulfil the right wing position, though he does have significant value there against teams more like to pressure Spurs. Some like him in the #10 position, and while he can often do good work when receiving the ball in those attacking areas, he struggles much more than a natural midfielder to find the space to get himself on the ball in the first place, leading him to often go missing from games when he starts in midfield.

Honestly, I thought he’d potentially made the backup striker position his own with Solanke linked and Richarlison potentially leaving; but that’s no longer happening. So, will Dejan Kulusevski be able to reclaim a starting role somewhere, or will he be used more as a kind of “Mr Fix-It” through the season?

If last summer’s theme was turning the page, this summer was about writing the next chapter. The setting, tone, and main characters are known, but now begins the quest to actually build on this story. 2023/24 was filled with highs and lows, but it mostly felt like exposition: moving away from Harry Kane, introducing a new style of play, new faces throughout the starting XI. The expectations are more firmly in focus heading into 2024/25, even if not every twist is yet revealed.

Ange Postecoglou won over his players — and the supporters — quite quickly last year, and Tottenham Hotspur is certainly his club now. Though no one is expecting a Premier League title, forward progress is a requirement and a top-four battle is certainly within view heading into this new season. Growth is not linear, and while a substantial leap up the table is unlikely, there is a world where this club makes some serious waves. Either way, it all gets started Monday night in Leicester.

Leicester City (prev: EFL 1st) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (prev: 5th)

Date: Monday, August 19

Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK

Location: King Power Stadium, Leicester

TV: USA Network (USA), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)

Leicester City spent its one-year absence from the Premier League as well as it could have, winning the Championship, as it did during the club’s last stay in the second division. The Foxes will really have to fight to stay afloat this season though, with or without a points deduction. With Enzo Maresca leaving for Chelsea, the sale of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and modest incoming transfers, it is difficult to see this season going too well.

There have been plenty of wild matches between these two clubs in recent memory, and the prior two battles are no exception. Heung-Min Son’s substitute hat trick in a 6-2 win in September 2022 was mostly a false dawn, but it still featured some quintessential bangers from the now captain. Meanwhile, a 4-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against a future relegation side was representative of the Antonio Conte fallout...but hey, at least James Maddison scored in both contests?

Starting from the bottom

Steve Cooper comes to Leicester with plenty of work in front of him. Realistically, there is only so much that can be done with limited quality across the roster, but that just puts an even greater emphasis on the tactics. Expect the Foxes to sit back and attempt to make life difficult for the Spurs attack. Low blocks have been a challenge for Tottenham, and this is the home side’s best route for a result.

When Leicester does successfully defend, the plan will be to hit back on a counter. The biggest incoming transfer is Bobby De Cordova-Reid, who scored six goals for Fulham last year. He and Abdul Fatawu, who joins Leicester full time after a loan stint last year, will be the ones responsible for carrying the attack when possible. Tottenham’s defense was imperfect last season, but look for a more disciplined effort to start the new year.

Going madd

Dominic Solanke’s arrival gives Postecoglou an ostensible two-deep across the front three, but question remains about the No. 10 depth. Much seemingly falls on the shoulders of James Maddison, who struggled to replicate his early season successes following injury trouble. Fittingly, the new campaign starts in his old home, and how he looks out the gate will say a lot about Tottenham’s prospects for the season.

The center of Tottenham Hotspur’s defense got a little more solid this week with the addition of Australian international Clare Hunt, who has joined from Paris Saint-Germain.

Emma Sanders previously reported at the BBC that Hunt cost Spurs’ a transfer fee, but didn’t specify how big it was.

Spurs have clearly made it a priority this offseason to improve on the back line. Hunt’s signing follows left back Amanda Nilden making her loan move permanent and right back Ella Morris arriving from Southampton.

Hunt’s recent club stints make it difficult to evaluate her stats. Her FBRef page looks like every PSG (or Lyon) defender ever: Lots of green bars in the passing and attacking categories, lots of red ones in the ball-winning categories. D1F is ridiculously top-heavy; her team had a ton of the ball and she wasn’t under pressure a lot.

Her time at Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia is kind of the opposite of that. WSW were a bottom-half team and the A-League is quite transitional, so Hunt’s tackle and interception volume there is high.

If you’re much more used to thinking about whether or not transfers make sense in men’s football, what I’m about to say might sound completely ridiculous, but I promise it’s true. The best data set we have to evaluate Hunt’s fit for Spurs is probably the 2023 World Cup. She was on an Australia team that was good, but nowhere near the best at the tournament, and played a decent sample of 749 minutes.

According to StatsBomb, Hunt had 4.08 aerial wins per 90 and won 83% of her aerial challenges at the World Cup, a percentage in line with her PSG numbers. She wasn’t a high-volume tackler, but won 86% of the ones she went into.

Those aerial numbers suggest Hunt could be a big set piece threat, but that hasn’t been the case so far for Australia or PSG. She hasn’t scored for either, and hasn’t won a ton of headers on set pieces either. Maybe Spurs can figure out how to get more out of her in that area.

Hunt completed a really low 29% of her long balls on an Australia team that didn’t have Sam Kerr fit and was trying out various false 9s, but a very good 68% of her long balls on a PSG team that physically dominates most opponents, so I’d call the data on that skill extremely incomplete and inconclusive. She’s also played both left and right center back, and I believe her passing skill with her left foot is above average but not elite for a right-footer.

I don’t have access to any Olympics numbers, but Australia was uhh... bad. As a whole, the team was simply Not Good. We’re just gonna move on from that.

Overall, Hunt’s resume and statistical profile look like a solid fit for Tottenham, and she should improve the team’s defense.

Now can we sign a midfielder or two? Just a crumb of midfielder, please?

Hey, who’s this new writer, some of you may be asking. Well, I guess we didn’t do a new writer intro because I’m... kind of not? I founded this site in 2010, and fully handed the reigns over to Dustin in 2014. I contributed to the site sparingly after that until I left my job at Vox Media in 2020. I worked at NWSL club Angel City FC for a couple years, and now I’m back to writing.

god morning!

We’ll have your hoddle coming up in just a moment, but first Hoddle Headquarters would like to pay a brief tribute to Barbora Votikova.

Tottenham announced the transfer of former Hoddle Hero to SK Slavia Prague earlier this week. We should not remember the Votikova’s heroics to help secure Tottenham Women’s first ever North London Derby win this past season.

Nor should we ever discount what a genuinely good person she is. The world’s a much better and more interesting place because of her.

Now, onto the hoddle.

—————

Premier League football is BACK !!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it? I sure as heck can’t. It’s going to be weird waking up on Saturday morning to watch Rebecca Lowe wax poetic about Ipswich Town’s rise to the promised land.

But first, a Friday night matchup between Manchester United and Fulham.

That’ll be the first of many appetizers before the most important game of the week: Tottenham vs Leicester City. Which we all have to wait until Monday for. Us American viewers are most displeased.

Still, there are lots of exciting football matches going on. West Ham-Villa, City-Chelsea, Forest-Bournemouth, Brentford-Palace.

It’s all football, baby!

Or, will you slum it up with Fitzie in the EFL Championship?

Anyone up for Coventry-Oxford United? Plymouth-Luton Town? Or how about Sheffield United-QPR? Honestly, all exciting.

It’s all football baby!

Whatever you watch, so long as it’s got a round ball it can’t be a bad choice (for you baseball purists out there). Because the Premier League is BACK!

Fitzie’s track of the day: Call Me, by The Last Dinner Party

And now for your links:

Dan KP on what Tottenham’s first Starting XI of the season (!!!) could look like

David Ornstein ($$): Mauricio Pochettino agrees to become USMNT head coach

Textor granted exclusivity in Everton takeover bid

So far this window we’ve seen several of Tottenham Hotspur’s young players head out on loan this fall — Alejo Veliz, Dane Scarlett, Ashley Phillips, and Alfie Devine have left for valuable first team minutes, with Jamie Donley set for a loan to Leyton Orient shortly.

That same opportunity may not be presented to Will Lankshear this fall. According to George Sessions, writing for the Irish Times, BIG WILLY LANKS is set to stay with Tottenham’s first team setup this fall and NOT head out on loan like his contemporaries.

Interesting! Lankshear was one of the standout youngsters from Tottenham’s preseason matches, along with Mikey Moore who was arguably better and also just turned 17. You’d argue that Lankshear would be the MOST obvious one to send out for first team experience, and that he’d likely get the highest and best loan available, probably to the Championship or to the continent somewhere with a real team. Instead he’s apparently going to stick around, train with Spurs, and remain on the fringes of the first team, picking up odd substitute minutes and maybe the occasional U23 PL2 match.

So it does beg the question — is this good or not? On the one hand I think there’s every expectation that Young Mssr. Lankshear could get about 400 minutes or so in a reserve role between the league and the early round cup and Europa matches, depending on the opponent, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But Lankshear could easily get at least 1500-2000 minutes on loan in a slightly lower division, starting and playing regularly at 19 against grown-ass men.

I am not a professional football coach so I’m really not sure which one I prefer. However, I suspect that this decision says more about Tottenham’s existing team than it does about Big Willy Lanks. My best guess is that this decision is a hedge against one (or both?) of Dominic Solanke or Richarlison picking up an extended injury this season. If Richy were to go down injured again, Ange Postecoglou could opt to move Son Heung-Min back into a striker position — something he seems reluctant to do, play Dejan Kulusevski as a false 9, or move a player like Brennan Johnson central if required.

Or, and this is wild, he could enhance the role of a very promising 19-year-old natural striker who looks like he has the potential to become international level, and giving him an opportunity to forge himself in the crucible of Premier League-level football (or at least Europa League-level).

I can see the logic of keeping Lankshear around as a break-glass-in-case-Richy-is-broken option. And if things work out great and Richarlison turns out not to be perma-crocked, well, he still gets 400 or so minutes of first team action with Spurs, and has the option of then heading out on loan in January.

You can argue what you think is better. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton — let’s see how it plays out for them.

Remember Ivan Perisic? Signed as the ideal fullback for Antonio Conte, he had a bright start for Ange as a left winger before a serious and long-term injury derailed his season last year and caused him to virtually the whole season. Spurs allowed him to leave to return to his first club Hajduk Split in Croatia last January and he actually recovered enough to play for them a few times, which was cool.

Now, according to Croatian outlet Dalmatinski, he’s looking for another club after a falling out with... get this... new Split manager Gennaro Gattuso.

In comments to the press, Perisic confirms he’s a free agent and talks about how good he had it at Tottenham and how he returned to his hometown club because he wanted to win a title for Split and its fans.

“I came to Hajduk in the hope that together we will realise our dream and take the title. I had a good contract at Tottenham, and even when I was injured, I had an excellent offer from a big foreign club, where I would have fantastic conditions for rehabilitation and at least the same chance to play, as I had here.

“Instead, at the invitation of the club management and the fans, I chose a life without a family living abroad in the hope that I can help fight for the title and place in the group stage of the Champions League.

“Whatever condition I was in, at any moment, and even when I entered the game in the Cup match against Dinamo, beyond the recommendations of all doctors, risking an injury that would end my career, I did my best to achieve a common goal. From the first day until today, I have adhered to agreements, contracts, set rules, but also spoken words, and twice after the Euros I rejected offers from serious clubs to help [Split] this summer.

“Well, I guess it’s clear to everyone that I didn’t choose Hajduk and Split because of money or healthcare. In my desire to help, I put my health and my family on the back burner many times and I don’t regret it because I don’t know any other way, but on Sunday evening someone else stepped forward and decided that he no longer needed my help.

“As for last season, unfortunately, we failed. As hard as failure feels to me as it does to all the guys and all the fans who have been waiting for the title for almost 20 years, failure is the same part of football. Since I’m comfortable in my skin, I have been looking at Hajduk as something big and I will behave [professionally] in a moment that is extremely difficult for me and my family. I wish the club all the luck, victory on Thursday, placement in Europe and winning the title, regardless of whoever is at the club.”

The article goes on to say that Perisic had a conversation with Ange Postecoglou about his injury, role in the team and his wishes going forward before leaving the club, but Gattuso apparently didn’t even bother to speak with him before cutting him loose. It also reveals that he turned down a move to Sevilla this summer in order to stay at Split and help them try and win the title.

Perisic’s comments are, to be fair, pretty measured and the article states that they tried really hard to get the juicy stuff from Ivan, and he refused to go low. But reading between the lines his comments are still almost dripping with disdain, and while I feel bad for Ivan, I gotta say it’s sort of grimly ironic (and not at all surprising) that this is happening because of an interpersonal conflict with Gennaro Gattuso. The guy has a long history of pissing people off and burning bridges (as well as blatant misogyny and homophobia) and it continually pisses me off to this day how close Spurs actually came to appointing that guy as our manager after sacking Jose Mourinho. Managers get to make whatever decisions they think is in the best interest of the team, but it sure sounds like Gattuso made his decisions in the most assholeish way possible.

What a dick. I hope Perisic signs somewhere cool, and Genarro Gattuso steps on a LEGO.

Tottenham Hotspur open their 2024-25 Premier League season this Monday against newly-promoted Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Ange Postecoglou gave his pre-match press conference and had plenty to say about his team and the preparations for the start of the new season.

But one player will not be involved on Monday, and it’s not because of injury. Postecoglou said that midfielder Yves Bissouma has been suspended by the club for Monday’s match after the player posted a video of himself inhaling nitrous oxide at a club on his social media feed. Bissouma has already apologized to the club calling it a “severe lack of judgment,” but Postecoglou’s and the club’s actions here are a direct message to the player (as well as likely trying to potentially stay ahead of any future FA fines or suspensions).

Ange was asked about Bissouma in the presser, and he announced the suspension here in pretty strong terms.

“[I’ve] been in the game for a long time, when a situation like this arises, I’ve tried to look at them in a couple of ways. First there’s a person and it’s Biss and he’s made a poor decision. There are still sanctions involved, and some of those are educational. He is a footballer with responsibilities.

“He won’t be available on Monday. We’ve suspended him from Monday’s game. He needs to build that trust back with both me and the group. The door is open for him and we can help him realize the decisions he makes impact the group.”

And how does Bissouma earn back the trust he’s broken with Ange and the club?

“Behaviour mate. It’s that simple. It’s about making better decisions. He was very apologetic to me, the club and everyone involved but that’s just part of it.”

I’ve said on here previously that the nitrous oxide use doesn’t bother me, and I hold to that opinion — private recreational drug use (including abuse of alcohol) is I’m certain very, very common among professional athletes and footballers. That said, what Bissouma did was in fact illegal according to UK law and it was incredibly stupid for him to post that publicly, which is the real issue here. I’m fine with him being suspended for one match for being a big ol’ dummy, and it sounds like he’s in Big Ange’s doghouse for the time being. Fair enough.

Elsewhere, Postecoglou gave a strong hint as to who will be starting up top for Spurs on Monday afternoon. When asked about new record signing Dominic Solanke and Richarlison, Tottenham’s two striker options, Ange confirmed that both players are available, but that Richy will take some additional time to get up to fitness.

“Thankfully, it’s what we expected. [Dominic] is a top pro and he’s settled into the dressing room really well. Football-wise, you can see how he’s going to fit in. So far he’s fitted in really well with the group in training.

“[Richy] needs game minutes, but has trained well and doesn’t feel any effects of the injury which is great.”

Based on that answer I think we can assume that Solanke will start up top for Spurs on Monday, with Richarlison likely coming in as a late match substitute depending on game state. It could be the best thing for both players, with Solanke getting a chance to bed in with the team and Richy getting minutes in his legs for the first time in a long time.

Tottenham kick off against Leicester at the King Power this Monday at 8 pm BST, 3 pm ET. The match will be televised on Sky Sports in the UK and USA Network in the United States.