Cartilage Free Captain

good morning!

It’s hot out in DC, but your hoddler-in-chief has that cool cool touch. And ice on his knee.

Oh, and he’s now a two-time defending mixed doubles champion in Washington DC.

After a nervy start to our finals match at East Potomac Tennis Centre, my partner and I found our groove. She was solid on the baseline, while I put on a clinic at the net.

If you count volleys and returns, I probably 20 winners on the night.

“You think he’d learn,” I told my tennis partner sometime during the second set, as the guy on the opposite side of the court hit the ball right at me at the net for like the 50th time in the match.

Sure, he pegged me the first time after the ball ricocheted off my racquet. What, did he think he’d scare me? Lol no. (It was actually them who’d play two at the baseline later on.)

After more than a dozen winners at the net you think he’d learn his lesson. Not so. I didn’t care. I was happy to keep hitting winners.

We were up 5-2 in the first set when I hurt my knee. It was my serve, 0-15. Went for a split step during a serve-and-volley and felt a twinge in my knee. Did not feel great. I lost that service game on a double fault, pretty shaken up about the knee and nervous to move.

We broke them back. First set 6-3.

From there it was pretty easy. I think one major advantage my team has is that we know how to play doubles, and I love to come in at the net. Serve and volley. Return and volley. Attack, attack, attack. Move, look to poach. Be aggressive. (Okay but also be careful about that knee, fitizie).

After a while you sort of establish your identity. Your surface area expands and you find your range grow in size. From there it’s winner, winner, scrambled eggs dinner.

And then the players on the other side of the court get desperate. They hit the ball harder - why? It goes out anyways. They try to hit a passing shot down the line, the lowest probability shot. Why? If they get it, I don’t care. The players across the court sure as heck didn’t - they either hit the ball out or I covered it and hit a volley winner.

My main concern was my serve. My knee didn’t feel great and I was afraid to move. More than that, I was afraid about putting all that weight on my knee after I had served. Eek! So I try to protect it and take a little bit off the serve. It does okay. A bit casual at times since I’m afraid to make any real sudden movements. After a rough start it turned out fine.

We were well in control at 5-1 up in the second set. My serve. I dial it back - I don’t need to hit it 100MPH or more. I work the lines. 40-0 up, I’m feeling good, serving on the ad side. I know exactly where it’s going. I knew what was going to happen.

Kick serve on the edge of the ad box on servers side, ace. Right on the 90 degree angle. I knew it. I saw it before it happened.

Game set match. 6-3 6-1.

Strange match, this one. The last finals match my nerves were a mess and I wanted to throw up. Today I felt fine mentally after the first four games. Hell, maybe the injured knee took some of the focus away from my nerves.

Whatever and regardless of what it is, I am grateful for the tennis partner I have. The unsung hero of this story, buried beneath my vanity, as she endured and outlasted our opponents in long baseline rallies, recovered from a shaky start on her serves, hit the crispest volleys I’ve seen from her yet and be generally supportive of me throughout this partnership.

I’m looking forward to next season. Til then I’ll cool down with some ice on my knee and gin in my tummy.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Hot In The City, by Billy Idol

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: Tottenham academy director to remain at Spurs

BBC:‘Southgate stands on brink of glorious vindication’

good morning -

We’re about a week on from England’s penalty shootout win over Switzerland, but I’m not done talking about.

I don’t care about the tactics or any of the players, really. Except for Yann Sommer.

During the match, one of the commentators mentioned Sommer is a guitarist and a big fan of Keith Richards, so I decided to look a little further.

Sommer has been playing guitar for a few years now and, according to some article on CNN, also enjoys playing some Bruce Springsteen and reggae. He’s also taken some singing lessons too.

It’s been a while since he posted any guitar stuff on his instagram, but he posted this once:

And get this - the man loves to cook! I think his cooking blog is no more, though, and it seems like its domain now belongs to some scammy bitcoin thing. Boo!

Fitzie’s track of the day: Just Go, by Arlo Parks

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: Spurs set for new sleeve sponsorship deal

Jay Harris ($$) on the Argentina-Tottenham connection

Spain advance to Euros final

good morning!

Sometimes sports governing bodies get a little bit wacky and start fining players for all sorts of silly things. In football, for sure. So too with American football, home of the “No Fun League” as some people call it.

But let’s turn our attention today towards the Tour de France (Spoiler: this won’t be the first time I mention the Tour this week):

One of the greatest Tour de France moments this year came from French cyclist Julien Bernard, who rides for Lidl-Trek.

For those who don’t know, crowds tend to gather very, very close to the riders throughout each stage. It brings for some scary and dangerous moments. This one, though, brought one of the sweetest.

Bernard was riding during one of the race’s two time trials that just happened to take place in Burgundy, close to where he lives and trains. He knew he would have some extra support along the way, with his wife and friends somewhere along the climb, he told ITV.

So Bernard pushed extra hard in the opening stages of the time trial so he could share a lovely moment with his wife. Check it out.

It seemed more of a homecoming than a race, but it was very sweet.

Not to the authorities though, who fined Bernard a little over $200 for “unseemly or inappropriate behavior during the race and damage to the image of sport”. Part of that was reportedly because he physically stopped during the time trial.

Yeah, okay, that last part kinda makes sense and I get they have to set a precedent here. But, c’mon! Seems like the jury became more of the love police here.

He took it in stride, though, saying he’d pay the fine every day to relive the moment.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Honeycrash, by Sasami

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: One problem Ange Postecoglou has with Tottenham squad

Micky van de Ven previews Netherlands-England

Things have been a little quiet on the Emerson Royal front, but the club most closely linked to him — AC Milan — still appears to be a viable option. The latest comes from Italian journalist Matteo Moretto, who says that Emerson is still a “priority” target for the Serie A giants, and that talks are continuing for a sub-€20m transfer fee this month.

Milan want to buy a right back. It is among the management’s priorities together with the search for a striker.

Certainly Emerson Royal of Tottenham is on the list, whose valuation is slightly less than 20 million euros. Accessible operation.

Milan have been following Emerson Royal for several months and had also obtained information during the last summer transfer window.

Emerson Royal has a contract expiring in 2026.

So over the past month or so we’ve seen Royal’s transfer fee go steadily downwards — first there were reports that Tottenham was demanding €30m, then the price dropped to €20m, and now Italian media sources are reporting a sub-€20m fee for a very good fullback who just doesn’t fit Ange Postecoglou’s tactical system. I dunno, y’all. On the one hand I get that continental clubs aren’t as rich as Premier League clubs, but on the other hand I also am starting to wonder if Spurs are getting taken to the cleaners a bit, assuming these reports are accurate. And on the OTHER other hand (I have three hands), Spurs need to offload Emerson this summer regardless, so maybe that’s okay?

Johan Lange is a smart guy and Daniel Levy is a shrewd businessman so I expect that most of these concerns will come out in the wash. Maybe there’s an extended payment plan, or a sell-on clause that can be tacked on or something. Who knows. But there continues to be smoke swirling on this transfer, and I suspect this is negotiation by media. I doubt it holds anything up, since both sides seem motivated to want to get a deal across the line.

As most Tottenham Hotspur players have returned to Hotspur Way for pre-season training, the team will play its first pre-season contest behind closed doors against League One side Cambridge United.

Alasdair Gold of football.london said in his latest article that the club will take on League One side Cambridge United on July 13 at Hotspur Way.

As the pre-season tour slowly gets closer and closer — with Spurs traveling to Korea and Japan towards the end of the month — Ange Postecoglou will get a first look at most of his team against the League One side.

Many familiar faces will be on the pitch for Spurs, but two new signings in 18-year-olds Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray are expected to get action in the friendly. Both highly touted prospects, Postecoglou will be able to see the level they are at in his system when Cambridge United arrives for the friendly.

As Gold states in his article the behind-closed-doors friendlies are different than a normal friendly. The friendly is expected to be broken into three 30-minute intervals with a break for coaches to speak to their players.

With the 2024/25 season creeping closer and closer, this is the first test for Spurs to ramp up their fitness levels and kick into gear for the second season under Postecoglou.

good morning -

We simply can’t not have a hoddle hero. It’s part of the game.

After Micky van de Ven’s glorious reign came to an end last week, your hoddler-in-chief searched high and low to determine who the next hoddle hero might be.

After much searching, I have found them: Welcome Barbora Votikova!

Votikova made a name for herself shortly after arriving at Tottenham this past season, keeping a clean sheet and securing the Player of the Match award in Spurs’ victory over Arsenal.

That alone should really cement this decision.

She was a key player for Spurs this past year, and hopefully in the coming season.

Votikova previously played for Sparta Prague and PSG.

Votikova suffered an ACL injury in 2022 and apparently has pictures and videos of her recovery on one of her instagram stories. I only went through a little bit of it because seeing injuries grosses me out. But! She seemed to handle the recovery process very well.

She’s pretty well-rounded too. Votikova also dabbled in some comedy and sketch shows, and wrote a book in 2019 called Bára Votíková: A Little Different, where she came out as a lesbian. She’s since used her instagram to share some positive messages about her experience too.

I imagine the ‘comedy’ and ‘sketch shows’ aspect helped her through the ACL ordeal.

With all this, Votikova is a fitting player to serve as hoddle hero. A reminder of she will be hoddle hero until:

Tottenham Hotspur announce a senior team signing

Votikova leaves the club

Spurs go through the rest of the season without signing anyone

As much as I’d love to see Votikova here for the next few months, I’d rather keep it around the two-week length (because we want signings!).

Welcome, welcome, hoddle hero Barbora Votikova.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Tonight at Noon, by Charles Mingus

And now for your links:

Five things Football London spotted in Tottenham’s training return

Michael Olise joins Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace

Filed under:

Tottenham Transfer News & Rumors

Dispatches from #batcountry

Dispatches from Bat Country: July 2024 - Edition 1, Forrest Bat

My mama always said life was like a Country of Bats. You never know what you’re gonna get.

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"'What's wrong?' I yelled. 'We can't stop here. This is bat country!'"

- Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

July is here, and with it, the start of preseason. It’s been said that Ange Postecoglou wants the majority of his squad settled for the preseason fixtures, so needless to say the rumor mill is fully armed and operational, ready to build up all your hopes and dreams before blowing them to smithereens.

Here we cover all those rumors on which we normally wouldn’t report. The fringe cases. The names that spring up from untold lands, off the beaten path. We’ll discuss mostly incomings and try and focus on names we haven’t already talked about elsewhere on the site. Each name will be accompanied by a Guano Meter: a ranking out of 5 that instead of rating how likely we think it is to happen, it instead is the complete opposite. For example, a Guano Meter of 5/5 would be something like... Spurs making another signing before the first preseason fixture (sorrynotsorry).

Check out some of the previous editions here, as well as Nathan Bartel’s excellent piece that was the genesis of this series here.

Desire Doue

You want a dribbly boi? I’ll give you a dribbly boi

Young, exciting, and with a fantastic name, Doue has been lighting up Ligue 1 for Rennes while only 19

Speaking of, a team with names like Son, Desire, and Destiny sounds like something out of a bad Star Wars script; somehow, attacking football has returned

Seriously though, his dribbling numbers are off the charts, and his passing is aggressive as well; that’s often paired with a pretty poor defensive workrate, but not in Doue’s case: his numbers off the ball are also really good

Obviously, the move from Ligue 1 to the Premier League isn’t an easy one, and at his age there’s lots of talented players who have failed to make the jump

There’s a LOT of smoke around this one at the moment; every man and his dog, from ITKs to Alasdair Gold and Fabrizio Romano are saying we’re interested. Doesn’t appear to be any bids yet, though

There’s lots of interest, too - so he could be pricey... but maybe worth it?

Guano Meter: 2/5 - Honestly, this is close to a 1 with the amount of smoke - but there’s no formal negotiations underway yet by the sounds of things.

Jobe Bellingham

Hey Jobe, don’t make it bad. Take a football team and make it better... wait, you’re saying that’s not the lyrics?

Oh, it’s the OTHER Bellingham

This one’s supposed to be pretty good as well, playing a variety of roles but mostly as an attacking midfielder

He’s only 18, and came through the Birmingham youth setup before transferring to Sunderland at the start of last season

Much like his older brother, he has a decent workrate and a canny knack of popping up in the box to score. He’d be an interesting fit as one of Ange’s attacking 8’s

The rumors around the younger Bellingham actually go back a while, with Spurs linked as far back as January 2023 (and maybe even further), so they’ve clearly done their homework

The recent links are from Ed Aarons at The Guardian, so not the worst source here, but it does seem like other clubs are closer

Guano Meter: 3/5 - There’s definitely been real interest over the years, but it does feel like maybe Spurs’ youth midfielder stocks are starting to get a bit full due to the recent signings?

Menzi Mazwi

Don’t make the obvious joke don’t make the obvious joke don’t make the obvious joke

Seriously, though, I know next to nothing about this dude, his name’s the most noteworthy thing I can find - he doesn’t even have a Whoscored OR fbref profile for crying out loud

Interestingly enough, he’s another from the Birmingham youth system - and one of three players on this Bat Country edition with alliterative names. That’s not important, just interesting

He’s yet to play any senior minutes, currently looking to line up with the U21’s this coming season where he’ll probably play some combination of CM, LB, and LW - at least those are the positions on Transfermarkt, indicating he’s probably similar to a left-sided Archie Gray, but with a more front-footed approach

Reportedly he’s been offered a senior deal, but is yet to sign - hence the links away

This one is from Pete O’Rourke from Football Insider, whose record is EXTREMELY spotty. We see you, Sports Peeto

Guano Meter: 5/5 - This is what you read these pieces for. This link is so out of left-field, it’s like I made it up.

Daniel Kelly

Another 18-year-old midfielder with limited first-team exposure, this one at Celtic

Oh come on, you’re telling me we go from random Birmingham youth teamer to a rumor of a young dude at Ange Postecoglou’s old club? I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue

Still, it’s impressive that a guy as young as this has seen minutes at Celtic, with 4 sub appearances last season, in one of which he scored

In the one short highlights clip I’ve seen, Kelly appears like a pretty typical box-to-box mid: involved, good movement, and strong and composed in possession

He’s also not exactly playing at the highest level right now, so a move to Spurs would be a huge step up

This one comes from the Daily Record, in Scotland, who are... well, they’re a tabloid. Honest journalism ain’t what it used to be

Bayer Leverkusen apparently are interested as well, which is interesting - it’s some big names somebody who is a relative unknown is linked with, and I guess that’s what good scouts are for; or good agents

Guano Meter: 5/5 - Come on, did you expect anything different?

Hayden Hackney

This guy is a defensive midfielder, and man, if his name doesn’t ever make him sound like one

He’s 22, and at Middlesbrough where he came through their academy system; he’s turned out for the England U21 side as well, switching allegiances from Scotland U21 (after playing for England U15’s - seriously, make up your mind, dude)

It’s another week, another #6 linked who probably isn’t at the level Spurs would like; but beggars can’t be choosers and all that

That said, there’s a lot to like here:

Championship context aside, those on-ball stats are fascinating reading

Links on Hackney date back to December, albeit from the Daily Mail (yeah, not exactly what you’d call robust); however, the Evening Standard then picked it up in January, before the Northern Echo, a regional daily, started reporting it in May

It’s this latest report that has the most meat to it; it was also the genesis of the Rav van den Berg link from last week’s piece, and indicated we’ve been scouting Hackney for two years. It then followed that up by saying we could move for him. Nothing imminent, then

Guano Meter: 3/5 - This could have been higher, due to the amount of smoke - but when your best link only says “...considering a move...”, that’s not a whole lot to go on.

Guela Doue

It’s a duo of Doues!

This one’s name isn’t as cool, though

Nor is he as exciting - sorry, no “cool older brother” situation here, with the elder Doue a right back also at Rennes

Right back is probably slightly lower down the priority list now for Spurs as well, with recent signing Archie Gray likely able to deputize there

There are things about Guela’s profile, however, that intrigue: he likes to get on the ball, and like his brother, he likes to run at (and past) opposition players

His defensive numbers aren’t too shabby either; it’s his passing, though, that lets him down

Hey, I’ve seen this one before!

And honestly, after what I wrote above, does that surprise you at all?

That’s also why he may not work for Spurs; he doesn’t seem that suited to an inverted role

The links to Guela are much flimsier than those for Desire, and I wonder if some sort of “package deal” approach was floated but quickly dismissed

They come from TBR Football, who I’ve basically never heard of - and there seems to be way more traction around links to Roma and Galatasaray, so, never say never... but

Guano Meter: 4/5 - It’s possible this is something we looked at, at some point - but I don’t think it has ever gone beyond that. I hate to split a family apart.

That’s it for this installment. July promises great things, and I’ll be here every Sunday to dump all over them. Welcome to Bat Country.

Ahh, July. The tomatoes start to ripen, the fireflies are out, and the Hotspurs return to the roost for the start of preseason training. It’s also the first time reporting for duty for new Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who is now officially a Spurs player and who had his photo taken as he arrived at Hotspur Way this morning.

Everyone at the club, including Ange Postecoglou, have said that the plan is for Bergvall to be integrated into the squad as a full first-team player from his arrival. Now that he’s arrived, I expect that to happen. The kid is special, and while he probably won’t be starting every match I think we can certainly expect to see quite a bit of him, either as a rotation option in the Europa League and early round cup games, or as a late match substitute. He’s a big part of Spurs’ future in midfield and I can’t wait to see him in action when preseason matches start later this month.

Bergvall wasn’t the only reportee. Spurs posted a video montage of returning players (who aren’t involved in international tournaments this summer) coming to training and it included players like new signing Archie Gray, Dane Scarlett, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Pedro Porro, Pape Sarr, Timo Werner, Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Destiny Udogie. It also showed a number of players who may not be with the team when all’s said and done like Djed Spence, Bryan Gil, Fraser Forster, Alfie Whiteman, Sergio Reguilon, and Oliver Skipp.

Tottenham play their first preseason match at SPL side Hearts in 11 days, on Wed. July 17.

New youth player just dropped! Northern Irish Premier League side Glentoran FC announced on their website and social media channels that 16-year-old youth striker George Feeney has officially transferred to Tottenham Hotspur!

Unusually, Tottenham have also made this announcement, though in the context of a new promo video on Twitter that introduces a new cohort of U18 players to the club. Feeney is shown right at the end. This is unusual as the club often doesn’t make a huge deal out of the signing of underage players (Lucas Bergvall being the big exception); this is the first time I can remember the club putting together an announcement video for new U18 players, which might speak to how excited they are for this new group.

Feeney is apparently the standout addition to this new academy cohort. I wish I could tell you more about him, but suffice it to say that Spurs are pretty pleased they got him and he had been courted by a number of other clubs. Suffice it to say that it’ll likely be a few years before Feeney or any of the new boys make an impact, but don’t let me stop you from picking your favorite name from the group and hyping them into the stratosphere — that’s part of the fun!

good morning!

Not many tennis players have ever fought the way Andy Murray has.

And just weeks after having surgery, he competed in possibly his farewell match at Wimbledon on Thursday with his brother Jamie.

Let’s briefly look at his career. He participated in an error of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal - the three greatest tennis players of all time. And he made the Big 3 a Big 4.

I think what makes his career so admirable is that, before all his successes, he faced some truly difficult moments. He was 0-5 in major finals before winning the 2012 US Open, including a heartbreaking defeat to Roger Federer that year.

And then, in 2013, he ended the 77-year wait for a British champion to win Wimbledon again. Three years later, he completed his ascent to the top of the tennis summit and became the No. 1 player in the world.

He had so many injuries and surgeries. I can’t remember them all. But man, did he fight.

Watching Federer was like watching an artist at work. To watch Nadal is akin to a gladiator. Djokovic is like a surgeon.

To watch Murray is to watch life unfold itself unfront of you. You see the struggles, the grit, the frustrations. And you also see the determination, the perserverance, the strength and will he used to pull through the toughest of matches.

One of the most incredible of them all came in 2008.

Down 2-0, Murray summoned a comeback of epic proportions on Centre Court. With the comeback just barely underway, Murray hit one of the greatest passing shots I have ever seen, and it’s probably the point I remember his career most by.——

As his injuries picked up over the years, you could see he couldn’t move quite the way he did. And it wasn’t until watching him today that I realised he switched over from Head to Yonex.

But he always fought.

Even in 2019 it was thought that would be his last year. The Australian Open had so much weight behind it because we thought he would retire. (How could we not, when he had a press conference like this?)

He pushed 22 seed Roberto Bautista Agut to five sets (a huge feat), but couldn’t pull off the win.

Four years later, Murray defeated Matteo Berretini in five sets in the first round. In the second, he defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6 6-7 7-6 6-3 7-5 in 5 hours and 45 minutes. It was the 11th time he won a match after being two sets down.

And you would just think, ‘How the hell can this guy do that?’ How can someone come back from all those injuries, all those surgeries, and well past his physical prime, able to pull off two five-set wins against players much younger than him?

He always fought.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Gotta Believe, by Donavon Frankenreiter

And now for your links:

Charlie Eccleshare ($$): Andy Murray says Wimbledon farewell with Centre Court ceremony and tributes

The Athletic ($$): Inside Archie gray’s transfer to Tottenham