Cartilage Free Captain

Once again, Tottenham Hotspur played sluggish and poorly in a Premier League game following a Europa League contest, this time resulting in a 2-0 loss to Fulham on Sunday.

The first half of the match wasn’t an easy watch as both sides wrestled poorly in possession, and when Fulham would find its groove, the lasting minutes of the half saw Antonee Robinson sending balls into the box from the left side. For Spurs, the strongest moment came from Mathys Tel off the left wing. Taking on two Fulham defenders, Tel worked his way in and out of the defense for a chance to square up a ball across the six-yard box. With Dominic Solanke peeling back to the middle and the ball going towards the back post, the run from Brennan Johnson was minimal as his typical sprints to the back post would have given Spurs a 1-0 lead into the half.

But as neither side could score the opening goal, Spurs made changes to begin the half. Lucas Bergvall and Son Heung-min came on for Bissouma and Johnson. Bringing the energy of the new faces on the pitch, Spurs created chances in the final third with free kicks and corners delivered into the box.

The game really turned in the direction of Fulham’s when Crisitan Romero was subbed off for the likes of James Maddison. Continuing to manage the minutes of the center backs — as Micky van de Ven sat on the bench — Fulham flipped the game for good after the 68th-minute sub.

Feeling the momentum and looking for the opening goal, Fulham had a big chance. Willian went for a picture-esque finish, his curling shot to the far post going just wide of the far post.

As Spurs were looking to hold on in the final 20 minutes for a draw, Fulham finally got the opening goal, which started off a poor turnover from Wilson Odobert. Knicking the ball loose of the Frenchman, Willian gave the ball to Robinson to send a cross into the box. With Spurs able to get a quick clearance, but not out of the box, Andreas Pereira found his fellow countryman Rodrigo Muniz a chance to take his shot in space and into the corner for the 1-0 lead.

Seeing deflation come on the faces of Spurs yet again, Fulham added another goal as former Spurs player and Fulham academy starlet Ryan Sessegnon put the nail in the coffin with his goal to give Fulham a 2-0 win.

The International Break is here, and with the break, Spurs will wait until April 3rd for their next match at Stamford Bridge against a reeling Chelsea.

This rollercoaster ride of a season continues for Tottenham Hotspur. It continues to be difficult to know exactly what to expect from any given fixture, and this weekend’s match against Fulham is no different.

The Cottagers have performed well under the leadership of Marco Silva, and are the sort of side who will be unafraid to take the game to Spurs, especially given recent history where Fulham have picked up a draw and a 3-0 win. They are also the sort of side Spurs need to beat if they want to climb the Premier League table; if for nothing else, to build confidence for European success.

There have been positive and negative signs in recent weeks; let’s finish well before the international break.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Fulham vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Craven Cottage, London, UK

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Time: 9:30 a.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. UK

TV: USA Network, not televised in UK. Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: nbcsports.com

Match thread rules

The match thread rules are the same as always. To any visitors coming here for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’re here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you’re here, though, we have a few rules and regulations:

Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They’re bad and they get us in trouble. Violators will be warned or banned.

We have rules against “relentless negativity.” Nobody likes a Negative Nancy. Don’t knee-jerk and post outlandish or hurtful things just because you’re frustrated.

Along those lines, outright abuse of players or match officials is also not allowed. It’s fine to say “wow, that was a really bad call,” but it’s NOT okay to direct copious amounts of abuse in the direction of said official over a call you did not like.

Treat other people in the match thread the way you would want someone else to treat your grandmother. Be nice. This is a community of fans, not an un-moderated message board.

NO SPIDERS!

Finally, while we don’t have a rule against profanity, please try and keep the naughty words in check. Also, language that is sexist, racist, transphobic, or homophobic in nature will be swiftly deleted and you will be immediately banned. This is an open, supportive community.

Have fun, and COYS!

Do you believe in miracles?! Tottenham Hotspur did the impossible: surviving AZ Alkmaar and moving on to the Europa League Quarterfinals! What a glorious achievement. In all seriousness (of which little remains), it was great to see Spurs fight off a one-goal deficit Thursday and see through the result, even if it was not the smoothest 90 minutes.

Tottenham now has a month to prepare for Eintracht Frankfurt with three Premier League fixtures — and an international break — between now and then. Up first is a Fulham side that is eight points better, but certainly beatable. With nearly everyone available to play, the focus becomes building some continuity and momentum with Ange Postecoglou still fighting to implement his ideal tactics.

Fulham (10th, 42pts) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (t-13th, 34pts)

Date: Sunday, March 16

Time: 9:30 am ET, 1:30 pm UK

Location: Craven Cottage, London

TV: USA Network (US)

After finishes of 10th, 13th, and 10th the past three seasons, Fulham currently sits…10th. Near the middle in goals scored, goals allowed, goal difference, and xGD, everything about this club points to the definition of midtable. Accordingly, the results have been quite mixed in the league, and the Cottagers are 4-0-4 in their past eight fixtures. They did survive Manchester United on penalties two weeks ago, though, earning a spot in the FA Cup Quarterfinals.

The reverse fixture between these sides saw a 1-1 draw in North London. Brennan Johnson broke the deadlock in the second half, but Tom Cairney equalized soon after. Cairney then was sent off in the final 10 minutes after cleating the back of Dejan Kulusevski’s calf, but the home side was unable to find a winner. Spurs posted just 0.8 xG that day and were overall disappointing, especially after winning at the Etihad the weekend prior.

Hope charges in

The standout performer on Thursday was Wilson Odobert, who looked exactly like the player Spurs were hoping for when he was signed. His directness and excellent finishing feels like something lacking for a long time. Now is not the time to drop Odobert, but there is an interesting question as to how the front three should be configured going forward. Heung-Min Son has looked rusty for much of the season, but is coming off two quality performances. Dominic Solanke’s return to health has been extremely impactful as well as clearly the team’s best No. 9.

Can those three work together? And if so, does that put Kulusevski back in midfield and one of Lucas Bergvall or James Maddison on the bench? These are the things Postecoglou must tinker with ahead of Frankfurt. Fitness will end up dictating some of the choices, but identifying the right combination of attackers is the top priority for the next few weeks. Fulham has a decent defense — not having allowed 2.0 xGA in 2025 — so this is a good match to see who shines.

Simple little things

Micky van de Ven reminded everyone of his importance against AZ. The speedy centerback broke up an attack by racing back, and his later substitution more or less led to the visitors’ lone goal. 90 minutes of van de Ven and Cristian Romero give me a lot of confidence, but banking on their availability still seems foolish. That means the defense has to keep improving and stop giving away avoidable goals.

Thursday’s blunder by Odobert/Bergvall was nothing new; careless mistakes have destroyed this season. The reason they continue to have such an impact is poor positioning and cohesion throughout the rest of the defense, which absolutely must anticipate that individual errors are going to happen. The Cottagers may not be lighting up the scoreboard, but threats like Raul Jimenez do not need much invitation. Regardless of if the first-choice back line is on the pitch, Spurs need to recognize their current state and adjust defensively.

Kia ora! Matty Flatt here, and it’s my last day covering the Hoddle before Fitzie’s return next week.

And...

Spoiler alert for those who haven’t watched the Europa League second leg yet...

Spurs are Europa League quarterfinalists!

Not that I got to watch the match closely, mind you. One of the negatives with regards to Spurs being in Europa as opposed to Champions League is the matches fall on Friday mornings my time, with kick-off usually at either 6:45 or 9:00 am. Champions League fixtures are often played on the Thursday... which is my work from home day.

This means when we’re in the CL, I get to watch while I’m working. Well, kind of working. EL makes that a bit tougher, as I’m in the office on Fridays, and it’s your pretty standard, open plan situation; and as I mentioned yesterday, it’s full steam ahead for me right now in the day job.

Back early on in my career, when I first got into the professional world out of university, I would go to all lengths to surreptitiously watch matches. This was in a smaller office with only a couple of people, but with a high traffic door behind me. The standard approach would often be to have my phone on my knee, and just roll my knee forward under my desk whenever anyone came in.

I thought I was so clever. I really wasn’t.

Other options over the years have included booking meeting rooms for a “very important meeting”, sick days, inputting on a seating plan so my desk is in the back corner with my back to the wall, and popping out to grab something from my car during particularly stressful moments (yep, this was the Miracle in Amsterdam for me - squinting at a particularly terrible dodgy stream on my phone trying to make sense of all the screaming and wondering if the ball had gone in the net).

Now though, being in management I have realized most people (unless they are on a power trip) don’t even care. What matters is you get done what you need to get done. So today I just had my phone on my desk and kept one eye on it while working through risk and impact analysis, or in Teams meetings. It’s kind of a dumb way to watch, but at least I get to kind of watch.

What lengths have you gone to in order to watch Spurs? And are you an “at-work watcher”?

Matty Flatt’s Track of the Day: Valley Winter Song, by Fountains of Wayne

And now for your links:

For those who missed it, an extended highlights package of Spurs’ match against AZ Alkmaar

Check out a breakdown of Ange Postecoglou’s post-match press conference, courtesy of Alasdair Gold and Football London

Tottenham Hotspur’s season was on the line entering the second leg of the Europa League Round of 16 fixture with AZ Alkmaar at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. In a lost domestic season, Spurs’ chance of salvaging the season and Ange Postecouglou’s job revolved around winning an important fixture against AZ Alkmaar, and the side did just that with a 3-1 victory and advanced on a 3-2 aggregate on Thursday.

A week ago, Spurs looked awful against the high press that AZ brought forth in front of its home fans and escaped with a point at the weekend at home against Bournemouth; Spurs went with the firepower in hopes of securing a quarter-final spot. Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven returned to the Starting XI — the first time since the Chelsea match that both saw the pitch together — Lucas Bergvall sitting in the hole as the No. 6 and Wilson Odobert getting the nod over Brennan Johnson at right wing.

The first 25 minutes of the game saw Spurs recover in big moments. The center-back partnership took chances on big tackles but also pushed the ball forward to get the team in the attacking half of the pitch.

Hunting for the goal to level on aggregate, a lapse in defense from AZ allowed Spurs to jump on the moment. With a poor back pass in defense around the box, Son Heung-min won a deflection off the clearance attempt that allowed Dominic Solanke to collect the loose ball in the AZ box and into an open box. Getting the ball out from underneath him — with many anticipating the striker to take a shot on goal — Solanke laid off a perfect ball for Wilson Odobert at the penalty spot to have the Frenchman blast a weak foot goal for his first goal as a Spurs player.

Leveling the leg in the 27th minute, Spurs looked for that insurance goal before the half as Sonny had multiple chances that were blocked as his patented cut through the box on his right foot was narrowly off from giving Spurs a 2-0 lead into the half

James Maddison had a chance in the last seconds of the half, but his free-kick was headed away by the wall, and his volley take on the ensuing corner was stopped in the box.

With all to play for in the second half, Spurs jumped on the mistake again by AZ. Pedro Porro’s pressure on Mees De Wit — who had just come in for the second half — saw Odobert collect the ball in transition and lead the break. Finding Maddison in the middle and the vice-captain hitting Sonny on the wing, Sonny cut back onto his right foot with two AZ defenders dropping deep in the box for a deflection chance. Seeing it and how wide open Maddison was in the middle of the box, Sonny laid it off, and Maddison collected his first touch and slotted a right-foot shot into the far corner for a 2-0 lead.

AZ leveled the aggregate scoreline minutes after van de Ven was subbed off in the 60th minute. A poor passing decision from Bergvall gave Peer Koopmeiners the loose ball and a hammering strike to the far post.

Feeling gutted that Spurs could choke this game away, the team put the exclamation mark on a tremendous counterattack with Odobert collecting his brace.

Leading yet again and needing 20 minutes to hold on for a quarter-final date with Frankfurt, Spurs endured chances from AZ as one moment seemed to be destined for the back of the net.

Ex-Academy product Troy Parrott was through on goal and had his shot parried away from Gugilemo Vicario. Pushing it to his right, the ball landed at the feet of De Wit, and with Vicario sprawling up and ready in position, Yves Bissouma took no chances as his clearance near the line was sent away for an AZ corner.

In the end, Spurs held on for a 3-2 aggregate victory and reached the quarter-finals of the Europe League for just the second time (eight fully with the UEFA Cup appearances).

Now, is an opportunity for Spurs to put together a good run of fixtures with the momentum of moving on in Europe can position the side to feel good about themselves. Spurs return to Premier League play as they make the short trip to west London to play at Craven Cottage against Fulham.

Do or die. That’s the situation for Tottenham Hotspur as they attempt to salvage the remainder of their season. The other competitions are done and dusted, or an impossible mountain to conquer. In comparison, this tie against AZ Alkmaar should be but a grassy knoll.

Let’s hope there’s not a bullet coming.

The trains keep coming down the tunnel though, with more injuries: January signing Kevin Danso is out with a hamstring injury, which is pretty much par for the course at this stage; but a number of absentees are slowly getting back to match fitness, and maybe, just this once, it’s not a locomotive. Is it enough to overcome the one-goal deficit?

There’s a lot riding on this match; let’s hope the pressure doesn’t get to the squad and we see a return to the high-quality Ange-ball we know and love (and dearly, dearly miss).

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. AZ Alkmaar

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Time: 4:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. UK

TV: Not televised in USA, TNT Sports 3 (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: Paramount+

Match thread rules

The match thread rules are the same as always. To any visitors coming here for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’re here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you’re here, though, we have a few rules and regulations:

Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They’re bad and they get us in trouble. Violators will be warned or banned.

We have rules against “relentless negativity.” Nobody likes a Negative Nancy. Don’t knee-jerk and post outlandish or hurtful things just because you’re frustrated.

Along those lines, outright abuse of players or match officials is also not allowed. It’s fine to say “wow, that was a really bad call,” but it’s NOT okay to direct copious amounts of abuse in the direction of said official over a call you did not like.

Treat other people in the match thread the way you would want someone else to treat your grandmother. Be nice. This is a community of fans, not an un-moderated message board.

NO SPIDERS!

Finally, while we don’t have a rule against profanity, please try and keep the naughty words in check. Also, language that is sexist, racist, transphobic, or homophobic in nature will be swiftly deleted and you will be immediately banned. This is an open, supportive community.

Have fun, and COYS!

There is no other way to put it: Tottenham Hotspur must find a way to advance. The Europa League has been the priority for some time now, but Ange Postecoglou is at risk of failing in all four competitions this season — which might signal the end of his tenure. There is no excuse for anything less than a victory over AZ Alkmaar at home this Thursday and to progress to the quarterfinals.

Tottenham enters the second leg in North London as favorites, with one of its healthiest squads in recent memory. Yet, nothing has come easy this season, and last week’s disappointing performance in the Netherlands offers little cause for optimism. Even if Spurs make it through this round, the challenges ahead will only get tougher. But it feels like they — and Postecoglou — need something, anything, positive to regain some hope.

Round of 16 (2nd Leg): Tottenham Hotspur (0) vs. AZ Alkmaar (1)

Date: Thursday, March 13

Time: 4:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: Paramount+ (USA), TNT Sports 3 (UK)

Tottenham is fortunate to only be trailing by a single goal heading into the second leg. AZ did not generate much offense (just three shots on target, 39 percent possession, and a mere 1.6 xG), but they took advantage of an unfortunate own goal from Lucas Bergvall. Despite that, the home side always looked more likely to score and earned the result it deserved.

Postecoglou must find a way to create more attacking opportunities. One shot on target in an entire match is a glaring red flag. As troubling is the failure to dominate midfield and apply pressure on AZ’s defense, which is far from impenetrable. While Tottenham has been without a fully-fit No. 9 for much of the season, there are still numerous capable players who can carry the ball into the box and make incisive passes. AZ came into last week’s match having conceded nine goals in their previous three Europa League outings; this is a defense that can be breached.

Though the League Phase tie featured a heavily rotated side, that now makes two contests against this opponent without much to show on the scoreboard. Even though the defense has mostly held up, it is hard to ignore performances against teams like Leicester, Palace, and Ipswich where goals have also been hard to come by. Spurs clearly have an issue scoring against the teams they really should be handling without much difficulty, which is a tough thing to still be saying in March.

Do your job

Tottenham will be without Dejan Kulusevski, arguably their best playmaker, but again, there can be no excuses. Dominic Solanke should be available, and James Maddison must play a key role. Heung-Min Son’s form has been inconsistent, but against Bournemouth, he showed flashes of his former self — enough to suggest he could make a difference this week. And while Bergvall’s own goal was unfortunate, his attacking drive is something few other Spurs players have shown consistently this season.

Ultimately, these players just need to… do their job. Thanks for everyone who has stuck with us the past seven months, and surely you all are sick of hearing the same thing over and over again as well, but what is there even left to say? Spurs have the individual talent and team capability to turn this into a comfortable win, but clearly translating that potential into actual performance has been a struggle.

This is the moment. Tottenham needs to overturn a one-goal deficit against a clearly inferior opponent to keep its hopes alive. The task itself is manageable, but the pressure could not be higher on Postecoglou. Respond, and Spurs move one step closer to glory. Succumb to another Dinamo Zagreb-like catastrophe and this might be the end of the road.

Kia ora! Long time, no see, folks.

And there’s a bit of a reason for that. Some of you may have noticed (or maybe you haven’t!) I haven’t been as... well, let’s say “prolific” with my writing output over the last month or so.

That’s because Matty Flatt (yeah, let’s embrace the spirit of Fitzie) has taken a little bit of a step back from writing duties temporarily as Real Life FC™ gets in the way of the things I really care about: Spurs and you guys (family be damned).

I’ve mentioned before I work in the tech sector, and for the last couple of years have been working across a very large, very expensive, very intense tech project. We are now a month out from go-live, and needless to say, the pressure is high and we are in crunch time.

That means I am working 60+ hour weeks, and any spare time for writing is really spent on mental rest. When you sit down to engage in creative endeavors, you need a clear head - and it’s hard to say my psyche is open to any sort of creative muse right now, nor are the performances we’ve seen from Spurs over the last little while particularly inspiring.

It’s weird though how normalized crunch has become. It started (as far as I know) in the gaming industry, where developers would work all hours to hit deadlines in the delivery of a game... wellbeing be damned. Honestly, it probably existed in other industries as well, but it’s become pervasive across different business spheres.

The funny thing is when it comes to a project of the scale on which I’m working, it feels like no matter how well you prep, plan, and resource, you somewhat inevitably get to a point like this - everything becomes a mad scramble to line up all the different pieces and personnel.

So is it avoidable? What do you think? And have you experienced crunch in your line of work? Discuss in the comments; I sure won’t be, as I’m headed back to work... and hopefully I’ll be back to properly writing for you all (as opposed to rambling here) very soon.

Matty Flatt’s Track of the Day: Once in a Lifetime, by Talking Heads

And now for your links:

Tottenham Hotspur officially announce the freeze of season ticket pricing for next season

Alasdair Gold gives his thoughts on the latest training session in the lead-up to Spurs’ do or die match against AZ Alkmaar

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed the bad news of Kevin Danso’s injury today in his weekly press conference ahead of Spurs’ match against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League. That bad news includes the revelation that Danso picked up a hamstring injury, adding himself to the list of Spurs players that have also suffered the same fate.

But there is good news — not only is Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven back (if not full strength), but Ange also confirmed that Ben Davies is back in training and will be available to play tomorrow night in North London.

“Right, OK. I think you covered it all there! Yeah, Kevin got a hamstring injury in the last game so he is out. Ben [Davies] is back in, so that’s the only change from the weekend. Everyone else got through the game no problems.

“[Both Romero and Van de Ven] got through the game well. Obviously Romero no issues and it was great to get Micky back out there and he felt good. Both available.

“Hard to say at the moment [how bad Danso’s injury is]. He felt it right at the end of the game. We will see. We have got the international break which helps us. Kevin looks after himself, he is a pretty good athlete. We will give him every chance to get back. We have to let it settle down before we get clarity on it. He will be pushing for sure.”

Neither Micky nor Cuti were 90 minutes match fit and it’s difficult to believe either of them are now, just three days after the draw against Bournemouth. That said, with both of them back and both Ben Davies and Archie Gray available, it feels reasonable that, with a couple of subs, Spurs can cobble together a functional back line for not only this match, but also this weekend’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.

Tottenham’s promotional photos released today included a couple of Ange on the training pitch watching as Richarlison ran outside on grass, away from the rest of the first team. That implies that Richy still isn’t available for the upcoming two matches, and Postecoglou confirmed that he hopes to have Pombo back after the international break.

“Probably post the international break [Richarlison] should be there or thereabouts depending on his progress It was good to see him back out on the grass. He is working hard to get back in. Hopefully post international break he will be available.”

It goes without saying that tomorrow evening’s game is critical for Tottenham’s Europa League campaign, and Tottenham need at least a two goal lead to ensure progression to the quarterfinals (or a goal and a penalty shootout win). Ange didn’t get drawn into commenting on the must-win situation, but did state that the team is fully focused on producing a much better performance than they showed in the Netherlands last week.

“No, no extra pressure. I guess as I said before, I think we were obviously disappointed with our performance in the first leg and I guess the important thing is we didn’t make tie impossible for us to get back into. It is still very tight. Obviously they have the goal advance, but being at home and if we can play with the intensity and tempo we played at the weekend, I think we’ll have the opportunity to progress. Should we progress then we’ll obviously have another big challenge in the next round but right now the key focus is to put in a really strong performance at home tomorrow night and we’ll go from there.”

Should Spurs get past AZ tomorrow evening, they will face the winner of Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Ajax. Frankfurt have a 2-1 aggregate lead over Ajax after the first leg, with tomorrow’s match taking place in Germany.

Tottenham Hotspur officially released its ticketing scheme for next season, and in what is welcome news to supporters has frozen ticket prices at 2024-25 levels. The announcement was made on Tottenham’s website and social media channels.

Here are the key takeaways on ticketing for the 2025-26 season:

Prices for both season and individual tickets will stay the same as this year’s pricing scheme. This applies to both the Men’s and Women’s teams.

Season ticket renewals for the men’s team go on sale next Tuesday, March 17, with the renewal deadline set for Tues. May 27, 2025. Information was not released on Tottenham Hotspur Women season tickets.

After intense lobbying from the Fan Advisory Board and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST), the club has walked back some of its intended cuts to the Senior Concession Senior Ticket (SCST) allocations, with a commitment to keeping proportional senior tickets available. Priority will be given to ticket holders who have held their senior tickets the longest.

Season ticket holders who give up their tickets to the Ticket Exchange will receive a 1/19th refund on the price of their season ticket package, in order to prevent ticket scalping.

The club is doing away with the Automatic Cup Scheme for ticket holders due to a lack of use.

I don’t usually post articles about ticketing issues or season ticket pricing on this blog, mostly because the majority of our readership is American and hence doesn’t purchase season tickets, but also because the topic of conversation is oftentimes fraught with cultural and economic differences that are unique to the UK and to North London specifically.

That said, I can absolutely get behind the club freezing ticket prices for next season. Spurs fans already pay the highest ticket prices in the Premier League, a fact that rankles some supporters (especially when the team isn’t doing well), and with the club making healthy profits a further increase in pricing wouldn’t go over especially well in that context.

The THST released a statement in the wake of the club’s announcement, with language that is broadly supportive of Tottenham’s decision.