Good morning and welcome to the latest edition of Trending Up / Trending Down, where hoddle headquarters looks at what is trending up around Tottenham Hotspur, and what’s trending down.
Needless to say, things are looking pretty bad around N17. So, of course, today’s edition reflects that. I’m not going to waste any time getting into all the bad vibes, so we might as well dive into it:
Trending up:
Tottenham Hotspur women’s squad: At least there’s one Spurs squad that isn’t embarrassing right now. The women’s side recently beat Leicester City 3-0 to advance to the next round of the Women’s FA Cup. They’re also currently level with Arsenal on points which is pretty incredible, and it makes me excited about what the future has in store.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven: But we all want to talk about the men’s squad, and I’m not sure there are any players who give us anything to be proud about than our central defenders. It’s pretty shocking that Romero is the one we rely on to be the attacking force inside the opponent’s box, whilst we contineu to rely on VDV’s speed to blunt some of the counter-attacks. And it appears that Romero’s instagram post calling out the Tottenham board compelled Vinai Venktasheman (apparently) to put out that message in the programme this past weekend.
Toxicity at White Hart Lane: That said, it’s all gone horrible at Tottenham. And I don’t see how it gets better. The players were booed after West Ham. Thomas Frank was booed. There were even reports that West Ham were shocked by how bad the atmosphere was at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Trending down:
Richarlison and Ben Davies: I never like placing injured players here, but I have no choice. The inclusion of Davies especially hurts, and I hope we get to see him play for Spurs again.
The rest of the Tottenham men’s squad: And then we have everyone else. And I don’t know what to say about this team that is so un-inspirational. I struggle to think of anyone who’d compete for a spot on a top-four team (Pedro Porro could make it on the bench, I guess), but where is the leadership? Where is the fight? Sack whoever you want, it won’t change the character of the squad.
Thomas Frank: That brings us to Thomas Frank who, as of this writing, still has not been sacked. After the chorus of boos he received on Saturday, I don’t understand how he lasts the remainder of the year. From all I can understand from the reporting it seems that his time is coming up soon. Credit to the Spurs brass for trying to stick behind their guy, but he’s not the guy. The results, the play and the stats speak for themselves.
Vinai Venkatesham & Co: But where does this leave those in charge of Tottenham? Venkatesham and the rest were called out by Romero (we can infer). The manager is a dead man walking, and what plan in place is there? And what about the transfer window? A relegation fight this year isn’t out of the question, and I don’t understand how the board gets out of this mess. It’s a total disaster.
Fitzie’s track of the day: The Kiss, by The Cure
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold: “Thomas Frank’s future and the Tottenham transfer to be done after surprise dressing room appearance”
BBC: “Results, fans, fall-outs - factors that lead to managerial pressure”
Jack P-B ($$): “Is Frank’s relationship with Tottenham fans broken for good?”
Matt Law: “Thomas Frank takes Spurs training with players in the dark over his fate”
The Independent: “How the Africa Cup of Nations final descended into chaos”