Welcome to another edition of Trending Up / Trending Down, where hoddle headquarters takes a look at all things trending up and down around Tottenham Hotspur.
The latest edition comes amid some pretty sour times at Spurs. Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and James Maddison all seem like mythlike creatures, while the away fans are making their displeasure clearer than ever about the state of the club.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at what’s trending up and down at Spurs.
Trending up:
Mathys Tel: Thomas Frank finally started Mathys Tel in consecutive games this week, and Tel rewarded that trust with a goal against Bournemouth on Wednesday. It was his third goal since November and just his third on the season but aside from the two most recent appearances has had little time to make an impact on the pitch.
Tottenham’s loan contingent: There’s been a lot of loan movement lately. Yang Min-Hyeok recently made the switch from Portsmouth to Coventry, Alife Dorrington was recalled from Aberdeen, Jamie Donley might get more playing time now that he’s at Oxford United instead of Stoke, while Spurs also recalled George Abbott from Wycombe.
Ben Davies: A very rare start for Ben Davies against Sunderland, and an even rarer goal. A rare bright spot during this Spurs season.
Trending down:
Thomas Frank: He was already trending down in the previous edition of this feature, and he’s trending down some more after more bad results. A strange like-for-like comparison between Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert didn’t make a whole lot of sense. And adding to this all is the stupid oversight of drinking out of an Arsenal cup on Wednesday.
Vibes: It’s pretty dire. Spurs fans might’ve heard the sound of boos more than “Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur” at the end of games this season. Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro and Palhinha confronted the away fans after the final whistle. Then Crisian Romero posted a pretty clear instagram message calling out the higher-ups in N17 (which was liked by Richarlison and Porro). It all feels very toxic right now.
Fitzie’s track of the day: I Thought I Saw Your Face Today, by She & Him
And now for your links:
The Athletic ($$): “Bournemouth 3 Tottenham 2 – Palhinha’s stunner, Spurs lose control, penalty controversy”
The Standard: “Spurs news: Thomas Frank explains major Arsenal cup blunder after Bournemouth defeat”
Alasdair Gold: “Every word Thomas Frank said on drinking from an Arsenal cup, Bergvall injury, Kudus and VAR”
BBC: “‘Like a movie’ - Semenyo enjoys fairytale farewell”
The Guardian: “Antoine Semenyo’s parting gift gives Bournemouth victory over shaky Spurs”