Cartilage Free Captain

Tottenham Hotspur, somehow, is in the Round of 16 of the Champions League, but they sure didn’t look like they belonged there. Two incredible howlers from Antonin Kinsky, who hadn’t started a match since October, led to two Atletico Madrid goals inside 15 minutes, another Micky van de Ven slip led to another, and Spurs found themselves down 4-0 in Madrid before a half hour had passed. Kinsky got pulled for Guglielmo Vicario Pedro Porro pulled one back for Spurs, but otherwise it was 90 minutes of abject humiliation for Tottenham on the biggest stage in club football.

Igor Tudor made a double sub at halftime, bringing on Conor Gallagher and Dominic Solanke to try and cut into Atleti’s goal, but it all went (even more) pear-shaped in the 55th minute. Richarlison had a powerful header well saved by Atleti keeper Jan Oblak, and the ball fell neatly to Antoine Griezmann, who slotted past Vicario on a blistering counterattack. Dominic Solanke added a second goal late in the half after picking off a bad outlet pass from Oblak and hammering it home.

Match reactions

While Tottenham Hotspur seemingly careen towards potential relegation in the Premier League, there’s still the small matter of another little cup competition that’s ongoing. That’s right, it’s time to head back to the Champions League as Spurs take on Atletico Madrid!

With Spurs desperately needing to prioritize their league survival and the squad still in a rough spot with regards to availability (as well as quality, ability, leadership, etc etc), some have suggested the Lilywhites could look to punt this match; but with the weekend’s contest an away trip to Anfield that is unlikely to yield any points even on a good day, Spurs may as well give this one a go and see where it leaves them for the second leg.

Cristian Romero will be involved: he’s both served his suspension and said suspension had no impact on this competion; Djed Spence should be fit again as well. Their returns will serve to strengthen a ragged defense in Madrid, but it’s arguably Spurs’ attack that could be more of a worry, with Diego Simeone’s sides always solid at the back. Despite Spurs’ form, this could be a tight match. Could they spring a surprise?

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Atletico Madrid vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

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

TV: Not televised in USA, TNT Sports 1 (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!

Nothing beats European football. After successfully navigating four rounds of Europa League knockouts to claim the trophy in Bilbao last season, Tottenham Hotspur finished fourth in the League Phase of this year’s Champions League to earn a bye into the Round of 16, which kicks off this week. As an elite European side, Spurs will begin the Knockout Phase on the road before the second leg next week in North London.

The draw has Tottenham facing Atletico Madrid, who finished 14th in the League Phase. A 7-4 win on aggregate over Club Brugge earned the Spanish side a spot in this round after a 4-1-3 performance earlier in the competition, including losses to Liverpool and Arsenal (both in England). Atleti is comfortably top four in La Liga, but who needs to focus on domestic performance, right??

UCL Round of 16: First Leg

Date: Tuesday, March 10

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

Location: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain

TV: Paramount+ (US), TNT Sports 1 (UK)

No doubt, this is a difficult draw, but think about the list of top clubs Spurs have now faced in the past decade: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atleti, Bayern, Dortmund, Juve, Inter, AC Milan, PSG – just about every European giant has been a Champions League opponent in recent history. A trip to Madrid is a little bittersweet considering Tottenham’s last visit there, but that in itself speaks to the club’s qualifications in this competition.

Two Things to Watch

Flipped script

While Diego Simeone built his reputation on an extremely rigid defense and frustrating tactics, the League Phase actually saw Atleti rank in the bottom half in terms of goals allowed, but tied for eighth in goals scored. Though their league form is closer to what one might expect traditionally, this squad will not just sit in its shell but will instead look for opportunities to take the ball and score.

That is…not a good feeling for this Spurs side, which continues to make needless mistake after needless mistake. It is not hard to envision someone like Julian Alvarez or Alexander Sorloth carving through this defense, or worse: Ademola Lookman. Though Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are not suspended for this match (what a wild statement), Simeone is likely to be aggressive.

Still, even with a surprisingly meek defensive performance in the League Phase, this is not exactly an easy team to break down. Tottenham’s Champions League performances have definitely been better on the road, and this is a difficult location to play. Staying alive for the second leg is the objective, but this tie could absolutely feel over after the first 90 minutes.

Distraction

Perhaps the question then becomes if that would actually be for the best. While Spurs must avoid relegation at all costs, it is difficult to simply punt away the knockout rounds in Europe, especially this competition. For whatever reason, Tottenham has looked like a completely different club against foreign sides, and while this year will not end with a trophy, a shocking run is not out of the cards.

Another reason to put some stock in Tuesday is that a trip to Liverpool over the weekend is unlikely to break the skid in the league. While the Reds are juggling European competition of their own (and will arguably prioritize it over the Premier League at this point), it still would be far from guaranteed that looking past Atleti for the trip to Liverpool will yield any sort of benefit.

So, just embrace this. Igor Tudor might not last much longer, and whatever is left of the foundation of this club might be too far gone to save. But at least for one more round of this competition, we can ignore the problems back home and witness Spurs on the biggest stage. This could be the last time in the Champions League for quite a while.

You might find this hard to believe (I sure do), but Tottenham Hotspur are playing the Champions League today.

I will say that, after reading the comments on this site for the last few days, that there is a mixed feeling with respect to how Spurs should treat this game. Or even if there is an interest in watching it.

If you’re lookg for alternative matches to watch (I’ll probably stick with Spurs) there is only one in the Champions League that interests me: Atalanta versus Bayern.

On the one side, you get this really cool Atalanta team that always seems to be floating around the top in Serie A and is competitive in the Champions League. Then on the other, we have Harry Kane. And why wouldn’t I want to see Kane play?

Otherwise there are two interesting games in the EFL Championship: Wrexham-Hull and Millwall-Derby. Both have playoff permutations. Heck, Millwall are actually pushing for an automatic promotion slot.

So there are a couple options out there. However, your hoddler-in-chief will still have the Tottenham game on because that’s what I signed up for.

Fitzie’s track of the day: (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville, by R.E.M.

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “USMNT’s Mauricio Pochettino expected to attend Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham”

Matt Law ($$): “Cristian Romero future in doubt as Tottenham plan summer overhaul”

Alasdair Gold: “Every word Igor Tudor said on what Cristian Romero has been doing behind the scenes at Tottenham”

The Independent: “Mass brawl in chaotic Brazil state final sees 23 players sent off”

It’s one of those days where there’s not much Tottenham Hotspur news and the news that’s out there are mostly opinion articles about how bad everything is. Who wants to read that? I certainly don’t want to. But there IS some good news ahead of Spurs’ trip to Madrid tomorrow — Igor Tudor will have a trio of defensive players available to him for selection in Madrid. According to Football.London, Djed Spence, Radu Dragusin, and Cuti Romero will all be available against Diego Simeoni’s Atletico.

That’s pretty big. Spence has been out a couple of weeks and Dragusin has been both hobbled and, it must be said, kinda bad in the interim. However, having him back means more options for Tudor during a pretty fraught time. It means Spurs will almost certainly be able to play actual fullbacks/wingbacks in matches instead of deputizing players like Archie Gray in those positions, or starting a young player like Souza who’s barely been able to acclimate to his new team.

In addition, Micky van de Ven will also be available, since his one match suspension for his DOGSO red card last week will take effect in this weekend’s Premier League match against Liverpool, and not in European competition.

So it’ll likely be something pretty dang close to a first choice back line for Tudor, depending on how he wants to set up. That could be something like a back three of Danso, Romero, and Van de Ven with Pedro Porro and Spence as wing-backs, unless Tudor decides to do something crazy like play a back four.

The defense has been a PROBLEM lately under Tudor, but he’s also not had Romero, arguably Spurs’ best player and the club captain, available for the past four matches. If Spurs can put out a solid defensive line and hold that line in Madrid, then who knows — perhaps they might just be able to get another decent away result in European competition. That’d be nice, right?

Good morning everyone.

For those of you who haven’t checked the hoddle these last few weeks, then you might’ve missed that I’ve begun documenting my training for my next marathon, which is on 4 April. The goal is to smash by personal best and see just how close to a 3-hour marathon I can get (pretty close, I think).

The whole point of this is to almost document my anxiety from all this training. It’s a big commitment to run a marathon. It’s sure as heck very difficult during the cold and dark winter months, and aiming for a new personal best is no small matter either.

Still, I carry on - literally one foot after another. One day at a time. One week at a time. Let’s see where things are.

(Catch up on Weeks 9, 10, 11 and 12 here)

Week 13:

The sun is shining, spring is coming and fitzie keeps a’running.

We’re in the final stretches of the core block for my marathon training plan. After my run on Sunday, I have now but one big run left: the 22-miler, which is on tap for this Sunday. So where does that leave the week leading up to it? It’s mostly about maintaining mileage and preventing fatigue.

The second bit might be more difficult, considering how little sleep I got this past week. That really affected me on Sunday (more on that to come).

But what I didn’t realise is that the clocks have sprung forward, which means that the sun doesn’t set until after 7pm now - huzzah! This means fitzie doesn’t need to wear his LED lights during his post-work runs. Thank goodness. And it seems like I can finally swap my thermal gear and gloves for the tank top and running hat again.

The marathon still doesn’t quite seem real, though. It’s strange going through a training plan that’s so long because you don’t quite focus on the 26.2, but the next run that’s on your calendar. That’ll all change after this week’s training is over and done with, but it’s still a ways to go.

Sunday: 18 miles

This was my third 18-mile run during my training block, and it didn’t feel my best. None of my 18-milers did, now that I think of it. I always felt better running 16’s or 20’s. There were a few factors making this day tricky: three straight nights of little sleep, cross-country travel that made it difficult to rest my legs (ironically), and a lack of fuel the day before because of the flight.

I also dressed slightly warmer than I should’ve, but that’s fine.

My average pace for this run was 7:22/mi, which was about 10 seconds slower per mile than my 16-miler run last Sunday.

I wouldn’t call this one a confidence-building run, but at least I was able to pull through in a challenging situation. Still, this Sunday is the big one.

Monday: Rest day

A proper rest day too. Focus will be on eating some more of the calories I lost during that Sunday run, and hopefully sleeping a little more.

Tuesday: 8 mile recovery run

This takes about an hour or so. The toughest part is going slow - very slow. Sometimes I find myself actually pulling myself back to keep me from exerting too much effort during it.

Wednesday: Treadmill run TBD

I’ve only got a couple speed workouts left. These are usually done on the treadmill. I’m not sure if I’ll hit it up again this time or if I’ll try to find some area where I can do my workout.

Thursday: 12 miles

The last 12-mile Thursday run went super well, and I felt strong throughout. This might be a little more challenging as it’ll come after work, so we’ll see how tired I am. Nevertheless, the sun should be shining which will make the miles a lot easier. TBD if I do this one at goal pace.

Friday: Gym

A pretty easy gym session where the goal is to have as little stress on the legs as possible. Heck, I might just do a straight-up upper-body workout.

Saturday: 8-9 miles easy

Just a nice easy Saturday morning run before the big run. Time on the couch watching college hoops, eating well and maybe grabbing a coffee will probably round out what I hope to be an uneventful day.

Expected total weekly miles: 52-54

Fitzie’s track of the day: Nothing From Nothing, by Billy Preston

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “Igor Tudor’s missing piece in his relationship with his Tottenham players”

The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham decided not to spend big in January. Now it may cost them far more”

BBC: “Bottom of the league, magic in the cup - Port Vale’s ‘incredible’ run”

The Guardian: “Police condemn ‘shameful’ behaviour of Celtic and Rangers fans in Ibrox clashes”

As well as from a shell-shocked home crowd, many of whom left at half-time, there was also pressure on the club’s directors from members of the exclusive Tunnel Club. Some of those fans in the private members’ section, with season tickets costing about £20,000 per seat, directed their displeasure up one tier at the likes of chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.

Those who saw it unfold said that the criticism was not sweary and was all the more stinging for that reason. Tunnel Club members, usually a fairly reserved part of the match-going fanbase, who pay a premium for access to the club’s best hospitality, asked specific questions about the direction of Spurs under the Lewis family ownership.

— The Telegraph

On Friday morning, club sources told BBC Sport that Tottenham have no immediate plans to change manager for a second time this campaign.

The club also confirmed that Tudor is scheduled to undertake the pre-match news conference before Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first-leg tie at Atletico Madrid, providing further indication that Spurs are sticking with him for now.

But even if Tudor can steer Tottenham to Premier League safety, it is now looking highly unlikely that he will be a contender to take the role on a full-time basis.

— BBC Sport

Who’s got two thumbs, used to play for Tottenham Hotspur, and now plays for the San Jose Earthquakes?

This guy!

Yes you’re looking at that tweet correctly. Remember Timo Werner? Well he paid the San Jose Sharks a visit this weekend in a strange collision of Fitzie’s fandom.

Werner made his debut for the Earthquakes this weekend, where he quickly made an impact in their 2-0 opening-day victory against Atlanta.

Here’s a quick highlight of it:

Needless to say his time at Spurs wasn’t the most successful, so it’s nice to see him off to a solid start for his new club.

Also that’s a pretty sick kit inspired by the Grateful Dead.

Now you’re telling me this is a former Tottenham Hotspur player in a Grateful Dead inspired kit, who then paid a visit to the Sharks? This is an absolute drream for fitzie.

Their kit features the classic Stealy on the lower left side of the shirt, with the words “Grateful Dead” on the back of the collar. And just look at that beautiful tie dye work.

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Girl Is Crying In Het Latte, by Sparks

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “Nobody is going to save Spurs but these players. They have to start performing”

ESPN: “Brighton boss Hürzeler slams Arsenal tactics, wants ‘clear rules’”

The Independent: “Championship play-offs to undergo major change from next season”

Three goals in eight minutes, that’s all it took for Tottenham Hotspur’s bleak season to go from bad to worse, with the side losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace on Thursday.

Entering the midweek match with stakes as high as ever — with relegation survival battlers of Nottingham Forest picking up a 2-2 draw over Manchester City and West Ham beating Fulham 1-0, both on Wednesday — Spurs knew the consequences that faced them.

Not having won a Premier League match since the 1-0 away win at Crystal Palace before the turn of the calendar, Spurs made four new changes, with 18-year-old Souza getting his first start and the likes of Kevin Danso, Pape Sarr, and Mathys Tel earning call-ups to the XI from Igor Tudor.

Leaving themselves with no room for error, Spurs almost found themselves down 1-0 in the first minute when a Palace throw-in and bounce around in the box saw Adam Wharton connect on a volley to force Guglielmo Vicario to react fast and parry the ball out of danger.

In danger within minutes of the match, Spurs had a real error in defense when Souza picked up a quick yellow on a rash challenge on Daniel Munoz that caused the right wing-back to hold his shoulder in pain. Trying to play it off and connecting on a half volley attempt when he came back on the field, Munoz had to be subbed off in the 14th minute.

From then on, the match went wild as Palace believed they drew first blood in the match off a fast counter-attack down the right as Strand Larsen freed Guessand. Believing to be offside when he received the ball past Micky van de Ven, Guessand found the blistering Ismaïla Sarr with Pedro Porro to beat. Getting his shot off as Porro slid in for a challenge, the ball bounced off the Spaniards thigh and lobbed into the back post with Vicario seemingly frozen from his attempt to challenge the shot.

Bleak and silent as Spurs were down 1-0, VAR ruled Sarr was offside by the top of his head — felt more than that — but Spurs were given a second chance at doing something useful with the opportunity.

From being possibly down 1-0 to up 1-0 in a span of four minutes, Spurs put hope into the fans with a brilliant display from the young players. Earlier in the match, Tel had the first shot on target that caused a quick spillage from Dean Henderson, and after his second shot earned a corner kick, Tel and Souza worked a quick corner routine for the Frenchman to deliver a ball into the box. Going long in the box for Archie Gray at the back post, the player who will play anywhere for the club, the 19-year-old controlled the ball on his turn before taking a touch past Wharton near the goal line and firing in a cross for a first-time strike by Dominic Solanke in the six-yard box for a 1-0 lead.

Riding the roller coaster of Tottenham Hotspur brings out all the emotions in one person, but with the stakes are at its highest to just stay in the first division, something the club has done every year since the 1977 relegation, and within a span of eight minutes, the players threw it away.

Believing he had the opening goal of the match a mere four minutes before Spurs, Sarr found space behind the back-three of Spurs and, winning a touch past VDV and hooked on the arm by the Dutchman, the winger went down quickly and won a penalty. Without hesitation, referee Andy Madley pulled out a red card for the Spurs captain.

As van de Ven showed his frustration while walking off the pitch — just as Cristian Romero was due back for the Liverpool match after serving his four league match suspension — Sarr sent Vicario the wrong way and tied the match at 1.

Two minutes later, Palace took the lead as Tel gave the ball away just in front of the team’s box and Wharton slotted in a quick first-time strike for Jorgen Strand Larsen to bury, the stat popped up on the screen of it being the 12th error lead goal by Spurs this season … a league high.

Sarr picked up a brace a minute before halftime as he outpaced the newly subbed on Connor Gallagher and dinked it past the charging Vicario for a 3-1 Palace lead at the break.

As the third goal of the night was let in, Porro could be seen crashing out on Vicario as the keeper has made rash judgement throughout his time in net for Spurs, and Porro seemed to have had enough of it.

Fans rang down boos from the stands of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and many even decided to call it a night as the shots from outside the stadium saw many leaving what continues to be a deflating time for the club.

The second half amounted to nothing more than just frustration as a shot on target from Solanke was saved strongly by Henderson, Porro got clattered multiple times before coming off in the 77th minute and letting his frustration out on the dugout.

It’s a dark time for all who support the club, but praise goes to Archie Gray for being a true professional and plugging in anywhere on the pitch as he made an impact with his assist to Solanke. But, the performance will be overlooked and should for that matter as another defeat leaves the club one point above the relegation zone.

Champions League football is up next with the side heading to Madrid for the first leg contest against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

This could be one of Tottenham Hotspur’s most important matches since the beginning of the Premier League era. Now only a solitary point (or two, if you want to take goal difference into it) outside of the relegation zone, Spurs welcome Crystal Palace to the… fortress? of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Spurs this season, with caretaker manager Igor Tudor perhaps not having the expected impact as the team slumped to a fourth loss on the trot against Villa, and a seventh loss in 2026. Spurs are still yet to win a Premier League match this calendar year; the only side to fail to do so.

But hey! It’s not all doom and gloom! There are (I think) no additional injuries following the loss to the Cottagers; unfortunately, that doesn’t mean much given the extensive list of absentees from the Lilywhites’ squad, including captain Cristian Romero among a number of others.

Tudor’s tactics haven’t exactly been working thus far. Will he look to change things up today? Spring some surprise selections? And more importantly, will this Spurs side surprise us and secure a win? It is desperately needed, because make no mistake: relegation is firmly on the table.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Crystal Palace

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Time: 3:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. UK

TV: USA Network, TNT Sports 1 (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: Unavailable

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!