Cartilage Free Captain

Another one out the door! ...Kinda! Tottenham Hotspur today formally announced that Spanish winger Bryan Gil has left the club on loan for the season at Girona.

The release doesn’t say it, but the scuttlebut is that Gil has also signed a one-year contract extension at the club that will technically keep him on as a Spurs player until the end of the 2026-27 season

I wrote earlier about how unusual this deal is, especially for a player whom Spurs have seemed content to try and offload for a couple of seasons now. But it does make sense if you think about it. As part of Gil’s new Tottenham contract, he has had a €15m purchase clause inserted, and Girona has been given priority to trigger it next summer if they desire. If they choose not to exercise Gil’s purchase clause, any other club can trigger it.

So why do this? Well, Gil currently doesn’t have much of a market, and reports have had a lot of clubs bidding in the single figure million euros for a player whom Spurs purchased for Erik Lamela + £25m just a few seasons ago. Gil was a promising young player at Sevilla and now is joining a Girona club on loan that will play in the Champions League this season, so this is a bet that Gil can jump-start his career with a good loan. Extending his Spurs contract means Tottenham have a touch more leverage as Gil would otherwise enter into the last year of his initial contract next summer, and the €15m purchase clause is pretty much stating Spurs’ price for what it would take to sign him permanently.

So it’s more down-the-road can-kicking here, but it really does feel like an upside bet (right up to the point where Bryan barely sees the pitch for Girona next season and we do this all over again next summer).

There are also unconfirmed reports that Gil’s new contract includes a reduction in his weekly wages, which also might make him more appealing to continental clubs in next summer’s transfer window.

Gil, like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, did not join Spurs on their Asian tour this summer as he looked for further opportunities in the transfer window. And in truth, this does feel like a good opportunity for him to join a hungry club playing Champions League football and re-establish his football bonafides. For everyone’s sake — Gil’s, Tottenham’s, Girona’s — I hope it works out.

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Preseason is a time of optimism and hope for football fans, and nowhere is that hope more pronounced than at Tottenham Hotspur. Buoyed by good preseason friendly performances and the exciting emergence of several highly-talented youth players, Spurs are flying, and the expectations for an improvement under Ange Postecoglou in year two of his tenure are high.

And that’s not just the fan perception — the players sense it too. In an interview with Football.London today, Dejan Kulusevski gave comments that suggest the team is training and operating with a different set of assumptions to last season — most of the team is now familiar with Postecoglou, his philosophy, and the way he wants his team to play. Though last season had its challenges, particularly on the injury front, the club remained uncompromising in its playing style and were able to qualify for the Europa League, finishing fifth in the table.

According to Kulusevski, this season is where the real work begins, and the players are picking up on it. Year one was about the vibes. Year two is about the specifics and tactical minutae.

“[This club] has to be, has to be [challenging at the top], and I think we showed glimpses of that last year, but we have to do it for one whole year, I think that’s maybe the harder part of it, to not play good for maybe a month and then you go down a little bit.

“I think you have to do it the whole year, like the other teams, like Man City and Arsenal did it last year, so that is what we are trying to train. I noticed already a little bit of change in the training, and we are very, very focused on doing much better than last year.

“I noticed that it’s much more about how we’re playing, and every exercise has been thinking a lot of making the players understand how we want to play.

“Maybe last year was much more just play, you know, play and do your things, but now, it’s much more...they’ve been thinking a lot about training sessions and trying to make everyone understand what they want from them in the team.”

This tracks with what we know about Ange Postecoglou’s previous managerial stints at other clubs. Although Celtic was an outlier (winning the SPL in Ange’s first season), there and at Yokohama Marinos, Postecoglou’s focus in his first season was first establishing a mentality at the club and trying to instill basic core concepts into the squad. The second year is when a lot of the more technical and tactical elements got added in, once the players were comfortable with the basic contours of Ange-Ball. Marinos is also where Postecoglou saw his biggest one-season improvement, taking his team from initial relegation worries and a 12th place finish in year one to winning the J-League with a goal differential of +30 in 2019. Postecoglou also showed a dramatic improvement in year 2 at Celtic once his principles were established.

So it’s interesting to read Kulusevski’s comments about “just play, you know, play and do your things” in this context. Postecoglou clearly has a long-term plan in mind for how he wants to develop this Tottenham team. Deki is noticing that the work is different this season — perhaps more granular, more specific, more tactical, because the stakes are higher as are the expectations. That should get everyone excited by what’s possible in year 2 of Ange-Ball in North London.

Deki also gave some interesting answers about his own play and tactical evolution under Postecoglou, saying that he’s had, and continues to, adjust his playing style to the demands of his manager’s tactics.

“A little bit, of course, because you have to do what the manager wants, because the team has a clear path in how they want to play. Of course, [as] a winger, you see less of the ball, but you have to be ready all the time to go in the space and put early balls in to cross and always be ready to score goals – while in the middle, you’re much more involved, so I have to [adapt], of course, when I play.

“I have to look where I am on the pitch and what I can do for the team, but I have to stay aware of everything, because it can change within a game also. I maybe start as a midfielder, then you go out to be a winger, you know. Last year, I finished the last game as a striker, you’ve got to be ready for everything.”

Tottenham emulating Yokohama Marinos’ dramatic path to a league title this season under Postecoglou is perhaps unrealistic. But we have enough evidence of how Big Ange works with his squads to anticipate that Tottenham could very well be primed for a significant improvement this season, if the pieces all fall into place. Spurs are still working in the transfer market to bring in a few new players, and have established a core of very young players with high ceilings that should continue to raise the ceiling of what this club can accomplish. And if Kulusevski’s comments are any indication, the pattern is clear.

Preseason is a time of optimism and hope for football fans, and nowhere is that hope more pronounced than at Tottenham Hotspur. Buoyed by good preseason friendly performances and the exciting emergence of several highly-talented youth players, Spurs are flying, and the expectations for an improvement under Ange Postecoglou in year two of his tenure are high.

And that’s not just the fan perception — the players sense it too. In an interview with Football.London today, Dejan Kulusevski gave comments that suggest the team is training and operating with a different set of assumptions to last season — most of the team is now familiar with Postecoglou, his philosophy, and the way he wants his team to play. Though last season had its challenges, particularly on the injury front, the club remained uncompromising in its playing style and were able to qualify for the Europa League, finishing fifth in the table.

According to Kulusevski, this season is where the real work begins, and the players are picking up on it. Year one was about the vibes. Year two is about the specifics and tactical minutae.

“[This club] has to be, has to be [challenging at the top], and I think we showed glimpses of that last year, but we have to do it for one whole year, I think that’s maybe the harder part of it, to not play good for maybe a month and then you go down a little bit.

“I think you have to do it the whole year, like the other teams, like Man City and Arsenal did it last year, so that is what we are trying to train. I noticed already a little bit of change in the training, and we are very, very focused on doing much better than last year.

“I noticed that it’s much more about how we’re playing, and every exercise has been thinking a lot of making the players understand how we want to play.

“Maybe last year was much more just play, you know, play and do your things, but now, it’s much more...they’ve been thinking a lot about training sessions and trying to make everyone understand what they want from them in the team.”

This tracks with what we know about Ange Postecoglou’s previous managerial stints at other clubs. Although Celtic was an outlier (winning the SPL in Ange’s first season), there and at Yokohama Marinos, Postecoglou’s focus in his first season was first establishing a mentality at the club and trying to instill basic core concepts into the squad. The second year is when a lot of the more technical and tactical elements got added in, once the players were comfortable with the basic contours of Ange-Ball. Marinos is also where Postecoglou saw his biggest one-season improvement, taking his team from initial relegation worries and a 12th place finish in year one to winning the J-League with a goal differential of +30 in 2019. Postecoglou also showed a dramatic improvement in year 2 at Celtic once his principles were established.

So it’s interesting to read Kulusevski’s comments about “just play, you know, play and do your things” in this context. Postecoglou clearly has a long-term plan in mind for how he wants to develop this Tottenham team. Deki is noticing that the work is different this season — perhaps more granular, more specific, more tactical, because the stakes are higher as are the expectations. That should get everyone excited by what’s possible in year 2 of Ange-Ball in North London.

Deki also gave some interesting answers about his own play and tactical evolution under Postecoglou, saying that he’s had, and continues to, adjust his playing style to the demands of his manager’s tactics.

“A little bit, of course, because you have to do what the manager wants, because the team has a clear path in how they want to play. Of course, [as] a winger, you see less of the ball, but you have to be ready all the time to go in the space and put early balls in to cross and always be ready to score goals – while in the middle, you’re much more involved, so I have to [adapt], of course, when I play.

“I have to look where I am on the pitch and what I can do for the team, but I have to stay aware of everything, because it can change within a game also. I maybe start as a midfielder, then you go out to be a winger, you know. Last year, I finished the last game as a striker, you’ve got to be ready for everything.”

Tottenham emulating Yokohama Marinos’ dramatic path to a league title this season under Postecoglou is perhaps unrealistic. But we have enough evidence of how Big Ange works with his squads to anticipate that Tottenham could very well be primed for a significant improvement this season, if the pieces all fall into place. Spurs are still working in the transfer market to bring in a few new players, and have established a core of very young players with high ceilings that should continue to raise the ceiling of what this club can accomplish. And if Kulusevski’s comments are any indication, the pattern is clear.

Death, taxes, David Pleat. That’s what it’s felt like over the past two decades at Tottenham Hotspur — the 79-year-old Pleat has had a remarkable 20+ year association with the club, starting with his stint as manager back in the 1986-87 season. Today, the club announced that Pleat has “stepped back” from his role with Spurs’ scouting team, ending his official duties after fourteen years as a scout.

Pleat’s had a remarkable run with Tottenham, despite not playing for the club as a footballer. His stint as full manager in 1986-87 resulted in a third-place finish in the table and a run to the FA Cup final and League Cup semifinal while managing Glen Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles, Chris Waddle, and Clive Allen. While he left the club in October the following season he returned as caretaker manager on three separate occasions — 1998, 2001, and 2003. He clearly has a brilliant mind for the game, because there’s no other way you can stay associated with football for as long as he has.

He’s been an omnipresent part of Tottenham’s scouting operations over the years, and fans will probably know him best as the man chiefly responsible for identifying and bringing in Dele from MK Dons, as well as identifying Jan Vertonghen, Ben Davies, Jermain Defoe, and many others. Whatever other contributions he’s had for Spurs’ recruitment efforts, we’ll always have that.

Speaking on the club website, Pleat had this to say about his decision to step down:

“Football is my life and continues to be. Spurs has been a huge part of that. However the game and its methods change and it’s time for me to now step back from my scouting role. I look forward to watching the Club have great success in the coming years. I hope to continue my association with the game.”

—David Pleat

As fans, we can parse that statement however we want. It does seem to suggest that Spurs’ move to data-driven analysis and recruitment methods in recent years is a departure from Pleat’s skill-set, and fair enough! It’s no longer enough to just send an old, sharp football mind like Pleat to a bunch of games and say “pick us out a good lad, Pleatey” (though there’s clearly still a role for the “eye test” in modern scouting). Regardless, there does seem to be a sense encoded in Pleat’s remarks above that the game has moved on past him and it’s time to make way for people more comfortable with computers, advanced metrics, and data.

It’s hard to say whether stepping down is fully Pleat’s decision or whether the club decided they wanted to move in a different direction. Either could be the case, but it hardly matters. Pleat’s been a fantastic and long-standing part of the club and deserves recognition today for his years of service. Thanks, David.

Death, taxes, David Pleat. That’s what it’s felt like over the past two decades at Tottenham Hotspur — the 79-year-old Pleat has had a remarkable 20+ year association with the club, starting with his stint as manager back in the 1986-87 season. Today, the club announced that Pleat has “stepped back” from his role with Spurs’ scouting team, ending his official duties after fourteen years as a scout.

Pleat’s had a remarkable run with Tottenham, despite not playing for the club as a footballer. His stint as full manager in 1986-87 resulted in a third-place finish in the table and a run to the FA Cup final and League Cup semifinal while managing Glen Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles, Chris Waddle, and Clive Allen. While he left the club in October the following season he returned as caretaker manager on three separate occasions — 1998, 2001, and 2003. He clearly has a brilliant mind for the game, because there’s no other way you can stay associated with football for as long as he has.

He’s been an omnipresent part of Tottenham’s scouting operations over the years, and fans will probably know him best as the man chiefly responsible for identifying and bringing in Dele from MK Dons, as well as identifying Jan Vertonghen, Ben Davies, Jermain Defoe, and many others. Whatever other contributions he’s had for Spurs’ recruitment efforts, we’ll always have that.

Speaking on the club website, Pleat had this to say about his decision to step down:

“Football is my life and continues to be. Spurs has been a huge part of that. However the game and its methods change and it’s time for me to now step back from my scouting role. I look forward to watching the Club have great success in the coming years. I hope to continue my association with the game.”

—David Pleat

As fans, we can parse that statement however we want. It does seem to suggest that Spurs’ move to data-driven analysis and recruitment methods in recent years is a departure from Pleat’s skill-set, and fair enough! It’s no longer enough to just send an old, sharp football mind like Pleat to a bunch of games and say “pick us out a good lad, Pleatey” (though there’s clearly still a role for the “eye test” in modern scouting). Regardless, there does seem to be a sense encoded in Pleat’s remarks above that the game has moved on past him and it’s time to make way for people more comfortable with computers, advanced metrics, and data.

It’s hard to say whether stepping down is fully Pleat’s decision or whether the club decided they wanted to move in a different direction. Either could be the case, but it hardly matters. Pleat’s been a fantastic and long-standing part of the club and deserves recognition today for his years of service. Thanks, David.

Tottenham Hotspur touched down in Seoul, South Korea today (yesterday? time zones are a thing and time is a flat circle) as they continue their preseason tour to East Asia. And because there literally isn’t a better time to do it, Spurs also formally announced the signing of 18-year old Korean winger Yang Min-Hyeok from Gangwon FC!

Yang signs an initial five year deal that will keep him at Spurs through the end of the 2029-30 season, and will formally join the club in January, at the conclusion of the current K-League season. The official release on Tottenham’s website does NOT indicate a loan back to Gangwon, so I guess that means he remains a Gangwon player for now until the transfer officially goes through in January. There were reports that the transfer fee between Tottenham and Gangwon was €4m, which is both a pittance for what might be a top young international talent and also a lot of money for a club like Gangwon FC.

As some mentioned earlier, the lack of a loan is a bit weird, as it means that he may not be able to earn Spurs homegrown status when he turns 21. But maybe that’s okay? Spurs have a ton of homegrown players in the development squad coming through over the next few years, so it’s likely less of a concern that he’ll use up a foreign player slot than it might have been.

I can’t confirm or deny it, but you’d have to think Yang will be introduced to the Korean Spurs fans in attendance for the upcoming friendly against Harry Kane-less Bayern Munich. With Spurs literally in Korea, Son Heung-Min being a thing, and a new player from the K-League, the synergy is just too obvious not to do something like this.

Yang’s a young player with an enormous ceiling, but it would be a disservice to suggest that he’ll be an instant impact player when joins Tottenham in January. But he’ll now have time to adapt, improve, and be mentored by Sonny before eventually supplanting Son in the Tottenham squad as the best Korean footballer of all time. (Choose hope.)

Welcome to Tottenham, Yang Min-Hyeok!

Tottenham Hotspur touched down in Seoul, South Korea today (yesterday? time zones are a thing and time is a flat circle) as they continue their preseason tour to East Asia. And because there literally isn’t a better time to do it, Spurs also formally announced the signing of 18-year old Korean winger Yang Min-Hyeok from Gangwon FC!

Yang signs an initial five year deal that will keep him at Spurs through the end of the 2029-30 season, and will formally join the club in January, at the conclusion of the current K-League season. The official release on Tottenham’s website does NOT indicate a loan back to Gangwon, so I guess that means he remains a Gangwon player for now until the transfer officially goes through in January. There were reports that the transfer fee between Tottenham and Gangwon was €4m, which is both a pittance for what might be a top young international talent and also a lot of money for a club like Gangwon FC.

As some mentioned earlier, the lack of a loan is a bit weird, as it means that he may not be able to earn Spurs homegrown status when he turns 21. But maybe that’s okay? Spurs have a ton of homegrown players in the development squad coming through over the next few years, so it’s likely less of a concern that he’ll use up a foreign player slot than it might have been.

I can’t confirm or deny it, but you’d have to think Yang will be introduced to the Korean Spurs fans in attendance for the upcoming friendly against Harry Kane-less Bayern Munich. With Spurs literally in Korea, Son Heung-Min being a thing, and a new player from the K-League, the synergy is just too obvious not to do something like this.

Yang’s a young player with an enormous ceiling, but it would be a disservice to suggest that he’ll be an instant impact player when joins Tottenham in January. But he’ll now have time to adapt, improve, and be mentored by Sonny before eventually supplanting Son in the Tottenham squad as the best Korean footballer of all time. (Choose hope.)

Welcome to Tottenham, Yang Min-Hyeok!

Those of you dedicated enough (if you live in the USA) to wake up this morning at 6 a.m. ET or earlier to watch Tottenham Hotspur play an international friendly match in Japan were treated to a fun game! Spurs, playing in sweltering Tokyo heat, defeated defending J-League champions Vissel Kobe 3-2 behind goals from Pedro Porro, Son Heung-Min, and Mikey Moore.

We’ve already talked about the match — it was fun! The starting players got an extended run against a real team in mid-season form, the younger players got a good run out, and best of all Tottenham Hotspur won its first totally-real-and-not-at-all-made-up trophy since the 2019 Audi Cup, lifting the J-League World Challenge Cup winners plaque!

It totally counts, shut up. Want proof? If you’re reading this on Saturday, July 27 be sure and type “Tottenham Hotspur” into a Google search window, because there’s a pretty neat surprise waiting for you.

Actually, if you missed it, then never mind — I did it for you. Check it out.

See that? Those are REAL GOOGLE FIREWORKS and a rising banner saying Spurs are J-League World Challenge Cup Champions. That shit doesn’t just HAPPEN, it’s the same graphic Real Madrid got for winning the Champions League, which makes the J-League World Challenge Cup on par with the best competitions club football has to offer.

That’s also officially one more trophy than Harry Kane has won at Bayern Munich and I will not have it slandered. Think it doesn’t mean anything? Try telling that to J-League World Challenge Cup match-winner (and forthcoming Premier League golden boot winner) Mikey Moore and Best J-League Manager of All Time Ange Postecoglou. “It has always been my life’s ambition to return to Japan to win the prestigious J-League World Challenge Cup with Tottenham Hotspur and I’m so thrilled to be able to succeed today,” Postecoglou said in post-match comments, probably.

Spurs will now have an attempt to do the preseason double when they host Bayern Munich in the VisitMalta Cup on August 10, a win which will no doubt set the stage for their Premier League and Europa League winning campaigns this upcoming season. J-League World Challenge Cup Champions, you’ll never sing that!

Those of you dedicated enough (if you live in the USA) to wake up this morning at 6 a.m. ET or earlier to watch Tottenham Hotspur play an international friendly match in Japan were treated to a fun game! Spurs, playing in sweltering Tokyo heat, defeated defending J-League champions Vissel Kobe 3-2 behind goals from Pedro Porro, Son Heung-Min, and Mikey Moore.

We’ve already talked about the match — it was fun! The starting players got an extended run against a real team in mid-season form, the younger players got a good run out, and best of all Tottenham Hotspur won its first totally-real-and-not-at-all-made-up trophy since the 2019 Audi Cup, lifting the J-League World Challenge Cup winners plaque!

It totally counts, shut up. Want proof? If you’re reading this on Saturday, July 27 be sure and type “Tottenham Hotspur” into a Google search window, because there’s a pretty neat surprise waiting for you.

Actually, if you missed it, then never mind — I did it for you. Check it out.

See that? Those are REAL GOOGLE FIREWORKS and a rising banner saying Spurs are J-League World Challenge Cup Champions. That shit doesn’t just HAPPEN, it’s the same graphic Real Madrid got for winning the Champions League, which makes the J-League World Challenge Cup on par with the best competitions club football has to offer.

That’s also officially one more trophy than Harry Kane has won at Bayern Munich and I will not have it slandered. Think it doesn’t mean anything? Try telling that to J-League World Challenge Cup match-winner (and forthcoming Premier League golden boot winner) Mikey Moore and Best J-League Manager of All Time Ange Postecoglou. “It has always been my life’s ambition to return to Japan to win the prestigious J-League World Challenge Cup with Tottenham Hotspur and I’m so thrilled to be able to succeed today,” Postecoglou said in post-match comments, probably.

Spurs will now have an attempt to do the preseason double when they host Bayern Munich in the VisitMalta Cup on August 10, a win which will no doubt set the stage for their Premier League and Europa League winning campaigns this upcoming season. J-League World Challenge Cup Champions, you’ll never sing that!