Cartilage Free Captain

There’s a lot of transfer rumor nonsense flying around out there right now, so how about some real reporting? Scott Wilson, Chief Football Reporter at the Northern Echo, writes today that the deal to sell young Tottenham central defender Ashley Phillips to Middlesbrough is currently “on pause” after some aspects of the deal were yet to be completed.

The Phillips sale was reportedly for a transfer fee of £7m up front, and with the addition of performance and appearance-based add-ons that if all met could cause the fee to rise as high as £20m. However, Wilson is reporting that despite earlier reporting that the clubs had come to a full agreement, some parts of the deal had yet to be finalized. I don’t honestly know what the hold-up is and the article doesn’t say, but if I had to guess I’d say the sticky wicket are some of the add-ons. Phillips had, according to Wilson, already visited Boro’s training center and was hoping to nail down the agreement and complete a medical this weekend, but now it looks like the clubs will go back to the negotiating table to hash out whatever the disagreements are.

And regarding the source — my experience has long led me to believe that the regional English newspapers are where a lot of the goods are, especially regarding smaller clubs or teams down the table. Wilson has a good pedigree, and the Northern Echo is solid for clubs in Yorkshire, Tyne-Wear, and the surrounding areas. This is probably about as solid a source for Boro as you can find.

And this is also probably fine. The deal is not OFF-off, but it sounds like someone involved would like to continue negotiating some aspects of the agreement, and that makes me think they’re talking over either some clauses or the overall payment structure. Boro would be a good landing spot for Phillips, whom Spurs bought from Blackburn Rovers in 2023 for £2m, and who has yet to make an official appearance for Spurs. He’s spent his time out on loan — two seasons at Stoke City and a half season at Plymouth Argyle — and has carved out a reputation as a solid young central defender at the Championship level. He’d be a good addition to Boro or any number of Championship clubs, and Spurs are set to make a healthy profit on him no matter what.

My guess is that talks will eventually continue and the final agreement will result in a transfer fee that’s slightly less lucrative than what was first described. Boro’s all-time transfer fee record is £15m for Britt Assombalonga in 2017, though you can argue the fee this summer for Will Lankshear could eventually eclipse that (£14m + unknown escalators), and the Phillips sale would DEFINITELY eclipse that if all conditions are met. Those figures aren’t much for a club like Tottenham, but they’re very significant for Boro, who clearly have promotion ambitions next season after being eliminated by Hull City in the playoff finals last season.

So probably not anything to stress out over, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Spurs end up not getting quite as good a deal as what they initially thought. I still expect Phillips to join BIG WILLY LANKS at Boro this summer.

Welcome back for another go around. It’s time for the final part of our four-part series (actually, that was the plan until I started writing and this got very long; now I’m going to do one more piece after this one) detailing my journey to and through the Sydney Super Cup, where I’ve written on what the tournament and trip was like from a fan perspective… but also from having access a fan might not usually have. Part travel blog, part human-interest piece, part fan boy experience… and part pure stream of consciousness.

What did it felt like as a fan walking into the press box and seeing Spurs play a Premier League opponent for the first time? At the risk of sounding like Fabrizio Romano, here we go.

Here are the previous pieces in the series:

Accor Stadium

It was my second to last day in Sydney and the day of the Chelsea match. I went through my usual morning routine with a shower, a walk, and a coffee, before spending some time with my friends, getting a bit more pre-writing done, and having some lunch. Olympic Park, where Accor Stadium is situated, was a fair trek from where I was based, so after doing a little packing I decided to head off around 2 pm to get there nice and early. It was a nice day, and it’s a cool area to walk around.

On the way, I wrestled with various locale issues as I tried to find a way to stream my NRL (National Rugby League) side, the Warriors, as they took on the Gold Coast Titans. Not Worth It took a one goal lead.

Just kidding - we all already know what the scoreline of that matchup will be. This trip has been so, so much more than merely “worth it”.

The Warriors blew the Titans off the park in what I hoped was a good omen for tonight’s match. As I headed west, I began to see more Chelsea shirts in something of an interesting coincidence given they are based in West London. My route consisted of a bus, followed by a train, followed by another bus. The queues for the final bus were pretty significant, so I let a couple of the buses through as I watched the NRL and waited for the crowds to dissipate, with them coming every 10 minutes.

I eventually reached the outskirts of Accor Stadium not long after 5 pm, giving me plenty of time before kick-off. I decided though to try get into the stadium as early as possible, to both explore and to make sure I didn’t repeat Wednesday night’s shenanigans. There was a complicating factor, too: while Allianz had the access points, press box location, and processes all laid out on their website, Accor had none of this, so I had no idea really where I was going.

I did, however, know that the press box was on the western side of the ground, and I was reasonably hopeful that my press pass from the Sydney fixture would ensure I wouldn’t run into any blockers with regards to accreditation (it was supposed to give me access for the whole tournament, but I wasn’t 100% sure on this).

There was one gate open this early, with most of the people entering sporting credentials of some kind (mostly photographers or catering related passes). I thought I’d try my luck, flashed my press pass, and I was in. Now where? Nothing was signposted; I had no idea where I was going. Accor Stadium is BIG. I wandered around aimlessly for a little bit.

Enter Pablo.

I caught the eye of a gentleman who had a similar lost look on his face to me, also sporting a press badge. We introduced ourselves to each other: Pablo was in radio, attending on behalf of Nova Entertainment. We shepherded a steward and asked for directions; there’s safety in numbers, and I think being together meant both of us felt less like fish out of water. We’re legitimate press, guys!

We were directed upstairs. It was all a bit of a maze, and we ran into a camera operator who was also a little lost. We finally found where the press box was, and it was quite a different setup to Allianz. Allianz was newer: the interiors were modern and the press box well decked out, with a nice writing / media area in behind it that I referenced back in Part 2. Accor’s press box, on the other hand, was accessed from a concourse area with a bunch of fans milling around, from where we went through a glass door and across a steel gantry to what were almost like shipping containers with a printout on the door of one of them saying “Beware of the leopard” “Press Box”.

Inside, the press box was much smaller; maybe 2/3 the width of Allianz with one less row of desks. The biggest negative though is the windows in front didn’t open. We were trapped in a glass case of emotion. It was all a little underwhelming to be honest, and given my experience a few days ago, we wondered if we were actually in the right place; the stadium staff had mentioned some more facilities upstairs… so it was exploration time.

We headed upstairs; we were in corporate box territory. As we walked along the hallway, we noted signs on the doorways: not paper, like the press room, but brushed metal with logos and names. For some reason though, they’d done the printing in white on steel, so you had to squint to read. There was one labelled media room, but it was so nondescript we thought that it surely wasn’t what we were looking for. After a little more wandering, we determined it was.

In we went, and we were in the areas with the TV and broadcasting crews, with access out onto the camera gantries. It was a pretty spectacular view:

Pablo and I hung out and chatted for a bit, talking Spurs, talking the fixture, talking fandom. It was a nice settler to just get acclimated, and it was nice standing out in the fresh air (something I would miss soon enough, spoiler alert). After a while, though, I thought I should head back downstairs to the press box.

A few more people by now had begun to turn up… so at this point I decided to once more break free of the shackles of social anxiety and introduce myself to Alasdair Gold in perhaps the most awkward way possible:

Hi Alasdair - I thought I’d introduce myself. My name’s Matty; I know who you are abviously, but you won’t know who I am. I believe though you’ve might have talked my boss Dustin previously, we write for Cartilage Free Captain.

Or something like that. I’m paraphrasing. Alasdair was very gracious, saying that he absolutely did know who I was (not professionally, of course, he’d just recognized me from a couple of nights ago). We chatted a bit and I ended up sitting next to him. Not long after, I also met Elias Burke from The Athletic, another lovely individual who loved to talk football and talk Spurs.

I thought I’d take an opportunity to take another photo of the view, this time from the press box, with the crowd starting to wander in:

There were some negatives about the Accor Stadium press box, which I covered; one of the positives, however, is that were we were much closer to the action. In fact, if you pause the highlights video of the match as the players come out of the tunnel, you can see the silhouette of my head. At Allianz it was often hard to make out players and their numbers due to the distance; at Accor, this was much easier.

The other improvement is there was food present. I wasn’t going to go hungry this time. The arancini balls were especially good.

Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur

We were nearing kick-off now. We had paper copies of the lineups delivered; before, in fact they are released to the public (not by much - 15 minutes or so). Alasdair and I had struck up a bit of a conversation by this point, not limited only to Spurs: we talked family, travel, music, among other things. We talked about the lineup; or more specifically, we talked about the format of the lineup release from the club.

It turns out the whole “graphic design is my passion” numerical order lineup posts aren’t just down to the social media guys. Apparently, the club (or somebody somewhere in the club) thinks that the obfuscation of Spurs’ tactical setup potentially creates just enough confusion that it could result in a tactical edge. Who would’ve thought?

So don’t expect a return to position-based lineup releases anytime soon.

We continued to chat, and one thing that struck me was there was this odd dichotomy with actual football journalists: 1) they know way more than they actually write about; and 2) there’s actually also a whole lot they don’t know. There were certain topics of conversation where I almost felt like I had more insight; others where out of the blue you would discover something you had no idea about.

One of those was Manor Solomon’s status at the club; another was Bristol Rovers coming in for one of our youth players, though Alasdair didn’t know who the player was (it turned out to be Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny, as announced yesterday). We discussed the youth players as well, and how impressed we’d been with Malachi Hardy and Rio Kyerematen (as well as Luca Williams-Barnett, of course).

And like that, it was time for the match. The players stepped out onto the pitch and the stadium, that had been steadliy filling and was now almost at capacity, erupted (almost literally, in fact):

There were fireworks galore, and somebody in the box joked that they spent half the budget for the tour on pyrotechnics, which was why the ticket pricing was so exorbitant. There was a rousing rendition of Oh When the Spurs Go Marching In, led by a trumpet player who apparently travelled all the way from England, but despite my earlier experiences out and about in Sydney, the crowd was more Chelsea-heavy then Spurs. Both sets of fans were sat at either end, opposite one another, with Chelsea’s end clearly the bigger stand - though not overly so. The rest of the stadium seemed to be mostly 50-50, but with a narrow majority turning out in support of The Blues.

The first match was surreal; this one was a blockbuster. My first experience of Spurs playing another Premier League club… and it’s a London Derby.

And it was played like it from the start. Things were quite physical early on, with Chelsea leaving a little bit of something in a couple of challenges, and that seemed to rile up the Spurs players, with the Lilywhites definitely escalating things. One particular Conor Gallagher tackle was shocking, and prompted some of the Chelsea media in the box to ask, “What’s wrong with Spurs?” to which Alasdair replied, “They’re just letting the Chelsea players know they’re there.”

Spurs soon opened the scoring, possibly against the run of play and via a massive direction, but I didn’t care. A goal against Chelsea? Pure ecstasy. The problem was that was offset slightly as we tried to work out exactly what happened. Questions would often fly around the box, as replays on the big screens sometimes weren’t forthcoming. Who made that pass? Who got the last touch? Who did that deflect off?

Chelsea soon equalized; Alasdair and I reminisced how poor Andy Robertson had been, before he delivered quite a decent ball towards Gallagher who looked to be totally taken out in the box. We were sure it was a penalty; the referee didn’t agree.

I don’t know why, but this match felt harder to write up. Maybe because I was even more engrossed than the Sydney fixture. I would have to tear myself away from the action, take a few notes, check back in with the progress, flesh out a paragraph… part of me just wanted to cheer. But that wasn’t an option.

The second half kicked off… and then Kevin Danso was sent off. Everybody in the box was disgusted, but understanding at the same time. It made no sense for a red card in a friendly, but there wasn’t much else the referee could do. Comments flew around that apparently the ball had kicked quite a bit off the turf as it bounced to Danso, something not immediately obvious in either the broadcast or live at the ground. Some of other journos and media had already commented on how poor the condition of the pitch was.

Well, now I’ve seen it all.

Not quite, actually.

My fear was that Chelsea would put us to the sword from here. Enter: Antonin Kinsky and Richarlison. Kinsky made a couple of incredible saves, one of which wasn’t even clear that it was a save live; we thought Estevao had just hit the bar until we saw a replay. Stunning. Then the whole press box, Chelsea and Spurs alike, went up when Kyerematen went on his merry way, driving forward from halfway before his dipping effort crashed of the crossbar. That would have been an absolute stunner. The adrenaline was unreal.

We all start grumbling about penalties; Alasdair and I joke about the Audi Cup. A few of the journos ask if there’s an actual trophy, to which somebody else helpfully comments, “Well, yeah, it’s the Sydney Super Cup!” And then what happens next happens almost in slow motion.

All of a sudden, Jamie Donley has the ball at the top of the box. He’s on his right foot, he won’t shoot from there.

He does.

It’s not that well struck, the keeper will save that.

Ho doesn’t.

It clangs off the post, and bounces out to Richarlison, who I’m sure will be flagged offside.

He’s not.

The ball’s in the net; the crowd is stunned; I let out a solitary clap and a yelp all at once. I can’t believe my eyes. I’ve just seen Richarlison score the winning goal against Chelsea in the 90th minute.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO goes my internal monologue.

Damn, I have to rewrite half my match report, goes the follow-up. Oh well. Well and truly WORTH IT.

I’ve just seen Spurs beat Chelsea. Is my heart going to explode?

Check back in tomorrow, where I’ll finish (for real this time, honest) with the aftermath of the match, including actually attending the press conference this time.

The news has been pointing this direction for a while now, but finally we get the most solid reporting yet that Manor Solmon is leaving Tottenham Hotspur. Fabrizio Romano (sigh) tweeted this afternoon that full agreement has been reached between Tottenham and West Ham, and Solomon will be heading across town to play football in the Championship next season. The deal is a permanent one.

I’ll say again that £5m + £2m in add-ons is a fire-sale price for a player like Manor who has already proven that he can do well in the second division. That said, Solomon has proven himself to be a divisive — there I go using that word again — player who has been pretty much shut out by Spurs’ last three managers, including Roberto De Zerbi who actually managed him at Shakhtar Donetsk from where he was signed three years ago. That tells me a lot. Clearly Spurs’ priorities were more finding him a new club and less making any sort of substantial profit on his sale.

I won’t belabor this and anyway I’m not opening the comments for this or any future Solomon article because honestly I’m just sick to death of the guy and am glad I no longer really have to write about him or moderate any more comment sections that discuss him. He was here, he didn’t do much, and now he’s nearly gone.

I will say that Solomon feels like a really weird fit for a club like West Ham considering their fans’ past, y’know, conduct towards Tottenham Hotspur. A cursory social media search suggests this isn’t the most popular signing with that lot. I do really, honestly hope that it doesn’t turn out to be as bad a situation as I think it potentially could be, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.

But Solomon is a tested and proven attacker at West Ham’s current level and I have no doubt he’ll do well there. Honestly, for what it’s worth I’m just glad it’s (almost) finally over.

Tottenham Hotspur continued preseason with an oddity of a fixture, a 70-minute hit-out against Getafe.

Roberto De Zerbi named a reasonably strong side, with two changes made from the lineup against Chelsea as Richarlison and Mikey Moore came in for Dominic Solanke and Manor Solomon, respectively. An uneventful first half was followed by an all-action second, with the visitors opening the scoring against the run of play via Alberto Risco, before Conor Gallagher equalized late in the match.

Spurs hunted for a winner but it was not to be as the fixture finished 1-1.

Here’s my top ten talking points from Spurs’ “friendly” against Getafe.

With temperatures soaring in London, Getafe and Spurs opted for a 70-minute match, with two 35-minute halves. It was a bit of an interesting twist, with a similar match played by other senior players later in the day against the U21s.

This structure put the players’ fitness under a microscope, with no substitutions made by Spurs (and only a handful of changes by Getafe). The named XI going the full 70 minutes was an important milestone in Spurs’ preparations for Brentford later this month as the season proper kicks off.

With each passing fixture, Spurs’ starting XI for that first match seems to become clearer. Though there are some unknowns with regards to fitness (the likes of James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie, and Micky van de Ven) and availability following the World Cup (Cristian Romero, Djed Spence, Pedro Porro), it seems Roberto De Zerbi has a couple of nailed-on players for his preferred lineup.

Sandro Tonali has started virtually every match for which he’s been available, and Jan Paul van Hecke has done likewise since his return from international duties. Mathy Tel seems to have the left wing position locked down for now, and Conor Gallagher will likely start in the #10, though that’s in part due to lack of options. The other positions seem to be up for grabs at this moment, with De Zerbi running various different players, though he does seem to have some favorites.

Interestingly, early in the match Spurs’ defense seemed reticent to utilize Lucas Bergvall and Tonali in build-up, instead looking to go long with some ambitious passes, or down the wings. Perhaps this was a tactical choice: Getafe were very compact in the middle and seemed not too keen to fall for De Zerbi’s press baiting trap; or maybe it was the players adjusting.

Bergvall and Tonali did get more and more involved on the ball as the match went on, so it could have been the latter, but the same happened on a handful of occasions defensively as well. Spurs’ press was very good, but on a couple of occasions either Tonali or Bergvall were left isolated in midfield as Getafe attacked, and their defensive attempts in those transitions were sometimes poor. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, Spurs looked worryingly open at the back.

Another tactical item of note, relating to some of the long passing from the back: Spurs’ synchronized movements in the attacking areas. Though Spurs have prioritized movement into space under some recent managers, this was quite different: aggressive vertical runs in opposite directions, causing confusion in the defensive line and opening up space in the defense.

This often happened when the ball came to one of the center backs. The double pivot was available for a short pass, but further up the pitch you would sometimes see a fullback immediately start to run in behind, supported by Conor Gallagher, while Mathys Tel would come deep and wide into the fullback position and Richarlison would drop off the shoulder of his marker. This verticality and synchronicity of movement was a marked improvement on some of the off-ball work last season, and created space around Getafe’s backline on a few occasions.

Friendly, you say? To shreds, you say?

Getafe weren’t here for a nice jog in the sun; they were focused and fired up - perhaps (read: definitely) too much. Somewhat like how Spurs maybe got a little overaggressive in the Chelsea friendly, Getafe really got stuck into their work, with late tackles and heavy challenges galore.

Spurs began to get frustrated by some of the contact, with some fouls bordering on dangerous, and at one point the referee awarded a yellow card to Ebrahima Drammeh as he dove in on Lucas Bergvall. While he didn’t contact the Swede, the swipe was so egregious the referee felt he had to get involved, as he did when Sandro Tonali and Mario Martin got into a shoving match that threatened to blow over into a full melee after the Spaniard collected Tonali late in the match. Neither side was happy.

The first half was tentative and turgid. The second half, however, demonstrated a marked improvement in both teams’ play, but especially Spurs. The ball was moved more quickly, the positional interchange more fluid, Spurs began to take control of the match. One-touch passing was back on the menu.

Both sides, though, started to create chances. Alberto Risco went on a mazy run before cutting inside on his left but slicing his shot; and Mathys Tel created space for a couple of well-placed low crosses across the face of goal, each of which were inches from being knocked in by a teammate.

There were a handful of moments in this match that might have had some fans wishing for VAR; and if not that, at the very least goal-line technology as it looked like Richarlison could have scored… only for the referee to not award a goal.

A scramble following a corner kick saw a couple of attempts on goal before Richarlison got his head on the ball, with it looking destined to settle in the back of the net. David Soria in goal dived across, palming the ball out off the post, but not before it looked to have crossed the line. It was a near thing, but it would have been nice to see exactly how near to being the opening goal it truly was.

At times in this match, you could have been forgiven for thinking Cristian Romero had died his head blonde. JP van Hecke operated in a role very similar to that which we have seen from Romero in recent years, often journeying into midfield and further up the pitch as Spurs probed for an opening.

It was reflected both in his physicality and his passing as well, with a few very nice line-splitting passes into the feet of attackers, and a couple more diagonal passes to switch the play. Van Hecke’s skillset means if / when Romero does leave, we won’t be missing some of his most unique skills.

That said, the defense wasn’t perfect, as Getafe opened the scoring first. Bergvall was beaten too easily as he was isolated in midfield, and van Hecke pushed up out of the line to support. Ben Davies should have shifted more centrally but was distracted by another attacker he potentially could have ignored.

It meant Risco was wide open as he received the ball near the penalty spot and slotted a shot past a despairing Kinsky with not much the Czech keeper could do. Though the defense has improved out of sight thus far under De Zerbi, these defensive breakdowns have arguably been a little too common through preseason. Are they due to tiredness? Unfamiliar players playing together? All of the above?

There are a lot of potential excuses and reasons for these mix-ups, but they have to be addressed before the season begins; you don’t get second chances in the Premier League.

Spurs’ attack still looks a little out of its depth, with set pieces and crosses still generally the best source of chances in this match and through preseason thus far. It’s clear Spurs need quality brought in via the transfer market, but in the meantime the attack seems to resemble more blunt instrument than scalpel.

Ben Davies had an effort blocked from close range following a set piece; Richarlison could have scored as he met a Tel cross but headed too close to Soria. Spurs kept trying though, and eventually had their reward: an excellent pass into Richarlison from Tonali resulted in the Brazilian being clattered, but the ball fell into space at the top of the Getafe box with Gallagher charging onto it. His finish was calm and well-struck, and Spurs equalized late on. Though there are questions as to the quality, there’s no denying the effort, with Spurs staying in the match until the dying moments on more than one occasion through preseason.

Screw it, we’re gonna win the league.

Editor’s note: For those of you that have been enjoying my Fan Perspective series on Spurs’ Sydney sojourn, we’re taking a momentary break today given Spurs have a match. The final piece in the series will be published tomorrow instead. In other news, we will be back to our standard preseason coverage for this match and the rest of preseason.

Tottenham Hotspur’s preseason continues back in the Northern Hemisphere following their successful journey south. The Lilywhites welcome Spanish side Getafe to North London, hosting the seventh placed La Liga team at the Hotspur Way training ground.

Getafe actually beat Spurs the last time these teams played, winning 2-1 at White Hart Lane in a Europa League fixture back in 2007. The circumstances this time, though, will be somewhat different as both sides focus on preparation as opposed to competition. It will potentially be the strongest lineup we’ve seen thus far from Spurs this preseason as well, with more players working their way back to fitness following a debilitating 25/26 campaign followed by some with a World Cup.

Here’s your open thread to jump in and chat.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Getafe (friendly)

Hotspur Way Training Centre, London, UK

Saturday, August 8, 2026

Time: 10:00 a.m. ET, 3:00 p.m. UK

Not televised in USA or UK. Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: SPURSPLAY

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!

OK, take this with a huge grain of salt for now, since I’m not super familiar with the Israeli sports media ecosystem. But if this story is accurate, I’d expect it to be reported by the reliable English journos before too long. According to Israel’s Y-Net News, the deal between West Ham and Tottenham for the sale of Manor Solomon has been finalized.

For those of you who don’t want to click through for whatever reason, here is the full content of the piece (and yes, it’s one paragraph long):

Israeli national team star Manor Solomon will transfer tomorrow to West Ham from England’s second division, thus ending his three-year tenure at Tottenham. The transfer fee could increase if West Ham is promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season, in which case it would reach just under £10 million—about half of what Tottenham had hoped to sell Solomon for.

— Y-Net News

The piece doesn’t say what the initial payment is, but earlier reports suggested that Spurs were haggling over a £5m fee, and that tracks pretty well with what we’re seeing in this report piece paragraph. Honestly, Solomon ending up costing West Ham £10m if they promote back to the Premier League is pretty shockingly low, but probably speaks to how ready to leave Manor is, and how ready Tottenham Hotspur is to let Manor go. I’m sure they would’ve liked to get £20m for Manor Solomon, and I’m also sure, extrapolating from this pretty derisive fee, that they’re just happy to see the end of this saga.

So am I, honestly. I can’t think of many more divisive players among the fanbase that has played so few minutes for the club. I’m ready to wash my hands of this whole saga, and hopefully we get confirmation from the English press that this is actually a thing and not a figment of an Israeli sports journalist’s imagination.

Welcome back! We’re now on to Part 3 of what will likely be four pieces detailing my journey to and through the Sydney Super Cup, talking through what the tournament and trip was like from a fan perspective… but also from having access a fan might not usually have. Part travel blog, part human-interest piece, part fan boy experience; what did it felt like as a fan walking into the press box and seeing Spurs play for the first time? And what was it like being a Tottenham Hotspur fan in Sydney?

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t already.

The Fans / The Team

Following the Sydney friendly the next few days were uneventful as an international break meant a pause in the clashes between Worth It vs. Not Worth It. I spent some time with family and friends; I got out and about and enjoyed the city and did some shopping, both for myself and for my family who hadn’t made the trip. I wasn’t super interested in doing the touristy stuff; I’d visited Sydney (almost) 20 years ago and had done all that then. I just enjoyed my freedom… and I worked. I got into a morning routine where I would get up, shower, wander a mile or so down the road to a local cafe, have a coffee and morning bun, check the news, and then wander back to the apartment and do some writing. It was nice.

I would continually think about Wednesday night as well. Like Harry Kane, I was buzzing. Everywhere I went, there were reminders… like the light rail I took as part of a trip into the city, taking me past Allianz and the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) where I’d had my first Spurs experience.

And everywhere I went, there were Tottenham Hotspur fans.

I heard about the crazy Chelsea preseason fixture vs. Western Sydney Wanderers; I didn’t manage to watch it. Still, I didn’t see many Chelsea kits about the city ahead of the upcoming match against Spurs. Maybe they were embarrassed by the 6-4 scoreline (where they were rescued by a late Joao Pedro hat-trick).

I’d just done some shopping in the city, and I decided to walk up to the Botanic Gardens and enjoy a bit of nature. I walked round a corner a noticed a group of Spurs fans, maybe ten years younger than me. This was technically a work trip; I thought I’d do some work and decided to battle past my social anxiety and interview them.

I introduced myself, and told them I wrote for a reasonably well-known Spurs website, and asked if I could ask them some questions. I guess I didn’t wait for their permission, then. I hadn’t planned anything; I had no questions prepared. But I thought being in Sydney and seeing the fan response it would be interesting to hear the stories of (potential) Sydney natives, and how they came to be Spurs fans.

They were indeed Sydney natives, except for one who had moved from England several years prior. They were all wearing kit: one was wearing the new 26/27 away kit; one was wearing last season’s yellow third kit; and another was wearing from memory what was the 1994 home kit, with the Holsten sponsor logo on the front. Respect.

I asked them what drew them to Spurs. For a couple, it was family connections; for another, it was that night against Liverpool in the Champions League final. You read that correctly. He was surrounded by Liverpool fans, and decided he had to be the lone Spurs fan… and he’s been stuck ever since. If that night didn’t drive him away nothing will.

This preseason trip was the first Spurs experience for a couple of them; for the UK native, he’d seen them before he shifted down under. Only a couple went to Wednesday’s friendly against Sydney FC, with the others saving their money for the Chelsea match (tickets were exorbitant); those that went enjoyed the night but were pretty unimpressed by the performance, throwing a little bit of a dampener on my enthusiasm - I’m supposed to be the pessimistic one! They were right though when they mentioned the poor turnout, but were excited about a near sellout for the Chelsea match. They disagreed with my assessment, however, of the club fan ratio: their expectation was a much bigger Chelsea crowd for the London derby.

They noted as well the significant contingent of Sydney FC supporters, noting the boos ahead of Luca Williams-Barnett’s penalty, as well as the cheers when Jamie Donley’s penalty was saved, feeling that having a club like Spurs play Sydney was hugely significant for the A-League club. Spurs are massive, after all. If you could only go to one though… that’s the Chelsea match. There were a lot of nerves though going into Chelsea. Excitement was present in abundance, but so was apprehension, with not a lot of hope in a positive result given our record against The Blues.

The last question I asked them was about their experience this week as a Spurs fan - was there anything this week they’d seen or experienced that had been really special, really stood out as a Spurs fan?

The immediate answer was Mathys Tel’s free kick; they absolutely buried the lede though, as they followed that up with meeting Archie Gray:

We met Archie Gray, and he was lovely; he was so nice.

I hope he sees this!’

There you go Archie. What a lad.

I did say I thought the players probably didn’t read our site; nobody reads the articles. But Archie, if you do, you have my absolute respect. Reach out to us - we’ll have a chat.

Archie Gray Cartilage Free Captain Archie Gray Cartilage Free Captain Archie Gray Cartilage Free Captain Archie Gray Cartilage Free Captain Archie Gray Cartilage Free Captain Archie Gray Cartilage Free Captain - don’t mind me, just trying to make the various algorithms target him. I hope I haven’t cursed his knees.

Eventually I asked them why they were hanging about on the side of the road. It turns out I had wandered past the side of the team hotel, and they were expecting a couple of the players who had headed away not long ago to come past and chat to fans. What are the chances???

Pretty good, apparently:

Well. I stood back, and let the fans get in and get their autographs; I didn’t want to crowd or make too much of a scene as a few of the players made their way back to the hotel. Richarlison, Destiny Udogie, and Antonin Kinsky were there, obviously; I also saw Luca Williams-Barnett, Lucas Bergvall, and Mateus Fernandes.

Fernandes headed straight inside, but I wasn’t worried; in fact, I was grateful as he had no bandaging or moonboot, and no visible limp amongst reports of an injury. Phew. Richy clearly loved getting amongst the fans as well, and Destiny really stood out. He was much bigger in real life than I expected; not much shorter than me (the pic is misleading due to the angle) - I’m 6’1” - and built like an absolute tank. He was so engaged with the fans as well, really happy just to chat; so much so that their “handler” (I don’t know the technical term) had to drag him away (they had to prep for an event that night).

I didn’t have time to really speak to the players, outside of a few pleasantries - I asked them how they’d been finding the tour, how they were feeling about Chelsea, and received mostly the coached answers you’d expect. A couple of the fans had a spare kit and asked the players if they would take it inside for James Maddison to sign. I think Destiny would have, but the club staff shook their heads.

I thought I was buzzing after the Sydney match; I’m now on the moon. At the risk of getting all parasocial about this, I’ve met some of my sporting heroes face to face.

That adrenaline spurs me (lol) to talk to more Spurs fan as I journey back to the apartment. A man slightly older than me wearing a Spurs kit and his young son board the bus. I notice him (I’m not wearing a kit today) and then note a couple of older gentlemen further back in the bus as well. He sits in front of them and starts chatting; I shift over and awkwardly join the conversation too.

Again, the theme was family, and in fact, that was pretty consistent with most of the fans I talked to - following Spurs was about family. Apart from a handful of examples, they didn’t pick the club out of a hat. They were born into it. One gentleman was English, had followed Spurs since the 60’s, and reminisced on beating Chelsea back then to win the FA Cup; he now lived in Sydney. Another had come up from Melbourne; another fan had come from Newcastle. One of the fans I spoke to earlier had come down from Brisbane.

Spurs fans were coming from all over the country to experienc Spurs. I’d come from New Zealand. We are massive.

I know I’m biased, but if felt like there was something unique about our fans; something that set us apart. A passion, a commitment that just wasn’t as present for other clubs in the city. It was special.

And I’d just had one of the most special experiences of my life. Come on you Spurs.

Check back in tomorrow, where I’ll finish with the Chelsea match.

At several points this summer Cuti Romero looked very likely to be joining Inter Milan, but the club and the player could never agree to personal terms despite the clubs agreeing to a €35m transfer fee. Now we have the opposite situation with Romero’s new suitor, Atletico Madrid. Matteo Moretto tweeted this morning that Atletico Madrid have reached a full agreement with Romero on personal terms. The clubs, however, have not agreed on a transfer fee or conditions of payment.

That would, at first glance, seem to put Cuti straight in the Savinho Zone™ where things get held up interminably as the clubs negotiate and counter-negotiate with each other. That said, I don’t think we’ll get that here. After all, the price discovery has already been set by Inter Milan, so that’s the price I’d expect Cuti to go for when he leaves for Atleti. Now, maybe there’s a slight difference in overall price or a few more clauses in the contract get added or shifted, but we’re already resigned to Cuti leaving for a cut-rate price that’s lower than any of us want or expected, so I doubt that significantly changes. Or maybe it ends up being a loan with a purchase obligation next summer. That also suggests, hopefully, that an agreement can be reached sooner rather than later.

Honestly, as much as I’ve wanted Spurs to keep and reintegrate Cuti into the squad this season, I’ve now accepted that this will not happen. He’s going to leave one way or another, and I’m just going to have to accept it. I don’t necessarily have to LIKE it, but that’s part of being a football fan.

Manor Solomon has been told to find a new club this summer by Roberto De Zerbi, who confirmed the Israeli winger is not in his plans this season. Previous reporting suggested that Solomon at present had two options — a return to Fiorentina where he spent last season on loan, and a move to West Ham in the Championship as the Hammers try and put together a team that can bounce right back up to the Premier League after this coming season.

But according to David Ornstein, talks between West Ham and Spurs are currently off for financial reasons, with West Ham balking at some clauses Spurs want to put in the deal.

According to the Ornacle, West Ham are willing to purchase Solomon for a transfer fee of £5m, but are resistant to some extra clauses Spurs want to include in the deal, including a bonus should West Ham promote to the Premier League this season.

I don’t want to necessarily cast aspersions on the buying team here, but it’s West Ham so what the hell — cheaping out over clauses on a £5m deal for a player after selling Mateus Fernandes to us for £85m feels pretty churlish as far as I’m concerned. It’s not like West Ham doesn’t have money and this feels like cheaping out. Now, we don’t know the specifics of Tottenham’s ask — maybe they’re trying to back load significant fees because they know £5m is a pretty shockingly low price for a player in this market. On the other hand, Spurs acquired Solomon for nothing in the first place and in pretty icky circumstances, essentially poaching a Shakhtar player for nothing due to the war in Ukraine. £5m would represent a £5m profit over what Spurs actually spent to acquire him, so maybe I’m being too harsh.

Ornstein also mentions that Fiorentina’s offer is not financially viable to Spurs. How hard is it to get a guy we don’t want and who we spent nothing to acquire off our books? Apparently pretty hard.

Breaking news from Sky Sports — it’s not a new signing, but it’s equally important. Micky van de Ven is reportedly close to signing a new “long term” contract at Tottenham Hotspur.

This is super significant, because prior to the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi, Van de Ven was making all sorts of background noises about his dissatisfaction at the club and hinting that he’d be open to a departure. Now, he’s done a complete 180.

Unconfirmed, less reliable reports (read, ITK so take this info with an entire salt mine) are suggesting the new deal will be for five years, representing in effect a two year extension on his current deal which runs through 2029. Van de Ven would also (again, dubious reporting here and not from Sky) become one of the club’s top wage earners.

Regardless, this is very welcome news. Micky is the kind of player you build a team around, and with the departure of Cuti Romero very likely this summer, it’s clear he’ll be assuming more of a leadership role in the back line. He’s said he’s very happy with the way things are going under De Zerbi… but we’ll have to see how the season goes, won’t we?

I’d expect this to be announced shortly.