Cartilage Free Captain

For Tottenham Hotspur, this January transfer window has been notable for signing keepers out of nowhere who could challenge the incumbency of the players already there. For the men’s team it was the signing of Antonin “Tonda” Kinsky, who has already played two matches and kept clean sheets in both of them, effectively supplanting Fraser Forster.

And now we may have something similar with Spurs Women. Today, the club announced the signing of Dutch international keeper Lize Kop from Leicester City on a deal that will run through 2028.

Kop. 26, was a standout keeper in the Eredivisie with Ajax and has performed pretty well in limited matches on a pretty bad Leicester side the past season and a half. She’s the No. 2 for Leicester behind Janina Leitzig and also the No.2 for the Netherlands national team with 13 caps. She will wear the No. 1 shirt at Spurs... which some will view as a statement of intent.

Tottenham have been searching for genuine competition for, and eventual replacement of, Becky Spencer for a while now. Spencer has been a Tottenham stalwart between the sticks for years now and is one of the longest tenured players at the club, but she’s 33 now and it’s time Spurs look to sign someone who can eventually take over. That person might be Kop.

Genuine competition is good, and Spurs Women should now be happy with their keeper corps with Spencer, Kop, and Eleanor Heeps as their options. We might get more of a sense of the lay of the land when Spurs Women play their first match in over a month this weekend against Leicester — there’s every chance Kop could make her Spurs debut against her old club.

Welcome to Tottenham, Lize!

Somehow, it is already that time again. While Tottenham Hotspur has struggled to meet expectations this season (at least in the league), it could be argued that Arsenal has fared even worse relative to its ambitions — despite the complete implosion of Manchester City, the back-to-back runners-up remain stuck in second place, overtaken by Liverpool, who are now heavy favorites to win the Premier League.

Arsenal is still expected to win Wednesday’s North London Derby, especially at home. Though Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs have performed well against the big six, this match does not set up well for their strengths. Anything can happen in a derby, and Tottenham will hope that the numbers and recent history fly out the window. Desperately in need of a spark, this match offers Spurs a chance for a revival.

Arsenal (3rd, 40pts) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (13th, 24pts)

Date: Wednesday, January 15

Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK

Location: Emirates Stadium, London

TV: Peacock (US), TNT Sports 1 (UK)

Despite boasting just two league losses, Arsenal’s seven draws already surpass its total from each of the past two seasons. After a New Year’s Day victory, Mikel Arteta’s squad has faltered, drawing with Brighton in the league, falling behind 0-2 to Newcastle in the League Cup semifinals, and crashing out of the FA Cup against Manchester United. While all is not lost, this run of form raises questions.

Spurs, however, have struggled mightily in this derby. Arsenal has won six of the past eight encounters and has not lost a league NLD at home since 2010/11. The teams did share the points at the Emirates last season, but Arsenal controlled the first fixture this campaign with a narrow victory on the road. This rivalry has felt lopsided in recent years, seemingly irrespective of either team’s form.

Do not give in

Arsenal remains methodical in possession, intent on dictating tempo and disrupting the opponent’s rhythm. Now that the goals are drying up, though, Arteta’s side is losing some of the praise its approach (and set pieces) was receiving. Recent contests have seen healthy xG figures yield little where it counts. For Spurs, patience will be paramount; forcing the issue risks exposing the already-depleted defense. The plan must be to frustrate Arsenal into abandoning its build-up.

Patience does not mean passivity. Heung-min Son scored the equalizer in this fixture last year by capitalizing on a forced turnover. Tottenham’s best opportunities will again likely come in transition. Neither side exceeded 1.0 xG in their September meeting, suggesting the more clinical team will leave happier. Spurs must remain disciplined for the full 90 minutes and not give away clean attempts on goal. If Arsenal is forced to create, its defense could be left open to counters.

Play for the badge

The visitors remain the more injury-stricken side, but Arsenal’s once-fortunate health has finally started to turn. Bukayo Saka’s absence has been clearly felt, and now Gabriel Jesus joins him on the sidelines, further hampering creativity and attacking output. While Tottenham’s injuries — especially along the backline — remain a major concern, Arsenal’s misfortunes could level out this end of the pitch a bit.

With key players missing, unsung heroes will decide this match. For Spurs, contributions from Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray, and Djed Spence have kept them afloat, while new signing Antonin Kinsky has injected fresh energy. There would be no better way to encapsulate this chaotic season than for a makeshift Tottenham defense to somehow steal a result at the Emirates.

Weighed down by my gnawing insecurities, I examine the road covered in ice and snow before me. It’s inaccessible.

A series of expletives ensues.

I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what to do. I look around me.

I’m four miles into my 12-mile run on Independence Ave SW & 23rd. I have two cuts on the top of both my feet, a blister developing under my big toe. It’s cold and windy. I couldn’t sleep last night. My mind is racing.

I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what to do. I pause and stare out at the frozen Potomac River, the sun’s brilliant rays reflecting off the river’s glistening ice and against my face.

For a moment I think about turning back and calling it a day.

The Lincolm Memorial is within my line of vision. I figure it must be safe to run there. I nearly slip on the mounds of ice leading up to it. The only path forward is past the government buildings (they must be ploughed) and towards the West End. I gingerly step onto and past the ice.

Not that I care so much about going fast anyhow. I’m not ready to head back home just yet.

——

I’ve learned that, in running, it’s often not about the race. Marathons are a one-time event, the culmination of months of hard work and sacrifice. Of setting aside every doubt in your mind. Of running through it.

I don’t think most people realise how taxing it is to train. Of course the physicality stretches beyond our imaginations. But the mental and emotional toll it takes also goes far beyond how much we think we believe we can endure.

Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is to run with your problems, carrying the weight with you and feeling drag you back at every step.

——

I run past the State Department and wave to the security guard. Up through Foggy Bottom, the Watergate, GW Hospital and towards the West End. More snow and ice greets me near the tennis courts by Rock Creek.

A series of expletives ensures

I’m on 23rd and Q, by some protestant church and realise I’m just past halfway through my run today. I turn back. Home awaits me.

——

This is the kind of day I normally look back on when I run a marathon. Will I look back on this when I run the Avenue of the Giants in May?

The last two times I ran a marathon I wept at the finish line. Not from any sort of physical pain, but from the months (and somtimes) years of emotional pressure I felt. The dissapointments. The stress fracture, the belief I could never be a good runner again, the feeling that I’ll never be good enough to do this, more injury scares, maybe I’ll just never be good enough. Life setbacks, having to say goodbye too many times.

——

How do you enjoy a run on a day like today? When the cannons blast from the magnificent Capitol Building draped in the historic flags of the United States, when you are forced to run through barricades and navigate the icy pavement?

All whilst your insecurities have lassoed you, trying to drag you further and further towards the brink.

——

I wanted this run today to be over, but at the same time I didn’t. I love the tranquility that the icy cold brings. And I am promptly annoyed when Foggy Bottom and Eastern Market began to wake. All I can do is carry on, moving forward, and remember a lesson one teacher taught me half a lifetime ago that we all carry our own battles with us.

Carrying mine in real time, I stride forward. I watch my footing near the end of the junction lest I slip into a turning lane.

I let my battles sit within me. I bargain, deny, accept, rage, ignore. None of those are the answer, I find. So what is the answer, I ask myself.

Gosh, I wish I knew.

And so, weighed down by my insecurities, I carry on.

Closer towards Eastern Market a group of Crossfitters finish their run and high-five each other. Normally I would be turned off by their oppressive optimusm, but this time I indulge. Seeing me they line up on either side of the pavement, arms extended to high-five.

“Thank you, thank you,” I say to them in earnest, as I trudge through Mile 12 of 12.

——

Sometimes running isn’t about answeing or solving questions, or winning a battle. Sometimes it’s just about not losing it. Sometimes it’s just about prolonging that battle a little bit more, praying that soon you’ll find the answers needed to actually triumph in it.

The timeline varies, I’m afraid. What is the timeline, this time? Gosh, I don’t know. All I know is I bought myself a little more time.

But, for now, I retreat back into the safety and warmth of my apartment. My insecurities and I will run together again soon.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Lovely Day, by Big Star

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “Ange Postecoglou calls for transfer help for one of his Tottenham stars and hits out at critics”

The Athletic ($$): “Attempting to make sense of a confusing Premier League season”

WSJ ($$): “The Soccer Team That Perfected the Art of Winning Without the Ball”

Hello Tottenham fans! We are now (over) halfway through the 2024-25 Premier League season, and it’s time to crunch some numbers. Last season at the end of the year I posted a look at the masthead and community player ratings for fun, to see an overview of our ratings for individual players over the course of the season, and also compare where the masthead and the commentariat had similar or different opinions

Turns out that was a pretty good and fun activity. A heck of a lot of data entry since I hadn’t started doing it until April, but hey. Blog managers gotta work sometimes.

So let’s do that again, this time at the halfway point of 19 matches. This data includes all the matches from the first half of the season, from the draw with Leicester in week 1 to the draw with Wolves in week 19

The full spreadsheet is too long and cumbersome to embed in an article, so I’ll just post the summary columns here. But if you’re interested in looking at the full data, you can view it here.

Analysis

As before, there’s a decent amount of “squish” when you compare masthead numbers and community numbers. The nature of polling means that you will see significantly fewer 5.0s, even rounded, given out by the community, because the rest of the bulk results will naturally drag them down. The masthead is therefore freer to give higher ratings than the commentariat. That’s just the nature of public polling. I get to give my unvarnished opinion, and the rest of you get aggregated into a populist mush. C’est la vie.

Also, there are a bunch of players who played games who didn’t receive ratings because they weren’t in the game long enough, and those are obviously not represented on the chart. So this should be viewed as tracking performance of players who played enough minutes to receive a rating (again, a rather squishy metric but this is hardly a scientific poll).

It’s been a weird year, y’all. The aggregated Community ratings didn’t rate anyone at or above 4.0, which is kind of wild, but also... well, that sort of makes sense the way the season has gone, doesn’t it? Interestingly, the highest rated player by both the masthead and the commentariat? Ben Davies, with an aggregated rating of 3.9 in both cases.

Honestly, the masthead and the community ratings tracked pretty closely, which to me is both unsurprising, and considering how much stick I get in comments for rating players a half-star too high or low, also makes me laugh.

If you look at the standard deviation column (ST/DEV), it suggests the community thought Archie Gray was the most consistent performer, though the sample size is rather small with only seven games. If we use an arbitrary number of 12 games as the minimum benchmark, then — surprise! — Timo Werner has put in the most consistent performances, according to the site readers. The masthead had Lucas Bergvall as the most consistent (six game sample), along with, again, Timo (12 game sample). Note that consistent ≠ good, just consistent... looking at you, Timo Werner.

Interestingly, there was a handful of players that didn’t earn a rating below 3.0 from the masthead — Lucas Bergvall, Ben Davies, Alfie Dorrington, and Sergio Reguilon. But both Dorrington and Reggie only played one match in the first half of the season, so it’s not a very meaningful statistic. As for the commentariat, Bergvall, Dorrington, Davies, and Archie Gray all received minimum 3.0 ratings. Only Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario earned 5.0 ratings from the commentariat, and that should be taken as VERY high praise.

In general, there wasn’t too much deviation between the masthead and the community thus far. Weirdly, the masthead seemed to rate players (and Ange Postecoglou) slightly higher than the commentariat generally, though you can find specific instances that are the opposite, e.g. Mikey Moore. There’s probably a reason for that — the Ange Out discourse might have dragged some players down a touch, and there’s a bunch of error bars on this data because so many players have missed time due to injury. But I find it kind of fascinating.

Hope you enjoyed this, because it was a hell of a lot of work! We’ll do this again at the end of the season.

Oh hey, we have a North London Derby at the Emirates tomorrow. Exciting, right? Maybe “terrifying” is the better word. Both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal played extra time in their weekend FA Cup ties, with Spurs managing a 3-0 win over Tamworth and Arsenal crashing out with a penalty shootout loss to 10-man Manchester United.

Usually you can throw out past performance when Spurs and Arsenal play each other due to the state of the rivalry, but injuries might be the biggest thing that will impact this match. Spurs’ injury concerns are many and well-documented, especially in defense, but Arsenal now have a couple of significant injuries on the offensive side of the equation after Gabriel Jesus blew out his knee in the United match — both he and Bukayo Saka will miss the NLD.

Spurs have bad news and good news of their own on the injury front. Ange Postecoglou noted in his pre-match press conference that Timo Werner sustained a hamstring injury against Tamworth, which might go a ways to explain his woeful performance in that match, and is ruled out for Wednesday. However, Richarlison is set for a return after a couple weeks of training upon his return from his own hamstring injury.

“[Playing on the artificial pitch was] not too bad. It takes a fair bit out of the players so we have done some extra recovery and we won’t train until this afternoon to give the boys a chance to recover because the pitch takes a bit out of you. The only one who picked up an injury is Timo [Werner]. He picked up a hamstring injury and we are waiting on the results of that scan. Everyone else, apart from being sore, pulled through okay. In terms of incoming, Richarlison is available.

“Well you have got no choice [but to play this match], that’s the fixture. You’ve got to accept it. We have been in this situation for quite a while now and obviously hopefully there will be some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of players coming back and like I said Richy. It was good for Mikey to get an hour on the weekend or whenever it was. I have lost track of days.”

Richarlison’s return is timely, considering the injury to Werner. Spurs have been slow-walking his return to the side after he injured his hamstring in his first match back from another injury spell earlier this season. Ange’s comments suggested we might see Richy on Wednesday, though perhaps as a reserve initially.

“Just got to get [Richy] back, he has had obviously an unfortunate season for us. Last season he played, even this season when he played for us and did his hamstring (while providing an assist), it’s not just his fighting and scrapping, he has quality as well. Just having an extra attacking player – with him and Mikey available now – makes such a difference in what we can do during games, between games, in terms of the way we play. We have taken our time with him this time for sure. He has kind of been harassing me for the last 10 days to be involved but we have been disciplined with that and he has looked really good in training. He looks ready to go so really happy to get him back involved.”

Mikey Moore also made his return to the squad against Tamworth, starting the match and putting in his first 60+ minutes since returning from a long spell out with a virus. Ange said that Moore also will add a different attacking dimension to Spurs’ offense and it’s good to have him back with the team.

“Yeah, look he has worked hard at training and you could see at the weekend he needed some game-time. He started off pretty slowly but by the second half I thought he grew into the game. We used him significantly in the first half of the year and he made a real impact, particularly in Europe I thought he did really well and we expect him to (again). That’s why we kept him with us and why he is part of the first-team set-up. It’s good to get him back because he is a player we know can make an impact in games.”

Antonin Kinsky has hit the ground running at Spurs, with two starts and two clean sheets, but playing away at Arsenal in a North London Derby is an entirely different kettle of fish. That said, Postecoglou said he’s been pleased with the way Kinsky has started at the club, considering the circumstances.

“They’ve all been big games for him for different reasons. Obviously the Liverpool game goes without saying but it was a hell of a challenge for him up at Tamworth, too, especially with the way they play and their ability to put pressure on goalkeepers. I thought he handled it so well and helped us nullify a big threat from them. He’s handled everything really well. I haven’t spent any extra time with him. Birchy [Rob Burch, GK coach] obviously has and part of the process — because it has been a bit of a whirlwind — is making sure he’s settled, especially off the field. He’s moving to a different country so to manage everything around him is equally important. So far he’s been really good at embracing the challenge we’ve thrown at him and I’m sure he’s looking forward to tomorrow as well.”

Lucas Bergvall was another player who came out of the Tamworth match with a solid performance, continuing his recent spell of improved play. Postecoglou confirmed that Bergvall has settled well after moving from Sweden this summer, and has impressed him and the staff with his improvement.

“Yeah, look, he’s definitely growing, which is not unusual. He’s 18, coming from a different country and league. It was always going to take him time to adapt, just to training more than anything else. But we’ve seen in recent weeks he’s really making an impact now and I think he feels more comfortable and confident in himself. There’s so much more to come from him with his age and where he is experience-wise. It’s been a big year for him, moving to a new country and a big league and a big club. Even playing for the senior national team with Sweden as an 18-year-old. All these things are pretty significant moments and you look at how young people handle them and he’s handled it all really, really well. He’s kept his head down, kept working, waited for his opportunity and he’s doing well.”

The North London Derby will kick off tomorrow at 3 pm ET / 8 pm UK. The match is televised on TNT Sports 1 in the UK, and streamed on Peacock in the USA.

With the caveat that Johan Lange moves in darkness and nobody really knows anything, there are a couple of new reports in the French media that suggests Tottenham Hotspur might have a real chance of landing PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani this month on loan.

L’Equipe has two stories out in the past two days that make it sound like Spurs are really making a push for Kolo Muani. The first, out today, says that Spurs have made an offer to take him on loan, with a purchase option at the end of the season. Juventus, the other club seriously interested in RKM, have also made informal inquiries; L’Equipe says that PSG is in no hurry to make a decision and are potentially waiting to see if any more clubs come in, with Dortmund and Manchester United also tracking him.

There have been plenty of reports lately in the Italian media sphere that suggest Juventus were in the lead and were actually close to landing Kolo Muani, but yesterday L’Equipe thew some cold water on those reports, suggesting that Juventus don’t have the funds to actually meet PSG’s demands, particularly Kolo Muani’s wages, which are around £150k/wk. That shouldn’t be an issue for Spurs, who are well within their wage budget and have no PSR concerns to speak of, though I have no doubt if they’re really interested they’ll also try and knock a few quid off his wages for the duration of the loan.

I think Kolo Muani would be a plus-add for Spurs in the spring, particularly with Timo Werner struggling and Wilson Odobert out for a few more months. RKM’s underperformance on xG is noted, but having another dynamic wing option with Spurs still in four competitions would be extremely useful. And if the loan is an option instead of an obligation, it’s the best of all worlds for Spurs. Assuming PSG agree.

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Tottenham Hotspur Daily Links: The Hoddle Of Coffee

The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, January 14

Aussie Open 2025, BABY!

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good morning

And welcome to a very brief overview of the 2025 Australian Open (which is well underway by this time). I should’ve done this on Friday but I couldn’t be arsed. So here it is today. I hope some of these predictions hold up until at least today.

There are lots of fun storylines to look out for. The one I’m most interested is Kei Nishikori, the former World No. 4 whose career has been ravaged by injuries. His latest return began a couple months ago. He won his first-round match over the weekend (hooray!).

Men’s tournament:

Fitzie’s favourites — Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic: No surprises here with the top four seeds. Sinner’s the defending champ and coming off one of the best seasons in recent memory, so he’s clearly the favourite. But how will Djokovic do? He’s the best to ever compete at the Aussie Open, but last year showed many signs age was wearing on him.

Fitzie’s next-ups — Alex De Minaur, Taylor Fritz: Seeded eighth and fourth, respectively. Fritz is the better of the two and coming off his breakout season, so I hope he continues that. De Minaur had some injury problems last season. Hope he gets back from it.

Fitzie’s dark horses — Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Fils, Tommy Paul, Tomas Mahac, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: Mostly gone for the big hitters here, but Fils and Perricard are two very exciting younger players from France. Mahac has a decent draw, if you consider an ageing Djokovic a decent opponent. Tiafoe had his breakout tournament here. Tommy Paul’s also got a nice draw.

Women’s draw:

Fitzie’s favourites — Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff: How can you bet against the two-time reigning champion? She easily dispatched Sloane Stephens in the first round. Her toughest opponent would fall on the other side of the draw, if Swiatek or Gauff make it to the final.

Fitzie’s next-ups: Qinwen Zheng, Jessica Pegula: If anyone else from Sabalenka’s half could make it to the final, it’s last year’s finalist Zheng. Only thing is, she’s got a horrific record against the Belarusian. Pegula took a big step last year by reaching the finals of the US Open. Can she carry that into this tournament?

Fitzie’s dark horses — The Field: Probably unfair to lump the rest of the draw here, but that’s how I see it. I’m not even high on the fourth seed, Jasmine Paolini. Too much inconsistency to be sold on anyone.

If you insist on me naming some: I think Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva poses a real challenge to Sabalenka in the fourth round and wouldn’t be surprised by an upset. Her compatriot Diana Schneider is another big hitter. I’ll lump the craft Karolina Muchova and Dona Vekic here too, if you insist.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Mr Big Stuff, by Jean Knight

And now for your links:

Jay Harris ($$): “The worst nearly happened for Tottenham and Postecoglou… but it didn’t”

Guardian: “FA report into Maddy Cusack’s death to be shared with coroner this week”

The arguments for and against FA Cup replays

Two of the three Tottenham Hotspur Alfies are now out on loan! As expected, Spurs announced today on their socials and website that 19-year-old central defender Alfie Dorrington has finalized a loan move to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League until the end of the season, and after signing a new contract that will keep him a Spurs player until 2029.

I said this in the last article, but this really does look like a great loan opportunity for Alfie. He’s heading to a team that needs him in a league that will allow him to get some good experience with a high variance of quality (and lesser quality) teams. If he hits the ground running, there’s every chance he could be a regular starter for Aberdeen for the rest of the season.

And the timing is pretty perfect — Tottenham are expected to get Ben Davies, Cuti Romero, and Micky van de Ven back from injury sometime this month, meaning the prospects of match time at Spurs are going to be pretty few for Dorrington. An injury kept him out of the U21s for much of the fall, so getting minutes in his legs will be extra important.

Dorrington will likely be competing next year with the likes of Ash Phillips and Luka Vuskovic for Spurs’ fourth CB position, and that’s a lot of competition. Hopefully this will kick start his progress. Good luck, Alfie!

Manchster United’s Marcus Rashford is almost certainly moving SOMEWHERE this spring, but it remains to be seen where. According to Miguel Delaney, Tottenham Hotspur are one of two Premier League clubs that have sounded out a possible loan deal for the want-away forward until the end of the season, but there’s significant interest for him abroad as well.

Delaney says Spurs have looked into the possibility and that there was also past interest from West Ham, but notes that both AC Milan and Juventus have also shown interest in taking Rashford on loan. Of the continental clubs, however, Dortmund is the one that has shown the most interest.

Rashford is on £300k/wk in wages which pretty much blows away any Tottenham player currently at the club. Spurs are in a healthy financial position and certainly could afford to pay that much to get Rashford in, but it’s unlikely they would do so and would ask United to assume a significant chunk of his wages.

Spurs are also reportedly interested in PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani, though Juventus is also making a strong push for the player. Rashford could be seen as a back-up option, or it could be a Johan Lange smokescreen. It’s actually pretty rare that we get rumors about specific players emerging from Tottenham’s locked-down recruitment team ahead of time, so I’d say at this point a Rashford loan would seem fairly unlikely. But what do I know? Lange moves in darkness, like a ninja.

Sunday’s game against Tamworth either was or wasn’t fun, except for those who didn’t watch it and whose opinions don’t matter. I fall into that category (partially).

Listen, I want to show you all lots of fun pics from the match vs Tamworth. There aren’t many.

But please enjoy this video.

Good on Lucas Bergvall for enjoying some of those chants there (especially about him potentially being sent off vs Liverpool).

We’re into the next round of the FA Cup against Villa, which is great. For those asking, I watched the first half of the match before departing for my run. A lovely ground, it is.

There are still some interesting games to be played that I don’t think we should sleep on. Least of all Millwall - Dag & Red. It’s tough, Dag & Red have been in the fifth tier for a decade now.

Let’s hope for an upset. Plus, who doesn’t love a London derby?

Fitzie’s track of the day: Track A - Solo Dancer, by Charles Mingus

And now for your links:

BBC with a recap of Spurs-Tamworth