Cartilage Free Captain

A lot of Tottenham Hotspur fans were, to put it mildly, puzzled that Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate and central defender Alfie Dorrington didn’t start in Spurs’ 3-0 ET win over Tamworth in the FA Cup. After all, this was a Premier League team playing away against a club in the fifth tier, surely Ange Postecoglou would give some kids a chance to impress.

Dorrington didn’t make it off the bench at the Lamb Ground, but he might be getting an even bigger chance shortly. According to Twitter account @Lilywhite_Rose, which is very clued in to the comings and goings of Spurs’ youth academy and frequently has news and info before it becomes public, Dorrington is set to head on loan to Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen until the end of the season.

Aberdeen started off hot in the SPL, going undefeated in their first 10 matches, winning nine of them. But then the wheels fell off. Since, Aberdeen has just one win in their last 13 games, putting them in a distant fourth place in the table. Along with that, their best defender Gavin Malloy underwent shoulder surgery recently and is out until May, and Malloy’s backup is... not especially favored, according to fans.

So if Dorrington’s loan to Aberdeen is confirmed, that gives him a real shot to get some serious minutes in Scottish first division football if he can get up to speed quickly and plays well. It’s a super opportunity for a player who is unlikely to get many minutes at Spurs no matter what, and especially when Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven return to the lineup at the end of January.

So this could be a very, very good move both for Aberdeen and for Dorrington, if he can work his way into the squad. Go much below Celtic and Rangers and the quality drops off significantly in the SPL, but that might not be a terrible thing — plenty of bad Scottish teams for Dorrington to play against, and the occasional big-time match against Celtic and Rangers.

We’ll wait for the official confirmation, but this looks like a pretty solid loan.

Tottenham Hotspur eked past non-league Tamworth in extra time today at the Lamb Ground, ultimately winning 3-0 in extra time after going scoreless through 90 minutes. There’s a lot we can say about that game, but this is an article about Tottenham’s NEXT FA Cup game.

The draw for the Fourth Round just completed, and Spurs were drawn away to Aston Villa. The match will take place the week of February 8, 2025.

You never want to draw a Premier League team this early in the FA Cup competition, and this is a particularly annoying draw. Villa are a solid side, and even though Spurs thumped them 4-1 at home in the Premier League earlier this season, this will be a tough out.

Hopefully Spurs will have a few of its first choice players like Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven back by the time they have to travel to Villa Park, so that might help. But make no mistake, it’s a tough draw.

Villa vs. Spurs is one of a couple of all-PL matchups, including Brighton vs. Chelsea, Everton vs. Bournemouth, and Manchester United vs. Leicester. And also interestingly, a lot of the other big clubs were drawn away in this round, which could make things interesting. Spurs may have gotten a tough draw, but they at least are still in the competition, which is something you cannot say about Arsenal.

Here’s the full draw.

FA Cup Fourth Round Draw

Tottenham Hotspur survived an embarrassing result at the hands of National League side Tamworth with a 3-0 victory in extra time in the third round of the FA Cup Sunday morning.

Knowing the lore of Tottenham Hotspur jokes and what many felt could happen — beating the most in-form team in Liverpool and possibly losing to Tamworth — the Premier League side looked clueless throughout the first half of the FA Cup draw.

Fielding a strong enough team to put the game to bed early and let the kids play, Spurs never truly got into the game as Timo Werner — who played striker — looked lost as he played terrible balls, had poor touches, and failed to make an impact in the first 45 minutes, That was the norm for the majority of the side as James Maddison and Yves Bissouma looked to be the two who were pushing to get chances for the side.

Dealing with a 0-0 first half, the first 15 minutes of the second half saw Mikey Moore come alive after he returned from a two-month illness. Showcasing his skills on the ball that many love and getting in and around the defense, the lone thing that was not coming was a final result.

Breaking down Tamworth slowly but surely, as a Premier League side should do with its depth, Spurs almost lost the game in the end as Tamworth had a chance for the FA Cup magic that comes every year.

Having a moment in the final seconds, Tamworth took a shot to the near post with players scattered, but Bissouma blocked the shot to force a corner. The ensuing corner saw Bissouma stand his ground again as he blocked the initial shot before the follow-up shot ended up in the hands of keeper Antonín Kinský.

Going to extra time and needing a winner to not leave it up to the crapshoot that is penalties — on the road to a National League side with 4,000 supporters out to watch — Ange Postecoglou brought out the big subs to put an end to the nonsense with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski coming into attack. Djed Spence filled in for Radu Dragusin who left on a yellow card.

It took 10 minutes into extra time, but the contest’s first goal came in favor of Spurs..even if Tamworth nicked it in at the end.

Pedro Porro stood over the free kick design and, going for a low-driven ball to Brennan Johnson, the right winger squared his ball through a deflection to pop up in front of the goal with Dominic Solanke ready to tap it in. But Tamworth’s Nathan Muya Tshikuna was credited with the own goal as the ball bounced over the keeper and into the net.

Getting the first goal and needing to hold on for another 15 minutes of extra time, Spurs put the game to bed as Kulusevski and Johnson added goals to wrap up a 3-0 victory over Tamworth and secure a fourth-round date in the FA Cup.

Fair play to Tamworth for making this a game, and with the faces of disappointment on the likes of Spurs players — as it took 120 minutes to win this game — hopefully, they wake up for a North London derby against Arsenal on Wednesday.

After one moment of cup magic in which Tottenham Hotspur took down Liverpool in the EFL Cup, we get another: the customary visit of a Premier League titan to a football minnow, as Spurs visit Tamworth as the Lilywhites look to open their account in the FA Cup.

The fifth division side present a great opportunity for Spurs to progress, as well as rest some of their overworked senior players (those who are left, anyway); but there’s always a risk of Spurs not taking a fixture like this seriously enough.

Surely Spurs will cruise. Surely.

COYS!

Lineups

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tamworth vs. Tottenham Hotspur

The Lamb Ground, Tamworth, UK

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Time: 7:30 a.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. UK

TV: Not televised in USA, ITV1 (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: ESPN+

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!

Some news you may have missed, especially for those of you who follow our Tottenham Hotspur loanees: midfielder Matthew Craig has been recalled from his loan at Barnsley, and has headed out on loan again to Mansfield Town as per the Tottenham Hotspur website.

Craig, for those who remember (and for those who would rather forget) made history as he and his brother Michael became the first identical twins to appear in a Tottenham Hotspur matchday squad... as Spurs lost a Europa Conference League qualification playoff match to Pacos de Ferreira during the heady days of Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign. Proud.

With twin Michael having been released by the club nearly three years ago, Matthew has continued to attempt to carve out a career in football at the top level, with loans down the English pyramid both last season and this. At Barnsley, he had a solid start, gaining regular starting spots in midfield across the first quarter of the season; unfortunately, he then began to see minutes dwindle, being relegated first to a bench role and then being left out of the squad entirely in Barnsley’s last four matches.

That clearly hasn’t sat well with Spurs, who have promptly organized him another loan to League One, with destination Mansfield Town just a few spots behind Barnsley in the table. Spurs will be hoping to see Craig continue the start he made at Barnsley, where he received rave reviews early on from some of The Tykes faithful.

I’m not going to lie to you, though. Craig is 21, and it’s hard to see him progressing much higher in the pyramid at this stage of his development. For the club (and player), it’s more likely now about maximizing value for a transfer so that Craig can continue to build a career in the football league - and there’s no shame in that!

Good luck to Matthew at Mansfield Town!

Tottenham Hotspur’s men’s team wasn’t the only Spurs side scheduled to play an FA Cup match tomorrow morning. Spurs Women were set to play an FA Women’s Cup match against Everton at Walton Hall Park in Merseyside tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET / 1 p.m. UK. However, the club has announced that the match has been postponed for a frozen pitch and will not be played.

Tomorrow’s match was supposed to be the first Spurs Women match since December 14, but as of now the next opportunity to see them play will be when they host Leicester City Women on January 19 in WSL play. It’s kind of a bummer, but on the other hand it’s also at least the fourth time already this season that the Men’s and Women’s teams have been scheduled to play at the same time, so I’m okay with this postponement. Safety first, of course. I understand scheduling is tough, but I do wish the leagues made more of an effort to ensure that club fans don’t have to decide between supporting their mens’ and womens’ teams.

Like the fabled trip to Marine in 2021, Tottenham Hotspur will get another memorable experience this weekend after being drawn against Tamworth FC in the FA Cup Third Round. Tamworth sits in the fifth tier of the pyramid and has only progressed to this stage in the competition four times. Needless to say, this is the biggest event in the club’s history.

The Lamb Ground has seen Stoke and Norwich arrive as visitors, but even in a down year, Spurs are surely the most notable attraction this stadium has ever seen. That fixture against Marine ended 5-0, and this one should be lopsided as well, but hopefully it goes down as another fun event that will be fondly remembered by both sides.

Third Round: Tamworth vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Date: Sunday, January 12

Time: 7:30 am ET, 12:30 pm UK

Location: The Lamb Ground, Tamworth

TV: ESPN+ (USA), ITV1 (UK)

Tamworth, which sits 14 miles outside Birmingham, currently plays in the National League; only other non-League side, Dagenham & Redbridge, remains in the competition. Its FA Cup journey includes a victory at home over Huddersfield Town and an away win over Burton Albion on penalties — both opponents are competing in League One this season.

Obviously, Tottenham is the overwhelming favorite, even with a completely rotated side (though is that even possible given the number of injuries that are still outstanding?). The Magic of the Cup can yield crazy results, but despite infuriating performances over the past few months, no one should realistically predict an upset on Sunday.

Spurs have not had much success in the FA Cup recently. After four straight exits in the Round of 16 — to objectively weaker opponents — they advanced to just the Round of 32 last year and fell to City. However, League Cup performances this season — against legitimate opposition — are making the case for some faith in Ange Postecoglou in these competitions.

Warranted fanfare

The match itself could bring some excitement, whether it be due to an unfortunately close result or from a great showing by the Tottenham youth, but most of the spectacle will be on everything around the event itself. There has been plenty written about the size of the ground and the accommodations needed, and just like against Marine, it is always fun to see Spurs in this sort of environment.

Over recent seasons, many supporters have seen the cups as a hindrance of bigger goals, as Tottenham continues to fight its way into the top echelon of the league. While this year is a big step back in that department, it does provide the silver lining of more importance on the auxiliary competitions, which offer a hope for something to achieve instead of just fixture congestion.

Postecoglou is still fighting for support, and runs in both cups would be big justifiers for his project. A date against Tamworth was just about the perfect draw for his side that is still very depleted. But while moving on to the next round is paramount, hopefully this weekend will add another memorable chapter into this club’s history as well — which will be even more special should Spurs make a deep run in this tournament.

good morning!

Yesterday we took a look at the second tier in the English football pyramid. Today we look at tiers three, four and five. Who knows, a future Premier League rival could emerge from these one day.

EFL League One:

Is this the most exciting title race in English football right now? Birmingham, Wycombe and Wrexham are all separeted by just two points (though they haven’t played equal matches).

Who knows how it’ll all shake out. Wrexham are going for the back-to-back-to-back promotion, whilst B’ham are looking to get back into the championship after their relegation last year.

Meanwhile Leyton Orient - Harry Kane’s former loan club - have won five straight and now sit eighth in the table.

Top Six:

Bottom four:

EFL League Two:

No idea what to make of this, except that Salford City could finally be moving up to League One. They’ve won their last five matches and now sit in the autuomatic promotion places. Less good news for Morecambe, though, who continue to flounder in the relegation zone.

Top seven:

Bottom two:

National League:

Another tight race. York City, Forest Green, and North London’s own Barnet are separated by just one point. Only one is guaranteed to make it to League Two, and at least one will miss out on promotion entirely).

Top three:

Bottom three:

Fitzie’s track of the day: Rush Rush, by Debbie Harry

And now for your links:

Dan KP: “Tottenham’s objective is clear before Liverpool semi-final as Ange Postecoglou waits for cavalry”

Welcome to the latest edition of Trending Up / Trending Down, where Hoddle Headquarters takes a look at what around Tottenham Hotspur is trending up, and what is trending down.

——

It’s been a couple weeks since our latest installment, and certainly the first since the congested holiday fixture schedule. A lot has happened too! Most of it not great. But Wednesday’s fixture changed the vibes!

Nevertheless, we continue.

Trending Up

Lucas Bergvall: Felt like he deserved this inclusion even before this goal. There was a lot of hype around Bergvall heading into this season. For the most part, I think he’s delivered. And what a machine he was on Wednesday. All leading up to his first goal for Spurs.

Liverpudlian tears: Spare me the tears.

Ange Postecoglou had enough to say in his defense of Bergvall. But really, who are Liverpool to complain anways? Remember this?

Archie Gray: Hard to believe he’s playing at 18 years old and out of position. Honestly, he’s played in so many in recent weeks that I forgot what his position was. He’s look very well composed, too, and thus earns a slot in the Trending Up.

Dominic Solanke: He almost feels underrated. But I think Dom Solanke has been one of the better signings for Spurs in the last couple of years. I love the way he presses and he is a very capable striker. I feel like he has great vision too, evidenced by that assist to Bergvall.

Trending Down

Guglielmo Vicario and Fraser Forster: A pretty rough time for them both - most of it wasn’t their fault (yes, Forster had a shocker against United last month). Since December Forster’s gotten sick, Vicario remains out, and that’s left a vacuum. First Brandon Austin made a smart debut at the club. Then, Spurs signed Antonin Kinsky to challenge Vicario (pushing Forster down the order). Kinsky had an exceptional debut, and could very well be Spurs’ first choice until Vicario comes back.

But what happens when Vicario comes back?

My patience with AngeOut takes: Wild to think that Spurs are in a pretty poor place when you look at the Premier League table. A slew of injuries and disappointing results creaked open enough space for #AngeOut takes to creep through into Spurs discourse. I never bought it.

Appears the Spurs brass don’t either, as recently reported by David Ornstein who said he’s got the 100% backing of the board. The Kinsky signing seems to underline this.

Plus, who wouldn’t want to see Big Ange see through this project? Here’s a quote from him via Alasdair Gold:

“Name me another Premier League team that’s got two 18-year-olds and one playing out of position consistently. I’m so happy they’re at our football club and you know, in two or three years’ time, I just pray to God I’m the beneficiary of their talent, mate, because if somebody else is getting it, I won’t be happy”

How can you judge a manager who’s dealing with so many injuries? Spurs had 10 players out today, nearly enough to field an entire lineup. Let’s save the judgments for when Ange has a full squad for a considerable period of time (not including the offseason). Regardless, this team has picked up wins against Liverpool, Villa, United and City. That’s a hell of a lot better than last season, and feels a heck of a lot better than they did under Mourinho and Conte (though please double-check the hoddler-in-chief).

Fitzie’s track of the day: I’d Rather Go Blind, by Etta James

And now for your links:

Five things Football London spotted during Spurs’ win vs Liverpool

Jack P-B ($$): Sonny might be at Spurs for another year, but questions are not over

BBC: “Bergvall is headline act as young Spurs show incredible maturity”

Filed under:

Tottenham Hotspur Match Reports

Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool: Late Bergvall goal gives Spurs win in League Cup first leg

Spurs take a slim lead to Anfield for the second leg.

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Just two weeks ago, Liverpool came to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and came away with a dominant 6-3 win over Tottenham. Today, in the first leg of the League Cup semifinal match between the two teams, Tottenham turned the table. Lucas Bergvall, who moments before had luckily escaped what might have been a second yellow card, turned in a late goal after being set up by Dominic Solanke and Tottenham defeated the league leaders 1-0, taking a slim lead to Anfield in a couple months. It was Bergvall’s first goal in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt, and it was a crucial one, snapping Liverpool’s 24 match unbeaten streak.

Spurs put in a much more assured performance than they did the last time these two teams met, and benefited from the debut of new keeper signing Antonin Kinsky, who had an excellent match, both playing out of the back and also with a couple of outstanding saves. Dominic Solanke also had a ball in the back of the net that was called back for a toenail offside.

Tottenham put out the strongest lineup they could for this one, which unfortunately still isn’t their strongest possible. However, there were a few surprises — new keeper signing Kinsky was thrown straight into the squad just days after signing from Slavia Prague. Yves Bissouma, Lucas Bergvall, and Rodrigo Bentancur anchored the midfield with Pape Sarr and James Maddison both suspended due to yellow card accumulation. And to everyone’s surprise, Yang Min-hyeok was named to the bench — his first appearance in the squad since joining from the K-League, as was Mikey Moore, who makes his long-awaited return after recovering from a virus.

Liverpool also put out a strong squad, only really rotating their back line. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Diego Jota all started for the Reds, who have Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup coming up and are more easily able to rotate for that match than this one. Liverpool also know that a good result in the first leg sets them up for an easier time in the second leg, at Anfield.

Here are my match reactions from an exciting and cathartic Tottenham win.

Match reactions:

A really scary early moment when Bentancur went down injured. The stretcher even came out. I didn’t see what happened, it looked like maybe he attempted a diving header and fell awkwardly? But he was at least sitting up before leaving the field. I swear, this team is cursed w/r/t injuries. Do we need to sacrifice Chirpy at the center circle to break this?

I was very upset with the home fans singing the “I don’t care about Levy” song while Bentancur is down on the pitch on a stretcher. Read the fucking room.

Kinsky is just such a different keeper to Forster. He plays high, spending much of his time outside the box when Spurs are in possession. He passes to his defenders’ feet. He plays skip passes! He passes accurately from deep! The positioning allows Spurs to start their attacks higher up the pitch and be quicker. Small sample size, but thus far — I love him. He seems perfect for Ange, maybe more so than even Googly Elmo.

Yves Bissouma is always good for picking up a stupid first half yellow card. At least he’s consistent about it.

Spurs had an injury, a new keeper, several players out, and couldn’t complete a pass and were still better than Liverpool in that first half.

Djed Spence was quite possibly Spurs’ best player in this match. Dynamic with the ball, making runs, overlapping Son when necessary. Outstanding match.

Kulusevski and Solanke have both played a TON of minutes lately, and it’s finally starting to show. This was the first match where I’ve really noticed a drop-off from both of them in intensity and technical ability. I think they’re just knackered. Hopefully they can get a breather against Tamworth.

I’m not really a blame the ref guy but this match official let Liverpool get away with SO MANY fouls — shoulder charges, pull-backs, cheeky kicks. It was infuriating.

Lucas Bergvall has improved as a player this season but I’m not sure he’s at the level yet where he can be a consistent plus-add for Spurs in the midfield. The game has clearly slowed down for him and you can see the glimpses of some real quality, but he’s a little frustrating with his passing and decision-making right now. He really should’ve been sent off for two late tackles on Diaz and was very lucky.

That second half miss by Porro was Liverpool’s one gift to Spurs all match and they screwed it up. That goal was gaping, and I can’t fathom how Porro put that shot wide.

Must be nice to be able to bring Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Trent Alexander-Arnold off the bench in a cup semifinal. Spurs could never.

Just when I was about ready to yell at Radu Dragusin, he goes and makes an incredible goal-line clearance. Wow.

That was such a nice goal from Solanke and it’s such a bummer that VAR called it off for a toenail offside. At least the match official explained it to the crowd over the tannoy, that’s at least something.

Hey, remember that stuff I wrote about Lucas Bergvall above? Ignore all that, he rules. That was an incredible finish, and an excellent assist from Solanke to set it up.

Liverpool fans online are already salty about this match, saying they were robbed after benefiting from soft officiating all match. I love it that this seems to happen every time we beat them.

A 1-0 lead heading into Anfield isn’t especially a secure one, but one hopes that by the time these two teams meet again Spurs will have a few first team players back from injury. It sets up for a potentially explosive second leg, and that’s exciting.