Cartilage Free Captain

Kia ora.

I’m a big TV fan. My wife and I watch a fair few shows between us, and one thing that’s become noticeable over the past 5-10 years is how much TV, and how it’s structured, has changed.

The advent of streaming services, better hardware quality, and improvements in CGI has resulted in big, movie-level budgets to deliver a “prestige-level” product; this increase in cost to film has also seen seasons grow shorter, with the desire to binge watch meaning less room for “filler” or “monster-of-the-week” (to use an X-Files term) episodes to pad out a 20+ episode season, with viewers often complaining about the insertion of such breaks from the main plot.

The really big change though has been the wait between seasons.

Gone are the days of surety surrounding the yearly September to May air window for network shows; instead, we sometimes see 2+ year waits as new seasons are prepared. The increased cost means studios are often reluctant to renew shows early without some quantification of show performance; there’s also increased time spent writing, the advent of film actors moving into TV (often meaning scheduling conflicts), and a longer post-production window to get shows looking sharp (as we’ve all come to expect).

This can actively harm shows as well, as long-running plot lines get forgotten, fans disconnect from the show, or people with busy lives start new shows and find they can’t really be bothered picking up another one again; Westworld was somewhat a victim of this (though it had other issues) with huge gaps between seasons.

I’ve honestly forgotten some of the shows on which I’m waiting; Severance Season 2 is a big one, airing early next year; the second season of Andor is another likely releasing around the same time. Stranger Things, Silo, For All Mankind, Fargo, The White Lotus... the list goes on. I guess you could say I’m impatient.

What about you? Do you prefer the longer wait for “higher quality” TV? Is there anything you’ve been waiting a long time to continue watching?

Matty’s track of the day: This Is Why (Live), by Paramore

And now for your links:

Ledley King & Ossie Ardiles have been hanging out in Japan with supporters

A K-League perspective on purported Spurs signing Yang Min-Hyuk’s rise to stardom

A fantastic video from The Extra Inch highlighting the problems with Spurs’ squad and how to potentially fix them (or not)

If you’re a fan of Tottenham Hotspur Women, want to be, or just like English women’s football in general, then you’re going to like what I’m about to write. Beginning this upcoming season in 2024-25, the Barclay’s Women’s Super League will begin broadcasting all non-televised WSL matches on YouTube, rather than on its proprietary streaming service FA Player!

The announcement was made in a couple of throw-away lines at the bottom of a press release announcing the new fixtures for the 2024-25 season, but the news is abundantly welcome! The WSL now has its own dedicated YouTube channel and, similar to what it did on the FA Player in past seasons, promises to stream all WSL matches there that aren’t televised in the United Kingdom. YouTube will also host full match replays for viewers who can’t tune into the matches live, as well as highlight packages and behind-the-scenes content via a new partnership with DAZN, all free of charge.

According to sportindustry.biz, Sky Sports will broadcast as many as 44 WSL matches in the UK next season, with BBC broadcasting at least 22 matches. Those not selected for TV coverage will be streamed on YouTube. For viewers in the United States, those televised matches are typically streamed via Paramount+, and there are suggestions that Paramount will be broadcasting more matches this upcoming season than in years past.

The Women’s FA Cup competition is notably NOT included in this deal; all FA Cup matches this coming season will continue to be streamed on the FA Player.

This is good stuff. It should be acknowledged that the FA Player has filled a real hole over the past few years for fans who had no other real option to watch Spurs Women (or any other WSL team) play, but there have been significant headaches. The production value on FA Player streams was pretty sub-standard, and since the FA Player app is a standalone for mobile devices and not optimized for TV, it required casting a low-quality feed to your streaming box of choice in order to watch on television. I can’t tell you how many times the feed has crapped out on me while I was watching FA Player games in years past.

But this is excellent news. Moving to YouTube will make it easier for fans to find, and watch, WSL matches this coming season and will hopefully continue to boost women’s soccer in the UK.

Kia ora.

This is going to be a bit more of a rushed Hoddle, the reason being I’m writing this while in a work meeting.

Oh, the joy of meetings.

Meetings are great when it allows you to engage with your colleagues, build a rapport, and have a level of connection that depending on your day-to-day role, you may sorely miss. They’re also good if there is a purpose or a function, in that you can expect to come out of said meeting with takeaways or actions with which to proceed.

And speaking of takeaways, having them catered is always a bonus.

Unfortunately, meetings are often not great.

I recently shifted to a new role in which I find myself in 6+ hours of meetings on certain days, which is brutal when you also need to... well, get work done. A lot of meetings or calls are remote, so I can work away on things on my PC while trying to keep one ear open.

The worst meetings though are the ones where you are unlikely to have any actions come your way, but you need to actively listen just in case. I’ve mentioned before that I work in IT; to be more specific, I work closely with data, and so I find myself in a lot of calls, meetings, and groups where changes and updates to data are being discussed. This means I need to be always listening because there could be flow-on impacts to my team (and therefore the whole business).

Consequently, I am sometimes sitting in a meeting for a couple of hours, actively listening - only to have zero input or takeaways. It is not fun.

Do you have any meetings you wish you could just not go to? Does your job even have meetings? Or maybe you dream of a job that has lots of meetings? Trust me, you shouldn’t.

Matty’s track of the day: Over the Hillside, by The Blue Nile

And now for your links:

Robert Vilahamn talks to the club about his plans for the future after signing a contract extension

Alasdair Gold’s takeaways from Spurs’ first training session in Tokyo

Kia ora.

This is going to be a bit more of a rushed Hoddle, the reason being I’m writing this while in a work meeting.

Oh, the joy of meetings.

Meetings are great when it allows you to engage with your colleagues, build a rapport, and have a level of connection that depending on your day-to-day role, you may sorely miss. They’re also good if there is a purpose or a function, in that you can expect to come out of said meeting with takeaways or actions with which to proceed.

And speaking of takeaways, having them catered is always a bonus.

Unfortunately, meetings are often not great.

I recently shifted to a new role in which I find myself in 6+ hours of meetings on certain days, which is brutal when you also need to... well, get work done. A lot of meetings or calls are remote, so I can work away on things on my PC while trying to keep one ear open.

The worst meetings though are the ones where you are unlikely to have any actions come your way, but you need to actively listen just in case. I’ve mentioned before that I work in IT; to be more specific, I work closely with data, and so I find myself in a lot of calls, meetings, and groups where changes and updates to data are being discussed. This means I need to be always listening because there could be flow-on impacts to my team (and therefore the whole business).

Consequently, I am sometimes sitting in a meeting for a couple of hours, actively listening - only to have zero input or takeaways. It is not fun.

Do you have any meetings you wish you could just not go to? Does your job even have meetings? Or maybe you dream of a job that has lots of meetings? Trust me, you shouldn’t.

Matty’s track of the day: Over the Hillside, by The Blue Nile

And now for your links:

Robert Vilahamn talks to the club about his plans for the future after signing a contract extension

Alasdair Gold’s takeaways from Spurs’ first training session in Tokyo

I hear you saying to yourself, You know what, I don’t think we’ve had enough football this summer, what we need is one more major tournament. Good news! The Olympics start tomorrow, with the opening ceremonies taking place in Paris this weekend, and there’s a whole gosh-danged Olympic soccer tournament happening over the next few weeks!

Now, this is mostly a U23 tournament with a few overage players allowed, so these matches will mostly involve younger players who you may not be as familiar with. That said, there are number of players involved in the Paris Olympics who have been linked with Spurs, at least nominally, over the course of the summer and before. I have been tracking transfer links — there are 105 names on my spreadsheet dating back to last February, so this list is mostly a cross-reference between that spreadsheet and the Olympic rosters, plus one or two players who aren’t linked but maybe should be.

So let’s highlight a few players that Spurs fans might want to keep an eye on. And fair warning — most of them play for France.

France (first match vs. USA, Wed. July 24)

Ryan Cherki (Lyon)

Spurs have seemed to be at least nominally linked to Cherki for years now, but while he’s appeared on a few “lists” this summer there doesn’t seem to be much genuine interest in him. That’s a shame, because he’s pretty great — a ball-playing midfielder, he’s not a prolific scorer but had 3G+9a for Lyon last season and had more than 4 successful take-ons/90, but has been somewhat marred by perceptions of a poor attitude. He’s closest to a move to Dortmund at present but the last update is that any transfer is on hold as he’s not Dortmund’s first choice. There’s still time, Johan!

Desire Doué (Stade Rennais)

Yeah, this guy. He’s real good. Extremely real good. The kind of dribbly winger/central mid who could absolutely explode in Ange Postecoglou’s system, and at age 19 has plenty of time to develop further. That said, he’s all potential at this point, so it’s an expensive bet on future performance, much like with Brennan Johnson. Even so, this kid’s ceiling is high, but Stade Rennais is holding out for a huge payday well north of €60m, and right now it looks like he’s more likely to head to either Bayern Munich or PSG. There are indications that Spurs are a dark horse for him, so maybe they just need to arrange a phone call with Ange where can say “mate” a lot and convince him of his plans for the future. It’s worked before!

Bradley Locko (Brest)

Tottenham are in need of a backup/rotation option at left back for Destiny Udogie, and Locko’s name has come up several times. There are suggestions that Spurs have raised their interest in him lately. The 22-year old Brest LB has been on my tracker spreadsheet since May — he offers plenty of offensive play from deep positions (1.94 successful take-ons/90) but also seems to be a cromulent passer, suggesting he could invert well. The question is whether he can push Udogie for a position, and potentially raising both of their games. Locko should get plenty of minutes in Paris during the Olympics, so he’d be one to watch if you’re watching France (and you should be watching France)

Castello Lukeba (RB Leipzig)

This is more of a dark horse pick; there aren’t really any solid or tenuous links between Lukeba and Tottenham, but he’s a left-sided central defender/left back hybrid who is highly regarded, and Spurs could use another player in that area. He’s extremely strong on the ball and comfortable playing out of the back, and can slide left if needed to deputize or cover at the left-back position as well. He’s a regular starter for RB Leipzig who don’t seem that keen on letting him go, but there are suggestions he could be had for somewhere in the £20m-25m range. I quite like him.

Argentina (first match vs. Morocco, Wed. July 24)

Cristian Medina (Boca Juniors)

Links between Tottenham and the 22-year old Boca midfielder Medina go back to last April, but there’s been absolutely nothing since, and those initial links were probably media or agent-driven. He’s a strong passer and breaking into Boca Juniors’ first team squad at 19 isn’t easy. Medina seems like perfectly cromulent player but Spurs seemingly have their own targets now, I’m sure he’s on a list somewhere, though. Boca’s season has only just kicked off, but he had 3G+1A in 1300 minutes for Boca last season. Worth keeping an eye on, but I doubt he’s a high priority target for Spurs in what’s left of the window.

Spain (first match vs. Uzbekistan, Wed. July 24)

Alex Baena (Villarreal)

Baena’s been nominally linked to Spurs since last April, and there’s a lot to like about the 22-year old Villarreal midfielder. He can play across the midfield line and his stats really pop, especially his playmaking metrics — 5G+17A in all competitions last season, including 2g+3A in the Europa League last season. Unai Emery apparently really likes him for Villa. He mostly played as an 8 or as a left-sided winger for the Yellow Submarine and I could see him as a rotation option for James Maddison as a central playmaker. The problem with Baena is he’s a bit of a shithead — he got into big trouble last year for supposedly making a disparaging comment to his teammate Federico Valverde on the Villarreal team bus after his wife nearly lost their unborn child; Valverde punched Baena and then sued him over the incident, though Baena’s camp denies it ever happened. So that pretty much sums up Alex Baena — good player, but maaaaaaaybe one we should avoid on squad unity/good people metrics/vibes. But you should watch him on a young and talented Spain squad.

Japan (first match vs. Paraguay, Wed. July 24)

Look, just watch them, ok?

I don’t have anyone specific that you should watch on Japan’s squad, just they’re supposed to be technical, good, and fun. Japan finished fourth at the 2020 Olympics, losing the bronze medal match to Mexico, and we know Ange Postecoglou has managed in Japan and isn’t averse to scouting that part of the world for underrated talent. In the warm-up friendlies before this week, they beat USA 2-0 and drew hosts France 1-1. I’m not an expert on U23 international football, but that seems to indicate dark horse status to me. Hopefully Spurs have some scouts in Paris.

Did I miss anyone? Are there players Spurs aren’t linked to but SHOULD be? Have your say in the comments.

The news has been awfully quiet on the Spurs Women front lately, but here’s some good news — Tottenham Hotspur announced today that head coach Robert Vilahamn has signed a new contract that will keep him at the club through 2027!

Robert had this to say in comments posted on Spurs’ website:

“To sign a new contract with the Club feels amazing. My first contract here and moving to London was a big thing but now I have been here, met people at the Club, I feel the potential is a good match. I just want to stay and keep working to make sure this team are taking the steps to the top.

“As a new coach in this country, I needed results so people would buy into what I was saying so it was really nice to see that we played good football, scored some beautiful goals but, once again, it’s just the beginning. We started our time getting to know each other so these years to come are going to show how we take this team to the top.

“The talent in the group and the staff is already there, we just need to make sure we find the right level in the squad, develop the one we have while adding a few extra players… we will take it step by step here.”

Vilahamn was appointed last summer on an initial two-year contract, so this is a substantial vote of confidence in him and his abilities to improve Spurs Women. And he already has done wonders. Spurs were nearly relegated after the 2022-23 season, escaping by the skin of their teeth in a campaign that saw previous head coach Rehanne Skinner (now at West Ham) sacked. Good ol’ “Bob Goddamn” revitalized the team, emphasizing the acquisition of young, up and coming players like Grace Clinton, Celin Bizet, and Charly Grant. Spurs ended the season in sixth, four behind Manchester United, but had some incredible moments along the way including a first-ever win over arch-rivals Arsenal, and a trip to the finals of the FA Cup.

Yesterday, the WSL released its schedule for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Tottenham open the season at home against Crystal Palace on September 21, followed by an away trip to Aston Villa. Fixtures to be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (as opposed to Brisbane Road) have not been announced, but I think you can count on at the very least the home North London Derby in November to be there, plus the home match vs. Chelsea in May.

The incomings have been quiet lately, but the murmurs are that there are more transfers on the way, and we’ll bring you that news when it happens. In the meantime, get ready for another exciting season, hopefully with additional improvement from Spurs Women under Bob!

Na-na na-na na-na na-na na na / Robert Vilahamn, Vilahamn / Robert Vilahamn!

Kia ora.

So, a bit of a guilty pleasure my wife and I have been getting into lately is watching color analysis videos on YouTube. If you hadn’t heard of it, it’s the practice of determining the best palette for a person using color theory - basically a pseudoscience that classifies certain colors and shades based on hue, brightness, and warmth.

The thinking is that certain colors work better on certain people (well, duh) and by comparing how a person looks when draped with similar color variants with a different underlying tone, a color analyst can help determine what people should wear, the shades of makeup that would best suit a person, and potentially the best options around hair coloring.

Basically, the colors that are in your season tend to make you look vibrant, healthy, and glowing, whereas if they’re outside your season (and especially if they’re on the opposite side of the color wheel) you can look washed out, ill, or just not quite right. The differences can be extremely subtle, so what my wife and I like to do is see if we can guess which color the analyst is going to go with when they’re comparing two shades. Sometimes it’s really, really obvious; other times it’s really hard to tell.

It’s a fun activity, and kind of intriguing how much just a subtle change in tint can make a huge difference to somebody’s appearance. We’ve assessed ourselves as well, with our limited knowledge and know-how - I reckon I’m a soft summer, whereas she’s a cool summer - so both in the same season but at slightly different ends.

Have you done any color analysis before? Are there any colors you love that just look awful on you? Or do you have other YouTube guilty pleasures with which you like to kill time?

Matty’s track of the day: The Rainbow, by Talk Talk

And now for your links:

With Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg officially leaving the club, Spurs posted a nice farewell video

Spurs announce WSL fixture list for the upcoming season

Kia ora.

So, a bit of a guilty pleasure my wife and I have been getting into lately is watching color analysis videos on YouTube. If you hadn’t heard of it, it’s the practice of determining the best palette for a person using color theory - basically a pseudoscience that classifies certain colors and shades based on hue, brightness, and warmth.

The thinking is that certain colors work better on certain people (well, duh) and by comparing how a person looks when draped with similar color variants with a different underlying tone, a color analyst can help determine what people should wear, the shades of makeup that would best suit a person, and potentially the best options around hair coloring.

Basically, the colors that are in your season tend to make you look vibrant, healthy, and glowing, whereas if they’re outside your season (and especially if they’re on the opposite side of the color wheel) you can look washed out, ill, or just not quite right. The differences can be extremely subtle, so what my wife and I like to do is see if we can guess which color the analyst is going to go with when they’re comparing two shades. Sometimes it’s really, really obvious; other times it’s really hard to tell.

It’s a fun activity, and kind of intriguing how much just a subtle change in tint can make a huge difference to somebody’s appearance. We’ve assessed ourselves as well, with our limited knowledge and know-how - I reckon I’m a soft summer, whereas she’s a cool summer - so both in the same season but at slightly different ends.

Have you done any color analysis before? Are there any colors you love that just look awful on you? Or do you have other YouTube guilty pleasures with which you like to kill time?

Matty’s track of the day: The Rainbow, by Talk Talk

And now for your links:

With Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg officially leaving the club, Spurs posted a nice farewell video

Spurs announce WSL fixture list for the upcoming season

It’s done! Tottenham Hotspur has confirmed that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has left the club, moving to Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille.

There was much talk about the specifics of the loan last night, but according to Alasdair Gold it’s not technically a purchase — at least not yet. Hojbjerg heads to Marseille on a season-long loan with a purchase obligation next summer. Initial reports suggested a €13.5 fee, but Alasdair Gold suggests there are various performance-related clauses that could kick the total fee as high as €20m (£17m).

In addition, there are reports that Spurs also have a sell-on clause in the transfer agreement, meaning Tottenham will get a small cut of Pierre’s NEXT sale as well.

Tottenham has been criticized for not being able to shift players out, and while there’s still a lot of work to do, getting Hojbjerg out the door is a significant achievement. I know some fans are disappointed by the fee, but it’s a pretty good price all told for a 28-year old player whom Spurs bought four years ago for £15m and who is in the last year of his contract.

Ange Postecoglou has said a number of times that he has to change the squad to get it to where it needs to be. Hojbjerg has been privately angling for an exit to a new club and had a good Euros. Marseille isn’t necessarily a prestige club and isn’t playing European football, but it’s probably a good landing place for him and I hope he does well.

Thanks for everything, General Ho. Give him a Viking funeral!

Earlier today, Tottenham Hotspur released the list of players who are currently in the air flying towards Japan on the first leg of their Asian tour. Bryan Gil and Sergio Reguilon were names that were left off that list, with the release specifically mentioning they requested not to go in order to secure a transfer move this summer.

As if on cue, there’s a report from Javi Roldán in Spain who says that Girona have opened negotiations with Tottenham over Bryan Gil.

Now yes, before you bring it up, this is the same Girona that couldn’t come to an agreement for an £8m transfer for Djed Spence, which might end up as a good thing for all parties considering the current Djedessance in North London. So I’m a little skeptical of what this means — either a low-money permanent transfer, or perhaps a loan with an obligation to purchase next summer. Yeah this is totally wrong, that was Genoa, this is Girona. I’m blaming chemo-brain.

Considering Gil cost Tottenham £25m plus Erik Lamela when they bought him from Sevilla a couple of seasons ago, I don’t expect they’ll get anything close to what they paid for him no matter what happens. At least Spurs doesn’t think this is a Gil to die on, I guess.