Cartilage Free Captain

This week marks the first time in a month that Tottenham Hotspur hasn’t played two matches in any given week. It’s also the last time that’ll happen until mid-February. That’s obviously less than ideal considering Tottenham’s squad is ravaged by injuries to the extent that they have at times had ten first team players unavailable for selection.

But there is hope on the horizon. Alasdair Gold posted an update on Tottenham Hotspur’s injury situation today and while there’s not a ton of immediate aid coming, there are timelines for a number of injured players’ returns.

Let’s start with Wilson Odobert. One of Tottenham’s newest signings, we barely got to know him before he went down with a long term hamstring injury that included surgery. Today he posted a cryptic image on his Instagram stories showing him wearing football boots.

Now before we get too excited, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s returning to full training. More likely it “merely” means that he’s returning to outdoor training on turf. But that’s a significant milestone! Gold writes that Odobert’s return is sometime “in 2025” which is extremely vague, but also appropriate when rehabbing an injury like the one he just had.

The other positive update is Richarlison, which Gold states could be fit enough to make the bench for the Newcastle match this weekend. Richy has been treated with caution as he rehabs from a hamstring injury picked up while assisting Dominic Solanke’s goal against Aston Villa on November 3. If Richy does make the bench I wouldn’t expect him to get anything other than a brief run-out as a late game sub, if he plays at all... but still, progress!

Here’s a quick summary of Tottenham’s other injured players, according to Gold:

Mikey Moore — Likely to return to full training on Wednesday, but is not expected to be fit in time for Newcastle

Guglielmo Vicario — Still recovering from foot surgery, likely out at least a further month, possibly more

Cuti Romero — No significant update, but if initial reports hold could return by mid-January

Micky van de Ven — Similar timetable as Romero as Micky recuperates from another hamstring injury

Ben Davies — Re-aggravated his existing injury a couple weeks back, but eying a return in early January

Destiny Udogie — Injured his hamstring against Wolves, with no date set for return. This is a complete guess, but I wouldn’t expect him back for six weeks or so.

Tottenham are also expected to bolster their squad with some additions in the January transfer window; hopefully some of them will come early so they can help with squad rotation before Spurs’ injured players return.

good morning and welcome to the FINAL HODDLE OF THE YEAR !!!!!

Let’s end the year by wrapping up our countdown of Fitzie’s Top Songs of 2024.

I have to say, looking at this list, it’s really tough to rank them 10 through 1. But that’s the task that I’ve assigned myself and I’m not going to shy away from it. So let’s get to it.

Where the hell did Sports Team come from? I’m not sure, but they delivered an absolute banger in Condensation.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part one: Condensation, by Sports Team

This is everything you’d want from St Vincent. After returning to 70s sultry rock, St Vincent is back with a more experimental collection of songs. The best of which is Broken Man.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part two: Broken Man, by St Vincent

Not every Track of the Day grabs Menno’s attention so much that he has to comment on it and declare his newfound love for the artist. This country-rock romper is that good and deserves its place in Fitzie’s top 10.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part three: Sunshine Getaway, by JD McPherson

TLDP is one of my favourite groups out there right now. I adore their baroque pop sound. And The Feminine Urge shows TLDP at their very best.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part four: The Feminine Urge, by The Last Dinner Party

Sometimes you listen to a song and you know it’s important. This might not be my favourite song this year (it’s close), but I think it’ll have the greatest impact. The lyrics ween between nonsensical and deep, and the momentum builds and builds.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part five: Starburster, by Fontaines DC

Haunting lyrics carry this one all the way to No. 5. I’ve played this song many times this year, and it always feels fresh. It’s got this electronic beat, an almost ghostly vocal performance from SVE that is always incredible to listen to.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part six: Afterlife, by Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory

That’s the Jack White we know. The only thing better than listening to this for the first time on the radio was listening to it at The Atlantis in DC.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part seven: That’s How I’m Feeling, by Jack White

How do you choose just one Yard Act song? They released one of my favourite records this year in Where’s My Utopia? It was hard to select just one song from their record to place in the list.

The best song on that album is Blackpool Illuminations, which almost defies the sarcastic reckoning the band faces with its newfound critical acclaim. After some cheeky songs like Dream Job and We Make Hits, we get an honestly reflective song that harkens back to a tourist attraction in the coastal town.

Or is it all a joke that only Yard Act are in on? Pull up the lyrics and listen to an incredible piece of writing.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part eight: Blackpool Illuminations, by Yard Act

The Linda Lindas burst onto the scene a couple years ago with Oh! They return this year with something far more sophisticated in All In My Head.

Not just in the subject matter, but in their musicianship as well. Hard to believe they’re just teenagers still.

(If anyone has a spare ticket and wants to bring a hoddler-in-chief to The Linda Lindas’ gig at the Black Cat on April 18, let fitzie know.)

Fitzie’s track of the day, part nine: All In My Head, by The Linda Lindas

There were huge expectations for The Cure’s long-awaited album Songs of a Lost World this year. And they delivered. There’s some exceptional songs here including Drone No Drone, I Can Never Say Goodbye and Love’s A Fragile Thing.

Safe to say The Cure dominated this year for me. They delivered my favourite record and my favourite song. No one does goth, melancholic rock better than them.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part ten: Alone, by The Cure

And now for your links:

NME: Robert Smith on why he dislikes 4:13 Dream

The Los Angeles Times ($$): The Linda Lindas grow up while reaching stadium-level status

The Guardian reviews a Jack White concert

Six years after Tottenham Hotspur came within a whisker of signing a young Jack Grealish, are Spurs finally about to get their man? Well, maybe. Possibly. Likely not, but let’s write about it anyway.

Daily Mail northern football correspondent Jack Gaughan writes for the “newspaper” (and I use the term loosely) in a piece dedicated to Manchester City’s January transfer plans that Grealish is a player who could leave City in the upcoming window, and that both Spurs and Newcastle are “monitoring” the situation.

Now, admittedly that’s some pretty thin gruel on which to base a transfer rumor, but Jack Grealish isn’t playing a ton of football at City right now and he could be a player that could add some significant spice to Ange Postecoglou’s roster. That said, City are going through a crisis of their own and Pep Guardiola said he doesn’t expect any players will leave the club next month. I guess we’ll find out. Grealish is no longer the young, exciting Villa player that Spurs nearly signed in the summer of 2018, but he’s still a quality creative passing midfielder that could really help Spurs, if they can find a way to get him in.

I find it hard to believe that Grealish, now 29, would be considered a long-term option for Spurs, but would I take him on loan? I absolutely, 100% would. So file this rumor as one that fits in the “LOL but I want this to happen” category.

Alasdair Gold has also been writing about Tottenham’s potential plans in January, and while Spurs have locked down almost all transfer-related leaks under Johan Lange, Gold says Spurs are looking at potentially bringing in as many as four players this month, looking at central defenders, a left back, a central midfielder, and potentially an attacker. Spurs are also said to be “considering” options at keeper for a long-term backup and competition for Guglielmo Vicario when he returns to the side.

The January window opens tomorrow with the start of the 2025 calendar year, and with the understanding that Ange Postecoglou desperately needs new players to fortify his exhausted and injury-ravaged squad, if only to get the club to the end of the season where the rebuild can continue. There’s been briefing from the club through various intermediaries that suggests Postecoglou has the full backing of the Tottenham leadership and the players are still firmly behind his managerial tenure, but as results continue to stagnate there’s already murmurs that results need to improve in the second half of the season.

That’s one reason why this window, typically not one in which Spurs do a ton of business, could prove to be incredibly important, not just for Tottenham’s season but also for Postecoglou’s future.

We might have mentioned it a few times on here, but the second annual Pop-Tarts Bowl took place this weekend between the University of Miami and Iowa State University. I am now convinced that the Pop-Tarts Bowl, which is the antithesis of the stuffy, tradition-laden pomp of historic bowls like the Rose and Fiesta Bowls, is exactly what college football needs. It was a great game, too — Iowa State won by a single point and their quarterback captain got to choose which of three Pop-Tart flavor mascots got dumped into a giant toaster to be cooked and subsequently devoured by the winning team (it was Frosted Cinnamon Roll, for the record. RIP.)

Let’s be honest for a second — Pop-Tarts are terrible for you and I don’t recommend people actually consume them, but they are delicious in moderation and are an iconic American pop culture food item. I don’t buy them frequently, but I’ve also tasted a fair few in my years as an American food consumer. So that, in conjunction with the recently completed Bowl, makes them a solid candidate for a player ratings theme.

Once again the rampant schedule of Tottenham Hotspur’s fixtures has caught up to me and I’m behind on posting player ratings, so let’s just crank this one out. Spurs lost away at Nottingham Forest and it sucked. Here are your player ratings to the theme of Pop-Tarts flavors, because why the hell not.

If I were basic, I’d go with frosted strawberry, or maybe frosted cherry or blueberry as my top choice. All three are solid, dependable, top tier toaster pastries. But for my money, I’m going with frosted raspberry. It’s made with actual dried raspberries, for starters, and provides a zing that you just don’t get with the other fruity Pop-Tarts. The sweetness of the frosting also goes a long way towards counterbalancing the tartness of the fruit filling. This is the platonic ideal, at least for me, of Pop-Tartery.

No Tottenham players were in this category.

If you’re not going for a fruit Pop-Tart, you should be going for a chocolate one and there aren’t many that are as good as the s’mores flavor. A graham cracker pastry and a fudge/marshmallow filling is just a classic flavor profile, which is what elevates it above the likes of Hot Fudge Sundae and even Marshmallow Hot Cocoa. This is a top tier garbage toaster pastry.

No Tottenham players in this category.

Iowa State did pretty good here — frosted cinnamon roll is an excellent choice for a winning Pop-Tart flavor, especially if you’re looking for a non-fruit option, and especially when compared to the other two options - Frosted Hot Fudge Sundae and Frosted Wild Berry. You might personally prefer a different choice, but I find it hard to fault going with a spiced option, and the Cinnamon Roll variant is a slight elevation from the original and classic Brown Sugar Cinnamon pastry.

Archie Gray (Community — 3.0): He was fine. Love this kid and his attitude, even acknowledging he’s not really a CB.

Lucas Bergvall (Community — 3.0): A late sub and showed some real spirit in possession, albeit in a losing effort. He’s continuing to show his adaptation to the Premier League level.

It’s basically a combination of Frosted Strawberry and Frosted Raspberry with a 90s-themed “wild” colored frosting. It’s... fine, but weirdly there’s just too much going on here to elevate it, and the berry combination just comes across as muddled. It’s palatable as far as Pop-Tarts go, but nothing especially noteworthy.

Radu Dragusin (Community — 2.5): He was ok, right up to the point where he injured his ankle. He is what he is at this point and we know both the things he does well (tackles/interceptions) and his weaknesses (passing, positional awareness). Do love his long ball from deep, though.

Fraser Forster (Community — 2.5): Definitely not the problem in this match (but also remains as not the solution either).

Pape Sarr (Community — 2.5): Spurs don’t really have many good options as an outlet, but Sarr served that purpose admirably in this one, even in what was a pretty poor team performance.

Dejan Kulusevski (Community — 2.5): Boy did he try in this one. Set up Johnson for at least one chance but a stout Forest defense negated a lot of his efforts.

Credit where due, if you were looking for a Pop-Tart that tastes exactly like those cheap frosted birthday sheetcakes you can get at the local supermarket, then this is a Pop-Tart you will enjoy because they absolutely nail that flavor profile. As for me, I think they’re disgusting and I don’t understand the nostalgia for this particular chemical flavor profile.

Djed Spence (Community — 2.5): Played pretty well on balance, but hard to overlook the two stupid yellows that ruled him out of the Wolves match, one for dissent and the other for a reckless challenge.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Community — 2.5): His first league match back after a seven game suspension and it wasn’t great, Bob!

Brennan Johnson (Community — 2.5): If Johnson isn’t scoring, he also isn’t doing a whole lot to help the team. Forced Sels into a couple of good saves and probably should’ve scored when the ball squirted right to his feet at close range. Otherwise a passenger in this one.

Ange Postecoglou (Community — 2.0): I’m at the point where I have no idea where to rank Ange anymore due to all the context behind the injury crisis, the fixture schedule, and the overall performances.

I’m not sure who asked for this flavor, but as an avowed hater of artificial banana flavoring this one goes straight in the bin for me.

Destiny Udogie (Community — 2.5): Anthony Elanga is a fast dude, one of the fastest in the league, but it still hurt watching Destiny get beat on that opening Wolves goal. Udogie looks a little bereft of confidence at the moment, which I suppose is to be expected.

Dominic Solanke (Community — 2.5): A lot of his complete absence from this match can be attributed to Forest’s defense... but not all. A poor showing at a time when we needed him to step up.

Son Heung-Min (Community — 2.0): I find it hard to disentangle Son’s recent slump from the number of minutes we’ve forced him to play, but this was a poor, poor match from Spurs’ captain.

James Maddison (Community — 2.5): Really didn’t have much of an impact.

I suppose I understand why these things exist... no, scratch that, I don’t. The argument for an unfrosted Pop-Tart is that the frosting makes the Pop-Tart too sweet, but if you don’t like things that sweet, what the hell are you doing eating a Pop-Tart to begin with? These things are sugar bombs, that’s the entire point. Taking the frosting away just makes it a pointless unhealthy toaster pastry, and I will not have it. Go all in or go home.

No Tottenham Hotspur players were as bad as an unfrosted Pop-Tart.

Tom Carroll Memorial Non-Rating

good morning!

We’re in the final days of the year, which means it’s time to do some reflecting. As promised in my Wrapped a few weeks ago, it’s time to look at my favourite song of 2024.

This year was sneaky good to me. There weren’t as many albums that I felt like I had to get, but there’s a good number of songs that I absolutely love. So much so that I’m doing a Top 20 Countdown.

This list will obviously be subjective to my own tastes and will not feature some artists like Charlie XCX. Doesn’t mean she isn’t great. Just means it’s not my taste. With that out of the way, let’s get to the countdown.

A late entry because I thought another song by another artist was from 2024. Turns out that song was from 2011. So this one, which would’ve been an honourable mention, now makes the list.

This is an interesting group but I’m digging em. I like the electro-synth pop elements to it, and that makes this an interesting inclusion.

I’m a sucker for a classic rocker song. This fits the bill exceptionally well.

This is the first song that really hit me this year. It’s insanely catchy with a wonderful hook filled with a dark humour that’s classic Decemberists.

The only jazz entry on this list, but it’s a great one.

MJ Lenderman got a lot of love this year from reviewers and fellow musicians like. I really dig this one. It gives me mellower Pavement vibes.

Ah, how I missed the sound of Vampire Weekend. Classical is one of two singles released ahead of their 2024 record Only God Was Above Us.

Wow. What a song. I wasn’t expecting anything like this from Nick Cave when he released his later album.

Glad to see Beabadoobee got some love this year! They’ve been indie darlings for a couple years now and pulled out a wonderful soft rock song for 2024.

I mean, it’s summer in a song. A lovely, funk and disco pop song. It’s never boring to listen to. Throw on your shades, roll down the windows and turn the volume up baby !!

Fitzie’s track of the day: Espresso, by Sabrina Carpenter

And now for your links:

The Atlantic: ‘Nick Cave’s revised rules for men’

Pitchfork’s Top 100 songs of 2024

Another week, another disappointing Tottenham Hotspur performance, this time a 2-2 come-from-ahead draw against Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. There’s a lot of context behind that first sentence, none bigger than the current injury crisis at Spurs and the state of exhaustion of Tottenham’s core players. This is a team that has played two games a week with as many as ten players unavailable for the past month, and although they get a brief respite ahead of their next match vs Newcastle, that relentless schedule will continue into February.

Ange Postecoglou, speaking to the press after the match, rightfully pointed out that his team is absolutely knackered, and it was a factor in Spurs not seeing out the win today.

“It’s a disappointing outcome. Obviously we went a goal down but after that I felt we controlled the game. It wasn’t easy always to get openings but we did look pretty threatening every time we did get forward. We scored a couple of goals, we obviously missed the penalty and then second half, I just thought we had some really big moments to kill the game off.

“They weren’t really creating much, I mean I think Fraser [Forster] had one save to make with his feet, that was about it. You felt we kind of needed that third goal and obviously they score at the end and you’re kind of left with a disappointing outcome, but it’s not through the want of trying.

“It’s obvious, you know, the lads are fairly fatigued, especially in that front third, we’re not as sharp as we can be, which is understandable because we’re asking a lot of a sort of small core group of players and, as I said, it’s not for the want of trying and they’re trying to get the outcomes for us.”

Ahead of the match many wondered whether Postecoglou would be forced to get even more creative with his defense after Radu Dragusin picked up a knock to his ankle in Spurs’ last match. Dragusin, perhaps surprisingly, started the match and went the whole 90 alongside Archie Gray, though Postecoglou said it was done out of necessity. The other option was to play either Yves Bissouma out of position, or teenager Alfie Dorrington who was on the bench.

“Well we had no choice, if Radu doesn’t play, I don’t know who plays. He wasn’t 100%, but he felt he could get through with his ankle and again, I think the players are all giving everything they can at the moment. It’s just unfortunately we can’t give them what they really need and that is some recovery and rest because we’ve got so many players out, but Radu wanted to play today and you know while he wasn’t 100%, we had no choice to put him out there.

“There’s no choice, but it’s not a risk. I mean it’s it’s a judgment call, you know. It’s not like it’s a muscle injury, it’s a knock on his ankle, but yeah, we’re making decisions. We’ve got no choice unless I throw another 18 or 17-year-old out there, well, that’s the only fit players we have at the moment.”

The other point of concern was the injury to Destiny Udogie, who appeared to injure his hamstring before being subbed off for Sergio Reguilon. Postecoglou confirmed that it looks like Destiny has indeed done his hammy, and that overplaying and lack of rotation is the primary cause.

“Yeah, I think it was a hamstring. Again like I said, we’ve been relying on a core group of players because we just haven’t had the ability to rotate so at some point it was going to catch up with us. Unfortunately it caught up with Destiny.”

For the first time in a month, Spurs will have a week where they only have to play one match — next weekend vs. Newcastle. Postecoglou said that the plan is to try and give his players a mental health break of a couple of days to spend with family and loved ones, and to rest.

“Yeah, it was always planned. We kind of knew this is the first week where we don’t have a midweek game, so I think the whole group probably needs a couple of days just to get away from everything and recover, because it’s been fairly intense for a real small core group of players, particularly over the last four or five weeks and I think it’ll do them good to have a couple of days to themselves with their families and give them a chance to recover mentally as much as physically.”

Ange Postecoglou is perhaps one of the most empathetic managers Spurs have had in my nearly 20 years of fandom. He may come across as gruff and a little tetchy at times but it also comes through very clearly that he has a great affection for his players and the struggles they’re going through. Ange was asked if he’s hurting as much as the players, and his response was typically heart-on-his-sleeve stuff.

“Of course I am [hurting]. It hurts me because I’m responsible ultimately. I’m the person in charge. So of course it hurts. When I see how hard they are trying, it hurts even more because you want them to get a reward and I think today they deserved a reward for their efforts even though they were dipping into their reserves of energy, which I don’t even know where they got from. I wanted them to get a reward for their efforts. So of course it hurts. It hurts immensely. At the same time it’s my responsibility for where we’re at right now and it’s my responsibility to try to get us out of it.”

Tottenham’s next chance to right the ship will be this coming Saturday, January 4 at home vs. Newcastle.

Inside you there are two wolves. They both scored a goal against Tottenham Hotspur today. Spurs took a 2-1 lead late into the match today against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but let in a goal by Jorgen Strand Larsen against the run of play and didn’t have enough left in the tank to get a late winner. The final score was 2-2 — not a loss, but also not a win. Nobody will be especially happy.

That said, Spurs played... pretty well, considering? It certainly wasn’t a dumpster fire, and Tottenham had a chances that were saved or simply not coverted. Son Heung-Min will look back at his saved penalty ruefully, I think. But there ARE positives to take away, and some decent to good player performances to rate.

It’s time to rate the players.

Rate the players from 1⁄2 to 5 stars. If the player doesn’t deserve a rating due to minutes played, DO NOT RANK. I will round the stars up/down to the nearest half-star for the player ratings later this week.

Filed under:

Tottenham Hotspur Match Reports

Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Wolves: unlucky Spurs drop points after late equalizer

The cycle of exhaustion and injury continues.

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Tottenham Hotspur’s December form didn’t improve much today against Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but at least they didn’t lose. Spurs took a 2-1 lead deep into the match and looked likely to pick up their first win since the 5-0 dismantling of Southampton on December 15. But Wolves substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen fired home an equalizer against the run of play and held on for a 2-2 draw that will do little to turn around the vibes amongst the Spurs faithful.

The injury situation hasn’t changed since three days ago, but there was a surprise as Radu Dragusin was deemed fit to start in the back line alongside Archie Gray despite being subbed off with an ankle knock. Elsewhere, Yves Bissouma was preferred to Pape Sarr, while Pedro Porro came back into the side for the suspended Djed Spence. Ange Postecoglou preferred a forward line of Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-Min and Dominic Solanke, playing ahead of Dejan Kulusevski. James Maddison again started the match on the bench.

Wolves went ahead early from a free kick routine when Hwang Hee-Chan fired off the post and past Fraser Forster in the seventh minute, but Rodrigo Bentancur leveled five minutes later with a thumping header from a corner kick. Brennan Johnson put Spurs ahead in extra time of the first half, converting a cutback pass in the box from Dejan Kulusevski and Spurs had a first half penalty by Son Heung-Min that was saved by Wolves keeper Jose Sa. Nevertheless, Spurs looked good value for their lead until Strand Larsen’s late goal for the visitors.

The result was further complicated by yet another injury, this time to Destiny Udogie who appeared to pull his hamstring and was substituted for Sergio Reguilon. The result will keep Spurs in the bottom half of the table with 24 points from 19 matches.

Match Reactions

We didn’t lose. There’s that, but this once again felt like another match Spurs might have won if a few balls didn’t bounce the wrong way.

Honestly thought Spurs played pretty well on the whole — they had a couple of good looks in the second half — not including the missed penalty by Son. But you gotta convert those chances and Spurs again did not. Spurs have certainly played a lot worse than this in December, and it just feels again unlucky to only come away with a point here.

Final xG: TOT 0.99 — 0.51 WOL.

Wolves’ early goal was just a well worked set piece and a great shot. Johnson was fouled, but it’s not like he was rushing out to defend the shot, and it went in off the post.

Spurs have been pretty awful from corners this season (when Sonny isn’t scoring Olimpicos) so it was especially nice to see Bentancur head one in from an outswinging kick. Every so often we get one of those, as a treat.

Wolves played a very physical game and it seemed to throw Spurs off at times, especially in midfield where Bellegarde and others seemed to be specifically targeting Kulusevski. Thought Wolves should’ve had a few more yellow cards than they actually had.

Spurs again didn’t have any real passing in the team in the first half and it was pretty evident without Maddison how little technical ability is in this squad as currently constructed.

The Johnson penalty was softish, but one of those that will never be overturned by VAR once given. But, as they say, “ball don’t lie” as Son had his penalty saved.

Fantastic strike from Johnson, but that goal was all Dejan Kulusevski. Incredible work inside the box to get a half step of space and put in the cutback pass. Deki was really good in this match.

Another hamstring injury, this time to Destiny Udogie. Man, this sucks. It feels like one of those negative spirals where the more injuries happen the more minutes everyone else has to play, and the more susceptible they are to further injury. I am NOT convinced by the “Ange’s tactics cause injuries” takes I’m seeing right now, it feels more like a consequence of Spurs being thin and hurt, a feedback loop of suck.

Interesting choice for Ange to sub off Yves Bissouma instead of Rodrigo Bentancur. Bissouma had a poor match, but Lolo was looking gassed right before Sarr came on. Lolo I thought played quite well on balance, though he trailed off late in the second half.

Strand Larsen’s goal was just absurd, especially from that angle. Hard to be too upset about it, though it’s annoying that it came so against the run of play. Gotta wonder how Forster didn’t do better there since he was covering that near post.

Yellow card for Bentancur means he’s now suspended for the Newcastle match due to yellow card accumulation. He was also probably lucky not to see red. Great stuff (not great stuff).

Spurs are just clearly an exhausted, injury ravaged team, and there’s only so much you can do when that happens. Son gave us virtually nothing for the third straight match and it’s hard not to point to how many minutes he’s played in a very short period of time. Brennan Johnson also did nothing until he won the penalty and scored his goal (the Lionel Messi of Nacer Chadlis). Yves Bissouma was a non-factor. These guys all need three weeks off in a Bacta tank but instead we’ll continue to play two matches a week until the end of January.

I’ll just put this here: sacking Ange does NOTHING to alleviate the issues in this squad. The only way out is through. Stick with it, take the lumps, and improve the squad so we don’t have to go through this again next season.

It would be just like Tottenham Hotspur to take on a side languishing near the bottom of the table coming off two wins thanks to a “new manager bounce”.

That’s the situation this weekend against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Just outside the relegation zone, Wolves fired manager Gary O’Neil and immediately won their next two fixtures against Leicester City and Manchester United.

Dr. Tottenham will see you now.

The situation has become even more desperate for a wounded and wearied Spurs side, with Ben Davies’ layoff now expected to extend into the new year, and with Radu Dragusin picking up a knock in the loss to Nottingham Forest. Whatever the situation with the squad, Ange Postecoglou will need to find a solution and fast. Perhaps this is the match he does that; maybe he can embrace his inner MacGyver and fashion a center back out of paper clips and duct tape?

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Sunday, December 29, 2024

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

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

Streaming: Peacock

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.

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The win at Southampton, and the League Cup triumph over United, temporarily halted the free fall of Tottenham Hotspur, but taking a step back shows the sober reality of this club. Spurs have just one win in six league matches after the Boxing Day defeat to Forest and the gap between them and the actual contenders just continues to grow. It has been a very forgettable 2024, and unfortunately the calendar turning is not going to magically change that.

December’s deluge of fixtures wraps up with a visit from Wolverhampton Wanderers, a side squarely in the relegation fight. Given that Tottenham has taken a grand total of two points from the clubs currently sitting between 15th and 19th, this opponent is nothing to get excited about. This is a dark time and a single win is not going to fix everything (see: Soton), but how many more poor results can this club really endure?

Tottenham Hotspur (t-12th, 23pts) vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (17th, 15pts)

Date: Sunday, December 29

Time: 10:00 am ET, 3:00 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: Peacock (US)

Obviously, disappointment is relative. Wolves will feel like Spurs have no room to complain as they have the actual worst defense in the league and are facing a critical second half of the season. Gary O’Neil has found a way to boost this attack in his second year in charge at least, getting his club into the top half in goals scored thanks to efforts from Jorgen Strand Larsen and Matheus Cunha, who has scored in each of the team’s last two outings — both wins.

Spurs have done terribly in this fixture, losing three of the past four including both contests last season. Brennan Johnson’s third-minute goal at Molineux was rendered meaningless after the visitors conceded two stoppage time goals in November. A Joao Gomes brace in the reverse fixture led to another one-goal Wolves victory despite a nice effort from Dejan Kulusevski.

From worse to worser

The Tottenham defense continues to feature an absolutely random assortment of characters, as will be the case for the foreseeable future. Radu Dragusin left injured on Boxing Day, while Ben Davies is now expected to take even longer to return. Not that he would help at center back, but Djed Spence earned himself a one-match ban for this weekend just to add to the hilarity of the dissipating defensive corps.

Wolves have really struggled away from home, but did score three at Leicester last weekend. Meanwhile, Spurs have a total of one clean sheet at the new Lane this season in the league (MW2) and will almost assuredly give up at least one goal on Sunday. Whether the fault lies with the players, the system, or the lack of squad depth is fully up for debate, but whatever criticism is lobbed at this defense right now is hard to appeal.

Somebody, anybody

There are a thousand ways to dig into this team’s flaws right now, but to me the only way out of this hole (aside from getting everyone back healthy) is the intangibles. Even with so many absences, there is plenty of talent on any given team sheet and Spurs need the big names to put the team on their back and grind out some results. Kulusevski is certainly trying his best, with goals in five of the last six, but there are too many other attackers on this team for these frustrating low-output performances that keep occurring.

As mentioned, Wolves have allowed buckets of goals all season, but this type of defense has often caused trouble for Tottenham. Additionally, the visitors are coming off consecutive clean sheets after allowing just 1.2 xG combined to Leicester and United, setting the stage for a potentially frustrating afternoon for Ange Postecoglou’s gang. Another lopsided win is certainly possible, but how often has that actually materialized this year?