Cartilage Free Captain

I miss Eric Dier, and we were robbed of a Dier-Spurs reunion yesterday.

But what makes me really sad is that I don’t know who he’d hug. No one in Spurs’ current XI played alongside Dier during his Tottenham days. Ben Davies, probably the only player to have an outside relationship with Dier, wasn’t even in the squad.

So that makes me sad. But, according to this Spurs reporter, at least we got a reunion between Dier and someone from Tottenham’s media team. And it seems that the Spurs travelling contingent sung Dier’s song.

From the brief social media search I did, I didn’t find much on any Dier-Tottenham reunions. The closest I saw was him scoring a penalty, which Monaco posted on Tuesday, and Dier’s post about him playing for Bayern Munich. But that’s pretty dated.

Anyways, I’m glad Dier seems to be doing well at Monaco. Less thrilled with the 0-0 draw, but it could always be worse.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Bang the Drum All Day, by Todd Rundgren

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham’s Xavi Simons is struggling to create – here is how they can help him”

The Independent: “Guglielmo Vicario heroics save Spurs to salvage Champions League point against Monaco”

Football London: “Every word Thomas Frank said on Tottenham problem, Monaco ambush and brilliant Vicario”

With midweek fixtures now a regular occurrence, Tottenham Hotspur had limited time to prepare for a match which Thomas Frank would have hoped would be a bounce back from the disappointing defeat against Aston Villa. Unfortunately, disappointment was a continuing theme, as Thomas Frank’s side was extremely lucky to escape with a point in what was a poor performance.

The starting XI caused a few headscratches. With Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie unavailable due to injury, and Spurs’ fullbacks already overloaded in terms of minutes, Thomas Frank’s options at the back were limited. Kevin Danso, Micky van de Ven, and Pedro Porro were the only clear backline options, with Joao Palhinha and Archie Gray able to potentially slot in. This led to some predicting weird and wonderful starting formations, with Spurs instead lining up in their typical back four with Gray taking up a left back role. Richarlison and Lucas Bergvall came in for Mathys Tel and Xavi Simons further up the pitch.

Spurs struggled in the first half, and were perhaps fortunate to go into the break with scores still level. Folarin Balogun had a couple of significant chances to put Monaco ahead, getting in behind the Spurs defense, but Guglielmo Vicario came and made himself large to save Spurs’ blushes on both occasions. The Lilywhites, on the other hand, were mostly limited to half-chances, with nothing much resembling a clear scoring opportunity from open play. The closest such opportunity was when Richarlison was fed by Wilson Odobert on a sparkling counter, with the Brazilian unable to get away a shot before the Monaco defense recovered; but outside of that, two Kevin Danso headers from set pieces were the closest Spurs looked to securing a vital goal.

The second half continued in a similar manner. Spurs toiled but were unable to create much in the way of opportunites, while Monaco cut through time and time again. Aleksandr Golovin had a shot tipped round the post by Vicario; a header from Thilo Kehrer was glanced narrowly past the post when it should have ended up in the back of the net; and Vicario pulled off yet another stunning save as Jordan Teze’s close-range header seemed destined to open the scoring.

Substitutions did little to stem the bleeding as the chances continued for Monaco. Takumi Minamino had three chances to score, the best of which was yet another shot from the penalty spot that was skied over the crossbar. Spurs did manage to create a late chance: Pape Matar Sarr broke down the left before feeding Brennan Johnson with a low cross, but the Welsh attacker could only scuff his shot at a defender. That was the last action of note as both sides undeservedly shared the points, with Spurs fortunate to not concede.

Reactions

A point is nice, but I’ll say it: that was an awful performance.

The fact that Guglielmo Vicario was probably player of the match tells you all you need to know. Rumors of the Italian’s demise were greatly exaggerated.

Thomas Frank needs to sort the midfield, and sort it yesterday. Lucas Bergvall was poor in the #10 role (which I’d argue does not suit him, but Spurs’ options are limited), and the Palhinha-Bentancur double pivot was (as usual) shocking: creating zero impetus going forward, but also a total lack of defensive solidity.

Bentancur especially was terrible, not tracking runs in defense and hiding from the ball in possession. Palhinha often found himself on an island in possession with Bentancur standing behind opposition players, not making runs.

Speaking of not making runs, is Richarlison carrying a niggle? The guy basically just walked around all match. Once Kolo Muani gets back to full fitness, Richy needs a rest.

On the positives, Wilson Odobert continued to show positive signs and was probably Spurs’ best attacker. Archie Gray, though he looked a little out of place at fullback, looked sharp when he came into midfield and looks more and more like a legitimate option in the middle of the park. Surely he has to be close to a start there?

Frank’s substitutions were too late, and too defensive, but Spurs were under the pump from Monaco, so in some ways I can understand taking a cautious approach. Monaco though tripled Spurs xG, doubled their shots, quadrupled their shots on target, and had 56%-44% possession. That’s just not good enough, and Frank has to do more.

Next up: Everton on Sunday. COYS.

Once more, Tottenham Hotspur head to Europe, with an away fixture at Monaco.

The “French” (well, Ligue Un) side haven’t exactly set the world alight this season, winning only half of their league fixtures and echoing that inconsistency with their European results: a poor loss to Club Brugge, before a draw against Manchester City.

It’s a lack of consistency that has started to cast a shadow over Thomas Frank’s maiden campaign with Spurs. It’s been hard to build momentum, with international breaks interrupting the season’s flow and a lack of cohesion on the pitch troubling fans. Injuries haven’t helped either, with Spurs set to be without captain Cristian Romero for this reason.

Can Spurs overcome all that, and put in that dominant performance fans have been wanting to see on the biggest stage?

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Monaco vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Stade Louis-II, Monaco

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Time: 3:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. UK

TV: Not televised in USA, TNT Sports 3 (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: Paramount+, Amazon Prime

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!

Welp, it was another bottled-away lead for Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend, but now is not the time to wallow. The Champions League continues this week, and Thomas Frank could use a win for the vibes as much as for table position, though grabbing three points on the road would certainly go a long way towards finishing top eight in the League Phase.

Road trips are never easy, although Monaco represents a chance for a good result. The Ligue 1 side has been in a slump, going 1-3-2 across all competitions over the past six matches and collecting just one point in the Champions League so far: a 2-2 home draw against City thanks to a late Eric Dier (!) penalty. The opportunity is here for an immediate bounce back from this weekend’s disappointment.

UCL League Phase MW3

Date: Wednesday, October 22

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

Location: Stade Louis II, Monaco

TV: Paramount+ (US), TNT Sports 3 (UK)

Table: Monaco (t-28th, 1 pt), Spurs (t-11th, 4 pts)

It has (somehow) been nearly a decade now, but these clubs do have some recent history in Europe. Spurs got the upper hand in the 2015/16 Europa League Group Stage with a road draw and home win (featuring an Erik Lamela hat trick!), but Monaco took both fixtures the following season in the Champions League Group Stage, which contributed to Tottenham’s immediate exit from the top competition.

Three Big Questions

Can the midfield actually be an advantage? The story was far too familiar on Sunday, with the Joao Palhinha-Rodrigo Bentancur midfield doing one thing well and everything else…not well. This combination is just not able to significantly contribute to any sort of attack, but frustratingly remains a preference of Frank’s. For better or worse, that approach might actually work out in the midweek.

That is because Monaco’s midfield is not in good shape. Starters Denis Zakaria and Lamine Camara are both out injured, and Paul Pogba is likely still not ready to start either, offering the opportunity for Spurs to own the middle of the park. Of course, this suggests that perhaps Frank could opt to go more attacking than physical, but especially on the road it would not be a surprise to see Tottenham just aim to break up anything coming the other way.

Who will be the aggressor? During this rough six-match stretch, Monaco has conceded 14 goals; that compares to 12 goals scored, but five of those came in that lone win against Metz, who sits dead last in the league. As a result, Adi Hutter has been sacked for Sebastien Pocognoli, who will look for opportunities to press and counter, aiming to instill some discipline that benefits both ends of the pitch.

Still, there seems to be goals to be had for Spurs here, but as always the question remains from whom (and maybe also if a narrow lead can actually be protected). This is a stretch that will necessitate rotation, and again Frank was limited in his attacking options over the weekend. It really does appear like there is a need for the other striker options to get healthy, but far too often the majority of the front four ends up anonymous.

Which stars will shine in Europe? Monaco’s teamsheet consists of some fun names, including former Tottenham targets Maghnes Akliouche and Ansu Fati, as well as the aforementioned Dier. Fati leads the way with six goals across all competitions, while Dier already has a pair of goals himself. Despite the efforts of these three, Monaco has obviously struggled and does not have an easy road ahead with Madrid and Juve still on the fixture list.

For Spurs, the best players remain on the backline, so perhaps this will mirror the opener against Villarreal. The loss to Villa was not a bad defensive showing, but until the squad can show a more consistent attacking threat, the margin for error is slim. Look, therefore, for the defenders to set the tone on Wednesday and bear the burden of protecting the lead. That is the path to victory for Tottenham at this time, at least until everyone is healthy.

Has fitzie run out of ideas for the hoddle? You tell me after you read this one:

I wasn’t sure what to write for today’s edition, but then I came across a post on the soccer reddit about Sir Alex Ferguson sharing a packet of chocolate buttons with Sir Kenny Dalglish at half-time during the Manchester United-Liverpool game the other day.

Football legends - they’re just like us!

That led me to thinking about what I like to snack on when Tottenham Hotspur play. The short answer is it usually depends on the game:

(All times ET)

So boring, right?

During the Europa League final (in which Tottenham won 1-0 and then proceeded to lift the trophy!), I went through a bag of barbeque potato crisps within the first 20 minutes of the game.

Anyways, this is what your HIC eats when Spurs play. Share your eating habits, or don’t.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Been down so Long, by The Doors

And now for your links:

Tottenham Hotspur: “Former Spurs great Dier ruled out for AS Monaco”

Football London: “Every word Thomas Frank said on Cristian Romero injury, Xavi Simons rut and Monaco test”

BBC: “Meet the Sunday league team with 1,800 Premier League appearances”

The Guardian: “Gyökeres double adds gloss to Arsenal’s Champions League rout of Atlético”

“Definitely [conscious of Romero’s absence] but also [I’ll] just try to fulfill the role the best I can. Obviously he’s a very important player for us and for me it’s just doing a job, defending first and foremost and trying to replace him as best I can. I think [Sunday vs. Villa] was an OK game, unfortunately we didn’t get the result we wanted to, but the aim is to win here tomorrow.”

”I think, for me, Brennan is a very important player. He had a fantastic, important goal last season. Also the top scorer, I think, in the club last year. He also started the season well. He has scored two good goals. So, again, probably a little bit down to how do we put the players out that make it fit.

”Brennan has trained very well the last couple of weeks, doing what he’s doing very well, scoring goals in training, which is important to keep [doing], showing that I’m not taking the right decision if he’s not in the team. I think Brennan can play both to the left and to the right, as we said before. Of course, Mohammed Kudus has done very well on the right, for example. Then on the left, I actually think Wilson has done well. So it’s just a little bit of competition. Brennan just needs to keep going. He will get his games.”

Tottenham Hotspur Women defeated Birmingham City in the Subway League Cup thanks to a brace and an assist by recent standout Olivia Holdt. The solid victory was only marred by Maite Oroz’s ACL injury. Spurs sit atop their Subway Cup group one point ahead of Aston Villa.

With a week to prepare and only international break to follow, Martin Ho sent out a relatively familiar-looking lineup. Notably, Maite Oroz started over Olga Ahtinen, Josefine Rybrink reprised her role at right back over Ash Neville, and captain Beth England began the game on the bench so Olivia Holdt could re-enter the lineup as the 10.

Spurs started the first half clearly stronger than our WSL 2 opposition, but were unable to turn the early dominance into any kind of lead. Birmingham’s Viatriki Sarri caused a few problems including a goal rightly ruled offside, but they left Lize Kop largely untroubled. Olivia Holdt continued her recent excellence and broke the deadlock in the 40th minute. Maite Oroz set up the goal with a lovely sidefoot pass to Matilda Vinberg. Matilda slotted in Olivia Holdt through the center, and Olivia calmly chipped Birmingham’s keeper despite the sharp angle. Incredible work by all three players to split Birmingham City down the center, and a wonderful goal to watch.

Ten minutes into the second half, Amanda Nildén continued the scoring with a Son-esque curling shot from a wide position inside the box. It was, once again, Olivia Holdt’s excellent work that set her up. The real low point of the game was Maite Oroz’s ACL injury in the 57th minute, which she sustained successfully challenging a Birmingham City player for the ball. I wrote about what a shame this is here. But to reiterate – it’s just devastating for this to happen when Maite was stringing a bit of form together, and I wish her a very speedy recovery.

After Maite’s injury, Ho made a triple change. Olga Ahtinen replaced Oroz, Beth England replaced Tinka Tandberg, and Martha Thomas replaced Jess Naz. Additionally, Charli Grant replaced Amanda Nildén in the 71st minute. These players helped shore up Spurs’ dominant performance without really changing the game too much. Holdt added a third goal in the 74th minute off another Vinberg line-breaking pass, rounding out yet another stellar player-of-the-match performance. The match left Spurs top of the group with one game left to play against Bristol City.

Thoughts

Olivia Holdt is so damn good. When we signed her, she was coming off a broken ankle and needed a bit more rehab before she was fully match fit. At the time, I thought that maybe, possibly, we’d be getting a real gem at a bargain due to her injury, but it didn’t seem likely. Olivia has been our stand out player since our defeat to Manchester City, and I have to say it’s pretty wild to see last season’s hopium actually come to fruition. Someone please bubble wrap her before she goes off to Denmark. We need her! I also particularly enjoyed getting to see more of Matilda Vinberg’s passing since Vilahamn primarily used her as a dribbler, and she came away with two assists for it. Jess Naz also put in a few dangerous crosses, and Beth England looked lively as a substitute.

I don’t really have too much else to say about this game. Many of our players had strong games, and I saw more of a cohesive attack. I’ll be optimistic and say I think this was due to the lower quality of opposition and the fact that Martin Ho’s principles are really starting to sink in. Nonetheless, I love a routine win and an identifiable style of football. Maite’s injury excluded, I think we can be pretty happy.

Looking ahead

We now enter international break, which will see some of our players head off on national team adventures. Eveliina Summanen, Olga Ahtinen, Olivia Holdt, Tinka Tandberg, Tōko Koga, Amanda Nildén, Lize Kop, Martha Thomas, Charli Grant and Clare Hunt will all head to their countries, as well as youngsters Sophie Jackson and Lenna Gunning-Williams for England U19s and England U23s respectively.

Spurs Women will return to action against Liverpool on November 1st. If you’re looking to fill the void between now and then, some of our players will actually be facing each other on international duty – tune in to Finland vs. Denmark or Norway vs. Japan both on Tuesday, October 28th to catch this.

In the meantime, cross your fingers that our internationals will stay healthy in this two week period!

Hey there! Tottenham Hotspur played at home to Aston Villa on Sunday and lost. That wasn’t fun, because it’s never fun to lose. So what do we do here at Carty Free Towers after Spurs lose and people get annoyed? We try and distract you with a fun player ratings theme, that’s what.

Remember that video from last week that showed Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici being interviewed by Tottenham’s media guys explaining their new working relationship whereby they will share a Director of Football role? Sure you do. I just reminded you of it! And you can read the article where I summarized and dug into their YouTube video here.

There’s a lot you can take away from that video, but the biggest is that Paratici and Lange (Paratange? Langatici?) have some real buddy-cop vibes. Look at those two, sitting on a couch together holding cock-on-ball pillows and looking all happy with themselves. Aren’t they sweet? You almost expected Paratici to reach over and pat Lange on the arm a few times during that video, didn’t you?

So today’s player ratings theme is mostly leaning into that. I got the idea from some Carty Free readers in a group chat and I thought it was so good I ran with it. Here are your Tottenham Hotspur player ratings for their loss to Aston Villa to the theme of alternative couples for Paratici and Lange. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out which one is which.

No Tottenham players in this category.

Joao Palhinha (Community — 3.5): Look, I still think I’m right about the midfield, but I’ll say it again — whatever else he does or doesn’t do, Palhinha is a generational tackler and defender. He put in some world class open field tackles in this one.

Kevin Danso (Community — 3.5): Kevin doesn’t have the wand of a leg that Cuti Romero does, but I have to say I was never worried that he was going to get caught out in defense, and he didn’t. I’ve seen enough to feel like he’ll be a perfectly cromulent defender if Cuti or Micky are out for any length of time. Caught two defenders on the ankle, only one was a foul and neither were particularly worrying.

Micky van de Ven (Community — 3.5): Picked up a cheap yellow but otherwise didn’t put a foot wrong. Got back well on the rare times Villa broke, and pocketed Ollie Watkins late.

Guglielmo Vicario (Community — 2.5): Yes, both goals were bangers. No, Vic didn’t have a chance on either. No, none of them were his fault. No, he didn’t have to make a single save otherwise. Three stars.

Pedro Porro (Community — 3.0): Not bad, as far as these things go. Had a couple of very nice switches in play, got forward into space pretty often, and his delivery was decent. Earned a few good fouls as well.

Djed Spence (Community — 3.0): Not his best effort and stayed mostly deep as Spurs looked content to focus their attacks through Pedro Porro. Did fine defensively, but not quite enough to post a “Matty Cash Welcome to the Penitentiary” graphic on Insta, which is what I was really hoping for.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Community — 3.0): I mean, he ran around a lot and passed the ball sideways impeccably. Was it what we needed? I say no. Was it in and of itself an okay performance? …I guess.

Mohammed Kudus (Community — 3.5): Had he managed to stay onside for the ball he had in the net, he’d be ranked higher. He continues to confound with his final pass as much as he impresses with his dribbling. The wheels fell off midway through the second half and he should’ve come off for Johnson a lot earlier.

Thomas Frank (Community — 2.5): Spurs lost, so the ratings will be lower because that’s how this works. That said, while I’ll never agree with the Bentanhinha midfield and I’m irritated by the late and ineffective subs, the tactics seem to be… fine? Lots of entries into the final third and not enough talent to convert, that’s not really his fault. Ball no go goal, whatchagonnado?

Xavi Simons (Community — 2.5): God love him he tried, but this was not a good tactical setup for him. Looked to be stymied in the attacking third and a little puzzled that others weren’t making runs or finding him when he made runs himself.

Wilson Odobert (Community — 2.5): Once again, you can see the glimpses of potential but the end product still isn’t there. Wilson’s in a fish bowl due to injuries right now and that’s not helping him. He needs time to develop, but Spurs don’t have that kind of time at present.

Mathys Tel (Community — 2.0): Go back and read my comment about Odobert — it’s that, but more so. You forget how young he is, and he’s clearly excelling at the international U21 level so the talent’s there, but you simply can’t whiff those kinds of chances when they come and expect to keep getting them. We spent £30m on him this summer and I have to believe the ROI will come soon, but boy he makes it tough sometimes.

Richarlison (Community — 2.0): I really expected Richy to facilitate Spurs carving up Villa’s wide-open back line and he just… didn’t. Barely touched the ball, completely ineffectual. I love the guy but he might now be behind Dom Solanke AND Randal Kolo Muani.

No Tottenham players were as bad as Thing 1 & Thing 2.

Tom Carroll Memorial Non-Rating:

We’re about that time in the lower leagues’ season where many clubs are playing an uneven amount of games. I hate it because it’s difficult to gauge just who really is where in the tables. Are Doncaster Rovers really the 12th-best team in League One? I don’t know!

But we’re still going to do a quick roundup of the other clubs in the English football system. There’s been a lot of club football lately, international matches be damned.

We’re about 25% of the way done with the season and one thing’s for certain: It is very, very tight at the top. Just two points currently separate first from sixth, although some teams have a game (or in Stevenage’s case - two) in hand. Again, this makes it difficult to determine just who is where.

There are a couple things we do know, though. It’s a rough season for Luton Town, who are 5-1-6 in the league and sitting 14th. Just below them? Leyton Orient, who last season were 90 minutes away from promotion to the Championship.

I feel like I have been waiting years for Salford City to be decent after it was taken over by all those former Man U players in 2014. But here we are, more than a decade later, and they’re still on the bubble of the League Two playoff picture.

But at least they’re not Newport County. In a year that’s bringing such great news to other Welsh clubs, Newport are in danger of getting bounched out of the Football League.

I never thought I’d say this, but there are some fun clubs in here I’d like to see on the television. A lot of them I remember from my Fifa days (which were very brief), where I’d loan out my player to these kinds of clubs like Scunthorpe United.

Speaking of Scunthorpe, they’re currently sitting fourth after promotion from the National League North last season.

(Yes, I had trouble with the numbering at the end, but Rochdale is 1, Southend 7).

Fitzie’s track of the day: Sundown, by Gordon Lightfoot

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham embody this season’s Premier League: Set pieces, long throws, and no cohesion”

Football London: “Xavi Simons needs more time to bed in at Tottenham, Thomas Frank insists”

BBC: “‘We have to pull fans back together’ - Nuno has a ‘problem’ at West Ham”

The Guardian: “‘Little Magpie’ José Mourinho relishing taking Benfica to Newcastle”

Former Brighton, Chelsea, and West Ham head coach Graham Potter landed firmly on his feet last week, becoming Sweden’s newest international manager. That’s a pretty soft landing — Sweden are struggling in World Cup qualification and their chances of making next summer’s tournament are slim, although still mathematically possible. It also means that Potter will be managing and developing Lucas Bergvall during the next few international football cycles.

And that’s not the only Tottenham connection. The Evening Standard writes that Potter has appointed Tottenham Hotspur coach, set piece specialist, and native Swede Andreas Georgson to his coaching staff. Georgson has mostly focused on set pieces, both offensive and defensive, since joining Thomas Frank’s staff this past summer, and if the thought of Spurs losing their set piece coach makes you uneasy then I have even more good news — Georgson doesn’t plan to leave the club, but will work his Tottenham and Sweden jobs concurrently.

This isn’t unusual for Premier League coaches. The Standard also notes that Frank’s top assistant, Justin Cochrane, has a similar arrangement with Spurs and England where he works with Thomas Tuchel during international breaks and returns to Spurs when off of the international cycle.

I have no particularly strong takes on whether or not this is a good thing, so I’ll say it is. If nothing else, there’s a neat little connection for Bergvall between his Spurs training and his Sweden training. And hey, maybe Lucas can help smooth the transition for Georgson as he implements his set piece style on the Sweden players.