Cartilage Free Captain

If you were hoping against hope that Tottenham Hotspur might be keeping a hold on Brennan Johnson for the rest of the season, you might want to revise your expectations. According to the Telegraph, Crystal Palace is increasingly confident that Johnson will be a Palace player in time for the club to play Newcastle this weekend. Sam Wallace and John Percy write that Johnson is set to have a medical at Selhurst Park in the next 24 hours, with a transfer fee of just under £35m to be confirmed shortly afterwards. The window officially opens on January 1, 2026.

I think I’ve said all I want to say about Brennan Johnson and his fit at Tottenham Hotspur the last time I wrote about this transfer and I won’t bother repeating myself. I will, however, express some hope that Spurs selling their top scorer from last year is a statement of intent that they will bring in attacking reinforcements next month, and that making this move now, at the very start of the window, implies that they have some moves that they want to make from the jump. I know, I know — naïve of me, this is Tottenham, but choosing hope is always more fun than resigned indifference or negativity. I’ll be that Pollyanna so you don’t have to.

There are plenty of reasons why this is the case, but it’s clear that Johnson is not going to repeat his 18 goal contributions this season, and there are a lot of good reasons to move him on to a place where he can hopefully be successful. Palace certainly seems like a better fit than Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur at the moment. And after that? Trust the process, I guess. What else can we do?

It’s the last day of 2025! Boy, what a year. Not one I’d especially like to redo on a personal level, even though there have been some incredible highs — it’s been a challenging one for me personally and overall I’m pretty happy to see 2025 in the rear view mirror. Here’s hoping for a better 2026, for me, for you, and for Tottenham Hotspur.

I can’t believe I’ve never done this theme in 12 years, but apparently I haven’t. Lots of people make New Year’s resolutions. Very few people actually stick to them. But maybe you’re resolved to give it your best shot again? Here are some suggestions on some resolutions. None of them are BAD, per se, but the biggest mistake people make is making them too ambitious. Resolutions are about forming habits, choosing achievable goals, and celebrating your progress along the way.

So as Tottenham Hotspur closes out 2025 with a rare Premier League win, this time over Crystal Palace, let’s rank the players to the theme of New Year’s resolutions. Put your favorite (or least favorite) ones in the comments and maybe some tips on how best to achieve them.

Want a NYE resolution you might actually stick to? Keep it simple and contained. Dry January has been a thing for a while now, and is a nice counter after a holiday season likely full of excess and over-indulgence. As someone newly sober (for medical reasons mostly but also by choice) I think it’s a good idea to do a little alcohol-free detox once in a while, even if you plan to go back to the booze later on. It’s not that difficult to do with a little forethought and it’s a resolution that you’ll feel good about completing because you know it’s only a month.

No Tottenham players in this category

Go back in time a decade and I don’t think you’d see this as a major New Year’s resolution, but a lot more people are prioritizing mental health now and that’s a good thing. There are a lot of ways to do this, but it starts by simply making it a priority. Maybe that’s therapy, perhaps meditation, or something as simple as taking a little extra time to do things that make you feel good. But it’s a good thing, easy, and achievable. You can do it, and you’ll feel better just by trying.

Kevin Danso (Community — 3.5): Solid match. Very commanding and assured performance at the back in Romero’s absence. Rarely put a foot wrong despite an early (and very suspect) yellow.

Micky van de Ven (Community — 4.0): Another very good performance at the back. Dealt with pretty much everything Palace could throw at him, including Mateta, who can be a load to handle.

Archie Gray (Community — 4.0): So pleased to see him rewarded with his first senior goal. Thought he looked a little rough in the first half but upped his game, especially late. Rewarding to see him continue his improvement at CM this season, one of the few bright spots.

Richarlison (Community — 4.0): Scored twice, except he didn’t because of stupid VAR and the stupid offside rule. That said, this was a really nice match from him — he looked dynamic, was very involved in the offense, and flicked a header on for Archie Gray to poke home on a corner. Well done, Pombo. More of that, please, preferably while onside.

Wilson Odobert (Community — 4.0): Really impressed by Wilson’s brief cameo. Smacked the post and looked super dangerous in attack late. The joke in the Carty Free writer’s room was that before coming on Frank gave Wilson the speech from “Swingers” for motivation. “You’re money and you don’t even know it.”

I feel like this is a resolution that is so attractive because of guilt, especially after two months of holidays where we are primed to eat to excess with family and friends. A worthwhile goal to be sure and I’ve fallen into that trap, but “lose 30 pounds” takes a crapload of time and work, and it’s no wonder people bail so quickly. Start smaller and incremental. “Make sure half my meal is vegetables for the next two weeks” is a good first step, or something like “stop eating chips after 9 pm”, and go from there. This also works well with Dry January (see above).

Djed Spence (Community — 3.5): Looked bright going forward, but was a little loose with the ball at times. Played well in the second half.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Community — 3.0): Looked characteristically lost in the first half, but stepped it up in the second. One of his better matches this season.

Joao Palhinha (Community — 3.5): Came in as a defensive substitute in the second half and put in some exquisite and well-timed sliding tackles. Pretty much exactly what the team needed when he came on.

This is just all about financial discipline, which is a learned skill that I’ve found isn’t taught much anymore. Wanna save a little more for a special occasion, a future purchase, or just an emergency fund? Set up a direct deposit that funnels a small amount out of your paycheck to a bank account (no amount too small) and then DON’T TOUCH IT. It’s better if you forget that you’ve done it along the way. But do it automatically. If you’re like me, transferring money manually every however often will not work and will not stick. Let the machine do it.

Guglielmo Vicario (Community — 3.5): Vic didn’t have a ton to do despite Palace having a number of decent half chances. Made a couple of decent stops, didn’t barf on his shoes playing out from the back. Not bad.

Pedro Porro (Community — 3.0): A couple of decent crosses including an “assist” to Richy that was waved off by VAR but struggled defensively especially in the first half.

Mohammed Kudus (Community — 3.5): Had a virtual assist for Richarlison negated by VAR. Characteristically frustrating with the ball, but didn’t notice him killing attacks in this one (probably because Spurs didn’t have that many to begin with).

Lucas Bergvall (Community — 3.5): Stupidly caught offside in the buildup to Richy’s first disallowed goal. Worked hard but not a ton to show for it despite a lot of running. Withdrawn for a knock, hopefully he’s okay.

Thomas Frank (Community — 3.0): As I said in the post-match, I don’t think this win moves the needle on Frank one way or another, nor do I think we learned much from a gritty win off a set piece when so little xG was generated in the first half. Team looked good late, though.

Unless you live in the southern hemisphere or a warm climate, January is the worst time to start an exercise regime because who wants to go out and exercise when it’s cold? Working out in winter involves a gym membership or home equipment, the weather sucks, and motivation to continue fails when there’s so much already working against you. Not to say you shouldn’t exercise more, you should! But there’s a reason why so many people fail at this resolution in particular. By all means, go get healthier, but set yourself a more achievable goal, at least initially. Try Yoga with Adrienne for a couple of weeks, or park two blocks away from the office and walk to work. You can always give Planet Fitness your money later on when you’ve established a routine that works.

Randal Kolo Muani (Community — 3.0): Not one of his better games. Never seemed quite in control of himself and struggled (along with everyone else not named Richarlison) to get on the end of the ball. Hooked late.

Look. I get it. Your life might suck right now. Maybe you’re lonely, or your job sucks, or you want (and don’t have or lost) a partner, or your favorite football club is a hot mess. Maybe it’s all of the above. It’s hard, I know. But resolving to just “be happy” never works, because it fails to address the underlying issues at the root of your unhappiness. You can’t bootstrap your way to being happy, because the causes are likely numerous, interconnected, and compounded. So start with something small. Find something you like doing, or that gives you a little peace, and lean into it. Maybe that’s read more books, or making time to really listen to music, or getting out into nature a few times a week. Start there, and build on it. Add something else. Join a social club. Learn a new skill, even if it’s not a relevant one. Dedicate one day a week away from social media. Start cooking more. Invite a friend over for coffee. This may not fully cure your unhappiness, but it might at least give you a little bit of respite. Whatever it is, keep it small, and celebrate your accomplishments. Change what you can, endure what you can’t. You can do it.

No Tottenham Hotspur players were as bad as trying to bootstrap your way to happiness.

Tom Carroll Memorial Non-Rating

We’ve barely had a chance to celebrate Radu Dragusin’s triumphant return to football after a serious knee injury last spring, and he’s already being linked with a move away from Tottenham Hotspur. Fabrizio Romano is now tweeting that Radu has interest from (so far unnamed) clubs in Italy as he wants additional match time, minutes he’s unlikely to get as Tottenham’s de facto fourth CB.

I have seen other sources mention Juventus as one of the Italian clubs interested in taking Dragusin and I’m sure we can put our heads together and fantasize about some of the other teams. My personal fanfic has eventual new Fiorentina Director of Football Fabio Paratici bringing Radu to La Viola, initially on loan but with a purchase obligation with the hopes that the team can somehow magic their way out of the relegation zone. This is not an actual rumor, but can’t you see it happening?

Dragusin had his difficulties in Ange Postecoglou’s high line, high possession system over the past two years, but I still think, wholly without evidence, Radu could be a more effective defender under Thomas Frank than Big Ange. That said, I don’t see a situation where he’s anything other than a rotation or injury replacement and he appears to be well behind Cuti Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Kevin Danso. Combine that with an agent who, uh, loves to talk and you end up here with a lot of smoke in the air about wanting to leave the club for better opportunities elsewhere. You can’t blame him, and this is something I think we could see happen. It would leave Spurs a little short handed so long as they’re still in multiple competitions, but maybe Kota Takai is ready to actually play football this season? Guess we’ll see.

Good morning everyone and welcome to the final Track of the Day for 2025 !!! I originally had another hoddle planned for today, but a TOTD felt a more appropriate way to end the year.

And if you haven’t downloaded the TOTD playlist yet, then what the heck are you doing? Here it is - take it !

When I was deciding how to close out the year, my thoughts first took me to Todd Rundgren, but I realised I had recently featured Just One Victory as a TOTD.

And that’s all good, because it allows me to select a far more personal way to close out the year.

There was a time when I worked the night shift where none of my coworkers wanted to go out and celebrate New Year’s, so I wondered what to do. I thought for a little bit and decided to spin Abbey Road on my turntable and to time it so that it matched with 00:00 on the clock (I think this was in 2019).

There was a part of me that found it very funny to potentially end the year on Octopus’s Garden or Mean Mr Mustard. Instead the vinyl spun past those two and I closed out (and began the following year) with Golden Slumbers, which is about two-thirds into the medley on Side 2.

That became a bit of a tradition for me on New Year’s. For me, there was something so cleansing about listening to the Abbey Road medley to close out the old year and begin the new.

And maybe it was the following year - where the Covid-fuelled 2020 gave way to 2021 - that really sealed this album for me as a way to wash over the old year.

So, for today’s TOTD, I want to bring to you the medley that has meant so much to me over the last five years.

I wish you all a safe and celebratory New Year’s Eve, and a joyous 2026. And, don’t you worry, the hoddle will be here when the calendar flicks over to the next page.

- fitzie

Fitzie’s track of the day: You Never Give Me Your Money / Sun King / Mean Mr Mustard / Polythene Pam / She Came In Through the Bathroom Window / Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End, by The Beatles

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham’s 2025: A trophy, turmoil and a horrible home record”

The transfer window isn’t open yet, but the rumors sure are acting like it is. Today we have a report from L’Equipe that suggests Tottenham Hotspur reserve defender Ben Davies could be an option for Ligue 1 club OGC Nice when the transfer window opens in a few days. Spurs exercised an option to extend Davies’ contract for an extra season this past summer, which means he’s out of contract in June. This might represent the last opportunity for Spurs to get a little cash for their longest-tenured player.

It’s not the most solid of rumors. The report states that Nice have had an interest in Davies, Wales’ captain and an experienced international and Premier League defender. He’s not a spring chicken but is a steady hand in the back line, and Nice are currently having a bit of a defensive injury crisis, with Dante, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, Mohamed Abdelmonem, and Moïse Bombito all out of action. Davies would likely be signed as defensive cover.

And that’s why L’Equipe suggests that a deal to bring Davies to France might be “far from straightforward.” For starters, it’s suggested that Davies might want a long-term deal somewhere if and when he does leave Tottenham, and second he’s likely on wages that are going to be problematic for Nice to match.

We all like Big Ben, but it’s pretty clear his days at Spurs are numbered. He’s had some injuries this fall that have kept him out of the rotation, but he still only has 55 minutes of game time in the first half of the season. I’m not sure how confident I feel about this particular rumor being true, but it does suggest that Ben Davies might have a market.

The rumors about Brennan Johnson started a couple of weeks ago with reports that Tottenham Hotspur forward Brennan Johnson was dissatisfied with his role under current Spurs manager Thomas Frank and was open to a move away from the North London club. Crystal Palace emerged as one of the contenders for a potential January transfer, along with other clubs such as Everton and Bournemouth.

Now, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, it looks like Johnson’s future has been resolved. Ornstein posted on Bluesky this morning that Spurs and Palace have reached a transfer agreement in the amount of £35m for Johnson, Spurs’ leading scorer last season. Johnson, however, has options and has not yet made up his mind as to where he wants to go.

Johnson has been Crystal Palace’s top target in the January transfer window, and a move to Palace might be a pretty good place for him to land, if he does leave. He’s a player who could thrive in an Ismalia Sarr-like role where he arrives late to attack the goal. Selling him to Palace in January would mean a £10m loss for Spurs on the whole of his contract, but the club could end up making an accounting profit on the move, or at least break even in those terms.

Brennan Johnson is a weird player. He scored 18 goals in all competitions last season to lead the team in scoring, but as we have discussed and even argued ad nauseum on this blog since his arrival from Nottingham Forest, he can be described AT BEST as a limited player. Signed on a six year deal in 2023-24 from Forest for what was then a staggering £47.5m, he was described as the perfect Ange Postecoglou winger — an incredibly fast player with a knack for popping up at the back post to convert cutback opportunities and crosses, but who contributed virtually nothing else to the squad beyond goals. He doesn’t dribble. He’s not an especially good passer. And yet, he was, actually, extremely effective in that one thing he does well, which happens to be the most valuable thing in football. Johnson, notably, scored the only goal in the Europa League final, a game in which he was otherwise marginalized.

But when Ange Postecoglou left, so too did a lot of his usefulness. How many times did Johnson’s play cause us to pull our hair out, only for him to pop up at an opportune time to tap in a goal? How many times did I refer to him here, and on social media, as the Lionel Messi of Nacer Chadlis? It’s for this reason that he’s something of a divisive figure among Spurs fans, just as he apparently is among the Spurs coaching staff. He will always have his fans because he scores goals and he will always have his detractors because the only thing he seems to do consistently in a match is score goals. Johnson again, olé olé.

This does ask the question of what Tottenham will do if they sell Johnson. Dejan Kulusevski is supposedly returning to the fold sometime in January after a missing the first half of the season due to a knee injury, but Johnson’s departure leaves a hole in the squad on the right side of the attack. Would Spurs find a replacement? Would they instead target, as has been suggested, a left-sided winger and cobble together a suitable rotation option for Mohammed Kudus on the right? Does anyone even have a plan? These are all good questions.

£35m does feel a little low for a player who has a proven goal scoring record in the Premier League and is a homegrown, club trained player in a league that highly values both. But if Thomas Frank thinks he can improve the squad by cashing in on a saleable asset and finding someone else to fill his role, then as fans we have no choice but to trust that this is the correct move. That doesn’t mean, however, that we have to agree.

Does anyone know what life was like before the Pop Tarts Bowl? I don’t, and I sure as heck don’t want to go back.

For those of you unaware, the Pop Tarts Bowl is part of the post-season collegiate American football schedule (the NCAAF bowl series). There are dozens of these kinds of undercard games that prepare the US for the national championship.

Among all these one has risen to become the unofficial people’s championship: The Pop Tarts Bowl.

It’s everything you could ask for about American football culture. It’s got two football teams slamming against each other played inside a big stadium and sponsored by the most delicious breakfast pastry you’ve ever seen. Oh, the trophy also serves as a functioning toaster.

The Pop Tart Bowl’s lore is also growing.

After the first Pop Tarts Bowl game in 2023, the Strawberry Pop Tart mascot was sacrificed by being lowered into a giant toaster on the field, where the winning team ate its cooked remains.

A year after that Pop Tart was essentially brought back to life. The Cinnamon Roll Pop Tart was then the sacrificial treat.

That brings us to 2025 - the biggest bowl game yet.

Three Pop Tart mascots - Protein Slammin’ Strawberry, Cookies & Creme and Cherry - stood aloft the giant toaster after BYU defeated Georgia Tech at the Camping World Stadium in Florida. But while the second and third mascots expressed excitement about being lowered into the toaster, Slammin Strawberry held a sight that said “Not my dream … yet” before jumping off the toaster. The remaining two were then descended and sacrificed.

But that isn’t the end, at least not yet, with Slammin Strawberry leaving a sign that previewed a potential return next year.

All this is to say, who cares who wins the national championship? And who really cares who won the Pop Tarts Bowl? All I care is about the new mythology behind it.

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Number of the Beast, by Iron Maiden

And now for your links:

The Standard: “Archie Gray embodies the best of imperfect Tottenham as courage trumps creativity in hard-fought win”

Alasdair Gold: “Tottenham’s January transfer priority, Paratici’s role and what confused Archie Gray”

Jack P-B ($$): “Tottenham’s away form is invaluable, but more is needed to convince fans”

BBC: “Hull win at Middlesbrough to close gap on top two”

ESPN: “‘Is it a real functional toaster?’: Behind the scramble to engineer the Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy”

“The positive change we were able to achieve would not have been possible without the passion, dedication and hard work of so many people at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, together with our community partners, who shared a belief in the power of sport to transform lives.

“Tottenham Hotspur has always been more than a football club to me. It is part of the fabric of the local community, and I am immensely proud of the role we have played in helping to regenerate the area through our initiatives in education, employment, health and social inclusion. While our stadium development and on-pitch results often took the headlines, I hope that my legacy will be the positive and lasting impact we have made on the lives of people in Tottenham and beyond. Football clubs have a unique role to play in their local community and at Tottenham Hotspur we always took this responsibility very seriously.”

The January transfer window opens in three days, and while most years Tottenham have taken a low-key approach to midseason additions, this year the needs are stark and glaring. There are expectations that Spurs will add players in the winter window, with Frank confirming that the club plans to reinforce the squad for the second half of the Premier League season. We may now have a decent idea of what areas on the pitch they’re targeting.

Alasdair Gold, writing for Football.London today, states that the club are putting their focus on adding a left sided attacking midfielder in January, and will also look to bolster the left back position either next month or next summer. Other positions will be targeted as there is need and opportunity, including central midfield, striker, and possibly central defense.

The left-sided attacker position has been something of a revolving door since Son Heung-Min left the club this summer for LAFC. Tottenham currently have a rotating cast of players that can slot (and have slotted) into that position including Richarlison, Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani, and Wilson Odobert. Odobert is considered a strong future contender for the role, and Spurs also hope that Mikey Moore will return from his loan at Rangers next season ready to push for starting minutes. Tottenham made Manchester City left winger Savinho a key target this past summer, and though they were unable to land him with the player instead signing a new contract, they may make another attempt. Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo was another high profile target but politely told Spurs very recently that he’s not interested in coming to North London.

A left back is also a high priority, as Destiny Udogie is currently injured and has no natural backup to his position apart from Ben Davies, if you cock your head and squint. Right now, two of Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, and Davies are required to play in every match, with players like Micky van de Ven and Archie Gray available as break-glass-in-case-of-emergencies replacements. Bringing in a player who can naturally rotate with Udogie and fill in when he’s hurt would be a huge improvement to the squad.

Elsewhere, Spurs have been linked to Porto striker Samu Agehowa and have a longstanding interest in Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, though the latter appears significantly less likely now than perhaps last summer. Radu Dragusin tallied his first match minutes in nearly a year in Spurs’ 1-0 win at Palace on Sunday, but his agent is already making noises about getting his client more minutes and there are suggestions he could leave on loan or permanently if Spurs get a good enough deal. Gold writes that if Dragusin does leave the club could move for another CB, which would be a little strange considering Kota Takai exists and Spurs presumably will have Luka Vuskovic back from a highly successful loan in the Bundesliga next season. There aren’t specifics about the central midfield position, but the implication is that they will move if they target the right player at the right price; there have been reports linking Spurs to interest in 30-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka, for example.

Gold is the Tottenham beat writer currently working who presumably has the strongest ties to club sources, so if he’s writing all of the above it suggests this is a brief from the club. Fans can agree or disagree with the targeting — that is the remit of fans — but this is at minimum what the club is willing to signal to journalists. The club generally doesn’t deceive in briefings like this one, so this feels like a pretty solid clue as to which direction the club is leaning.

Targeting a left winger is… well, let’s call it “interesting.” Some fans will be irked that by bringing in another left winger the club could be stifling the development of players like Odobert and Moore, but it would make sense if you consider that the players currently operating on the left are either on loan or don’t naturally play in that position, and if you think Odobert and Moore need another year or so to grow into the role. It’s not personally where I would focus my recruitment energies if I’m Johan Lange (the club has a longstanding need for a central midfielder who can pick out a pass) but I’m also not the one in charge.

Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to see which direction the club is leaning. Spurs play three games in seven days at the beginning of January — away to Brentford on New Year’s Day, home to surprising Sunderland on Sun. January 4, and away to Bournemouth on Wed. January 7 before hosting Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sat. January 10. The club still has key players out injured and reinforcements are needed. Hopefully they come soon.

Good morning and welcome to another edition of your EFL Championship Roundup, where the hoddle takes a monthly look at where things stand in the second tier of the football pyramid. Today’s edition comes at the halfway point in the Championship season, which gives us a perfect time to take a look at where things stand. So, without further ado, let’s take a brief look at the table:

Automatic promotion contenders: Coventry (51 Pts), Boro (43 Pts)

Frank Lampard’s Coventry City have seemed like a lock for promotion for months now. They’re currently 13 points clear of third and it’d take an epic second-half meltdown to squander that. They’re just too darn good. Middlesbrough are also quite fun to watch, but I think they’re not quite there for the automatics just yet.

Playoff spots: Ipswich Town (38 Pts), Hull (38 Pts), Preston NE (37 Pts), Bristol City (36 Pts)

The reason why I’m not quite sold on Boro yet is because of Ipswich Town, who are just five points back. And this is after a pretty rough start to the season. I like to look at the goal differential to determine who are the true contenders. Right now that tells me that Ipswich (+15) are likelier to get promotion than Boro (+9). I’m still not sure what to make of Hull, Preston or Bristol City. They can all finish in promotion spots, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re also outside the top 10.

In the hunt: Millwall (36 Pts), Watford (35 Pts), QPR (35 Pts), Stoke (34 Pts), Derby (32 Pts), Southampton (31 Pts), Wrexham (31 Pts), Leicester (31 Pts), Birmingham (30 Pts)

This is where things get interesting. There’s a huge slate of teams that, at one point or another, were in the top six. I like Millwall more than the rest, but the South London club have a recent history of capitulating. I’d also keep an eye out for Southampton, while I’d sell Stoke City and QPR in a heartbeat.

Mid-table whatever: West Brom (28 Pts)

Not good enough for the playoffs, but too good for relegation. They’re the only ones not fighting for anything at the moment. But there is one man fighting for his job: Ryan Mason. I’m not sure how he hasn’t been sacked yet. WBA should be fighting for the playoffs, but instead they’re stuck in a terrible run of form.

Relegation fighters: Charlton (27 Pts), Blackburn (26 Pts), Sheffield United (26 Pts), Swansea (26 Pts), Oxford United (22 Pts), Portsmouth (22 Pts), Norwich (21 Pts), Sheffield Wednesday (-8 Pts)

We know Wednesday are going down, but who will join them? Norwich City could escape after sacking Liam Manning, whereas Charlton are cratering. I think Sheffield United and Blackburn both stay up, which leaves Swansea, Oxford United and Portsmouth.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Time After Time, by Chet Baker

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “Crystal Palace 0 Tottenham 1 – Archie Gray’s first goal eases pressure on Thomas Frank”

Alasdair Gold: “Every word Thomas Frank said on how Archie Gray must improve, Bergvall injury and Fabio Paratici”

The Guardian: “Archie Gray heads Spurs to victory at Crystal Palace to ease pressure on Frank”

BBC: “Uncertainty and lack of form - Palace’s ‘flat’ end to historic year”