Cartilage Free Captain

All eyes are on the Europa League here at the end of the season, and Tottenham Hotspur have a pretty substantial boost heading into next week’s semifinal first leg against Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt on Thursday, May 1. Three of Bodø/Glimt’s starters — Patrick Berg (club captain), Hakon Evjen and Andreas Helmersen — are suspended for the match, though all three are expected to rejoin the side for the return match at the Aspmyra Stadion.

This is good news for Spurs. Patrick Berg will be Bodø/Glimt’s biggest miss, as he’s the club captain and the engine of their midfield — he operates in the center of Bodø’s 4-3-3 formation, frequently dropping deep and facilitating passes and ball progression out of midfield as a deep-lying holding midfielder. His goals and assists don’t pop out of the screen — he has 2G+3A in the Europa League campaign — but he’s most definitely the most creative and influential player for Bodø apart from maybe leading scorer and striker Ulrik Saltnes. Berg’s ability to stay composed and handle pressure are a big reason why Bodø/Glimt are having success in Europe and domestically in Norway.

Hakon Evjen and Andreas Helmersen will also both miss the match, and are Bodø/Glimt’s No. 2 & 3 scorers in the Europa League. Evjen picked up his third yellow in the second match against Lazio, while reserve midfielder Helmersen was red carded and sent off.

There hasn’t been a ton to celebrate this season if you’re a Tottenham Hotspur fan (though that could obviously change if Spurs win the Europa League), but there is something we can unequivocally say is a good thing — Spurs are now officially safe from the prospect of relegation.

Arsenal’s win over Ipswich Town this past weekend meant that Spurs, currently in 16th place with 37 points, are now mathematically guaranteed to remain in the Premier League. Leicester and Southampton are both officially going back to the Championship next season, and Ipswich Town are very, very close — they are 15 points behind West Ham (21 points to 36 points) with five matches remaining in the season. Spurs are only a point ahead of the Hammers, but that’s enough for mathematical certainty.

Now, Spurs fans are not really going to celebrate this fact. No matter how poorly Spurs did in the league this season there was never any real chance that they’d go down considering how historically bad the three promoted teams were this season. Most years, 40 points is the magic threshold for Premier League safety and Spurs haven’t even gotten there yet. But this season, 37 points at this point in time is enough. Ipswich are almost certainly the last team to go down unless they put in one of the most heroic and unlikely of comebacks... but they’ll probably punch their return ticket to the second division this coming weekend.

All of Spurs’ eggs are in the Europa League basket at the moment, but Spurs can leap three spots with a win over Forest today. We can probably expect some moderate rotation, but whatever else people think, expect Ange Postecoglou to take today’s match seriously. It’s unlikely that Spurs will end the season in a “respectful position” (whatever that means) but mid-table is still not out of the question.

It felt both extremely predictable and somehow surprising as well, but Tottenham Hotspur took care of business in Frankfurt and progressed to the Europa League semifinals. With a winnable tie coming up in a couple weeks, the remaining six Premier League fixtures feel wholly pointless; there is nothing to be gained from the league (and a 17th-place finish would feel more comical than depressing at point).

Still, football will be played, and we are here to support that. Nottingham Forest seemed to have a shot at second place, but now are at risk of falling out of the top five and missing an unlikely Champions League berth. Forest have an important extra fixture themselves with the FA Cup semis against Manchester City on Sunday, but Monday’s contest matters just as much.

Tottenham Hotspur (16th, 37pts) vs. Nottingham Forest (t-5th, 57pts)

Date: Monday, April 21

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

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: USA Network (US), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)

Consecutive defeats to Villa and Everton (ouch) put Forest in a tricky position. The run-in looks largely manageable, with only Chelsea sitting in the top half of the table, but any more dropped points is asking for disaster. No matter how the season ends up, it will have been an unequivocal success for Nuno Espirito Santo, but it will sting to choke away Champions League qualification should that be how it ends.

Back in December, Forest eked out a 1-0 win over Spurs at the City Ground in a match that featured the electric Fraser Forster-Archie Gray-Radu Dragusin combination. But with zero goals and 0.9 xG, it was again the Tottenham attack that deserves the blame, with 70 percent possession failing to translate into many serious threats of scoring.

What to watch: Sustained defense

Last week’s collapse at Wolves was nothing new during the Ange Postecoglou era, but it was an anomaly over the course of the past month. Spurs have kept just one clean sheet — and picked the right time to do so — but have mostly held opponents around 1.0 xGA recently, which is a reasonable tally given the prior level of performances, so a four-goal failure stood out, even with some rotation.

After convincingly shutting down a dangerous Frankfurt attack, it would be great to see the defense perform well again on Monday. Sure, there will be first-choice players on the bench again, but this is about building systemic consistency (and continuing to eliminate those costly individual mistakes, regardless of who that individual is). Maybe it feels late in the season to be asking for these things, but it is now or never for Postecoglou over the final month.

Forest has made its success out of its own defense, with merely league-average scoring figures. Nuno’s side has just two goals in its past three league outings and has found the net multiple times only once in the last six. Following up the impressive showing in Germany with another quality defensive performance is exactly what this Spurs squad needs to show right now.

Good monday, dear hoddlers.

Your hoddler-in-chief woke up on Sunday morning to the biggest match of the year: Anderlecht vs Antwerp.

This Belgian matchup featured the clubs of two modern-day Tottenham icons in Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. Only that neither of them were playing!

Fear not, though, Tottenham ledge Vincent Janssen was also featured in this exhilerating 0-0 draw.

Don’t let the score fool you. This match had little repercussions. Anderlecht are currently fourth in the Belgian Jupiler league with 26 pinits in the champions round, and Antwerp are sixth with 24.

Well ahead of them both is Club Brugge with 42 points, and Genk and Union SG level at 40 points.

But who cares. Because this is Belgian football. And we at hoddle headquarters love Belgian football.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Manteca, by Dizzy Gillespie

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “Ange Postecoglou makes Richarlison vow and explains Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson’s key roles”

It wasn’t always champagne football. They couldn’t put the ball in the net from open play. But in what was seething cauldron full of at times overly-excited German football fans, Tottenham Hotspur did the job. Spurs’ 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, a result that punched their ticket to the Europa League semifinals and a home-and-home matchup against Norwegian side Bodø/Gliimt, had the feel of one of those “Glory, Glory Nights” in European competition from days of yore.

It was a gutsy, at times gritty win. No style points here, but Spurs put in a robust defensive performance, shutting down Frankfurt striker Hugo Etikike to just two shots, neither on target, and withstanding a barrage of late chances with the match on the line. Even better, Tottenham kept their composure in what was a pressure cooker of a match, with their opponents seeming to crumble emotionally as the match went on.

Ange Postecoglou, in his post-match press conference, could hardly contain his enthusiasm, and was effusive in his praise for his team.

“I’m delighted with many things, super proud of the lads. Going away from home, a quarter-final against a very good side, you know you’re going to have to work really hard, be really disciplined and we needed to score. We had to show the quality we had as well.

“To a man I just thought they were outstanding, so proud of them. In such a big game, they delivered a performance and it means we’re through to a semi-final. I think over the two legs we deserved to go through. It could have been all over in the first leg but we earned the right to be in the semi.”

The turning point in the match was when James Maddison was cleaned out by Frankfurt keeper Kauã Santos just before halftime. After an extended VAR review that involved the match official heading to the monitor, Spurs were awarded a penalty which Dominic Solanke converted in what turned out to be the match’s only goal. Maddison himself was substituted shortly afterwards, with the midfielder in noticeable discomfort.

When asked, Postecoglou said he didn’t have any significant injury concerns about Madders, and that the play is what won Spurs the match.

“[Madison] is fine. Unbelievable courage in that moment to put his body on the line knowing full well that he was going to get a pretty severe knock and I was surprised it wasn’t a red card. Super courageous from him. He is sore but I’m sure that has all been numbed knowing that he has helped us progress to the semi.

“We can be facetious about [the VAR review] but I thought it was a clear penalty. I’m not sure why it needed VAR. When a player wins the ball and gets cleaned out, if that was a defender it definitely would probably have been a red card. It’s definitely a penalty. I don’t think it needed a review. Again, I think we got what we deserved.”

This was, correctly, described as Tottenham’s most important match of the season — not only because it provided an opportunity for Spurs to return to a European semifinal for the first time in six years, but because failure to do so was viewed as the final straw in Postecoglou’s tenure at the club. The win gave Ange a lifeline for his job, and led to him gently needling the reporters (and supporters) that have been giving him a hard time.

“We’re in the semi-final and will play a difficult opponent in the semi, but it’s not about my belief in the team. What’s more important is the belief the team has had because after a season like ours, it would be very easy for the players and staff, they could have left me in a pretty vulnerable place in terms of them splintering, but I’ve never felt that (even) with all the noise around our season.

“They’ve been so united in believing in what we’re trying to achieve here and that is what gave me heart all along that if we got our own slice of luck in terms of getting some players back that I really believed this team could achieve. That is what keeps driving me. It isn’t so much my belief in them, it’s their belief in what we’re doing and both players and staff have been outstanding.

“I am the same manager today that I was yesterday so if people think us winning tonight makes me a better manager or whoever thinks I wasn’t doing a good job yesterday, should be feeling the same way. I don’t care, it doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t affect what I do. For me, it’s always about the dressing room. Do the players believe? Do the staff believe? That’s much more important than what others may make of me. So, unfortunately for a lot of you, you’re going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer, mate, so let’s see how that goes.”

Tottenham’s league run-in is a tough one, starting with a home match against high-flying Nottingham Forest on Sunday. The Bodø/Glimt matches will be sandwiched inbetween matches away to Liverpool, away to West Ham, and home to Crystal Palace. But despite what Ange might say about the Premier League and the opportunities that sill remain, there’s no question which competition is now first and foremost in the front of the players’ minds.

Tottenham Hotspur are European semifinalists again, and, at least for now, the vibes are back in the black.

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Frankfurt 0-1 (1-2) Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs gut their way to the Europa League semifinals

A gutsy win in Germany sends Spurs to the brink of another European final!

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Tottenham Hotspur knew that if they wanted to not only keep their dream of a Europa League title alive but also potentially keep their manager in a job, they had to do something very difficult: go to Germany and beat Eintracht Frankfurt away. That’s just what they did. Dominic Solanke slotted home a penalty at the stroke of halftime, Tottenham’s defense dug deep, and Tottenham emerged with a 1-0 win over Frankfurt to win the two-legged tie 2-1 on aggregate.

It was a gritty performance — not always pretty, but still solid. Tottenham’s defense was at times excellent, and while neither team scored from open play in this one, Mathys Tel had a number of good shots on target. This match also featured the return of Dejan Kulusevski, who came on for an injured James Maddison in the first half, and looked good for his shift.

The win means Spurs return to a European semifinal for the first time since they made the Champions League final six years ago. They will play the winner of Lazio and Bodø/Glimt in the semis, which at the time of this article posting was not yet settled.

What a glory, glory European night (even if Spurs were in green)! Here are my match reactions.

Match reactions

So I missed the opening 20 minutes of the match due to a meeting going late, but from what I was told Tottenham didn’t look great but also didn’t let Frankfurt look great either. I’ll take that.

My god, that was a RAUCOUS atmosphere at the Waldstadion. Love Europe.

A fascinating match between two teams that were pretty evenly matched in a lot of ways. Both teams had chances, both teams gave up big chances. Neither could convert from open play. Unlike the first leg I though Frankfurt looked solid and Spurs had fewer opportunities on the road this time.

Ekitike is a load and it was very nice having a (mostly) healthy Micky van de Ven able to run back and defend him when he got into space.

I know we’ve said this before this season and it was readily apparent during the injury crisis, but Tottenham are simply a better team with Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven in the back line.

Santos trucking Maddison was the easiest penalty call you could possibly make and it’s baffling that it wasn’t made on the field, requiring the official to go to the monitor. The right decision was made, except that should’ve been a clear red card. And then Santos did it again in the second half to Solanke, without the benefit of a call! Wild.

I have to say I was a tad nervous about Solanke taking the penalty considering his run of shooting form, and especially since Tel looked all set to do it, but full credit — he buried it.

You can probably take your pick of what injury caused Madders to get subbed off — the guy got leveled — but I’m okay with him being subbed off for Deki out of caution, if that’s what it was for.

Mentioned by someone in Carty Free chat — that was basically the perfect first half for a 1-1 draw second leg away from home. Spurs negated most of what Frankfurt wanted to do going forward, they had some good opportunities, and earned a good chance to go ahead, which they took.

Deki might still be a tad rusty after a long injury-related layoff, but he was again a monster in the press, something we’ve really missed during his absence.

Really impressed with Tel’s effort in this one. He wasn’t afraid to shoot and tested the keeper on a couple of occasions. Put a few more over, but he wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger. You look at a performance like that and think “Yeah, THAT’S why he’s a prospect.”

In the first leg, Spurs had the bulk of the chances in the second half and simply couldn’t put the ball in the net. That script was flipped in this one — Frankfurt had much of the ball and several chances to score, but Vicario came up big with a few stops and Kristiansen couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.

Frankfurt and their fans were real shitheads in this one. Spicy, agressive players and fans that were throwing crap on the field. Made me much less sympathetic towards them.

Bringing on Kevin Danso at 85’ felt extremely anti-Ange. Since when does he play a 5-3-2 and park the bus? Have we ever seen that before? I don’t feel we have. It worked, but it did NOTHING for my nerves.

Y’all, it’s been a long, hard season but Tottenham Hotspur are in the semifinals of the Europa League. How good does that feel? The dream is still alive.

At the time of this article posting, Bodø/Glimt and Lazio were in extra time so we still don’t know who Spurs will play next. But that’ll become clear soon.

This is it. Tottenham Hotspur have a chance away at Eintracht Frankfurt to progress in the Europa League. The alternative? Any sense of positivity to take from this season dead and buried, along with Spurs’ hopes of European football next season.

Spurs were probably the better side in a cagey first leg, but were unable to make their ascendancy count in the form of goals, meaning the Lilywhites now have to travel to Germany in search of a rare away win.

There is everything to play for, and Spurs will have to do it without their captain, out with a foot injury. Can Tottenham Hotspur overcome that setback, or will it be another trophyless season?

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Thursday, April 17, 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+

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!

In some ways, last week’s first leg was about everything that could have been asked for from a struggling Tottenham Hotspur side. While a single goal on 0.9 xG may not look like an offensive outburst, there were plenty of moments of progressive, decisive attacking that could have led to much more on the score sheet.

However, Thursday’s critical second leg begins at 1-1. Eintracht Frankfurt took advantage of — surprise — a stupid Spurs mistake, and the sides are even heading into a hostile environment that will certainly favor the home team. This is more or less a coin flip in terms of who will end up advancing, which might not be the worst position for Ange Postecoglou after everything this season has suffered. A defeat in Germany is probably the end of the road for him, though.

Quarterfinals (2nd Leg): Eintracht Frankfurt (1) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (1)

Date: Thursday, April 17

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

Location: Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany

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

Sunday’s disaster at Wolves was nothing new for this squad in domestic play, but for the most part, cup performances have been much better. The first leg does inspire some confidence, and last round’s comeback against AZ gives some hope for a good effort here as well, though that was against a far lesser opponent and at home, of course.

Frankfurt’s goal last week was a quintessential blunder during the Postecoglou era, with an individual mistake compounded by lackluster defensive efforts. Tottenham is simply not good enough to give away these sorts of freebies, yet that continues to be the theme. Turnovers are deadly against an opponent that wants to be aggressive on the break, and more mistakes like this might be too much on the road.

Hopefully another start by the Micky van de Ven-Cristian Romero partnership will provide some additional coverage should those errors continue, but holding this Frankfurt side to just one goal again over 90 minutes is not going to be straightforward. Credit to the defense for limiting the damage last week; an even better effort is needed on Thursday.

A fateful four minutes

Often in sports, the only way to fully evaluate something is with the benefit of hindsight. Regardless of how this tie concludes, supporters will very likely look back at a wild four-minute stretch early in the second half that was somehow unable to break the deadlock in North London. The official website describes it best:

If Spurs are eliminated — especially by a narrow result — it will be hard to forget this sequence of events. The attack has been far from clinical all season, even with a healthy number of goals (third-most in the league). With a leaky defense and inconsistent midfield, capitalizing on these opportunities is imperative, but in the first leg, the home side could only muster a single tally.

And yet. Should Tottenham come out firing in Germany, continuing on last week’s aggression and actually converting on these sorts of chances, then this hectic sequence will be seen as an encouragement, a sign that the team is moving in the right direction and was just getting a little unlucky. It should not take long to figure out if that was the case or not. Hopefully for the sake of history, this series of events was a foreshadowing of incoming production, not a future source of regret.

This is the biggest game of Spurs’ season and a do-or-die moment for Ange Postecoglou, whose career seems to hinge on whether or not Tottenham progress in the next round of the Europa League.

Things are getting pretty intense. Now feels as good time as any to look at some cute animal photos and videos.

Here’s one:

Who doesn’t love golden retrievers? They’re lovable and a little goofy. I mean, look at that one getting the dirt on its face.

Here’s another:

That’s right. It’s a seagull riding on top of another seagull. Pretty darn cool!

Enjoy the animal vids before an intense fixture against Frankfurt.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Confident, by Cliff Beach featuring The MB’s

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “Micky van de Ven delivers strong Ange Postecoglou response and makes clear injury statement”

Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham Hotspur team have made the short hop from London to Germany ahead of Spurs’ Europa League second leg tie against Eintracht Frankfurt. And while he’s got about as healthy a squad as Spurs have had in months, he’s without one key player: club captain Son Heung-Min.

Postecoglou confirmed that Sonny was left back in London nursing a foot injury that he’s apparently been playing through for a couple of weeks.

“Sonny didn’t travel and he’s the only one who hasn’t travelled. He’s been struggling with his foot for a couple of weeks now and has been in pain. Everyone else is good. Kevin [Danso] trained and is available.”

That’s good news on Hold Me Closer, Kevin Danso but bad news for Son. That said, a nagging foot injury might explain his somewhat lackluster performances the past few games. Ange had previously said that Dejan Kulusevski, who made a brief cameo near the end of Spurs’ loss to Wolves at the weekend, will likely feature at some point but is unlikely to start.

So what does that mean for Spurs’ lineup? Probably Wilson Odobert will slot into Sonny’s position at left wing, and either Mathys Tel or Brennan Johnson on the other flank. Otherwise I expect we’ll see a strong lineup, as strong as we can get, as it’s a must win match that very well could determine whether Big Ange has a job by weekend’s end.