Cartilage Free Captain

Tottenham Hotspur against Liverpool. A fixture that tends to not go well for the team wearing white. This is all Spurs need right now as they battle for some semblance of form. Or at least a result to go their way.

This Liverpool team isn’t quite the same though as some of the sides seen recently under Jurgen Klopp (or even current manager Arne Slot himself). Slot, in a parallel to Thomas Frank at Spurs, has struggled to get his side playing cohesively this season; but unlike Frank, appears to have turned a corner in recent weeks.

That said, this could be a match where both sides strive laboriously to create. As such, there will be a microscope of sorts on the two big-money Bundesliga creative signings in the shape of Xavi Simons at Spurs and Florian Wirtz at Liverpool. Could one of them perhaps be the difference in an arm wrestle of a match?

Let’s find out.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Saturday, December 20, 2025

Time: 12:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. UK

TV: NBC, Sky Sports Premier League (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.

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!

“I feel supported. I’ve done that the whole time. And as I said, also after [Forest], that hadn’t changed my mind. This is not a quick fix. This will take time. That’s not to say that we’re not going to do everything we can to beat Liverpool. I believe we have a good chance of doing that. But this is something where we are building. And I’ve said it many times. We, of course, first and foremost, are the most critical of myself. So that’s one thing. But I think it’s fair to say that there are a lot of people in it that need to perform well together. With me in charge, of course, and taking the right decisions.

“I don’t know if there’s one main [problem]. But there’s no doubt that we can’t run away. We need to create a bit more. And that’s both principles and good training. And it’s been nice to have a good training week where we could actually focus a lot on that. So that definitely helps. But also, how can you say? I’ve said it a few times. I think we have a few good players out with a lot of goals and assists in them. And we have a very good, talented group of players that haven’t produced the same numbers yet. So that’s part of it as well.

“I’m very comfortable and confident. That I will, how can I say, fix it. But just to make sure it’s not me. When this club comes out on top, there will be a lot of good people working together, aligned at the same time through the years. I just know one thing I’m pretty good at. I’m good at analyzing things. I know what good looks like and I know where we should get. And one thing is I’m 1000% sure we haven’t seen any club be successful unless they had key people in the right decisions for a long time. And I’ll back myself to be one of those key people to be in that position. So for whatever reason that I was not here, when you said whatever, the number of head coaches were sacked. I don’t know the reason why. I just know that if you want to have success, you need to have the right people aligned and go forward together. And there will be good times and there will be bad times. And that’s part of it.”

“I think there will always be, no matter where you are, I think definitely 10% of the fans will always question the head coach, no matter where they are. And then there will be a big group that are the loyal ones or the ones that can see a little bit bigger perspective.

“But I would say to the Spurs fans, I would say that first and foremost, it’s a privilege to be part of this fantastic club. And I think it’s a fantastic club with a fantastic potential that we haven’t fulfilled yet. So it’s a club with a top potential that we need to fulfil. And to fulfil that, there’s a lot of stages we need to go through. And one thing for sure, I’m working 24-7. I’ve never been thinking so much about football in my entire life. And I think a lot about football to make sure we get everything right.”

“I think [the goals are] two completely different situations. I think one is a missed clearance. So that happens. And the other one is a situation where I think it’s, you know, for me, that’s more on Archie. I’ve spoken to him. He knows next time it’s a one-touch bounce. And there’s no situation there. And it’s a situation that we have seen a thousand times in this league and across Europe. And we see a thousand times after this game where you play that bounce and you get out. So it’s like the same thing. My big philosophy is that you can’t play long and direct all the time or can’t play short all the time. You need to find a good balance. So it’s all about that.

“[Archie’s] been good. Also, when I watched the game back, I think actually he was the one that wanted the ball instant after the mistake. So I like that mentality, wanting to get on the ball. It’s part of it. Everyone who played football at this level or any level made a mistake. You make a mistake in life, you need to go back on it and go again. The beautiful thing about football, especially at this level, and in Tottenham, if you make a mistake, you can be pretty sure there will be a few questions about it. But you, of course, need to be able to manage it and he will do that.”

Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo is a wanted man after an impressive 2024-25 season and opening half of the current campaign. The Ghanaian has 7 goals and 3 assists so far this season, which has led to a bevy of clubs expressing their interest in signing him, especially when he reportedly has a £65m release clause that kicks in this January.

According to the Guardian, the 28 25-year-old Semenyo is open to leaving Bournemouth, and there are three big clubs linked with him — Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United. The report states that Semenyo would prefer a move to Liverpool, given a choice, with City as his second choice. And the bad (but predictable) news — Tottenham is also mentioned, but has a “slim chance” of landing him.

Now — this is very likely Semenyo’s agent doing agenty things and linking him to large clubs that include a big payday. But also, he’s pretty good and has a release clause active in January and those things usually don’t come together in quite this way very often. What does seem clear is that, although Spurs are interested, they have a pretty slim chance of getting him, considering they’re now up against three of the richest and/or best clubs in English football. There goes that dream.

So here’s an idea then — Antoine Semenyo goes to City, further marginalizing Tottenham’s major summer target Savinho, who despite signing a contract extension this past summer is then made available to Spurs. I could get behind that. If we’re going to start dreaming, that’s maybe the dream to have, rather than hanging your hat on Antoine Semenyo in lilywhite this spring.

No wins in five, then two in a row — the truth was probably always somewhere in the middle for Tottenham Hotspur. But with the lopsided loss at Forest over the weekend, it is impossible to ignore the fact that Thomas Frank’s side has just one league win in seven and could find itself in the bottom five come New Year’s, eerily familiar from the previous season it was supposed to resolve.

To close out 2025, Spurs get Liverpool at home, a club that has caused them immense trouble regardless of either team’s form, and then a Palace side that is currently tied for fifth and just two points outside the top four. No one was expecting Tottenham to be completely fixed after the first half of the season, but there is a real chance that essentially no improvement will be shown over last year, which is a big problem.

Match Details

Date: Saturday, December 20

Time: 12:30 pm ET, 5:30 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: NBC (US), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)

Table: Spurs (t-11th, 22 pts), Liverpool (t-5th, 26 pts)

Tottenham has one league win over Liverpool in the last seven seasons and has lost (at least) both contests in five of those campaigns. Last year was no different with the Reds doing the double, while also erasing a 1-0 deficit in the League Cup semifinals by winning convincingly at Anfield to make it 4-1 on aggregate. In four fixtures last year, Liverpool scored 15 times against Tottenham. Lol.

Three Big Questions

Is this going to be ugly? After winning five straight to open the season, Liverpool lost six of its next seven league fixtures and is 2-2-0 in the most recent four. The Reds are still fifth in goals but average in goals allowed, though their fifth-best xGA suggest a little misfortune here. While these sides are nearly equal in goal difference, no one would believe their quality is anything close, even with Liverpool’s slump.

Mohamed Salah or not, expect the visitors to find the back of the net — likely on numerous occasions. Multiple goals have been scored in three of their last four contents and this is exactly the sort of side that will punish defensive mistakes. Maybe it ends up not quite as horrific as some of the battles last season, but Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak, and the rest of the attackers will be looking for blood on Saturday.

Does the approach revert? Accordingly, the logical decision after the weekend and now facing a team as scary as Liverpool would be for Frank to go way more defensive, which starts in central midfield. Archie Gray has been solid overall and should not be overly penalized for one mistake, but this is one of the few times it makes sense to get hyper conservative and secure at these spots.

Additionally, this feels like another chance for the return of the back three. Against Arsenal, the results were…less than desirable, but there clearly needs to be more stability in defense and this would be one way to achieve it. Frank has also not shied away from trying out different formations, and with his support quickly dissipating, we are reaching kitchen sink time.

Where is the hope? Optimistically thinking, maybe the week-long break between Forest and Liverpool, then again between Liverpool and Palace, is exactly what this club (and manager) needs. It has been essentially two matches a week the whole season long, and it certainly takes time for the new regime to get its structure into place, especially with so many changes compared to the previous managerial staff.

However, it could get dark very quickly. A loss to Liverpool is clearly the expected outcome, and a loss away to Palace would be zero surprise. That then brings Frank and Spurs to Brentford, where the atmosphere is going to be extremely anxiety-inducing. With Tottenham potentially dead in the league at that point, one has to wonder if recovery is even an option.

Nightmares usually occur when you’re asleep, but now I bring you one when you’re awake: Say hello to the US Men’s Soccer Team’s new mascot:

This “Banner” character is terrifying to look at. Also it’s just a generic freaking dog.

If you’re going to give us a dog, give us Air Bud.

Air Bud is a greater representation of American sport than this Banner fella could ever be. Tell me, did Banner ever help lead a young kid’s basketball team to the championship? NO !!!

Is he a golden retrievern? NO !!!

And this guy isn’t even Lassie. I just don’t see what this Banner brings to the storied US Men’s Soccer Team history that a mascot like Air Bud or Lassie would. There are far greater dogs: Heck even Brian from Family Guy or Santa’s Little Helper from The Simpsons would be better choices (but I reckon copyright issues got in the way of that).

Either way, enjoy your nightmare this morning.

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Night Santa Went Crazy, by Weird Al Yankkovic

And now for your links:

BBC: “‘Result is not what we wanted’ - games pile up for Palace”

The Guardian: “Rehanne Skinner sacked as West Ham manager with club second-bottom of WSL”

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen rumors about Tottenham possibly selling Brennan Johnson, but it’s by far the most prominent source. The BBC’s Sami Mokbel writes today that Tottenham Hotspur are open to the idea of selling Johnson in the January transfer window, and will listen to any offers with Crystal Palace among those expressing interest.

Johnson was Spurs’ top scorer last season with 18 goals in all competitions, including the winning goal in the Europa League final, but he’s found himself on the outside looking in under Thomas Frank with just three goals in about 800 minutes of match competition. Johnson was purchased to be an ideal winger for Ange Postecoglou and lived up to that hype with a limited but direct play style that was about making runs to the back post and converting chances. But that’s not what Thomas Frank is looking for in a winger.

Mockbel writes that the club isn’t actively trying to sell Johnson, but they’ll be open to letting him leave if a good offer comes their way. Palace is viewed as the club expressing the most interest, but there are unnamed other clubs that are “monitoring” his status.

Far be it from me to re-start the Johnson Wars on this website dot com, but there’s certainly arguments to be made about Johnson’s suitability going forward. To be frank (pun intended), Spurs probably missed an opportunity to sell Johnson at his peak value this past summer, as he was coming off a very good season and it’s quite possible that not playing much this fall has impacted his value. But Spurs are also probably right to listen to offers; he’ll probably still command a good price and could be a very good pickup for a club like Palace mid-season.

The downside to selling Johnson is his status as an association-trained player for European roster construction, but Spurs are already hurting in that area, will be in a much better position next season, and losing Johnson shouldn’t significantly impact what they want to do if they make it to the next round of the Champions League.

Good morning everyone. I realise it’s been some time since we last checked on the lower leagues in the English football pyramid, so let’s take a look to see what they’re currently up to.

League One:

Luton Town are climbing back into the playoff picture after a dreadful start to their League One campaign, but two poor draws against Leyton Orient and Port Vale stalled some momentum.

There’s a very interesting race for the automatic promotion spots. Seven points currently separate Cardiff (41) from fifth-placed Stevenage (34), but Stevenage have a couple games in hand. It’s hard to gauge just where these teams really are at the moment, but the Bluebirds have won their last five games.

There could also be a double double-relegation this year, with Plymouth Argyle and Blackpool in the drop zone.

Top six:

Cardiff (41 Pts, +16 GD, 19 MP)

Bradford City (37 Pts, +10 GD, 19 MP)

Lincoln City (35 Pts, +7 GD, 20 M)

Bolton (34 Pts, +10 GD, 19 MP)

Stevenage (34 Pts, +9 GD, 18 MP)

Stockport (32 Pts, +2 GD, 19 MP)

Bottom four:

Plymouth (20 Pts, -11 GD, 20 MP)

Exeter City (20 Pts, -2 GD, 19 MP)

Blackpool (20 Pts, -8 GD, 20 MP)

Port vale (15 Pts, -10 GD, 19 MP)

League Two:

I know very little about League Two, but Bromley being in the hunt for the automatics seems like a strange development. In fact, this is the highest position they’ve ever been in club history. It would be quite fun to see them get promoted to League One.

They’ve got a favourable enough run of games coming up which should help them shore up their spot in at least hte playoffs. If they can hang in there for the next few months, then they might have two big games against Salford City and Walsall to close out the season.

Top seven:

Walsall (39 Pts, +11 GD)

Notts County (37 Pts, +13 GD)

Swindon Town (37 Pts, +9 GD)

Bromley (36 Pts, +9 GD)

MK Dons (33 Pts, +14 GD)

Salford City (33 Pts, 0 GD)

Chesterfield (32 Pts, +5 GD)

Bottom two:

Bristol Rovers (17 Pts, -23 GD)

Newport County (13 Pts, -17 GD)

National League:

Rochdale seem to have the inside track here but it’s still a close call. They’re currently level on points with Forest Green and Carlisle, but have three games in hand.

Top one:

Rochdale (46 Pts, +23 GD, 19 MP)

Fitzie’s track of the day: Man Made of Meat, by Viagra Boys

And now for your links:

BBC: “‘Questions pile up at Celtic but only some are for Nancy’”

The Independent: “Bayern Munich hit with partial stadium closure after fireworks set off in stands”

A recent report in Spanish rumor-rag Fichajes suggested that Tottenham Hotspur’s 19-year-old on-loan winger Yang Min-Hyeok was a potential January transfer target for Real Madrid. That’s almost certainly full of crap and not what this article is about. However, there is another transfer rumor about Min-Heyok over the past couple of days that did pique my interest, and that’s what I’ll focus on here. According to Korea-centric football blog Football-Asian, the possibility exists that Min-Hyeok could be recalled from his loan at Championship side Portsmouth in January and loaned out again for the spring at a different club, either a higher-caliber Championship team, or possibly another club in Germany or France.

Min-Hyeok’s loan career has been a bit of a slow burner. It took a while for him to get established at Portsmouth, currently 21st out of 24 teams in the Championship table, and there were concerns earlier in the season that he wasn’t getting enough minutes. (concerns that may have been due to a minor injury he had been carrying at the time). But from what I’ve seen, Min-Hyeok has turned into something of a fan favorite at Pompey.

His stats don’t pop off the page — 2G+1A in 639 minutes in all competitions — but that likely has as much to do with the way Portsmouth play ball. They promoted up from League 1 last season and while manager John Mousinho is apparently trying to convert them to a possession side it’s not clicking yet and indications are Portsmouth are gearing up for a defensive just-survive-relegation campaign that doesn’t especially suit Min-Hyeok’s skillset.

Football-Asian posits Spurs could trigger an early termination clause in Yang’s contract and then find another loan club for him that more suits what they hope to develop in his game, emphasizing his direct nature, speed, and ability on the ball. There are probably several potential options in the Championship (though the report doesn’t name them), and there’s also supposed interest from clubs in Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga; Football-Asian also talks about a “contingency option” where Min-Hyeok could stick around Spurs in the event of injuries.

The Real Madrid links are almost certainly garbage, but there’s something to be said about a young Korean teenage attacker getting linked to the big clubs in Spain, even in the rags, that suggests there’s something there to be excited about. He’s not going to Madrid, but the mere fact that he’s being mentioned in that context suggests there’s something to be excited about.

Football-Asian doesn’t get everything right, but they were frequently close to news stories about Son Heung-Min when he was at Tottenham, so this is probably something to keep an eye on. If it’s accurate I suspect we’ll get some corroboration before too long in a couple of the English newspapers. Frankly, I’d be interested to see if there’s a club in Germany willing to take him on loan for half a season. It’s certainly done wonders for Luka Vuskovic, and playing top flight football would be a good step up for him. Before we hitch our wagons to the Yang Min-Hyeok hype train, let’s see what happens here in the second half of the season.

Good morning hoddlers. I’m glad I checked in today because this hoddle was almost set to 2.30pm ET. Could you imagine that?

It’s too darn cold to even think about the differences between the ante- and post-meridian these days. And can you really tell the difference? It’s freaking cold!

Your hoddler-in-chief, though, began his marathon training in earnest this week with a 14-mile run in the freezing cold. It was not fun.

I do take some comfort in the fact that the actual distance did not push me that much. But the wind whipping against my face for the duration of the run was not enjoyable. And that forced me to go much slower than I normally would, but that could be a blessing.

I still think I’m crazy for training during the winter. Even crazier for doing some of these runs after 5pm when it’s dark and cold, the cars are less cautious of runners, and the sidewalks are generally emptier. They’re much lonelier runs.

But I don’t care. I still have 15 weeks to go. And I intend on smashing my next marathon. The cold-weather running will only make me stronger.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Stonehenge, by Spinal Tap, featuring Elton John

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Guglielmo Vicario is far from perfect, but he’s also far from Tottenham’s biggest problem”

The Standard: “Pressure on Thomas Frank but players must take some responsibility for Spurs slump”

Tottenham Hotspur fans aren’t very happy right now and with good reason. That feeling is mostly directed at first year Spurs manager Thomas Frank, who has underachieved this season and is coming off of a humiliating 3-0 away loss to Nottingham Forest, who entered the match just above the relegation zone in the table.

But if you thought that meant Spurs would be posting a photo of a stadium detail on social media and appointing an interim head coach, think again. According to an article in The Athletic yesterday by Jack Pitt-Brooke, while Tottenham officials have held discussions about Thomas Frank, they are at present making the decision to stay the course and give Frank the time and resources he needs to succeed in the position.

Spurs have been in this position before, many many times. But until now it’s always been under the leadership of former chairman Daniel Levy, who was let go earlier this season by the Lewis family in an attempt to modernize Tottenham’s fooball operations. Spurs fans had a pretty good idea of what Daniel Levy would do in this situation — replace the coach — but we have no idea what this new group of executives and owners are thinking or what their predilections are. The Lewis family and CEO Vinai Venkatesham have made it clear in the past that they are shooting for long term, sustained success on the football pitch, but that the club needed to change to be a more modern footballing organization. This is the clearest indication yet that the Lewis Kids are taking the long view. It’s not a formal and public declaration of support (the dreaded “Vote of Confidence”) but it’s pretty significant.

You can understand the impulse. It doesn’t take much of a genius to see that there are bigger problems at Tottenham than simply who is leading the team in training and out onto the pitch. Spurs have an extremely flawed squad that’s still hurt by several long term key injuries, and there are major questions to both the construction of the squad over the past few summers and the overall organizational structure from the top down. If you subscribe to the theory that when the team plays bad the head coach gets sacked, then that’s evidence towards letting Frank go. But the “Magic Manager” theory isn’t a magic bullet, or else Spurs would have a lot more success over the last two decades than they have. There are big questions that need to be addressed, and not all of them can be fixed by replacing the manager. The efficacy of Co-Sporting Directors Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici are part of this equation as well, especially with a January transfer window upcoming, and it seems as though, for now, the new Spurs leadership is giving Frank the space to try and do what he can to turn things around.

That doesn’t mean that Frank is ultimately the right guy to lead Tottenham Hotspur. There are, as we have discussed ad nauseum on this blog, big, big questions about Frank’s tactics, personnel decisions, and team play and just because the board are backing him now doesn’t mean he’s going to be in charge this coming summer, or in March, or even in January. A lot can happen in football that can force a club’s hand, and Spurs have a tough challenge this weekend when Liverpool come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.