Cartilage Free Captain

There’s a lot not to like about Tottenham Hotspur right now, starting with last weekend’s shambolic loss to Nottingham Forest which put Spurs a point above West Ham in the relegation zone with seven matches to play. But if you want to get even ANGRIER, read on — because according to the Daily Telegraph (and our good buddy Matt Law), former Brighton and Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi is said to be willing to consider becoming Tottenham’s next permanent head coach, if — and that word is doing a lot of heavy lifting right now — Spurs escape the drop.

I feel like I’ve had my say on the possibility of De Zerbi taking over as permanent head coach before, but in case I haven’t said so explicitly, I absolutely loathe the idea. De Zerbi is cantankerous, combative, and generally considered to be a complete asshole. He’s undoubtedly a good tactician, and coaches an attacking, positive style of football, but is also known for being extremely confrontational, and has been red carded from more than one match for his touchline behavior. You might also remember a couple of years ago when, while managing Brighton, De Zerbi got into a physical altercation with then-interim Spurs manager Cristian Stellini, an incident that resulted in £100k fines for both coaches, despite Stellini not actually being involved in the incident himself. De Zerbi has torpedoed relationships at a number of his former managerial stops, leaving Brighton mutually over dissatisfaction over recruitment and player purchases, and also his latest position at Marseille, which he left “by mutual consent” in February.

Oh, and let’s not forget De Zerbi deciding to give a second chance to, and vigorously defending, crediby-accused sexual abuser Mason Greenwood at a time when he was toxic to just about every other club in world football, calling him “a good lad” and that he “paid dearly” during the sexual assault allegations levied against him.

“I don’t get involved in private matters. I just know that Mason is a good lad,” De Zerbi told reporters on Monday. He paid dearly for what happened, and he’s found the environment he needed here...

“I regret what happened in his life because I know someone different from what’s being described, especially in England.”

Remember how outraged Spurs fans got when the club tried to hire Genarro Gattuso? Remember how bad the Jose Mourinho appointment turned out to be? This guy is, in my opinion, a worse human being and absolutely not worth the damage to goodwill it would do to the fan base. It is a non-starter and would be a profoundly tone-deaf appointment from Spurs.

So of course it appears they’re still considering doing it anyway. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear to be a done deal — the Telegraph writes that both Manchester United and Liverpool would prove to be more attractive jobs should United opt not to retain interim boss Michael Carrick, or if Arne Slot leaves Liverpool this summer as has been rumored.

That said, the other tidbit of news from this article is that the other front-runner for the Spurs job is none other than Mauricio Pochettino, who might be tempted to leave his position as head coach of the USA national team after this summer’s World Cup to return to the club he took to the Champions League seven years ago. It’s hard to imagine a more different potential head coaching candidate to Roberto De Zerbi — in a good way — than Pochettino, who is still beloved by the fans seven years after his mid-season departure.

Look — it’s awfully early to be speculating on who Spurs’ next permanent manger is going to be, because I have a feeling it’s going to depend whether they’re playing in the first or second division. We have a long way to go before we find out our fate this season, and there are so many moving parts to make speculation almost pointless. But that said, if Tottenham manage to stay up and then ignore their better angels by appointing Robert De Zerbi, you can bet I and this blog will be at the forefront of the campaign to pressure Spurs to change their mind. It’s full-on #NoToDeZerbi for me, and I will not be dissuaded.

There were plenty of bad vibes in the immediate aftermath of yesterday’s shambolic 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, a relegation six pointer that means Spurs will spend the next three weeks in 17th place, one point above West Ham in the relegation zone. But that’s just sports, and sports are immaterial in comparison to real life. Tottenham Hotspur interim manager Igor Tudor did not lead the press conference following the match, leaving the duties to assistant coach Bruno Saltor, who indicated that Tudor had suffered an undisclosed death in the family that he found out about immediately after the match ended.

That personal tragedy, according to the Croatian media, was the death of his father, Mario. Croatian paper Sportske Novosti confirmed the death of Mario Tudor, but Saltor decided not to comment on the situation at the time of the press conference. The report is light on details, as can probably be expected, but it’s understood that Tudor has left to be close to family.

This is one of those times when being a good human and having empathy and compassion trumps anything that happens on the football pitch. I maintain that Tudor, who has yet to win a Premier League match while in charge and with Spurs struggling to keep their heads above relegation waters, has not done enough and should probably be relieved of his duties for someone else in charge. In fact, under most circumstances the upcoming three week pause from Premier League play would provide an opportune time to bring someone else in and give them time to stabilize themselves before Spurs play at Sunderland on April 12.

But now is not the time for that. Now is the time for compassion and for care. In the past day I’ve thought a lot about the tragedies suffered by former Spurs manager Antonio Conte and how those losses can have a huge impact on one’s mindset and mental health. It’s possible to separate sports from personal circumstances, and this feels to me like one of those times. Tudor’s job performance can wait, as can any talk about whether he should continue to take the reins at Spurs for the next few weeks. For now, I offer my sincere personal condolences to Tudor and his family on their loss.

Good morning everyone.

For those of you who haven’t checked the hoddle these last few weeks, then you might’ve missed that I’ve begun documenting my training for my next marathon, which is on 4 April. The goal is to smash by personal best and see just how close to a 3-hour marathon I can get (pretty close, I think).

The whole point of this is to almost document my anxiety from all this training. It’s a big commitment to run a marathon. The worst of winter has come and gone, although it could return this week. Still, we’re counting down the remaining weeks until race day.

(Catch up on Weeks 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 here)

Week 15:

They call it a “taper tantrum” for a reason.

My marathon is less than two weeks away which means it’s now time to scale back some of that mileage, although this week comes with the challenge of trying to not cut it back too much.

Your hoddler-in-chief will be hitting the road this week, and that’s going to make it very difficult to go out running. That’s where the “taper tantrum” comes into play.

“Taper tantrum” is a common expression for the anxiety runners have in the final week or two before a big race. By design you’re supposed to scale back your mileage to help your body get the rest it needs for rest day. Most tapering plans are 1-3 weeks depending on the race. For the marathon, I’m tapering two weeks.

Part of my anxiety is to make sure none of the hard work I’ve been doing slips away in the final 12 days leading up to the marathon. I’m still trying to eat well, lay off the alcohol and continue my running pattern. I admittedly slipped up a little bit on that second one the other night, but I’m not going to let it totally derail me.

So where does this leave me? Well I’ve got at least one big one scheduled for Sunday before I take a flight out of Washington DC later that afternoon.

Sunday: 16 miles

This is my dress rehearsal for the marathon. I’ve got my raceday shoes, socks, shorts, tank and hat. And I’ve got a good distance at 16 miles.

This time I won’t be doing “easy miles”. It’ll be a two-mile warmup with the final 14 miles at marathon pace. Because I haven’t had the chance to do much running at goal pace during the winter, I think this’ll be a good opportunity to give that a shot.

It’s a longer stretch of the run I did Thursday (12 miles: 2 easy, 4 at MP, 1 easy, 4 at MP, 1 mile cooldown). And I felt in control of that for the entire time. This one just condenses the two marathon-pace blocks and adds a few more miles in there for good measure.

The good news is I’ll have plenty of time to sit on the aeroplane.

Monday: Rest

I’ll be doing my best to stretch while I can. Heck, maybe I’ll even bring my stretching rope or foam roller.

Tuesday - Friday: Run when able

There’s no plan here. I’m going to try to go out when it’s possible, even if for just a couple of miles. It’ll be nice to stretch those legs out and I’ll just have to live with the fact that my mileage is going to drop considerably this week.

Saturday: 4-6 miles easy

This is my optimistic take, since I’m flying back into DC on Saturday. If I wake up early enough I think I’ll have a chance to knock out a handful of miles before I head to the airport. And then hopefully I’m feeling in fine form when I prepare for my Sunday run back home.

Total estimated miles: 20? Maybe more? Hopefully not too much less.

Fitzie’s note: Since your hoddler-in-chief will be traveling this whole week, you’ll have some bonus hoddlers-in-chief the remaining four days. Do be on your best behaviour!

Fitzie’s track of the day: Tom Sawyer, by Rush

“I think in the small details, I thought for 44 minutes in the first half we were the better team. And again, I think any mistake that we make, any small detail goes against us and we’re not able to capitalize on the opposition’s mistakes. And probably that affected the team.

“And that’s our job as coaches, to keep helping the players. And as you can see, the players, they care and they are 100% trying their best. But at the moment, it’s not enough. We need to minimise any mistakes because we know that we’re going to concede a goal.

“The players got affected by the rhythm of the game and we couldn’t find that rhythm to create more chances. The first half, the first 44 minutes I thought were good, really good, creating chances, getting into the box. In the second half, probably, we were unable to deal with the weight of the game.”

In what had turned out to be the biggest match of the season for Tottenham Hotspur as the side hosted Nottingham Forest in a crucial six-pointer, the Lilywhites failed to capitalize on a strong spell of play before falling to a 3-0 defeat on Sunday.

With the club making note of the importance of the home match and the fans taking to the streets near Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to share their believe in getting over the line, the emotions were everything for the home supporters to back the side into getting a positive result.

Struggling through the first few minutes of the match as Forest did well to press Spurs and had Elliot Anderson truly being a star-studded player for a reeling side, Spurs flipped the switch thanks to Mathys Tel. Having the most dribbles, take-ons, and ambition in the side (barring Richarlison), Tel put flair out on the pitch to get something right for the side.

Winning corner after corner for the club, Tel’s deliveries were promising as the best moment came in the 10th minute when Richarlison looked to connect on the perfect back-post header, but the header went wide of the post.

Flipping the field and putting pressure on Forest — with an own goal almost occurring off a Kevin Danso throw-in, Tel picking apart Ola Aina, and the team having eight corners in 30 minutes of the match — the biggest question came on a challenge from Ibrahim Sangaré. After winning the ball off Tel near the box (as Tel took a hard challenge from the midfielder), the Forest player had a one-on-one challenge with Archie Gray that saw the studs go up into the thigh of the Spurs midfielder. With calls going against the Spurs all year in that realm, a card was not only not shown for the Forest player, but a free kick was ruled for the away side.

Believing that Spurs were going to get the opening goal and dictate the game, Forest’s first corner in the final seconds of the shown 45 forced Guglielmo Vicario to make a flashy save by punching the shot over the net. The ensuing corner from Neco Williams found Igor Jesus (a player who did nothing all half) for a free header at the back post and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead to Forest.

Spurs tried to get one back in the final seconds of the added time as Tel fired a curling shot to the top right corner, but a tip save off the crossbar from Sells left the loose ball free for Cristian Romero to attempt a header. Shielding Williams on his back and ready for the volley, Romero was hit in the face and went down on the pitch as play continued before Forest won a free kick. With Spurs arguing for their case to get a penalty (rarely given to the side all year), VAR took a Quick Look and stuck with Michael Oliver’s decision. With that, Spurs entered the locker rooms down 1-0.

Questioning Igor Tudor’s safety for the job since the early defeats in his appointment in February, the Croatian interim manager made two changes at the break, with Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergvall coming on for Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence. This left many fans in disarray as the changes put Spurs back to a 4-4-2 but left the likes of Xavi Simons still on the bench with no attacking threat to get the ball to the front three without Tel needing to demand the ball.

Hoping the halftime talks would change things, Spurs came out sluggish on the defensive half as Williams almost made it 2-0 off a free diving header at the back post that forced Vicario to parry it away. And with Spurs doing nothing on the attacking end as final balls couldn’t lead to threats on the Forest goal, Forest picked apart Spurs for a second goal as Callum Hudson-Odoi bursted past Pedro Porro near the end line and slotted in a ball near just in front of the penalty spot for Morgan Gibbs-White to have a free shot on goal and trickled past Vicario for a 2-0 lead. Replay showed how open Spurs were as Destiny Udogie and Pape Sarr looked at one another with Gibbs-White free in the middle of the two.

With the stadium completely turned on the team and booing at every instance as the side failed to string along a couple of passes to cause threat, Forest put the game to bed for good in the 87th minute as Taiwo Awoniyi had a timely run on Williams pass and outpaced Kevin Danso for a back post tap in to make it 3-0.

The defeat leaves Spurs in their worst stretch in nearly 90 years and one point clear of the drop zone. Thankfully, Spurs were lucky to get somewhat of a good result in a 2-0 Aston Villa win over West Ham. However, that is nothing to be happy about after the side failed to give any hope to the fans and the higher-ups heading into International Break, sitting in 17th and picking up a mere one point under Tudor.

With no Spurs over the course of the next two weeks, decisions will have to be made by the club if they believe Tudor is the man to get the club to safety or appoint someone else. Other questions should be made, but for now, it should be salvaging the season and having Spurs stay up for the 2026/2027 Premier League season.

And now the rubber hits the road. Tottenham Hotspur welcome Nottingham Forest to London in a match that is a true relegation six-pointer.

If any Premier League side is in more disarray than Spurs, it’s Forest. Having achieved European football following last season’s successful campaign, the additional pressure and fixture congestion has been a step too far for Forest, and when you combine that with the cavalcade of managers that have marched in (and out) of the West Bridgford club thanks to owner Vangelis Marinakis’ particular brand of crazy, you have an atmosphere of chaos.

Unfortunately, Spurs have been even worse when it comes to form on the football field, and with West Ham United showing a late resurgence, Forest are arguably Spurs’ biggest relegation rivals. With a point separating the sides, Spurs and Forest sit in 16th and 17th place respectively, giving remarkable weight to what would sometimes be a routine fixture.

Spurs will be buoyed by the return of a few players from injury, as well as some of their recent performances which have been at a level rarely seen this season. Will it be enough to secure Spurs’ first league win this year, and potentially stave off relegation?

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Time: 10:15 a.m. ET, 2:15 p.m. UK

TV: USA Network, Sky Sports Main Event (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: Unavailable

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:

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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!

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Have fun, and COYS!

With all the drama surrounding Tottenham Hotspur this season, it’s easy to forget that immediately following the conclusion of the season there’s a World Cup - which is then followed by two preseason fixtures in Sydney, Australia, one of which is against London rivals Chelsea.

Well, it appears that the Spurs senior brass were not satisfied with a tour of New Zealand’s West Island; they’ve opted to head to the real thing now as well.

New Zealand media outlet Sport Nation NZ has reported an exclusive in the last couple of days that Spurs are heading to Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, to play A-League side Auckland FC. Funnily enough (well, maybe not), they’ve titled their exclusive “Premier League club heading to New Zealand”, a status which by all means is no fait accompli for Spurs given how this season has progressed.

The report is light on direct detail, with the CEO of Auckland FC offering a “No comment” when approached, but the fixture is expected to be scheduled close to Spurs’ matches in Sydney during the last week of July / start of August. Their opponents, Auckland FC, are a rather new club in the A-League, coming into the competition for the first time last season. They have accounted for themselves decently as well, finishing as Premiers last season (top of the table before a post-season playoff round, the A-League is weird) and currently in second position on this season’s ladder.

Though they (or any A-League club, for that matter) are not really all that close to Spurs’ level, they are not to be confused with Auckland City FC, the semi-professional club from NZ’s domestic league that was trounced by all and sundry at the Club World Cup last summer, and will at least provide a good test to build fitness and get some miles in the legs for some of Spurs’ up-and-coming squad players.

On a personal note, as a Kiwi myself, it’s nice to see Spurs make the trip to this little corner of the world; albeit slightly frustrating, given I’ve already booked my flights to Sydney. But first world problems and all that.

Hopefully, there should be some sort of announcement in the coming weeks; assuming the report is accurate, of course. We’re taking a little bit of a stab in the dark in this case and assuming it is.

Tottenham Hotspur play Nottingham Forest in a relegation six-pointer tomorrow. But Tottenham Hotspur WOMEN play this morning, probably about the time this article gets posted. So you should definitely watch that this morning, as the Women are NOT in danger of relegation and the vibes are good despite a loss last weekend.

There are also a number of Premier League matches on today starting at 8:30 a.m. ET (since England has yet to join us on DST).

This is your open thread. Cowabunga!

Tottenham Hotspur Women

Manchester City vs. Spurs Women

TV: not televised (USA), Sky Sports Premier League (UK)

Stream: ESPN Select

Premier League schedule

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Liverpool

TV: USA Network (USA), TNT Sports 1 (UK)

Stream: nbcsports.com

Fulham vs. Burnley

TV: USA Network (USA), not televised (UK)

Stream: nbcsports.com

Everton vs. Chelsea

TV: USA Network (USA), Sky Sports (UK)

Stream: nbcsports.com

Leeds vs. Brentford

TV: USA Network (USA), Sky Sports (UK)

Stream: nbcsports.com

Lace up your Kinsky Boots, because it sounds like we’re going to see a lot more from Antonin after the upcoming international break. According to Gianluca DiMarzio, Tottenham Hotspur starting keeper Guglielmo Vicario is set to undergo surgery for a hernia on Monday, just after the critical Nottingham Forest six-pointer at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Soooooooooo yeah. I haven’t seen confirmation from the club yet on this and suspect I won’t until it actually happens and they post about it on Monday. This implies, but doesn’t state, that Vic will play against Forest, but I certainly hope he does. DiMarzio’s focus is on Vicario’s availability for the Italian national team; it states that he has not been called up by Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso, and the focus is now to rest after surgery for a few weeks so he’s hopefully ready in time for the World Cup this summer.

For Tottenham, it’s not great news. It suggests that Vic has likely been carrying an injury for some time and perhaps it’s now been exacerbated to the point where it can no longer be ignored. Meanwhile, Kinsky, Spurs’ backup keeper, essentially shat the bed in his last start in the first leg of the Champions League, conceding four goals inside 20 minutes and being hooked at the 17’ minute mark. The focus now turns squarely on him again, and hopefully his confidence isn’t so shot that he starts doing that kind of stuff again.

Behind Kinsky is Brandon Austin, a player who has made exactly one league appearance for Spurs (January 2025 vs. Newcastle in a 2-1 loss) and who’s claim to Spurs fame is in his status as a homegrown, club-trained player whom Spurs can use use bolster its European squad. Neither option looks particularly great with Spurs facing relegation and a tricky run-in without their starting keeper. But, you go to war with the soldiers you have, I suppose.

The last two matches have been the most encouraging Tottenham Hotspur performances in months, and strung together there has not been a week like this maybe all season. After a disastrous start under Igor Tudor, suddenly the squad looks revitalized and capable of not only avoiding relegation, but doing so comfortably, a statement that was preposterous after the Palace defeat and first leg debacle against Atleti.

And yet — as exciting as the Liverpool comeback and Atleti second leg were, they yielded just one point in the Premier League table, meaning the situation is still quite precarious. The good news is that a win on Sunday would build a significant four-point gap ahead of Nottingham Forest, capping off a desperately needed great week. The bad news is a loss essentially erases all goodwill and puts Spurs in an even worse position than before.

Match Details

Date: Sunday, March 22

Time: 10:15 am ET, 2:15 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

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

Table: Spurs (16th, 30 pts), Forest (t-17th, 29 pts)

The December contest at the City Ground was an ugly site. Forest was fighting relegation even back then, but won comfortably 3-0 with an xG difference of 2.32-0.33. That loss came just after Tottenham’s 2-0 win against Brentford, which was the first league victory in over a month. Since that defeat to Forest, there has been very little to celebrate.

Two Things to Watch

The system is working?

The draw at Anfield was not exactly an offensive explosion, but it was a step in the right direction in terms of attack. I have wondered if Richarlison is the key to success down the stretch, and his equalizer perfectly represents what he brings to the table. However, the Spurs attack was more than fine without him, yielding numerous opportunities yielding 1.60 xG (plus a penalty).

Are Xavi Simons and Mathys Tel enough to supplement Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, and Randal Kolo Muani? It may seem premature to declare so, but at the same time it is not unreasonable to think that the new manager has a better sense of his personnel after a few weeks and that the players understand the manager’s style — and role expectations — now too.

Sunday will be a good test, with Forest unlikely to venture forward too much, especially on the road. The visitors will be content without the ball and will probably be ok with a low-event match. That puts the onus on the Tottenham attack to stay aggressive and show the ambition and creativity that had been dormant for months prior to the past week.

Vibes & momentum

That being said, Vitor Pereira’s side is not going to simply roll over. Forest’s lineup on Thursday makes absolutely clear that this relegation showdown is the top priority for his club as well, and stealing a win on the road would substantially shift the odds between these two sides (which is crucial given West Ham’s recent form). The visitors have drawn two straight and have a tough fixture list remaining, so they might see this as a prime chance for a result.

Even so, Spurs are still the side that needs this match more, just from a mentality perspective. A win validates the progress Tudor and his squad have made over the past two matches and gives real reason to believe that they are turning the corner, right before the clock strikes midnight. A loss, though, wipes so much of that away and leaves the club looking up at Forest…for at least the next three weeks.

That is because Tottenham does not play until THREE weeks after Sunday. That is a long time to wallow back into despair and again question the viability of Tudor. But three weeks to enjoy a bit of breathing room, to build upon Liverpool-Atleti-Forest, and to allow more players to get healthy sounds great. Maybe instead this just ends in a draw and the wait continues, but either way, there is no underselling the magnitude of this true six-pointer.