Cartilage Free Captain

I hate international football.

But by all accounts, Spurs’ representatives have escaped any grievous bodily harm, and we’re only days away from having our beloved Spurs back again. Some of them even had a bit of a rest! So that’s nice at least. And though he’s not at Spurs anymore, nice to see Sonny in the goals too (sorry, not sorry American readers - at least you can share my pain as I sit here in the bottom corner of the world supporting New Zealand).

As cynical as I am in regards to international football, however, you can’t help but feel at least a morsel of joy and pride in seeing Djed Spence making his debut for England. After not seeing the pitch against Andorra, England’s first Muslim international played 21 minutes off the bench as the Three Lions demolished Serbia 5-0. It was a similar success story for Spurs’ other international fullback, Pedro Porro, as well: Spain tore Turkey to shreds 6-0 while Porro went the distance.

Spurs’ other defensive internationals in Europe had a bit more of a mixed time. Kevin Danso again came off the bench, albeit in a 2-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Ben Davies and Micky van de Ven had differing destinies, as Wales fell to Canada but Netherlands squeaked by Lithuania. Their respective attacking compatriots, Brennan Johnson and Xavi Simons, were relegated to bench duty. Guglielmo Vicario also remained in a bench role for Italy, in a stonker of a match against Israel, while Spurs’ two European midfielders in the form of Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall saw limited gametime: Lucas, none whatsoever as Sweden lost to Kosovo, while Palhinha came on late to see out Portugal’s win over Hungary.

Spurs winger Mohammed Kudus played 80 minutes in Ghana’s win over Mali, but it was one of Spurs’ midfielders who was on the scoresheet instead as the African nations competed. Pape Matar Sarr’s goalscoring form showed no sign of slowing down as he added another to his growing international haul, coming on late to score the winner for Senegal against Democratic Republic of the Congo in a five-goal thriller.

Lastly, it was over to South America, from whence Cristian Romero returned early as his yellow card in the first fixture of the break meant he was suspended from Argentina’s loss to Ecuador. Richarlison, conversely, returned to the starting XI for Brazil for the first time in some time. Unfortunately, he was unable to inspire the Selecao to a win, Brazil losing to Bolivia, while Rodrigo Bentancur had slightly better luck: 90 minutes in a nil-all draw.

And with that, we’re only days away from what is sure to be a very annoying match against a motivated West Ham side. It’s the sort of thing you live for, isn’t it?

I still hate international football.

Spurs International Appearances:

Djed Spence (unused sub; 21 mins, sub, clean sheet): England 2-0 Andorra; Serbia 0-5 England - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Pedro Porro (62 mins, clean sheet; 90 mins, clean sheet): Bulgaria 0-3 Spain; Turkey 0-6 Spain - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Kevin Danso (20 mins, sub, clean sheet; 12 mins, sub): Austria 1-0 Cyprus; Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-2 Austria - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Ben Davies (90 mins, clean sheet; 90 mins) & Brennan Johnson (65 mins, unused sub): Kazakhstan 0-1 Wales; Wales 0-1 Canada - UEFA World Cup Qualification / International Friendly

Micky van de Ven (90 mins; 28 mins, sub) & Xavi Simons (79 mins; unused sub): Netherlands 1-1 Poland; Lithuania 2-3 Netherlands - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Guglielmo Vicario (unused sub x2): Italy 5-0 Estonia; Israel 4-5 Italy - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Lucas Bergvall (unused sub x2): Slovenia 2-2 Sweden; Kosovo 2-0 Sweden - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Joao Palhinha (11 mins, sub; 11 mins, yellow card, sub): Armenia 0-5 Portugal; Hungary 2-3 Portugal - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Mohammed Kudus (86 mins, assist; 80 mins): Chad 1-1 Ghana; Ghana 1-0 Mali - CAF World Cup Qualification

Pape Matar Sarr (73 mins, goal; 13 mins, goal, sub): Senegal 2-0 Sudan; DR Congo 2-3 Senegal - CAF World Cup Qualification

Cristian Romero (90 mins, clean sheet, yellow card): Argentina 3-0 Venezuela - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification

Rodrigo Bentancur (90 mins, yellow card; 90 mins): Uruguay 3-0 Peru; Chile 0-0 Uruguay - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification

Richarlison (11 mins, sub; 61 mins): Brazil 3-0 Chile; Bolivia 1-0 Brazil - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification

Good Wednesday and welcome all to your Djed Spence hoddle.

It’s remarkable how we’ve gotten here, isn’t it. Just a few years ago Spence was relegated to being called a so-called Club Signing by a former manager at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

He was loaned out to Rennes.

He was loaned out to Leeds.

He was loaned out to Genoa.

And then, to Ange Postecoglou’s enormous credit, he was given a chance to be incorporated into the first team. That has since culminated in his first cap for England’s national team.

For an extra Spursy bonus, here’s Harry Kane handing Spence’s first cap to him:

I honestly forgot Kane was around when Spence was first brought into the club, and it’s a rare sigh to see Kane become visibly emotional in this sort of public setting. Maybe he knows better than most, at least to us Spurs fans, the challenging road to et from childhood ambition to International Club Reality.

I didn’t get around to watching England’s 5-0 win against Serbia on Tuesday (maybe those of you who did watch could fill a guy in), but I noticed Spence was brought on with about 20 minutes or so to go in the game. And it was incredible to see.

Of course, the Europea League winner took to instagram after the game. He called it “arguably” the proudest day of his life.

The man’s been through a heck of a lot since joining Spurs. I couldn’t be happier for him.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Tarkovski, by BODEGA

And now for your links:

The Standard: “Tottenham: Micky van de Ven reveals moment from Europa League final win that fans still thank him for”

It’s a tale of two former Spurs managers.

The first, Nuno Espirito Santo, became the first manager to be sacked in the 25/26 instance of the Premier League, removed from his post in charge of Nottingham Forest. The news came after Nuno publicly criticized the club and its owner, the tempestuous Evangelos Marinakis, in recent weeks. The sacking comes as somewhat of a surprise given the Portuguese coach’s achievements with Forest last season, including qualifying for European football, well beyond what many would have expected; but it seems the backroom relationships had become untenable.

Enter the second former Spurs manager: Ange Postecoglou.

According to The Athletic, Ange Postecoglou is to be named Nuno’s replacement imminently:

Look, we don’t often write about other clubs, but 1) news is slow with the international break still underway; and 2) it’s not often you have a managerial saga including two former Spurs managers - not least one that only left the club last season.

Ange Postecoglou has written his name in Spurs folklore after Spurs’ Europa League win; but I think few at this point would still argue he should have been retained. That’s not to say he’s a bad manager by any stretch… but this is a bizarre hire for Forest. Going from Nuno’s stodgy low-block-and-counter setup to Ange’s expansive vertical movement and high press is such a tactical kneejerk the Forest players will likely suffer whiplash. To add to the tactical shift, Ange will somehow need to get the Forest squad operating in something resembling cohesion while contending with midweek European matches.

In some ways, it’s an odd move for Ange as well. Marinakis isn’t exactly the most… patient of owners, and Ange isn’t really known for pulling his punches in the media either. It’s not like other teams will be beating down Ange’s door either if this appointment doesn’t go well. It seems very much like a roll of the dice, and they are not loaded in Postecoglou’s favor. At least he’s probably getting paid.

Good luck, Ange, I guess. I hope this goes okay for you. Just… not too well.

Two weeks ago Hoddle Headquarters took a look around to see which clubs in the Premier League have the best and worst home kits. Today, we’re going on a road trip - that is, we’re looking at the away kits!

So let’s have at it. Here are the best and worst away kits in the Premier League this year, as judged by your hoddler-in-chief.

Spurs killed it this year with the black kit, and I absolutely love the grid.

The “Spurs” on the inside of the collar doesn’t look too great, honestly, but no one’s going to notice it when you’re wearing it. 9/10

I like a cream kit, but I like it less when there’s distracting detailing throughout it all. That’s what Forest have done with their kit as they return to European competition.

I’m also not in the mood to give Evangelos Marinakas any kind of victory, even one as trivial as appears in a ‘Best of Away Kits’ category on a Tottenham blog. So there ya go.

Now this away kit I can get behind.

I’m a big fan off the off white here, which makes the shield guarding the Liverpool really pop. There could be a little less black on the sleeves, but I won’t get too upset about that. Very solid kit.

It’s been a couple weeks since I first pulled aside which kits I think are the best and which I think are the worst. So I kind of forgot why this one got thrown into the latter category.

But! If I were to guess what I was thinking at the time, it’s probably that I’m not a huge fan of this black and gold look - particularly on the shoulders. It looks like some villain in the Star Wars saga, whereas the Spurs Black make them look like the cool jedi (Djedi?) in the Star Wars saga.

I like away kits that are a little busy, and this one fits the bill. Plus - look at how colourful it is!

The club said this kit pays tribute to Sunderland’s maritime identity, with the pattern featuring the Roker Lighthouse. It contrasts very nicely with the clean sleeves too. Banger of a kit.

Do brown kits ever work? I’m not so sure. Spurs have tried it before with the taupe in 2023-24 and the brown in 2006-07. Neither of them are as bad as this one though.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Contour, by Pino Palladino + Blake Mills

And now for your links:

Matt Law: “Lewis family to make public show of intent at West Ham vs Tottenham”

Jack P-B et al ($$): “Does Daniel Levy still have power? Is this sign of a takeover? Your Spurs questions answered”

The Standard: “Tottenham: Lewis family to continue financial backing after boardroom reshuffle, says Vinai Venkatesham”

ESPN: “As World Cup nears, does Pochettino know USMNT’s starting XI?”

AP: “Athletic Bilbao’s Álvarez gets 10-month ban after taking banned substance in hair-loss treatment”

There’s not a lot of good stuff to come out of an international break, unless you count “not getting injured” as one of the good things. Which it is! And so, it gives me great pleasure to announce that there are two injured players who are soon to be not-injured. According to Alasdair Gold in Football.London, Romanian central defender Radu Dragusin has returned to training, and new defensive signing Kota Takai should be back on the grass sometime this week.

Not that we should expect to see Radu in a match anytime soon — he’s been out with a long term injury for the past nine months, and any time you spend that much time away from any sport it’s going to take a while to get back up to speed. The other bit of good news is that there’s a senior defender who can slide-tackle Radu quickly back into focus: Cuti Romero. Tottenham’s club captain picked up a second yellow card in three matches in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Venezuela last Thursday, and as a result he’s suspended for the second match at Ecuador. Since he can’t play, he’s apparently returned to London and is back training with Thomas Frank.

We haven’t seen Takai at all — he reported to Spurs with plantar fasciitis, a foot condition that is both painful and pernicious. It can take a while to heal, so it’s nice to see that he’ll likely be at least on the grass doing some training sometime this week.

I don’t have real expectations that Takai will feature in many matches this season. In fact, if he weren’t injured he might have gone out on loan this season somewhere, maybe the Championship, to get acclimated to England. As it is he’s probably the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency defender at the moment, and that’s fine.

Spurs’ next match is the London Derby at West Ham this coming Saturday; they host Villarreal in their first Champions League match on Thurs. September 16.

It’s a new era at Tottenham Hotspur. Daniel Levy is out, now is the time of Vinai Venkatesham. With Levy’s role as Executive Chairman being eliminated and his role on the board replaced by Non-Executive Chairman Peter Charrington, focus now turns to Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham as the face of the football side of the organization.

Tottenham released a new video on YouTube today — an interview with Venkatesham as CEO where he outlined the immediate future after Levy’s leadership, but also communicated the board’s (i.e. the Lewis family’s) ambitions for where Tottenham Hotpsur can and should go next. And he also made it very, very clear — Tottenham Hotspur are not for sale and will not be sold.

Here’s the video, followed by a few summary bullet points from my viewing.

The Daniel Levy news might have come as a shock, but Tottenham is a club that is very well structured and “succession ready.” Levy leaving doesn’t leave a leadership void; inside the club everything is very much business as usual.

Levy’s legacy is firmly established with the new training center, media center, and stadium, as well as his taking the club to a position of financial stability and strength over 25 years. He was an incredible leader and will be missed.

The Lewis Family (majority stakeholders) are massive Spurs fans and have an ambitious vision for the club and where they want it to be. That ambition is to maximize the potential of both the men’s and women’s teams, giving them the best chance to be successful on the pitch. The Lewis Family also want to enter into an era of “calm and stability.”

The Lewis Family’s intention is to be long-term stewards of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and as such they have absolutely no intention of selling; they expect that their ownership of the club will “extend through the generations”.

Peter Charrington, as non-executive chairman, will not be involved in the club in a full-time, day-to-day basis. He will lead the Tottenham Hotspur board, but will empower people like Vinai to run football operations regularly.

There is “firm backing” from the Lewis family against the club’s ambitions to be successful on the pitch. This includes both the men’s and women’s teams. Vinai did not want to put a number on and was careful with his wording to avoid “transfer war chest” stories in the papers tomorrow. Spurs will continue to be aware of FFP rules and will work to stay within those guidelines; there will also be a continued focus on revenue growth and developing academy talent.

I’ll be honest — this is a very good video. Venkatesham is a gifted communicator and he outlines what’s coming in clear and concise language. I also appreciate the transparency — one of the criticisms of Levy was that he rarely communicated directly with the supporters and almost never gave interviews. It led to a disconnect between Levy’s leadership and a lot of Spurs fans, because it gave the impression that the things that were happening at the board level were behind an impenetrable veil of secrecy.

Vinai, by contrast, is affable and clearly comfortable on camera. I hope this starts a new era of greater transparency and communication between the club and the fans — even if Spurs fans disagree with a particular decision, having someone sit in front of a camera and say “this is how we’re doing things and these are the reasons why” makes it a lot easier to accept things.

I also appreciated Vinai going almost out of his way to include Tottenham Hotspur Women as part of the club’s ambitions — while it comes on the heels of a somewhat lackluster summer transfer window, it’s clear that Martin Ho was hired with the full backing of Venkatesham and the board, and hopefully that ambition transfers into renewed and increased financial support.

The video is short — only about 8 minutes long — and is worth watching in full if you have a chance.

We may have gone through an international break this past weekend, but it doesn’t mean there wasn’t any Spurs content.

For those of you keeping track at home, there were (from my count) three Tottenham Hotspur reunions this weekend.

Heung-min Son and Mauricio Pochettino

First, here’s one of Heung-min Son and Mauricio Pochettino when South Korea defeated the US 2-0 in a friendly:

We love to see this. And it’s even sweeter Poch after the game said Sonny was like a son to him. In his own post-game comments, Sonny credited Pochettino for making him the player he is today.

And I think that’s fair to say as it’s pretty well-known by now how Poch convinced him to stay after a rough beginning when he first joined Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur Women and Rehanne Skinner / Shelina Zadorsky

Okay, so this one might not have been as heartwarming as the previous reunion. Tottenham did sack Skinner two years ago, after all. And Zadorsky left the club in 2024 after the end of her contract with Spurs.

Also, Spurs Women defeated West Ham Women yesterday, which is a pretty cool thing to bring up also.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Mothra, by The 5.6.7.8’s

And now for your links:

Bloomberg: “Tottenham Hotspur Owners Turned Down Two Suitors”

Sky Sports: “Tottenham Hotspur: Amanda Staveley to make statement that she does not intend to bid for Spurs”

Alasdair Gold: “Inside Daniel Levy’s Tottenham tenure by those who knew him best”

The Athletic ($$): “Mauricio Pochettino ‘in shock’ over Daniel Levy’s departure as Tottenham chairman”

A new season is a new beginning, and one that Tottenham Hotspur Women desperately needed. After a horrific 2024-25 campaign in which Spurs limped to an 11th place finish under Robert Vilahamn, now Spurs Women have a new manager in Robert Ho, two new players in Toko Kota and Tinka Tandberg, and now a league win. Spurs defeated West Ham 1-0 at Brisbane Road thanks to a late penalty from Bethany England and also kept a clean sheet in the process.

It wasn’t a perfect performance — Spurs were good defensively and frequently pressed high to disrupt the Hammers, but once again had a difficult time linking the midfield to attack. England may have slotted home the penalty after Eveliina Summanen was brought down in the box midway through the second half, but she found herself quite isolated in attack, something that Spurs fans should be used to.

That said — a win’s a win, and that was often more than we could’ve hoped for last season. I still have big questions about this Spurs side, but I can’t argue with the result.

Here are my match reactions from today’s win.

Reactions

I hate international football.

That’s right, the bit is back (apologies to Elton John); but was it ever really gone? We could be watching Franktics; instead, we’re watching the most boring England side of a generation and Mauricio Pochettino dump all over his coaching legacy even more. And only three weeks into the season!

Oh well. It is what it is.

As Dustin wrote during the week, Spurs have 15 players on international duty. That’s 15 extra opportunities for injury! Cynicism aside, it’s also 15 opportunities for our players to represent their respective countries, some for the first time. That would have been Djed Spence’s hope, as he was called up to England for the first time. Unfortunately, his debut did not eventuate, as he remained on the bench as England struggled to a 2-0 victory over titans Andorra. It was the same story for Lucas Bergvall, remaining on the bench for Sweden’s draw against Slovenia, and Guglielmo Vicario, unable to usurp Gianluigi Donnarumma for Italy’s #1 jersey in Gli Azzurri’s win against Estonia.

Joao Palhinha and Kevin Danso were also relegated to bench duty for Portugal and Austria, respectively, though both did manage to see the pitch. Palhinha was a late sub in Portugal’s five goal demolition of Armenia, while Danso helped his side see out a 1-0 win over Cyprus, adding some defensive steel to Ralph Rangnick’s team.

Elsewhere in Europe, however, it was a slightly busier international break for Spurs’ squad, as Pedro Porro, Ben Davies, Brennan Johnson, Micky van de Ven, and Xavi Simons all started for their respective nations. Pedro Porro kept a clean sheet as he played the better part of an hour in a three-goal win against Bulgaria, while Ben Davies went the distance against Kazakhstan while also keeping his opponent goalless. His compatriot Johnson was unable to trouble the scoresheet at the other end of the pitch, but he didn’t need to as Wales still managed to secure a 1-0 win. It wasn’t quite as good news for Spurs’ Dutch contingent, though, with both Simons and Van de Ven featuring in a 1-1 draw against Poland.

Spurs’ South Americans enjoyed a successful start to their international duties, with all of Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Richarlison all involved in 3-0 victories for their countries. Spurs’ captain kept a clean sheet for Argentina while picking up his customary yellow card against Venezuela. Bentancur did the same in a 90-minute appearance for Uruguay against Peru, while Richarlison came on late in Brazil’s win over Chile.

Though the CONMEBOL players were steady in defense, it was Spurs’ African representatives that made a difference in front of goal. Pape Matar Sarr continued his goalscoring form, collecting Senegal’s second as they defeated Sudan; while Mohammed Kudus got himself another assist, setting up Jordan Ayew as Ghana drew against Chad.

I still hate international football.

Spurs International Appearances:

Djed Spence (unused sub): England 2-0 Andorra - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Lucas Bergvall (unused sub): Slovenia 2-2 Sweden - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Guglielmo Vicario (unused sub): Italy 5-0 Estonia - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Joao Palhinha (11 mins, sub): Armenia 0-5 Portugal - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Kevin Danso (20 mins, sub, clean sheet): Austria 1-0 Cyprus - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Pedro Porro (62 mins, clean sheet): Bulgaria 0-3 Spain - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Ben Davies (90 mins, clean sheet) & Brennan Johnson (65 mins): Kazakhstan 0-1 Wales - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Micky van de Ven (90 mins) & Xavi Simons (79 mins): Netherlands 1-1 Poland - UEFA World Cup Qualification

Cristian Romero (90 mins, clean sheet, yellow card): Argentina 3-0 Venezuela - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification

Rodrigo Bentancur (90 mins, yellow card): Uruguay 3-0 Peru - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification

Richarlison (11 mins, sub): Brazil 3-0 Chile - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification

Pape Matar Sarr (73 mins, goal): Senegal 2-0 Sudan - CAF World Cup Qualification

Mohammed Kudus (86 mins, assist): Chad 1-1 Ghana - CAF World Cup Qualification

Well, how do you do a hoddle after that news yesterday?

For those who haven’t heard: Daniel Levy is no longer chairman at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

The official line from the club is that Levy “stepped down” from his position, although various outlets suggest the decision was not entirely his. The Athletic ($$) went so far as to lead their story with Levy “has been removed as Tottenham Hotspur chairman”. Alasdair Gold also reported that Levy was “forced out” (see links).

But none of that answers the pivotal question: How do you hoddle after a seismic shift in Tottenham’s leadership like that?

Well, I think I’ve got an answer: With a Daniel Levy hoddle, of course.

Except we’re going to spend our time taking a look at the other Daniel Levy, you know, the one famous for Schitt’s Creek.

Levy (the actor/filmmaker) is putting together a new comedy series that will be housed under Netflix. The title: Big Mistakes (hmmmmm).

According to Netflix, the series is going to primarily follow two “deeply incapable siblings” who get blackmailed into the unseedy world of organised crime.

One co-star who you might recognise is Laurie Mecalf, who starred in shows/films like Roseanne, Lady Bird, Hacks and The Big Bang Theory). Starring opposite her will be Taylor Ortega, who’s been featured in the US version of Ghosts and the live-action remake of Kim Possible.

The series will be one of a handful of projects Levy has fronted since Schitt’s Creek ended in 2020. Among those were Unfrosted (in which he played Andy Warhol) and the comedy-drama Good Grief, which he wrote and directed,

Fitzie’s track of the day: Changes, by Yes

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “Daniel Levy forced out at Tottenham as Spurs owners make big plans for future”

Dan KP for The Athletic ($$): “Daniel Levy, an uncertain Tottenham legacy, and what next after his sudden departure?”

The Standard: “Who is Peter Charrington? New Tottenham chief who has replaced Daniel Levy”

BBC: “What will be Levy’s legacy as his Spurs era ends?”

Matt Law: “Daniel Levy’s dramatic Spurs exit set in motion by wide-reaching review”

The Guardian: “Daniel Levy’s business sense boosted Tottenham but he failed to reach for glory”

Sky Sports: “Daniel Levy steps down: Tenure as Tottenham chairman lacked enough on-field success as Spurs status grew”