Cartilage Free Captain

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.

It’s barely spring, but already transfer news has started to leak and rumors have started to build ahead of the summer window; and Tottenham Hotspur are not immune to such conjecture. The target in this case? Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who is reportedly of interest to Serie A club Inter Milan:

Gianluca Di Marzio is typically pretty clued up when it comes to Italian football, and his report states that Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio was in London over the last couple of days to assess Vicario, as well as Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, with Inter apparently looking for a replacement for keeper Yann Sommer this summer.

A similar report, this time from Matt Barlow at the Daily Mail, echoed Di Marzio’s piece, but took things a little further: Barlow declared Ausilio actually met with Vicario’s agent, and that Inter are hopeful a deal can be done for somewhere in the region of £17 million.

All things considered, a return to Italy this summer probably makes sense for both Vicario and Spurs. It’s been a challenging season for the Italian keeper, as his weaknesses have been brought to the fore, especially under Spurs’ previous head coach Thomas Frank. Vicario has always struggled somewhat with the ball at his feet, but that’s been exposed even more this campaign, with his usual strength of shot-stopping also becoming less of a reliable feature and more of an inconsistent bonus. Vicario is now among the bottom of the league in goals prevented, save percentage, and errors leading to goal, in a season where Spurs really could have used him taking a step up.

Goalkeeper has therefore shifted from being one of those “kick the can down the road, deal with it if the right opportunity arises” positions to a “we should deal with this sooner rather than later” situation. If Spurs can recoup what they paid for Vicario and invest it in a new keeper that is more comfortable on the ball as well as with the Premier League’s set piece physicality (and ideally without a drop-off in shot stopping), they should do it. Vicario will likely be glad as well to return to a top club in Italy; he’s still an excellent keeper on his day, with the ability to pull off the remarkable, but he’s never really looked comfortable in the English game.

Is there an honest-to-God refereeing conspiracy against Tottenham Hotspur? Well, no (probably), but it’s sure beginning to feel like it after the Football Association yesterday announced a misconduct charge against interim Spurs manager Igor Tudor:

As specified in the release from the FA, the charge relates to comments Tudor made following Spurs’ away loss to Fulham, in which a two-handed shove from Raul Jimenez in the back of Radu Dragusin created space for a flick-on that resulted in Harry Wilson’s opening goal. It was an especially egregious non-call in the light of Spurs’ previous match as well, when Randal Kolo Muani had a goal chalked off against rivals Arsenal as defender Gabriel went down under even less contact in a similar coming-together. Suffice to say, Tudor was not well pleased at the inconsistency, as well as a number of other calls that went against Spurs in the match at Craven Cottage:

”I didn’t like the referee today, too much of a home team referee. I didn’t feel well with him.

”All the decisions were on their side. He doesn’t understand football, the feeling of what is wrong and what is right.

“He [Jimenez] was not thinking about the ball, he was thinking how to cheat, he cheated the player, was pushing, it was cheating and it’s a foul. Ninety-nine of 100 people will say it’s a foul, it’s so obvious.”

Well… yeah. It’s those first two lines above that the FA has taken issue with and which fall under the umbrella of “making comments that imply bias and/or question integrity”. By the letter of the law, the charge is correct.

That doesn’t mean Tudor was wrong to speak out, though. Spurs have had a raw deal under the current set of officials on multiple occasions this season, and what’s in some ways even more aggravating is they aren’t the only ones. Inconsistency has become rife, with more and more calls being made from week to week lacking any sort of logic or clarity. Instead, the referee corps have tended to double down, arguing that the decisions made have been the correct ones, with a level of obstinance that almost beggars belief.

With that in mind, somebody had to say something; and given the position Spurs are on the Premier League table, these calls could end up being a deciding factor in Spurs’ top-flight survival. Perhaps the spotlight the comments could bring may cause referees to pause for thought before making fifty-fifty decisions against the Lilywhites; perhaps though they will lead to the referees adjudging Spurs more harshly.

In a just world they arguably should have no bearing.

But that is not the world in which we live, nor is it the quality of referee we currently have to suffer, one in which a referee can put unconscious biases out of their mind and make rational, well-thought-out decisions, with VAR there to cast a critical eye and clean up any understandable misses. It’s a hard job after all; however, it’s one that should be done to a certain standard, and given that’s not been the case, Tudor’s comments are timely.

The likely punishment is probably a fine, which the club will surely wear; though there could also be touchline bans for Tudor. Hopefully the consequence is on the lighter side, and we’ll get improved refereeing performances here on out - though given what we’ve seen in the matches post-Fulham, that hope is unlikely to be fulfilled.

Good morning everyone,

If there’s one thing I don’t enjoy doing it’s starting a hoddle at 12.15am. Yet here I am.

I’m not going to do anything fancy today. There’s lots of sports on this weekend (or “There is a lot of sport on this weekend”). Chat amongst yourselves on what you plan to watch.

In the meantime, please enjoy this track of the day for this bare hoddle.

I am off to bed.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Brian Wilson, by Barenaked Ladies

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “The night Spurs rediscovered their pride”

BBC: “Famous night for Forest in season to largely forget”

Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of fitzie’s film and tv reviews, where your hoddler-in-chief rates some of the things he’s been watching on the television or cinema (or home cinema).

It’s been some time since we last checked in here. I’ve mostly been waiting for Survivor 50 to begin, and it has! And it’s living up to expectations so far. Since we’re only a couple episodes into it, I’m going to withhold from rating it for now. Instead, here are a few others I’ve seen:

The Traitors US Season 4

Gosh, this is bad. And what a stepdown from the UK’s celebrity version (or even its Average Joe version). It’s very unpleasant to watch this cast of characters interact with each other, and I can only imagine how frustrating it was to actually live it.

The only saving grace here was Love Island star Rob Rausch, who flawlessly worked his way to become the second traitor in the US edition of the game to win it. And he did it in spectacular fashion at the final roundtable.

Shrinking Season 3

You would think a TV show that stars Harrison Ford would be better in its third season. It isn’t, and that isn’t because of Ford, who continues to carry the cast. It’s everyone around him that’s dragging this show down.

There have been too many other non-central characters thrown into the mix and and storylines that don’t carry the series forward. Even for all that, most of the episodes fail to have any sort of lingering impact. It’s white noise television, which is a shame because Ford is relishing in his role.

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein: Lots of great visuals to look at and admire (including a not-so-hideous monster), but there’s not a whole lot beneath it. Given how dense the source text is and how many variations of it appeared in other films, I think del Toro was wise to focus on just the relationship between Frankenstein and his monster.

Where he falls short, though, is how he stripped both characters of their complexity. And because of that I think he failed to reach the greatest heights of the book.

Rental Family: There was a point in my life where I never thought I’d see Brendan Fraser dressed as a superhero tube of toothpaste. That character’s acting career fell off, and now he’s employed at a company that rents out its actors to be people’s husbands, sons, friends - what have you.

It’s a wonderful comedic film that dives deep into this world, one in which Fraser builds a handful of lovely relationships.

Dead Talent Society: So you’re a ghost who’s out to make a living, eh? Call Dead Talent Society. This Taiwanese horror-comedy imagines what it’s like for ghosts who are out to make a living scaring people. Not just in the classic “Shining” kind of way, but the kind that’ll really go viral across the world.

It’s a tonne of fun to watch these ghosts who seek to become some of the biggest legends in the underworld, which itself looks a bit like a shmaltzy 1970s game show.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Driver, by Soccer Mommy

And now for your links:

The Independent: “How Igor Tudor’s reign of error turned huge corner as Tottenham remembered how to win”

The Telegraph: “Spurs go down fighting to raise hopes ahead of Forest death-match”

Alasdair Gold: “Every word Igor Tudor said on Archie Gray, Xavi and two other Tottenham stars who impressed him”

The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham 3 Atletico 2: Can Spurs and their fans take hope from this? Is Tudor safe now?”

BBC: “Even when they win it still ends in defeat - Spurs’ season summed up”

ESPN: “Senegal to appeal CAF’s decision to hand AFCON title to Morocco”

This match was always expected to be an uphill battle. Carrying a three goal deficit into this match from the away leg, Tottenham Hotspur would have had to produce something special in order to progress to the Champions League Quarter Finals - and they very nearly did, as Spurs threw everything and the kitchen sink at Atletico Madrid in a brave performance.

With Spurs’ Premier League survival the priority and the Lilywhites already heavy underdogs, Igor Tudor could have been forgiven for rotating his side and focusing on the weekend’s fixture against relegation rivals Nottingham Forest; instead, he embraced Spurs’ old adage of “To dare is to do”, naming perhaps the strongest side available to him. Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven returned to the side, and with Richarlison and Dominic Solanke unavailable through suspension and injury, respectively, Randal Kolo Muani started up top looking to continue his European scoring streak.

Spurs’ sparkling start looked briefly to be all for naught as Ademola Lookman had the ball in the net from an Antoine Griezmann low cross, but Djed Spence’s outstretched leg was not enough to play Lookman onside as the linesman’s flag was raised. That was Atletico’s only moment of note in the first quarter of the match, as Spurs looked to play the game in their attacking third, while lacking a cutting edge to produce a breakthrough.

Mathys Tel labored, alternating between wasteful and threatening, with a number of pot shots forcing Juan Musso into saves, before creating the breakthrough. Picking up the ball in the half-space on the right following a quick throw, Tel curled an inch-perfect cross just past the penalty spot, with Randal Kolo Muani ghosting off the Atletico Madrid center backs to meet it. His header was sure, and Spurs had reduced the deficit to two goals.

That deficit should have been one soon after, as a gorgeous move full of one-touch passing started by Archie Gray breaking through midfield ended with Tel shooting tamely at Musso, when both Gray and Kolo Muani were available at the back post for a tap-in. That scare seemed to wake Atletico Madrid, who took back a modicum of control late in the first half and tried to create openings of their own. Julian Alvarez kissed the top of the net with a long-range effort; and Giuliano Simeone generated an unbelievable save from Guglielmo Vicario, Simeone’s shot deflecting off Romero and forcing Vicario to raise a glove late as the ball changed trajectory.

The burgeoning hopes from the first half’s performance were quickly dashed, as Atletico Madrid struck back via Julian Alvarez. Alvarez looked to foul Xavi Simons in the act of shooting just outside Madrid’s 18-yard box, before Radu Dragusin and Micky van de Ven failed to deal with an incisive counter as Alvarez guided a strike into the top corner. Spurs remonstrated with the ref for letting the challenge on Simons stand, but the goal stood.

Xavi Simons soon made up for that loss of possession with a stunning strike of his own. Gray was once more involved, intercepting the ball in midfield, before playing a one-two with the Dutch attacker. Simons then steadied himself and bent his effort from outside the post into the net to stir belief in the home crowd once more. The pressure appeared to be getting to Madrid’s players as well, Lookman carded as he lashed out at Radu Dragusin following a routine challenge.

Spurs had chances to further reduce the gap, as Simons played Pedro Porro through only for Musso to make a sterling save on Porro’s outside of the boot shot, before Dragusin struck his header straight at Musso off the ensuing corner. Despite the chances, it was Atletico Madrid who scored next, as a corner kick proved the undoing of Igor Tudor’s side. David Hancko made a run to the near post, drifting in front of Pape Matar Sarr who was late to react, and his glanced header snuck inside the near post as Madrid made the score 2-2 on the night.

A late penalty won and scored by a determined Xavi Simons secured Spurs a 3-2 win, but it was not enough to overturn the first leg deficit, as Spurs exited the Champions League with a 5-7 aggregate score.

Reactions

This team still has fight in them. Make no mistake: though Spurs failed to progress to the next round, this was an heroic performance to produce Tudor’s first win with Spurs. The Lilywhites now need to build on this performance and the one at Anfield and take the fight to Nottingham Forest this weekend in a match that is a relegation six-pointer.

Tudor set the side up in a formation that was a variation on his preferred back three: it was a somewhat lopsided structure that almost resembled a back four, with Pedro Porro pushing up high and Spence staying deep, as Xavi Simons and Mathys Tel interchanged on the left.

The aggression with which Tudor wanted to approach this match was evident from the start, with both Dragusin and Romero spotted well up the pitch in the opening moments of the match to supplement the attack.

Randal Kolo Muani just looks a different player against European defenses. A solid performance, and his goal was well taken.

To a lesser extent you could say the same of Xavi Simons, who was excellent tonight. His one-touch passing was unlocked by actually having players move around him, and his first goal was an absolutely sumptuous strike. I’ll die on the hill that he was fouled before Madrid’s first goal, but it was contact that was never likely to trigger VAR to overturn.

Archie Gray is quietly turning into a very good midfielder. His performance tonight was somewhat reminiscent of another young English midfielder’s performance against that other Madrid side; let’s hope his career doesn’t take the same trajectory.

Maybe this is recency bias; maybe it’s me assigning too much blame of this season’s woes to a single player. But Micky van de Ven has lost a yard of pace this season, and to me it’s exposed some reasonably glaring deficiencies in his game. He had three opportunities to prevent Madrid’s opening goal, failing to intercept the pass, nick possession from Alvarez, and then close the space (though to be fair, Dragusin should have done more earlier in the move), and was soundly beaten by Alvarez down the right-hand side not long after. Spurs need him to be better.

Can Spurs turn this win into a run of results? If they play like this every week, they certainly can. I’d say Tudor’s job is now probably safe, as well.

COYS!!!

“Yeah of course I’ve seen things passing by. It’s not something I look at a lot to be honest. Reporters just say some things where you’re like how do you even come up with this? Players are switched off or don’t care about the situation that’s happening right now?

“The only thing I can say is it’s not true. It would be strange if a player was in the dressing room now and saying I’m going to leave either way, or I don’t focus about the situation because everything that’s going to happen, it doesn’t affect me. I think it’s just nonsense. It’s just like things they are bringing out.

“People just start believing it. What I said - it’s the biggest nonsense. Everybody is just focused on what’s going ahead and what’s in front of us.

“What you said, sometimes we just read things by ourselves, by the players as well, and then we’re just like, what is this? The other day when we read something about one guy that said to everyone that he’s probably going to leave and doesn’t care about the situation they’re in, and then someone reads this and we’re just like, how does this come out? People are just making things up, and it’s just frustrating for us as well, because it brings so much more trouble as well, because the fans are starting to believe this.

“They start saying, the guys don’t care anymore what’s going to happen in the club about the situation, but trust me, all the people involved on the pitch, the staff, the players, everyone, they care so much about the situation we’re in right now. We just want to turn things around, and that’s the most important, that’s the main focus for everyone. And then if some reports just start saying that guys don’t care anymore, it’s just frustrating for our guys.”

It’s March - it’s Madness!

It’s that time of year again where the best 68 college basketball teams in the US fight in a winner-take-all tournament. Every year March Madness lights up televisions across America, stories of Cinderella are told and a king is crowned.

St John’s (where your hoddler-in-chief went to university) return to the tournament after being crowned Big East champions for a second year running.

The reward: A five seed. Which is dumb and renders the entire Big East tournament meaningless. But apparently a Week 2 defeat to Alabama carries more weight than beating UConn twice. And how the 10th-ranked team in the country gets a five seed is also baffling to me.

Anyways enough of my ranting. At the risk of spoiling any bracket competitions I am participating in this year, I am going to be sharing my thoughts on the field from Elite Eight onwards. Let’s get to it:

Elite Eight:

St John’s (5) vs Michigan State (3)

Florida (1) vs Houston (2)

Arizona (1) vs Purdue (2)

Michigan (1) vs Iowa State (2)

Only one double-digit team advanced to the Sweet 16 last year (don’t remind me), and all four number-one seeds reached the Final Four. Can that seriously happen again?

I kind of hope it doesn’t pan out this way because where’s the excitement in that? My big guess is that the St Johns defense overwhelms Duke, the tournament’s top seed overall, and that Tom Izzo’s Michigan State takes out UConn (apologies to any New Englanders out there).

Otherwise it’s hard to see where the upsets will be coming from. Can Vanderbilt (5) give Florida trouble again in the Sweet 16? Houston look about as strong as a one seed. I think Arizona could be in some trouble regardless if they play Wisconsin (5) or John Calipari’s Arkansas (4) in the Sweet 16, but analysts love picking Arizona to win it all this year.

Then Michigan’s got a pretty easy draw up to Iowa State.

Final Four:

Michigan State (3) vs Houston (2)

Arizona (1) vs Michigan (1)

Call me crazy but I’m not sold on Florida this year. They lost to Duke, UConn and Arizona (although I’m ignoring that same logic in the St John’s debate), and also had a bad loss against TCU in out-of-conference play.

I think Arizona gets through the gauntlet, while Michigan is able to ride a bit of momentum in fending off Iowa State. Mostly, I just cannot imagine three teams from the Big 12 in the Final Four.

Championship Game:

Arizona (1) def Houston (2)

Could the title finally be heading back to the West Coast? It can, if Arizona doesn’t choke again in this Big 12 matchup.

I’m not thrilled with this bracket. I kind of want to pick Wisconsin over Arizona in the Sweet 16 because I think it’ll be fun, and because Wisconsin have given some top teams a lot of trouble lately. But if I do that, then who goes to the Final Four? And the who goes to the championship game?

Or should I just pick SJU again?

Fitzie’s track of the day: Clarion-Clipperton Zone, by Laurel Halo

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham went back to basics at Liverpool – and it could be what keeps them up”

The Standard: “Richarlison can save Tottenham and Atletico Madrid ban is blessing in disguise”

Alasdair Gold: “Igor Tudor’s brutal message to Johan Lange and why he got so irritated at Liverpool”

BBC: “How Chelsea signed a star team with hidden payments”

Tottenham may have another match — the return leg against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League — to play first, but there could be as many as five players that could be available for Igor Tudor in next weekend’s relegation six-pointer against Nottingham Forest.

The Standard looked at Spurs’ injury list and also comments recently made by Tudor to put a timeline on the return of a number of players missing from Sunday’s draw at Liverpool. There’s the chance that five players could be back in time for Forest — Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Joao Palhinha, and Conor Gallagher.

Romero and Palhinha are perhaps the two freshest in the mind — both were out vs. Liverpool because they collided head-to-head in the waning moments of the Champions League first leg against Atleti at the Wanda. Both missed out due to concussion protocol but could be back in time for Forest, if not for the return leg tomorrow.

Gallagher is also on the verge of a return after missing the Liverpool match with a fever. If he’s feeling better tomorrow, he’ll probably play or be on the bench, but it sounds like he should be perfectly good to go for this weekend.

Destiny Udogie has been out since February with a hamstring injury, but Tudor said he “for sure” would be ready for Forest. That’s a huge boost to Spurs, who have been making do with Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Souza, and occasionally Archie Gray at fullback. Udogie is a lock-down starter at left back, and his return will be pretty important for Spurs’ run-in.

Van de Ven’s return is much more straight forward — he was suspended one match, vs. Liverpool, for picking up a DOGSO red card against Crystal Palace, but he has completed his suspension and will almost certainly be playing — and starting — tomorrow vs. Atleti, and again this weekend against Forest.

The Standard also gave updates on a few of the players with more nebulous return dates — there’s no update on Yves Bissouma who missed the last match with a knock, but Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Mohammed Kudus are both targeting returns in April after the upcoming international break. Dejan Kulusevski is a big ol’ shruggie emoji, and both Wilson Odobert and James Maddison are not expected to play again until next season. Ben Davies, whose contract expires this summer, is hoping to be fit in time to play in the World Cup for Wales this summer.

It’s an extensive list, but five players back is pretty massive. Spurs were without 13 first team players against Liverpool and having even a handful of them returning is pretty important as Spurs target improvement and critical points in their Premier League run-in.

Tottenham Hotspur have a mountain to climb if they want to advance in the Champions League after losing the first leg of their Round of 16 tie with Atletico Madrid by a score of 5-2. But they might have just gotten a small boost — there are reports now that Atletico starting keeper Jan Oblak will miss the match with an injury, and will be replaced by Juan Musso.

That’s pretty good news! For starters, Oblak is an outstanding shot stopper as evident from his performance in the first leg; he made a number of quality stops that could’ve gotten Spurs back in the game. Second, there’s already evidence of what could happen when a team in this tie plays a backup goalkeeper, so turnabout’s fair play, right? Maybe Spurs should water the pitch a little extra to recreate the slippery conditions that led to Antonin Kinsky’s disastrous performance in the first leg.

In all seriousness, while a three goal deficit isn’t ideal, it’s hardly a death sentence. Apart from the opening 20 minutes, Spurs played Atleti more or less even from there on out and even pulled two goals back in the thumping. It’s unlikely, but not inconceivable, that Spurs could play well enough at home to erase that aggregate score and sneak into the quarterfinals. Maybe it’s just the vibes injection I got from yesterday’s encouraging draw against Liverpool, or maybe I’m just high on my own supply of hopium, but I have a sneaking suspicion this round isn’t as dead as what people think it is.