Cartilage Free Captain

“I don’t know [why I get fast results]. I do my job. Nothing special. I do the things I believe is important. Nothing more, nothing less. Each coach has his own style to achieve the results. I have my style which I believe is the best. It’s never the same because there are always different characteristics, different clubs and different culture. Not even of the league but the club. Some clubs like this kind of football, some like this. You need to resolve the problems. Everywhere the problems, if you go to the best clubs in the world you believe there are not problems there but there are problems there like in the third division. It’s all about how you resolve the problems in a very quick time. Not easy but it’s okay.”

“Probably no [injured players back], Solanke has some problem with his throat but he made two days training. All the others, some are next week.

“[It’s a] very particular moment as you know this very rare situation that you find with 10 players injured, with big injuries also. We made training with 13 players. It is how it is. It is not fantastic [or] beautiful but in this case it’s an even bigger challenge to succeed and come out of this situation.

“Thirteen [players] we will have for sure and it’s quite enough to achieve what we want on Sunday. And the first goal of course I understand the importance of this game, this is a derby, a north London derby. Everybody expects the three points from us. We are aware of this.

“But what was my goal in this first sessions we made is that we became a team. That we became a team with a really right way of going to war, a team who want to suffer, we need to suffer. To fight, to run, to have the right mentality. Also, this is the start. I was working on a lot of things, not everything because it’s not only football, it’s not only about that, it’s about clear idea of what we want to do. Very specific things we want to do with the ball, without the ball, when we are pressing, when we are low. We work a lot but the start is always about mentality because the people come before the football player.”

Igor Tudor is here to stop the bleeding. Both mathematically and logically, Tottenham Hotspur does not need to do much to avoid relegation, even if the current threat is far closer than this club should ever be. In fact, an ambitious manager might actually see the task to be making a run in the Champions League or sneaking into the European places, not just surviving near the bottom of the table.

No one expects a win on Sunday, but doing so would make those more positive alternatives much more realistic. Arsenal are quite a bit higher in the table than Spurs (only because of an extra match played, right??) but did just drop points to Wolves on Wednesday — imagine the type of club who does that. Maybe the vibes are starting to swap across this North London Derby, making this the perfect spot for an amazing result.

Match Details

Date: Sunday, February 22

Time: 11:30 am ET, 4:30 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

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

Table: Spurs (16th, 29 pts), Arsenal (1st, 58 pts)

Not much to say here, as surely everyone is aware that Arsenal has won four straight in this rivalry. We can sit back and remember Heung-Min Son’s equalizer in 2023/24 once again, however. Though a lot of season transpired after that September draw, City ended up winning the title by exactly two points, which is what Arsenal dropped that day thanks to Son’s brace.

Two Things to Watch

Pressure mounting/release

As is the case with most North London Derbies, the biggest talking points are far from the tactics boards. After Arsenal’s midweek stumble, the dichotomy of atmosphere between these two sides could not be more different, despite their objective positions. On one hand, Mikel Arteta’s squad is still in first place by five points and remains the betting favorite to win the league. City has looked a step off all season, and it was not that long ago the race seemed nearly over.

However, City now controls its own destiny again while Arsenal has won just two of its past seven in the league. A slip against Spurs would elevate pressure on Arteta substantially. Accordingly, this is a freebee for Tudor. First match in charge, falling short against the league leaders — even bitter rivals — is not going to dictate his perception for the next three months.

All of that being said, these two recent events suddenly make this match feel heavier for Tottenham. With Thomas Frank, this was a guaranteed loss; now, the home side has hope. Likewise, Arsenal is in disarray, but a convincing road won over its rivals could help stop the bleeding and right the ship heading into the stretch run. Spurs certainly do not want to help out in this way at all.

Limited options

History suggests Tudor would like to implement a 3-4-2-1, though it is questionable if the available personnel would allow for it. Regardless, it seems like Spurs should expect some defensive solidity with an aggressive press to help set up some better scoring opportunities. This feels like a welcome shift from whatever Frank was supposedly trying to implement, and any change at this point is worthwhile.

Arsenal killed Spurs on both ends last fall. Despite the poor recent run of form, Arteta’s squad has still scored 12 goals over the past five matches while Tottenham allowed exactly two goals in each match during that span. Like the previous manager (heh), Tudor’s first priority will be fixing the defense, which is not an easy task given the lack of options, but certainly one he seems capable of doing.

The need is just as large in the attack. Arsenal has only allowed three goals in the past four matches while Frank’s final two contests in charge saw one total goal scored. Again, a lack of options might limit what the interim leader can actually do, but I am curious to see if the Tottenham attackers shows more directness and motivation under new leadership. One can dream!

Good morning everybody and welcome to the 1,000th TRACK OF THE DAY!!

You read that right - THE ONE THOUSANDTH TRACK OF THE DAY!

The hoddle has been doing some celebrating this month, first with fitzie celebrating his four-year anniversary at the helm of this wonderful daily blog.

When I took over the hoddle I jumbled down dozens of different notes in my notepad of all the things I wanted to do. I asked myself how I would introduce the links, how to write the hoddle in my own voice while also honouring the tenor set by my predecessor.

Probably the first idea I came up with was a daily song to feature, although I didn’t know what to call it, so I stole the name. And, one morning after listening to “Nick Harcourt’s Fresh Squeezed Track of the Day” on 88.5FM The SoCal Sound, we had our name: “Fitzie’s track of the day”.

I thought it would be fun to feature a different song every day. My goal was to have a unique song every day. With maybe five exceptions, I stuck to that (so 1,000 unique songs is pretty astounding!).

I also wanted to give you all the chance to have something to look forward to and listen to if you didn’t like the hoddle, if there was a putrid Spurs performance, if there was a result to celebrate, or if I felt there was a particular song that could give a little boost to a hoddler who might’ve had a rough day before.

Whether it was Charles Mingus, the Grateful Dead, Warren Zevon, Haim or Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, I wanted to share a lot of the music that I enjoyed. I also wanted to use the TOTD as an opportunity to seek out different music myself and artists I might not have ever heard of before.

These were artists like Rosalia, Charli xcx, Haruomi Hasono or JD McPherson. I also have greatly enjoyed receiving your recommendations on artists or genres even though I do occasionally forget (and in some cases, such as Creed, ignore - although I’ve been close!) to include them. So please keep sending them to me.

After the first calendar year in which I took over the hoddle I decided to put together a playlist of every single TOTD to share with you all so you can access it whenever you please. And while I love that we have this playlist, I still recommend supporting your local radio station and favourite artists.

Now, I know what you’re asking: Fitzie, how do I access the Track of the Day? Well, here’s the embed link you silly goose:

Now, let’s get to some of the stats from the Track of the day playlist You might find this isn’t that much different from when we last checked in on it in December, but let me share it again:

Total songs: 1,000 !!!!

Playlist length: 74 hours, 48 minutes

Songs longer than 10 minutes: 35

Longest songs: Fables of Faubus (29:42) , Joan in the Garden (19:21), Help > Slip! > Franklin (18:58)

Songs shorter than two minutes: 9

Shortest songs: Fragile (1:18), Three Girl Rhumba (1:24), Mystery Dance (1:36)

Most featured artists: Charles Mingus (39), Grateful Dead (32), Queen (20), Fleetwood Mac (15) Haim (15), Tom Petty (13)

Considering how the top five most artists played on this list comprise of just 13.4% of the 1,000 songs featured over the last four years, I have to say I am quite proud of how varied the TOTD is.

——

And now we look on to the next one thousand tracks of the day! You might think I’m running out of ideas, but I’m really not. For example, can you believe we’ve never featured The Cars?

Plus, there are so many more songs to discover that are out there. And so many more that are going to come out in the months and years ahead. This gives us more than enough fodder to keep the track of the day going for as long as possible.

Wherever you go, always take the Track of the Day with you!

Fitzie’s track of the day: It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me, by Billy Joel

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “The Lewis family owns Tottenham. Why haven’t any of them taken the Premier League’s OADT?”

Matt Law: “Tottenham lose key sponsor at cost of millions”

The Overlap (via Youtube): “Ange Postecoglou: Breaking Silence on Forest Exit & Spurs Job Drama”

Good morning everyone.

It’s hard to believe we’re nearly at the end of the Winter Olympics. Wednesday’s action brought to dramatic hockey games in which both Canada and the US survived in overtime.

But the big story of the Games so far has to be the dominance of Norwegian cross country skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo.

The Norwegian on Wednesday won his fifth gold medal of this year’s games and his 10th overall, a new record for the Winter Olympics.

Klaebo went what the kids would call “viral” earlier in the Games with that insane climb in the men’s individual spring last week. Just look at this:

He used that immense power again on Wednesday to push Norway to gold in the men’s team sprint, beating out the Americans in the process.

Norwegians actually make up four of the five athletes on the all-time Winter Olympic medal list, with three of them being cross country skiers.

There is now one more men’s cross country skiing race left in the Olympics: the 50km mass start casual on Saturday. Will Klaebo make it a sixth gold?

Fitzie’s track of the day: Love, by Lambrini Girls

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “The four Tottenham players Igor Tudor had already worked with before arriving at the club”

Jay Harris ($$): “Reunion with Igor Tudor could help Randal Kolo Muani finally find form at Spurs”

CommBank Matildas: “CommBank Matildas unveil final squad for AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026”

BBC: “‘Bottle word will be used’ for Arsenal - is title ‘in Man City’s hands’?”

It’s a pretty slow news day if you’re a Tottenham Hotspur fan, but there’s some good news that just dropped courtesy of Seb Stafford-Bloor in The Athletic — according to reports, Tottenham Hotspur are expected to freeze season ticket prices for the 2026-27 season.

The decision was made after consultation with the Fan Advisory Board, the new(ish) committee formed to serve as a liason between match-going fans and the Tottenham Hotspur board and executive leadership. Spurs will freeze next season’s season ticket prices at this season’s current levels, which is a welcome change, but doesn’t change the fact that Spurs season tickets are still the most expensive in the league. It should be noted that Spurs also froze season ticket prices THIS season as well, meaning prices are expected to stay the same as the 2024-25 season. Spurs have come under criticism recently for removing some ticket allocations for seniors this season.

Well, I say this is welcome news, and it is, but only if Spurs manage to save themselves from relegation with what’s left of this season. That still seems like a very good bet to make — even if we haven’t seen Spurs play under Igor Tudor he realistically only needs 12 points, and possibly less, to ensure Spurs stay up. If they don’t, then that’s the start of what would be a pretty catastrophic financial disaster for Tottenham; I can’t see much of an argument for fans paying the most expensive Premier League season ticket to watch Spurs play in the Championship.

But that’s a tomorrow problem. For now, if you’re a season ticket holder this should be very good news, assuming you want to continue to pay the money for your stadium seat.

Good morning everyone. Today’s hoddle is the second in a short series on your hoddler-in-chief’s journey to run his fourth marathon in April. As I said last week, I decided to document my journey while out on an “angry” run following a Spurs defeat to Newcastle.

That anger wasn’t just from the defeat, but also from several weeks of the most brutal winter I’ve endured since living in Washington DC.

But after that period I am hopeful that what I see is the light at the end of the tunnel, and not an oncoming train. The temperatures are hospitable, but snow is forecast for Sunday. Who knows. I’ll get out there regardless.

(Catch up on Week 9)

I’m only doing this to document my own journey and to find some sort of outlet for the thousands of thoughts that run through my mind through every run. Some of them are good. Some of them are bad. I run through it all. Regardless the distance, the biggest struggle is carrying the dialogue and fears with you.

Week 10

I only have a few more weeks of serious running to go. This Sunday will mark my third 20-mile run. After that it’s a short break until I do my 22-miler before the taper. Now that the weather is getting warmer I’m wondering how much I should push myself. I’m trying really hard to take it one run at a time. Sometimes it’s difficult. It’s always difficult, actually.

Last week I was feeling pretty negative. The doldrum of winter really got to me. I was exhausted. Somehow I got through it. But the thing with running is you get through some hard times, and there are still more miles ahead of you. So I just have to confront those miles. I feel like I’m so close I’m going crazy. Steady eddie, fitzie.

Sunday run: 16 miles (8 miles easy, 8 miles slightly faster than target pace)

I was pretty happy with this. The roads were clear, the temps were warm enough that I didn’t have to wear gloves, and I finally got to really push the pace. The last eight miles were done at a 6:49/mi pace, slightly faster than my target pace. But here’s the deal: I DON’T KNOW MY TARGET PACE.

Part of the struggle with this winter is what do I trust? My half marathon time from November? My Garmin watch race predictor (which says a 3:01 marathon)? My last few months of icy running? My general pace?

All that said, 6:49/mi is probably pushing it a little too much knowing I’ll still have 10 miles to go on race day. That’s a lot, and it hurts. Even though I felt pretty dang good after my run, I knew I didn’t feel good enough to go another 10 miles like that. But can I do it at 6:52 or 6:55/mi? Maybe!

I do a lot of visualising when I’m out there on my long runs. When I’m on the Capital Crescent Trail I like to imagine myself in the final stretch of the marathon, totally alone and in significant pain, doing everything I can to push through those final moments. I know how much it hurts, which is kind of scary.

All of this is building to my run this coming Sunday, which will be my third 20-miler. The tentative plan is to take the first 16 miles at a comfortable pace and push myself the final four. I think my half marathon pace is a lot better than it was in November. If I can run the final eight miles of a 16-miler at a 6:49/mi pace rather comfortably, then I can probably get close to a a sub-6:30/mi half marathon pace. That’d be about six seconds faster than my current best.

Monday: Rest day

I cannot remember the last time I slept til 9am. It felt incredible. Sleep, coffee, oatmeal. Then some light stretching, more coffee, and eating whatever the heck I wanted. It’s not easy to eat on Sundays because my appetite feels so suppressed from the long runs, so I try to make up some of the calories the following day.

Tuesday: 7 mile recovery

An easy 7 mile run at a 7:50/mi pace. It’s probably still too “fast” for what a recovery should look like, but I mostly run by feel and not pace. I rarely look at my watch, actually. So this felt very good and I rewarded myself with some good stretching, lots of pasta, a whole carton of cookies and some wine later in the evening.

Wednesday: Track night treadmile

This isn’t totally set yet. I’ll probably aim for roughly 6 mile intervals. I like to go with what the track club posts and then modify it to make it a little bit longer. This’ll likely be a one mile warmup and one mile cooldown, with four miles worth of work in between.

Thursday: 10 miles easy

More time on the feet. It’s getting warmer and the sun’s out longer, but not that long. So let’s put on the LED lights and make sure I get home safely. This is still my least favourite workout. I hate how long it takes to actually get done. It’s after 5pm, the workout will take at least 72 minutes not including a cooldown or stretch. By the time I sit down for supper it might be time to watch The Traitors. But I can’t complain. There are far worse Thursdays than mine.

Friday: Gym

Deadlifts, some kind of chest press and split squat, plus three more exercises at a light enough weight to challenge myself but not push it. Again, this is all about injury prevention, flexibility and stability.

Saturday: 8 miles easy

Another easy 8 mile run to prepare myself for Sunday. Get out an enjoy the sunshine. Here comes the warmth. Here comes the sun.

(The forecast actually calls for snow.)

Expected total weekly miles: 47

Fitzie’s track of the day: Love Comes to Everyone, by George Harrison

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “The one word Igor Tudor deliberately avoided while speaking about Tottenham and it’s not relegation”

BBC: “Real Madrid tie halted over Vinicius racism allegation”

Independent: “Five big names return to Lionesses squad as Poppy Pattinson earns first call-up”

”[It’s a] big challenge for me, [a] big honor to be here, I’m very happy. In the same way, I don’t think too much about myself, because I’m focused on work to do. Wherever you go, it’s always about your relationship with the place, with the team, with the town.

”There are a lot of similarities, even if this is like the NBA of European football, this is the best of the best, so it’s a privilege to be here. First priority is to give everything the team needs in these moments. The team needs, I believe, first of all to get some confidence, to get some courage, but also in the same way, the concrete things in the pitch.

”Of course, I’m coming here knowing the situation is not easy, there’s no time to find excuses. What I said from the first day here, each of us, each of the players, need to give something, something more, something extra, because the position of the club at this moment is not that anybody can accept. Every fan of Tottenham cannot accept the situation. We are aware of that, but it’s not enough to just be aware of that.

“I like to be positive, I like to play offensive football. Of course, that’s my first goal I have, that I like to score the goal, but in the same way, for sure, I need to give organization in defense, give the clear structure of what you want to play.

”The situation is not easy, because, as you know better than me, we have a lot of injured players, so we need first to find the best system that suits for the players that are available in this moment. So, a very particular moment, maybe this can sound strange, but I believe that the thing that we need to be focused on is training. So, the training from today, that’s the key, because, as I always like to say, Sunday and the game is a consequence of the training.

”So, that needs to be focused. The coach needs to show the path, where is the way we want to go, how we want to go, and the players need to accept this, and together, in this way, preparing during the week is the best thing for Sunday.

”I know some players, I’ve also coached Dejan [Kulusevski] and Rodrigo [Bentancur]. Unfortunately, they are not now available to play immediately, but they are here in the dressing room, for sure. But I find all players very available to react like this. I believe in style, and style is more important than the system, of course.

”As I said, [this is] a very particular moment, so every club has its particularity. Yeah, can I say this word? That is first as a culture of the club, which kind of football they like, so it’s always important to think about that. But in the same way, [to] not forget who I am, what I want the team to achieve, but thinking ‘This player can do this.’ So, I need to be very intelligent with my staff, to find the best possible way to get out in a very, very short time.

“It was a good first [training] session, we started to know each other. It was one hour, because we had five days free, so first training is not too much, and tomorrow we start to work seriously. Big week, yes, big week, important games. Important game, we know. This derby is a fantastic game to play. We want to play this game in a way that our fans will like.

”So, going and give everything what we have, in the right way, brave, but in the same way intelligent and smart, to achieve what we want, and that’s the victory.

”I believe that football, in 2026, has changed a lot. It’s changing year by year, so more physical players, let’s say, it’s crucial. If you can run 115k as a team, it’s better than 105k. That means that you have one player extra, so there is nothing strange to choose that direction, of course. It’s always about motivated players that understand this thing about running, about the physical aspect of football, which is sometimes not easy.

”But that without quality, you cannot do nothing. So, technical skills, intelligence to see, to recognize the situation, speech is always above everything. So, you need to find a mix [with] both things. And about winning or drawing, that’s true.

“I never saw the coach who said that he can play for draw. It’s not possible. So, offensive football, yes, but smart. That’s the key.”

Welcome to the latest installment of The Orchid Tales, where your hoddler-in-chief documents the life and times of his orchid. Has it really been 12 months since our most recent edition? That’s way too long! Let’s check in to see how things are shaping up.

For those of you new to this site - this is also one of the longest-running features of the hoddle under your HIC. The first edition of The Orchid Tales premiered on August 19, 2022. That’s almost four years ago!

One of the most challenging parts about moving, for me, is understanding how to put my orchid in the best possible position to thrive. A huge part of that means how and where it is going to receive sunlight. That sort of calculus makes it probably a little too challenging for me in how I’m going to set up my entire living arrangements.

At least I’ve figured it now for now, and I’ll be monitoring Planty’s health in the coming weeks.

There aren’t any signs that the orchid is going to grow new buds this season, which is okay. The leaves remain a very healthy green, and the roots are wild and respond well when being watered.

It looks like I’ll be tending the plant for the next few months until it’s time to repot, and then maybe I’ll bring it in to a florist to help me understand how to best plot an orchid that is growing increasingly more horizontal by the month.

It’s also time to bring new plants into the fold. I’ve had a ponytail palm sitting on a shelf for the last 2.5 years, which still looks very healthy. I also plan on bringing in some floor plants into the equation - probably the likes of a snake plant, a fiddle leaf fig or a dracaena.

I’ve got some more space on the bookshelves to add a few smaller plants too.

Is it too many plants? Probably not. You can’t have enough plants. I think they add a tonne of life and colour into the mix.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Waits For Me, by Anjimile

And now for your links:

The Standard: “Igor Tudor will have Tottenham squad ‘running through brick walls’, says former player”

Alasdair Gold: “Everything you need to know about Igor Tudor’s new-look coaching staff at Tottenham”

Matt Law: “Tottenham face ‘catastrophic’ cost of relegation and no European football”

The Independent: “Troy Parrott on becoming Republic of Ireland’s hero, Mourinho’s impact and searching for ‘big moments’”

BBC: “League One Mansfield to host Arsenal in fifth round - full FA Cup draw”

I think deep down we all expected that Tottenham Hotspur Interim Head Coach Igor Tudor would come to Spurs with a few people he trusts to work with as he seeks to save his new club’s season. Indeed, as Tudor takes the reins at Tottenham for the first time this week, reports are out, including in The Athletic and Football.London, that four of Thomas Frank’s assistants have left the club, with Tudor bringing in a few new people.

According to the reports, Ivan Javorcic is joining Tudor as assistant coach, Riccardo Raganacci as physical coach and Tomislav Rogic as goalkeeping coach. Departing are Justin Cochrane, Chris Haslam, and John Heitinga, along with analyst Joe Newton. The departure of Heitinga is grimly hilarious, as the former Ajax manager was only appointed exactly one month ago on January 15 to replace the outgoing Matt Wells; Heitinga was apparently one of the names considered to be interim head coach if Spurs opted to promote internally. Now he’s gone, without leaving much of a mark whatsoever.

Cochrane also came to Spurs with a pretty good reputation (along with Frank) of developing players, but we saw precious little of that in the eight months he was at the club. I’m not sure you can make a credible argument that any Tottenham players improved their level from last season apart from Archie Gray and maaaaaybe Wilson Odobert. If you want to be charitable, you can also make a case that Xavi Simon’s bedding in worked pretty much as anticipated, though perhaps a little longer than everyone hoped.

At any rate, those four are gone and Tudor will come in with an injury-ravaged squad, but fresh ideas. We’ll see this weekend what those ideas will look like when Tottenham host Arsenal in the home North London Derby.

Good morning everyone.

We’ve seen a lot of bicycle kicks at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club this season. First there was that one from Richarlison on the opening day of the season. Upon rewatching it, it’s almost incredible it’s not already the automatic winner for the team’s best goal this season:

Then Cristian Romero hit his own overhead kick against Newcastle. His was a little less impressive than the beauty we saw from Richarlison (bouncing twice before getting in the goal), but it came at a huge time in the match to draw Spurs level against Newcastle.

He actually scored a brace that game to salvage the draw - and we know every point matters right now.

Well, let’s add another bicycle kick to the list. Except this time it comes from a former beloved Tottenham Hotspur player: Oliver Skipp.

That’s our boy Skippy with the overhead kick in the 52nd minute of Leicester’s game against Southampton. It was a big goal, too, leveling the game against Saints until the Foxes fell in extra time. Heartbreaking for Skipp and Tottenham Hotspur hero Harry Winks.

The loss does give Leicester City more time to focus on their relegation battle (and you were concerned about Spurs). After a recent points deduction, they now sit in the drop zone and are in danger of falling to League One.

It’s a pretty tight race - just one point will see them move out of the bottom three, but they’ve also played more games than Portsmouth (21st at 33 points) and Charlton (18th at 39 points). Then you’ve got West Brom and Blackburn in the fight as well.

It’s a remarkable fall from grace for Leicester. And this could be a very rare - if not unprecedented - occurrence where two former Premier League champions drop into the third tier.

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Shoes of the Fisherman’s Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers, by Charles Mingus

And now for your links:

BBC Video (territory restriction): “Spurs unstoppable in 10-goal thriller against Aston Villa”

The Athletic ($$): “Clubs turn to Igor Tudor when they’re on a cliff edge – Spurs will not daunt him”

The Times: “Hull fans arrested over offensive chants during Chelsea defeat”

Daily Record: “Rangers 4 Hearts 2 LIVE as it happened – Chermiti hat trick dents Jambos title hopes”