Cartilage Free Captain

It was an eventful summer transfer window for Tottenham Hotspur, to say the least. A number of “sagas” rumbled on, with mixed results: Morgan Gibbs-White stayed at Nottingham Forest after Spurs bid his release clause; Eberechi Eze seemed close to signing with Spurs before sensationally signing with North London rivals Arsenal; and a furor full of uncertainty around attacking midfield talent Xavi Simons resulted in Spurs landing their target over big spenders Chelsea.

One Spurs target it seemed the club were destined to get across the line but never did was Savinho. The Brazilian winger seemed incredibly close to signing a deal to head to N17, but reports indicated interference from Manchester City at board level prevented a deal from being completed, despite Spurs offering a hefty sum. By all accounts, Savinho was frustrated by City’s unwillingness to come to the table - especially in a World Cup year - indicating that there could still be an opportunity for Spurs to secure their target when the transfer window reopens in January (or beyond).

Not so, according to Fabrizio Romano:

Despite his chagrin at missing out on a move to Tottenham Hotspur, Savinho is reportedly in negotiations with City for a new contract - meaning a likely end to any future pursuit from Spurs, with the young Brazilian firmly out of their price range.

Savinho, I am disappoint.

Look, we don’t often like using Fab as a primary source for a number of reasons; one of which being he will apparently post pretty much anything fed to him by agents, whose agendas aren’t always aligned with factual reporting. It does though mean he gets a lot right, and it does seem notable that Romano is putting this out there; it’s in line with the sort of thing on which he tends to receive an inside scoop, and without the motivation to mislead or negotiate in the press. It just straight seems like if Savinho is going to be forced to stay at City, he may as well get paid.

I’m not going to lie; I would have loved to see Savinho in Lilywhite. I still would! I believe a player of his ilk starting on the left wing would really unlock the attack in this burgeoning Thomas Frank side, an attack that hasn’t exactly been fluid or productive, despite the encouraging results. If Frank still sees a starting winger as a need, however, it seems that Spurs will have to set their sights elsewhere.

Good morning, hoddlers - fitzie is currently travelling and unable to provide you football links today, but please enjoy the ones below about suede

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How are Suede still this good?

While their Britpop rivals like Oasis might be embracing a tour de force across the northern hemisphere, Brett Anderson’s outfit has released a 10th studio album that speaks to the decaying human existence.

This is Suede, baby.

Suede recently released its latest album Disintegration, continuing a run of strong studio work since the band’s reunion in 2013. Yes, the core motifs of the band remain, but this is an evolved version of Suede that is dealing with a new stage in the bandmembers’ lives.

It invokes dark things like medication obsession. And it deals with things about modern life, Anderson says in his lyrics - like paranoia and anxiety - in a society that seems to be furhter and further excommunicated from the other.

Roaring guitar licks carry lead singer Brett Anderson’s lyrics to great effect, making this experiment a greater artistic achievement than others in the Britpop scene back in the day,.

I wish Suede would tour in the US again. I don’t think it’s likely, and I did look at tour dates in the UK and Europe thinking I could take a short trip to see them there.

They’re one of my favourite bands - this post-punk, post-modern darkness that sinks into the darkness eyes-open, eyes-shut.

Why would you want Oasis or Blur or Pulp or The Verve when you’ve got Suede?

This record is a triumph. I recommend everyone listens to it. This band has something to say.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Disintegrate, by Suede

And now for your links:

Los Angeles Times: “Suede started Britpop before Oasis, but the band refuses to stay there. ‘We are anti-nostalgia.’”

The Guardian: “Suede: Antidepressants review – edgy post-punk proves reunited Britpoppers remain on the up”

Uncut: “‘It’s a very sensual song’ – Suede on the making of “The Drowners”“

Tottenham Hotspur Women played out a scoreless draw against Aston Villa. Spurs were unable to convert their spells of dominance into shots (or, dare I say, goals), but they got the job done and secured the extra point on penalties.

Let me take a moment to remind you of the atypical league cup format. In the group stages, three points are awarded to the winner and zero to the loser of each match. But in the case of a draw at the end of 90, each team gets a point. Then, the match goes straight to penalties, and the winner of the penalties takes home an extra point. Our groupmates for the Women’s League Cup are Aston Villa (WSL), Birmingham City (WSL2) and Bristol City (WSL2). So going into this match, it felt pretty crucial to take home two or three points against our only WSL opposition.

I was curious to see how we’d bounce back after the unfortunate 5-1 defeat to Manchester City, and looking forward to seeing what kind of rotation Martin Ho would bring for a midweek game, albeit one against equal strength opposition. Ho’s starting lineup didn’t include a huge amount of rotation, but he did give folks a good bit of rest through substitutions (more on that later) so I can’t complain. We saw Lize Kop in goal (though I wonder if we might see Eleanor Heeps in later games), the now-familiar lineup of Nildén, Hunt, Koga and Rybrink across the back, Eveliina Summanen and Maite Oroz in the double pivot, Olga Ahtinen as the 10-ish player with Jess Naz and Olga Ahtinen on the wings, and Tinka Tandberg up top.

Despite nearly conceding in the opening minutes of the game, Spurs started relatively strong. I was glad to see the squad looking confident pressing, carrying the ball and passing after the heavy defeat at the weekend. But the team just couldn’t convert that first half dominance into chances. All of the front four took shots from far outside the box when they could’ve passed to unmarked feet in dangerous areas instead.

Ho made three changes at half time – likely planned ones for rotation purposes. Drew Spence, Lenna Gunning-Williams and Beth England came in for Maite Oroz, Jess Naz and Olga Ahtinen. This did unfortunately mean our passing took a bit of a hit, and Villa started gaining more of a stronghold in the game. Olivia Holdt came in for Tinka Tandberg in the 61st minute, and Charli Grant replaced Josefine Rybrink in the 76th, but this didn’t really have much of an impact on the game. Villa went down to ten players for the final ten minutes of the game (which was, in my opinion, a pretty dubious decision. Maritz’s tackle wasn’t great but it wasn’t that bad), but Spurs were unable to capitalize on the personnel advantage, and it finished all square.

The resulting penalty shootout ended up being pretty fun. Lenna Gunning-Williams’ early miss made for a bit of tension, but Lize Kop saved penalties from Miri Taylor and Georgia Mullet (not to mention converting her own – love a GK penalty) to secure the extra point. I’m not sure who decided to send a real youngster up to take the first penalty, she looked nervous as hell, but hey, it all worked out in the end!

Some thoughts

Mostly I was glad to see the team bounce back from the City game. I don’t actually think Aston Villa played very well (especially in the first half), and I’m frustrated we didn’t manage to make better chances up top. That said, it was hardly evidence of some kind of collapse or return to worse form. I still saw a lot of the positives we’ve been seeing throughout the opening stages of the season.

Martin Ho struck a good balance between strength and rotation. I wish we could rest the back line a little bit more, but that’s not his fault – recall we are missing three defenders in Molly Bartrip, Ash Neville, and Ella Morris. Four if you count Amy Turner, who is still on our books. If you think about it, this makes Martin’s early signs of defensive organization all the more promising, given he hasn’t necessarily had all tools at his disposal.

I do think we gave up a little too much in this game. A team with more attacking confidence than Villa would’ve punished us for it. At least Clare Hunt didn’t two-foot Rachel Daly. I’ll call that an improvement. Elsewhere in the defense, Toko Koga continued to shine. She is not the fastest player, but boy, oh boy does she make up for it with positioning and timing. I saw her losing ground on a Villa player dribbling down the wing, only for Toko to suddenly come up with the ball and dribble out unbothered when the Villa player tried to turn toward goal. She’s so good at football, and I’m so happy she plays for my team.

The attack. What to say about the attack? I’ll start with the positives. We got actual shots on goal from counterattacks in this match. Did they go in? No. But this is a massive improvement over past games, and if I had to hang my hat on anything I’d say this is evidence that maybe some decision making is starting to come together. I also noticed we actually had players making runs into the box during this game. Unfortunately, none of the attackers seemed to want to pass the ball to those players, which was extremely frustrating. But it was a start, and I’ll be keeping an eye on that in future games.

On a separate and upsetting note, we learned immediately after the game that Jess Naz received racist DMs on Instagram in the aftermath of the City game. That’s awful and despicable, and we stand with Jess 100%.

Looking Ahead

Spurs pick back up league play against Leicester on Sunday, September 28th. Leicester have had a mixed start to the season, narrowly beating Liverpool, but losing to United and Chelsea. They also blew out Ipswich Town in the cup, which is mostly notable because former Tottenham players Rosella Ayane and Asmita Ale both scored. It’s not clear what we should expect from this game. With London City Lionesses grabbing their first points against Everton, the WSL midtable is really heating up. Personally, I think it’d be cool if we could grab as many early wins as it takes to ensure we’re not the ones who have to think about that relegation playoff game in the spring. Here’s hoping we find our scoring (and assisting) boots and put a few goals away. COYS.

There is a Fleetwood Mac demo track of Sara out there that begins with Stevie Nicks saying these lines: “I wanna be a star. I don’t wanna be a cleaning lady.”

Last week Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham re-released their self-titled track for the first time since its original publish more than half a century ago. I bought the record on Friday, and here are my two takeaways from it:

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were destined for stardom. Fleetwood Mac was the vehicle that got them there.

Buckingham Nicks oozes with the brilliant songwriting that Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham employed during their association with the band, its offshoots and their solo careers. This folk rock is chalk full of the angst of love and its implosion from which Rumours would eventually be borne.

What’s also clear from this is how much these two artists benefited from their soon-to-be bandmates John McVie, Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood.

I like to look at Crystal when I say that because it appeared on both Buckingham Nicks in 1973 and the self-titled Fleetwood Mac two years later - how ironic was it that the Bob Welch-let Mac released Heroes Are Hard to Find in 1974.

Nicks penned Crystal at what seems to be the age of around 25, when the concept of love can feel like such a high-stakes game, but it also shows her maturity of a writer. Buckingham takes the lead vocals on this, interestingly enough, which adds a degree of tenderness that perhaps Nicks’ raspier voice doesn’t offer.

(Let’s also not forget that Nicks wrote Landslide at a similar age)

But here’s what makes the Fleetwood Mac version superior: Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood. McVie’s keyboard added so many layers of texture to this track, and her outro added to a longing tenderness that the Buckingham Nicks version doesn’t. And Fleetwood’s drum-fills also carry a momentum that the 1973 version doesn’t have.

Both are remarkable, though. And I feel are both worthy of falling in love into.

(I’d also like to say I wrote this before realising Waddy Wachtel was also on guitar in this album.)

The rest of these tracks - Crying in the Night, Without a Leg to Stand On, Lola, Frozen Love - can all be treated as supreme demo versions of a future Fleetwood Mac song. But, from a musical anthropological perspective, it’s remarkable to see 40% of the band that would conquer the world through Rumours.

As some of us know, while Buckingham and Nicks were recording this record at Sound City in California, Fleetwood Mac were recording just down the hall. Mick Fleetwood heard a recording of Frozen Love and later invited Buckingham to join the band. But Buckingham had a condition - he and Stevie Nicks were a package deal.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Crystal, by Buckingham Nicks

And now for your links:

The Guardian: “Tottenham Women ‘disgusted’ by racist abuse on social media of Jessica Naz”

BBC: “‘I’m done being quiet’ - Naz condemns racist abuse”

Jay Harris ($$): “Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence are giving Spurs a selection dilemma”

Alasdair Gold: “Thomas Frank makes it clear what Mathys Tel and Luca Williams-Barnett must do now at Tottenham”

If you were hoping for another comfortable home match for Tottenham Hotspur against a lower league opponent, then you’ll likely be disappointed with the results of the Carabao Cup Fourth Round draw, which just finished. Tottenham were drawn away to Newcastle, with the match taking place the week of October 27.

Away to Newcastle isn’t an easy fixture to be sure, but there were some giants left in the draw, including Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal — Spurs managed to avoid all three. Spurs also avoided what could be the most #narrative banana-peel tie of all — a trip away to Wrexham; that honor was given to League One side Cardiff.

That said, with Grimsby Town, Swansea, and Wycombe still in the competition, the draw certainly could’ve gone better. Newcastle will be a tricky team to beat, and a lot may come down to how seriously they (or Spurs) take the fixture and if one or both teams decide to rotate. It’s probably the toughest draw in this round of the Carabao Cup, unfortunately.

Elsewhere, Arsenal drew Brighton at home, Liverpool are home to Crystal Palace, and Manchester City travel to Swansea. The full draw is below.

Tottenham Hotspur notched a couple of early goals, got some key players a good rest, and fostered a club debut for one of their academy stars on Wednesday evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they defeated League One side Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup. Tottenham had goals from Joao Palinha and Brennan Johnson along with an own goal from Rovers’ Jay McGrath en route to the next round of the competition.

This match added a little extra spice because of Tottenham’s youth players. Three Spurs youngsters — Ju’nai Byfeld, Luca Williams-Barnett, and Tynan Thompson — all started on the bench for Spurs, while Damola Ajayi, who is on loan at Doncaster from Spurs this season, was given permission to play against his former club; Doncaster started him in midfield. Williams-Barnett did make his debut, coming on as a late substitute and earning his Legacy Number.

Tottenham were up two goals inside 15 minutes after a lovely overhead strike from Palhinha and an own goal by Rovers’ Jay McGrath. All signs pointed towards goals galore, with Brennan Johnson in particular putting in some tasty balls from the right flank, but instead the match mostly devolved into a sludge-fest. Lucas Bergvall had one in the back of the net at the end of regular time that was called back for offside, but Bergvall sprung Johnson in injury time for a breakaway goal right at the death. The final score was 3-0.

Vintage football it was not, but Tottenham did manage to avoid a major struggle against a lower-league club in a domestic cup competition, something that, it has to be said, was not a given. Here are my takeaways from Wednesday’s match.

Match reactions

Doncaster’s head coach looks a lot like Kaleb from Clarkson’s Farm. This is a very important observation.

My word that Palhinha goal was something special. Great reaction to see the ball coming and dink a little overhead kick into the net. Great finish, great move. Just great. Didn’t know he had THAT in his locker.

I’m just a simple soccer blogger but going up 2-0 inside 15 minutes seems good. Yes, the second was an own goal but let’s not minimize the delivery from Wilson Odobert, which was also wonderful.

Speaking of deliveries, as the Cartilage Free Captain Brennan Johnson Agenda-Haver (tm) I want to say that in this match Brennan put four fantastic balls in on a plate, none of which were converted but all of which should’ve been. I expected Johnson to crash the box at the back post as per usual, and instead he played (well!) as a traditional right winger until he got on the end of Bergvall’s late through ball. He had a really nice match.

Doncaster were clearly outmatched, but give them credit - they really went for it. They had a number of decent looks going forward, especially on the counter. Olusanya in particular looked dangerous; Doncaster didn’t have the horses to really hang with Spurs, but they gave it their best shot and I applaud them for it. And this was their rotated lineup!

Damola Ajayi also didn’t look especially overawed by the occasion and had a couple of nice moments in possession.

Spurs looked unusually open against a rotated League One side. Danso and Palhinha are no Romero and Van de Ven, but they were both perfectly cromulent, if a touch slow at times.

And right after I typed that, Kinsky made a fantastic stop to deflect a shot off the post and out. He continues to deserve more minutes, and I hope he’s able to get them.

It was fun watching Archie Gray play, and really well, in midfield, doing things that we know he should be able to do, against lower league opposition. Maybe this is his level right now and I’d like to see those skills scale up to higher level opposition, but let’s call a spade a spade — great match from Archie tonight.

Pretty obvious how and why Kevin Danso won the Long Throws Tryout from this summer. He can really rifle them in.

Mathys Tel, man. I dunno. He looks like he should have the tools and obviously he’s young enough that he needs more games like this to find his footing, but his whiff inside two minutes on what would be an obvious goal is almost unforgivable as a striker, he did it AGAIN in the second half, and he had virtually no chemistry with Wilson Odobert. I want to believe in him, but he’s not giving me much to cling to.

Andy Madley, whoof. Declined to give what would’ve been a borderline penalty in the first half, declined an obvious yellow after Tel was tripped in transition, and then gave a super weak high boot on Danso that wasn’t even a foul. The state of officiating in the UK is appalling; conjecture in the chat was that officials are now so used to using VAR as a crutch that they don’t know what to do once they no longer have it.

Pedro Porro looked exhausted midway through the second half, and it’s no wonder — he’s started every single match in every competition this season. I really thought this was the opportunity to get him a rest, but with Ben Davies out injured… I guess not. But he can’t keep doing this, his legs will fall off.

It’s worth noting that Spurs played pretty poorly throughout the whole of the second half. I realize most of these players haven’t played with each other much (if at all) but it was not an inspiring performance. Good thing we were already up 2-0 early or this could’ve been a lot more nervy.

So, so happy to see a club debut for 16-year old Luca Williams-Barnett, who has been tearing it up at the U18 and U21 levels this season. He showed some glimpses of that raw talent in this one as well. I’m just sad Spurs were so ass in the second half we didn’t get debuts for Byfeld and Thompson as well.

Two competitions becomes three as Tottenham Hotspur embark on another trophy hunt. This time, it’s the “insert-sponsor-here” EFL Cup, as Spurs host Doncaster Rovers in a do-or-die encounter.

Doncaster are a third division side, sitting seventh in League One, and not exactly the highest of fliers. This match therefore presents itself as a chance for Thomas Frank to rotate his troops, with his changes so far to date more tactical than wide-reaching. Frank has already said Antonin Kinsky will start the match, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few more fresh faces on the pitch.

These matches can sometimes be a sucker punch, but there shouldn’t be any doubting that Spurs will sail through this one.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Doncaster Rovers (EFL Cup)

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Time: 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. UK

TV: Not televised in USA or UK. Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: Paramount+, Amazon Prime, Sky Sports + (UK)

Match thread rules

The match thread rules are the same as always. To any visitors coming here for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’re here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you’re here, though, we have a few rules and regulations:

Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They’re bad and they get us in trouble. Violators will be warned or banned.

We have rules against “relentless negativity.” Nobody likes a Negative Nancy. Don’t knee-jerk and post outlandish or hurtful things just because you’re frustrated.

Along those lines, outright abuse of players or match officials is also not allowed. It’s fine to say “wow, that was a really bad call,” but it’s NOT okay to direct copious amounts of abuse in the direction of said official over a call you did not like.

Treat other people in the match thread the way you would want someone else to treat your grandmother. Be nice. This is a community of fans, not an un-moderated message board.

NO SPIDERS!

Finally, while we don’t have a rule against profanity, please try and keep the naughty words in check. Also, language that is sexist, racist, transphobic, or homophobic in nature will be swiftly deleted and you will be immediately banned. This is an open, supportive community.

Have fun, and COYS!

There’s been a ton of speculation and background murmuring about Harry Kane over the past few weeks. Starting with reports from Germany that Kane would welcome a return to the Premier League and English football after a couple of (mostly) successful, title-winning seasons at Bayern Munich, speculation has expanded outward to encompass hushed-tone conjecture about Kane returning to Tottenham Hotspur so he can make a run at Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal-scoring record before he eventually hangs up his boots.

Let’s be honest for a second here — there really isn’t much evidence beyond rank speculation that a) Kane wants to leave Bayern for a Premier League return, or b) if he did he’d want to come back to Tottenham, a club he left in somewhat acrimonious circumstances in 2023. BILD has previously reported that a clause exists in Kane’s Bayern contract which states Spurs have the right of first refusal to purchase him this summer and could do so for as low as £54m, which is less than what they spent on Mohammed Kudus.

Even if you accept both of those premises there are real and concrete barriers to Kane coming back to Spurs, not least of which is his current salary of £400k/wk., a figure that blows a hole in Spurs’ wage structure large enough to drive a Panzer tank through. There’s also the small issue of Kane being 33 years old by the time he would make a hypothetical return — certain players are timeless scorers (o hai Messi), but the Premier League is a tough, physical league and there’s no guarantee that Harry Kane would be as impactful a player for Tottenham or any club in 2026 as he was in 2022.

But who cares about any of that, right? Let’s ask Thomas Frank. In comments embargoed until yesterday, Frank gave the headline-ready soundbite that, of course, Harry Kane would be welcome to come back to Tottenham Hotspur. But he sure didn’t seem to think that’s a very likely outcome.

”I think there’s a lot of Tottenham fans including myself who would like to see Kane back. He’s a top player. Personally, I don’t think he will do it right now, if I’m honest, he’ll probably stay in Bayern and continue performing well.

”He was top scorer last year and won the championship, he’s doing fantastic now. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Myself, I’m a traveler, I like to travel, I like to explore things as well. He’s been here for many years so why not enjoy the time at Bayern a little bit more.

“But he’s welcome. If he wants to join us, he’s more than welcome.”

Frank is a conciliatory guy who knows how to talk to the media, and this is probably the best possible way he could’ve said “lol yeah this isn’t gonna happen”. Would Thomas Frank like to have Harry Kane a part of his team? Duh, of course. He’s one of the best forwards in world football, never mind where the Ballon d’Or ranked him this year (13th). I’d say most Tottenham fans, if they were ever angry with him to begin with, have either forgiven him or at least let bygones be like spilled milk under the bridge, or whatever.

Maybe Kane does come back next season. Maybe it’ll all be fine, he’ll slot in immediately into Frank’s system next year, and he goes on to break Shearer’s record and earn himself a statue outside of White Hart Lane. Or maybe he doesn’t — maybe he signs with a club like Barcelona which has frequently served as a haven for aging superstars, or even (gaaah) Manchester United, Chelsea, or Liverpool. It’s too soon to say, and anything we read about it now is going to be rank speculation. Interesting speculation, sure — but ultimately it’ll come down, as it always has, to what Harry Kane wants to do. Nothing else really matters until we know what Harry wants and it feels like we’re a ways off from knowing that.

Finally, Tottenham Hotspur might have enough depth to fight on four fronts, at least in the early part of the season before injuries inevitably accumulate. However, that premise is unlikely to be truly challenged this week, as Spurs get to enter their League Cup journey with a visit from League One side Doncaster Rovers. The minnows are massive underdogs Wednesday, making this all about the home side.

Rovers are down the pyramid, but are coming off a strong 2024/25 that included winning League Two and making it to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup after a victory over Hull — that run ended with a loss to Palace, while the League Cup journey ended in the Second Round against Everton. Through nine matches already in the league, Rovers are level on points with fifth place; Tottenham should win, but should not mess around too much.

League Cup Third Round

Date: Wednesday, September 24

Time: 2:45 pm ET, 7:45 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: Paramount+ (US), Sky Sports+ (UK)

These sides have met just once in the past 50 years: a Second Round League Cup tie in the 2009/10 season which saw Spurs win 5-1 at Keepmoat Stadium. Less of a head-to-head thing and more of a partnership angle: Europa League scorer Damola Ajayi is currently on loan at Rovers and has made five appearances this season, though he has yet to make too much of an impact.

Two Medium Questions

Can Spurs just have a boring win? The thing about Spurs is favorable draws often turn out to be not so simple. Last year’s contests against Coventry City and Tamworth required pretty late goals to advance, winners against Portsmouth and Preston North End did not come until the second half in 2022/23, and the 2021/22 comeback against Morecambe was similarly trying.

With the vibes resurrected, the ingredients are here for a professional performance. Heavy rotation feels like a given, but even the second XI would be the superior side, and trust in this managerial staff is deserved after an overall strong start to the season. I am sure Rovers will have some belief after their successes last season, but Tottenham really could use a straightforward boring win in one of these lopsided ties.

Does it even matter? Even though Thomas Frank’s Brentford did not have Europe to deal with, his Premier League sides rarely made a splash in the cups. Perhaps this was by design, as his objectives lied in the leagues, but aside from a couple League Cup quarterfinal appearances, the results do not indicate Frank is either motivated by or excellent at knockout football.

Of course, if that were to translate to Tottenham, supporters might shrug it off and move on. With the trophy drought finally over and Champions League football up and running, the club could be forgiven for deprioritizing the League Cup. This should be a fixture that a big club could sleepwalk through, but even if this competition does not last much longer, perhaps there are more important things to focus on.

I don’t really know anything about video games, but you want more video game-related hoddles, so here ya go.

(Also yes I know very well the film whose picture is featured as today’s main image. Yes I know. Please let’s not talk about it. Please please please. We know. We know. You’re crying looking at it. I’m crying looking at it. Let’s just move on and get straight to the hoddle. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Look up Pokemon: The First Movie and watch it during a rainy night. And when you cry your heart out, don’t say fitzie didn’t warn ya!).

The last time I did a video game hoddle I talked about Super Smash Bros because that’s when video games peaked.

Today, I’m going to talk about pokemon. It’s gonna be a short one. Essentially, I’m just going to list my favourite starters from each version of the game. But please use this space to talk about your favourite games.

Red/Blue: Bulbasaur. Ivysaur is such a boss.

Yellow: Pikachu. That’s not fair, though.

Gold/Silver/Crystal: Cyndaquil. This was a really tough one because I think all three starter pokemon are S-Tier. I first chose the Cyndaquil because it was so freaking cute, and its final evolution Typhlosion was awesome. When this game got a makeover several years later I went with Totodile, which also very cute. And Feraligator is awesome.

Ruby/Sapphire: Mudkip. I thought this guy was pretty cute, but it eventually evolves into Swampert, one of my all-time favourite pokemon and an absolute TANK!.

Diamond/Pearl: Chimchar. I don’t like these ones, but Chimchar is a cool monkey. And it evolves enough to look like a pokemon I wanna take to the Elite 4. It’s no Girafarig though.

Black and White: Oshawott. This is a pretty cool otter, but why didn’t their two evolutions look more like otters? I’ll never get over it. And it reaffirms my belief that starters went downhill after Ruby/Sapphire.

X/Y: Froakie. A pokemon whose final evolution, Greninja, is befitting of the Smash Bros series.

Sun/Moon: Rowlet. This was the final pokemon game I played, but I liked this one’s final evolution. An even cooler owl.

Sword and Shield: Grookey. These all look pretty bad, but at least this one’s final evolution has got some meat on its bones. It also looks less like a grass type and more like a normal type.

Scarlet/Violet: Quaxly. This one looks hilarious. But all three final evolutions look awful. They can’t all be from the Silver/Gold/Crystal era.

NB: Can someone please explain to me what Pokemon: Z-A is?

Fitzie’s track of the day: Larking, by Flur

And now for your links:

Matt Law: “Fabio Paratici keeps Tottenham role after accepting suspended prison sentence”

The Athletic ($$): “Fabio Paratici, Andrea Agnelli get suspended sentences after entering plea bargain in Prisma case”

BBC: “Are Aberdeen at ‘rock bottom’ or can it get worse?”

The Guardian: “Slot hits out at ‘stupid’ Ekitiké after red card for celebrating Liverpool winner”