Cartilage Free Captain

With focus firmly on European progression, Tottenham Hotspur still had a London Derby with which to contend. A trip to the other side of town to take on West Ham United was the task, and one which Spurs managed without any hint of excelling.

Ange Postecoglou rotated heavily as expected, with eight changes from Spurs’ win over Bodø/Glimt. Some of these seemed enforced, with some familiar faces missing through injury: neither James Maddison, nor Dominic Solanke made the matchday squad following knocks picked up in that match.

Things weren’t exactly silky smooth at the London Stadium, either. Both sides played like their positions on the table, and after a messy start during which it seemed like West Ham had the upper hand, the Hammers instead turned provider for the Lilywhites. Max Kilman failed to deal with a long ball down the left under pressure from Mathys Tel, with the Frenchman stealing possession and knocking a pass across the 18-yard box. His compatriot, Wilson Odobert, was on hand to gleefully accept and take a touch before passing it into the net past West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola.

It wasn’t long before a defensive calamity, this time from Spurs, resulted in another goal. Aaron Wan Bissaka strode forward with the ball in space, before playing a simple pass into Matt Bowen, whose run had been completely lost by Ben Davies. Bowen made his way to the right-hand corner of the six-yard box before knocking a shot through the legs of Vicario and bringing the scores level.

The second half felt even more pointless than the first. Both sides were playing like teams who didn’t really want to be there, but the stupor was occasionally interrupted by moments of brightness from both teams. Spurs’ best chance of the second 45’ stemmed from an excellent pass from Tel into Richarlison, who passed the ball across the face of goal with no fellow attacker making the run to meet it.

West Ham would have thought they went ahead late as well, with a James Ward-Prowse set piece curled into a dangerous area catching Guglielmo Vicario in two minds. A stooping Bowen flicked on the free kick towards goal, and Vicario was forced into a brilliant reaction save to keep things all tied up. Michael Oliver decided enough was enough and put the fans out of their misery with the final score 1-1.

Reactions

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club are 90 minutes and change away from a European final. And yet, there are still other matches to play, namely, West Ham United’s London derby™.

West Ham hate Spurs with a passion, and seem to view Spurs as the annoyingly more successful big brother who looks down on them. Which, ya know... we do. Intriguingly though, the way this season has played out doesn’t find the two clubs at opposite ends of the table as is often the case; instead, it’s a rare case of both clubs being a single point apart in 16th and 17th position.

West Ham will therefore really want to win this: bragging rights are all they have to play for. Spurs will want to win this as well, though the motivations will be slightly different: some consistency and form heading into midweek, as well as an opportunity for some players to shake off some rust and stake a claim for the starting XI for said European tie.

Let’s see how this one plays out. I’m sure there’ll be fireworks.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

West Ham United vs. Tottenham Hotspur

London Stadium, London, UK

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Time: 9:00 a.m. ET, 2:00 p.m. UK

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

Streaming: Peacock

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.

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

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

NO SPIDERS!

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Have fun, and COYS!

To be clear, Tottenham Hotspur is never excited to see West Ham United, a constant thorn of a derby that is far from the club’s most important. However, there is some good irony this weekend as the sides meet; after mocking West Ham for years about this fixture being its cup final, Spurs are now focused on reaching a legitimate final of their own.

As a result, this contest between the 16th and 17th-placed Premier League sides has even less meaning than it would normally feature. Ange Postecoglou’s group is preoccupied with Thursday’s trip to Bodo, and while the home team would surely like to take this one, it is for bragging rights only. A loss would be annoying, but it is hardly worth the attention.

West Ham United (17th, 36pts) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (16th, 37pts)

Date: Sunday, May 4

Time: 9:00 am ET, 2:00 pm UK

Location: London Stadium, London

TV: Peacock (US)

West Ham escaped relegation but is having its worst season since going down nearly 15 years ago. Both ends of the pitch have been pretty bad, but not as bad as the bottom three, making this a forgettable campaign but not one that ends in disaster. The Hammers have alternated losses and draws since the start of March, making this Sunday set for shared points — an outcome that would surprise no one.

The reverse fixture was a strong outing for Spurs, winning 4-1 despite going down inside the first 20 minutes. Dejan Kulusevski leveled the match by halftime, while Yves Bissouma and Heung-Min Son bookended a West Ham own goal which boosted Tottenham ahead by three goals across an eight-minute span early in the second half.

Weekly spotlight: The select few

I have begged for heavily rotated lineups in the Premier League for quite some time, and this Sunday seems like as sure of a bet as any given the narrow lead to protect in Norway. Postecoglou will rest anyone on the fence health-wise, but there could be a few names who will double dip domestically and in the Europa League.

At the top of the list has to be Bissouma, who was simply excellent in the first leg against Glimt. It has been a rocky season (and Spurs tenure) for the midfielder, but another strong outing could earn him a second-leg start as well. Richarlison also made a convincing argument for more minutes after Postecoglou surprisingly selected him next to Dominic Solanke. The Brazilian is likely to drift back to the No. 9 this weekend, but any contributions he makes will be noticed.

Finally, one player I am definitely curious to see more of is Kevin Danso. He has made just 10 appearances for Spurs, but is someone who could end up with a bunch more playing time in the near future. While hopefully he is not needed for the rest of the Europa League, he could be a late substitute to see out the lead in Bodo — or to replace a sent-off Cristian Romero or an injured Micky van de Ven — so some good minutes this weekend would not hurt.

Ange Postecoglou isn’t the only Tottenham Hotspur manager who lost their top assistant to another program. Today, the club and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) announced that Robert Villahamn’s top assistant at Spurs Women, Vicky Jepson, is leaving the club to become the new head coach of the U-20 United States Women’s National Team.

While the club’s release doesn’t mention Jepson’s new job, the USSF posted a press release announcing the hiring of Jepson on the federation website.

Jepson has served as a top assistant under both Vilahamn and Rehanne Skinner, and was also interim head coach after Spurs sacked Skinner a few years ago. She was also head coach of Liverpool from 2018-21. Jepson will now take over one of the primary youth national teams that will eventually feed into the full USWNT under head coach Emma Hayes. Hayes, who led Chelsea to numerous WSL titles and is considered one of the best English coaches in the women’s game, is also a massive Tottenham Hotspur fan.

Jepson said she was pleased to be joining the USA U-20s, but admitted it was difficult to leave Tottenham Women.

“I’m truly honored and excited to start my next chapter with the U.S. Soccer Federation. I’m well aware of the great work that has been done in the past, that is being done currently under Emma and Tracey, and I know there are some ambitious plans for the future. I’m passionate about developing this next generation and I look forward to providing them with challenging and valuable experiences to help them grow as people and players. There is such a rich pool of talent in the USA and I’m so proud to be part of the players’ journey to senior international football.

“It’s hard leaving Tottenham Hotspur after four memorable years at the club, but I’m moving on to work for the most progressive organization in the world for women’s football. Working alongside the incredible leadership of Tracey, (U.S. Soccer Sporting Director) Matt Crocker and of course a serial winner in Emma Hayes is an amazing opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.”

It’s a great opportunity for Jepson, who will have an important role in helping develop the next generation of USA women’s soccer talent. Jepson takes charge just in time to lead Team USA in the 2025 U-20 World Championship this summer in Costa Rica. She’s also arguably joining a much better supported organization in the USSF; while interest in women’s soccer is increasing and the WSL is becoming bigger and better stocked with talent, there’s still a long way to go to make the league more competitive top to bottom.

Good luck, Vicky!

Earlier this week, Matty wrote about how Aston Villa had rebuffed Tottenham’s request to potentially reschedule Spurs’ match at Villa Park on May 18 to give them a little extra time to prepare for a potential Europa League final. After Spurs’ 3-1 win over Bodø/Glimt yesterday, reaching the final in Bilbao, Spain now seems like a distinct possibility, maybe even a likelihood.

But Villa don’t want to play ball for good reasons and rejected Tottenham’s request. Now, according to the Standard, the Premier League is getting involved and are in negotiations with both clubs to potentially shift the match up to Thursday, May 15.

Villa aren’t happy about this proposal because they are in the running to make a top five finish and secure Champions League qualification themselves. Unlike Tottenham, the league is still pretty critical to them. The other reason they don’t want to move is that the May 18 match is their home finale, and Villa have a bunch of fan activities that involve players and their families that couldn’t happen if the match is moved to a Thursday evening. According to the Standard, Villa also are arguing that there’s “no precedent for moving league games to aid English clubs in Europe.”

That said, there’s plenty of precedent for moving matches to accommodate domestic cup matches and finals. The Standard notes that the league has already moved Palace’s home closer against Wolves to accommodate the FA Cup final, and it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to do something similar for the Europa League final. Especially since it appears there’s a good chance there will be two Premier League teams playing in that match.

I’m clearly biased, and while I think Villa have a point about rescheduling a match they think is important for their own qualification, the reality is that if the match isn’t rescheduled, Spurs would have three days to prepare for the most important match since the 2018 Champions League final, while United will have five days. Spurs have repeatedly had less time to prepare for matches this season than their opponents due to quirks in the schedule. That said, Villa have no real reason to do Tottenham a solid, so hopefully the Premier League will force them to.

Taskmaster is BACK! Each series comedians Alex Horne and Greg Davies select four contestants to perform a series of inane tasks over the course of 10 episodes, with each contestant gradually losing their reputation.

It’s become my go-to feel-good show. In preparation for Series 19, I’ve gone ahead and ranked the first 18 series. Let’s take a look:

Fitzie’s track of the day: Stranger to my Happiness, by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “Lucas Bergvall on crutches and double Tottenham injury concern for Ange Postecoglou vs Bodo/Glimt”

Jay Harris ($$): “Van de Ven and Romero’s partnership has defined Postecoglou’s tenure – and is key to European glory”

Dan KP: “Ange Postecoglou tweaks his ‘non-negotiables’ as Spurs take big step towards Europa League final”

This isn’t really news about Tottenham Hotspur, so as we wait for Spurs’ Europa League semifinal match against Bodø/Glimt we’re expanding out into the greater Tottenham Hotspur Cinematic Universe. Former Spurs utility midfielder/defender Eric Dier’s contract at Bayern Munich runs out this summer, and according to multiple reports including The Athletic, Dier will be joining Ligue 1 Monaco on a free transfer.

Dier followed Harry Kane from Tottenham to Bayern, initially on loan which then became a permanent contract. It seemed like a weird move at the time — Dier seemingly couldn’t get a game at Spurs near the end of his tenure so he moves to... arguably one of the best clubs in world football? But Dier earned himself a lot of fans in Germany by being who he is — a solid teammate, a decent defender, and a team player. Bayern apparently offered Dier a one year contract extension

Our friends at Bavarian Football Works break down Dier’s impact on the presumptive German champions over the past two years — they seem to love him as much as we did when he was anchoring Spurs’ midfield under Mauricio Pochettino.

Dier’s had an extremely interesting football career. An Englishman by birth, he grew up in Portugal and came through Sporting’s academy before signing with Tottenham as a 20 year old utility player, making his debut at right back and scoring the winning goal against West Ham. He’s now played in Portugal, England and Germany, and at age 31 gets to see out his career in Monte Carlo by the French Riviera. Not too shabby if you ask me.

With the ongoing trophy drought, any semifinal appearance is going to feel enormous for Tottenham Hotspur, but it is hard to see any scenario outweighing this season’s Europa League campaign. Ange Postecoglou put a target on his back with his second-season trophy comments last summer and has done nothing but throw gas on the fire with his club’s horrifying Premier League performance.

Despite all that, Postecoglou still has a chance to make do on his claim — in fact, oddsmakers see Spurs as the most likely to raise the trophy. Much of that is due to a substantially beneficial semifinal draw against Bodo/Glimt, who arrives in North London as massive underdogs. Spurs can ill afford to waste this opportunity; Thursday must end with a lopsided score line heading back to Norway.

Semifinals (1st Leg): Tottenham Hotspur (0) vs. Bodo/Glimt (0)

Date: Thursday, May 1

Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: Paramount+ (USA), TNT Sports 2 (UK)

Glimt finished ninth in the League Phase table, level on points with eighth-place Rangers, and started the knockout rounds with wins over Twente and Olympiacos. After taking a 2-0 lead over Lazio in the quarterfinals, the Italian side came back to force penalties in Rome, though the underdogs escaped in dramatic fashion.

The Norwegians clearly have the ability to take down bigger clubs, but this tie heavily favors Tottenham. These sides have never met in competitive play, which is no surprise given Glimt’s limited European history. Spurs last faced a team from Norway in the 2013-14 Europa League, winning both fixtures against Tromso in the Group Stage.

Interior pressure

With the first leg at home — and the second leg on a strange pitch near the Arctic — of course Tottenham will feel obligated to jump in front and bring a lead on the road. However, that necessity is even more significant with multiple key absences for the visitors. Starting midfielders Patrick Berg and Hakon Evjen are out due to suspension, as is forward Andreas Helmersen. The gap in quality between these starting XIs is significant with full availability, but now the chasm grows even wider.

Spurs were always likely to own much of the ball, but the visitors’ midfield absentees mean that possession absolutely must translate into opportunities. At least two of Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski will be tasked with orchestrating the attack and leading a 90-minute onslaught on the Glimt net. Even without Heung-Min Son, Tottenham really should be expected to dominate this one and log multiple goals. Lazio, Olympiacos, and Twente all found success away from Bodo, and the situation is set up perfectly for Spurs to do the same.

External pressure

Should Tottenham fail to capitalize against an overmatched, undermanned side, then the next seven days will get dicey. Glimt carries a significant homefield advantage and will relish a chance to dictate terms, especially with the majority of its starting midfield returning in the second leg. Playing first in North London could let Spurs to effectively put the tie away, but leaving the door open becomes even more dangerous knowing how different next week could look.

The cries will be even louder for Postecoglou if his side comes out flat, especially if defensive miscues once again lead to disaster going the other way. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt after two professional performances against Eintracht Frankfurt, but taking care of the gimmes has been a challenge all year, both domestically and in Europe. This team is desperate to take something from this season and has gotten the plumpest gift one could imagine. Win by multiple goals Thursday, or prepare for chaos.

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Tottenham Hotspur Daily Links: The Hoddle Of Coffee

The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Wednesday, April 30

A look at the month ahead

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We’re barreling towards the final day of the EFL Championship with a lot up in the air. After 45 matchdays, very little has been decided. What we do know is that Burnley and Leeds are going straight back up, and Cardiff City and Argyle are going down.

This is one of the weaker seasons of the Championship that I can remember, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth watching. So let’s get straight to where things stand heading into MW46.

CLINCHED PROMOTION: Leeds United, Burnley

It was a dominant season by these two clubs, highlighting the gulf between Premier League money and Championship money.

CLINCHED PLAYOFFS

Sheffield United: A distant third to Leeds and Burnley. It’s clear the three PL-relegated clubs are miles above the rest here. United should coast to promotion via playoffs, but who knows.

Sunderland: Four consecutive losses, the most recent being a 0-2 loss against Oxford United. They’ve looked awful in recent months.

HUNT FOR PLAYOFFS

Bristol City (67 Pts): No idea how they got to fifth - by every other club being worse? Their 0-4 loss to Leeds tore apart their GD. A big weekend at Preston NE awaits.

Coventry (66 Pts): Frank Lampard turned this club around, but a loss against Luton came at a bad time. Haji Wright and Ellis Simms are both prominent goalscorers. They have an all-or-nothing game against Boro.

Millwall (66 Pts): Coming into Saturday with the best form, so why not give them a shout at the playoffs? Well, I’ll give you a reason: They play Burnley next.

Blackburn Rovers (65 Pts): It’s always a matter of time when Rovers collapse. It happened during the winter, which gave this squad enough time to maybe turn their season around with four wins on the bounce. They travel to Sheffield United next.

Boro (64 Pts): Calculus is simple here. They need a win against Coventry and both Millwall and Rovers to drop points.

GOING NOWHERE: West Brom, Swansea, Sheffield Wednesday, Watford, QPR, Portsmouth, Oxford United

West Brom might be the only one upset to be lumped into this group. For others like Portsmouth and Oxford United, it marks a big moments. Nice to see Wednesday and QPR not fighting for survival.

RACE FOR SURVIVAL

Stoke City (50 Pts) and Derby County (49): Two relegation candidates are playing against each other on Saturday. A point does it for Stoke City while Derby need all three to clinch, but maybe a point is enough also.

Preston (49): They’ve been awful since the turn of the year and now find themselves on the doorstep of League One. Just 10 wins on the season with 19 draws - that’s a lot of dropped points.

Luton Town (49): Is the great escape on? Luton are threatened with double-relegation, but had a huge win last week against Millwall. They travel to a hapless WBA on Saturday.

Hull City (48): Hull City currently sit in the relegation zone a year after they sacked Liam Rosenior. I’m not surprised to see them here, obviously.

RELEGATED

Plymouth Artgle (46): Okay, so technically not officially confirmed. But they’ve got a -36 GD. No way they’re making it up. A shame.

Cardiff City (44): A spectacularly horrible season closes in predictable fashion, with their owner making some strange statements in recent days.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Alice’s Restaurant Masacree, by Arlo Guthrie

And now for your links:

Football London: “Bodo/Glimt major error that changed dressing room atmosphere ahead of Tottenham Europa League tie”

The Telegraph: “West Brom to make move for Marti Cifuentes after QPR place him on gardening leave”

BBC: “Bristol Rovers and Crawley relegated from League One”

It’s been a rough few days, so how about some good news? Tottenham Hotspur announced just moments ago that Swedish teenage midfielder Lucas Bergvall has signed a new and improved contract with the club through the 2031 season!

If there’s a bright side to the massive injury crisis that completely derailed Tottenham’s season, it’s this — Lucas Bergvall has become a much, much better footballer at a much faster pace than expected. Bergvall joined the club last summer after being convinced by Ange Postecoglou to come to North London instead of Barcelona. It was considered a coup at the time, and it feels like even more of one now.

Bergvall took some time to find his feet in the Premier League, but he’s settled and become one of Tottenham’s best midfielders in his first season at the club, and he just turned 19. Signing a new six year contract is not only rewarding his growth (and giving him a presumably healthy pay raise) but also suggests that despite all the turmoil and poor results this season he still really believes in the Tottenham project and wants to be a part of it.

In fact, it makes me wonder whether the Spurs players have not hated this season’s experience nearly to the level that the fans have. All season long players like Bergvall, Son Heung-Min, Dejan Kulusevski, and others have defended Ange Postecoglou and repeatedly said they’re still behind the manager and the project. This is another data point in that set.

This is fantastic news. Bergvall is a young star-in-waiting that you can absolutely build a team around, and it sure looks like Tottenham are going to try.

Congratulations, Lucas! Now go win us a European trophy!