Cartilage Free Captain

Tottenham Hotspur’s midfield needs an overhaul this summer. That’s pretty much a universally acknowledged truth. What isn’t so clear is how that transformation is going to take place and which players Ange Postecoglou will opt to keep around before bringing in reinforcements.

The main decision that needs to be made is what to do with Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma. Lolo is 27, Bissouma is 28. Both have contracts that expire next summer, and decisions need to be made as to whether to extend one of them, both of them, or neither of them as they enter into the “twilight years” of their careers. Neither of them are sixes in the style that Ange Postecoglou wants, and both have at times struggled with injury, form, and overall fitness with what Postecoglou wants to do.

In truth, this is a decision that probably should’ve been made LAST summer, but Tottenham apparently didn’t like the midfield market and opted to kick the can down the road. But now perhaps we have a clue as to what Postecoglou and the club wants to do.

According to Sami Mokbel at the Daily Mail (sigh, I know, but Mokbel is a solidly reliable journo despite working for that rag), Tottenham have opened preliminary talks to extend Bentancur’s contract.

There’s a ways to go here, but it appears that if there’s a choice between Bissouma and Bentancur, the club has chosen Lolo. It’s an interesting choice. Lolo has been... let’s say “up and down” over the past year or so. He hasn’t looked like the same player since returning from a major injury last season, and of course he had the whole Korean racist video thing and subsequent suspension. But since getting some rest recently, he’s played well the past couple of matches. He’s also a year younger than Bissouma, and Yves has also been inconsistent.

Tottenham have an option to purchase Real Betis midfielder Johnny Cardoso this summer should they choose, and there’s also the possibility of working Archie Gray into the midfield next season as well, a position that Spurs apparently still think is in Gray’s long term future. Extending Bentancur and letting Bissouma go this summer would reduce the need for a more drastic summer overhaul (and the need to sign two central midfielders), and it maybe provides a little bit of clarity as to how Johan Lange and Postecoglou want to see from the midfield next season.

Bentancur has some agency, of course. He could choose not to extend and to move on this summer as well, or they could decide to extend BOTH Lolo and Yves (which would be a pretty crazy outcome, to be honest). But irrespective of that, it sure does seem like the club has chosen it’s fighter for next year.

Tottenham Hotspur won their third consecutive Premier League match on Saturday, dispatching a most likely relegation-bound Ipswich Town by a final score of 1-4, avenging Ipswich’s win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier in the season. Brennan Johnson back-posted his way to a brace, and Spurs added goals from Djed Spence and a spectacular goal off the post from Dejan Kulusevski.

Has the tide turned? Are Spurs finally behind the plough? Sure seems that way, but we’ll find out more this Wednesday when Spurs host Manchester City.

Ipswich Town are the Tractor Boys. Why? Who knows, ask the English. I am not a farmer and don’t know much about actual tractors, but when has that stopped me from making definitive rankings of Spurs players based on arbitrary criteria that I don’t fully understand?

So here are my player ratings for Tottenham’s 1-4 win over Ipswich Town to the theme of tractors.

The gold standard for tractoring, and also apparently hella expensive. Nothing runs (or costs) like a Deere.

Son Heung-Min (Community — 4.0): He didn’t score, but this was still Sonny at his best — dynamic and exciting on the ball and in space, constantly looking to set up his teammates. Two assists on the day and had chances to score. Excellent.

Like I said, I know very little about tractors but this New Holland one is blue and has freakin’ TANK TREADS on the back, so I say it rules.

Djed Spence (Community — 4.5): Solid on both sides of the ball, and on both flanks as he spent time both at LB and RB. Well-taken deflected goal as well. Djed Spence might just be our best fullback right now, and he gave Pedro Porro a deserved rest.

A quick scan of several tractor message boards (and yes, there are many) reveals that Fendt has a very, very good reputation for tractors and farm implements, especially for those who like John Deere but don’t want to pay John Deere prices.

Guglielmo Vicario (Community — 4.0): Googly Elmo kept Spurs in the match early with a spectacular double save on Liam Delap’s first minute chance, and had a few more solid stops and catches in the first half. Had less to do in the second half as Spurs went ahead big. Solid match.

Kevin Danso (Community — 4.0): Lost Hutchinson for Ipswich’s goal, but was extremely solid the rest of the time. Started at LCB due to Ange’s decision and would’ve been better against Delap, but I understand the reasoning for starting him there.

Archie Gray (Community — 4.0): Liam Delap gave him a hiding a couple of times, but after a few scares Archie settled down and played quite well. What impressed me most was his long ball to Sonny’s feet for Spurs’ first goal — very impressive that an 18-year-old playing out of position has that pass in his locker.

Lucas Bergvall (Community — 4.0): Lucas is now putting up consistently good performances late in this season, and that’s probably the silver lining to the injury cloud — it’s very unlikely he would’ve had the minutes he’s had otherwise. Solid, brave performance in midfield. This kid is special.

Dejan Kulusevski (Community — 4.0): Still looks a little tired, but had a lot more energy thanks to some extra rest than we’ve seen in past matches. Exceptional cutback goal off the post. Gimme, gimme, gimme.

Brennan Johnson (Community — 4.0): All he does is score goals! Two typically Brennanish back post strikes and had a chance for a hatty. As much as he disappears in other facets of the game, I’m not sure there’s anyone better in the league at that late back post run. Spurs’ leading goal scorer in all competitions with 14.

Ange Postecoglou (Community — 4.0): We won! Hooray! Full marks for the gaffer! But seriously, Ange’s system just works so much better when he has something closer to a fully healthy first team squad.

I get the sense that Kubota is the Honda of the tractor world — perhaps a little less expensive to own, but gets high marks for reliability and performance. They also have high marks for customer loyalty. Plus they’re bright orange, and that kinda rules.

Destiny Udogie (Community — 3.5): Looked a little rusty in his first start since his injury, but was solid defensively and had a good opportunity to score in the first half. Welcome back, king.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Community — 3.5): Solid enough performance and had a gorgeous through-ball to set up Son for Spurs’ second goal.

James Maddison (Community — 4.0): Added a spark with his creativity late and got an assist in the process. Madders just seems right now like a guy with whom managed minutes will be the reality.

Dane Scarlett (Community — 3.5): A nice little cameo appearance from the Great Dane, who also had a flicked header that set up Dejan Kulusevski’s goal. Getting a tune out of Dane yet this season would be nice, even if I’m still not convinced he’s a Tottenham player long term.

My general sense is that Massey Ferguson tractors are more popular in the UK than elsewhere. They seem to be a decent mid-tier line, and they’re red and pretty. Sure!

Mathys Tel (Community — 3.0): I still think Tel is an out-and-out striker rather than a wide forward, and so is playing in the right position. He’s young and is still adapting to the speed and strength of the Premier League, but he was getting into good positions. He’ll get there, but we need to be patient with him.

Pedro Porro (Community — 3.5): Rested for this one (which he needed) and was fine as a late sub with the game mostly already in hand.

Wilson Odobert (Community — 3.0): I still feel like I barely know the guy, but Wilson put in a solid enough shift as a late sub..

Did you know Lamborghini started off as a tractor company? I didn’t, but I do know that Jeremy Clarkson bought a Lambo tractor for the first season of Clarkson’s Farm, which feels very on brand. I don’t know much about the reliability of Lambo tractors, I just don’t like Clarkson.

Tom Carroll Memorial Non-Rating:

Good morning, hoddlers.

This is your hoddler-in-chief, writing to you from the past. For today it is 19 February 2025.

But the hoddle is for the 24th February.

Yes, yes. I am heading back to Washington after a weekend in Connecticut. Nothing like a getaway up north to escape the winter weather.

I think I just finished packing for my trip. I’m not sure. I am just trying to decide on the shoes. Yeah I can wear my sneakers, but I’d rather wear boots. But then I’d also have to bring my sneakers with me. And I already decided to leave behind my short-distance running shoes.

That’s all besides the point.

Which is funny, because there is no point.

Here’s the secret, dear hoddlers. Today’s hoddle has no point. It is merely an exercise in how many lines I can grafs out of my mind. I’m currently at eight.

Now nine.

So please use this space to write all about Tottenham’s game against Ipswich Town, or whatever else you wanna do.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet

And now for your links

The State Journal-Register: “This Springfield tearoom has more than just tasty beverages and pastries”

BBC: “‘It’s out of this world’ - Everton fans get first glimpse of new stadium”

Tottenham Hotspur went to Ipswich, the team in the relegation zone that beat them at home, and crushed them 4-1 behind a brace from Brennan Johnson and goals from Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski. It was a good match.

It’s time to rate the players.

Rate the players from 1⁄2 to 5 stars. If the player doesn’t deserve a rating due to minutes played, DO NOT RANK. I will round the stars up/down to the nearest half-star for the player ratings later this week.

Tottenham Hotspur captured its third consecutive Premier League victory thanks to the likes of a first-half brace from Brennan Johnson and stellar goals from Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski in the second half to knock off the Tractor Boys of Ipswich Town, 4-1.

Looking to shake the woes of the first meeting, in which the side was humiliated, 2-1, in the fixture at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs had to endure an early bit of trouble from Liam Delap. The Ipswich striker had successive chances in the opening five minutes.

The first was the most troubling as his strike forced a save from Guglielmo Vicario and eventually more heroics from the Italian as he kept the ball off the line as Omari Hutchinson stood in his way. Luckily, Ipswich was flagged for being offside, but it wasn't a great sight to see a relegation-battling side just pick through the midfield and defense.

Fighting through the opening 15 minutes, Spurs eventually found their mark in the game as Archie Gray played a lovely over-the-top ball down the left channel for Son Heung-min. Being a step ahead of the defense and dribbling his way into the face of two defenders, Son did his classic left-foot pass across the face of the goal for Brennan Johnson to come onto it and tap it into the back of the net.

Johnson picked up his brace minutes later as he connected once more with Son as the Welsh winger was all alone in the middle of the box. Receiving the ball for a first-time strike that went through two pairs of Ipswich defenders' legs, Johnson put Spurs in a good spot with a 2-0 lead.

With the game rolling from the start, Ipswich were bound to get a goal, and they did so in the 36th minute as Omari Hutchinson linked up with former Spurs player Jack Clarke to cut the deficit to 2-1 and into the break.

On the telecast, Spurs were shown as dropping 21 points from a winning position — the worst in the league — and for a moment, it felt that Spurs had dropped all three points when Ipswich had a free header at the back post from a run of play off a free kick. But the linesman put his flag up, and the replay showed that four players were offside for Ipswich. Able to breathe a sigh of relief, Spurs brought on James Maddison, and the game completely changed.

Minutes after coming onto the pitch, the left side of Wilson Odobert, Djed Spence, and Maddison linked up for a beautiful play for a goal. Odobert pulled the defense in on his touch and allowed Soence to run down the wing, with Maddison getting the ball near the 18-yard nox. Eventually, taking on three defenders in the box and seeing Spence overlap past him into the middle of the box, Spence received the ball, took a touch onto his right foot and put his shot into the back of the net as it bounced off a defender.

Leading 3-1 and seeing the game out, Dejan Kulusevski put the game to rest for good. Dane Scarlett won a header in a battle with Jimmy Greaves as the flick on left space down the right flank for Kulusevksi to have space. Taking the space for himself, Kulusevski eventually cut onto his favorable left foot and slotted a curling shot onto the left post and in for a 4-1 scoreline.

Tottenham Hotspur secured a valuable three points against a languishing Manchester United side last week, and now, with another week of rest, have a chance to build some momentum with a match away to Ipswich Town.

The Town sit in the relegation zone and have a lot to play for; but with the week off and Spurs’ squad looking more robust by the day (I am currently throwing salt over my shoulder, crossing myself, and touching every piece of lumber within spitting distance) the Lilywhites will be confident of a third win in a row.

Are you all as confident?

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Ipswich Town vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Time: 10:00 a.m. ET, 3:00 p.m. UK

TV: USA Network, not televised in UK. Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: nbcsports.com

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!

Earlier today in the article comments, I and some other users got into a friendly linguistic tête-à-tête over the use of verb tenses when referring to football clubs, and the differences between British English and American English usage. It’s a topic that pops up every so often as people leave the site and new people start commenting. In that conversation, I admit that I waffle back and forth between “Tottenham is/Tottenham are” and that I basically just ask that readers “roll around in the linguistic mud” with me.

Well, speaking of linguistic mud, there’s a new piece in The Athletic (£) that states the club have asked the media not to refer to the club as “Tottenham,” but either as “Tottenham Hotspur” or “Spurs.” This insistence on the club’s official name is part of the brand refresh that was debuted last year with the slightly tweaked logo, new colorways, a return to the THFC lettermark, and refreshed fonts.

Now, if you’re reading this you’re likely to have one of two reactions. The first is to wonder what the big deal is — Tottenham Hotspur is a football club, Tottenham is a region in North London. Spurs being the brand that they are, it would make perfect sense for them to insist on the club’s full and complete name — Tottenham Hotspur — and not the town for which they reside. It’s a marketing thing, no different from Wolverhampton Wanderers not wanting to be referred to as “Wolverhampton,” but either the full name of the club or “Wolves.” The article also brings up Aston Villa, and how weird it’d be if people talked about watching “Aston” play, and the linguistic confusion by having two Premier League clubs in Manchester.

The other reaction is to get irrationally upset. How DARE the club police the use of its own name by football supporters! Isn’t this just another example of the club focusing more on the business enterprise and raising money than the wishes of the salt of the earth match going football supporters? I’ll call ‘em Tottenham if I want to! LEVY OUT!

Frankly, this has nothing to to with supporters. This is a media thing — the club has now insisted that channels like Sky, NBC, TNT Sports, etc. use the club’s full name, either “Tottenham Hotspur” or “Spurs” (if the former doesn’t fit) on graphics and other media instead of “Tottenham.” This apparently happened a few weeks ago, and the media has agreed to abide by the club’s request.

The club is certainly NOT asking fans to abide by this. That would require changing fan songs, chants, and heavy policing of language. The use of “Tottenham” is practically baked into fan culture. There’s really no way that the club could enforce something like that, even if they wanted to (and they probably don’t).

So why am I writing this up? Well, it’s a slow news day and also this is catching fire a bit on social media by angry Spurs fans that should probably know better, so why not. Basically, it’s a news story that, depending on how you discuss or write about it, will make most people say “Oh, hmm, yeah that makes sense” and the dumbest people online extremely angry for reasons. Don’t be one of the latter.

Tottenham Hotspur have had another blissful week with only one match, and are preparing to travel to Ipswich to attempt their third straight Premier League win. And the other weird thing about this particular match is that Spurs are actually playing a 10 a.m. / 3 p.m. Saturday fixture, the first time that’s happened since September 2023.

Tottenham infamously lost the return fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what was one of their more disappointing matches up to that point in the season. Now, out of relegation battle danger and with the wind at their back a bit, Spurs are hoping to grab another important win.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of the match, Ange Postecoglou said the extra days of rest have helped Tottenham’s beleaguered squad immensely, and while three players picked up knocks in last weekend’s win, everyone’s okay and there are no fresh injuries to talk about.

“No new concerns. Sort of from last week, everyone sort of got through okay. The three guys who picked a knock up last week were all good. Obviously, again, having a full week to recover and prepare is good. And the other guys are ticking along well. We’ve got now two games in quick succession in the league. Good opportunity for us to get some match minutes into guys who have been out for a while. We saw Brennan and Wilson, obviously, Vic come back last week, Madders, but Destiny as well.

“We need to get them some match minutes and these two games will give us an opportunity to do that. Then we’ve got a week before the first Europa game. We’ve got the weekend off. And again, that’s about the time we’re hoping that guys like Romero and Micky in particular they should be in and around that sort of mark. And Richie and Dom not too far behind, to be honest. And again, with that, we’ve got sort of two games before the international break. So we’re kind of mapping it out and trying to sort of navigate a way where we can have f as fit and healthy squad as we have all year for the run-in.”

The bit about Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven is interesting, as it almost implies that Ange’s goal is to have his best XI available for Spurs’ opening Europa League Round of 16 match against AZ Alkmaar in a couple of weeks. Does that indicate prioritization of competitions? Maybe, or maybe it’s just that’s the way their injury recoveries and training have worked out.

“Yeah, [Cuti]’s had that and it’s going well. He’s in a good place. So, like I said, with him and Micky, it’s just picking our moment now. I’m really keen to get them back and have him back for the rest of the year. We’ve got a really good sort of period coming up where I think we can manage that where they’re back, they’ve had good weeks of training with us, so that when they do come back in, they’re in a good place. So, yeah, he’s still going well.It’s going well for him and he’s in a good place. I’m really keen to pick the right moment with him and Micky to make sure we’ve got them for the rest of the season.”

Ange was also especially open about how he’s given his squad extra rest the past two weeks to recover and give themselves a breather, both physically and mentally.

“I think it helps enormously because, I mean, there’s obviously the physical toll, which we kind of know and just their bodies being able to recover as much as anything else. And then, you know, like I said, mentally it does. It takes its toll because you don’t invariably get a lot of time to switch off when you’ve got games constantly because, again, you’re in recovery mode and then you’ve got to prepare for another game. You don’t really have the energy to do anything else. So, you know, home life probably suffers a fair bit and the ability to switch off is difficult. So we gave the boys two days off for the beginning of last week. We did a similar thing this week.

“And yes, I think you can see that in them that both physically and mentally they’ve really benefited from it. And sort of hopefully that means that the remnants of that long run has dissipated in their minds as much as in their bodies. But it’s also allowed us then to really train well because when they do come back in, they’re refreshed, they feel good and it means our training has become so much more sort of meaningful in the last two weeks.”

Finally, Ange gave some insight into Djed Spence, who has blossomed into one of Spurs’ best players when he was brought into the squad due to the injury crisis. The Spurs coaching staff has caught a lot of flack from fans for not giving Djed a chance earlier, but if you listen to Ange he says that it was as much about Djed proving to them that he was willing to put the work in as it was about his ability and potential.

“I think with Djed, it was just we wanted to give him every opportunity and, you know, we knew that certainly there was a player there, but a lot of it had to be up to Djed himself.

“And he’s just worked really awfully hard and stayed patient through that early period. You know, it could have been easy for him to get frustrated when he wasn’t playing a lot. There was opportunities for him to play and he wasn’t getting a run. I think looking at his attitude through that, I think there was real growth for him personally in that maybe in previous years, he might have sort of given up the fight and said, ‘you know, right, I don’t fit in here, let’s just move on,’ but he just kept going. That makes an impression on people around him, me, his team-mates and, he earned his shot at it and he’s just grown since then.”

Tottenham kick off against Ipswich Town on Saturday, 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. UK. The match is not televised in the UK, but will be broadcast on USA Network in the States and streamed on nbcsports.com.

The draw for the Europa League Round of 16 through the finals just completed this morning. Tottenham Hotspur are now favorites to win the competition, but while they know their immediate upcoming opponent, it looks as though they could face a tricky path to the final.

Spurs drew former academy striker Troy Parrott and Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar in the upcoming Round of 16, a home and home series that will take place on March 6 and March 13. That’s probably the more favorable draw for Spurs compared to Real Sociedad, who will face Manchester United on the opposite side of the bracket.

But that wasn’t the only part of the draw. Here’s the full bracket.

Spurs were drawn into the more difficult side of the bracket, and potentially will have to beat both Eintracht Frankfurt and Lazio, two of the best teams from the group stage, to advance to the final. To be fair, the other side of the bracket has its share of good sides, including Lyon (and Tanguy Ndombele) and Athletic Club, who could play for a Europa League trophy in their home stadium.

That said, if you want to be the best, you gotta beat the best. It was undeniable that Tottenham would have to play against some very good teams if it wants to win this competition, and now they know the scope of the challenge. The first trick will be to do what it did back in October: shut down Parrott and get past AZ. After that, we’ll see.

Back-to-back wins have made relegation memes feel less relevant, but Tottenham Hotspur is far from out of the woods. While the risk of finishing that low was never truly serious, no one should be celebrating the club’s rise to…12th place. Nothing will be achieved domestically this season, but it is hard to dismiss the remaining fixtures as irrelevant (even if they should be deprioritized in favor of the Europa League).

With that in mind, the goal in the league over the next few months is about salvaging the vibes as much as it is climbing the table. A great way to not further destroy the little remaining goodwill is winning the gimmes. Spurs have secured just one victory in four matches against the current bottom three, but they will have another opportunity to take on one of these pesky combatants against Ipswich Town on Saturday. Asking for a win here is hardly unreasonable.

Ipswich Town (18th, 17pts) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (t-12th, 30pts)

Date: Saturday, February 22

Time: 10:00 am ET, 3:00 pm UK

Location: Portman Road, Ipswich

TV: USA Network (US)

Ipswich broke a four-match losing streak with a surprising draw at Villa last weekend. It was a little fortunate, losing the xG battle 2.4 to 0.4, but taking the lead and hanging on for a point while going to 10 men should be commended. The Tractor Boys are still favored to go down, but they will have a chance to fight over the final three months.

For Spurs, there have been many disappointing moments this season, but a 1-2 loss to Ipswich in November stands out as one of the most frustrating. The defeat was an all-around lifeless performance, made even worse by impressive wins over Villa and City before and after. Much has changed since then, but another failure in this fixture would be disastrous for the club’s morale.

Avert the narrative

Almost all of Tottenham’s defeats to (theoretical) underdogs this season have followed a familiar script: an inability to break down a compact defense, getting caught out on the counter, wasteful possession, and questionable decisions from Ange Postecoglou. While health and depth issues have played a role, these recurring problems still feel avoidable.

The solution on Saturday is to, uh, just not do any of that? Tottenham is clearly the superior team and will have much of the ball. Turning that possession into clear opportunities is easier said than done, but Ipswich’s defense has been poor this season, sitting in the bottom four in goals allowed and xGA. While Spurs’ own defense remains vulnerable, Ipswich has managed only three goals in its last five matches. There is not even much else to be said — just get it done.

At the center of it all

Tottenham took full advantage of Manchester United’s weak midfield last weekend, with Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, and James Maddison controlling the center of the park. Despite this, Spurs did not convert as many chances as the xG would have suggested, scoring only once. Against Ipswich, the midfield advantage should be firmly in Tottenham’s hands again, and hopefully that will yield a more fruitful attack.

The performance of the midfield is pivotal beyond just this weekend. With Bergvall’s recent emergence and Maddison’s return, there are multiple ways to mix and match this area of strength, including the proper deployment of Dejan Kulusevski. Tottenham’s Europa League ambitions could hinge on the consistency of this part of the formation, but its reliability seems to ebb and flow. While it may only be Ipswich this weekend, a strong showing from this group is essential to build momentum for the rest of the season.