Cartilage Free Captain

For the first time in history, we have seen a triple promotion.

Wrexham are now in the EFL Championship. Their promotion follows a late-season wobble from Wycome Wanderers, including a 0-1 loss to Leyton Orient (hellow Tottenham friends).

Now Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are one stet closer to their dream of taking the Welsh club to the Premier League. Who knows how long that next step will take. There is s huge, huge gap between League One and the Premier League.

For as bad as Leicester have been this season, it’s hard to believe they’d struggle against a Leage One side.

I know it’s easy to hate on Wrexham right now, given the Hollywoodness of their story.

But I’d like to say, for the record, I didn’t like Wrexham first. That’s because of a Football Manager experience I had with them years ago. Long before Rob and Ryan entered the fold, I took Wrexham out of the National League with a poor squad.

I wanted to refresh the squad. I wanted to buy their football ground, to build it and to create a more sustainable football club. But I was rebuffed at every offer. And so, after much complaining, I was sacked.

But I can’t hold that against this current Wrexham. And next season’s Championship is going ot be very interesting, indeed.

Fitzie’s track of the day: the last great american dynasty, by Taylor Swift

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Liverpool 5 Tottenham 1 – Spurs hit new low in record-equalling defeat”

BBC: “Villa object to Spurs request for fixture change”

Dan KP: “Ange Postecoglou decisions leave Tottenham with an unwanted question to answer before Europa League showdown”

Telegraph: “‘We always felt if Spurs crossed the Watford Gap they would wet themselves!’”

What I take from this match is that 16th place Tottenham Hotspur’s highly rotated B-side is not as good as a full strength Liverpool playing for a Premier League title at home. And yeah, that’s pretty much all I’m taking from this 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.

Filed under:

Tottenham Hotspur Match Reports

Liverpool 5-1 Tottenham: Spurs deny Arsenal Premier League title

See? There’s a bright side to every situation!

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In what will go down as one of the most heroic performances in recent Tottenham Hotspur history, Spurs traveled to Anfield and proceeded to get their ass whupped by a final score of 5-1, bravely ensuring that there would be no way their arch-rivals Arsenal could win the Premier League title. Tottenham’s selfless display not only denied the Gunners the chance to win their first title since 2004, but also got minutes into the legs of several reserve players that might not otherwise have played much here in the tail end of the season.

What an incredible group of lads. I love this club. So selfless.

Here are my match reactions, such as they are, to another drubbing at Anfield.

Match reactions

Look, we’re all irritated. I am too. There’s nothing wrong with that, it proves that we care. Nobody likes to watch their sports team get pummeled, regardless of the context, so feel free to get grumpy if that’s what you feel.

That said, once again in the context of the season this match doesn’t matter much at all. You could see that based on the lineup, which was heavily rotated and featured a central midfield pairing of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, and neither of our first choice central defenders. I’m half surprised Ange didn’t start Kinsky in goal.

Did anyone else think that, once that Solanke header went in, that Tottenham might just do the thing? Yeah, me either but I did think they could keep it close, or maybe eke out a draw. Alas.

The less said about the overall performance of the players in this match the better. I could single some out, but I’m not going to. What’s the point? It was a poor match from beginning to end against the best team in the league with literally everything to play for. Honestly, I’m already over it.

But after today you better damn well win on Thursday, Tottenham. I mean it.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club will have both eyes firmly on their away trip to Norway in the Europa League. In the meantime, though, there is the small matter of a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool.

Spurs’ record at Anfield doesn’t bear repeating; while on the other side of the ledger, the Reds are flying and can secure the Premier League title, their first in five years, with a solitary point in this match.

It does make you wonder though... what’s the more “Spursy” outcome here? Part of me wonders if Spurs go to Anfield with Liverpool expecting to cruise to victory, and instead the Lilywhites somehow steal a win.

Anything could happen...

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Anfield, Liverpool, UK

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Time: 11:30 a.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. UK

TV: Not televised in USA, Sky Sports Premier League (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.

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!

Ange Postecoglou is in the middle of his weekly press conference ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday, and the biggest open question — apart from that of his job — is whether Spurs’ club captain will be returning to the side.

The answer is no, at least not yet. Postecoglou said that while Sonny is back training on grass after missing the past week with a foot injury, he won’t be ready by Sunday for Liverpool. There IS, however, a chance he could return for the first leg of Spurs’ Europa League semifinal against Bodø/Glimt this coming Thursday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“Sonny is improving which is a positive for us, not for Sunday. Everyone else from the last game is fine. [By Thursday?] We’ll see. First time on the grass today and he said it felt better.

“[He needed] a bit of both [rest and treatment]. The foot element because it is weight bearing you just need to give him some rest and some time off it and give him some treatment. The main thing is to get him off his feet for a week and allow it to settle so he can start the process of getting back.”

Despite Son taking a bit of a step backwards statistically this season, he’s still Spurs’ club captain and a hugely important part of Tottenham’s offense. He will certainly be missed at Anfield against Liverpool, who could clinch the Premier League title with a win on Sunday. But more important is that he’s fit for at least one of the semi-final legs against Bodø/Glimt — Tottenham’s league campaign is practically unsalvageable but they can still win their first trophy in 27 years.

Elsewhere, it looks like Carty Free readers weren’t the only ones who noted that Archie Gray’s minutes have taken a hit recently now that a number of key players have returned from injury. When asked, Postecoglou said that Spurs were prioritizing getting those returning players minutes in their legs so they can return to fitness, but fans should expect to see Archie back in the rotation between now and the end of the season.

“With all of these things, people just look at them as a moment of time. If you had have said at the start of the year that Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Mikey Moore would have played the amount of time they have as teenagers, I wouldn’t have said that that’s impossible.

“They’ve played a lot, they’ve played a lot because they’ve earned it, obviously opportunity as well, but Archie will play, he’ll play even between now and the end of the year, he’ll play significant minutes. Just the games haven’t worked out the way we wanted them to, and we needed to get game time with other guys.

He’s fit, he’s available, other guys, it wasn’t the case. As I said, we’ve got a real clear focus about where we need to be for the rest of this year and who needs to be in a good physical condition. Archie is in good physical condition, others weren’t, so we had to give them some game time but there’s no doubt that Archie will play a significant role still for the rest of this year.”

Tottenham kick off against Liverpool at Anfield this Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. BST. The match is televised on Sky Sports in the UK, and streamed on Peacock in USA.

Your hoddler-in-chief is coming off a pretty long day at work and typing this hoddle from his bed, so it’s gonna be a short one.

But I ask: How can I fall asleep after Haim dropped their next single?

The three sisters released Down to be wrong which will be part of their upcoming album i quit, due to be released on June 20. Here’s the album artwork. They’ve gone back to their favourite director Paul Thomas Anderson:

For those of you keeping track at home, this is the third single Haim have released leading up to it. Here are the other two that have been covered by Hoddle HQ:

Relationships

Everybody’s trying to figure me out

Their latest single Down to be wrong follows more closely with their second, and hopefully Relationships is a bit of an outlier in terms of sheer pop.

I am also enjoying the lack of capitalised words here. Your hoddler-in-chief has never been a stickler for em.

Three songs into this new album and I’m a bit suspect, to be honest. None of them feel quite up to the standards of their previous albums. And this one especially feels very ‘middle of the road’.

But one thing I do not get sick of is listening to Danielle Haim play the drums. This, like Everybody’s trying to figure me out, definitely has that. So will we see more of this on the other songs? We’ll find out soon enough!

Fitzie’s track of the day: Down to be wrong, by Haim

And now for your links:

Football London: “The Tottenham loan players who could face extra games after the regular league season”

BBC: “‘A very unique character’ - Vardy will ‘never be forgotten’ by Foxes”

It might have taken Mathys Tel a little while to get up to speed during his half season loan at Tottenham Hotspur, but he has appeared to hit his stride over his past few matches. Spurs have a €50m purchase option for the French striker, on loan from Bayern Munich, and has performed well enough that Spurs are considering making his loan permanent, but according to one source in Germany not for the agreed-upon price.

Kicker is reporting (in a very short update) that Spurs aren’t willing to pay the €50m option for Tel, but would instead try to negotiate for a lower purchase price with Bayern at the end of the season. The report doesn’t say what that price would be (duh, “negotiations”), but it adds further credence to the idea that Bayern really have no intention of keeping him around.

There are some questions here, mostly involving whether Tottenham win the Europa League and subsequently qualify for Champions League football or not. If Spurs have European football next season they’ll need a bigger squad to compete on multiple fronts, so buying Tel at a discount (and possibly targeting another wide player) would be the play. Without Europe next season, I wonder whether Spurs might pass on Tel entirely.

How long have we had to wait for another series of Taskmaster? MONTHS!

Well, the wait for the newest series is nearly over. Because Taskmaster is back beginning 1 May with Series 19!

Here are the contestants:

Fatiha El-Ghorri

Jason Mantzoukas

Matthew Baynton

Rosie Ramsey

Stevie Martin

Who fitzie is most excited to see: Jason Mantzoukas —- This is a huge surprise to me. An American actor on Taskmaster? It’s never happened. But I’m glad that Mantzoukas is leading the helm here. He’s a maniac in every single show he’s appeared in, and I’m hoping for another one here.

Who fitzie thinks will win: Rosie Ramsey — I have no reason to believe why she’d win over the other TM contestants here. She’s the wife of former TM runner-up Chris Ramsey, so there’s a bit of trivia.

The hoddle will return next week with its rankings of every Taskmaster season.

Fitzie’s track of the day: That’s So True, by Gracie Abrams

And now for your links:

Dan KP: “Ange Postecoglou heading for Tottenham exit but could walk away a vindicated man”

The Athletic ($$): “Bruce Arena questions if Mauricio Pochettino hire as USMNT head coach was a mistake”

The Guardian: “Relegated players who will be targets for Premier League clubs this summer”

Ange Postecoglou, assuming he stays on as Tottenham manager (and at this point that’s a pretty big if), might be losing his second top assistant this year. According to the Yorkshire Post, current Spurs assistant coach and two-time interim Tottenham manager Ryan Mason is a top candidate for the open managerial job at Championship club West Bromwich Albion. The source of the rumor is former S-n journalist Alan Nixon on his paywalled Patreon page.

West Brom parted ways with Tony Mowbray last week with the Baggies currently tenth in the Championship table, and are looking for a new skipper for 2025-26. Mason, a Tottenham academy graduate who cracked the first team for a few years before being sold to Hull City in 2016, started his coaching career at Tottenham in the academy and has steadily worked his way up the ranks.

Mason has made no secret of the fact that he wants to be a manager/head coach. He was a finalist for the head coaching position at Belgian side Anderlecht in October of 2024 but was passed over for David Hubert. He’s been lightly linked with a few other head coaching positions in the English Pyramid, but this would appear to be the most solid rumor since the Anderlecht job.

Mason has served as an interim and acting head coach of Spurs on two different occasions — after Spurs sacked Jose Mourinho in April of 2021, and again two years later after the firings of Antonio Conte and Cristian Stellini in 2023. He served as an assistant coach under Conte and Postecoglou.

It’s probably time that Mason gets a crack at a top job somewhere, so we can finally start to know if he’s good or not — it’s usually impossible to tell from where we’re sitting when it comes to assistant coaches. I hope he is good, because it’d be cool to have a homegrown Tottenham talent in the modern coaching ranks who could one day return to Spurs — I’m not sure we’ve had one since Chris Hughton.

Speculation over Ange Postecoglou’s future has been rampant all season, and so another log on the fire is nothing particularly noteworthy. But this one feels a little different. Writing for the Daily Telegraph (£), Matt Law reports that Postecoglou is very likely to leave Spurs no matter what happens this summer, and regardless of whether he wins the Europa League or not.

According to the report, which is behind a paywall, if Tottenham Hotspur do not win the Europa League, Postecoglou is likely to be sacked. If they do win, Postecoglou might be able to leave “by mutual agreement,” which would essentially mean a negotiated settlement to buy out the remaining year of his initial three year contract. This isn’t especially well sourced — Law uses words like “there is a growing sense that...” and “would give him the opportunity to leave.” But Law is the most high profile writer yet to suggest that Postecoglou’s time at Spurs is very likely up no matter what, and the only question is how that departure comes about.

Winning the Europa League and then getting dismissed or leaving by mutual consent would draw an eerie parallel between Big Ange’s tenure and that of Juande Ramos, who delivered Spurs last trophy, the League Cup, in 2008 before being dismissed the following season after starting with two points from their first eight matches.

The article doesn’t mention Tottenham’s players at all, and to this point there aren’t any credible reports that suggest that Postecoglou has lost the dressing room. In fact, publicly, Spurs players have vigorously defended their manager even as Spurs are poised to end the season with their worst ever record in the Premier League. That said, while there’s a general sense of sympathy for everything Postecoglou has been thorough, there’s an equal agreement that the league results simply are not acceptable for a club of Tottenham’s stature.

The usual candidates — Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva, Thomas Frank — were all mentioned as potential Postecoglou successors. There was not any mention of, should Spurs crash out of the Europa League in the semi-finals or finals, whether Tottenham would fire Postecoglou before the end of the season, or who would potentially take over as caretaker should it happen.

So should we believe this? I mean, I dunno. Probably? Matt Law has his history with Tottenham and with Spurs fans, but he’s been weirdly good on club-related issues lately, and I don’t doubt that he has uncredited sources that gave him this info. There’s certainly a lot of smoke in the air, but it’s also very obvious that we will not know what will happen until it happens. So it doesn’t really tell us much that’s new or that we didn’t already know. It is, however, another nail in his coffin, and it’s getting harder and harder for the Ange-lophiles to hold that lid open.