Cartilage Free Captain

The transfer window isn’t open yet, but the rumors sure are acting like it is. Today we have a report from L’Equipe that suggests Tottenham Hotspur reserve defender Ben Davies could be an option for Ligue 1 club OGC Nice when the transfer window opens in a few days. Spurs exercised an option to extend Davies’ contract for an extra season this past summer, which means he’s out of contract in June. This might represent the last opportunity for Spurs to get a little cash for their longest-tenured player.

It’s not the most solid of rumors. The report states that Nice have had an interest in Davies, Wales’ captain and an experienced international and Premier League defender. He’s not a spring chicken but is a steady hand in the back line, and Nice are currently having a bit of a defensive injury crisis, with Dante, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, Mohamed Abdelmonem, and Moïse Bombito all out of action. Davies would likely be signed as defensive cover.

And that’s why L’Equipe suggests that a deal to bring Davies to France might be “far from straightforward.” For starters, it’s suggested that Davies might want a long-term deal somewhere if and when he does leave Tottenham, and second he’s likely on wages that are going to be problematic for Nice to match.

We all like Big Ben, but it’s pretty clear his days at Spurs are numbered. He’s had some injuries this fall that have kept him out of the rotation, but he still only has 55 minutes of game time in the first half of the season. I’m not sure how confident I feel about this particular rumor being true, but it does suggest that Ben Davies might have a market.

The rumors about Brennan Johnson started a couple of weeks ago with reports that Tottenham Hotspur forward Brennan Johnson was dissatisfied with his role under current Spurs manager Thomas Frank and was open to a move away from the North London club. Crystal Palace emerged as one of the contenders for a potential January transfer, along with other clubs such as Everton and Bournemouth.

Now, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, it looks like Johnson’s future has been resolved. Ornstein posted on Bluesky this morning that Spurs and Palace have reached a transfer agreement in the amount of £35m for Johnson, Spurs’ leading scorer last season. Johnson, however, has options and has not yet made up his mind as to where he wants to go.

Johnson has been Crystal Palace’s top target in the January transfer window, and a move to Palace might be a pretty good place for him to land, if he does leave. He’s a player who could thrive in an Ismalia Sarr-like role where he arrives late to attack the goal. Selling him to Palace in January would mean a £10m loss for Spurs on the whole of his contract, but the club could end up making an accounting profit on the move, or at least break even in those terms.

Brennan Johnson is a weird player. He scored 18 goals in all competitions last season to lead the team in scoring, but as we have discussed and even argued ad nauseum on this blog since his arrival from Nottingham Forest, he can be described AT BEST as a limited player. Signed on a six year deal in 2023-24 from Forest for what was then a staggering £47.5m, he was described as the perfect Ange Postecoglou winger — an incredibly fast player with a knack for popping up at the back post to convert cutback opportunities and crosses, but who contributed virtually nothing else to the squad beyond goals. He doesn’t dribble. He’s not an especially good passer. And yet, he was, actually, extremely effective in that one thing he does well, which happens to be the most valuable thing in football. Johnson, notably, scored the only goal in the Europa League final, a game in which he was otherwise marginalized.

But when Ange Postecoglou left, so too did a lot of his usefulness. How many times did Johnson’s play cause us to pull our hair out, only for him to pop up at an opportune time to tap in a goal? How many times did I refer to him here, and on social media, as the Lionel Messi of Nacer Chadlis? It’s for this reason that he’s something of a divisive figure among Spurs fans, just as he apparently is among the Spurs coaching staff. He will always have his fans because he scores goals and he will always have his detractors because the only thing he seems to do consistently in a match is score goals. Johnson again, olé olé.

This does ask the question of what Tottenham will do if they sell Johnson. Dejan Kulusevski is supposedly returning to the fold sometime in January after a missing the first half of the season due to a knee injury, but Johnson’s departure leaves a hole in the squad on the right side of the attack. Would Spurs find a replacement? Would they instead target, as has been suggested, a left-sided winger and cobble together a suitable rotation option for Mohammed Kudus on the right? Does anyone even have a plan? These are all good questions.

£35m does feel a little low for a player who has a proven goal scoring record in the Premier League and is a homegrown, club trained player in a league that highly values both. But if Thomas Frank thinks he can improve the squad by cashing in on a saleable asset and finding someone else to fill his role, then as fans we have no choice but to trust that this is the correct move. That doesn’t mean, however, that we have to agree.

Does anyone know what life was like before the Pop Tarts Bowl? I don’t, and I sure as heck don’t want to go back.

For those of you unaware, the Pop Tarts Bowl is part of the post-season collegiate American football schedule (the NCAAF bowl series). There are dozens of these kinds of undercard games that prepare the US for the national championship.

Among all these one has risen to become the unofficial people’s championship: The Pop Tarts Bowl.

It’s everything you could ask for about American football culture. It’s got two football teams slamming against each other played inside a big stadium and sponsored by the most delicious breakfast pastry you’ve ever seen. Oh, the trophy also serves as a functioning toaster.

The Pop Tart Bowl’s lore is also growing.

After the first Pop Tarts Bowl game in 2023, the Strawberry Pop Tart mascot was sacrificed by being lowered into a giant toaster on the field, where the winning team ate its cooked remains.

A year after that Pop Tart was essentially brought back to life. The Cinnamon Roll Pop Tart was then the sacrificial treat.

That brings us to 2025 - the biggest bowl game yet.

Three Pop Tart mascots - Protein Slammin’ Strawberry, Cookies & Creme and Cherry - stood aloft the giant toaster after BYU defeated Georgia Tech at the Camping World Stadium in Florida. But while the second and third mascots expressed excitement about being lowered into the toaster, Slammin Strawberry held a sight that said “Not my dream … yet” before jumping off the toaster. The remaining two were then descended and sacrificed.

But that isn’t the end, at least not yet, with Slammin Strawberry leaving a sign that previewed a potential return next year.

All this is to say, who cares who wins the national championship? And who really cares who won the Pop Tarts Bowl? All I care is about the new mythology behind it.

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Number of the Beast, by Iron Maiden

And now for your links:

The Standard: “Archie Gray embodies the best of imperfect Tottenham as courage trumps creativity in hard-fought win”

Alasdair Gold: “Tottenham’s January transfer priority, Paratici’s role and what confused Archie Gray”

Jack P-B ($$): “Tottenham’s away form is invaluable, but more is needed to convince fans”

BBC: “Hull win at Middlesbrough to close gap on top two”

ESPN: “‘Is it a real functional toaster?’: Behind the scramble to engineer the Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy”

“The positive change we were able to achieve would not have been possible without the passion, dedication and hard work of so many people at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, together with our community partners, who shared a belief in the power of sport to transform lives.

“Tottenham Hotspur has always been more than a football club to me. It is part of the fabric of the local community, and I am immensely proud of the role we have played in helping to regenerate the area through our initiatives in education, employment, health and social inclusion. While our stadium development and on-pitch results often took the headlines, I hope that my legacy will be the positive and lasting impact we have made on the lives of people in Tottenham and beyond. Football clubs have a unique role to play in their local community and at Tottenham Hotspur we always took this responsibility very seriously.”

The January transfer window opens in three days, and while most years Tottenham have taken a low-key approach to midseason additions, this year the needs are stark and glaring. There are expectations that Spurs will add players in the winter window, with Frank confirming that the club plans to reinforce the squad for the second half of the Premier League season. We may now have a decent idea of what areas on the pitch they’re targeting.

Alasdair Gold, writing for Football.London today, states that the club are putting their focus on adding a left sided attacking midfielder in January, and will also look to bolster the left back position either next month or next summer. Other positions will be targeted as there is need and opportunity, including central midfield, striker, and possibly central defense.

The left-sided attacker position has been something of a revolving door since Son Heung-Min left the club this summer for LAFC. Tottenham currently have a rotating cast of players that can slot (and have slotted) into that position including Richarlison, Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani, and Wilson Odobert. Odobert is considered a strong future contender for the role, and Spurs also hope that Mikey Moore will return from his loan at Rangers next season ready to push for starting minutes. Tottenham made Manchester City left winger Savinho a key target this past summer, and though they were unable to land him with the player instead signing a new contract, they may make another attempt. Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo was another high profile target but politely told Spurs very recently that he’s not interested in coming to North London.

A left back is also a high priority, as Destiny Udogie is currently injured and has no natural backup to his position apart from Ben Davies, if you cock your head and squint. Right now, two of Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, and Davies are required to play in every match, with players like Micky van de Ven and Archie Gray available as break-glass-in-case-of-emergencies replacements. Bringing in a player who can naturally rotate with Udogie and fill in when he’s hurt would be a huge improvement to the squad.

Elsewhere, Spurs have been linked to Porto striker Samu Agehowa and have a longstanding interest in Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, though the latter appears significantly less likely now than perhaps last summer. Radu Dragusin tallied his first match minutes in nearly a year in Spurs’ 1-0 win at Palace on Sunday, but his agent is already making noises about getting his client more minutes and there are suggestions he could leave on loan or permanently if Spurs get a good enough deal. Gold writes that if Dragusin does leave the club could move for another CB, which would be a little strange considering Kota Takai exists and Spurs presumably will have Luka Vuskovic back from a highly successful loan in the Bundesliga next season. There aren’t specifics about the central midfield position, but the implication is that they will move if they target the right player at the right price; there have been reports linking Spurs to interest in 30-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka, for example.

Gold is the Tottenham beat writer currently working who presumably has the strongest ties to club sources, so if he’s writing all of the above it suggests this is a brief from the club. Fans can agree or disagree with the targeting — that is the remit of fans — but this is at minimum what the club is willing to signal to journalists. The club generally doesn’t deceive in briefings like this one, so this feels like a pretty solid clue as to which direction the club is leaning.

Targeting a left winger is… well, let’s call it “interesting.” Some fans will be irked that by bringing in another left winger the club could be stifling the development of players like Odobert and Moore, but it would make sense if you consider that the players currently operating on the left are either on loan or don’t naturally play in that position, and if you think Odobert and Moore need another year or so to grow into the role. It’s not personally where I would focus my recruitment energies if I’m Johan Lange (the club has a longstanding need for a central midfielder who can pick out a pass) but I’m also not the one in charge.

Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to see which direction the club is leaning. Spurs play three games in seven days at the beginning of January — away to Brentford on New Year’s Day, home to surprising Sunderland on Sun. January 4, and away to Bournemouth on Wed. January 7 before hosting Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sat. January 10. The club still has key players out injured and reinforcements are needed. Hopefully they come soon.

Good morning and welcome to another edition of your EFL Championship Roundup, where the hoddle takes a monthly look at where things stand in the second tier of the football pyramid. Today’s edition comes at the halfway point in the Championship season, which gives us a perfect time to take a look at where things stand. So, without further ado, let’s take a brief look at the table:

Automatic promotion contenders: Coventry (51 Pts), Boro (43 Pts)

Frank Lampard’s Coventry City have seemed like a lock for promotion for months now. They’re currently 13 points clear of third and it’d take an epic second-half meltdown to squander that. They’re just too darn good. Middlesbrough are also quite fun to watch, but I think they’re not quite there for the automatics just yet.

Playoff spots: Ipswich Town (38 Pts), Hull (38 Pts), Preston NE (37 Pts), Bristol City (36 Pts)

The reason why I’m not quite sold on Boro yet is because of Ipswich Town, who are just five points back. And this is after a pretty rough start to the season. I like to look at the goal differential to determine who are the true contenders. Right now that tells me that Ipswich (+15) are likelier to get promotion than Boro (+9). I’m still not sure what to make of Hull, Preston or Bristol City. They can all finish in promotion spots, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re also outside the top 10.

In the hunt: Millwall (36 Pts), Watford (35 Pts), QPR (35 Pts), Stoke (34 Pts), Derby (32 Pts), Southampton (31 Pts), Wrexham (31 Pts), Leicester (31 Pts), Birmingham (30 Pts)

This is where things get interesting. There’s a huge slate of teams that, at one point or another, were in the top six. I like Millwall more than the rest, but the South London club have a recent history of capitulating. I’d also keep an eye out for Southampton, while I’d sell Stoke City and QPR in a heartbeat.

Mid-table whatever: West Brom (28 Pts)

Not good enough for the playoffs, but too good for relegation. They’re the only ones not fighting for anything at the moment. But there is one man fighting for his job: Ryan Mason. I’m not sure how he hasn’t been sacked yet. WBA should be fighting for the playoffs, but instead they’re stuck in a terrible run of form.

Relegation fighters: Charlton (27 Pts), Blackburn (26 Pts), Sheffield United (26 Pts), Swansea (26 Pts), Oxford United (22 Pts), Portsmouth (22 Pts), Norwich (21 Pts), Sheffield Wednesday (-8 Pts)

We know Wednesday are going down, but who will join them? Norwich City could escape after sacking Liam Manning, whereas Charlton are cratering. I think Sheffield United and Blackburn both stay up, which leaves Swansea, Oxford United and Portsmouth.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Time After Time, by Chet Baker

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “Crystal Palace 0 Tottenham 1 – Archie Gray’s first goal eases pressure on Thomas Frank”

Alasdair Gold: “Every word Thomas Frank said on how Archie Gray must improve, Bergvall injury and Fabio Paratici”

The Guardian: “Archie Gray heads Spurs to victory at Crystal Palace to ease pressure on Frank”

BBC: “Uncertainty and lack of form - Palace’s ‘flat’ end to historic year”

We won! Woooooooooo! Was it pretty? Nope! Was it a touch infuriating at times? Yep! Was it scrappy? Definitely, and that’s not the kind of match you want against a mid-table Crystal Palace. But Spurs on the whole can’t afford to be too picky these days, so a gritty 1-0 win where the only goal came off a set piece, Richarlison had two goals waved off by VAR for offside, and Spurs lost the xG battle 1.81 - 0.84 still feels pretty good, man. Also, we got Radu back!

The match wasn’t great, but it sure feels great to win! Let’s do that more often, yeah?

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.

If you’re on mobile or found this via AMP and the survey isn’t appearing below, here’s a direct link.

Spurs thought they were ahead early after a lovely team goal finished off by Richarlison in transition, but the goal was called back after Lucas Bergvall was adjudged to have strayed offside in the buildup. Spurs’ defense looked a touch shaky at times in the first half letting Palace in behind on a number of occasions, but the defensive pairing of Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven, and some timely late challenges from Djed Spence, managed to keep Palace out.

Spurs’ breakthrough came late in the first half and from a corner kick — Randal Kolo Muani was able to center the initial ball to Richarlison, who had a header flicked on by 19-year-old Gray and into the net to put Spurs ahead. Tottenham took that slender lead into the intermission.

The second half wasn’t exactly champagne football. Spurs spent most of their time after halftime camped in their own half furiously defending Palace chances. But they did get a few opportunities on the counter. Richarlison had a second goal in the back of the net waved off by VAR for offside, and substitute Wilson Odobert looked lively as an impact substitute, at one point smacking a shot off the post. The match also saw the first minutes for Radu Dragusin since January 2025, as he came in for the last 10 minutes and change as a third CB to see out the match.

It definitely wasn’t a pretty game. It’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind about Thomas Frank and what he brings (or doesn’t bring) to the club. But it was a win — and this season Spurs can use all the points they can get.

Here are my match reactions.

Match reactions

Annoyed not even five minutes in by the yellow shown to Kevin Danso when the Palace player appeared to trip over his own feet. Sigh. Why always us?

It’s really a shame that Richarlison’s goal was called back for an offside on Bergvall in the buildup, because it was a really nicely worked team goal, something that’s been a rarity for Spurs this season. Great cross in from Pedro Porro, nicely tucked in by Richy. Shame it was all for naught.

There wasn’t a ton of stuff to like in the first half, but I did think Mohammed Kudus had one of his best halves for Spurs in that opening 45. A few nice deep balls and some good progression, even if it was isolated progression.

So, so pleased for Archie who was a little rough in that opening half, but he was in the right spot to flick Richarlison’s header into the back of the net to put Spurs ahead.

It’s still telling that Spurs’ goal came from a set piece and not from open play — they were, again, predictably terrible going forward and in and around the Palace box. Their other two shots were a blocked attempt and a blast from Pedro Perro that went 30 feet over the bar. Spurs had 0.00 xG from open play in the first half.

Richy is so unlucky, man. Two well-worked team goals converted by him, and called back for offside both times. Both are the right call I guess and Richy just needs to, IDK, not be offside, but it’s millimeters off and called by VAR review… how does this make the game better?

Really impressed by Wilson Odobert, who looked snappy and dynamic in the few opportunities Spurs had going forward in the second half. He needs more minutes. Hopefully he gets them.

The defense was actually pretty good today. The back line got carved open a few times early but were pretty much up to whatever Palace threw at them, although Palace were pretty wasteful with their chances.

Very happy to see Radu out there. Don’t have much of a take on his play in such a short stint, but I’m pleased to see him back there after nearly a full calendar year out to injury.

As pedestrian as that match was on the whole, Spurs did show glimpses of the team we thought we’d have late in this one with Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert looking lively and Spurs actually moving the ball and getting shot attempts.

It’s a win! We won! It feels good, and it’s okay to celebrate!

Tottenham Hotspur had Co-Sporting Directors for just over two months. Now, it looks like — choose your metaphor — the apple cart will be upset and/or deck chairs will be shuffled on the S.S. Hotspur. Fabrizio Romano tweeted yesterday that Fabio Paratici is expected to become the next Director of Football at Fiorentina, pending “formal steps.”

I’ve said before your reaction to this news is likely a Rorschach test for your Tottenham fandom. On the one hand, your favorite club losing its Italian co-Sporting Director just two months after his appointment and a few days before the opening of the January transfer window to go take the same position for the last-placed team in Serie A feels a touch humiliating, no matter how much he might miss his nonna’s cooking, and you’d be forgiven for feeling as though this is another example of the mess at the top of Spurs’ leadership structure.

On the other hand… is it really all that bad? It’s not like many of us were especially enamored by Paratici or his job performance. Sure, he landed us Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from his old job at Juventus, but then he got himself banned from football for two years for being involved in the plusvalenza scandals in Italy. His overall player transfer record at Spurs is a bit dodgy, and shoehorning him into a franken-director position with Johan Lange felt weird when it was announced. There were suggestions earlier that Paratici considering the Fiorentina job was a power-play, possibly with the goal of marginalizing or eliminating Lange’s position, but if Paratici actually leaves, it’s hard to know what to think about that. There were also suggestions that Paratici was offered the Co-Sporting Director position by Daniel Levy before Levy’s departure from the club, and Spurs decided to (perhaps reluctantly?) honor that offer despite Levy being pushed out.

So in a sense, Paratici’s departure could be seen as an opportunity for Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham to really put his mark on the club’s leadership structure, but it comes at the short term cost of having Paratici’s experience around for what will be a critical January transfer window. Maybe it works out, both in the short and long term, but I gotta say, if you considered Fabio as a necessary foil and counterweight to Johan Lange with regards to Tottenham’s squad construction, I think it’s okay to feel a little nervous going into the start of 2026.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

At least, that’ll be the hope for Tottenham Hotspur’s fans as the festive fixture list rolls on, with Spurs heading across London to pay Crystal Palace a visit. Unfortunately, the nights have not been so good of late for Spurs, with poor performances spurring fan discontent and decreasing matchday attendance.

In short, Thomas Frank needs to get his side firing, and fast. He’ll need to do that though without a couple of key players: Cristian Romero and Xavi Simons are both suspended, and AFCON is now playing its part as well, with Pape Matar Sarr away with Senegal.

Crystal Palace are also similarly impacted, struggling for depth with several absences due to injury and AFCON. Unlike Spurs, however, that hasn’t prevented the Eagles from pushing into the top half of the table. Spurs need to turn their fortunes around quickly, but this match is not an easy one. Oliver Glasner’s well-drilled side is a different prospect to some of the Palace teams seen over the years, and this could be a real battle.

COYS!

Lineups

Lineups will be posted closer to kick-off.

Live Blog

How to Watch

Crystal Palace vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Selhurst Park, London, UK

Sunday, December 28, 2025

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

TV: USA Network, Sky Sports Premier League (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:

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Have fun, and COYS!