Cartilage Free Captain

Oh hey, we have a North London Derby at the Emirates tomorrow. Exciting, right? Maybe “terrifying” is the better word. Both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal played extra time in their weekend FA Cup ties, with Spurs managing a 3-0 win over Tamworth and Arsenal crashing out with a penalty shootout loss to 10-man Manchester United.

Usually you can throw out past performance when Spurs and Arsenal play each other due to the state of the rivalry, but injuries might be the biggest thing that will impact this match. Spurs’ injury concerns are many and well-documented, especially in defense, but Arsenal now have a couple of significant injuries on the offensive side of the equation after Gabriel Jesus blew out his knee in the United match — both he and Bukayo Saka will miss the NLD.

Spurs have bad news and good news of their own on the injury front. Ange Postecoglou noted in his pre-match press conference that Timo Werner sustained a hamstring injury against Tamworth, which might go a ways to explain his woeful performance in that match, and is ruled out for Wednesday. However, Richarlison is set for a return after a couple weeks of training upon his return from his own hamstring injury.

“[Playing on the artificial pitch was] not too bad. It takes a fair bit out of the players so we have done some extra recovery and we won’t train until this afternoon to give the boys a chance to recover because the pitch takes a bit out of you. The only one who picked up an injury is Timo [Werner]. He picked up a hamstring injury and we are waiting on the results of that scan. Everyone else, apart from being sore, pulled through okay. In terms of incoming, Richarlison is available.

“Well you have got no choice [but to play this match], that’s the fixture. You’ve got to accept it. We have been in this situation for quite a while now and obviously hopefully there will be some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of players coming back and like I said Richy. It was good for Mikey to get an hour on the weekend or whenever it was. I have lost track of days.”

Richarlison’s return is timely, considering the injury to Werner. Spurs have been slow-walking his return to the side after he injured his hamstring in his first match back from another injury spell earlier this season. Ange’s comments suggested we might see Richy on Wednesday, though perhaps as a reserve initially.

“Just got to get [Richy] back, he has had obviously an unfortunate season for us. Last season he played, even this season when he played for us and did his hamstring (while providing an assist), it’s not just his fighting and scrapping, he has quality as well. Just having an extra attacking player – with him and Mikey available now – makes such a difference in what we can do during games, between games, in terms of the way we play. We have taken our time with him this time for sure. He has kind of been harassing me for the last 10 days to be involved but we have been disciplined with that and he has looked really good in training. He looks ready to go so really happy to get him back involved.”

Mikey Moore also made his return to the squad against Tamworth, starting the match and putting in his first 60+ minutes since returning from a long spell out with a virus. Ange said that Moore also will add a different attacking dimension to Spurs’ offense and it’s good to have him back with the team.

“Yeah, look he has worked hard at training and you could see at the weekend he needed some game-time. He started off pretty slowly but by the second half I thought he grew into the game. We used him significantly in the first half of the year and he made a real impact, particularly in Europe I thought he did really well and we expect him to (again). That’s why we kept him with us and why he is part of the first-team set-up. It’s good to get him back because he is a player we know can make an impact in games.”

Antonin Kinsky has hit the ground running at Spurs, with two starts and two clean sheets, but playing away at Arsenal in a North London Derby is an entirely different kettle of fish. That said, Postecoglou said he’s been pleased with the way Kinsky has started at the club, considering the circumstances.

“They’ve all been big games for him for different reasons. Obviously the Liverpool game goes without saying but it was a hell of a challenge for him up at Tamworth, too, especially with the way they play and their ability to put pressure on goalkeepers. I thought he handled it so well and helped us nullify a big threat from them. He’s handled everything really well. I haven’t spent any extra time with him. Birchy [Rob Burch, GK coach] obviously has and part of the process — because it has been a bit of a whirlwind — is making sure he’s settled, especially off the field. He’s moving to a different country so to manage everything around him is equally important. So far he’s been really good at embracing the challenge we’ve thrown at him and I’m sure he’s looking forward to tomorrow as well.”

Lucas Bergvall was another player who came out of the Tamworth match with a solid performance, continuing his recent spell of improved play. Postecoglou confirmed that Bergvall has settled well after moving from Sweden this summer, and has impressed him and the staff with his improvement.

“Yeah, look, he’s definitely growing, which is not unusual. He’s 18, coming from a different country and league. It was always going to take him time to adapt, just to training more than anything else. But we’ve seen in recent weeks he’s really making an impact now and I think he feels more comfortable and confident in himself. There’s so much more to come from him with his age and where he is experience-wise. It’s been a big year for him, moving to a new country and a big league and a big club. Even playing for the senior national team with Sweden as an 18-year-old. All these things are pretty significant moments and you look at how young people handle them and he’s handled it all really, really well. He’s kept his head down, kept working, waited for his opportunity and he’s doing well.”

The North London Derby will kick off tomorrow at 3 pm ET / 8 pm UK. The match is televised on TNT Sports 1 in the UK, and streamed on Peacock in the USA.

With the caveat that Johan Lange moves in darkness and nobody really knows anything, there are a couple of new reports in the French media that suggests Tottenham Hotspur might have a real chance of landing PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani this month on loan.

L’Equipe has two stories out in the past two days that make it sound like Spurs are really making a push for Kolo Muani. The first, out today, says that Spurs have made an offer to take him on loan, with a purchase option at the end of the season. Juventus, the other club seriously interested in RKM, have also made informal inquiries; L’Equipe says that PSG is in no hurry to make a decision and are potentially waiting to see if any more clubs come in, with Dortmund and Manchester United also tracking him.

There have been plenty of reports lately in the Italian media sphere that suggest Juventus were in the lead and were actually close to landing Kolo Muani, but yesterday L’Equipe thew some cold water on those reports, suggesting that Juventus don’t have the funds to actually meet PSG’s demands, particularly Kolo Muani’s wages, which are around £150k/wk. That shouldn’t be an issue for Spurs, who are well within their wage budget and have no PSR concerns to speak of, though I have no doubt if they’re really interested they’ll also try and knock a few quid off his wages for the duration of the loan.

I think Kolo Muani would be a plus-add for Spurs in the spring, particularly with Timo Werner struggling and Wilson Odobert out for a few more months. RKM’s underperformance on xG is noted, but having another dynamic wing option with Spurs still in four competitions would be extremely useful. And if the loan is an option instead of an obligation, it’s the best of all worlds for Spurs. Assuming PSG agree.

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Tottenham Hotspur Daily Links: The Hoddle Of Coffee

The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, January 14

Aussie Open 2025, BABY!

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good morning

And welcome to a very brief overview of the 2025 Australian Open (which is well underway by this time). I should’ve done this on Friday but I couldn’t be arsed. So here it is today. I hope some of these predictions hold up until at least today.

There are lots of fun storylines to look out for. The one I’m most interested is Kei Nishikori, the former World No. 4 whose career has been ravaged by injuries. His latest return began a couple months ago. He won his first-round match over the weekend (hooray!).

Men’s tournament:

Fitzie’s favourites — Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic: No surprises here with the top four seeds. Sinner’s the defending champ and coming off one of the best seasons in recent memory, so he’s clearly the favourite. But how will Djokovic do? He’s the best to ever compete at the Aussie Open, but last year showed many signs age was wearing on him.

Fitzie’s next-ups — Alex De Minaur, Taylor Fritz: Seeded eighth and fourth, respectively. Fritz is the better of the two and coming off his breakout season, so I hope he continues that. De Minaur had some injury problems last season. Hope he gets back from it.

Fitzie’s dark horses — Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Fils, Tommy Paul, Tomas Mahac, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: Mostly gone for the big hitters here, but Fils and Perricard are two very exciting younger players from France. Mahac has a decent draw, if you consider an ageing Djokovic a decent opponent. Tiafoe had his breakout tournament here. Tommy Paul’s also got a nice draw.

Women’s draw:

Fitzie’s favourites — Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff: How can you bet against the two-time reigning champion? She easily dispatched Sloane Stephens in the first round. Her toughest opponent would fall on the other side of the draw, if Swiatek or Gauff make it to the final.

Fitzie’s next-ups: Qinwen Zheng, Jessica Pegula: If anyone else from Sabalenka’s half could make it to the final, it’s last year’s finalist Zheng. Only thing is, she’s got a horrific record against the Belarusian. Pegula took a big step last year by reaching the finals of the US Open. Can she carry that into this tournament?

Fitzie’s dark horses — The Field: Probably unfair to lump the rest of the draw here, but that’s how I see it. I’m not even high on the fourth seed, Jasmine Paolini. Too much inconsistency to be sold on anyone.

If you insist on me naming some: I think Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva poses a real challenge to Sabalenka in the fourth round and wouldn’t be surprised by an upset. Her compatriot Diana Schneider is another big hitter. I’ll lump the craft Karolina Muchova and Dona Vekic here too, if you insist.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Mr Big Stuff, by Jean Knight

And now for your links:

Jay Harris ($$): “The worst nearly happened for Tottenham and Postecoglou… but it didn’t”

Guardian: “FA report into Maddy Cusack’s death to be shared with coroner this week”

The arguments for and against FA Cup replays

Two of the three Tottenham Hotspur Alfies are now out on loan! As expected, Spurs announced today on their socials and website that 19-year-old central defender Alfie Dorrington has finalized a loan move to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League until the end of the season, and after signing a new contract that will keep him a Spurs player until 2029.

I said this in the last article, but this really does look like a great loan opportunity for Alfie. He’s heading to a team that needs him in a league that will allow him to get some good experience with a high variance of quality (and lesser quality) teams. If he hits the ground running, there’s every chance he could be a regular starter for Aberdeen for the rest of the season.

And the timing is pretty perfect — Tottenham are expected to get Ben Davies, Cuti Romero, and Micky van de Ven back from injury sometime this month, meaning the prospects of match time at Spurs are going to be pretty few for Dorrington. An injury kept him out of the U21s for much of the fall, so getting minutes in his legs will be extra important.

Dorrington will likely be competing next year with the likes of Ash Phillips and Luka Vuskovic for Spurs’ fourth CB position, and that’s a lot of competition. Hopefully this will kick start his progress. Good luck, Alfie!

Manchster United’s Marcus Rashford is almost certainly moving SOMEWHERE this spring, but it remains to be seen where. According to Miguel Delaney, Tottenham Hotspur are one of two Premier League clubs that have sounded out a possible loan deal for the want-away forward until the end of the season, but there’s significant interest for him abroad as well.

Delaney says Spurs have looked into the possibility and that there was also past interest from West Ham, but notes that both AC Milan and Juventus have also shown interest in taking Rashford on loan. Of the continental clubs, however, Dortmund is the one that has shown the most interest.

Rashford is on £300k/wk in wages which pretty much blows away any Tottenham player currently at the club. Spurs are in a healthy financial position and certainly could afford to pay that much to get Rashford in, but it’s unlikely they would do so and would ask United to assume a significant chunk of his wages.

Spurs are also reportedly interested in PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani, though Juventus is also making a strong push for the player. Rashford could be seen as a back-up option, or it could be a Johan Lange smokescreen. It’s actually pretty rare that we get rumors about specific players emerging from Tottenham’s locked-down recruitment team ahead of time, so I’d say at this point a Rashford loan would seem fairly unlikely. But what do I know? Lange moves in darkness, like a ninja.

Sunday’s game against Tamworth either was or wasn’t fun, except for those who didn’t watch it and whose opinions don’t matter. I fall into that category (partially).

Listen, I want to show you all lots of fun pics from the match vs Tamworth. There aren’t many.

But please enjoy this video.

Good on Lucas Bergvall for enjoying some of those chants there (especially about him potentially being sent off vs Liverpool).

We’re into the next round of the FA Cup against Villa, which is great. For those asking, I watched the first half of the match before departing for my run. A lovely ground, it is.

There are still some interesting games to be played that I don’t think we should sleep on. Least of all Millwall - Dag & Red. It’s tough, Dag & Red have been in the fifth tier for a decade now.

Let’s hope for an upset. Plus, who doesn’t love a London derby?

Fitzie’s track of the day: Track A - Solo Dancer, by Charles Mingus

And now for your links:

BBC with a recap of Spurs-Tamworth

A lot of Tottenham Hotspur fans were, to put it mildly, puzzled that Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate and central defender Alfie Dorrington didn’t start in Spurs’ 3-0 ET win over Tamworth in the FA Cup. After all, this was a Premier League team playing away against a club in the fifth tier, surely Ange Postecoglou would give some kids a chance to impress.

Dorrington didn’t make it off the bench at the Lamb Ground, but he might be getting an even bigger chance shortly. According to Twitter account @Lilywhite_Rose, which is very clued in to the comings and goings of Spurs’ youth academy and frequently has news and info before it becomes public, Dorrington is set to head on loan to Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen until the end of the season.

Aberdeen started off hot in the SPL, going undefeated in their first 10 matches, winning nine of them. But then the wheels fell off. Since, Aberdeen has just one win in their last 13 games, putting them in a distant fourth place in the table. Along with that, their best defender Gavin Malloy underwent shoulder surgery recently and is out until May, and Malloy’s backup is... not especially favored, according to fans.

So if Dorrington’s loan to Aberdeen is confirmed, that gives him a real shot to get some serious minutes in Scottish first division football if he can get up to speed quickly and plays well. It’s a super opportunity for a player who is unlikely to get many minutes at Spurs no matter what, and especially when Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven return to the lineup at the end of January.

So this could be a very, very good move both for Aberdeen and for Dorrington, if he can work his way into the squad. Go much below Celtic and Rangers and the quality drops off significantly in the SPL, but that might not be a terrible thing — plenty of bad Scottish teams for Dorrington to play against, and the occasional big-time match against Celtic and Rangers.

We’ll wait for the official confirmation, but this looks like a pretty solid loan.

Tottenham Hotspur eked past non-league Tamworth in extra time today at the Lamb Ground, ultimately winning 3-0 in extra time after going scoreless through 90 minutes. There’s a lot we can say about that game, but this is an article about Tottenham’s NEXT FA Cup game.

The draw for the Fourth Round just completed, and Spurs were drawn away to Aston Villa. The match will take place the week of February 8, 2025.

You never want to draw a Premier League team this early in the FA Cup competition, and this is a particularly annoying draw. Villa are a solid side, and even though Spurs thumped them 4-1 at home in the Premier League earlier this season, this will be a tough out.

Hopefully Spurs will have a few of its first choice players like Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven back by the time they have to travel to Villa Park, so that might help. But make no mistake, it’s a tough draw.

Villa vs. Spurs is one of a couple of all-PL matchups, including Brighton vs. Chelsea, Everton vs. Bournemouth, and Manchester United vs. Leicester. And also interestingly, a lot of the other big clubs were drawn away in this round, which could make things interesting. Spurs may have gotten a tough draw, but they at least are still in the competition, which is something you cannot say about Arsenal.

Here’s the full draw.

FA Cup Fourth Round Draw

Tottenham Hotspur survived an embarrassing result at the hands of National League side Tamworth with a 3-0 victory in extra time in the third round of the FA Cup Sunday morning.

Knowing the lore of Tottenham Hotspur jokes and what many felt could happen — beating the most in-form team in Liverpool and possibly losing to Tamworth — the Premier League side looked clueless throughout the first half of the FA Cup draw.

Fielding a strong enough team to put the game to bed early and let the kids play, Spurs never truly got into the game as Timo Werner — who played striker — looked lost as he played terrible balls, had poor touches, and failed to make an impact in the first 45 minutes, That was the norm for the majority of the side as James Maddison and Yves Bissouma looked to be the two who were pushing to get chances for the side.

Dealing with a 0-0 first half, the first 15 minutes of the second half saw Mikey Moore come alive after he returned from a two-month illness. Showcasing his skills on the ball that many love and getting in and around the defense, the lone thing that was not coming was a final result.

Breaking down Tamworth slowly but surely, as a Premier League side should do with its depth, Spurs almost lost the game in the end as Tamworth had a chance for the FA Cup magic that comes every year.

Having a moment in the final seconds, Tamworth took a shot to the near post with players scattered, but Bissouma blocked the shot to force a corner. The ensuing corner saw Bissouma stand his ground again as he blocked the initial shot before the follow-up shot ended up in the hands of keeper Antonín Kinský.

Going to extra time and needing a winner to not leave it up to the crapshoot that is penalties — on the road to a National League side with 4,000 supporters out to watch — Ange Postecoglou brought out the big subs to put an end to the nonsense with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski coming into attack. Djed Spence filled in for Radu Dragusin who left on a yellow card.

It took 10 minutes into extra time, but the contest’s first goal came in favor of Spurs..even if Tamworth nicked it in at the end.

Pedro Porro stood over the free kick design and, going for a low-driven ball to Brennan Johnson, the right winger squared his ball through a deflection to pop up in front of the goal with Dominic Solanke ready to tap it in. But Tamworth’s Nathan Muya Tshikuna was credited with the own goal as the ball bounced over the keeper and into the net.

Getting the first goal and needing to hold on for another 15 minutes of extra time, Spurs put the game to bed as Kulusevski and Johnson added goals to wrap up a 3-0 victory over Tamworth and secure a fourth-round date in the FA Cup.

Fair play to Tamworth for making this a game, and with the faces of disappointment on the likes of Spurs players — as it took 120 minutes to win this game — hopefully, they wake up for a North London derby against Arsenal on Wednesday.

After one moment of cup magic in which Tottenham Hotspur took down Liverpool in the EFL Cup, we get another: the customary visit of a Premier League titan to a football minnow, as Spurs visit Tamworth as the Lilywhites look to open their account in the FA Cup.

The fifth division side present a great opportunity for Spurs to progress, as well as rest some of their overworked senior players (those who are left, anyway); but there’s always a risk of Spurs not taking a fixture like this seriously enough.

Surely Spurs will cruise. Surely.

COYS!

Lineups

Live Blog

How to Watch

Tamworth vs. Tottenham Hotspur

The Lamb Ground, Tamworth, UK

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Time: 7:30 a.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. UK

TV: Not televised in USA, ITV1 (UK). Check international listings at livesoccertv.com

Streaming: ESPN+

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!