The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Monday, April 23

Hello, Hoddlers!

There is something about the Monday Hoddle that makes me feel like it’s the first time in a long time that I’m preparing words for you nice people. I can’t explain it, but it does match my belief that I have a tough time understanding the passage of time. Anyway, let’s get on with it.

Ramble of the Day

I am unaware if this is a habit of television shows outside of the U.S., but for some reason, shows in my part of the world really like to do crossovers. To be fair, most of them do not do such a thing, but this is an obnoxious habit of a few network shows.

Let me explain, in case the concept is unfamiliar: a crossover is when two shows, and sometimes more, decide to create a storyline that will run through the shows that week. They are usually done by shows on the same channel that share the same producer. There are a few that do it more frequently than they should, and I will name and shame them. Dick Wolf, of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Chicago Fire fame, loves to do this, as does Greg Berlanti, producer of the CW’s DC comics shows. Recently, Shonda Rhimes did a crossover between Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder.

(Note: Yes, there is a show that has the same exact name as the MLS team in Chicago, the Chicago Fire, team of Bastian Schweinsteiger. The team came first, and it is very annoying when you quickly Google “chicago fire” looking for the team and find fake firefighters instead.)

Let’s begin with the obvious problem: What if you only watch one of the shows because the other ones are not as good? That means you have to watch the other one to understand the week-long vanity project of the producer, which often forces storylines and chemistry where it doesn’t belong. Worst of all, the episodes that week are not continuations of the currently running storylines on the show, making for breaks in plots that seem unnatural and sometimes unwanted, as the viewer can be left at a cliffhanger of sorts.

There is the added complication of forgetting to set the DVR to record the other shows, which you only realize once you’ve started the episode of the show you regularly watch. You then have to contemplate whether or not it’s worth it to track down the other episodes to finish the story. Let me save you some time: It is not worth your time. Hardly anything show-altering happens. They are the most cut-and-dry episodes of these procedural dramas, and that 40 to 50 minutes of your time is better spent on other things. There is almost no combination of shows that would make a crossover enjoyable.

tl;dr: I do not like television crossovers at all.

Links of the Day

Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that he may give young players opportunities in the FA Cup next season.

Brazil and Chile have qualified for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. This will be Chile’s first time at the tournament.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Chelsea’s Fran Kirby are the PFA’s men’s and women’s players of the year. The full list of winners can be found here.

Chivas Guadalajara players are protesting the club’s ownership just days before the second leg of the Concacaf Champions League final.

Today’s longer read: Bart Vlietstra on the early career of Mousa Dembélé and the man he is for The Guardian