The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Friday, August 17

Hi, all!

One last Hoddle before I go on vacation. Enjoy next week, everybody!

Ramble of the Day

Every now and again, I have a real life conversation about stylish coaches. I have rambled about this once before, though today, I will ramble a bit differently. Clearly, there are a bunch of them that like to put a little effort into their outfits, and I clearly respect it.

Yet, the coach’s job is not solely about showing up on match day. The day-to-day life of coaches are mostly at the team’s training ground, and they spend more time with their players in training than in actual games. Yet, the style from the the touchline hardly ever carries over into everyday life.

Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Take Zinedine Zidane for example. Here, he is pictured at his Real Madrid exit conference, and the man proves he is very clearly chic. The outfit is uncomplicated, though all of the pieces work together effortlessly. No wonder the guy has been a part of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior ad campaigns.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Yet, his training apparel does not resemble those instincts. In the case of Zidane and many others like him, you could argue that he likes to get a little bit active himself as a former player in training from time to time. Plus, clubs provide a lot of free clothes, and sometimes nice free clothes, so it is not such a bad idea to wear them from time to time.

Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images

Yet, noted not-former player turned coach André Villas-Boas would wear training gear during training, even though he frequently showed up on the touchline in (likely) expensive suits. (By the way, I only had to get to page 16 to find pictures of Villas-Boas at Tottenham.)

The inconsistency between the two types of style is confusing to me. I’m not confused by the fact that sometimes people want to look professional, and other times, people want to look — and feel — comfortable. I’m also aware that training does not call for suits, or blazers in general. I simply wonder why those elements of being stylish never show up in training.

One could argue that the style comes from the accessories. Adding a watch and chain, as Mauricio Pochettino did during this year’s preseason tour, fits the bill of showing off style, even if doing so through accessorizing is mostly invisible in regular training pictures. Yet, it still does not answer this question: How do supposedly stylish people show up to work in almost the same exact outfit almost every day?

Coaches hardly change the athleisure look they’re going for. It’s not like they have a shortage of athletic tops or track pants at their disposal with and without club crests that they could rotate through. I have to imagine if coaches show up in clothes from the kit manufacturer, or a fashion house that currently has a deal with the club, it will probably be deemed acceptable.

I suppose the answer to my complaints is that this is the coaching uniform, much like players have their own uniforms. The uniform is likely less strict than those of the players, and I do wonder who coaches would have to answer to if they showed up in something other than the usual, but this is the answer I have probably spent the last 500 words looking for.

tl;dr: Working my way through the inconsistent styles of coaches.

Links of the Day

La Liga is set to play some regular season matches in North America after signing a 15-year deal with Relevant, the organizers of the International Champions Cup.

Bobby Madley has left his job as a Premier League referee.

Today’s longer read; Ed Aarons on the English youth players that are part of a growing trend of leaving their countries to get playing time in continental Europe for The Guardian