The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Thursday, September 27

Hello, Hoddlers!

Erik Lamela rocks. That is all (before the ramble, anyway).

Ramble of the Day

It is very easy to romanticize football; I say this because I do it all the time. From vocal home supporters packing a stadium to a coach wonderfully executing a game plan, the material is just sitting there, waiting for people like me to admire it a little too much. Some things, though, are not as easy to romanticize, but that does not mean I haven’t done it.

I don’t always romanticize transfer rumors. There is not a lot there to actually like, other than receiving accurate information. Yet, I can’t help but think fondly of players who, legitimately or not, were linked to Tottenham. I see João Moutinho play for Wolverhampton Wanderers and recall the time he almost came to Spurs. Sure, many of you might remember those last hours of the window ticking down in agonizing fashion, and you probably should. I’m the weird one, not you.

Even the transfer rumors that are barely a blip on the radar, I remember in the same way. I saw Mateo Musacchio’s name a little while ago, and remembered not just that Spurs were linked to him for five minutes and how my older sister and I cracked bad jokes about how his last name sounds like a drink at a coffee shop.

The thing that really gets me, and that I once said out loud to sisters who listen to my rambles so kindly and patiently, is how amazing it is that we can all be linked to so many people. The stupidest transfer rumor, invented by some agent whose name I’ll never know or some member of the media whose identity we’ll never know, can leave such a lasting impact.

When you begin watching sports, and this is perhaps true of many aspects of life, you don’t really expect to remember a million random names. Of course, most of the people you pay attention to in the sporting world are famous enough to not make it that weird. It is just a little weird when you can name several youth prospects from one team almost a decade ago. I suppose sports requires this of us; what a strange obsession it is.

tl;dr: Does this make sense? Who knows?

Links of the Day

Gareth Southgate is expected to sign a contract extension which would keep him in the England job until 2022.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford signed a six-year contract extension with Everton.

Today’s longer read: John Nicholson wonders why only former professional players get jobs as television analysts for Football365