The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, November 19

Hello, all!

Do you think this is Ed Sheeran? I’m genuinely asking.

Ramble of the Day

It’s a little bit funny that I haven’t directly addressed Tottenham’s form, good or bad, in most rambles, considering it is a Tottenham blog. I promise I haven’t been intentionally avoiding it, but I did accidentally create a space where my first instinct is to write about anything else but a team’s current form. Regardless, I find myself joining my audience in the conversations that dominate our time here for today.

Again, I spent an evening chatting about Mauricio Pochettino’s job status, both in the Cartilage Free Captain writers’ room and with my sisters. I did this last week, too, with the consideration of the report suggesting the upcoming match against West Ham would be make or break for Pochettino. My older sister threw out an idea: What if the two teams tie, and then both Pochettino and Manuel Pellegrini got fired?

The only response I had was to laugh, because it is truly funny. Terrible for several people, of course, but also a little bit funny. I know, genuinely, if both managers were fired after one match, I’d laugh. I laughed when Middlesbrough fired Garry Monk and Sheffield Wednesday fired Carlos Carvalhal after Monk’s side won a meeting in December 2017. It’s a strange twist of fate that asks for a small chuckle.

I do always try to find funny in bad situations when relatively appropriate, but as I continue to share, I do feel a little bit like a terrible person as a result. Still, I can’t help but find these things funny, like the time Queens Park Rangers and Reading both needed a win, tied, and both got relegated. No one got the distinct (dis)pleasure of being the team that finally sent another off to the Championship; in fact, one could make the argument that they relegated themselves, which may be true for all relegated sides but really stood out in that moment. (If you tell it the right way, it makes for a decent joke, too.)

I laugh, because otherwise I might (metaphorically) cry, as the saying goes. We all get through things somehow!

tl;dr: I like to joke about some things lots of people might not find funny, like managers getting sacked and relegation.

Links of the Day

Players in the Spanish women’s top flight have ended their strike after negotiations over pay have resumed with clubs.

Luis Enrique is set to be named the Spain coach five months after leaving the post to care for his daughter, who died of bone cancer in August.

Sky Blue will play the 2020 NWSL season at Red Bull Arena.

Today’s longer read: Tariq Panja on Qatar’s struggle to ensure enough beds for visitors during the 2022 World Cup for The New York Times