The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Friday, December 20

Hello, everyone!

We’ve made it to that time of year where the holiday season is fully on most of our minds, and a number of you will be (reasonably) checking in and out as you get busy with other things. In which case, I’d like to wish you all a lovely end to 2019. Thanks for hanging out and paying attention, whether it was a little bit or a lot, and I hope to see you again soon!

Ramble of the Day

I’ve decided it’s time for the year-end prompts, which I’ll keep brief this go around. Here they are:

1. Favorite Spurs moment of 2019 (Alternatively: Where were you when Spurs made it to the Champions League final?)
2. Favorite off-the-field football moment of 2019

For the first, I want to pick the entire Champions League 2018-19 run, but if I have to pick just one moment, I’ll pick the dying moments of the second leg of the semifinal and the time afterward. I was at New York’s resident Spurs bar, Flannery’s, with my younger sister, and as you’ll remember, the match itself was one that caused a range of emotions. Naturally, when the third goal went in, the place went truly wild, and everyone in there spent who knows how long — celebrating with each other. It was basically the ultimate feeling you want from a sporting event — singing, high-fiving, and hugging strangers.

After about (I’m totally guessing) ten minutes, my sister and I left the actual bar to celebrate with donuts from the place next door, but actually just ended up on the sidewalk in shock about what happened. Other Spurs fans were there doing the same thing, and it became a good occasion to call people: one of us called our mom, the other our older sister (I’m not sure who called whom). Again, the same feelings of shock were shared, because it really was a sight to behold. I truly don’t know if I’ll get that moment again; I’d love to, but the exact feeling of shock and community might be difficult to replicate. That’s perfectly fine with me, because to live in that moment was a truly perfect one and to live it once is so much better than never having lived it at all.

(Sorry for droning on, I’ll move on to the next question.)

Now, for the second: please accept your prize, Coleen Rooney. It was the not-football pitch football story that became mainstream. It was another moment that felt like a meeting of a community, in a less traditional way. United in appreciation for the detective skill of Rooney, and a pretty terrible thing done by Rebekah Vardy, it was hard not to be captivated. I’m thankful Rooney presented her findings, and I hope her life has returned to a semblance of normalcy after revealing Vardy’s actions.

tl;dr: Let’s pick our football hits from 2019.

Links of the Day

Liverpool has signed Takumi Minamino from Salzburg.

League Two’s Macclesfield has been docked six points after failing to pay players and canceling a match.

Lyon’s ownership group has completed the purchase of the NWSL’s Reign FC.

Today’s longer read: Declan Walsh on peace talks between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, football’s link to it, and the everyday citizens of both countries that stand to benefit for The New York Times