The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Wednesday, February 6

Hi, Hoddlers!

Today is Tim Sherwood’s 50th birthday, so naturally I’m going to ramble about him.

Ramble of the Day

How does one honor Tim Sherwood on a milestone birthday? One could start with a general statement about Sherwood, perhaps something along the lines of how unique he is.

A proper next step might be to start telling stories and sharing memories about the man of honor. Maybe one would talk about Sherwood’s tenure as Tottenham boss, where he dreamed about Emmanuel Adebayor and once saluted the forward after he scored a goal. One could also recall the time he played Kyle Walker as a number ten, or that time he let a fan sit in the manager’s seat on the final day of the 2013-14 season. That’s just from his five month stay as Tottenham manager.

The list goes on and on with Sherwood. By the time he was done with an eight-month stint as the Aston Villa boss, he had quite the collection of experiences on his résumé. Nothing that proved he was a good manager, of course, but that he was a man of a very specific quality. He’s a man who is inextricably linked to banter; he loves being the source of it, either intentionally or not.

Perhaps the only way to embrace Sherwood is to appreciate that he is the butt of the joke more often than not, and that he’s rewarded just enough for it. He’s hardly failed upwards, and while it might be a shame that he may never have another job coaching, perhaps that’s okay. He’s best in roles that don’t allow him to cause destruction en masse the way being in charge of a team would, so television and other similar platforms are best suited for him. Sometimes he’ll drop semi-legitimate opinions, and other times he’ll criticize Jorge Sampaoli for having tattoo sleeves. It’s perfect this way.

Sherwood, ultimately, is the type of person that easily has a place in society. He’s silly while being mostly inoffensive. You laugh at him and yet don’t feel bad about it. Perhaps most importantly, he delivers this entertainment consistently, leaving you with enough to keep you satisfied until his next remarkably incoherent or instantly refutable comment. It’s comedy in a mundane situation, and ultimately, it’s enjoying content that is so bad that it’s actually very, very good.

May you enjoy your birthday, Tim. I know I will, watching that first video a couple of times and drinking out of the mug my sisters got me for Christmas one year with an expletive-laden quote on it. Happy birthday, man!

tl;dr: Happy birthday, Tim Sherwood!

Links of the Day

A British man has been detained in the United Arab Emirates after he was seen wearing a Qatar jersey.

Australia has canceled a U-23 training camp in Thailand while Hakeem Al-Araibi is facing an extradition trial in the nation.

José Mourinho has agreed to pay more than €2 million to the Spanish government after evading taxes.

David Squires mentions the Goodison Park cat and an Everton crisis in his latest cartoon.

Today’s longer read: Matt Davis on the Canadian Premier League and the process of starting a professional men’s league from scratch for the BBC