The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Friday, August 16

Hey, everyone!

It’s great to see that Eric Dier’s growing his hair out again.

Ramble of the Day

The Tottenham Hotspur website has a new feature called Players ask the questions..., where one player is selected to answer questions from the others. The idea itself was pretty exciting to me, and in execution, it turned out to be as fun as one could expect.

Moussa Sissoko was the first one up, and the player on the hot seat also gets the distinct pleasure of picking the next one to answer questions. (Son Heung-min is next!) Anyway, I’m going to pick on some of the questions and answers now, because these players have once again proven to be very interesting people.

Paulo Gazzaniga: “What is the best moment of your career so far?”
Moussa: “There are three. The first was when I made my professional debut for Toulouse against Valenciennes away. My first game. It was a great moment. My dream became true. We lost that game but for me, it was an amazing day. After that, the final of Euro 2016 with my national team and then the final of the Champions League – two great moments for a player because you want to play in the biggest matches. I had the chance to play in the Euros in France – unlucky, we lost it and of course everyone knows what happened in June, but it was an amazing moment.”

It’s funny enough that Sissoko decided to answer the question of one moment with three moments, but I find it incredibly amusing that all three of these important moments came on days he lost. It’s nice that he’s managed to find the silver lining in some imperfect experiences, I suppose.

Harry Kane: “Moussa, how are you so strong?”
Moussa: “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s natural. Most of the people in my family are strong as well so perhaps it’s genetic. I haven’t done too much in the gym, so it’s natural.”

I promise I won’t have commentary on every question and answer, but the thing you learn pretty quickly is that Sissoko’s answers are entertaining in such a way that you have only the slightest comment to emphasize the point. He does all the work himself, truly. For example: I like that Sissoko essentially admitted to not working out too much.

Jan Vertonghen: “I can think of a few! How about – when is Moussa going to score more than one goal a season?”
Moussa: “I’m not surprised with this question. Having said that, it’s true and I should score more goals. Now, maybe I’ve changed my position a bit, a little deeper. I’ve had chances and should do better, but the most important thing is that we play well as a team and win. I think myself and Jan should have a challenge – see who scores the most goals.”

Definitely down for this challenge, and would like to informally poll the group. Who do we think ends up with more goals: Sissoko or Vertonghen? I’ll vote Sissoko.

Harry Winks: “Moussa, who do you like best – me or Kyle Walker-Peters?”
Moussa: “This is tough. I like them both a lot. I always joke with them that they are like my sons! They are two very good guys, great players, both have a great mentality. I’m happy to be the father of those two!”

He never did answer the question, but I suppose it is cruel to ask someone to choose between his children.

Victor Wanyama: “Ask Moussa about food, and chicken satay. I think he ate that every day on a tour. Is that his favourite?”
Moussa: “It’s funny. Okay, the story is that when we went to Hong Kong a couple of years ago, we were at the hotel and I only really liked one thing, and that was chicken satay and rice. I ate that morning, afternoon and night!”

I love a good chicken satay myself, but...really? Even breakfast? They didn’t have eggs and toast or cereal or something else for you? That’s...something. The man definitely isn’t boring.

tl;dr: Moussa Sissoko is an interesting guy!

Links of the Day

Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham received racist abuse on social media after missing a penalty in the UEFA SuperCup.

Arsenal’s Mesut Özil and Sead Kolašinac will be available for selection against Burnley after missing last week’s match because of security concerns.

Sol Campbell is out as the Macclesfield Town manager after less than a year in the job.

Today’s longer read: ESPN reports on the investigation into the rape charges against Cristiano Ronaldo, as detectives found a DNA match but struggled to authenticate documents and get in contact with the accuser’s lawyer