The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Thursday, January 2

Hi, all!

I spent yesterday watching Premier League and binging Schitt’s Creek, one a bit more enjoyable than the other (but still a good way to spend a day).

Ramble of the Day

I know yesterday was miserable on the pitch for Tottenham, but let’s backtrack to about an hour before that game and discuss Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s goal for Brighton. You’ve all probably seen it by now, but it is worth watching again. I watched it again right before I inserted the videos into the Hoddle, actually.

For anyone in the States:

For those in the U.K.:

It’s hardly the first of its kind and it likely won’t be the last, but I just want to take a moment to share a thought: You have to love how footballers — instinctively, occasionally — just go ahead and leap into the air, take their legs over their heads, and kick the ball with a foot while flying in the air for a second, even if they land on their head or upper back. It’s so complicated when the act of scoring is fairly simple, generally.

It’s a bit like Érik Lamela’s rabona, and other goals of the type; unusual to the point of over the top, and magnificent not despite it, but because of it.

tl;dr: A quick thought on Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s goal yesterday.

Links of the Day

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba will be out a further three to four weeks after getting surgery on his foot.

The Chinese Super League will introduce a salary cap that is expected to impact the league’s highest profile signings.

Today’s longer read: Suzanne Wrack interviews Megan Rapinoe, recipient of The Guardian’s Footballer of the Year award