The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, May 12

Hi, all!

Today at the top is former Tottenham midfielder Stéphane Dalmat.

Ramble of the Day

I will admit that one thing I’ve taken a certain amount of interest in seeing the backdrops people have chosen for themselves when they needed to hop on a video call or record a video message. As a result, I decided to track down videos Spurs players have done in the last couple of months because I might find something interesting, but at the very least, it might make a decent ramble.

The first, and perhaps most obvious conclusion, is that a number of them have at least one plain space in their homes that is plain but inoffensive, working perfectly for a video meeting. White walls were a specialty, as is probably the case for plenty of other people, too, but let’s dive into some of the more interesting ones (and let’s try to excuse these fuzzy images from lower quality videos).

Érik Lamela is definitely aiming for a neutral backdrop, and he may have achieved it, but I’m mostly just curious about the design of his home. That gray wall looks great, and that light fixture is fascinating. It makes me curious about what the rest of his home looks like, and how it might relate to his eclectic taste in clothing.

Jan Vertonghen is clearly one of those with a white wall, but his sort of awful camera angle means we got a peek at what was on that wall: a photo of Frida Kahlo. I think we all had an inkling that Vertonghen would be of the type to appreciate an artist like Kahlo, but it’s cool to see that he actually has one. Plus, it separates him from the pack a bit — a few had football memorabilia (namely Harry Kane and Japhet Tanganga), but Vertonghen’s choice is certainly a unique one.

Ben Davies definitely has the most interesting backdrop, and I’ll also compliment the layout and design. I really love the idea of an entire wall taken over by a bookcase, especially one with a number of different things. There are some bottles of booze (my sisters think they might be Man of the Match gifts), some pictures, a tiny village above his left shoulder, and obviously some books. It’s too bad the picture’s too fuzzy because I’d love to see what books he has.

Perhaps the most interesting backdrop belongs to Eric Dier, who appears to be ... in a shed? I’m guessing he’s in the below place, which would mean he has one sitting place and a bike to furnish this shed. The place looks otherwise unfurnished, which I suppose is fine if he’s not spending a lot of time in it. It’s definitely a unique destination, which is my nice way of saying that I think it’s slightly weird. At least he’s not even close to the weird backdrop Jurgen Klinsmann uses, though.

tl;dr: A few Spurs players have some interesting video call backdrops, but you should read to the end so you can click on the link about Jurgen Klinsmann’s background.

Links of the Day

Coronavirus:

• The Danish Superliga will return May 28 behind closed doors.
• Serie A teams can train in groups beginning May 18.

Atalanta’s Andrea Rinaldi died aged 19 from an aneurysm.

City Football Group added Belgium’s Lommel to its portfolio of clubs.

Today’s longer read: Andy Hunter, Nick Ames, and Paul Doyle on the impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on non-league and grassroots football in England for The Guardian