The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, January 19

Hi, all!

At the top is defender Ashleigh Neville, who joined the club in 2017.

Ramble of the Day

José Mourinho’s start to life on Instagram was pretty entertaining, and I once went as far to say that he’s pretty good at using the social media platform. Since then, though, Mourinho’s Instagram game has taken a step back — it’s less centered on his particular quirks and more mainstream. There are a few hits here and there, but it’s gotten pretty boring.

I normally wouldn’t care, outside having a tiny bit of disappointment. Mourinho has a job and a life outside of Instagram, so it’s both reasonable and also shouldn’t really matter. There’s just one thing, though: from the moment Mourinho’s Instagram got less quirky, Spurs’ form got a little bit worse and the games themselves got a little less interesting.

Mourinho’s hot streak on Instagram ended with his post on November 20, celebrating his one year anniversary at the club. By hot streak ending, I meant he just posted something boring instead of something that was specifically Mourinho. Spurs’ Premier League record at the time: five wins, two draws, one loss; in the Europa League group stage, two wins and one loss. In both competitions, Spurs were averaging 2.27 goals a game and 1.1 goals against.

The run of Instagram posts, again, have not been bad, necessarily. There have been some solid posts, but it’s just lacking the unique quality that makes it interesting, much like the team since that point. Premier League form since has been four wins, four draws, and two losses; Europa League, two wins and a draw. In that time, Spurs averaged 1.77 goals a game and .85 goals against.

By some measurements, the form has been worse since that November 20 post, but I think the real conclusion is just that the games and the Instagram have collectively gotten more boring. (By some arguments, that is inherently worse, but we can discuss that a different time.)

tl;dr: I think Spurs have gotten more boring on the pitch as José Mourinho has gotten more boring on Instagram.

Stay informed, read this: Khaled A. Beydoun on the New York Jets’ Robert Saleh, who became the first Muslim head coach in the NFL, for The Undefeated

Links of the Day

FIFA rejected Atléti’s appeal against Kieran Trippier’s ten week ban for breaking the FA’s betting rules.

Inter Miami hired Phil Neville, meaning he will not lead England women at the Olympics.

Transfer upates: Bournemouth signed Jack Wilshere on loan from West Ham; Kasimpasa signed Danny Drinkwater on loan from Chelsea

A longer read: Tim Adams on the steps Marcus Rashford took to combat child food insecurity in the UK for The Guardian