The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Wednesday, October 27

Hi, everyone!

At the top today is defender Molly Bartrip. Also, today is birthday of this column’s namesake, Glenn Hoddle!

Ramble of the Day

I’m stealing a question straight out of the Cartilage Free Captain writers’ room, perfectly appropriate for a team in the middle of a trophy drought and currently coached by someone who isn’t setting our world on fire.

Would you take winning the Carabao Cup — and only the Carabao Cup — this year if it guaranteed Nuno Espírito Santo’s job was safe for an entire year? You have until the end of the day, UK time, to answer.

I’m genuinely torn. The main thing I want from any football match that I watch is entertainment, and Espírito Santo does not seem particularly keen on promising that on a regular basis. Guaranteeing another year of his services would guarantee another year of mostly boring matches.

Winning trophies is an objectively fun activity, though, so the cup would meet the simple ask I have for the team. The question for me, though: Is the large amount of fun on one occasion enough of a trade-off for another year of mostly boredom? I don’t want to be a jerk and say winning the trophy isn’t worth it, but I also don’t love the idea of the long-term commitment — anything could happen in a year.

See? I’m torn.

tl;dr: A poll ahead of a cup match.

Stay informed, read this: Phil Thompson and Christy Gutowski on the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks following an investigation into how the team handled an allegation of sexual misconduct against a former coach by a former player for the Chicago Tribune

Links of the Day

Brentford’s David Raya will miss at least four months after picking up a knee injury.

Racing Louisville partnered with Kentucky Fertility Institute to provide fertility benefits for players, offering players flexibility to have children during their playing careers.

Matty Cash was granted Polish citizenship and could represent the national team as soon as next month.

A longer read: Tumaini Carayol profiles Brighton manager Hope Powell on blazing a trail for Black women in England and putting the women’s game on the map for the Guardian