The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, April 27

Hey, everyone!

I am pretty sure this is the first time I’ve seen a child not get bossed by a professional footballer.

Ramble of the Day

Ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, the broadcast cut to a shot of Ryan Mason and his staff on the bench. There was an empty seat, and as my older sister pointed out, a missing person — where was Michel Vorm, the ex-Tottenham goalkeeper and new goalkeeper coach?

There was probably a very normal explanation for his absence, but I realized that I hadn’t seen him at all since his new role was announced last week. I didn’t seen him on the touchline against Manchester City or Southampton, and didn’t seem in any pictures from training. Getty Images is the greatest resource when looking for someone on a team photographed regularly, and it turns out that Vorm has checked in for his new gig. He was at Wembley on Sunday.

Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

There are no other pictures of Vorm on Getty since he joined the coaching staff, though. There aren’t pictures of him on Spurs’ Instagram since the announcement was made, either. It wouldn’t be that weird if he showed up to work a few days later than anyone else. The decision to hire him was a sudden one, and he was living in the Netherlands. In the Before Times, taking a few days to get one’s affairs in order would be normal; considering COVID-19 travel restrictions, the extra days are probably a guarantee.

It’s also entirely possible Vorm just (either by accident or on purpose) avoided cameras for six days, but let’s say he didn’t actually show up until Saturday or Sunday. Was he coaching the goalkeepers via Zoom, finally figuring out how to coach remotely? Did he let Hugo Lloris lead training in his place?

I love the patchwork feeling of the current coaching staff. It feels like the powers that be just plucked some old players and asked them to do their best, like a high school team that fell on weird times. It would just be funny if the goalkeeper coach came up with a scrappy and innovative approach out of absolute necessity.

tl;dr: I think Michel Vorm may have arrived in England for work a few days later than everyone else. It was probably for very normal reasons, but I wonder if he coached via Zoom in the meantime.

Stay informed, read this: Kevin B. Blackistone on the International Olympics Committee’s refusal to lift a ban on protest, and how its pretense of purity invites protest for The Washington Post

Links of the Day

Manchester City’s Kyle Walker received racist abuse on social media after the Carabao Cup final.

The Italian FA will rescind membership from clubs that join breakaway competitions.

England international Fara Williams will retire at the end of the season after a 20 year career.

UEFA is investigating AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimović for allegedly having an ownership stake in a betting company.

A longer read: David Hytner interviews PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino on making a team a family and coaching the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Neymar for the Guardian