Write for Cartilage Free Captain!

Applications are now CLOSED for these positions. Thanks to all who applied — the response was overwhelming, to put it mildly.

Have you ever wanted to write for Cartilage Free Captain? This is your chance. Guys, gals and non-binary pals, we need you. I need you. Carty Free is looking for fresh blood and new voices as we continue to establish ourselves as the top Tottenham Hotspur blog in the Americas.

Why am I doing this for the first time in seven years as Managing Editor? Simple — I need help. We’ve had some turnover in writers in recent weeks and months, and while I love carrying the bulk of the writing load, I also realize it’s not sustainable and I need others to help share the burden. The blog also benefits from having new voices and perspectives, and there’s a long history of bringing up new writers from the Commentariat that dates back to our founder Kim McCauley’s tenure. Heck, I started out as a lowly Commenter-American. So that’s where (hopefully) you come in.

Here’s a summary of the positions that we’re looking for.

Writer(s) — Tottenham Hotspur news & rumors

News and transfer rumors are our bread and butter. This position will primarily help the Managing Editor and Associate Editor to write short (150-600 word) news articles on breaking Spurs-related news items or transfer rumors. This is a position that greatly benefits from a work-from-home or flexible day job that allows you to have a Slack window open during day hours for discussion and content ideas. Writers are also expected to periodically help out with matchday coverage, vis-a-vis Twitter commentary during matches or creation of post-match recap content.

Lead Writer — The Hoddle of Coffee

The Hoddle of Coffee is Carty Free’s daily open thread and is one of the most popular features on the blog. Are you the kind of person that has lots of ideas of stuff to write on and just need to get them on the page? This is a job for you. This position will write and schedule the Hoddle every Monday through Friday including holidays, but apart from a collection of interesting Tottenham/football-related links, what you write about is very much up to you! This position requires creativity, punctuality, and most of all dedication. It’s not easy to create daily content, but you will have a great amount of freedom to make this feature your own. Applicants should espouse their vision for the Hoddle and submit an example of how they’d like to use and develop the column. In addition, this position would provide the occasional news or interest story as available.

Writer — Tottenham Hotspur Women

Over the past few years Tottenham Hotspur Women has risen through the ranks to become a competitive club in the top flight of English women’s football. We are looking for someone to help cover Spurs Women in collaboration with the Managing Editor, helping to write timely news stories and providing matchday content and analysis. Ability to attend Spurs Women matches (possibly as press?) helpful, but very much not required. This is a good way to dig into an area that isn’t covered nearly as well as it should — it would be great to turn Carty Free into THE place to read about Tottenham Hotspur Women.

Social Media Lead

We need someone with a strong social media voice for this position. Take responsibility for posting Carty Free articles on Facebook and Instagram; have a role in the site’s Twitter presence, help cover Twitter and social media coverage on match days. The ideal candidate will not (purposefully) antagonize people or engage in banter, but should have a strong understanding of and familiarity with Carty Free’s “voice.” Can be combined with another position.

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Is there some other aspect of Tottenham blog coverage that you think we’re not doing right now? Is that a role YOU think you can fill? Pitch me. Let’s talk.

Contributors should have a strong grasp of English and the written word. Prior writing experience is not required, but quite helpful — if you can communicate well on the written page that supersedes whether you’ve blogged for other sites. I give at least a cursory edit to most pieces. Contributors should also have common sense — we have opinions here but we’re not looking for hot take artists. Knowledge of and familiarity with the culture at Cartilage Free Captain is also extremely helpful.

I will almost certainly give preference to people who are existing commenters at Carty Free. Y’all have been with us for a while. You’re readers. You know what you like and what we’re trying to do here. This is fertile ground for new contributors.

Generally speaking, it’s very helpful if you have the sort of job that gives you the flexibility to have a Slack window up on your screen during work hours and also produce content during the average work day. The day job — should you have one — always comes first, but as the saying goes Bat Country rumors wait for no blogger (this is not an actual saying).

New contributors generally receive a small monthly stipend — think “beer money” not “rent money.” Nobody’s getting rich at Carty Free, least of all me, much to my chagrin. You are obviously free to volunteer your time instead should you not wish to be burdened with a paid position.

Interested? Drop me a line at cartilagefree@gmail.com. Please provide a writing sample(s) or links to said writing. Tell me why you’re the perfect person for the position and what you can bring to the staff. Women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ voices are encouraged to apply.