The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham news and links for Tuesday, August 30

good morning -

I used to dislike Wrexham Football Club, and through not fault of the club itself. It’s silly, actually.

I selected Wrexham as my save in Football Manager a couple years ago. I got them promoted to League 2, and they never gave me the backing I needed to strengthen the squad. And I conceded one of the most ludicrous own goals ever when my goalkeeper kicked a goal kick straight into my defender’s face, with the ball ricocheting into my goal.

But that’s all in the past. The present (and future?!) is all about Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, owners of Wrexham FC.

And you can learn all about it in their Hulu documentary, Welcome to Wrexham. I can only imagine what the good folks of the town have to think about the docuseries.

Only two episodes have been released so far, but I liken it to a cheerier Sunderland Til I Die (though any series is arguably cheerier than that ... ).

The documentary picks up just days before the Hollywood actors acquire the team. And, if you know the promotion/relegation history of the Vanamara National League, that Wrexham did not gain promotion that season.

So, I do wonder which direction the docuseries will take. I’m afraid of it becoming too Ted Lasso-essque in its whimsy when the livelihood of dozens of footballers are on the line. I’m sure the citizens of Wrexham had the same apprehension when Reynolds and McElhenney took over the club.

And you’d think that with owners like these two, and with the immense platform Wrexham has, that you’d be able to watch their games. Apparently not!

As of this writing, there are no streaming options domestically or internationally for the club’s coming game against Wrexham, according to the club. In fact, Wrexham state that the Board of the National League have not even considered the club’s request to stream the game.

I was curious to see how Reynolds would respond (because he’s a bigger star than McElhenney) to this. Good on him for using his Twitter to directly appeal to the Board. Looking at the social reach he has compared to the National League, and you have to wonder how the Board respond.

It seems to be one of the many disadvantages that lower-league clubs face. Some of which, such as gate revenue, I had forgotten plagued many during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For those of you who need to watch something new after that underwhelming Only Murders in the Building season finale last week, this could be worth your time.

Fitzie’s track of the day: True Blue, by Tina Brooks

And now for your links:

Japhet Tanganga reportedly set to stay at Tottenham Hotspur after transfer deadline

Antonio Conte says Spurs need two more transfer windows to become title contenders

Ross Barkley departs Chelsea by mutual consent

West Ham announce signing of Lucas Paqueta

Jim Bentley appointed as Rochdale manager