The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, February 7

good morning —-

I am happy to report today that the state of the Hoddle is strong!

Since I assumed the hoddlecy one year ago on Thursday, there has been a hoddle every weekday. That’s approximately 260 hoddles. Can you believe that?

I of course must thank Menno and Sean for filling in when your HIC has been unable to (or, in one unfortunate case, forgot to) to write such trite nonsense that only serves as decoration for what you really want: comments! And lots of them.

We have gone through a lot since 2022. We can’t forget the tragedy of Harry Winks’s transfer to Sampdoria, and Matt Doherty’s contract termination still baffles me. But we also cannot forget the immense contributions Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur have made to the club.

Nor can we forget Mr Tottenham himself: Harry Kane.

The top-four race is well and truly under way. And, to assist in that, I am ready to pledge $3 billion in defence spending —- wait, sorry, that’s from a different speech.

To assist in the top-four race, I instead will pledge nothing. Take what you will out of that.

There are still many hoddles to be written

And there are still many tracks to be shared. I’m happy to say that the TOTD remains one of the most popular features of the hoddle since taking over last year. And don’t forget, you can take the TOTD with you wherever you go thanks to this Spotify playlist.

We have a long ways to go. Many matches are still to be won. We will encounter setbacks in our trophy ambitions, but I am confident that we remain on trajectory for another great year of hoddles.

Thank you, thank you.

Fitzie’s track of the day: We Can Be Together, by Jefferson Airplane

And now for your links:

Dan KP: How ‘nasty’ Tottenham set a new Antonio Conte standard

The Athletic ($$): How teams struggle against Tottenham’s high press

Alasdair Gold’s latest video on Kane and Conte’s call, Pedro Porro’s illness and more

Everton sack Jesse Marsch, fuelling USMNT speculation

Publication of UK government white paper proposing football reform delayed

How Toulouse are exceeding expectations in Ligue Un