The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham News and Links for Monday, August 7

good morning ! Fitzie’s trying out a new ‘feature’ for this hoddle on some EFL Champ bites (if he’s following for the weekend). Do you like the new feature? Do you hate it? Give a shout either way! It may or may not stick! And hey - what happened to Mingus Mondays ???

The first weekend of the EFL Championship proved to be an exciting one, with so many clubs expected to compete for promotion this year up against one another. And we even had an M69 Derby (yes - that is real!).

Here’s some quick hits:

Plymouth and Ipswich Town return in style

Two of the three promoted League One clubs both notched wins - and both looked very impressive. First was Plymouth with a 3-1 win against Huddersfield. Most impressive was Bali Mumba’s goal, which I unfortunately can’t find on YouTube.

Ipswich Town also looked really sharp at the Stadium of Light, where Sunderland’s home troubles continued. The Black Cats outplayed the Tractor Boys in the first 15 minutes, but George Hirst’s goal in the 53rd minute proved to be the deciding one. Keep an eye on Ipswich! Lots for Sunderland to be excited about also.

An abysmal QPR

Queens Park Rangers were down 0-4 against Watford at half. If there’s one club destined for relegation, it’s this one. And it’s only a matter of time until Gareth Ainsworth gets the sack. I know - we’re only Matchday 1! It’s horrendous to see how mismanaged the club’s become.

Leicester triumph in M69 Derby

This was the first time Leicester City and Coventry played in some years, and Leicester got the better of it. Defensively they were shaky, but individual talent saw them secure all three points to start their promotion campaign.

Eli Simms, brought in to replace Viktor Gyokeres, didn’t look great for Coventry.

Leeds struggle against Cardiff

The other relegated club - Leeds - had a hard outing to get a 2-2 draw. And honestly, that’s a harsh scoreline on Cardiff City. Leeds were pretty horrible defending and Luke Ayling looked lost out there on the pitch. This is a big result for Cardiff, though. Every point will count later on.

Impressive win for Millwall

What’s not to love about a 1-0 away from home against a fellow promotion contender? Millwall did just that agaisnt Middlesbrough with Romain Esse’s goal late on.

A strange one for Southampton

On one hand, Southampton looked deadly. They even had a record amount of passes in the first half and finished the game with 987 (!!!) against Sheffield Wednseday. But they weren’t so lethal in front of goal. How that’ll translate against stronger competition remains to be seen.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Tequila, by Los Bitchos

And now for your links:

Dan KP: Tottenham frailties expose need for Mickey van de Ven

USWNT’s Megan Rapinoe suffers cruel ending to World Cup career

All but two matches exceed 100 minutes total time in English Football League