Hoddler-in-chief’s note: Your hoddler-in-chief will be unable to hoddle from Wednesday through Friday this week. But fear not, for there will be a subsitute hoddler-in-chief to carry on the hoddles until my return.
Please be on your best behaviour for your susbstitute hoddler-in-chief.
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Welcome to another edition of Trending Up / Trending Down, where we at Hoddle Headquarters take a look at what around Tottenham Hotspur is trending up, and what is trending down.
It’s been a good month or so since the last edition, so now’s the perfect time to check back in on all things trending THFC.
Trending Up
- Ben Davies appearances: That’s two off-the-bench appearances in two games for Ben Davies, and he performed admirably in both. First against City, and then a fine display against Aston Villa on Sunday.
And it was Davies’ crucial interception in the second half to set up Dominc Solanke for his brace.
You’ll never see your hoddler-in-chief complaining about seeing Ben Davies on the pitch. Thrilled we got to see him in consecutive games.
The Professional Footballers’ Association also announced yesterday that Davies was elected to the PFA Players’ Board. Nice!
- Dejan Kulusevski: I feel like there are two players who are making huge leaps this season. The first is Dejan Kulusevski. I only have the most basic stats to share with you: two goals and five assists across all competitions this year. I’m really liking what I’m seeing from him aside from that though.
Took me a while to appreciate what he brings to the squad. I used to think he’s a bit predictable in the cutting in with his left foot, but his game seems much more varied this year (although he’s still very good also at the left-footed thing).
- Pape Matar Sarr: The other player making a big leap this season – Pape Matar Sarr.
The stats don’t seem to do him that much justice. I find him such a creative, forward-thinking player who is very gifted at finding progressive passes to link the midfield and forwards. He was my Man of the Match on Sunday.
Trending Down
- Available players: Micky Van de Ven earlier this week. Cristian Romero and Richarlison on Sunday. We’re still waiting for Wilson Odobert to get back to full fitness also. The VDV-Romero double is a huge blow.
Of course we don’t want to see our staring CB pairing out, especially with matches coming in waves during a very difficult month.
- Consistent Premier League results: It’s been a good amount of time since we last had our Trending Up/ Trending Down installment. It was September 24 back then, and Spurs had just beaten Brentford 3-1.
Since then it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster in the Premier League. A 3-0 win at United, a 2-3 loss at Brighton, a 4-1 win against West Ham, a 0-1 loss at Palance and a 4-1 win against Villa.
That’s W-L-W-L-W.
Tough to generate upwards momentum in the table like that. Those two losses are so infuriating too. But hey, we’re scoring bags of goals when we win. Just gotta score more of them away.
Fitzie’s Track of the Day: Elected, by Alice Cooper
And now for your links:
Dan KP: Pedro Porro donating wages to aid search for Valencia flood survivors
Alasdair Gold’s talking points from Tottenham’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa
Jose Mourinho pans refereeing after Fenerbahce score dramatic late-game winner
Long read: The Guardian’s sports writers and art critics swap jobs
