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James Maddison on IG this morning 🩵🙌
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@r_Tottenham
Do we have any style of play at all?
I don't see any style of play whatsoever and its very worrying. Yes we're 2-1 up and we've had good spells in the game but I'm not seeing anything special. We've had enough games to have some sort of identity but I can't see anything. To me, it looks like we're just individuals playing together. No link up passes or any neat little things like that. No one knows how each other plays, they keep making the wrong decision and its very frustrating.
Its been like this for a few years now and I just dont get it. I'd love to know other people's opinions on it
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recovery plans and smaller groups assigned to a physiotherapist.⁴,⁵
Those plans matter only if coaches use them. If a test shows a player is not ready for hard sprints, his next session can change.
# 4. Changing Staff Can Break Continuity
Tottenham had four head coaches in roughly one year: Ange Postecoglou, Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and De Zerbi. Sky Sports reported that their methods placed different demands on the squad.⁴
But changing a manager is not proof of injury risk. A 2023 study tracked 14 European clubs over three seasons. It found a higher hamstring injury burden when clubs changed their fitness coach or team doctor. A change of head coach alone did not show a clear statistical link.¹¹
That makes the distinction important. The study does not tell us what caused Tottenham's injuries. It does suggest why a stable medical and fitness approach may help when the manager changes.
Spurs can set that approach now. They still have to keep it working through a season of training, travel and matches.
# 5. The Pitch Is Still an Open Question
Tottenham also tested whether its retractable home pitch played a part. Early comparisons found no major difference from other surfaces, BBC Sport reported. Sky Sports called the results inconclusive, with more tests planned.⁴,⁵
The pitch has not been proved to cause the injuries. It has not been fully ruled out either.
Some injuries follow contact or an awkward landing. BBC Sport reported that Odobert tore his ACL after an awkward landing.⁵ Maddison warned against blaming every injury on the medical staff or the pitch.⁴
That uncertainty matters. Spurs cannot remove a proven single cause when none has been found.
# The Real Test Comes After the Changes
Tottenham wants to raise player availability from about 77% toward 90%. The club knew this would be hard to achieve quickly, BBC Sport reported.⁵
Staff can check some results now. Does every player have a recovery plan? Do coaches and medical staff agree on it? Do fitness tests change what happens in training?
That last point reflects one idea in my upcoming book, Unified Marginal Gains Reference: How Small Wins Compound Into Elite Athletic Performance, now available for preorder. Tracking progress matters only when the results guide decisions.¹²
The larger test takes longer. Spurs can track missed days, repeat injuries and match availability using the same measures each season. One healthy month would not prove much. A better season would be progress. Keeping those gains would provide stronger evidence.
This does not mean every change needs years to help. It means long recoveries, past injury risks and new ways of working may take time to overcome. Proving that the gains last takes longer still.
Kulusevski's return is good news. Ending Tottenham's injury crisis means more players staying fit after they return.
# References
1. Tottenham Hotspur. "Team news | Dejan Kulusevski back on the bench against Sky Blues." October 18, 2026.
https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/1178751/team-news-dejan-kulusevski-back-on-the-bench-against-sky-blues
2. BBC Sport. "How did Tottenham's injuries rank?" May 24, 2024.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cv229rn9z5eo
3. Keble, Alex. "A rollercoaster two years: The story of Postecoglou's time at Spurs." Premier League. June 8, 2025.
https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4323567
4. Bridge, Michael, and Declan Olley. "Spurs conduct major review into injury crisis with stadium's retractable pitch one area investigated." Sky Sports. May 27, 2026.
Post match discussion/thoughts
\-3atb does not work with that midfield, the amount of times the midfield was empty after we won a header was poor. On top of that it forced Van Hecke to basically be a makeshift RB and he looked knackered by the 60th min.
\-Marmoush despite the goal has been a very poor signing, terrible first half
\-Kudus is easily the most frustrating player in our team, he’s legitimately two things away from being arguably the best winger in the league.
\-We need to play our ball players, it elevates our team too much to ignore. Van Hecke, Tonali, Fernandes, Maddison, Porro etc
\-This was the worst performance we’ve had all season bar Brentford imo. Some things were very good, but overall very poor. Basically got bailed out by two stunning strikes.
\-Archie can’t play in midfield right now and I have zero idea what type of midfielder he sees himself as, I personally don’t think he had a high ceiling at all.
Despite the critiques I’m very happy with the result, felt extremely feel good, hopefully it’s a turning point.
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kulusevski finally 😭
we missed you brodie🥲🥲🥲
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@r_Tottenham
That's one way to announce yourself in a Spurs shirt
Marmoush really picked the perfect moment to get his first Spurs goal. Coventry had just pulled one back and we needed someone to step up, and he delivered almost straight away. You could see how much it meant to him when he celebrated. That's a pretty good way to introduce yourself to the fans! Now let's hope he can build on this and give us plenty more moments like that.
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Ben Davies showing up in the 96th minute was not on my bingo card 😂
Ben Davies scoring in the 96th minute was definitely not on my bingo card. What a way to wrap up the game and make sure Coventry had no chance of a late comeback. Love seeing Gentle Ben get his moment after everything he's done for this club. And the best part? We've gone from 20th to 16th in the table in a single match! What a difference three points can make. Hopefully, we can build on this now and finally get some momentum going. I am feeling very positive about the upcoming games now!!
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Solanke Watch
I just watched him closely that half. Every time a winger was in position about to cross, or a midfielder was in a position to play him in he chose to be positioned next to defenders.
He almost never makes the right run and is almost never in a good scoring position.
I've watched Spurs for over 30 years and I'm saying Solanke is in the bottom 5-10 of regular starting strikers I've seen.
Wingers are about to cross and he chooses to stay in the pack of defenders, he doesn't run to the back post for a header ever. He usually makes no effort at all to find space. He's the exact opposite of Kane, who would make the right run all the time and constantly be finding where the space is.
Impossible to create a good chance or score if your striker just stands still next to the defenders all game.
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Is RDZ just managing the squad or is this another red flag?
I’m confused at this line up, he’s managing the squad like we have europe to worry about
We have zero wins and are at the bottom of the table…surely put your best starting 11 out and go for a good solid win?
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@r_Tottenham
Strategies for today.
Regardless of whoever's starting and whatever is our strategy, the below things should be non-negotiable as those are very obvious:
1) Gallagher should be there for the whole match, whenever Maddison comes on the pitch - Gallagher should be pushed to the pivot with tonali.
2) Tonali should also get a full 90.
3) We should experiment with VDV - Senesi - JPVH - Gray backline, senesi's pass statistics into the final 3rd are too impressive.
4) We should definitely change our gameplan/bring in subs at half time. We have always always staled and conceded in the middle of the game. If Udogie comes in and Senesi goes out. Or Maddison comes in, or the striker is replaced. Some fresh changes at the 45-55 min mark are essential.
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Last minute ticket exchange
Hi all - thinking about coming to the game tonight on the spur of the moment.
Has anyone got experience of buying on ticket exchange on the day of the game - any issues with the ticket pushing through to your membership if you buy a few hours before? We will be getting there pretty close to kickoff so not a huge amount of time to head to the ticket office etc if it doesn't work.
Thanks in advance.
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Xavi back in solo training, it seems!
https://youtube.com/shorts/oT4THcGxh8Y?is=8M1UxWtsR129oOAU
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COYS!
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@r_Tottenham
Recommendations for match day pubs
We’re a group of 10 neutral fans coming over from Copenhagen to watch Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace next week, and we’re looking for some advice on a good pub for the pre-match experience.
We’re planning to get to a pub around 1 pm, but we’re struggling to find somewhere that allows table reservations. Since about half of our group are over 60, having somewhere to sit down would be a big plus!
Does anyone have any recommendations for pubs near the stadium where we could book a table, or where we’d have a realistic chance of finding somewhere to sit as a group of 10?
Any tips would be appreciated. Cheers, lads!
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@r_Tottenham
Does it seem like our recent managers were actually holding back their previous clubs rather than improving them?
Brentford were firmly a lower middle table club until Frank came to spurs, then immrlediatly had their best premier league finish.
Juventus improved after Tudor left, and just look at Brighton these days; 2nd after putting 5 past palace today.
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@r_Tottenham
Media agenda
Did anyone notice how annoying that commentator was on sky sports last night? It was relentless - every couple of minutes was a dig at spurs.
He mentioned we haven’t won a game in 150 days (whatever it actually is). It’s been 6 games… with a massive team overhaul.
When Solanke scored he said “the fans don’t get to celebrate often, so they might as well celebrate that one”
Just constantly hounding at us. I bet there was at least 30 swipes. It’s obviously not him personally, he’s told what to say. But the media are relentlessly on us
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@r_Tottenham
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13547360/spurs-conduct-major-review-into-injury-crisis-with-stadiums-retractable-pitch-one-area-investigated
5. Mokbel, Sami. "Spurs launch review after season of injury woe." BBC Sport. May 26, 2026.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cz0225ly855o
6. Tottenham Hotspur. "Team news | Latest on Romero and van de Ven." December 18, 2024.
https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/1000651/team-news-latest-on-romero-and-van-de-ven
7. Mokbel, Sami. "'Blame game' over club's injury record." BBC Sport. June 7, 2025.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cr58jl8jmeeo
8. Green, Brady, et al. "Recalibrating the risk of hamstring strain injury (HSI): A 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis of risk factors for index and recurrent hamstring strain injury in sport." British Journal of Sports Medicine 54, no. 18 (2020): 1081–1088.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100983
9. Grindem, Hege, et al. "Simple decision rules can reduce reinjury risk by 84% after ACL reconstruction: the Delaware-Oslo ACL cohort study." British Journal of Sports Medicine 50, no. 13 (2016): 804–808.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096031
10. Ekstrand, Jan, et al. "Higher level of communication between the medical staff and the performance staff is associated with a lower hamstring injury burden: a substudy on 14 teams from the UEFA Elite Club Injury Study." BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 11, no. 1 (2025): e002182.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2024-002182
11. Ekstrand, Jan, Wart Van Zoest, and Håkan Gauffin. "Changes in head staff members in male elite-level football teams are associated with increased hamstring injury burden for that season: the UEFA Elite Club Injury Study." BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 9, no. 4 (2023): e001640.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001640
12. Carvalho, Waydell D. Unified Marginal Gains Reference: How Small Wins Compound Into Elite Athletic Performance. Forthcoming. Available for preorder.
Disclosure: Artificial intelligence tools were used during the writing and editing process, including with writing prose, structure, and formatting. All ideas, arguments, models, and conclusions are the author's own.
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@r_Tottenham
Why Tottenham's Injury Crisis Could Take Years to Fix
Thank you all for the feedback. It helped me to get two articles published in a small outlet. Your feedback on the ideas are welcome on this one too.
# Why Tottenham's Injury Crisis Could Take Years to Fix
Kulusevski is returning after a long absence. The science behind Spurs' injury record shows why one comeback cannot settle a problem built over several seasons.
By Waydell D. Carvalho
On October 18, Roberto De Zerbi confirmed Dejan Kulusevski was set for Tottenham's bench against Coventry City. His return followed medical clearance after more than 500 days out with a knee injury.¹
For Kulusevski, that is a major step. For Spurs, it raises a harder question. Why has the club struggled to keep players fit for so long?
In 2023-24, Tottenham recorded 37 injuries across 22 players, with 1,402 days lost.² In 2024-25, the club had 41 injuries and lost 1,553 days. Only Brighton recorded more injuries that season, while Ipswich matched Spurs' total.³
The problem continued in 2025-26. Sky Sports counted 370 missed player appearances through injury across all competitions.⁴ BBC Sport reported more than 2,000 days lost and average player availability of about 77%.⁵
These sources count injuries in different ways. Their figures cannot show an exact yearly trend. But they establish a problem that has lasted through several managers.
Five findings help explain why a lasting fix may take time. None proves a single cause at Tottenham.
# 1. An Old Injury Can Raise the Next Risk
Micky van de Ven returned against Chelsea in December 2024 after six weeks out with a hamstring injury. He left the match in the second half. Tottenham later confirmed another setback.⁶
Richarlison also faced repeated problems in 2024-25. He came back from hamstring and groin injuries, then hurt his calf against Liverpool in February.⁷ Neither case proves that Spurs rushed a player back.
The wider science helps explain why injury history matters. A 2020 review combined data from 71,324 athletes across several sports. Those with a past hamstring strain faced about 2.7 times the risk of another hamstring injury. The review also found links between past ACL or calf injuries and later hamstring strains.⁸
Those are group findings, not forecasts for Spurs players. But a new season does not reset a player's medical history. Staff can plan for risks that remain after a return.
# 2. Serious Knee Injuries Create a Backlog
Tottenham has also faced an unusual run of major knee injuries. James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons suffered tears to the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL. It helps hold the knee steady. Kulusevski's injury was a different knee problem.⁵
These injuries can take months to recover from. Returning to training does not mean a player is ready for a full match.
A study of 106 people after ACL surgery followed their return to sports that involve sharp turns. Full follow-up data were available for 100. Later returns, up to nine months after surgery, and stronger, more even thigh muscles were linked to fewer new knee injuries.⁹
That study cannot set a date for any Spurs player. It shows why staff have to judge strength and progress, not just days since surgery. Even a better recovery plan cannot give back months already lost.
# 3. Medical and Coaching Staff Need One Plan
In June 2025, BBC Sport reported friction between Tottenham's coaches and medical and fitness teams.⁷ A year later, Sky Sports reported concerns about weak communication and too few shared decisions. Sources believed those gaps had helped cause injuries and repeat injuries. That claim has not been proved for any single player.⁴
Research offers a reason to examine those concerns. A 2025 study of 14 European clubs found that better communication between medical and performance staff was linked to fewer days lost to hamstring injuries. The study found a link, not proof that communication alone prevents injury.¹⁰
Tottenham's review proposed a more personal approach. That includes player profiles, shared
Of course it was Maddison who scored against Coventry 😂
Of course it had to be Madders. The storyline practically writes itself, scoring against the club where it all started. Bet Coventry fans had mixed feelings seeing that one go in! Fair play to him though, a goal is a goal, and we'll take it all day in a Spurs shirt. Wonder if he was tempted to pull out the darts celebration or thought better of it given the occasion.
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The season starts now!
We can still, mathematically win the premier league!
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Great to see Madders "dart" goal celebration again!
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The Goat.
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GOLAZO!!! James Maddison
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Last minute ticket if anyone is selling?
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Tactics against coventry. Thoughts?
Phase 1 (0'–45'):
The starting lineup places Solanke at striker with Marmoush, Maddison, and Kudus behind him, supported by Tonali and Gallagher in the midfield pivot. Van de Ven plays at left-back alongside Senesi, Van Hecke, and Gray in the defense.
Phase 2 (45'–75'):
Tel enters at striker for Solanke, Fernandes enters midfield for Maddison to push Gallagher to the ten, and Udogie replaces Senesi to shift Van de Ven to center-back. Marmoush, Kudus, and Tonali retain their positions across the midfield and wings.
Phase 3 (75'–90'+):
Williams-Barnett enters at striker in place of Tel, while Robertson replaces Marmoush on the left wing. Gallagher stays at the ten, Kulusevski on the right wing, and the defensive structure stays unchanged.
PS. I know Andy as LW is a very odd choice, but it's only for 20-25 minutes, only to include some fierceness in attack since kulusevski just came out from an injury and LWB isn't physically the strongest attacker.
And Tel played really well in U21 internationals, it'd be great if he develops confidence to continue the same momentum here. He always has a very bad decision making while dribbling in the final 3rd, maybe he's a better finisher.
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Guys please do something tonight. We are at the bottom.
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I think this is how our attack and midfield needs to be
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When you tilt it to the right, this cat looks like the Tottenham logo.
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@r_Tottenham
I'm feeling optimistic.
Hear me out guys, but for last few seasons, we had decent starts at the start of league, the only problem is consistency and somehow we lose our way towards the middle of the season, but this season it's different.
Like, I can feel it, our bad phase is happening at the start of the season, no goals, poor final third quality, injuries and our play just not clicking, but all these things usually happen to us mid way during the season but we are having it right now.
Everything will click soon, I am really hoping we don't sack De Zerbi, but I am feeling very optimistic that the only way is up from where we are right now, and we will only improve as season goes on, and the start we have right now will not happen to us as we will progress and we will just keep on improving. COYS 🤍
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Man City will be undefeated in the PL until they face Spurs🥶
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