Good morning, dear hoddlers. We’ve been waiting for this all week: the final weekend of the Premier League season. It’s also EFL Championship Playoff Final weekend. There’s so much to do, so much to talk about. So today we’re doing a BOGO hoddle – Let’s dive in
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Hoddle of Coffee, Part 1: The EFL Championship Playoff Final
I find it hard to believe there is an avenue in which this game doesn’t get played. Not with the amount of advertising revenue the game will generate.
But that’s what Hull are hoping
for. Hull City’s owner said the club is exploring its legal options for automatic promotion to the Premier League after Southampton were expelled from the playoff final for spying on Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and Oxford United
So now it’s Hull City versus Boro in the final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. I don’t know what to make of it all, but there probably is going to be a football match.
It’s an odd situation where the biggest storyline isn’t about the players or the money (it’s the richest game in football, haven’t you heard?), but litigation and potentially more penalties for a club that has already been expelled from the final and is due to face a points deduction next season.
On the football side, what I do know is the clubs split the season 1-1, with their last game coming in December. That’s way too much time to think about form or anything else.
I do like Hull’s two attackers in Oli McBurnie and Joel Gelhardt, so they have a little more firepower.
But Boro are also playing with house money, and one wonders how much freedom they’ll be playing with.
Fitzie’s track of the day, part one: The Funeral, by Band of Horses
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Hoddle of Coffee, Part 2: Matchday 38
With the undercard out of the way, all of my attention will be turned towards Sunday, where Tottenham Hotspur play for their survival in the Premier League.
While Saturday’s match is the most expensive game in club football (haven’t you heard?), Sunday’s fixture carries its own significant financial repercussions that border on existential.
I am already a huge bag of nerves, so maybe Saturday’s game will help distract me.
Either way, this is huge. A point is all Spurs need for survival. I think they showed a lot of fight against Chelsea earlier in the week and, while that game didn’t seal survival, I left feeling confident in their style of play. It actually looked like Tottenham are showing up.
At the risk of using a cliche, Sunday feels like a cup final. And cup finals are one-offs. Form doesn’t matter (home form sure as heck doesn’t matter). Monday’s game doesn’t matter. All that matter is showing up on Sunday and battering the living heck out of Everton to secure survival.
I hope the boys are up for it.
Fitzie’s track of the day, part two: The Final Countdown, by Europe
And now for your links:
Sky Sports: “How Spurs’ hierarchy are trying to transform club regardless of Premier League status”
Jack P-B ($$): “A year on from making history in Bilbao, Tottenham face a game of greater consequence”
Alasdair Gold: “The nine different final day scenarios for Tottenham and Roberto De Zerbi”
BBC: “How Palmer and Foden lost ruthless Tuchel’s battle for number 10 roles”
The Guardian: “Spygate commission accuses Southampton of ‘determined plan from the top down’”
