The Game Is About Glory Podcast

[Surfless]

Thank You Ange
Season 5 Episode 56
Steff, Milo and Ram discuss Ange's sacking and reflect on what Ange brought to the club.

The Game Is About Glory

A Tottenham Hotspur podcast

thegameisaboutglory.co.uk

View attachment 19857

Great listen gents. Sad times that we have to say goodbye to such an impactful manager.

 

[indospurs]

I am listening to (another) emergency pod, again before it is posted here (lol - i am ahead of you world time wise), and i pretty much agree with the points raised and discussed, TF will need time to accommodate/get used to juggling domestic and European (UCL) fixtures

We all know we need to build the squad to 'compete on all fronts' so this summer's activities will be very interesting - Cuti's tweet after club's TF announcement could prove telling but who can pay that amount of money? I really doubt we will get top, top players because DL won't shift the wage structure much, i foresee one or two players around 60 million pound mark.

I am excited to see how TF will develop the youngsters, and those on the fringes.

 

[thfcsteff]

I am listening to (another) emergency pod, again before it is posted here (lol - i am ahead of you world time wise), and i pretty much agree with the points raised and discussed, TF will need time to accommodate/get used to juggling domestic and European (UCL) fixtures

We all know we need to build the squad to 'compete on all fronts' so this summer's activities will be very interesting - Cuti's tweet after club's TF announcement could prove telling but who can pay that amount of money? I really doubt we will get top, top players because DL won't shift the wage structure much, i foresee one or two players around 60 million pound mark.

I am excited to see how TF will develop the youngsters, and those on the fringes.

Thanks for listening so quickly, yes I agree with you!

 

[milo]

Thomas Frank
Season 5 Episode 57
Steff, Gareth and Milo get together to discuss the appointment of Thomas Frank as Spurs manager.

The Game Is About Glory

A Tottenham Hotspur podcast

thegameisaboutglory.co.uk

 

[Bullet]

Thanks guys for the latest pod and all the other pods. It always amazes me when you say it is season 5 or 73 or whatever, I always think it has just started.

In general I think the pod is absolutely great; if I can make one suggestion/plea for season 74, please try not to interrupt one another i.e. someone will start to make a point and another leaps in saying yeah no but and umm and derails the original point which must be quite demoralising, especially for those not on every week like Gareth, Ram, Ricky etc. Even without pause or hesitation someone will leap in and trample the original sentence. We are not animals, let a man breathe and make his point.

PS. Now that Paratici is back, please remember his name is Pa-RA-tici not Parra-TEEEchi.

But um... that sounds really critical but what the heck, I really like the pod and appreciate you guys doing it. Meant in the best of spirits.

 

[thfcsteff]

Thanks guys for the latest pod and all the other pods. It always amazes me when you say it is season 5 or 73 or whatever, I always think it has just started.

In general I think the pod is absolutely great; if I can make one suggestion/plea for season 74, please try not to interrupt one another i.e. someone will start to make a point and another leaps in saying yeah no but and umm and derails the original point which must be quite demoralising, especially for those not on every week like Gareth, Ram, Ricky etc. Even without pause or hesitation someone will leap in and trample the original sentence. We are not animals, let a man breathe and make his point.

PS. Now that Paratici is back, please remember his name is Pa-RA-tici not Parra-TEEEchi.

But um... that sounds really critical but what the heck, I really like the pod and appreciate you guys doing it. Meant in the best of spirits.

As one of our mosty loyal listeners, every compliment and observation is keenly accepted, so thank you again and yes, I know what you mean...season 5 episode whatever certainly hammers home how many of these we've done.

On the point of interruption, absolutely, we can always do better in that regard, and we work very hard to try and give space to start with. However there is a genuine latency in riverside/zoom recordings which means we don't always see someone gesturing or raising their hand, etc. Our one regret is we cannot do it in person. I know from experience that pods done in person allow these personal dynamics to flow even more easily, and further, allow the dynamic of conversation to take root.

Again, as always, thank you for both your ears and your observations!

 

[Bullet]

Thanks and that's a great point about the 'satellite delay' Steff.
I hear other podcasters saying there is software that can take out pauses of over a second (or whatever) so I guess one could allow more space for someone to articulate their point fully and then use software to take out any pregnant pauses. But I'm no expert.
Overall it is very good, I think it is just my very Englishness coming out, wherein I personally find being interrupted jarring.

 

[thfcsteff]

Thanks and that's a great point about the 'satellite delay' Steff.
I hear other podcasters saying there is software that can take out pauses of over a second (or whatever) so I guess one could allow more space for someone to articulate their point fully and then use software to take out any pregnant pauses. But I'm no expert.
Overall it is very good, I think it is just my very Englishness coming out, wherein I personally find being interrupted jarring.

Hahaha, indeed, in fairness I think Milo definitely works in your lane and does the work to try and eliminate those gaps/keep interruptions. I am the other end of the 'English' spectrum in so much as my finger remains in the air much of the time LOL...

 

[milo]

I've written a blog post on how the various rules on squad composition might impact our summer, if anyone is interested

Tottenham’s Summer Transfer Window: Decoding the Squad Rule Challenge

The summer transfer window is open, and for Tottenham Hotspur, it’s not just about finding the best talent; it’s a complex balancing act dictated by strict squad regulations in both the…

thegameisaboutglory.co.uk

 

[Muttley]

I've written a blog post on how the various rules on squad composition might impact our summer, if anyone is interested

Tottenham’s Summer Transfer Window: Decoding the Squad Rule Challenge

The summer transfer window is open, and for Tottenham Hotspur, it’s not just about finding the best talent; it’s a complex balancing act dictated by strict squad regulations in both the…

thegameisaboutglory.co.uk

Love it. You've definitely put all the right pieces together. I'm still pondering a couple of your UEFA squad column choices though

Matthew Craig is 22 to start with. He can't go on the B-list any longer and is club trained. Dane Scarlett is now 21 and I'm not sure whether he becomes club trained rather than List B. Vuskovic is missing but would take the same status as Bergvall as he hasn't completed 2 years registration. That loads onto the issue we already have.

Not sure whether you saw the conversation a few weeks back. I had made the assumption that Phillips, having completed 2 years registration with the club, could be a useful UEFA squad B-list member. Another poster read the same UEFA wording and was thinking that the 18 months of loans might preclude him from that and just make him another association trained like Gray. I'm hoping he's list B though. Worth a check.
(https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regula...League-2025/26/Article-31-Player-lists-Online)
Be interesting to hear your take on it.

If I'm thinking this through correctly then we will have a non-HG issue in UEFA as you say, but we could have access to Donley, Devine, Phillips, Scarlett, Moore in UEFA B list. That adds a chunk of depth. That could change how we think about who does and who doesn't head out on loan at least until the Jan window.

As you say though, it will be complex to navigate this transfer window because of where we find ourselves with the permutations and combinations of players.

 

[tw12yid]

I've written a blog post on how the various rules on squad composition might impact our summer, if anyone is interested

Tottenham’s Summer Transfer Window: Decoding the Squad Rule Challenge

The summer transfer window is open, and for Tottenham Hotspur, it’s not just about finding the best talent; it’s a complex balancing act dictated by strict squad regulations in both the…

thegameisaboutglory.co.uk

Decent piece, the too many on the non home grown list is why I think Dragusin might depart on loan. Especially if we still highly rate Luke Vuskovic, although causes same issue. Got too many CBs. Can Vuskovic play as the left CB cover?

 

[milo]

Love it. You've definitely put all the right pieces together. I'm still pondering a couple of your UEFA squad column choices though

Matthew Craig is 22 to start with. He can't go on the B-list any longer and is club trained. Dane Scarlett is now 21 and I'm not sure whether he becomes club trained rather than List B. Vuskovic is missing but would take the same status as Bergvall as he hasn't completed 2 years registration. That loads onto the issue we already have.

Not sure whether you saw the conversation a few weeks back. I had made the assumption that Phillips, having completed 2 years registration with the club, could be a useful UEFA squad B-list member. Another poster read the same UEFA wording and was thinking that the 18 months of loans might preclude him from that and just make him another association trained like Gray. I'm hoping he's list B though. Worth a check.
(https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regula...League-2025/26/Article-31-Player-lists-Online)
Be interesting to hear your take on it.

If I'm thinking this through correctly then we will have a non-HG issue in UEFA as you say, but we could have access to Donley, Devine, Phillips, Scarlett, Moore in UEFA B list. That adds a chunk of depth. That could change how we think about who does and who doesn't head out on loan at least until the Jan window.

As you say though, it will be complex to navigate this transfer window because of where we find ourselves with the permutations and combinations of players.

You're right on Craig, good spot. I think that he'll be sold this summer.

I assume that Vuskovic won't be registered for Europe unless he absolutely blows everyone away in pre-season.

Phillips doesn't qualify for the B List because he has been on loan for over a year. I had thought the same as you before seeing that.

The B list definitely makes up for the lack of club trained players but it will be difficult to balance depth in the European squad with player development, because I don't think that they'd get many minutes if they stayed.

 

[milo]

You're right on Craig, good spot. I think that he'll be sold this summer.

I assume that Vuskovic won't be registered for Europe unless he absolutely blows everyone away in pre-season.

Phillips doesn't qualify for the B List because he has been on loan for over a year. I had thought the same as you before seeing that.

The B list definitely makes up for the lack of club trained players but it will be difficult to balance depth in the European squad with player development, because I don't think that they'd get many minutes if they stayed.

I'm messing around with this visual to show when players qualify for the B List and count as homegrown (I haven't broken this down into club and association trained but might do in later versions).

 

[milo]

Decent piece, the too many on the non home grown list is why I think Dragusin might depart on loan. Especially if we still highly rate Luke Vuskovic, although causes same issue. Got too many CBs. Can Vuskovic play as the left CB cover?

Vuskovic can play left or right CB and has played centrally in a back three. The question is whether he is ready. My assumption is that he'll go out on loan again but that might not be until January

 

[Muttley]

You're right on Craig, good spot. I think that he'll be sold this summer.

I assume that Vuskovic won't be registered for Europe unless he absolutely blows everyone away in pre-season.

Phillips doesn't qualify for the B List because he has been on loan for over a year. I had thought the same as you before seeing that.

The B list definitely makes up for the lack of club trained players but it will be difficult to balance depth in the European squad with player development, because I don't think that they'd get many minutes if they stayed.

Yeah, agree on Craig probably leaving. Have a feeling 2 or 3 other younger players might leave permanently as well. There will be a few that Andy Scoulding working back with the Lange and other members of our team may have already identified as not going to hit the levels. Then there will be the ones whose ambition exceeds Spurs ability to bring them into the first team setup.

It's Murphy's Law I guess. If we keep a massively stacked squad including these kids we won't get injuries. If we send a load of them out on development loans, we'll leave ourselves stretched. Finding that balance is important until we populate the club trained quota.

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

Decent piece, the too many on the non home grown list is why I think Dragusin might depart on loan. Especially if we still highly rate Luke Vuskovic, although causes same issue. Got too many CBs. Can Vuskovic play as the left CB cover?

I think it depends on Radus recovery schedule from his ACL.
1. He might not be recovered to loan out at the start of the season.
2. If he looks like recovering and being available October/November then we can leave him out of the UEFA list but include him in the PL list as we have space.

Then re-assess in Jan.

 

[Raziel]

I've written a blog post on how the various rules on squad composition might impact our summer, if anyone is interested

Tottenham’s Summer Transfer Window: Decoding the Squad Rule Challenge

The summer transfer window is open, and for Tottenham Hotspur, it’s not just about finding the best talent; it’s a complex balancing act dictated by strict squad regulations in both the…

thegameisaboutglory.co.uk

So great work, kudos and thanks for doing the grind, a couple of comments

- Maybe just me, but I think peak for footballers is from 27 (25 is still learning for sure), continues to highlight experience balance issues in squad
- If you were really bored, you could do PL season experience per player as other option
- Would be good to see a simulated view, e.g. Son, Richi, Bissouma, Romero are all possible outs, if we assume 2 out, how does it adjust? (yeah, lazy people could do it, but might show how close for Europe our issue is)

 

[milo]

Squad Review
Season 5 Episode 58
Milo, Gareth and Ram review the squad and decides who stays, who goes, who's available at the right price and who gets loaned to Westerlo. We also discuss the weeks news including the interviews with Thomas Frank, Vinai Venkatesham and Daniel Levy and the signing of Mathys Tel

The Game Is About Glory

A Tottenham Hotspur podcast

thegameisaboutglory.co.uk