A supporter seen from behind pads a stadium railing with an oversized cushion while distant players celebrate on the pitch at night.

Match ReportThe High Road Herald

Lampard Expected VAR To Cancel Marmoush Goal, So Supporter Pads Railings At Elbow Height

Desmond Parry · Chief Football Correspondent20 October · Reading time: one pint

Frank Lampard said he expected VAR to disallow Omar Marmoush's second goal in Tottenham's 3-1 win over Coventry on Monday, and the supporter in question has since measured the forecourt twice.

A Tottenham season ticket holder spent Tuesday morning outside the stadium fitting foam lagging to the perimeter railings, after Coventry manager Frank Lampard said he expected VAR to disallow Omar Marmoush's goal in Monday's 3-1 win.

The goal, a curled finish from outside the box after Marmoush rolled Coventry defender Milan van Ewijk, was Marmoush's first for the club. Replays showed his elbow made contact with Van Ewijk's face before he shot.

Lampard told reporters, as relayed by The Standard, that he felt the elbow was too high and thought VAR would cancel it. He also listed a corner and a foul on Brandon Thomas-Asante among the smaller matters that, in his view, added up.

The supporter, who attended the match and was present for the goal, did not at the time record any concern about elbows. The Herald understands that this changed on Tuesday at approximately 7:40am, during toast.

If somebody's elbow is that high, it's that high. I'm not saying it's a problem. I'm saying it's at exactly the height of the railings.

He has since wrapped eleven metres of lagging around the rails nearest the main entrance, working from the south side, and has marked the remainder with a piece of chalk. A second piece of chalk is, he says, in reserve.

Passing stewards confirmed the stadium is closed until the next fixture and that nobody has rolled anyone on the forecourt since the summer. The supporter said he is aware of this, and that it is precisely why he is getting ahead of it.

He is expected to return after lunch with a stepladder, for the lamp posts.

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Six tiny footballers in white shirts crowd around a giant calf muscle on a night-time pitch, inspecting it with a magnifying glass.

Injury LatestThe High Road Herald

Six Spurs Injuries Since Old Trafford Convene Group Chat, Which Examines Calves From The Front Seat

Clive Ottaway · Injury Correspondent20 October · Reading time: one pint

Spurs Web reports six new injury concerns for Tottenham since the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, with De Zerbi saying Adarabioyo, Marmoush and Robertson are not serious, and the group chat has met upstairs on the 253 to consider them.

A group chat of five Tottenham supporters convened a formal sitting on the top deck of a London bus on Tuesday morning to consider the club's injury list, which Spurs Web describes as having grown by six players in ten days.

The chair, who occupied the front seat on the grounds that he had arrived first, opened proceedings by reading the concerns aloud: Savio, Bergvall, Udogie, Robertson, Adarabioyo and Marmoush.

The panel noted that Roberto De Zerbi has suggested the last three are not serious, and resolved, by three votes to two, to treat this as the opening position of a longer story.

A knock is never a knock. Look at Kulusevski. I've got the number of days written down.

The chair then held up a thumb and pressed it against the window in a manner he described as clinical, and the panel recorded that Marmoush had been holding his calf and that a calf is, in the chair's words, "the one near the knee".

On Udogie, whom the source says was left out as a precaution after discomfort in his knee, the chat reached a firm verdict of "probably the other knee". It was not asked which knee had been mentioned and did not offer.

The panel welcomed the news that Pedro Porro could feature at Chelsea on Saturday, and agreed to hold its concern in reserve until Friday, when it will be reinstated in full.

The session closed at Seven Sisters after eleven stops, with the stop bell rung once by the chair and once, by mistake, by the person seated behind him.

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