A small supporter seen from behind holds out two giant carrier bags outside a stadium while a distant footballer in white stands near the gates.

Match ReportThe High Road Herald

Maddison Has So Much More To Give, So Supporter Holds Out Two Carrier Bags Outside Stadium

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

James Maddison told Sky Sports he has \"so much more to give\" Tottenham after his first start in nearly 18 months produced the opening goal in the 3-1 win over Coventry, and the bags are the type that can be used again.

A Tottenham man arrived at the stadium on Tuesday morning carrying two carrier bags, having concluded from James Maddison's remarks to Sky Sports that there was so much more to give and that it would need somewhere to go.

The Herald understands the man took the remark to be an open offer, made in good faith, with no closing date. Maddison, 29, scored the opening goal in the 3-1 win over Coventry on Monday, his first start in nearly 18 months.

He said there's more. He didn't say where he wanted it put. So I've brought bags.

The bags were placed on the forecourt beside the closed gate, mouths open, facing the pitch. One has been weighted with a half brick to prevent it blowing over, which the man described as "just sensible".

The goal was a curling strike from range, teed up by Mohammed Kudus after 14 minutes. To understand it, the man has strung a washing line in an arc between a bollard and a wheelie bin lid, and has walked its length twice, nodding.

On Monday Night Football, Jamie Carragher said Maddison "still has a bit of magic in his boots". The man has checked his own boots and reports that they are in the porch.

A passing steward advised him that the remark was addressed to the club and that bags are not accepted at the gate. The man thanked him and said he would wait.

By noon one of the bags contained a sandwich.

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Five identical teacups line up on a table, each nearer to a small footballer seen from behind, while a scout in a flat cap leans in toward him.

Paper TalkThe High Road Herald

Spurs Monitoring River Plate's Pereyra Is Reported Five Times Over Tea, Each Time A Little Closer

Philippa Crane · Media Editor20 October · Reading time: one pint

The Touchline, citing Ekrem Konur, says Tottenham are monitoring River Plate's 18-year-old Lautaro Pereyra, whose contract runs until 2028 with a €100m release clause, and the Herald counted five versions before the pot was empty.

A report that Tottenham are monitoring River Plate's 18-year-old attacking midfielder Lautaro Pereyra reached a North London kitchen table on Tuesday morning in five versions, none of which contained anything the first did not.

The original, shared by The Touchline on X and credited to Ekrem Konur, states that Spurs are monitoring the player, that his contract runs until 2028 and that it carries a release clause of €100m. It is a short report. It was, by the fifth reading, the longest thing in the house.

By the second outlet, monitoring had become closely tracking. By the third, Tottenham's recruitment radar had turned toward South America, a journey it is understood to have made without leaving the building.

The fourth version noted that European scouts had been turning heads, which the Herald was unable to verify, as heads are not usually reported to be turned by scouts.

That's a lot of words for monitoring. I'll have another slice.

Throughout all five versions the clause remained at €100m. River Plate's awareness of European interest, and the arrival of January, were each reported as separate developments, in the manner of weather.

Every version closed by observing that whether Spurs formalise their interest remains to be seen. The Herald can confirm that it remains to be seen, and that it was still to be seen at the end of the fifth.

The householder then read the report aloud a sixth time, for the benefit of the kettle.

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