Afternoon all, and welcome to Lokomotiv Plovdiv v Tottenham Hotspur!

Off we go!

Oh good, I've got the Bulgarian commentary.

There's something very funny about a player lozzing a club as soon as possible after they get good, then coming back when they're not quite so good anymore. See Rooney, W.

Thinking more about Kane, Mourhino does love a "big man up top", and maybe that's what he wants Kane to become. I'm not sure a finisher so consummate will be happy with that.

I guess it's possible that Bale has lost his gas, but it seems unlikely at 31. If he has, he'll be a far less effective player, because unlike Kane he doesn't have much on which to fall back.

I also wonder if the arrival of Bale might see Harry Kane drop deeper. He may well have lost the pace that he had, and is a fine passer and brilliant finisher from 15-20 yards. Having someone outside him likely to deliver 20 goals gives him scope to alter his role.

I do, though, think part of Bale's problem was being stationed on the right. I much preferred him on the left because he looked more natural out there - to deliver the best of himself, he needs space.

Bale is an extremely Mourinho player, all about end product and nothing about style. Watching him play for Madrid, with Modric, Kroos and Ronaldo reminded me of watching Tevez play for Man United with Ronaldo, Rooney and Scholes: an excellent player, but clearly not as technical as the others.

But to answer the question, Spurs will want top four. With this squad and this manager, I can't see that happening.

So what does a good season for Spurs look like? A line-up like this tells me that they might struggle in the league - a schlep back tonight, then the same players schlepping to Southampton away doesn't sound good. Other hand, when the majority of teams won't be match-fit yet, playing another match gets it done sooner, so perhaps it might help. But if Mourinho picks a first XI in every game, there will absolutely be a drop-off domestically.

Naw, me neither.

Can anyone think of any Bulgarians who played for Spurs?

Exciting! (If you like ice lollies).

I was surprised - and mystified - that Moura was preferred to Bergwijn at the weekend. But the reality is that both are struggling for football when Bale arrives. A fit and focused him will make a huge difference to thing, but when I look at Spurs, it's in midfield and defence that I see serious weakness. It really doesn't matter who out of Winks, Hojbjerg and Sissoko play because none of them are all that, and until there's a change, they'll be waiting for a counter, while Reguilon will offer more attacking thrust but him on one side and Doherty on the other will give Mourinho a problem: does he curb their natural game to facilitate his, or does he let them go?

As for Spurs, they make four changes following Sunday's miserable effort against Everton. Sanchez replaces Dier in the middle of defence, Sissoko replaces Winks at the base of midfield and Lo Celso Alli at the apex, while Bergwijn is in for Moura.

Plovdiv will be playing a 3-4-1-2, reckons the Uefa website. They're currently sixth in the Bulgarian league with three wins and two defeats, three points behind Ludogorets who are top and who beat them last weekend, 3-1.

I'll just write them down, and then we can chat about what they mean.

Lokomotiv Plovdiv: Lukov, Petrovic, Masoero, Dinis Costa, Karagaren, Vitanov, Umarboev, Tsvetanov, Salinas, Aralica, Iliev. Subs: Pirgov, Muslimovic, Pugliese, Ilic, Minchev, Nikolaev, Mihaljevic.