2023/24 End of Season Bumper Special

This was perhaps the most exciting season I've experienced yet as a Tottenham Hotspur fan, on the whole, and I think it's fair to say that both senior Spurs teams exceeded expectations in a "rebuilding" year. We had new managers shaking things up, plenty of new players to get to know, and even a thrilling cup run on the Women's side. What more could you really ask for?

Now that the Premier League and Women's Super League seasons are done and dusted, let's take a look back at how it all went down and relive some of the memories—good and bad, but mostly good.

As always, this season wrap-up issue is a true bumper special, so grab your favorite beverage, kick back, and keep reading for a chronological recap of each team's season, notable fun facts, and the Spurs Across the Pond awards!

5th place — 66 points

20-6-12 record

+13 GD (74 for, 61 against)

Honors:

Tottenham Hotspur 5th all-time top scorer (Son Heung-min)
PL Player of the Month (Maddison-August; Son-September)
PL Manager of the Month (Postecoglou-August, September, October)

Season synopsis:

Remember those halcyon days at the start of the season when the Men's team went unbeaten in the league from the opening matchday through the month of October? It was ten games of pure exhilaration, including two draws and two wins across four London derbies, a win against Manchester United on just the second matchday, and that now-infamous, controversial win over Liverpool.

It's still a minor miracle that the beginning of the PL campaign played out that way, considering the obstacles thrown in Ange Postecoglou's way to start his Spurs tenure. After many seasons of flirting with a move, Harry Kane finally departed—the day before the season began. Add in a slew of new transfers who were thrown straight into the starting lineup, and Ange had his hands full sorting out a new tactical system for the team. And for the first time in a while, the team wasn't in European competition, so there were fewer opportunities for him to rotate and learn about his new squad. There was also the prospect of losing a few key players to the AFCON and Asian Cup tournaments midseason lurking on the horizon.

It wasn't a completely rosy period, however. A penalty shootout loss to Fulham in the League Cup took us out of the running for one of three possible trophies in the first action. There was arguably too much rotation for an opponent like Fulham that is consistently mid-table in the league, and Ange paid the price for his gamble.

But it was straight back to business in the league, and the "Angeball" trademarks quickly became familiar—and welcome—to a fanbase that had been yearning for attacking football after the last few years of Mourinho's parking the bus and Conte's sufferball.

You know what they say about things that seem too good to be true: they can be undone in an instant by a torn hamstring. Wait, that's not how the saying goes?

That is what happened though, along with a heap of related bad luck that all converged in one fixture, the home match against Chelsea. Son Heung-min had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside, Cristian Romero received a red card after VAR intervention, Micky van de Ven tore his extremely valuable hamstring, and James Maddison went off injured at the exact same time. This was all before halftime, mind you. And the situation only deteriorated further after the break when Destiny Udogie picked up a second yellow and was sent off. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

Although this was one of the lowest points of the season, it was also one of the most encouraging. The players who did remain on the pitch fought valiantly to hold on to the chance of a draw and Chelsea didn't take the lead until the 75th minute, icing the result with a couple of quickfire goals later in stoppage time. They deserved the vocal support from the home crowd throughout the game and after the final whistle.

That resilience in the face of challenges would become a hallmark of Ange's first season. The team made a habit of comebacks and spirited performances against top opposition.

Richarlison stepped up in a big way to shoulder the goal-scoring burden while Sonny was away on international duty, scoring nine goals in eight straight Premier League games in a run that started with Everton at home and ended with Everton away.

It looked like we had weathered the storm of the mid-season struggles well enough to sneak into the top 4 in Ange's first season, especially after two dominant wins against Crystal Palace and our direct rivals for the last CL qualification spot, Aston Villa. But we stumbled in a few games and the downturn in form culminated in a four-game losing streak, including the home NLD. It didn't help that several of the players returning from injuries and international duty were slow to regain their previous effectiveness, most notably in the midfield.

Two wins against relegated teams weren't enough to reach the top European competition after losing the rescheduled home match against Manchester City in between. That game had a complex discourse around it that I don't want to get into again but was definitely one of the worst experiences of the season—a stark contrast to the actual performance on the pitch, which was commendable.

At least we got to end the season on a high note with a clean-sheet win at Sheffield United, securing Europa League qualification for next season.

Takeaways:

While we saw glimpses of this team's potential under Ange, particularly at the start of the season, they encountered one too many roadblocks to challenge for silverware. That possibility will surely become more realistic next season with another transfer window in the books and the squad (hopefully) better equipped to deal with the rigors of a four-competition season. But it's important to remember that this is still a project, and you only have to look at how long it took other managers in the league to win their first trophies to realize that the path to success isn't always linear. I feel confident that we're not far off being in that upper echelon of teams, however, and Ange agrees:

It has to be our aim to in 12 months time be in a position where we are one of the contenders rather than trying to disrupt them.

There are some clear areas for improvement in the squad and in the tactics. The striker position will be a focal point in this summer's transfer window (no pun intended) and reinforcement is needed for the defensive midfield and fullback roles. We can't afford to go into next season with the same level of squad depth that let us down many times this campaign. And once we get those new players in, the coaching staff will have a busy pre-season working on overhauling the set piece defense strategy, bringing more creativity to the midfield, and figuring out the best configuration of the forward line.

Fun Facts!

Well, not all of these are fun, per se, but they are notable. I focused solely on the Premier League for this selection of stats, unless otherwise noted.

• After ending the opening matchday in 8th place (ironically, our final placement the prior season), we never went lower in the table.

• We ended the season with six more points and three places higher than in 2022/23, as well as a higher goal difference by six goals (four more scored, two fewer conceded).

• We never had a negative goal difference and were in the double digits for GD for 27 out of 38 matchdays.

• We drew two more own goals than we conceded (five vs three).

• On the flip side, we gave up more penalties than we converted (seven vs two).

• 78% of our goals were assisted.

• The first half of the season was more successful; we gained six fewer total points in the reverse fixtures in the second half.

• We did the league double over six teams (Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, and Sheffield United) and lost both games to just two teams (Wolves and Chelsea).

• Across the whole PL season, we had 16 different goal-scorers and 13 different assisters; top 3 for goals were Son, Richarlison, and Kulusevski; top 3 for assists were Son and Johnson (tie) and Maddison.

• Six players reached double digits for total goal contributions: Son (27), Richarlison (15), Johnson (15), Maddison (13), Kulusevski (11), and Porro (10).

• Sarr led the team in cumulative yellow cards with nine, Bissouma close behind with eight.

• Of the players who made the matchday squad at least once, only six didn't make an appearance (Forster, Austin, Whiteman, Gunter, Phillips, and Dorrington).

• Of the players who made at least one PL appearance, only six didn't make a start (Sánchez, Perišić, Véliz, Scarlett, Moore, and Donley).

• Seven players made their Premier League debut (Vicario, Udogie, Van de Ven, Véliz, Donley, Drăgușin, Moore) and four more made their first PL appearances for Spurs (Maddison, Solomon, Johnson, and Werner).

• Vicario was the only player to appear in all 38 PL matches and started all 38 of them as well.

• Son reached 400 appearances in all competitions for the club and 300 in the PL alone.

• Pierre-Emile Højbjerg reached 150 appearances, while Giovani Lo Celso, Oliver Skipp, and Emerson Royal joined the 100 appearances club.

In Focus

These are just a few topics that I thought deserved special mention or a fresh perspective.

• Goals from the defense - Ange emphasized many times that clean sheets won't be common with his system, but what we can rely on is the defense pitching in on attack. We had 25 total goal contributions across the backline, including players like Davies and Royal with one goal each. Porro was especially prolific in the final third.

• Ascendant forwards - For all the handwringing there was over the form of our forwards at various points in the season, they all had better campaigns this season than last in terms of total goal contributions (with the exceptions of Solmon, who was injured for most of the season, and Gil, who only had the one assist last season anyway). I used Werner's last season in the PL with Chelsea as his benchmark, and he still matched his output from that campaign despite playing in eight fewer matches for Spurs this season, only joining us in January. Richarlison only played one more match this season but more than tripled his goal contributions total. Son played one match fewer and made 11 more contributions than last season. Kulusevski assisted less but scored more. Johnson made fewer starts than he did with Nottingham Forest but improved his total output. So while there may have been individual games where they weren't as impactful, in general, Ange got more out of these players than their numbers from last season. Not a bad foundation to keep building from.

• Clean slate next season - I know that sounds like a given, but what I really mean is that we won't have several of the issues that plagued this season working against us in the next campaign. The Kane saga is in the past; there won't be any mid-season international tournaments running congruently with the league; and maybe this is tempting fate, but it's very unlikely that we'll have another single game with such disastrous implications as the Chelsea game, in terms of racking up so many injuries and suspensions at once. Plus, Ange will have the first-year manager pressure off his back—not that it seemed to affect him too badly in the end. It's never the case that everything goes right, but at least we won't have so many factors working against us this time.

First Goal Inductees 🎉

Players who scored their first goal for Spurs, in any competition:

• Pape Sarr

• James Maddison

• Micky van de Ven

• Brennan Johnson

• Destiny Udogie

• Alejo Véliz

• Timo Werner

Best Moments

• Sonny's hat trick against Burnley

• Richy and Deki's stoppage-time goals to beat Sheffield United

• Joël Matip's own goal

• Micky's game-winner at Luton

• "It's just who we are... We go down to five men, mate, we'll have a crack!"

• Porro's golazo against Burnley in the FA Cup

• Johnson's stoppage-time winner against Brighton

• The 0-4 win at Villa Park

Worst Moments

• Forster's penalty shootout technique (or lack thereof)

• Everything else about the Chelsea game

• Wolves' two stoppage-time goals to win 2-1

• Branthwaite's stoppage-time winner for Everton

• The entire Fulham away game, ditto Newcastle away

• Losing the home NLD

• Poch doing the double over us with Chelsea

• Rivalry discourse pre- and post-Manchester City at home

Player Superlatives

As usual, I made sure to spread the love around. Best young player is for a player 21 or younger.

Biggest surprise: Guglielmo Vicario

Best new signing: Micky van de Ven

Best young player: Destiny Udogie

Most valuable player: Son Heung-min

Most improved player: Pedro Porro

Mr. Tottenham: Cristian Romero

Player of the Season

Drumroll please...

The nominees are:

✴︎ Pedro Porro

✴︎ Cristian Romero

✴︎ Micky van de Ven

And the winner is:

Son Heung-min!

I don't usually explain my choice of winner, but this year I feel compelled to point out that in addition to leading the team in goal contributions by a country mile, Sonny also took over the leadership mantle in a season of great upheaval and captained the team to a better table finish than last season. By any measure, that's a successful season for our #7.

Honorable mentions go to Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, and Brennan Johnson (yes, really).

Season rating out of 10: 8

I'm very satisfied with how the season turned out despite the numerous challenges, particularly in terms of tactical progress on the pitch and the development of key young players. The only thing that could have tipped my score up into the 9 or 10 range would have been an extended run in one of the cups. Still, a trophy would have felt like a bonus in Ange's first year. Next season the expectations will naturally be higher.

Questions and concerns:

Here are a few musings on the past season and looking forward to next season.

• Who will provide the creativity? We lost James Maddison to injury for an extended period this season, and it took him quite a while to get back up to his standard form afterward. The recruitment team will need to prioritize bringing in another central playmaker for the midfield, whether to work alongside Maddison at times or as his replacement when needed.

• Will Ange continue to hold the club's trust in his project? I think so. It bodes well that he was the first manager to complete a full season for Spurs since Pochettino in 2018/19. There are many other signs that the club is favoring a patient, incremental approach these days rather than the "win now" gambles of the past few seasons. But as I noted throughout this recap, the excuses for runs of poor form were all but used up in this campaign, so the pressure will be on to deliver in more favorable conditions next season.

• What are the realistic goals for 2023/24? As I alluded to above, I strongly believe that a cup title should be a primary goal for next season. Not just because fans are clamoring for a trophy, but because the team is more than capable of winning a knockout cup tournament—even before this summer's transfer moves. League-wise, we should be aiming for a top 3 finish, and to be secure in that placement well before the final matchday.

Let's bid the Men's team farewell for the summer—at least until the pre-season friendlies—with this gallery of some of my favorite photos from the past season (best viewed in browser).

Here's to a restful off-season, a productive pre-season, and continued progress in 2024/25.

6th place — 31 points

8-7-7 record

-5 GD (31 for, 36 against)

Honors:

FA Cup runners-up
WSL Player of the Month (Martha Thomas-October)
Goal of the Season nominee (Drew Spence)

Season synopsis:

The Women's team didn't start their unbeaten streak on the opening matchday like the Men's team did, but they weren't far behind in terms of a rapid start. And even that first game against Chelsea showed hints of what was to come in terms of a new playing identity on the pitch, going toe-to-toe with the eventual title winners. It also announced the arrival of a new star forward at Spurs, as Martha Thomas would go on to score six goals in the first four WSL games, culminating in a hat trick against Aston Villa (our only hat trick of the season). Thomas' immediate impact was much-needed since last season's saving grace, Beth England, missed the majority of the first half of the season recovering from hip surgery. Despite her injury absence, England was made captain ahead of the campaign and provided important leadership and support from the sidelines until she was cleared to return to play.

Thomas wasn't the only player integral to the team adapting so quickly to new manager Robert Vilahamn's fluid attacking tactics. Olga Ahtinen provided composure on the ball and a steady foundation for the press in the midfield, while Grace Clinton brought a flair for playmaking to the forward line, most often from the left wing but at times in the #10 position. Her loan status would remain a frequent talking point throughout the season. Luana Bühler made for an exciting new partnership in the backline with fellow centerback and Spurs stalwart Molly Bartrip, improving the team's ability to play out from the back along with veteran goalkeeper Becky Spencer. There were also some surprises along the way, like Angharad James-Turner transitioning to a new role at right fullback before she eventually left mid-season to join the Seattle Reign. Kit Graham was employed as part of the midfield pivot in a more defensive role than we were used to seeing her in. Jess Naz also received a boost from playing in a tweaked role, appearing more often at striker than she has in the past and having a true breakout season, earning her first senior England call-up at the end of the campaign.

The aforementioned unbeaten streak extended for eight games across WSL and Conti Cup group stage play, but was brutally ended with a 7-0 defeat away at Manchester City. That match, followed by another heavy defeat from the other side of Manchester, was inarguably the lowest point of an otherwise positive season. But the team bounced back with a couple of shocking results against Arsenal.

The first was a thrilling 3-3 draw in the penultimate game of the Conti Cup group stage. We took the lead three separate times, including a brace from Naz. Arsenal won the penalty shootout for the extra point, but the regular time draw gave the team some much-needed belief heading into the league fixture at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium just three days later. It took plenty of last-ditch defending to preserve the clean sheet, with several key saves from Barbora Votíková in a rare start, as well as blocks from Bartrip, Amy James-Turner (who had to replace Bühler early on due to injury), and Ash Neville. But the goal to secure the historic 1-0 win (our first over Arsenal on the Women's side) was a thing of beauty, with ten out of the eleven players on the pitch getting involved in the buildup and the only player to not take a touch, Naz, making an important decoy run in the box. Thomas celebrated with the knee slide that would become her signature at THS.

The new calendar year kicked off with a comeback win in our first round in the FA Cup, a wild 3-4 win at West Ham in windy conditions, and a clean sheet win in the last Conti Cup group stage game. We ended January with another loss to Manchester City, this time at home, but the scoreline was far less lopsided at 0-2. They would beat us a third time to end our Conti Cup run, but the loss was only 0-1—an encouraging sign of progress, since we would go on to play them for a fourth time this season, in the other cup.

In between those City cup fixtures, we had to get past a Charlton Athletic team with lots of familiar former Spurs faces in the next round of the FA Cup. We suffered two more defeats in the league, to Aston Villa and Arsenal, but only by a one-goal margin each. Players were starting to return from mid-season injuries by this point, just in time to have a full squad for the FA Cup match against City, although Bartrip was a late scratch due to illness.

We still let City score and it looked like all hope was lost as second-half stoppage time drew to a close, but at the very last minute, England capitalized on a defense error from City and equalized to send the game to extra time. Incredibly, despite the objective disparity in squad value between City and Spurs, we looked the fitter team in the extra period and the more likely to find a winner. It wasn't to be, but Spencer came up big early in the penalty shootout with two back-to-back saves, and although Rosella Ayane missed her penalty, James-Turner scored the final penalty and put Tottenham into the draw for the next round.

We received a favorable draw for the FA Cup semi-final, a home fixture against Leicester City. This draw guaranteed a first-time finalist no matter what, so both teams were highly motivated to make history for their respective clubs. But first, we got a preview of the semi-final in league play, beating Leicester 1-0, and then squeaked out another narrow win at Bristol City.

The decision was made to host the semi-final at the main stadium, and the energy of the crowd proved vital in beating Leicester in extra time. As had been the case in every round of the cup so far, we had to make a comeback after conceding first. Naz scored an equalizer to force extra time and Thomas came up clutch again with a headed goal just in time to avoid a penalty shootout. We were going to Wembley!

The three WSL matches in between the FA Cup semi-final and final felt a bit like purgatory, but credit to the team for staying unbeaten during that stretch with three draws. The first was yet another cup preview as we faced our opponent for the final, Manchester United. A crushing, controversial last-minute equalizer put a damper on what had otherwise been one of our best performances against the red side of Manchester to date, despite the subpar second half from Spurs. Successive draws against Brighton & Hove Albion and Everton allowed the team to maintain some momentum while still holding something in reserve for the final—and crucially, avoiding any injuries, leaving Robert with some big team selection decisions for the big game.

Sadly, the final we were never expected to make proved to be a bridge too far in the journey of progress this season. It was a deflating performance and United were deserved winners on the day. There was nevertheless something beautiful about seeing players like Neville and Naz get their moment at Wembley—one whose career will be winding down soon, and one whose career is just starting to take off. Graham also got her moment off the bench, representing another success story for a Spurs team that reached the top tier just five seasons ago.

There was no time to recover from the disappointment with a mid-week game re-scheduled fixture against Chelsea and the season closer both within the next six days. It was another slim scoreline loss against Chelsea (and the end of England's four-game WSL scoring streak), but we finished strong with a 3-1 win over West Ham at THS on the final day.

Takeaways:

On a basic results level, this season was a massive improvement over the last campaign, going from a relegation fight to finishing in the top half of the table. We also took six points off the teams above us in the table (side note: Liverpool finished in 4th while Manchester United were just four points above Spurs) and only lost one game against a bottom-half team (the 1-2 loss to Aston Villa). So by any measure, we're taking care of business against the teams we should be able to and making progress in being more competitive with the top teams.

On a stylistic level, the change is even more encouraging. In the past, we could occasionally earn a surprising result in a smash-and-grab manner. But now, under the new manager's system, you can see a clear attacking identity in our performances. The defense has been a source of frustration at times, but we started to see some important tweaks in that regard near the end of the season, conceding from open play far less often; set pieces are an ongoing issue.

But perhaps the most refreshing aspect of this season is the vocal ambition of the club and the new manager for the Women's team. There will be a lot of pressure on the team next season as a result, but with a few smart additions to the squad in the summer they should be more than capable of living up to their obvious potential. And as the squad continues to skew younger we will get to see the benefits of Robert Vilahamn's focus on youth development.

I feel hopeful that we can reach another cup final soon and even start challenging for the Champions League qualification spots. We're in uncharted territory now, but with leaders like the manager and captain Beth England in charge, we should be able to make the leap within a few seasons. I'll let Beth put a pin on this season with her recent quote:

Beautiful chaos with a hint of magic.

Fun Facts!

Again, mostly fun. These stats are WSL-focused.

• We were just five points off doubling our points total from last season (31 this season vs 18 last season).

• We had just three clean sheets, the same as last season. The first was earned by Barbora Votíková in the home NLD and the other two were earned by Becky Spencer in back-to-back games against Leicester City and Bristol City.

• We did the league double over two teams (Bristol City and West Ham United), and only two teams beat us twice (Chelsea and Manchester City).

• We gained five more points in the first half of the season than in the second half.

• We scored the same number of goals as last season (31).

• We were not awarded any penalties in league play.

• There were 12 different goal-scorers in league play, half of whom scored more than one goal, and nine different assisters.

• 74% of our goals were assisted.

• Nobody reached double-digits in goals, although Martha Thomas had 10 goal contributions altogether. Grace Clinton and Jess Naz rounded out the top three for goals + assists.

• Beth England was our second top scorer despite missing over a third of the season.

• There was a three-way tie for most assists: Naz, Clinton, and Eveliina Summanen.

• Molly Bartrip and Olga Ahtinen were tied for most yellow cards with four each.

• We ended the season with zero red cards!

• Amy James-Turner was the only player to concede an own goal.

• Every player who made a matchday squad also made an appearance except for Gracie Pearse.

• Ellie Brazil, Rosella Ayane, and Wang Shuang were the only players not to get a start in league play.

• Naz was the only player to appear in every WSL game, but only made 10 starts.

• Summanen and Clinton were tied for the most WSL starts (20).

• Ash Neville reached 150 appearances for the club, while Naz and Ayane reached 100.

In Focus

These are just a few topics that I thought deserved special mention or a fresh perspective.

• The magic of the cup - It's worth reiterating one more time just how special the FA Cup run was. Every game up until the final involved a comeback, so it was pure entertainment—and stress, to be fair. When I look back on these games, I'm reminded of what a big game player Beth England can be, while Jess Naz and Martha Thomas gained a new reputation for crunch-time heroics. And I don't think I've ever been more excited about a Spurs Women game than I was when Becky Spencer saved penalties from Alex Greenwood and Chloe Kelly in the quarter-final.

• A real rivalry with Arsenal - Well, okay, maybe those penalty saves were tied with Thomas' goal in the home NLD for the best moment of the season. As fans, we've been waiting for the Arsenal rivalry to really take off on the women's side, and this felt like the moment. Although it was disappointing to then lose the reverse fixture by an identical scoreline, it feels somewhat appropriate for both sides to come away with something—including the draw in the Conti Cup. Expect more fireworks next season as the rivalry continues to intensify.

• Immediate impact from January signings - When Charli Grant, Amanda Nildén, and Matilda Vinberg joined in the winter transfer window we weren't sure how soon or how often they would play, but all three made important contributions throughout the second half of the season. Grant and Vinberg are still young prospects with room to grow, but Nildén's experience was especially valuable. The only January signing who didn't feature as much as Wang Shuang, though she had an injury when she first arrived and is likely to play a bigger part next season.

First Goal Inductees 🎉

Players who scored their first goal for Spurs, in any competition:

• Martha Thomas

• Olga Ahtinen

• Zhang Linyan

• Grace Clinton

• Ramona Petzelberger

• Charli Grant

• Matilda Vinberg

Best Moments

• Martha Thomas' hat trick against Aston Villa

• Jess Naz's brace against Arsenal in the Conti Cup

• The first-ever NLD win happening at Tottenham Hotspur stadium

• Every comeback in the FA Cup...

• ...But especially the Manchester City and Leicester City games!

• Naz with not one but two game-winners against West Ham United

• 2nd-minute goals two games in a row

• Drew Spence's golazo on the last matchday

Worst Moments

• Olga Ahtinen's injury in the Liverpool game—which thankfully was not as bad as first feared

• The 7-0 loss at Manchester City...

• ...followed by a 0-4 loss to Manchester United

• Losing to City two more times in the span of just over a week

• The assistant referee missing the offside assist for Arsenal's only goal in the 1-0 away loss.

• The second half of United away in the league

• Failing to score in the FA Cup final

• Amanda Nildén's injury on the penultimate matchday—which was also less serious than it first seemed, thankfully

Player Superlatives

Same caveats as with the Men's team superlatives: I chose a different player for every category, and the best young player award is for a player 21 years old or younger.

Biggest surprise: Amy James-Turner

Best new signing: Grace Clinton

Best young player: Matilda Vinberg

Most valuable player: Martha Thomas

Most improved player: Jess Naz

Ms. Tottenham: Beth England

Player of the Season

Drumroll please...

The nominees are:

✴︎ Jess Naz

✴︎ Grace Clinton

✴︎ Beth England

And the winner is:

Martha Thomas!

I have personally been on a journey this season when it comes to Martha. I wasn't particularly excited about her signing at the time, but now I can't imagine the team without her. She scored such a dazzling variety of goals and was the consummate teammate, helping the squad to acclimate to a new style of play while Beth was sidelined. And she came up with hugely important goals time and time again. It's great to see a player like her getting a chance to shine after being underutilized and underappreciated by her previous manager.

Honorable mentions go to Celin Bizet, Drew Spence, and Eveliina Summanen.

Season rating out of 10: 9

There were a few slip-ups in the level of performance, most notably the dreadful City away game in the league, but for the most part, it was a season of growth and joy. It seemed like almost every player got their moment to be the protagonist, which proved that we are no longer reliant on one single player like we were in last season's relegation scrap with Beth England. We finally have some true game-changers on the bench and a manager who is willing to call on them. Plus, we reached a cup final and regained a place in the top half of the WSL table. I find it difficult not to be overwhelmingly positive about this season.

Questions and concerns:

• How do we continue to bridge the gap with the top teams? The obvious answer is strong player recruitment, and I genuinely think our participation in the FA Cup final (if not the actual performance) will be a great selling point to prospective players. Not only did Robert Vilahamn publicly state his intention to get the team competing for trophies in the near future, but he also came 90 minutes away from achieving a cup title in his first season against the odds. If that's not an encouraging sign to potential signees that Spurs have real ambition on the women's side of the game, I don't know what is. The fact that we are now playing an enjoyable brand of attacking football doesn't hurt either. The club itself must continue to invest in the squad but has shown an increasing eagerness to do so over the last three transfer windows—while still making some savvy signings along the way that didn't break the bank. Getting players to want to join the club is half of the battle, and it at least feels like the other half (paying up) isn't being sabotaged by the powers that be any more.

• Will Grace Clinton sign on a permanent contract? This is probably the most prevalent concern amongst the fanbase, but the outcome is not entirely in the club's control. She is still under contract with Manchester United and cannot negotiate an exit as easily as she could if she were a free agent. United have a tendency to let their players run out their contracts without a plan for retaining them, so there's always a chance she could come back to Spurs after the 2024/25 season is over. If she does return for the upcoming campaign, it's going to take a combination of a) money from Spurs b) dodgy decision-making from Marc Skinner (extremely possible) and c) the power of friendship (Celin). Of course, we're all making the assumption that signing with Spurs long-term is what Grace actually wants, and although all of her social media posts seem to indicate that she's open to the move, we never truly know what a player's motivations are. She could very well still be holding out hope of making a name for herself at United. If that's the case, it would take some spectacular mismanagement of the situation from United to force her out. Regardless of what happens, I trust that Spurs will have a backup plan, just in case.

• What are the realistic goals for next season? This season has already shown that we're capable of going on a strong cup run, so let's throw that goal in to start with right away. I also think a top-four finish is eminently doable, while a top-three finish (and the accompanying chance to compete in the Champions League from the qualification stage the next season) is a bit more of a stretch, depending on how the transfer window plays out. But that has to be the stretch goal that we're reaching for, and it's what Robert has been planning and preparing for all along, including his recruitment strategy. If he thinks we can do it, who am I to cast doubt?

And now to send off the Women's team with a celebratory photo gallery!

Here's to even bigger and better things in 2024/25 with the same "dare to do" spirit we've come to expect—and lots more games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium!

Spurs Across the Off Season

I'm not gonna lie, this season felt like a real grind despite the mostly happy outcomes. I may need to rethink my match recap format for next season, mostly in the interest of keeping them to a more reasonable length! Y'all know brevity has never been my strong suit, but I want to keep the newsletter going strong and I need to have the energy to do so, even if that means changing the scope of SAtP so I can better balance it with the other projects and priorities in my life. So we'll see what that looks like when next season rolls around in earnest.

I do want to get a quick issue out in a couple of weeks, however. It will have some thoughts on the forthcoming Premier League fixture schedule (releasing June 18; I haven't heard a release date for the WSL fixtures yet), early transfer decisions, and a trip to the kit room to rate the new home shirt. After that, issues will be more sporadic over the summer if I can stick to the semi-hiatus I have planned. Please hold me to it!

Until then, you can also find me podcasting at The Tottenham Depot and N17 Women, because of course, I cannot stay away from Spurs entirely.

And as ever, thank you for reading my newsletter! I appreciate everyone who's subscribed and everyone who's helped me keep it running with a tip on Ko-fi—your support is very much appreciated.

COYS

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You can also find me on Twitter and podcasting at N17 Women and The Tottenham Depot.