Back in Business

In a strange twist, Spurs Men won a game last weekend while Spurs Women suffered another lopsided loss. Will this status quo last any longer than a matchday? Probably not! But that's only because both teams face tough tests on Saturday, with a London derby each.

Still, let's bask for a moment in the Men's team finally getting in the win column in the Premier League. It was overdue. They were aided by a few feel-good moments, and frankly, sometimes that's all you need in sport. (As an aside, is anyone else scarred by the Thomas Frank era to the point that any time you write the word "frankly," you think of him? Just me?)

For me personally, I have struggled to feel fully invested in the Men's team this season up until this point. At times I have wondered what I still have left to root for in the RDZ era (which, for the record, I am still extremely disgruntled about and will continue to be), outside of pure love and loyalty to the badge. It's been difficult to know just how much of my malaise has been down to the off-pitch stuff keeping me wary, and how much is simply not feeling a strong connection to any of the new players yet... and how much of it is missing Sonny (even though I watch him play every week for LAFC).

But this game reminded me that there are still players I care about on the team—who aren't being frozen out—who actually make me feel the emotions I'm used to experiencing as a Tottenham fan. Surely there are other players in the squad who will reach that level in time, or are already close (Archie Gray, for example), but in the meantime, I'm leaning on the likes of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Ben Davies to keep reminding me why I still want this team to succeed, in spite of the abuse apologist currently managing them.

In this issue: Chelsea recap | Coventry City recap | News from around the Lane

I wish the Women's team had given all of us as much reason to cheer in their game, but although they doubled their goal tally from the previous heavy loss, they conceded the exact same (unacceptable) number of goals: six. That's right, a full dozen goals given up in just two games. Yikes.

While I'm not at an "asking questions of the manager" degree of concern with Martin Ho's game management, I am perhaps... raising some qualms. Seriously though, I don't think Ho's position is in any way in danger. He just needs to ensure the team doesn't let this two-game slide in morale turn into a serious stagnation. The schedule should naturally help with that since it eases up again in opposition difficulty after this weekend's match.

More on this weekend's slate of matches later, but first, let's take a look at some talking points and takeaways from last weekend's games, then catch up on the latest club news.

WSL MD 6 | Chelsea 6 - 2 Tottenham

James 25' • 62', Carpenter 58' • 90+1', Nüsken 67', Hamano 86'

There's having a tactical identity, and then there's being stubborn. Martin Ho did not get the balance right with his tactics in this match, as well as lacking either the strategy or the willpower to make in-game adjustments in time. This inflexibility resulted in the complete opposite of a bounceback performance from the London City Lionesses debacle. I can't imagine it was good for player morale to be embarrassed by yet another London rival in back-to-back matchweeks.

For this game, I think it might be helpful to just separate the talking points into highlights and lowlights (heavily skewed towards the latter, unfortunately).

Highlights

• Matilda Vinberg scored her first goal of the season in any competition, and as far as I can remember, her first-ever headed goal for Spurs.

• Julie Blakstad added another assist to her tally (she's tied with Signe Gaupset for most WSL assists in the team with three each) and nearly had another for Gaupset's goal.

• We entered halftime level at 1-1, a vast improvement over the situation at the break in the London City Lionesses match.

• Lenna Gunning-Williams made her first appearance of the season off the bench, having missed the start of the campaign rehabbing from the brain surgery she underwent during pre-season. She was a real bright spot in a frustrating second half, and would have had an assist if not for excellent goalkeeping from Hannah Hampton to save Kirsty Hanson's shot (herself another substitute).

Lowlights

• While the first goal conceded was obviously a display of Lauren James' individual quality, it was also the kind of goal you absolutely should not give up at the near post as a goalkeeper. Lize Kop's game only got worse from there.

• Our old loanee Maika Hamano added insult to injury with Chelsea's fifth goal of the game.

• Olivia Holdt was almost completely anonymous in this game.

• On the other end of the spectrum, Tōko Koga was a little too visible, making several noticeable mistakes and just generally looking off the pace and making poor decisions with her positioning. Hopefully this will end up being the worst game she has this season, and she can put it behind her.

• But in fairness to Koga, her centerback partner, Amanda Nildén, wasn't pulling up any trees with her own performance. We might have reached the limits of the Nildén at CB experiment. Alice Sombath needs to be ready to start regularly, and soon.

• While the substitutions largely improved the performance, they all came too late to limit the damage.

Notable & quotable:

• Ella Morris made her first start of the season in Women's Super League play.

• With Morris replacing Caitlin Dijsktra and Matilda Vinberg replacing Kirsty Hanson, Martin Ho made the first changes to the starting lineup since matchday 3, when Victoria Pelova supplanted Eveliina Summanen.

• Despite a second straight loss and six more goals conceded, Spurs remained 4th in the WSL table and still have a positive goal difference (+4).

• Martin Ho attributed the second-half collapse to not recovering properly "psychologically" after the second goal concession.

I'm probably the first to say at the start, the accountability is with me in terms of as a coach, but I don't want to concede six goals in any game. It's not good enough for me. It's not good enough for anyone. When we reflect on it, and we did in the post-game huddle, in terms of we have to take individual accountability, individual responsibility, and hold each other accountable because in certain moments we can defend better than we're doing there. We're just not showing the right characteristics in some moments.

• Ella Morris praised the away support and promised an improved performance from the team for the upcoming NLD:

It’s exceptional, the fans we've had today, so thank you to them for coming out and watching us. Sorry for the performance and the result to them, but next week, I think we're going to show a reaction and we're going to come out fighting. So, as many fans that can get down, we're going to go to try and get that win for you.

PL MD 7 | Tottenham 3 - 1 Coventry

Maddison 14', Marmoush 58', Davies 90+6' | Rudoni 49'

I think I had a less negative perception of the overall team performance than some fans did. The attack wasn't quite as invigorating as what we saw (not get fully rewarded) against Manchester United, but I never felt particularly troubled by Coventry's chances of stealing a point. Even their equalizer wasn't very impressive; it was one of those inexplicably unlucky deflections in the box falling kindly for the opposition that we seem so mysteriously prone to suffer.

But at the same time, this was definitely a result that came down to individual players and moments of individual quality.

It can't be overstated just how important it was for James Maddison to return to the starting lineup. His ability to impact the game with bursts of brilliance was nicely complemented by Sandro Tonali's steady control. The latter allowed Maddison to display his creativity and breathe new life into Spurs' previously dormant attack. And the long-range shot for his goal was classic Maddison, pure class. He took it first touch on a superb assist from Mohammed Kudus, and Coventry's keeper had zero chance of saving it.

After Coventry had equalized early in the second half, Omar Marmoush put us back in the lead with his first goal in a Spurs shirt. I'll be honest, I was fully expecting this goal to get called back because Spurs players don't usually get the benefit of the doubt in these kinds of subjective VAR reviews (there was a potential foul by Marmoush as he was taking possession of the ball), but it did indeed count. Once again, it was a shot from long range of the sort we've often been too hesitant to take this season.

The third and final goal was scored by substitute Ben Davies, who clearly didn't want to leave the pitch with any regrets and made sure Spurs took all three points. Davies doesn't score often, so let's enjoy it.

But perhaps the most exciting moment of the match was a substitution. Not just any substitution! Dejan Kulusevski made his long-awaited return from a knee injury, subbing in for Kudus to rapturous applause from the home crowd. And y'all, he looked good. Not just good for his first game back, but good for any game. He made a rapid sprinting run at one point that nearly made me stand up in anticipation, but sadly, nobody was able to get up the pitch as quickly as he did to meet his cross (he did have the fresh legs in that situation, to be fair, newly rehabilitated or not). I also came close to missing Davies' goal completely because I had my head in my hands when Kulusevski hesitated and fumbled a chance to take a shot just before Davies ended up with the ball to shoot himself. What a moment that would have been if Deki had scored in his first game back!

Injury concerns slightly marred the victory (Tosin Adarabioyo, Andy Robertson, and Marmoush all went off with knocks), but there's encouraging news on that front in the Up Next section. The valuable three points took us out of the relegation zone, finally—though only as far as ol' familiar 17th place.

Notable & quotable:

• Tosin Adarabioyo made his first Premier League start for Spurs.

• James Maddison made his first start in 536 days and scored his first goal since May 1, 2025 (vs Bodø/Glimt in the Europa League).

Maddison reflected on making his first start after such a long period of limited game time, and playing against his boyhood club:

That was an amazing feeling. It's been such a long time since I played from the start—Bodø/Glimt here in the Europa League semi-final almost 18 months ago. So, a special feeling. I was a bit nervous before, especially with it being against Coventry. I had a box full of about 20 people today, all my friends and family, who I don't think will be too happy with me because they're all big Cov fans! But it was a special feeling and one I won't forget.

• To put Maddison's impact further in context, check out these stats collected by Sky Sports. In games he's played since 2022/23:

• The team's goals-per-game increases to 2.0 compared to 1.3 in games without him
• The team's win percentage is 52.1% vs 23.3% in games without him

• Omar Marmoush scored his first goal for Spurs.

• Dejan Kulusevski made his first appearance since May 11, 2025 (a 526-day absence).

Captain Micky van de Ven commented on Kulusevski's return:

It’s a bit emotional, I would say. If you see what he went through for the last 15, 16 months, the work he kept putting in and the belief he had over and over again that he will come back as quick as possible. He always believed. There was no day where he didn't believe.

• Ben Davies made his first PL appearance of the season and scored his first league goal since January 4 (vs Sunderland); he previously scored this season in the League Cup against Charlton.

• There were several encouraging stats at the team level:

• First lead in the PL this season
• First PL win of the season
• Doubled our PL goals tally in one game

• On the negative side, we have now given up double-digit goals in the PL.

News from around the Lane

• James Maddison was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Week for MD 7, but lost out to Pedro Neto.

• Luca Gunter has been recalled from his loan at Boreham Wood in the National League.

• Martin Ho was interviewed by Khya Gott for the WSL website about his non-football interests and the importance of hobbies in mental health.

Up next:

October 24 | Spurs Women vs Arsenal
Team news — Jess Naz is available for selection after completing her rehab from an ACL injury; Olga Ahtinen is still out with a knock, as are Clare Hunt and Maite Oroz with long-term injuries

October 24 | Spurs Men @ Chelsea
Team news — Pedro Porro is available for selection; Andy Robertson is cleared to play after leaving the last game with a knock, but Tosin Adarabioyo is doubtful; James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are both available but will likely have limited game time; Lucas Bergvall, Sávio, and Destiny Udogie remain out; Rodrigo Bentancur is serving the second game of his three-match suspension

Spurs Women get the day started with the NLD at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then Spurs Men visit Stamford Bridge for the annual dose of chaos (I can only assume).

We have a decent chance of getting a result against Arsenal in the WSL since they have been struggling of late—but only if we can overcome our own dip in performance and morale. Martin Ho simply has to be more pragmatic in his defensive tactics so we can stop the goal-difference slide, but there is definitely potential to score some goals if we get back to the tidy passing and audacious shooting that characterized our strong start to the campaign.

In his pre-match press conference, Ho alluded to the need for better defensive organization without losing confidence in the attack:

You have to play the game, not the occasion and not get wrapped up in everything that's going on before it or during it. Make sure we're more robust and we show more steel in certain parts of the game defensively. Accept that we will suffer at times against a good Arsenal team but also make sure we apply ourselves correctly with the ball. We're brave, we show personality with it and we do what we usually do.

And it would be another special moment for the club to follow up Dejan Kulusevski's return last week with a possible season debut for Jess Naz—at THS, no less. I'm sure she would likewise only be coming off the bench for her first appearance in ten months post-ACL repair, but we'll take it, and I am manifesting it.

I know better than to put any expectations on a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge, let alone attempt to make any sort of predictions. So, uh, good luck to the guys?

Lest I end on a pessimistic note, I offer instead an adorable photo of Matilda Vinberg cuddling a puppy.

See y'all on the other side of a jam-packed Saturday matchday.

COYS

Thank you for reading!

If you’re enjoying the newsletter, make sure to sign up for a free subscription to receive new issues in your inbox. You can also buy me a Ko-fi to support my writing with a one-time tip. Your support keeps Spurs Across the Pond running and is much appreciated!

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