Both Sides of Spursy

Conte's first two matches in charge gave him a full picture of the task ahead | Spurs Women are back in action after the international break

Apologies for not getting out a newsletter after the ECL midweek match as promised (and welcome to the new subscriber who subscribed anyway!), but hopefully this issue coming out the same day as the PL match will make up for it. I just got a bit caught up in the USL playoffs this weekend. If you're stateside, I highly recommend checking the games out (as well as the NWSL playoffs, which started today), because the Phoenix Rising vs RGV Toros match that I watched last night (purely to see who my local team, San Antonio FC, will be playing in the next round) was as entertaining a match as you will ever see. It had a little bit of everything, just like...

...Spurs' 3-2 victory against Vitesse

We truly got the full Tottenham experience in one match, and it served as a poignant introduction to the team for our new manager, Antonio Conte.

I still can't quite believe that we appointed him, by the way. I expected the announcement to fall through just like it did in the summer. But apparently, the man truly does enjoy a good challenge. And what a challenge Spurs are at the moment.

The Vitesse match showed every side of Spurs--the good, the bad, and the ugly. Conte's tactical vision had an immediate impact, with the team creating chance after chance in the first half, scoring three goals in less than thirty minutes (the third goal was recorded as an own goal, to be fair, but they all count). We were actually pressing. What a concept! The new manager bounce seemed to give every player on the pitch a fresh burst of energy and purpose. Unfortunately, that energy quickly fizzled out as the squad's relative lack of fitness caught up with them and they looked visibly gassed before the first half was even up. We conceded two goals before the halftime whistle was blown. Gulp. Spurs being shambolic in defense is nothing new, but it was frustrating to see all our defensive vulnerabilities on display so soon. The silver lining is that at least Conte has already seen firsthand everything that needs improvement and can get straight to work. Adjusting to a back-3 formation is going to take some time (and possibly some personnel changes in the transfer window, but we'll leave that discussion for another day).

The second half was pretty much chaos. Romero got his second yellow and was sent off before the hour mark, Sánchez received a head wound shortly after subbing in, and then Vitesse received two red cards within the space of five minutes (including a red for their keeper handling the ball outside the box, which everyone saw coming the moment he crossed the line). But a win is a win, and Spurs are in a much better position to finish top of the group now after leapfrogging Vitesse to land in second. If we can avoid a knockout stage matchup with one of the teams dropping down from the Europa League, that would be a big advantage.

A special shoutout for Son, who has now scored the first goal under the last three managers not including Ryan Mason's interim stint. And speaking of Mason, it's great to see him joining Conte's first team coaching staff.

A special shoutout to Son, who has now scored the first goal under the last three Tottenham managers, not including Ryan Mason's interim stint. And speaking of Mason, it's great to see him joining Conte's first-team coaching staff.

A tougher test in the Premier League

A scoreless draw is not the ideal first result to start Conte's PL campaign, though perhaps it was the realistic result. Everton might be in a bit of a crisis themselves, but they're certainly a step above Vitesse.

It turned out to be a very frantic, end-to-end game; neither team held control for very long. Spurs' defensive performance definitely improved from the Vitesse match, but we were back to the sloppy, ineffective play in the attacking third that has characterized our PL season so far.

I suspect that some effort is being made to re-integrate Kane as the focal point of the attack since he looked to have more of the ball today, but he still looks far off the pace and out of sync with everyone else; the timing of his runs and his passes for other players' runs have been consistently too late. It's strange to me that Kane has seemed more engaged in our cup matches this season than the PL matches. Am I reading too much into his body language and just imagining this, or have y'all noticed it too? Either way, I wish Conte good luck in getting Kane re-motivated. Or maybe Gareth Southgate will work some magic over the international break.

Conte's substitute decisions were kind of baffling (besides Lo Celso for Lucas, who wasn't in form today at all). While I will admit that Doherty was decent for once--even playing on the opposite side of the pitch than he usually does--it didn't feel like he was a true replacement for Reguilón's attacking potential and we still lacked a goal. And Conte has now twice decided to bring on Ndombele for Son, not to potentially assist Son. But honestly, we might as well accept that dealing with weird subs is our penance for being Tottenham Hotspur fans. There's no other rational explanation at this point 🤷🏻‍♀️. It's a curse that plagues every manager.

Although Everton ended up being the team to get the red card (at least one red had seemed inevitable the way the game was flowing), it came too late to really help our late goal push. Of course, Everton could have received a red earlier in the match for Godfrey's stomp on Son. Not sure where VAR was on that one... Spurs picked up a handful of worrying yellow cards, particularly Skipp, who will now miss the next game due to yellow card accumulation. For those of you keeping track at home, that means the number of Spurs players who have featured in every PL match is likely to be just two after the next game (Lloris and Højbjerg). Conte remarked before the game that he was opting for consistency in the lineup today to continue learning about his new squad, and this development throws a wrench into that strategy.

On another worrying disciplinary note, Romero now has four yellow cards and will be suspended if he picks up one more. I noticed that Hugo took him aside after his carding today to talk to him, and I hope he can set some expectations for Romero to cut down on the rash decisions. We want him to be aggressive, but he's already had too many unnecessary fouls. He's far from the only Spurs player who needs the caution, though--Ndombele picked up a totally needless yellow too, in the attacking third no less. I was surprised that this was only Reguilón's first yellow of the season, frankly. Not his best game, overall.

Getting back to Lloris, he had another strong performance in the net, but I do feel we were a bit lucky that VAR intervened to overturn the penalty decision (it was the correct decision, but it was close). One big positive to come from the match is that he registered his fourth clean sheet of the season.

Immediately after the game, I was feeling a little pessimistic about the result, and I do still think that it was probably a game where we're going to regret not getting the full three points in the long term since Everton were vulnerable. But I'm trying to remind myself to show some patience as the team works to turn the season around. Conte has barely had any training sessions with the squad so far, and we all know that the transfer window is still over a month away, so we can't count on fresh reinforcements until then. Perhaps a point at Goodison Park is not that bad.

We just seriously need to start scoring some goals soon, and lots of them, or the hole we've dug ourselves into will be too deep to get out.

Fingers crossed that our attacking form improves after the international break. And on that topic, guess who just came back from their own international break?

Spurs Women!

The exclamation mark is to mark my sincere enthusiasm about our Women's side this season. They continue to exceed expectations, and the spirit of team togetherness has been heartwarming to witness. This team is full of fighters. The players are motivated and they've got a point to prove:  that we can challenge the best teams on our day, and are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the league going forward.

Rehanne Skinner is a great example of what a good manager can do with a transfer window and some tactical vision. I know I've remarked a few times already this season that I'm surprised how strong we came out of the squad overhaul this summer, but it bears repeating. Turning over half the roster could easily have gone south and jeopardized the progress Spurs Women have made since gaining promotion a couple of seasons ago. If you think about it, the bold transformation really began last season when Rehanne was brought in to replace longtime co-managers Karen Hills and Juan Amorós. It was tough to say goodbye to them and to some of our old players, but the new additions have been working out really well for the most part, and Rehanne has the whole team looking well-drilled and playing with a tangible sense of belief. It was a real "to dare is to do" gamble that paid off.

It definitely took that optimistic persistence to stay in the game against Manchester United today. We managed to limit them to one goal, and the late equalizer from Ria Percival from a free-kick felt well-deserved. Yes, Man U aren't the same team they were last season, but neither are we. The WSL stands still for no team. I'm just thrilled that Spurs are finally in the conversation in a genuine way.

Before I get ahead of myself, though, next weekend's matchup is very likely to be a wake-up call. It pains me to admit this about any Arsenal team, but their Women's side is damn near invincible. They've only conceded two goals this season (Spurs have the second-best defense with five goals conceded), but finding a goal is not even the biggest hurdle to overcome--it's their sheer firepower for scoring. I mean, y'all know this already. We all saw the FA Cup quarter-final. Allow me a terrible pun:  they have an arsenal of lethal finishers. It's not just a matter of attempting to shut down one standout player. If we are to have any chance of getting an upset result against the title favorites, we will have to address their attack on a systemic level. Here's a chance for Rehanne to take on the tactical challenge and try a fresh approach for round two.

We've also got another cup match coming up next Wednesday, the 17th, against Watford, so I'll check in with a recap of both games afterward.

Until then, enjoy the Men's international break, support our tenacious Women's team, and send some positive vibes to my beloved San Antonio FC for another playoff victory. Cheers!

COYS