But At What Cost?

I can't think of a more appropriate question for this week in Tottenham Hotspur:

• We got an away point at Brentford... but at what cost to our club's attacking identity?

• We got a significant transfer fee for an outgoing player... but at what cost to team and fanbase morale?

• We got a handful of signings completed for Spurs Women before the transfer window officially opened... but at what cost to the tenure of a club legend?

In this issue: Brentford recap | Transfer talk | News from around the Lane

Full disclosure, I have the flu right now, so this issue might be a little more loosey goosey than usual. But at the same time, I need to get all of these feelings out one way or another, so it was always going to be a mess. Transfer season is the least wonderful time of the year if you ask me.

I honestly think the best thing for this fanbase would be to have an entirely Spurs-free weekend so we could catch our collective breath, but alas, the Premier League grind continues apace. We still have another week before the Women's Super League resumes, but who knows what our team will look like after another full week of transfer chaos.

PL MD 19 | Brentford 0 - 0 Tottenham

It's never a good sign when there isn't a scoreline.

The match felt appropriately boring as a result, and I will admit that I have reached the point of full exasperation with Thomas Frank. I don't see what the plan is—for the current injury-hampered squad to win games, for the bevy of young players on the team to develop into proper Premier League players, nor for the future of the project (or lack thereof). Seriously, what are we doing here?

Frank can't use the AFCON absences as an excuse, since Pape Sarr was barely playing to begin with and Yves Bissouma has been a non-factor. Losing Lucas Bergvall for this game was a blow, but the response from the manager was to use his matchday squad spot for an additional senior goalkeeper, not a young outfield player who could at least benefit from the experience of being around the first team. And despite the game being there for the taking, he insisted on a conservative approach to substitutions and risked further injuries we can't afford. Once again, what is the plan, and what are we doing here?

I'm growing increasingly skeptical that Frank is going to be able to give us a useful or acceptable answer himself, but I also have concerns about what's happening above him. I was never in favor of Fabio Paratici returning to the club under a cloud of questionable ethics, and now it turns out he might be heading right back out the door to join Fiorentina. Was there a point to that brief cameo in the sporting department, besides undermining Johan Lange and making it even more unlikely that he'll ever find his footing at Spurs? Oh, there's also the credible reporting that Paratici was integral to Brennan Johnson being pushed out of the club and now playing for a London rival. There goes last season's top scorer, all to appease a manager and co-sporting director, neither of whom is likely to be at the club past the end of the season.

I've rarely felt this frustrated after a game, but it's all starting to feel a bit hopeless—or at least aimless. I don't feel confident that we'll use the transfer fee from Johnson's move to effectively recruit talent that can turn the season around. I don't feel positive about the Men's team's reputation in said transfer market, particularly since we're currently outside of the European qualification spots and playing some pretty dour football under an equally inspiring manager.

For the record, I didn't expect to feel this negative midway through the season when Frank was originally appointed. I genuinely thought things would go all right, even if we might not hit the heights of, say, a European title like we did last season. But many of the problems we had to battle through in that campaign have now compounded, and it doesn't feel like the manager is helping matters.

Notable & quotable:

• Guglielmo Vicario made his 100th appearance in all competitions for the club. The goalkeeper made an interesting observation:

It's a big privilege for me, 100 appearances, the first one in Brentford and the 100th in Brentford, so that's a bit of a coincidence.

• On a less positive note, Vicario picked up his first yellow card of the season due to time wasting in the 69th minute, which drew criticism even outside of Spurs circles.

• This was the first reverse fixture of the season, and we're already in the negative on points gained, having beaten Brentford in the previous fixture.

• A disturbing statistic: Spurs have had the fewest number of shots on target in the first half of games this season in the PL—a paltry 21 shots on goal. The only team to have fewer overall shots in first halves is Wolves.

• Thomas Frank's post-game comments suggest that he reached his objective for the game with a draw:

If you can't win, don't lose. Then, clean sheets. So, half of it was done - we just needed to score that goal.

Transfer talk

I've already alluded to it, but let's confirm it:

• Brennan Johnson has departed on a permanent transfer to Crystal Palace.

It's been obvious for a while that Johnson wasn't in favor with Thomas Frank, but it's difficult to understand why that would be. Since the team is currently playing with little discernible attacking plan other than "spamming in crosses" (I am actually so sick of reading this phrase in Spurs discussions, but it's relevant in this case, so please allow it), you'd think a player like Johnson who is famous for getting on the end of crosses and always being in the right place at the right time would be a useful forward for Frank. Instead, he'd seen his playing time starkly reduced this season and likely felt like he had no choice but to leave the club for the sake of his career. Spurs' hierarchy has made no indication of sacking Frank any time soon, so you can't blame him for being unwilling to wait it out.

The £35 million transfer fee paid by Palace is the fourth-highest outgoing fee in Spurs' transfer history, and it's fair to say the club got its money's worth out of Johnson's two-and-a-half-year tenure at Spurs between that fee and the fact that he scored the Europa League-winning goal. But unless we bring in a winger with a similar level of Premier League experience and proven production, it's going to be cold comfort—especially if he gets off to a strong start at Palace and helps them consolidate their spot above us in the PL table.

And on a sentimental note, it just bums me out to lose a player as likable as Johnson. In a season that has already seen us lose club legend Son Heung-min, further departures of players who have made tangible contributions to the club's history are going to make it more and more difficult to feel a strong connection to the team. I'm speaking only for myself here, and your mileage may vary, but I don't want to win things if it means doing so with a bunch of mercenaries who don't understand what it means to play for the badge. Not all of the remaining squad members fall into that category, but too many do for my taste at the moment.

• I try not to deal with transfer rumors in this newsletter, but this one was too shocking not to mention: Emma Sanders at the BBC has reported that Leicester City are in talks to sign Ashleigh Neville on a permanent transfer.

To be honest, I'm still trying to process my emotions about this news, and it hasn't even officially come to pass yet. I can't understate how important Neville is to my experience of supporting Spurs Women; she's literally been a fixture in the squad ever since I started following the team. And just as Spurs Women have developed and moved up the footballing pyramid as a team, so has Ash as an individual player.

She had a delayed start to this season because of injury, but I personally would not say that she has dropped a level. I do think it's been unfortunate that we haven't had the squad depth for proper rotation, because she definitely was looking fatigued at the end of the two games against Manchester United—which were high-intensity fixtures, it must be pointed out. Still, I think she would have a lot left to contribute to this team if she stays (fingers firmly crossed that this rumor doesn't come to fruition), even if Martin Ho decides to transition her away from the starting lineup into a super sub role.

And with the current fullback depth chart, I don't see how we can afford not to keep her on as a squad player at the very least. Hanna Wijk is a promising talent but brand new to the Women's Super League, while Ella Morris is still months off a return from her ACL injury. Araya Dennis has been converted into a right fullback this season, but still lacks experience and probably could use another loan, in an ideal world where we didn't need her around to fill out the bench. Neville also can play on the other side of the pitch, and Amanda Nildén risks being run into the ground if Charli Grant also leaves the club (a distinct possibility with Ho not giving her many minutes so far). Josefine Rybrink's status is likewise up in the air.

Am I resisting needed change and a chance to refresh & elevate the squad as Ho looks to raise the overall level of the team? It's possible, but I truly think the smarter move would be to retain Neville—at least until the summer window, when we could reassess after Ho's first full season. Continuity is important in a squad that already has so many new players and few WSL veterans starting week in and week out. Just look at how many players we've already signed this window from outside the league. And frankly, I don't think Neville's anywhere near close to retiring, physically.

There is another possible factor here, though, which is that Leicester is much closer to Neville's family. If she's requesting this transfer for personal reasons, we of course have to honor that and wish her well. I will still be sad about it, though.

• There are a few loan updates to share from the Men's side:

• Jamie Donley has been recalled from his loan at Stoke City due to a lack of game time and is now heading back out on loan at Oxford United in the Championship, where Will Lankshear is also spending the season.
• While Doncaster Rovers confirmed that Damola Ajayi will be sent back early from his loan (another case of limited game time), Spurs haven't yet announced where he'll be playing for the rest of the season.
• Manor Solomon was recalled from his loan at Villarreal and is now going to Fiorentina in Serie A on loan.
• Back to fitness but still without a competitive appearance for Spurs, Kōta Takai is spending the second half of the season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga.

News from around the Lane

• Speaking of loans, Will Lankshear scored his sixth goal for Oxford United in their 2-1 loss at Ipswich Town, while Mikey Moore scored a decisive third goal for Rangers in their 1-3 win at Celtic in the Old Firm derby.

• Fixture details have been confirmed for Spurs Women's FA Cup fourth round match against Leicester City, which will take place on January 18 at 12 pm UK/7 am ET.

Up next:

January 4 | Spurs Men vs Sunderland
Team news — Xavi Simons is serving the last game of his three-match suspension; Lucas Bergvall is doubtful; Destiny Udogie and the long-term injured players are all still out

All right, now that I have unburdened myself of a lot of Spurs-related angst, let's all try to get into a supportive mindset for the match against Sunderland. Key word 'try'!

I'm actually looking forward to this match because I've been casually following Sunderland ever since my USL team played a friendly against them in San Antonio. They also have a couple of familiar faces who used to play for Spurs at the Academy level, Dennis Cirkin and Romaine Mundle. But if you aren't in the mood to reminisce on Spurs days past and would prefer to have a target to heckle, ex-Gooner Granit Xhaka is available.

COYS

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